Things not going well in Venezuela

[tx 3 putt 75571]

1 hour ago, The_Great_Hornsby said:

A communist dictator cheating? Color me shocked

Otto was much cooler 

[staboner 4942]

get fucked Maduro you asshole

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/07/29/americas/venezuela-election-maduro-winner-intl-hnk/index.html

[tx 3 putt 75571]

3 minutes ago, staboner said:

get fucked Maduro you asshole

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/07/29/americas/venezuela-election-maduro-winner-intl-hnk/index.html

[Pods 7499]

2 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

Man…I wish I liked arepas more. Every one I’ve had is just a bit bland.

Arepas are almost always too thick and taste like under salted, wadded up masa.

Cachapas con queso de mano somos el Rey del comida Venezolano. They have much more flavor and aren't dry like arepas can be and are great with, or without meat. I've never had one that wasn't good.  

 

Patacones are also awesome. Fried plantain discs. 

Edited July 29 by Pods

[MinerProphet 70]

My Venezualan friends are sad to see this today. 

[tx 3 putt 75571]

he's never willingly leaving office 

[Macanudo 12798]

2 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

Who reports to Major Disorder, who sends it up the chain to General Chaos.

You forgot Colonel Lingus.

[tx 3 putt 75571]

 

[atomheartbevo 89056]

2 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

he's never willingly leaving office 

Have the Pentagon search their couches for some spare change, and buy him a nice ocean-front condo in South Florida, along with a name change/witness protection.  Everybody wins, and someday we get a Lifetime or Hallmark movie about how an asshole former dictator turned into a lovable guy who finds romance with the 60-something widow down the street, who is in danger of losing her bookstore to the evil developers until Maduro has some of the developers' family members kidnapped and tossed in the ocean.

[tx 3 putt 75571]

From earlier this evening … 😂😂😂

 

[tx 3 putt 75571]

Big voter turn out ? 
just rollout the troops !!!

 

 

[HenryJames 65567]

Don’t blame me. I voted for Chavez.

[InkaUtexas 24933]

1 hour ago, HenryJames said:

Don’t blame me. I voted for Chavez.

Commie.

Bolivar got my vote.

[Parliament 14023]

Why do these guys call themselves "communist."  They're just dictator assholes.  Not communists.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13318]

Never good when a leader expects the govt and military to have personal allegiance to them and not the constitution or people.

[InkaUtexas 24933]

OK, so Maduro (the ripe one) claims it. Population takes to the streets. Pro-Government thugs harrass them. Maybe the paramilitary comes out in force. People leave for other countries.

So what has changed? As long as the population continues to flee there will be no change and they become other nation's problems. How long until these nations say nope to Venezuelan immigrants? Already being talked about in Ecuador.

[InkaUtexas 24933]

1 minute ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Never good when a leader expects the govt and military to have personal allegiance to them and not the constitution or people.

No it is not. It is why autocrat asshats tend to promote yes men, give them shiny toys, villas and mistresses and let them do what ever the fuck they want. There is more than a bit of evidence the military controls the narcotics trade going out and the importation of essentials.

[blacklab 11826]

According to some family members Peru is also tired of the Venezuelans coming in. First wave was people released from prisons there, resulting in increased crime. Probably not going to allow many more. 

[InkaUtexas 24933]

Just now, blacklab said:

According to some family members Peru is also tired of the Venezuelans coming in. First wave was people released from prisons there, resulting in increased crime. Probably not going to allow many more. 

Yep, hearing that from lots of Latin American friends. Buddy in Guayaquil says crime got real bad fast in his neighborhood (not the best to start with) that his kids don't go out after six alone. Lots of Paco being used.

And Arepas are not my thing. Platanos or Pupusas for the win.

[Brisketexan 103657]

14 minutes ago, InkaUtexas said:

Yep, hearing that from lots of Latin American friends. Buddy in Guayaquil says crime got real bad fast in his neighborhood (not the best to start with) that his kids don't go out after six alone. Lots of Paco being used.

And Arepas are not my thing. Platanos or Pupusas for the win.

