Wise words! Happy to hear that you also were a fan of Gonzalo. I got hooked to his videos just a week after the Russians started their operation. RIP Gonzalo Lira
I'm glad that you enjoyed the video. Yes, I was a longtime listener as well. Gonzalo was a great content creator. His delivery was always straighforward and to the point. His topics were interesting and although he did it all off the cuff, his videos were always coherent and never rambling. I wish he would have left Kharkov after the first arrest, and moved to Poland or Hungary to continue his posting.
@@rullangaar It is, including the missing people, the banning of opposition parties, the control of the media and the attacks against the Church. Only Pinochet wasn't a crazy warmonger.
Given his very evident rapid physical decline on camera before us, I suspect Gonzalo was terminally ill and knew he didn't have much time left. So he chose martyrdom.
You have a point. At the end he looked unkempt and haggard, and he was lighting a new smoke as soon as he finished the one in his hand. He may very well have been gravely ill.
Super hot here today and tomorrow in Encarnacion, Biblical heat is coming! As far as living here my take is this. Arrive with your own wealth, don't come if you need to work or open a business. Rent don't buy property here has become overpriced like most other places but rent is cheap. Buy a solid used car and make sure the headlights come on every time the key is turned. Banking here is easy but really no need with money apps so prevalent. Everything becomes easier if you have the permanent residency cedula. The less you try and do in Paraguay the happier you will be. In regards to the 3 months of scorching heat; plan on visiting another country with cool climate those months. Oh yeah and learn to speak Spanish before you come and I mean conversational level not just Hola, and cerveza. That's my 2 cents worth from my years in Paraguay.
Not so fast. South Dakota is another colony of the M.E. entity with Kristi Noem signing a harsh antitermitism law for a community that can be counted in the dozens pro'ly.
For all us citizens (America is a continent, not a country) going to live anywhere in the American continent, try to remember that you come from a place with something called Monroe doctrine which claimed unjust rights over the hole continent, many governments were overthrown for the interest of business like the infamous Chiquita Banana. You are not personally to blame for the actions of your state, but those actions have hindered the possibility of development in our countries. And I'm choosing my words carefully. Other than that, you are most than welcome to come (I can only speak for my country).
The only thing your incorrect about is America. I would not disparage anyone anywhere by naming them after their continent, with the exception of Australians, for obvious reasons. I'd never refer to Brazilians as "Americans" or Vietnamese as "Asians", even though technically, they are. Unitas Estados Mexicanos is the United Mexican States, and they are therefore, Mexicans, not Americans. That's why U.S. citizens are called Americans. It's the only country in the the continents that carries the name America, which incidently and pertinent, was given to the western continents by Europeans. It's a straw man argument that does not exist. Just like saying that "real Indians live in India, not the U.S." The real Indian name for their country is Bahrat, not India. The Europeans who travelled to the U.S. were looking for Indonesia. We speak English, and the name just stuck through inertia, language, and the fact that the inhabitants had no unified name for the place. I've an Idea, but of course, no proof the mound of garbage virtue signaling this thought was plucked from is from Chinese ( not Asian) marxist propaganda as they are currently involved in telling native Americans of both continents that they are "brothers" to the Chinese, and the continents belong to them, Chinese included, and not anyone historically from anywhere else. As if all Asians come from China, which is just plain not true, and I'm sure they do not include those Asians from Bahrat in that line of thought. In any case, North American historical ties, for example, are more connected to Siberia, and nowhere near China. Do what you will, but no one in the Americas should be calked anything but the polity and group they identify with.
First time I see your channel. What got my attention was you mentioning Gonalo Lira. You are right, Mike, even in our own countries, going from one province to another or to a different city, implies to "follow the procedures", as you say. I watched several Lira´s videos on the war in Ukraine, and since the first time, I told to myself "very good video, but..what is this guy reporting that way there directly in Ukraine?, Having an american visa, He could go out and maybe report the same way from a different location, not there, because He surely ised digital reports, no need to stay there. It was dangerous from the very fistrt moment when war started. So sad how He tried to scape, and did not get-it.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video. I agree with you. After he was released by the Ukrainian Secret Police the first time, I expected that he would leave, and continue reporting on the situation secondhand, from Poland or Hungary maybe. But he became more famous, and he was appearing regularly on other podcasts as a guest. So I think it inspired him to continue on, and led to him making the terrible choice to stay in Ukraine.
