Podcasts about venezuelan president maduro

In our news wrap Friday, Venezuelan President Maduro was sworn in for a third term following a disputed election, the White House extended protections for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans and El Salvadorans living in the U.S., the Israeli military struck targets in Yemen after Houthis launched drones at Israel and the Biden administration announced sanctions against Russia's energy sector. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

In our news wrap Friday, Venezuelan President Maduro was sworn in for a third term following a disputed election, the White House extended protections for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans and El Salvadorans living in the U.S., the Israeli military struck targets in Yemen after Houthis launched drones at Israel and the Biden administration announced sanctions against Russia's energy sector. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

In our news wrap Thursday, Russian strikes in Ukraine killed three members of the Red Cross, a North Dakota judge struck down the state's ban on abortion saying the state's constitution enshrines access before a fetus is viable, the Biden administration slapped sanctions on allies of Venezuelan President Maduro and Attorney General Garland denounced efforts to politicize the Justice Department. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

In our news wrap Thursday, Russian strikes in Ukraine killed three members of the Red Cross, a North Dakota judge struck down the state's ban on abortion saying the state's constitution enshrines access before a fetus is viable, the Biden administration slapped sanctions on allies of Venezuelan President Maduro and Attorney General Garland denounced efforts to politicize the Justice Department. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

This week's show features stories from Radio Deutsche-Welle, NHK Japan, and Radio Havana Cuba. http://youthspeaksout.net/swr240913.mp3 (29:00) From GERMANY- In Israel, 42 army reservists wrote an open letter in May stating their refusal to return to Gaza. Two of those army reservists spoke to DW about what made them change their minds about the IDF actions in Gaza. Many Israelis consider them traitors and they may be charged in court with desertion. In Mexico outgoing President Obrador got a judicial reform passed that will end the appointment of judges by the legislators and have them chosen by popular vote in their regions- activists, mostly students, opposed to the measure stormed the Senate. From JAPAN- A super typhoon named Yagi hit Vietnam with severe damages. An update on the sale of US Steel to Japanese firm Nippon. Ukrainian drones hit a Russian ammunition depot which they allege contained North Korean missiles. The US alleges that Iran is supplying missiles to Russia which Iran strongly denies. Australian PM Albanese wants age limits imposed on youth using social media. An Israeli airstrike hit a designated evacuation zone in the Gaza Strip killing at least 40 people, mostly civilians. From CUBA- In Brazil, former President Bolsonaro rallied thousands to protest the nations ban on social media platform giant X, formerly Twitter. Venezuelan President Maduro said the people do not want more sanctions threatened by the US and called for a dialogue on preventing fascism. Am on this day piece on September 11th. In Britain, tens of thousands of citizens took to the streets to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and a halt to weapon supplies to Israel. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Gaza are warning of widespread contamination on the roads from weapons. Available in 3 forms- (new) HIGHEST QUALITY (160kb)(33MB), broadcast quality (13MB), and quickdownload or streaming form (6MB) (28:59) Links at outfarpress.com/shortwave.shtml PODCAST!!!- https://feed.podbean.com/outFarpress/feed.xml (160kb Highest Quality) Website Page- < http://www.outfarpress.com/shortwave.shtml ¡FurthuR! Dan Roberts "Terrorism doesn't just blow up buildings; it blasts every other issue off the political map. The spectre of terrorism -real and exaggerated - has become a shield of impunity, protecting governments around the world from scrutiny for their human rights abuses." --Naomi Klein Dan Roberts Shortwave Report- www.outfarpress.com YouthSpeaksOut!- www.youthspeaksout.net

Stock markets fall as weak U.S. employment data fuels recession fears. Israel braces for an attack as Hamas political leader Haniyeh is buried. The U.S. says Venezuelan President Maduro clearly lost his reelection bid. And, Marchand's magic in the Olympic pool. All that and more with Julia Chatterley. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In our news wrap Wednesday, one person has been killed in a wildfire in Colorado, more storms are in the forecast as Vermont residents clean up the mess left by debilitating rain and flooding, Venezuelan President Maduro asked his country's Supreme Court to audit the contested presidential election and the Biden administration announced proposals aimed at stopping the flow of fentanyl from Mexico. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

President Biden suggests radical SCOTUS reform, new texts show law enforcement suspected Trump rally gunman long before he fired at the former President, and Venezuelan President Maduro claims victory while his opposition call the election a sham. Get the fact first with Morning Wire.NetSuite: Take advantage of no payments and no interest for six months at Http://www.NetSuite.com/MORNINGWIRE Shopify: "Get a $1 per month trial at https://www.shopify.com/morningwire"

Today, Jim and Greg discuss VP Kamala Harris's reversals on several positions she ran on in 2020, the weak U.S. response to election fraud in Venezuela, and Biden's unconscionable positions on the Supreme Court.First, they get whiplash from Kamala's sudden switch on fracking, assault rifle bans, a single payer healthcare system, and more. Jim is encouraged that she is forced to recognize that the Overton Window has shifted right, but he'd like to see her do an interview and explain her position changes on these issues.Next, they spotlight some international reactions to Venezuelan President Maduro's fraudulent election, including a lot of crickets from the Biden administration. Jim agrees with Florida Sen. Marco Rubio's take that President Biden made a terrible deal with Maduro and Biden cannot criticize what is happening in Venezuela without looking very foolish.Finally, they roll their eyes at Biden's insane new proposal for reforming the Supreme Court so that he can manipulate it, including setting term limits. Jim points out that this is the most radical attempt to control the Supreme Court that we have ever seen from a U.S. president.

This week's show features stories from NHK World Radio Japan, France 24, and Radio Havana Cuba. http://youthspeaksout.net/swr240719.mp3 (29:00) From FRANCE- An interview with Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights situation in Palestine. She was heavily criticized by Israel, along with the US and France, for describing the Israeli actions in Palestine in a paper entitled "Anatomy of a Genocide." She says that the Israeli military has broken humanitarian law by distorting the principle of proportionality and killing tens of thousands of civilians- justifying the deaths by claiming they were being used as shields. She says that genocide in Palestine precedes the existence of Hamas by decades, and did not begin after October 7th. She says the war has created an unprecedented crisis in international relations and law. Then a brief report on an Israeli bombing attack on Tuesday on another UN school housing displaced Palestinians, killing dozens of people mostly civilians. From JAPAN- The Japanese PM has personally apologized for the 25,000 forced sterilizations under a so-called eugenic protection law, that was in effect from 1948 until 1996. Nuclear regulators told TEPCO, the company that operates the devastated nuclear power plant in Fukushima, that they must do more to prevent safety and security lapses. From CUBA- A Viewpoint on the telecommunication problems in Cuba caused by US sanctions on countries supplying equipment with US made components. Venezuelan President Maduro faces an election on July 28th. The Iranian President-elect Pezeshkian said he will not respond to US pressure, and that his country has no nuclear weapons. Israeli forces continue to kidnap Palestinians, over 9000 since October- UN experts and human rights groups say that they are routinely beaten and tortured. Available in 3 forms- (new) HIGHEST QUALITY (160kb)(33MB), broadcast quality (13MB), and quickdownload or streaming form (6MB) (28:59) Links at outfarpress.com/shortwave.shtml PODCAST!!!- https://feed.podbean.com/outFarpress/feed.xml (160kb Highest Quality) Website Page- < http://www.outfarpress.com/shortwave.shtml ¡FurthuR! Dan Roberts "It is not enough for journalists to see themselves as mere messengers without understanding the hidden agendas of the message and the myths that surround it. " -John Pilger Dan Roberts Shortwave Report- www.outfarpress.com YouthSpeaksOut!- www.youthspeaksout.net

Three news stories summarized & contextualized by analytic journalist Colin Wright.Venezuela defends military buildup, accusing neighboring Guyana of granting illegal oil contractsSummary: Over the weekend, the government of Guyana accused neighboring Venezuela of moving military assets, including significant hardware like tanks, near their shared border, and the Venezuelan government responded that they were doing so because Guyana's government has granted what they consider to be illegal oil exploration concessions to ExxonMobil.Context: This is a continuation of a feud that began decades ago when Venezuela started arguing that a significant portion of Guyana should belong to them, that portion of the country perhaps not coincidentally containing vast natural resource wealth; this topic bubbles back up to the surface periodically, usually when a Venezuelan leader needs to rile up their nationalistic base, and this modern iteration of the issue is being wielded by increasingly unpopular Venezuelan President Maduro, who recently banned his main competition from running in an upcoming election, and agreed to address this disagreement with Guyana peacefully; the contested Essequibo region is currently home to energy infrastructure that's producing 645,000 barrels of oil a day, and this and other such assets are rapidly enriching Guyana's economy.(More info about the conflict and escalation can be found in this recent LKT episode.)—The Associated PressOne Sentence News is a reader-supported publication. To support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Tear gas fired as thousands of farmers march on DelhiSummary: Police are firing tear gas and deploying razor wire and fences to keep farmers, who have descended on the outskirts of Delhi in the thousands to protest crop pricing policies, from entering the city.Context: Police have also reportedly fired plastic bullets at protestors, who protested in even larger numbers in 2020, dozens of them killed in scuffles with police over the course of a year, their efforts resulting in a promise from the government to establish a minimum price for their goods and to double their income—that promise, so far at least, has not been kept; traffic jams have already been reported as a result of this protest, though it hasn't yet reached the scale of that earlier version of the same, which blocked highways leading to the capital for months.—BBC NewsUS inflation, more stubborn than expected, edged down to 3.1% in JanuarySummary: The US's year-over-year inflation rate dropped to 3.1% in January of this year, the lowest it's been since June of 2023, but still shy of the 2.9% level that was anticipated by most forecasts.Context: Inflation is continuing to drop in the US and in most other wealthy countries, but not as rapidly as many experts had hoped and expected, which led to a big stock market sell-off in the US on Tuesday after the numbers were announced, as traders hoping for a March or May interest-rate drop revised their models, some pushing back their projection of the first such decrease until later in the year.—InvestopediaInvestment index company MSCI is removing 66 companies from its China Index in the wake of a significant market crash—the highest number of index-drops for at least two years.—Bloomberg$350 millionSticker price for one of ASML's new High NA EUV chip-making machines, which are about the size of a double-decker bus and are capable of producing the highest-end semiconductors on the market.ASML essentially owns this facet of the global semiconductor industry, and though most chip companies aren't expected to invest heavily in these newer machines immediately, they're expected to shape the market headed into the 2030s.—ReutersTrust Click Get full access to One Sentence News at onesentencenews.substack.com/subscribe

