Maduro..

 

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called for a “multi-polar” world rather than one dominated by the US, as he arrived in Brazil seeking to rebuild his nation’s alliances after years of isolation. 

In his first international trip in seven months, Maduro met with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brasilia ahead of a regional summit. 

His visit is the latest evidence of an ongoing thaw toward the Venezuelan government after leftists won elections in Brazil and Colombia last year. Maduro’s international travel has been curtailed in recent years by sanctions by the US, which has openly backed attempts to overthrow him.  

Lula, as the 77-year-old Brazilian leader is known, has repeatedly criticized US policy on everything from Venezuelan sanctions to its arming of Ukraine to its efforts to get WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange extradited.

  Just a thought.

Hate..

 

Fun..

 

Decline..

 

Future..

 

Yuan..

 

BRICS is looking to create a new currency to take on the U.S. dollar on the international stage for cross-border transactions. 

China’s President Xi Jinping is moving to convince several countries to settle trade with the Chinese Yuan. 

France recently settled an LNG gas trade with the Chinese Yuan and not the U.S. dollar. In addition, Yuan is now the top traded currency in Russia and not the USD. 

The development is adding strain on the dollar’s prospects and challenging its supremacy as the world’s reserve currency.

However, despite the aggressive efforts, China does not want the Chinese Yuan to replace the U.S. dollar, reported Business Insider. 

While the Yuan is the top contender to take on the dollar, China does not want it to be the global reserve, according to BI.

 

The U.S. projects power across the globe through its massive military. It also weaponizes the U.S. dollar, using its economic dominance as both a carrot and a stick.

This may erode its stick.   Just a thought.

Debt..

 

The number of United States troops who have died fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had passed 7,000 at the end of 2019. Approximately 177,000 national military and police from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraqi, and Syria allies have died. Western allies have also borne high human costs. 

Official Pentagon numbers do not include the many troops who return home and kill themselves as a result of psychological wounds such as PTSD. Over 30,177 service members and veterans of the post-9/11 wars have committed suicide -- over four times as many as have died in combat.  

The military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have also produced fatalities among large numbers of private contract workers. A full and accurate accounting of contractor deaths has not yet been done by the Pentagon. Over 8,000 contractors working for the U.S. have been killed in the two war zones. This number is an estimate: the majority of U.S. contractors are the citizens of other countries, many of whose deaths appear not to have been reported. [Watson Ins. Brown University.]

Bid..

 

Try..

 

JR..