We can no longer send baby things to our grandson in Venezuela

[NickD 202]

Don't know exactly why, but our shipping agent said they are no longer permitted to do this.

What in the hell is Maduro doing? Kids can't even buy what they need for our grandson there, and what they do have, is priced way out of their range. Least I assume its Maduro, he also blocked converting Bolivars to US Dollars awhile back even at that high sky exchange rate.

Can only assume citizens of Venezuela are no longer citizens, but prisoners of that country.

[fantonledzepp 159]

Maduro is a lunatic.

Edited July 11, 2013 by fantonledzepp

[NickD 202]

Maduro is a lunatic.

Can say that again, offers Edward Snowden asylum to him in Venzuela and he accepts. But then tells him to find his own way to fly there. Should also tell him to bring his own food and toilet paper.

Speaking about toilet paper, a friend waited three hours in a grocery store to buy a roll. But then she turned her back for a second and someone took it out of her cart. Its no wonder why the murder rate is so high in that country.

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

Don't know exactly why, but our shipping agent said they are no longer permitted to do this.

What in the hell is Maduro doing? Kids can't even buy what they need for our grandson there, and what they do have, is priced way out of their range. Least I assume its Maduro, he also blocked converting Bolivars to US Dollars awhile back even at that high sky exchange rate.

Can only assume citizens of Venezuela are no longer citizens, but prisoners of that country.

Things really have gotten bad their lately, there was an article a couple of months back about the national church being told to ration wine and wafers.. They have a shortage on dollars and are taking some fairly drastic measure to keep them.. But - If you are sending dollars to your relatives the money should go far.. Why would they try converting Bolivars back to dollars?

Also oil prices are going up again, that might improve the situation somewhat..

Edited July 11, 2013 by OnMyWayID

[NickD 202]

Also oil prices are going up again, that might improve the situation somewhat..

If Maduro would start charging those other dozen countries that are also anti-US instead of giving it away.

Just sorry our USCIS wouldn't let me petition for my stepson, but he was barely over 21 at the time. The word "family" is not part of their vocabulary.

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

Hopefully the next time around the people of Venezuela will remember that when they vote.

I was a bit sloppy with the oil price comment.. Chavez borrowed a lot of money in the last few years - since they have a B2 rating (read: junk) they could not borrow large sums at market rates and so borrowed it directly from China (over 40 billion) at 6% and a promise of a steady supply of oil. They are going to have a hard time getting out of that bed - just to SERVICE the current loan they are are required to give china 200,000 barrels of oil PER DAY.

Oil is 95% of Venezuela's exports and production capacity has dropped 20% since the two american companies responsible were replaced with PVDSA.

So yeah.. not a pretty picture at the moment. They will start to borrow heavily and keep the spiral going but they are limited due to the B2 rating.

China buys election: http://www.wallstreetdaily.com/2012/10/11/chinas-latest-big-ticket-purchase-venezuelas-presidential-election/

Venezuela to borrow more money: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/21/us-latam-summit-moodys-venezuela-idUSBRE94K11J20130521

[NickD 202]

Hopefully the next time around the people of Venezuela will remember that when they vote.

Just like Hitler, Chavez also completely took over CanTV, last time we were down there, he was on practically every channel. No counters, no reporters asking him key questions. Just him giving a very one sided view and tons of BS. Bet Maduro would have lost if government workers could have voted the way they wanted to, and it was a fair election.

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

A bit off the subject but this weekend I watched a movie called "NO" about the ad campaign in the late 1980s for ousting Pinochet in Chile (very good movie by the way, the only spanish language filem to get an Oscar nomination last year - filmed in 2012 but using older 1980's era cameras to seamlessly slice in video from the time). The No party was given 15 minutes per day to air its message for 27 days before the vote - one question: Should Pinochet continue to rule? Yes or No. Pinochet bowed to international pressure to allow the vote thinking he could control the situation but in the end the Chileans ousted him.

A blurb about the film: http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/oscar-nominated-chilean-film-no-returns-to-pinochet-era/Content?oid=3535255

So you never know... things can turn around.

Edited July 12, 2013 by OnMyWayID

[NickD 202]

Wife was watching that US CNN Spanish channel on the economic condition of Venezuela. Too bad the people in Venezuela can't watch this. She became so sad and disgusted, she switch it off. Something about the Bolivar going to be devalued another 40%,

Unlike other Latin American countries experiencing a lot protesting now, don't dare do that in Venezuela with the military pointing an AK-47 at your head. That is yet another factor, everybody we know living down there is in a severe state of fear.

[Mononoke28 135]

Hopefully the next time around the people of Venezuela will remember that when they vote.

And you really think Maduro won the elections fair and square and that most Venezuelans voted for him? He and his entire staff are corrupted and "won" because he said he won, just like Chávez before he kicked the bucket but not because the majority of citizens put him there.

Diana

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

And you really think Maduro won the elections fair and square and that most Venezuelans voted for him? He and his entire staff are corrupted and "won" because he said he won, just like Chávez before he kicked the bucket but not because the majority of citizens put him there.

Diana

The election was audited by outside parties that certified the count was accurate and the voting "fair". I am sure people were intimidated and bribed and any opposition candidate not given a fair chance and some ballot boxes stuffed.. If he had lost or the outside parties certifying the election had cried foul I doubt he would have stepped down willingly.

[NickD 202]

The election was audited by outside parties that certified the count was accurate and the voting "fair". I am sure people were intimidated and bribed and any opposition candidate not given a fair chance and some ballot boxes stuffed.. If he had lost or the outside parties certifying the election had cried foul I doubt he would have stepped down willingly.

Where did you get this news from, everything I have heard or read, was just he opposite. We don't tend to believe everything we hear or read, but certainly believe what we see, feel, and experience. This government robbed us!

[Mononoke28 135]

The election was audited by outside parties that certified the count was accurate and the voting "fair". I am sure people were intimidated and bribed and any opposition candidate not given a fair chance and some ballot boxes stuffed.. If he had lost or the outside parties certifying the election had cried foul I doubt he would have stepped down willingly.

That's what the Venezuelan government wants the outside world to think but a lot of people cried foul because Maduro winning simply did not make sense. They also wanted everybody to believe that there was no crisis, no corruption, no crime, that everything was perfect. I always said that time would tell and lo and behold news started to leak that there is very little food, essential stuff like chicken, meat, milk, eggs, and the latest, toilet paper.

The whole situation was and it still is a ticking bomb and I'm kind of glad Capriles didn't win the election because it would have gone off right in the middle of his term and everybody would have blamed him instead of his predecessor which wouldn't have been fair.

Diana

[NickD 202]

Found it entirely amusing where Maduro offered Edward Snowden asylum and Edward accepted. So just told him to find his way to Venezuela and he will be accepted.

Should have also told him to bring his own food and toilet paper as well.

One of my wife's old co-workers that lost her high paying American based company job was fortunate to get a government job. Was told if she didn't vote for Manduro, would be fired on the spot, so had no choice.

Perhaps this is your idea of a fair election.

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

Perhaps this is your idea of a fair election.

My comment was based on what Jimmy Carter said about the election when he was asked how he and his team viewed the election:

"of the 92 elections that we've monitored, I would say that the election process in Venezuela is the best in the world."

He also went on to say that he is only speaking of the voting process itself, not the propaganda and media control and intimidation that led up to voting.. But once a person voted they could vote their choice without fear or retribution because nobody would know how they voted.

I think the previous post was correct, in the end it is probably better that they did win as they will now get the blame for what is happening as opposed to pointing back to "the good old days".