Protect so they say its citizens. We have troops over the world that places a very very far away venezuela is not very far away and the people are suffering and theyre dying we have many options for venezuela including a possible military option if necessary. Im always careful when we talk about south and Central America and the cia theres a lot of stories. We are very hopeful that there could be a transition of venezuelans i was just down in mexico city and in bogota week before last talking about this very issue trying to help them understand the things they might do so that they can get a better outcome for c. N. N. Can now confirm the President Trump asked a number of his top Foreign Policy advisers last summer about the possibility of invading venezuela cuba. And now opposition needs you on one has declared himself the countrys new president have you also the president of the United States for any military support in your struggle by as a way down on the amount of us hes going to and i would in terms of taking decisions that even though this is a dictatorship the Little People want to advance with whatever pressure is needed this is no time for dialogue this is time for. Any negotiations with nicolas maduro. No. The strange thing about the coup and threat of invasion is that they didnt just come from the usa. Supporters of the right wing opposition asked for a foreign country to invade then as. And i made the mistake of answering one of them. I told him it had happened in greece back in the days of nazi collaborators. I hadnt noticed that the person had hundreds of thousands of followers on twitter. Dozens of them offered to teach me new expressions in english and spanish. Using teaching methods from the t. V. Series norcos. Call. Easy home day. Key. Was when i received an interesting message. I had just been given my next mission my dear twitter friends explained that if i was a real journalist and wanted to understand venezuela i had to go to the border with colombia. They were absolutely right. Ringback ringback ringback ringback ringback that night i boarded a bus with dozens of venezuelans leaving the country. Destination the Border Crossing out in colombia. Place where the local mafia random the members of colombias civil war paramilitary groups meet operate get only. 4 breakdowns one flat tire found an attack with stones flying past my head resulted in a 19 hour journey. Plenty of time to Read International press articles on venezuelas immigrants and refugees. From reuters to the daily mirror dozens of stories repeating that the case here resembles syria and the people of myanmar. They compared an economic crisis to civil war and genocide. In the news i mostly saw people leaving the country here i could see a few returning to venezuela even within a day. Started. Humanity even. At the colombian border i experienced one of the many side effects of economic collapse but i learned nothing new about what caused it. Surprisingly i found more answers in a town just 40 kilometers east of san cristobal. Hundreds of vehicles queued for hours at gas stations. This was another artificial shortage caused by private. Smugglers collaborating with local offices buying gas and other government subsidized commodities in colombia. Taking advantage of that as well as price controls contraband goods have become a lucrative business in neighboring colombia where these products can sell for prices at least 10. 00 times more it is estimated that almost 40 percent of them this will is food is illegally transported across the border. Hiding food away in storage for political and economic purposes is bad enough. Not being able to find gasoline when you have the biggest oil reserves is a real. Especially when the government provides gas almost feel free. To understand what was going on i had to return to caracas where the gasoline flows generously. As i couldnt reconcile production in my mind i decided to walk somebody whos been. Following Venezuelas Energy policy professor Carlos Mendoza patella. A consultant on Energy Issues for the central bank of venezuela. We begin. The series. As. It gave us what we never see even. You know again not a moment there aint dont think. It breaks your way though but i thank you all. According to International Media of venezuela failed even though its been proved to have the Worlds Biggest Oil reserves. Is that really true. Elim facias. King heating fuel in these. Relief and i know you know. I mean also. Is ahead of. You on their petroleum sorting out you know. Where that. Thing. Is it will. Give us a feel. For me. The link this. Local dewayne has anyone willing to put on that island. But up and if you dont. Push will encourage you know. Him better tell me so you know. Scription owned up to tell using even for the owners so how to choose the pet Food Industry is telling us what to feed our pets really more based on what they want to sell us than was necessarily good for the pet turns out that food may not be a selfie as people believe we have animals that have you know diabetes in arthritis they have auto immune disorders theyve got allergies we are actually creating these problems its a huge epidemic of problems all of them i believe can be linked to a very simple problem of diet and some dog owners so heartbreaking stories about their pets less treats the larger corporations are not very interested in proving or disproving the value of their food because theyre already making it a 1000000000. 00 on it and theres no reason to do that research. What politicians do something to. Put themselves on a lot. To get accepted or rejected. So when you want to be president. Or somehow want to. Have to go right to be close to survival before 3 of them or cant be good. Im interested always in the waters about how this. Question and. The world is driven by shaped by one person or those. In a day or so thinks. We dare to ask. Is youll be via reflection of reality. In a world transformed. What will make you feel safe. Heis a nation full community. Are you going the right way or are you being led. Direct. What is true what is faith. In a world corrupted you need to descend. To join us in the depths. Or a maid in the shallows. Even without the reserves venezuela has a lot of oil. So how did it get into its current situation. Many people told me that it suffers from a strange disease. And theres a scene about. It before. Because its called the dutch disease but i thought i should go to holland. Sadly we