Poll: Venezuelan President's Popularity Sinks to 22%

January 02, 2015 2:20 PM


CARACAS, VENEZUELA—
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's approval rating has slipped to 22 percent, the lowest of his nearly two-year rule, as a result of economic problems, a local pollster said Friday.

Maduro, 52, won election to replace his mentor, Hugo Chavez, after the latter's death from cancer in early 2013, but has seen his popularity eroded since then as the OPEC nation suffers an economic slowdown, product shortages and soaring prices.

"His popularity has gone down a lot. He's at 22 percent approval. People are waiting for solutions,'' Datanalisis director Jose Antonio Gil told local TV station Globovision.

Recession-hit Venezuela has the worst economic performance of any major nation in the region, with widespread shortages of goods from milk to car parts and 64 percent annual inflation.

http://www.voanews.com/content/venezuela-maduro-approval-rating-lowest-point/2583540.html

He's desperate to get Venezuelans to look over there, the Evil Empire is the cause of all your misery. Of course, he'll have to arrest a lot more to distract from scenes like this:

so far he has yet to show any evidence or the sources I'm looking hasn't revealed any. Venezeula's economy is very dependent on oil which sits on the 2nd largest proven oil reserves.

Ever since the new guy took power, he expelled US diplomats under the same accusations, I think he is legitimately paranoid though doubtful based on his behavior but nothing on the evidence regarding his claims.

he produced some evidence.

But, this is the guy who accused the US of giving Hugo Chavez cancer.

Right now I cannot imagine Obama green-lighting ANOTHER international crisis.... his plate is full atm.

This is just an attempt to shore up support by blaming the yankees.

Last week, Ledezma, who is current Mayor of the Metropolitan Capital District of Caracas, signed a statement calling for a “National Transition Agreement” alongside opposition politicians, Maria Corina Machado and currently detained leader of the Popular Will party, Leopoldo Lopez.

The document calls on Venezuelans to unite behind a plan to remove elected President Nicolas Maduro and sets out an action programme for the would be provisional government. This includes facilitating the return of “exiled” Venezuelans, prosecuting current members of government and reaching out to international financial lending agencies such as the International Monetary Fund.

Circulated on February 11th, the statement was disclosed just a day before the attempted coup was set to unfold and was reportedly the signal to set the plan in motion.

“It has no base in any juridic text, it is a putschist act of conspiracy that is unfortunately to the liking of thousands of opposition militants who have been indoctrinated to attack democracy,” Constitutional Lawyer, Jesus Silva, told Venezuelanalysis.

https://zcomm.org/znetarticle/venezuelan-opposition-mayor-alias-the-vampire-arrested-for-role-in-blue-coup-plot/

* these right-wing freaks and their attempts to ruin yet another democratic country.



http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=1018663

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=1018984

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=1019489

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=1019654

**********************************************************************************

By John Pilger Interviewed by Michael Albert

February 16, 2015

1. Why would the U.S. want venezuela’s government overthrown?

There are straightforward principles and dynamics at work here. Washington wants to get rid of the Venezuelan government because it is independent of US designs for the region and because Venezuela has the greatest proven oil reserves in the world and uses its oil revenue to improve the quality of ordinary lives. Venezuela remains a source of inspiration for social reform in a continent ravaged by an historically rapacious U.S. An Oxfam report once famously described the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua as ‘the threat of a good example’. That has been true in Venezuela since Hugo Chavez won his first election. The ‘threat’ of Venezuela is greater, of course, because it is not tiny and weak; it is rich and influential and regarded as such by China. The remarkable change in fortunes for millions of people in Latin America is at the heart of U.S. hostility. The U.S. has been the undeclared enemy of social progress in Latin America for two centuries. It doesn’t matter who has been in the White House: Barack Obama or Teddy Roosevelt; the US will not tolerate countries with governments and cultures that put the needs of their own people first and refuse to promote or succumb to U.S. demands and pressures. A reformist social democracy with a capitalist base – such as Venezuela – is not excused by the rulers of the world. What is inexcusable is Venezuela’s political independence; only complete deference is acceptable. The ‘survival’ of Chavista Venezuela is a testament to the support of ordinary Venezuelans for their elected government – that was clear to me when I was last there. Venezuela’s weakness is that the political ‘opposition’ — those I would call the ‘East Caracas Mob’ – represent powerful interests who have been allowed to retain critical economic power. Only when that power is diminished will Venezuela shake off the constant menace of foreign-backed, often criminal subversion. No society should have to deal with that, year in, year out.

2. What methods has the U.S. already used and would you anticipate their using to unseat the Bolivarians?

There are the usual crop of quislings and spies; they come and go with their media theatre of fake revelations, but the principal enemy is the media. You may recall the Venezuelan admiral who was one of the coup-plotters against Chavez in 2002, boasting during his brief tenure in power, ‘Our secret weapon was the media’. The Venezuelan media, especially television, were active participants in that coup, lying that supporters of the government were firing into a crowd of protestors from a bridge. False images and headlines went around the world. The New York Times joined in, welcoming the overthrow of a democratic ‘anti-American’ government; it usually does. Something similar happened in Caracas last year when vicious right-wing mobs were lauded as ‘peaceful protestors’ who were being ‘repressed’. This was undoubtedly the start of a Washington-backed ‘colour revolution’ openly backed by the likes of the National Endowment for Democracy – a user-friendly CIA clone. It was uncannily like the coup that Washington successfully staged in Ukraine last year. As in Kiev, in Venezuela the ‘peaceful protestors’ set fire to government buildings and deployed snipers and were lauded by western politicians and the western media. The strategy is almost certainly to push the Maduro government to the right and so alienate its popular base. Depicting the government as dictatorial and incompetent has long been an article of bad faith among journalists and broadcasters in Venezuela and in the US, the UK and Europe. One recent US ‘story’ was that of a ‘US scientist jailed for trying to help Venezuela build bombs’. The implication was that Venezuela was harbouring ‘nuclear terrorists’. In fact, the disgruntled nuclear physicist had no connection whatsoever with Venezuela.

