president Maduro captured after US strikes

[WallFlowerActive]

Punish Venezuela for it's pro-Palestinian posture?

Hezbollah has a presence in Northern Mexico and for some reason that doesn't come up very much.

Looks like you are posting the US isn’t taking enough action against Hezbollah.  

The US has to start somewhere.

Talk about just posting something without qualifying and quantifying for cheap assurances.  

By your logic, the terrorist group Islamic State has a presence in the UK.

2 men found guilty in UK of plotting Islamic State-inspired antisemitic terror attack
 
https://jewishchronicle.timesofisrael.co...or-attack/

Prosecutors told jurors that Saadaoui and Hussein had “embraced the views” of Islamic State and had a “visceral dislike” of Jewish people.

I don’t think terrorists worry about if you are a card carrying member as long as you commit to jihad.

[Solvedit]

It has never really been a problem for any other US President, or state politician, either. Trump made it all up because he knows that paranoid racists will vote for him, and a lot of Americans live in fear of 'the other'.

The truth is, it is impossible for a small-numbers lower-economic non-military group within a country to overtake an 'armed-to-the-teeth' massively numerous and mostly wealthy population.

You're on crack. Who said invasion? More like 20 million new net debits no one invited, producing political and social change like setting aside portions of the country as "theirs" just like the deep South, by simply not cooperating.

To ze true Nazi, all who are not as extreme as zey are, even ze very centre-reich-wing, are communists.


Only once ze drugz from Greenland haf been stopped, ve vill be free unt it vill be safe for our frau unt our kinder!

Oh, are we still mixed up about the Nazis being far left?

That is because everyone was trying to achieve free trade. That's trade without governments grabbing for a piece of the pie, where prices are set by market forces.

You're badly mixed up. The US paid tariffs to export goods but charged practically none.

You'd think that big government control over markets and trade was more of a repressive communist sort of thing to do, rather than a free capitalist one?


But manufacturing can't start from zero. You need plant and equipment and raw resources, most of which the USA does not now have after it moved to a services and intellectual property economy some decades ago.

But other countries have those basic ingredients. Easy, then, just buy what you need, ohhhh...

So you can't start a manufacturing businesses in the USA now because everything you need (and you need just about everything) is just sooo damn expensive! And wages are so damn high even if you could afford to kick it off... What idiot organized this?

Sorry, more poorly researched sound and fury from the Chronaut. The US was the world's largest manufacturer until a few years ago and they are still close to China. Plus, they have a populace with investment capital and companies which are able to borrow money. Wrong again.

Yeah, you have gang issues and crime. Everywhere does. The difference with you is that everyone is armed, the good, the bad, the suicidal and the insane.

You see, up until Trump, you apparently had police that consistently sorted out almost 100% of crimes.

And, failing that, the FBI is set up with offices and agents all over the US just to fight crime, and they can take precedence over local investigations and policing. Why not send in a task force or to to deal with real and actual crime?

Perhaps it is because the FBI and state police are both saying that crime has, on average, greatly reduced since the 70's, and even since last year, yet that contradicts what Trump keeps bleating to his sheeple.

Trump keeps feeding those paranoid fears... You neeed to be directed and pushed around by armed officers, it's for your own good.

I can only conclude that you are cherry picking comments out of context. I haven't been exposed to the propaganda you seem to think goes on here. Perhaps he was talking about a specific city? I recommend more careful research and less vitriol.

[chr0naut]

You're on crack. Who said invasion? More like 20 million new net debits no one invited, producing political and social change like setting aside portions of the country as "theirs" just like the deep South, by simply not cooperating.

The deep south was where all those slaves that were shipped in, against their will, and then because they had no income when slavery was abolished, they remained where they were and lived as some of the poorest in the USA for decades. Those areas remain quite economically depressed.

Oh, are we still mixed up about the Nazis being far left?

No, Nazi's are extreme right-wing, and Communists are extreme left-wing.

You're badly mixed up. The US paid tariffs to export goods but charged practically none.Sorry, more poorly researched sound and fury from the Chronaut.

The history of U.S. tariffs can be divided into three main periods, each with distinct objectives and impacts on trade policy.

Revenue Period (1790–1860)
Purpose: Primarily to raise revenue for the federal government.
Tariff Rates: Average tariffs increased from about 20% to 60% before declining again to around 20%.
Key Legislation: The Tariff of 1789 was one of the first laws, aimed at generating income and protecting nascent American industries.
Restriction Period (1861–1933)
Purpose: Focused on restricting imports to protect domestic producers.
Tariff Rates: Tariffs were used to shield American industries, particularly during the industrialization phase.
Notable Acts: The McKinley Tariff of 1890 raised tariffs significantly, while the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 increased tariffs to protect jobs during the Great Depression, which many economists believe worsened the economic downturn.
Reciprocity Period (1934–Present)
Purpose: Aimed at reducing trade barriers through reciprocity agreements.
Tariff Rates: Generally lower than in previous periods, with a focus on free trade agreements.
Impact: The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) established in 1947 aimed to promote international trade by reducing tariffs.
Recent Developments Leading to 2025
Pre-2025 Tariff Environment: By early 2025, the U.S. had seen a significant increase in tariffs, particularly under the Trump administration.
Average Tariff Rates: The trade-weighted average tariff rose dramatically, reaching levels not seen in over a century, with estimates around 24% by 2025.

