2020-02-19: News Headlines

Staff (2020-02-19). Latinx Group Mijente Backs Bernie Sanders in First-Ever Presidential Endorsement. democracynow.org In its first-ever presidential endorsement, the Latinx and Chicanx organization Mijente endorsed Bernie Sanders on Tuesday ahead of the Nevada caucuses. The group tweeted its decision, saying, "We know that in 2020, Trump's potential re-election is a life-or-death threat for us, for our people, and for our planet. This moment demands a historic mobilization. That's why Mijente is uniting with the movement to elect @BernieSanders." A video accompanied the announcement. After the contests in Iowa and New Hampshire, where the electorate is overwhelmingly white, Nevada is the first election with a diverse population.

The Canary (2020-02-19). Otter genome sequenced to help conservation efforts. thecanary.co The genetic code of the otter has been sequenced in a move it is hoped will help protect the charismatic British mammals from environmental threats.The sequencing and release of the first high-quality Eurasian otter genome — all of the DNA that makes up the animal's chromosomes — has been done by scientists at the Wellcome Sanger Institute near Cambridge.It is hoped the move, in partnership with the Cardiff University Otter Project, will help understand the biology of otters better, see how toxic chemicals in their environment affect them and help with conservation efforts.Britain's otter population cra…

RT (2020-02-19). Venezuela slams US sanctions on Russia's Rosneft as an attempt at grabbing control of global oil market. rt.com Russian oil giant Rosneft's investments and commercial activities in Venezuela are legal, says state energy firm PDVSA, pledging to provide the necessary support for the producer's "operational and commercial continuity." | The PDVSA statement follows Washington's blacklisting of a Rosneft subsidiary on Tuesday over its trade ties with Venezuela. The US accused the oil brokerage subsidiary of handling over 70 percent of Venezuela's exports, in circumvention of US sanctions. It has also given the companies doing business with Rosneft Trading 90 days to disentangle those arrangements. | COMUNICADO OFICIAL&#63743…

Granma (2020-02-19). Cuba: Programa de la Agricultura Urbana, Suburbana y Familiar. peoplesworld.org SEGUNDO FRENTE, Cuba—Una placa en reconocimiento a la atención brindada al Programa de la Agricultura Urbana, Suburbana y Familiar desde su creación, le fue conferida al General de Ejército Raúl Castro Ruz, en cuyo nombre la recibió el Primer Ministro cubano, Manuel Marrero Cruz, durante el balance nacional del movimiento efectuado en este municipio santiaguero. …

Mark Taliano (2020-02-19). NATO Wars Against Freedom, Justice and Humanity. globalresearch.ca NATO commits Supreme International War Crimes Against Peace as military doctrine. The criminality is normalized. Perceptions are inverted and Western populations are hypnotized to believe that NATO and its serial war crimes are making us safe. | . | . | Hidden from …

Nino Pagliccia (2020-02-19). Open Letter to Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Lima Group Meeting. counterpunch.org Re: "Lima Group" meeting of February 20, 2020 in Gatineau, Quebec 18 February 2020 Dear Prime Minister Justin Trudeau: I am addressing you as a concerned Canadian regarding Canada's foreign policy position vis-à -vis Venezuela. Your government has announced a meeting of the so-called Lima Group on February 20, 2020 for the reported purpose of "build[ing]

Nino Pagliccia (2020-02-19). Guaido is a "Fake President". "Lima Group" to Meet in Canada: Open Letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. globalresearch.ca Re: "Lima Group" meeting of February 20, 2020 in Gatineau, Quebec | 18 February 2020 | Dear Prime Minister Justin Trudeau: | I am addressing you as a concerned Canadian regarding Canada's foreign policy position vis-à -vis Venezuela. | Your government has announced a …

teleSUR (2020-02-19). Spanish Parliament Rejects Juan Guaido as Venezuelan President. telesurenglish.net The National Executive in Spain rejected a motion to acknowledge Juan Guaido as the leader of Venezuela on Tuesday. The legal request faced the opposition of 190 parliamentary officials. | RELATED: | The left-wing parties, such as Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE) and Unidas Podemos, expressed their rejection of the motion, arguing that political parties like VOX, Ciudadanos, Foro Asturias and Navarra Suma, are usi…

