Excellent answer, and if I see a headline like ‘Russia’s Samara Refinery Mysteriously Destroyed’, it’s score another prediction win for Oracle Kust. The Saudis have piles of cash, and piles of cash can get you mercenaries who can accomplish just about anything.
As for Venezuela, I just finished reading “Things are Never So Bad That They C…
Excellent answer, and if I see a headline like ‘Russia’s Samara Refinery Mysteriously Destroyed’, it’s score another prediction win for Oracle Kust. The Saudis have piles of cash, and piles of cash can get you mercenaries who can accomplish just about anything.
As for Venezuela, I just finished reading “Things are Never So Bad That They Can’t Get Worse: Inside the Collapse of Venezuela”, by NY Times journalist William Neuman (2022). I can’t recommend the book, as the author somehow downplays the huge role of socialism in the destruction of Venezuela, and puts the maximum possible blame on Trump. (Did I mention that he writes for the NY TImes?) Still, he tells quite a few illuminating stories. Interviews with people from Maduro’s inner circle spotlight Maduro’s utter, complete lack of understanding of economics, such as, when he was told how bad inflation had become, his solution was to send soldiers into the stores to lower the price tags on all of the merchandise! Now *that’s* clueless. Apparently, Maduro endeared himself to predecessor Chavez by telling a lot of funny jokes, and by becoming a very skilled politician. The only real job he ever had was a few months driving a bus. He is completely illiterate on all aspects of understanding how an economy functions. He stays in power because nearly all of the professional class and producers have left the country, and the remaining uneducated peasants vote for him out of loyalty to Chavez, who was their ‘friend’. The country is a near-total loss. I’m interested in seeing what evolves next - and also what lessons apply to the trajectory of the US.
Excellent answer, and if I see a headline like ‘Russia’s Samara Refinery Mysteriously Destroyed’, it’s score another prediction win for Oracle Kust. The Saudis have piles of cash, and piles of cash can get you mercenaries who can accomplish just about anything.
As for Venezuela, I just finished reading “Things are Never So Bad That They Can’t Get Worse: Inside the Collapse of Venezuela”, by NY Times journalist William Neuman (2022). I can’t recommend the book, as the author somehow downplays the huge role of socialism in the destruction of Venezuela, and puts the maximum possible blame on Trump. (Did I mention that he writes for the NY TImes?) Still, he tells quite a few illuminating stories. Interviews with people from Maduro’s inner circle spotlight Maduro’s utter, complete lack of understanding of economics, such as, when he was told how bad inflation had become, his solution was to send soldiers into the stores to lower the price tags on all of the merchandise! Now *that’s* clueless. Apparently, Maduro endeared himself to predecessor Chavez by telling a lot of funny jokes, and by becoming a very skilled politician. The only real job he ever had was a few months driving a bus. He is completely illiterate on all aspects of understanding how an economy functions. He stays in power because nearly all of the professional class and producers have left the country, and the remaining uneducated peasants vote for him out of loyalty to Chavez, who was their ‘friend’. The country is a near-total loss. I’m interested in seeing what evolves next - and also what lessons apply to the trajectory of the US.