In honor of the White Rose Society

Sophie Scholl was killed on this date in 1943. She is an inspiration to me.

A Reflection On Our Politicians and Pundits

This came from Facebook.

Stop the US-Led Coup Against Venezuela!

Petitions and Condemnations Are Not Enough

The US Peace Movement Must Act Decisively!

U.S. Peace Council — January 26, 2019

Once again, the bloody hand of US imperialism is reaching out into Venezuela to complete the failed job of regime change that it started in 2002 against President Hugo Chavez. There is no doubt that another US-led coup is underway to topple the democratically elected government of President Maduro in the hope of putting an end to the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela.

The illegal act by the US Government to recognize Juan Guaido as the “President of Venezuela” is not only in violation of the International Law and the United Nations Charter, but constitutes a direct attack on Venezuelan people’s right to national sovereignty and self-determination. We do not forget that the same tactic of creating a US-fabricated “alternative government” was also used by the Obama Administration, and especially by Hillary Clinton as the US Secretary of State, in an attempt to overthrow the legitimate government of President Assad in Syria.

The forced regime change operation in Venezuela is just another instance of the ongoing policy adopted by U.S. imperialism against the governments that have been resisting US domination since the dismantling of the USSR — Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, North Korea — which is now being intensified by the exclusively corporate/military controlled Trump Administration. In addition, recent efforts by NATO to recruit Latin American countries, such as Colombia and Brazil, further threaten countries like Venezuela who dare to assert their autonomy. 

This criminal decades-long regime change policy is driven by both economic and strategic objectives. Venezuela has been in the US crosshairs, along with Iraq, Libya, and Iran, for its large oil reserves. Venezuela is also the primary exporter of oil to the United States. US control of these rapidly depleting oil reserves is key to the US imperialism’s domination of the global economy in the 21st Century, especially in the face of emerging powerful challenges from countries like China and Russia.

But an even more urgent motivation for US imperialism to force a regime change in Venezuela is putting an end to the anti-imperialist role Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution has played in Latin America. Since the ascendance of President Chavez to power in 1999, the Bolivarian Government of Venezuela has played a critical role in promoting self-determination, democracy and mass-empowerment in Latin America. It has been Cuba’s main supporter during the emergency period that it faced after the disintegration of the Socialist Camp. Venezuela provided subsidized oil to numerous countries in the Caribbean, e.g., Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, Belize, Nicaragua, that allowed those countries to finance education, reduce poverty and pay down debt. Venezuela also provided deeply discounted heating oil to impoverished families in 25 states throughout the US.

It is for all these reasons that the success of US-led coup in Venezuela would result in a disaster, not only for the people of Venezuela, but for all of the Latin America and even the people of United States. It can easily lead to a long civil war and possibly another US military intervention, this time in Venezuela, especially since Trump and Bolton and Pompeo have consistently said that this option is on the table. It would lead to displacement of hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of people, creating a huge wave of refugees throughout Latin America, which would affect the United States as well. Given Trump’s policy of anti-refugee, and an anti-immigrant border wall, one can imagine the dimensions of the humanitarian disaster that could arise.

The U.S. Peace Council strongly opposes US imperialism’s criminal interference in the internal affairs of Venezuela and demands full respect for the will of the majority of the Venezuelan people who have freely elected Nicolas Maduro as their President.

We call upon the US peace movement to not limit itself to just signing petitions and issuing statements of condemnation, as important as they are. While these methods are necessary and helpful in applying pressure on the US Congress and the government, the history of US imperialism has demonstrated that such appeals alone have not been effective enough to stop the crimes that are being committed by our government abroad in our name.

We need to organize broad mass protests in every corner of the country, against war, against foreign intervention, and against violations of UN Charter by the US ruling class.

Many organizations in the US and around the world have already issued calls for mass protests against the ongoing US coup attempt in Venezuela (for a partial list of actions CLICK HERE).

We urge our members and supporters, and all peace-loving people, to join these actions or organize similar protests in their own area.

Let us remember how we stopped the Vietnam War. Let us join hands again to demonstrate the immense power of the people who want peace and an end to imperialist interventions.

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Local action: February 17 at 1 PM at Pritchard Park

U.S. Hands Off Venezuela Rally!

Hosted by Party for Socialism and Liberation - PSL and Party for Socialism and Liberation - Asheville

Location is Pritchard Park and time is 1 to 2:30 PM. This came from a facebook invite.

The U.S government is aggressively pushing forward its attempts to promote and facilitate a right-wing coup in Venezuela. President Trump recognized the opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who has never even run against the democratically-elected Nicolas Maduro. The U.S’s interference in another country's election is the height of hypocrisy given the uproar around the so-called Russian meddling in U.S elections. 

Once again we are witnessing the U.S.’s illegal interference in a sovereign nation of South America. 

Join the Party for Socialism and Liberation this Sunday in saying no to U.S imperialism! We will begin the rally at 1pm at Pritchard Park and then march to the Federal Building on Patton. 

NO COUP! 

NO WAR! 

NO SANCTIONS!

"Hold Out Your Hand" by Brandi Carlile

No More War!

This graphic came from the US Peace Council.

The only 'freedom and democracy' that the US brings to other countries is the freedom of the grave and the democracy of death. We must stop them.

