quote:

Originally posted by PorterN:
I follow a blogger on Tumblr who lives in Venezuela. Some of his posts are very in-depth about the police brutality, the lack of money and retailers moving to weighing paper money rather than counting it, food lines, the thefts and riots, the conditions of vehicles and whatnot. It is insane. Very eye-opening for sure.

Link?

Here's the link to his blog with all the posts he's tagged as "Venezuela"

http://enrique262.tumblr.com/tagged/venezuela

He's made more commentary on a lot of them, and the commentary doesn't always get tagged. I've talked with him before about the shit going on down there, too. it's crazy. You can dig through the notes and reblogs or his full blog to see if you can find more of the commentary, (although tumblr is stupid to navigate sometimes - especially the desktop version).

I just finished reading it. Sad. Not surprising but sad.

Not quite sure why he doesn't leave for good. The time to escape a prison is when the door is open.

quote:

The time to escape a prison is when the door is open.

As opposed to after they've locked the door and started killing every prisoner? Will Venezuela come to that? Cuba seems to somehow have escaped from what many thought inevitable during the boat lift days.

The surprising thing is that it has gone on this long without someone in the military overthrowing el-presidente.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
The surprising thing is that it has gone on this long without someone in the military overthrowing el-presidente.

And possibly the answer is that the higher ups in the military are "compensated" and they allow just enough trickle down to keep the troops satisfied?

I worked with a guy mid last year who was a part of the "first" Venezuelan military coup a 15 to 20 years ago. The Coup failed, of course, and the government was rounding up the people involved. He said a fellow soldier's wife called his house and said the gov't had come and taken away his friend, and that they were coming for him. He left that night to Colombia and then emigrated from there eventually making it to the US and he's been here since.

His stories are nearly 2 decades old, and it doesn't sound like too much has changed - and nothing's gotten better.

quote:

Originally posted by architect:

quote:

The time to escape a prison is when the door is open.

As opposed to after they've locked the door and started killing every prisoner? Will Venezuela come to that? Cuba seems to somehow have escaped from what many thought inevitable during the boat lift days.

It's not like socialist-commie shit holes haven't barred their victim populations from leaving before. And in point of fact, often they do start mass killing.

They are already starving them. Shooting isn't that large a step.

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
And the most disappointing part of all this, the suffering and demise its completely unnecessary.

When you choose socialism... this is what you have chosen. It is the completely necessary consequence of their choice.

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What happens when one of those mobs suddenly decides to clear out a government warehouse? Are government office buildings next?

Once you have gone down this path, the looting only ends when there is nothing left to loot.

Then, socialism ends... and a re-birth of civil society is possible.

What you say is true for Venezuela, but I don't think the truth will stop with Venezuela.

Kellogg’s exits Venezuela over social and economic ‘deterioration’


Kellogg’s announced on Tuesday that it will end its operations in Venezuela, citing “economic and social deterioration” in the country.

“In December of 2016, Kellogg deconsolidated its Venezuela business from the company’s results,” Kellogg’s statement read. “The current economic and social deterioration in the country has now prompted the company to discontinue operations.”

The maker of Frosted Flakes and Rice Krispies did not specify what led it to pull out of Venezuela, but said none of its products should be commercialized there without its permission.

While the move is not expected to worsen food shortages in the country, Kellogg’s is the most popular and easily accessible cereal for citizens in the country, according to Reuters.

Kellogg’s is the most recent company to pull out of Venezuela, following the likes of Colgate-Palmolive, General Mills and Kimberly-Clark.

Last year General Motors exited its operations there after a factory was seized by the Venezuelan government.

Chevron evacuated employees last month from Venezuela after the country’s government arrested two workers.

Social and economic upheaval have made operating in the country difficult for foreign companies. Venezuela is undergoing a multiyear recession even though it sits on one of the largest oil reserves in the world. Inflation accelerated to 2,616% in 2017, according to Reuters. Last year, GDP shrank more than 13%, as reported by the opposition-led party.



https://www.foxbusiness.com/ma...onomic-deterioration

Things are getting pretty bad.

People across the street (she's from Mexico City) have friends with friends there. My neighbors received a request; if they would send $100, the people in Venezuela would send them some figurines (ie, "please buy my stuff" request). By accident, the package had my address without a name or return address (yes, I was VERY leery).

Using some tactics learned in a previous life, I opened box and investigated. Seeing the figurines (first thought was they were made of coke), wife did some online research. There were eight figurines and valued $100 - $200 each. Based on the Spanish packaging, I asked the neighbor if she was expecting a package which is how I found out about the $100.

Tings are getting bad when you send ~$1,000 of stuff for $0.10 on the dollar to a stranger.

It's better to be selling figurines than selling your children, though I doubt that is far behind.

The people of Venezuela got the government, and living conditions they voted for. I wish the people in this country that vote democrat would wise up and see where they are headed if they continue down that voting path. If the media would make light of this condition, perhaps these democrat voters would wise up? As we know, the media is in on the down fall of this country and the democrat politicians would rather get a vote than do whats right for the country??

I wonder how hard it could be for their government to turn things around and create a stable economy. When the government fail In securing a better life for its people...chaos begins.

quote:

Originally posted by Cousin Vinnie:
The people of Venezuela got the government, and living conditions they voted for. I wish the people in this country that vote democrat would wise up and see where they are headed if they continue down that voting path. If the media would make light of this condition, perhaps these democrat voters would wise up? As we know, the media is in on the down fall of this country and the democrat politicians would rather get a vote than do whats right for the country??

I understand your sentiment, but I hate this line of thinking.

Most people are morons. Here in the US, a majority of morons voted for Hillary... did we “get the government, and living conditions we voted for?”.

Venezuela is a tale of two countries: the poor (55%), who were bought off with votes, welfare and food, and the lower, middle and upper class (45%), who were overwhelmingly anti-Chavez, anti-Maduro, and anti-socialist.

That group has protested, shut down the entire capital for days on end multiple times, been shot at and had multiple protestors killed. Without the 2nd Amendment and the support of the military, there is damn near nothing that can change AND THEY STILL TRY!

Sorry, I don’t share your sentiment when brave people are dying for the same freedom you and I enjoy. Remember 1776? Does “3%” sound familiar?

quote:

Originally posted by PorterN:
Here's the link to his blog with all the posts he's tagged as "Venezuela"

http://enrique262.tumblr.com/tagged/venezuela

He's made more commentary on a lot of them, and the commentary doesn't always get tagged. I've talked with him before about the shit going on down there, too. it's crazy. You can dig through the notes and reblogs or his full blog to see if you can find more of the commentary, (although tumblr is stupid to navigate sometimes - especially the desktop version).

It'd been a while since I searched Enrique's tag. But now the blackouts, the pictures of roads in disrepair, the inability of people to fix their cars due to pure lack of available parts... jeez. it still declines.

quote:

I understand your sentiment, but I hate this line of thinking.

Most people are morons. Here in the US, a majority of morons voted for Hillary... did we “get the government, and living conditions we voted for?”.

Venezuela is a tale of two countries: the poor (55%), who were bought off with votes, welfare and food, and the lower, middle and upper class (45%), who were overwhelmingly anti-Chavez, anti-Maduro, and anti-socialist.

That group has protested, shut down the entire capital for days on end multiple times, been shot at and had multiple protestors killed. Without the 2nd Amendment and the support of the military, there is damn near nothing that can change AND THEY STILL TRY!

Sorry, I don’t share your sentiment when brave people are dying for the same freedom you and I enjoy. Remember 1776?

Yep.

We who continue to fight for freedom are fighting the same battle our forefathers fought.

The thing that gets to me is that we fight for the freedom of all, even the morons who would throw it away. While the socialists attempt to gain power and control over the people through redistribution of other's peoples money, talent and work, we fight not just for our own benefit but for the morons as well.

Of course, the socialists tell the morons that the fruits of the labor of others can be theirs... if only they put the socialists in power. Free education, free health-care, free food, and free housing. It's all very appealing to the morons.

But not everyone in Venezuela, or here, is stupid enough to fall for the siren song of socialism.

Morons who think socialism means: I get to enjoy the fruits of other peoples labor.

Whoopee, I'm an uneducated, no skill, laborer with a low i.q., but you have to give me my 'fair share' of what you earned as a skilled person.

F. You!

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:....We who continue to fight for freedom are fighting the same battle our forefathers fought.

The thing that gets to me is that we fight for the freedom of all, even the morons who would throw it away. While the socialists attempt to gain power and control over the people through redistribution of other's peoples money, talent and work, we fight not just for our own benefit but for the morons as well.

Of course, the socialists tell the morons that the fruits of the labor of others can be theirs... if only they put the socialists in power. Free education, free health-care, free food, and free housing. It's all very appealing to the morons.

But not everyone in Venezuela, or here, is stupid enough to fall for the siren song of socialism.

I tend to agree. There has been a perpetual battle between those who want freedom, AND, are willing to accept the responsibilities that come with freedom; and those who want temporal "security" and are willing to suffer the subjugation/oppression that come with such. I think the freedom side will win, but the battles will get uglier.