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Sun., Oct.1, 2017
~All Gave Some~Some Gave All~God Bless America
Poll: Majority of Americans Don't Approve of NFL Players Kneeling
By Jeffrey Rodack
Fifty-two percent of Americans don't approve of NFL players kneeling during "The Star-Spangled Banner," while 38 percent are in favor of it, a new CBS/YouGov poll revealed.
Here are the highlights from the poll:
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48 percent disapprove of President Donald Trump's criticism of the players' protest, compared to 38 percent who favored his harsh comments;
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37 percent say Trump is trying to divide the country by singling out certain groups of people for criticism, while 36 percent say he is trying to unify the nation by telling everyone to respect the flag;
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88 percent say the flag and national anthem represent "a shared American heritage."
The poll, conducted Sept. 26-28, surveyed 1,335 Americans. It has a margin of error of 3.8 percent.
In the “is there no limit” department:Outrageous! Protester kneels at Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Most American voters feel that kneeling during the national anthem is a disgraceful and inappropriate way to protest — but it has nothing on this latest, most outrageous liberal protest.
Although still unverified, the picture seems to show a slap in the face to America’s honor. In it, a man is kneeling — seemingly in protest — while Taps plays during a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Washington, D.C.
Even at the hallowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery — for centuries a place of honor and reverence for our nation’s heroes — nothing is sacred to liberals.
In the photo, originally posted by Katie Wiederhoeft Sep. 27 on Facebook, we see a skinny young African-American kneeling during a ceremony honoring the fallen heroes of America.
“I did not speak with the man and don’t know his reasonings for kneeling. I felt at the time (and the place) it was not appropriate as I was trying to be respectful to my fallen brothers and sisters and maintain silence… He was videotaping so maybe he was trying to get a better shot, but with all that is going on currently I just can’t imagine that’s what it was,” Wiederhoeft reportedly told Snopes.
Weiderhoeft said the man kneeled only during Taps, and stood immediately afterwards.
Taps is a bugle call played by the U.S. military at dusk to retire the U.S. flag or during military funerals, and is sounded at every military wreath ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
It is required by the U.S. Army guards at the Tomb that the audience stand and maintain a respectful silence during ceremonies. Why this man was seemingly allowed to kneel remains a mystery.
Julian Assange will reveal proof that Russia did not hack Hillary Clinton if Trump offers to pardon him, Congressman claims
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Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher has offered a 'deal' in which Assange would provide electronic evidence that would clear Russia
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In exchange, pro-Russian Rohrabacher was seeking for Assange 'a pardon or other act of clemency from President Donald Trump'
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Rohrabacher visited Assange in London in August and afterwards said he was seeking a meeting with President Donald Trump to discuss his case
Julian Assange will provide evidence clearing Russia of interfering in the US election in return for a pardon, according to a pro-Russia congressman.
Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher has offered a 'deal' in which Assange would provide electronic evidence that would clear Russia as the source of the emails published last year by Wikileaks that damaged Hillary Clinton's presidential run.
In exchange, Rohrabacher was seeking for Assange 'a pardon or other act of clemency from President Donald Trump,' according to the Wall Street Journal.
Julian Assange (pictured outside the Embassy of Ecuador in London) will provide evidence clearing Russia of interfering in the US election in return for a pardon, according to a pro-Russia congressman
Rohrabacher visited Assange in London in August and afterwards said he was seeking a meeting with President Donald Trump to discuss his case.
Rohrabacher told The Daily Caller that Assange told him he had proof that Russia was not behind the hacking and leaking of emails from Democratic National Committee officials during the 2016 election.
'Thus if he comes up with that, you know he's going to expect something in return. He can't even leave the embassy to get out to Washington to talk to anybody if he doesn't have a pardon,' Rohrabacher told the publication.
But when questioned on Sunday about the possible deal, President Trump said: 'I've never heard that mentioned. Really, I've never heard that mentioned.'
Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher has offered a 'deal' in which Assange would provide electronic evidence that would clear Russia as the source of the emails published last year by Wikileaks.
