Western governments have recently expressed a willingness to “review” sanctions against Venezuela’s democratically elected government. Of course, this should be welcomed given the huge harm that sanctions have caused to Venezuela’s civilian population. But, as always, we must be skeptical of these governments’ motives. This latest move could simply be the next chapter in the ongoing regime change saga.
Monthly Archives: June 2021
Despite global opposition, the US stays adamant on Cuban embargo
The United Nations (UN) General Assembly has voted on a motion to condemn the decades-long US embargo against Cuba. The vast majority of the world’s nations supported the resolution. But two countries voted against it. It will come as a surprise to no one which two countries they are.
Filed under The Canary
Biden’s infrastructure deal shows how ‘bipartisanship’ is Washington codeword for continuation of the center-right status quo
President Biden recently announced that his administration has struck a deal with senators on the long-touted infrastructure bill that he had promised voters during his 2020 presidential campaign. He seemed particularly pleased by the fact that senators from both of the major parties had agreed to the deal. He said that the development reminded him “of the days we used to get an awful lot done up in the United States Congress.” He added: “We actually worked with one another. We had bipartisan deals. Bipartisan deals means compromise.”
Filed under Medium
Here’s what the corporate-owned media won’t tell you about the arrests in Nicaragua
Nicaragua has been under heavy fire from the corporate-owned media lately. The government of Daniel Ortega has arrested several opposition figures in the midst of an upcoming election. The US government and corporate media have been expressing their outrage about what they consider to be the growing dictatorial nature of the Ortega ‘regime’.
But there is more to the story than they let on. A deeper investigation shows that the situation is not as clear-cut as they make out. And as is so often the case with Latin America, it falls to independent media to add some nuance and balance to the flagrantly right-leaning and pro-Washington coverage of the corporate-owned press.
Filed under The Canary
As socialist candidate looks poised for victory, an exciting new future looks possible for Peru
After a series of short-term presidents following the resignation of scandal-plagued then-president Pedro Pablo Kuczynski in March 2018, Peruvians went to the polls this month to elect a new leader. The race is very tight with just 0.3% separating the two candidates. But the frontrunner, a socialist newcomer, now looks all but certain to win. And that opens the possibility of an exciting new future for a country ravaged by years of corruption, human rights abuses, and neoliberalism.
Filed under The Canary
Boris Johnson tried using the G7 to improve his image. It isn’t going well.
US president Joe Biden recently visited the UK. Boris Johnson has been attempting to use the trip as a way to shore up his ever-worsening performance as prime minister. But unfortunately for him, the rest of the world doesn’t seem to be buying his desperate efforts.
Filed under The Canary
Even The New York Times Now Admits That It’s US Sanctions, Not Socialism, That’s Destroying Venezuela
The facile right-wing talking point that the economic crisis facing Venezuela “proves” that “socialism always ends in failure” has become so hackneyed by overuse that it has attained its own tongue-in-cheek name. The ad Venezuelum, as it has come to be known, has slowly developed into such a tedious and predictable right-wing tactic that it seems to now serve as an all-purpose retort to try to discredit even the most modest of left-of-center proposals. In October 2018, for instance, then-President Trump responded to a plan by progressive Democrats in congress to introduce a bill to establish a system of universal public healthcare – something which every industrialized country other than the US already has – by stating: “It’s going to be a disaster for our country. It will turn our country into a Venezuela.”
Filed under Counterpunch
Latest Gaza massacre has prompted major two-state solution advocates to think again
For decades, the most widely touted solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict has been based on two independent states. Known as the ‘two-state solution’, this proposal has enjoyed widespread support from the vast majority of the world’s nations, including the US and all of its European allies. It’s also the favored plan of regional and supranational institutions such as the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN).
In the wake of Israel’s latest massacre in Gaza, however, prominent former supporters of the two-state solution are beginning to express doubt about its viability. Some are even openly coming out in favor of the rival one-state solution. Formerly considered a fringe proposal within conventional discourse, the latter is now looking more and more mainstream. And given the high profile of some of its new-found proponents, there is the possibility that it might soon eclipse the rival two-state framework.
Filed under The Canary
