|
Fuschia tude posted:Do you think there is literally infinite oil out there to be extracted? Yes. There's never been a shortage of oil, just efforts to create shortages or the threats of shortages. That's why any kind of geopolitical blimp used to cause prices to spike - even if there wasn't a drop in production. But now you have 100 years of oil locked in shale in two of the most stable countries on the planet. OPEC can influence prices, but only to the point where it's profitable to drill for shale (around $70 a barrel). Saudi Arabia has made fracking unprofitable by pumping sweet crude as fast as they can, but even they know that won't last. Which is why they're selling part of their state-run oil company specifically to fund economic diversification.
|
#
?
May 24, 2016 23:06
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 21, 2024 20:10 |
|
|
Corporate profits are capped at 30% and they're compressed now at between 14 and 20%? U.S. Corporations would kill for those margins. The average net profit for food retailers on the S&P500 is 3%, and 10% for food producers. And corporate profits are at a historic high.
|
|
#
?
May 25, 2016 01:19
|
|
|
JeffersonClay posted:Corporate profits are capped at 30% and they're compressed now at between 14 and 20%? U.S. Corporations would kill for those margins. The average net profit for food retailers on the S&P500 is 3%, and 10% for food producers. And corporate profits are at a historic high. That's not for food though. Basic foodstuffs prices are fixed, and most of the time they're low enough to mean everyone is working at a loss. You can sell Dr. Pepper cans at 100% profit margins, but you're selling the poo poo people are actually buying at a loss.
|
|
#
?
May 25, 2016 01:39
|
|
|
There's also stuff like you can't actually find milk anywhere because the government has priced it so low that farmers can't produce it BUT they found a loophole and now they are selling something called "bebida lactea" that it's easier to find but its pretty expensive, as far as I know its the same as milk though, tastes the same and looks the same.
|
|
#
?
May 25, 2016 01:51
|
|
|
So are there still venezuegoons in country? Are you guys okay? Are you getting enough food and stuff? Stay safe!
|
|
#
?
May 25, 2016 01:53
|
|
|
El Hefe posted:There's also stuff like you can't actually find milk anywhere because the government has priced it so low that farmers can't produce it BUT they found a loophole and now they are selling something called "bebida lactea" that it's easier to find but its pretty expensive, as far as I know its the same as milk though, tastes the same and looks the same. The English translation for "bebida lactea" is "lacteous drink" or "milky drink". It sounds as appealing in Spanish as it does in English. Reminds me of this: 
|
|
#
?
May 25, 2016 01:57
|
|
|
I actually found some powdered "bebida lactea" brand Milak and its super delicious, tastes just like La Campiña and if you are Venezuelan you know that's some good poo poo. But like I said, pretty expensive: 
|
|
#
?
May 25, 2016 02:07
|
|
|
From what I understand, it's either lactose free milk, or milk literally made from milk derivates which would be a hilariously hosed up loophole.
|
|
#
?
May 25, 2016 02:23
|
|
|
The opposition is calling for another demonstration in Caracas tomorrow. It's going to start at 10:00 AM like the ones on the previous two Wednesdays, and the goal this time will not be the CNE headquarters. Instead, the march will head to the some legal administrative offices, which are located in the Impres building in El Rosal, Caracas. The point of this protest is to demonstrate against the TSJ ruling last week banning protests around the CNE building. The PSUV held an event today with the theme "Rejecting Violence Against Women", since during last week's protest that female National Bolivarian Police officer got injured. Today, Capriles rejected the violence against the officer last week, but added: quote:But when crime takes a mother's son out on the streets, then they [the government] don't say anything. They stay real quiet. El Hefe posted:I actually found some powdered "bebida lactea" brand Milak and its super delicious, tastes just like La Campiña and if you are Venezuelan you know that's some good poo poo. Taxes included, that costs Bs. 4,195. The minimum monthly salary is about Bs. 15,000. "Pretty expensive" is right!
|
|
#
?
May 25, 2016 02:38
|
|
|
Chuck Boone posted:The opposition is calling for another demonstration in Caracas tomorrow. It's going to start at 10:00 AM like the ones on the previous two Wednesdays, and the goal this time will not be the CNE headquarters. Instead, the march will head to the some legal administrative offices, which are located in the Impres building in El Rosal, Caracas. The point of this protest is to demonstrate against the TSJ ruling last week banning protests around the CNE building. Wow, that is an incredibly terrible place to protest. For non-Venezuelan goons, that's a business center located in a fancy zone of eastern Caracas like a couple of blocks away from an area with a lot of hotels and financial buildings. It's literally one of the top ten places I'd choose to protest if I wanted the government not to give a rats rear end about it. I can't even begin to imagine what the opposition leadership is thinking.
|
|
#
?
