Foreword by The Saker: from time to time I post something which gets people really mad at me. Today, I am doing “one of those” – a post which will anger all those who support the values of Bolivarian Socialism, of Chavismo and of the anti-colonial, anti-US liberation struggle of the people of Latin America. Before you get personally mad at me and before you conclude that I am a CIA agent, please consider this: I still support the values of Bolivarian Socialism, of Chavismo and of the anti-colonial, anti-US liberation struggle of the people of Latin America! But is that a valid reason to make me deaf or blind? Shall I prefer my comfortable ideological leanings to reality, to facts on the ground?
To those who will say that Catire is making up horror stories and that I am gullible, let me reply this: a very close and good friend of mine, a Left-leaning anarchist, has lived through all the Chavez years in Venezuela and we have been corresponding for all these years. From an enthusiastic Chavista I have seen him turn into a disgusted and disillusioned Chavismo-hater. We often had heated debates, even angry ones (I was defending Chavez the best I could), but he never changed his mind. In fact, totally disgusted, he emigrated to Canada. So while I cannot vouch for every fact and interpretation given below by Catire, I can confirm that 90% of what he says I have heard from my trusted friend (who, by the way, still is rabidly anti-US & anti-capitalist).
Finally, and just as I have done in past controversial reports, I am hereby offering anyone willing to do so the opportunity for a written rebuttal. While I am presenting a testimony which I have reasons to believe is absolutely credible, I am not really “taking sides”, and I therefore am inviting anybody to present both a rebuttal and a different analysis of what is happening in Venezuela.
Also, please consider that my “mission” here is not to defend this or that party, personality or movement. Nor is it to please anybody or to maximize somebody’s comfort zone. What I have tried hard to create is a community which counter-acts propaganda (any propaganda) and which promotes a free and intelligent exchange of views on many topics, including controversial ones. I think that Catire’s testimony deserves to be heard and discussed by all of us.
To those inevitable monosynaptic boneheads who will chose to call me – or Catire – names instead of addressing the issues raised by this testimony I would just say this: please take a look at this blog’s “principles page” and understand that I will never sacrifice the truth for the same of any ideology or ideological position: not of the Left, not of the Right. While I am fully aware of the dangers of the USA re-asserting its colonial domination over Venezuela, I refuse to enter the “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” kind of logic or, for that matter, its derivative version “the enemy of my enemy must be right”. There is a lot of strong evidence that Chavez, Maduro and their supporters committed grievous mistakes in the management of Venezuela. If that is something you cannot cope with, then this blog is not for you.
While it is with great sadness that I share with you the contents of Catire’s testimony, I want to express my sincere gratitude to him for agreeing to write it upon my request.
The Saker
PS: for whatever it is worth, I personally disagree with Catire that “Socialism” is to blame for what he describes. Having seen what capitalism has done to many Latin American countries with my own eyes, I am convinced that “Socialism” has little, if anything, to do with that he describes. I would also add that the internal pro-US 5th column inside the USA never lost it’s influence. As for Uncle Sam, he never stopped using all his power to try to weaken, subvert and impoverish Venezuela. But there is only that much that all these elements can explain and I am not willing to pretend like the local authorities did not make the situation even worse.
——-
Caracas September 6, 2015
How I was personally affected by Chavez-Maduro socialism in Venezuela
First, let me clarify that I am an average citizen – working class, born in the 70s when my country Venezuela was called “Little Arabia”, for the flow of money at that time came through oil. Unfortunately this has changed in the last 15 years.
My family are people who work for a living and sacrifice what little they have to achieve home ownership (acquired in those years before the socialists came to power) and even though today we are employed professionals, there is no possibility of getting credit to purchase property.
I was 23 when Chavez arrived in power and already had an independent life and a degree in marketing. I worked, was independent in almost all my needs, had credit cards and I was able to buy vehicle – a 1998 Opel Corsa. In those days if you had a good job you could go to a credit agency and would have credit or cash in 72 hours maximum. After choosing the model, colour, equipment and going through a short administrative formality you could enjoy your vehicle.
To remember that a guy like me with a salary as an editor at a TV channel (I’m a publicist) could have the “luxury” to have new car is now ridiculous. In 1998 the cost of the car was about the same as my yearly salary, with bonuses in December. I cannot dream of buying a car now, because the prices are exorbitant and the currency devaluations of recent years have ended our purchasing power.