These.  I do like patacones, too.

And I've known a few Venezuelans over the years.  Decent enough folks.  Sure wish the best for them.  My dad almost took a job down there with Bechtel back in the early 80s, would have altered the trajectory of our lives for sure.

Authoritarians gonna authoritarian.  When are people gonna realize that the ideology doesn't fucking matter?  Left authoritarian, right authoritarian, you may like some stuff he does with unbridled power at first because it favors your "view of the world," but in the end....they are just command-and-control assholes who serve themselves and their circle of trust, with the goals of 1) enrichment and 2) holding onto power forever.

How these regimes go is the same.  How they end can vary, but a lot of those scenarios end in blood.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13318]

Doubtful that Maduro would care much if the citizens on the other end of the political spectrum threaten to leave Venezuela. Those leaving may be extremely valuable members of society but who care about that when you can still pump plenty of oil out of the ground. Yes, I know they're incredibly incompetent and inefficient at it, but they still earn a ton of revenue. At some point the other American countries especially South America may have to step into this. 

[Bevo 13440]

53 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Authoritarians gonna authoritarian.  When are people gonna realize that the ideology doesn't fucking matter?  Left authoritarian, right authoritarian, you may like some stuff he does with unbridled power at first because it favors your "view of the world," but in the end....they are just command-and-control assholes who serve themselves and their circle of trust, with the goals of 1) enrichment and 2) holding onto power forever.

I'd love to earn a little more about this, but unfortunately I don't cloak and cloak isn't a learning environment anyway. It is always the young left that overthrows governments, but the governments that follow are just as likely to be right as they are left. It's an interesting phenomena that in my slightly uninformed opinion is due to people wanting change but latching onto whatever strongman is present at the time. Obviously, it could be attributed to the horseshoe effect but there is more going on (maybe extremists are more gullible or maybe extremists just want change without understanding or caring about what that change is).

[Armybrat 40559]

3 hours ago, InkaUtexas said:

Commie.

Bolivar got my vote.

Same here….Simon was a righteous dude.

[Blotto 23293]

3 minutes ago, Bevo said:

I'd love to earn a little more about this, but unfortunately I don't cloak and cloak isn't a learning environment anyway. It is always the young left that overthrows governments, but the governments that follow are just as likely to be right as they are left. It's an interesting phenomena that in my slightly uninformed opinion is due to people wanting change but latching onto whatever strongman is present at the time. Obviously, it could be attributed to the horseshoe effect but there is more going on (maybe extremists are more gullible or maybe extremists just want change without understanding or caring about what that change is).

Wait, so just to be clear ....your assessment of Venezualan citizens that want Maduro to respect their vote and GTFO, you classify them as gullible extremists? 

[InkaUtexas 24933]

3 minutes ago, Armybrat said:

Same here….Simon was a righteous dude.

Yeah, but Sucre was the real bad ass of the group.

[InkaUtexas 24933]

33 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Doubtful that Maduro would care much if the citizens on the other end of the political spectrum threaten to leave Venezuela. Those leaving may be extremely valuable members of society but who care about that when you can still pump plenty of oil out of the ground. Yes, I know they're incredibly incompetent and inefficient at it, but they still earn a ton of revenue. At some point the other American countries especially South America may have to step into this. 

Step in with what? All they can really do is close their borders. Political pressure does not mean shit to an autocrat. Putin out front should have told ya.

[atomheartbevo 89056]

24 minutes ago, Bevo said:

It's an interesting phenomena that in my slightly uninformed opinion is due to people wanting change but latching onto whatever strongman is present at the time.

And also, and this is extremely important, whoever is propping up that strongman.

17 minutes ago, InkaUtexas said:

Step in with what? All they can really do is close their borders. Political pressure does not mean shit to an autocrat. Putin out front should have told ya.

Speaking of Putin

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/putin-congratulates-venezuelas-maduro-election-win-2024-07-29/#:~:text="Russian-Venezuelan relations have the,progressive development in all directions."

