Good or Bad for the Jews

"Good or Bad for the Jews"

Many years ago, and for many years, I would travel to Morocco to visit uncles, cousins, and my paternal grandmother. Some lived in Tangiers;...

Monday, May 15, 2017

People of Venezuela Continue to Pay the Price of Socialism

That price is growing.

I find amazing how little press reporting we are getting from the major outlets on the crisis in Venezuela. Casual observers would get the impression that Venezuela is having riots and other disturbances only because the price of oil has collapsed. The media, in the main, can't bring themselves to admit that the collapse underway on Venezuela is the direct consequences of some 18 years of Chavez-Maduro-Castro socialism.

Socialism always comes with a huge butcher's bill; the people who eat the chops and steaks, however, are never the ones who get called on to pay it.

The high oil prices of a few years ago helped paper over the disastrous economic policies pursued by the socialists. Free stuff for everybody--well, everybody who supported the regime, that is--was possible while the mega-bucks poured in; folks could ignore the rampant corruption, the enrichment of the Chavez family and a bevy of narco-dealing politicos, generals, and senior bureaucrats. The high prices also, for a time, covered up the consequences of the corruption and ineptness in the nationalized oil industry, and the use of Venezuela's petro-dollars to buy Chavez favor abroad. All that's over, and the buzzards have come home to roost and feast.

The thuggish Maduro hangs onto power by completely gutting what was left of Venezuelan democracy, using the power of the gun to stifle the rumblings of the empty bellies of his people. That strategy seems to be running out of steam. The unrest grows in Venezuela and Maduro's incompetence becomes more and more pronounced. As I noted before, he can't even do dictatorship right. 

I think we are beginning to move into the final chapters of this sad story. The opposition is growing ever more bold. We see that opposition not only taking to the streets but also calling on Venezuela's military to restrain Maduro (here, here) and help put an end to the crisis.

Now, of course, the military leadership is extremely corrupt; many of those leaders have gotten quite wealthy thanks to socialism, and, undoubtedly, many of them fear what could come after a Maduro collapse. That said, there are probably some thoughtful military officers who have serious doubts about pulling the trigger in favor of Maduro, a Maduro who looks increasingly weak, lost, and internationally isolated. I could see a scenario wherein some senior military tell Maduro he must go away, put him on a plane to Cuba, and then present themselves as heroes to the people.

Let's hope this can be resolved quickly and with minimal suffering. Socialism already has claimed enough victims over the past century.

No need to add to the tally.

29 comments:

  1. It will be a Colonel that is the instigator of the coup. It's always a Colonel. The Generals have too much invested in the regime and the lower ranking officers lack the clout.

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    1. Never trust anyone over O-6.

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    2. It's not always a colonel: Fulgencio Batista and Samuel Doe were both sergeants.

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  2. "I find amazing how little press reporting we are getting from the major outlets on the crisis in Venezuela." WLA

    Yes, I did too Mr. Diplomad, but then I realized how terribly busy the mass media has been, what with, 24/7 concocting of Fake News tales, trying their damndest to have Trump impeached, and concurrently stoke a WAR between the US and Russia, Blacks and Whites, Rich & Poor, Women and Men, Students and Professors, you name it, their hard at it! Just NEVER enough time for Real News, not even for O'Reilly's sliders and spitballs to left-handed batters~~~

    Still, for the sake of humanity (seriously), if a non-aligned man of stature, practiced in the Art of Diplomacy, who speaks the language fluently, could somehow on his own initiative, negotiate a deal avoiding more bloodshed, and facilitate comrade brother Maduro's departure and safe passage to an Idyllic tropical Isle, if not Cooba, then perhaps the former vacation home of Boers, Zulus, and a Distinguished Chief of State, all guests of the Crown - moreover the latitude in the S. Atlantic would be just perfect for a Venezuelan of means!
    OW~~~

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  3. The vital thing is that the USA not intrude. Let it be undeniable to the world that the whole bloody disaster is Venezuela's own doing. The moment an American bomb falls, or marine steps ashore, is the moment all the blame will accrue to the US.

