by Stephen Lendman

MSM scoundrels support monied interests. They deplore popular ones.

They substitute managed news misinformation for truth and full disclosure.

They waged war on Venezuela since Hugo Chavez's December 1998 landslide presidential victory. They're at it again. More on this below.

After Chavez took office, New York Times Latin American correspondent Larry Roher lied. He called him a "populist demagogue, an authoritarian caudillo (strongman).

In April 2002, Times editors ignored Washington's orchestrated coup. It was short-lived. It lasted two days.

Times editors lied. They said Chavez "resigned." They claimed removing him "was a purely Venezuelan affair."

They outrageously said "Venezuelan democracy is no longer threatened by a would-be dictator."

"Mr. Chavez, a ruinous demagogue, stepped down after the military intervened and handed power to a respected business leader, Pedro Carmona."

Chavez established democracy. It's the hemisphere's best. He institutionalized it. He did so by national referendum.

He let Venezuelans decide. He abolished despotism. He instituted Bolivarian social justice.

Carmona headed Fedecameras. It's Venezuela's Federation of Chambers of Commerce.

It includes 12 trade groups: banking, agriculture, commerce, construction, energy, manufacturing, media, mining, ranching, insurance, transportation and tourism.

Washington plotted with Venezuelan oligarchs. Ousting Chavez was top priority. Bush officials hand-picked Carmona. They did so at the expense of ordinary Venezuelans.

Straightaway he proved his bona fides. He suspended democratically elected National Assembly legislators. He abolished Bolivarian constitutional reforms.

He did so by diktat. He replaced democracy with despotism. New York Times editors approved.

His tenure was short-lived. People power intervened. So did Venezuela's military. They reinstated Chavez in two days. He remained president until Washington killed him.

He was marked for death. Chavez knew it. He said so numerous times. He was infected with cancer-causing substances. They were too toxic to cure.

Four operations in 18 months didn't help. Washington wanted him dead. He's gone. Chavismo lives.

Chavez consistently won reelections overwhelmingly. In December 2006, his landslide majority topped all US presidential victors since James Monroe ran virtually unopposed in 1820.

Bolivarianism benefits ordinary Venezuelans hugely. It does so in ways most Americans can't imagine.

It's too precious to lose. So is sovereign independent freedom.

It reflects Simon Bolivar's vision. He defeated Spanish conquistadors. He liberated half of South America. He advocated using national wealth responsibly, fairly and equitably.

He strove to overcome what he called the imperial curse. He said it "plagues Latin America with misery in the name of liberty."

Chavez became his modern-day incarnation. Chavismo reflects Bolivarian principles.

They're hardwired in place. Venezuelans won't tolerate returning to their ugly past.

Constitutional law protects them. It benefits them hugely.

It guarantees free education to the highest levels, quality healthcare, subsidized food and housing, land reform, respect for indigenous rights, job training, micro credit, affordable electricity and cooking gas, gasoline at 6 cents a gallon, and other social, economic, and political benefits.

Americans get permanent war on humanity, imperial lawlessness, police state harshness, force-fed austerity, social injustice, growing poverty, high unemployment and underemployment, unaddressed homelessness, hunger and deprivation, as well as governance beholden solely to monied interests.

The history of America's MSM is unprincipled, deplorable and longstanding. All the news they claim fit to print or broadcast isn't fit to read or view.

Big Lies substitute for what readers and viewers most need to know. Chavez replaced Castro as Washington's top hemispheric bete noire.

He did so for good reason. He represented the threat of a good example. So does current President Nicholas Maduro.

Venezuelan social democracy shames America's sham system. Bolivarianism works.

So does its political system. Elections are open, free and fair. Jimmy Carter calls them "the best in the world."

America's are polar opposite. They're the Western world's worst.

They lack legitimacy. Democracy is pure fantasy. Candidates are pre-selected. Big money owns them.

Key outcomes are predetermined. Duopoly power runs things. Voters get same old, same old. They have no say whatever.

They get the best democracy money can buy. They get government of, by and for privileged elites alone.

