Thank you for your posts and for carrying the torch, Jahcub. This part of the thread is interesting to follow and makes sense once you recognize that Hemphill is a rabidly anti-socialist ideologue who would insist that a socialist-governed rainforest is empty desert because it does not conform to his preconceived notions of socialist habitat.
I would like to shift this discussion a bit and point out that His Majesty, Haile Selassie I was very passionate about his vision for a peaceful world and he strongly endorsed every nation's compliance with their covenants under the UN Charter as a vehicle for achieving that vision. Besides its open meddling in the internal affairs of the sovereign UN member state of Venezuela, the stream of threats of use of force to impose its will being issued by Washington constitute a blatant violation of Article 2(4) of the Charter and would certainly incur His Majesty’s condemnation.
Article 2(4):
“All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.”
[Note that for a threat of force to be consistent with the “Purposes of the United Nations” it has to be issued in accordance with a duly adopted UN Security Council resolution.]
One would then have to wonder how any sincere RastafarI can reconcile unilateral threats of military force by one nation against another with the Teachings of His Majesty. After all, we’re not talking self defense here (in which case a nation doesn’t “threaten” it simply defends) and no one believes that the US is sincere in its concern for the Venezuelan people when a simple lifting of its unilaterally-imposed sanctions would bring them all the relief that they need.
I assure you that concerns about medicine shortages begin to fade to secondary when you're worried that your family may become collateral damage to U.S. bombing (a la Panama 1989 when 3,000 Panamanians perished so that the U.S. could change out one of its puppet dictators for another).
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