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Venezuela’s Constituent Assembly Elections
Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman)
On Sunday, Venezuelans elected 545 Constituent Assembly members - tasked with revising or rewriting the nation’s constitution.
The aim is restoring order after months of street violence - a US-orchestrated plot to replace Venezuelan democracy with fascist tyranny, complicit with internal dark forces, wanting the country returned to its bad old days, destroying Bolivarian social justice in the process.
According to National Electoral Council President Tibisay Lucena, turnout was 41.53% - 8,089,320 Venezuelans voting, many more than pre-election estimates. Opposition elements called for boycotting the election.
Global Polling: Which Nations Are Happiest? Unhappiest?
Eric Zuesse
Results have recently been published from surveys of 68,759 people in 69 countries around the world during 2016 by WIN/Gallup International, which organization had asked each of these scientifically sampled persons:
“In general, do you personally feel very happy, happy, neither happy nor unhappy, unhappy, or very unhappy about your life?”
The resulting raw percentages were posted online at "WIN/Gallup International’s 40th Annual Global End of Year Survey”, but the nations weren’t ranked there; W/G’s report is more like a data-dump than like a report.
So, based upon their numbers, I have here actually ranked the 69 nations, from the happiest, to the unhappiest, according to WIN/Gallup’s own calculations of “Net happiness,” which are their study’s bottom-line figures for each nation. WIN/Gallup says that “Net happiness (happy minus unhappy) globally is +59%,” and this indicates that the world’s average person is happy with his/her life, but not very happy with it. That’s good performance, but not terrific, worldwide.
Russia Irresponsibly Blamed for Everything
Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman)
Sino/Russian unity is a vital deterrent to America’s rage for global dominance.
The world community should join them in opposing US imperial madness, confronting it responsibly. Humanity’s survival depends on it.
According to the neocon/CIA-connected Washington Post, Vladimir Putin is on a collision course with Washington, irresponsibly blaming him for launching a new Cold War.
Trump Illegally Sanctions Venezuela’s President
Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman)
Washington consistently and illegally meddles in the internal affairs of other countries - a flagrant international law violation.
On Monday, the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) unjustifiably sanctioned democratically elected Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro - following Sunday’s constitutionally permitted Constituent Assembly elections.
Elected members are tasked with revising or rewriting the nation’s constitution, aiming to promote dialogue and restore order - above all serving all Venezuelans equitably, a notion Washington fundamentally opposes.
Assad on Syria’s Struggle Against Western Imperialism
Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman)
Endless war in Syria is all about US-led aggression, Assad the target, regime change the objective.
Partnered with its rogue allies, Washington wants pro-Western puppet governance replacing Syrian sovereign independence, what the imperial conflict is all about.
There’s nothing civil about it. Syria was invaded by US-supported ISIS and other terrorist groups. Endless conflict continues because America wants war, not peace.
Russia’s September 2015 intervention at the request of Assad was an important turning point, changing the dynamic on the ground, saving Syria from certain defeat, partitioning, and greater harm to its people than already.
Senate Rejects Scaled Down Obamacare Repeal
Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman)
Overnight Thursday, GOP Senators failed to repeal parts of Obamacare (ACA) - a cynical scheme to get something passed, conference with House leaders to agree on weakening ACA, a step toward repealing and replacing it.
The measure was defeated by a 51 - 49 margin. Provisions of so-called “skinny” legislation included:
Repealing the individual and employer mandates Suspending Obamacare’s tax on medical devices for three years
Defunding Planned Parenthood for a year
No longer requiring healthcare plans to include maternity care, prescription drugs and other minimum benefits
Expanding tax-sheltered health savings accounts, largely benefitting high-net-worth households
America Declares Economic War Against Europe
Eric Zuesse
On Friday night, July 28th, U.S. President Donald Trump said that he would sign into law the increased economic sanctions (passed by 98-2 in the Senate and 419-3 in the House) against any business that is declared to have "knowingly provided goods or services ... for construction, modernisation, or repair of Russia’s energy export pipelines.”
Russia is the largest energy-supplier to the world’s largest energy-market, which is Europe, or the EU. The biggest proportion of that trade is in Europe’s main source of energy, which is gas, which is pipelined into Europe from Russia. So: those pipelines are vitally important not only to Russia’s economy but to Europe’s.
US Plotting to Topple Venezuela’s Government
Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman)
Since Hugo Chavez’s February 1999 ascension to power, Washington wanted Bolivarian democracy replaced by fascist tyranny.
Earlier coup attempts failed, another likely planned, months of US-orchestrated violence a convenient pretext to act, along with imposing illegal sanctions on Venezuelan officials.
On Wednesday, the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned 13 current and former Venezuelan officials, along with others, wrongfully accusing them of “undermining democracy” - a US specialty at home and abroad.
Moscow Retaliates Against New US Sanctions
Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman)
Russia’s move was modest, having no effect on bilateral relations.
Washington was ordered to reduce embassy and consular staff in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok to 455 people by September 1 - equaling the number of Russian diplomats and staff in America.
Its southern Moscow warehouses and Serebryany Bor property were frozen, access by US personnel suspended as of August 1.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin approved the moves. A Russian Foreign Ministry statement said “(i)n the case of new unilateral actions of the US authorities to reduce the number of our diplomats in the US, it will be followed by a tit-for-tat response.”
“We reserve the right on other mutual measures, which can affect US interests.”
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Forced to Resign
Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman)
Following a unanimous Supreme Court ruling to remove him from office on corruption charges, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif resigned.
According to The Times of Islamabad, Pakistan’s Supreme Court “disqualified Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the Panama Papers case verdict. Justice Ejaz Afzal announced the decision.”
In April 2016, leaked documents showed his sons Hassan and Hussein, along with his daughter Maryam, own at least three offshore holding companies registered in the British Virgin Islands, tax havens for ill-gotten gains.
Sharif’s resignation is effective on Friday. He’s been investigated since last year on corruption charges. His choice was either resigning or being forced from office.
