Remember this?
The headline ran on June 7th in Ultimas Noticias.
Major General Carlos Osorio, Minister for Food, pledged solemnly that the food availability crisis would have ended by…today.
We’ll be expecting your resignation by the end of the day, Felix.
Right?
RIGHT!?
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“I said that because I thought that Uribe, Desmond Tutu, Rey Juan Carlos and the oposición maiamera would make a truce, and moderate the economic war in the months that followed my remark. Well, they didn’t. But don’t worry, because the Fourth Geneva Convention will deal with them.”
If he’s military, it’s “Major” General.
Tabarnacle, you’re right.
Fixed, thx…
From yesterday’s Runrunes:
“No hay en toda Caracas un sitio para colocar los grandes depósitos que varias empresas de alimentos tienen en La Yaguara. La Urbina no tiene espacio ni terrenos aptos. Supe de un enchufado que en depósitos refrigerados tiene millones de kilos desde harina hasta arroz listos para que el gobierno lo saque en noviembre…”
just like jesse chacon right ?
Every broken Chavista promises reminds me of Pedro in Napoleon Dynamite:
Pedro: Hello. … And I’d like to see more of that. If you vote for me, all of your wildest dreams will come true.
Another post of minimal sentences, half consisting of one to two words, with a few sprinkled links and some eye candy. Is this CC-nouveau, designed not for reflection but for Fray response (clicks, perhaps ahead of an advertising roll-out)? Is this *journalism*? Now let’s see how long this comment lasts, as opposed to several previous ones, timing now….
Balurdo-It’s a blog, its free, so if you don’t like it move on
How much analysis can be applied to this subject? Osario made a promise. He failed. Will he be held accountable? When pigs fly.
But, reminders of the regimes failures are still important. We should not let them off the hook. Ever.
Your refund check is in the mail syd…
oh…wait…
(not for much longer though!)
Congratulations, Francisco Toro! No hissy fit today! No perfuming the Fray by erasing comments that don’t laud Monsieur Quiqueau de la Salle of Montreal. (My, for someone who loves to lambaste others, you’re awfully hypersensitive…) Since sustained maturity is a challenge, can we at least have something more in-depth than translated tweets with links, followed by the cut-and-paste of a now-tired video and a flippant comment, aimed at those who observe? Thanks in advance.
Syd = Arturo? I’ve wondered where you went..
De pana no entiendo tu comentario. A ver, deconstruyamos lo que dices. Quico pone una foto de una portada de lo que dijo el ministro, luego pone un comentario sobre su declaración de renunciar de no darse la meta que el mismo ministro se puso. Se tergiversa la realidad? se estan dejando comentarios de lado. Tu lo que eres es un sinverguenza y podría hasta presumir que tarifado. Critica vacia es lo que das.
Hello Syd,
Having been in the receiving side of Quico’s vulgar insults, I do value this blog and I enjoy his writing. I also see great value in the comment section.
With this in mind I would suggest you bury the hatchet to give Caracas Chronicles the best chance.
Thank you, renacuajo for your mature comment. You and I are not the only ones on the receiving end of flippant vulgarities by an unsteady someone enamoured of himself. And by recipients I’m not referring to trolls, nor those who mindlessly post comments.
Yes, I over-reacted to the recent blog developments, not before sensing, as did another reader or two, the bitterness in Juan’s tone over the new direction of CC, the mandate earlier given to him by Quico. That is, a Quico who had said goodbye to CC (and much earlier to Venezuela) to undertake his Africa sojourns. Now taking over the helm, he felt it necessary to expunge comments that didn’t suit him, while throwing together two quickie posts on a blog that has earned its accolades over the years as a place of certain insight, positive and negative, shining best when there is reflection involved. All of a sudden I longed for the reflection that CC had invited during the past year plus, as well as the calm, productive roll-out of posts by several contributors.
As a very long-time supporter of this blog and Quico’s efforts, as well as the magnificent contributions by others, I felt like CC v. X was now hosting the impromptu delivery of a young man in his mother’s basement. What can this senior say, except to note that there’s a vast difference of style and seriousness.
Syd,
One of the things we’re planning as part of the site relaunch is hiring a web developer and a community manager for the site. I have this fantasy where I ask the Web developer to rig up a little script that ensures your comments aren’t shown to me when I’m on the site. It would do wonders for my blood pressure!