In a historic prisoner swap, ten Americans are headed home after the U.S. freed a top ally of Venezuelan President Maduro. Six of the Americans were judged "wrongfully detained" by the State Department. The Maduro government also agreed to free 20 Venezuelan political prisoners and return fugitive defense contractor Leonard Francis to the U.S. Amna Nawaz discussed the deal with Jonathan Franks. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

In a historic prisoner swap, ten Americans are headed home after the U.S. freed a top ally of Venezuelan President Maduro. Six of the Americans were judged "wrongfully detained" by the State Department. The Maduro government also agreed to free 20 Venezuelan political prisoners and return fugitive defense contractor Leonard Francis to the U.S. Amna Nawaz discussed the deal with Jonathan Franks. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Note: I'm taking next week off for the new year and to work on my next book—this month's More Things bonus episodes has thus been moved to this upcoming Thursday, and you'll see the next LKT episode on January 2!This week we talk about Venezuelan, Guyana, and the British.We also discuss oil deposits, gold, and the Geneva Agreement.Recommended Book: Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us by Susan Magsamen and Ivy RossTranscriptIn 1581, Dutch colonists arrived in South America, setting up a colony along the northern coast—but that embryonic settlement, called Pomeroon, was wiped out about a decade and a half later by the British; and survivors from Pomeroon then founded a new settlement on the back of an existing but abondoned Portuguese fort, located on an island in the middle of a river, that was an offshoot of the major regional waterway, the Essequibo River—they took over this fort, and then eventually retook Pomeroon from the British, with the help of their allies, the French.The specifics of all this conquering and reconquering aren't terribly important, though: what's important to know is that this settlement was located in a strategic area, globally, because it allowed Europeans to grow incredibly valuable crops, like sugarcane, in an region that was accessible to ocean-traversing vessels, and in a location that was an established crossroads for local trade, which made acquiring local resources a lot easier, and getting workers for these plantations at lot simpler, as well.All of which has meant this region—like many other scattered throughout the world, but especially those with natural ports and located somewhere near the equator—was a somewhat tumultuous, violent place for a long while, in large part because all these Europeans kept popping in to kill and take and build and destroy existing buildings and to fight with each other, while also leaving a lot of dead locals and destroyed local infrastructure and ecosystems in their wake.Following that initial period of back and forth, though, things calmed down a bit, and the Dutch fleshed out their holdings, vastly expanding the scope of their plantations, even to the point—and this was fairly controversial at the time—that they allowed English planters to join them from 1740, onward, which increased the scope of the plantations thereabouts still-further.In February of 1781, some British privateers showed up, captured the main settlements, and then left, and in March of that same year two Royal Navy sloops arrived and did the same, conquering the area for the British Crown until the French showed up, beat the local British forces, and occupied the colony; though a peace deal back in Europe resulted in this colony being handed back to the Dutch in 1783.In 1796 it was reoccupied by the British, the Dutch retook it, holding it from 1802 until 1803, then the British took it again during the Napoleonic Wars, and it became an official British territory in mid-1814.That was the end of that second period of conflicts, as the big, violent rush to claim as much area as possible during the Age of Discovery was beginning to wane, there was a sort of peace, in some aspects of the word, at least, emerging between European powers, and many of these entities were finding they made more money by trading than by fighting with each other all the time.That said, a more fundamental conflict remained in this area, as the Spanish held a neighboring territory, the border between that territory and this one held by the British typically delineated by the Essequibo river.So the Spanish were busy with a series of colonial independence movements when the British rolled up this collection of plantations and habitations on the east side of the Essequibo river, and thus the Spanish didn't really have anything to say on the matter, despite at times having claimed portions of the territory the British were now claiming as their own.And maybe partially because of that distraction on the part of Spain, Britain's new, official maps that were drawn in 1835 showed British Guiana, the name of its new, official territory thereabouts, beginning at the Orinoco River, not the Essequibo, while neighboring Venezuela's maps showed the latter river as the border.When the government of the relatively newfound state of Venezuela, which is what that neighboring Spanish territory became, realized that their neighbor was claiming territory they thought of as their own on their maps, they complained, threatened, and negotiations began, but no compromise was reached and in 1850 the two governments agreed to not occupy the disputed area along their shared border.Less than a decade later, though, gold was discovered in that disputed area, and British settlers almost immediately moved in and started setting up formal mining infrastructure, alongside a company through which they could profit from it.The Venezuelan government continued to complain and attempted to solve the disagreement through arbitration, but the British weren't keen to do so. This led to Venezuela breaking diplomatic relations with the British in 1887, and it asked the US for help, and when the US suggested that the UK enter arbitration, they were told no, even when then-President, Grover Cleveland, said that the US might have to intervene if the British didn't do something, based on the Monroe Doctrine, which basically says European powers shouldn't meddle in the Western Hemisphere, or else.The British eventually said okay to arbitration in 1897, and a decision handed down in 1899 gave 94% of the disputed area to British Guiana—and the Venezuelan government was perhaps predictably fairly upset about this outcome, but both sides formally accepted this new boundary in 1905.What I'd like to talk about today is a new rift resulting from a fresh batch of resources discovered in this long-contested area, and how that rift could spark still-further conflict.—In 1958, British Guiana was divided into official administrative regions, and that led to the dissolution of an historical region called Essequibo, after the river that bisected it.In 1962, as the European powers were undergoing a phase of decolonization in the wake of WWII, Venezuela re-stated its position that the claim it made to the territory back in the 19th century was legit and should never have been questioned or legalized away, and part of its argument was that the British had a deal with the Russians back when that arbitration effort was completed, the folks on the arbitration board—who were supposed to be objective—allegedly were swayed by that alliance to rule in favor of the Brits.The British said this is nonsense, as did the government of British Guiana, but this remained in dispute—and still is to this day in dispute, in some corners of policy and diplomacy—until British Guiana gained independence from the British, as a dominion, in 1966, becoming the nation of Guyana, with those arbitration-established borders still in place, and they remained in place when it became a republic in 1970, as well.Shortly after that independence was attained, though, Venezuela started taking action of diplomatic, economic, and military varieties to retake the territory it considered to be its own, and to have been unfairly stolen from it, arguing—and this is just one of the many arguments it has made toward this intended end—that the Geneva Agreement that it, then-British Guiana, and the British signed in 1966 nullified the original arbitration agreement the parties signed earlier that established the still-in-place, British Guiana-favoring border.That new agreement also said that the signatory nations would solve all disputes through dialogue, though, which is part of why recent saber-rattling by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has been so shocking to many, as even though this has been an, again, tumultuous and violent area for a long time, in recent memory it's been tumultuous, but mostly peaceful, despite those long-simmering resentments from Venezuela about this perceived violation of trust and wholesale theft of a region it considers its own.On December 3, 2023, Venezuela held a referendum that asked voters if they reject the 1899 arbitration agreement, if they support the 1966 agreement, if they agree with the government's stance that the International Court of Justice has no say in this matter, if they agree that the Venezuelan government should be able to oppose Guyana's claims about the region, and if they think the government should turn the disputed region into a new Venezuelan state called Guayana Esequiba, granting all locals Venezuelan citizenship as a consequence.Low turnout was reported at polling stations for this referendum, but the official results indicated that more than 95% of voters responded "yes" to each of those five questions, and despite that low turnout and claims that the government may have falsified these results, they've been using those "yes" numbers as part of their justification for seemingly moving forward with an annexation of the region—though as of the day I'm recording this at least, and this could change before this episode goes live, that annexation is only on paper, not a practical, real-life reality.Now, part of why that vote and the results and the government's response to the results are so shocking is that this region has been governed by Guyana in its many governmental guises for generations; this isn't an area that's gone back and forth between the two countries in recent memory—it's been well and truly Guyanan for a long time, and the people living in the region, all 125,000-or-so of them, out of Guyana's total 800,000-ish population, would tell you the same if you asked them. It also makes up something like 2/3 of Guyana's total landmass.In 2015, though, oil was discovered just off the coast of this disputed territory, and that led to calls by then, as today, Venezuelan President Maduro, to take this territory back; Venezuela has a lot of oil already, but these new reserves were looking to be sizable, and this new discovery had the potential to further enrich already rapidly enriching, from the sale of oil in other reserves, Guyana—so through some lenses, it made sense to to try grab the land attached to these reserves if possible, both to get that money, and to prevent a neighbor with whom they've long had all sorts of conflicts from getting that money, as well.That call eventually died down a bit; it remained, but wasn't at the forefront of conversation the way it was in 2015, when Venezuela was in the midst of a Presidential crisis that Maduro was likely keen to conceal a bit, moving the spotlight to something else, and ideally something nationalistic in nature.So while getting that money was probably a big part of that renewed push, there's a good chance that political expediency and trying to get both the public and the media to look at something else, something potentially titilating in the sense that the possibility of military action tends to be titilating, and something that might rile up the nationalistic base in support of their president, rather than encouraging them to continue questioning that president's legitimacy, which was otherwise a major topic of conversation.In October of 2023, a consortium of fossil fuel interests, led by Exxon Mobile, announced the discovery of a significant new reserve of oil and gas, marking the fourth such discovery in 2023, alone.That announcement ran parallel to increasingly bad news for Venezuelan president Maduro, who is incredibly unpopular with Venezuelans, for all sorts of alleged corruption and driving the economy into the ground, and who is up for election in January of 2024, that election almost certain to be rigged, though the US has offered him incentives to not rig the election, allowing it to be free and open and fair, in exchange for lessening some of the oil export sanctions the country has been operating under for a long while.So the state of play is that Maduro would almost certainly like to rig this upcoming election the way he has previous elections, keeping his hold on power as a consequence, and he kind of has to rig it if he wants to win, based on his popularity numbers, but he could potentially better those numbers by allowing something closer to a free election, getting sanctions lifted, the economy improving a bit, and he could possibly goose his numbers further by raising the Essequibo issue once more, riling up the nationalistic base and thus, possibly benefitting from those lifted sections while also winning the election with the minimum of corruption required on the back of pro-Venezuela fervor.That's one theory of what he's up to, at least, as there's a chance he's ramping up to just move into the contested region, start setting up shop, guarding roads and claiming the area for Venezuela based on those historical claims.But that option is considered to be quite risky by many analysts, as military action of that kind, annexing a neighbor's internationally recognized territory, in the western hemisphere, could be a step too far, bringing neighboring militaries, including Brazil's, which already has troops on the border because of this dispute, into the conflict, alongside forces or other types of support from the US.What might be better, instead, for his seeming purposes, at least, is to just keep on rattling that saber, raise the possibility of annexing the area, maybe make some deals with the Guyanan government, threatening the whole time, and consequently grabbing some small piece of the territory, or maybe just economic, monetary rights to some of the assets—deals instead of land—and that would still be more than he started with, alongside those aforementioned election-related benefits that could help him stay in power, without having to do much in the way of election fraud.This is all speculation at this point, though, as the public face of this burgeoning crisis is the threat of a much larger, wealthier, more powerful nation and military telling their smaller, weaker neighbor that a significant portion of their land is not theirs, and will therefore be incorporated into that larger neighbor.That's not unheard of—it's similar to the claim made by the Russian government about Ukraine, recently, pre-invasion—but it's also not super common in the modern world, as the taking of territory in this way has been disincentivized by international structures and alliances that generally make the consequences of doing so a lot weightier than the benefits of acquiring that bit of land.We're entering a new, post-Ukraine-invasion age, though, in which a lot of those prior norms and expectations are being challenged or upended, neighbors invading neighbors, maybe gesturing at a new norm, but some of these governments maybe just hoping to get in while the getting is good, righting perceived wrongs and grabbing what they can before the international order gets wise and implements some new system of carrots and sticks, assuming—not without reason—that it will make more sense for everyone, in the aftermath, to just leave things where they are at that point, rather than trying to put the pieces of the former setup back together in some way.The governments of Venezuela and Guyana had a meeting in the nearby island of St. Vincent recently, in which they agreed to an 11-point declaration, which included a mutual promise not to use force against each other, no matter what, and to avoid escalating the conflict in any way—but their disagreement over who should have jurisdiction here, with Guyana pointing at the International Court of Justice, and Venezuela saying that Court should have no say in the matter, could complicate these discussions before they really start, making any progress a slogging, pit-trap laden effort.Show Noteshttps://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-67635646https://time.com/6343549/guyana-essequibo-region-venezuela-dispute/?utm_placement=newsletterhttps://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-67645018https://apnews.com/article/venezuela-opposition-referendum-machado-guaido-0f615a5aa835a4cae7d83403321c6c6dhttps://www.semafor.com/article/12/07/2023/guyana-venezuela-tensions-drive-us-military-exerciseshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Venezuela#2006_changeshttps://apnews.com/article/guyana-venezuela-essequibo-oil-united-nations-maduro-fd9e3a3275de8d88dc0a0982f8e7cda4https://archive.ph/VMWiRhttps://www.france24.com/en/americas/20231214-venezuela-guyana-presidents-meet-to-de-escalate-tensions-over-disputed-oil-rich-regionhttps://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/15/venezuela-and-guyana-agree-not-to-use-force-in-essequibo-disputehttps://www.reuters.com/world/americas/venezuela-tells-world-court-referendum-go-ahead-despite-guyana-resistance-2023-11-15/https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/dec/14/guyana-venezuela-essequibo-maduro-kenneth-mohammedhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Guianahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essequibo_(colony)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Kyk-Over-Alhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guyana%E2%80%93Venezuela_territorial_disputehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guyana This is a public episode. 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Three news stories summarized & contextualized by analytic journalist Colin Wright.The World Food Program will end its main assistance program in Syria in January, affecting millionsSummary: The United Nations' World Food Program has announced that it will halt its main efforts in Syria beginning in January, due to financial constraints.Context: The agency previously cut food assistance to the approximately 5.5 million Syrian civilians it was supporting back in July, and then in August it cut the financial aid it was providing to Syrian refugees in Jordon, both cuts the result of insufficient funding; in a recent statement, the World Food Program said that these cuts are arriving at a moment in which food security in the region is “worse than ever before”—about 90% of Syrians live in poverty—and that it will continue to maintain its smaller, less expensive programs, like providing school meals and rehabbing irrigation systems in Syria, but that ever-shrinking agency budgets and donor fatigue have made those efforts precarious, as well.—The Associated PressOne Sentence News is a reader-supported publication. To support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Nigerian military drone attack kills 85 civilians in errorSummary: The President of Nigeria has ordered an investigation into an apparently accidental drone strike that killed a reported 85 people who were celebrating a religious holiday in a village the northern part of the country.Context: Drones are commonly used in this part of Nigeria to attack what the government calls bandits, and this is not the first time military aircraft and drones have errantly bombed Nigerian civilians, instead—in September of 2022, alone, there were at least 14 recorded instances of purportedly accidental bombings of residential areas; raids by these bandit groups have plagued locals in the afflicted regions for years, and the government has been regularly criticized for not doing more to address the issue, but this recent bombing—which Amnesty International says may have actually killed closer to 120 people, as the gathered group was bombed, then bombed again when people rushed in to help the first group that was hit—seems to have struck a nerve, in part because of the number of people killed, and in part because they were attacked while celebrating the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad.—Al JazeeraVenezuela's Maduro pledges to permit oil and mining development in disputed territorySummary: Following a seemingly positive, if controversial referendum on the matter, Venezuelan President Maduro has said that he intends to start building-out oil and mining infrastructure in a sizable chunk of neighboring Guyana as soon as possible.Context: Maduro has been eyeing this region—which is about the size of Greece, and makes up two-thirds of Guyana's internationally recognized territory—since 2015 when oil and gas were discovered offshore in large volumes and in exploitable areas; it's unclear whether this pledge will be actionable, though, as the International Court of Justice has said no and proceeding with the annexation of this area, which was apparently supported by that aforementioned referendum, would likely involve military action, which though not impossible would probably result in a land-war in the Americas, which many nations in North, South, and Central America would be keen to avoid at all costs, likely making Venezuela even more of a pariah than it already is (though there's some concern that Maduro might move forward with such an effort, either way, as he's immensely unpopular and might see this as a means of holding onto power, despite that unpopularity).—ReutersThe Office for National Statistics has increased its previous estimate of net migration to the UK from 606,000 to 745,000, citing “unexpected patterns” of migrant behavior for the significant miscalibration; this has led to angry mutterings from (generally anti-immigration) conservative politicians, while those on the left have accused the (conservative) government of failing to manage immigration and the economy, more broadly.—The Guardian-58Temperature, in Celsius (that's about -72 degrees Fahrenheit) recorded in Yakutsk, Russia (in Siberia) on Tuesday.And that's without taking into account the impact of the accompanying humidity and wind, which forecasters have said made the area feel like something closer to -63 C.This is a huge swing, as parts of Siberia have also been experiencing record-high temperatures the past few years, causing permafrost to melt and infrastructure to collapse into mud and sinkholes, among other impacts.—ReutersTrust Click Get full access to One Sentence News at onesentencenews.substack.com/subscribe

