This Is Evidence Of A Severe Stroke, Your Brain Has Forgotten All Of History And Economics...
Monday, May 20, 2019
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This Is Evidence Of A Severe Stroke, Your Brain Has Forgotten All Of History And Economics...
Vast gasoline lines form in oil-rich Venezuela
Only socialism can create shortages out of abundance...
MARACAIBO, Venezuela (AP) — U.S. sanctions on oil-rich Venezuela appear to be taking hold, resulting in mile-long lines for fuel in the South American nation’s second-largest city, Maracaibo.
Some drivers said they’d had to wait almost 24 hours to fuel up, and people have been grabbing catnaps on the hoods of cars or in truck beds.
Nearing empty and stuck in line, infectious diseases doctor Yoli Urdaneta said she couldn’t make her shift to treat patients.
“I’ve spent four days trying to get gasoline,” Urdaneta said. “But I couldn’t.”
A satellite cruising over Maracaibo on Thursday captured pictures of cars lined up for a mile (1.6 kilometers) through the city to the pumps, according to by Maxar Technologies, a U.S.-based space technology company.
Russ Dallen, a Miami-based partner at the brokerage firm Caracas Capital Markets, said Sunday that stiff U.S. sanctions on top of decaying refineries has begun to hit home.
Venezuela doesn’t have the cash to import key ingredients to keep up production in a country with the world’s largest oil reserves, said Dallen, who estimated that the state run oil-firm PDVSA is producing 10 to 15% of its capacity.
“It’s all coming together in a toxic brew,” Dallen said. “That is really having a devastating effect.”
The Trump administration this year sanctioned PDVSA in an effort aimed at driving President Nicolás Maduro from office, while throwing its support behind opposition leader Juan Guadó.
The U.S. sanctions essentially cut off Maduro’s government from its Houston-based subsidiary Citgo, depriving officials of an estimated $11 billion in hard currency from exports this year. U.S. officials say this cash flow long bankrolled what they call Maduro’s “dictatorship.”
Sanctions also put the squeeze on Venezuela access to diluents needed to thin its tar-like heavy crude so it can be piped over 100 miles (160 kilometers) from the field to be turned into gasoline.
The U.S. sanctions essentially cut off Maduro’s government from its Houston-based subsidiary Citgo, depriving officials of an estimated $11 billion in hard currency from exports this year. U.S. officials say this cash flow long bankrolled what they call Maduro’s “dictatorship.”
Sanctions also put the squeeze on Venezuela access to diluents needed to thin its tar-like heavy crude so it can be piped over 100 miles (160 kilometers) from the field to be turned into gasoline.
And the political stalemate shows few signs of drawing near its end.
In a recent flurry of diplomatic activity aimed at peacefully solving Venezuela’s crisis, European officials said they held intensive meetings over two days in Caracas with key players.
At about the same time, Maduro’s government and the opposition sent representatives to talks in Norway. Officials engaged in both efforts reported no breakthroughs.
The panic over shortages has crept into the capital, Caracas, leading to moderately long lines for the last three days at many stations.
Across the country in Maracaibo, angry drivers lined up complaining that police were profiting off their frustrations. Drivers said officers overseeing the lines allowed some to pay the equivalent of $3.60 — more than half of the monthly minimum wage — to cut into a shorter line while others waited to fill up their tank with subsidized fuel that costs less than a penny.
José Eustaquio Pérez, 65, said he took the offer.
“I’m too old and I’m not in the mood to...
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| Jesus Gonzales fills a container with bagged gasoline he bought at extra cost to avoid the line in Cabimas, Venezuela, Saturday, May 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) |
At about the same time, Maduro’s government and the opposition sent representatives to talks in Norway. Officials engaged in both efforts reported no breakthroughs.
The panic over shortages has crept into the capital, Caracas, leading to moderately long lines for the last three days at many stations.
Across the country in Maracaibo, angry drivers lined up complaining that police were profiting off their frustrations. Drivers said officers overseeing the lines allowed some to pay the equivalent of $3.60 — more than half of the monthly minimum wage — to cut into a shorter line while others waited to fill up their tank with subsidized fuel that costs less than a penny.
