VS zet Latijns-Amerikaanse landen tegen elkaar op en is bezig met voorbereiding invasie Venezuela

InformationClearing House bracht gisteren een artikel over de plannen van de VS met Latijns-Amerika, van belang nu het er toch op lijkt dat de VS aanzienlijke troepenverminderingen zal doorvoeren in het Midden-Oosten.

Thierry Mason, de schrijver van het artikel gaat uitvoerig in op de bestaande status quo in Latijns-Amerika, waar bijvoorbeeld Venezuela al tijden in de schijnwerpers staat. De VS is al jaren bezig met een economische oorlogsvoering tegen Venezuela, waarbij o.a. de VS winkelketens voor levensmiddelen al een aantal jaren geleden onder druk werden gezet door de Obama administratie hun winkels en magazijnen in Venezuela niet langer te bevoorraden......

Deze smerige 'tactiek' heeft deels gewerkt, de middenstand en de hogere klasse gooiden de kont tegen de krib en met uiterst gewelddadige demonstraties probeerde men Maduro tot aftreden te dwingen en zoals we weten is dit niet gelukt. Men gaf de regering Maduro de schuld van dat geweld, echter uit beelden bleek dat veel demonstranten gewapend waren en op de politie schoten, naar verluid ging het hier om door de VS aangevoerde terroristen.....

Bolton heeft Venezuela, Cuba* en Nicaragua aangewezen als as van het kwaad in Latijns-Amerika en heeft gesteld dat de VS daar wil ingrijpen, ofwel er staan weer nieuwe illegale oorlogen van de VS op stapel..... De NAVO heeft in opdracht van haar bevelhebber, de VS Columbia toegelaten als lid van deze 'Noord Atlantische Verdragsorganisatie.....' (ha! ha! ha! ha!) Intussen schijnt terreurorganisatie NAVO twee militaire bases te hebben in dat land, dicht op de grens met o.a. Venezuela.......

Voorts heeft de VS landen als Brazilië in de zak (dat overigens onder fascist Bolsonaro nauw samenwerkt met terreurstaat Israël). Guyana (eerder Brits-Guiana genoemd) een ander buurland van Venezuela, wordt zoals de voormalige naam al zegt in feite door Groot-Brittannië gecontroleerd en bestuurd, GB ook al geen vriend van Venezuela, om het maar zachtjes uit te drukken........ En dan beste bezoeker is daar... Nederland dat een dikke vinger in de Antilliaanse pap heeft, waar de Nederlandse marine in het gebied van de Antilliaanse eilanden (relatief dicht op Venezuela) nauw samenwerkt met de VS, zogenaamd alleen tegen drugssmokkelaars, echter je hoeft geen universitaire graad te hebben om te begrijpen dat deze samenwerking veel verder gaat dan het tegengaan van drugssmokkel.....

Na 13.00 u. vanmiddag kwam WDR nog eens met een aantal leugens over Maduro, dit n.a.v. de inauguratie van Maduro voor zijn tweede termijn als president. Zo werd gesteld dat het grootste deel van de Venezolaanse bevolking tegen Maduro is, dit is een grove leugen, de meerderheid staat wel degelijk achter Maduro, t.w. de grote onderlaag van die bevolking....... Uiteraard werd weer gesteld dat Maduro een desastreus economisch beleid voert, met geen woord werd over de economische oorlog van de VS tegen dat land gesproken, waardoor bijvoorbeeld zelfs medicijnen moeilijk of niet te krijgen zijn, het blokkeren van dergelijke importen is zonder meer een ernstige oorlogsmisdaad......

Lees het volgende artikel van Meyssan en geeft het ajb door, de wereld zit allesbehalve te wachten op oorlogen in Latijns-Amerika. De VS dient zich eindelijk terug te trekken op eigen grondgebied en het fascisme dat ook in Latijns-Amerika op weg terug is naar de macht, moet de pas afgesneden worden, deze ultrarechtse schoften die al zoveel ellende hebben gebracht over de wereld, moeten worden bestreden, voor ze nog veel meer onheil kunnen aanrichten! Opvallend ook het bericht dat de zoon van de Surinaamse president Bouterse niet werd gearresteerd vanwege drugssmokkel, maar vanwege zijn poging het Libanese Hezbollah te introduceren in Suriname..... Dino Bouterse werd in 2013 ondanks zijn diplomatieke paspoort in Panama (dat onder controle van de VS staat) gearresteerd (!!) en uitgeleverd aan de VS waar hij werd veroordeeld tot 16 jaar cel......