It's hugely unfair. It's worse than ever now. MSM scoundrels support what demands condemnation. They march in lockstep with monied interests.

They wage war on Venezuelan fairness. Big Lies repeat with disturbing regularity.

Destabilizing Venezuela is longstanding US policy. Chavez forthrightly denounced it. So does President Maduro.

After his April 2013 election, he accused opposition candidate Henrique Capriles of coup plotting against him.

"Preparations are under way for an attempt to de-recognize democratic institutions," he said.

Dark forces never quit. At the time, Maduro accused US embassy officials of plotting "acts of violence."

He expelled two Obama military attaches. He accused another embassy employee of plotting sabotage against Venezuela’s electrical grid.

"I will use a hard hand against fascism and intolerance," he said. "I declare it. If they want to overthrow me, come and get me."

He asked Venezuelans to “(d)ecide who you are with…the country and peace and the people (or) fascism."

Destabilization continues. Obama wants regime change. MSM scoundrels support it.

Opposition fascist leader Leopoldo Lopez plotted against Maduro's government. He supported earlier in the year street violence.

He barely stopped short of urging insurrection. He was complicit with crimes too egregious to ignore.

Venezuelan authorities charged him with murder, terrorism, conspiracy, incitement to crime, setting fire to a public building, damaging public property, public intimidation, and inflicting serious injuries.

Maduro compared him to 2002 coup plotters. "There you have the face of fascism," he said. "They should go behind bars," he added.

He's part of an "ultra-rightwing group." It seeks US-supported regime change. Maduro promised justice.

Lopez "is responsible for crimes," he said. "He has to pay, and he will pay."

"For us, what's important is to govern and to make sure that groups like these don't do any more damage to the country."

Lopez was arrested in February. He publicly encouraged anti-government street protests. He supported violence. Dozens of deaths followed.

In late July, his trial along with four co-conspirators began. Delay followed. Proceedings were postponed until September 22.

On September 11, Deputy State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf lied. She accused Venezuelan authorities of "lack of due process or fair trial guarantees for persons detained in relation to protests in Venezuela."

She defended Lopez's lawlessness. She referred to "opaque justice procedures in place." She claimed detaining him and others was "arbitrary."

She blamed Venezuelan authorities for fascist-provoked street violence. She shamelessly accused them of "torture" and other human rights violations.

She demanded Venezuela "respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms guaranteed by international law."

Fact check:

No nation abuses fundamental human and civil rights more than America.

It's a pariah state for good reason. It wages genocidal war on humanity.

It's guilty of every imaginable high crime against peace and then some.

Rule of law principles don't matter. Torture is sanctioned. Peace and stability are verboten. Permanent war is longstanding. So is global state terror.

America operates the world's largest gulag. Thousands of political prisoners fill it. Global torture prisons supplement it.

Crime bosses make policy. Washington's criminal class is bipartisan. Monied interests control it.

New World Order ruthlessness is official policy. Washington rules alone apply.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Rafael Ramirez responded to Harf's spurious accusations. He called them "unacceptable interference in (the nation's) internal affairs."

"Venezuela categorically rejects the interventionist statement…in which our democratic institutions and constitutional principles are ignored."

Lopez's lawyers falsely claim Venezuelan authorities intend to deny him judicial fairness. Not according to constitutional lawyer Jesus Silva, saying:

His legal team knows "the Constitution and (Venezuela's) criminal code…"

"(B)ut this is part of an (anti-Bolivarian) international agenda…" It erroneously portrays Lopez as "a political prisoner."

He's "using this case as a political platform." Venezuelan authorities denounced Harf's September 11 statement, saying:

It's "full of lies and inaccuracies that aim to distort the reality of our country before the international community."

Venezuelan governance is polar opposite Washington's. America "systematically violates the human rights of its people and other people around the world," said Ramirez.

“The most advanced human rights principles are enshrined in the constitution of the Bolivarian Republic and they form a fundamental component of the morals and ethics of our people."

On geopolitical issues mattering most, New York Times editors consistently support wrong over right.