José Eustaquio Pérez, 65, said he took the offer.
“I’m too old and I’m not in the mood to...
BREAKING, Trump Tariffs Starting To Take Devastating Toll On China
Alphabet Inc’s Google has suspended business with Huawei that requires the transfer of hardware, software and technical services except those publicly available via open source licensing, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday, in a blow to the Chinese technology company that the U.S. government has sought to blacklist around the world.
Holders of current Huawei smartphones with Google apps, however, will continue to be able to use and download app updates provided by Google, a Google spokesperson said, confirming earlier reporting by Reuters.
“We are complying with the order and reviewing the implications,” the Google spokesperson said.
“For users of our services, Google Play and the security protections from Google Play Protect will continue to function on existing Huawei devices,” the spokesperson said, without giving further details.
The suspension could hobble Huawei’s smartphone business outside China as the tech giant will immediately lose access to updates to Google’s Android operating system. Future versions of Huawei smartphones that run on Android will also lose access to popular services including the Google Play Store and Gmail and YouTube apps.
“Huawei will only be able to use the public version of Android and will not be able to get access to proprietary apps and services from Google,” the source said.
The Trump administration on Thursday added Huawei Technologies Co Ltd to a trade blacklist, immediately enacting restrictions that will make it extremely difficult for the company to do business with U.S. counterparts.
On Friday the U.S. Commerce Department said it was considering scaling back restrictions on Huawei to “prevent the interruption of existing network operations and equipment.” It was not immediately clear on Sunday whether Huawei’s access to mobile software would be affected.
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The extent to which Huawei will be hurt by the U.S. government’s blacklist is not yet known as its global supply chain assesses the impact. Chip experts have questioned Huawei’s ability to continue to operate without U.S. help.
Details of the specific services affected by the suspension were still being discussed internally at Google, according to the source. Huawei attorneys are also studying the impact of the blacklist, a Huawei spokesman said on Friday. Huawei was not immediately...
Junior Senator Mitt Romney Congratulates Justin Amash for Endorsing Trump’s Impeachment
Romney referred to Amash as “courageous.”
"Republican" Junior Senator and failed presidential candidate Mitt Romney congratulated Justin Amash for endorsing the impeachment of President Trump, speaking to CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday.
Curiously, Romney expressed praise for Amash’s decision to call for impeachment while declining to endorse it personally. He told Tapper that he “had reached a different conclusion” than Amash had, leaving the Michigan libertarian the only federal Republican legislator to take a stance in support of removing Trump from office.
Tapper presented Romney with a hilariously “softball-style” interview on his segment on CNN, outright worshipping the Utah Senator when he claimed that he was someone who “personally conducted himself according to a certain set of moral and ethical principles throughout his entire life.” He went on to goad Romney to critique the President from a moral high ground.
related: Timeline: Mitt Romney’s History of Backstabbing Donald Trump
In reality, Romney made millions of dollars by destroying countless American jobsduring his tenure at Bain Capital. He was in charge of eliminating and outsourcing jobs at American companies, sending them to China and India where executives could utilize cheap labor.
Romney doesn’t appear to be the only liberal Republican to frame his politics from a sense of personal financial interest, however. Reports have surfaced detailing Justin Amash’s business relationship with Chinese companies. Amash received more than $1 million from a Michigan family business heavily dependent on Chinese imports.
Progressives throughout the entire Democratic Party have swiftly jumped onto a bandwagon to endorse Amash’s “courageous” call for...
Gowdy: FBI has Papadopoulos transcripts that are potential ‘game-changer’
Former Republican South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy said he is aware of potentially game-changing evidence in the FBI’s Russia probe regarding George Papadopoulos, the former Trump campaign adviser.
During an interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” Gowdy indicated he has seen FBI transcripts related to Papadopoulos that contain potentially exculpatory information on the question of possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian government.
