My Venezuela experience as head of trading in the region for Cargill. Cargill was/is the leading producer of critical staple ingredients such as flour, pasta, vegetable oil, and rice in VZ. I am not saying I agree with grabbing the dictator, but I did have a front row seat to the damage a kleptocracy did to innocent people. 1. The government took over our "minute rice" facility at gunpoint because we were "gouging" the nation's poor. The government was never able to run the plant. It never ran again. It was returned years later with no equipment inside 2. There are 1000's of generals in the army. They are each given a slice of the economy to loot. The large number of generals made it difficult to organize a coup against the regime. 3. The government opened grocery stores and sold staples below the cost we sold them to the government. In theory they used petro oil money to lower grocery prices. Our regular grocery outlets were forced out of business. When the government demanded we sell them products below cost we simply had to shut down. The populous became ever more dependent on the government handouts. (PS this is the mayor of New York City's proposal. 4. Dollars- We needed dollars to go buy raw materials like wheat from places like the US and Canada. The government would periodically allocate us some dollars that could only be spent for raw materials and freight. Eventually only the local companies that can and would pay bribes got dollar allocations. We had several facilities closed for lack of raw material 5. My employees liked working for Cargill. The office was an armed compound with access to a gym, high speed internet, global communications, and a weekly box of basic staples. Cargill provided a safe and secure environment if only for the working hours. 6. Employees became very close to others inside the apartment building. Going out on the street with a desperate population was not advisable. 7. I needed wood pallets for feed. We tried to export wood pallets to swap for grain. We refused to pay the bribes it would take to export the pallets 8. I once tried to set up a closed loop wheat planting to flour mill supply chain. A. They came and stole all the seed wheat for food. When we tried to ship in seed wheat in containers via US donors there was no way to get it out of the port without it being stolen 9. Livestock- Our feed business completely collapsed. Even if you could raise a pig, you couldn't defend it from being stolen. People with guns were hungry. 10. Employees- In the end my highly skilled team alone with other highly educated people chose to leave. Cargill often found jobs for them in other Latin countries. The regime was more than happy to see the well-educated leave the country. Setting these employees up with high quality stable jobs after fleeing remains one of the best things I ever did in my career. No one remembers millions in trading earnings. This is a short list. In my opinion the first money spent needs to happen now and it needs to be food. The US is already on the clock. The current regime does not care if it starves the population. The orgy of theft will actually accelerate if they believe their days are numbered. VZ should be an outstanding customer of US grown ag products. Rice, bread wheat, veg oil ect. Feed the people first. Jeff Kazin Former head trading Cargill

Terrifying! 🙏🏽

This is how Florida takes control, and I think more cities need to follow, don't stand for it from the start, and warn people of the consequences.

Once again, @ScottJenningsKY is all of us on set at @CNN 😂

RT @PresMurrayState: A big thank you to @ReneeKET and @KET for taking the time to interview me today regarding HB 153 and discuss the large…

What. A. Badass. 🇺🇸

I am so grateful to President @realDonaldTrump (@POTUS) and First Lady @MELANIATRUMP (@FLOTUS) for coming to western NC today on the first official trip of his term. It means so much to those who lost everything in Hurricane Helene to know that they are not forgotten.

The college football playoff committee after these Indiana and SMU performances.

First 8020 thats been washed with #Andyclean soap that I know of….. so that’s pretty cool!!!

Everyone gnashing their teeth about John Deere price increases, layoffs. and jobs moving to Mexico might want to remember the 2021 strike and the historic raises that were negotiated. Did you really think there would be no long term consequences? deere.com/en/stories/feature…

Is Deere's economic forecast for the next few years much worse than they're telling everyone?

A TORNADO EMERGECY has been issued for eastern Caldwell County including Farmersville, this storm is heading for Dawson Springs. TAKE COVER NOW! Large and dangerous tornado is on the ground. #kywx

Cleaning up your life and raising your kid is an absolute W.

We all need a little sunshine in our life, these special little ones have it in abundance! We want to provide opportunities for all kids regardless of the challenges.

Murray State could offer Kentucky’s first veterinary doctorate program under new bill kentucky.com/news/local/educ…

Please join us in congratulating two outstanding members of the Hutson team! John Deere has recognized two members of the Hutson team as experts in the industry by naming them ‘John Deere Service Technician of the Year’ Full Press Release Below bit.ly/3TKpq7d

From all of us at Hutson, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! As we reflect on this past year, we are grateful for the opportunity to serve you and be a part of your journey. Here's to a prosperous and successful new year ahead. 🎄✨

Check out (11) online dealer auctions @bidsullivan and @BigIronAuctions have coming rest of November - December: sullivanauctioneers.com bigiron.com