Governors in three Venezuelan states have banned overnight queuing amid huge and sometimes rowdy lines around shops across the scarcity-plagued country.
Shortages of basic consumer products from milk to toilet paper have worsened since a lull in distribution over the Christmas and New Year holidays, prompting many to wait from the early hours on foot – or in hammocks – before shops open.
The ubiquitous lines and frequent jostling for places when shop doors finally open are an embarrassment and irritation to Venezuelans across the political spectrum.
There have also been scattered protests and arrests.
“We are going to prohibit lines outside commercial establishments,” Falcon state governor Stella Lugo said late on Tuesday. “Security forces have been instructed.”
She joined two other governors, in the states of Bolivar and Yaracuy, who have announced the same measure in recent days.
Idiot socialism always ends the same way, doesn’t it?
Why don’t they just get on with it and just have an outright ban on people being hungry?
And ban people from doing number 2s in such a way that requires wiping.
yep. This is why left wingers need to understand the virtues of markets. Sadly we have far too many who are only interested in the negatives.
(neatly matched by right wingers who are only interested in the negatives about governments – often with both sides prepared to grudgingly concede some minimal ground to the opposing view when doing otherwise would expose them as lunatics)
According to George Mikes, queuing is (or was) a distinctly English characteristic
Owen Jones will be pleased. A sensible policy introduced by a caring, egalitarian government. Of the people, for the people.
Venezuela articles in the guardian are brilliant. You’re 100% guaranteed some first rate tin-foil hattery. Check out this beaut from one of their starred commenters;
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they are squeezing Venezuela. The Dirty Trickster Chicago Boys and thei henchman mobs, the neolibs, will do anything to have people queuing for food banks rather than being able to afford it – shortages or not.”
Moustache twirling villains all, these toilet paper wholesalers. Sitting there in their lairs in hollowed out volcanoes, wearing Nehru suits and stroking hairless cats.
Because the embarrassment of ‘Venezuelans across the political spectrum’ is more important than basic foodstuffs or even having something to wipe your arse on.
Government in a nutshell.
Do I recall that in the Soviet Union, everyone carried a “perhaps bag” in case the opportunity came up to buy something, anything?
I suppose it is going that way in Venezuela.
We have a Venezuelan lady in this area who married a local, who beat her. She didn’t leave him until the Comune assured her she would not have to return to Venezuela.
An avoshka I think it was, a “just in case bag”
I think we are approaching the point where the system in Venezuela changes from ‘socialist’ to “not socialist, and never was” in Leftist thinking. Once the pile of bodies grows large enough it is not, and never was, actual socialism.
“True Socialism” is like one of those atoms created in laboratories with a lifespan of about 1 billionth of a second.
Sounds like the solution to the A&E problem.
http://danieljmitchell.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/socialism-capitalism-bread.jpg
Ken Livingstone’s cheap Venezuelan oil for London buses, an agreement intended to benefit up to a quarter of a million of the lowest income Londoners, is but an idiosyncratic memory.
An avoshka I think it was, a “just in case bag”
Avos’ka: string bag.
Bernie G. – I especially enjoyed millionaire socialist Ken Livingstone’s rant when Boris cancelled the Venezuela deal:
“It shows that he is more interested in pursuing his right-wing ideological agenda than improving the living standards of the most deprived people in the capital.
Everything the right does is “ideological” (as if that was a bad thing).
Socialists, by comparison, are hard-nosed, practical chaps who never do anything out of any kind of ideology.
“The fact that the first significant action by Johnson’s Tory regime is against the poorest people in the capital is highly significant as is the cowardly way he has made the announcement on bank holiday Sunday without any consultation with the organisations representing the thousands of carers, single parents and others affected.”
Oh no! Carers AND single parents! I’m surprised he didn’t mention poor-but-honest Somali refugees, Pearly Kings and Queens, Dot Cotton from Eastenders, and Little Nell.