May 25, 2016 02:51
|
|
|
Lime Tonics posted:Venezuelans on Tuesday woke up to discover that the government-controlled price of corn flour -- used to make corn patty arepas, a staple of local cuisine -- has risen 900 percent. This is one of the things that stands out to me whenever I read about Venezuela. In a normal country, government policymaking tends to follow lengthy periods of public discussion, debate, and input. All of this is covered in the media during the policy process. Then, when a policy is changed, it might take years for it to take effect. All of this is in the interest of making predictable, informed law that gives affected parties time to comply and adjust. Is governance in Venezuela really as unpredictable as reports from outside make it seem, e.g. this, "expropriate it", etc.? If so, is it borne of incompetence, panic, or corruption? William Bear fucked around with this message at 02:57 on May 25, 2016 |
|
#
?
May 25, 2016 02:55
|
|
|
William Bear posted:This is one of the things that stands out to me whenever I read about Venezuela. In a normal country, government policymaking tends to follow lengthy periods of public discussion, debate, and input. All of this is covered in the media during the policy process. Then, when a policy is changed, it might take years for it to take effect. That's all fine and good for routine things, but it's hardly uncommon to have near-immediate effect laws in countries that aren't pieces of poo poo. Because emergency situations usually can't handle something that takes 5 years to take effect. OF course, in Venezuela all the emergency decisions happen to be stupid ones, but they'd still be stupid if you let the people in charge take 5 years to decide them, because they're just not good.
|
|
#
?
May 25, 2016 03:01
|
|
|
William Bear posted:Is governance in Venezuela really as unpredictable as reports from outside make it seem? If so, is it borne of incompetence, panic, or corruption? Venezuelan governance suffers from unpredictability on two fronts: surprise announcements, and announced measures that don't materialize. The corn flour example wasn't exactly a surprise. Last week, the vice-president of the economy, Miguel Perez Abad, announced that the price of some regulated goods was about to increase. He may also have said that corn flour specifically was about to increase, I'm not sure. However, I do not believe that he said when the announcement would be made, or what the increase would look like. He just sort of said, "Price increases are coming (some time in the future)", and it turns out to have been today. But... yeah, that's still a surprise I guess! As far as other unpredictable announcements go, I think that most recently we've seen that with Maduro's declarations of economic emergency and state of exception. Last year, we saw it when he announced the deportation of Colombian civilians living along the border. There are probably other examples of things that Maduro's just sprung on the country suddenly that others can help me with. On the other hand, the government also has a tendency to say "We're going to do this!", and then they don't do it. A few years ago it was the increase in gas prices, which Maduro announced a few times and made it seem as it was a done, imminent deal. Instead, it fizzled out until suddenly they decided to pick it up again recently. We also see a variation of this when someone like Maduro says that he has hard, irrefutable evidence that the USA is about to invade, or that some group is plotting to assassinate him, and that he will present the evidence before the nation "soon", but he never does. EDIT: On the second part of your question: I'd say a bit from all three. I think when things were "calmer", incompetence accounted for most of the unpredictability. Then, as Maduro started to feel the pressure, I imagine that competing interests inside the military/PSUV have forced his hand on some issues. along with the real/perceived threat from the opposition. As for corruption as a motivator for policy, the multi-tiered exchange system is almost entirely motivated by corruption, I think. Chuck Boone fucked around with this message at 03:12 on May 25, 2016 |
|
#
?
May 25, 2016 03:07
|
|
|
True, emergency laws that take immediate effect have their place. Maybe I was just struck by how dumb the recent emergency rules have been.
|
|
#
?
May 25, 2016 03:11
|
|
|
fishmech posted:That's all fine and good for routine things, but it's hardly uncommon to have near-immediate effect laws in countries that aren't pieces of poo poo. Because emergency situations usually can't handle something that takes 5 years to take effect. William Bear posted:True, emergency laws that take immediate effect have their place. Maybe I was just struck by how dumb the recent emergency rules have been. But the declaration of those emergency laws has been a surprise. I live in Canada. If Canada got invaded tomorrow, or if the inflation rate this next month was 18.2%, I think there'd be a reasonable expectation that the government would implement some kind of emergency measure. The situation in Venezuela is bad, but it didn't suddenly get bad. Why declare a state of exception now, and not two years ago when a dozen people were getting killed in protests every month? There's still an element of unpredictability there insofar as the government doesn't necessarily react to things the way you might expect from a rational government that acts (or more successfully pretends to act) in the interest of its citizens. It does things when you'd think that it wouldn't, and doesn't do things when you'd think that it would.
|
|
#
?
