Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Bill Gates isn’t practicing “safe social distance” with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein in 2011 photo. The two are about one inch apart. Photo from NY Times, Oct. 13, 2019

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Above image from NY Times: “At Jeffrey Epstein’s Manhattan mansion in 2011, from left: James E. Staley, at the time a senior JPMorgan executive; former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers; Mr. Epstein; Bill Gates, Microsoft’s co-founder; and Boris Nikolic, who was the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s science adviser.”
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3/18/20, “Bill Gates addresses coronavirus fears and hopes in AMA [Ask Me Anything],” Tech Crunch 

“Q: How should we determine which businesses should stay open? 

Gates: The question of which businesses should keep going is tricky. Certainly food supply and the health system. We still need water, electricity and the internet. Supply chains for critical things need to be maintained. Countries are still figuring out what to keep running. Eventually we will have some digital certificates to show who has recovered or been tested recently, or when we have a vaccine, who has received it."
 

[Being a global “philanthropist” is vaccine for Mr. Gates. It prevents criticism of him or at least prevents criticism from sticking]
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Added: 2011 photo, Bill Gates, pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, others at Epstein’s Manhattan mansion, via NY Times, 10/12/19:.......


Image 10/12/2019  from NY Times: “At Jeffrey Epstein’s Manhattan mansion in 2011, from left: James E. Staley, at the time a senior JPMorgan executive; former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers; Mr. Epstein; Bill Gates, Microsoft’s co-founder; and Boris Nikolic, who was the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s science adviser.” 

10/12/2019, “Bill Gates Met With Jeffrey Epstein Many Times, Despite His Past," NY Times, by Emily Flitter and James B. Stewart…(NY Times has changed its original headline for the benefit of Mr. Gates, removes word "criminal" which was the reason for the story. Original print ed. headline: “Gates Met With Epstein Many Times, Despite His Criminal Past.” Print ed. , “Section A, Page 1“) 

“Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender who committed suicide in prison, managed to lure an astonishing array of rich, powerful and famous men into his orbit…. 

Few, though, compared in prestige and power to the world’s second-richest person, a brilliant and intensely private luminary: Bill Gates. And unlike many others, Mr. Gates started the relationship after Mr. Epstein was convicted of sex crimes. 

Mr. Gates, the Microsoft co-founder, whose $100 billion-plus fortune has endowed the world’s largest charitable organization, has done his best to minimize his connections to Mr. Epstein. “I didn’t have any business relationship or friendship with him,” he told The Wall Street Journal last month. 

In fact, beginning in 2011, Mr. Gates met with Mr. Epstein on numerous occasions — including at least three times at Mr. Epstein’s palatial Manhattan townhouse, and at least once staying late into the night, according to interviews with more than a dozen people familiar with the relationship, as well as documents reviewed by The New York Times. 
Employees of Mr. Gates’s foundation also paid multiple visits to Mr. Epstein’s mansion. 

And Mr. Epstein spoke with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and JPMorgan Chase about a proposed multibillion-dollar charitable fund—an arrangement that had the potential to generate enormous fees for Mr. Epstein. 

“His lifestyle is very different and kind of intriguing although it would not work for me,” Mr. Gates emailed colleagues in 2011, after his first get-together with Mr. Epstein. 
Bridgitt Arnold, a spokeswoman for Mr. Gates, said he “was referring only to the unique décor of the Epstein residence — and Epstein’s habit of spontaneously bringing acquaintances in to meet Mr. Gates.” 

“It was in no way meant to convey a sense of interest or approval,” she said.

Over and over, Mr. Epstein managed to cultivate close relationships with some of the world’s most powerful men…. 

Mr. Gates and the $51 billion Gates Foundation have championed the well-being of young girls. By the time Mr. Gates and Mr. Epstein first met, Mr. Epstein had served jail time for soliciting prostitution from a minor and was required to register as a sex offender. 

Ms. Arnold said that “high-profile people” had introduced Mr. Gates and Mr. Epstein and that they had met multiple times to discuss philanthropy. 

“Bill Gates regrets ever meeting with Epstein and recognizes it was an error in judgment to do so,” Ms. Arnold said. “Gates recognizes that entertaining Epstein’s ideas related to philanthropy gave Epstein an undeserved platform that was at odds with Gates’s personal values and the values of his foundation.” 

