Author: Blazingcatfur

Where is María Corina Machado, Venezuela’s opposition leader?

María Corina Machado, the international figurehead of the Venezuelan opposition who collected the Nobel peace prize last month, has so far been reduced to a peripheral role after the US intervention in her country on Saturday.

President Trump appeared to dismiss the prospect of involving her in the political transition, describing her as a “very nice woman” but saying it would be “tough” for her to lead the nation because she did not have the “respect within or the support within the country”.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inVenezuela

Canadian woman charged with illegally crossing into U.S., kicking border agent’s face

A Canadian woman has been charged in the United States with crossing into Washington state and kicking a border agent in the face.

The accused is facing one count each of assault on a federal officer and improper entry after the incident Tuesday.

In U.S. district court documents, the FBI alleges the woman was denied entry at the Peace Arch border crossing, south of Surrey, B.C., because she had a marijuana vape pen.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada, USA, WTF?

Owner of the Swiss ski bar where 40 people died spent time in prison for ‘fraud, kidnapping and false imprisonment’ and was ‘a known pimp’

The owner of the Swiss ski bar at the centre of a New Year’s Day inferno that claimed 40 lives and left 119 injured spent time in prison for ‘fraud, kidnapping and false imprisonment’ and was a known pimp, it emerged today.

French national Jacques Moretti, who is in his 60s, faces charges for the inferno at Le Constellation, in Crans–Montana, Switzerland, on New Year’s Day.

His venue became a death trap, after sparklers placed inside champagne bottles ignited the basement ceiling.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Mass Casualty Event"

Canada’s oil sector shouldn’t panic, stay competitive after Maduro’s seizure: expert

EDMONTON – A political scientist says U.S. President Donald Trump’s interest in transforming Venezuela’s oil-rich sector is a reminder for Canada’s oil and gas industry to not panic and stay competitive.

Heather Exner-Pirot, director of energy, natural resources and environment with the think-tank Macdonald-Laurier Institute, says Canada has always competed with other oil-rich countries, and Trump’s recent claims his country will “run” oil-rich Venezuela is a medium-term risk to Canada.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada, USA, Venezuela

WAGNER: Losing the culture war will result in tyranny

The Roman Empire was pluralistic and multicultural. It allowed all sorts of religious practices and beliefs, but it could not tolerate Christianity. Christians were considered to be seditious because of their refusal to offer sacrifices to Roman gods.

Eventually, however, the empire became Christianized to a degree, and over time, political and religious liberty would become widespread.

(Incognito)

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCulture Wars

How migrants dominate the great social housing divide

FOR young professionals and working families, living in London is an increasingly distant dream. London property is among the most expensive in the world; rent alone can be £3,500 a month or more.

Given this, a social housing tenancy – owned by a local authority or housing association – can save a London renter thousands of pounds a year. Over a lifetime, the benefit is comparable to a lottery win.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCamp Of The Saints, UK

Iran Is Burning: Canada Must Decide

The streets of Iran are once again filled with anger, grief, and bloodshed. What began as economic protests over a collapsing currency and runaway inflation has turned violent, with demonstrators killed and the regime signalling that repression, not reform, will be its response. This is not a sudden crisis. It is the predictable consequence of a system that long ago exhausted every source of legitimacy except fear.

Carney won’t do anything to upset Amira.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada, Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government, Iran

Why MAGA supports the capture of Nicolás Maduro

Donald Trump’s operation to take out — excuse me, exfiltrate and arrest — Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro late last night has produced few objections from MAGA World. Speaking at a press conference today, the US President credited American military power by “air, land and sea”, and said that the US is “going to run” Venezuela until “such a time that we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition” of power. A few Trump-aligned pundits such as Glenn Greenwald are agitated but, on the whole, the reaction has been nothing like the eruption of MAGA dissent that greeted the build-up to and aftermath of Trump’s decision to join Israel’s 12-Day War against Iran last summer.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inPresident Trump

The climate climbdown is finally upon us

2025 marked the 10-year anniversary of the Paris Agreement on climate change, when 195 nations pledged to cut carbon emissions to slow the rise in global temperatures. Yet 10 years on, the political consensus on climate change has all but collapsed. Last year, the seemingly cast-iron conviction that climate change poses an existential threat to humanity – and that we urgently need to eradicate fossil fuels and carbon-intensive industries – came under challenge like never before.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Net-Zero Tyranny"

Trump sets sights on Greenland

Donald Trump has signalled Greenland is in his sights with Nicolas Maduro, the Venezuelan dictator, captured and preparing to face an American courtroom.

“We do need Greenland, absolutely,” he told The Atlantic magazine, adding that the Danish territory was “surrounded by Russian and Chinese ships”.

He said officials in his administration would decide what happened with Greenland, which Mr Trump has claimed the US must annex for its security.

Oops …

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inGreenland, USA