Iran Economic Sanctions Kill as Effectively as Bombs
▻https://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/iran-economic-sanctions-kill-as-effectively-as-bombs
The Trump administration’s illegal economic sanctions against Iran makes it impossible to import essential medicines, says CEPR’s Mark Weisbrot.
"For 2019, the IMF has lowered their projection...
Report Finds US Sanctions on Venezuela Are Responsible for Tens of Thousands of Deaths
▻http://cepr.net/press-center/press-releases/report-finds-us-sanctions-on-venezuela-are-responsible-for-tens-of-thousands-o
A new paper from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), by economists Mark Weisbrot and Jeffrey Sachs, finds that economic sanctions implemented by the Trump administration since August 2017 have caused tens of thousands of deaths and are rapidly worsening the humanitarian crisis.
“The sanctions are depriving Venezuelans of lifesaving medicines, medical equipment, food, and other essential imports,” said Mark Weisbrot, Co-Director of CEPR and coauthor of the report. “This is illegal under US and international law, and treaties that the US has signed. Congress should move to stop it.”
Economic Sanctions as Collective Punishment: The Case of Venezuela | Reports | CEPR
►http://cepr.net/publications/reports/economic-sanctions-as-collective-punishment-the-case-of-venezuela
The sanctions reduced the public’s caloric intake, increased disease and mortality (for both adults and infants), and displaced millions of Venezuelans who fled the country as a result of the worsening economic depression and hyperinflation. They exacerbated Venezuela’s economic crisis and made it nearly impossible to stabilize the economy, contributing further to excess deaths. All of these impacts disproportionately harmed the poorest and most vulnerable Venezuelans.
[…]
We find that the sanctions have inflicted, and increasingly inflict, very serious harm to human life and health, including an estimated more than 40,000 deaths from 2017 to 2018; and that these sanctions would fit the definition of collective punishment of the civilian population as described in both the Geneva and Hague international conventions, to which the US is a signatory. They are also illegal under international law and treaties that the US has signed, and would appear to violate US law as well.
La lecture du rapport vaut le coup:
▻http://cepr.net/images/stories/reports/venezuela-sanctions-2019-04.pdf
Les États-Unis ont contribué à enfoncer le Venezuela dans le chaos et la politique de changement de régime de Trump garantira la persistance de cette situation. Par Mark Weisbrot
▻https://www.les-crises.fr/les-etats-unis-ont-contribue-a-enfoncer-le-venezuela-dans-le-chaos-et-la-
Exonerating the Empire in #Venezuela | FAIR
▻https://fair.org/home/exonerating-the-empire-in-venezuela
According to economist Mark Weisbrot (AlterNet, 11/3/17), the #sanctions implemented that month appear designed “to prevent an economic recovery and worsen the shortages (which include essential medicines and food).”
The word “sanctions” does not occur in this #New_York_Times feature (12/17/17) on how Venezuela’s economic crisis is leading to child malnutrition.
All of this is rarely mentioned when US media report the hardships facing Venezuelans or describe the causes of Venezuela’s economic and political crisis. A New York Times (12/17/17) story told readers that Venezuelan children are facing hunger, with hundreds dying from malnutrition, because “years of economic mismanagement set the stage for the current disaster”—according to “many economists.”
However, less than two weeks earlier, following a trip to Venezuela, UN Rapporteur Alfred de Zayas (ThinkProgress, 12/8/17) offered his analysis of what “set the stage for the current disaster.” He reportedly said that the conditions in the country did not constitute a full-blown humanitarian crisis, but that there are “shortages, scarcity and distribution delays, etc.,” and listed sanctions among the causes of these problems:
What is important is to get to know the causes and take measures against contraband, monopolies, hoarding, corruption, manipulation of the currency and the distortions in the economy caused by an economic and financial war which includes [the effects of international] sanctions.
#MSM
What’s the U.S. Role In the Greek Crisis?
CEPR Economist Mark Weisbrot discusses the role of the U.S.-dominated institutions in the current crisis in Greece. - July 22, 2015
▻http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=14312
WEISBROT: Well, the U.S. government, the Obama administration, its main concern is really they don’t want to see Greece leave the Eurozone. And they’re looking at it kind of from an empire point of view, that if Greece leaves the Eurozone the Eurozone could be weaker, it could disintegrate. The whole process could weaken European unity. In worst-case scenarios Greece could leave NATO, Greece could end up borrowing from Russia. So these are the way, this is the way it’s looking at it.
That puts them a little differently from Europe. Europe is a little more divided. They don’t want Greece to leave the Eurozone either. They want to get—their strategy is really to get rid of the current Greek government, the Syriza government, and force them out. And the U.S. is okay with that, but they were more worried about them forcing them possibly out of the Eurozone altogether.
One place where this shows up is through the IMF, because the U.S. dominates the IMF. Now, they don’t usually use all their muscle at the IMF to go against Europe. They would normally let the Europeans decide what happens in Europe. But in this case there was a board meeting before the referendum in Greece on July 5 where the U.S. got the IMF [board] against the wishes of Germany especially, to release a study that the IMF had done showing that Greece’s debt was not sustainable, that there had to be debt relief. And that really angered the Germans and their allies, because this kind of helped Syriza in their referendum on July 5 because Syriza, the government which was pushing for a no vote to reject the last offer that the European authorities had given them, the government was able to cite that study and say look, we need debt relief. This is an unsustainable debt, vote no. And so that was a real point of friction between the U.S. and Germany, and there’s a case where the U.S. used its muscle in the IMF to get that report released before the referendum, and it could have had an influence.