The First Meeting 

Two members of Mr. Gates’s inner circle — Boris Nikolic and Melanie Walker — were close to Mr. Epstein and at times functioned as intermediaries between the two men.
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[Image: Melanie Walker, copyright World Economic Forum, NY Times] 

Ms. Walker met Mr. Epstein in 1992, six months after graduating from the University of Texas. Mr. Epstein, who was an adviser to Mr. Wexner, the owner of Victoria’s Secret, told Ms. Walker that he could land her an audition for a modeling job there, according to Ms. Walker. She later traveled to New York and stayed in a Manhattan apartment building that Mr. Epstein owned. After she graduated from medical school, she said, Mr. Epstein hired her as a science adviser in 1998. 

Ms. Walker later met Steven Sinofsky, a senior executive at Microsoft who became president of its Windows division, and moved to Seattle to be with him. In 2006, she joined the Gates Foundation with the title of senior program officer. 

At the foundation, Ms. Walker met and befriended Mr. Nikolic, a native of what is now Croatia and a former fellow at Harvard Medical School who was the foundation’s science adviser. Mr. Nikolic and Mr. Gates frequently traveled and socialized together. 

Ms. Walker, who had remained in close touch with Mr. Epstein, introduced him to Mr. Nikolic, and the men became friendly. 

Mr. Epstein and Mr. Gates first met face to face on the evening of Jan. 31, 2011, at Mr. Epstein’s townhouse on the Upper East Side. They were joined by Dr. Eva Andersson-Dubin, a former Miss Sweden whom Mr. Epstein had once dated, and her 15-year-old daughter. (Dr. Andersson-Dubin’s husband, the hedge fund billionaire Glenn Dubin, was a friend and business associate of Mr. Epstein’s. The Dubins declined to comment.)  

The gathering started at 8 and lasted several hours, according to Ms. Arnold, Mr. Gates’s spokeswoman. Mr. Epstein subsequently boasted about the meeting in emails to friends and associates. “Bill’s great,” he wrote in one, reviewed by The Times. 

Mr. Gates, in turn, praised Mr. Epstein’s charm and intelligence. Emailing colleagues the next day, he said: “A very attractive Swedish woman and her daughter dropped by and I ended up staying there quite late.” 

Mr. Gates soon saw Mr. Epstein again. At a TED conference in Long Beach, Calif., attendees spotted the two men engaged in private conversation. 

Later that spring, on May 3, 2011, Mr. Gates again visited Mr. Epstein at his New York mansion, according to emails about the meeting and a photograph reviewed by The Times. 

The photo, taken in Mr. Epstein’s marble-clad entrance hall, shows a beaming Mr. Epstein — in blue-and-gold slippers and a fleece decorated with an American flag — flanked by luminaries. On his right: James E. Staley, at the time a senior JPMorgan executive, and former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers. On his left: Mr. Nikolic and Mr. Gates, smiling and wearing gray slacks and a navy sweater. 

A Vast Charitable Fund 

Around that time, the Gates Foundation and JPMorgan were teaming up to create the Global Health Investment Fund. Its goal was to provide “individual and institutional investors the opportunity to finance late-stage global health technologies that have the potential to save millions of lives in low-income countries.” 

As the details of the fund were being hammered out, Mr. Staley told his JPMorgan colleagues that Mr. Epstein wanted to be brought into the discussions, according to two people familiar with the talks. Mr. Epstein was an important JPMorgan customer, holding millions of dollars in accounts at the bank and referring a procession of wealthy individuals to become clients of the company.






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Dennis Miller has new interview show on RT, today’s guest is fellow SNL alum Dana Carvey, 3/30/20

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3/30/20, Dennis Miller Show on RT with guest Dana Carvey, screen shot from RT video a few minutes ago. More screen shots at end of this post.
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3/5/2020, “Dennis Miller, Emmy winner and SNL alum, to host new interview show on RT America,” RT.com, Washington, DC 

“RT America is excited to launch “Dennis Miller +1,” an interview show hosted by American actor, comedian, talk show host and five-time Emmy award winner Dennis Miller. The program will premiere on Monday, March 9, 2020 at 9 pm ET, with new episodes airing on Mondays and Wednesdays. 