Quote

MOSCOW, July 29 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday congratulated Nicolas Maduro on winning the disputed Venezuelan election, and the Kremlin said it was deepening cooperation in all areas - including sensitive ones - with Caracas.

Quote

Putin stood by Maduro, 61, a ally who has accused the United States and the West of fuelling the war in Ukraine, saying Moscow enjoyed a strategic partnership with the South American state and that Maduro was always welcome in Russia.

Quote

"Russian-Venezuelan relations have the character of a strategic partnership," Putin said in a message to Maduro, the Kremlin said. "I am confident that your activities at the head of state will continue to contribute to their progressive development in all directions."

"This fully meets the interests of our friendly peoples and is in line with building a more just and democratic world order," Putin said. "I would like to confirm our readiness to continue our constructive joint work on topical issues on the bilateral and international agenda."

Quote

When asked if Russia would deepen cooperation with Venezuela, including in defence, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "We are developing our relations with Venezuela in all areas, including sensitive ones." "Such cooperation is in the interests of both the Venezuelan people and the Russians, so we will comprehensively develop our relations with Venezuela," Peskov said.

Putin ended his message to Maduro: "Remember that you are always a welcome guest on Russian soil."

 

[InkaUtexas 24933]

1 minute ago, atomheartbevo said:

And also, and this is extremely important, whoever is propping up that strongman.

Speaking of Putin

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/putin-congratulates-venezuelas-maduro-election-win-2024-07-29/#:~:text="Russian-Venezuelan relations have the,progressive development in all directions."

 

Predicable. I love the last line. Yeah, let him have the cottage near your palace in Sochi Vlad. Maybe Maduro can fix Russia's oil industry.

[Armybrat 40559]

31 minutes ago, InkaUtexas said:

Yeah, but Sucre was the real bad ass of the group.

Yeah, but …….

 

[Bevo 13440]

33 minutes ago, Blotto said:

Wait, so just to be clear ....your assessment of Venezualan citizens that want Maduro to respect their vote and GTFO, you classify them as gullible extremists? 

 

Not even close. Brisket and I were talking about what brings guys like Chavez, Hitler, Stalin, Ho Chi Min, The Ayatollah, Castro etc. into power.

[atomheartbevo 89056]

17 minutes ago, InkaUtexas said:

Predicable. I love the last line. Yeah, let him have the cottage near your palace in Sochi Vlad. Maybe Maduro can fix Russia's oil industry.

Or it’s a sign that no matter the sanctions, there’s always one country he’s welcome at.

[atomheartbevo 89056]

3 minutes ago, Bevo said:

Not even close. Brisket and I were talking about what brings guys like Chavez, Hitler, Stalin, Ho Chi Min, The Ayatollah, Castro etc. into power.

Failed art careers, failed baseball careers, a missing testicle, a Jewish guy banging their mom, you know, the usual.

Also, Ho Chi Min could have been our guy if we were paying attention early on after WWII.

[InkaUtexas 24933]

Yeah, each of these took a different route led by a different belief. But once they had control/power they went all fucktard.

 

[nineliveslost 2691]

13 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

 a Jewish guy banging their mom, you know, the usual.

 

wait, wut? who?

[BamaATL 16289]

17 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Failed art careers, failed baseball careers, a missing testicle, a Jewish guy banging their mom, you know, the usual.

Also, Ho Chi Min could have been our guy if we were paying attention early on after WWII.

Pol Pot was a bobsled badass.  

[Bevo 13440]

1 hour ago, atomheartbevo said:

Failed art careers, failed baseball careers, a missing testicle, a Jewish guy banging their mom, you know, the usual.

Also, Ho Chi Min could have been our guy if we were paying attention early on after WWII.

 

obligatory

[Gucci_Suit 2580]

15 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

Man…I wish I liked arepas more. Every one I’ve had is just a bit bland.

Yeah I’m just kidding. I actually hate them. I spent a couple months in Venezuela after college. Got sick to death of them and cachapas. My friends mom made some good sandwiches with arepas, but they contained a ton of meats, cheeses and dressings. Gets old the next morning when you have arepas, crema con sal, and coffee. And then arepas for lunch. Just longing for a tortilla. God bless Mexico. 

