Venezuelan Coup and the US involvement

Makkonnen

The Quizatz Haderach
BGOL Investor
eewwll said:
Makk..dont confuse my statement. I said he WANTS to be a dictator. I did not say that he currently IS a dictator.
Do you have evidence of this? An admission possibly?

Some of the worlds most cruel dictators (hitler as an example) were all VOTED in by the people at one point all under th guise of bringing THEIR people out of plight. Look at the history of the clock towards dictatorship. The pattern is usually the same as he is following.
Invoking fuckin Hitler? Dude.......



Nationalize industries, concentration power over business, media,etc in the centralized government completely, modify term limitations. This is an obvious one Makk. You are falling for the socialistic jargin and his media postering. Look at how he is changing the law to concentrate power centrally under his direct control. It does not take a rocket scientist to see what is going on here especially considering his stated aspirations. Also consider Castro is his mentor, ally and model.

I see what you are talking about just like I saw it in Libya. I see alot more parrallels with Libya than Nazi Germany. From his coup attempts down to his rank when he tried it I see way more similarities there than with HITLER. :smh: damn man hitler?



Venezuela is clearly heading toward the tightly regulated, one party communist system of Cuba's Castro.

Would Cuba even be the way it is in regards to politically one partied, authoritarian etc if it weren't for 50 years of US oppression? No. Are most cubans better off now than they'd be under the old system? Hell yeah. Is it what I'd call ideal? No. If you want to blame someone for how Cuba is blame the USA. If you want to blame someone for how Venezuela is and the actions Hugo feels he has to take blame the USA. If not for 100yrs of US interference in South American, Central American and Caribbean politics there wouldn't be such severely oppressive governments and societies or the need for people to rise up to counter them.
The world aint a vacuum and Chavez and Castro did not create themselves by themselves.





He will concentrate power within the hands of him and his cronies as he is doing now.. I guarantee you when we fast forward 10 years, the PEOPLE are not only not in a better predicament, but the overall financial situation of the country has worsened.
:smh: I don't hear anything regarding the white aristocrats who had the country on lock down and still continuously engage in a war of dirty tricks etc with him all the time in relation to Chavez's power consolidation and other moves.





:lol: at the pot calling the kettle black..the coup plotter is Chavez, who as everyone knows tried to overthrow the government in 1992, years before he was elected. Not renewing their license is like President Bush one day announcing that NBC is going off the air because it was involved in a conspiracy against the United States. It is power that he should not even have in the first place. Also the station(venezuelas most popular by the way) contends it never promoted the coup and merely covered it as a news event. The CEO said in an interview that the network executives had not been presented with a formal notice or complaint that they could contest in court or at a public hearing. Chavez restricting freedom of expression at the same time serves as a warning against other news organizations to limit their actions at the risk of facing the same fate. Now, their will be no oppositional talk against Chavez...the road continues. Makk..come on man. I KNOW you are better than that. He is erasing OPPOSITION...period. Why not take it to the courts and handle it democratically and have the very serious claims proven in the courts.

The CEO said.........? Please bruh. You are quoting people who sit together in meetings on how to keep their hands around the neck of the nation. You do realize that right? The owner of that station along with the owner of Coke down there and many others especially in the oil industry ran the coup, planned the coup, had snipers take shots at a Chavez rally etc. Please. :smh: The lead reporter for that station quit over their manipulation of shit. Quoting the cat's explanation of what happened to the canary? Not convincing.
Courts? How many people did Chavez have killed after the coup? How many organizers went to prison for violating the law? You are championing those who willfully violated the nation's constitution and attacking the only ones who have lived by the law.
You are arguing your case regarding your "predictions" of how Chavez will turn into a monster by quoting and portraying the situation in the exact light that the current actual monsters have laid out.




But the Bovarian Revolution is its brother: Socialist...at the end of the day..there is not much difference between the two. Difference between between a lemon and a lime.. may not be the same fruit... but same family, consistency, similar taste, etc.

So skip the whole point that was being made about actually serving the members of the nation as a whole rather than one small elite group and argue about socialism? What nation on this planet does not invoke some form of socialism? The way you keep avoiding the plight of those meek ones in Venezuela to argue misconstrued elitist realities is showing me that you care more about markets and industry than human suffering. I hope I'm wrong about that. I know that you are a generous cat and how you feel about hardwork etc but I think we differ greatly on how to remedy the ails of the oppressed. I state what CHavez is trying to do to thwart those few who have unfairly asserted authority over their nation for too long and you argue predictions and the case of the few. If you mentioned even in passing how the status quo would be better for the people or something else would be better I could possibly understand where you are coming from more but so far you are just hurling fiction and half explained events around like nothing else is taking place. Why does Chavez do what he does? Why does he feel the need to do them? It puts his case in a very different light than a half-jew with a tiny moustache blowing up his own congressional building and blaming it on a homeless jew.




:lol: Sweetheart deals where companies come in and completely development an industry in a nation investing Billions of dollars in investment, resources, etc.
Investing Billions and making? Billions. And who in Venezuela profits from those deals? The nation? The population? Remember the oil industry was already nationalized but the wealthy elitists ran the industry as if it were their own private company.



See this is where you and I differ... You seem to support thievery, as long as you dislike the supposedly group that has the assets that are being stolen.
You openly defend thieves. See my previous response. So which is more legitmate those who stole it first or the victims who reclaim what was taken? You clearly represent the thieves.


The Brasilian entities that owned those conduits of business in Venezuela did not steal those assets.

How do you feel about a man who steals your property and the person who knowingly buys what was stolen from you?

A man steals your mercedes and sells it to another man at a discount and the buyer knows about the theft in detail and saw it occur. The buyer takes your car and puts rims on it, a great stereo and tints the windows etc. Do you feel like you have any less claim to YOUR car? Does the buyer of your car have any rights to your vehicle because of his modifications?

:smh:


See, you agree with suspending the law if supposedly it helps the PEOPLE.
Some of those conclusions you are jumping on don't have great foundations.

What law was suspended that I agreed with? Are you referring to contracts that were renegotiated or terminated?


What happens when the government decides to suspend your rights to HELP the people.
I live in a place where that has supposedly happened and it isnt Venezuela.

This is not about money or assets... this is about limited what a government has to the power to do and not do. The Irony of you attempting to argue this from a moral perspective baffles me.

This is all about money and assets. This is totally a Venezuelan-American(Both South and USA) war of economics and control of resources.
The irony of you referring to broken Brazilian energy contracts and investment then one sentence later saying this isn't about money or assets baffles me.






The people are not going to rise out over poverty on the back of SOCIALISM.

First of all they clearly aren't gonna get shit from the status quo, unless you believe the past couple hundred years aren't evidence of that.

Secondly, many european nations do quite well with various forms of socialism in place.

Please explain to me how what has been a failure over centuries for the masses is going to change without changing.


It never has and never will happen. I will never congratulate a person for HELPING (smh) with a system that has a 100 percent failure rate.

See my above post.


The world banj and IMF shit I agree with though. Those are the same mechanisms that were used to put the U.S. under control of the bankers: The Federal Reserve System.
You agree but suggest that living under that tyranny is cool for Venezuelans. Maybe its just your omission of things in this discussion that run contrary to those who support that system.



:lol: :lol: How do you think Brasil got into its situation in the first place.
Marxist Leninist Police squads execute homeless children in the streets of Brazil? Word? I'd love to read that take on it. Got any links or anything on that? :lol: :smh: damn man

However, the contrary... well more contrary in a relevant type of view considering this is south america, has been what has made Brasil the beacon of stability in South America for the most part.
South America? The standards for human rights should be lower? :lol:

[quote

How is SOCIALISM going to save the kids in the street
:confused: [/quote]

You can't understand how a lil socialism in the form of housing for the poor etc could help children who sleep in the streets and have their brains bashed in by police at night?