The US Justice Department has acknowledged investigating Assange and WikiLeaks for the release of a series of top secret US documents and computer hacking tools as well as the Clinton emails.
No charges have been unveiled. But Washington is widely believed to have asked London to arrest and extradite the Australian if he steps out of his refuge in Ecuador's embassy in London, where he has lived for five years.
US intelligence officials have blamed Russia for the theft of Clinton campaign communications and documents last year as part of a deliberate effort to hurt her chances as president.
When questioned on Sunday about the possible deal, President Trump said: 'I've never heard that mentioned. Really, I've never heard that mentioned'
They allege that WikiLeaks, in publishing the documents, knowingly acted in concert with Russian intelligence, and have branded it a 'hostile intelligence service.'
WikiLeaks has denied that the source of the material was the Russian government, but stresses it will never divulge the sources of the information in gets.
Rohrabacher confirmed that he spoke to White House Chief of Staff John Kelly but would not say what was discussed.
Rohrabacher confirmed that he spoke to White House Chief of Staff John Kelly but would not say what was discussed.
Rohrabacher told conservative commentator Sean Hannity's radio show that the assertion that Russia hacked the US election last year was a 'con job' to undermine the Trump administration.
ANTIFA PLANS “CIVIL WAR” TO OVERTHROW THE GOVERNMENT
Violent far-left group demands Trump “regime be removed from power”
Paul Joseph Watson
Antifa is planning a new round of nationwide riots on November 4 as part of a plot to start a “civil war” that will lead to the overthrow of the Trump administration.
Far-left militants plan to “gather in the streets and public squares of cities and towns across this country” in the hope of building momentum for civil unrest that leads to nothing less than domestic regime change.
“Our protest must grow day after day and night after night—thousands becoming hundreds of thousands, and then millions—determined to act to put a stop to the grave danger that the Trump/Pence Regime poses to the world by demanding that this whole regime be removed from power,” states a call to action on the RefuseFascism website.
A longer screed posted on the Revolutionary Communist website makes it clear that Antifa is not prepared to wait for electoral change from Democrats, and will engage in a “ferocious struggle,” based on plans outlined in a book written by Bob Avakian, the Chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party, which is called The Coming Civil War.
Vowing to stop the “unrelenting terror” of the Trump administration, the group asserts that, “The stakes are nothing less than the future of humanity and the planet itself,” typically hysterical rhetoric which when combined with
Antifa’s violent tactics should be a deep cause for concern for law enforcement bodies.
Earlier this week, far-left activists blocked the 101 freeway in downtown Los Angeles before holding up placards that read, “November 4 It Begins”.
Whether the planned actions fizzle after some on the mainstream left who previously embraced Antifa were forced to back away remains to be seen.
However, the activity of the group should cause even more alarm given the revelations of an undercover video by Steven Crowder and his team in which Antifa members are seen planning violent attacks, handing out sharp objects with which to stab conservatives, and even discussing the procurement of AK-47s.
Antifa’s open vow to overthrow the government combined with their violent tactics are sure to raise the alarm amongst federal authorities responsible for tracking domestic terrorism.
Earlier this month it was revealed that the Department of Homeland Security has formally begun to classify Antifa’s activities as “domestic terrorist violence,” while the New Jersey DHS lists the group on its own website under the designation of “domestic terrorism”.
Feds: Every legal Mexican immigrant sponsors six more to US
by Paul Bedard WASHINGTON SECRETS
While President Trump has his eyes on curbing illegal immigration, federal rules are allowing legal immigrants to "sponsor" several more family members from their countries, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
On average, legal immigrants have been sponsoring three additional immigrants. And newly arrived Mexicans are sponsoring an additional six family members.
The statistics analyzed by the Center for Immigration Studies find that sponsorships exceed initial immigration numbers.
Called "chain migration" because the first immigrant acts as a link to many others legally allowed to follow, the practice is having a huge impact on the U.S. Sponsors are "native-born citizens or naturalized citizens."
Jessica Vaughan, the director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, reported that in the last 10 years half the 10.6 million immigrants allowed into the country were "initiating" and the rest sponsored followers. Over the last 35 years, over 60 percent were sponsored.