There is no market for new vehicles except trucks and a couple of brands that still survive the onslaught of socialism (Toyota which has plant in Venezuela and make lucrative contracts with the government and Ford also has a plant which has crippled its operations on several occasions due to the crisis). Other brands only exist to sell spare parts (what few are available).
Equally, it is almost impossible to travel abroad, one because of the price, two because the Venezuelan government owes foreign airlines at least US$4 billion (here I leave a link to a Venezuelan newspaper to understand this situation regarding air tickets in Venezuela. Sorry if you don’t read Spanish)
Previously, for example in the 80s when the bolivar was 4.30 per dollar, a trip with my family to the US was no problems. We changed money in the private banking system or in casas de cambio in the street here or in the US. It is very difficult to exchange our bolivars for dollars today because the government controls everything. It is now practically impossible to travel abroad because of cost controls and the raging inflation of the bolivar. Officially the rate is only 12.5Bs per dollar, but it is impossible for normal people to get that rate. The best we can do is change in the black market at around 700Bs per dollar.
When I was a teenager in my residential neighbourhood in Caracas, I and my friends could walk at least 30 minutes at night to a party of friends without any problems or insecurity.
Since the time Chavez allowed impunity for the masses, armed groups of civilians that claim to protect areas roam the streets of the barrios. They spy and use fear to impose social control. He also allowed masses of opportunists and criminals to invade land, abandoned houses and buildings in the name of “revolution”. Housing estates like mine became more dangerous and difficult to walk after 8:00 pm, because after that time the criminals operate with almost complete impunity. Police do little due to various deficiencies and political problems and have basically become inoperative.
For example before Chavez was elected, if you were urinating in the street, drinking alcohol in public or playing loud music to name a few misdemeanors, the former Metropolitan Police (eliminated by the Chavez government) came to call and you were taken to a headquarters where could be detained up to 72 hours, and if you continued to offend sentences were increasing. Now none of that works, if I have a problem with a neighbor for something similar or bad business in any way with the neighbor it can very easily end in blood, since there is now no institution to provide public peace.
Something that contributed to the rise in crime in the big cities of Venezuela was the massive imports of Chinese motorcycles at very low cost. This facilitated criminals living in the slums of Caracas to ride a motorcycle into the city and in 10 minutes they were robbing or murdering down town and then quickly back to their neighbourhood undetected. Impunity is also the queen of insecurity. In every 100 murders just 7 are punished, the other 93 are unsolved, unpunished and are just stored in a police file.
When I was younger in Venezuela an average person like me could go to eat with his family in restaurants every weekend of the month, now you get that “luxury” once a month if you are lucky. To put it in context, the salary of my work is triple the minimum wage of 7,400Bs. My income today is 22,000Bs and I cover only the basic food basket as meat, poultry , spaghetti, milk and general necessities. Previously I would go to the market and buy groceries for a month, and would pay for the services, condominium fees, telephone, electricity, water, sometimes I could also buy brand name shoes, quality clothing and some luxury items. Today in Venezuela it is difficult to find a place where for example you can buy several kilos of wheat flour or milk even if you can afford it.
Before Socialism there was never any shortage of goods, we never had to stand in queues to buy food, let alone that you are now rationed to only two litres of cooking oil for example, or only 4 cans of tuna. Things like that every day make life more difficult.
In my case I survive this because I’m first working with a private foreign client who pays me US$100 a month for assistance in my field of work. With this changed in the black market I have nearly 70,000 Bs but added to my salary that allows me to live better than 70% of the population. If I only had the salary of my work I could buy only food to survive, no personal care products, or other “luxuries”. For example I have to wait three months to buy a simple shampoo, I have 2 in my house and if I do not get another before they run out I’ll be in trouble to wash my hair. It is the same with razors for the face. If I had only my salary, perhaps I could only pay utilities and could not afford a school for my child or health insurance which are exorbitant prices to the average population. Also with my salary I can not go on weekends to the beach, mountain or anywhere because it is just too expensive.
Something that has struck me personally is the fact that almost every month in recent years, another of my friends or family will go to live abroad, and I fear that many of them will never return. I feel that every day our social circle becomes smaller. At almost every meeting of friends, the topic of conversation is where would you go, something unthinkable 15 years ago.