All this is reminiscent of the unrelenting attacks on Chávez, each with that peculiar malice reserved for dissenters from the west’s ‘one true way’. In 2006, Britain’s Channel 4 News effectively accused the Venezuelan president of plotting to make nuclear weapons with Iran, an absurd fantasy. The Washington correspondent, Jonathan Rugman, sneered at policies to eradicate poverty and presented Chávez as a sinister buffoon, while allowing Donald Rumsfeld, a war criminal, to liken Chavez to Hitler, unchallenged. The BBC is no different. Researchers at the University of the West of England in the UK studied the BBC’s systematic bias in reporting Venezuela over a ten-year period. They looked at 304 BBC reports and found that only three of these referred to any of the positive policies of the government. For the BBC, Venezuela’s democratic initiatives, human rights legislation, food programmes, healthcare initiatives and poverty reduction programmes did not exist. Mission Robinson, the greatest literacy programme in human history, received barely a passing mention. This virulent censorship by omission complements outright fabrications such as accusations that the Venezuelan government are a bunch of drug-dealers. None of this is new; look at the way Cuba has been misrepresented – and assaulted – over the years. Reporters Without Borders has just issued its worldwide ranking of nations based on their claims to a free press. The U.S. is ranked 49th, behind Malta, Niger, Burkino Faso and El Salvador.

3. Why might now be a prime time, internationally, for pushing toward a coup? If the primary problem is Venezuela being an example that could spread, is the emergence of a receptive audience for that example in Europe adding to the U.S. response?

Full article: https://zcomm.org/znetarticle/john-pilger-interviewed-by-michael-albert-2/

I didn't run into any reported mentioning that but I shouldn't be surprised America's mainstream press has omitted that detail. I just remembered right after my reply to the poster above that we've had special forces in over 70 countries actively doing something. Nationalizing oil interests (I thought Venezuela did this awhile ago which explains the first coup). In any case, initially the claims wouldn't surprise me but struck me as paranoia -- US has a long history of regime change in Latin America so I could understand but when I saw reports he has detained several political opponents I thought he might have been a little too proactive.

I liked and had a lot of respect for Chavez, very forward-looking & ran a Keynesian economy rather than completely capitalist or socialist.

In 120 countries across the globe, troops from Special Operations Command carry out their secret war of high-profile assassinations, low-level targeted killings, capture/kidnap operations, kick-down-the-door night raids, joint operations with foreign forces, and training missions with indigenous partners as part of a shadowy conflict unknown to most Americans. Once “special” for being small, lean, outsider outfits, today they are special for their power, access, influence, and aura.
http://www.salon.com/2011/08/04/secert_american_wars/

Recently the US finally took care of its problem with Qaddafi, with Venezuela sitting on as much proven oil reserves nothing can turn your country into an enemy of the United States quicker than nationalizing your oil interests.

So much information available in the Latin America forum by people who've followed this for years and done an unbelievable amount of research. These coups and coup attempts have happened over and over, the lies the media gives them is always the same old tired shtick. They won't stop until Venezuela is back the way it was before Chavez, run and owned by right-wing oligarchs with an impoverished people. But, Latin America is becoming more and more united all the time, and those looking to ruin Venezuela once more are dealing with a populace Chavez made sure to educate and involve in the movement and every sector of politics and policy-making. The right-wing paid freaks have a lot more on their hands than they realize - a whole nation that's worked and sacrificed to not be under the thumb of anyone, let alone the IMF and their robber-baron loans.

I'm very interested in information behind the information wars. Southern America is especially hard to find given that the press either ignores it like with Columbia or negative reports on US rivals like the OP.

are a threat to US hegemony.

who fought hard for it and believe in it - they'll fight any right wing takeover, no matter how many funded 'protests' and riots are produced. They know what's at stake and what they have, and can achieve.

You're so right.

If "forward looking" was a real tenant of the Chavez policy, he would've known it was doomed to fail. You seize foreign assets and money and no one will do business with you. Very simple. Maduro is continuing the same nonsense that came before him. The predictable failure has nothing to do with the US, but its the only thing they can blame it on. The people who could help are leaving the country because they know they are threatened if they stay.
Maduro has a 22% approval rating because the "revolution" is a failure and was doomed from the start. Wait till the elections and see what happens. Unless the people rise up before then, which woudnt be a surprise

He made some mistakes but clearly his heart in was in the right place. Venezuela like most other oil rich nations economy depends on oil production & if foreign multinationals are profiting & in control of it where does it leave the people? Past decade, the revenue Chavez put a major dent into poverty, improved the lives of his citizens.

After US & Canada shale gas boom & trading with each other, it has lowered the price which puts stress on the economies of oil dependent nations. Government probably needs to figure out a way to diversify but someone out there wants to buy their oil no matter how much they limit it. US routinely ranks 1st as their top trade partner, US still imports most of its oil (most of it produced here is exported) and Venezuela ranks 3rd behind Saudi Arabia & Canada.

I'm surprised countries still do business with the US but there are far more governments that are domestically corrupt, a lot of those regimes the US put in place. Overthrowing populists in favor of capitalist dictators was very indefensible. Cuba & Venezuela took a lot of undeserved crap.

What I mean by forward looking is he was a very important leader of Southern America. He claimed armed guerrillas are have run its course but points to the need of political solutions. He ran a mixed economy that was performing well, drop in oil prices are now what's harming the country. The media bans I was uncomfortable with though they have Fox News on steroids & communicated directly with citizens through Twitter, cutting out the filter of the media.

He clearly seemed to have a good intentions in improving the lives of the poor & a government that serves its people. Why does it matter he didn't let multinationals have control of all the oil?

Gone far too soon. He loved his people and did everything he could to improve their lives. There are very, very few leaders in the world anywhere close to what he was.

where he failed was his inability to institute long term economic reforms to sustain his changes. He also left the country politically polarized and thus unable to unite to solve their problems.

What a great guy! Andf Ghaddafi? Another winner!

And nationalizing industries and setting price controls has turned out to be SUCH an economic winning strategy!

What a guy!