Just answer that one question. I am trying to understand how can anyone... from a historical, economical, metrical, etc point of view come to the conclusion that socialism is the answer to the problems.
Why is it that free market capitalists jump to the total socialism/communism conclusion when anyone mentions socialism or "leftist"???

What type of government and economy does Brazil have now?
What are the national poverty rates?


Who the hell said BRASIL was EDEN. The ONLY reason why I even mentioned Brasil in this thread was because that dipshit said I was brainwashed by the American Media.
:lol: Naw Ayn got under your skin ;)

My point was...I didnt know how that was possible considering I am not even in the U.S. to be brainwashed by the U.S. media.
That does not mean you are not near or within the sphere of US influence. Not saying that you are cuz I dont see you that way. I see you as a compassionate capitalist :lol:


I get a rather consistent wide ranging view of the politics of other south american countries because they all border brasil. And the effects of their politics has a much direct affect on this nation than the U.S.
So how do you feal about the leftist movement in South America? :lol: :D Tell us how you really feel :)



There are a few ministers that head large sectors of the government. However, Brasil is not different than most places around the world...looking at the pictures of the heads of state and their administration around the world..we know what the photo looks like.
Man why water the shit down? Cmon I know you know some figures or percentages regarding people of color in government where you live. Stop holdin out.




However, your thought that SOCIALISM is the answer is incorrect. That shit never has and never will solve the problem.
Is everything "left" commie pinko level to you? :lol: Please refresh my memory cuz I dont remember saying that about Brazil. Just asked a side question since you live there and I dont read portugese.



Brasil is not a segregated nation. It has a form of classism. Man.. I need to take a photo of some favellas for you next time I go. The poor are white, black, etc. No group has a monopoly over poverty in this country.

:hmm: The poor in America are white black etc and there is segregation although it doesnt need rule of law anymore. ;)
Are the ruling elite all white portugese? I asked already and you said except a few. I have read shit about the unspoken racism in Brazil- seen shit about the outward racism too.
Seeing poor people of all colors mixing is not new to me but seeing the elite being a mix representative of the population's mix would be something Im interested in seeing otherwise as far as Im concerned its a fuckin racist nation with hundreds of millions of people of color not being represented.


Man I looked at your response and was like :smh: fuck I aint gonna answer all that shit :lol:

I aint over here wearing a beret chain smokin with Che on the wall bruh dont get me wrong. :)
 

nittie

Star
Registered
Never thought I would say this but Makk has a point. Chavez is what he is because of America but that don't give him a pass. If he has his way America as we know it won't exist. It's time to take drastic measures against his ass, if he want's to be Fidel let him live in obscurity like Fidel. America's enemies are at our gates and we have to let em know that’s the last place your punk ass wanna be.
 

Spectrum

Elite Poster
BGOL Investor
Makkonnen said:
Do you have evidence of this? An admission possibly?


Invoking fuckin Hitler? Dude.......





I see what you are talking about just like I saw it in Libya. I see alot more parrallels with Libya than Nazi Germany. From his coup attempts down to his rank when he tried it I see way more similarities there than with HITLER. :smh: damn man hitler?

Makk.. my equation with Hitler was to the point of a dictator being voted into office initially. Hitler was the first dictator that came to mind. However, I was not associating him with the mass genocide, etc and that was not the intent.

My beef with Chavez is not his apparent anti U.S. sentiment like most opponents.. Because in many cases, how could you argue with the things he says about Bush. Actually, I think he would be much more effective if he didnt go the emotional route.. like in front of the U.N. and call Bush, the devil, and be more forthright with the facts..but he is a politician that knows what resonates with the media and the people. So I understand his tactics.

The problem I have with Chavez is his politics. I dont care who the actual person is.. I would not agree with anyone who advocated anything like the Bolivarian Revolution. I would be talking the same shit about my momma if she did it.
Makkonnen said:
Would Cuba even be the way it is in regards to politically one partied, authoritarian etc if it weren't for 50 years of US oppression? No. Are most cubans better off now than they'd be under the old system? Hell yeah. Is it what I'd call ideal? No. If you want to blame someone for how Cuba is blame the USA. If you want to blame someone for how Venezuela is and the actions Hugo feels he has to take blame the USA. If not for 100yrs of US interference in South American, Central American and Caribbean politics there wouldn't be such severely oppressive governments and societies or the need for people to rise up to counter them.
The world aint a vacuum and Chavez and Castro did not create themselves by themselves.

So.. the economic problems of Venezuela are because of the U.S. :confused: Furthermore Makk. What does that have to do with the validity of his Bolivarian Revolution.. :confused:

Why is the choice of SOCIALISM the best one. I dont give a damn if Aliens ran the country 200 years ago. How does one come to the conclusion that socialism has the answers.

How many countries in Latin American have you been to. I have crossed the border to shit hole of Paraguay just recently that has had little American influence. Dont try to blame the entire plight of the world on the U.S.

The reality of the matter is that internal politics of this nations are to blame for the most part..especially these hard core leftists policies that consistently produce the same horrible results.

Why does going 100 year back in the past have to do with him implementing a political-economical system that has a 100 percent failure rate. :confused:




Makkonnen said:
:smh: I don't hear anything regarding the white aristocrats who had the country on lock down and still continuously engage in a war of dirty tricks etc with him all the time in relation to Chavez's power consolidation and other moves.


Are we arguing IMF-World Bank- Aristocracy- or the merits of the Bolivarian Revolution..which are distinctive.

We can make a different argument but I have been arguing against the politics of Chavez. And THEY CAN BE judged independently on its own merits Makk.



Makkonnen said:
The CEO said.........? Please bruh. You are quoting people who sit together in meetings on how to keep their hands around the neck of the nation. You do realize that right? The owner of that station along with the owner of Coke down there and many others especially in the oil industry ran the coup, planned the coup, had snipers take shots at a Chavez rally etc. Please. :smh: The lead reporter for that station quit over their manipulation of shit. Quoting the cat's explanation of what happened to the canary? Not convincing.
Courts? How many people did Chavez have killed after the coup? How many organizers went to prison for violating the law? You are championing those who willfully violated the nation's constitution and attacking the only ones who have lived by the law.
You are arguing your case regarding your "predictions" of how Chavez will turn into a monster by quoting and portraying the situation in the exact light that the current actual monsters have laid out.

Again Makk... Are you suggesting that decisions that effect the entire population should be made arbitrarily but one person..Chavez. As opposed to be help democratically with courts. This station being BEHIND the coup is nothing but speculation until proven in the court of law. Where is the hard evidence that proves any of what you are saying. It has not been produced because it has only been speculated about. The evidence has not been brought forth in an undisputed manner. That is why we have courts and tribunals... not arbitrary made by one person.

So Chavez is credible but the CEO isnt :confused: . By what right Makk. Let an unbiased court and jury decide it..not one arbitrary decision by non omniscient being :smh:

My problem is not with the decision AS MUCH as the means by which is was implemented.





Makkonnen said:
So skip the whole point that was being made about actually serving the members of the nation as a whole rather than one small elite group and argue about socialism? What nation on this planet does not invoke some form of socialism? The way you keep avoiding the plight of those meek ones in Venezuela to argue misconstrued elitist realities is showing me that you care more about markets and industry than human suffering. I hope I'm wrong about that. I know that you are a generous cat and how you feel about hardwork etc but I think we differ greatly on how to remedy the ails of the oppressed.

This is where you wrong. Although I care more about freedom than peoples feelings because that is not the role of the government...but

The IRONY MAKK is that your view of Socialism as the savior is fallacious. If you really cared about the people and their plight.. why invoke a system that does not raise poverty levels, provide a sound economy, or real economic opportunities etc. Dispute the claims I made me in my socialism vs capitalism post in this very thread.

There is a difference between a mixed economy and a Socialist country Makk.

The issue really is this Makk:

SOCIALISM does not create an environment that empowers anyone. It does not consistently raise the GDP, it does not create entrepreneurs,etc.

So why would I support a system that gives the underclass less of a chance to rise. All socialism, communism, fascism, etc just transfers the wealth of the nation into government hands.



