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NYT Finally Gets Around to Reporting OAS Fraud Election Claims in Bolivia Were Bogus
NYT Finally Gets Around to Reporting OAS Fraud Election Claims in Bolivia Were Bogus
The Times only covered the problems with the OAS analysis after a study from three independent researchers found flawed data and analysis.
Bolivia’s Evo Morales in 2008. (Joel Alvarez, Wikimedia Commons)
More than seven months after claims of fraudulent elections sparked an undemocratic coup that led to the ouster of Bolivian President Evo Morales, The New York Times late Sunday reported on new research showing the U.S.-led Organization of American States used flawed data and analysis to support its widely cited contention the voting was rigged.
“It was clear from the start, but now even the NYT is admitting: what happened in Bolivia was nothing short of a coup by the U.S. and its OAS puppet, deposing one of the most successful democratically elected leaders in modern Latin American history,” tweeted journalist Glenn Greenwald in response to the Times reporting.
Progressive International@ProgIntl
It was a coup.
It was — then as now — clearly a coup.
The @ProgIntl was founded to break the myths and counter the misinformation that has justified right-wing regime change around the world.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/07/world/americas/bolivia-election-evo-morales.html …A Bitter Election. Accusations of Fraud. And Now Second Thoughts.A close look at Bolivian election data suggests an initial analysis by the O.A.S. that raised questions of vote-rigging — and helped force out a president — was flawed.nytimes.com
As Common Dreams reported in November, U.S. officials cited the OAS report on the election as a justification for backing the coup that deposed Morales, the left-wing Indigenous former president.
Despite reporting from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) casting doubt on those claims within 24 hours of the OAS making them, the Times only covered the problems with the U.S.-dominated organization’s analysis after a study (pdf) from three independent researchers found the same results.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Bolivian Coup Comes Less Than a Week After Morales Stopped Multinational Firm’s Lithium Deal
Bolivian Coup Comes Less Than a Week After Morales Stopped Multinational Firm’s Lithium Deal
“Bolivia’s lithium belongs to the Bolivian people. Not to multinational corporate cabals.”
The Sunday military coup in Bolivia has put in place a government which appears likely to reverse a decision by just-resigned President Evo Morales to cancel an agreement with a German company for developing lithium deposits in the Latin American country for batteries like those in electric cars.
“Bolivia’s lithium belongs to the Bolivian people,” tweeted Washington Monthlycontributor David Atkins. “Not to multinational corporate cabals.”
The coup, which on Sunday resulted in Morales resigning and going into hiding, was the result of days of protests from right-wing elements angry at the leftist Morales government. Sen. Jeanine Añez, of the center-right party Democratic Unity, is currently the interim president in the unstable post-coup government in advance of elections.
Investment analyst publisher Argus urged investors to keep an eye on the developing situation and noted that gas and oil production from foreign companies in Bolivia had remained steady.
The Morales move on Nov. 4 to cancel the December 2018 agreement with Germany’s ACI Systems Alemania (ACISA) came after weeks of protests from residents of the Potosí area. The region has 50% to 70% of the world’s lithium reserves in the Salar de Uyuni salt flats.
Among other clients, ACISA provides batteries to Tesla; Tesla’s stock rose Monday after the weekend.
As Bloomberg News noted in 2018, that has set the country up to be incredibly important in the next decade:
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
‘A Breath of Fresh Air’: Offshore Wind Power Could Produce More Electricity Than World Uses
‘A Breath of Fresh Air’: Offshore Wind Power Could Produce More Electricity Than World Uses
“Let’s get going!”
A new report from the International Energy Agency released Friday claims that wind power could be a $1 trillion business by 2040 and that the power provided by the green technology has the potential to outstrip global energy needs.
“Talk about a breath of fresh air,” tweeted writer Steven E. de Souza.
The IEA report looks at the business of wind power and opines that as investment increases and the technology becomes cheaper, the sector could explode.
The IEA finds that global offshore wind capacity may increase 15-fold and attract around $1 trillion of cumulative investment by 2040. This is driven by falling costs, supportive government policies and some remarkable technological progress, such as larger turbines and floating foundations. That’s just the start—the IEA report finds that offshore wind technology has the potential to grow far more strongly with stepped-up support from policy makers.
“Offshore wind currently provides just 0.3% of global power generation, but its potential is vast,” said IEA executive director Fatih Birol.
It would take a major infrastructural commitment to develop wind power to the point that the renewable energy resource could take over the majority of global energy needs, but it’s not impossible. As The Guardian pointed out Friday, “if windfarms were built across all useable sites which are no further than 60km (37 miles) off the coast, and where coastal waters are no deeper than 60 metres, they could generate 36,000 terawatt hours of renewable electricity a year.”
“This would easily meeting the current global demand for electricity of 23,000 terawatt hours,” added The Guardian.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Over 1 Million Chileans Take to the Streets to Demand Political Reforms, Change to Country’s Neoliberal Economic System
Over 1 Million Chileans Take to the Streets to Demand Political Reforms, Change to Country’s Neoliberal Economic System
“Chile is not the same as it was yesterday.”
Chilean President Sebastián Piñera on Saturday said he would reshuffle his cabinet after over 1 million Chileans poured into city streets across the country Friday to demand structural reforms to the country’s government and economic system.
The move by Piñera came as the protest movement mobilized people in the captial Santiago and beyond.
“We’re asking for justice, honesty, ethical government,” protester Francisco Anguitar told AFP Friday.
Piñera made the announcement late Saturday morning.
BREAKING: Chile’s President
Piñera has asked his ministers to resign, in the most dramatic move since protests began a week ago. The military also announced an end to the curfew. Yesterday’s protest, by more than 1 million Chileans, is forcing change.
The timeline and plan for the replacement of ministers remains unclear. On Saturday, Reuters reported that a document obtained by the news agency “suggested Piñera was considering replacing the heads of at least nine ministries, including the ministries of interior, defense, economy, transportation and environment.”
Chilean senator Felipe Kast on Twitter credited the Friday protests with prompting Piñera’s decision.
“A peaceful day that will leave its mark on our history,” said Kast. “Chile is not the same as it was yesterday.”
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