Always amazed me that Lira would continue to post content that his new host country disliked. He even talked about visits from the police about his activities. Then apparently after being arrested and finally out on bail he decided to motorcycle across the border. In a war zone. Truly sad.
I liked his content. I think that, unfortunately, he let the fame and the views go to his head. The SBU had arrested him, and warned him about his posting. I couldn't believe it when he went on with his posts, but actually increased his presence on other channels
He loved Ukraine, it's people and was deeply conserned about the direction it was going......he tried to wake people up to the dangerous influence of the USA after seeing multiple countries fall into destruction. He wanted to help and it cost him his life.
As a journalist that is the job. Posting or publishing content that alerts you, the listener/reader to the corruption or other nefarious goings on at the behest of the government. He was doing his job.
Gonzalo Lira died in Ukraine prison of pneumonia. Ukraine's tyrannical government tolerated him only because they had bugged him and were hoping people in Ukraine against the war would contact him. Such peaceniks would be arrested. When no one of value fell into their trap, they simply arrested Gonzalo because they hated him for mocking Zelensky and the Ukraine war effort.
You make some good points. What I noticed with Gonzo was that the government let him get away with being critical in video after video. But in one final video he criticized the American president. THAT was the video that landed him in prison and his death. I always wonder why he was so determined to be the suffering martyr. That’s what he finally got by his own hand.
Yes. He flew way to close to the flame at the end. After he got rolled up by the SBU the first time he should have just left the country as he was a market man.
Good common sense advise.!!! Lira's second and decisive mistake I believe was to broadcast in real time where, when and how he was eluding Ukrainian authorities and his destination, Hungary.
I remember when he was first arrested by the SBU, and many people thought he was faking it for views. Some big name content creators actually made videos doubting the story and calling him out. When he was released, he was suddenly in demand on alot of channels. I think the fame went to his head, and caused him to keep up the risky behavior.
Nobody in their right mind would, after having been picked up by the SBU, turn right around and do exactly the same thing that got him arrested in the first place. That's just nuts. For the sake of ones own family, and I'm to believe he was married, would one do such a thing. Unless of course it was all fake. And above all nobody with any sense broadcasts their intentions. That's just stupid.
MIke...just dicovered your videos, I am an American, have lived in LATAM since 1994, Mexico and Brasil....currently living in Foz de Iguaçu....my Wife, Brasilian, is studying over the river in CDE...and we are thinking of poniendo nuestro ranchito in Paraguay...would be really interested in tapping into your insights n the future if possible, would love to have a way to directly contact you. Cheers Joe
Doug Casey talks about this while living in Argentina. Don't go to another country to take advantage of the increased freedom and lower cost of living, then cause trouble specifically political waves. I agree the new Lido bar just isn't the same since it moved from Calle Palma and now has less a 50 dinner feel to a much more modern. The location in Villa Morra still pretty good!
Yes, there have been a lot of changes here over the years. Most good, but some sad. I miss the charm and the ambiance of the old Lido Bar downtown. It somehow gave me the vibe of eating in an old diner from the 60s or 70s back in the States. But time marches on, and Asuncion is growing and getting better by the day.
God Bless Gonzalo and may He Rest in Peace. Positive vibes to his Father, Children and Family. I watched him very extensively during the Special Military Operation that started in 2022. He should have left Ukraine and commented from another country. It was insanity for him to comment like that while in a NAZI country with a very ruthless Secret Police. I am Romanian living in the USA, when I used to go back to Communist Romania to visit in the 70's and 80's, it was unheard of to speak out against that government while in that country or abroad if you ever wanted to go back and visit or have contact with relatives. Back in those hardcore communist times, they would just arrest you, put you in a cell, give you "RADU" and then let you go like nothing happened. 1 month later you were dead. "RADU" was a radioactive brick obtained from the USSR that they would put in the top of a cell to irradiate you with a lethal does to Nuclear radiation.