Mr Livingstone added: “The suggestion that Johnson is motivated by any concern about the people of Venezuela is just a lie shown by the fact that he is withdrawing all technical support and advice provided by London under this agreement.”
Probably true enough. Why should the mayor of London be motivated by concern for hobbit-sized socialist dagos? Let them eat Chavismo.
авоська
Dan – Moustache twirling villains all, these toilet paper wholesalers. Sitting there in their lairs in hollowed out volcanoes, wearing Nehru suits and stroking hairless cats.
Brilliant! But that’s the shady international scandium dealers you’re thinking of.
The Big Toilet Paper oligarchs live in palaces made out of the finest four-ply, decadently enriched with shea butter, and hunt helpless adorable little Andrex puppies for sport.
Unless they’re otherwise engaged in their satanic orgies where they flagellate weeping peasant children with copies of Free to Choose.
I always thought it was weird that London a city whose public transport system doesn’t cope well with the heat. Would be a good choice to advise Caracas on how to do a public transport system. The climate and conditions are not very similar.
I would happily queue for hours in the freezing cold for a chance to see Livingstone melted alive.
Of all the pols, he’s the one that genuinely makes me angry. Even reading that self serving cant posted above — I can feel the eye start to twitch.
Why should the poor of Venezuela get just a little bit poorer so Ken and his loathsome cronies get to play at being World Stage diplomats instead of the regional manager/PR head that the london mayor is? Answer me that Livingstone you weapons grade cum dribble.
LE: Anyone not in the middle of the road is lunatic?.
Thank God for people like you who stay away from extremism.
We should solve the Venezuelan toilet paper shortage by a campaign to collect up as many UK copies of Das Kapital as possible (preferably all of them) and shipping them over. Even if it never actually happens the publicity for the real cause of Venezuelan problems would be worth it.
I was chatting on another forum with a very pleasant Venezuelan chap when they were having their protests last year. The tales he told were jaw-dropping. He, his girl-friend, his mum and pretty much everyone he knew had been robbed at gunpoint, a neighbour just flat out disappeared — didn’t show up one evening and has never been seen since (almost certainly kidnapped, robbed and murdered). Hordes of thugs bussed in from the sticks, given mopeds and truncheons and let loose on anyone who dared to protest.
The place is a hell-hole, and it boils my piss when smuggos like Seumas ‘Worlds most slappable face’ Milne and Jones hold it up as a beacon of hope, blah, blah.
Nothing –NOTHING! — you could offer me would ever convince me to go there. And I’ve lived in Liverpool.
Dan: +1 for the description!
Thank you to Dan and Steve for raising a smile, but Rob wins the thread:
“True Socialism” is like one of those atoms created in laboratories with a lifespan of about 1 billionth of a second.
Inspired and true.
Ecksy: I often disagree with Luis Enrique, but he’s always rational and coherent – unlike you. 😉
Dan
You’re spot on Sir regarding Livingstone – when the [email protected]&tard finally meets his deserved end (which I fear will be far more painless than he deserves) the only thing I will have to say is: ‘Rejoice,rejoice, rejoice’ – I was horrified he was beaten to the title of worst Briton of the 20th century by Oswald Mosley, when the tyranny he served killed far more people.
Also spot on regarding mindless bandwagon jumper Owen Jones, fresh from an enlightening comparison of France and Norway and now perhaps rightly in his default home, the Guardian has been noticeably reticent regarding developments since Maduro took over. It does not take a leap to conclude, however, as Rob does that in standard moron leftist fashion, the narrative will shift to blaming ‘American interference’ and then to a proclamation that what happened in Venezuela is ‘it was too right wing’ – it’s already occurring regarding the Soviet Union and North Korea.
He is consistent Theo–I will give you that. The other two –well you are entitled to your opinion. Except their is something of an inconsistency in making extreme statements to espouse “moderation”.
Although I can understand that a chap who thinks that Camorgueron is the last best hope of the UK might hold your opinions.
“Except there” –mea culpa.
