Jack Rasmus takes a look at this past week’s major event in the collapse of the China stock market, as well as the resurgence of Neoliberal policies in South America and the US pivot to that continent and destabilization of economies in Venezuela, Brazil and Argentine now underway. What’s behind the most recent stock decline in China? Jack explains its relationship to the slowing real economy there, and the pressure to devalue its currency, the Yuan, that is growing. Devaluation coming in China is reflected in investors attempting to take their money and run, thus the stock decline now underway. China government efforts to slow it via ‘circuit breakers’ is not working as well as before. The real economy-currency-stock nexus will continue. How this all has contagion effects on the rest of the global economy is explained. Jack then looks at the US ‘pivot’ to South America, and specifically how the US destabilizes economies by wrecking its currency. Global oil and commodity crash, slowing China, and US interest rate hikes are all having major negative effects on South American economies. In this scenario, the US is now attempting to exacerbate Venezuela’s currency collapse even further, while attacking it politically and legally. Venezuela is a model of how the US destabilizes a country’s currency and therefore economy, as a prelude to re-establishing more friendly Neoliberal governments and policies.
Arnold August – The Hand of Washington in the “Election Coups” in Venezuela
On December 7, 2015, after the December 6 elections, the White House indicated in a press briefing: “What is clear is that the people of Venezuela have expressed their overwhelming desire for a change in direction. And what is necessary is for all of the parties involved to engage in a dialogue about the future of that country mindful of …
Exposure to violence leads to unethical behavior, according to study
Can watching a violent movie make you more likely to lie, cheat or steal? What about reading a violent book? While that may seem like a stretch, a new research study shows it may be the case. The study, published in the Journal of Business Ethics, finds that exposure to human violence is strongly linked to an increase in cheating for …
Honduras Bleeding by ERIC DRAITSER and RAMIRO S. FUNEZ
June 28 marked the six year anniversary of the military coup in Honduras – the day that a democratically elected left wing government was ousted by a US-backed, US-trained cabal of generals and right wing politicians and landowners. It could correctly be called a “Quiet Coup” primarily because it took place with very little fanfare from the corporate media which, to …
Bacterial flora of remote tribespeople carries antibiotic resistance genes
Scientists have found antibiotic resistance genes in the bacterial flora of a South American tribe that never before had been exposed to antibiotic drugs. The findings suggest that bacteria in the human body have had the ability to resist antibiotics since long before such drugs were ever used to treat disease. The research stems from the 2009 discovery of a …
China Spoils Washington’s Economic War against Venezuela
In the coming months China will lend Venezuela, which faces bankruptcy, ten billion dollars. These funds are part of a bilateral agreement. For China it’s a way to quench its energy needs, while the US continue the confrontation line with Venezuela. Venezuela is under the threat of soverign default. In providing two five-billion dollar loans, China has become an important …
Why is the US So Frightened of Venezuela?
by MARIA PAEZ VICTOR, Counter Punch Obama is not in Kansas anymore, but he does not seem to know it. Latin America no longer slavishly accepts orders from the USA; it is no longer the USA’s “back yard”. The mainstream media has downplayed the fact that President Obama has just declared yet another country an enemy of the USA –one …
Behind the White House’s Sanctions Against Venezuela
Since the Obama administration decided last week to impose new sanctions on Venezuela, many people, including journalists, have inquired as to what motivated them to do this. Some are curious as to the apparent incongruity between this move and the White House decision in December to begin the process of normalizing relations with Cuba. Others are wondering why the administration would do something that so obviously …
Black Agenda Radio – 03.16.15
Rand Paul is Ally in Fight to Repeal Patriot Act Congress will consider a bill to completely repeal the Patriot Act, which is up for renewal, this spring. President Obama campaigned on a platform to rein in U.S. intelligence agencies, but “will soon leave Washington in even worse shape than he found it” in terms of civil liberties, said Shahid …
Project Censored – 03.17.15
Mickey Huff and Peter Phillips ask what’s behind the Obama Administration’s recent imposition of sanctions against Venezuelan officials, and its claim that Venezuela threatens US national security? Gloria La Riva and Roger Harris address this question. Then filmmaker Adam Horowitz discusses his documentary “Nuclear Savage,” in which he makes the case that the U-S deliberately exposed Marshall Islanders to fallout …