Quote: (03-19-2017 07:29 AM)Paracelsus Wrote:  

Quote: (03-18-2017 09:43 PM)infowarrior1 Wrote:  

Quote: (03-17-2017 07:02 AM)Zelcorpion Wrote:  

A massive amount of South Americans in almost any country there believes in socialism and even outright communism. Obviously the Eastern Europeans and Russians did it wrong, they can do it much better.

Their systems usually fluctuate between robber-baron capitalism and various degrees of socialism. And the best part is that they will remain in this flux for next decades to come.

Socialism=Genocide of the Proletariat. There is going to be so much death perhaps there will only be underground capitalists left alive.

At the moment the closest thing Venezuela has to capitalists are the black marketeers. Seriously.

North Koreans had the Jangmangdang which grew out of the black markets of those who taught themselves entrepreneurship whilst the rest who relied on government rations starved to death by and large.

Leading to the closest things among North Koreans to capitalists. Given venezuela is so socialist especially its population there is much death to come until a similar thing actually happens.

Apparently Venezuela is even facing a shortage of passports.

Quote:Quote:

Of 1.8 million passports requested last year, as few as 300,000 were supplied, according to Anthony Daquin, a former adviser to the Interior Ministry. Luis Florido, an opposition congressman, puts the current deficit at 3 million.

Now even if you want to get out, if you didn't plan ahead you're likely trapped. Such a sad situation.

Quote:Quote:

passport shortage

Another prime opportunity to collect a bribe. You want your passport? Give me $1,000 and my guy will get it to you in a week.

The thing really bad about this is brain drain and capital drain. The people that are most capable of fixing the country and helping it recover from the current disaster have already or soon will flee to another country. I would leave too but this compounds into an even worse situation for Venezuela. These people will resettle in another country and likely stay there permanently maybe sending a few bolivars back to their relatives once a month. Chavez has fucked this country up for the next 100 years.

Quote: (03-20-2017 07:16 AM)username Wrote:  

Quote:Quote:

passport shortage

Another prime opportunity to collect a bribe. You want your passport? Give me $1,000 and my guy will get it to you in a week.

The thing really bad about this is brain drain and capital drain. The people that are most capable of fixing the country and helping it recover from the current disaster have already or soon will flee to another country. I would leave too but this compounds into an even worse situation for Venezuela. These people will resettle in another country and likely stay there permanently maybe sending a few bolivars back to their relatives once a month. Chavez has fucked this country up for the next 100 years.

Each person who leaves has to do so because it is in their self-interest. If they stay for the "country" having had the opportunity to leave then they deserve what happens to them because they stay for the same philosophy of collectivism that is destroying it in the first place.

"Chavez has fucked this country up for the next 100 years."

It wasn't Chavez. Chavez didn't ride into Venezuela on a UFO and take power from a sensible government with a force of space aliens and laser guns. He was elected by Venezuelans. He was supported by Venezuelans. Every one of his policies was enforced by Venezuelans and applauded by Venezuelans.

Venezuelans are idiots and deserve every bad thing that is happening to them.

Quote: (03-20-2017 09:56 AM)SamuelBRoberts Wrote:  

"Chavez has fucked this country up for the next 100 years."

It wasn't Chavez. Chavez didn't ride into Venezuela on a UFO and take power from a sensible government with a force of space aliens and laser guns. He was elected by Venezuelans. He was supported by Venezuelans. Every one of his policies was enforced by Venezuelans and applauded by Venezuelans.

Venezuelans are idiots and deserve every bad thing that is happening to them.

Classic example of democracy failing because the people are failures.

Quote: (03-20-2017 09:56 AM)SamuelBRoberts Wrote:  

"Chavez has fucked this country up for the next 100 years."

It wasn't Chavez. Chavez didn't ride into Venezuela on a UFO and take power from a sensible government with a force of space aliens and laser guns. He was elected by Venezuelans. He was supported by Venezuelans. Every one of his policies was enforced by Venezuelans and applauded by Venezuelans.

Venezuelans are idiots and deserve every bad thing that is happening to them.

Venezuela's failing mostly because his "Caribbean" population has reached a critical (dead) weight, which destroys investors' faith in the country, spurs educated "White Latinos" into systematic White-flight (think exile in Miami and Spain here), and worsens the Natives' ("indigenous" or mixed-blood indigenous) situation.

Venezuela being yet another proof of the global failure of melting-pot, which is why MSM doesn't talk about this free-falling country...