Makkonnen said:
I state what CHavez is trying to do to thwart those few who have unfairly asserted authority over their nation for too long and you argue predictions and the case of the few. If you mentioned even in passing how the status quo would be better for the people or something else would be better I could possibly understand where you are coming from more but so far you are just hurling fiction and half explained events around like nothing else is taking place. Why does Chavez do what he does? Why does he feel the need to do them? It puts his case in a very different light than a half-jew with a tiny moustache blowing up his own congressional building and blaming it on a homeless jew.

What fiction have I put forth. Makk you know I dont type bullshit. You know this. That confuse me with some of these other posters.

Explain to me with Chavez feels feels the need to nationalize industries then since you understand his intent. Why not set up a means for private ownership with his own citizens.

Why must it be in government hands..under HIS control.

Makkonnen said:
How do you feel about a man who steals your property and the person who knowingly buys what was stolen from you?A man steals your mercedes and sells it to another man at a discount and the buyer knows about the theft in detail and saw it occur. The buyer takes your car and puts rims on it, a great stereo and tints the windows etc. Do you feel like you have any less claim to YOUR car? Does the buyer of your car have any rights to your vehicle because of his modifications?

Makk, Do you want to have the IMF and WORLD BANK argument. Because that is what you are implying here. Ironically, I think we would be on the same side here.

However, you fail to realize that Chavez is going nothing to remedy these problems. He is just transferring power to himself by nationalizing and eliminating private enterprise.

Again, if you could point to ONE case study where this method was successful, maybe I could be understanding.

HOWEVER, you are supporting methods that have 100 percent failure rates.



Makkonnen said:
This is all about money and assets. This is totally a Venezuelan-American(Both South and USA) war of economics and control of resources.The irony of you referring to broken Brazilian energy contracts and investment then one sentence later saying this isn't about money or assets baffles me.

Did you read my long ass post about Capitalism vs Socialism. Makk, you are a smart brotha..there is no way in fucking hell you read my post to the last poster and extracted this being about money. (http://www.bgol.us/board/showpost.php?p=1895707&postcount=170)

Also any reference to Brasil was made because of this guy. I never directed Brasil at you. My argument against any form of socialism starts there. So dispute that post line by line. But seriously.. that is an argument you just cant win. I guarantee your Makk.

This is about individual rights, free enterprise, etc the basis of capitalism. Money is nothing but one of the end results. I dont think about money in these situations as much as the power given to governments to infringe on the rights of its citizens and or infringe upon enterprise in an illegal and unjust manner.






Makkonnen said:
Secondly, many european nations do quite well with various forms of socialism in place.

Please explain to me how what has been a failure over centuries for the masses is going to change without changing.

There is a difference between a mixed economy and one that is purely statist

Though the easiest way to do this is for you to go a list of the worlds economic powers...and evaluate the list and the political economy of those nations. The degree of socialistic principles reflects the ranking on those lists.

The failure of socialism in comparison to capitalism is a closed cased. It is not even arguable. Just look at the evidence is has produced in hard form.



Makkonnen said:
Marxist Leninist Police squads execute homeless children in the streets of Brazil? Word? I'd love to read that take on it. Got any links or anything on that? :lol: :smh: damn man

Makk you know this shit aint gonna work on me. and you know I didnt even make that point. I am surprised you are even stooping to this bullshit with me.

You said that Brasil needed more leftists in its government. I was informing you that they have already had LEFTIST governments. Their impact on the economy was to drive the country into even more economic turmoul. Only recently over the last several years has Brasil begun to stabilize itself. I have been here during those years to see it first hand.That has not occured with a leftist government and I dont even know how you can come to the determination that a leftist government would solve the problems in the first place.





Makkonnen said:
South America? The standards for human rights should be lower? :lol:

I dont know how you pulled that one out of your ass like it was my argument. My argument (with a democratic, capitalistic system) is to hold all countries to the same objective philosophy in regards to human rights. My initial long post in this thread in regards to Capitalism vs Socialism with agnostic in terms of nations.



Makkonnen said:
You can't understand how a lil socialism in the form of housing for the poor etc could help children who sleep in the streets and have their brains bashed in by police at night?

First of all. The Bovarian Revolution is not a lil socialism

Secondly. How do you propose how socialism is going to solve the problem when it shows that socialistic countries consistently have a higher percentage of poor.

And before you start saying that is because of U.S. policy and its affect on some particular nation.

Do a study of countries or areas on equal starting ground. East and West Berlin and North and South Korea...one choosing the socialistic path and the other choosing the capitalistic path. That should be the nail in the coffin for any of the statist arguments.


Makkonnen said:
Why is it that free market capitalists jump to the total socialism/communism conclusion when anyone mentions socialism or "leftist"???


I cant speak for all free market capitalist. But for me, the evidence is what draws my conclusions.

Speaking for someone who has made a nice life for himself without having the foundation starting... I empathize with the plight of the people...however my stories and stories better in mind only seem to sprout out of capitalistic societies. There is never a mass exodus of people out of poverty in a socialistic society. The rise of a middle class is not even possible in a socialistic society. In only since the U.S. has invoked socialistic principles starting after the implementation of central banking, the new deal, etc. has the attack on the middle class even been possible... income taxes were not even in place in the U.S. until after central banking systems came into place..and only by overtaxing the populace can you support socialism in the first place.
Makkonnen said:
What type of government and economy does Brazil have now?
What are the national poverty rates?

Mixed economy. Officially Brasil is a Federal Representative Democratic Republic. Brazils GDP greatly outweights any other latin american country and has the 9th largest economy in the world. The poverty rate is 16 percent.. with 35 percent drop over the last several years with the more democratic government. There is no irony that Brasil is the most democratic in latin america and also has the most sound economy.

However, this post was about the Bolivarian Revolution. My argument in an earlier post was about Capitalism vs Socialism. SO I dont see how Brasil matters in that case even though it would only go to support my side of the argument.


Makkonnen said:
:lol: Naw Ayn got under your skin ;)

My love of capitalism and free market economy led me to reading her work..it was not the other way around. I was reading Hayek before I knew who Rand was.

But my travels.. and actually seeing capitalistic..or phrased better.. mixed economies with strong capitalistic principles... and then seeing the plight of the people first hand in third world countries dominated by a form of statism has made me gain an even greater appreciation for capitalism and the opportunities it provides

I figured I would take a jab from you for that though:lol:


Makkonnen said:
That does not mean you are not near or within the sphere of US influence. Not saying that you are cuz I dont see you that way. I see you as a compassionate capitalist :lol:

Makk. The point of even bringing up being out of the country in this thread was because that one poster thought I was just watching Fox news. i have spent the last 9 years traveling extensively and spending a lot of that time living overseas. I speak a few different languages so I am not limited to reading or watching English language U.S. based material. Even I was, I have a pretty diverse reading habit so I always take in different viewpoints anyway.. but I think I have a different view because regardless of what part of the world we talk about (outside of africa) there is a good chance that I have spent a lot of time there.

I am a compassionate capitalist.. guilty as charged.


Makkonnen said:
Man why water the shit down? Cmon I know you know some figures or percentages regarding people of color in government where you live. Stop holdin out.Is everything "left" commie pinko level to you? :lol: Please refresh my memory cuz I dont remember saying that about Brazil. Just asked a side question since you live there and I dont read portugese.

Actually I dont have anything off hand. I can guarantee that white male is the dominant faction...same as it is the U.S. though.

I dont associate left with commie. Socialist always come to mind first..although they are closely related. But Chavez very clearly says his is leading a socialist revolution. He doesnt say leftist.




Makkonnen said:
:hmm: The poor in America are white black etc and there is segregation although it doesnt need rule of law anymore. ;)
Are the ruling elite all white portugese? I asked already and you said except a few. I have read shit about the unspoken racism in Brazil- seen shit about the outward racism too.

