On the strategic relationship between Venezuela and China

During a state visit to the People’s Republic of China in September 2023, Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro met president Xi Jinping and both agreed to strengthen the relationship of their countries by establishing seven sub commissions to elevate it to the level of ‘all-weather strategic partnership’. This is the culmination of a relationship that began with president Hugo Chavez’s first visit to Beijing in 1999, the very first year of his presidency.

On the strategic relationship between Venezuela and China

False Witnesses and Sinister Plots: Exposing the CIA Connection in the ‘Chinese Police Station’ Narrative

By Kit Klarenberg / MintPressNews

For months, mainstream media across the Western world – in particular English-language outlets based in the constituent members of the ‘Five Eyes’ global spying network – have been rabidly awash with terrifying news of secret “Chinese police stations” operating the world over.

False Witnesses and Sinister Plots: Exposing the CIA Connection in the ‘Chinese Police Station’ Narrative

Previously:

The New York ‘secret Chinese police station’ is a propaganda bogeyman

Honduras: A Coup in the Making

Saheli Chowdhury

Another coup in the making in Honduras?

The president of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, created a stir when she recently called out a coup in the making against her government. On April 22, the president decried that her government is the victim of “a conspiracy in the making,” which is being plotted by the very same people who had carried out the coup against ex-President Manuel Zelaya in 2009.

Honduras: A Coup in the Making

China’s Foreign Policy: Lessons for the United States

China’s orchestration of the renewal of diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia should be a wakeup call to the Biden administration’s national security team, particularly to Antony Blinken’s Department of State. China’s success exposes flaws in American national security policy, particularly the policy of nonrecognition as well as the reliance on the use of military force to achieve gains in international politics. Our instruments of power are not working.

China’s Foreign Policy: Lessons for the United States

To Be Updated: USAID is sponsoring YouTube channels

How Democracy Can Win: The Right Way to Counter Autocracy

The most important step the United States can take to counter foreign influence campaigns and disinformation is to help our partners promote media and digital literacy, communicate credibly with their publics, and engage in “pre-bunking”—that is, seeking to inoculate their societies against disinformation before it can spread. In Indonesia, for example, USAID has worked with local partners to develop sophisticated online courses and games that help new social media users identify disinformation and reduce the likelihood that they will share misleading posts and articles.

The United States has also helped Ukraine in its fight against the Kremlin’s propaganda and disinformation. For decades, USAID has worked to enhance the media environment in the country, encouraging reforms that allow greater access to public information and supporting the emergence of strong local media organizations, including the public broadcaster Suspilne. After Russia’s initial invasion of Ukraine in 2014, our work expanded to help the country’s local journalists produce Russian-language programming that could reach into Kremlin-occupied territories, such as Dialogues With Donbas, a YouTube channel that featured honest conversations with Ukrainians about life behind Russian lines. We also helped support the production of the online comedy show Newspalm, which regularly racks up tens of thousands of views as it skewers Putin’s lies. And even before Moscow’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022, we worked with the government of Ukraine to stand up the Center for Strategic Communications, which uses memes [memetic warfare], well-produced digital videos, and social media and Telegram posts to poke holes in Kremlin propaganda.

I still need to look into Newspalm. I’ll update if I find anything. As I don’t know Ukrainian, or Russian, I’m using Google translate for the following information. Note, this is all speculation!

Speculation:

Read More »

[2015] A Day When Journalism Died

Journalist Gary Webb holding a copy of his Contra-cocaine article in the San Jose Mercury-News. Source.

Exclusive: Dec. 9 has a grim meaning for the Republic, the date in 2004 when investigative reporter Gary Webb, driven to ruin by vindictive press colleagues for reviving the Contra-cocaine scandal, took his own life, a demarcation as the U.S. press went from protecting the people to shielding the corrupt, writes Robert Parry.

A Day When Journalism Died

Related:

Tosh Plumlee, Ex-CIA Contract Pilot, Spills Beans On Murder Of DEA Agent Enrique Camarena

More Mass Surveillance: FOIA Docs Reveal Illegal Snooping On US Residents’ Financial Transactions

If it can conceivably be considered a “third party record,” the government is going to seek warrantless access to it. The Third Party Doctrine — ushered into existence by the Supreme Court in 1979 — says there’s no expectation of privacy in information shared with third parties. That case dealt with phone records. People may prefer the government stay out of their personal conversations, but the Smith v. Maryland ruling said that if people shared this info with phone companies (an involuntary “sharing” since this information was needed to connect calls and bill phone users), the government could obtain this information without a warrant.

More Mass Surveillance: FOIA Docs Reveal Illegal Snooping On US Residents’ Financial Transactions

Here’s Why 97% of Western Europeans Don’t Drink Fluoridated Water

Fluoride is probably an ingredient you’re used to seeing on your toothpaste or hearing about at your dental clinic. However, most communities in North America also add it to their tap water.

Here’s Why 97% of Western Europeans Don’t Drink Fluoridated Water

Related:

Fluoride Action Network

List Of Bottled Water Without Fluoride In 2022 (also gives recommendations for reverse osmosis systems and water pitchers that will filter out fluoride).

Decided to finally start researching something that I’ve had in the back of my mind for a while now. It’s a crazy idea but this just proves a part of it, for me. I’ve been drinking Aquafina, for a few years, but need to look into another brand or a water pitcher. Bottled water is just easier, for me, considering a pitcher won’t fit in my bedside fridge. I haven’t researched any medications that contain fluoride but Fluoxetine (Prozac) is one of them. I haven’t taken it for years (haven’t taken any prescription medications).