Unsurprisingly, Maduro's getting a bit paranoid about the loyalty of the army. This is from Stratfor, so take that in the spirit it's offered...

https://www.stratfor.com/analysis/venezu...mes-within

Quote:Quote:

This year will be the most difficult for Venezuela to weather since oil prices collapsed in 2014, dragging the country's economy down with them. Less than three months into 2017, Caracas is already grappling with relentless inflation and food shortages as well as the uncertainty that has accompanied the new U.S. administration. In the face of troubles that seem to never end, the Venezuelan government has also fended off challenges from its political opponents in the Democratic Unity Roundtable by using offers of conciliation to drive a wedge between them. Caracas' biggest concern, however, is not what the opposition might do next, but what its own armed forces are capable of.

A Crisis Is Brewing

According to unnamed Stratfor sources, the Venezuelan government has taken to keeping a closer eye on its troops. The General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence has reportedly begun to monitor midranking military officers deployed to the country's Strategic Defense Regions (REDI) and Strategic Defense Zones (ZODI). Venezuela's eight REDI, which are administered by major generals appointed by the president, contain dozens of ZODI commanded by additional officers. And it is apparently these figures' loyalty that has Caracas worried.

The government's primary concern lies in the fact that REDI and ZODI officers have room to act — and encourage their subordinates to follow — without their superiors' immediate knowledge. REDI and ZODI commanders have the authority to issue direct orders to the units under their control, and in theory they could lead military action against the state while keeping the defense minister and Strategic Operational Command in the dark as to their intentions. In hopes of preventing an uprising from someday unfolding, the government has begun to scrutinize the comings and goings of these units' lower ranks.

At the end of the day, Caracas' fears of an insurrection probably won't be realized. Self-interest and persistent differences among Venezuelan troops would be difficult obstacles to overcome in an attempt to overthrow the government. But the country's civilian leaders would be foolish not to treat the military with caution. Venezuela is caught in an economic crisis of historic proportions that will continue to haunt its citizens for years to come, and as popular dissatisfaction mounts, a coup may become a more tempting option for airing long-held grievances.

Unfortunately for Caracas, there is no quick fix to the country's economic problems, which stem from more than a decade of overspending and financial mismanagement within the government. When oil prices plunged in 2014, it simply exacerbated these problems. Imports fell sharply and inflation soared; it is expected to rise again by more than 700 percent in 2017 compared with the year before. Meanwhile, Venezuelans are suffering from widespread shortages in nearly all staple food items, and by one estimate the price of these goods jumped by over 500 percent last year.
Dark Skies Ahead

The lack of clarity surrounding U.S. President Donald Trump's stance toward Venezuela has introduced an additional source of anxiety for the government in Caracas. Under former President Barack Obama, U.S. authorities opened several investigations into high-ranking members of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), including National Guard Commander Nestor Reverol, Vice President Tareck El Aissami and former National Assembly Speaker Diosdado Cabello. Though the U.S. Treasury Department slapped sanctions on a number of Venezuelan officials, it forewent the application of the same measures against state institutions involved in criminal activity, such as money laundering.

That could change during Trump's tenure as the scope of the investigations against the Venezuelan government widens. Washington may choose to impose heavier sanctions on Venezuela, perhaps even targeting state oil and natural gas giant Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). If it does, the company will have a harder time doing business with firms and people under the United States' jurisdiction, likely causing its production to fall even further. Considering PDVSA's output accounts for about 95 percent of Venezuelan exports by value, the company's declining revenue would eat even more deeply into the country's ability to import food.

Riding Out the Storm

These harsh economic and political realities are not just policy problems for Caracas' ruling elite to solve — they are existential threats to its rule. Even if oil prices start to rebound in the years ahead, inflation will likely stay high, as will the country's risk of financial default. And any new sanctions the United States levels against PDVSA will only make matters worse. Rather than trying to fix the unfixable, Venezuela's leaders have adopted the next best approach: banding together and battening down the hatches.

So far the government's strategy seems to have worked. Though polls suggest that less than a third of Venezuelans support the ruling party, President Nicolas Maduro has managed to avoid widespread unrest and delay regional elections that his party stands a decent chance of losing. The country's unexpected calm can largely be explained by the fact that most would-be protesters spend the majority of their day simply trying to meet their basic needs, such as buying food as it grows increasingly scarce. Without viable opposition parties to rally and coordinate the country's dissatisfied populace, moreover, there are limits to how much damage voters can do to the government's grip on power.

