Tag: Venezuela

Why Did the US Fund Anti–Hugo Chávez Rock Bands in Venezuela?

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Why Did the US Fund Anti–Hugo Chávez Rock Bands in Venezuela?

Recently obtained documents show that in 2011, the US funded rock bands in Venezuela — through a group sympathetic to right-wing forces that later attempted a coup. Giving money to young musicians seems innocuous, but it’s part of a long history of US meddling in the democratic processes of countries to advance American interests.

Empire of Absurdity: Recycled Neocons, Recycled Enemies

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Empire of Absurdity: Recycled Neocons, Recycled Enemies

There are times when I wish that the United States would just drop the charade and declare itself a global empire. As a veteran of two imperial wars, a witness to the dark underside of America’s empire-denial, I’ve grown tired of the equivocation and denials from senior policymakers. The U.S. can’t be an empire, we’re told, because – unlike the Brits and Romans – America doesn’t annex territories outright, and our school children don’t color its colonies in red-white-and-blue on cute educational maps.

The murderous history of USAID, the US Government agency behind Cuba’s fake Twitter clone

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

What really seems to be weirding people out here is the shock realization that USAID — the nice, humanitarian, democracy-promoting arm of American idealism — also engages in sleazy regime-change and subversion. The sorts of nefarious covert activities folks normally associate with the CIA.

The murderous history of USAID, the US Government agency behind Cuba’s fake Twitter clone

[2013] Using Human Rights for Right-Wing Politics

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Using Human Rights for Right-Wing Politics

Peter Thiel, a billionaire hedge fund manager, a personal friend of Thor Halvorssen and a donor to OFF, was a speaker at the 2011 forum. Little did the audience know of Thiel’s personal ties with Halvorssen and the fact that he helped fund the Forum. I believe it’s safe to assume that the vast majority did not have knowledge of Thiel’s views on democracy either. “I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible,” The Electronic Intifada quotes him writing in his manifest. He is also concerned that extensions of women’s rights “have rendered the notion of ‘capitalist democracy’ into an oxymoron.”

**Although this article does not mention it the Human Rights Foundation joined with Human Rights Watch, in 2013, to propagandize against the U.S. celebrity singer Jennifer Lopez, charging her with “serenading crooks and dictators,” all of whom, it turns out, are on the U.S. Government’s Official Enemies list.

SourceWatch, referring to When J.Lo Sang for the Dictator.

Related:

Oslo Freedom Forum founder’s ties to Islamophobes who inspired mass killer Anders Breivik

Peter Thiel Urges Investing in Human Rights

Ron Paul Wants to Abolish the CIA; His Largest Donor Builds Toys for It

Thiel, a self-described libertarian and opponent of democracy who made his fortune as the founder of PayPal, launched Palantir in 2004 to profit from what the Wall Street Journal described as “the government spy-services marketplace.” The CIA’s venture capital firm, In-Q-Tel, was brought in to back up Thiel as one of Palantir’s first outside investors. Today, Palantir’s valuation is reported to be in the billions.