With “Dennis Miller +1,” RT America viewers can expect Miller’s same off-beat style, sparkling wit, sagacity and snark that have made him a star. 

“What do I like in an interview? I like it when the host asks a question and then listens to the guest’s answer and then reacts to that answer with an amplification through the next question,” Miller said of his new project. “I promise you, I will not sit here finding myself overly precious and thinking only about my next query. I’m going to have a conversation!” 

Legendary broadcaster Larry King congratulated his colleague. According to King, “Dennis Miller is an amazing person. He is not only very, VERY funny, but his intellect is sharper than any comedian out there. When you combine his talent, smarts and humor, it’s going to be one terrific conversation. I look forward to watching him on Dennis Miller +1.” 

“The entire planet is currently having a rather spirited back and forth, and it will be nice to jump back into the game. I aspire to walk in the footsteps of the industry’s best, true legend, Larry King, with whom I have been collaborating over the past year on his show and with whom I will now have the pleasure to be working on a regular basis,” said Miller. 

King has been hosting “PoliticKing with Larry King,” developed exclusively for RT America, since 2013. Miller was a cast member of “Saturday Night Live” from 1985 until 1991. He later hosted “the Dennis Miller Show” by Tribune Entertainment, “Dennis Miller Live” on HBO for eight years and “Dennis Miller” on CNBC. He also hosted a nationally syndicated self-titled talk radio program. He has appeared in numerous films and television shows and specials. Miller has made frequent appearances on RT America as guest host for King, sitting in for the eponymous broadcasting icon. 

“It is a perfect show for intellectuals who are thirsty for sophisticated humor,” said Mikhail Solodovnikov, head of RT America. “Our first episode is already available on the Portable.TV app a few days ahead of the television premiere.” On the first episode of his show, Miller talks to actor and comedian Jeff Dunham. 

Dedicated to the top US stories and the country’s most pressing issues, RT America is the proud home of “PoliticKing” with legendary broadcaster Larry King, prime-time blockbuster “News with Rick Sanchez,” special news program “News.Views.Hughes” with Scottie Nell Hughes, daily financial show “Boom Bust,” the Emmy-nominated “On Contact” with Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Chris Hedges, “America’s Lawyer” with hall-of-fame lawyer Mike Papantonio, “World According to Jesse” with former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura, “The Big Picture” with Holland Cooke, satirical late-night show “Redacted Tonight” with comedian Lee Camp, media-critique magazine “Eat The Press,” daytime shows “In Question,” “Watching the Hawks” and “Sports HQ.””
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Added: Following are 3 additional screen shots from Dennis Miller’s RT show with guest Dana Carvey, 3/30/20
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Monday, March 30, 2020

Washington Post, NY Times, and Wall St. Journal didn’t complain when US banned Russia Today television as a “foreign agent”-Daniel Lazare, Strategic Culture…(SNL alum Dennis Miller has new interview show on RT)

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3/5/2020, “Dennis Miller, Emmy winner and SNL alum, to host new interview show on RT America,” RT.com

3/30/20, Dennis Miller Show on RT with guest Dana Carvey, screen shot from RT video a few minutes ago
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3/30/20, “Open Letter to Chinese Government Highlights MSM Hypocrisy," Daniel Lazare, Strategic Culture 

“The Washington Post, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal have written an open letter to the Chinese government urging it to reverse its “damaging and reckless” decision to expel their reporters amid a spiraling COVID epidemic. 

The letter makes all the usual points about a “free flow of reliable news and information” in the middle of a growing international emergency. And however clichéd, such sentiments are correct since access to the broadest possible sources of information is indeed essential if the world is to make it through the crisis. 

But the letter would have been a lot more convincing if the three papers had spoken up on Mar. 2 when the Trump administration moved to expel sixty Chinese journalists working for five news organizations that the White House regards as little more than state propaganda outfits. 

Moreover, they’d be on even firmer footing if they had not actively cheered on the most dangerous anti-media effort of all, the U.S. crackdown on the TV news service RT, formerly known as Russia Today, that began in November 2017. 

The crackdown on RT was in some ways even worse than McCarthyism since the latter was at least about something real and important, which is to say a Communist movement that controlled roughly forty percent of the global population and was pressing in on capitalism from every side. If the ruling class seemed spooked, it was facing a challenge of unprecedented dimensions. 