Venezuela was never a country of emigration – on the contrary, it is a melting pot where people were always coming to work. Today we see whole families are broken, children, brothers, cousins, friends all leave. My sister has left, she went to Panama, a country that gave her the opportunity earn some dollars. Here in Caracas there are almost no decent employment opportunities, no security in businesses or housing, and no opportunity for vehicle purchase or vacations for the family. It is estimated that over 2 million Venezuelans have left the country. I have at least a hundred family members, friends and acquaintances who are gone, just 15 days ago the last of my childhood friends went to Chile and we see today there are large communities of Venezuelans in the US, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Argentina, Spain, Peru, England, Costa Rica, Canada, Caribbean islands, etc.
This is something that mentally scars you, just another of the things that you inevitably see wrapped in political problems, which never occurred in our lives before. Only since Chavez came to power in 1992 have these problems eventuated and political divisions among the population were never so marked before either. Members of the political parties Adeco (AD) and COPEI (COPEI), or MAS (MAS) never had any violent confrontation before Chavez began the division of rich vs. poor, adecos vs left. We saw the same high government headed by Chavez begin a political apartheid and a “hunt” for anyone who was not of the socialist-communist thought group.
Suddenly the problems started becoming more serious every day to a point where neighbours, family and friends began conflicting. Every day, political discussions were creating verbal clashes and fights – creating divisions in all social strata. I saw families quarrelling, parents and children going weeks without speaking, feuding friends and even spouses who divorced for political positions. On the street I got to see and attend anti-government marches as the situation became increasingly difficult, riots, clashes where injuries to both sides resulted in death, wounded people, prisoners.
Ordinary citizens who never thought to live by politics have become violent. I have seen looting and fights in markets for food. I had to run away and hide from the police on several occasions just to protest peacefully and it is why many demonstrations ended in violence as each day the government tries harder to prohibit the rights of citizen protest. I know people who are in prison even today for issuing opinions on Twitter. I was threatened for the same reason by civilian agents doing espionage operations on behalf of the government. A person working for the government knew one of my best friends and I was warned prior to the intimidation. I had to throw my phone into a river and change my twitter account, take some vacation days so as to not go to work because I was being followed everywhere. I did not know or think that this could happen to me or my family. I had to alert my circle of family and friends and make an escape plan for emergencies in case the situation got out of hand. It was only because the person that called to alert me deleted me from the “watch lists” of the government that this situation was diffused for me.
The political police operated from situation rooms operated by the national telephone (Cantv) and from the state oil company (PDVSA) which handle calls for the SEBIN (political police in Venezuela), Collectivos (civil arm of the revolution) and they were also advised by the Cuban Secret Police (G2). Still, I cannot talk about certain things like government policies by phone or send messages to certain family members. In my case have a family member who is in the army and this makes things even more delicate. If I want to talk to him personally it must be very low profile so no one hears because in the country there are thousands of “cooperating patriots” who are nothing but spies. They are led by political authorities and report to police or military. Any time the government wants, they can raise a case against any citizen and the courts are illegal and arbitrary. There have even been cases of illegal kidnapping where people are taken and placed in the custody of the state police (SEBIN) or Directorate of Military Intelligence (DIM) without any due process in the courts.
Unfortunately, in Venezuela the law does not matter, because the executive is king in this false democracy.
Also, I was placed on the Tascon lists. These were lists proposed by a Chavista deputy against people who had not signed for Chavez in the referendum of 2003. In that poll, people had to sign the referendum, give their name in full and their ID, thus exposing their intention to sign against the government. I was sacked from my job along with 65 other people including a pregnant woman. Across the country lists were applied in ministries, public bodies and even state banks where, after the referendum, thousands were denied credit. This was all handled through websites and in all public bodies they were looking for names on the list. If you were found to be one of the signatories against Chavez, immediately you were fired.
Also I saw hundreds of marches where public employees were (and still are) forced to march in favour of the government under threat of being thrown out of their jobs. They have compulsory attendance lists, in order to facilitate the coercion, abuse and threats which have become part of Venezuelan daily life because in a country without investment and employment, with little work you end up doing without.
I saw the death, political disease and all the mystery that surrounded the Chavez and Maduro governments which have caused our national disaster.
