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Elections

Venezuela: Convince, Confuse, Co-Opt – ‘Three C’S’ Of War Propaganda

If we wanted to summarize the mechanisms of “cognitive warfare”, which aims to condition the brain through the manipulation of emotions, we could speak of the “three C’s”: Convince, Confuse, Coopt, consolidate fake news in the common perception. From the “witch hunts” against rebellious women in past centuries, to the construction of the “internal enemy” and the obsession against communism in the various modulations produced by the last century, imperialism has refined its propagandistic techniques, relying on the cult of the ephemeral and the “end of history”, multiplied by social networks in the current century.

Protests Erupt In Indonesia Over Attempts To Bypass Constitution

Large-scale protests erupted across Indonesia on Thursday, August 22, in response to the government’s attempt to revise the regional election (Pilkada) law. Protesters demanded that the government and the House of Representatives (DPR) immediately halt the revision process, arguing that it violates the constitution. In several instances, the police fired tear gas at the protesters, causing injuries. In central Java, students stormed the office of the Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) after the police arrested one of the protesters, Kompas reported. Protesters in Jakarta were joined by leading intellectuals, academics and celebrities, who expressed concerns about the revisions being carried out without any public consultation.

KHive Snitches, Right Wing Liberals, And Palestine

On August 8, 2024, Eman Abdelhadi, a sociologist and an Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago, posted a seemingly uncontroversial missive on the X platform. “Oh Kamala is NOT ready for Chicago. But don’t worry; we’re ready for her.” Abdelhadi and thousands of other people are protesting the Democratic National Convention. For some reason this mild statement was offensive to the group who call themselves the KHive. They are Kamala Harris cult followers who will fight anyone who says or does anything that is out of alignment with their idolatry. The KHive sprung into action upon seeing the post, accusing Abdelhadi of violent threats and vowing to punish her for daring to confront Kamala.

How The US Could Have Won The Venezuelan Election

Don’t ask what business the US had in backing a candidate in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election. Certainly that was not a question that the corporate press ever asked. Of course, the US should never have been meddling in Venezuelan elections in the first place. But given the machinations of the hemisphere’s hegemon, it is instructive to examine why and who Washington backed. It came as no surprise that the US-backed opposition called the 2024 Venezuelan presidential election fraudulent when they lost. They had announced that intention before the election. Cries of fraud have been the far-right’s practice in nearly every one of the 31 national contests since the Bolivarian Revolution began a quarter of a century ago, except for the two contests lost by the Chavistas, the movement founded by Hugo Chávez and carried on by his successor Nicolás Maduro.

Not Losing Sight Of Imperialism

Right off the bat, it is important to get something out of the way: the Venezuelan elections were not “free and fair.” There is no way for that to happen in a country under a brutal blockade, incessant economic terrorism that punishes a project that refused to bow to Washington’s neocolonial diktat. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that Venezuelans went to the polls with a gun to their heads. Fighting back against US-led imperialism and its corporate media artillery begins by recognizing this vastly uneven playing field. Though the recent vote did leave questions to be answered, to zero in on the electoral controversy while ignoring or downplaying the context of US hybrid warfare is an intellectually and politically dishonest exercise.

The Weakness Of Progressive Latin American Governments In These Precarious Times

On 16 August 2024, the Organisation of American States (OAS), whose 1948 formation as a Cold War institution was instigated by the United States, voted on a resolution regarding the Venezuelan presidential elections. The nub of the resolution proposed by the US called upon Venezuela’s election authority, the National Electoral Council (CNE), to publish all the election details as soon as possible (including the actas, or voting records, at the local polling station level). This resolution asks the CNE to go against Venezuela’s Organic Law on Electoral Processes (Ley Orgánica de Procesos Electorales or LOPE): since the law does not call for the publication of these materials, doing so would be a violation of public law.

Venezuela’s Supreme Court Of Justice Confirms Validity Of Maduro victory

On August 22, Venezuela’s Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) confirmed the validity of the victory of President Nicolas Maduro in the 2024 Venezuelan presidential election on July 28. The TSJ issued a ruling on the appeal filed by Maduro, which affirmed that the results of the National Electoral Council (CNE), which indicated that Maduro won the elections with over 51% of the vote, were consistent with records from the voting machines.  According to ALBA Movements, a platform of social and political organizations from across Latin America and the Caribbean, “The TSJ of Venezuela has certified in an unrestricted and unequivocal manner the results of the June 28 elections. This act reinforces the legitimacy and transparency of the electoral process in Venezuela.”

There’s Not Enough Daylight Between Democratic Party Policies And Project 2025 To Fuel A Solar Panel

As the 2024 election season heats up the Democratic Party has found its new boogeyman Project 2025 - a set of policy prescriptions developed by the conservative think tank, Heritage Foundation, with aims to implement them on the very first day former president Trump assumes the presidency, should he defeat Vice President Kamala Harris in November. As evidenced by recent political advertisements by the Democrats and their legion of Political Action Committees, the intent is to institute a profound fear factor by directly associating Project 2025 with a potential second Trump presidency.