@TimN & TimW
And the loyalty Russian women show to their string bag. Look in the bottom of my sweet friend Galina’s Luis Vuitton (genuine) or her Gucci (genuine) & there lurks her string bag. And regularly deployed.
Van_Patten:
“when the [email protected]&tard finally meets his deserved end (which I fear will be far more painless than he deserves) the only thing I will have to say is: ‘Rejoice,rejoice, rejoice’ ”
I assume you were joking, and I understand your position; but, please, No! I despise Livingstone; but I’d rather leave the tasteless rejoicing at the death of political opponents to the leftists — the leftist rejoicing at the death of Mrs Thatcher struck me as appallingly uncivilised. Let’s not sink to their level.
Ecksy:
“The other two –well you are entitled to your opinion. Except their is something of an inconsistency in making extreme statements to espouse “moderation”. ”
Please could you explain? You have lost this bear of little brain…
“a chap who thinks that Camorgueron is the last best hope of the UK”
But I do NOT believe that, dear boy. I believe only that, as PM, Cameron is the least worst option available – the other being Milicreep. Unless UKIPpers vote tactically, Milicreep will be PM. And then we will, one and all, be scuppered.
“I’d rather leave the tasteless rejoicing at the death of political opponents to the leftists — the leftist rejoicing at the death of Mrs Thatcher struck me as appallingly uncivilised. Let’s not sink to their level.”
That’s precisely the attitude leads to it being a close call whether Milimong gets to win the Big Prize.
The left’s Demonisation of Fatcher tactic has been a blinder. Likewise it’s “The Witch is Dead” celebration. They’ve hung a millstone round the neck of the Tories, they lose no opportunity to add to. They’ve rewritten an entire episode of history as a horror story.
Time those opposed to the left got over themselves & their insane notions of “fair play” & realised politics is a dirty game won by the people who play dirtiest.
For those is the rules.
Theo: Applying the logic of the statement to itself. The middle is best–and you’re a lunatic (a fairly extreme statement) if you don’t agree
Also–we are screwed either way. The least worst, lesser of two weevils bit doesn’t cut it. The UK population is , metaphorically, in the place of survivors clinging to an upturned lifeboat. About to be picked up one of two shiploads of extra nasty and incompetent pirates racing to be the first on the scene. They are both very prob going to cut your dick off Theo. They may give you a choice of sauce before they chop it up and serve it back to you.
Your investments will still go–inflation/stock market collapse/monster bank bail-ins–doesn’t really matter. Ruination is still ruination.
When Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson had their bust up over who paid what in tax, it emerged that Boris did bugger all planning with his income and just paid tax & NI on it while Ken was operating through a limited company and paying dividends so saving himself NI. Even more cyniclally he was being paid a salary that was enough to trigger the year as qualifying for state pension entitlement but not so high that he actually paid any NI.
Bit like that other tax hypocrite Murphy used to do.
@b(n)is
“The left’s Demonisation of Fatcher tactic has been a blinder”
One of my favourites is the re-writing of the coal miners’ strike as having been “the entire UK v Mrs Thatcher”. Do you know how many unions went on strike in support of the miners? Not one. Not one single non-mining union member went on strike. I mean, for f’sake, half the miners didn’t go on strike in support of the miners’ strike.
b(n)is
Though we seem to be coming from the same direction generally, you do seem to have a few blind spots, such as the value of listed buildings…
And again here…. “The witch is dead” struck most of the electorate as in bad taste. By indulging in hate, the leftists alienated many more people than they converted. So when Livingstone shuffles off this mortal coil, let’s show our good manners and superior morality. ‘He was a decent man (insert qualifications) etc…but he was deluded by the illusion of socialism…’
Ecksy:
“Theo: Applying the logic of the statement to itself. The middle is best–and you’re a lunatic (a fairly extreme statement) if you don’t agree ”
But that’s NOT what LE is saying….He says that there is a spectrum from (left) extreme statists (commies) though to (right) extreme non-statists (anarcho-capitalists, eg Murray Rothbard), but neither extreme is correct, and the choice is somewhere on the spectrum.
