Venezuela 2026.

[Paddo Colt 61]

any casual google search suggests maduro isn't a saint. the economist, guardian have him as having stolen the election and lining his own pockets.
is stealing an election a bad thing when the forces of darkness are against you? depends on the situation. hard to argue that Maduro had enough positives to have a moral argument to override the will of the people.
that's not to say i support the u.s. action. i don't. not at all

Haven't seen any credible evidence re Maduro's "corruption" and I've looked (any link suggestions?). Venezuela was an economis disaster at the time Chsavez was elected. Debt ridden for decades with aging infrastructure. The state of the economy was no fault of Socialism.

The economist and the Guardian? Ha ha. Of course there was repression, there was omnipreset right wing reaction, CM mentioned some of the more obvious events like attempted coups.. The msm never provides context.

[caz]

Haven't seen any credible evidence re Maduro's "corruption" and I've looked (any link suggestions?). Venezuela was an economis disaster at the time Chsavez was elected. Debt ridden for decades with aging infrastructure. The state of the economy was no fault of Socialism.

The economist and the Guardian? Ha ha. Of course there was repression, there was omnipreset right wing reaction, CM mentioned some of the more obvious events like attempted coups.. The msm never provides context.

yeah well, either he was corrupt or he wasn't. hard to see how the u.s intervention will end well - in the short, medium and long term.

[Random Rooster]

It is that it’s entirely possible for both Maduro and the U.S. (or any powerful government) to act in corrupt or self-serving ways at the same time. That doesn’t automatically make one as corrupt as the other — it just means two “evils” can coexist in international politics. Personally that is my view regarding the 2 countries today

Venezuela ranks near the bottom of the global corruption indices, and independent auditing bodies, courts, and media have been seriously weakened or politicised, which makes corruption very plausible but hard to prove because the institutions that would expose it have been undermined.

You can see the impact of that on everyday people: nearly 8 million Venezuelans—roughly a quarter of the population—have left the country since around 2014, many driven by economic collapse, political repression, and lack of basic services. That mass exodus is one of the largest in the region’s history. It's no co-incidence!

[Paddo Colt 61]

It is that it’s entirely possible for both Maduro and the U.S. (or any powerful government) to act in corrupt or self-serving ways at the same time. That doesn’t automatically make one as corrupt as the other — it just means two “evils” can coexist in international politics. Personally that is my view regarding the 2 countries today

Venezuela ranks near the bottom of the global corruption indices, and independent auditing bodies, courts, and media have been seriously weakened or politicised, which makes corruption very plausible but hard to prove because the institutions that would expose it have been undermined.

You can see the impact of that on everyday people: nearly 8 million Venezuelans—roughly a quarter of the population—have left the country since around 2014, many driven by economic collapse, political repression, and lack of basic services. That mass exodus is one of the largest in the region’s history. It's no co-incidence!

Most of the "everyday" persuasion have no interest at all in context and things were/are crook in Venezuela economically, hyper inflation is no fun. One can be sure, however, that the US (Rep or Dem) will put any and every obstacle in the way of leftist governments especially those in South America but anywhere really. is not hard to see where the essential blame for economic collapse in Venezuela lays.

And still most punters reflexively agree with US accusations of corruption and pocket lining, it's a charge that is laid on all of its targets - the CCP, Putin, Ghadaffi, Saddam - you'd think that smarter punters might be sceptical after all this time especially when the egregious corruption in Ukraine is well documented (unlike most of the others) yet kept dark.

[caz]

presumably there will be a trial with a jury at some time. it will be interesting if a new york jury convicts in these partisan times. seems like the u.s. probably broke international law and probably didn't break u.s. law. there's a 'wrongly captured/rightfully detained' doctrine in the u.s. apparently.

i think maduro was probably corrupt, ditto putin, saddam and ghadaffi. the ccp obviously has elements of corruption but the main problem with them is xi's belligerence.

even if maduro was corrupt you've got to question u.s. methods and the 'donroe doctrine'. just because trump is honest that this is about oil doesn't make it any less shameful.

[A Country Member]

Does Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, have a point? Are a clan of paedophiles trying to take over his country?

[Random Rooster]

Does Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, have a point? Are a clan of paedophiles trying to take over his country?

the answer to your question is yes

[Mickie Lane]

presumably there will be a trial with a jury at some time. it will be interesting if a new york jury convicts in these partisan times. seems like the u.s. probably broke international law and probably didn't break u.s. law. there's a 'wrongly captured/rightfully detained' doctrine in the u.s. apparently.

i think maduro was probably corrupt, ditto putin, saddam and ghadaffi. the ccp obviously has elements of corruption but the main problem with them is xi's belligerence.

even if maduro was corrupt you've got to question u.s. methods and the 'donroe doctrine'. just because trump is honest that this is about oil doesn't make it any less shameful.

I feel it’s corruption from Trump taking the oil from Venezuela, he says he’s in charge of their oil.
Putin, Trump, Saddam, Ghadaffi are all tarred with the same brush.

[Paddo Colt 61]

It's a regime change-a-thon and, as was the case with Venezuela, our msm hasn't disappointed channeling US propaganda by the truckload into our living rooms. Through their efforts we believe that the Iranian masses yearn for "freedom" (US style), that the regime is dispicable and criminal and the downtrodden people just need a helping hand. We all had our fingers crossed for them as we had for the Ukrainians. We trended to disregard the common factor in all of the turmoil - the ever reliable Uncle Sam trying to help ut in whatever small way it could.

One of the ways was to deliver 40,000 Starlink Satellite terminals to the organisers before the riots but with the help of Chinese/Russian technology all internet was able to be shut down completely cutting off organisers from their Mossad/CIA Command and Control and eliminating those effective horror reporting tactics. The riots ended after just 2 weeks and are presently replaced by huge turnouts of government support, far bigger support than the protest demonstrations.

I'm no fan of Theocracies but Iran is mighty stable it seems, there have been no government defections as in Venezuela.

[caz]

hard to know what's going to happen in iran. i'm less cynical about the call for 'freedom'. i hope it works out for them. if the u.s. can help to pull it off then hats off.
but i'm sceptical it will be as easy as trump is saying and there's the potential for disaster.

[bondi.boy]

The problem for us is Aus is entangled in the web that it can only side with the USA - which will drag us down with it

Better the USA than China/Russia/Nth Korea etc.
Average Joe in NK eats grass to survive, reportedly.
I'd rather be American than have China/Russia/NK etc own Australia.

[Paddo Colt 61]

The dissident section of the population in Iran is relatively small and divided. Denied foreign interference, the current US/Israeli inspired protests quickly failed because most Iranians see the US as ammoral in every possible way. This attempted coup is now over, its failure celebrated by huge pro governmnt displays in the big cities of Iran. Our msm does not, of course, report these things which are contrary to the US narrative.

Posters here and thousands like them refuse to examine, let alone give up, the Western propaganda version that ordinary Iranians are yearning for US style freedom despite the fact that they've seen this movie before. After all, the ordinary folk in Iraq, Lybia and all of the other so called "Colour" revolutions who were said to be crying out for help, got years of national destruction and ongoing instability or close to it. We saw it plain as day in Iraq, Lybia, Afghanistan and Syria. indeed everywhere the US "liberates" .Yet some posters here are in denial attempting, even, to run, despite the evidence of their own eyes, an "Americas the saviour" line.

Cognative Dissonance occurs in humans when strong, long held opinions come up against the serious challenge of facts. Denial is the most common defence mechanism.

This is how it works:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVQH9ClF9fQ