“If the bureau’s going to send in an informant in, the informant’s going to be wired, and if the bureau is monitoring telephone calls, there’s going to be a transcript of that,” Gowdy told host Maria Bartiromo.
During an interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” Gowdy indicated he has seen FBI transcripts related to Papadopoulos that contain potentially exculpatory information on the question of possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian government.
Gowdy continued:
The FBI officially opened its counterintelligence investigation of the Trump campaign July 31, 2016, after receiving information from the Australian government regarding Papadopoulos. A top Australian diplomat, Alexander Downer, claimed Papadopoulos told him during a conversation May 10, 2016, that he heard Russia might release information on Hillary Clinton close to the campaign.
As part of its investigation, the FBI used a longtime informant, Stefan Halper, to make contact with Papadopoulos. He paid Papadopoulos $3,000 and flew him to London in mid-September 2016 under the guise of writing an academic paper on Mediterranean energy security issues.
Halper, a former Cambridge professor, was accompanied by a woman he claimed was his assistant. But the woman, who used the alias Azra Turk, was actually a government investigator. Papadopoulos claims during meetings in London, Halper and Turk asked him if he knew of or was involved in Russian efforts to obtain Clinton emails. Papadopoulos said he denied having any knowledge of the matter.
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A month after Papadopoulos’s trip, the FBI obtained a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant against Carter Page, another Trump campaign aide. The surveillance warrant mentioned Papadopoulos as well. It is unclear if the application for the warrant includes any information gathered by Halper, who also established contact with Page.
Gowdy, who served on the House Intelligence Committee, said he and Texas Rep. John Ratcliffe have seen the potentially exculpatory documents. He said he hopes the public will one day get to review it.
“If you have exculpatory information and you don’t share it with the court, that ain’t good. I’ve seen it, Johnny [Ratcliffe] has seen it. I’d love for your viewers to...
“Some of us have been fortunate enough to know whether or not those transcripts exist. But they haven’t been made public, and I think one in particular is going — it has the potential to actually persuade people. Very little in this Russia probe I’m afraid is going to persuade people who hate Trump or love Trump. But there is some information in these transcripts that has the potential to be a game-changer if it’s ever made public.”
The FBI officially opened its counterintelligence investigation of the Trump campaign July 31, 2016, after receiving information from the Australian government regarding Papadopoulos. A top Australian diplomat, Alexander Downer, claimed Papadopoulos told him during a conversation May 10, 2016, that he heard Russia might release information on Hillary Clinton close to the campaign.
As part of its investigation, the FBI used a longtime informant, Stefan Halper, to make contact with Papadopoulos. He paid Papadopoulos $3,000 and flew him to London in mid-September 2016 under the guise of writing an academic paper on Mediterranean energy security issues.
Halper, a former Cambridge professor, was accompanied by a woman he claimed was his assistant. But the woman, who used the alias Azra Turk, was actually a government investigator. Papadopoulos claims during meetings in London, Halper and Turk asked him if he knew of or was involved in Russian efforts to obtain Clinton emails. Papadopoulos said he denied having any knowledge of the matter.
Report Advertisement
A month after Papadopoulos’s trip, the FBI obtained a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant against Carter Page, another Trump campaign aide. The surveillance warrant mentioned Papadopoulos as well. It is unclear if the application for the warrant includes any information gathered by Halper, who also established contact with Page.
Gowdy, who served on the House Intelligence Committee, said he and Texas Rep. John Ratcliffe have seen the potentially exculpatory documents. He said he hopes the public will one day get to review it.
“If you have exculpatory information and you don’t share it with the court, that ain’t good. I’ve seen it, Johnny [Ratcliffe] has seen it. I’d love for your viewers to...
The 90 Miles Mystery Box: Episode #627
You have come across a mystery box. But what is inside?
It could be literally anything from the serene to the horrific,
from the beautiful to the repugnant,
from the mysterious to the familiar.
If you decide to open it, you could be disappointed,
you could be inspired, you could be appalled.
This is not for the faint of heart or the easily offended.
You have been warned.
Sunday, May 19, 2019
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