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I'd rather live in Cuba than in Venezuela right now, that's for sure.
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Jun 23, 2017 01:22
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Difference between Cuba and Venezuela is economic stagnation versus economic collapse.
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Jun 23, 2017 01:25
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DoctorStrangelove posted:Difference between Cuba and Venezuela is economic stagnation versus economic collapse. Lol the economy is booming in cuba cubans love capitalism their version of craigslist is huge https://www.revolico.com/
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Jun 23, 2017 01:32
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PT6A posted:Is the situation in Venezuela worse than Cuba right now, as it appears to be judging by the widespread unrest? If so, how the gently caress did that even happen? Cuba has had massively more competent administration than Venezuela certainly in the Maduro years. And frankly based on how quickly things fell apart under Maduro, probably also for many years of Chavez.
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Jun 23, 2017 01:38
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ThisIsWhyTrumpWon posted:Lol the economy is booming in cuba Oh I know it, as soon as paladares and casas particulares were a thing, poo poo really took off. Still, they had big problems, and a quite massively incompetent government and part of me still finds it hard to believe that the government of Venezuela is so significantly worse. A friend of mine down there refuses to eat beans now because of how poo poo the Special Period was, and now I hear they're going through a big drought. I do believe it, though, I just wanted to ask before I stared in amazement and went "holy gently caress, they're worse off than Cuba."
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Jun 23, 2017 03:01
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Cuba's economy has grown by something like 7% per year on average since 2000 while its population stayed relatively flat. I don't think there are any accurate statistics for Venezuela after 2013 but from some IMF/World Bank estimates on wikipedia Venezuela managed about 5% over the same period (i.e. up to 2015), but also increased its population by 20%.
Squalid fucked around with this message at 03:29 on Jun 23, 2017 |
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Jun 23, 2017 03:26
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Squalid posted:Cuba's economy has grown by something like 7% per year on average since 2000 while its population stayed relatively flat. I don't think there are any accurate statistics for Venezuela after 2013 but from some IMF/World Bank estimates on wikipedia Venezuela managed about 5% over the same period (i.e. up to 2015), but also increased its population by 20%. The question is whether the growth claims are accurate or if it's like when China claims 7% every year.
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Jun 23, 2017 04:37
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Warbadger posted:The question is whether the growth claims are accurate or if it's like when China claims 7% every year. If anything they are probably muted. Who is tracking their massive black market?
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Jun 23, 2017 04:47
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The regime's latest victim is a 22-year-old student named David Vallenilla. He was killed on Thursday protesting near the La Carlota airfield in Caracas. David was shot in the throat with a rubber pellet shotgun at point blank range by a National Guard soldier. In the video below, you can see the moment that David was shot. He's the one wearing the blue shirt: https://twitter.com/AlbertoRT51/status/877997116357922816 David was a nursing student and was scheduled to graduate on August 2. There were protests throughout the country yesterday on what was the 84th consecutive day of unrest. In Caracas, protesters gathered near the site of Vallenilla's killing. They burned trucks and parked them across the highway to block traffic: https://twitter.com/EfectoCocuyo/status/878326059736809472 Protesters also managed to punch a hole through the airfield's fence. I don't think that they managed to get inside the base, if that was even their intention: https://twitter.com/GabyGabyGG/status/878328623031214082 Also, Lilian Tintori went to visit her husband Leopoldo Lopez at the Ramo Verde prison yesterday. As per usual, she was denied access to Lopez, so she shouted at him from outside the prison, which is the most common way for Lopez to communicate with people outside of Ramo Verde since he's so often held in isolation. When Lopes shouted back, he said: "They're torturing me! Let people know! Let people know!". Here is a clip showing the exchange: https://twitter.com/VP_Canada/status/878366937113391104 On the conference front, I ended up attending George