    Whether attention-deficit Donald could bear not to intrude we shall have to wait and see.

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    1. "The vital thing is that the USA not intrude."-dearme

      Here fixed it for you, again: Dearie
      The >>simplistic thing<< is that the USA not intrude.
      Sure...Just let the ChiComs or any other opportunistic tyrants march right in to Venezuela and takeover the oil production, and enslave its sovereign people -- so as to reinforce Maduro's murderous oppressive dictatorial scheme in perpetuity. Sorry dearie, OAS notwithstanding, I believe the Monroe Doctrine still holds sway in this hemisphere, whether Barack Hussein Obama, or his toadie John ‘JFK’ Kerry, likes it or NOT! Americans, at least most of them, still have hides thick enough to endure Leftist propaganda from whichever direction it is slung! Why? Here’s Why!

      …”F. A. Hayek noted a paradox: "Socialism can be put into practice only by methods of which most socialists disapprove," he wrote. He argued that "the old socialist parties were inhibited by their democratic ideals" and that they "did not possess the ruthlessness required for the performance of their chosen task."

      But that was not always to be the case: For every "liberal in a hurry" there is a V.I. Lenin, a Fidel Castro, a Mao Zedong, a Ho Chi Minh, a Che Guevara, an Erich Honecker ready to roll up his sleeves and start slitting throats.

      Our so-called democratic socialists and their progressive allies always pronounce themselves shocked by this, though of course they have long indulged it.

      From The New York Times' heroic efforts to not notice the repression and terror in the Soviet Union to Sen. Ted Kennedy's working on behalf of the KGB, from Noam Chomsky's denial of the Cambodian genocide to modern Democrats' love affair with Fidel Castro, there is no gulag brutal enough and no pile of corpses high enough to stir in the modern progressive”… On Watch~~~

      Go here if you want more: Hat tip to Babalu aye yay! And Kevin too!

      https://www.babalublog.com/2017/05/14/the-catastrophic-failure-of-socialism-in-venezuela-should-not-surprise-american-liberals/

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    2. Hysterical tosh.

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    3. Your expectoration dearie, got hung up on your mustache! Obviously, the dead and dying in Venezuela, and those many millions before them who perished by the grim calculus of socialist madmen and their useful idiots, were just overwrought fools too - Go Blimey!
      On Watch~~~
      "Let's roll"

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    4. Dearieme got it right, and whoever this Anon guy is has an argument that has holes in it one could easily move a galaxy through.

      For example, he worries about the communists in China getting ahold of Venezuela's oil. Why? Effectively, they have it already, if they actually wanted it. Instead, the Chinese are importing LNG from the US.

      Nothing in that bleating makes a case for anyone going into Venezuela.

      So as I said, Dearieme is right!

      Green Bear

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    5. Wow! A "Galaxy" you say GummyBear! You must be a Space Cadet, you might want to try harder to more accurately define the parameters you say you can pilot it thru tho?

      If for nothing more than your own mental health, I'd suggest you attempt a soft landing back on REALITY first...

      As to your overwrought proclamation that, "Dreamie is right". Right about what may I ask? That the USA should shiver n' shake and do nothing, because the progressive fake news media and their Democrat political arm might blame the USA for trying to defuse the socialist dictatorial violence against a defenseless people, and their dwindling assets, in our own backyard! Or, that the last Castro Bro, is ruminating terribly, as he waits for the grim reaper to settle up with him? Ha!

      With reference to the ChiCom’s newly discovered reticence to cross swords with the current U.S. Admin. aka Donald J. Trump, we won't need to send in the "Marines" or "Drop Bombs" that 'dearie' and you seem to be fretting about - just a sincere wake-up call to Maduro to scat, before our handpickd Venezuelan Generals and Pols decide his fate for him. Btw, how is Hugo Chávez’ Honduran doppelganger Manuel Zelaya managing his affairs since his time-out in the Dominican Republic? Amazing what a little attitude adjustment can accomplish, if given an opportunity to work?
      On Watch~~~
      “Let’s Roll”

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    6. Dear Anon,

      It says it all when you resort to ad hominem attacks: it reveals that your arguments are bereft of substance. More, your refusal to identify your self, even if by an obscure nom de plume, says naughty things about you.