Chavez was a fool. He may have had good intentions, but he had no idea how to actually run an economy.

Quite a lot more at stake than "running an economy."

Chavez was not a fool, no matter how many trolls claim it.

Good job Hugo!

and make anyone that can, flee the country for friendlier areas. Everyone that's left is equally miserable. Everyone wins!

Other than Haiti, there is not a worse off country in the hemisphere

Reminds a person so keenly of the remark by Mark Twain that a lie is already half-way around the world while the truth is still putting on its boots.

Your information is so important. We don't get a lot of actual facts here. That information has been kept far away from our daily fare from the corporate media. Deeply buried.

Here's a little more I just discovered on Ledezma:

1989: Not the ‘End of History’ in Venezuela Either

14/03/2014

~ snip ~

...The mayor of greater Caracas, Antonio Ledezma, who today positions himself as an opponent of repression, himself presided over the murder of dozens of students in the streets in the early 1990s, not to mention the notorious 1992 prison massacre.” Are those events remembered? And if they are, then how does a person like that become the mayor of Caracas?

GC: They absolutely are remembered by Chavistas and revolutionaries, and so it really underlines the deep irony of some of this opposition’s political leadership. Here’s someone who stood firmly for the old order, who represents the old order in every way. Someone who, as I said, presided over massacres, and yet today is on the streets attempting to lead these protests and claim that their human rights are being abused.

And then you have the other leaders of this opposition: María Corina Machado was very friendly with the Bush regime. She met with Bush in the White House. During the short coup against Chávez in 2002, she signed the decree that essentially dissolved all legitimate constitutional powers.

And then there’s Leopoldo López, who is currently in prison on charges of threatening violence. Here is someone who engaged in large amounts of violence during the coup as well, and led witch-hunts for Chavista ministers. Someone saying he was proud of the coup. These are people that are not democratic. We should be clear about that. They’re people who represent the most elite segments of Venezuelan society—the white rich elites who hate everything Chavista, and hate everything that’s dark and poor.

More:
http://antidotezine.com/2014/03/14/1989-not-the-end-of-history-in-venezuela-either/

[center]~ ~ ~[/center]
Regarding the prison riot for which Ledezma was responsible:

(I include the secone one simply because of its stark evil. You recall there were prison riots during Chavez' time in which anything approaching this never happened, yet our own corporate media went into a feeding frenzy, making sure US citizens knew prisoners in Venezuela were rioting, and laid it all at the feet of Hugo Chavez, of course. I the case of these prison riots, we didn't get the news at all!)

Retén de Catia, Caracas, Venezuela
11/27/92

At least 63
On November 27, the day of an attempted coup d'etat, the inmates of Catia prison rioted. When the small number of civilian guards assigned to the facility fled, and the Metropolitan Police failed to regain control over it, troops of the Fifth Regional Command of the National Guard were called in to retake the prison, which they did with the utmost violence. Not only was lethal force used indiscriminately, but the evidence suggests that the National Guard engaged in summary executions of prisoners. Many prisoners were shot at close range.

[center]~ ~ ~[/center]
Americas Watch, Human Rights in Venezuela (New York: Human Rights Watch, 1993)
Sabaneta prison, Maracaibo, Venezuela
1/3/94

At least 108
On the morning of January 3, between 50 and 150 inmates from one housing unit attacked another housing unit, setting fire to it. For about two hours, as civilian guards and members of the National Guard watched, the attacking prisoners shot, stabbed, and even decapitated inmates who managed to escape the inferno. A number of sources interviewed by Human Rights Watch/Americas in the wake of the violence indicated that the authorities' delay in intervening to stop the violence was deliberate, reflecting an intentional decision to let prisoners kill each other.

Americas Watch, "Venezuela: Prison Massacre in Maracaibo," A Human Rights Watch Short Report, February 1994

http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/06/24/us-venezuela-nationalizations-idUSTRE65N0UM20100624

because they haven't been paid by the Venezuelan State Oil Company, PDVSA and so idle their rigs in 2010. Chavez threatens to nationalize their rigs. Message given (and understood) by the larger oil rig companies. Obviously proof positive of a continuing series of 'coups' against Maduro.

Is it any wonder VZ oil production has been declining for a decade. There is a good reason VZ had to turn to foreign companies in the first place.

"The oil belongs to the people in Venezuela!" My answer is "The rigs belong to the outside company Venezuela hired."
I think the outside company should have destroyed the rigs upon nationalization. "Build your own rigs. I'm leaving this as I found it."

Multinationals obviously direct US foreign policy, but while I'd have to look closer into claims but Venezuela's economy is taking a beating from these low oil prices and who knows what interests those outside companies have but if its to keep flooding market to keep prices low (benefits US as a top oil importer) & put stress on their rivals as well as Venezuela. Makes sense to nationalize & proceed with production in the interests of their country.

That said, I'd have no problem with oil companies doing that considering they already do much worse. Building their own rigs would be temporary inconveince to using their oil for public services & infrastructure.

Last edited Sun Feb 22, 2015, 08:37 PM - Edit history (1)

sweetheart deals to multinational oil companies, shared the profits with them and the Venezuelan oligarchs, and completely reemed and ignored the suffering poor of Venezuela.

That must have driven you mad, being as conscientious, and moral as you claim you are.

or you renegotiate. But refusing to pay what you owe for the work performed, and stealing the equipment is why people won't do business with them, for the most part. And why their production has dropped like a rock. And why companies would rather sit on their products rather sell them there. Why build something, why create something if you know some thugs with automatic rifles are just going to come steal them. Not worth the risk. So the people down there can't get toilet paper or diapers or food.

how come no one ever complained when VZ benefited when OPEC manipulated oil prices?

Btw - OPEC is flooding the market to damage American and Canadian fracking industries. Saudi Arabia, not the oil companies, is screwing VZ.

Saudi Arabia & Gulf allies went against the wishes of OPEC who wanted to cut back though I'm not sure how it works as far as individual countries if they can cutback or not but Saudi refusing to cut output was a controversial point-of-contention among other OPEC nations but their desires won -- again I need to look into it to see how it works.

