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'World of Warcraft' Game Currency Now Worth More Than Venezuelan Money (theblaze.com)
schwit1 quotes TheBlaze:
Digital gold from Blizzard's massive multiplayer online game "World of Warcraft" is worth more than actual Venezuelan currency, the bolivar, according to new data. Venezuelan resident and Twitter user @KalebPrime first made the discovery July 14 and tweeted at the time that on the Venezuela's black market -- now the most-used method of currency exchange within Venezuela according to NPR -- you can get $1 for 8493.97 bolivars. Meanwhile, a "WoW" token, which can be bought for $20 from the in-game auction house, is worth 8385 gold per dollar. According to sites that track the value of both currencies, KalebPrime's math is outdated, and WoW gold is now worth even more than the bolivar.
That tweet has since gone viral, prompting @KalebPrime to joke that "At this rate when I publish my novel the quotes will read 'FROM THE GUY THAT MADE THE WOW GOLD > VENEZUELAN BOLIVAR TWEET.'"
That tweet has since gone viral, prompting @KalebPrime to joke that "At this rate when I publish my novel the quotes will read 'FROM THE GUY THAT MADE THE WOW GOLD > VENEZUELAN BOLIVAR TWEET.'"
Really? I know the old saying that even a broken clock is right twice a day. But you couldn't come up with a more legit source than glen beck's propaganda rag?
Try:
http://fortune.com/2017/08/01/...
Imagine all the people...
Widespread desperation and misery in the country with the richest oil reserves in Latin America. Everyone is poor (except the leaders) and it's all the fault of the CIA (or whoever it's convenient to blame this time). And yet, no matter how many times it brings disaster, some people keep believing stories about how spending others' money instead of earning their own will work out good for them.
Unless you can then resell the token for real world currency, good, or services (not limited to some video game which most of the world does not value at all) then the headline is only true for a very small subset of people.
Inheritance is the sincerest form of nepotism.
The CIA has been working hard for decades to destabilize the remaining socialist/communist governments in South America. Looks like they've succeeded in this country at least. Of course, it will ultimately backfire and produce horrific results, as it always does when the CIA goes fucking around with South America or the Middle East. But that's just more fun from the three-letter agency that never, ever learns.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
For anyone interested, here's a good read on the subject. A little out of date now, but as timely as ever.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
The individual UNITS are worth more. But the units are arbitrary and a comparison between units has nothing to do with the value of the currency itself. You can say a single WoW gold is worth more than a Peso, or a cent, or a Rupee, or a Yuan, or whatever you want. It means nothing.
Can you define "leftism"? Some of the most successful economies in the world could be defined as "leftists" if you include social Democrat nations like Sweden and Germany.
The Chavista regime certainly can be defined as leftist, but a more accurate description would be a kleptocracy.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
Right, the CIA. I am Venezuelan. I know how this came to be. I saw it happen. If it wasn't for your signature I would have accused you of being a communism apologist coming up with another explanation that excuses the Venezuelan people for repeatedly and obstinately choosing an administration hell-bent on turning the the country into a communist utopia.
Are you saying the CIA convinced Venezuela to ditch capitalism and embrace socialism as a means to destabilize itself?
My God, it's Full of Source!
OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
How a basically rich country can be driven utterly into the ground by massive mismanagement. Leads me to believe that it all comes down to the people and who they put in charge. As long as people do not start to wise up, we will continue have catastrophes like that. Not that what is going on in the US, the UK or the eastern parts of the EU is any better: Stupid people that believe stupid promises by utterly evil politicians.
Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
It's amazing how every socialist paradise always gets poorer and poorer and it's always the fault of the CIA, even while Obama was president.
You guys should just give it up. The CIA will always be there making your utopian plans fail, no matter what. Every leader everywhere is powerless against the CIA's efforts, and clearly always will be.
If you stick with free markets, the CIA might let you prosper. Otherwise you have no chance. How many disasters is it going to take to learn?
I thought the target was Saudi Arabia. Drive down the price of oil, so that they are forced to dip into their savings and rainy day funds. It might take a few years but eventually they will be living hand-to-mouth in terms of bringing money into the country.
The side effect was that Venezuela also suffered a loss of earnings from the oil industry. There was a national strike, the government punished those oil workers that supported the strike, froze wages and fired experienced workers like geologists. Now with that knowledge lost, the replacements make mistakes when drilling which causes damage to machinery. which causes further loss of productivity. So oil production is in decline.