Three news stories summarized & contextualized by analytic journalist Colin Wright.Venezuela claims large support for annexing oil-rich Guyana territorySummary: The Venezuelan government claims that the results of a referendum, which were announced yesterday, show that Venezuelan citizens overwhelmingly support the annexation of about two-thirds of neighboring Guyana, and also support ignoring warnings from the International Court of Justice that they should not make any moves to take that land by force.Context: Land ownership in this part of South America has been historically muddled by colonization, but Guyana has governed the area Venezuela is now claiming, a region called Essequibo, since 1899, and that change in posture on the part of Venezuela is probably the result of vast oil reserves that were discovered just off the coast in its territorial waters in 2015, paired with the fact that this sort of annexation push could help unpopular Venezuelan President Maduro rally nationalist support following a period of economic catastrophe overseen by his government; the country has recently benefitted from an easing of oil export sanctions by the US, but those sanctions will only remain eased if free and fair elections are allowed, and Maduro would almost certainly lose a real-deal election, so this might be an effort to stir support, win an open election, and thus keep sanctions lifted while also remaining in power—though there's also a chance it's also a precursor to some kind of invasion and land-grab, which is a big concern for international observers at the moment, hence the International Court of Justice's warning. —Al JazeeraOne Sentence News is a reader-supported publication. To support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.US warship responds to Houthi-claimed attacks on commercial ships in Red SeaSummary: The USS Carney, a US naval destroyer, has intervened on behalf of three commercial ships that came under attack by drones and missiles in the Red Sea on Sunday; the attacks were claimed by Houthis rebels operating out of Yemen who said the attacks were a response to Israel's invasion of the Gaza Strip.Context: This represents an uptick in attacks on commercial vessels in this narrow channel that connects the Arabian Peninsula and African coast, and which is a major shipping lane; the US claims these rebels, who are supported by Iran's government, would have had Iran's backing for these attacks, which raises concerns that the conflict in Israel could expand to encompass more of the region, though while the Houthis say they struck two Israeli commercial vessels, Israel's military has denied any connection to the attacked ships, so it's an open question as to whether these attacks are meant to actually strike Israeli interests, or are possibly meant to simply gum-up trade through this southern Red Sea passage for other reasons.—AxiosRoche to buy Carmot Therapeutics for up to $3.1 billion as obesity drug market boomsSummary: Swiss pharma-giant Roche has announced that it will acquire Carmot Therapeutics—which has developed a range of products, including an anti-obesity drug similar to those being sold by other major drug companies—for around $3 billion.Context: This will give Roche exclusive rights over a portfolio of GLP-1-based treatments, which is what existing anti-obesity drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro are based on, though Carmot has some treatments in the works that would offer similar benefits, but in pill form rather than as injections, which is how drugs of this type that are currently available are administered; anti-obesity drugs have already grown to become a $6 billion market, and estimates from Goldman Sachs suggest it could grow to something like $100 billion by 2030.—Financial TimesUS weapons manufacturers have been solidly outperforming the overall S&P 500 stock index since Hamas' sneak-attack on Israel, and Israel's subsequent invasion of the Gaza Strip, amplifying an existing surge in investment in such companies following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.—The Wall Street Journal17%Percent of its workforce audio streaming service Spotify has announced it will lay off soon as part of a larger push toward profitability following a long period of expensive expansion and experimentation.That adds up to around 1,500 employees of a total tally of more than 8,000, about half of whom were hired over the past three years during that period of rapid growth.—The Wall Street JournalTrust Click Get full access to One Sentence News at onesentencenews.substack.com/subscribe