RT (2020-02-19). Post-Brexit immigration plans would be 'devastating' for Scottish economy, Sturgeon says. rt.com Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has slammed new UK government immigration plans just weeks after calling for a 'Scottish visa' to give Holyrood's parliament powers to tackle a falling birth rate and ageing population. | In a tweet on Wednesday, Sturgeon branded London's plans "devastating" for Scotland's economy and said that demographics show the country will "need to keep attracting people" from abroad. She said having more control over immigration is "now a necessity" for future prosperity. | It is impossible to overstate how devastating this UK gov policy will be for Scotland's economy. Our demogra…

Fight Back (2020-02-18). Afro-Venezuelan socialist youth leader's message to the people of the U.S. fightbacknews.org In January, Fight Back! reporters participated in the World Anti-Imperialist Gathering in Caracas, Venezuela. While there, they interviewed delegates from Venezuela and from several other countries. In this interview, Ender Sabalsa, a leader of the youth sector and the Afro-descendent sector of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), gives his message to the people of the United States. | Ender Sabalsa: Revolutionary greetings to everyone reading this and to all the peoples of the world. My name is Ender Sabalsa. I'm a member of the youth sector of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV). I'm also…

Ashley Curtin (2020-02-18). Little Rock, Arkansas launches program that invests in the city's homeless population. nationofchange.org The program is a "day's work for a day's pay and access to resources that will help them get to the next step to create the life that they want."

teleSUR (2020-02-18). President of Haiti Calls off Participation in Caricom Meeting. telesurenglish.net The President of Haiti Jovenel MoàØse called off his participation in the 31st Intersessional Meeting of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), which started Tuesday in Barbados. | RELATED: | The president decided not to go to Barbados "due to the meetings he has on the negotiations to reach a solution to the political crisis," Haiti's Minister of Foreign Affairs Bocchit Edmond told Le Nouvelliste newspaper. | The diplomat…

teleSUR (2020-02-18). Russia Rejects US Sanctions Against Rosneft Trading S.A. telesurenglish.net The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Treasury Department announced Tuesday sanctions against Russian oil company Rosneft Trading S.A., for trading and transporting Venezuelan oil and against its president of the Board of Drectors Didier Casimiro. | RELATED: | "Our position on sanctions is well known, Russia categorically rejects unilateral restrictions. With them, the United States seeks to a…

Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers (2020-02-17). Mistrial Is Another Blow to US Coup In Venezuela. dissidentvoice.org Last week we, along with Adrienne Pine and David Paul, were unsuccessfully prosecuted by the Trump administration for our protection of the Venezuelan embassy in Washington, DC from April 10 to May 16, 2019. The jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision and so we remain innocent of the charge of interfering with the …

Fight Back (2020-02-17). Un mensaje al pueblo estadounidense de un joven venezolano afrodescendiente socialista. fightbacknews.org En enero unos periodistas de °Lucha y Resiste! participaron en el Encuentro Mundial Antiimperialista en Caracas, Venezuela. Allí hicieron entrevistas con delegados de Venezuela y de varios otros países. Esta es una entrevista con Ender Sabalsa, un líder de la Juventud PSUV (Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela) y del sector afrodescendiente en que él comparte un mensaje al pueblo de los Estados Unidos. | Ender: Un saludo revolucionario a todos los que nos están viendo y a todos los pueblos del mundo. Mi nombre es Ender Sabalsa, milito en la juventud del Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela, del sector afro…

Leonardo Flores (2020-02-17). Mistrial in Trump admin's biased case against Venezuelan embassy protectors is win for sovereignty. mronline.org The Trump administration's case against Venezuelan embassy protectors was severely biased, but ended up with a hung jury. The mistrial is a victory for sovereignty and democracy, and another failure in the coup attempt. |

RT (2020-02-15). Mistrial declared in case of anti-coup activists arrested in DC police raid on Venezuelan Embassy. rt.com Jurors who heard the case of four activists who were invited by Caracas to protect the Venezuelan Embassy in the US capital — only to be nabbed in a police raid on the compound — failed to reach a verdict due to a hung jury.