see that many obese countries and up with much worse Economic Performance much worse in a call to you much more poverty than before the end or well for the gas well. The mineral wealth so thats been cold im dr myself has been called the dutch disease. The dutch disease is something which is taught in the middle of this not in the schools one of the main gas exports you get all this gas he holding on the north part of holland. As a result of the gas being exported there was a lot of extra mom for the guild or for the dutch currency that pushed up the value of the guild and the maiden very strong currency but as a result of that there rest of the industry the madness became less competitive found a more difficult to export to bowl so although we were well through in terms of gas our industry was suffering and my to be causing on the point. Venezuela has suffered from the dutch disease since the 930 s. When oil income was converted into holidays clothes and mentions for the elite. Sea economy so. You add that but you are not youre not. Going to know. All the useful things will. Be always when im at. Home but i get we see a bank will get but if the moon. Is wouldnt kill the dutch disease. But for the 1st time an oil revenue wasnt going to the elite well lots of foreign multinationals. Were. Lets move 1st to the old times and shovels to live then chavez put a lot of the money over the. The huge oil money even if really gets to helping the people of the so he put it into the Education System put it into the health care system. Things he can see through. His successes. Is a different story now we do have a story that when the price was too high but more money went to the needs of people who are suffering the most people you go dryads you rest and then they go to hit by the Bush Administration a country. Along with the Oil Price Collapse came a financial in from the usa. For this purpose were going to announce sanctions against. Venezuela. Paid if they says its known by its spanish acronym the state. Were looking at the oil assets. Important to the government of venezuela it will make a big difference to the United States economically if we could have American Oil Companies invest in and produce the oil capabilities in. That i reached the source of the absurdity in venezuelas economy. Then when i tried to exchange the dollars i had with me. As well as the official Exchange Rate for the. Parallel black market right. Could find the prevailing black market Exchange Rate from a facebook page. Now things have changed. Maybe. By controlling. Anyone citizens against their government. They. Saw. 2 opposing sides of being trying to explain the crisis in venezuela. Economic sabotage. Used as an excuse. How socialism in venezuela has affected a once prosperous nation. Venezuela is hell of course isnt it socialist free for all socialist economic model socialist utopia this is not a failed socialist state. Socialist venezuela this is the socialist dilemma wasnt socialism i dont think so because actually during that period you know the vast majority were in the private sector. And they didnt come anywhere near say france which has 55 percent of its g. D. P. Is. Much more socialist than. Even when chavez nationalized companies mainly in the oil sector the private sector grew more rapidly than the public sector. Venezuela was therefore never a socialist country. And even its greatest opponents knew it. When its Economic Growth rate was doubled out of the usa and poverty was down by 50 percent. International media attributed the gross to capitalism. But when the crisis struck socialism was blamed. The 2 made narratives putting the blame on sanctions or on socialism the reality i saw in venezuela was much more complex. Maybe. Varian revolution inherited all the structural problems that the economy had faced in the 20th century. The dutch disease the destroyed production high inflation and huge inequalities. But for the 1st time while revenues did not flow into the hands of the few and foreign oil companies. That were distributed to the people. Then and a constant economic war huge mistakes were made mainly in monetary policy. When oil prices collapsed all those problems old and new came to the surface. Of the ball was still poor and the rich who was still rich decided to take revenge. I travelled far trying to understand why when my country. Crisis some was concerned about toilet paper in venezuela. Some just wanted Venezuelas Oil and needed the pretext of humanitarian intervention. There was something more though. Despite its mistakes and failures venezuela Christian Neo liberalism and the austerity imposed on the population by the elite. Didnt achieve more than conservative governments would have in the sixtys and seventys. But thats not acceptable today. And anyone who must be crushed. George w. Bush the president of the United States government of iraq and the future of your country. Belongs to you. In the battle of iraq the United States and our allies have prevailed. What we can do and will do is support the aspirations of the libyan people. You saw i. I might perhaps the Vice President of the United States and on behalf of President Donald Trump and all the american people. Let me express the unwavering support of the United States is you the people of venezuela raise your voices in a call for freedom. Spoiler alert this edition of the program is not about the trump impeachment drama instead we focus on ukraine and why are the Corporate Media so misleading about the military coups in bolivia. Have been finding another one to. Sway or both the food. Bank itself only think that we do is music because everybody fights his way. To. The floor to control the 50 pound is more priest would have been driving home given that the truth about. What i think is this is the fund that is going to come. Join me every thursday on the alec simon show and ill be speaking to guest of the world of politics sports business im show business ill see you then. In a major policy overhaul the u. S. Declares that it no longer views israeli settlements in the okie pide west bank as a legal. Establishment of israeli civilian settlements in the west bank is not per se inconsistent with International Law iran accuses the us of hypocrisy supporting mass protests sparked by a hike in fuel prices. And russian interference is said to be unquantifiable in a still classified u. K. Intelligence report has Russian Media outlets including aussie also gets a mention