Venezuela, 2017

[T. A. Gardner]

The riots are getting far larger and more violent...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017...-maduro-riots/

You have as many as a quarter million people showing up for these now to protest the government. Dozens have died at the hands of the national police... but that is being downplayed and covered up by the government to the maximum extent possible.

Oh, making it worse... Unlike Obama, Trump slapped sanctions on Venezuela...

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/13/w...ons-trump.html

Vice President Tareck El Aissami, according to a Treasury Department statement, was being sanctioned for “playing a significant role in international narcotics trafficking.” The sanctions mean that Mr. El Aissami, 42, will be blocked from financial dealings with Americans and will have any American assets frozen.

Even the Progressive NY Times admits Venezuela's economy has collapsed:

Since taking office, Mr. Trump has come under increasing pressure by Republicans and some Democrats to take a tougher stance on Venezuela, which has suffered an economic collapse punctuated by food and medicine shortages and soaring crime, even as its government has taken a harsher stance against dissent.

[Daemon of Decay]

Originally Posted by T. A. Gardner

The riots are getting far larger and more violent...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017...-maduro-riots/

You have as many as a quarter million people showing up for these now to protest the government. Dozens have died at the hands of the national police... but that is being downplayed and covered up by the government to the maximum extent possible.

Oh, making it worse... Unlike Obama, Trump slapped sanctions on Venezuela...

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/13/w...ons-trump.html



Even the Progressive NY Times admits Venezuela's economy has collapsed:

Oh, so there was a time when the New York Times was defending their economy? When was that?

[T. A. Gardner]

Originally Posted by Daemon of Decay

Oh, so there was a time when the New York Times was defending their economy? When was that?

They don't have to "defend" Venezuela's economy to be Progressive. They could simply lie by omission. Or, ignore the story entirely because it doesn't fit the narrative they want. There are many options there. But, none of that changes that the New York Times is definitely slanted towards a Progressive point of view.

[copenhagen]

Our possible next prime minister thinks Hugo Chavez was awesome! Things are going so well here !

[Surrey]

Originally Posted by copenhagen

Our possible next prime minister thinks Hugo Chavez was awesome! Things are going so well here !

So does 40% of the electorate unfortunately.

Unless there is an outbreak of common sense in the Conservative Party then the only thing between the UK and Venezuela is time, and depending n how stupid they are maybe not much.

[copenhagen]

Originally Posted by Surrey

So does 40% of the electorate unfortunately.

Unless there is an outbreak of common sense in the Conservative Party then the only thing between the UK and Venezuela is time, and depending n how stupid they are maybe not much.

Most of those 40% don't know even who Hugo Chavez was or the current state of Venezuala . My cousins husband has a PhD in bio chemistry ( one of the young and highly educated) and thinks Corbyn is awesome. His due diligence about who he advocates for is non existent .

[Daemon of Decay]

Originally Posted by T. A. Gardner

They don't have to "defend" Venezuela's economy to be Progressive. They could simply lie by omission. Or, ignore the story entirely because it doesn't fit the narrative they want. There are many options there. But, none of that changes that the New York Times is definitely slanted towards a Progressive point of view.

Sure, they could have, but that's a very generic argument you have to admit. It also falls down by basically lumping together the American progressive with the Venezuelan Socialist in terms of political outlook, which is a bit of a leap. The Democrats are still capitalist imperialists to Venezuelas leaders. It would be like saying "Even Fox News admits Iran is oppressive" because they're both technically on the right.

I think you'd be hard pressed to find a major news media provider in the US who has routinely or regularly done what you suggest as a possibility over Venezuela. It's been on a downhill slide for a long while, and there haven't been many positive stories coming out of Venezuela for quite some time.

[Daemon of Decay]

Originally Posted by copenhagen

Our possible next prime minister thinks Hugo Chavez was awesome! Things are going so well here !

Chavez had the good sense to die before things truly became crap. It spared him the taint of his failures and granted him a bit of the martyr mystique. There will be people in the future trying to shift the blame to those that followed because, while they were following the course he plotted, he wasn't behind the wheel at the time. I imagine his memory will continue to be celebrated by leftists, especially regional ones, for years to come.

Let's just be glad he wasn't as photogenic as Che, or we'd have department stores selling his likeness on t-shirts in 20 years.

[copenhagen]

Originally Posted by Daemon of Decay

Chavez had the good sense to die before things truly became crap. It spared him the taint of his failures and granted him a bit of the martyr mystique. There will be people in the future trying to shift the blame to those that followed because, while they were following the course he plotted, he wasn't behind the wheel at the time. I imagine his memory will continue to be celebrated by leftists, especially regional ones, for years to come.

Let's just be glad he wasn't as photogenic as Che, or we'd have department stores selling his likeness on t-shirts in 20 years.

Just like Stalin messed up what would have been Lenins glorious legacy .

[Daemon of Decay]

Originally Posted by copenhagen

Just like Stalin messed up what would have been Lenins glorious legacy .

Quite so. If you die while things are still "good" (or at least undecided), even if your choices will lead to ruination, people still tend to separate you from the outcome. Blame tends to fall heaviest on those at the wheel, especially if the previous captain is no longer around to blame for the disaster unfolding.

[Surrey]

Originally Posted by copenhagen

Most of those 40% don't know even who Hugo Chavez was or the current state of Venezuala . My cousins husband has a PhD in bio chemistry ( one of the young and highly educated) and thinks Corbyn is awesome. His due diligence about who he advocates for is non existent .

Those below 40 seem to have no critical facility no matter how highly educated. Though thinking about it a science graduate may be more gullible than most.

[Daemon of Decay]

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Pro-government militias wielding wooden sticks and metal bars stormed congress on Wednesday and attacked opposition lawmakers during a special session coinciding with Venezuela’s independence day.

Four lawmakers were injured and blood was splattered on the neoclassical legislature’s white walls. One of them, Americo de Grazia, had to be taken in a stretcher to an ambulance suffering from convulsions, said a fellow congressman.

“This doesn’t hurt as much as watching how every day how we lose a little bit more of our country,” Armando Arias said from inside an ambulance as he was being treated for head wounds that spilled blood across his clothes.

The attack, in plain view of national guardsmen assigned to protect the legislature, comes amid three months of often-violent confrontations between security forces and protesters who accuse the government of trying to establish a dictatorship by jailing foes, pushing aside the opposition-controlled legislature and rewriting the constitution to avoid fair elections.

https://apnews.com/e5e1605164214a9db...ring-lawmakers

[Daemon of Decay]

Some of the pictures being shared (behind spoilers because of graphic content):

[Daemon of Decay]

A supposed government supporter who was part of a group that tried to force its way into the National Assembly, is temporarily detained by national guardsmen, but let go soon after, in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, July 5, 2017. Pro-government militias wielding wooden sticks and metal bars violently stormed congress and began attacking opposition lawmakers at the end of a special session coinciding with Venezuela’s independence day. (AP Photos/Fernando Llano)

[T. A. Gardner]

And, Venezuela hits a new high... Low?

Inflation is at 741% this year...

http://www.heritage.org/index/

Of course, the New York Times pegs it at a less disastrous 176%...

https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2017...html?src=busln

All the while, the minimum wage was hiked by the government 50% creating more unemployment...

https://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmo.../#241e36513906

Well, Venezuela still hasn't knocked North Korea out of last place... But, they're trying hard!