Citing the US desire to increase pressure “against the Venezuelan leadership folks,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says that in the days to come, the administration will announce a series of actions against Venezuela.
Pompeo declined to offer any specifics, which is probably going to lead to speculation of something major coming, since recent reports of US policy toward Venezuela has been uniformly hostile.
President Trump threatened to attack Venezuela back in August of 2017, and this summer reports are that he’d repeatedly had to be talked out of such attacks. Early this month, the administration was confirmed to be engaging in secret coup talks with Venezuelan rebels.
None of this is to say that the new actions are liable to be anything so grand. The fact that the US has been known to be talking about such measures, however, is likely to add to serious concerns about US intentions ahead of any announcements.
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Is there any country in the world that the USA considers needs no input from the Big Bully? (Israel of course is bombarded gently with cash and the Saudis with weapons to use to kill innocents).
Why are we adding to poor Venezuela’s problems? I guess because, the 1% in America would prefer to starve a bunch of poor Latinos, before Americans get any bright ideas about raising wages/taxes. Better for death to the “socialist” serfs than that some “deserving” person has to go without their little cruises or new private jet planes.
I readily believe wages could be increased without further moves towards socialism.
Higher wages and higher taxes are both needed. With these last “millionaire tax cuts”, our current federal budget has a trillion dollar/yr. hole in it. Damned if I will sit calmly by while they cut my Social Security check to “balance” things, while they buy crappy F-35s and funnel money to Israel. Capitalism is a worn-out old scam.
Plenty that could be cut. Trump also believed that, but I guess it’s tough to actually do. And yea military needs cuts.
Supposedly Trump and Bannon did consider further taxing the highest earners. I wouldnt say “capitalism” is a scam entirely. The US system has many positives, even today. It could and likely will get worse, more corrupt and wasteful, with future reform efforts.
Lurchorpan,
I used to belong to the Libertarian Party – I know these people. They deeply hate the poor – it is like poverty is a communicable sexual disease, and the poor purposefully exposed themselves to it. They will lower wages if they can. And without strong labor unions, the working class has no other resource than voting socialism.
So, is it that you don’t know “these people” as well as you think you do, or that you’re lying about us? Pick one.
I rarely lie – I’m too old to bother. I was very involved in the Libertarian Party from about 1983 to 2000. I went to the national convention in Salt Lake City in 1993 and several State Conventions in Florida, West Virginia and Maryland. I ran as a Libertarian for Congress (Fla Seat One) twice in 1994 and 1996 – my running and its official denial by the State of Florida led to liberalization of Florida’s election statutes. I got to meet and know Andre Marrou, the Libertarian Presidential candidate in 1992
I was not a very good Libertarian – I refused to worship raw capitalism and its ugly treatment of welfare people – regardless of whether they were sick, lame or lazy. I thought Ayn Rand was strictly juvenile reading and most that Libertarians as selfish freeloaders who usually inherited their money. And I’ll make another bold statement – I never met a Libertarian who viewed all men as their brothers in Jesus.
Pick what you want out of that.
Looks like the end of your involvement overlaps the beginning of mine (2000).
I won’t say I never met a Libertarian who DIDN’T view all men as his brothers in Jesus, but I have met a number who do.
There are certainly some wealthy Libertarians, at least some of whom presumably inherited their money. Then there are those of us that those people disdainfully refer to as “povertarians,” who don’t have a lot and have to earn what we get — who pack 20+ people in a van and sometimes that many in a hotel room in order to be able to afford to attend conventions.
At this year’s national convention, we stood up for sex workers and the victims of the student loan scam, not for billionaires with sweetheart government contracts — and the party’s Socialist Caucus ran a chair candidate with enough support to get into the official candidate debate.
So I’ll amend my statement. Maybe it’s not that you didn’t know Libertarians as well as you thought — maybe instead it’s that they’ve changed in the last 20 years.
Mr. Knapp, I would be glad to hear that the Libertarian Party has changed – they must have reached their nadir when they nominated that pimped-out Bob Barr as their candidate.
Unfortunately, I was once designated as a Life Member (from too many unwise donations to the Party), so I guess I am a member whether I want to be or not. Maybe, the Socialist Caucus
My wake-up call regarding the Party came when I was at a Florida State Convention which was near conclusion, when motions to condemn the Federal slaughters at Waco and Ruby Ridge were voted down. And get this – the Convention delegates were instructed to close their eyes and hold their hands up for the vote – of course, the Nays prevailed – total f—ing cowardice.
I managed the campaign of one of Barr’s opponents (Steve Kubby) and did some side work for another allied candidate (Mary Ruwart, the one who pushed it to six ballots and barely lost to Barr).
One problem the LP hasn’t gotten past yet is its members’ tendency to believe that if they can just get a presidential candidate who’s “famous,” he’ll miraculously win, and their willingness to let their principles go for that fantasy. But we’re working on it.
