Can You Feel The Bern? No? Try Venezuela!

Venezuela's crisis comes to a head in streets... - Venezuela’s political crisis comes to a head this week in a mass march on the Presidential Palace that raises the risk of a crackdown.   Thursday’s march is being mounted by an increasingly radicalised opposition, which is enraged by Venezuela’s deteriorating economy and the suspension of a constitutionally allowed referendum that sought to remove President Nicolás Maduro from office. The demonstration will be fiercely resisted by government supporters. In 2002, public protests outside the Miraflores Presidential Palace escalated into a brief coup. “It is a game of chicken. Will there be a crash, or will one side swerve out of the way first?” said Felipe Pérez, a former minister who sides with the opposition......

President threatens to jail opponents... - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro threatened on Friday to jail his political opponents if they follow through on their vow of launching a legislative trial to remove him from power.  Shrugging off a partially-observed strike which the opposition called to raise pressure on him, the socialist president went on the counterattack.  Maduro sharpened the tone in a volatile political and economic crisis that has sparked food shortages and riots in the South American oil producer....

Cash, Venezuelans Start Weighing Them  - At a delicatessen counter in eastern Caracas, Humberto Gonzalez removes slices of salty white cheese from his scale and replaces them with a stack of bolivar notes handed over by his customer. The currency is so devalued and each purchase requires so many bills that instead of counting, he weighs them.  “It’s sad," Gonzalez says. "At this point, I think the cheese is worth more.”...