Ciccariello-Maher's presentation on Thursday. The room was very small and there were probably about 10 of us there. George (he goes by "Geo") spoke well, and he looked exactly as he does in the pictures you find on Google. He had a bit of an air of superiority about him, but that could just be my seething bias showing. His presentation was interesting. It was on vigilante groups in Mexico, and his argument was that while we generally understand vigilante groups to be a problem, actually it is the state that is the problem. My impression is that he's clearly an intelligent person. However, the fact that he's a radical Marxist makes him wrong about what's happening in Venezuela, which is sad because critical voices from the left (specially from outside of the country) could go a long way to spread the word about the crisis. My own presentation went very well. I spoke on a panel on criminal justice in Latin America. I also presented in a very small room with about 10 people in the audience. My presentation was on the Leopoldo Lopez trial and its implications for the Venezuelan judicial system and the Bolivarian Revolution more generally. I argued that trial was a complete farce and that Lopez is innocent of the crimes of which he was convicted, and that the kind of corruption that led to the trial taking place at all isn't necessarily unique in Venezuelan judicial history. I also argued that despite chavismo's repeated assertions that the Bolivarian Revolution is different from the corrupt politics of the democratic era in Venezuela, at least when it comes to judicial corruption, it's actually at least the same or even worse. After my presentation I had a coffee with another PhD student from the University of Minnesota and another from the Universidad de Lima who were really interested in the case (and the Venezuelan crisis in general) and wanted to talk about it more. I also had a couple of really good questions from professors in the audience during the talk. My impression from the questions and comments that I got was that the audience was convinced by my arguments. Chuck Boone fucked around with this message at 13:24 on Jun 24, 2017 |
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Jun 24, 2017 13:22
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Is it just me, or does it feel like any kind of international momentum behind finding ways to isolate and punish the regime is pretty much gone now? Maybe it's just that the US has become totally self-obsessed due to political issues here at home (and incompetent leadership), but it feels like Venezuela has slipped off the radar entirely at this point.
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Jun 24, 2017 17:02
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The US had its full of interventionism in Afghanistan and Iraq (and somewhat more reluctantly in other parts of the Middle East). I think most Americans are okay with letting other in-turmoil countries figure it out themselves.
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Jun 24, 2017 17:17
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punk rebel ecks posted:My interview with Chuck is up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk5SxqqSRC4 No comments? 
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Jun 24, 2017 22:43
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Sinteres posted:Is it just me, or does it feel like any kind of international momentum behind finding ways to isolate and punish the regime is pretty much gone now? Maybe it's just that the US has become totally self-obsessed due to political issues here at home (and incompetent leadership), but it feels like Venezuela has slipped off the radar entirely at this point. There's a new set of sanctions coming up from the US government. They're very interesting in seeing Maduro fall, not just because the country is on the verge of becoming a pariah state, but also because of Tarek El Aisammi's ISIS connection. There's a very real link between Islamic terrorism and the Venezuelan government that is very hard to deny and impossible to combat from within.
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Jun 24, 2017 23:23
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fnox posted:There's a new set of sanctions coming up from the US government. They're very interesting in seeing Maduro fall, not just because the country is on the verge of becoming a pariah state, but also because of Tarek El Aisammi's ISIS connection. There's a very real link between Islamic terrorism and the Venezuelan government that is very hard to deny and impossible to combat from within. wait what, who is tarek el asaimmi?
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Jun 25, 2017 00:06
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The only thing the US government really cares about is if Venezuela does something so stupid the oil stops flowing entirely. And even then that's more because Citgo's refineries in Texas etc would be in trouble from a massive drop in imports, rather than any oil shortage for the US.
