Daily Archives: September 19, 2020

2020-09-19: News Headlines

_____ (2020-09-19). Venezuela: The 2016-2020 National Assembly — Part Of The Plan. popularresistance.org It's hard to decide which of all the actions of the Venezuelan opposition representatives was the most shameful. Was it Ramos Allup giving the legitimate elected President Nicolas Madura a 6-month deadline to leave office while removing the portraits of Simon Bolivar and of Comandante Chavez from the Federal Capitol? Or Julio Borges spreading letters throughout the world in which he called for an increase in the economic blockade against the Venezuelan people while he labeled us a plague in the region?

Mehr News Agency (2020-09-19). Maduro names Pompeo's war-mongering' tour a 'failure'. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Sep. 19 (MNA) — Condemning the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's visit to Latin American countries, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro named it a "war-mongering" tour that has failed.

yenisafak (2020-09-19). Madrid residents facing localised lockdown doubt curbs will work. yenisafak.com A partial lockdown aimed at stemming a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases is set to begin in some of Madrid's poorer districts next week, but resident's of one of the worst-hit neighbourhood's said on Saturday they doubted the new measures would work.Vallecas, a southern district with a lower average income and higher immigrant population, has one of the highest infection rates in the Spanish capital – almost six times higher than in Chamberi, a wealthier, northern district."These restrictions are completely useless because we have to travel from one area which has a lot of cases to another which has less and we are go…

_____ (2020-09-19). Venezuela Foils CIA Terror Plot; Pompeo On Regime Change Tour. popularresistance.org Venezuela's government has announced it has foiled a potential terror attack, arresting a former CIA operative while he was on a stakeout near the country's largest oil refining facility. | Matthew John Heath was arrested with three other Venezuelans outside the Amuay and Cardon refineries in Falcon state in the west of the country, reportedly carrying a submachine gun, a grenade launcher, four blocks of C4 explosives, a satellite phone, and stacks of U.S. dollars. He has been charged with terrorism and weapons trafficking.

Colin Todhunter (2020-09-19). Neoliberal Death Knell for Indian Agriculture. dissidentvoice.org In a 2017 article, I asked what might a future India look like and concluded that, if current neoliberal policies continue, there could be dozens of mega-cities with up to 40 million inhabitants and just two to three hundred million (perhaps 15-20% of the population) left in an emptied-out countryside. And it could also mean hundreds of millions of displaced …

Zachary Conti (2020-09-19). White House Announces Puerto Rico Disaster Relief on Hurricane Anniversary. indybay.org The Federal Emergency Management Administration will award $13 billion in Puerto Rico disaster aid to rebuild the power grid and education facilities, announced the White House. The announcement comes near the three-year anniversary of Hurricane Maria slamming the island, taking 3000 lives and causing more than $100 billion in damage.

sputniknews (2020-09-18). Venezuela's President Maduro Calls Pompeo's 'War-Mongering' Tour a 'Failure'. sputniknews.com The US Department of State earlier announced Pompeo would be visiting South America with the aim of showing support for local democracies and containing the "threat" coming from "Maduro's illegitimate regime".

_____ (2020-09-18). A Cold War Power Play At The Inter-American Development Bank. popularresistance.org Having launched his presidential campaign by labeling migrants from south of the U.S.-Mexico border as "rapists and criminals," Latin America was perhaps one of the last places President Donald Trump expected to rely on as a source of steadfast friends. It thus comes as no surprise that in the new Cold War against China, Trump's tactics in recruiting allies in Latin America have been reminiscent of the many "caudillos" that have plagued the continent in the past. The politicized impeachment of Dilma Roussef, deposing of Evo Morales, and attempted invasion of Venezuela set the backdrop to U.S. efforts to bring Lat…

Stan Cox (2020-09-18). Review of 'Cuban Health Care: The Ongoing Revolution' by Don Fitz. counterpunch.org Don Fitz's new book Cuban Health Care: The Ongoing Revolution was going to press at Monthly Review in early spring, as the pandemic was ramping up, so he had just barely enough time to slip in a postscript teasingly titled, "How Che Guevara Taught Cuba to Confront COVID-19."

