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Originally posted by THG:
Speaking to reporters in the Capitol, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the Stone indictment reflects poorly on Trump and should be seen in the broader context of a series of pro-Kremlin administration foreign policy maneuvers.

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Originally posted by reaverfan:
I'm entirely against the US-backed coup attempt. Just like I was in 2002.

But they have oil, and a leader we don't control. And Trump is president. And John Bolton has his ear.

They don't even try to hide it.

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Originally posted by reaverfan:
Yes. I know your M.O.

Obama bad, Trump good, but Putin is God.

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Originally posted by THG:

Russia should never interfere in any other nation's internal politics

POSTED BY: SIGNYM
UPDATED: Thursday, January 24, 2019 14:04
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It was no small diplomatic feat, comparable in recent times only to how the hemisphere in 1994 rallied behind Jean Bertrand Aristide to bring him back to power in Haiti after we was deposed in a coup, given the mistrust of the U.S. in Latin America stemming from U.S. military interventions in the region during the Cold War. Just as impressive, the tough-handed approach drew bipartisan support, with two of the Senate’s most senior Democrats, Dick Durbin and Bob Menendez, offering praise.

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Originally posted by THG:

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Originally posted by THG:

Russia should never interfere in any other nation's internal politics

POSTED BY: SIGNYM
UPDATED: Thursday, January 24, 2019 14:04
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Agreed...

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Venezuela did what Ocasio-Cortez wants to do ... Chavez nationalized Venezueal's oil wealth, and used it to "help" poor people (education, healthcare, housing) WITHOUT BUILDING A PRODUCTIVE STABLE ECONOMY AS WELL.

Venezuela relied on its oil money (like Ocasio-Cortez wants to rely on our financialization-money) to import almost everything. Then, when oil prices fell (or when the dollar will fall) suddenly imports became unaffordable, and they had a large swath of the population used to government handouts who were suddenly going hungry. But, they didn't know how to farm ... or anything else for that matter ... so society fell apart.

Cuba went thru something similar when the USSR fell apart. Suddenly, all those trade deals for oil imports were void, and Cuba went thru an energy shock the likes of which have not been seen before or since. But Cubans, if nothing else, knew how to farm, and the embargo that the USA placed on Cuba made self-sufficiency a higher priority. So the government made farming and food production a priority, and altho people lost weight they actually became healthier because they ate less fatty pork and more beans and vegetables, and the Cubans got thru it.

There's no social discipline in Venezuela - like there's no social discipline here - just a bunch of urban poor who got used to things being given to them. It's a common problem for nations rich in oil (or some other valued trade item like the petrodollar) to rely on that commodity for everything, but if that commodity goes sour then the people are hosed. What you have left are a bunch of people who're used to being "consumers"... and there's nothing to "consume".

Each nation needs to build it's economy to be as self-sufficient as possible with whatever resources it has. Venezuela would have been far better off importing Cuban farmers instead of Cuban doctors, and learning how to make use of its mild climate and fertile soil.


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Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

"The messy American environment, where most people don't agree, is perfect for people like me. I CAN DO AS I PLEASE." - SECOND

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876 .

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Originally posted by THG:

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Originally posted by THG:

Russia should never interfere in any other nation's internal politics

POSTED BY: SIGNYM
UPDATED: Thursday, January 24, 2019 14:04
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VIEWED: 60
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Agreed...

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Originally posted by reaverfan:
Democracy is when someone from a violent, far-right extremist group declares themselves to be president and promises to privatize the nation's assets to benefit a foreign power, and that declaration is enforced on a sovereign nation by the foreign power that will benefit from those assets, and the more harshly it's enforced, the democracy-er it is.

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IMF Discreetly Preps Massive Aid Package For "Day After" Maduro's Fall

The International Monetary Fund is reportedly making plans for the "day after" embattled President Nicolas Maduro's fall, according to Bloomberg. Though there's been little momentum in military defections following US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido's offer of amnesty to any army officer that switches loyalties, Washington sanctions have effectively strangled state-owned PDVSA's access to global markets. News of IMF maneuvering also comes amidst fresh reports the US is amassing aircraft, troops and armored vehicles on the Venezuelan border under the pretext of getting humanitarian aid into the country.

The only significant cash flow that remains after the oil sanctions is through India, Venezuela’s second-biggest oil market after the United States, which still recognizes the Maduro government, and is now reportedly seeking to avoid purchases through US banks and even financial institutions with a heavy US presence. According to a Reuters report on Friday, "India has asked one buyer of Venezuelan oil to consider paying the South American nation’s national oil company PDVSA in a way that avoids the U.S. financial system, an Indian government source said, after Washington imposed fresh sanctions on Venezuela last month."

If oil buyers pay PDVSA through American institutions, US authorities can seize the funds. But the IMF reportedly sees cash dwindling from oil sales at such a rapid pace that Maduro can't possibly hold on, even with the staying power of his loyal armed forces. This also comes as the White House mulls a possible next step of blocking foreign entities all together from dealing with the PDVSA.

Citing an anonymous official due to the sensitivity of the matter, Bloomberg reports the IMF is planning for a near-term Maduro exit by discreetly preparing a massive financial aid package to rescue the nosediving economy, for years choked by US-led sanctions and corrupt socialist leadership, following transition of power.

Forbes also forewarned earlier this month what a new Caracas government would be facing, by comparison to other regional economies in crisis:

It is unclear just how much aid Venezuela needs or will be able to get. To put things into perspective for a moment, Argentina has a $56 billion aid package from the IMF and while their economy was leveled due to the closed-door, quasi-socialist policies of Cristina Kirchner, Argentina’s social unrest is nothing like what is taking place in Venezuela today.

Last year Colombia reportedly contacted international lending agencies about crafting a $60 billion aid package. Given the massive investment needs of the Venezuelan economy, access to international financing will be essential to lift the country of its version of the Great Depression.

And this will come, Forbes noted, via the IMF and World Bank, which "will require massive structural reforms, including a return of foreign investment and foreign companies into the Venezuelan oil market."

This followed after Bloomberg reported in November of last year that Venezuela hadn’t reported GDP and inflation data since 2016, for which its central bank prepared a report sent to the IMF in accord with a Nov. 30 deadline while "hoping to avoid sanctions that included the loss of voting rights or a potential expulsion from the lender."

Bloomberg also noted at that time that the IMF was already eyeing drastic action: "Expulsion from the fund would cause Venezuela to lose access to what little remaining funds it has associated with the lender, but more importantly, it could trigger a cross-default on some sovereign bonds."

Again, it was noted last November:

While Venezuela often lambasted the IMF for its policy recommendations under former President Hugo Chavez and his successor Maduro, the central bank has repeatedly used special drawing rights held at the fund. Venezuela still has access to $52 million, which it has drawn down from $2.5 billion according to IMF data.

Thus with the international noose tightening around Maduro led by Washington and European countries which recognize only Guaido as "Interim President", and with internal unrest continuing, it appears the IMF too is now ready to run with the opportunity and cut off the regime's last desperate potential cash lifeline.

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