May 25, 2016 03:17
|
|
|
Quite a ride Venezuela is on. It's not often you see a country destroyed almost exclusively by the incompetence of its government.
|
|
#
?
May 25, 2016 04:34
|
|
|
El Hefe posted:I actually found some powdered "bebida lactea" brand Milak and its super delicious, tastes just like La Campiña and if you are Venezuelan you know that's some good poo poo. So how do people actually afford that? Are they just well off enough to pay face value or is there some money-swapping going on?
|
|
#
?
May 25, 2016 07:49
|
|
|
MothraAttack posted:So how do people actually afford that? Are they just well off enough to pay face value or is there some money-swapping going on? "Wealthy" people can afford basic food. Regular people basically trade around and go on day long searches for their basic produces at regulated prices. This is why Bachaqueros are a thing. Imagine this scenario: you work at, say, a shoe store. It's a regular job, 9-5. At the end of the month you get 17k BsF since you've been there for a year and you get a bit more. Then buying a liter of milk costs you 3k, because you have no time to search around and do the long lines that start at 5am to get your regulated price products. Instead, you could just invest your time in doing the lines and buying the produce, in order to resell it to people that are actually working. You buy 2l of milk for 300BsF each, sell one for 3k and keep the other to yourself, and so on with lots of produces like Corn Flour or Meat. In two weeks you make your old monthly salary plus have food for yourself due to buying more or trading with other bachaqueros.
|
|
#
?
May 25, 2016 12:50
|
|
|
How do Venezuelans know which store will be getting stock deliveries? Or is it the Soviet method of queuing and buying whatever's there?
|
|
#
?
May 25, 2016 15:57
|
|
|
BeigeJacket posted:How do Venezuelans know which store will be getting stock deliveries? Or is it the Soviet method of queuing and buying whatever's there? the latter
|
|
#
?
May 25, 2016 16:01
|
|
|
Last week, the head of security at the National Assembly and head of security for Henry Ramos Allup, Comoroto Rodriguez, was arrested by SEBIN agents. It wasn't immediately clear why, but it looks as if the government was attempting to implicate Rodriguez in the violence that took place last week during the opposition demonstration in Caracas. Rodriguez spent the week in jail pending charges. Last night, the Public Ministry chose to not lay any charges against Rodriguez, meaning that he was going to be released imminently. Allup says that he wasn't charged with anything because the arrest warrant used to detain Rodriguez is dated and signed Monday, May 16, but it references events that took place on Wednesday, May 18. Anyway, the short of it is that the Public Ministry did not charge him with anything when it had the chance to yesterday, so the opposition assumed that he would be released shortly. This morning at 2:00 AM, however, a judge named Magdalena Diaz issued an order that accuses Rodriguez of murder, and ordered him to remain in detention. In other words: Rodriguez was arrested with what looks to be a falsified police document; the Public Ministry chose to not charge him with anything, meaning there was no point to his detention; still, he was kept in prison overnight for some reason; while in prison for a crime with which he was not going to be charged, Rodriguez was accused of another crime (for which he has yet to be charged) and ordered to remain in prison.
|
|
#
?
May 25, 2016 18:32
|
|
|
William Bear posted:Is governance in Venezuela really as unpredictable as reports from outside make it seem, e.g. this, "expropriate it", etc.? If so, is it borne of incompetence, panic, or corruption? Based on the below quote, it sounds like a combination of all three: Chuck Boone posted:In other words: Rodriguez was arrested with what looks to be a falsified police document; the Public Ministry chose to not charge him with anything, meaning there was no point to his detention; still, he was kept in prison overnight for some reason; while in prison for a crime with which he was not going to be charged, Rodriguez was accused of another crime (for which he has yet to be charged) and ordered to remain in prison. Sounds like someone decided to arrest Rodriguez on a pretext so as to pressure the opposition (corruption), someone else said that to maintain rule of law he had to be released (incompetence) and then someone entirely different decided that giving up their leverage was a no-go and scrambled to find another way to maintain it (panic). Jesus, my condolences to you guys in Venezuela. If there's any way a USGoon can help out, let me know.
|
|
#
?