I do that automatically, there are a few commentators that I only need to see the name to know I am not interested on the content.
It is an ability I developed reading Noticiero Digital.
I hope your dreams come true, Quico. As for your pre-existing problems controlling blood pressure, ulcers, and whatever, try walking an hour every day. It would do wonders for you.
Talking about maturity
Man the irony in here is pretty tight.
Man, so tight
Stop being a goddam blubbering pansy and try applying that maturity of yours.
I mean holy flipping mackarels, why do you read something that you dont even like and dont consider it “journalism”? are you a masochist or something? do you want to talk about your childhood? are you mad at something? Is it too edgy for you? too “nouveau”?
Seriously dude, chillax.
And then you go complaining about your comments being deleted. Yeah, we all know you are a special snowflake. Go figure.
Syd, with all due respect, seek professional help.
When was the last time one of our public officials was held accountable by the words of his/her voice? Not a trick question, I honestly want to know how long it’s been since that last happened.
AFAIK, never. But with selected voices in Venezuela (and abroad) who tweet, you’ll always find calls for that accountability, including several taking Osorio to task.
And the first part of your sentences is OK because…?
They do occasionally sacrifice a mid-level official. Above a certain level, they become untouchable. They might be demoted, but never prosecuted, no matter how outrageous their failures or crimes. UNLESS that crime is disloyalty to the regime, which is the only unforgivable offense. Ask Raul Baduel.
Give it a bit more time, the deplorable Jesse Chacon was ultimately true to a similar promise, except a couple years late, after they cashed in on a few straight-up-profit Billions in Megaguisos from the Derwick boys and their used Pro-Energy power plants ..
“En abril de 2013 Chacón, aseguró que pondría su “cargo a la orden” si no estabilizaba el sistema eléctrico en 100 días. No obstante, continuó en el cargo hasta este 3 de agosto”.
http://www.el-nacional.com/politica/Jesse-Chacon-destituido-presidencia-Coorpoelec_0_676732362.html
Gotta love when these Mega-Thugs fail miserably.
It’s precisely the lack of food, the long lines, and the annoying electricity/water shortages what is undermining extreme Chavismo, or at least what is now conveniently called by the Ship-Jumping Rats.. “Madurismo”.
Unfortunately such dire necessities are the only striking reasons the majority of Kleptozuela’s ignorant people seem to comprehend. It’s the economy and the apagones, stupid!
Since Pastor “Patria, Socialismo o Muerte” Maldonado is also on the cover we should also demand his resignation since he is such a wreck of a driver to begin with.
Hell, the headline reads “se puso los patines” (he put on the skates), which in F1 driving is not so hot, and is really how his drives have been since…..last race in Hungary managed 4 incidents, 3 “carrito chocon” incidents and another balurderia, cortesia de PDVSA and Venezuela.
The Argentine commentator on Univision Sports used the word “prontuario” in reference to his driving.
Tamaña Mamarrachada
Llevatelo Willi…..
I’ll wager Pastor gets at least a race ban this season, he was extra crazy 2 weeks ago.
I do not agree with Syd’s comment, but I agree even less with your reply, Quico.
Imagine that you are a volunteer of any type (hospital, soccer, museum, etc.). By definition you are not paid. Does that give you the right to do a so-so job or to be rude? Is it money what defines your relationship with your customers?
I don’t think so.
“Volunteers are not paid, not because they are worthless, but because they are priceless”
You are so far doing a “priceless” unpaid job, but it is a job nevertheless….
Hey, Sherlock Holmes has his Moriarty, Maggie Simpson has that baby with the one eye-brow, and I have Syd. We all need someone who makes us absolutely insane for only partly rational reasons!
I rather enjoy you both.
Mr. Toro is not working for someone else here, on a volunteer basis or otherwise. I think some people presume that he and others who post here are, and the insult acts as a corrective to underline the fact that this is not what they call a master servant relationship, but something different entirely. Having said that, as Mr. Toro has himself reminded me on a couple of occasions, it is usually better to just to move on, the glorious but very short lived joy of telling someone who thinks you are answerable to them to f-off, notwithstanding.
It is important we keep a civil tone amongst ourselves and not the forum degenerate into gratuitous Venezuela bashing.