Her findings are even more alarming when considering the fate of some 800,000 recipients of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. "Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is likely to increase chain migration in the future, as DACA beneficiaries eventually qualify for citizenship and the opportunity to sponsor their parents and siblings, many of whom also have been residing in the United States illegally," she wrote in the report.
Her key findings:
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Over the last 35 years, chain migration has greatly exceeded new immigration. Out of 33 million immigrants admitted to the United States from 1981 to 2016, about 20 million were chain migration immigrants (61 percent).
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Judging from preliminary administrative data, approximately 1,125,000 legal immigrants were approved for admission in 2016, which is about 7 percent higher than 2015, and one of the highest numbers in the last decade.
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The largest categories of chain migration are spouses and parents of naturalized U.S. citizens because admissions in these categories are unlimited by law.
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According to the most complete contemporary academic studies on chain migration, in recent years each new immigrant sponsored an average of 3.45 additional immigrants. In the early 1980s, the chain migration multiplier was 2.59, or more than 30 percent lower.
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Of the top immigrant-sending countries, Mexico has the highest rate of chain migration. In the most recent five-year cohort of immigrants studied (1996-2000), each new Mexican immigrant sponsored 6.38 additional legal immigrants.
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Chain migration is contributing to the aging of the immigration stream. In the early 1980s, only about 17 percent of family migrants were age 50 or over. In recent years, about 21 percent of family migrants were age 50 or older — a rate that is more than 24 percent higher. This trend has implications for the fiscal consequences of immigration.
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Enacting an amnesty for roughly 700,000 DACA beneficiaries is likely to add double that number in additional immigrants because of chain migration, as the amnesty beneficiaries sponsor their parents and other family members.
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Congress could mitigate the chain migration impact of a DACA amnesty by eliminating and/or scaling back the three main categories of chain migration (parents, adult sons and daughters, and siblings of citizens). If the controversial visa lottery program also were eliminated, legal immigration would be reduced by 20 percent.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com
Melania Trump fires back at librarian who rejected gift of Dr. Seuss books as ‘racist’
First lady Melania Trump fired back Friday at a Massachusetts elementary school librarian who rejected her donation of Dr. Seuss books, claiming their illustrations are examples of “racist propaganda.”
Stephanie Grisham, director of communications for the first lady's office, said in a statement to Fox News that the response was "unfortunate," and Mrs. Trump wanted to use her platform "to help as many children as she can."
"She has demonstrated this in both actions and words since her husband took office, and sending books to children across the country is but one example," she said. "To turn the gesture of sending young students some books into something divisive is unfortunate, but the First Lady remains committed to her efforts on behalf of children everywhere."
To celebrate “National Read a Book Day,” the first lady had sent out a collection of 10 Dr. Seuss books to one school in each state across the nation. The titles included: "The Cat in the Hat"; "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish"; "Wacky Wednesday"; "Green Eggs and Ham"; and "Oh, the Places You’ll Go!"
She followed in the footsteps of her predecessor, Michelle Obama, who often read Dr. Seuss books to children. Former first ladies Hillary Clinton and Barbara Bush also read to children at Dr. Seuss-themed educational events.
'To turn the gesture of sending young students some books into something divisive is unfortunate.'
- First lady Melania Trump's office
“I wanted to send you a special gift. Dr. Seuss’s Oh, the Places You’ll Go! is a book my son and I have read over and over again, and one that we want to share with all of you,” the first lady wrote in her letter to students. “Please also remember that you are the future of America and that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to.”
But despite the gesture, Liz Phipps Soeiro, a librarian at a public school in Cambridge, wrote a letter to the first lady, which was then published on The Horn Book blog, notifying Mrs. Trump that her school would “not be keeping the titles” for their collection, explaining that her school didn’t have a “NEED” for the books, due to her school and library’s “award-winning” status.
“I work in a district that has plenty of resources, which contributes directly to ‘excellence,’” Soeiro wrote. “My students have access to a school library with over nine thousand volumes and a librarian with a graduate degree in library science.”
