A novelist who took on the Italian mafia and lived

Post by koverstreet » Sat, Jan 31, 2026, 3:41 PM UTC

luqtas wrote: post #39

koverstreet wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you think Belgium is a narcostate - oh my :) People lose touch with reality when life becomes too rich and comfortable, and they become too focused on security. You miss all the other corrosive influences on society. I've travelled the entire United States, multiple times over, and seen quite a bit of Europe and South America, and I'm in Colombia now. Latin America, and Colombia in particular would be far more of…

> I've never seen the gripping poverty and desperation that's common in the United States anywhere in Latin America; even the poorer communities here tend to be vibrant and well functioning, with families and little farming communities everywhere that are living life well. with all the respect but what a naive paragraph. i suggest you to go away from touristics places or get into a poor part of any big city in Latin…

Post by null_deref » Sat, Jan 31, 2026, 3:50 PM UTC

mikkupikku wrote: post #50

null_deref wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But aren’t car bombs and public shootouts between different crime groups an unavoidable by product of existing organized crime? It seems to me there always be someone who thinks he can get more money by leaving a group and creating one of their own or some other group trying to expand revenue and territory

Not necessarily. Intra-gang violence can be done in more private ways, public terrorism is a choice but not an inevitability. Gang splits are also less likely to occur when the government is corrupt and working with some gangs but not others; the intra-gang violence can be disguised as law enforcement action and the overwhelming power of the government makes them a powerful ally that deters competition from even tryi…

Post by cucumber3732842 » Sat, Jan 31, 2026, 4:31 PM UTC

rayiner wrote: post #54

weinzierl wrote: post #2

Reminds me of the story of Andre Camara , who photographed a favela drug war in the mid 80s. Take away: criminals are vain too.

Same thing with the Taliban: https://apimagesblog.com/blog/2021/10/4/taliban-portraits By the way, there is a Taliban who looks exactly like Christian Bale: https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/ace/standard/976/cpsprodpb/13EB0/pr...

Post by inglor_cz » Sat, Jan 31, 2026, 5:32 PM UTC

cucumber3732842 wrote: post #55

rayiner wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same thing with the Taliban: https://apimagesblog.com/blog/2021/10/4/taliban-portraits By the way, there is a Taliban who looks exactly like Christian Bale: https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/ace/standard/976/cpsprodpb/13EB0/pr...

Why wouldn't an up and coming government administration want to take professional photos and engage in all the other trappings of legitimate government?

Post by rayiner » Sat, Jan 31, 2026, 5:48 PM UTC

cucumber3732842 wrote: post #55

rayiner wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same thing with the Taliban: https://apimagesblog.com/blog/2021/10/4/taliban-portraits By the way, there is a Taliban who looks exactly like Christian Bale: https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/ace/standard/976/cpsprodpb/13EB0/pr...

Why wouldn't an up and coming government administration want to take professional photos and engage in all the other trappings of legitimate government?