May 25, 2016 18:59
|
|
|
The word on the street is that the Organization of American States is about to call an emergency meeting to discuss whether or not Venezuela is still a democracy. El Nacional says that the meeting could be called within the next 48 hours. Luis Almagro, the head of the OAS, told reporters today that the organization was finishing up a report on Venezuela, and that it would be ready to present it to its member states by next week "at the latest". The report apparently outlines all of the ways in which the Maduro government has violated human rights as well as the Venezuelan constitution. If it's true, it would probably be the most complete and most damming record on the Maduro administration's contempt for human rights and law. The point of the emergency meeting and of the report is to eventually hold a vote on temporarily suspending Venezuela from the OAS for continued abuses against the constitutional order in the country. If that were to happen, it would be a huge slap in the face to Maduro and the PSUV, and it would be a really important step towards getting the international community to finally call a spade a spade.
|
|
#
?
May 25, 2016 19:30
|
|
|
Here's what's gonna happen: Maduro is gonna call Almagro a CIA agent and OAS a CIA run organization and he's gonna carry on pillaging the country and letting people starve to death and dying in hospitals of easily treated diseases.
|
|
#
?
May 25, 2016 19:38
|
|
|
I've seen several people asking if there's anything they can do to help out Venezuelans on the ground, so I was thinking. Would there be any interest from American goons in helping out with individual cases as pertaining to medicines? I follow a few Twitter accounts which are all about Venezuelans seeking specific medicines and I've read about a couple of pharmacy chains (i.e. Locatel in Miami) which are making individual deliveries to Venezuela due to the crisis. The way this would work is I'd act as an intermediary just to link potential donors to recipients, at no cost, and having medicine shipped directly to them in the cities to which affiliated pharmacies can get deliveries. Since the Venezuelan government is blocking humanitarian aid and getting food into the country is a clusterfuck, this could be a great way for those willing to help out individual cases and make a big difference in their lives.
|
|
#
?
May 25, 2016 23:45
|
|
|
Did Venezuela ever have a "left wing purge" of the sort Russia experienced when the Bolsheviks took over, where they basically drove all the pragmatic/non-insane socialists out of politics in favour of those who would swear absolute loyalty to the cult of personality?
|
|
#
?
May 26, 2016 01:49
|
|
|
GlyphGryph posted:Did Venezuela ever have a "left wing purge" of the sort Russia experienced when the Bolsheviks took over, where they basically drove all the pragmatic/non-insane socialists out of politics in favour of those who would swear absolute loyalty to the cult of personality? probaly and if not, one is coming.
|
|
#
?
May 26, 2016 03:24
|
|
|
GlyphGryph posted:Did Venezuela ever have a "left wing purge" of the sort Russia experienced when the Bolsheviks took over, where they basically drove all the pragmatic/non-insane socialists out of politics in favour of those who would swear absolute loyalty to the cult of personality? Not a Venezuelan, but I don't recall one in my off-and-on tab-keeping (since the 2002 coup!) I guess you could argue that the purging of PDVSA was one in a vague sense, but that was more general purge of the opposition than an ideological one of party members (never mind that it was restricted to a government corporation rather than the broader political elite). I don't think the PSUV has ever been ideologically motivated to the point that mere disagreement with the party line will result in execution or exile. I mean I think you'd have seen them declare a one-party state first.
|
|
#
?
May 26, 2016 03:54
|
|
|
Chuck Boone posted:The word on the street is that the Organization of American States is about to call an emergency meeting to discuss whether or not Venezuela is still a democracy. El Nacional says that the meeting could be called within the next 48 hours. Taking this responsibility upon themselves is a big step, since anyone who claims Venezuela is a democracy loses all legitimacy as a judge of such things. Only one valid conclusion here.
|
|
#
?
May 26, 2016 04:15
|
|
|
GlyphGryph posted:Did Venezuela ever have a "left wing purge" of the sort Russia experienced when the Bolsheviks took over, where they basically drove all the pragmatic/non-insane socialists out of politics in favour of those who would swear absolute loyalty to the cult of personality? I can't think of a PSUV-initiated purge, but there's at least one party that has left the PSUV since its inception. That's Marea Socialista [Socialist Tide] (MS), which was at one point headed (and is still currently headed?) by a man named Nicmer Evans. I can't remember how it went down exactly, but at the annual PSUV congress last year, MS suddenly wasn't on the guest list. I can't remember if it was because Evans pulled the party out, or because he'd become outspoken of the PSUV and its leadership in the months prior and the PSUV un-invited them, to which Evans said "Fine, whatever, we're leaving anyway". In any case, the result was that the party left the PSUV. Since then, MS has been working hard to become a viable left-wing alternative to the PSUV. As far as I know, MS is a serious, legitimate left wing party that became disillusioned with the what the PSUV had become. The party attempted to engage the PSUV from within with some self-reflection and constructive criticism, and the end result was that Maduro's "you're either with us or you're with the terrorists"-style rhetoric won the day. Here's an interview with one of it's leaders in English where he talks about what happened.
|
|
#
?