Haiti Action Committee (2020-02-14). Haiti Ten Years after the Earthquake. dissidentvoice.org January 12 marked 10 years since the 2010 earthquake in Haiti that killed more than 300,000 people, and left an estimated 1.3 million more homeless. Much of the greater Port-au-Prince region lay in ruins, including the presidential palace, 17 of 19 ministries, and many schools and hospitals. Entire neighborhoods leveled. Power out. Roads blocked with …

Alan Macleod (2020-02-14). Mistrial Declared in Kafkaesque D.C. Trial of Venezuela Embassy Protectors. mintpressnews.com Judge Beryl Howell has declared a mistrial following a hung jury in the case of the four Venezuela Embassy Protectors charged with "interfering with the protective function of the State Department."

Staff (2020-02-12). Headlines for February 12, 2020. democracynow.org Bernie Sanders Wins New Hampshire Primary, Andrew Yang and Michael Bennet Drop Out of Presidential Race, Federal Prosecutors Quit Roger Stone Case Amid Fight with DOJ Officials, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Rejects Trump's Middle East Plan in U.N. Speech, Trump Conditionally Approves Peace Deal with the Taliban, WHO Warns Coronavirus Poses "Grave Threat" to World, Opposition Leader Juan Guaidó Heckled and Protested Upon Return to Venezuela, Report: 40% of Guatemalan, Honduran & Salvadoran Migrants Fled After Relatives Killed, WSJ: ICE & CPB Use Cellphone Location Data from Games, Apps to Arrest Immigrants,…

Anya Parampil (2020-02-12). Did Venezuelan coup leader Ricardo Hausmann stage fake IDB resignation to keep cushy Harvard job? thegrayzone.com Caught in a conflict of interest with his employer at Harvard, Ricardo Hausmann publicly resigned his job as Guaido's Inter-American…

Alan Macleod (2020-02-12). New Hampshire Primaries Paint a Picture of Modern Day Class War in America. mintpressnews.com While the primary totals for Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg were relatively close, their support came from radically different segments of the population.

Alan Macleod (2020-02-12). Media Presents Anger and Jeers Against Juan Guaido as Hometown Hero's Welcome. mintpressnews.com Upon his return to Venezuela, Juan Guaido was greeted by an enraged mob hectoring, jeering and manhandling him, kicking his car and covering him in water and other liquids.

Lucas Koerner (2020-02-12). Left Media and Venezuela: An Exchange. fair.org Critique, Solidarity and Movement Building: A Reply to Lucas Koerner: | by Gabriel Hetland FAIR.org ( Lucas Koerner's recent piece for Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting, "How Western Left Media Helped Legitimate US Regime Change in Venezuela" (

Venezuela Analysis (2020-02-06). Embassy Protection Collective: "We Are Not the Ones Who Violated the Law" theantimedia.com In this exclusive interview, VA talks to the activists who defended the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington DC ahead of their trial.

Joe Emersberger (2019-12-20). Notes on a private TV newscast in Bolivia. The contrast with Venezuela is clear as day. zcomm.org In August, I took detailed notes a news broadcast on one of Venezuela's largest TV networks. I summarized these notes in an interview I did with the Real News Network making the point that Venezuela's private media (which reaches 60-90% of households) is remarkably free — most especially when you consider the US is openly

Joe Emersberger (2019-12-16). Francisco Rodriguez answers some questions I asked about Venezuela. zcomm.org Venezuelan economist Francisco Rodriguez, formerly of Torino Economics, answered a few questions of mine about his country. He was the economic adviser to Henri Falcon, the second place finisher in the May 2018 presidential election. His updated estimate for 2019 is that Venezuela's real GDP will contract by 25% . That's horrific, but less severe