Well, Maduro is throwing in jail or banning from office anyone who seriously challenges his rule by decree.

This is coming from a Venezuelan, by the way

Or are you calling Jimmy Carter a liar?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-kovalik/us-must-recognize-venezuela_b_3103540.html

"In short, the observers' experience this past week aligns with former U.S. president Jimmy Carter's observation last year that Venezuela's electoral system is indeed the "the best in the world."

You may have legitimate issues with the strong arm tactics of Maduro and Chavez before him, and their reactions, (or over-reactions) against the international moneyed elite multi-faceted attacks on their attempts to slow the unhinged redistribution of wealth upwards over the last century in their country. But please don't compare the election system that allows international observers and oversight to a much much higher standard than the USA to that of North Korea.

in the first place.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/18/us-venezuela-politics-idUSKCN0PS0P020150718

- Venezuela bans another opposition politician from holding office

Kim Jong-um won with 100% of the vote.

I imagine that the supreme leader must be quite disappointed.

...it could be 103%

Technically the doctrine is "Juche", or "Self-Reliance" a very Nationalistic, doctrine the rejects the concept of a revolution of all of the workers of the world (The heart of Marxism). It is based on the extended family not class.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juche

Within the North Korean Government you have a complex system of classifying people, only 25% of the population are trusted, 50% is considered willing to support ANY government (The present government or even the South Korean Government), and the remaining 25% is considered hostile to the present government of North Korea:

http://newfocusintl.com/north-koreas-hidden-power-system/

http://www.brookings.edu/research/testimony/2003/06/05northkorea-oh

"Hereditary dictators" are by nature nationalistic. They are good at controlling their own people and opposition but know that the rest of the world is a potential powerful threat to their longevity. Hence, their emphasis on 'non-interference' by others in their internal affairs.

lack a sense of humor or irony

Last edited Tue Jul 21, 2015, 09:15 AM - Edit history (1)

At first look it did NOT look like an American M109 Self Propelled Howitzer. While I operated towed 105 Howitzers I did work with the M109 at times and while the overall configuration is the same as the M109, the details were wrong. I then looked at British 155 SPs, and they did not match, then I looked at Soviet SPs, and found what I was looking for.

Since the end of the Cold War, the Russian Army has "downsized" tremendously. While a replacement for the 152mm howitzer was on the board in 1989, it still has NOT replaced the 152mm in the photo. The main 152mm Howitzer of the Russian Army today is the one shown. It is a good SP Howitzer. The former Warsaw Pact Nations traded in a lot of them for Western Howitzers, more to be compatible in ammunition (and that the US was giving away M109s as part of its modernization program, as where the Germans). Poland still has a lot of old Soviet 152mm but is slowly replacing them with new 155mm SP howitzers.

Thus a lot of these old 152mm howitzers are around, but in poor shape except for use as monuments.

nt

I've heard people who left the country have gone back into North Korea to vote, because if they don't their family could be rounded up.

I do believe that people are given a choice in the election though.

"you may drop your ballot for Kim Jong-Un in this box, or if you would like to vote against him you may hand your ballot to that group of men with AK-47's."

Jong-un simply manages the house and wrestles mountains whie granddad is busy fighting aliens with his burning laser-vision.

and the result is a "voter turnout" ...

North Korea figures out who DIDN'T go and the result is a "death toll."

It's not just lies, but they're like Trump-style lies. So outlandish and ridiculous that you have trouble figuring out how they even live with themselves.

Ours are much slicker, harder to be sure about.

like the people who didn't show the appropriate amount of weeping or sorrow for his father's funeral parade.