I totally agree with the first part of your comment but it was more like corruption mixed with a lot of stupid.
Not quite. Russia sent two TU-160s and their support personnel back in December but they weren’t there for long. They’ve done the same before, in 2008 and 2013, so it isnt unprecedented. Maduro’s govt had agreed to allow Russia to establish an air base on one of Venezuela’s islands, but that seems to have stalled. There is probably some debate as to who would pay for it as neither country is sitting flush at the moment.
There are currently several hundred Russian “contractors” in place to help protect Maduro.
I think Venezuela would be better off if Maduro steps aside. He had his chance and it doesnt seem to have worked out. Here is what i hope doesn’t happen:
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That is exactly what i hope to see happen…
AND SOON!
It is simple… Build the infrastructure necessary to not be dependent upon others for our own needs.
Because many times those “others” are in shthole countries that aren’t dependable. Or in “developing”/2nd largest economy in the world countries (depending on which narrative the cucked globalist is trying to foster) who clearly have our downfall as their goal.
The pity is that we allowed ourselves to get into this situation in the first place.
Maybe you should eat your corn, soy and wheat yourself, rather than selling it to countries that don’t appreciate your kindness?
I don’t know of any country that is actively working towards your downfall, but there are some that would like to compete with you on equal terms.
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A noble goal but one we will never reach due to the higher cost of doing business here.
All I’m saying is that this smells a lot like Iraq…a country in chaos and the only reason we care is because of oil. How many Trillions (with a T) of dollars and how many lives were absolutely thrown on a bonfire for nothing over there? (And still counting by the way). Did we not learn anything??
As an aside, thank GOD they (Venezuela) are not a Muslim majority country so we don’t have to listen to any BS about that being a motivating factor.
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These are products we have a surplus of and therefore should sell… Oil is not.
As far as the rest of your post, it’s so obviously ridiculous that it deserves no rebuttal.
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I know about comparative advantage. The fact is the volume of goods that we have a worldwide comparative advantage on pales in comparison to the volume of goods we are at a comparative DISadvantage on due to higher costs to do business here for a multitude of reasons from wages to regulations to workers rights etc.
Yes I know, the notion of “equal terms” is not in your vocabulary.
The oil trade works like this; you sell some of yours and buy some from others to suite the needs of both parties. If you are clever (or just lucky) you make a surplus. If not you trade something you have surplus of to compensate for the imbalance in the oil trade.
It is called “willing seller, willing buyer” and done on fair and even terms.
If you cannot obtain balance that way, you need to tighten your belt and increase your effort to produce or make something that others will buy.
Are you saying that nobody else have high wages (labour costs), regulations or workers rights?? You are not competing only against Bangladesh etc. but against European countries, Japan, Canada and other high cost countries for export of high end manufactured good, services and technology development.
According to the Manufacturing Competitiveness Index the US is now no. 2, but expected to be No. 1 by 2020:
And despite that high ranking on such a prestigious list as the Deloitte rankings, what is our trade deficit again?
The proof is in what you see… Stroll through the isles of any large, non specialty store or scroll through the pages of Amazon and see where everything is made. It ain’t here
fighting over who should have the manufacturing jobs is like fighting over the best flint quarry: it soon isn’t going to matter. Even countries that are doing most of the manufacturing are employing fewer and fewer people to do it.
better still I’ll send them this
besides they’re all volunteers…and I’ll be just about any grunt you ask would love to get a few rounds off at anyone the POTUS says is a bad guy. Doesn’t matter the color, race, nationality, religion…these kids with the guns signed up to shoot at anything (and anyone) they can.
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Can I fix this for you?
explain to you the complex and diverse reasons they have for signing up and how they’d rather that their lives and well-being be given sober consideration before their country commits them to conflict.
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I’d like to know why defense contractors get blank checks while the broken grunts have to rely on charity to endure life after “service”.
If the government had to foot the bill to give the victims of our never ending wars some semblance of compensation I bet the protests would make the 1960s look tame.
Our youth is not providing “service”, they are being exploited as a financial resource in a giant jingoisitic ponzi scheme. We should all be ashamed.
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Most of the victims are not Americans and not even combatants in any wars.
The victims of Agent Orange, Napalm and carpet bombing in Vietnam has received nothing, nor are they likely to do so in the future.
Is that the fault of the countries that produce the goods, or of the people that buys?
Actually it is nobody’s fault, it is just the way capitalism work; Traders buy where goods can be produced the cheapest and sell where you can get the best price.
The same apply to corn, soy and other agricultural products, or oil products. The US is competitive in those markets.