I'm not sure how much politics played a role, given this harms their rival Iran more and I could see US privately urging Saudi Arabia to keep pumping to stress Iran & Russia's economy more (they share the same rivals). In the 80's, Saudi Arabia went with opposite approach -- not slashing their prices they suffered an irrevesible loss in market share.

This harms the economies of North Dakota & Wyoming more but US doesn't live or die on oil production & the low prices are very good for the US given that they're the top importer of oil.

If you don't pay people for contracted work, and violate agreement after agreement, you can't really expect people to enthusiastically support your economy, now can you?

If you seize peoples' property and jail others for your own incompetence all the while blaming imaginary conspiracies, you're going to get what you deserve, and your people will suffer for your own folly.

which low oil prices are hurting all the oil dependent economies. Saudi Arabia has a lot of wealth & oil but unsure in how far they're willing to play chicken with their output.

Is an unwise move.

It's amateur hour in Venezuela and has been for some time. I really feel sorry for the Venezuelan people... Screwed by one band of criminals after another.

our oligarchs are pissed and will do anything to get their hands on that oil again. Even try to overthrow the government in the process.
What gets me is the blind people who can't see it for what it is. The president of Venezuela is not to blame for all the problems there, it is our own afore mentioned assholes who are. They control the flow of goods, they control the flow of money, they control the source of unhappiness that has prevailed in Venezuela since the Chavez takeover.

never the fault of the corrupt Venezuelan govt with that ex bus driver buffoon, Maduro. as their leader.

no wrong and that he always tells the truth, so you support 100% his actions to imprison democratically-elected politicians who oppose him.

Please don't call anyone else an authoritarian.

I'm talking about our CIA and the rich assholes who do this kind of shit all the time.

Of course you knew that but just wanted to give me some shit anyway. Am I not right?

I'm surprised we have to deal with this kind of shit here, if you want to know what I really think.

Peace

(But I'm not surprised at all .... check out the Latin America forum - the right-wing coups of the past and present are fully supported).

The fact that others have a difference of opinion than you?

willful blindness at that.

See ya
have a good day, I plan too

Others see things different, that doesn't mean they're blind.
You have a good day also.

The only ones coming across as desperate are the Maduro apologists here.

A lot of projection in that claim of "desperation".

The smell of desperation from the Maduro apologist is heavy in the air.

good to know where you stand concerning the first African American president. Clearly he is not smart enough to figure it out so that is why he was chosen by the PTB.

Do you take everything Maduro says at face value, without asking for evidence?

They work in spite of the executive branch. They answer to NO ON. The cia work for the rich and well connected funded largely bu us taxpayers.

In a just world they'd not exist any more

more rendition, torture (Obama says no torture but CIA can easily coverup whatever it is they're doing), a continuation of the same allies & rivals, indefinite detention, secret regime change activities. Also gave them some expanded powers, now they have the right to kill US citizens without due process.

----

In a documentary to be aired Tuesday night, the rebels describe their clandestine journey from the Syrian battlefield to meet with their American handlers in Turkey and then travel on to Qatar, where they say they received training in the use of sophisticated weapons and fighting techniques, including, one rebel said, “how to finish off soldiers still alive after an ambush.”

The interviews are the latest evidence that after more than three years of warfare, the United States has stepped up the provision of lethal aid to the rebels. In recent months, at least five rebel units have posted videos showing their members firing U.S.-made TOW anti-tank missiles at Syrian positions. The weapons are believed to have come from Saudi Arabia, but experts on international arms transfers have told McClatchy that they could not have been given to the rebels without the approval of the Obama administration.

The documentary, produced by FRONTLINE for airing on PBS stations, features journalist Muhammad Ali, who has been following the Syrian civil war for the program. It shows Ali meeting up with a seemingly moderate faction of the rebels, though the faction itself is not identified — apparently for fear of angering its American contacts.

Ali is shown riding with a rebel supply officer as he traveled to the Turkish border to reportedly pick up American-supplied Russian weapons and ammunition, but he is not allowed to accompany the fighters to the actual meeting. When the rebels return to pick him up, they display bullets and a mortar, which are shown in the film, and tell him they have received TOW missiles; the missiles are not shown, however.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/foreign-affairs-defense/syria-at-war/syrian-rebels-describe-u-s-backed-training-in-qatar/

Now it makes better sense on how IS managed to acquire US tanks & other equipment. I figured those billion dollars arms deals with Saudi Arabia found their way to them but both explanations seem to fit. The stolen weapons claim didn't seem to be a logical explanation. Losing an individual carbine rifle ranks as a very significant scandal in the military.

Private defense contractors though are worse because they are much less transparent, are paid much more for jobs much more than it costs to do the job -- this where TCNs & human trafficking comes in., accountability is a joke & the public is either not aware or isn't concerned when they are.

When you sit on the oil reserves they have, they should be rolling in cash. The country was long in a downward spiral before oil prices dropped. Funny how things arent as bad elsewhere in other countries the US doesnt like
The "revolution" has been a failure because those policies NEVER work anywhere.

No one is as blind as those who chose to not see.
Have a good day. This is all you'll get from me

Or will you just blame the failure on the US? I guess its worked for Castro all these years!

Last edited Mon Feb 23, 2015, 11:18 AM - Edit history (2)

children called 'magical thinking'. Facts for them are enemies and are never to be refuted, only dismissed out of hand as 'propaganda'. Venezuela's oil production down more than 25% under Chavez? It's the US' fault. Economic mismanagement at such a level of incompetence that it would be called wilful negligence in a a court of law? Who else but the Oligarch's fault. Electric system crumbling resulting in blackouts? Must be due to Colombian mercenaries. A national currency that's fast becoming this year's equivalent of the Wiemar Republic Deutshmark? Obviously because of greedy shopkeepers who would rather keep their goods off the shelf (in the process commiting economic suicide when there are no sales). And on, and on. Any dispassionate analysis of the current economic numbers - an admitted 68%+ inflation this year alone for example - would signal to any rational observer that the economy is now close to if not actually in a death spiral. But the Chavez acolytes' blind faith in their almost canonized hero (and former golpista) and his not-so-bright successor remains unshaken and leads them to, against all reason and logic believe that somehow, if they only can preach to each other and prop each other up with internet High Fives ("+1000000!!!&quot then things will, in spite of all evidence to the contrary, magically change and the shining city on a hill (ironically denominated the 'Bolivarian Revolution') will suddenly appear, the sun will come out, the village is saved and all will be well.