But the threat this time around was about something entirely made up, i.e. the belief that Russia had supposedly used various dark arts to trick Americans into voting for Trump. The nonsense began in January 2017 when [a small selection of individuals hand picked from only a few of the many US spy agencies by Clapper and Brennan from] the CIA, NSA, and FBI “assessed” that Vladimir Putin had interfered in the previous year’s election [Nov. 2016] in order “to undermine public faith in the U.S. democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability” and, in the process, boost Trump. The report was entirely devoid of evidence, yet the press took it as gospel. Even worse, the intelligence report included a seven-page annex accusing RT of engaging in “criticism  of U.S. and Western governments as well as the promotion of radical discontent,” running “numerous reports on alleged U.S. election fraud and voting machine vulnerabilities,” contending that U.S. election results cannot be trusted and do not reflect the popular will,” and hosting third-party candidates who contend that “the U.S. two-party system does not represent the views of at least one-third of the population and is a ‘sham.’” [All 100% true! Many thanks to RT]. 

Imagine–a foreign news service daring to suggest that U.S. politics were flawed! If papers like the Times or Post had the slightest inkling of self-respect, they would have laughed themselves silly over such hyper-sensitivity and told the CIA to grow a thicker skin. But they didn’t. Instead, they worked themselves up into ever greater levels of indignation. Within a few months, the New York Times was warning that “if there is any unifying character to RT, it is a deep skepticism of Western and American narratives of the world and a fundamental defensiveness about Russia and Mr. Putin” and that, thanks to snazzy graphics and snappy repartee, the network had put together “the most effective propaganda operation of the 21st century so far, one that thrives in the feverish political climates that have descended on many Western publics.” [So what?] 

Of course, one might observe that outlets like CNN and MSNBC are characterized by a deep skepticism of Russian narratives, so what’s the difference? But that wouldn’t be fair since everyone knows that America is right and Russia wrong and that any comparison between the two is automatically invalid, isn’t it? [This is exactly what we’re told the Soviet Union was like. No criticism of government allowed]. 

Not to be outdone, the Washington Post–official slogan: “Democracy dies in darkness”–ran not one but two op-eds (here and here) calling on the federal government to require RT to register as a foreign agent, a step the Trump administration would dutifully take just two months later. 

So the big two turned out to be more aggressive than the Trump administration in reducing journalistic diversity and using the power of the state to undermine a foreign competitor. 

Finally, just a month ago [Feb. 2020], the Times ran a front-page article declaring – queue the ominous music – that Radio Sputnik, RT’s sister outlet, had begun “broadcasting on three Kansas City-area radio stations during prime drive time.” Horror of horrors, the station was bombarding Missourians with Russki propaganda criticizing impeachment, the media, and the U.S. political system in general and informing that, in the words of one Sputnik host, that “the masses of poor and working people don’t have access to even the most essential things.” [Very true]. 

Where did Radio Sputnik come up with such a notion? Doesn’t everyone know that perfect equality reigns in the United States and that anyone who says otherwise must be working for a foreign power? 

In fact, while America never tires of touting its devotion to the First Amendment, it loses control when a foreign news service turns tables by engaging in journalism that is cheeky and irreverent. It wants a free press, which is to say one that is free to repeat over and over again how perfectly wonderful America really is. But it does not believe in a free press that allows foreigners to say the contrary.”



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Worried about pending Corona virus economic disaster, Finance Minister of German State commits suicide. “For him there was no way out,” leaves wife and two children-AFP, dw.com

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“Schäfer had been living under considerable worry and stress because of the current COVID-19 pandemic. “His main concern was whether he could manage to fulfill the huge expectations of the population, especially in terms of financial aid,” Bouffier said on Sunday. “For him, there was clearly no way out. He was disappointed and so he had to leave us. That has shocked us, has shocked me.””…“Seven days ago the German chancellor went into quarantine after a doctor who gave her a vaccine tested positive for the virus. The country has banned public meetings of more than two people and imposed tight border restrictions in an attempt to slow the spread of the outbreak.” 

3/29/20, “German minister commits suicide after ‘coronavirus crisis worries’," AFP via AsiaOne, Frankfurt

“Mr Thomas Schaefer, the finance minister of Germany’s Hesse state, has committed suicide apparently after becoming “deeply worried” over how to cope with the economic fallout from the coronavirus, state premier Volker Bouffier said on Sunday (March 29). 

