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What's Going On in Venezuela

LowDown

Curmudgeon
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Several stories have appeared in the news about protests in Venezuela. This particular link is interesting because it includes a report from one of the students involved in the protests.

What's Going On In Venezuela (In A Nutshell) | Zero Hedge

The military shooting and killing of protesting students, as I recall, hurt the popular support of one other regime I can think of.

As I have been saying for years, Venezuela has been descending into the nightmare of leftist totalitarian governance. Now free speech is all but gone. The government has taken total control of the economy. Shortages of essential goods are widespread and people are obliged to stand in long lines to get them. It's like the Soviet Union all over again. It is the end stage of the socialist model of government, that to which all leftist agendas tend.

Socialists take power with optimism about creating a socialist utopia, but many or most of the people don't want to go along. So coercion by force and the threat of force becomes necessary to enact the socialist agenda, and from this oppression flows.

Socialists, so certain that any moron can run an economy, bung up the economic works with their ignorant, impractical ideas, and from this shortages, want, a loss of prosperity, starvation, and misery flows.

Open your eyes and see what's happening even as I write this.
 
Chavez sold gas at about 5 cents per liter (or even 5 cents per gallon, I forget) for years in order to maintain popularity. Know what selling gas at a total loss will do to a country? This.
 
Several stories have appeared in the news about protests in Venezuela. This particular link is interesting because it includes a report from one of the students involved in the protests.

What's Going On In Venezuela (In A Nutshell) | Zero Hedge

The military shooting and killing of protesting students, as I recall, hurt the popular support of one other regime I can think of.

As I have been saying for years, Venezuela has been descending into the nightmare of leftist totalitarian governance. Now free speech is all but gone. The government has taken total control of the economy. Shortages of essential goods are widespread and people are obliged to stand in long lines to get them. It's like the Soviet Union all over again. It is the end stage of the socialist model of government, that to which all leftist agendas tend.

Socialists take power with optimism about creating a socialist utopia, but many or most of the people don't want to go along. So coercion by force and the threat of force becomes necessary to enact the socialist agenda, and from this oppression flows.

Socialists, so certain that any moron can run an economy, bung up the economic works with their ignorant, impractical ideas, and from this shortages, want, a loss of prosperity, starvation, and misery flows.

Open your eyes and see what's happening even as I write this.

it was fairly inevitable,as socialism requires alt of power to make changes,corrupt people abuse that power,and people are corruptable,its been plaguing socialism since the first major attempts in the soviet union.
 
it was fairly inevitable,as socialism requires alt of power to make changes,corrupt people abuse that power,and people are corruptable,its been plaguing socialism since the first major attempts in the soviet union.

Right because capitalism is proving to have none of those possible faults.... :lamo :roll:
 
Right because capitalism is proving to have none of those possible faults.... :lamo :roll:

well for one there has never been any real attempt at capitalism,much the same there has never been a real attempt at socialism.


capitalism uses competition to regulate,as well as regulations so long as they are fair and dont aim to eliminate competition.what we have now is neo mercantilism pretending to be capitalism.the politicians write regs to favor those ho support them,but crush their competition.capitalism does not allow picking winners and losers through law,never has and never will.you should read up on what capitalism mercantilisn and protectionism really are.
 
Here's more about what is happening in Venezuela:

CARACAS — Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez, the target of a police manhunt for allegedly inciting violence that left three dead at anti-government protests, said Sunday that he will surrender himself after one more demonstration.

Lopez said in a video that he didn't fear arrest but accused authorities of trying to violate his constitutional right to protest against President Nicolas Maduro's socialist government.

He said he would turn himself in after a peaceful march Tuesday to the Interior Ministry, where he said he would deliver a petition demanding a full investigation of the government's role in the deaths.

"I haven't committed any crime," Lopez said. "If there is a decision to legally throw me in jail I'll submit myself to this persecution."

Interesting use of the word "persecution" instead of "prosecution". I wonder if that was Lopez, or the translator?

Anyway, things do look bad. The opposition leader, rather than oppose the president in the polls, has to resort to demonstrations and possible incarceration. That's how it has to be to overthrow a dictator.

From the OP:

The military shooting and killing of protesting students, as I recall, hurt the popular support of one other regime I can think of.

It didn't make our government any more popular when they tried it here, either.
 
well for one there has never been any real attempt at capitalism,much the same there has never been a real attempt at socialism.


capitalism uses competition to regulate,as well as regulations so long as they are fair and dont aim to eliminate competition.what we have now is neo mercantilism pretending to be capitalism.the politicians write regs to favor those ho support them,but crush their competition.capitalism does not allow picking winners and losers through law,never has and never will.you should read up on what capitalism mercantilisn and protectionism really are.

An excellent comment. Still, given context (real world "examples" of these systems), her point stands.
 
All "systems" have faults and values. Our own country has always had elements of socialism just as China had elements of capitalism.

If either system is abused it is harmful. This seems to be the case with Venezuela. Just as the USSR failed from abuse, so will they.

America isn't perfect but we do have limits on abuse. Our Capitalist and Socialist elements may argue and get press but a lot of it works and people take it for granted.
 