And I dont understand the supporters either. Althoigh I do see many also supporting Putin.

Putin, Maduro discuss falling oil pricesCCTV.com



http://english.cntv.cn/2015/01/16/VIDE1421358843956624.shtml

?itok=Fj0Jp20o
http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/01/23/saudi-arabias-tyrant-king-misremembered-man-peace


Obama & every President since FDR has shook hands with those world class human rights violators.

Afghanistan routinely ranks in the top 5 of most corrupt, so does the new Iraq government

In his farewell speech, Mr Karzai said the war was not among Afghans but "for the objectives of foreigners".

He said a friendly relationship with the United States was possible, but only if their words matched their actions. He strongly criticised Afghanistan's neighbour Pakistan, too, saying it wanted to control Afghan foreign policy.

"If America and Pakistan really want it, peace will come to Afghanistan," Mr Karzai said.

"War in Afghanistan is based on the aims of foreigners. The war in Afghanistan is to the benefit of foreigners. But Afghans on both sides are the sacrificial lambs and victims of this war."

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-29325906

Afghanistan Corruption Fostered by U.S., Pentagon Finds

April 30 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. government “created an environment that fostered corruption” in Afghanistan by supporting warlords, relying on private trucking contracts and providing billions of dollars in aid, according to a previously undisclosed Pentagon report.

“Corruption directly threatens the viability and legitimacy of the Afghan state” after a “large-scale culture of impunity” took hold, analysts for the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a 65-page assessment obtained by Bloomberg News. American forces dependent on Afghanistan-based trucking companies found themselves “trapped in a warlord protection racket,” according to the report dated Feb. 28.

<snip>

The assessment found that the initial U.S. focus in late 2001 on defeating the Taliban and al-Qaeda “created mutually dependent relationships” that “empowered” warlords, “expanded their opportunities for financial gain and impeded later” efforts to counter corruption.

“Once ensconced within ministries and other government posts,” Northern Alliance warlords that the Central Intelligence Agency and U.S. military special forces teams came to depend on often “used their positions to divert” government resources, sometimes “transforming them into what came to be known as ‘criminal patronage networks.’”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-04-29/afghanistan-corruption-fostered-by-u-s-pentagon-found

I should note Afghanistan was a US & NATO, they teamed up to get rid of Qaddafi -- compared to his neighbors, he was small potatoes as far being violent dictator but nationalizing their oil interests ticked off the US a long time ago. Why is it we continue trade relations with exporters of Wahabbism? The fight against IS, Al-Qaeda, whoever begins with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, & Qatar.

Given that the US embraces some very corrupt governments, the countries that happen to be in the target of US foreign policy would naturally stick together. However, Russia allied with a brutal dictator Assad becomes he happened to be an early & off-and-on target of US tough rhetoric.

how there are shortages of basic goods like toilet paper, food, etc,, how violent crime has skyrocketed in the country, how inflation has skyrocketed to become the worse in the world long before the drop in oil prices.
Yet, you and a few others here want to blame the US for all this?
What are you and the committed going to do when Maduro loses the next election?
Let me guess, you'll blame the US for interfering in the elections.

since Venezuela nationalized its oil?

Heres a link of events and a somewhat explanation. I've been paying attention to this story since day one. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venezuela to be followed by this link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Venezuelan_oil_industry


I've also been paying attention and reading how our cia and the rich oligarchs here in America has thwarted as many freely elected democracies around the world, (not just in mid and south America either) because they wouldn't be getting their way as they do with a dictator. I'm not going to go into a history lesson as I feel it is up to us as individuals to stay abreast of what is happening and the real reason of why it is.
Potential of our large corporations makeing large amounts of money is what fuels this. Work done to achieve the wanted results done by the CIA, for the most part.
Since the creation of blackwater I'm not sure the cia has a lock on this kind of behavior anymore. To me they jury is still out as I've not got enough information to make a solid opinion yet. The suspicion is there I"ll tell you that

BTW: second link this was mostly written from your point of view not mine


Americans need to stop pushing ourselves off on others

PL: If you can't see who we/our oligarchs/cia doesn't control flow of goods in any of these operations they're involved in for their powers to be then I can't help you. I'm an old man thats been paying attention a long time and see this all for what it is. The record is there for anyone to access that proves my point exactly. Well you have to be careful to pass up the planted stories or those of the stupid and uninformed who works on intuition and gut. I don't even pay attention those kind of people as theres nothing to be gained by it.

The Cuban crises is what started me on the paying attention path. Sitting on the tarmac for an hour and a half, for some reason I don't remember exactly what I was told, but I seen later it was for a chance of a reason for the escalation of that war. Thats started me on a more diligent quest for truth of what is going on and through that research I learned a lot about the rich and our cia and the connection. CIA who answer to no one I might add.

