Two weeks ago, Rep. Ilhan Omar tweeted about the Israel lobby in a way that some construed as anti-Semitic. In reference to the powerful American-Israeli Political Action Committee, she tweeted, “It’s all about the Benjamins.” It was flippant in a way that critics could exploit, whether in good or bad faith. Omar apologized with a...
Category: Americas
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Under CIA Eyes: Venezuela As Seen by Langley
In Counterpunch, activist author TJ Coles looks at what declassified CIA archives tell us about how the U.S. policymakers have understood–and misunderstood–Venezuelan reality. The records are publicly available at the CIA online database known as CREST. They illuminate the historical background of the story that the news media too often slight. Since the 1940s, the...
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For Russia and U.S., Venezuela’s Crisis Is an Oil Opportunity
In Venezuela, it’s all about the oil. Just as senior administration officials have spoken openly about gaining control of Venezuela s vast oil reserves as a goal of U.S. policy, so Russia’s actions are driven by petroleum politics. The difference: the Trump administration is pursuing a policy of regime change, while the Russians are trying...
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National Security Officials Dismiss Trump’s Emergency
Vox Media reported on Monday that a bi-partisan statement was released by “more than 50 former top national security officials” which challenged the evidence Donald Trump has used to justify the declaration of a national emergency along the country’s southern border. The letter calls on Trump to provide that evidence using “his agencies’ own official...
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How a High School Class Penetrated the Veil of Secrecy and Forgetting
A group of high school student from Highstown, New Jersey did something fairly amazing this year: They took effective action against government secrecy. They wrote a law, and, in a bitterly divided Congress, they got it passed. And President Trump signed it. The students in Stu Wexler’s American government class, persuaded Congress to preserve and...