Chavez Funding Mexican Revolutionaries

A Wikileaks diplomatic cable dated October 27th, 2008 (Reference ID: 08MEXICO3178) reveals that Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan dictator and socialist tyrant, has been funding the activities of Bolivarian radicals in Mexico.

The cable exposes an interesting power struggle between Mexico and Venezuela over dominance of Latin America. This struggle has obviously strained the two countries' relationships with each other, especially after Chavez decided to nationalize assets owned by Mexican companies in Venezuela.

Chavez has been trying to build support through his "Miracle Mission" program and ALBA (Bolivarian Alternative of the Americas) initiative. "Miracle Mission" takes people from across Latin America and gives them free surgeries in Caracas... but only after it indoctrinates them with pro-Chavez and anti-US propaganda.

Chavez is also funding other programs meant to strengthen "alternative movements" and create grassroots support for socialist ideas in Mexico. The Mexican National Intelligence Center reports that there are at least 500 hardcore "Bolivarian" activists - all Mexican nationals - who are in contact with each other and receive funding from Chavez. Furthermore, there are student groups sprouting up across Mexico which are sympathetic to Chavez. Many of these Bolivarian activists are linked to the Worker's Party (PT).

... Anyone else see what's happening here?

RBS: Gov't Impedes Econ Recovery

A Wikileak cable dated May 6th, 2009 (Reference ID: 09LONDON1069) reveals that the Royal Bank of Scotland's chief risk analyst had a pessimistic economic outlook and that signs of recovery were "delusory."

The cable outlined plans by the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to focus primarily on reducing costs, primarily by cutting thousands of jobs worldwide and reducing its scope of operations. The cable also showed that RBS officials believed that banks would naturally return to "narrow banking" and more conservative lending practices with high capital reserves in response to the financial crisis. This highlights an important point made by free market economists: if it weren't for bailouts, subsidized deposit insurance, and lender of last resort actions, then banks would naturally regulate themselves and lend in a more conservative manner, without the need for government regulation.

Most interestingly, Peter Nathaniel, RBS's senior risk analyst, noted that global economic recovery was going to be weak, due to the level of sovereign indebtedness and the cost of government borrowing. This emphasizes an important point made by former Federal Reserve Chairman, Alan Greenspan: rising government deficits cause uncertainty about future government tax policies, which cause investors to hold back. This process slows economic growth and recovery. You can read about Greenspan's statements here.

It's also important to note that government deficits necessarily raise the cost of borrowing for private investors. In other words, because government deficits increase the demand for credit, interest rates must necessarily rise, thereby crowding out private investment. The end result is lower long-run economic growth due to less investment.

An Inside Look At US Foreign Policy

Enjoy: http://cablegate.wikileaks.org/

Wikileaks began on Sunday November 28th publishing 251,287 leaked United States embassy cables, the largest set of confidential documents ever to be released into the public domain. The documents will give people around the world an unprecedented insight into US Government foreign activities.

The cables, which date from 1966 up until the end of February this year, contain confidential communications between 274 embassies in countries throughout the world and the State Department in Washington DC. 15,652 of the cables are classified Secret.

The embassy cables will be released in stages over the next few months. The subject matter of these cables is of such importance, and the geographical spread so broad, that to do otherwise would not do this material justice.

The cables show the extent of US spying on its allies and the UN; turning a blind eye to corruption and human rights abuse in "client states"; backroom deals with supposedly neutral countries; lobbying for US corporations; and the measures US diplomats take to advance those who have access to them.

This document release reveals the contradictions between the US’s public persona and what it says behind closed doors – and shows that if citizens in a democracy want their governments to reflect their wishes, they should ask to see what’s going on behind the scenes.

Every American schoolchild is taught that George Washington – the country’s first President – could not tell a lie. If the administrations of his successors lived up to the same principle, today’s document flood would be a mere embarrassment. Instead, the US Government has been warning governments -- even the most corrupt -- around the world about the coming leaks and is bracing itself for the exposures.

The full set consists of 251,287 documents, comprising 261,276,536 words (seven times the size of "The Iraq War Logs", the world's previously largest classified information release).

The cables cover from 28th December 1966 to 28th February 2010 and originate from 274 embassies, consulates and diplomatic missions.