Venezuela Under Siege by U.S. Empire

It is all about the oil. Whatever else one hears about Venezuela, it is all about the oil. That is what one needs to know first about why the U.S. Empire has Venezuela under siege. It is about the oil.

When President Trump says, "Venezuela is a mess; Venezuela is a mess, we will see what happens”, it is all about the oil. When the U.S. Empire imposes sanctions on Venezuela, it is all about the oil. When the mainstream corporate media (i.e. Fake News) cries crocodile tears about democracy, human rights and political prisoners in Venezuela, it is about the oil. When the U.S. calls into session emergency meeting of the United Nations and the Organization of American States, it is about oil.

Venezuela has the largest known reserve of oil in the world, and Venezuela controls its own oil, not international corporations; and it uses its oil for the benefit of its people. The U.S. Empire instead wants to control that oil and it wants the profits from the oil to go to U.S. oil corporations, especially ExxonMobil. Everything else one hears now about Venezuela is prologue or epilogue. The main plot is about the oil.

Pentagon Recruiting Playbook Revealed

Ominous developments in three states this summer – Oregon, Texas, New Jersey, and one city – Chicago, provide a glimpse into the Pentagon’s new playbook to recruit soldiers from high schools across the country. In brief, the military has been engaged in a robust lobbying campaign to lower academic standards to make it easier to recruit youth.

New recruits have long been required to hold a high school diploma or a GED certificate. This requirement is a major impediment to finding enough soldiers to meet annual targets, but even when struggling students barely manage to graduate, the Pentagon has developed a plan to marshal more of them into the military.

Pence-Portman Protest Party

Very serious looking white haired white man pointing in a menacing way

Friday, July 21, 2017, 3:00 – 5:00 PM.
Location:  35 East Gay Street, Second Floor, Columbus, OH 43215.
Facebook event

$1 Billion in U.S. Weapons Sales, Plus $261 Million More

BANGKOK, Thailand -- After the U.S. sold weapons to Thailand worth $1
billion during the past decade, this year's $261 million in U.S. arms
deals will strengthen the current coup-installed military government
against political opponents and Islamist separatists, symbolizing
President Trump's unconcern for human rights, according to analysts
and dissidents.
   "Please understand, the government does not throw state money into
just buying military hardware and weapons as some people claim," coup
leader Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said on July 11 defending the
armed forces' expansion and increased spending.
   Buddhist-majority Thailand purchased weapons from the U.S., China,
South Korea, Russia Ukraine, Israel, Sweden, Italy and elsewhere
during the past 10 years under military and civilian governments.
   Purchases include tanks, helicopters, armored vehicles, patrol
vessels, submarines, combat aircraft and other armaments.
   "Thailand has no real national security enemies. Internal security

Trump's cold-hearted agenda is immoral

Candidates say campaigns are about articulating programs, issues and priorities. But people vote for candidates based on how that person makes them feel. Consciously or unconsciously, elections are about giving voice to values.

Voters are moral proxies who want to know that a candidate or elected official truly cares about them — that they are authentic — more than they care about what they know.

President Donald Trump and his administration are expressing moral values that have no market value. The Golden Rule has both moral and market value. Trump wouldn’t want done to him what he’s doing to the majority of the American people.

Trump’s values express reverse gratification. The powerful are suppressing the weak; the rich are exploiting the poor; the elephant is crushing the gnat.

Ready for 100 Coalition Launch

Colorful grass and desert in foreground, skyline with cloudy and sunny skies

Tuesday, July 18, 6pm
Northwood-High building, 2231 N. High St.
This is the Environmental Coalition launch for Ready for 100, a campaign to ask the city of Columbus to commit to 100% renewable energy by 2050. Register at http://bit.ly/RF100Columbus
Location note: The Northwood-High Building has off-street parking located to the rear of the building and accessed from Northwood Avenue. Visitors should park in spaces marked "R" Reserved, Rardin Clinic Only for community meetings. Visitors do not need to pay or use the pay station. On-street parking is available (both metered and non-metered) but please be aware of all signs marking parking restrictions and enforcement of meters.

V.I. Pudovkin’s: STORM OVER ASIA

Los Angeles, July 16, 2017 – The Los Angeles Workers Center and Hollywood Progressive co-present the revolutionary classic Storm Over Asia.

 

Unlike most Bolshevik silent movies that take place in the European parts of the Soviet Union, V.I. Pudovkin’s 1928 Storm Over Asia is set in Mongolia, where it was shot on location, along with filming in Siberia. The sprawling saga occurs during the Russian Civil War and depicts a forerunner of Third World liberation movements, as Asians fight Western imperialists. This far out Far East classic has the epic sweep of future big screen extravaganzas with casts of thousands, and is arguably a Soviet Spartacus or Braveheart.

 

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