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Jun 25, 2017 00:09
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Kurtofan posted:wait what, who is tarek el asaimmi? The VP of Venezuela, basically Maduro's #2. He has deep ties to the narcotics smuggling rings in the region and also to Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah. Though that's nothing new for Venezuela-- even during the Chavez administration there were regular flights between Iran, Syria and Venezuela, which carried drugs, money, weapons, and terrorist shitbags. http://www.businessinsider.com/new-venezuela-vice-president-has-ties-to-iran-hezbollah-2017-1
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Jun 25, 2017 00:16
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ISIS CURES TROONS posted:The VP of Venezuela, basically Maduro's #2. He has deep ties to the narcotics smuggling rings in the region and also to Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah. Though that's nothing new for Venezuela-- even during the Chavez administration there were regular flights between Iran, Syria and Venezuela, which carried drugs, money, weapons, and terrorist shitbags. uh. . . I mean I could totally believe Venezuela is involved in money, drug, and weapons dealing with Iran and Syria but that article rather quickly takes a turn for the insane quote:"Venezuela's future is uncertain, but what is certain is that Islamic extremism has officially taken greater executive control of a national government in Latin America," Humire wrote in an e-mail to Business Insider. "A goal it has had for decades." Hrm. Well I guess they may be assisting Iranian agents but yeah, not going to trust weirdo rightwing think tank guy.
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Jun 25, 2017 01:10
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fnox posted:There's a new set of sanctions coming up from the US government. They're very interesting in seeing Maduro fall, not just because the country is on the verge of becoming a pariah state, but also because of Tarek El Aisammi's ISIS connection. There's a very real link between Islamic terrorism and the Venezuelan government that is very hard to deny and impossible to combat from within. I don't know if you follow middle eastern politics at all, but the possibility for someone with a Druze and Baathist lineage like El Aisammi to be actively, intentionally supporting a Sunni extremist group is pretty close to zero. His ties to Hezbollah also sound strange for the same reason, though more believable given his personal distance from Lebanon and the fact that by today they're almost more a political party than they are a Shia extremist group. The chances for someone to support both Hezbollah and ISIS is also 0.00%. Not to be too critical, but you're doing the same thing as the PSUV: "CIA has does lots of totally insane bad stuff that has been verified; therefore any crazy bad statement that someone says about them is likely to be true." punk rebel ecks posted:No comments? Do you have a transcription? I hate listening to / watching interviews since I can read the same amount of text about 5 times faster than listening to it. Saladman fucked around with this message at 10:13 on Jun 25, 2017 |
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Jun 25, 2017 10:11
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Saladman posted:I don't know if you follow middle eastern politics at all, but the possibility for someone with a Druze and Baathist lineage like El Aisammi to be actively, intentionally supporting a Sunni extremist group is pretty close to zero. His ties to Hezbollah also sound strange for the same reason, though more believable given his personal distance from Lebanon and the fact that by today they're almost more a political party than they are a Shia extremist group. The chances for someone to support both Hezbollah and ISIS is also 0.00%. I may have mixed the two up, but he definitely has a Hezbollah connection as per the report that got CNN banned from the country. There's more than one example of people with links to terrorism being captured with Venezuelan passports, even diplomatic passports occasionally. That link is there and the US is well aware of it.
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Jun 25, 2017 10:23
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fnox posted:I may have mixed the two up, but he definitely has a Hezbollah connection as per the report that got CNN banned from the country. There's more than one example of people with links to terrorism being captured with Venezuelan passports, even diplomatic passports occasionally. That link is there and the US is well aware of it. Yeah, his Hezbollah connection sounds reasonably likely to be true (though could just be a money thing and not ideological). It'd be impossible for someone to support ISIS and Hezbollah though, and essentially impossible for anyone who's not a Sunni to support ISIS in any way and he's a secular/statist Druze apostate devil worshipper in ISIS's eyes. I guess you meant Hezbollah instead of ISIS in your first post. He doesn't even have any way of getting things to ISIS even if he wanted to, and it'd be a huge turn to go from Syrian Baathist with good relations to Assad to Sunni extremists. E: not that crazier things haven't happned, but I'd have to see a lot more evidence than a fact-thin accusation by a far right winger. Saladman fucked around with this message at 14:48 on Jun 25, 2017 |
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Jun 25, 2017 14:45
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Saladman posted:Do you have a transcription? I hate listening to / watching interviews since I can read the same amount of text about 5 times faster than listening to it. No, sorry.