[rage-a-holic 4256]

13 hours ago, Pods said:

Arepas are almost always too thick and taste like under salted, wadded up masa.

Cachapas con queso de mano somos el Rey del comida Venezolano. They have much more flavor and aren't dry like arepas can be and are great with, or without meat. I've never had one that wasn't good.  

 

Saturday night at 10pm I get a text -

her - "hey, I'm with my Venezualan friend at a Venezualan food truck. You want me to bring you a cachapa?"

me - "no thanks,  I ate hours ago"

her - buys one anyway, doesn't check prices, later swears the prices are not posted anywhere

me - checks Visa charges in the morning "$20 for a fucking food truck cheese pancake? WTF?"

in conclusion, fuck McBurger58 on Metric.

[tx 3 putt 75571]

5 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Never good when a leader expects the govt and military to have personal allegiance to them and not the constitution or people.

hmmm 🤔 🤔🤔🤔

[tx 3 putt 75571]

4 hours ago, blacklab said:

According to some family members Peru is also tired of the Venezuelans coming in. First wave was people released from prisons there, resulting in increased crime. Probably not going to allow many more. 

all of South America is tired of Venezuelan immigrants 

 

fyi for the single guys, Panama and Aruba is flooded with Venezuelan women looking for American husbands. So I’ve heard 

[Brisketexan 103657]

28 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

fyi for the single guys, Panama and Aruba is flooded with Venezuelan women looking for American husbands.

Lotta incels looking to sign up for the "she's not a white person…but I love her" package.

[AUS-97HORN 11558]

29 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

fyi for the single guys, Panama and Aruba are flooded with Venezuelan women looking for Americans husbands.

[bolverk 29106]

On the general topic of autocracy, Anne Applebaum, who writes for The Atlantic, has a new book called Autocracy, Inc. I heard a good chunk of an interview with her on Fresh Air last week.

It's worth a listen: https://www.npr.org/2024/07/23/nx-s1-5049021/expert-on-dictators-warns-dont-lose-hope-thats-what-they-want

Here's a quick review of the book: https://www.npr.org/2024/07/24/nx-s1-5050572/autocracy-inc-review-anne-applebaum

And a quick snippet of what she's getting at:

In her new book, the Atlantic’s Anne Applebaum takes a different, more sweeping view. We are not in Cold War 2.0, she argues, but a battle for the future world order against what she calls “Autocracy, Inc., The Dictators Who Want to Rule the World.”

Autocracy, Inc., is not a club. There are no meetings like SPECTRE in a James Bond movie, where villains give progress reports on their kleptocratic gains and attacks on democracy. Instead, Applebaum writes, it is a very loosely knit mix of regimes, ranging from theocracies to monarchies, that operate more like companies. What unites these dictators isn’t an ideology, but something simpler and more prosaic: a laser-focus on preserving their wealth, repressing their people and maintaining power at all costs.

These regimes can help each other in ways large and small, Applebaum writes.

Countries such as Zimbabwe, Belarus and Cuba voted in favor of Russia’s annexation of Crimea at the United Nations in 2014. Russia gave loans to Venezuela’s authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro, while Venezuelan police use Chinese-made water cannons, tear gas and surveillance equipment to attack and track street protesters.

[General Specific 3155]

You forgot Colonel Lingus.

I’m, I’m tanned rested and ready!

[Bevo 13440]

1 hour ago, bolverk said:

Autocracy, Inc., is not a club. There are no meetings like SPECTRE in a James Bond movie

 

au contraire

 

 

 

[InkaUtexas 24933]

Both sides mobilizing.

Take away their weapons and give them lances on motorcycles.

 

 

 

[tx 3 putt 75571]

 

[Parliament 14023]

When you're mad at Panama, DR and CR, YOU are the asshole.  Nobody hates those guys.

[tx 3 putt 75571]

 

[tx 3 putt 75571]

I’m sold on whatever she’s arguing !!! Little chilly down there, it is winter time

 

 

 

Edited July 29 by tx 3 putt