The Terrible Forthcoming Destruction of the "Caribbean Basin"

President Trump has announced the withdrawal of US combat troops from the « Greater Middle East », but the Pentagon is still pursuing the implementation of the Rumsfeld-Cebrowski plan. This time the aim is to destroy the States of the "Caribbean Basin ". This is nothing like the overthrow of pro-Soviet regimes, as in the 1970’s, but the destruction of all regional State structures, without consideration for friends or political enemies. Thierry Meyssan observes the preparations for this new series of wars.

By Thierry Meyssan

January 10, 2019 "Information Clearing House" -     In a series of previous articles, we presented the SouthCom plan to provoke wars between the Latin-American nations in order to destroy the structures of all the States in the « Caribbean Basin » [1].

Preparations for wars of this magnitude, intended to follow on from the conflicts in the « Greater Middle East » according to the Rumsfeld-Cebrowski strategy, requires a decade [2].

After the period of economic destabilisation [3] and that of military preparation, the actual operation should begin in the years to come by an attack on Venezuela by Brazil (supported by Israël), Colombia (an ally of the United States) and Guyana (in other words, the United Kingdom). It will be followed by others, beginning with Cuba and Nicaragua (the « troïka of tyranny » according to John Bolton).

However, the original plan may be modified, particularly because of the return of the imperial ambitions of the United Kingdom [4] which may influence the Pentagon.

This is where we are now :

The evolution of Venezuela

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez had developed relations with the « Greater Middle East » on an ideological basis. He had in particular grown closer to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Syrian President Bachar el-Assad. Together, they had imagined the possibility of founding an intergovernmental organisation, the « Free Allies Movement », on the model of the « Non-Aligned Movement », which was paralysed by the alignment with the United States, over time, of certain of its members [5].

Although Nicolas Maduro adopted the same language as Hugo Chávez, he chose a very different foreign policy. It is true that he continued the rapprochement with Russia and, in his turn welcomed Russian bombers to Venezuela. He signed a contract to import 600,000 tonnes of wheat in order to deal with starvation in his country. Above all, he prepared to receive six billion dollars of investments, including five in the oil sector. Russian engineers took over the posts which were intended for Venezuelan workers but which they had abandoned.

Nicolas Maduro reorganised the alliances of his country on new foundations. He wove close links with Turkey, which is a member of NATO and whose army presently occupies Northern Syria. Maduro went to Istanbul on four occasions and Erdoğan went once to Caracas.
Switzerland was an ally of Hugo Chávez, and had advised him for the composition of his Constitution. Fearing that he would be unable to refine his country’s gold in Switzerland, Nicolas Maduro looked to Turkey, which transformed the raw material into bullion. In the past, this gold had remained in Swiss banks as a guarantee for oil contracts. From now on, the liquid assets were transferred to Turkey, while the newly treated gold returned to Venezuela. This orientation may be interpreted as being no longer founded on ideology, but on interest. Everything depends on who benefits.

Simultaneously, Venezuela became the target of a destabilisation campaign which began with the guarimbas demonstrations, continued with the attempted coup d’etat on 12 February 2015 (« Operation Jericho »), then by a series of attacks on the national currency, and organised emigration. In this context, Turkey offered Venezuela the possibility of avoiding US sanctions. The exchanges between the two countries multiplied fifteen-fold in 2018.
Whatever the evolution of the Venezuelan régime, nothing can justify what is being prepared against its population.

Coordination of logistical means

From 31 July to 12 August 2017, SouthCom organise a vast exercise with more than 3,000 men from 25 allied states, including France and the United Kingdom. The goal was to prepare a swift landing for troops in Venezuela [6].

Colombia

Colombia is a state, but not a nation. Its population lives geographically separate according to social class, with enormous differences in the quality of life. Almost no Colombian has ever spent time in a neighbourhood attributed to another social class than their own. This strict separation has made possible the multiplication of paramilitary forces and consequently armed interior conflicts which have caused more than 220,000 victims in thirty years.

In power since August 2018, President Iván Duque has challenged the fragile peace concluded with the FARC by his predecessor, Juan Manuel Santos – but not with the ELN. He has not dismissed the option of a military intervention against Venezuela. According to Nicolas Maduro, the United States are currently training 734 mercenaries in a training camp situated in Tona with a view to carrying out a false flag operation intended to spark a war with Venezuela. Taking into account the sociological particularity of Colombia, it is impossible to determine with certainty whether or not the training camp is controlled by Bogota.