Mr Schaefer, 54, was found dead near a railway track on Saturday. The Wiesbaden prosecution’s office said they believe he died by suicide. 

“We are in shock, we are in disbelief and, above all, we are immensely sad,” Mr Bouffier said in a recorded statement.
Hesse is home to Germany’s financial capital Frankfurt, where major lenders like Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank have their headquarters. The European Central Bank is also located in Frankfurt. 

A visibly shaken Mr Bouffier recalled that Mr Schaefer, who was Hesse’s finance chief for 10 years, had been working “day and night” to help companies and workers deal with the economic impact of the pandemic.
 
“Today, we have to assume that he was deeply worried,” said Mr Bouffier, a close ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel. 

“It’s precisely during this difficult time that we would have needed someone like him,” he added. 

Popular and well-respected, Mr Schaefer had long been touted as a possible successor to Mr Bouffier. 

Like Mr Bouffier, Mr Schaefer belonged to Dr Merkel’s centre-right CDU party. 

He leaves behind a wife and two children.”...Schafer image: AFP…Map, shutterstock
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Additional source: "The 54-year-old regularly appeared in public in recent days, for example, to inform the public about financial assistance during the coronavirus crisis."

3/29/20, “German state finance minister Thomas Schäfer found dead.” dw.com

“Police suspect Thomas Schäfer died by suicide after his body was found on train tracks near Wiesbaden. He was the finance minister for the state of Hesse, where Germany’s financial center Frankfurt lies. 

“The body of a man identified as Thomas Schäfer, the finance minister of the German state of Hesse, was found on a high-speed train line in the town of Hochheim between Frankfurt and Mainz, police confirmed Saturday. 

The presence of a body on the tracks was first reported by witnesses to paramedics, who were unable to initially identify the remains due to the extent of the injuries. 

Investigators said an investigation on the scene confirmed the identity of the man as Schäfer and that the death was likely a suicide. Police did not immediately release further details of the case.
 
The politician apparently left a note before taking his own life, German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported, citing sources close to the investigation. The note, according to the report, referenced Schäfer’s reasons for taking the step. 

According to media in the state of Hesse, the 54-year-old regularly appeared in public in recent days, for example, to inform the public about financial assistance during the coronavirus crisis. 

Schäfer had “considerable worries” over COVID-19 

Schäfer was a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right Christian Democrats (CDU). He had been active in Hessian state politics for more than two decades and was finance minister for almost 10 years. 

Germany’s financial capital, Frankfurt, lies in Hesse and is the state’s biggest city. 

Schäfer had been widely expected to succeed state premier, Volker Bouffier, if he decided not to stand for re-election in 2023.
In a statement, Bouffier said that the state’s leadership has received the news with “sadness and disbelief.” 

Bouffier also said that Schäfer had been living under considerable worry and stress because of the current COVID-19 pandemic. 

“His main concern was whether he could manage to fulfill the huge expectations of the population, especially in terms of financial aid,” Bouffier said on Sunday. “For him, there was clearly no way out. He was disappointed and so he had to leave us. That has shocked us, has shocked me.” 

“Our sincere condolences go to his closest relatives,” he added. 

Outgoing CDU chief Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said Schäfer’s sudden death “shocked me, shocked all of us” in the party. “It has hit us and left us sad and stunned,” she wrote on Twitter.

One of the candidates to succeed Kramp-Karrenbauer as leader of the party, Friedrich Merz, and possible successor to Merkel as chancellor wrote on Twitter about his shock at the death. 

“News about the sudden death of Thomas Shäfer has deeply shaken me,” Merz wrote on Twitter. “As a personal and politician he was one of our best – this is a difficult loss. We will mourn him with his wife and children.” 

Lawmakers from other parties also paid tribute to Schäfer. 

Left party member of the Bundestag Fabio De Masi wrote on Twitter “We often no longer recognize politicians as people or the burdens they carry away from politics.” 

Green politician Kordula Schulz-Asch wrote “I am stunned by the death of Thomas Schäfer. My deepest condolences and thoughts to his family at this time.” 

