leftist | Porkins Policy Review

Ricardo Vaz of Venezuelanalysis.com joined me to discuss the ongoing regime change operations in Venezuela. We stared off by discussing the recent return of so called “interim president” Juan Guaido after his visit to several Latin American including Colombia and Brazil. Ricardo talked about the muted response from Maduro, who allowed Guaido to return with out a fuss after being banned from international travel. Ricardo also talked about the response on the ground in Venezuela to Guaido’s return, and the fact that he appears to be losing some momentum as a political leader. We also talked about Guaido’s recent travel where he was allegedly scolded by US Vice President Mike Pence in Venezuela. Ricardo and I also broke down some of the wild statistics that figures like Guaido and John Bolton have been bandying about. We focused on the claims of 600 army defections and 20,000 Cuban intelligence operatives working inside Venezuela. We also touched on the devastating impact of the sanctions on medicine like insulin and the bridge-aid standoff . We fished off the conversation by discussing some of the other opposition figures including Leopoldo Lopez, Julio Borges, and Juan Requesens.

Download PPR episode 176

Show Notes:

Venezuelanalysis.com

Guaido Returns to Venezuela amid US Threats Against Maduro

Trump Renews Venezuela Emergency Decree as Maduro Dismisses Guaido Threat

Another Failed Coup in Venezuela?

An Ocean of Lies on Venezuela: Abby Martin & UN Rapporteur Expose Coup

Debunking Four Mistruths About Venezuela’s Humanitarian Aid Showdown

The Real ‘Humanitarian Aid’ in Venezuela: Gov’t Supplies Food at Affordable Prices to Local Residents

Heavily Armed Soldiers Aborted a Plan to Enter Venezuela by Force

‘What the Hell Is Going On?’ How a Small Group Seized Control of Venezuela’s Opposition

In the first hour I am joined by my good friend Lizzy to discuss her recent work in Palestine. Lizzy just returned from the town of Beit Sahour where she was teaching music to child refugees. We talk about Her experiences in actually traveling to Palestine from the US and some of the bizarre realities of this process. I also share some of my own personal experience traveling to Palestine and my trouble when leaving Israel. We then move onto the issue of Islamophobia and discuss the realities of it and how it can subconsciously manifest itself. Lizzy discusses how her three years living in Israel affected her views on Palestinians, even manifesting into irrational fears based on lies. Lizzy also talks about her co-workers in Palestine and their experiences being jailed by the Israeli military. Later the two of us talk about the racist undertones of Israeli youth, and how they have isolated themselves from the reality that is all around them. We also finish talk about why young people are not more involved in the plight of the Palestinians. We finish off by discussing Lizzy’s college’s squeamishness with her writing on her experience in Palestinian which they deemed to “political.”

In the second hour I talk about some recent “revelations” regarding the Jeffrey Epstein case and why I think we should be careful about reading too much into them. I talk about the latest armchair experts who have emerged on Twitter claiming to have all the answers and smoking guns about the case and its relationship to Trump. I place particular focus on a man called Claude Taylor who has recently garnered quite a bit of attention both in the alternative and mainstream media for his Tweets on Trump and Epstein. I talk about his credentials as a White House Staffer and other issues I have with his story. I also talk about this is the context of some of the serious problems facing the way in which the alt/conspiracy community has been investigating and covering some important stories.