Special Ed says:

They don’t have Hummers there?

pedro says:

#17 Here’s what happened in Venezuela:

- After the last dictatorship (the current one doesn’t count) which was bent over backward in creating a solid country, the momentum stayed 10 more years, with public offices being manned by very competent people, the best on their fields of expertise.

-There was a high national pride.

- There was a lot of controlled European immigration (this also happened during the 50′s dictatorship).

- There was a lot of cultural & economic exchange with other countries.

- There was a lot of social development. This came thanks to the effort a lot of low-income parents did to make their sons & daughters have university education and, of course, there were plenty of jobs.

- Middle class began it rise, driving all aspects of the economy..

After those 10 years, things started to go south:

- People started being put on public positions just because they were registered in the party that won the election.

- Unabated illegal immigration mainly to get cheap votes making the slumps vanished by the 50′s dictatorship (which was eliminated by creating jobs & building decent housing) raise & flourish

- The loss of pride people had in their jobs.

- The sense of entitlement that the kids from those who lived and worked in the 50′s and 60′s started to nurture by losing any hint of professionalism and just looking for a quick buck, which was contrasted by the sense of entitlement that those who went into power (mainly from low-income, poor education background) had, making them treat public office as their personal “hacienda” (ranch). They just won the lotto by being put in a public job post.

- Anyone with real education & principles was seen not only as a nuisance, but as a hurdle and a burden, to be ridiculed & eliminated.

- Economy started to fall, middle class began to disappear, etc.

Do you know any place were this happened?

Phydeau says:

I have an acquaintance who is from Iran and still has contacts there. She said that in general the government makes it hard for citizens to contact the outside world. She also said that on Sunday they just cut off international phone service, no explanation. So apparently they’re feeling the heat…

ECA says:

NOW I wonder why the USA wishes to ban guns..

pedro says:

#26 We used to be. Not any more.

Like you, I cannot find a place were you can say “here, finally a place to live in peace”

SimonSezz says:

First the full body scans at airports and then this, the world is getting a lot more similar to the movie Total Recall.

frame_hate says:

#7 & #9

Believe me, I have NO love for Iran. I’m old enough to remember the hostages.

But one of my pet peeves is “the lie that’s good for you”.

Impacts at 2X speed are much more shocking as any film maker knows. If was recorded at 15fps and now played at 30fps thats an honest mistake. But the time counter should show a 1 second advance every 1/2 second.

pedro says:

#34 Usually, when protesters have no external help & you have a repressing government, protesters have no guns.