Schäfer leaves behind a wife and two children.”...Schafer image: AFP…Map, shutterstock
 
 
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Sunday, March 29, 2020

Trump’s illegal frat-boy sanctions on one quarter of world’s population are aggravating global pandemic-Mint Press News…(US is a monarchy of mass murdering billionaires)

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“The United Nations Human Rights Council formally condemned the U.S., called on all member states to break the sanctions, and even began discussing the reparations Washington should pay to Venezuela.” 

3/27/20, “With a Quarter of the World’s Population Under US Sanctions, Countries Appeal to UN to Intervene,” Mint Press News, Alan MacLeod 

“Eight countries, representing around one-quarter of all humanity, say that Washington’s actions are undermining their response to the COVID–19 pandemic sweeping the planet.” 

“The governments of China, Cuba, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Russia, Syria, and Venezuela – all under sanctions from the United States – sent a joint statement to the United Nations Secretary-General, the UN’s High Commissioner on Human Rights and the Director-General of the World Health Organization calling for an end to the unilateral American economic blockade, as they are, “illegal and blatantly violate international law and the charter of the United Nations.” 

The eight countries, representing around one-quarter of humanity, say that Washington’s actions are undermining their response to the COVID–19 pandemic sweeping the planet. “The destructive impact of said measures at the national level, plus their extraterritorial implication, together with the phenomenon of over-compliance and the fear for ‘secondary sanctions,’ hinder the ability of national governments” in procuring even basic medical equipment and supplies, including coronavirus test kits and medicine. It is a “hard if not impossible deed for those countries who are currently facing the application of unilateral coercive measures,” to cope, they conclude. 

The letter was shared on Twitter by Joaquin Perez, Venezuela’s Permanent Ambassador to the UN. 

“That U.S. sanctions are “blatant violations of international law,” the letter states, is not in doubt. As the American Special Rapporteur to the UN, Alfred de Zayas, notes, only sanctions expressly verified and imposed collectively by the UN Security Council can be considered legal; any unilateral punishment is, by definition, illegal. De Zayas, a legal scholar, notes that sanctions are tantamount to a “collective punishment” against a population, an explicit violation of multiple articles of the UN Charter, the foundation of international law. 

De Zayas traveled to Venezuela last year, describing the U.S. sanctions as akin to a medieval siege and accusing the Trump administration of “crimes against humanity.” The United Nations Human Rights Council formally condemned the U.S., called on all member states to break the sanctions, and even began discussing the reparations Washington should pay to Venezuela, noting that Trump’s sanctions were designed to “disproportionately affect the poor and most vulnerable.” None of this was reported in any major American media outlet at the time. 

The sanctions meant that Venezuela was unable to import key medicines for conditions like cancer and diabetes, leading to scores of deaths. A 2019 report from the Washington-based Center for Economic Policy Research conservatively estimated the sanctions killed 40,000 Venezuelans between mid-2017 and 2018. 

Yesterday, the Trump administration turned the screw tighter, putting out a bizarre hit on President Nicolas Maduro, offering $15 million to anybody who could bring him to them in chains. Other key figures like Minister of Defense Vladimir Padrino and Head of the Constituent Assembly Diosdado Cabello also had bounties placed on their heads, supposedly because they were part of a drug trafficking ring. 

The U.S. is also turning up the heat on COVID-19 plagued Iran. Senior Washington insiders like Newt Gingrich are dreaming that their sanctions will finally bring about regime change in the Islamic Republic. Sanctions led to the Iranian rial losing 80 percent of its value, with both food prices and unemployment doubling. While medicine is technically exempt from sanctions, in reality, Washington has frightened away any nation or corporation from doing business with Tehran. Even as coronavirus was raging through the country, no nation was willing to donate even basic supplies to Iran. Eventually, the World Health Organization stepped in and directly supplied it with provisions. An October report from Human Rights Watch noted that “the overbroad and burdensome nature of the US sanctions has led banks and companies around the world to pull back from humanitarian trade with Iran, leaving Iranians who have rare or complicated diseases unable to get the medicine and treatment they require.” At least 2,378 Iranians have died of COVID-19, many of them needlessly…. 

The sanctioned countries warn that Trump’s actions are killing not only Americans at home but people all over the world. “We cannot allow for political calculations to get in the way of saving human lives,” they conclude. However, precisely because the U.S. has so much power on the world stage, it is unlikely their protestations will get them very far.”




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