Let me be more definitive. It is very difficult for that type of racism to exist because race is a very indefinitive thing in this country. I have made a post about this on the main board. Honestly, just traveling all around this country..in all the cities.with my rich friends and with my poor friends. Regardless of what the census may say.... a large majority of this population can not easily define themselves based on race. Their has been too much mixing. You dont have segregated school, neighborhoods, sentiment, etc like you have in the U.S.

Seriously Makk, the shit just does not exist.

Also, Brasilians for the most part tend to embrace their African heritage.. its inescapable. Carnaval, Samba, Caporeira, feijoida, etc... It all has its origin in african tradition..and unlike the most countries..especially other latin american countries..it is celebrated and not shunned.

Now, does racism exist on some capacity. As long as you have people in the world it will exist. I have experienced here myself in terms of getting a taxi in Rio at night.. because sometimes I would put on the flip flops...short.. my Flamengo jersey and they would think i was some kid from the Favella and act like they didnt want to stop. But the taxi drivers would be both black and white passing me by...because Rio specifically is violent as hell because of the drug trafficking trade.

TO get back to the point, there is not the deep rooted institutionalized racism in Brasil that exists in the U.S.

Actually, some of the shit I tell my friends about the U.S...they just shake their head.


What you have is poverty that crosses all colors in this country.


Makkonnen said:
Man I looked at your response and was like :smh: fuck I aint gonna answer all that shit :lol:

Man..why the fuck you ask me all this shit then..my girl complaining about starting the movie and Im responding to all this shit. I should have used the Colin Powell photo on your ass.

I aint over here wearing a beret chain smokin with Che on the wall bruh dont get me wrong. :)[/QUOTE]


I know Makk. We are just having a healthy argument. We dont disagree on all things....

for instance.

I think the two most evil, vile institutions to have ever existed are the World Bank and the IMF...seriously...if you think my hatred for socialism runs deep.. you have no idea what i feel about organizations like those and specifically the Federal Reserve System in the U.S.. the beast from Jeckyll Isle.

The irony is that I cringe when they Leftist Leaders do all the preaching: For the people: because the people over the long term dont see any real benefit.
 
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Makkonnen

The Quizatz Haderach
BGOL Investor
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e124/knoxstrong/000byzf4.jpg
*edit dont wanna give certain idiots any excuse to act out


damn man im a reply later or tomorrow - these discussions are worth it but shit.........:smh: I need a fuckin secretary or some voice recog software

:lol: I enjoy these discussions with you cuz they lack the venom that so many feel they have to insert to get their point across.
BTW that compassionate capitalist thing wasnt a jab. I see nothing at all wrong with believing in fair trade and helping others. Too many people lean on the trade part without giving a shit about the helping others and that's at the heart of all these problems.
I will go back and do a point by point response but I want to put the questions to you-

How does one force those who unfairly gained power to cede it back to those it was taken from?

IMO most often this is done violently and it ends badly for the oppressors unless they flee to another nation stolen goods in hand(or swiss bank). We are talking about nations that have not been under self rule for 400 yrs or more. Places that have had white europeans dominating their societies for centuries. The only reason challenges have even begun to be made against the mode of operation is because of the horrible and criminal actions these few take against the native peoples they wish to continue to dominate.
The fact that these oppressed people distrust capitalism or embrace socialism as an easy answer to their plight is no surprise to me. People often look for the easiest solution available to whatever is bothering them.

I see socialism/bolivar type shit as RAID. It kills the roaches now but it can make you sick as well. :lol:

Another problem I have is that I don't see the free market superfriends trying to brace these assholes who rounded up thousands of people in soccer stadiums etc. I see them mostly trying to make some gain out of the rape too.

I know you know where Im coming from. Enjoy the flick bruh I will respond to your post later.
 
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QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
<font size="5"><center>
Bolivia State Oil Company Leader Resigns</font size></center>


Associated Press
Saturday January 27, 11:25 PM EST

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — The head of Bolivia's state oil company has resigned following disagreements with the government of President Evo Morales over how to run the company.

Juan Carlos Ortiz, 38, took the helm of Yacimientos Petroleos Fiscales Bolivianos in August and played a key role in renegotiating contracts with foreign energy companies after Morales announced the oil industry's nationalization.

At a news conference late Friday, Ortiz said he had sent his letter of resignation to Morales, a leftist who has pledged to increase the state's role in the economy.

"I don't have a doubt that in life all of us have a right to different visions," Ortiz said. "I have my own vision ... and what I've done is to defend it when I believe I'm right."

On Saturday, La Razon newspaper cited government sources saying that Ortiz was asked to resign during a meeting at the government palace with Vice President Alvaro Garcia. The government has not commented on the purpose of the meeting Friday.

Ortiz' predecessor, Jorge Alvarado, resigned last year under allegations of corruption.

Ortiz, a former executive at Brazil's state energy company Petrobras, was expected to help smooth relations with Brazil, Bolivia's largest natural gas customer, over the nationalization decree.

Last week, Morales said Brazil should pay more for Bolivia's natural gas.

"Bolivia can no longer continue subsidizing natural gas to Brazil," Morales said during a summit of the Mercosur trade bloc.

Brazil buys some 918 million cubic feet of Bolivian natural gas per day, paying a little more than $4 per million British thermal units. Bolivia wants Brazil to pay about US$5.

Bolivia's natural gas reserves are South America's second largest after Venezuela's.

http://money.iwon.com/jsp/nw/nwdt_rt_top.jsp?news_id=ap-d8mu2bv00&.html
 

Spectrum

Elite Poster
BGOL Investor
Makkonnen said:
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e124/knoxstrong/000byzf4.jpg
*edit dont wanna give certain idiots any excuse to act out


damn man im a reply later or tomorrow - these discussions are worth it but shit.........:smh: I need a fuckin secretary or some voice recog software

:lol: I enjoy these discussions with you cuz they lack the venom that so many feel they have to insert to get their point across.

Makk..I wouldnt mind if you waited a few days to reply :lol: :lol: I enjoy them too... but damn man.. you put too long winded typing mofos together and it gets exhausting

Makkonnen said:
How does one force those who unfairly gained power to cede it back to those it was taken from?

I will think more on that after you respond. This has probably been the subject of books exploring how to deal with phenomenon. However, I have never taken the time to read them. However, I bet this has not been adequately tackled considering all the indirect issues.

This is a tricky situation. After you respond, I will come back and maybe do a type of bullet point respond on that question.

Actually, I think this will be more constructing than just arguing opposing views.

I dont have all the answers on this one. but I will come back to it.

But I agree there is an issue with the exploitation and how do you to a certain extent: even the play field..however, I think the key is a capitalistic implementation.. based on democracy... with a participatory plan for the underprivileged...I will expand later on this.
 
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Spectrum

Elite Poster
BGOL Investor
What did I say Makk.. It is too easy to call. He is following the manual

[frame]http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070131/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/venezuela_chavez[/frame]


[hide]Chavez to get powers to remake Venezuela

By FABIOLA SANCHEZ, Associated Press Writer 22 minutes ago
CARACAS, Venezuela - A Congress wholly loyal to President Hugo Chavez met at a downtown plaza Wednesday to give the Venezuelan leader authority to enact sweeping measures by presidential decree.
Hundreds of Chavez supporters wearing red — the color of Venezuela's ruling party — gathered in the plaza, waving signs reading "Socialism is democracy!" as lawmakers read out the proposed bill giving the president special powers for 18 months to transform 11 broadly defined areas, including the economy, energy and defense.
"The people of Venezuela, not just the National Assembly, are giving this enabling power to the president of the republic," said congresswoman Iris Varela, addressing the crowd next to the National Assembly.
Chavez, who is beginning a fresh six-year term, says the legislation will be the start of a new era of "maximum revolution" during which he will consolidate Venezuela's transformation into a socialist society. His critics, however, are calling it a radical lurch toward authoritarianism by a leader with unchecked power.
The former paratroop commander has already said he will use the law to decree nationalizations of Venezuela's largest telecommunications company and the electricity sector, slap new taxes on the rich and impose greater state control over the oil and natural gas industries.
A final draft of the law shows Chavez will also be allowed to dictate unspecified measures to transform state institutions; reform banking, tax, insurance and financial regulations; decide on security and defense matters such as gun regulations and military organization; and "adapt" legislation to ensure "the equal distribution of wealth" as part of a new "social and economic model."
Chavez also plans to reorganize regional territories and carry out reforms aimed at bringing "power to the people" through thousands of newly formed Communal Councils, in which Venezuelans will have a say on spending an increasing flow of state money on neighborhood projects from public housing to road repaving.
Lawmakers were scheduled to formally approve the law Wednesday in an outdoor session in Caracas' Plaza Bolivar, next to the National Assembly.
Chavez's supporters deny the law constitutes an abuse of power and argue radical steps are necessary to accelerate the creation of a more egalitarian society.
National Assembly President Cilia Flores said the special powers will enable Chavez to enact new laws that "will benefit the people, those who were excluded their whole lives. They are laws for inclusion and social justice."