ALBA Movements: Neither Cohabitation Nor Transition!

Respect for the sovereignty and self-determination of peoples is a principle that any revolutionary project should prioritize.  It must make that principle a political banner in international relations, even in the face of conservative foreign pressure that always seeks to undermine it. The social and popular movements that know, love, and defend the Bolivarian people reject, as unusual and untimely, the slightest idea or suggestion, such as that proposed by some ‘progressive’ sectors in the region, of developing diplomatic, political, military, or any other type of interventions in Venezuela, which are aimed at effectively disregarding the results of a concluded electoral process.

Democrats Propose No Change On Unflinching Support For Israel

Following the first day of the Democratic National Convention, which runs from August 19 to 22 in Chicago, delegates voted to approved the 2024 Democratic Party platform. Notably, the platform still reads: “President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Democrats are running to finish the job.” While there are still no concrete policies outlined in the Harris-Walz official campaign website, the 2024 Democratic Party platform can be seen as the first glimpse into what this administration promises to offer to the people of the US. Many were waiting to see if the platform would indicate any changes to the Democratic Party’s unconditional support for Israel, given the mass movement for Palestine ongoing in the US since October 7.

Chicago DNC Met With Thousands Of Pro-Palestine Protesters

Chicago, IL — The 2024 Democratic National Convention begins Monday morning in the United States, and tens of thousands of protesters — as part of the “March on the DNC 2024” coalition — are rallying and marching through the city to demand the U.S. ends aid to Israel. The more than 200 groups making up the coalition say they’re also fighting “for the rights and liberation of oppressed people and against the exploitation of workers.” “We recognize the Democratic Party as a tool of billionaires and corporations. Their actions, such as financing genocide in Palestine and war in multiple countries; continuing the mass incarceration of Black and brown people; deporting millions of immigrants; and neglecting campaign promises made to the oppressed communities who represent their voting base, show that the Democratic Party only serves the agenda of the rich and powerful.”

Inside The Turbulent, Secret World Of An American Militia

Last February, some 20 men and their wives gathered for dinner at an upscale restaurant in Spokane, Washington, for their annual Valentine’s Day celebration. The men weren’t just friends; they did community service work together. They had been featured on local television, in khakis and baseball caps, delivering 1,200 pounds of food to an area veterans’ center; they were gearing up for their next food drive, which they called Operation Hunger Smash. A few days after the holiday, the men went camping in the snow-speckled mountains outside Spokane, where they grilled rib-eyes and bacon-wrapped asparagus over a bonfire.

Retaliatory Violence Grips Bangladesh Weeks After Hasina’s Resignation

The commemoration in Dhaka of the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, considered to be the founder of the nation, was marked by violent attacks. Hundreds of people had gathered in Dhaka to honor Bangladesh’s first prime minister, but were met with large-scale violence by protesters, including students. The incident comes just two weeks after Sheikh Hasina stepped down as prime minister of Bangladesh. Those participating in the commemoration, which included members of Hasina’s Awami League, were reportedly attempting to reach Sheikh’s home but were prevented from doing so by students who also blocked journalists trying to cover the incident.

Kamala Harris In Her Own Words

Voters in the United States who feel compelled to choose between political duopoly presidential candidates are once again faced with two terrible choices. Donald Trump is the known quantity, a former president and a man of very limited intelligence. So much so that he recently confused Willie Brown with Jerry Brown . He is unsuited for anything other than what he did most of his life, promote himself as a business success when his companies filed for bankruptcy on six occasions . In 2016 he rallied white peoples’ feelings of grievance, pretended to be a champion of working people and won an electoral college vote due to his opponent’s arrogance and incompetence.

Ten Theses On The Far Right Of A Special Type

There has been widespread consternation about how to understand Donald Trump’s emergence as a serious candidate for US president since 2016. Far from an isolated phenomenon, Trump rose to power alongside other strongmen such as Viktor Orbán (prime minister of Hungary since 2010), Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (president of Turkey since 2014), and Narendra Modi (prime minister of India since 2014). People like this, who came to power and cemented their rule through liberal institutions, seem to be impossible to permanently remove through the ballot box. It has become clear that a rightward shift is taking place in liberal democratic states, whose constitutions emphasise multi-party elections while allowing the space for one-party rule to be gradually established.

Urgent End Of Year Fundraising Campaign

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Due to the attacks on our fiscal sponsor, we were unable to raise funds online for nearly two years.  As the bills pile up, your help is needed now to cover the monthly costs of operating Popular Resistance.

Urgent End Of Year Fundraising Campaign

Online donations are back! 

Keep independent media alive. 

Due to the attacks on our fiscal sponsor, we were unable to raise funds online for nearly two years.  As the bills pile up, your help is needed now to cover the monthly costs of operating Popular Resistance.

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