Guyana

In the 19th century, the colonial powers agreed to a frontier between British Guyana (presently Guyana) and Dutch Guyana (presently Surinam). but no text has ever defined the frontier between the British zone and the Spanish zone (presently Venezuela). Consequently, Guyana administrates 160,000 km2 of forest which is still a source of dispute with its larger neighbour. By virtue of the Geneva agreement of 17 February 1966, the two states deferred to the Secretary General of the UNO (at that time the Burmese U Thant). Nothing has changed since then - Guyana has proposed to bring the case before the UNO** Permanent Court of Arbitration, while Venezuela prefers direct negotiations.

This territorial dispute does not seem particularly urgent, because the contested area is an uninhabited forest which was believed to be without value – however, it is a huge area which represents two thirds of Guyana. The Geneva agreement has been violated 15 times by Guyana, which specifically authorised the exploitation of a gold mine. Above all, the stakes were raised in 2015 with the discovery by ExxonMobil of oil deposits in the Atlantic Ocean, particularly in the territorial waters of the contested zone.

The population of Guyana is composed of 40 % Indians, 30 % Africans, 20 % mixed race and 10 % American Indians. The Indians are a strong presence in the civil services and the Africans in the army.

On 21 December, a vote of no confidence was lodged against the government of President David Granger, a pro-British, anti-Venezuelan General, in power since 2015. To everyone’s surprise, a deputy, Charrandas Persaud, voted against his own party, and in an atmosphere of indescribable chaos, provoked the fall of the government which had only a one-vote majority. Since then, the country is in a state of great instability - we do not know whether President Granger, who is presently undergoing chemotherapy, will be able to handle current affairs, while Charrandas Persaud left Parliament with an escort, via a back door, and has fled to Canada.

On 22 December 2018, in the absence of a government, the Ramform Tethys (under the flag of the Bahamas) and the Delta Monarch (Trinidad and Tobago) undertook submarine explorations in the contested zone on behalf of Exxon-Mobil. Considering that this intrusion violated the Geneva agreement, the Venezuelan army chased the two ships away. The Guyanese Minister for Foreign Affairs, working with current affairs, declared it a hostile act.

The United Kingdom Minister for Defense, Gavin Williamson, declared to the Sunday Telegraph on 30 December 2018 that the Crown was putting an end to decolonisation, which had been Whitehall’s doctrine since the Suez affair in 1956. London is preparing to open a new military base in the Caribbean (for the moment the UK has bases only in Gibraltar, Cyprus, Diego Garcia and on the Falkland islands). The new base could be situated on Montserrat (West Indies), or more probably in Guyana, and should be operational in 2022 [7].

Guyana is a neighbour of Surinam (Dutch Guyana). Its President, Desi Bouterse, is wanted in Europe for drug trafficking – an affair which pre-dated his election. But his son, Dino, was arrested in Panama in 2013, despite the fact that he entered that country under a diplomatic passport. He was extradited to the United States where he was sentenced to 16 years of prison for drug trafficking - in reality because he was setting up the Lebanese Hezbollah in Surinam.

The baptism of Jair Bolsonaro in the waters of the Jordan (Israël) (opvallend hoe goed het christelijk geloof het meestal kan vinden met fascisten....)

Brazil

In May 2016, Henrique Meirelles, the Minister of Finance for the transitional government of Libano-Brazilian Michel Temer, nominated Israelo-Brazilian Ilan Goldfajn as director of the Central Bank. Mereilles had also presided the Committee for the preparation of the Olympic Games, calling on Tsahal to coordinate the Brazilian army and police, thus guaranteeing the security of the Games. Simultaneously controlling the Central Bank, the army and the police of Brazil, Israël had no difficulty in supporting the popular movement of dissatisfaction in the face of the incompetence of the Workers’ Party.

Believing - without any solid proof - that Presidente Dilma Rousseff had fudged the public accounts in the context of the Petrobras scandal, the parliamentarians impeached her in August 2016.

