Caracas (AFP) – President Nicolas Maduro said Saturday that remarks by US Secretary of State John Kerry on the unrest in Venezuela gave violent groups a “green light” to carry out attacks. In a tweet, Maduro also slammed the remarks made by Kerry late Friday as “arrogant” and “insolent.”

“John Kerry threatens Venezuela with more violence, with his statements gives the green light to violent groups to attack our people,” Maduro wrote.

The top US diplomat on Friday condemned Venezuela’s “unacceptable” use of force against anti-government protesters, and declined to respond to a call from Caracas for bilateral talks. (more…)

If The Feb 21 agreement is not upheld….  Prepare for our war Kharkiv comrades….  the girly man in America will do nothing…

#BREAKING Ukraine's Yanukovych blocked from taking plane to Russia: parliament speaker

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) February 22, 2014

(Via XX Committee)  Things are moving very fast in Ukraine today. President Yanukovych, after the bloodbath this week on the streets of Kyiv, has been thrown out of office by the parliament. The country is in turmoil, and in the east, centered on Kharkiv, the Moscow-backed Ukrainian Front, that I informed you of three weeks ago, is arming the population and preparing for civil war.

And now the Russian Foreign Ministry has made its position clear in a new press release on its website – the new government in Kyiv is illegitimate and it’s the West’s fault.

This is a remarkably rough diplomatic message.

It cannot be construed as anything less than a threat to an independent Ukraine.

The full text follows …  (more…)

Ukraine citizens were never allowed to see the home of their president, until today…..

Families, protestors and the media stream into presidential residence outside Kiev pic.twitter.com/EZ9vXMZgsy

— Emma Wells (@Emmawells1) February 22, 2014

(Via Weaselzippers)  We’ve heard a lot about how protesters were upset with President Yanukovych’s choice to align with Russia rather than the EU. But there also was a lot of upset with regard to the perceived corruption in the Yanukovych administration.

His residence was not even made public until today. Now it has been occupied by the protesters who want to preserve it as a “Monument Of Corruption”.

Here are some of the pictures from the residence and grounds:

With security abandoned, people of #Kyiv finally see estate of President #Yanukovych. pic.twitter.com/RARCrPlQOt via @gruppa_voina

— Jim Roberts (@nycjim) February 22, 2014

(more…)

Report #1 – Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych on Friday announced early presidential elections and promised to bring opposition members into the government in a bid to defuse a deep crisis in which scores have been killed and hundreds injured. (link)

Report #2 – Ukraine’s president gave in to pressure from European diplomats and offered concessions Friday to defuse a crisis that has divided his country and left scores dead. Shots rang out near Kiev’s protest camp and protesters fought among themselves about what to do next. (more…)

SOCHI, Russia — A gutsy Ukrainian skier chose her people over Olympic glory  Thursday and pulled out of the Sochi games in protest.

Bodgana Matsotska said she could not compete while her countrymen were being  killed and is heading to Kiev to join the rebels fighting to overthrow President Victor  Yanukovych.

“I don’t want to participate when in my country people die,” Matsotska told  The Associated Press.

Between 70 and 100 protesters in Kiev were reportedly killed in the worst  violence since Ukraine split from the old Soviet Union and hundreds more were  injured in clashes with security forces loyal to President Viktor  Yanukovych.

Yanukovych insisted his men weren’t firing live rounds at the people.

But footage shown on Ukrainian television of Orthodox priests blessing the  bodies of fallen rebels painted their president a liar — and angered the  world.  (link)

The 24-year-old skier was supposed to compete in the slalom on Friday, her  third and best event at the Sochi games. (more…)

The Red Line comment is at 1:25

Photo by @Stcrow of @nytimes of Pres Obama making remarks about Ukraine during photo op with Mexican Pres Pena Nieto. pic.twitter.com/XftQFDDiDQ

— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) February 19, 2014

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“Reporters Without Borders”,  a watchdog organization headquartered in Paris, France and known by its French acronym, “RSF”, has published its annual “World Press Freedom Index”.

Liberty Blitzkrieg brings to our attention that in the great march FORWARD!, the US was a front runner in the stakes for greatest loss of press freedom in year over year results – slipping an impressive 13 slots  from #33 last year to #46 on the 2014 world ranking, after Romania but before Haiti.

There were some “non-surprises”, such as North Korea and Eritrea remaining at the back of the pack, but also some pleasant surprises with tiny Belize clocking in at an impressive #29, hanging out in the “free press” band with Australia at #28.

Clearly, much work remains to be done before the US can be satisfied that the people’s work is completed and it can comfortably hang in the 100’s with its pals in the middle east and Africa.  Maybe that will provide the necessary incentive to Dirty Harry in the Senate to get working on that innertubes kill switch.  In the meantime, those pesky bloggers keep bringing up stuff like Benghazi, or Warrantless Wiretaps, or the ever expanding use of technology to spy on and monitor its own citizens.

The 2014 World Press Freedom Index spotlights the negative impact of conflicts on freedom of information and its protagonists. The ranking of some countries has also been affected by a tendency to interpret national security needs in an overly broad and abusive manner to the detriment of the right to inform and be informed. This trend constitutes a growing threat worldwide and is even endangering freedom of information in countries regarded as democracies. Finland tops the index for the fourth year running, closely followed by Netherlands and Norway, like last year. At the other end of the index, the last three positions are again held by Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea, three countries where freedom of information is non-existent.

Somewhere Moonbat Sean Penn is sobbing with dramatic tears…..

VENEZUELA –  “I want to get out of here. I want to leave this country as soon as possible and never come back.”

The text from my friend Luis surprised me. A lawyer by training, he got his masters in urban planning from an elite Manhattan university, and had returned to Venezuela full of hope. He was hired by a local NGO working on poverty abatement issues. But now, he’s fed up.

“Nothing works. There are lines to buy everything. Prices have gone through the roof. You can’t go out at night for fear of getting shot. If you want to get married, finding a place to live is impossible. The country has become unlivable.” (more…)

“No my friend, you don’t sell this stuff to me.  You sell this to the people who don’t have self-respect and self-determination,  and they are weak,  and they love to be subjugated and to be dependent on the government.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbEV5xcoZiA

(more…)