Soeiro went on to slam the White House and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos for not gifting the books to “underfunded and underprivileged communities,” which she suggested “continue to be marginalized” by DeVos’ policies.
But Soeiro seemed to be the most offended by the books themselves.
First Lady Melania Trump with children at the American International School of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in May 2017. (Reuters)“Another fact that many people are unaware of is that Dr. Seuss’s illustrations are steeped in racist propaganda, caricatures, and harmful stereotypes,” Soeiro wrote, giving examples of "If I Ran a Zoo" and "And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street" as clear “racist mockery” in Seuss’ art.
'My students have access to a school library with over nine thousand volumes and a librarian with a graduate degree in library science.'
- Liz Phipps Soeiro, explaining why her school doesn't need Melania Trump's book donation
While Soeiro bristled at Melania Trump's donation, former first lady Michelle Obama also read Dr. Seuss books to children a number of times during the previous administration, without controversy.
First lady Michelle Obama, with Dr. Seuss characters the Cat in the Hat, Thing 1, and Thing 2, reads to local students as part of her "Let's Move, Let's Read!" initiative, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. The book, Dr. SeussÃs "Oh, The Things You Can Do That Are Good for You: All About Staying Healthy," has been updated with the help of the Partnership for a Healthier America and includes healthy foods and exercises. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) (AP)Soeiro seemed to recommend journal articles, reports, and books for Mrs. Trump, to inform her on the “systemic racism and oppression in education and literature.”
“I am honored that you recognized my students and our school. I can think of no better gift for children than books; it was a wonderful gesture, if one that could have been better thought out,” Soeiro wrote, attaching a list of 10 books that she hoped would “offer a window into the lives of the many children affected by the policies of your husband’s administration.”
“You and your husband have a direct impact on these children’s lives,” Soeiro wrote, encouraging the first lady to “reach out” to their “local librarian” for recommendations. “Please make time to learn about and value them.”
Soeiro’s profile on The Horn Book says she is “an advocate for inclusive libraries and active in her community to create spaces that are welcoming to all students.”
Senate Unanimously Confirms Trump's Rock Star Ambassador To Russia
Washington Free Beacon by: Paul Crookston
Washington Free Beacon by: Paul Crookston
The Senate on Thursday confirmed former governor of Utah and diplomat Jon Huntsman to serve as the U.S. ambassador to Russia.
After President Donald Trump nominated Huntsman in July, his confirmation sailed through the Senate without objection, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R., Utah) released a statement praising his friend and fellow Utahn on his appointment immediately after the Senate confirmed him.
"I congratulate my friend, Jon Huntsman, on his appointment to serve as the next Ambassador to Russia," Hatch tweeted. "This particular ambassadorship requires a great deal of poise, intellect, and experience, and I have no doubt that Jon is the man for the job."
After President Donald Trump nominated Huntsman in July, his confirmation sailed through the Senate without objection, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R., Utah) released a statement praising his friend and fellow Utahn on his appointment immediately after the Senate confirmed him.
"I congratulate my friend, Jon Huntsman, on his appointment to serve as the next Ambassador to Russia," Hatch tweeted. "This particular ambassadorship requires a great deal of poise, intellect, and experience, and I have no doubt that Jon is the man for the job."
NEWS: Jon Huntsman has been unanimously confirmed as U.S. Ambassador to Russia. Hatch's statement --> #utpol http://pic.twitter.com/OxmHzOpMkT
— Senator Hatch Office (@senorrinhatch) September 28, 2017
Huntsman previously served as ambassador to China and Singapore, and as a U.S. deputy trade representative. Both appointments saw no objections in the Senate confirmation. This time, Huntsman received bipartisan support from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who endorsed him a week after his appearance before the panel.
Russia Collusion Confirmed – Media Silent
Mark Prvulovic
The hypocrisy of the media continues to remain as prevalent as ever. Despite the constant coverage trying to spin the tale that President Trump colluded with Russia, the truth seems to be anything but that.