Slavery in the USA

From The U.S. Peace Council

PLEASE CIRCULATE WIDELY! SIGN THE STATEMENT HERE -----> nowaronvenezuela.org Desplácese hacia abajo para leer la versión en español. No U.S. War on Venezuela! Support National actions on Saturday, February 23 - the one month anniversary of U.S. attempted coup.   We cannot be silent in the face of the latest U.S. aggression against the Venezuelan people. Nicolás Maduro is the president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, chosen twice by the people as part of an internationally observed electoral process. Since the 1998 election of Hugo Chávez, the United States has been relentless in its pursuit of regime change in Venezuela. With Donald Trump in the White House, these efforts have escalated to threats of all-out military violence, the plundering of billions of dollars in wealth from the Venezuelan people and pushing a multitude of outrageous lies in the global media.  For hundreds of years, the U.S. has waged war against the people of the world through coups, invasions and economic warfare. Juan Guaidó is a U.S. puppet. He is not a representative of the Venezuelan masses. The idea that a person can swear themselves in as president at a rally in the interest of “defending democracy” is laughable. The right wing in Venezuela claim the Bolivarian elections are rigged because they refuse to participate in them. Instead they engage in voter intimidation using violence reminiscent of Jim Crow terrorism against African-Americans in the Deep U.S. South. U.S.-led sanctions and currency manipulation are responsible for the suffering in Venezuela. Marco Rubio and right-wing media guide the Venezuelan opposition from Miami. The U.S. cannot stand for any country on the planet to enjoy its natural wealth or the fruits of its labor independent of Wall Street and the Pentagon. Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world and is rich in gold and other mineral wealth. Iraq war architect John Bolton said that regime change in Venezuela would be a tremendous opportunity to gain more profits for Wall Street. We believe him. Since the Bolivarian Revolution in 1998, massive strides have been taken to uplift the working class, Afro-Venezuelans and Indigenous populations in Venezuela. The working poor have made tremendous gains because the government implemented policies and passed laws to fight racism, sexism, homophobia and economic inequality. Despite sanctions and sabotage, Venezuela has maintained a transparent and democratic system through many elections. Venezuela provides aid to struggling people worldwide through subsidized fuel and by leading the way with progressive labor laws. Their gains are part of the global struggle waged by workers and the oppressed against the wealthiest and most powerful capitalists on the planet. Therefore, we demand: ● The U.S. immediately cease all hostile actions against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela — lift all sanctions, stop backing a coup, cease efforts to destroy the Venezuelan economy and respect the right of the Venezuelan people to self-determination. ● All countries involved in the plunder of Venezuelan wealth immediately return what they have stolen to the democratically elected government of Venezuela and its people. ● Wall Street must immediately pay reparations to the Venezuelan people for their suffering under genocidal sanctions and currency manipulation. In the internationalist and liberatory spirit of Simón Bolívar, we pledge to mobilize and fight on the side of Venezuela’s right to sovereignty, understanding that the gains won under the Bolivarian Revolution are gains for all the world’s workers and oppressed.

If you ever doubt yourself.....

The above came from a Facebook comment.

Veterans Call To Resist U.S. Coup in Venezuela

Veterans For Peace is outraged at the unfolding coup d’etat in Venezuela, which is clearly being orchestrated by the U.S. government. Two hundred years of blatant U.S. intervention in Latin America must come to an end.  Veterans For Peace was founded in 1985, in part prompted by the U.S.-backed “contra” war in Nicaragua, and U.S. support for the rightwing government in the bloody civil war in neighboring El Salvador.  We did not want to see another Vietnam War in Central America. 

Years of increasingly crippling U.S. sanctions have succeeded in destabilizing the Venezuelan economy and created great unrest, division and migration.  The U.S. government encouraged Venezuelan opposition parties to boycott last year’s election. Now they are calling the election fraudulent, and attempting to install a little-known politician more to their liking.  This is part of a dangerous game that the U.S. continues to play throughout Latin America. 

President Trump’s National Security Advisor John Bolton has called Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba the “Troika of Tyranny,” and boasted that they have now “met their match.”  Right-wing Cuban American Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, said to be deeply involved in orchestrating this coup, has implied that U.S. military intervention may be next. Responding to questions about possible military intervention, President Trump says that “all options are on the table.”  Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have openly encouraged the Venezuelan military to stage a coup and U.S. officials have even met with potential coup leaders.  Right-wing governments in Colombia and Brazil could also possibly be involved in U.S.-coordinated military action against the democratically elected government of Venezuela.

In our Statement of Purpose, Veterans For Peace promises to “restrain our governments from intervening, overtly and covertly, in the internal affairs of other nations.”  We call on our members in over 100 U.S. cities and internationally, to make their voices heard.  We must do all we can to prevent a bloody civil war from taking a huge toll on the Venezuelan people, and the peace-loving people of the hemisphere.

Call your political representatives, write letters to the editors, protest in the streets, resist yet another blow against democracy and human rights in this hemisphere and the world.

For more historical context details about the current situation in Venezuela, please read this Open Letter signed by 70 academics, Latin America experts and activists, including Veterans For Peace Advisory Board members, Medea Benjamin and Phyllis Bennis.