However, deleting posts merely because they prove the authors wrong or contain ideology the admins don’t like will drive your audience away and you’ll be left with only a core group of acolytes, not a good economic model. Most people are here because there is the ability to speak up. I highly suspect if you closed the blog to comments so people could only come and read the content you would see a big decrease in traffic. The comments are what will make this viable economically.
I would like to see the abusers be banned. Perhaps it could be set up so that in order to comment, one has to register with a confirmed email address or authenticate using a Google or FaceBook account to make that enforceable so people don’t get banned and come right back using a different alias.
Good ideas, NYG. And I agree; deleting
postscomments has a deleterious effect. In a much earlier experiment, the Fray was totally eliminated. As a result, the posts gained a self-serving element, and few if any bothered coming to CC; several admitted to purposely having stayed away. As a result, CC realized that there was a symbiosis that needed respect. That symbiosis once again was disrespected the other day, and I thought it necessary to mention it.I think the thing that best weeds out the gratuitous and unhelpful comments is very simple: charging a fee. Not a big one, mind you, even just a very small one because if people want to just bloviate, a paywall will generally keep them moving on.
Uh huh. Look, I’ve seen this a lot. Online communities need moderators, someone that deals with the spam and the low-quality trolling. Low-quality trolling is specially bad, it lowers the level of discourse and you end up with places where everybody goes running to answer the latest chavista bait from a paid troll (protip: They laugh at the rage, it signals your impotence and the bootlickers sure love feeling powerful).
Which goes to another thing, sock-puppets. I advocate zero tolerance for sock-puppets, anybody that makes several alias isn’t interested on arguing on good faith, specially when is done to dodge bans.
The whole premise behind this blog is wrong , it assummes that officials are to be judged on the basis of their performance as public employees , i.e. having regard to their achieving the results which they are institutionally responsible for , Under Populism and chavism thats never been the case , what matters is your loyalty to the supreme leaders , your contribution to their political goals of attaining and holding on to absolute power for ever. sometimes your connection to a faction that is important in the circle of power that commands the maximum political influence. Good performance is not important , see how Vielma Mora was demoted from Head of the tax collection agency to political limbo despite been recognized as a good manager there , Or the puportedly competent guy who once headed the ID and Passport departament and who was demoted from the job for a number of years until his recent return to the same .
Bad performance is never punished , its made invisible , because sanctioning it is like a recognition that someone identified with the govt had done a bad job which of course cannot ever be admitted to , the government ( who partakes of the attributes of the sacred ) makes perfect decision and runs the functions of the state with impecable efficiency . They can do no wrong , they are infallible , omnicompetent and all knowing like the dear departed leader .
We are innocent in thinking that govt officials are accountable for their bad performance under current rules, thats an outdated notion from the theories of liberal democracy , when will be ever learn.!!
lots od self inflicted sarcasm there BB!. sometimes all you can do.
The government (regime in my book) is obviously not going to abide by the more civilized rules of liberal democracy and accountability, we know that, so if we are to be taken seriously ever, we need to make them accountable by the means of the less civilized options of resistance, dissidence, and revolt, simple.
Pacific and otherwise.
No offense intended Luis, any sarcasm in the text was intended at the regime, not at anyone else , my point is precisely the same as yours that officials have to be accountable for their failure to perform the public task entrusted to them regardless of their political affiliation , thats precisely one of the functions of democracy if not the main function , to ensure public officials are held accountable for their abuses and mistakes , where democracy is sabotaged or corrupted and doenst accomplish that task then maybe there is need for something else that will do the job. I think you and I are exactly on the same page on this one.
About the sarcasm maybe you are right , I might sometimes overdo it , it comes from living in country where you feel insulted all the time by the regimes behaviour which causes you to feel an anger you have to repress because there is nothing you can efffectively do to vent it , so sometimes what you write reflects that anger via sarcasm . These blog pages are often full of very raw visceral anger its just that that kind of anger clouds your mind while sarcasm can be combined with a more analytic approach which i guess is what I prefer. !!
My previous comment was also deleted and there was nothing bad in it other than that I expressed my personal disappointment at the signalled direction of the blog’s editorial line. I’m surprised at this approach as the comments section has generally been very open over the years.
But hey, perhaps Quico is wary of any perceived negativity toward the change process.
Nah, I’m just a really bad Community Manager. Another reason we need some revenue: to hire a better one.
Osorio already almost got trampled over for the people wanting to buy chicken once, and the lines are growing even nastier each day. As I have said to some friends, this has been a LONG year.