Others say the enabling law is dangerously concentrating power in the hands of single man.
Historian Ines Quintero said that with the new powers, Chavez will achieve a level of "hegemony" that is unprecedented in Venezuela's nearly five decades of democratic history.
She said the effects will be "exponential" because Chavez will wield "extraordinary powers" in a context where state institutions are weakening and the division of powers is not being respected.
Chavez has requested special powers twice before.
In 1999, shortly after he was first elected, he was only able to push through two new taxes and a revision of the income tax law after facing fierce opposition in congress. In 2001, by invoking an "enabling law" for the second time, he decreed 49 laws including controversial agrarian reform measures and a law that sharply raised taxes on foreign oil companies operating in Venezuela.
This time, the law will give Chavez a free hand to bring under state control some oil and natural gas projects that are still run by private companies — the latest in a series of nationalist energy policies in Venezuela, a top oil supplier to the United States and home to South America's largest gas reserves.
Chavez has said oil companies upgrading heavy oil in the Orinoco River basin — British Petroleum PLC, Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips Co., Total SA and Statoil ASA — must submit to state-controlled joint ventures, as companies have already done elsewhere in the country.
The law gives Chavez the authority to intervene and "regulate" the transition to joint ventures if companies do not adapt to the new framework within an unspecified "peremptory period."


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070131/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/venezuela_chavez[/hide]
 
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QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
DIASPORA DIGEST

<font size="5"><center>Venezuela’s Black Vote</font size></center>

by Roy Levy Williams
NNPA

ANALYSIS

Venezuelans went to the polls in record numbers this month to overwhelmingly vote for President Hugo Chavez. More than 80 percent of registered voters in Venezuelans voted in what the U.S State Department called a “democratic process” and an international delegation of monitors confirmed as “a free and fair election.”

As one of the NAACP’s official monitors, what I believe to be a lesser known story is the power of the Black vote in that election. According to Jesus “Chucho” Garcia, a dynamic Afro-Venezuelan leader, approximately 30 percent of Venezuelans are people of markedly African descent. And as is the case in this country, the majority of these Afro Venezuelans are at the bottom of the economic ladder. But over the past few years, they finally see hope.

President Chavez proudly identifies himself as a man of African descent and is often the subject of racial epithets by the wealthy elite who are predominantly of European descent. Not only does he acknowledge his heritage, the president has made changes that have aligned most Afro-Venezuelans with him.

He won by 63 percent of the vote is in no small part due to the passionate support of Afro Venezuelans. The majority of the poor in Venezuela – like in many Latin American countries – are disproportionately Black. Race is “the elephant in the room” in Venezuela, where I heard lighter-skinned Latin Americans tell me everyone in their country were the same nationality and equal.

“Not so” says Chucho Garcia in a most impassioned voice. He implored us to “take a look at the private television stations, owned in Venezuela by the wealthy elite. From the stars of the popular soap operas to the reporters and anchors of the news, you rarely see someone with brown skin. The more European you are, the more you are likely to be privileged, in college or on the cover of beauty magazines.”

Garcia and his colleagues suggested, “look at the amount of education people had, or at the jobs they had, and then decide whether color made a difference!”

Using the new Constitution, President Chavez has taken the lead in beginning to tackle the question of race. Chucho for instance has his own show on state- owned television. The president has also promoted a number of Afro-Venezuelans to high positions. Several delegates of the NAACP met with the Venezuelan Deputy Minister for African Affairs and after explaining our role, listened to him talk about the changes in Venezuela.

Some of these changes include forming a commission to search for solutions to racial inequality. The president has also agreed to place “Afro-Venezuelan” as a race on their census questionnaire - the first time in the history of the country. It has been said, some of the credit for these changes go to noted African-Americans such as Danny Glover and Harry Belafonte who have urged an honest grappling with the racial question.

The president is given credit for the majority of the social changes. Cheered on by the majority of Afro Venezuelans, he has instituted widespread constitutionally protected change. The Venezuelan constitution adopted in 1999 following President Chavez’s first election as president allows all Venezuelans greater benefits in education, health care and economic opportunity including training and employment. The constitution goes so far as to recognize the value of women who are at home raising children.

Stay-at-home moms are eligible for Social Security.

Many of the accusations against President Chavez’s government by the Bush administration do not hold up under scrutiny. The Bush administration claims there is no free press. But virtually all of the major media is owned by the wealthy elite, and on almost a daily basis they pilloried President Chavez.

The claims that Venezuela is a dictatorship is belied by this third election affirming the people’s choice of President Chavez – each time winning by a larger percentage than the last.

Most people know President Chavez as the man who called President Bush the devil at the United Nations but people don’t know that the Bush administration has continually tried to undermine the Chavez government. It started with U.S. support of the 2002 coup against Chavez and covert funding of opposition groups spending at least $25 million according to press reports and a Freedom of Information Act request. And then there was Vice President Dick Cheney likening Chavez to Adolph Hitler.

Even with our chilly relations, Venezuela has been a willing partner in providing oil resources to the poor in our country. The Venezuelan oil company CITGO, was the only energy firm to answer a call to donate low income heating oil to help low income residents in some areas of the US cope with skyrocketing fuel prices.

Chavez is the leader in a movement to pioneer a new Latin American model of economic development, one that embraces private sector but spreads wealth more equitably. Nations from Ecuador to Nicaragua are following Chavez’ lead -- sharing economic resources with more of their citizens. And those leaders holding that philosophy are winning over the votes of Afro-Latinos and others who are poor.

When you talk to the ordinary folks in the towns of Venezuela. They believe Chavez has the right formula and said our country and the Bush Administration can learn several lessons from Chavez.

First, when there are issues on the ballot that people believe make a difference in their lives – they vote.

In Venezuela, people began standing in lines at three in the morning for polls that weren’t opening until six.

The Bush administration should also learn that continuing a policy of hostility towards this Afro-Latino nation is a great mistake. The wiser course for our administration would be to respect Venezuela and the government chosen by its voters and find a way to live and trade fairly with our neighbors in peace.

http://www.blackpressusa.com/News/Article.asp?SID=12&Title=Diaspora+Digest&NewsID=11722
 

Spectrum

Elite Poster
BGOL Investor
I am doing an Argentina and VENEZUELA run next month for a couple of weeks before visiting the U.S. Will try to get some first hand visuals on Venezuela...my spanish is not that great but it should be interesting talking to some locals
 

QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
eewwll,

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to provide an exclusive report
on the condition of Afro Venezuelans. There are no rules, guidelines or
preconditions for the report. Just your observations, impressions, and insight.

QueEx
 

Spectrum

Elite Poster
BGOL Investor
QueEx said:
eewwll,

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to provide an exclusive report
on the condition of Afro Venezuelans. There are no rules, guidelines or
preconditions for the report. Just your observations, impressions, and insight.

QueEx

Mission accepted sir. Will provide full report.
 

