Of course this is a rather lengthy list (what the media isn't telling you) - but below are two recent examples:
Life in Venezuela now consists of empty grocery stores, record rates of violent crime, and widespread shortagesof just about everything. The economic and political conditions have been deteriorating for years, but recent stories coming from this once-rich nation are astonishing. Bars have run out of beer, McDonald’s can’t get buns for their Big Macs, and rolling blackouts are a regular occurrence. The average person spends over 35 hours a month waiting in line to buy their rationed goods, and even basics like toilet paper and toothpaste are strictly regulated.
The fiasco began when the price of oil collapsed and sent Venezuelan finances into chaos. The oil-dependent nation, despite its imposing government policies, couldn’t prevent the fallout. The current problems are further compounded by rampant corruption throughout the Venezuelan government. The likelihood of a peaceful resolution is decreasing by the day, and political dissents are likely to be met with brutal crackdowns.
The desperation of the masses could explode violently under the right circumstances, and there are few things more dangerous to a nation than a hungry population.
The food lines seen throughout Venezuela are reminiscent of the Great Depression. Thousands fill the sidewalks and wait for hours to get their hands on basic staples. Tensions have risen so dramatically that several people have been killed in recent food riots and lootings. Dogs, cats, and birds are finding themselves on the menu, and a group even broke into the Caracas’ Caricuao Zoo to slaughter the animals for meat.
In an effort to relieve some of the pressure, President Nicolas Maduro briefly opened the border with Colombia, prompting over one hundred thousand people to pour across in search of products that have gone extinct in their own country. The border was originally sealed back in 2014 in an attempt to prevent the smuggling of food and people. The uncertainty of what the future holds has forced people to spend what little savings they have on securing enough food to get by. Without access to the resources needed for production and distribution, commerce has come to a complete standstill, and food shortages aren’t the only consequence.
The Venezuelan healthcare system, once a symbol of socialism’s success, has been crippled by vast medical supply shortages. Gloves, soap, and antibiotics have all vanished, with power often only working one or two days a week. The economic woes have created a full-blown public health emergency. Malnutrition combined with doctors’ inability to treat patients effectively has led to outbreaks of diseases like tuberculosis and malaria. With such extremely limited resources, many patients are falling through the cracks. Even simple illnesses are going untreated, leading to dangerous complications.
Life in Venezuela is now built around waiting in lines. As much as the lines have become the key to survival, they are also hotbeds for violence. Crimes are often committed in broad daylight, with assailants meeting little resistance. For other people in line, the risk of leaving their spot to intervene is just too high. Their dependence on government has literally robbed them of their ability to help others in need.
“These days, you have to put the line above everything,” said pharmacist Haide Mendoza, who witnessed a murder in the line at her store, CBS News reported.
The hyperinflation currently affecting the Venezuelan currency, the bolivar, is undermining every function of the government and economy. The inflation rate is now the highest in the world and is expected to hit 1,600% by next year. Despite the government raising the minimum wage three times to appease workers, the move has only fueled a rise in prices. In a highly controversial move, the government imposed forced labor policies to keep food production going. Maduro’s emergency decree promises severe punishments for those who refuse to work in the fields without pay. The social contract appears to have no end when it comes to the ‘greater good.’
It’s always interesting to see the selective coverage the media rolls out, but the struggle of people on the ground is getting too severe for them to ignore. The same policies increasingly pushed by Western governments are on display in Venezuela as the country descends into chaos.
The only way to remedy this type of repression is to hold the criminal government officials in power responsible for their contributions to the crisis
Scandal: Leaked documents released a few days ago provide juicy insider details of how a fabulously rich businessman has been using his money to influence elections in Europe, underwrite an extremist group, target U.S. citizens who disagreed with him, dictate foreign policy, and try to sway a Supreme Court ruling, among other things. Pretty compelling stuff, right?
Not if it involves leftist billionaire George Soros. In this case, the mainstream press couldn't care less.
On Saturday, a group called DC Leaks posted more than 2,500 documents going back to 2008 that it pilfered from Soros' Open Society Foundations' servers. Since then, the mainstream media have shown zero interest in this gold mine of information.
We couldn't find a single story on the New York Times, CNN, Washington Post, CBS News or other major news sites that even noted the existence of these leaked documents, let alone reported on what's in them.
Indeed, the only news organization that appears to be diligently sifting through all the documents is the conservative Daily Caller, which as a result has filed a series of eye-opening reports.
So what could possibly explain the mainstream media's disinterest?
Is the problem that the material is too boring or inconsequential? Hardly.
As we noted in this space on Monday, the leaked documents show how Soros' far-flung international organizations attempted to manipulate Europe's 2014 elections. The "List of European Elections 2014 Projects" details over 90 Soros efforts he had under way that year.
The documents reveal that Soros has poured nearly $4 million into anti-Israel groups, with a goal of "challenging Israel's racist and anti-democratic policies."
Here at home, they show that Soros proposed paying the Center for American Politics $200,000 to conduct a smear campaign against conservative activists.
More recently, an October 2015 document came to light showing that Soros' Open Society U.S. Programs had donated $650,000 to "invest in technical assistance and support for the groups at the core of the burgeoning #BlackLivesMatter movement." Since then, several BLM protests have turned violent.
A separate memo details how Soros tried to use his clout to sway Supreme Court justices into approving President Obama's unilateral effort to rewrite immigration law. "Grantees are seeking to influence the Justices (primarily via a sophisticated amicus briefs and media strategy) in hopes of securing a favorable ruling in U.S. v Texas," the memo, dug up by the Daily Caller, states.
Anyone with this much power and influence demands close media scrutiny. Particularly when he has extremely close ties to the would-be next president of the United States.
This year alone, Soros has given $7 million to the Clinton-supporting Priorities USA super-PAC, and a total of $25 million to support Democrats and their causes, according to Politico.
And when Soros speaks, Clinton listens. A separate email released by WikiLeaks shows Soros giving what read like step-by-step instructions to then-Secretary of State Clinton on how to deal with unrest in Albania in early 2011, including a list of people who should be considered as candidates to become an official mediator sent to that country. Days later, the EU dispatched one of the people on Soros' list.
Thomas Lifson, writing in the American Thinker blog, said "Soros got the U.S. and other accomplices to intervene in the internal affairs of a sovereign state…. How is this not huge news?"
How, indeed.
If Soros were a rock-ribbed conservative who supported Republican candidates and causes, you can bet that a swarm of reporters would right now be lustily tearing into these documents determined to expose any and every shred of evidence of influence peddling and misdeeds.
But because Soros is a hard-core leftist, he apparently gets a pass. Shameful.
Jennifer Khordi took the breathtaking image from 25 miles away in New Jersey, describing it as “one of the most amazing things I have ever seen.”
The semi-professional photographer, who is from New Jersey, shared a series of photographs of the incredible moon rising behind the World Trade Center in Manhattan on Instagram and Facebook.
“It was just absolutely amazing to see this,” she told Caters news agency.
“I plotted this shot and lined up with a lookout 25 miles from Manhattan.
“I think the best one is where the moon is directly behind the World Trade Center.
“I have always wanted to get this shot.”
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