Month: December 2022

Venezuela: Opposition Parties Oust Guaidó as ‘Interim President’

Ms. Cat

Venezuela: Opposition Parties Oust Guaidó as ‘Interim President’

The parallel AN will appoint a five-person “Administration and Asset Protection Council” to manage resources. The “interim government” had recurring budgets assigned by the US Treasury Department, drawing funds from frozen accounts belonging to the Venezuelan state. Last week, the US Senate approved US $50 million for “democracy promotion” programs in Venezuela for 2023.

…

At the time of writing, the US has yet to comment on the reconfiguration of the opposition structures. However, the proposal was reportedly run by US officials during meetings with opposition representatives in Washington.

In the run-up to Thursday’s vote, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols stated in an interview that the Biden administration would follow whatever the anti-government majority decided. An anonymous spokesperson from the US National Security Council likewise told Reuters that the White House would continue recognizing the “interim government” “regardless of the form it takes.”

Next up: Leopoldo López or Henrique Capriles?!

Related:

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The American People vs. The American Congress

Ms. Cat

by Eric Zuesse

On December 13th, Gallup listed, in order of Americans’ polled ratings of issues as being the nation’s “Most Important Problem”, all 14 issues that more than 2% of Americans thought to be that; and here they were, in order from the top-most to the bottom-most, of all issues that the thousands of Americans who were sampled volunteered to be that:

The American People vs. The American Congress

Reciprocity: Zelensky Demanded Weapons from Netanyahu for Pro-Israel UN Vote

Ms. Cat

Reciprocity: Zelensky Demanded Weapons from Netanyahu for Pro-Israel UN Vote

In the previous anti-Israel UN vote (and most other UN votes), Ukraine voted against Israel. That did not go over well in Israel. Israel has also been a world leader in supplying Ukraine with humanitarian aid.

According to a report by Barak Ravid, Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday evening asking Ukraine to vote against the UN resolution. Zelenskyy demanded reciprocity and a change in Israeli policy, asking Israel to supply defensive weapons to Ukraine, in particular, against Russian ballistic missiles and the Iranian suicide drones that Russia has been using to attack Ukraine.

Related:

PA Celebrating UN Resolution Asking ICC to Investigate Israel’s ‘Occupation’

The Foreign Ministry and Israel’s embassies lobbied some 100 countries. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, too, spoke with the leaders of several countries and managed to convince at least five leaders not to vote in favor of the decision – the leaders of Croatia, Togo, Greece, Romania, and Kenya. Former Prime Minister Yair Lapid also took part in the efforts, sending letters to more than 60 world leaders ahead of the vote.

Israel, the US, and 24 other members––including the UK and Germany––voted against the resolution, while France was among the 53 nations that abstained. The US entered Israel’s nay vote since the resolution was passed on Shabbat, a move that UN Envoy Gilad Erdan called “shameful.”

When the FBI Attacks Critics as “Conspiracy Theorists,” It’s Time to Reform the Bureau

Ms. Cat

Below is my column in the Hill on the need for a new “Church Committee” to investigate and reform the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) after years of scandals involving alleged political bias. In response to criticism over its role in Twitter’s censorship system, the FBI lashed out against critics as “conspiracy theorists” spreading disinformation. However, it still refuses to supply new information on other companies, beyond Twitter, that it has paid to engage in censorship.

When the FBI Attacks Critics as “Conspiracy Theorists,” It’s Time to Reform the Bureau

Previously:

The FBI Paid Twitter $3.4 Million for Processing Requests:

Twitter’s “Guidelines for law enforcement” does state under a section titled “Cost reimbursement” that “Twitter may seek reimbursement for costs associated with information produced pursuant to legal process and as permitted by law (e.g., under 18 U.S.C. §2706).” But the fact that this garnered millions from the FBI was not, as far as I can tell, known until now.