Tag: Venezuela

Mike Pompeo Brought His Backward View of Human Rights to the UN. Europe Wasn’t Buying It.

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Mike Pompeo Brought His Backward View of Human Rights to the UN. Europe Wasn’t Buying It.

Pompeo’s speech, which was part of an event hosted by the United States during the UN General Assembly, was marketed as a celebration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the foundational document for decades of human rights policy. Instead, Pompeo promoted his own narrowly-defined idea of human rights, which was formalized last month in a report from a controversial State Department advisory body. Known as the Commission on Unalienable Rights, the group was stocked with critics of contraception, same-sex marriage, and abortion, including Pompeo’s former boss. In its final report, which was released last month, the commission elevated some rights like religious freedom as “unalienable,” while dismissing abortion and same-sex marriages as “divisive social and political controversies.”

Related:

Pompeo urges other countries to join alternative U.S. view on human rights

“The U.S. Commission on Unalienable Rights is a deeply misguided enterprise with the potential to undermine human rights protections that governments find disagreeable,” said Louis Charbonneau, the U.N. director for Human Rights Watch. “The commission promotes the false premise that too many people, particularly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and women, are asserting their rights.”

Other advocates rebuked Pompeo for his emphasis on religion, to the exclusion of other rights.

What they don’t say is that Pompeo is going to use this against China with his lies about the Uyghurs!

American Cultural Psychosis and Anti-Chinese War Propaganda, by Rainer Shea

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

by Rainer Shea Writer, Dandelion Salad Rainer Shea: Anti-Imperialist Journalist September 23, 2020

The Iraq invasion was a prelude to our current war run-up, the war run-up that the United States would experience when its global imperial hegemony came under threat during the 2020s. Like was the case in 2003, the empire’s propaganda machine has inculcated its narratives into the minds of a solid majority of the public. Like was the case in 2003, the main target of the empire’s violent rage is merely a scapegoat for the crises that the U.S. has been experiencing. The difference is that in 2020, America’s cultural psychosis is being directed towards preparing for a war far larger than the Iraq War, a war so destructive and costly that it could end up breaking U.S. hegemony for good.

American Cultural Psychosis and Anti-Chinese War Propaganda, by Rainer Shea

Pompeo Announces Funding for Welfare, Healthcare and Indigenous Support. In Venezuela

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Pompeo Announces Funding for Welfare, Healthcare and Indigenous Support. In Venezuela

While in Colombia, Pompeo discussed regime change in Venezuela with Colombian President Ivan Duque, who described the Kansan as a “dear friend of Colombia” and accused President Maduro of Venezuela of crimes against humanity. In Brazil, Pompeo managed to get the Bolsonaro administration to sign off on his “Democratic Transition Framework” (DTS) for Venezuela as the way forward.

The DTS requires Maduro to resign and for the country’s Constituent Assembly to be completely dissolved, with all power going to the National Assembly, the only branch of government the opposition currently controls. From there, the National Assembly would appoint new members to the Supreme Court and the National Electoral Council. And while the DTS does not specifically state Maduro could not run for office again, Pompeo made it clear, stating, “Nicolas Maduro will never again govern Venezuela.” Therefore, it seems unlikely that Maduro, who was elected by a larger share of the electorate than Trump in 2016 or Obama in 2012, would sign off on such sweeping changes to the country that the Trump administration demands.

President Maduro: 51,360 Integral Defense Units Activated in Venezuela (Militia)

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

President Maduro: 51,360 Integral Defense Units Activated in Venezuela (Militia)

He said that there are 12 thousand militiamen, male and female workers in all industries trained with the tactical method of revolutionary resistance and handling of antiaircraft artillery to guarantee the production and sovereignty of the homeland, 14 Integral Defense Groups and 67 Popular Units of Integral Defense (UPDI).

“The armed working class is ready to defend the country in any scenario. The Militia is mobilized 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, supporting the health, security and nutrition of the people,” said President Maduro.

Wagging the Dog: As Trump and Iran square off on Venezuela Oil Shipments, will US Go full Pirate of the Gulf?

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Wagging the Dog: As Trump and Iran square off on Venezuela Oil Shipments, will US Go full Pirate of the Gulf?

Trump had four Iranian oil tankers seized in August, alleging that they were heading for Venezuela. The problem? There is no basis in international law for the seizures, which are therefore mere piracy and outright grand larceny. The owners of the vessels have filed suit in a Washington, D.C. district court.

Related:

Is Mike Pompeo preparing an October Surprise?

As Venezuela Foils CIA “Terror Plot” Pompeo Tours Its Neighbors To Talk Regime Change

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

As Venezuela Foils CIA “Terror Plot” Pompeo Tours Its Neighbors To Talk Regime Change

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. The country’s prosecutor general, Tarek William Saab, claimed that Heath entered Venezuela illegally via the Colombian border without a passport, although police found a photocopy hidden on his person. Saab also said that Heath was carrying a small coin or badge that CIA employees use to prove their identity to one another without raising suspicions.

DHS Head Chad Wolf Adopts Language of War in Threats Against Portland Protesters

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

DHS Head Chad Wolf Adopts Language of War in Threats Against Portland Protesters

While these are extreme events, the phrase “all options on the table” is largely used in politics as a code phrase conveying the most extreme violence imaginable, without having to explicitly state it. The phrase was famously used by President George W. Bush throughout his administration when discussing Iran and its supposed nuclear weapons program. When asked by a reporter if “all options” could mean a nuclear attack on Iran, Bush refused to answer, simply re-stating that “all options” were on the table.

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The phrase, therefore, is continually used against foreign enemies of the U.S. government as a way of threatening war or even nuclear annihilation without having to explicitly state it, letting the threat pass under the radar of many, and allowing for plausible deniability if challenged. The fact that government officials are beginning to use that same rhetoric against the domestic population in Portland is not a positive sign for the future of the city or the country.

Maduro says ‘American spy’ captured near Venezuelan oil refineries

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Maduro says ‘American spy’ captured near Venezuelan oil refineries

“Yesterday we captured… an American spy who was spying in Falcon state on the Amuay and Cardon refineries,” Maduro said in a televised address in capital Caracas on Friday.

The individual, Maduro said, was a member of the US Marine Corps who worked with the CIA in Iraq, and was captured with “heavy, specialized weapons and a large amount of cash” in the northwestern state.

The arrest took place after authorities had “discovered and dismantled” a “plan to cause an explosion” at El Palito refinery in Carabobo state, west of the capital.