You put your finger on it. But rather than a problem, it seemed to me that it was considered the “Golden Solution”.
I’m not a libertarian. I consider myself more a distributist. I just have different solutions. The problem in the US is the narrative is controlled, many ideas are excluded from public discourse.
Unions tend to be strong on trade, and that’s about it. They’re weak on immigration. Market wages can be pressured higher, and other reforms are possible. Libertarians are correct on parts of the problem.
Listening to the news one would think that the Trump Disorder Crew have enough strife, loss and legal problems so they would avoid any new confrontations! Apparently not as they seem he’ll bent on pis sing off whole continents with their reckless aggressions.
The story I like best is sanctioning the Chinese for buying Russian arms. Who the heck do we think we are? Sooner or later the world is gonna tell us to “shove it” and that will be good for everybody, except Raytheon and Lockheed Martin.
If there are two countries in the world with the ability to tell America to “shove it” it’s China and Russia. Let’s see what happens.
The proven oil reserves in Venezuela are recognized as the largest in the world, totaling 297 billion barrels. . . .’Nuff said.
US corporate interests rape the world, but it is pathetic that Venezuela can’t maintain its oil production.
Years ago when I was involved with Vietnam there was “MAC-V,” Military Assistance Command Vietnam. A fellow Hispanic soldier and I would joke that the “V” would soon stand for Venezuela because that country wasn’t acceptable to the US even back then. So here we go again, with another government not pleasing to US corporate interests.
Gee Mike maybe you could JDAM a school bus down there, that will teach those Venezuelans a lesson. I’m not sure in what that lesson will be, but it’ll teach them just the same. Maybe that as bad as things get, Washington can always make them a little, or a lot, worse.
I am trying to figure the neo con stupidity test here:
1. Israeli directive? No, not likely.
2. Corporate/wall street greed? could be, brazil, argentina, ecudor good examples.
3. Oil reserves to be tapped? ah, that is prob the main reason-thanks, don bacon-watch for us oil companies scratching away for regime change/new contracts, ala ukraine.
4. Watch rubio’s activities, who is funding him via open secrets.org
The costs are generally far higher than whatever “profit” is reaped. The trillions wasted are just beyond comprehension.
Their private profit and our public cost.
Well said. And too many Republicans assume the government acts for US interests while too many Dems assume the government does or could act for global interests.
No one seems to like the idea that we’re incapable of much positive intervention. Voters are so to blame, in part.
Sticking your stinking nose where it does not belong has caused this nation and its people the misery they have now and you want to make it worse. Piss on you Pompeo , your a human turd that has no use.
Many US corporations have left Venezuela due to the worsening economy, and there is a risk of expropriation to those remaining. And guess who’s riding to the rescue? . . .China.
. . .from scmp:
China already operates 2 out of the 5 major ports in the Panama Canal area, and now it’s moving into nearby Venezuela? . . .The US can’t accept that. How about the Monroe Doctrine? So it’s regime change time, something the US excels in (but then suffers from).
It shouldn’t even matter if China moves in. We can still trade…
If you live east of the Mississippi you can probably buy CITGO Venezuelan gas for a while, but the company is on death watch.
I am not sure I understand your point. China or anybody can and should “move” in, that is to say trade, invest, build. For as long as the country — in this case Venezuela, agrees. As for US, after all these years of paying for regime change, and having no sucess in fixing their dlections — all it can do is issue direct threats. Why? Why is it that we cannot do business with countries that are politically independent of our financial/corporate spiderwebs? Something is wrong here. For the sake of those that want to crush less obedient “regimes”, we — that is, our economy — is paying the price. Now the neocon infrastructure — financial spiderweb — is reaching into our pockets to soendvmoney on the whole array of political/media/military aggression. Smart way to make money for some, but bad for our country. These people are addicted to easy money that foreign agression pumps into their pockets.
My point is that US foreign enemy #1 is financially moving big-time into a country in an area where the US has historically been the boss, which has lead to “US Preparing a ‘Series of Actions’.” Oh … and the oil.
Hate, hate, hate. To the rest of the world, that is what the United States represents. The crazies in Washington hate every country that doesn’t toe the line…the U.S. line.
Chief of Staff John Kelly…was commander of SOUTHCOM, area…Central America, South America, Caribbean, from 2012 until appointed CoS “under” trump. He is (was ?) also on the board of directors for what was formerly called the School of the Americas. Not a good guy. I imagine he is remaining in the administration to implement nastiness in the SOUTHCOM area.
Let the South American countries,
and China if it is crazy enough,
try to straighten out Venezuela.
Not our business.
China does business differently than the US, and doesn’t interfere in domestic affairs,
The Philippines, Nepal, Vietnam, India, Taiwan and Japan disagree.