On September 20, they headlined "Venezuela's Crackdown on Opposition," saying:

Venezuelan authorities "responded to a wave of street protests by jailing opposition leaders, deploying the army against unarmed protesters and tightening control of the media."

"The deplorable tactics have largely driven an inspiring opposition movement underground, depriving Venezuelans of the right to challenge a leader who has put a once-prosperous nation on a perilous track."

"The imprisonment and trial of an opposition leader, Leopoldo Lopez, show how far President Nicolas Maduro is willing to go to stave off legitimate grievances in a country he and his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, mismanaged."

Fact check:

Washington orchestrated violent street protests. It funded them.

It's dirty hands bore full responsibility. Venezuelan fascists shared it. Their lawlessness caused dozens of deaths.

Venezuela is the hemisphere's most open society. Media freedom is cherished. So is free expression. America pales by comparison.

Venezuela's Law of Social Responsibility for Radio and Television (LSR) guarantees freedom of expression without censorship.

It mandates respect for human rights. It encourages domestic independent productions.

It balances popular duties, rights and interests with those radio and television providers as well as related parties deserve.

It disseminates cultural values. It promotes active citizen participation in national affairs.

It's polar opposite US values. Venezuela shames its northern neighbor.

Its jurisprudence assures due process and judicial fairness for Lopez and others charged with him. It does so in all trials.

Times editors claimed otherwise. They lied calling his trial "a travesty." They called his indictment "bizarre."

They shamelessly called violent street protests he helped lead "peaceful."

Venezuelan democracy under Chavez and Maduro is the hemisphere's best.

Times editors lied. They said Chavez governed "despotic(ally)." They called Maduro "an even more dangerous and divisive leader."

He "throttled a once-free press," they claimed. They called his "abuses…dangerous for the region and certainly warrant strong criticism from Latin American leaders."

They want Venezuela denied its rightfully deserved two-year Security Council seat next year.

They urged "Latin American countries (to) lead an effort to prevent Caracas from representing the region when it is fast becoming an embarrassment on the continent."

Times editors, correspondents and contributors consistently turn truth on its head. So do other MSM scoundrels.

John Pilger once said:

"Never has a country, its people, its politics, its leader, its myths and truths been so misreported and lied about as Venezuela in the past decade."

Lopez was complicit in high crimes. He barely stopped short of urging insurrection.

In America, he'd face sedition or treason charges. Longterm incarceration or capital punishment could follow.

Fascists operate extrajudicially. Washington supports their worst crimes. Tyranny defines US governance. It's perilously close to full-blown.

Replacing sovereign Venezuelan democracy with pro-Western stooge governance remains official US policy.

Don't expect Times editors to explain. Or Washington Post ones. They want Venezuela denied its rightful Security Council seat next year.

They called Maduro an "economically illiterate former bus driver." He's a former union leader, legislator, National Assembly speaker, and foreign minister. He's now Venezuela's president.

Chavez called him Venezuela's most capable leader to succeed him.

WaPo editors wrongfully blamed him for opposition fascist street violence. For dozens of deaths that followed.

For practically urging insurrection. They want "more visible action." They want sanctions. They want regime change.

They want US intervention to achieve it. They want ruthless money-controlled governance Americans get replacing it.

They want what Venezuelans deplore. What they won't tolerate. Bolivarian fairness is too precious to lose.

Chavez went all-out to preserve it. Maduro continues his commitment.

America is polar opposite. Class war rages. Wealth is redistributed up. Monied interests benefit at the expense of most others.

Social justice is a figure of speech. It's eroding in plain sight. It's on the chopping block for elimination altogether.

America isn't fit to live in. Bipartisan complicity plans much worse ahead.

Venezuelans have officials who care. Don't expect MSM scoundrels to explain. They're on the wrong side of history.

They support privilege over social justice. They back perpetual war for unachievable peace.

They ignore rule of law principles. They spurn democratic values. They support wrong over right.

They believe might makes right. They substitute Big Lies for truths too important to suppress.

They betray their readers and viewers in the process. It bears repeating. Don't expect them to explain.

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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks World War III".

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

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