[Peace-discuss] Coup talk: Venezuelan coup attempts effects, Elon Musk seems to trumpet Bolivian coup for lithium

[J.B. Nicholson]

Elon Musk's recent response about carrying out coups for resources is getting some 
press. Max Blumenthal distributed 
https://nitter.snopyta.org/pic/media%2FEdvytarWoAIzHK3.jpg%3Fname%3Dorig which is a 
screenshot of an exchange between two Twitter users -- @historyofarmani and @elonmusk

https://nitter.snopyta.org/historyofarmani/status/1286681257087303682 or
https://twitter.com/historyofarmani/status/1286681257087303682
> Armani: You know what wasnt in the best interest of people? the U.S. government
> organizing a coup against Evo Morales in Bolivia so you could obtain the lithium
> there.
> 
> Elon Musk: We will coup whoever we want! Deal with it.
and then Musk later followed up again to add "Also, we get our lithium from Australia".

As RT pointed out in https://on.rt.com/amks
> Journalist Max Blumenthal claimed that Musk’s unapologetic tweet “practically 
> takes credit for the Bolivian lithium coup.”
> 
> Others described[1] Musk’s musings as “flippant” and “murderous and cruel,” even
> as they acknowledged[2] his “refreshing candor.”
> 
> Not everyone took the Tesla CEO’s pronouncement at face value, however. Some 
> observers argued that Musk was clearly joking, even if his jest was in poor 
> taste.
> 
> “I get this is meant to be a joke, but this is really bad. Innocent people suffer 
> when military coups backed by the US happen. You are making light of that 
> suffering,” read one[3] reply.
> 
> Bolivia’s former president, Evo Morales, resigned and fled the country last 
> November following accusations of election fraud. In an interview with RT, he 
> called the events “a coup” aimed at installing a right-wing leader who will open 
> up Bolivia’s lithium reserves – some of the largest in the world – to
> exploitation by industry.
> 
> Earlier in November 2019, Bolivia axed a massive lithium project with German
> company ACI Systems Alemania (ACISA). Although it’s true that Tesla receives
> lithium from Australia, it is also said to be one of ACISA’s clients.

[1] https://twitter.com/CharlesWeimer/status/1286895529067257857
[2] https://twitter.com/thebigpeezy/status/1286882246738272257
[3] https://twitter.com/MarxistChewbaca/status/1286876133330505728

There's no clear indication that Musk was joking; he took down the "We will coup 
whoever we want! Deal with it." post.

Relatedly: https://youtube.com/watch?v=NxI5eZCrOI4 shows U.S. senators casually 
discussing US interference in Venezuelan politics where repeated (and, so far, 
failed) coup attempts have been made because "It will make a big difference to the 
United States economically if we could have American oil companies invest in and 
produce the oil capabilities in Venezuela" according to John Bolton speaking to Fox 
Business News (see https://on.rt.com/9n7i for more). Before COVID-19 "the 
Sachs/Weisbrot study [found] that US sanctions have killed at least 40,000 people in 
Venezuela" according to https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/14562 . This story 
still hasn't received much coverage on establishment media.