During the Presidential election of 2018, candidate Jair Bolsonaro went to Israël to be baptised in the waters of the Jordan, and consequently obtained a massive percentage of the evangelical vote. He was elected with General Hamilton Mourão as his Vice-President. During the period of transition, Mourão declared that Brazil should prepare to send men to Venezuela as a « peace force » once President Maduro had been overthrown – comments which constitute a barely-disguised threat which President Bolsonaro attempted to downplay.

In an interview on 3 January 2019, on the TV channel SBT, President Bolsonaro spoke of negotiations with the Pentagon concerning the possibility of creating a US military base in Brazil. This declaration raised powerful opposition within the armed forces, for whom their country is capable of defending itself without assistance.

Benjamin Netanyahu during the investiture of President Bolsonaro. Israël has taken position in Brazil.

During his investiture on 2 January 2019, the new President welcomed Israëli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This was the first time that an Israëli personality of this importance had been to Brazil. On this occasion, President Bolsonaro announced the coming transfer of the Brazilian embassy from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who also went to the investiture, where he met Peruvian Minister for Foreign Affairs Néstor Popolizio, announced with President Bolsonaro his intention to fight with him against the « authoritarian régimes » of Venezuela and Cuba. Returning to the United States, he stopped over in Bogota to meet with Colombian President Iván Duque. The two men agreed to work for the diplomatic isolation of Venezuela. On 4 January 2019, the 14 States of the Lima Group (including Brazil, Colombia and Guyana) met to agree that Nicolas Maduro’s new mandate, which begins on 10 January, is « illegitimate » [8]. This communiqué has not been signed by Mexico. Apart from this, six of the member-States lodged a complaint with the International Criminal Tribunal*** against President Nicolas Maduro for crimes against humanity. It is perfectly clear today that the process towards war is under way. Enormous forces are in play, and there is little that can be done to stop them now. It is in this context that Russia is studying the possibility of setting up a permanent aero-naval base in Venezuela. The island of La Orchila – where President Hugo Chávez was held prisoner during the coup d’etat of April 2002 – would enable the storing of strategic bombers. This would constitute a much greater threat to the United States than the Soviet missiles stationed in Cuba in 1962.

Thierry Meyssan, Political consultant, President-founder of the Réseau Voltaire (Voltaire Network). 

Latest work in French – Sous nos Yeux. Du 11-Septembre à Donald Trump (Right Before our Eyes. From 9/11 to Donald Trump).  Translation - Pete Kimberley

This article was originally published by "Voltaire Network" -

Notes

[1] « Plan to overthrow the Venezuelan Dictatorship – “Masterstroke” », Admiral Kurt W. Tidd, Voltaire Network, 23 février 2018. “The United States "Master Stroke" against Venezuela”, by Stella Calloni; “The United States are preparing a war between Latin-American states”, by Thierry Meyssan, Translation Pete Kimberley, Voltaire Network, 17 May and 18 December 2018.

[2] The Pentagon’s New Map, Thomas P. M. Barnett, Putnam Publishing Group, 2004. “The US military project for the world”, by Thierry Meyssan, Translation Pete Kimberley, Voltaire Network, 22 August 2017.

[3] “Declaration of a National Emergency with Respect to Venezuela”, “Executive Order – Blocking Property and Suspending Entry of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Venezuela”, by Barack Obama, Voltaire Network, 9 March 2015.

[4] « Brexit : Londres assume sa nouvelle politique coloniale », Réseau Voltaire, 3 janvier 2019.

[5] “Assad and Chávez call for the creation of a Free Allied Movement”, Voltaire Network, 29 June 2010.

[6] “Large-scale manoeuvres encircling Venezuela”, by Manlio Dinucci, Translation Anoosha Boralessa, Il Manifesto (Italy) , Voltaire Network, 23 August 2017.

[7] “We are opening new overseas bases to boost Britain”, Christopher Hope, Sunday Telegraph, December 30, 2018.

[8] “Declaration of the Lima Group”, Translation Anoosha Boralessa, Voltaire Network, 4 January 2019.

==See Also==

The United States are preparing a war between Latin-American states: The Pentagon is planning to assassinate an elected head of state, ruin his country, and undermine the unity of Latin-America.

==========================================
*   Afgelopen week werd bekend gemaakt dat het VS ambassade personeel dat middels 'een sonisch wapen' onwel werd, waar men in de westerse pers al flink tamtam over maakte en met de beschuldigende vinger naar de Cubaanse regering wees, in werkelijkheid werd 'aangevallen' door het geluid van (echte) baltsende krekels...... ha! ha! ha! ha! ha!