Three news stories summarized & contextualized by analytic journalist Colin Wright.Mexico revives century-old railway in $2.8 billion bid to rival Panama CanalSummary: Mexico's government is in the process of refurbishing and building-out an existing railway that connects the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean in an attempt to claim some of the custom that would typically use the Panama Canal to travel between these bodies of water, at a moment in which the Canal is suffering a significant slowdown.Context: That slowdown is the consequence of a freshwater shortage in Panama, as the Canal requires freshwater to operate and frequent droughts have made that a tricky proposition; consequently, larger, heavier ships haven't been able to use the Canal in recent months, and the pace of passage for smaller vessels has slowed to a crawl, dramatically reducing traffic-flow; the gambit here, then, is to provide an alternative means of traversing the American landmass, though some analysts have suggested it might not end up being cost-effective for anyone involved, as the extra time and expense required to unload freight, put it on trains, move it to another coastline, and then reload it on another ship, may not be worth the effort for many types of cargo.—Financial TimesOne Sentence News is a reader-supported publication. To support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.US to ease sanctions on Venezuelan oil for freer presidential electionSummary: The US and Venezuelan governments have announced a deal that would see the former easing sanctions on the latter's oil industry in exchange for Venezuelan President Maduro allowing a truly democratic, internationally monitored presidential election in 2024.Context: This is a pretty big move for both governments, as the Venezuelan government has been severely hobbled by US sanctions for years, and this represents a potential olive branch, but also an opportunity for Venezuela to formally reenter the global energy market at a moment when that market is in tumult—which is likely a big part of why the US government decided to make this deal; the last Venezuelan election in 2018 is generally considered to have been fraudulent, and this deal would require that Maduro lift bans on opposition candidates and cease intimidation efforts against folks who might seek to unseat him, and it's anyone's guess as to whether this will all go down as the deal delineates when that next election arrives, but it's an interesting diplomatic and economic development, either way.—The Washington PostTrump has narrow gag order imposed on him by federal judge overseeing 2020 election subversion caseSummary: The judge in the federal case against former President Trump—the one in which he's standing trial for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 election—has issued a limited gag order on the former president.Context: This gag order basically says he can criticize the US Justice Department and case as much as he wants, but he can't launch a smear campaign or attempt to rile-up attacks against prosecutors or court employees, which is something he's attempted to do already, leading to death threats and other attacks against opposing counsel and people who work in the courtroom; following the gag order, Trump alleged that his free speech was being violated, though much of what he claimed about the order was false; this is the second gag order that's been imposed on Trump in the past month, the other a bit more stern, but basically in response to the same concerns—that one applying to a fraud trial he faces in New York.—The Associated PressWorker strikes continue to hobble (or threaten) businesses across a slew of US industries, with a recent three-day Kaiser Permanent strike weighing in with about 75,000 participants, and the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike involving around 160,000 people.—Axios43%Portion of the Gaza Strip's total population that's estimated to be displaced—forced to flee missile attacks and a threatened boots-on-the-ground invasion by Israeli forces in the northern part of the Strip.That adds up to more than 1 million people (the total population is about 2.3 million), and there are concerns from human rights and medical organizations (including the UN refugee agency) that many deaths will stem from these displacements, as there's not enough food, shelter, or medical supplies to go around.—Al-MonitorTrust Click Get full access to One Sentence News at onesentencenews.substack.com/subscribe

The Burn Bag is collaborating with the Climate Migration Council to conduct several episodes on the security risks surrounding climate change, amidst severe heat and climate-related crises that are gripping the country and the world.This week, A'ndre spoke with Iván Duque, who served as President of Colombia from 2018 to 2022, on a range of topics related to climate change, the Latin American Migration Crisis, and the War on Drugs -- and how all three issues intersect with each other. President Duque outlines the key challenges he faced during his tenure and the specific actions his government took on environmental policy, energy consumption, and deforestation. The former President also provides his view on the environmental impacts of drug trafficking, highlighting the ecological cost of cocaine production, while also responding to claims that his government didn't do enough to stop the killings of land defenders and environmental activists. A'ndre and President Duque then open up a lengthy conversation on the Latin American Migration Crisis -- specifically discussing migration from Venezuela, and President Duque's actions to take in 2.5 million refugees from the country into Colombia. The President provides his view on whether the United States and Colombia should engage with Venezuelan President Maduro, and whether the world is doing their 'fair share' on engaging with the Latin American Migration Crisis. We close out the conversation with President Duque's takes on why migrants are traveling to the Southern Border of the United States via the Darien Gap, and his prognosis on the severity of climate-driven migration in the coming years and decades.

This week's show features stories from France 24, Radio Deutsche-Welle, NHK Japan, and Radio Havana Cuba. http://youthspeaksout.net/swr230505.mp3 (29:00) From FRANCE- At the UN a number of countries raised concern over police violence in France, both at the recent MayDay protest and in the treatment of minorities and migrants. From GERMANY- In France the annual MayDay celebration was also a protest against President Macron and saw significant violence from civilians and police. Meanwhile in the UK there are the most significant labor strikes in decades, including nurses, teachers and other public sector workers. Ukraine used attack drones to set off massive oil terminal fires in Crimea. In Moscow 2 attack drones reached the Kremlin before being taken out- Ukraine denies involvement in the attack, and Russia says the US orchestrated it. Japan and France signed a cooperation agreement to speed up development of next generation nuclear reactors. From JAPAN- The Japanese government lifted evacuation orders on a small village 30 km from the Fukushima nuclear power plant which experienced a meltdown 12 years ago. Joe Biden told the Philippine president that the US commitment to defending his country was iron-clad and that more military assistance was on the way. Philippine President Marcos then revealed plans to have an American firm build the first nuclear reactor in SouthEast Asia. NHK conducted a poll among Japanese citizens about amending the constitution- 64% of the respondents oppose changing Article 9 which outlaws the nation going to war. From CUBA- Journalists with Reporters Without Borders were denied access to Julian Assange in the UK maximum security prison, where the UN concluded in 2019 that he is being psychologically tortured. Venezuelan President Maduro repudiated the US government decision to seize the assets of Citgo oil company and give them to the opposition political party the US supports. For the 16th consecutive week hundreds of thousands of Israelis Netanyahu's judicial reform. Available in 3 forms- (new) HIGHEST QUALITY (160kb)(33MB), broadcast quality (13MB), and quickdownload or streaming form (6MB) (28:59) Links at outfarpress.com/shortwave.shtml PODCAST!!!- https://feed.podbean.com/outFarpress/feed.xml (160kb Highest Quality) Website Page- < http://www.outfarpress.com/shortwave.shtml ¡FurthuR! Dan Roberts "You cannot control your own population by force, but it can be distracted by consumption." --Noam Chomsky Shortwave Report- www.outfarpress.com YouthSpeaksOut!- www.youthspeaksout.net Dan Roberts