Gonzalo had a big chip on his shoulder. Seemingly logical, in one or more interviews with other UA-camrs (Lazerpig i think), Gonzalo's emotional, irrational side shone through. He despised the west, U.S., probably from all the meddling it did in his (home) part of the world, South America. So he vilified anything the West touched, and idolized anything Eastern (Russia, China). What he didn't realize is that in that part of the world (Eastern Europe), Russia is the big bad wolf, less so the U.S. So he essentially he was painting a big target on himself.
Gonzalo was born and raised in the US, and he did not despise the West, he only despised corruption and lies by the governments. He didn't idolize Russia, he just told the truth, and the truth does not favor the US or UK or Ukraine, which were and are committing war crimes.
@besovereign2032 They did get rid of him. But if it was the other way around, Russia wouldn't have hesitated either. Plenty of whistleblowers and open, vocal, dissidents met an untimely end or unjust incarceration from one side or the other. There is never such a thing as "free speech." Everything has it's consequences!
I also liked listening to Gonzalo Lira, liked his wit, intelligence and a different take on the war. I disagree with your comparing Gonzalo to some of the Paraguayan cases you mentioned. He is not in the same league. He tried to give an unbiased, in his opinion,view of the conflict. He was harsh on the Ukrainian government, but also on the US government (perhaps that's what got him killed). And if he just played nice as you suggest he should've done, you and I wouldn't be listening to him. It will be one year in January since he died and I'll light a candle for a peaceful repose of his soul. And drink some whisky too.
Gonzalo went against the political winds of a paid the ultimate price. Self preservation would've advice to lay low, he didn't. Scott Ritter sticks to this day that he was a intel asset of the Ukro intel service but I can't subscribe to that assesment regardles of the weight that Scott has as an intel analyst himself. Paraguyayans are very nationalists and it's not a good choice to skirt the law because what they may let a native go by will not let a foreigner do.
That's why alot of people felt that he was a Ukrainian asset because nobody with a sane mind would do what he did and try to get away with it. His story never really added up. Scott Ritter pointed out these facts and believe it to be true. Honestly, Lira wasn't a good person but rather someone who stole money from people over decades pretending to be knowledgeable when in part was nothing more than a mere grifter. I never trusted him.
@@boink800 His criminal record has nothing to do with his job performance at a chief weapons inspector. The US govt uses these charges to smear people so that they lose ALL credibility. They JUST did it to Matt Gaetz for attorney general didn't they??? The govt playbook has been exposed because they have abused it so many times that it's no longer effective. Unless the person is like you sadly.
Wise words! Happy to hear that you also were a fan of Gonzalo. I got hooked to his videos just a week after the Russians started their operation. RIP Gonzalo Lira
I'm glad that you enjoyed the video. Yes, I was a longtime listener as well. Gonzalo was a great content creator. His delivery was always straighforward and to the point. His topics were interesting and although he did it all off the cuff, his videos were always coherent and never rambling. I wish he would have left Kharkov after the first arrest, and moved to Poland or Hungary to continue his posting.
I dont think Gonzalo was anti Ukraine, he was anti lies! He didn't brake any laws!
Ok Ivan
Never forgive, never forget the USA/Ukraine stateSanctionedMurder of him
He probably shouldn’t have sent pictures of Ukrainian forces to Russia. Ridiculously stupid or something more sinister
@@GeraldBeagan-ee6se he didn't do that, but he did call ukraine out for being nazi loving sc*m
@@GeraldBeagan-ee6se Where did you get that, from CNN or FOX?
@@GeraldBeagan-ee6se that is 100% BS
Gonzalo is a hero of free speech. But you make a very valid point about the need to comply with laws and customs in the country you live in.
Especially facist dictatorship. He didn't brake any laws!
Bless Mr. Lira , miss him .
Me, too.
Ukraine is more like Chile under Pinochet
Ok Ivan
@@rullangaar It is, including the missing people, the banning of opposition parties, the control of the media and the attacks against the Church. Only Pinochet wasn't a crazy warmonger.
Given his very evident rapid physical decline on camera before us, I suspect Gonzalo was terminally ill and knew he didn't have much time left. So he chose martyrdom.