Spectrum

Elite Poster
BGOL Investor
Makkonnen said:
:lol: dont let the pussy cloud your judgement

:lol:

Ive been doing good since Ive been with my girl. But if I am not mistaken..doesnt Venezuela has more Ms. Universe winners than any other country.. :yes: :yes: :yes:
 

Makkonnen

The Quizatz Haderach
BGOL Investor
eewwll said:
:lol:

Ive been doing good since Ive been with my girl. But if I am not mistaken..doesnt Venezuela has more Ms. Universe winners than any other country.. :yes: :yes: :yes:
You gonna pop up speaking fluent spanish in a few weeks.
 

QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
<font size="5"><center>Kennedy criticized over Chavez link</font size></center>


By STEVE LeBLANC -- Associated Press Writer
(Updated Friday, February 16, 2007, 10:52 AM)
Published in the Fresno Bee

BOSTON (AP) In a TV commercial, former Rep. Joseph Kennedy stands aboard an oil tanker moving across the Boston skyline and promises that millions of gallons of discounted heating oil are on their way to poor, shivering families, courtesy of "our good friends in Venezuela."

What he doesn't mention is that those "good friends" include Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a socialist and staunch U.S. critic who famously called President Bush "the devil" in a speech last year at the United Nations.

The reference to Venezuela has led to accusations that Kennedy is a shill for Chavez.

Rep. Connie Mack, R-Fla., fired off a letter to Kennedy this week accusing him of working with "a sworn enemy of the United States" and betraying the legacy of President John F. Kennedy, his uncle, who spoke of the perils of communism.

"Hugo Chavez is providing your company 'low-cost heating oil' not to help the American people, but rather to exploit his apologists in the name of public relations. Sadly, you have chosen to actively participate in his charade," Mack wrote.

In an interview this week with The Associated Press, Mack went further, calling the ad "part of a propaganda message from Hugo Chavez."

Kennedy fired back by saying that if Mack wants to create a moral litmus test for oil-exporting countries and other trade partners, the congressman should hold Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Russia and China to the same standard.

"Once we've followed the Mack Doctrine and refused oil from every country that fails to meet our disciplined moral standards, I'm sure you'll enjoy your walks to Washington, because there certainly won't be fuel to fly you there," Kennedy wrote to Mack.

In an interview with the AP, Kennedy defended his decision to refer to "our good friends in Venezuela."

Kennedy said he approached other oil companies but only Citgo, the Venezuelan government's Texas-based oil subsidiary, responded with an offer of aid. He said nothing in his contracts require him to publicly thank Citgo and Venezuela. That was his decision, he said.

"I think it would be the height of arrogance to accept the help and assistance of Citgo, the only oil company to respond to my plea to help, and never even mention them in the ad," said Kennedy, who served in Congress from 1987 to 1999.

Although he declined to offer an opinion on Chavez, Kennedy did say he had "significant disagreement with the kind of personal politics that have characterized the relationship" between Chavez and Bush, on both sides. He also said "there have been many changes in Venezuela since I started going there 25 years ago, some of them for the better."

Citizens Energy was founded by Kennedy in 1979 in the wake of the energy crisis of the late 1970s with the goal of reducing the cost of home heating oil for the poor and elderly.

The corporation signed its first crude oil contract with Venezuela that year, and in its first 18 months, Citizens Energy had delivered more than 13 million gallons of home heating oil from Venezuela to families in Massachusetts. Citizens Energy has since expanded to 16 states and this year will deliver low-cost oil to between 300,000 and 400,000 households.

Washington resident Lucille Benjamin lives in one of those households. "It doesn't matter to me where it comes from as long as it keeps me warm," she said, "and right now I'm warm."

This is not the first time Massachusetts has found itself debating Chavez. Last year a Boston City Council member called for the demolition of the famous neon Citgo sign above Fenway Park in a protest over Chavez's "devil" insult. The sign remains.

Kennedy's energy-assistance program has won praise from some Republicans, including former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who is running for president.

In 2005 Romney extended his thanks to "all of those around the world working to get lower-priced energy to us," but refused to answer a question about the propriety of doing business with Chavez.

A spokesman for Romney said he is a staunch critic of Chavez, noting Romney denounced Chavez as a "cartoon character" in a TV interview in August.

Chavez is "trying to play politics, of course, with oil prices," Romney said in that interview. "The reality is we buy a lot of oil from Venezuela. We ought to get as much oil we can for as cheap a price as we possibly can and suck it dry if we possibly could."

http://dwb.fresnobee.com/24hour/nation/story/3555625p-12782653c.html
 

QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
<font size="5"><center>Chávez Waxes Anti-Bush at Rally</font size></center>

Washington Post
By Monte Reel
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, March 10, 2007; Page A13

BUENOS AIRES, March 9 -- Argentina provided the microphone, the stadium and thousands of fired-up spectators in the mood to hear some thunderous, fist-pumping, anti-American sloganeering. Venezuela's Hugo Chávez took care of the rest.

As President Bush visited Brazil and Uruguay on Friday as part of a six-day tour of Latin America, Chávez tried to steal his thunder by staging an anti-Bush rally in a soccer stadium filled with Venezuelan flags, Che Guevara banners and signs saying: "Bush Get Out!"

U.S. officials have repeatedly dismissed the idea that Bush's tour is an attempt to counter Venezuela's influence in the region. On Friday, Bush declined to speak Chávez's name at a news conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil, despite a journalist's invitation to do so. But Chávez had no such reservations, attaching a long list of derogatory adjectives to Bush's name at every opportunity.

"Bush seemed like he had a heart attack when he heard the name of Chávez," said the Venezuelan president, who told the crowd of about 30,000 that he watched Bush's news conference on television. "He lowered his head, stuttered a couple of times and responded to something else."

The rally was classic Chávez -- voluble and confrontational, an attempt to cast the two presidents' dueling tours as an open battle for Latin America's soul.

Speaking for more than two hours, Chávez repeated many of the themes he regularly extols: regional unification, the importance of rejecting the "imperial" influence of the United States, the ills of free-market economics. He accused the United States of coveting the region's natural resources, including Venezuela's ample oil reserves.

Those reserves have allowed Chávez to spread the wealth widely in the region and extend his political reach throughout South and Central America. Before the rally, Chávez signed new economic agreements with Argentine President Néstor Kirchner, from whom Chávez has purchased more than $3 billion in bonds and to whom he recently provided cash to help keep a struggling state-run dairy company afloat. Kirchner, who did not attend the rally, provided Chávez the forum for his protest -- a move interpreted by many here as a symbolic political nod toward Venezuela and away from the United States.

"Chávez is making important steps to fight poverty, improve health care and education, and I hope his influence spreads even more," said Adriana Iacono, 42, a psychologist attending the stadium rally.

During his tour, Bush has broadened the usual discourse of trade and security issues to try to send a message, he has said, that "we care." But Chávez ridiculed Bush's recently announced plans for new health-care and poverty-relief programs throughout Latin America, which are part of a $1.47 billion U.S. budget request for all of Latin America next year. Chávez dismissed the U.S. aid as a "laughable sum" and suggested that Bush had ulterior motives.

"He's trying to confuse, defraud and divide," Chávez told reporters before the rally. "We must break the chains of imperialism. There won't be any more wolves dressed in sheep's clothing, nor these manipulative discourses, nor these handouts like Bush is offering now that he has discovered there are poor people in Latin America."

Despite the fierce rhetoric, Chávez's rally was mostly peaceful. But demonstrators earlier in the day threw rocks at police in riot gear and lighted fires during a protest outside the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires. Other minor street protests connected to Bush's visit were reported Friday in Uruguay, Brazil and Colombia.

For Chávez, stadium rallies are becoming a tradition whenever Bush sets foot in the region. In 2005, when Bush visited Argentina for the Summit of the Americas in Mar del Plata, Chávez headlined a demonstration in the city's largest soccer stadium.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/09/AR2007030902242.html?referrer=email
 

Spectrum

Elite Poster
BGOL Investor
QueEx said:
eewwll,

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to provide an exclusive report
on the condition of Afro Venezuelans. There are no rules, guidelines or
preconditions for the report. Just your observations, impressions, and insight.