This week's show features stories from George Galloway, France 24, and Radio Havana Cuba. http://youthspeaksout.net/swr230127.mp3 (29:00) From GEORGE GALLOWAY- George spoke with American journalist Chris Hedges about the impact the German and American tanks will make in the war in Ukraine. Chris says that more weapons will not resolve the devastation in Ukraine, but will serve the US military industrial complex . He says that endless war has become the primary business of the American empire, and that the few politicians who speak out against the war industry are erased, like Dennis Kucinich. George and Chris both complain that anyone who tries to oppose the current wars will be cancelled. From FRANCE- First some international press reviews on the agreement to send US and German tanks to Ukraine. NGOs in Ukraine are calling for the firing of the Defense Minister whose office is accused of signing a contract to overpay $200 million for food for the armed forces. In Peru, after scores of civilians protesting the replacement president have been murdered by police and military, the OAS (the Organization of American States) has given the president its full support. CELAC (the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) is meeting in Argentina. From CUBA- At the CELAC summit Colombian President Petro spoke to the integration of projects among the member states, and work together like the EU. Venezuelan President Maduro called on the other nations to join against foreign intervention. There is an international call to release 5 water defenders in El Salvador. Canada announced it will pay more than $2 billion Canadian to settle a lawsuit over indigenous residential schools. Large protests against Netanyahu in Israel continue. Available in 3 forms- (new) HIGHEST QUALITY (160kb)(33MB), broadcast quality (13MB), and quickdownload or streaming form (6MB) (28:59) Links at outfarpress.com/shortwave.shtml PODCAST!!!- https://feed.podbean.com/outFarpress/feed.xml (160kb Highest Quality) Website Page- < http://www.outfarpress.com/shortwave.shtml ¡FurthuR! Dan Roberts "Human beings can be redeemed. Empires cannot. Our refusal to face the truth about empire, our refusal to defy the multitudinous crimes and atrocities of empire, has brought about the nightmare Malcolm predicted. And as the Digital Age and our post-literate society implant a terrifying historical amnesia, these crimes are erased as swiftly as they are committed." --Chris Hedges Dan Roberts Shortwave Report- www.outfarpress.com YouthSpeaksOut!- www.youthspeaksout.net

Today on Sojourner Truth, Nana Gyamfi guest hosts. Nana is an attorney & Executive Director of Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI). Our first guest is co-founder of Black Voters Matter Fund, Cliff Albright who kicks off the show discussing some of the most contentious races in Georgia during the midterm, voter suppression and the conservative wave of votes cast by white women in Georgia. WNBA basketball superstar Britney Griner has been sentenced to a 9.5 year sentence in Russia for allegedly carrying cannabis cartridges in her luggage. Britney Griner is a recent example of a Black American being criminalized for a nonviolent crime, and while her case gained international awareness due to her celebrity as a pro star athlete, this is the reality for many Black Americans and immigrants criminalized for marijuana offenses impacting their daily experience, we contextualize the history of criminalization of cannabis in the U.S. and its continued iterations with executive director of the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild and attorney Sirine Shebaya. To conclude, we discuss French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. Presidential envoy for climate John Kerry and their friendly treatment of Venezuelan President Maduro at the Cop 27 conference with José Luis Granados Ceja, journalist and political analyst and staff writer with Venezuela Analysis, who shares his take on why the West and its allies appear to be changing their narrative and treatment towards Venezuela, a country recognized for its extensive oil reserves.

Today on Sojourner Truth, Nana Gyamfi guest hosts. Nana is an attorney & Executive Director of Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI). Our first guest is co-founder of Black Voters Matter Fund, Cliff Albright who kicks off the show discussing some of the most contentious races in Georgia during the midterm, voter suppression and the conservative wave of votes cast by white women in Georgia. WNBA basketball superstar Britney Griner has been sentenced to a 9.5 year sentence in Russia for allegedly carrying cannabis cartridges in her luggage. Britney Griner is a recent example of a Black American being criminalized for a nonviolent crime, and while her case gained international awareness due to her celebrity as a pro star athlete, this is the reality for many Black Americans and immigrants criminalized for marijuana offenses impacting their daily experience, we contextualize the history of criminalization of cannabis in the U.S. and its continued iterations with executive director of the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild and attorney Sirine Shebaya. To conclude, we discuss French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. Presidential envoy for climate John Kerry and their friendly treatment of Venezuelan President Maduro at the Cop 27 conference with José Luis Granados Ceja, journalist and political analyst and staff writer with Venezuela Analysis, who shares his take on why the West and its allies appear to be changing their narrative and treatment towards Venezuela, a country recognized for its extensive oil reserves.

Hurricane Nicole is expected to make landfall in Florida on Wednesday night, Georgia's Senate race between Sen. Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker heads to a runoff, President Biden says his intention is to run again in 2024, U.S. climate envoy John Kerry briefly shook hands with Venezuelan President Maduro and Condé Nast sues Drake and 21 Savage for fake Vogue covers.

When election day results might come in for close Senate races in places like Pennsylvania and Nevada, look at state ballot initiatives, interview with Wall Street Journal's Shane Shifflett on UN climate summit in Egypt (25), U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry shakes hands with Venezuelan President Maduro. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. David Oualaalou, author and international security analyst, joins us to discuss Russia's security demands. Many European leaders are coming together to meet with each other, and Russian diplomats in a move to negotiate over Russia's recent security demands. Germany's Chancellor seems to be taking a lead as he has announced that his assistant will meet with Ukrainian, French, and Russian representatives.Gary Flowers, host of “The Gary Flowers Show” on radio station Rejoice WREJ-AM 990, joins us to discuss domestic politics. Democrats are getting significant pressure to change the Senate rules to address voting rights. Also, several groups are again asking Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to address the filibuster, but few expect him to move on their plea.Scott Ritter, former UN weapon inspector in Iraq, joins us to discuss a recent nuclear statement. The five permanent members of the UN Security Council have come together to state that war must be avoided between nuclear states. Reportedly, Moscow was the main driver behind the statement. Dr. Linwood Tauheed, associate professor of economics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, joins us to discuss the economy. The child tax credit has expired, and many economists are predicting a dramatic increase in child poverty as a result. The Build Back Better legislation was stripped of desperately needed social spending and ultimately died at the hands of a very conservative Democratic Party.Laith Marouf, broadcaster and journalist based in Beirut, joins us to discuss the Middle East. Houthi fighters have seized a UAE flagged ship that is full of military supplies. The Saudi-led coalition had claimed that the ship was carrying medical supplies. Also, Syrian Jihadis supported by the US empire are looking to gain political power through election manipulation.Niko House, political activist, independent journalist, and podcaster, joins us to discuss the US media. We review the absurdity of the Western media when reporting on Russia and China by going over the headlines. Regarding China, every headline is followed by questioning the cost, and regarding Russia, the headlines are claims of Russia weaponizing everything.Ted Rall, political cartoonist and syndicated columnist, joins us to discuss GITMO. In what appears to be another u-turn on campaign promises, the Biden administration is building, rather than closing, facilities at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. Biden is building a new secret court facility that will only allow members of the intelligence community and those with special clearances.Dan Kovalik, writer, author, and lawyer, joins us to discuss the Global South. Venezuelan President Maduro is saying that the United States deliberately sabotaged the Mexican talks by kidnapping diplomat Alex Saab.

K. J. Noh, peace activist, writer, and teacher, joins us to discuss blowback from the fall of Kabul. In light of the Afghanistan debacle, foreign policy observers are looking to other US vassal states and asking if a similar outcome is in the offing.Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss Ukraine. The US political occupation of Ukraine is creating disaster as an inflation spike is hurting the worst economy in Europe. Also, the ex-president of Ukraine is arguing that Kiev abandoning cordial ties with Russia was a horrible mistake.James Carey, editor/co-owner at Geopoliticsalert.com, joins us to discuss Iran. President Raeisi is calling for closer ties to China and arguing that the road to recovery and prosperity for the Islamic republic lies in focusing its energy on its Eurasian neighbors. Also, Israeli President Bennett is in Washington to meet with President Biden as the Iran nuclear deal seems doomed.Gerald Horne, professor of history at the University of Houston, author, historian, and researcher, joins us to discuss the fall of Afghanistan. The US spent 20 years of blood and treasure, and the outcome was baked in the cake from the inception of this neocon nation-building exercise. Was this a military occupation or a money-laundering operation?Netfa Freeman, host of Voices With Vision on WPFW 89.3 FM, pan-Africanist and internationalist organizer, joins us to discuss the Global South. The US piles more pain on Cuba as President Biden doubles down on economic sanctions. Also, some Democrats are pressing Biden for sanctions relief and direct dialog with Venezuelan President Maduro. Martin Sieff, senior fellow at the American University in Moscow, joins us to discuss his article about the fall of Afghanistan. Martin wrote an article six months before the fall of Kabul predicting the exact outcome that befell the war-torn nation. He pointed to US-sponsored corruption as the key to failure.Dr. Jack Rasmus, professor in economics and politics at St. Mary's College in California, joins us to discuss the economy. An eviction tsunami is headed for the nation's capital and Black Americans will be disproportionately affected. Also, the Fed is talking about the lessening of stimulus support for the economy, expecting the government to move towards a more laissez-faire attitude.Ajamu Baraka, former VP candidate for the Green Party, joins us to discuss the Black Alliance For Peace (BAP) and their response to the fall of Kabul. The fall of Kabul is a significant foreign policy faux pas for the US, but the BAP argues that the US wars of aggression claiming to fight terrorism continue unabated.