Had a feeling something else was going on
The prison made him weak , he was supposed to have been very sick in there .
@paulbucklebuckle4921 he was already looking very poorly before he was arrested
I haven't heard that theory before, but it makes sense. He looked unwell to me, even before his initial arrest. Chain-smoking didn't help.
You have a point. At the end he looked unkempt and haggard, and he was lighting a new smoke as soon as he finished the one in his hand. He may very well have been gravely ill.
Just follow this old proverb: When in Rome, do as the Romans do
Words to live by as an expat.
RIP Gonzalo
Burning docs and talking about Gonzo. Seems like an interesting message being sent. That beer looks really good.
LOL!. Yes, and my mylar bags are also a dead give away.
Super hot here today and tomorrow in Encarnacion, Biblical heat is coming! As far as living here my take is this. Arrive with your own wealth, don't come if you need to work or open a business. Rent don't buy property here has become overpriced like most other places but rent is cheap. Buy a solid used car and make sure the headlights come on every time the key is turned. Banking here is easy but really no need with money apps so prevalent. Everything becomes easier if you have the permanent residency cedula. The less you try and do in Paraguay the happier you will be. In regards to the 3 months of scorching heat; plan on visiting another country with cool climate those months. Oh yeah and learn to speak Spanish before you come and I mean conversational level not just Hola, and cerveza. That's my 2 cents worth from my years in Paraguay.
I live in Brazil, you are spot on!
Thank you!
Being adaptable and flexible is so hard for us here in the west. I am headed to py in feb and hope to learn much and grow as a person.
Good luck, and welcome!
good point- that is the crux of it
I'm an expat too. I moved to South Dakota. So far so good...
LOL. I hear that it is beautiful out there. Near to the American Redoubt. What made you choose South Dakota?
Not so fast. South Dakota is another colony of the M.E. entity with Kristi Noem signing a harsh antitermitism law for a community that can be counted in the dozens pro'ly.
For all us citizens (America is a continent, not a country) going to live anywhere in the American continent, try to remember that you come from a place with something called Monroe doctrine which claimed unjust rights over the hole continent, many governments were overthrown for the interest of business like the infamous Chiquita Banana. You are not personally to blame for the actions of your state, but those actions have hindered the possibility of development in our countries. And I'm choosing my words carefully. Other than that, you are most than welcome to come (I can only speak for my country).
Great comment. Gonzalo Lira supported the brutal overthrow of the socialist/nationalist - not Communist - Allende Government in 1973.
The only thing your incorrect about is America.
I would not disparage anyone anywhere by naming them after their continent, with the exception of Australians, for obvious reasons.
I'd never refer to Brazilians as "Americans" or Vietnamese as "Asians", even though technically, they are.
Unitas Estados Mexicanos is the United Mexican States, and they are therefore, Mexicans, not Americans.
That's why U.S. citizens are called Americans.
It's the only country in the the continents that carries the name America, which incidently and pertinent, was given to the western continents by Europeans.
It's a straw man argument that does not exist.
Just like saying that "real Indians live in India, not the U.S."
The real Indian name for their country is Bahrat, not India.
The Europeans who travelled to the U.S. were looking for Indonesia.
We speak English, and the name just stuck through inertia, language, and the fact that the inhabitants had no unified name for the place.
I've an Idea, but of course, no proof the mound of garbage virtue signaling this thought was plucked from is from Chinese ( not Asian) marxist propaganda as they are currently involved in telling native Americans of both continents that they are "brothers" to the Chinese, and the continents belong to them, Chinese included, and not anyone historically from anywhere else.
As if all Asians come from China, which is just plain not true, and I'm sure they do not include those Asians from Bahrat in that line of thought.
In any case, North American historical ties, for example, are more connected to Siberia, and nowhere near China.
Do what you will, but no one in the Americas should be calked anything but the polity and group they identify with.