Last edited Mon Feb 23, 2015, 09:29 AM - Edit history (5)

Academi is an American private military company, founded in 1997 by Erik Prince.[2][3] Formerly known as Blackwater,[4] the company was renamed Xe Services in 2009, and "Academi" in 2011.[5] The company was purchased in late 2010 by a group of private investors who changed the name to Academi and instituted a board of directors and new senior management. Prince retained the rights to the name Blackwater and has no affiliation with Academi. The company received widespread publicity in 2007, when a group of its employees killed 17 Iraqi civilians and injured 20 in Nisour Square, Baghdad.[6][7]

Academi continues to provide security services to the United States federal government on a contractual basis. The Obama administration contracted the group to provide services for the CIA for $250 million.[8] In 2013, Academi subsidiary International Development Solutions received an approximately $92 million contract for State Department security guards.[9]

In 2014, the company became a division of Constellis Holdings along with Triple Canopy and other security companies that were part of the Constellis Group as the result of an acquisition.[10][11]

<snip>
Board of directors

Red McCombs (chairman)[56]
John Ashcroft[56]
Dean Bosacki[56]
Jason DeYonker[56]
Bobby Ray Inman[56]
Jack Quinn[56]
Russ Robinson[56]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academi#Board_of_directors

Halliburton & KBR are responsible for numerous human slavery & trafficking violations

Long-running debates over military privatization overlook one important fact: The U.S.
military’s post-2001 contractor workforce is composed largely of migrants imported
from impoverished countries. This Article argues that these Third Country National
(TCN) workers—so called because they are neither American nor local—are bereft of
the effective protections of American law, local regimes, or their home governments;
moreover, their vulnerability is a feature, not a flaw, in how the U.S. projects global
power today. TCN workers are an offshore captive labor force whose use allows the
government to keep politically sensitive troop numbers and casualty figures artificially
low while reducing dependence on local populations with suspect loyalties. Legislation
to combat human trafficking has done little to remedy exploitation and abuse of TCN
workers because of jurisdictional hurdles and the lack of robust labor rights protections.
Substantive reform efforts should address the deeper issue at stake, namely that the
government uses TCN workers to carry out a core state function—namely, the use of
force—without a clear relationship of responsibility to them. Unlike with soldiers, the
labor of TCN workers is not valorized as sacrifice and unlike mercenaries selling their
services to the highest bidder, they are frequently indebted to the point of indenture.

http://www.uclalawreview.org/pdf/62-1-3.pdf

(After reading the A B C on part 1 of 3 I 100x recommend reading the entire study)

Most I have personally talked to came from India, Nepal, countries in Africa (I can't remember which specific ones), Phillipines.

Corp Watch & Al-Jazeera have the best reporting I've found regarding this

Blood, Sweat & Tears:
Asia’s Poor Build U.S. Bases in Iraq

But Soliman wouldn’t be making anything near the salaries starting at $80,000 a year and often topping more than $100,000 paid to truck drivers, construction workers, office workers and other laborers recruited in the United States by Halliburton’s subsidiary, KBR. Instead, the 35-year-old father of two looked forward to earning $615 a month – including overtime. For a 40-hour work week, that’s just over $3 an hour, but Soliman made even less. He says the standard work week was 12-hour days, seven days a week, so he was actually earning $1.56 an hour.

For a year’s work, Soliman would receive $7,380. He planned to send most of his paychecks home to his family, where the combined unemployment rate tops 28 percent and the average annual income in Manila is $4,384. Nearly half of the nation's 84 million people live on less than $2 a day, according to the World Bank.

Invisible and Indispensable Army of Low-Paid Workers

This mostly invisible, but indispensable army of low-paid workers has helped set new records for the largest civilian workforce ever hired in support of a U.S. war. They may be the most significant factor to the Pentagon’s argument that privatizing military support services is far more cost-efficient for the U.S. taxpayer than using its own troops to maintain camps and feed its ranks.

But American contractors returning home frequently share horrible tales of the working and living conditions that these TCNs endure on a daily basis.

TCNs frequently sleep in crowded trailers, wait outside in line in 100 degree heat to eat “slop,” lack adequate medical care and work almost every waking hour seven days a week for little or no overtime pay. Frequently, the workers lack proper safety equipment for hard labor

And when insurgents fire incoming mortars and rockets at the sprawling military camps, American contractors slip on helmets and bulletproof vests, but TCNs are frequently shielded by only the shirts on their backs and the flimsy trailers they sleep in.

http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12675

IRAQ: Indian Contract Workers in Iraq Complain of Exploitation

For an $1,800 fee, the recruiter promised to get the two young south Indian men jobs as butchers on a military base in Kuwait for two years, they said. With salaries of $385 a month, a small fortune by Indian standards, they would join more than three million Indians already working in the Persian Gulf and enriching their families back home.

They mortgaged a relative's house and land, paid the fee and flew to Kuwait in August with two of their friends. What they say they encountered when they got there landed on the front pages of Indian newspapers this week, with one headline declaring "Indians Abused in Iraq" in "U.S. Slave Camps."

Within days, the brothers said, they and their friends found themselves on an American military base in northern Iraq working for a Saudi subcontractor of Kellogg, Brown & Root, or KBR, a subsidiary of Halliburton. They said their supervisor, who had taken their passports in Kuwait, told them they were obligated to work on the base for six months and could not leave.

Working alongside 200 other laborers, from India, the Philippines and Sri Lanka, they first cleaned American latrines and then washed American dishes, the brothers said. Their pay was roughly $150 a month, they said, less than half of what the recruiter had promised.

http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12675

I post that article to post this was one, 12 years after the start of the Iraq war.

South Asian workers are at the bottom of the social hierarchy on U.S. bases. They earn far less than American or European contractors, work 12-hour days with little or no time off and, on some bases, aren’t allowed to use cellphones or speak to military personnel. On the base we visited, Camp Marmal, most were surprised and nervous when we approached them, concerned that talking to journalists could get them in trouble. One young man’s face contorted in terror when asked whether he had paid a recruiting fee. He shook his head no, fearful of any reprisals. “To come here, you have to use an agent,” another worker told us. “There is no other way. So we pay money to come.”

An agent is a person from a recruitment agency hired to find laborers for a company — in this case, the subcontractor. Sindhu Kavinamannil, a certified fraud examiner who has investigated labor networks between India and the Middle East, says there are tens of thousands of recruitment agencies in India and Nepal, the majority of them unregistered. They might be headquartered in large cities, she adds, but they each have hundreds of agents and subagents spread out across small towns and villages.

<snip>

Why would a company outsource hiring when it receives direct applications? “Employees at the subcontractor are taking kickbacks from these agents,” the former manager told us. “They tell the workers to apply through the agent, and the agent gets money from (the workers). The agent splits some of that fee with the people in human resources.”