According to The Gateway Pundit, new details have emerged showing that Russians bought ads on Facebook in support of both Hillary Clinton as well as Black Lives Matter. It’s difficult to overstate how much this conspiratorial depiction has backfired on the Democrats as well as the liberal mainstream media that supported this theory.
It appears that the truth is the opposite of what the media would have Americans believe. A Russian firm linked with pro-Kremlin propaganda had advertised on Facebook during the election, having spent over $100,000 on ads. Although at first, the mainstream news thought this was proof of a collusion, they didn’t seem to catch the detail that these ads were in support of Hillary Clinton.
According to an article from the Washington Post, Facebook teams had discovered 470 suspicious Facebook accounts that were believed to be operating out of Russia. A Facebook official stated, “There is evidence that some of the accounts are linked to a troll farm in St. Petersburg, referred to as the Internet Research Agency.”
Many of the ads in question, however, highlighted support for Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton among Muslim women, as well as touching on a variety of issues including the promotion of African-American rights groups, LGBT matters, and other topics traditionally aligned with liberal viewpoints.
Democrats, instead of connecting the dots, chose to take a different interpretation of this data. Sen Mark R. Warner (D-VA), said, “Their aim was to sow chaos,” and that, “In many cases, it was more about voter suppression rather than increasing turnout.”
The more information that comes out, the harder it is to maintain the narrative that Russia helped Trump win the election. Many will recall earlier in the year when a CNN producer was caught on hidden camera admitting that this media story was “mostly b******* right now,” and that this witch hunt had “no real proof,” according to Project Veritas.
In fact, there are more indications that Putin would have preferred Hillary Clinton to Trump. When you consider the history that the Clinton family has with Russia, including how she gave 20% of America’s uranium reserves to a Russian company, it’s fair to assume that Putin felt he could further manipulate Clinton into giving more favorable concessions to the Kremlin in the future.
California bullet train costs up $1.7 billion for Central Valley segment
A viaduct for the California bullet train under construction in Fresno. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
The California bullet train project is facing $1.7 billion in cost overruns on a 119-mile segment currently under construction through the Central Valley, a 27% jump over the original estimate, according to documents recently posted on the California High-Speed Rail Authority website.
The increase reflects difficulties officials have encountered over the last five years, including buying land, moving underground utilities and negotiating agreements with freight railroads.
The Central Valley construction and planning is now projected to cost $8 billion, based on a quarterly report — known as the funding contribution plan — that was issued in June but not made public until this month. Work on the track, originally scheduled to be finished this year, is about seven years behind schedule.
“We put our best estimates forward,” rail authority spokeswoman Lisa Marie Alley said Thursday. “There are going to be cost increases, but there could be cost decreases.”
Alley said the authority has been transparent about the cost pressures, reporting to a joint budget committee in the Legislature in December that the tab for the Central Valley segment had hit $7.8 billion. That report, however, included signals, electrical systems and a maintenance facility that were not part of the Central Valley construction program’s original scope, which was priced at $6.3 billion.
The funding contribution plan was posted on the authority’s website after a Bay Area watchdog group, Californians Advocating Responsible Rail Design, filed a public records act request.
Officials have disputed outside estimates that indicate the project’s price tag is growing — including one in December by the Federal Railroad Administration that cited a cost of $9.5 billion to $10 billion. In 2015, the authority’s main consultant, WSP, also had said in an internal assessment that costs were rising.
The overruns raise a serious possibility: If the reasons for the Central Valley increase also affect other parts of the Los Angeles-to-San Francisco project, then it could drive up the price for the entire $64-billion system by billions of dollars.
Critics long have forecast that the final tab could top $100 billion. But supporters of the bullet train — the nation’s largest infrastructure project — reject those assertions, saying the rail line will become a cornerstone of the state’s transportation system and that such cost increases should be taken in stride.
But the rising total could challenge California to find new sources of revenue to complete the project even as Gov. Jerry Brown, its biggest proponent, serves out his last 15 months in office.
