ROGER HARRIS—The Chilean coup and its aftermath is the template for the US and the sycophantic domestic Venezuelan opposition for the extermination of the Bolivarian Revolution. That is, a violent takeover, the elimination of their enemies, and the blitzkrieg imposition of neoliberal shock therapy.
AMERICAN BRAINWASH
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GARY LEUPP—Currently, Iran and India enjoy very cordial relations. Iran is India’s third-largest oil supplier. India imports about $ 10 billion in Iranian goods, paying in euros or rupees. Iran imports over $ 2 billion in textiles, steel and other products from India and welcomes Indian investment in infrastructure projects such as the construction of the port of Chabahar on the Gulf of Oman. Normal behavior prevails between two friendly neighbor states.
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ANDRE LEVINE—In the White House now, the mark of energy sector capitalists is everywhere. It would give Trump too much credit to say that he agrees with, or even cares about, their arguments, such as they are. What he cares about is their money. And so he acts against market “logic.” This is bad news, of course, because his policies are even more harmful than those that market logic would dictate, but, in at least one respect, there is a silver lining. Trump’s whims are dealing free market theology a blow – not a mortal blow, the doctrine is resilient — but a serious defeat nevertheless. To the extent that this makes Republicans like Ted Cruz apoplectic — and disquiets Mike Pence, the next catastrophe in line — then bravo Trump. This may not be much of a saving grace, but it is better than nothing at all.
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PAUL STREET—But after you’ve bemoaned the terribleness of Trump for the ten thousandth time, are you ready to get serious about the systemic and richly bipartisan, oligarchic context within which Trump has emerged? “The Trump administration,” Chris Hedges reminded us on Truthdig two weeks ago, “did not rise… like Venus on a half shell from the sea. Donald Trump is the result of a long process of political, cultural and social decay. He is a product of our failed democracy…. The problem is not Trump,” writes Hedges. “It is a political system, dominated by corporate power and the mandarins of the two major political parties, in which we don’t count”
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