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DJI or other drone companies could be the solution to Venezuela’s problems. Almost happened a few months ago.

by rdl 8y ago

cm2187 8y ago
I don't know. These guys arrived in power through free elections. Don't underestimate the economically self-destructive force of South American public opinions.
- clueless123 8y ago
  All it takes for a perfectly democratic country to elect a terrible leader (who will probably erode democracy away) is to have a previous leader not pay attention to the voting masses. Anger is a very bad advisor.
- 2RTZZSro 8y ago
  Never underestimate the influence of ballot stuffing in "free" elections. It happens everywhere, even in the US. This just in from a few days ago: Palm Beach County. The county’s decade-old ballot-counting machines """overheated""" and gave """incorrect totals""", forcing the county to restart its recount of about 175,000 early votes., supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher said Tuesday night. The department has flown in """mechanics""" to repair the machines. * Modern computers don't need mechanics when they overheat. The computer will automatically shut itself off if it gets too hot in order to save itself. All you have to is cool the computer down. That's something even an idiot could do. * https://archive.is/WEwqm https://archive.is/WEwqm https://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article221631215.html https://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article221631215.htm... A few excerpts from the Wikipedia page of the voting machine we use in the USA, "Smartmatic": After receiving funds "from private investors"[11] which included Jorge Massa Dustou,[16] one of the richest individuals in Venezuela,[17] the company then began to expand rapidly. Smartmatic then established its headquarters in Boca Raton, Florida with only seven employees. Bizta was awarded a $150,000 "loan" from Marieta Maarroui de Bolívar – wife of the then-Chavista governor Didalco Bolívar – who was president of FONCREI, the Venezuelan government's organization dedicated to industrial funding. Smartmatic also received an additional $200,000 loan from the Chávez government. The deal with Bizta required the Venezuelan government to own 28% of Smartmatic and placed Venezuela's Head of the Council of Ministers and advisor to Hugo Chávez,[32] Omar Montilla, on Smartmatic's board of directors. After it was reported that the Venezuelan government had been involved with funding and managing Mugica's Bizta for over two years, Smartmatic quickly repaid Bizta's "loan" a month before the election.[29] A Venezuelan government propaganda organization, the Venezuela Information Office, also released a "fact sheet" about Smartmatic, defending the company from allegations at the time.[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smartmatic#Controversy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smartmatic#Controversy
- AnimalMuppet 8y ago
  They arrived that way... but they didn't remain that way. For more than a decade, they have systematically undermined the ability of the Venezuelan people to un-elect them. The last two elections could easily be labelled "non-free".

DJI or other drone companies could be the solution to Venezuela’s problems. Almost happened a few months ago.

by rdl 8y ago

DJI or other drone companies could be the solution to Venezuela’s problems. Almost happened a few months ago.

I don't know. These guys arrived in power through free elections. Don't underestimate the economically self-destructive force of South American public opinions.

clueless123 8y ago
All it takes for a perfectly democratic country to elect a terrible leader (who will probably erode democracy away) is to have a previous leader not pay attention to the voting masses. Anger is a very bad advisor.
2RTZZSro 8y ago
Never underestimate the influence of ballot stuffing in "free" elections. It happens everywhere, even in the US. This just in from a few days ago: Palm Beach County. The county’s decade-old ballot-counting machines """overheated""" and gave """incorrect totals""", forcing the county to restart its recount of about 175,000 early votes., supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher said Tuesday night. The department has flown in """mechanics""" to repair the machines. * Modern computers don't need mechanics when they overheat. The computer will automatically shut itself off if it gets too hot in order to save itself. All you have to is cool the computer down. That's something even an idiot could do. * https://archive.is/WEwqm https://archive.is/WEwqm https://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article221631215.html https://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article221631215.htm... A few excerpts from the Wikipedia page of the voting machine we use in the USA, "Smartmatic": After receiving funds "from private investors"[11] which included Jorge Massa Dustou,[16] one of the richest individuals in Venezuela,[17] the company then began to expand rapidly. Smartmatic then established its headquarters in Boca Raton, Florida with only seven employees. Bizta was awarded a $150,000 "loan" from Marieta Maarroui de Bolívar – wife of the then-Chavista governor Didalco Bolívar – who was president of FONCREI, the Venezuelan government's organization dedicated to industrial funding. Smartmatic also received an additional $200,000 loan from the Chávez government. The deal with Bizta required the Venezuelan government to own 28% of Smartmatic and placed Venezuela's Head of the Council of Ministers and advisor to Hugo Chávez,[32] Omar Montilla, on Smartmatic's board of directors. After it was reported that the Venezuelan government had been involved with funding and managing Mugica's Bizta for over two years, Smartmatic quickly repaid Bizta's "loan" a month before the election.[29] A Venezuelan government propaganda organization, the Venezuela Information Office, also released a "fact sheet" about Smartmatic, defending the company from allegations at the time.[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smartmatic#Controversy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smartmatic#Controversy
AnimalMuppet 8y ago
They arrived that way... but they didn't remain that way. For more than a decade, they have systematically undermined the ability of the Venezuelan people to un-elect them. The last two elections could easily be labelled "non-free".