I could continue for many more pages, but it would be too long to read. What we experienced in recent years (16 to be exact) has been painful, dangerous, sad and traumatic. I’ve seen our people lose freedoms and things that were previously so normal that today we remember jokingly in a phrase that translates to “When we were happy and did not know”. It refers to everything that we did or bought or had and is now impossible to achieve or lost, perhaps forever. The people of Venezuela have lived many things that maybe you there in the world do not understand, we have raised up time and again against the oppression of Chavez and now Maduro (Remembering the uprising that occurred during months from February 12, 2014) and each time have been severely repressed. We have every day lower social and economic freedoms, less political rights.
Fortunately, I feel that the government is on the ropes in terms of popularity. I think the coming election on December 6 there is a light at the end of the tunnel because if we can change the parliament of the National Assembly to the opposition, we can see the beginning of slow changes.
We know all of the pitfalls and risks we have ahead of us, but the country is sick of Chavismo- Madurismo, and as my gray hairs begin to appear I know that if there is not a political-economic change in Venezuela very soon, political violence will certainly return to the streets.
Now I have a young child and I want to make a better country. Now I know how important it is to have a proper democracy because of what we lost.
With the dawn we will see.
Thank You,
Catire
It seems that Saker doesn’t know how work the empire around the world to impose his view about the economy and politics. There are many examples of different ways of how he do it. The last one have been in Guatemala where they obliged the corrupt president Otto Perez Molina to renounce just some days ago. Let’s go Saker, everything that is happening in Venezuela is organized, payee and orchestrated by the Empire, The USA and is using the evil Alvaraco Uribalas, the bandit ex-president of Colombia.
What is going on in Ukraine is also going on in Venezuela. Same villains different set of victims.
Great article. And of course the guy is right – socialism, which is almost as bad as communism, is to blame for this.
This article reminds me of other articles I read that seem to try to critique Chavismo in a way that, to the uninformed, would appear reasonable.
First, Chavismo came into power 99, not 92. I spent 5 months in Venezuela recently (within last 3 years) and I will give my impression. The Bolivar govt. (cabinet level) is competent. The govt. does do a thorough job keeping up with the events in the country. The Bolivar govt. does appear to be genuinely concerned for the people.
There is a fierce and unrelenting opposition that will stoop to any low level to fight the govt. in anything and everything. This opposition does regularly shoot themselves in the foot, also. This opposition made the artificial food shortages and do everything in thier power to discredit the policies of the Bolivar govt. Maduro has his hands full, and his govt. does a good job considering this.
The opposition seems to start to embrace some of Chavismo as time goes by. I even detected some anti-americanism from white right-wingers in Caracas, to my surprise.
God speed Maduro and the Bolivar govt. It is best for everybody the govt. get things under control and the opposition stops making all these problems.
“There is a lot of strong evidence that Chavez, Maduro and their supporters committed grievous mistakes in the management of Venezuela”
No problem, this simply means that there is no limit to perfection: while being far above the Wall Street mafia and the imperialistic USA, Venezuela can do even better than what it did.
In order to gain some perspective on Catire´s story, one might watch the documentary by John Pilger. I watched it recently with my daughter, for whom it was a school assignment here in México. Catire has one person´s view, which conveniently leaves out most of the citizens of Venezuela. The 99.99% of Venezuelans did not live upper middle class lives, travel abroad, etc. This was the cause of the Bolivarian Revolution. They were disenfranchised, illiterate, hungry, and if their skin color was dark, extremely excluded from any access to a decent life.
The socialist revolution taught literacy, using the constitution, so people could know their rights, and participate in civil life. Many people were given the means to empowerment and invested in their communities. During this time, the US government has waged a dirty war, using media, supposedly nongovernmental agencies, and USAID, and many many dirty tricks. There still rages a huge propaganda war and ongoing subversion.
Any country has a tough time reacting to continuous covert subversion. How to keep civil freedoms and rights intact (like a free media) when there are thousands of paid liars spouting a false narrative and stirring up dissent? Especially among those of the upper classes who find their privileged positions threatened? My first reaction, honestly to the humble, sincere narrative of Catire was boo hoo! What have you contributed to your country? How have you helped others? We obviously have different values.
I also grew up in privilege, in California. My dad worked in aerospace, on classified military projects, had a number of patents in rocketry before I was 10. I had an excellent education, swim lessons with an Olympic teacher, tennis lessons, Caribbean vacations. My country has also changed. Things change, get it? That is the one characteristic of life one must accept. Even with a number of degrees at good colleges, I found myself teaching at 3 jobs and doing volunteer work in my 40s and 50s. I lived from month to month. I watched my country go from a `democracy´ to a surveillance state. Any complaints Catire has pale before the surveillance Americans are under.