May 26, 2016 04:15
|
|
|
Listening to this bachaquero stuff, seems like Venezuela is becoming some sort of gigantic crowd-sourced informal goods-trading exchange? I wait all day for a bag of flour, and trade part of it with my neighbor who waited all day for toilet paper? Waiting in line as an industry?
|
|
#
?
May 26, 2016 04:25
|
|
|
ecureuilmatrix posted:Listening to this bachaquero stuff, seems like Venezuela is becoming some sort of gigantic crowd-sourced informal goods-trading exchange? I wait all day for a bag of flour, and trade part of it with my neighbor who waited all day for toilet paper? No, that's not how it works, bachaqueros aren't normal everyday people, they are not interested in exchanging goods for other goods they just want money, lots of it. The big shot bachaqueros don't even wait in line anymore since they have contacts with the supermarkets and/or they cut in line by force, most of the times the police or national guard are the bachaqueros. I was in line once ready to pay and I was lucky enough to find cooking oil and a couple national guards came and took all the cooking oil right from everyone's carts without saying a word and no one complained because it's not worth getting arrested for trying to protect your constitutional rights anymore.
|
|
#
?
May 26, 2016 04:38
|
|
|
GlyphGryph posted:Did Venezuela ever have a "left wing purge" of the sort Russia experienced when the Bolsheviks took over, where they basically drove all the pragmatic/non-insane socialists out of politics in favour of those who would swear absolute loyalty to the cult of personality? Chavez was never really an ideologically driven leftist, he was a populist military soft-dictator who was happy to accept the support of ideological leftists from abroad. There's not an equivalent of an ideological party apparatus being taken over by a particular faction and everyone else being expelled like the USSR
|
|
#
?
May 26, 2016 05:17
|
|
|
Venezuela’s gold reserves have plunged to their lowest level on record after it sold $1.7 billion of the precious metal in the first quarter of the year to repay debts. The country is grappling with an economic crisis that has left it struggling to feed its population. The Opec member’s gold reserves have dropped almost a third over the past year and it sold over 40 tonnes in February and March, according to IMF data. Gold now makes up almost 70 percent of the country’s total reserves, which fell to a low of $12.1 billion last week. Seeking to reassure investors this month, Miguel Pérez Abad, Venezuela's economic tsar, told news agencies that the country has reached a deal with its main financier China to extend loans, and that he would further cut imports — even if shortages of basic goods are ravaging the country. "We have a cash flow problem, but we have sufficient assets for the short-term and will reprofile the debt levels in an intelligent manner. There are various scenarios, and all of the proposals are extraordinary for the bondholders. They have the absolute assurance that their securities are guaranteed," Mr Pérez Abad told Bloomberg. Ecoanalítica, a Caracas-based consultancy, said in a note that "we consider that the payments of external debt is a priority for the executive". http://www.cnbc.com/2016/05/25/financial-times-venezuela-sells-gold-reserves-as-economy-worsens.html Oil accounts for 95 percent of its export earnings. Despite the recent price rebound, declining oil output is likely to take a further toll on the economy. The IMF forecasts the economy will shrink 8 percent this year, and 4.5 percent in 2017, after a 5.7 percent contraction in 2015. Inflation is forecast to exceed 1,642 percent next year. Not good.
|
|
#
?
May 26, 2016 09:09
|
|
|
Guys why are no tourists visiting Venezula  ?Tbh though if my Spanish was better I would be a little tempted to go to one of the smaller cities.
|
|
#
?
May 26, 2016 15:45
|
|
|
Students at the Universidad Central de Venezuela are holding a rally today, and the plan was to march down to the Ministry of Education to make some demands regarding the quality of their education. The area around the university was heavily militarized this morning, with National Guard soldiers allegedly blocking some of the exits out of the university. The march has just started (11:00 AM EST), and the students are now trying to march out of the school. You can watch it here live.
|
|
#
?
May 26, 2016 16:01
|
|
|
Holy poo poo the TSJ put out a new sentence today (that violates the constitution btw) where they say the president is allowed to hold dual citizenship, pretty much confirming the rumors Maduro has Colombian citizenship.
|
|
#
?
May 27, 2016 00:06
|
|
|
We have a Colombian president who takes all his orders from Cuba, no wonder we are in this state with all these people stealing everything.
|
|
#
?
May 27, 2016 00:23
|
|
|
I guess the birthers were right, they were just looking at the wrong president/country.
|
|
#
?
May 27, 2016 00:51
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 21, 2024 20:10 |
|
|
Haha it was a left wing conspiracy all along!
|
|
#
?
May 27, 2016 01:27
|
|
