Category: South America

Biden Admin Awards Over $4 Million In Grants To Programs That Target “Misinformation” + Notes

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Biden Admin Awards Over $4 Million In Grants To Programs That Target “Misinformation”

The State Department has awarded the following five grants since September 1:

An $18,000 grant to the Albanian-based non-governmental organization (NGO) the Institute for Democracy, Media, and Culture* to ensure a “whole-of-society response to cyber incidents and misinformation.” The associated program began on September 1, 2023.

A $14,500 grant to Paraguay’s American Cultural Center [Centro Cultural Paraguayo Americano] that will be used to implement workshops that “seek to combat misinformation and promote responsible digital citizenship.” The associated program began on September 1, 2023.

A $15,000 grant to the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at Udayana University to “raise digital literacy among selected amcors communities, journalists, and social media influencers to combat misinformation, pre-2024 general election.” The associated program is due to start on October 1, 2023.

A $50,000 grant to New York University to complete the implementation of a speaker series that supports “countering misinformation.” The associated program is due to start on October 1, 2023.

A $50,000 grant to the non-profit Digital Rights Nepal*** “to create a sustainable network of youth to promote digital rights, safer internet use and a collective resilience towards misinformation and disinformation.” The associated program is due to start on October 2, 2023.

***Digital rights are the new Internet Freedom (think Arab Spring).

Skeptical Notes:

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The Surprisingly Durable Myth of Donald Trump, Anti-Imperialist + Trump’s Actual Record in Office (From Anti-imperialist Perspective)

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Amid the sordid crimes of the American Empire, running from the Mexican-American War under Polk to the Forever Wars that have marked the 21st century, there have been a few brave souls who have stood as the nation’s conscience. These dissidents have repeatedly mounted principled opposition to plunder, torture, and conquest. The roll call of anti-imperialist heroes includes Henry David Thoreau, Mark Twain, W.E.B. Du Bois, Helen Keller, Martin Luther King Jr., Noam Chomsky, Bernie Sanders, and Barbara Lee.

The Surprisingly Durable Myth of Donald Trump, Anti-Imperialist

Related:

Trump’s Actual Record in Office (From Anti-imperialist Perspective)

How the U.S. Drove Venezuelans North

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)2 Comments
A migrant father from Venezuela feeds his 15-month-old son in the lobby of a police station where their family has been staying since their arrival to Chicago on May 9, 2023. PHOTO BY SCOTT OLSON/GETTY IMAGES

How the U.S. Drove Venezuelans North

When they request asylum in the United States, migrants have to say something against their government. But everyone in the Venezuelan community knows that it’s a lie. Venezuelan comedians in Florida, like George Harris, joke about the Venezuelans lying to the migration people just in order to receive asylum.

…

And now, we have the current decision of the Biden administration to issue Temporary Protected Status only for foreign nationals from Venezuela, leaving out migrants from many other countries that have arrived in Chicago in the last few months, including large numbers from Ecuador, Colombia, Haiti, Mexico, Peru, Honduras, Angola and Mauritania.

Related:

U.S. to ease sanctions on Venezuelan oil for freer presidential election

The agreement comes days before Venezuela’s opposition parties plan to hold a primary vote to choose a single candidate to back against Maduro. The front-runner in the unofficial primary, María Corina Machado, is one of several opposition leaders the Maduro government has barred from running for office. The disqualification was sharply condemned by the U.S. government.

Argentina election 2023: what you need to know

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

The vultures are ready to “make the economy scream” if Javier Milei wins!*

Argentina election 2023: what you need to know

Far-right libertarian Javier Milei is leading the polls ahead of Argentina’s Oct. 22 presidential vote, but it remains a tight race between the top three candidates, three surveys showed.

Related:

Argentina election: from peso to dollar?

But dollarisation would also mean immediate recession and slump. It would have to start with a massive devaluation of the domestic peso monetary base. In a very optimistic scenario, if Argentina received a loan of say $12 billion from the IMF and used $5 billion as a reserve for the banking system and $7 billion to dollarise the monetary base, the domestic peso monetary base would still have to be reduced by nearly 400%. Argentine salaries (then in US dollars) would become among the lowest globally and poverty would rise to unprecedented levels. And Argentina is already in a recession with real GDP expected to drop by around 2% this year. So either way: peso or dollar, Argentine households would pay the price in living standards.

…

Desperation has driven many Argentines to consider a ‘libertarian, anarcho-capitalist’ as president. If this were to happen, it will be going down another blind alley. Argentina’s capitalist economy will continue to fail.

Just scratching the surface:

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Humor in the Headlines Over China in Latin America

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Illustration by Greg Groesch/The Washington Times
“As China arrives with a splash in Honduras, the US wrings its hands”- Washington Post, October 2, 2023

In a break from its hysterical coverage of the existential threat posed by Donald Trump, the Washington Post – house organ of the Democratic National Committee – cautions us of the other menace, China. “When the leader of this impoverished Central American country visited Beijing in June,” we are warned, “China laid out the warmest of welcomes.”

Humor in the Headlines Over China in Latin America

Related (Archived):

The U.S. Defense Department’s Role in the Honduras Coup

Peru Won’t Force Contested Mining Projects on Communities

US Alarmed by China’s Big Steps in America’s Backyard

Former Venezuelan Coup Plotter, Greedo, Hired By Florida College to Speak on ‘Defending Democracy’ + More

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Juan Guaido was hired by Florida International University (FIU) to give a series of talks and mentor students. Guaido launched a coup attempt in Venezuela in 2019 but failed to gain any significant support within the country.

Former Venezuelan Coup Plotter Hired By Florida College to Speak on ‘Defending Democracy’

Related:

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó is teaching at FIU. But it’s only for a while

In April 2023, Guaidó said Colombian authorities threatened to turn him over to Maduro after entering the country for a forum about the Venezuelan crisis. The Biden administration helped Guaidó leave Colombia and come to Miami.

Two former Latin American presidents, a U.S. business leader and diplomat, and a European foreign minister named Senior Leadership Fellows at the FIU Adam Smith Center

Jamil Mahuad** [Fulbright Program, Harvard Kennedy School], president of Ecuador from 1998 to 2000.

Robin S. Bernstein*** [American University School of International Service, George Washington University School of Business]

Miomir Žužul [Harvard Kennedy School]

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“Faced with unimaginable hatred.” Ukrainian Nazi veteran promised to go to South America

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

*Short Version, in English: “Faced with unimaginable hatred.” Ukrainian Nazi veteran promised to go to South America

H/T: Nicolas Cinquini

Floor to the defence. Hunka comments on September 28. Brisk but resentful, the 98 year-old alt Kamerad complains that due to the Canadian and international outrage, he is forced to seek refuge with friends in South America.

History, on this day : Babi Yar, September 29, 1941

*Long Version, AI translation:

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Blinken picks up guitar for new US music diplomacy push

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)2 Comments

He is better known for rallying global support for Ukraine, but US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday picked up another favorite tool of diplomacy — his guitar.

Blinken picks up guitar for new US music diplomacy push

Related:

Secretary Antony J. Blinken At the Launch of the Global Music Diplomacy Initiative

Global Music Diplomacy Initiative

LOL! YouTube even recently auto-generated a ‘topic’, for Blinken, although they’re all older videos. It’s no wonder that Michael McCaul approved, of it, as he introduced the PEACE Through Music Diplomacy Act. Interestingly, the band that Blinken played with is called the Coalition of the Willing. My bet is they use this as a way to implement color revolutions/regime changes!