I worked for Bobby Kennedy, McGovern, Ralph Nader, signed people up to vote, taught literacy to immigrants. I´v worked at community centers, built a school in the barrio with other parent volunteers, built a spiritual retreat center with my sangha. I´v worked on the human rights commission, to see that people with disabilities get services. Most of my work was done for free. I feel an obligation to repay my society for my education, my good fortune. I have, and continue to educated myself. Somehow I managed to study in Spain and Dharamsala. I have, and continue to have a vital, joyous and wonderful life. I care for people. I have chosen to live abroad, because there is no way I can live a middle class lifestyle in California, what with the banks jiggering the cost of housing. I don´t sit around and do the wail-y wail-y. I do my prayers, dedicate myself to justice and enlightenment, sweep the floor, and get on with it. I have discovered so much beauty and joy through service to others. I highly recommend it.
Here are some key phrases that indicate PART of what this person is complaining about:
We changed money in the private banking system or in casas de cambio in the street here or in the US
Before Socialism there was never any shortage of goods, we never had to stand in queues to buy food.
.. whole families are broken, children, brothers, cousins, friends all leave. (All???)
“When we were happy and did not know”. It refers to everything that we did or bought or had and is now impossible to achieve or lost.
—-
Chavez began the division of rich vs. poor, adecos vs left. We saw the same high government headed by Chavez begin a political apartheid (because there were never any divisions before?)
Only since Chavez came to power in 1992 have these problems eventuated and political divisions among the population were never so marked before either.
They spy and use fear to impose social control.
… are thousands of “cooperating patriots” who are nothing but spies. They are led by political authorities and report to police or military
This facilitated criminals living in the slums of Caracas to ride a motorcycle into the city and in 10 minutes they were robbing or murdering down town and then quickly back to their neighbourhood undetected (I suppose this is ONE division that Chavez didn’t cause!)
——
The author clearly never knew his own country, or his own people. The only “we” that existed were people like him: middle class, happy, and mostly unaware of the poverty and crime that existed outside of his comfortable circle. And he STILL divides Venezueal into “we” and “they”, and “they” clearly are awful people who shouldn’t even be in “his” country.
He brings up good points: The failure of the government to improve production, so that the average person doesn’t have to depend on imports which are hostage to exchange rates. The failure to find a productive place for everyone who can work, and the inability to control crime. Those are clear failures. But most of the post seems to be a complaint about the loss of status and comfort, by a person who feels no solidarity at all with “them”.
amen for this testimonial,
I have been living for months in Venezuela, and I recognize totally the reality.
but the true question is to know if the people of Venezuela has Genius or not : can it face its destiny ? is it doomed to vanish, for bing too stupid ?
we gonna see the 6th of december
Geoffrey – Belgium
and no, socialism is not responsible, only pseudo-socialists (everyone can wear a red shirt !!!)
The more I think about this piece, the more I think it is an obvious piece of right wing propaganda about Venezuela. It’s really shocking that someone like Saker would be naive about this. Someone who supports Russia in its anti-hegemon struggle has to be far more aware than most of the phenomenon of the ‘color revolution’ and the ease with which the pro-western upper middle class is coopted, because it easily mistakes consumerism for freedom. The writer of the anti-Chavez ‘testimony’ shows this tendency clearly. Life was good before because I could easily buy the car I wanted and it’s bad now because I cannot.
That’s setting aside the blatant falsehoods the writer extrudes aplenty, such as claims that Bolivarism is brutal but the predatory capitalism that preceded it was not!! The author ignores context too, of course. For example, Bolivarism probably did become more heavy-handed after the 2002 coup attempt. That is one of the reasons that predatory hegemonic ‘capitalism’ seeks to subvert and attack regimes that resist its sway. It hopes to force them towards more heavy handed methods of staying in power and it nearly always succeeds in doing this.