**  UNO (United Nations Organisation) >> nu kortweg UN of het Nederlandse VN.

*** Naar grote waarschijnlijkheid doelt de schrijver op het Internationaal Strafhof (ICC) in Den Haag.

Zie ook:
'VS coup tegen Maduro in volle gang........'

'VS weer op oorlogspad in Latijns-Amerika: Venezuela het volgende slachtoffer.......'

'Als de VS stopt met spelen van 'politieagent' en het vernielen van de wereld, zullen de slechte krachten winnen......'

'Venezuela: VS verandering van regime mislukt >> de Venezolanen wacht een VS invasie'

'Trump wilde naast de economische oorlogsvoering tegen Venezuela dat land daadwerkelijk militair aanvallen......'

'Venezolaanse regionale verkiezingen gehekeld door westen, terwijl internationale waarnemers deze als eerlijk beoordeelden..........'

'Venezuela: 'studentenprotest' wordt uitgevoerd door ingehuurde troepen.........' 

'Venezuela: Target of Economic Warfare'

'Venezuela: de anti-propaganda van John Oliver (en het grootste deel westerse massamedia) feilloos doorgeprikt'

'Abby Martin Busts Open Myths on Venezuela's Food Crisis: 'Shelves Fully Stocked'' (zie ook de video in dat artikel!)

'Venezuela: VS verandering van regime mislukt >> de Venezolanen wacht een VS invasie'

'Rex Tillerson waarschuwt Venezuela voor een coup en beschuldigt China van imperialisme........ ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! ha! ha!'

'Edwin Koopman (VPRO Bureau Buitenland) over Venezolaanse verkiezingen met anti-Maduro propaganda bij de 'onafhankelijke NOS.....'

'EU neemt uiterst hypocriet sancties tegen de Venezolaanse regering Maduro.........'

'Venezuela moet en zal 'verlost' worden van Maduro, met 'oh wonder' een dikke rol van de VS en de reguliere westerse media'

'Venezolaanse regering treedt terecht op tegen de uiterst gewelddadige oppositie!!'

'Venezuela ontwricht, wat de reguliere media u niet vertellen........'

'VS steunt rechtse coalitie (MUD) in Venezuela.........'

'Venezuela’s US-Backed Opposition Turns Up The Violence Following Assembly Vote'

'10 Things You Need to Know About the Terrorist Attack in Venezuela'

'Venezuelans in the Streets to Support Constituent Assembly'

'What Mainstream Media Got Wrong About Venezuela's Constituent Assembly Vote' (met mogelijkheid tot directe vertaling)

'The Left and Venezuela' (met mogelijkheid tot directe vertaling)

'Rondje Venezuela schoppen op Radio1.........'

'Karabulut (SP) blij dat ze Maduro eindelijk ook kan schoppen.........'

Groot-Brittannië heeft India als kolonisator 45 biljoen dollar lichter gemaakt en liegt daar nog steeds over

In Groot-Brittannië (GB) gaat nog steeds het verhaal rond, dat GB nooit iets heeft verdiend aan de kolonisatie van India en daarom was het een gunst dat GB zo lang als kolonisator in India bleef..... Uit onderzoek zou blijken dat 50% van de Britten deze smerige leugen gelooft......

Wie een klein beetje de economie van kolonisators in het verleden onder de loep heeft genomen, weet dat men nooit een kolonie had behouden, als daar niet dik geld aan te verdienen was, met uitzondering van strategisch belangrijke gebieden voor die kolonisators, neem Gibraltar....

Onderzoek van Utsa Patnaik, gepubliceerd op Columbia University Press, toont dan ook het tegendeel aan van het sprookje dat India de Britse kolonisator alleen maar geld heeft gekost. Integendeel: GB heeft bij elkaar 45 biljoen dollar gestolen van de Indiase bevolking, dit in de periode van 1765 tot 1938. Die 45 biljoen is overigens 17 keer het huidige Bruto Binnenlands Product van GB......

Via een smerige systeem wist GB haar winsten zo groot mogelijk te maken: in 1765 nam de East India Company (EIC) de handel over in India, tot die tijd betaalde GB netjes in zilver voor de producten, echter kort na die overname van de handel door de EIC, voerde men belastingen in en van één derde van die belastingopbrengsten uit India, werden de goederen gekocht in India, ofwel GB kreeg de producten vanaf die tijd gratis, immers de bevolking betaalde zelf voor die producten via de belastingen........ 