The military, however, is another matter entirely. Even if the threat of insurrection is presently low, the possibility of soldiers unhappy with their country's direction mounting a coup cannot be ruled out. Food shortages and high prices, after all, affect soldiers as much as they do civilians, particularly as imported goods become few and far between for the average Venezuelan citizen. In fact, a video released in early March of two national guardsmen scrounging for food in trash bags has gone viral among Venezuelan internet users, raising the uncomfortable question of just how loyal troops will stay to a government that cannot ease their weighty burdens. That said, military food supplies vary greatly depending on location, soldiers' ranks and access to additional funds. And though most of the rank and file are suffering alongside the rest of the population, the armed forces' midlevel and senior leaders probably aren't.

Either way, Caracas will continue to keep a wary eye on its military officers as its economic straits grow dire. The Venezuelan government is no stranger to surveilling those who might pose a threat to its rule, including opposition figures and political activists. And as hardship breeds popular frustration with Caracas, the ruling administration will continue to keep its gaze fixed on its own forces for fear of the threat rising within.

What's the ZODI? A little clicking around indicates where these regions are: In 2013 the Venezuelan government issued Decree No. 524, which establishes and activates the Integral Defense Operational Zones ( ZODI ) under the Strategic Defense Region (REDI): the Llanos, Central, Oriental, Guiana, and Maritime and Insular Regions defined by the States that comprise them, as a defined geographical space in which the National Executive will carry out the coordination, planning, execution and monitoring of the National Public Policies.

Note the preponderance of border territories and maritime activities. This monitoring is not looking for an armed insurrection, it's looking for troops who are smuggling from out of Venezuela.

Quote: (03-20-2017 12:59 PM)Samseau Wrote:  

Quote: (03-20-2017 09:56 AM)SamuelBRoberts Wrote:  

"Chavez has fucked this country up for the next 100 years."

It wasn't Chavez. Chavez didn't ride into Venezuela on a UFO and take power from a sensible government with a force of space aliens and laser guns. He was elected by Venezuelans. He was supported by Venezuelans. Every one of his policies was enforced by Venezuelans and applauded by Venezuelans.

Venezuelans are idiots and deserve every bad thing that is happening to them.

Classic example of democracy failing because the people are failures.

It would be a terrible burden to bear, but I am willing to take upon myself the charge of ruling over this nation as a stern but benevolent monarch.

My sole demand for restoring the future of these peoples is the trivial practice of the ius primae noctis.

Quote: (03-21-2017 06:28 AM)Leonard D Neubache Wrote:  

Quote: (03-20-2017 12:59 PM)Samseau Wrote:  

Quote: (03-20-2017 09:56 AM)SamuelBRoberts Wrote:  

"Chavez has fucked this country up for the next 100 years."

It wasn't Chavez. Chavez didn't ride into Venezuela on a UFO and take power from a sensible government with a force of space aliens and laser guns. He was elected by Venezuelans. He was supported by Venezuelans. Every one of his policies was enforced by Venezuelans and applauded by Venezuelans.

Venezuelans are idiots and deserve every bad thing that is happening to them.

Classic example of democracy failing because the people are failures.

It would be a terrible burden to bear, but I am willing to take upon myself the charge of ruling over this nation as a stern but benevolent monarch.

My sole demand for restoring the future of these peoples is the trivial practice of the ius primae noctis.

Funny thing is the lot of them would be better off if they took you up on it...

Quote: (03-21-2017 06:30 AM)SamuelBRoberts Wrote:  

Quote: (03-21-2017 06:28 AM)Leonard D Neubache Wrote:  

It would be a terrible burden to bear, but I am willing to take upon myself the charge of ruling over this nation as a stern but benevolent monarch.

My sole demand for restoring the future of these peoples is the trivial practice of the ius primae noctis.

Funny thing is the lot of them would be better off if they took you up on it...

Especially those subject to the ius primae noctis.

Quote: (03-21-2017 05:59 AM)Paracelsus Wrote:  

Unsurprisingly, Maduro's getting a bit paranoid about the loyalty of the army. This is from Stratfor, so take that in the spirit it's offered...

https://www.stratfor.com/analysis/venezu...mes-within

...