We're back after a slight two day hiatus in memoriam of the Memorial Day Holiday. We talk about how bikers are the worst, little bit of porn talk, some general news we heard over the week, and our Memorial Day fun.   Part Two is coming out tomorrow and is a heavy hitter with an expose into the failed coup of Venezuelan President Maduro in 2019 by American citizens as well as a little talk about how the workplace time off policies should be. Follow us @AnotherWeekWith Visit our webpage www.anotherweekwith.com Follow our Youtube for show clips and highlights https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF7CiHD0Y17OcfXH0fazxsA?view_as=subscriber

Call on Bernie Sanders to withdraw his call to overthrow the government of Venezuela. "Let me be very clear. Anyone who does what Maduro does is a vicious tyrant. We need international and regional cooperation for free elections so the Venezuelan people can create their own future." - Bernie Sanders, Democratic Debate Sunday September 12, 2019 Call his office today, Bernie Sanders: (202) 224-5141 also try 202-866 220 0044 which works well especially between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. Pacific time to get to them during working hours, 9-5 in Eastern time zone Eric Mann thanks Voices listeners who called Senator Sanders to repudiate his position on Venezuela. Eric engages his critic who believes that his statement that Senator Sanders is calling for the overthrow of Venezuelan President Maduro is exaggerated and "fraudulent". Keep Calling Senator Sanders and demand he stop his call for the overthrow of the government of Venezuela. I was dismayed to find in my morning email the demand that Bernie Sanders "withdraw his call to overthrow the government of Venezuela." While there is reason to object to Sanders’s answer to moderator Jorge Ramos's question on why he refuses to call Nicholas Maduro a dictator, to conclude that Bernie made such a call to overthrow a government is fraudulent. Sanders in fact supports the opposite position. Rather than backing the U.S. practice of inserting a leader it "likes," he has never once deviated from his belief that it is the right of the people of Venezuela to decide what kind of government they want. People who took umbrage at Sanders’s remarks should call his office to complain. That is what a healthy democracy looks like. Sanders deserves to be called out for his erroneous profile of Venezuela, and many of us did not waste time to do so. On the morning after the debate, several of us contacted members of Sanders's team. We took the trouble to supply them with recent and reliable information, and forwarded articles and the names of informed sources for their further investigation. But loosely applied pejoratives like “vicious tyrant” cannot be criticized more than loosely applied pejoratives like “racist” and “lunatics.” As a point of fact, I have not identified myself as a Sanders supporter. I offer my comments in the strict belief that these important issues should be met with hard facts, not easy mockery. --Patricia Dahl As a Sanders supporter, I applaud your opinion on his position on Venezuela. Sanders is WRONG on this one. Thank you and continue the fight!!!! --Nelson P. --Frank Dorrel addicted to war circulated it Sent from Rachel Bruhnke: sojournerrb@yahoo.com. Dear Eric: I'm with you 100% on demanding Sanders withdraw his call to overthrow the government in Venezuela! Hi Eric! I’m great Sanders supporters but I’m 100% agree with regarding Venezuela as we’ll Syria. I just hope he hires someone with more knowledge about foreign Policy --Jorge M. I have been a Bernie fan since before the last election. I voted for Bernie in the last election primary. I have been an enthusiastic supporter of and donator to his campaign this time around. But the remarks on Maduro and Venzuela in the last democratic debate have made it impossible for me to contribute further. I call on Bernie Sanders to back down his repudiation of Maduro, and his call for foreign intervention in Venezuela - not his exact words, but let's not play dumb here. --Vince M. Listen to Voice from the Frontlines today at 3pm PST on KPFK 90.7fm OR use the button below to Stream the show live on Facebook.

On this episode of Fault Lines, hosts Garland Nixon and Lee Stranahan discuss how increasing online censorship is a danger to those on both sides of the political spectrum willing to challenge establishment points of view. How is this trend influencing politics/society, and why should those celebrating the silencing of their opponents think again?Guests:Ian Miles Cheong - Journalist who Covers Media, Politics & Culture | The Media's Obsession with Trying to Silence Anti-Establishment VoicesJim Jatras - Government and Media Relations Specialist | Trump's Foreign Policy Advisors and Escalating Tensions with IranJim Hoft - Founder of TheGatewayPundit.com | Online Censorship, Ukrainian Election Interference & The Focus of Establishment DemocratsCaleb Maupin - Journalist & Political Analyst | Historical Reference for the Current Situation in Venezuela The desire of the elite ruling class to maintain control over political discourse continues to become more evident as online censorship increases towards individuals and platforms who challenge establishment narratives. Journalist and Writer Ian Miles Cheong joins today's show to discuss some of the recent incidents of "deplatforming" on social media, how this trend threatens independent journalism, and Silicon Valley's power and influence with regards to news/politics. Yet again, tensions between the United States and Iran have been ramped up, and the US has sent an aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, to the Middle East. Jim Jatras, a Government and Media Relations Specialist, returns to the program to talk about the current US-Iran dynamic, the nature of Sunni-Shia conflicts in the region, and how Russian or Chinese support for Iran could change the equation for the US and potential military action.While some in the political world celebrate the online censorship of their opponents, this trend has become a slippery slope where almost any dissenting voice could be targeted in the future. Jim Hoft, Founder of TheGatewayPundit.com, joins Garland and Lee to discuss this latest wave of silencing speech on the internet, the largely ignored story of Ukrainian Election Interference, and why many establishment Democrats are focusing on perceived scandals over actual policy proposals.For the final segment, the hosts are joined by Journalist & Political Analyst Caleb Maupin for a conversation about Venezuela and some historical reference for the current situation. What level of support does Venezuelan President Maduro have from both ordinary citizens and the military, how have the Obama and Trump administrations approached Venezuela differently, what are some of the similarities between foreign interventions in Syria and Venezuela, and what role is the international energy market playing with regards to how foreign countries are intervening in Venezuela?

https://sputniknews.com/latam/201905011074601683-venezuela-maduro-appears-state-tv/

Venezuela: the key argument in every conservative's toolbox. But, with good ol' Venezuelan President Maduro in the news this week, what's actually the deal there? And is it possible to ethically support regime change from a US perspective? One thing we can all agree on: Maduro is kinda a douchebag. This week's Politics Rewind features the shutdown's final end this week, along with the continuing disaster that is Brexit. Plus, has Iowa Rep Steve King finally seen some consequences for his horrifyingly racist ramblings? If you've got questions, comments, corrections, or anything else, you can send it over to thoughtcrimespodcast@gmail.com. We love to hear from listeners! And don't forget to share this podcast with a friend.

TODAY ON THE ALEX JONES SHOW January 23, 2019 Wednesday, January 23rd: Dems Infighting Over Wall - Cracks are appearing in the Democrat ranks after a liberal Congressman called for Dems to fund President Trump’s US-Mexico border wall. Also, Venezuelan President Maduro is allegedly losing influence over his armed forces in a trend that could mean his days as leader are numbered. Correspondingly, a report has revealed the White House is set to recognize Venezuela’s opposition as the country’s legitimate president. Joining today’s show is kickboxing world champion Andrew Tate revealing the deception behind depression. Furthermore, forensic researcher and podcast host Jan Irvin reveals the social engineering and intelligence programs that have been waged against the American public since our country’s inception. Call and tune in now!

Robbie and Abby talk about hospital attacks in Yemen, the assassination attempt against Venezuelan President Maduro, the Patriot Prayer rally and conservative hijacking of "free speech" as a political issue, Facebook shutting down 32 Facebook pages it deems part of a Russian meddling operation, QAnon going critical mass and the Trump administration dogwhistling to his conspiracy base. Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this podcast please consider donating to Media Roots Radio on Patreon: www.patreon.com/mediarootsradio FOLLOW twitter.com/AbbyMartin // twitter.com/FluorescentGrey

Venezuelan President Maduro escapes an assassination attempt by hiding behind blankets and umbrellas from explosive drones, Steven Seagal is named a Special Envoy to the US by the Russian Foreign Ministry, a special needs man in Minnesota tossed an 8-year old boy from a 30-foot pool slide deck, and "Amish Uber" starts up in Michigan which is really just a horse carriage ride from an Amish guy. 