Na import in GB, exporteerde GB een deel van die goederen naar de rest van Europa, daarmee kon GB de benodigde goederen betalen die nodig waren voor de industrialisatie, zoals staal.... Ofwel GB verkocht in feite gestolen goederen en dat voor een fikse prijs, anders gezegd: dubbele winsten van elk 100%.....

Middels de belastingen die in India werden geroofd, bekostigde GB ook haar koloniale oorlogen, zoals die tegen China, bovendien werd uit die belasting zoals gezegd de industrialisatie van GB en haar kolonies Canada en Australië betaald..... Niet de stoommachine maakte GB groot maar het gestolen geld van de Indiase bevolking!

Van 1870 tot 1920 heeft GB met opzet een hongersnood veroorzaakt in India* die aan tientallen miljoenen Indiërs het leven heeft gekost, ofwel deze mensen werden vermoord middels één van de ergste oorlogsmisdaden, om niet te zeggen een grove misdaad tegen de menselijkheid: het uithongeren van een bevolking.......... (zie de foto in het hieronder opgenomen artikel)

Uiteraard heeft ook GB als Nederland voor het Indonesische volk, niet haar excuses aangeboden aan het volk van India voor de vreselijke misdaden en uitbuiting, laat staan dat het herstelbetalingen heeft gedaan........

Het volgende artikel komt van Black Agenda Report, eerder gepubliceerd op Al Jazeera en Information Clearing House (voor links naar die webpagina's, zie onderaan in het volgende artikel):

How Britain Stole $45 Trillion From India And Lied About It

Jason Hickelby 09 Jan 2019

British colonizers turned a scam for defrauding peasants into a parasitical relationship that made England rich and impoverished a subcontinent.

“$45 trillion is 17 times more than the total annual gross domestic product of the United Kingdom today.”

There is a story that is commonly told in Britain that the colonization of India -- as horrible as it may have been -- was not of any major economic benefit to Britain itself. If anything, the administration of India was a cost to Britain. So the fact that the empire was sustained for so long -- the story goes -- was a gesture of Britain's benevolence.

New research by the renowned economist Utsa Patnaik -- just published by Columbia University Press -- deals a crushing blow to this narrative. Drawing on nearly two centuries of detailed data on tax and trade, Patnaik calculated that Britain drained a total of nearly $45 trillion from India during the period 1765 to 1938.

It's a staggering sum. For perspective, $45 trillion is 17 times more than the total annual gross domestic product of the United Kingdom today.

How did this come about?

It happened through the trade system. Prior to the colonial period, Britain bought goods like textiles and rice from Indian producers and paid for them in the normal way -- mostly with silver -- as they did with any other country. But something changed in 1765, shortly after the East India Company took control of the subcontinent and established a monopoly over Indian trade.

“The re-export system allowed Britain to finance a flow of imports from Europe which were essential to Britain's industrialization.”

Here's how it worked. The East India Company began collecting taxes in India, and then cleverly used a portion of those revenues (about a third) to fund the purchase of Indian goods for British use. In other words, instead of paying for Indian goods out of their own pocket, British traders acquired them for free, "buying" from peasants and weavers using money that had just been taken from them.

It was a scam -- theft on a grand scale. Yet most Indians were unaware of what was going on because the agent who collected the taxes was not the same as the one who showed up to buy their goods. Had it been the same person, they surely would have smelled a rat.

Some of the stolen goods were consumed in Britain, and the rest were re-exported elsewhere. The re-export system allowed Britain to finance a flow of imports from Europe, including strategic materials like iron, tar and timber, which were essential to Britain's industrialization. Indeed, the Industrial Revolution depended in large part on this systematic theft from India.

On top of this, the British were able to sell the stolen goods to other countries for much more than they "bought" them for in the first place, pocketing not only 100 percent of the original value of the goods but also the markup.

After the British Raj took over in 1847, colonizers added a special new twist to the tax-and-buy system. As the East India Company's monopoly broke down, Indian producers were allowed to export their goods directly to other countries. But Britain made sure that the payments for those goods nonetheless ended up in London.

“The Industrial Revolution depended in large part on this systematic theft from India.”