      Consider, in the case of Venezuela's oil and possession of Citgo that in the former, their needed price for oil has to exceed $100 per barrel, and in the later, it is already compromised by being in hock to various companies with cases pending, as well as Rosneft's note.

      Green Bear

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    7. So Sorry I hurt your feelings Gummy Bear, maybe in your "Galaxy" you can refer to another's words as "bleating", and then get all butt hurt when your target replies in kind. Democrat much?
      Viz Citgo, old news, and obviously you haven't researched the issue in depth.

      Last, in my posts I clearly affix my handle at the bottom of my text, so get off your "obscure nom de plume" piffle before you put your eye out with it.

      On Watch~~~

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  4. "after a Maduro copies"

    What?

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    1. Sorry about the numerous "typos." I wrote this on a creaky IPAD and I did not catch them all. In addition. it dropped a paragraph or two and odd sentence here and there. Now that I am home I think I have caught all the goofs.

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    2. Was glad to read your missive on Venezuela this AM, DM! Kudos on your stick-to-itiveness', despite the IPAD resident gremlins!

      Btw,I Knew a young man named Ernesto at UF who hailed from Caracas, he was the first 'south of the border' best friend I ever had. On his last evening in the states before he returned to Venezuela we went out to dinner with our wives.

      It was a marvelous moment in time, we all spoke in English and shared our lives with each other. As we were saying our good byes, I shook hands with him, which turned into a bear hug, he looked me in the eye and said in Spanglish, "You Are A Bueno Hombre 'Guille', thanks for being my friend"...

      I lost track of him over the years, but think of him often lately... hope he and his wife made it through all these trying times down there.
      On Watch~~~
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvuVj87EpLo

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  5. D'mad,

    And it only gets worse. Maduro, et al., are throwing away all their long held investments. Citgo is under siege by those pursuing Venezuela for nationalizing their assets, for example (see today's Wall Street Journal article). So not only are they eating their seed corn, they're giving away the farm as well.

    Green Bear

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  6. As soon as the moneyed people outside of the government make up their minds to show a lack of confidence, the government will fail unless he goes all out Bolshevik and wacks them. From reports inside Venezuela they have almost 2 billion in rents for Sea Vans that were never returned when food and products were delivered. The nationalization of industries has stopped so much production that bottled water and toilet paper are scarce. The GM facility was just nationalized which hasn't made cars for some time. Even oil production is way down. Ask Bernie Sanders why.

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  7. And don't forget the regime's Cartel de los Soles involvement with the drug trade to Europe

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  8. After Maduro, more of the same. It's an incurable disease in SA.

    Barry

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. And there is an infinite supply of US sacialist wannabees who encourage, support, and fund their comrades in SA.

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    3. sean penn, micheal moore, oliver stone... the list of Chavez lovers go on and on... they must be so proud.

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  9. "I find amazing how little press reporting we are getting from the major outlets on the crisis in Venezuela."

    I don't. No one I know calls attention to the uncle who is also the family drunk or to the daughter who turns tricks on the side or the first born son who decided to join a motorcycle gang. Family scandals and the people who cause them are told to stay away from the more respectable members of the family and they don't get mentioned in polite discourse. For socialists, that means that any country that actually tries to create a socialist society has to be explained away as not really socialist or, better yet, not talked about at all. Hence, the lack of news from Caracas these days.

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  10. A humble parable about the attempt at Socialism in Venezuela:
    http://metro.co.uk/2017/05/15/pastor-trying-to-prove-how-jesus-walked-on-water-gets-eaten-by-crocodile-6637431/

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    1. Ha! ;)
      {{{{they may be listening}}}}
      OW~~~

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  11. "the people who eat the chops and steaks, however, are never the ones who get called on to pay it."

    *cough* la revolucion *cough*

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  12. The thing about libs that I'm always amazed about is they are pushing this toward a physical fight and they think they can control events toward a conclusion of their won liking. They are going to get the surprise of their life.

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