a guest author (2020-09-18). Latin American ex-presidents stage 'rebellion on the farm' following IADB appointment. workers.org By Sergio Rodriguez Gelfenstein The web magazine lapluma.net published this article by its author, a Venezuelan analyst, on Sept. 3. The article refers to George Orwell's novel,"Animal Farm," which pro-imperialist intellectuals have used for reactionary purposes in the past. In this case the author highlights the role of Latin American . . . |

Ricardo Vaz (2020-09-18). Venezuela Blasts 'Politicized' Report by UN 'Ghost Mission'. venezuelanalysis.com Foreign Minister Arreaza accused the UN mission of "playing politics with human rights."

Ryan McMaken (2020-09-18). Governments Will Impose New Lockdowns if They Think They Can Get Away with It. globalresearch.ca This year's stay-at-home orders and lockdowns imposed by governments on their populations represent a watershed moment in the history of the modern state. | Before March 2020, it is unlikely that many politicians—let alone many ordinary people—thought it would be feasible …

_____ (2020-09-17). New Simón Bolívar Institute For Peace And Solidarity Among Peoples. popularresistance.org The founding of the Simón Bolívar Institute for Peace and Solidarity Among Peoples on September 6, 2020 marks a new political milestone. In the most difficult of circumstances, having to cope with not only the U.S. and Canadian sanctions but the pandemic as well, the Bolivarian Revolution has made this effort for the benefit of all who believe in its liberatory ideals across the planet. The goal of the Institute is to coordinate global solidarity with the Bolivarian Revolution and the Venezuelan people, and the solidarity of the South American nation toward struggles for social and economic justice of peoples thr…

Tony Cartalucci (2020-09-17). UN Report on Venezuela "Abuses" Written by Investigators Who Never Visited Venezuela. globalresearch.ca The Western media is touting the results of a so-called "Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela" conducted through the United Nations. | AFP in an

The Canary (2020-09-17). Home Office accused of basing immigration policies on 'anecdote and prejudice'. thecanary.co The Public Accounts Committee said the Home Office has 'no idea' what its £400 million immigration enforcement annual spending achieves. | By | The Home Office has been accused of basing immigration policies on "anecdote, assumption and prejudice" instead of evidence, and having no idea of the effect they have on refugees. The department shows far too little concern over the damage caused by its failures on "both the illegal and legitimate migrant populations", according to a scathing review from the Public Accounts Committee. | "Wrec…

Eds. (2020-09-17). The strategic aspects of the Great AgroVenezuela Mission. mronline.org The Great AgroVenezuela Mission was born on January 25, 2011 under the leadership of President Hugo Chávez, and was launched from the Agricultural Social Property Unit "La Productora" in the municipality of Ospino in the state of Portuguesa, with the aim of promoting food security and sovereignty in the country.

Ricardo Vaz (2020-09-17). Venezuelan Oil Production Continues Slump as Iran Steps Up Cooperation. venezuelanalysis.com A recent Iranian condensate shipment will boost oil blending operations.

_____ (2020-09-17). Climate Change Will Force A New American Migration. popularresistance.org August besieged California with a heat unseen in generations. A surge in air conditioning broke the state's electrical grid, leaving a population already ravaged by the coronavirus to work remotely by the dim light of their cellphones. By midmonth, the state had recorded possibly the hottest temperature ever measured on earth — 130 degrees in Death Valley — and an otherworldly storm of lightning had cracked open the sky. From Santa Cruz to Lake Tahoe, thousands of bolts of electricity exploded down onto withered grasslands and forests, some of them already hollowed out by climate-driven infestations o…