Venezuela, home to the world’s largest oil reserves, is a country that has been experimenting with a new so-called “socialist” economic model for twenty years. For this sin, two consecutive Venezuelan Presidents have been targeted for regime change by the architects of the “free market” World Trade System, an economic system they intend to be global. In this episode, learn the recent history of Venezuela and hear the highlights of a March 2017 Congressional hearing (which was not aired on television in the United States) during which strategies for a Venezuelan regime change were discussed, and then learn about the regime change steps that have been taken since that hearing which have unfolded exactly how the witnesses advised. Pat Grogan joins Jen for Thank Yous.  Please Support Congressional Dish - Quick Links Click here to contribute a lump sum or set up a monthly contribution via PayPal Click here to support Congressional Dish for each episode via Patreon Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Use your bank’s online bill pay function to mail contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North Number 4576 Crestview, FL 32536 Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Additional Reading Report: OAS adopts resolution, could bring suspension of Venezuela by Luis Alonso Lugo, AP News, June 6, 2018. Article: Venezuela scores victory as US fails to secure votes for OAS suspension, TeleSUR, June 6, 2018. Opinion: It's time for a coup in Venezuela by Jose R. Cardenas, Foreign Policy, June 5, 2018. Report: Venezuela's 2018 presidential elections, FAS, May 24, 2018. Article: Trump's team gets payback for Rubio on Venezuelan assassination plot by Marc Caputo, Potlitico, May 22, 2018. Article: U.S. places new sanctions on Venezuela day after election by Julie Hirschfeld Davis, The New York Times, May 21, 2018. Opinion: Marco Rubio: It's time to hasten Maduro's exit from power by Marco Rubio, CNN, May 16, 2018. Article: ConocoPhillips could bring deeper trouble to Venezuela by Nick Cunningham, Business Insider, May 12, 2018. Report: ConocoPhillips wins $2 billion ruling over Venezuelan seizure by Clifford Krauss, The New York Times, April 25, 2018. Article: Exclusive: Russia secretly helped VEnezuela launch a cryptocurrency to evade U.S. sanctions by Simon Shuster, Time, March 20, 2018. Article: Tillerson floats possible Venezuelan military coup, says US does not advocate 'regime change' by Max Greenwood, The Hill, February 1, 2018. Report: Venezuela's economic crisis: Issues for Congress by Rebecca M. Nelson, Congressional Research Service, January 10, 2018. Article: Venezuela's ruling party wins surprise victory in regional elections by Scott Neuman, NPR, October 16, 2017. Report: New financial sanctions on Venezuela: Key issues, FAS, September 1, 2017. Article: Venezuela's pro-Maduro assembly seizes congressional powers by Colin Dwyer, NPR, August 18, 2017. Article: Pence vows to end 'the tragedy of tyranny' in Venezuela through 'peaceable means' by Philip Rucker, The Washington Post, August 13, 2017. Report: Trump alarms Venezuela with talk of a 'military option,' The New York Times, August 12, 2017. Article: The battle for Venezuela and its oil by Jeremy Scahill, The Intercept, August 12, 2017. Article: Venezuela's dubious new constituent assembly explained by Jennifer L. McCoy, The Washington Post, August 1, 2017. Article: In wake of 'sham election,' U.S. sanctions Venezuelan President Maduro by Colin Dwyer, NPR, July 31, 2017. Report: U.S. Petroleum trade with Venezuela: Financial and economic considerations with possible sanctions, FAS, July 27, 2017. Article: Venezuela row as National Assembly appoints judges, BBC News, July 22, 2017. Report: Exxon blocked from enforcing Venezuela arbitration award: U.S. appeals court by Jonathan Stempel, Reuters, July 11, 2017. Article: Maduro wants to rewrite Venezuela's constitution, that's rocket fuel on the fire, The Washington Post, June 10, 2017. Article: Venezuela eyes assembly vote in July; man set ablaze dies by Alexandra Ulmer and Deisy Buitrago, Reuters, June 4, 2017. Article: Riven by fire and fiery rhetoric, Venezuela decides its future in the streets by Colin Dwyer, NPR, May 5, 2017. Report: AP explains: Venezuela's 'anti-capitalist' constitution by Hannah Dreier, Yahoo News, May 4, 2017. Article: Venezuela plan to rewrite constitution branded a coup by former regional allies by Jonathan Watts and Virginia Lopez, The Guardian, May 2, 2017. Article: Venezuela's Maduro sees local elections later in 2017 by Andrew Cawthorne, Reuters, April 30, 2017. Article: Opposition parties in Venezuela prepare for elections, hoping they will come by John Otis, NPR, April 8, 2017. Article: Venezuelan court revises ruling that nullified legislature by Nicholas Casey and Patricia Torres, The New York Times, April 1, 2017. Article: Venezuela's top court and president reverse course, restore powers to legislature by Jason Slotkin, NPR, April 1, 2017. Article: Venezuela muzzles legislature, moving closer to one-man rule by Nicholas Casey and Patricia Torres, The New York Times, March 30, 2017. Article: Venezuelan political crisis grows after High Court dissolves Congress by Richard Gonzelez, NPR, March 30, 2017. Article: Venezuela court effectively shuts down congress as opposition cries 'coup' by Jim Wyss, Miami Herald, March 30, 2017. Article: Order for Venezuela to pay Exxon $1.4 bln in damages overturned - lawyer by Reuters Staff, CNBC, March 10, 2017. Report: Venezuela President Maduro hikes wages, distributes social housing, DW, January 5, 2017. Article: Did Hilary Clinton stand by as Honduras coup ushered in era of violence? by Nina Lakhani, The Guardian, August 31, 2016. Article: Inside the booming smuggling trade between Venezuela and Colombia by Ezra Kaplan, Time, March 31, 2016. Article: Venezuela's constitutional crisis: How did we get here? by Juan Cristobal Nagel, Caracas Chronicles, January 12, 2016. Article: Venezuela: What changes will the new Congress bring?, BBC News, January 7, 2016. Article: Oil giants punish Venezuela through Dutch treaty by Frank Mulder, Inter Press Service News Agency, January 4, 2016. Report: Venezuela top court blocks four lawmakers-elect from taking office by Reuters Staff, Reuters, December 30, 2015. Report: Venezuela's departing legislature approves 13 new justices by Patricia Torres and William Neuman, The New York Times, December 23, 2015. Report: Venezuela's outgoing Congress names 13 Supreme Court justices by Diego Ore, Reuters, December 23, 2015. Article: Venezuela: Curb plan to pack Supreme Court, Human Rights Watch, December 10, 2015. Article: Venezuela election: Opposition coalition secures 'supermajority' by Associated Press, The Guardian, December 8, 2015. Article: Venezuela's high-life hope hard-hit poor will abandon Chavez's legacy by Sibylla Brodzinsky, The Guardian, December 5, 2015. Article: Snowden leak reveals Obama government ordered NSA, CIA to spy on Venzuela oil firm by Charles Davis and Andrew Fishman, Common Dreams, November 19, 2015. Article: The long war: Venezuela and ExxonMobil, Telesur TV, November 18, 2015. Article: Obama vs. Chavismo by Boris Munoz, The New Yorker, March 18, 2015. Article: A tale of two countries: Venezuela, the United States and international investment by John G. Murphy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, October 17, 2014. Article: The dirty hand of the National Endowment for Democracy in Venezuela by Eva Golinger, Counter Punch, April 25, 2014. Article: The 2002 oil lockout: 10 years later by Yuleidys Hernandez Toledo, Venezuelan Analysis, December 7, 2012. Article: Declassified documents show that the US finances groups opposed to Chavez since 2002, Grupo Tortuga, September 2, 2006. Article: Documents show C.I.A knew of a coup plot in Venezuela by Juan Forero, The New York Times, December 3, 2004. Report: Documents show C.I.A knew of a coup plot in Venezuela by Juan Forero, The New York Times, December 3, 2004. Article: The coup connection by Joshua Kurlantzick, Mother Jones, November/December 2004. Article: Pyrrhus of Caracas, The Economist, January 2, 2003. Article: Strike cripples Venezuela's oil industry by Jarrett Murphy, CBS News, December 10, 2002. Article: The coup that wasn't by Marc Cooper, The Nation, September 11, 2002. Article: Our gang in Venezuela? by David Corn, The Nation, July 18, 2002. Article: American navy 'helped Venezuelan coup' by Duncan Campbell, The Guardian, April 29, 2002. Article: Venezuela coup linked to Bush team by Ed Vulliamy, The Guardian, April 21, 2002. Article: Chavez rises from very peculiar coup by Alex Bellos, The Guardian, April 15, 2002. Resources Congressional Research Service: Venezuela: Issues for Congress, 2013-2016, Mark P. Sullivan, January 23, 2017. Congressional Research Service: Venezuela: U.S. Policy Overview, May 20, 2015. Global Affairs Canada: Canadian Sanctions Related to Venezuela Government of Canada: Venezuela Sanctions House Foreign Relations Committee Hearing Transcript: The State of Democracy in Venezuela, June 24, 2004. Human Development Report 2016: Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) Library of Congress: Crude Oil Royalty Rates Organization of American States: Inter-American Democratic Charter Resolution of San Jose, Costa Rica Organization of American States: Historic Background of the Inter-American Democratic Charter Public Citizen Report: Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS): Extraordinary Corporate Power in "Trade" Deals USAID Report: Venezuela 2002-2010 Venezuelan Constitution: Title IX: Constitutional Reforms (Art. 340-350) WikiLeaks: The Global Intelligence Files Re: Reliable Source for Venezuelan Inflation Statistics? WikiLeaks: USAID/OTI Programmatic Support for Country Team 5 Point Strategy, Public Library of Diplomacy, November 9, 2006. Visual References Data: How did Venezuela change under Hugo Chavez, The Guardian, October 4, 2012 Sound Clip Sources Hearing: Democracy Promotion in a Challenging World, House Foreign Affairs Committee, June 14, 2018. Video: Debunking John Oliver on Venezuela, The Real News Network, June 9, 2018. Hearing: Advancing US Business Investment and Trade in the Americas, House Foreign Affairs Committee, June 7, 2018. Video: Pompeo calls for kicking Venezuela out of OAS and more sanctions, The Washington Post, June 4, 2018. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo: “In addition to suspension, I call on member states to apply additional pressure on the Maduro regime with financial sanctions and diplomatic isolation until such time as it takes the actions necessary to return genuine democracy and provide people desperately needed access to international humanitarian aid" Hearing: Advancing U.S. Interests Through the Organization of American States, House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee, February 14, 2018. Hearing: The Venezuela Crisis: The Malicious Influence of State and Criminal Actors, House Foreign Affairs Committee, September 13, 2017. Empire Files: Constituent Assembly Dictatorship or Democracy in Venezuela? TeleSUR English, July 19, 2017. Hearing:The Collapse of The Rule of Law in Venezuela: What the United States and the International Community Can Do to Restore Democracy, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Subcommittee, July 19, 2017. 07:15 Senator Marco Rubio: I also know this, and I do not speak for the president, but I’ve certainly spoken to the president, and I will only reiterate what he has already said, and I’ve been saying this now for a number of days: it is my—I have 100% confidence that if democracy is destroyed once and for all in Venezuela on the 30th in terms of the Maduro regime, the president of the U.S. is prepared to act unilaterally in a significant and swift way. And that is not a threat; that is the reporting of the truth. 10:38 Senator Bob Menendez: Even as their president prevents international support for the basic humanitarian needs of its citizens—blocking an effort by the National Assembly to facilitate international systems—they are voting to demand fundamental freedoms. Despite the suffering of his people, and the international outcry, Maduro insists on clinging onto the shreds of a failed ideology his predecessor and a few colleagues in the region still champion. Empire Files: Abby Martin Meets the Venezuelan Opposition, TeleSUR English, July 3, 2017. Empire Files: Venezuela Economy Minister-Sabotage, Not Socialism, is the Problem, TeleSUR English, June 17, 2017. Hearing: Venezuela's Tragic Meltdown, House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee, March 28, 2017. Hearing: Venezuela: Options for U.S. Policy, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, March 2, 2017. 