RIP Gonzalo Lira
First time I see your channel. What got my attention was you mentioning Gonalo Lira. You are right, Mike, even in our own countries, going from one province to another or to a different city, implies to "follow the procedures", as you say. I watched several Lira´s videos on the war in Ukraine, and since the first time, I told to myself "very good video, but..what is this guy reporting that way there directly in Ukraine?, Having an american visa, He could go out and maybe report the same way from a different location, not there, because He surely ised digital reports, no need to stay there. It was dangerous from the very fistrt moment when war started. So sad how He tried to scape, and did not get-it.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video. I agree with you. After he was released by the Ukrainian Secret Police the first time, I expected that he would leave, and continue reporting on the situation secondhand, from Poland or Hungary maybe. But he became more famous, and he was appearing regularly on other podcasts as a guest. So I think it inspired him to continue on, and led to him making the terrible choice to stay in Ukraine.
Always amazed me that Lira would continue to post content that his new host country disliked. He even talked about visits from the police about his activities. Then apparently after being arrested and finally out on bail he decided to motorcycle across the border. In a war zone. Truly sad.
I liked his content. I think that, unfortunately, he let the fame and the views go to his head. The SBU had arrested him, and warned him about his posting. I couldn't believe it when he went on with his posts, but actually increased his presence on other channels
He loved Ukraine, it's people and was deeply conserned about the direction it was going......he tried to wake people up to the dangerous influence of the USA after seeing multiple countries fall into destruction. He wanted to help and it cost him his life.
As a journalist that is the job. Posting or publishing content that alerts you, the listener/reader to the corruption or other nefarious goings on at the behest of the government. He was doing his job.
Gonzalo Lira died in Ukraine prison of pneumonia. Ukraine's tyrannical government tolerated him only because they had bugged him and were hoping people in Ukraine against the war would contact him. Such peaceniks would be arrested. When no one of value fell into their trap, they simply arrested Gonzalo because they hated him for mocking Zelensky and the Ukraine war effort.
I'm sure being a chain smoker did not help Lira. He smoked four packs of those very cheap Ukrainian cigarettes a day.
You may be right. I had not considered that.
@@paraguaymike5159 And just what did Lira do in Ukraine before February 2022? Do we know that?
You make some good points.
What I noticed with Gonzo was that the government let him get away with being critical in video after video. But in one final video he criticized the American president. THAT was the video that landed him in prison and his death. I always wonder why he was so determined to be the suffering martyr. That’s what he finally got by his own hand.
Yes. He flew way to close to the flame at the end. After he got rolled up by the SBU the first time he should have just left the country as he was a market man.
Good common sense advise.!!! Lira's second and decisive mistake I believe was to broadcast in real time where, when and how he was eluding Ukrainian authorities and his destination, Hungary.
I remember when he was first arrested by the SBU, and many people thought he was faking it for views. Some big name content creators actually made videos doubting the story and calling him out. When he was released, he was suddenly in demand on alot of channels. I think the fame went to his head, and caused him to keep up the risky behavior.
Nobody in their right mind would, after having been picked up by the SBU, turn right around and do exactly the same thing that got him arrested in the first place. That's just nuts. For the sake of ones own family, and I'm to believe he was married, would one do such a thing. Unless of course it was all fake. And above all nobody with any sense broadcasts their intentions. That's just stupid.
Can’t believe Lido Bar changed the location 😢
The good old fish soup 😋
Yeah, I miss the old place. For years I used to eat there every month when I brought our monthly receipts to our accountant's office downtown.
@ well, it is what it is thanks for the information
All the best from cold Canada
MIke...just dicovered your videos, I am an American, have lived in LATAM since 1994, Mexico and Brasil....currently living in Foz de Iguaçu....my Wife, Brasilian, is studying over the river in CDE...and we are thinking of poniendo nuestro ranchito in Paraguay...would be really interested in tapping into your insights n the future if possible, would love to have a way to directly contact you. Cheers Joe
BY the way, never missed a Lira video......and in most cases he was right.....
Hey Joe. Thanks for your comment. I'm always glad to meet another long-time viajero. You can reach me anytime at my email: paraguaymike@gmail.com
Doug Casey talks about this while living in Argentina. Don't go to another country to take advantage of the increased freedom and lower cost of living, then cause trouble specifically political waves.
I agree the new Lido bar just isn't the same since it moved from Calle Palma and now has less a 50 dinner feel to a much more modern. The location in Villa Morra still pretty good!