What's the ZODI? A little clicking around indicates where these regions are: In 2013 the Venezuelan government issued Decree No. 524, which establishes and activates the Integral Defense Operational Zones ( ZODI ) under the Strategic Defense Region (REDI): the Llanos, Central, Oriental, Guiana, and Maritime and Insular Regions defined by the States that comprise them, as a defined geographical space in which the National Executive will carry out the coordination, planning, execution and monitoring of the National Public Policies.

Note the preponderance of border territories and maritime activities. This monitoring is not looking for an armed insurrection, it's looking for troops who are smuggling from out of Venezuela.

Alright! They have reached the stage of "Let's purge the army of disloyals." Just like in 1930's USSR.

Socialist regimes always begin with the same promises, and end with the same disappointments.

I'm guessing starvation of the masses has began already, with the crackdown on the bakers. Any takers on how many million it will be this time?

I don't know that area's geopolitics well, but I'm expecting the people to flee en masse, or the country to start a war with its neighbors.

Quote: (03-21-2017 10:11 AM)SamuelBRoberts Wrote:  

I don't know that area's geopolitics well, but I'm expecting the people to flee en masse, or the country to start a war with its neighbors.

People can't flee that easily, as they usually have not enough money to afford airplane tickets, or in any case, cannot get passports (there are, reportedly, huge queues in front of public offices, to obtain passports, which the State is withholding): shortage of money, of passports, plus impossibility of selling your apartment (no buyers) to start a new life abroad... so, you can't leave.

As to starting a war with Colombia, well, Colombia is waiting just for that, with a big easy grin.

Now, there's always the possibility of going to war with Guyana over their disputed territories, Guayana Esequiba, but Maduro knows that, if he starts a war far from Caracas, he will lose the capital in the meantime, and soon all of the country... He can't send his army, his natural protection, far from the capital and center of power. Also, it does seem that Guyana has the (mighty) backing of Exxon...
So, only thing he can do, is try to weather the storm, praise D. Trump (like he started to do), and hope for a miracle (like, some -very unlikely- help from the USA). Maduro obviously is in survival mode. Like the whole country I guess... truly "sad, and low-energy"...

SBR: Did you miss the part where Venezuelans tried to remove Chavez via coup de'tat back in 2002? Or when they elected a majority opposition legislature in 2015?

By your same line of reasoning:

"It wasn't Obama. Obama didn't ride into America on a UFO and take power from a sensible government with a force of space aliens and laser guns. He was elected by Americans. He was supported by Americans. Every one of his policies was enforced by Americans and applauded by Americans.

Americans are idiots and deserve every bad thing that is happening to them."

Do you realize how silly that sounds?

Quote: (03-22-2017 10:20 AM)Killer Joe Wrote:  

SBR: Did you miss the part where Venezuelans tried to remove Chavez via coup de'tat back in 2002? Or when they elected a majority opposition legislature in 2015?

By your same line of reasoning:

"It wasn't Obama. Obama didn't ride into America on a UFO and take power from a sensible government with a force of space aliens and laser guns. He was elected by Americans. He was supported by Americans. Every one of his policies was enforced by Americans and applauded by Americans.

Americans are idiots and deserve every bad thing that is happening to them."

Do you realize how silly that sounds?

Venezeula was experiencing hyperinflation in 2012 and re-elected Chavez anyway. That THREE YEARS LATER they finally voted in people against him just shows that they've got fewer pain avoidance instincts than a fucking flatworm.

If a guy smoke 3 packs a day for his entire life, and decides to finally kick the habit a year after his doctor tells him his lung cancer has metastasized,
he still deserves to lose his lungs.

Quote: (03-22-2017 10:57 AM)SamuelBRoberts Wrote:  

Quote: (03-22-2017 10:20 AM)Killer Joe Wrote:  

SBR: Did you miss the part where Venezuelans tried to remove Chavez via coup de'tat back in 2002? Or when they elected a majority opposition legislature in 2015?

By your same line of reasoning:

"It wasn't Obama. Obama didn't ride into America on a UFO and take power from a sensible government with a force of space aliens and laser guns. He was elected by Americans. He was supported by Americans. Every one of his policies was enforced by Americans and applauded by Americans.

Americans are idiots and deserve every bad thing that is happening to them."

Do you realize how silly that sounds?

Venezeula was experiencing hyperinflation in 2012 and re-elected Chavez anyway. That THREE YEARS LATER they finally voted in people against him just shows that they've got fewer pain avoidance instincts than a fucking flatworm.