21:30 Shannon O’Neil: The United States can and should also delve into Venezuela’s recent financial transactions, and specifically, its use of U.S.-based Citgo assets to collateralize its loans. CFIUS should investigate bond purchases by the Russian state-controlled oil company, Rosneft, who may, in the case of default, actually gain majority control of this critical refinery infrastructure here in the United States. 21:53 Shannon O’Neil: Multilateral initiatives are perhaps more important and potentially more fruitful as a means to influence Venezuela. This will mean working behind the scenes to galvanize opposition and condemnation for the Maduro regime. This’ll be more effective than U.S. efforts alone as it will be much harder for the Venezuelan government to dismiss the criticisms and the actions of its South American neighbors as imperialist overreach. And such a coalition is much more possible today than in any time in the recent past, due both to the accelerating repression and the breaking of the last democratic norms in Venezuela, and due to the very different stances of South America’s recently elected leaders, particularly in Peru, in Brazil, and in Argentina. The OAS remains a venue and an instrument to focus these efforts. The U.S. should call on the organization to again invoke the Inter-American Charter to evaluate Venezuela’s democratic credentials and its compliance with them, and this could lead, potentially to sanctions and suspension of Venezuela from this multilateral body. 23:00 Shannon O’Neil: And then, finally, the United States should begin preparing for change. If the Maduro regime is forced out or it collapses, the country will likely face humanitarian, economic, and financial chaos. And there’re two particular things the United States can start preparing for. The first is a wave of refugees. This will hit Venezuela’s neighbors the hardest—Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, nearby Caribbean nations. It’s important to help them with money, with supplies, potentially with personnel, and to back international NGOs in multilateral efforts to ease the suffering of these people. The second aspect to prepare for is a restructuring of Venezuela’s finances and its economy. A new government will need to renegotiate 140 billion dollars’ worth of external debt, whether or not the government has already defaulted upon it or not. And this massive undertaking will likely require an IMF rescue package and the baking of the international community and creditors. The U.S. will be vital in facilitating this as well as in helping a new government take the tough economic policy choices to turn the economy around. These will include, freeing the exchange rate, reinducing market prices, creating sustainable policies for the poor, and rooting out corruption. And thought this is complicated, the faster it occurs, the faster Venezuela’s economy will grow again. 25:30 Senator Ben Cardin: We look at ways in which we can change the direction here, and it starts with the governance. When you have a corrupt government, it’s going to be very difficult to see international organizations willing to come in to help refinance their economy. Even though they have wealth, it’s going to be difficult to figure out how that takes place unless they have basic changes in the way their government’s doing business. And we don’t see any indication that that’s taking place. So, you’ve made a couple suggestions. One is we need to work with our regional partners, which I fully agree. So let’s start with OAS, which is the entire region, as to whether it’s realistic that the Democratic Charter provisions can in fact lead to change in Venezuela. Ultimately, it will require us to have the threat of at least two-thirds of the countries if we’re going to be able to invoke the Charter with some teeth. What is the likelihood that OAS could be effective as a real force in bringing about change by the Maduro government? Mr. Feierstein? Mark Feierstein: Well, thank you very much for that question, and actually, if I can hit on your two other points as well; first, with regard to humanitarian assistance. Under the Obama administration, the USAID in fact did put together a contingency plan to provide assistance if in fact, even when, the Venezuelan government is willing to receive it, and USAID has a warehouse in Miami that’s prepared to provide assistance. I know international organizations are prepared as well. There has been some dialog between the government and the Inter-American Development Bank with regard to economic reform, though, frankly at fairly lower levels, and there’s no indication at senior levels that they’re inclined at serious attempts at economic reform. With regard to the OAS, I think that we’re much better positioned now than we were a couple years ago, and that’s because of some changes in some key governments in the region—Argentina; Peru; Brazil; there was a reference to Ecuador, a potential change there as well. And I think that patience has clearly run out with Maduro. I think countries are more inclined now to take action. There has been hesitation to do so as long as the dialog was alive and long as the Vatican was engaged. One of the challenges has been with regard to the Caribbean countries, which receive significant petroleum assistance from Venezuela, and that has somewhat silenced them, and there’s been some divisions within the Caribbean. That said, I’m hopeful that in the coming months that as the situation deteriorates in Venezuela, and as that it becomes clear that the dialog cannot be successful unless there is more pressure. And I think there needs to be three forms of pressure: There needs to be domestic mobilization within Venezuela, in the form of protests. I think there needs to be additional sanctions applied by the United States to other countries. And I think there needs to be action within the OAS, including a threat of suspension of Venezuela from the organization if it does not comply with the Inter-American Democratic Charter. 41:50 Senator Bob Menendez: Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, PDVSA, and its subsidiary, Citgo, which has energy infrastructure in the United States, are under extreme financial pressure and may not be able to pay their bills in the near future. Under a recent deal, 49.9% of Citgo was mortgaged to Rosneft, the Russian government-owned oil company run by Vladimir Putin’s crony Igor Sechin. It’s also possible that Rosneft acquired other PDVSA bonds on the open market that could bring their ownership potential to over 50%. If Citgo defaults on its debts, Rosneft, an entity currently under American sanctions because of Russia’s belligerent behavior, could come to own a majority stake in strategic U.S. energy infrastructure, including three refineries and several pipelines. Given the close ties between Rosneft and Putin, Putin’s interest in undermining the United States, and Putin’s willingness to use energy as a weapon, does this potential deal concern you should a sanctioned Russian company have control over critical U.S. energy infrastructure? I would hate to see Rosneft be the sign hanging over Fenway Park. 44:50 Senator Bob Menendez: They’re— Unknown Speaker: No, I didn’t take it that way. Sen. Menendez: —just to the administration, because I think we can chew and walk gum—I know that my dear colleague, Senator Young, had a comment for me last week. I wish he was here—we can chew and walk gum, you know, and walk at the same time, which means as we’re going through cabinet officials, doesn’t mean we couldn’t get nominations that this committee, on a bipartisan basis, is generally processed very quickly. 49:50 Senator Marco Rubio: On the USAID piece, there’s a reason why we’re not in there: they don’t let us. The Venezuelan government does not allow open aid because they deny that there’s an emergency. *51:00 Mark Feierstein: As I noted before, I think we are better positioned now than we were a couple years ago because of changes in certain governments in the region, as we talked about—Argentina, Peru, Brazil, and others. I believe that, again, in the coming months, I think that some of the—that there is an opportunity—there will be an opportunity to invoke the Charter to threaten the suspension of Venezuela from the organization. And, I guess—I noted what I think, you know, we need. We need three forms of pressure for the dialog to succeed. I agree with you: dialog has not succeeded. The government has used it to buy time, to defuse domestic protests, to keep the international community at bay. But if the opposition’s able to mobilize internally; if we’re able to apply additional sanctions, and ideally, multilateralize them; and if we’re able to mobilize countries in the OAS to invoke the Charter to threaten the suspension of Venezuela from the OAS; I think, then, there would be greater prospects for a positive outcome in Venezuela. 54:55 Senator Tom Udall: I didn’t vote in favor of increased sanctions against Venezuela (Ven-su-way-la). I thought then and I believe now they’re counterproductive and could lead to further entrenchment of the current Venezuelan (Ven-su-way-len) regime, and that’s exactly what happened. The Venezuelan (Ven-su-way-len) people, many who oppose the government, are suffering. They’re going without food, without medicine, without power, without the essentials. 55:40 Senator Tom Udall: Mr. Smilde, are you clear that taking a hardline approach to Venezuela (Ven-su-way-la) will likely lead to a Cubanization of our policies there? 56:11 Senator Tom Udall: As to Venezuela (Ven-su-way-la), can you outline what role you think the Foreign Relations Committee or others should take to encourage a multilateral effort to ensure that elections are held in 2018 and to prevent a Cubanization of policies in Venezuela (Ven-su-way-la)? 58:00 Senator Tom Udall: Dr. O’Neil, would you agree that in Venezuela (Ven-su-way-la) different factions now view the situation as a zero-sum game? 1:14:25 Shannon O’Neil: One thing that has in the past in Venezuela brought the opposition together is elections, right, is a mechanism that you’re pushing towards a particular goal. And so as we look forward for 2017, there’s a party-registration process that is about to begin, and there’s questions about who may or may not qualify there and if the National Electoral committee will actually play fair in that sense. That is something that you could rally together different groups if it’s seen unfair in terms of qualifications. And then we have pending elections that did not happen at the end of last year, regional elections that may or may not be put on the table. And so I think internally, a push for elections—because that is a constitutional mechanism for parties to participate in democracy—and perhaps outside as well, we can be pushing for these parts, even we know democracy is not existent there anymore, but can we push for elections, can we push, and that’s something, at least, to galvanize those that are not in power today. Video: Trump: "The war in Iraq was a BIG FAT MISTAKE", Youtube, February 15, 2016. Hearing: Deepening Political and Economic Crisis in Venezuela: Implications for U.S. Interests and the Western Hemisphere, Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee, C-SPAN, March 17, 2015. Hearing: Assessing Venezuela's Political Crisis: Human Rights Violations and Beyond, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, C-SPAN May 8, 2014. White House Daily Briefing: Middle East Conflict and Coup in Venezuela, C-Span, April 16, 2002. State Dept Daily Briefing: Middle East Situation and Failed Coup in Venezuela, C-SPAN, April 15, 2002. Community Suggestions Podcast: The Corbett Report: NGOs Documentary: South of the Border ~ Hugo Chavez and the New Latin America Book: The Closing of the American Mind: How Higher Education Has Failed Democracy and Impoverished the Souls of Today's Students by Allan Bloom FB Thread: Operation Regime Change - articles compiled by Ramesh Mantri See more Community Suggestions HERE. Cover Art Design by Only Child Imaginations Music Presented in This Episode Intro & Exit: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio)  

Venezuela is in an economic crisis and Venezuelan President Maduro is blaming it on President Donald Trump as he put sanctions on Venezuela. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers