venezuela

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madhatter
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venezuela

Post by madhatter »

Scenes From The Venezuela Apocalypse: "Countless Wounded" After 5,000 Loot Supermarket Looking For Food
Over the last several years we have documented with clockwork regularity Venezuela's collapse into failed state status, which was cemented several weeks ago when news hit that "Venezuela had officially run out of money to print new money." At that point the best one could do was merely to step back and watch as local society and civilization turned on itself, unleashing what would ultimately turn into Venezuela's own, sad apocalypse.

Last night we showed what Caracas, looks like this week:

Image

As we wrote then these are simply hungry Venezuelans protesting that their children are dying from lack of food and medicine and that they do not have enough water or electricity. As AgainstCronyCapitalism added, this is a country with more oil than Saudi Arabia, and the government has stolen all the money and now they bottleneck peaceful protesters and threaten them with bombs (or haul them to prison and torture them).

As pure desperation has set in, crime has becomes inevitable. A man accused of mugging people in the streets of Caracas was surrounded by a mob of onlookers, beaten and set on fire, who published a pixeled-out but still graphic video of the man burning as mob justice is now the supreme arbiter of who lives and who dies:

"Roberto Fuentes Bernal, 42, was reportedly caught trying to mug passersby in the Venezuelan capital, and before police arrived at the scene, the crowd took the law into their own hands." The video can be seen here.

Now, in the latest shocking development, Venezuela saw a new wave of looting this week that resulted in at least two deaths, countless wounded, and millions of dollars in losses and damages.

According to Panampost, on Wednesday morning, a crowd sacked the Maracay Wholesale Market in the central region of Venezuela. According to the testimonies of merchants, the endless food lines that Venezuelans have been enduring to do groceries could not be organized that day.

As time went by, desperate Venezuelans grew anxious over not being able to buy food. Then they started jumping over the gates and stormed the supermarket.

"They took milk, pasta, flour, oil, and milk powder. There were 5,000 people" one witness told Venezuela outlet El Estímulo.

People from across the entire state came to the supermarket because there were rumors that some products not found anywhere else would be sold there.

As a result of the massive crowd, the authorities were unable to preserve the peace. "There were 250 people for each National Guard officer… lots of people and few soldiers. At least one officer was beat up because he tried to stop the crowd,” another source told El Estímulo.

Other food dispensaries run by the government were also looted by the people.

Far from the promised socialist paradise, as the massive group of people moved, an entrance gate collapsed under the weight of the crowd, leaving several wounded.

The image below shows a human stampede over rice.


http://twitter.com/sumariumcom/status/7 ... 28/photo/1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Over the last two weeks, several provinces have hosted scenes of looting in pharmacies, shopping malls, supermarkets, and food delivery trucks. In several markets, shouts of “we are hungry!” echoed. On April 27, the Venezuelan Chamber of Food (Cavidea) reported that the country’s food producers only had 15 days left of inventory.

PanamPost adds that lootings are becoming an increasingly common occurrence in Venezuela, as the country’s food shortage resulted in yet another reported incident of violence in a supermarket — this time in the Luvebras Automarket located in the La Florida Province of Caracas.

Image

Videos posted to social media showed desperate people falling over each other trying to get bags of rice. One user claimed the looting occurred because it is difficult to get cereal, and so people “broke down the doors and damaged infrastructure.”



In the central province of Carabobo, residents ransacked a corn warehouse located in the coastal city of Puerto Cabello. They reportedly broke down the gate because workers were giving away small portions.

"There’s no rice, no pasta, no flour,” resident Glerimar Yohan told La Costa, “only hunger.”

* * *

Social Collapse Is Inevitable

With the economy dead, the only thing remaining is to watch as society implodes. To that end, Oscar Meza, Director of the Documentation Center for Social Analysis (Cendas-FVM), said that measurements of scarcity and inflation in May are going to be the worst to date. “We are officially declaring May as the month that [widespread] hunger began in Venezuela,” he told Web Noticias Venezuela. … “As for March, there was an increase in yearly prices due to inflation — a 582.9 percent increase for food, while the level of scarcity of basic products remains at 41.37 percent."


“We are officially declaring May as the month that hunger began
in Venezuela,” says an NGO that measures inflation and scarcity

Meza said the trigger for the crisis is the shortage of bread and other foods derived from wheat.

“Prices are so high that you can’t buy anything, so people don’t buy bread, they don’t buy flour. You get porridge, you see the price of chicken go up and families struggle … lunch is around 1,500 bolivars… People used to take food from home to work, but now you can’t anymore because you don’t have food at home."

The is why, Español Ramón Muchacho, Mayor of Chacao in Caracas, said the streets of the capital of Venezuela are filled with people killing animals for food. "Muchacho reported that in Venezuela, it is a “painful reality” that people “hunt cats, dogs and pigeons” to ease their hunger."

Subsquently, Muchacho warned that Caribbean islands and Colombia may suffer an influx of refugees from Venezuela if food shortages continue in the country.

“As hunger deepens, we could see more Venezuelans fleeing by land or sea to an island,” Muchacho said.

And that is how all socialist utopias always end.

* * *

Meanwhile, as civil war appears inevitable, as previously reported there are factions vying to oust Maduro, although we are confident the dictator will hang on for dear life (literally) and force his population to endure more of this socialist nightmare. One can only hope that these shocking scenes remain relegated to the streets of offshore socialist paradises, although Americans should always prepare for the worst in case they eventually manage to make their way into the country.
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Re: venezuela

Post by Bubba »

Left wing populism (Bernie) gives you Venezuela. Right wing populism (Trump) gives you Argentina.
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Re: venezuela

Post by freeski »

Trump is not a right wing candidate. He's pretty close to the middle.
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Re: venezuela

Post by madhatter »

freeski wrote:Trump is not a right wing candidate. He's pretty close to the middle.
to the objective viewer that's obvious...
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Re: venezuela

Post by Mister Moose »

madhatter wrote:
freeski wrote:Trump is not a right wing candidate. He's pretty close to the middle.
to the objective viewer that's obvious...
Really?
Which party previously proposed a hard line on immigration and the building of a wall on the border?
Which party previously proposed revamping NAFTA and negotiating a different trade balance with China?

Because I'm thinking neither. That doesn't make him centrist, it makes him external to either party.

Some of his positions are left (No one will die in the streets ie some kind of universal health care) and some are right (rebuild military) but I can't see where that makes him centrist.

He's already shown he's going to reshuffle the electoral deck from traditional labels and geography.

We don't have a party candidate that came from the smoke filled room and was approved by the Speaker, the Senate Majority Leader, and the past 2 Republican presidents, or the last 2 (losing)candidates. He won the primary in spite of them, not because of them. The chosen one (Bush rev III) lost, and lost early and badly. In this respect, it is already an election like none of us have seen in our lifetime.

In a similar fashion, Sanders is taking the Democrats farther left towards socialism than they have ever been before. Debbie Wasserman Shultz has a heart attack when the press asks her what's the difference between a Democrat and a Socialist? Both parties are in a primary upheaval. Since the percentage of the people voting is so small in the primaries, I'm not sure we can call it populist.
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Re: venezuela

Post by freeski »

If you tried to quantify Trump's political leanings on a scale from 1 to 20 with 1 liberal and 20 conservative he'd be a 12. Building the wall is a 13 and deporting all illegals a 20. On a lot of social issues he's at 10 or less. For example abortion and gay rights. If you look at all of his positions he's not that far to the right. I agree many of his positions can not be defined within traditional party norms, many of the things he stands for are new and undefined politically. Is asking all members of NATO to pay their fair share conservative? Is isolationism conservative or liberal these days? Imposing tariffs to protect American jobs, isn't that pretty liberal? The unions love it.
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madhatter
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Re: venezuela

Post by madhatter »

still gotta say I consider trump a moderate/centrist, not married to any particular ideology and willing to make changes that have appeal to both sides...according to definition trump kinda does fit the centrist model...more so than the moderate definition but certainly parts of both...

What is Centrist/Centrism
http://www.uscentrist.org/about/party/what-is-centrist" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Centrists don't have party lines. Centrists believe that solutions are more important than bias. While there is no set rule for what a Centrist is, there are some generally accepted guidelines that seem to depict the Centrist mode of thought. Centrism is a political ideology based on reason and pragmatism considerate of short and long term thinking - Centrism is not defined by compromise or moderation, it is considerate of them. Centrism is about achieving common sense solutions that appropriately address current and future needs; support the public trust; and serve the common good with consideration of risk and capacity in context of these needs.
Modern definitions sometimes conflate Centrism with moderation but the Centrist Party tenets generally oppose moderate views. Let's just call moderates 'moderates' and Centrists 'Centrist'.

Salient points about Centrism from the CP perspective:


Centrism is not about doing what is popular, it is about doing what is right.
Centrism is not moderate but rather supports strength, tradition, open mindedness and policy based on evidence not ideology.
Centrism is not about compromise but rather allows for it as reasonable.

Moderates: Who Are They, and What Do They Want?


http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc ... nt/370904/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Only 23 percent of moderates favor a larger government that provides more services; 37 percent favor a smaller government with fewer services.

Moderates see both parties as overly ideological—they say Democrats are too liberal and Republicans too conservative—and they are distressed by the harsh nature of modern political discourse, more likely than liberals or conservatives to say they avoid political conversations because they're too divisive. But they aren't disengaged: Only 35 percent say they tune out politics, about the same as liberals and conservatives.

There is indeed a major segment of the electorate that doesn't belong firmly to either ideological camp, and it is distinct in its ideas and sympathies from either liberals or conservatives. Democrats' success in recent national elections can be attributed to their arguments' generally greater resonance with voters in the middle. But Republicans could win them back with a more centrist message—and Democrats could lose them if they stray too far to the left.
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madhatter
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Re: venezuela

Post by madhatter »

Glenn Reynolds: Don't be a sucker for socialism

It is a common misconception that socialism is about helping poor people. Actually, what socialism does is create poor people, and keep them poor. And that’s not by accident.

Under capitalism, rich people become powerful. But under socialism, powerful people become rich. When you look at a socialist country like Venezuela, you find that the rulers are fabulously wealthy even as the ordinary citizenry deals with empty supermarket shelves and electricity rationing....

There’s always a lot of talk about free health care, but it’s generally substandard for the masses and fancy for the elite. (The average Cuban or Venezuelan peasant — or Soviet-era Russian — doesn’t get the kind of health care that people at the top get.)

In the old Soviet Union, the new communist nobility, whose positions and influence seemed to run in families somehow, were called the Nomenklatura (from the Latin word for a list of names). Despite all the talk about equality, etc., they generally did a lot better than people who didn’t have the right connections. Dissident Milovan Djilas referred to these managers and apparatchiks (another Soviet-era word) as the “New Class.” Where socialist equality was supposed to eliminate the distinction between exploited workers and peasants and their capitalist exploiters, it instead produced a new distinction, between exploited workers and peasants and their “New Class” socialist oppressors....

Which brings me to Bernie Sanders. The Washington Post recently ran a piece originally entitled "Bernie Sanders’ plans have surprisingly small benefits for America’s poorest people." Among other things, it noted that “in general, though, Sanders’ health care plan would benefit affluent households more than it would poorer ones.”

Likewise, a paper from the left-leaning Brookings Institution notes that the biggest beneficiaries of Bernie’s free-college proposal would be rich kids: "Families from the top half of the income distribution would receive 24% more in dollar value from eliminating tuition than students from the lower half of the income distribution.”...

read the entire article here: http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2 ... /32613393/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Dare to be stupid...
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deadheadskier
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Re: venezuela

Post by deadheadskier »

madhatter wrote:
Dare to be stupid...
We already are by spending nearly double on health care per person than all other industrialized nations in the world do with universal healthcare; all for the benefit of also having lesser care. Paying double for less is stupid.

We also are already stupid for massively underfunding all levels of education and being the laughing stock of the world when it comes to science. If it weren't for H1B Visas and imported foreign intelligence our tech industry would barely exist.

I know it's extremely difficult for someone without a college education to grasp, but science is the foundation of prosperity and we as a nation need to invest in that massively our we will be left with nothing but brainless Trump supporters like yourself that are suckers for "walls", "making America great again" and blaming "brown skinned people as the problem."

I'll let a smart person, Dr Kaku, dumb that on down for you to understand.

https://youtu.be/NK0Y9j_CGgM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We have already dared to be stupid for far too long. Trump supporters are an indictment of that truth.

You want to be accurate with Sanders comparison to policy, it's Nordic nations, not Venezuela.

This thread is the stupidity that needs to be avoided. Good job
madhatter
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Re: venezuela

Post by madhatter »

deadheadskier wrote:
madhatter wrote:
Dare to be stupid...
We already are by spending nearly double on health care per person than all other industrialized nations in the world do with universal healthcare; all for the benefit of also having lesser care. Paying double for less is stupid.and pure BS as well, the VERY BEST dr's and hospitals are here and people come from nearly EVERY country to get US healthcare...if you think it costs too much you obviously place a low value on your life ( hey me too so at least we have that in common)

We also are already stupid for massively underfunding all levels of education really 16k per kid in my town is not enough? many places are significantly higher...and being the laughing stock of the world when it comes to science. says the guy who thinks a dude in a dress is a woman...If it weren't for H1B Visas and imported foreign intelligence our tech industry would barely exist. yet we subsidize the rampant breeding of stupidity...

I know it's extremely difficult for someone without a college education to grasp, but science is the foundation of prosperity see above....and we as a nation need to invest in that massively our we will be left with nothing but brainless Trump supporters like yourself that are suckers for "walls", "making America great again" and blaming "brown skinned people as the problem." divisive rhetoric you imagine as fact...but hey you see race in everything....part of your open mindedness that seems more like an open head wound....

I'll let a smart person, says the dope who can;t even properly post a youtube link...Dr Kaku, dumb that on down for you to understand.

https://youtu.be/NK0Y9j_CGgM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We have already dared to be stupid for far too long. Trump supporters are about to change all that though.

You want to be accurate with Sanders comparison to policy, it's pie in the sky childish fantasy that will never happen...

This thread is the stupidity that needs to be avoided. Good job
^^^^delusional imbecile^^^^^

nothing you posted is anything more than a left wing sycophants grasp of reality....

what socialism does is create poor people, and keep them poor. And that’s not by accident. Under capitalism, rich people become powerful. But under socialism, powerful people become rich. happens every time...some will always be more equal than others...

don't be a DickHeadSucker for socialism....
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deadheadskier
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Re: venezuela

Post by deadheadskier »

A. Why don't you check out the multitude of healthcare rating organizations around the world. The information is well documented. Our performance per dollar spent is pathetic. You're an absolute idiot when it comes to your knowledge of healthcare and this information is very easy to find.

B. If your town is spending that much money and the product is ignorant, homophobic and racist white trash like you? Then I'd suggest they are clearly not spending enough.

C. Nice job perpetuating how juvenile Trump supporters are with the fascination with dicks.

But, hey at least your brand of freak show is entertaining from time to time.

The floor is yours amigo. Feel free to bring out that beloved red crayon of yours to write something stupid.... again.
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Re: venezuela

Post by madhatter »

deadheadskier wrote:A. Why don't you check out the multitude of healthcare rating organizations around the world. I can simply look at the performance of care right here in this country, even of people I know...seems the outcome for most people is EXCELLENT...not sure where you think the quality of care is better but by all means feel free to go there...The information is well documented. Our performance per dollar spent is pathetic. the outcome for the recipient however is GREAT, that bureaucracy ,redundancy, litigation and distortion true risk management drives the cost up is even more reason not to make it a govt entity...You're an absolute idiot when it comes to your knowledge of healthcare and this information is very easy to find.much like most of the world I'd rather be here than anywhere else, especially if I needed medical care... seems you'd really like to be somewhere else...what's stopping you?

B. If your town is spending that much money and the product is ignorant, homophobic and racist white trash like you? Then I'd suggest they are clearly not spending enough.just bunch of mindless bigoted stereotyping you make up cuz you got nothing else, as always...great argument...no wonder no one ever sees things your way in numbers great enough to have any effect...

C. Nice job perpetuating how juvenile Trump supporters are with the fascination with dicks. yer just a dick so its kinda front and center...



Feel free to bring out that beloved red crayon of yours to write something stupid.... again.
here ya go
deadheadskier
don't get much stupider than that...
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Re: venezuela

Post by XtremeJibber2001 »

deadheadskier wrote:We already are by spending nearly double on health care per person than all other industrialized nations in the world do with universal healthcare; all for the benefit of also having lesser care. Paying double for less is stupid.
Are we really getting lesser care? What specific variable are you using to make such a conclusion.
deadheadskier wrote:We also are already stupid for massively underfunding all levels of education and being the laughing stock of the world when it comes to science. If it weren't for H1B Visas and imported foreign intelligence our tech industry would barely exist.
Is it really an under-funding problem? Doesn't the US spend more than almost any other nation, per pupil, on their education?
deadheadskier wrote:I know it's extremely difficult for someone without a college education to grasp, but science is the foundation of prosperity and we as a nation need to invest in that massively our we will be left with nothing but brainless Trump supporters like yourself that are suckers for "walls", "making America great again" and blaming "brown skinned people as the problem."
75% of those in my degree program switched out, probably to something easier than engineering. Is it an education or motivation/drive problem? How do you convince young adults to major in something that will force them to sacrifice their nights and weekends? I work with a lot of H1Bs and many of them are making six-figures because they'll make the sacrifices necessary to be successful.
deadheadskier wrote:We have already dared to be stupid for far too long. Trump supporters are an indictment of that truth.
There are a lot of idiots out there, many of them educated, but can't pass a job interview, be fiscally responsible, understand the differences between our branches of gov't, etc. There are no fewer idiots supporting Trump than Bernie - let's be honest here.
deadheadskier wrote:You want to be accurate with Sanders comparison to policy, it's Nordic nations, not Venezuela.
I love the Nordic nations and I'm an awe of some of the things they can do... Norway specifically. I'm not sure if all of their policies and programs would work here, a large part of the success may be partially to credit to their culture/way of life.
madhatter
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Re: venezuela

Post by madhatter »

XtremeJibber2001 wrote:
deadheadskier wrote:We already are by spending nearly double on health care per person than all other industrialized nations in the world do with universal healthcare; all for the benefit of also having lesser care. Paying double for less is stupid.
Are we really getting lesser care? What specific variable are you using to make such a conclusion.
deadheadskier wrote:We also are already stupid for massively underfunding all levels of education and being the laughing stock of the world when it comes to science. If it weren't for H1B Visas and imported foreign intelligence our tech industry would barely exist.
Is it really an under-funding problem? Doesn't the US spend more than almost any other nation, per pupil, on their education?
deadheadskier wrote:I know it's extremely difficult for someone without a college education to grasp, but science is the foundation of prosperity and we as a nation need to invest in that massively our we will be left with nothing but brainless Trump supporters like yourself that are suckers for "walls", "making America great again" and blaming "brown skinned people as the problem."
75% of those in my degree program switched out, probably to something easier than engineering. Is it an education or motivation/drive problem? How do you convince young adults to major in something that will force them to sacrifice their nights and weekends? I work with a lot of H1Bs and many of them are making six-figures because they'll make the sacrifices necessary to be successful.
deadheadskier wrote:We have already dared to be stupid for far too long. Trump supporters are an indictment of that truth.
There are a lot of idiots out there, many of them educated, but can't pass a job interview, be fiscally responsible, understand the differences between our branches of gov't, etc. There are no fewer idiots supporting Trump than Bernie - let's be honest here.
deadheadskier wrote:You want to be accurate with Sanders comparison to policy, it's Nordic nations, not Venezuela.
I love the Nordic nations and I'm an awe of some of the things they can do... Norway specifically. I'm not sure if all of their policies and programs would work here, a large part of the success or in other cases lack thereof...may be partially credited to their culture/way of life.
this is true about most everyone, everywhere... and THAT is what really needs to change in order to have any real lasting impact...

back to trump:

"A nation without laws is not a nation. Laws passed in accordance with our Constitutional system of government must be enforced." I'll add in; uniformly, fairly and consistently...

our system of law and order works on the " rule of law" principle...when that breaks down chaos ensues...it's quite broken down right now...
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Re: venezuela

Post by Bubba »

“The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”

― Margaret Thatcher
"Abandon hope all ye who enter here"

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