Now, the problem is that this doesn’t really do Greece or the world any good because it’s nice that they want debt relief. But the IMF is still signed on to a program in Greece that will not allow the economy to recover, and the debt relief isn’t going to help that at all.
[...]
So it’s really about power, and using that power, on behalf of the European authorities using that power to change Greece and change Europe into societies that have a smaller social safety net, reduced pensions, healthcare spending, weaker labor movements, more inequality. More like the United States, actually. That’s the kind of transformation they were trying to make in Europe. And they’ve been using the debt crisis and associated vulnerabilities of the more vulnerable European countries to force those changes there. Not only Greece but Portugal, Spain, Ireland, Italy, and even in the whole Eurozone as a whole, that is their vision. That’s what they are trying to do.
Greece Vs. The Euro: A Financial Coup d’Etat?
▻http://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/greece-vs-the-euro-a-financial-coup-detat
A week after Greek voters said No to a third bailout package, Twitter lit up with the hashtag #ThisIsACoup. We asked economist Mark Weisbrot, Co-Director of CEPR and author of "Failed: What the...
The world has nothing to fear from the US losing power | Mark Weisbrot | Comment is free | theguardian.com
▻http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/03/world-nothing-fear-us-power-china-economy-democracy
a multipolar world can only be good for democracy
US support for regime change in Venezuela is a mistake | Mark Weisbrot
▻http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/18/venezuela-protests-us-support-regime-change-mistake
But what makes these current US statements important, and angers governments in the region, is that they are telling the Venezuelan opposition that Washington is once again backing regime change. Kerry did the same thing in April of last year when Maduro was elected president and opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles claimed that the election was stolen. Kerry refused to recognize the election results. Kerry’s aggressive, anti-democratic posture brought such a strong rebuke from South American governments that he was forced to reverse course and tacitly recognize the Maduro government. (For those who did not follow these events, there was no doubt about the election results.)
The United Nations must cure #Haiti of the #cholera epidemic it caused | Mark Weisbrot | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk
►http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/nov/12/united-nations-haiti-cholera-epidemic
Unlike earthquake or hurricane, Haiti’s cholera outbreak is a manmade disaster – by the very agency supposed to protect it
Mark Weisbrot - guardian.co.uk
More than 7,600 Haitians have died of cholera, which numerous scientific studies have shown was caused by UN troops contaminating the water supply with human waste. Photograph: Eduardo Munoz/Reuters
Pourquoi les États-Unis diabolisent la démocratie du Venezuela
Par Mark Weisbrot / The Guardian, 5 octobre 2012 /
Traduction [JFG-QuestionsCritiques]
►http://questionscritiques.free.fr/edito/guardian/Venezuela_diabolisation_Hugo_Chavez_Etats-Unis_elections_pre
Le 30 mai dernier, Dan Rather, l’un des plus célèbres journalistes américains, a annoncé que le président vénézuélien Hugo Chavez mourrait « d’ici deux mois au plus tard ». Depuis, quatre mois se sont écoulés et Chavez est non seulement bien vivant et en campagne électorale, mais on s’attend largement à ce qu’il soit réélu dimanche prochain.
Tel est l’état de la représentation erronée qui est faite du Venezuela - c’est probablement le pays sur lequel on raconte le plus de mensonges dans le monde - et qui permet à un journaliste de dire pratiquement n’importe quoi sur Chavez ou son gouvernement, sans risquer d’être démenti tant que ses commentaires sont négatifs. Pire, Rather a parlé de Chavez comme du « dictateur » - une qualification que peu de politologues, voire aucun, connaissant bien le pays ne pourraient admettre.
Voici ce que Jimmy Carter a dit, il y a quelques semaines, à propos de la « dictature » au Venezuela : « En fait, sur les 92 élections que nous avons surveillées, je dirais que le processus électoral au Venezuela est le meilleur du monde ».
Front de gauche : ce qu’en disent les autres pays
►http://www.politis.fr/Front-de-gauche-ce-qu-en-disent,17943.html
En Grande-Bretagne, le quotidien de centre-gauche The Guardian s’est déplacé jusqu’à Vierzon pour aller observer ce « pitbull de l’anti-capitalisme, amateur de poésie [qui] galvanise les élections françaises ». C’est le « meilleur orateur » et la « grande révélation » de la campagne. Quatre jours plus tard, sur le site internet du journal, le politologue Mark Weisbrot trouvait que « Jean-Luc Mélenchon a ce dont la France a besoin » : « Il semble être le seul dans la course à comprendre les choix économiques qui attendent la France et l’eurozone. La France n’a pas besoin d’austérité – sa meilleure chance de finir comme la Grèce […]. Quiconque veut préserver le niveau de vie et le mode de vie français devrait voter pour Mélenchon ».