Yes, there have been a lot of changes here over the years. Most good, but some sad. I miss the charm and the ambiance of the old Lido Bar downtown. It somehow gave me the vibe of eating in an old diner from the 60s or 70s back in the States. But time marches on, and Asuncion is growing and getting better by the day.
God Bless Gonzalo and may He Rest in Peace. Positive vibes to his Father, Children and Family. I watched him very extensively during the Special Military Operation that started in 2022. He should have left Ukraine and commented from another country. It was insanity for him to comment like that while in a NAZI country with a very ruthless Secret Police. I am Romanian living in the USA, when I used to go back to Communist Romania to visit in the 70's and 80's, it was unheard of to speak out against that government while in that country or abroad if you ever wanted to go back and visit or have contact with relatives. Back in those hardcore communist times, they would just arrest you, put you in a cell, give you "RADU" and then let you go like nothing happened. 1 month later you were dead. "RADU" was a radioactive brick obtained from the USSR that they would put in the top of a cell to irradiate you with a lethal does to Nuclear radiation.
Where is Tiffany Dover?
Yes, where is Tiffany Dover?
"people that come here....to start shit:)"
i finished it for you Sir:)
new sub
Thank you! I hope you find the content interesting.
Gonzalo had a big chip on his shoulder. Seemingly logical, in one or more interviews with other UA-camrs (Lazerpig i think), Gonzalo's emotional, irrational side shone through. He despised the west, U.S., probably from all the meddling it did in his (home) part of the world, South America. So he vilified anything the West touched, and idolized anything Eastern (Russia, China). What he didn't realize is that in that part of the world (Eastern Europe), Russia is the big bad wolf, less so the U.S. So he essentially he was painting a big target on himself.
No matter what the way the Ukrainians and US got rid of him in the end was shameful. Like The Convid never forget!
Gonzalo was born and raised in the US, and he did not despise the West, he only despised corruption and lies by the governments. He didn't idolize Russia, he just told the truth, and the truth does not favor the US or UK or Ukraine, which were and are committing war crimes.
@besovereign2032 They did get rid of him. But if it was the other way around, Russia wouldn't have hesitated either. Plenty of whistleblowers and open, vocal, dissidents met an untimely end or unjust incarceration from one side or the other. There is never such a thing as "free speech." Everything has it's consequences!
When in Rome ...
what is your job in PY?
I see those burn pits everywhere LOL
I also liked listening to Gonzalo Lira, liked his wit, intelligence and a different take on the war. I disagree with your comparing Gonzalo to some of the Paraguayan cases you mentioned. He is not in the same league. He tried to give an unbiased, in his opinion,view of the conflict. He was harsh on the Ukrainian government, but also on the US government (perhaps that's what got him killed). And if he just played nice as you suggest he should've done, you and I wouldn't be listening to him. It will be one year in January since he died and I'll light a candle for a peaceful repose of his soul. And drink some whisky too.
Gonzalo went against the political winds of a paid the ultimate price. Self preservation would've advice to lay low, he didn't. Scott Ritter sticks to this day that he was a intel asset of the Ukro intel service but I can't subscribe to that assesment regardles of the weight that Scott has as an intel analyst himself.
Paraguyayans are very nationalists and it's not a good choice to skirt the law because what they may let a native go by will not let a foreigner do.
That's why alot of people felt that he was a Ukrainian asset because nobody with a sane mind would do what he did and try to get away with it. His story never really added up. Scott Ritter pointed out these facts and believe it to be true. Honestly, Lira wasn't a good person but rather someone who stole money from people over decades pretending to be knowledgeable when in part was nothing more than a mere grifter. I never trusted him.
Ritter is not always correct
@@besovereign2032 He's more right than wrong on 99.9% of the issues. Has more credibility than Lira that's for sure.
@@klwthe3rd Do we approve of Ritter's criminal record?
@@boink800 His criminal record has nothing to do with his job performance at a chief weapons inspector. The US govt uses these charges to smear people so that they lose ALL credibility. They JUST did it to Matt Gaetz for attorney general didn't they??? The govt playbook has been exposed because they have abused it so many times that it's no longer effective. Unless the person is like you sadly.