QueEx

I start this Paraguay, Argentina, and Venezuela trek this on Friday. I will report back on the details next week.. even making a 3 week swing through the U.S. unfortunately
 

Makkonnen

The Quizatz Haderach
BGOL Investor
eewwll said:
I start this Paraguay, Argentina, and Venezuela trek this on Friday. I will report back on the details next week.. even making a 3 week swing through the U.S. unfortunately
:lol: @ unfortunately
 

Makkonnen

The Quizatz Haderach
BGOL Investor
stage 1 complete eewwll

stage2 begins

BBC NEWS
Chavez issues warning to allies
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has told his political allies to join him in a single socialist party, or leave his government.

Mr Chavez wants to create the United Socialist Party as an umbrella group for dozens of groups that back him.

Three of the parties - Fatherland for All, the Communist Party and Podemos - have so far resisted the idea.

The three parties have seats in the pro-Chavez assembly and Podemos has some governorships.

"If you want to go, leave. In reality you are not indispensable," Mr Chavez said during his television programme Hello, President.

He added that he considered the three parties to be "almost in opposition".

"I don't want allies like that."

The three have not entirely dismissed the idea of forming a single party, but have said they would like a debate about its structure.

Mr Chavez - who won a landslide victory in the December elections - has pledged to turn Venezuela into a socialist state.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/6465769.stm
 

Spectrum

Elite Poster
BGOL Investor
Gonna read this article now.

Makk, I had to make this ajaxworld.com conference in NYC(man its cold as fuck here..i gotta get back to Brasil). Did not have a chance to stop in Caracas, but I do plan to on my flight back to South America. I would speak on the condition of black people in Paraguay and Argentina.. but as far as I can see... and I was in MULTIPLE Cities..urban an rural.. I was the ONLY black people in both of those countries.. so much so that people IMMEDIATELY knew I was a foreigner because black people do not exist in their countries.. and I am not kidding.. I did not see ONE fucking black person in either of those countries....and when I say black.. i mean very broadly speaking.. i mean even just a bit of african blood...black features...mixed...something... I was looking hard too..LMBAO.

QUE,

Will make the Venezuela report on the route back to NYC. I think I am going to stop in Colombia too on the way back.
 

Makkonnen

The Quizatz Haderach
BGOL Investor
eewwll said:
Gonna read this article now.

Makk, I had to make this ajaxworld.com conference in NYC(man its cold as fuck here..i gotta get back to Brasil). Did not have a chance to stop in Caracas, but I do plan to on my flight back to South America. I would speak on the condition of black people in Paraguay and Argentina.. but as far as I can see... and I was in MULTIPLE Cities..urban an rural.. I was the ONLY black people in both of those countries.. so much so that people IMMEDIATELY knew I was a foreigner because black people do not exist in their countries.. and I am not kidding.. I did not see ONE fucking black person in either of those countries....and when I say black.. i mean very broadly speaking.. i mean even just a bit of african blood...black features...mixed...something... I was looking hard too..LMBAO.

QUE,

Will make the Venezuela report on the route back to NYC. I think I am going to stop in Colombia too on the way back.
From QHt I have seen, unless you were in the most fucked up areas of the slums you wouldnt see them. Back a year or two ago there was a guy from south america in the military hypin up kumbaya race mixing and he was a gringo from Argentina I believe. I had posted stuff I found about black plight in Argentina.
I know we arent everywhere in SA so maybe there werent any where you were.
I've read that its almost impossible for blacks to get work in some nations like Ecuador because their skin is considered not acceptable to be seen in public.
 

Spectrum

Elite Poster
BGOL Investor
Makkonnen said:
From QHt I have seen, unless you were in the most fucked up areas of the slums you wouldnt see them. Back a year or two ago there was a guy from south america in the military hypin up kumbaya race mixing and he was a gringo from Argentina I believe. I had posted stuff I found about black plight in Argentina.
I know we arent everywhere in SA so maybe there werent any where you were.
I've read that its almost impossible for blacks to get work in some nations like Ecuador because their skin is considered not acceptable to be seen in public.

I have to admit that I did not see enough of Argentina. But I have seen damn near ALL of Paraguay..and when I say ALL.. I mean literally.. i went though all of that country.. if they have blacks there..those mofos are hidden underground.. I actually fly back into Argentina so i will spend another week there when I return to SA.. I will try to locate the slums and check it out.. Argentina was very WHITE compared to Paraguay.. the typical person in Paraguay would be similar to what an American would call Mexican or Native American..they had that type of look.. but I didnt see any people that would be typically called Black...but I will look more into Argentina on the way back. If Ecuador is similar to Paraguay, I could imagine a black person being an outcast.

There is a stronger African influence in Brasil, Colombia, and Venezuela... some of those countries like Chile and Argentina have VERY small black populations.. i mean less than .5 percent type of deals..

but when I spend more time in argentina and specifically Venezuela, I will post it here..especially if I can locate and go to the "hood"
 

Makkonnen

The Quizatz Haderach
BGOL Investor
eewwll said:
I have to admit that I did not see enough of Argentina. But I have seen damn near ALL of Paraguay..and when I say ALL.. I mean literally.. i went though all of that country.. if they have blacks there..those mofos are hidden underground.. I actually fly back into Argentina so i will spend another week there when I return to SA.. I will try to locate the slums and check it out.. Argentina was very WHITE compared to Paraguay.. the typical person in Paraguay would be similar to what an American would call Mexican or Native American..they had that type of look.. but I didnt see any people that would be typically called Black...but I will look more into Argentina on the way back. If Ecuador is similar to Paraguay, I could imagine a black person being an outcast.

There is a stronger African influence in Brasil, Colombia, and Venezuela... some of those countries like Chile and Argentina have VERY small black populations.. i mean less than .5 percent type of deals..

but when I spend more time in argentina and specifically Venezuela, I will post it here..especially if I can locate and go to the "hood"
Cool. I wish that thread was still around. There was this dipshit in the US Army who was a huero from Argentina and was really really pro race mixing, so much so I went and found a bunch of shit on the internet about the plight of blacks in Argentina and told him to go home and fix that shit first.

It was some super slum shit with black and mostly mixed people living in dirty shacks on the edge of some city. They were talking about how no one would hire them because they were black although they werent being lynched or called names etc. Basically treating them like lepers or something. It was really fucked up. I want to say it was from a group like Amnesty International or a similar human rights group, possibly even the UN human rights org.
Good luck brotha and travel safely.
 

QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
Chavez plans to pull out of the World Bank and the IMF

VENEZUELA

<font size="4"><center>Chavez plans to pull out of the World Bank and the IMF</font size></center>

By Pablo Bachelet
McClatchy Newspapers
Tue, May. 01, 2007

WASHINGTON - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez took a dramatic step toward severing his ties with the world multilateral financial system by announcing late Monday that Venezuela would quit the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.


The practical impact of the move is unclear. But withdrawing from the world's two premier financial institutions, which have been associated since World War II with U.S. economic policies, would send a powerful political statement. It also might embolden activists throughout the world who are opposed to privatization and fiscal austerity, two courses that the institutions often require of economically troubled nations.


It was unclear how much money the World Bank and the IMF would have to hand over to Caracas. Venezuela's share of the IMF is worth $3.9 billion, though it wasn't known whether the IMF would be expected to pay Venezuela that much when its membership is terminated.


In a defiant speech, Chavez demanded that the World Bank pay oil-rich Venezuela its contributions. "Now it is they that owe us," he said.


There was no reaction from either organization Tuesday, but the State Department said Chavez was only digging a deeper hole for his people.


"Look, you can't take the shovel out of the man's hand," said spokesman Sean McCormack. "He just keeps on digging. So, and sadly, it's the Venezuelan people who are victimized by this."