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Jun 26, 2017 02:05
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There lots of protests throughout the country yesterday in response to the MUD's call to stage a trancazo [roughly "lock0down"] throughout the country starting at noon. The trancazo took two forms: some people went out and blocked traffic on roads, while others stayed home from work and school. Here are some images from Caracas, where security forces clashed with university students starting at around noon: https://twitter.com/HectorAntolinez/status/879402861121155073 https://twitter.com/EfectoCocuyo/status/879406268116594688 National Guard soldiers chased protesters into a mall in El Paraiso and fired tear gas into the building: https://twitter.com/ReporteYa/status/879421018795909120 In other parts of the city, Caracas looked like a ghost town. This is an image of the Francisco Fajardo highway some time after the noon hour. Keep in mind that Caracas is a city of two million people and that this highway is a key traffic artery: https://twitter.com/javiermayorca/status/879459468278464513 The video below was recorded in the neighbourhood of La Urbina in Caracas last night. It shows traffic on a road trying to turn around because a mob of people is robbing cars. At some point, someone throws what looks like a Molotov cocktail at the panicked motorists: https://twitter.com/RCamachoVzla/status/879530937301831681 The other big news yesterday is the unrest that shook Maracay, the capital of Aragua state. There were clashes between protesters and security forces since early in the morning yesterday: https://twitter.com/mantjewi/status/879345093139943425 https://twitter.com/ReporteYa/status/879354944062705665 Looting broke out as night fell in the city: https://twitter.com/ReporteYa/status/879540155778043905 The looting in Maracay lasted into this morning. The video below was likely recorded at around 7:00 AM local time: https://twitter.com/SegundaVisiOn/status/879666001713012737 It just struck me that this has been going on in some form or another for years. At least three years, or maybe more. I guess I got from Hollywood movies that societal collapse would be sudden (a plague, nuclear war, etc.), but that's not true I guess. punk rebel ecks posted:No comments? I thought that you had some really great questions!
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Jun 27, 2017 14:20
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https://twitter.com/AlbertoRT51/status/879782628911611904 OK, so is it all out civil war from now on? E: Rought translation (I'm Portuguese, can't really speak spanish) - "Maduro declares war on venezuelans - "What we couldn't do with votes, we'll do with weapons""
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Jun 28, 2017 00:35
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orange sky posted:https://twitter.com/AlbertoRT51/status/879782628911611904 Rough translation: If the revolution is toppled, we'll do with weapons what we couldn't with votes, we'd take back the homeland! It's incendiary for sure, but it's hardly the first time Maduro has said that if they lose an election or chavismo gets cast out they'd turn to violence – it's one of his favorite threats. I'm surprised this particular instance is getting so much traction on social media because I'm 100% sure I've heard him and other top government guys saying the same thing plenty of times before. On other news, the opposition deputies aren't being allowed to leave the legislative building by colectivos and earlier today a CICPC helicopter (our version of the FBI) flew over the Supreme Court building and two grenades were apparently thrown from it (?) but neither exploded. The helicopter was waving a flag that said "350 Libertad" (350 Freedom) which alludes to article 350 of the Venezuelan constitution. One of the guys that was flying the helicopter published a video on social media saying they were going to topple the government: https://www.instagram.com/p/BV3BknQF2_X/?taken-by=oscarperezgv It looks like it was just a few rogue actors since everything seems to be calm now. Crazy loving day, everyone is going nuts on social media and via WhatsApp. Here's a Twitter chain describing what's been going on today (click on the date to see the full chain): https://twitter.com/CaracasChron/status/879855649332629504 Labradoodle fucked around with this message at 01:53 on Jun 28, 2017 |
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Jun 28, 2017 00:51
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So I just saw on my news feed about a helicopter attacking the capital building? What happened? Edit: ok read the post above, I guess it's civil war time.
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Jun 28, 2017 02:09
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Dapper_Swindler posted:So I just saw on my news feed about a helicopter attacking the capital building? What happened? Edit: ok read the post above, I guess it's civil war time. It was the Supreme Court building, and the helicopter didn't cause any damages.