The US was the world's largest manufacturer until a few years ago and they are still close to China. Plus, they have a populace with investment capital and companies which are able to borrow money. Wrong again.I can only conclude that you are cherry picking comments out of context. I haven't been exposed to the propaganda you seem to think goes on here. Perhaps he was talking about a specific city? I recommend more careful research and less vitriol.

Yes, the US was the worlds largest manufacturer, however, about 2006, US manufacturing began to contract sharply, leading to imports into the USA exceeding exports from the USA.

World Integrated Trade Solution (WITS)

[UltraBudgie]

I wonder if she wants to be a part of Trump's oil grab shitshow.

Oh this is hilarious. Perhaps this is the real reason Trump's support of Machado "faded":

After Machado Offers Her Nobel, Trump Says It Would Be an ‘Honor’ to Accept It

President Trump indicated that he would meet the Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado. Last year, she won the Nobel Peace Prize, an award he covets.

President Trump indicated on Thursday evening that he will meet with María Corina Machado, Venezuela’s opposition leader, next week in Washington, after refusing to support her to lead the country following the U.S. seizure of Nicolás Maduro.

Ms. Machado has tried to ingratiate herself to Mr. Trump and earlier this week offered to give him the Nobel Peace Prize she was awarded last year. Mr. Trump has long coveted the award.

“I understand she’s coming in next week sometime, and I look forward to saying hello to her,” Trump told the Fox News host Sean Hannity in an interview at the White House.

Ms. Machado led a successful election campaign in 2024 against Mr. Maduro and had the greatest popular legitimacy to lead the nation, but Mr. Trump has said she doesn’t have the necessary support or respect within Venezuela to govern it.

On Monday, Ms. Machado said on Fox News that presenting the prize to Mr. Trump would be a token of gratitude from the Venezuelan people for the removal of Mr. Maduro. She had previously dedicated the award to Mr. Trump.

Mr. Trump said in the Thursday interview that “it would be a great honor” to accept the award, adding that it was “a major embarrassment to Norway,” where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded, that he had not been given the prize.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/09/world...prize.html

Looks like she found the right ticket to get back aboard the Trump Train!

[quintessentone]

Oh this is hilarious. Perhaps this is the real reason Trump's support of Machado "faded":

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/09/world...prize.html

Looks like she found the right ticket to get back aboard the Trump Train!

Don't you find that disturbing?

[UltraBudgie]

Don't you find that disturbing?

I mean, I guess he could have bombed Cambodia to get one. Would you have preferred that?

[quintessentone]

I mean, I guess he could have bombed Cambodia to get one. Would you have preferred that?

I was questioning you as to whether or not you find the fact that your leader can so easily be bought via stroking his ego is in any way concerning to you. I know it would be to me.

[UltraBudgie]

I was questioning you as to whether or not you find the fact that your leader can so easily be bought via stroking his ego. I know I would be.

Well like I said I found it pretty obvious that it was always going to be Machado, if not as president as chancellor or territorial governor or whatever. Her policies obvious align with the State Department. The game of "oh no, she doesn't have their trust" is manoeuvring, and there's many threads in play; note that the oil companies, who were consulted before this little venture, have been drawn back and are meeting at the White House today, obviously some concessions in the form of structural alignment are going to be extracted from them, which this "uncertainty" about who and how the colony will be governed has created. It's by no means as simple as a one-angle analysis might present.

What is hilarious is that Trump, as a transactional manipulator beholden to his ego, has managed to somehow extract himself a Nobel while juggling all this agenda. Now that's America!

[quintessentone]

Well like I said I found it pretty obvious that it was always going to be Machado, if not as president as chancellor or territorial governor or whatever. Her policies obvious align with the State Department. The game of "oh no, she doesn't have their trust" is manoeuvring, and there's many threads in play; note that the oil companies, who were consulted before this little venture, have been drawn back and are meeting at the White House today, obviously some concessions in the form of structural alignment are going to be extracted from them, which this "uncertainty" about who and how the colony will be governed has created. It's by no means as simple as a one-angle analysis might present.

What is hilarious is that Trump, as a transactional manipulator beholden to his ego, has managed to somehow extract himself a Nobel while juggling all this agenda. Now that's America!

Trump doesn't get the fact that Machado's values and goals render that prize meaningless to her, that does not take away from the fact that she earned it. Trump doesn't get that, that it is earned. I'd be very concerned how easily Trump is bought.

[ElitePlebeian]

Hundreds of political prisoners have been released;