An international web site called Oil Pro is actually shutting down: www.oilpro.com
Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads
I didn't say the administration was a good one. But if you think the CIA hasn't played a very active role in this situation (as it has in MANY, MANY other coups and economic crashes in the region), you're being very naive. Regardless of the competence or incompetence of the regime, they can make it almost impossible for a socialist/communist government to survive. Cuba is one of the very rare exceptions, and they were only able to do it because they were so stringently isolated and resilient.
It's a leftover Cold War mentality, but the ultimate goal is still to serve the interests of the U.S. dollar and U.S. corporations.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
However neither Germany nor Sweden or other Scandinavian countries would consider themselves "left".
That is just a stupid american label.
Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
I also blame outside negative interference, it always makes things worse, and radicalizes society at all levels.
Who interfered? There are Cubans in Venezuela, but they were invited in, and aren't in control. Venezuela has bad relations with Colombia, but that is because of Chavez interfering in Colombia by supporting the FARC. Both Chavez and Maduro have blamed their problems on American interference, but that is mostly fabrication. Venezuela was kicked out of Mercosur, but their economy was already in the toilet when that finally happened.
Germany? "leftist"?
By European standards, Germany is economically conservative. But compared to America, Germany is "leftist". Like most people, Americans use themselves as the reference point. Plenty of Americans believe their own government to be leftist.
An example of "leftism" you forgot to list would be taxing the citizens to bail out failed investments by corporations. Oh wait!
Wonder who is the "kleptocrat".
Leftism is the idea that government can be used to solve practically any problem.
That's not correct, but let's go with this for now. By extension then, "rightism" would be the idea that the free market can be used to solve practically any problem. Let's see how this solves the problems you posted:
Are there people who are hungry and can't get food?
They have to offer something to the free market; otherwise they can't buy food for themselves or their children. If they can't offer something (maybe they're sick, too young, lack skills, or maybe the market isn't in a great state) they starve and the problem solves itself - no more hungry people!
Are there people who can't afford housing?
The free market solves this problem easily: homeless people can either die or, as an alternative be jailed in for-profit prisons for loitering, sleeping under bridges, and so on. Either solution solves the homeless problem in a nice market-driven way.
Do you really think the free-market solutions to your problems are better?
Almost all Leftists are Klepotocrats.
That's... rather silly. You may as well say almost all rightists are oligarchists, and they long to be led by a handful of billionaires - who are obviously their betters, or else they wouldn't be billionaires, now would they?
To be fair, von Bismarck (it's an old name and predates the modern "mark" spelling) intended to suppress socialists that way.
Of course. I was being sarcastic when I called him a liberal. But the reasons for his policies are not what is important. What is important is that they worked. Germany was socially stable and prospered. In fact, they did so well that by 1914 the Germans felt they could fight the whole world and win.
"It keeps happening over and over. How does "hoping" it might work out differently make sense?"
It seems the CIA interference in Syria has stopped since Trump is in power. When I used the word hope for Venezuela I meant I hoped Trump would curb that too (if he was the one responsible for the CIA exit from Syria but I'm not holding my breath and the CIA exit from Syria may have simply been because it's become obvious to enough people that they were a liability).
"It seems like the only choices that work out at all are the ones the CIA bogeyman won't mess up: free markets and elected governments"
They've messed up elected governments and markets, when you have access to weapons and funding it's easy to mess up the free ness of markets, and when you add to that 'economic sanctions' you can cause serious harm.
No mate, this is all conspiracy theory. Venezuela is walking the same worn path that all communisms have walked. First it starts with the idea that you will create a new sort of man: the socialist man, a mythical human that is no longer interested in its own well-being or individual achievement. This is accompanied by mass expropriation of private companies, you know, to give them to the people. Then officials start shouting accusations of economic conspiracy when a large chunk of people with wealth and businesses decide that this project clashes with their values and interests, and leave. Capital controls are subsequently enforced to prevent the remaining wealth from leaving the country. Price controls are put in place for staples and other basic products because the unemployed population has become so impoverished that they can no longer afford them at market prices. Scarcity ensues. People who complain and blame the communist regime for the deteriorating situation are accused of working with the enemy to destabilise the country, prosecuted, imprisoned or killed because they are not walking the Party line. I was there, I saw all of this happen. You blaming the CIA is just regular American conspiracy paranoia, nothing more.
Point is they are in no way left. Germany us right now ruled by a big coalation, CDU, a conservative right party and SPD, a slightly left from the center party.
The countries you mention have strong social nets, that does not make them left.
It is just your label and in comparission to countries that have 'left' parties or even governments completely missleading.
Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.