I wish the people posting photos of the protests would actually post ones from the protest. Instead of making things up.

You imply that the photos in the OP are fake or are taken from protests in other countries, but there is no evidence of that. None of the photos you posted matched those in the OP. Besides which, you post excerpts from what appear to be Venezuelan state controlled media, so how do you know they source the pictures truthfully? You just take their word?

An apologist for a violent, totalitarian regime. How shameful.

Is socialism really worthwhile if you have to lie to defend it?
 
You imply that the photos in the OP are fake or are taken from protests in other countries, but there is no evidence of that. None of the photos you posted matched those in the OP. Besides which, you post excerpts from what appear to be Venezuelan state controlled media, so how do you know they source the pictures truthfully? You just take their word?

An apologist for a violent, totalitarian regime. How shameful.

Is socialism really worthwhile if you have to lie to defend it?

Totalitarian regime? What a joke.
 
I wish the people posting photos of the protests would actually post ones from the protest. Instead of making things up.

I have better than a picture. Here's a video.
WARNING: SOMEONE IS SHOT DEAD IN THIS VIDEO, WATCH AT YOUR OWN RISK.


You know, i have a lot more of those videos, they're easy to find. Nobody is making nothing up, that's what is happening.
 
Totalitarian regime? What a joke.

They have control of the news media, the schools, the economy, prices. The president is ruling by decree. What's left?
 
Also, I already posted this in this thread: http://www.debatepolitics.com/inter...s-protests-around-world-2.html#post1062923656
Link to the story on BBC:
BBC News - Venezuela student protest ends in deadly violence

Venezuela student protest ends in deadly violence

Growing discontent
The march on Wednesday was the latest in a series of anti-government demonstrations in which protesters have demanded the resignation of President Maduro.
Students in the western states of Tachira and Merida have been at the forefront of the protests, saying they are fed up with the lack of security and the poor state of Venezuela's economy.

Venezuela has one of the highest murder rates in the world and is deeply politically polarised, with the opposition blaming the government for the country's economic troubles.

The country has the highest inflation rate in the region at 56.2% in 2013, according to official figures.

Chavez sold gas at about 5 cents per liter (or even 5 cents per gallon, I forget) for years in order to maintain popularity. Know what selling gas at a total loss will do to a country? This.
Which is why the country has 50%+ inflation.
Totalitarian regime? What a joke.
Ok, buddy boy, what is it then? It's a communist regime.
Read above.
 
Several stories have appeared in the news about protests in Venezuela. This particular link is interesting because it includes a report from one of the students involved in the protests.

What's Going On In Venezuela (In A Nutshell) | Zero Hedge

The military shooting and killing of protesting students, as I recall, hurt the popular support of one other regime I can think of.

As I have been saying for years, Venezuela has been descending into the nightmare of leftist totalitarian governance. Now free speech is all but gone. The government has taken total control of the economy. Shortages of essential goods are widespread and people are obliged to stand in long lines to get them. It's like the Soviet Union all over again. It is the end stage of the socialist model of government, that to which all leftist agendas tend.

Socialists take power with optimism about creating a socialist utopia, but many or most of the people don't want to go along. So coercion by force and the threat of force becomes necessary to enact the socialist agenda, and from this oppression flows.

Socialists, so certain that any moron can run an economy, bung up the economic works with their ignorant, impractical ideas, and from this shortages, want, a loss of prosperity, starvation, and misery flows.

Open your eyes and see what's happening even as I write this.

What should I say? Chavez was an economic illiterate or acted like one . He was a typical strongman and left behind a power vacuum and a collapsing economy. Of course the place is a disaster.
 
Chavez sold gas at about 5 cents per liter (or even 5 cents per gallon, I forget) for years in order to maintain popularity. Know what selling gas at a total loss will do to a country? This.

That and suppressing dissidents, removing independent media outlets, creating youth brigades, and using the levers of the state to terrorize your democratic opposition.
 
While I realize the Olympics are such important news (sarcasm) but isn't it interesting this gets no where as much coverage as say Egyptian protest against its dictator (who was pro capitalist)? The failures of socialism are seemingly ignored by even right sided media in America (IE Fox).


Several stories have appeared in the news about protests in Venezuela. This particular link is interesting because it includes a report from one of the students involved in the protests.

What's Going On In Venezuela (In A Nutshell) | Zero Hedge

The military shooting and killing of protesting students, as I recall, hurt the popular support of one other regime I can think of.

As I have been saying for years, Venezuela has been descending into the nightmare of leftist totalitarian governance. Now free speech is all but gone. The government has taken total control of the economy. Shortages of essential goods are widespread and people are obliged to stand in long lines to get them. It's like the Soviet Union all over again. It is the end stage of the socialist model of government, that to which all leftist agendas tend.

Socialists take power with optimism about creating a socialist utopia, but many or most of the people don't want to go along. So coercion by force and the threat of force becomes necessary to enact the socialist agenda, and from this oppression flows.

Socialists, so certain that any moron can run an economy, bung up the economic works with their ignorant, impractical ideas, and from this shortages, want, a loss of prosperity, starvation, and misery flows.

Open your eyes and see what's happening even as I write this.
 
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