If a guy smoke 3 packs a day for his entire life, and decides to finally kick the habit a year after his doctor tells him his lung cancer has metastasized,
he still deserves to lose his lungs.

Chavez won the 2012 election with 55.07% of the vote. Not exactly a landslide. And on the election held next year after the death of Chavez, the result was even closer: 50.6% for Maduro, 49.1% for Capriles.

There has been a sustained effort by Venezuelans throughout Chavez's regime to oppose his destructive policies.

You can't oversimplify the situation and resort to black-and-white reasoning, blaming 100% of the Venezuelans when the country is sharply divided.

Quote: (03-22-2017 10:20 AM)Killer Joe Wrote:  

SBR: Did you miss the part where Venezuelans tried to remove Chavez via coup de'tat back in 2002? Or when they elected a majority opposition legislature in 2015?

By your same line of reasoning:

"It wasn't Obama. Obama didn't ride into America on a UFO and take power from a sensible government with a force of space aliens and laser guns. He was elected by Americans. He was supported by Americans. Every one of his policies was enforced by Americans and applauded by Americans.

Americans are idiots and deserve every bad thing that is happening to them."

Do you realize how silly that sounds?

Doesn't sound silly at all.

Quote: (03-22-2017 11:44 AM)Samseau Wrote:  

Quote: (03-22-2017 10:20 AM)Killer Joe Wrote:  

SBR: Did you miss the part where Venezuelans tried to remove Chavez via coup de'tat back in 2002? Or when they elected a majority opposition legislature in 2015?

By your same line of reasoning:

"It wasn't Obama. Obama didn't ride into America on a UFO and take power from a sensible government with a force of space aliens and laser guns. He was elected by Americans. He was supported by Americans. Every one of his policies was enforced by Americans and applauded by Americans.

Americans are idiots and deserve every bad thing that is happening to them."

Do you realize how silly that sounds?

Doesn't sound silly at all.

Why not?

Quote: (03-22-2017 11:49 AM)Killer Joe Wrote:  

Quote: (03-22-2017 11:44 AM)Samseau Wrote:  

Quote: (03-22-2017 10:20 AM)Killer Joe Wrote:  

SBR: Did you miss the part where Venezuelans tried to remove Chavez via coup de'tat back in 2002? Or when they elected a majority opposition legislature in 2015?

By your same line of reasoning:

"It wasn't Obama. Obama didn't ride into America on a UFO and take power from a sensible government with a force of space aliens and laser guns. He was elected by Americans. He was supported by Americans. Every one of his policies was enforced by Americans and applauded by Americans.

Americans are idiots and deserve every bad thing that is happening to them."

Do you realize how silly that sounds?

Doesn't sound silly at all.

Why not?

No one forced them to vote for a shitty leader. What is difficult to understand?

Quote: (03-22-2017 11:52 AM)Samseau Wrote:  

Quote: (03-22-2017 11:49 AM)Killer Joe Wrote:  

Quote: (03-22-2017 11:44 AM)Samseau Wrote:  

Quote: (03-22-2017 10:20 AM)Killer Joe Wrote:  

SBR: Did you miss the part where Venezuelans tried to remove Chavez via coup de'tat back in 2002? Or when they elected a majority opposition legislature in 2015?

By your same line of reasoning:

"It wasn't Obama. Obama didn't ride into America on a UFO and take power from a sensible government with a force of space aliens and laser guns. He was elected by Americans. He was supported by Americans. Every one of his policies was enforced by Americans and applauded by Americans.

Americans are idiots and deserve every bad thing that is happening to them."

Do you realize how silly that sounds?

Doesn't sound silly at all.

Why not?

No one forced them to vote for a shitty leader. What is difficult to understand?

Because that's not the way democracy works at all. You're responsible for your vote, but even if you get the leader you want you cannot control the way your chosen candidate is going to act after he comes to power.

Bro they kept voting for Chavez after it was apparent he was a horrible human being.

Samseu, take in count that for some people, especially in South America with our "Caudillo" mindset, THE DEAR LEADER is almost a religious figure. You can have Maduro raping and killing their daughters, and still some of them will keep voting for him, because he is THE DEAR LEADER.

When people like to be armchair political analysts from the comfort of their western air-conditioned home:

Quote: (03-22-2017 01:06 PM)Samseau Wrote:  

Bro they kept voting for Chavez after it was apparent he was a horrible human being.

They didn't vote for him unanimously.