In other words, because taking fees from applicants is illegal, subcontractors outsource hiring to recruiters who are willing to pass a portion of their fees up the chain. As a result, applicants who pay recruiting fees are often indirectly paying their employer — the subcontractor — simply for the opportunity to work.

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/3/7/after-12-years-ofwarlaborabusesrampantonusbasesinafghanistan.html

The reason why it is illegal because of this executive order but the "zero tolerance" claims in it are laughable.

(i) using misleading or fraudulent recruitment practices during the recruitment of employees, such as failing to disclose basic information or making material misrepresentations regarding the key terms and conditions of employment, including wages and fringe benefits, the location of work, living conditions and housing (if employer provided or arranged), any significant costs to be charged to the employee, and, if applicable, the hazardous nature of the work;

(ii) charging employees recruitment fees;

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/09/25/executive-order-strengthening-protections-against-trafficking-persons-fe

Al-Jazeera has reports on that, usually there is a "screening question" but if a TCN answers the did they pay recruitment fee honestly the contractor terminates them so many lie because they need that year's salary to make back what they paid to "bait & switch" recruiters.

On edit -- The "butcher" listing is obviously false given that dining facilities have a short order line & main course, that varies. For some reason Lobster is served once a week. CSC Scania had "Fajita Tuesdays", most of the food is stored/heated. TCNs I had the pleasure of "supervising" (Military was tasked keeping tabs on the cooking temperatures but we actually only used the gauge maybe once every 10 (Dinner - Midnight - Breakfast --worked the night shift here though I hear lunch is notoriously difficult) in the Zone 2 DFAC in Camp Arif Jan, Kuwait. TCNs prepared & ate curry during the down times. I tried it once, incredibly spicy. They did all the cleaning, refiling & mixing of beverage dispensers all without ever being directed or ordered too, got along with them great which is far more than I can say about Civilian contractors & enforcing DFAC rules which were very strict (couldn't allow people take ice cream outside with them during the summer time--likely an explanation in how it relates to germs is the logical explanation given that we had to watch people coming in & order those to return to the hand washing station to those who skipped it. I'll never forget the "GS-7" I told to wash his hands. No one took offense over my regulations enforcement nearly as much as he did and that includes a WO 3 who gave me props for having the courage to tell him he is taking far too many Gatorade packets.

Out of curiousity I decided to look up his "GS-7 is the equivalent of Colonel" claims

The GS-1 through GS-7 range generally marks entry-level positions

Given that Colonels in the US Army routinely outrank Battalion Commanders I wonder a little more about him who asked my NCOIC "what if a Colonel walked in here?" "He would tell the Colonel to go back & wash his hands" These DFAC rules applied to everyone though no one fucked with the 3 Star Marine General who left his soft cap on the table at breakfast every morning.

I have never understood this argument.

why that thug Maduro is arresting the political opposition on painfully obviously trumped-up charges that would make Stalin proud.

has much to do with this at all.

'Stalin'. LMFAO.

are blaming the US for all of Venezuela's problem, not where it lies, with the ex bus driver who's driving the country into the ground.
But rest assured, the people of VN. will opt for a new govt that will hopefully start to pull VN out to the morass that the incompetent buffoon, Maduro, has sunk them into.

So much insult and invective.

Not angry at all, just contempt for those that will do anything to excuse their hero, Maduro, from any of the country's ills and blame everything on the US.

He would have made Hitler proud with his actions during the Caracazo.

In a just world, he would have gone a la pared a long time ago.

And now he's in trouble for trying to subvert the government. Boo fucking hoo. He just signed onto a call for a transitional government. Venezuela doesn't need a transitional government; it has a government. If the opposition doesn't like the government, it should try winning an election.

long as they have the wrong ideology.

Signing a call for a transitional government isn't a criminal offense in a sane society. If Maduro were anything less than a thug, he would have responded as you just did:

No reason Maduro couldn't just say that.

Instead of sending his storm troopers to arrest the guy on trumped-up charges of plotting a coup with the US government.

Maduro is doing his best to make that crowd a preferable alternative. People who never would have gotten within 25% of Chavez.

And, really, Hitler comparisons? Jesus. It wasn't even the rightwingers who were in power then.

and every effort would be made to assure the public it was not pure political retribution.

If you're talking about a coup, well the DOJ would certainly release EVIDENCE if they arrested someone on such a serious crime, especially a prominent member of the political opposition.

Maduro has never provided any evidence for his "coup rumor of the week" accusations.

How gullible does someone have to be before they suspect he's just making shit up?

in the US, we'd call it a political party's platform.
I read it as, "here are the problems with the country, and here is how we are going to fix things."
And it's ok to say you aren't happy with your leader, and want him out of power. We do it here all the time. The only people that have a problem with it are totalitarians. Or if it's not your team saying it.

And, of course, everyone knows what happened to him.

Oh. wait.

The latter -- for any number of reasons -- appears to be more vulnerable than the former.

He thinks he can arrest his way out of any problem.

Shortages of goods? Arrest storeowners!

Politically unpopular? Arrest the opposition!

He's like something out of Voltaire's imagination.

Published 9 February 2015
84% of Venezuelans Back Measures Against Hoarding

Venezuelans have been facing shortages of basic goods, in part due to hoarding by businesses.


According the poll conducted by Venezuelan polling firm, Hinterlaces, a staggering 84 percent of Venezuelans support the government using a “firm hand” against those who are hoarding basic goods.

The poll asked, “Do you agree with those who say the government should use a firm hand in order to combat hoarding and speculation?”

The Venezuelan government has been working to end hoarding and speculation by businesses that are opposed to price controls in the country, including some with alleged links to opposition parties. Earlier this month, a massive stockpile of goods hidden in a warehouse was uncovered.

Several managers with the Farmatodo chain were detained after it was alleged that they artificially created long lines by purposefully under-staffing their stories. The president of the National Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, denounced a plot by the opposition to sow disorder by provoking conflict in these lineups.

The poll also asked, “Do you agree or disagree with those who say merchants and businesspeople are taking advantage of the economic crisis in order to hoard products and speculate on prices?” 53 percent of respondents said they agreed, with 45 disagreeing.