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Jun 28, 2017 02:24
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https://www.instagram.com/oscarperezgv/ me_irl
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Jun 28, 2017 02:51
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What's worse? The current situation or these conservative zealots taking over? What a hosed up situation... EDIT: Obviously the current situation, but those guys calling themselves "soldados de Diós" doesn't sound good one bit. Negostrike fucked around with this message at 03:41 on Jun 28, 2017 |
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Jun 28, 2017 03:16
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...What?
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Jun 28, 2017 03:20
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Maduro might speak tonight on this alleged attack on the Supreme Court building in Caracas. The "attack" was staged by a single police helicopter, it caused no damage to the building, and it looks like the helicopter may have dropped a single tear gas canister in the vicinity of the building. I've seen a couple of videos of armoured vehicles and soldiers swarming around Miraflores. I don't know what Maduro will say about all of this, but I can't help but be reminded of Turkey 2016....
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Jun 28, 2017 03:39
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCTMvFimjV4&hd=1 What the gently caress.
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Jun 28, 2017 03:47
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Chuck Boone posted:Maduro might speak tonight on this alleged attack on the Supreme Court building in Caracas. The "attack" was staged by a single police helicopter, it caused no damage to the building, and it looks like the helicopter may have dropped a single tear gas canister in the vicinity of the building. Yeah, maduro is gonna try to go full dictator now. Stay safe, Venezuela goons.
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Jun 28, 2017 03:51
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It wasn't Maduro who spoke - it was Minister of Information Ernesto Villegas. Villegas read a statement that basically said that the attack on the Supreme Court was a terrorist attack/part of the ongoing coup d'etat against Maduro, that the helicopter fired at the building 15 times, and that the (two?) grenades that it used were made in Israel. He also asked the opposition to distance itself from this violence and that the July 30 vote for the constituent assembly would still take place. We'll have to see what Maduro and the PSUV make of this in the coming days. It may be that this was a rogue officer who wanted to spark something and it didn't work. It'll be interesting to see if Maduro runs away with this or not.
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Jun 28, 2017 03:58
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The Supreme Court also issued a ruling today assigning the functions of the Prosecutor General's (Luisa Ortega Diaz) office to that of the Ombudsman (Tarek William Saab). Naturally, it's completely illegal, but since the Prosecutor General isn't on their side anymore they can't have her causing more problems. It's another blatant display of the lack of separation of powers in Venezuela. Keep in mind everything within the last few posts happened just today. The news cycles in Venezuela are insane. Tomorrow there's going to be another protest to block transit throughout the country and chances are everyone will be riled up after today, so it'll probably turn ugly.
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Jun 28, 2017 04:05
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Chuck Boone posted:
It's all bullshit of course, but do Venezuelans really care if something was made in Israel or did he take the How To Become A Dictator guide from Turkey and forget to change all the fields?
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Jun 28, 2017 05:57
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Negrostrike posted:What's worse? The current situation or these conservative zealots taking over? Even assuming this was a genuine attack, there's absolutely zero chance of these chucklefucks taking over anything.
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Jun 28, 2017 06:04
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https://www.instagram.com/p/BNSrzQnh-K9/?taken-by=oscarperezgv Mandatory noscope trickshots
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Jun 28, 2017 06:08
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Fat Lowtax posted:https://www.instagram.com/p/BNSrzQnh-K9/?taken-by=oscarperezgv I'm the #actor hashtag.
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Jun 28, 2017 06:15
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Fat Lowtax posted:https://www.instagram.com/p/BNSrzQnh-K9/?taken-by=oscarperezgv Holy poo poo, I think I got searched by this gently caress in Puerto Ayacucho. He had hair and a beard then, though.
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Jun 28, 2017 10:35
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Vlex posted:Holy poo poo, I think I got searched by this gently caress in Puerto Ayacucho. He had hair and a beard then, though. Dude seems to be mostly deployed in the Llanos region and has pictures where he has hair and a beard. Could be him.
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Jun 28, 2017 10:59
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