How did this work? Basically, anyone who wanted to buy goods from India would do so using special Council Bills -- a unique paper currency issued only by the British Crown. And the only way to get those bills was to buy them from London with gold or silver. So traders would pay London in gold to get the bills, and then use the bills to pay Indian producers. When Indians cashed the bills in at the local colonial office, they were "paid" in rupees out of tax revenues -- money that had just been collected from them. So, once again, they were not in fact paid at all; they were defrauded.

Meanwhile, London ended up with all of the gold and silver that should have gone directly to the Indians in exchange for their exports.

This corrupt system meant that even while India was running an impressive trade surplus with the rest of the world -- a surplus that lasted for three decades in the early 20th century -- it showed up as a deficit in the national accounts because the real income from India's exports was appropriated in its entirety by Britain.

Some point to this fictional "deficit" as evidence that India was a liability to Britain. But exactly the opposite is true. Britain intercepted enormous quantities of income that rightly belonged to Indian producers. India was the goose that laid the golden egg. Meanwhile, the "deficit" meant that India had no option but to borrow from Britain to finance its imports. So the entire Indian population was forced into completely unnecessary debt to their colonial overlords, further cementing British control.

“London ended up with all of the gold and silver that should have gone directly to the Indians.”

Britain used the windfall from this fraudulent system to fuel the engines of imperial violence -- funding the invasion of China in the 1840s and the suppression of the Indian Rebellion in 1857. And this was on top of what the Crown took directly from Indian taxpayers to pay for its wars. As Patnaik points out, "the cost of all Britain's wars of conquest outside Indian borders were charged always wholly or mainly to Indian revenues."

And that's not all. Britain used this flow of tribute from India to finance the expansion of capitalism in Europe and regions of European settlement, like Canada and Australia. So not only the industrialization of Britain but also the industrialization of much of the Western world was facilitated by extraction from the colonies.

Patnaik identifies four distinct economic periods in colonial India from 1765 to 1938, calculates the extraction for each, and then compounds at a modest rate of interest (about 5 percent, which is lower than the market rate) from the middle of each period to the present. Adding it all up, she finds that the total drain amounts to $44.6 trillion. This figure is conservative, she says, and does not include the debts that Britain imposed on India during the Raj.

These are eye-watering sums. But the true costs of this drain cannot be calculated. If India had been able to invest its own tax revenues and foreign exchange earnings in development - as Japan did - there's no telling how history might have turned out differently. India could very well have become an economic powerhouse. Centuries of poverty and suffering could have been prevented.

“The cost of all Britain's wars of conquest outside Indian borders were charged always wholly or mainly to Indian revenues."

All of this is a sobering antidote to the rosy narrative promoted by certain powerful voices in Britain. The conservative historian Niall Ferguson has claimed that British rule helped "develop" India. While he was prime minister, David Cameron asserted that British rule was a net help to India.

This narrative has found considerable traction in the popular imagination: according to a 2014 YouGov poll, 50 percent of people in Britain believe that colonialism was beneficial to the colonies.

Yet during the entire 200-year history of British rule in India, there was almost no increase in per capita income. In fact, during the last half of the 19th century - the heyday of British intervention -- income in India collapsed by half. The average life expectancy of Indians dropped by a fifth from 1870 to 1920. Tens of millions died needlessly of policy-induced famine.

Britain didn't develop India. Quite the contrary -- as Patnaik's work makes clear -- India developed Britain.

What does this require of Britain today? An apology? Absolutely. Reparations? Perhaps -- although there is not enough money in all of Britain to cover the sums that Patnaik identifies. In the meantime, we can start by setting the story straight. We need to recognize that Britain retained control of India not out of benevolence but for the sake of plunder and that Britain's industrial rise didn't emerge sui generis from the steam engine and strong institutions, as our schoolbooks would have it, but depended on violent theft from other lands and other peoples.

This article was originally published by Al Jazeera and Information Clearinghouse .

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===================================
* India dat destijds veel groter was, dus inclusief: Pakistan, Oost-Pakistan dat nu Bangladesh wordt genoemd en Ceylon, nu Sri Lanka genaamd.

