We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Monday, January 26, 2015

International Press Gets Briefly Excited about Coup Prospects in Venezuela

Click here to access article by Joe Emersberger from TeleSur.

In a survey of the "international press" Emersberger sees a lot of excitement about another coup attempt. Of course, what he means by the "international press" is media from NATO countries, which is to say those countries under the control of the Empire. 
Ever since the 2002 coup in Venezuela was defeated, the international corporate press has generally ignored it, downplayed its significance, or accused the government of using it as a “distraction” and as a way to smear opponents. However, the recent plunge in oil prices – and absurd predictions that Venezuela could be forced into defaulting on its foreign bonds - clearly had many foreign journalists excited about the prospects of a coup while President Nicolas Maduro was out of the country.
However, is his concluding paragraph he argues that the situation is very different than it was in 2002 when the right-wing opposition controlled most of Venezuelan's media and was instrumental in bring off the temporary coup.