Gary O'Donoghue

The Secretary of State said they would continue to cooperate, and they were getting productive talks with Rodriguez and the rest of the Venezuelan government, but that if things went wrong, they reserved the right to use military force, and he was very clear about that. We also learned that they're hoping to open a U.S. diplomatic mission there at some point quite soon, and a bit of an indication, I think, about the kind of way the money is going to be used from Venezuela's oil industry. $300 million of that has already gone back to fund payroll companies,

Oh yeah, I mean no subtlety at all was a straight out threat. If they didn't do what was asked of them, they would effectively be faced the same as Nicolas Maduro faced and possibly worse. So there's no question about that. So there's a sort of blunt force threat there. But there's also more strategic pressure being put on the regime. For example, Marco Rubio is meeting Machado, the opposition leader in exile in Washington.

I'm the only farmer in the neighborhood, so all the insects, all the lizards, all the iguanas, all the birds is coming to my farm because there is no food for them in the forest. The other problem is I don't have water. The sea level is rising, the water from the wells are becoming very salty. In the past there were very rainy seasons, there were drought seasons, sometimes the rain fell or not, but now it doesn't fall almost at all.

Do you think that there's been an element of discrimination against the islanders? Yes, they are treated us like second-hand citizens. When we ask for something, they don't agree or they hide behind European laws that say no, they can't do that. They didn't have surveys to know.

And I'm Gary O'Donoghue. Normally you hear me reporting from Washington. This week I'm on the Happy Pod with my own story of perseverance.

And I'm Gary O'Donoghue. Normally you hear me reporting from Washington. This week I'm on the Happy Pod with my own story of perseverance.

And I'm Gary O'Donoghue. Normally you hear me reporting from Washington. This week I'm on the Happy Pod with my own story of perseverance.

You know, when I started out in this business, it was a pretty tough thing for disabled people. I was told by head of journalism, that a blind person couldn't be a reporter, simply couldn't do it. Not on. And that has been a difficult journey. And I want to say just this one last thing.

You know, when I started out in this business, it was a pretty tough thing for disabled people. I was told by head of journalism, that a blind person couldn't be a reporter, simply couldn't do it. Not on. And that has been a difficult journey. And I want to say just this one last thing.

You know, when I started out in this business, it was a pretty tough thing for disabled people. I was told by head of journalism, that a blind person couldn't be a reporter, simply couldn't do it. Not on. And that has been a difficult journey. And I want to say just this one last thing.

All those parents out there with disabled children, all those disabled students at journalism schools up and down the country, it can be done. Even when the naysayers, and they still exist, are around, it can be done. Don't let them stand in the way. Never take no for an answer. Thank you to the judges. Thank you to the RTS. This is fantastic. Thank you very much.

All those parents out there with disabled children, all those disabled students at journalism schools up and down the country, it can be done. Even when the naysayers, and they still exist, are around, it can be done. Don't let them stand in the way. Never take no for an answer. Thank you to the judges. Thank you to the RTS. This is fantastic. Thank you very much.

All those parents out there with disabled children, all those disabled students at journalism schools up and down the country, it can be done. Even when the naysayers, and they still exist, are around, it can be done. Don't let them stand in the way. Never take no for an answer. Thank you to the judges. Thank you to the RTS. This is fantastic. Thank you very much.

We all know there's a bit of luck in these sorts of things and you've got to take that moment and make sure that you maximise it. My heart was absolutely thudding, I've got to tell you, all night in my chest. We were on air for five or six hours and I think that interview was shared 300 million times. And so you kind of know you're having an impact when the numbers look like that.

We all know there's a bit of luck in these sorts of things and you've got to take that moment and make sure that you maximise it. My heart was absolutely thudding, I've got to tell you, all night in my chest. We were on air for five or six hours and I think that interview was shared 300 million times. And so you kind of know you're having an impact when the numbers look like that.

We all know there's a bit of luck in these sorts of things and you've got to take that moment and make sure that you maximise it. My heart was absolutely thudding, I've got to tell you, all night in my chest. We were on air for five or six hours and I think that interview was shared 300 million times. And so you kind of know you're having an impact when the numbers look like that.

I think the other thing I was very glad about, and this was just a consequence of it, is that Getting an accurate account out of what had sort of happened, reporting those facts quickly, sounds very grand, I know, but I do think we helped the way the country processed that at the time.

I think the other thing I was very glad about, and this was just a consequence of it, is that Getting an accurate account out of what had sort of happened, reporting those facts quickly, sounds very grand, I know, but I do think we helped the way the country processed that at the time.

I think the other thing I was very glad about, and this was just a consequence of it, is that Getting an accurate account out of what had sort of happened, reporting those facts quickly, sounds very grand, I know, but I do think we helped the way the country processed that at the time.

Yeah, I think so. I mean, look, most of the time my blindness I regard as an inconvenience. Frantically trying to keep up reading stuff, you know, processing information. That all takes a little bit of extra time and a little bit of extra effort and a little bit of extra help. But there are also times, I think, when as a blind person, for whatever reasons, you're a bit less threatening.