7 Year Olds Dying In Third Reich ‘Detention’, and Waiting on Capitalist Hill

De volgende twee gedichten van Raymond Nat Turner komen van Black Agenda Report, verdere woorden zijn overbodig:

Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence 10 Jan 2019

7 Year Olds Dying In Third Reich ‘Detention’

“Papi, are we there—
are we almost there?”
Wide-eyed incantation
of a child, three feet plus/
60 pounds.
Exodus leaving the lowland
six days before birthday 7…

“Papi, are we there—
are we almost there?”
Beaming birthday celebrant
on the bus munching an un-
crushed pink frosted cookie
from Papi’s beat up backpack

“Papi, are we there—
are we almost there?”
Her small, soft hands celebrating
Heroics of an unshaven face chasing
Dreams; dreams of pine tree scents
and small gifts—compliments of magic
of his hands. Dreams of the doll her
Mother promised, before dying suddenly;
Dreams of asylum from violence, fleeing
extractive capitalism’s suction tube tentacles…

Papi also had dreams of “J-Bird,” as he
called her, teaching school and university
with compassion and skill she instructed
stick dolls he’d crafted from fallen branches

“Papi, are we there—
are we almost there?”
springing up and down on her
invisible trampoline, Papi's promises
of a Christmas tree and celebration in
California, in America…racing through
her amazed and amazing mind.
Papi was proud. His back burned and
ached. He clenched his teeth, when she
dozed off to sleep. His stomach growled,
rattling sunken sides. He went without
eating so her belly would be full. He took
tiny swigs of water so she’d have enough…

(Football fans who love players that ‘play

through pain;’ Basketball fans who love
players that ‘create their own shots,’ does
chasing dreams thousands of miles through
government/gang infested swamps—bad back
7 yr. old in tow—show up in your thicket of
statistics and fantasy?)

“Papi, are we there—
are we almost there?”
To her the bumpy ride jarring dreams,
juggling her belly up and down was an
Adventure. And Papi had prepared her for
it with bedtime stories where everyone lived
Happily ever after…

Arriving at a ‘border’ swarming with
uniformed thugs: 3/5 human—igloos
pumping raw sewage through veins
whistling “Dixie” prying Papi and “J-Bird”
Apart.
Her forehead a 105 degree radiator; body
spasming, eyes rolling ‘round in their sockets
tummy evicting food Papi fed her—
Terrorist tricks to breach the border, enter the
U.S.— as were delirious, distorted, slow motion
Last words…
“Papi, are we there—
are we almost there?”

© 2018. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

Waiting on Capitalist Hill…

Trumpeted Blue Wave Bar & Grill, at the foot of
Capitalist Hill
Hearty meals for labor’s dime, truncated time…
Heard ads, read rave reviews, received frenzied
phone calls from friends touting Single-Payer
Pasta to die for; delicious Grilled Green New
Deal and Gluten Free Education; otherworldly
Affordable Housing Hors d’oeuvres—and taste
of the hereafter Impeachment Cobbler!

Could this be true—another case of deja vu—
frowning Maître D; hearing throat-clearing?
“Hmm…” our reservation… can’t be found?
Finally seated besides swinging doors—pots,
pans, plates, ‘talk’ show banter serenading us…
Until a mummified moll appears hands on hips,
hissing, “You order antipasti?
Fresh out, hon’—how ‘bout a heaping helping of
Unca Jim?” Presto! A servile, overbearing Black
server’s at our throats and 1% boots…
They mock our orders in shrill unison and high-five:
“Off the table! Off the table! Off the table! Off the table!”

We shout, “What do you fuckin’ serve?” They shoot back,
“You knew the menu—you knew what we do—Order up!
Pentagon Cooked Books on Endless War Endive; War-
Profiteer Pork Chops with Dictator du Jour Soup; Apartheid
State Steak,White Phosphorus Seared; Blackened Bailout on
Toasted Too Big To Fail Flatbread; Order up! Wall Street Stew,
some sweet nothings too? 1% Pineapple Upside Down Cake?
Flip-the-House Flan with Trickle Down Tea? Hey, take it or
leave it, hon’…
Or, talk to the bosses: Tony Missiles, Jake Greasy Thumb
Oil, Al Big Ag, Bugsy Big Pharma, Crazy Joe Protection…”

© 2018. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.
Our poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner is an acclaimed performing articst. Find much more of his work at http://upsurgejazz.com.

CBC Nova Scotia meldt zojuist dat de eerste VS troepenvermindering in Syrië 'een feit is': 10 militaire trucks zijn de grens met Irak overgestoken...... ha! ha! ha! ha! ha!

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PS: nog vergeten te melden bij plaatsing van dit bericht: Erdogan heeft vandaag nogmaals gedreigd de Koerden van de YDP, in het nu mede door de VS beheerste gebied, te zullen verdrijven......