The Hinterlaces poll was conducted Jan. 21 to 27 this year and garnered 1,200 respondents.

More:
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/84-of-Venezuelans-Back-Measures-Against-Hoarding-20150209-0018.html

[center]~ ~ ~[/center]
Do you have any credible links to evidence Maduro arrests the opposition because he's unpopular?

There is evidence Maduro is unpopular.

There is zero evidence the people he's arrested have committed crimes.

Anyone with a basic literacy in economics knows that hoarding is driven by goods shortages, not vice versa. If there is no shortage of goods, then there is no reason for anyone to hoard.

Maduro is arresting storeowners for "allegedly" committing the absurd 'crime' of understaffing their stores (of course, price controls mean stores can't make enough money to hire more workers, but no one explained that to Maduro).

Maduro and his apologists are the cartoon versions of leftwing authoritarians who think that any problem can be ordered to go away by the government.

Straight out of Voltaire, such stupidity is.

isn't the same at all as 100% state owned media that is a problem & Russian government is actively involved in. They appear to be an independent global news organizations that received or receives government funds with numerous journalists hired, Larry King appears to be their most high profile signing.

While RT are always among the first to report Putin criticisms or even what his claims are but negative reports exist

Opposition requests license for 100,000 strong rally in Moscow

The opposition coalition Solidarity has submitted a request for a major march against the authorities’ anti-crisis measures on March 1. Moscow City Hall is yet to grant approval for the rally.

The news about the application was reported by one of Solidarity’s key activists, Sergey Davidis. He told Interfax the event would be named simply ‘Spring’ and the maximum turnout is estimated at 100,000. The main objective of the march is to express discontent with the anti-crisis program of the authorities, Davidis elaborated.

The head of Moscow’s directorate for regional security, Aleksey Mayorov, told reporters on Monday that various political movements had submitted six different applications for mass rallies on March 1 and added that it was early to talk about any particular plans. According to Russian law, civil servants have three days to officially permit or ban the rally.

On Sunday one of the main figures behind the planned rally – the leader of the Party of Progress Aleksey Navalny – was detained for promoting the march.

http://rt.com/politics/232671-russia-navalny-propaganda-detention/

It is a propaganda organ for the Kremlin. It's less credible than Fox News. There are multiple internal accounts establishing this.

Ditto Telesur, which is 51% owned by Maduro's government. Another 19% is owned by Cuba.

I don't see any government ownership control. RT is routinely lumped in the context of credible substantiated allegations against 100% state owned Russian media.

Less credible than Fox News is claim badly need of substantiated. They are easily among the worst information warriors of all-time. How often does Fox reporting slip "terrorist" like they did before a boring body language expert interview over "fist-bumping" which the expert was very favorable or basically claimed the obvious that a shows connection, bond, whatever with Michelle Obama.

I remember turning to Fox during House Democrats giving a statement immediately after the first bailout vote failed & Shep Smith claimed Wall-Street was actively taking a pounding & claimed it was directly because of House Democrats giving that statement so he cut it off & turned to other reporting.

RT pushes certain stories & views, but I don't see much when it comes false reporting. RT America has an apparent left-wing bias that shows priority to stories that mainstream news ignores, it is helpful when they function as a filler for stories US news organization leaves out. Also a lot of top stories are the same top stories of US news organizations. Russian politics, it becomes more of a tangled web & more one sided but it isn't accurate to view Putin as the only Russian that has a negative perspective of the US. Many Russians share that & much of Eastern Europe for that matter.

Though you can count on RT for video on US State Department officials grilled by reporters (I'm very interested in the news organizations those reporters with the tough questions work with)

Really?

Do you think the mafia state in Russia funds Rt.com out of a desire to see honest journalism?

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/RT#Political_bias

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RT_(TV_network)#Propaganda_and_related_issues

States do not found and fund media operations because they are interested in journalism.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-today-tomorrow--the-world-2083869.html

If there is a financial advantage to storing the merchandize, and taking it next door to Colombia to sell at far greater prices, that's what they are also doing, of course.

Clearly nothing is done without a purpose. Your claim to literacy in economics doesn't quite get the job done in explaining something which has been going on for years, and widely known to be happening,

If there were no shortages, hoarding would not achieve anything.

Indeed there are those who are selling goods on the black market. A predictable and unavoidable consequence of price controls and shortages.

Maybe instead of wild and unfounded allegations of grand conspiracies, maybe y'all should admit that maybe Maduro's economic policies have deep flaws.

and our government won't make a peep.

But if you cross transnational banks, oil, sweatshop, or ag corporations, your every sin no matter how small proves your government must be overthrown.

about human right and democracy.

If democracies don't do what big business says, they lose all their human rights, and a new government will be appointed for them until they learn how to vote correctly.

...there's nothing for it but the missiles now.

- It's simpler when all your foreign policy comes from drones.....

K&R

What are the lives of precious human beings when profits and political popularity are at stake?

The 2015 elections will be interesting. However, Chávez and Maduro have followed economic policies that will force a very long road for Venezuela. All they can really hope for is for oil prices to go up to give them some space for economic reforms and diversification.

Well, I say it will be interesting. Highly likely that in 2015, the elections won't have much connection to actual elections.

"Venezuela has begun to live in a climate arbitrariness, anguish and repression only comparable to the authoritarian regimes of the past."

"Venezuela is becoming increasingly unrecognizable in the world as a democracy, as its government loses legitimacy on a daily basis under the weight of its Human Rights violations and the inhuman and degrading treatment it inflicts on the leaders of the democratic forces and on its own citizens."

"We make a fervent call for the immediate release of all the political prisoners, for an end to the persecution and repression of the leaders of the Venezuelan democratic forces by the government of Nicolás Maduro, for a halt to the erosion of the institutions and the legal order of the State, and for an urgent and decided response to the wants and needs of the people who today feel increasingly threatened by the violence and the climate of confrontation which emanates from their own government."


http://www.socialistinternational.org/viewArticle.cfm?ArticleID=2340