Sonali Kolhatkar (2020-09-17). President Trump, Child-Trafficker-in-Chief. zcomm.org While the Department of Homeland Security claimed that MPP would "decrease the… ability of smugglers and traffickers to prey on vulnerable populations," in fact it does the opposite…

yenisafak (2020-09-16). Maduro security forces committed crimes against humanity: UN. yenisafak.com Venezuelan security forces and allied groups have committed systematic human rights violations including killings and torture amounting to crimes against humanity, U.N. investigators said on Wednesday.Reasonable grounds existed to believe that President Nicolas Maduro and his interior and defence ministers ordered or contributed to the crimes documented in the report in order to silence opposition, they said.Most unlawful executions by state agents have not been prosecuted in Venezuela, where the rule of law and democratic institutions have broken down, they added.The U.N. fact-finding mission said other national…

Staff (2020-09-16). Report reveals US State Department gave money to firm tied to Haitian police. therealnews.com The Trump administration has heavily contributed to the Haitian police force, quadrupling U.S. contribution "from $2.8 million in 2016 to more than $12.4 million last year."

Editor (2020-09-16). Los trabajadores piden un paro laboral para las vidas negras. workers.org Esta declaración de Labor for Black Lives fue emitida el 31 de agosto y firmada por más de 50 organizaciones sindicales. Entre los firmantes figuran United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America (UE), United Auto Workers Region 9A (del este de Nueva York, Nueva Inglaterra y Puerto Rico), Fight . . . |

Editor (2020-09-16). 9/11 — a pretext for war. workers.org Look at the 9/11 commemorations for what they are: an opportunity for the U.S. ruling class to use a collective trauma to whip up jingoist and super-patriotic sentiment. The goal of this whipping up is to convince much of the population to rally around the U.S. flag and support Pentagon . . . |

RT (2020-09-16). Record-setting hurricane season: Teddy expected to become catastrophic Category 4 by Thursday, warns NHC. rt.com The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) has warned that Hurricane Teddy is expected to intensify further, potentially becoming a catastrophic and life-threatening Category 4 cyclone by Thursday. | Teddy is currently classified as a Category 2 hurricane and is located roughly 820 miles (1,315 km) east of the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the southeastern Caribbean. It boasts sustained winds of 100 miles per hour (155 km/h), and is moving at a speed of approximately 12 mph (19 km/h). | Teddy is now the eighth hurricane in what was forecast to be a particularly active season. Only three previous hurricane seasons…

Paul Antonopoulos (2020-09-16). Slovakia: Population Distrust US, Opposition to "Western" Intervention. globalresearch.ca GLOBSEC is probably one of the most well-known and influential political think-tanks in not only Slovakia, but also Central Europe. It aims to support a pro-Atlantic direction for Slovakia. Despite being founded in only 2005, it organizes annual events that …

Manuela Solé and Ricardo Vaz (2020-09-16). Venezuela Looks to Renegotiate Debt Amidst US Sanctions. venezuelanalysis.com Caracas' previous debt restructuring attempts were unsuccessful.

news.un (2020-09-16). Venezuela abuses amounted to crimes against humanity: UN-appointed panel. news.un.org Grave rights violations against anti-government protesters in Venezuela, "amounted to crimes against humanity", UN-appointed rights investigators said in their first report on abuses inside the Latin American nation.

Mehr News Agency (2020-09-16). Iran-Venezuela ties offering anti-unilateralism model: envoy. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Sep. 16 (MNA) — Stating that the hegemony of the US is over, Venezuela's Ambassador to Tehran told Mehr News Agency that the Iran-Venezuela relations are conveying a message to other countries that they can counter the unilateralism too.

yenisafak (2020-09-16). 'Hotel Rwanda' hero could face maximum life in prison, prosecution says. yenisafak.com Rusesabagina, who once called for armed resistance to the government in a YouTube video, was charged in a Kigali court on Monday with 13 counts including terrorism, complicity in murder and forming or joining an irregular armed group."For some of the crimes, he may face 25 years, and some even go up to life imprisonment," Faustin Nkusi, spokesman of Rwanda's prosecution authority, told Reuters on phone.Rusesabagina declined to respond to all the charges on Monday, saying he wanted to take a plea to each individual count. The court will rule on bail on Thursday.His case has thrust a spotlight on to President Paul…