My choice leans very strongly towards the right, though as a Burkean conservative. You are, I imagine, an anarcho-capitalist, with his brains bashed out. 😉
@Mr E
There is hope for us yet.
The Venezuelan elite is protected by: Hordes of thugs bussed in from the sticks, given mopeds and truncheons and let loose on anyone who dared to protest..
In contrast Plebgate shows Number 10’s guardians are a few overweight, duplicitous and porn-obsessed coppers, and they can be easily neutralized by a box of Mars bars and a copy of Debbie Does Dallas.
“The witch is dead” struck most of the electorate as in bad taste. By indulging in hate, the leftists alienated many more people than they converted”
So what? The left aren’t interested in most of the electorate. They’re not interested in electorates, period. They’re interested in motivating sufficient support to achieve their aims. If dancing on the graves of deceased politicians does so, they dance.
In any case, the people who’re offended last week have forgotten next week. They know this. And they know, keeping hitting the refresh button on the Devil Fatcher, preserves the Devil Fatcher myth.
Theo
I wholly agree. Cameron often it rites, even annoys. However, he leads the only.party not committed to price fixing as an economic tool, the only party that doesn’t talk shite about something misnamed ‘the Bedroom Tax’ etc.
“It shows that he is more interested in pursuing his right-wing ideological agenda than improving the living standards of the most deprived people in the capital.
Aye, and getting people with no toilet paper to subsidise the travel of Londoners isn’t an ideological agenda!
an analogy – good cost benefit analysis does not always reach moderate conclusions, but it does always consider both costs and benefits.
Livingstone’s rant is hilarious, it sounds exactly like one of those parodies Private Eye used to write under the name “Dave Spart”.
Andrew C – Do you know how many unions went on strike in support of the miners? Not one. Not one single non-mining union member went on strike. I mean, for f’sake, half the miners didn’t go on strike in support of the miners’ strike.
B-b-but… Brassed Off and Billy Elliot and the collected works of Owen Jones (aged 13 1/2) was “moved to tears”* by a film about gay and lesbian communists** who supported the miners!
* what a pussy. Crying is for babies, women and Italians.
** I’m guessing more gays were on Mrs Thatcher’s side. But that won’t be made into a film.
I’m with Ironman on this. Cameron and chums may be wets but they have the thundering advantage of not being Ed Miliband + Ed Balls. Call me a (to quote the immortal Chris Rock) “low expectation having muthafucka!” but that’s good enough for me.
^^^^^^
@ Steve — haha. My old man is a labour supporting dinosaur (I like the old git and all but we don’t see eye to eye on this — he thinks I’m a right wing loon) and his union (printers) sent money to the miners and did some solidarity bollocks.
To a man (and they were all men) they were the most socially regressive group of blokes you would ever meet. The idea that their tribe would support gays on anything, ever, in any circumstance is just absolutely laughable.
Dan – yarp.
I grew up in a working class area in the 80’s myself.
Kenny Everett and Larry Grayson might have been popular on TV, but you did not want to be openly gay in a provincial industrial town in those days. Those guys tended to keep their heads down and move to London as soon as they were able to.
God only knows what the miners made of them. There were probably more homosexuals in Mrs Thatcher’s cabinet than in Arthur Scargill’s mob.
Theophrastus
I fully accept that ideally we should not stoop to the level of the Left over Thatcher however in this instance I cannot avoid breaking the normal rules of conduct. I did the same over Soviet/Chinese agent Bob Crow, and was also chastised by some friends/other commentators for doing so.
Livingstone’s taxes nearly drove me to bankruptcy. As a white, male, heterosexual UKIP supporter he basically considered me a latter-day kulak who needed extermination. I will not shed a tear and hypocrisy is the worst vice – I would be dishonest if I said I won’t be on a bender of epic duration for the entire time ‘tributes’ are forthcoming. Would one be remiss in rejoicing at the death of say, Kim Jong-un, Robert Mugabe, the ISIS Leader? If not, then why the deference to Livingstone?