The large number of changes that have been made to the scope of project since its inception make cost comparisons problematic. The rail authority added 2.7 miles of track and structures from Madera to Merced, but reduced 8 miles near Shafter that included a long viaduct through the city.
It also had to increase safety barriers that would prevent freight trains from crashing into bullet trains where the tracks come within 102 feet of each other, adding tens of millions of dollars in costs.
Alley noted that the cost increases have not all come at once, and that the rail authority has and will continue to properly report them.
“We are looking at the scope, schedule and budget for the 2018 business plan, which will be out in February,” she said.
The cost pressures have been building from a variety of sources: property values are increasing; the number of parcels needed to complete the project has grown; officials faced more work than expected with utilities; and other so-called third-party and railroad negotiations were difficult.
“A lot has happened over the years,” Alley said. “We are always mitigating and looking for ways to reduce costs.”
But those costs could go even higher.
One of the state’s major contractor teams — led by the Spanish construction giant Dragados — is seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in additional payments, rail authority officials said during a recent public meeting. Dragados was selected in December 2014 to build a 65-mile section south of Fresno for $1.23 billion. So far, it does not appear that construction has started.
According to an update this month, the rail authority is looking for ways to contain costs through, among other things, instituting better management controls, reducing the scope of the project and planning “early minimal operations” once the rail system is up and running.
How that translates into actual changes to the project is not yet clear.
One concrete example to lower costs cited by the documents is, rather than building multimillion-dollar safety barriers, by running trains slower in urban areas.
Such a change would affect travel times.
Under the 2008 bond act that voters approved to help fund the bullet train, the system has to be designed to get between Los Angeles and San Francisco in 2 hours and 40 minutes. A number of experts doubt the project can meet the requirement once it is built, given the many political compromises that already will mean reduced speeds in various parts of the state.
“If we reduce peak speeds, we’ll have to make up the time somewhere else,” Alley said.
Socialism: Venezuela Could Soon Run Out of Gasoline Despite World’s Largest Oil Reserves
by BEN KEW
The oil-rich nation of Venezuela could soon run out of gasoline due to a chronic lack of production and a failure to pay shipping costs for imports, according to an industry leader.
Iván Freites, a representative of the Movement for Technical and Oil Workers, said in a press conference that the country could soon run out of gasoline because the government is refusing to pay the necessary shipping cost in order to refine their oil.
“There is only one more day’s worth of gas and two and a half days worth of diesel,” Freites said. “At the Cardon refinery, ships have been stationary since June because they do not pay the shipping costs.”
Freites added that Venezuela now imports just 150 barrels of gasoline a day, given that major refinery plants are running below capacity or not at all due to soaring production costs. As a result of this lack of production, Venezuela’s state oil company has already lost $5 billion worth of oil exports.
Freites, a trade unionist, added that Venezuelan oil workers are being exploited on wages of less than a dollar a day, compared to countries like Mexico and the Arab states where they earn upwards of $6000 a year.
“The situation in Venezuela is so serious that there are transnationals that pay the worker $20 a month,” he said.
He also warned the government against an increase in the price of gasoline as it is the only product that has not experienced mass inflation amid the country’s unprecedented economic crisis.
The shortage of gasoline will likely cause further problems for the socialist regime led by Nicolás Maduro, which recently consolidated its authority with the creation of an illegal lawmaking body filled with pro-government stooges.
As a result, the White House has pummelled Venezuela with a number of sanctions including a ban on Americans from dealing in Venezuelan government debt or that of its state-run oil company, as well as personal sanctions placed against Maduro and other government officials.
Meanwhile, Spain has also been engaged in efforts to lobby the European Union to adopt restrictive measures against Venezuela, although have not outlined what they will entail.
Gasoline is just one of a number of resources to be in short supply across Venezuela, with chronic shortages of food, medicine, and sanitary products leading to the worst humanitarian crisis in the country’s recent history. With the Venezuelan Bolivar losing over 99.9 percent of its worth since 2010 amid skyrocketing inflation, the country’s minimum wage has now fallen to approximately $3.43 a month, equivalent to just over 30 cents a day.
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Helen and Moe Lauzier
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