Saker seems to claim that those who support Bolivarism have an attitude of ‘my enemy’s enemy is my friend’ and that we are naive. We are not naive, I think. I have a close friend who held a fundraiser for a niece that she claimed was wrongly held by the Maduro regime. It’s hard to know what to make of such claims. As we know, there are plenty of such claims and ‘testimonies’ about Saddam, Gaddafi, Assad, NovoRussia and – of course – Putin. Nor I think does any ethical person really believe that ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’. Bolivarism is far from perfect. But it does at least provide an alternative model, one which Putin ignores at his peril. Chavez sought to create strong global alliances. He knew that even the most powerful country cannot stand against the Hegemon alone. Belatedly, Putin seems to be coming to some understanding of this, but it may be too little too late. He fiddled while Iraq burned. He fiddled while Afghanistan burned. He fiddled while Syria burned. He seems to be fiddling as the kindling lights up around Venezuela. His fiddling will seem foolish indeed when the Russian Federation itself starts to burn again.
I haven’t visited Venezuela, but you could make similar remarks about Cuba (which I have visited). And yes, I’ve noticed that in socialist countries you end up with a population which has universal health care; good education; but dilapidated housing, for instance. So yes, socialism has good and bad sides. Who knew?
But here’s a similar story about Iran. “I live in Iran. Here’s how sanctions have shaped my life.” Read it, and you’ll find the similarities remarkable. http://www.vox.com/2015/8/12/9126417/iran-sanctions-life
What these countries have in common is not socialism. What they have in common is US sanctions, and an economy which depends upon a exporting a single commodity – oil for Venezuela and Iran, sugar for Cuba – which makes those countries especially vulnerable to sanctions.
My conclusion is that a good deal of the hardship of these people can be laid right at our doorstep. We’re doing whatever we can to ruin their lives. I just hope they never get around to trying to ruin ours.
Yes, we both for sure know a dozen over, of local guys, all with skyrocketed bank accounts, who were personally AFFECTED… by simple policies lately.
Affected yes, by a few Not socialist but mere Income distributing policies made by:
president Lula da Silva
president Hugo chavez
president kirchner – both of them
president Zelaya in Honduras
a few others…
Judging by the loudness of their media criyng… there ridiculously affected to death.
After thanking for the opportunity and for you having a glance to what`s going on in my country for these last 17 years, I can do nothing but to back up catire`s experiences and to 100% agree with your personal position to whatever policies might be in effect in different places.
There is this one thing, though, I feel strongly I must enphasise about and that`s regarding the word “socialism” and how it is automatically translated into that of an idealistic philosophy in your minds. Communism I feel is the system best describe our situation since even that “liberty” we used to have when choosing our own gvmnts by free elections have been stolen from us and a perverse system has been placed instead in order to keep appearances of a democratic process. And it`s been backed up by accomplices abroad, including that of the carter center (in the heart of the empire) and other international institutions when doing the impossible as to not appear seeing even whats obvious and impossible to hide away. The ABSOLUTE lack of propper and balanced national institutionality.
What`s being done to the resources of our people, also, fall into the category of looting. One single example should illustrate it in its magnitude. PDVSA. 17 years ago we were in the world ranking of exporting crude oil and sub-products abroad. Today, we are in the need to buy it from elsewhere possible and I`m not too sure if in exchange for hard currency since our financial arks are plainly empty. Sorry …. they are in RED since the external debt also has grown exponentially out of control.
To wrap it up, and my excuses if extended, the quality of life for each our concitizens has been dramatically reduced as well. Not just because an absolute lack of job opportunities but also by the absense of goods in the market place and the high prices if found. What used to be a normal shopping experience its being converted into a cruel oddisey, where, if lucky, you might end up with a bag of assorted things after a 4 and 5 hours long lines. Sometimes it turns out goodies disappear fron shelves right before you could step in to try it out.
Again, thanks and the best of luck to each one of you !
I noticed that his argument seems very similar to those who oppose socialism in general: emphasis on loss of material goods and the material aspect of life. This echoes all the complaints regarding socialism I’ve heard since high school and even Jr high. Here’s the thing: you can’t take the fancy car and properties with you when you die so why waste time whining about thier loss? There is more to life than how much money or goods one acquires. Just an observation.
How do I get in touch with you to offer a lengthy rebuttal? With links and evidence detailing the exaggerations and omissions.
You must be working for the one tenth of one percent, the CIA, and the oil barons who got us into a war in Irag.
Americans didn’t fall off a corn truck. Your long narrative tells me that your resources are those of the one tenth of one percent and their oil baron minions.
Pay the price of oil you state in the WSJ and be done with it. Greedy people are always trying to get something for nothing.
We don’t need another war. And as you know the sons of the one tenth of one percent never are sent to fight and die. Their law exempt them due to their placement in national defense factories.