I only celebrate funny deaths, like if Ed Miliband was trampled to death by a pride of ostriches.
Van_patten:
“Would one be remiss in rejoicing at the death of say, Kim Jong-un, Robert Mugabe, the ISIS Leader? If not, then why the deference to Livingstone?”
Because, sadly, Livingstone was elected, however imperfectedly — unlike Mugabe or ISIS…
@Steve
Considering Ed Miliband, I think his most likely cause of an early demise would involve him falling off something or out of something. He just looks the sort who will.
“I only celebrate funny deaths”
Gadaffi was my favourite of recent years*. You know what his last words were when he was surrounded by screaming Libyan militia? “Don’t shoot!”. Still makes me chuckle.
* Bin Laden, of course, was a strong contender. Nothing particularly funny, but a very, very strong sense of “YES! GOOD JOB BOYS!”. That’s why I’ve Zero Dark Thirty multiple times.
“Because, sadly, Livingstone was elected*, however imperfectedly — unlike Mugabe or ISIS…”
But Mugabe’s elected. Repeatedly. Often more than unanimously. For much the same reason as Livingslime.
*They’re all elected, when it comes down to it. By that most important member of the electorate. The Mum of the guard on the palace gate. F##k with her & you’re history.
Van_Patten:
Would one be remiss in rejoicing at the death of say, Kim Jong-un, Robert Mugabe, the ISIS Leader? If not, then why the deference to Livingstone?
Because Livingstone was elected, dear boy.
b(n)is:
“But Mugabe’s elected. Repeatedly. Often more than unanimously. For much the same reason as Livingslime.”
Er…what? Are you accusing the ghastly Livingstone of corrupting the election process? If so, evidence, please.
Theo:
“Because Livingstone was elected, dear boy.”
So celebrating Adolf’s demise would be wrong?
“But that’s NOT what LE is saying….He says that there is a spectrum from (left) extreme statists (commies) though to (right) extreme non-statists (anarcho-capitalists, eg Murray Rothbard), but neither extreme is correct, and the choice is somewhere on the spectrum. ”
Yes–he does say that–and then he says you are nutcase if you don’t agree with him. Not a Golden Mean type statement in my book.
As for Millidick vs The Giant Forehead. I agree that Milli is worse than Cam-ogoron, The difference that makes as near as dammit no difference is no difference. Voting for Mil is the equivalent of rushing to the bow of the sinking Titanic whereas the Cam-arse vote is scaling the stern (always quite popular in the old time Tory party) to get another –? 10 ? minutes of life. The ship of state is sinking. Bankrupt and with millions of dependants promised ongoing money that the pork don’t have. The cold dark waters get nearer regardless of which tosspot gets to be Captain.
Andrew C – he does, doesn’t he? He looks like the living embodiment of why they put safety warning signs on escalators.
Dan – Poor Bin Laden.
His last Facebook status update was. “BRB. Somebody at door. Probably pizza. LOL”
Theophrastus – not sure why being elected makes a difference one way or t’other in whether it’s appropriate to rejoice at someone’s death. Lots of sociopaths get elected.
Generally I’m not a fan of being ostentatiously happy that someone has shuffled off this mortal coil, nil nisi bonum and all that. But there’s the odd exceptional person for whom you can’t help but smile when they’re not alive anymore.
Probably best reserved for loathsome leftwing tyrants like Stalin, Che, and Bob Maxwell though. It dilutes the brand if we’re going to do the can-can over a nasally no-mark like Livingspart. If there’s an afterlife awaiting him, may it be exactly like the socialist regimes he championed on this earth.
Say, if Ed Miliband died tomorrow in a freak accident involving an electric toothbrush and a lightning storm.
Sure, it wouldn’t ruin my day. But I think I’d resist the urge to hold Red Ed is Dead themed street parties. Not out of any moral sense as such. More because Ed Miliband just isn’t important enough to me to hate, and I don’t like my neighbours.
