THE FALL OF THE DONKEY - Part Two

 It is clear that while Maburro  ( the misspelling is deliberate) is gone , that his policies aren't, and the the rather transparent excuse that he was a drug trafficker was just that - an excuse. This is not to say that he wasn't at least turning a blind eye to the trafficking and that he was not part of the drug dealing. But we should note that the Americans have not pursued the drug dealing and have instead turned to the real reason that the Donkey was removed, i.e., oil.

President Drumpf (again the misspelling is deliberated) has very correctly said that the Cubans, Chinese and others have been stealing Venezuela's oil for the last 20 years or so and that he is going to correct this theft and pay Venezuela and whatever he buys he will be  making sure that whatever  he pays goes into Venezuela and not into personal pockets. He is correct, of course.  For too long Venezuela has been ripped off  by rapacious politicians.

But here is where the Americans are running into trouble. They are accusing Maburro & Co. of turning     an entire nation into a massive drug cartel,  Of course we have to wait for the trial of the Donkey and his wife, but even if one-tenth of the charges that we know so far are true, the story is a dreadful one. But (and it is a big "But") Drumpf has left the entire Cabinet of Maburro in place. Nothing seems to have changed  and of the many political prisoners   arrested and  held without  cause other than being opposed to the Donkey, nobody of any consequence is being released. But the new regime has seen it fit to release two dead people together with some 75 out of more than 800 that they ere supposed to free and not counting the many others.

Apart from a change at the top, nothing has really changed - at least, not yet! There is still some hope.  So, keep  holding your breath. 

RELIGION

 There are three main religions in T&T : Hinduism Islam and Christianity.All of these are divided up  by their followers - some more than others, But the best explanation I have ever heard came from  a very good friend of mine - Cleveland Garcia -who died in May, 2022. 

He fell in love with a Moslem girl and married her in 1990 after converting to Islam. When I asked him why he had converted, he simply replied" There are many ways up the mountain but there is only one mountain top.  I love her and changing my religion affect my belief in God." He then added  "All the religions point to one Superior Being - they use different names and different  methods of worship, but at the end of the day they all come down to one thing: they all believe in one Superior Being! It made her happy that I converted - and making her happy was my sole intention: Nothing else mattered"

Garcia lived with and loved his wife for 32 years. Like most married couples they had their share of ups and downs,  but hat he never stopped loving her and she him and isn't that whal life and God are all about?

When I thought about it, I realized that he was absolutely correct!  You believe that you have to go to church (or mosque or temple) every day while I believe that  It doesn't matter. You are going up the South West  side of the mountain while I believe that the North Eastern side is the best side, But aren't we all trying to get to the top of the mountain? The same mountain?

THE FALL OF THE DONKEY - Part one

 Well, the Donkey who was in charge of Venezuela is effectively no more. That most people in Venezuela will be happy to see him go is a given. But (and it is a big "BUT") there are too many unanswered questions, the biggest of which is what happens next? Just about everybody who held some sort of position in Maburro's (the misspelling is deliberate) regime is still there ranging from the acting president Dlcy rodriguez, to the head of national security. So? What is the plan? 

I saw a report on the internet that has not been picked up by other major news outlets which has not repeated, that the CIA had suborned Maburro's security detail about 18 months ago. If true, this could make some sense as it is difficult to imagine that the President of Venezuela could be taken without a shot being fired. 

Of course there are those, who having kept quiet about the Donkey and his misdeeds for years, are now finding their voice over Drumpf's (again the misspelling is deliberate) clearly illegal act should we (i.e. T&T) be worried?

Frankly, I don'i think so. The fall of the Donkey really has no implications for us - unless, of course, there are citizens who are involved in the drug trade. But Drumpf's actions were really mote about oil than drugs. But, we shall see in due course. While our media will play it down, clearly the American media will not.

One thing is clear though: Power comes out of the mouth of a gun!

Happy New Year

 May I wish everybody a happy and prosperous 2016.. For some people 2025 was a hard year full of turmoil. For others, things went well and they ended the year on a high. For still others the year was a 'mixed bag' of highs an. Wherever you were in the mix I sincerely hope that things will be good for you this year,