“Er…what? Are you accusing the ghastly Livingstone of corrupting the election process? If so, evidence, please.”
Theo. Read & note what comes after *. Any system is perpetuated to the perceived interests of those it serves..
Livingslime is slime,not because he gets elected but by the divisive tactics he uses to get elected
And you & I don’t see eye to eye on the value of listed buildings because I’m not a conservative. Completely the other thing. If you see the value in an old building, buy it & live in it. Don’t require other people to. Would you prefer our cities were still Saxon wattle & daub?
But I’m not a modernist. I believe elegant solutions are often to be found in the accumulated knowledge of our forebears. I’m just not particularly impressed by miniaturised Graeco/Roman triumphal or ecclesiastical Norman architectures.
Theophrastus
Firstly I accept that my dislike of Livingstone is in this instance somewhat excessive to outsiders and colored by personal feelings – I would point out Thatcher (the celebrations at whose demise we would be echoing from ‘the other side’ as it were) was elected and it’s worth adding that both Mugabe and Kim Jong un are elected (at least nominally) as well which kind of undermines the point.
In response to your valid point about the nature of the lections in questions, obviously it’s hard to prove Livingstone is directly responsible for fraud (although Labour has a long record of fraud, especially in communities from the subcontinent in the last 20 years or so, so he may have been an indirect beneficiary) although it could be argued that by employing thousands of people who didn’t need to be employed in non-jobs (buying votes), providing free transport for ethnic minorities and the unemployed to vote and other measures he could be said to be guilty of ‘unduly supporting’ his core vote but stopping short of outright corruption.
I think the key reason why I despise Livingstone in the context of a malign impact on the UK is that he did more than any other individual to cause people to define themselves in terms of their membership of a ‘protected group’ – be it women, LGBT, Ethnic minorities, the disabled – more than any other single policy (or set of policies) that mindset has proven catastrophic, both in terms of raising the level of hatred in society and clobbering the wealth creating sector with deadweight cost. Add in his less than likeable personality and suspected links with almost every communist tyrant on the globe and you may begin to understand my animus…..
Luis Enrique
Regardless of whether I share your views on any particular issue, you are always thoughtful and thought provoking. It’s an honour to comment on the same blog as you.
Alternatively I could re – christen myself Messi and demand that either you’re removed or I go.
Ironman.
Thanks awfully.
Ironman: you’re an arselicking twat.
If the shit really does hit the fan in Venezuela then I can imagine more than a few of the middle class rocking up here (in fact I don’t know why more haven’t). Mind you, we’re not entirely free of shortages here either: the supermarket was out of the brand of sliced almonds I like and I had to buy a different one. The bloke said they might not get any more in until the next day.
Peter S
I think you’ll find I’m brown-nosing.
Anyway, if anyone.can tell me which idiots allowed Richard Murphy loose on a class of 6th formers.today I’ll give.you £100 paid.for.by promissory note issued. By the Bank of Ironman. That’s as good as cash in the bank.
Ironman – Anyway, if anyone.can tell me which idiots allowed Richard Murphy loose on a class of 6th formers.today
Now then, now then, now then.
Honest to God the man is an ignorant arse.
‘Anyway, if anyone.can tell me which idiots allowed Richard Murphy loose on a class of 6th formers’
Dave Gramsci, Asst Head of Year
If half the Venezuelan middle class come here I’m sure I can put up three or four. Have you seen Venezuelan women?
Please pay the bearer, Mr Interested, the sum of one trillion Zim dollars, in loose chains.
Ironman
Bank of Ironman
There you do, good as my word.
P.S. No way his name is Gramsci!
‘P.S. No way his name is Gramsci!’
No, that was kind of the point.
I am truly disappointed
BTW In response to me Ritchie said he wasn’t “sharing” the name. So I’m not the only one missing the point slightly.
Ironman
re: Murphy is an ignorant arse – True but secondary to the excellent description of him by GlenDorran