The World Bank and the IMF were established near the end of World War II to help rebuild war damage. The World Bank helps countries finance development projects, while the IMF tries to ensure orderly world trade by regulating exchange rates and providing assistance to countries unable to pay their debts. Traditionally, the World Bank is led by an American, and the IMF head is a European.


In recent years, both organizations have refrained from criticizing Chavez's economic policies, including re-nationalizations of the oil and telecommunications industry, in hopes of quietly persuading his government to stick with more market-friendly policies.


The latest World Economic Outlook, the IMF's assessment of the world economy, barely mentioned Venezuela when it was issued a month ago. No IMF mission has visited Venezuela since 2004, though Anoop Singh, the IMF's top Latin American official, told reporters last month that the IMF hoped to send a mission to Caracas to discuss inflation control later this year.


Nations rarely walk away from the IMF or the World Bank. One of the last to do so was Cuba, in 1964.


Liliana Rojas-Suarez, a former IMF official now with the Washington-based Center for Global Development think tank, said Chavez's move is consistent with his vision of creating a system independent of U.S. influence.


"This is definitely political and consistent with Chavez's strategy," she said, pointing out that Chavez is founding a new Bank for the South, which would play a role similar to the World Bank but under Latin American control.




Several U.S. lawmakers blasted Chavez's decision. Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who chairs the Senate Republican Policy Committee, said it was "the latest and most ominous scheme out of Fidel Castro's playbook." She called for the United States to increase its oil drilling programs to gain independence from Venezuelan oil.


Chavez has taken a dim view of the IMF since at least 2002, when the organization quickly offered to support a government that briefly overthrew Chavez.


Since then, with oil prices bringing in windfall revenues, Chavez has worked hard to establish himself as a counterbalance to U.S.-supported financial institutions.




Venezuela has bought more than $3 billion in Argentine bonds, allowing Argentina to pay off the IMF. Chavez also has pledged money to Ecuador so that the Andean nation can reduce its debt to both institutions.


Last month, Venezuela finished paying off its debts, and the IMF closed its office in Caracas last year.




Chavez isn't alone among Latin Americans angry with the World Bank. Bolivian President Evo Morales recently complained that World Bank arbitration mechanisms favored private interests, and Ecuador ousted the World Bank representative from Quito.


Chavez also has threatened to pull out of the 34-member Organization of American States if the OAS condemns his decision to take over an opposition-controlled TV station.

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/17163682.htm
 

QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
<font size="5"><center>Venezuelans rally for TV station </font size></center>

BBC News
Sunday, 20 May 2007

Tens of thousands of Venezuelans have rallied in the streets of Caracas to protest against President Hugo Chavez's plans to close a private TV station.

The head of the RCTV station addressed the marchers, urging them to defend freedom and "free independent media".

President Chavez has said he will not renew a licence for the RCTV network which is due to expire on 27 May.

He accuses the opposition-allied TV station of supporting a failed coup against him in 2002.

He has referred to opposition television stations in general as "horsemen of the apocalypse" and has blamed RCTV in particular for spreading immorality with its steamy soap operas.

Mr Chavez plans to replace RCTV with a government-funded TV station.

Bolivar citation

Marcel Garnier, RCTV's managing director, told a crowd of cheering protesters in Caracas that Mr Chavez was trying to "topple the country over the precipice of totalitarianism where not even his own supporters can express their opinions".

He said the president should pay more attention to the words of Simon Bolivar, a hero of Mr Chavez famed for leading South Americans in the fight against colonialism.

"He who rules must listen, the people are speaking," Mr Garnier said, quoting Bolivar.


President Chavez was re-elected by a landslide last year.

His welfare spending programme has won him massive support among the poor but his opponents accuse him of turning the country into an increasingly authoritarian socialist state, modelled on Fidel Castro's Cuba.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6673513.stm
 

Makkonnen

The Quizatz Haderach
BGOL Investor
bump for those who think the tv station in question is an objective media outlet falsely persecuted
 

QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
<font size="5"><center>US firms 'reject' Venezuela deal </font size></center>

BBC News
Tuesday, 26 June 2007

Two of the world's largest oil companies have reportedly rejected a deal that would keep them working in Venezuela's most important oil field.
The government is taking over majority control of operations in the Orinoco Belt, as it extends state control.

Sources at the state-owned oil firm, PDVSA, say they have been unable to agree with ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil about their future role.
President Hugo Chavez set Tuesday as a deadline for foreign firms to agree.
In May, Venezuela's nationalised oil company, PDVSA, took over control of exploration projects in the Orinoco Belt, which had been among the last privately-run fields in the country.

It is the country's most important oil area, with massive potential.
There are proven reserves of at least 80 billion barrels, but there could be enough there to make Venezuela the world's biggest source of oil.

President Chavez has demanded that private companies hand over majority control to the state as part of a nationalisation drive.

The six international firms working there have had little choice, but there has been intense negotiation over compensation, says the BBC's James Ingham in Caracas.

Nationalisation drive
Sticking points have included asset valuation, compensation for lost value and rules about decision-making in the future joint ventures, industry officials told Reuters news agency.

The fields are worth at least $25bn, according to Matthew Shaw of Wood Mackenzie.

It is reported that four of the six companies have come to an agreement and will stay. These are Chevron Corp, Norway's Statoil, BP and France's Total.
Total is the only one so far to publicly confirm that it will sign a deal.
But with Tuesday's deadline to finalise arrangements approaching, ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil had not yet struck a deal.

This could mean that they will leave Venezuela altogether - although the head of Exxon Mobil, Rex Tillerson, has said that he expects negotiations to continue beyond the deadline.

If negotiations fail, ConocoPhillips could lose its $2.5bn investment.
Mr Chavez began a widespread nationalisation drive in January, after winning a landslide victory in the elections last December.

He says the aim is to close Venezuela's massive wealth gap.
His critics say his plan is all about power and question the state's ability to run big companies effectively.

While Mr Chavez was able to pay cash compensation to nationalise the telecoms and energy sectors, analysts suggest that he would not have the funds to pay for a full-scale nationalisation of the oil sector.

Developing the new fields is vital to Venezuela's plans to double oil output by 2012, as its existing fields in Lake Maracaibo are declining.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6239702.stm
 
Last edited:

Makkonnen

The Quizatz Haderach
BGOL Investor
Venezuela brands US envoy failure
Venezuela has criticised the outgoing United States' ambassador to the country, saying his three-year term there was a failure.

William Brownfield was accused of trying to undermine the government of the left-wing President, Hugo Chavez.

Earlier this week, Mr Brownfield said he regretted that he had not achieved greater dialogue with the government in Caracas.

He was almost expelled from Venezuela on several occasions.

Mr Brownfield is to be replaced by Patrick Duddy, a top official in the State Department's Latin American department.

Venezuela's Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said "there is little to hope" for from any appointee of US President George W Bush.

'Limited achievements'

"We hope the new ambassador who is coming is at least serious and respects Venezuela's sovereignty", Mr Maduro told reporters.

Mr Brownfield said in a televised interview on Wednesday that he felt he made limited achievements in lessening tensions with Venezuela but that he regretted he was not able to establish a pragmatic relationship.

He poked fun at President Chavez's anti-American rhetoric, saying Americans were likely to do "very conspiratorial things" during the Independence Day holiday, such as attending baseball games.

Mr Maduro told reporters that "William Brownfield came to Venezuela with one mission: to destabilize the government of President Chavez, to help topple him. And his mission has failed."

Mr Brownfield took over as ambassador to Caracas in August 2004, and his time was marked by growing hostility between the two governments.

On at least two occasions, President Chavez threatened to expel Mr Brownfield, accusing him of meddling in Venezuela's affairs.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/6275972.stm

Published: 2007/07/06 05:02:24 GMT
 

QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
<font size="5"><center>Chavez popularity cools amid push for socialism</font size></center>

By Casto Ocando | El Nuevo Herald
Thu, July 19, 2007

MIAMI — Proposals for the unlimited reelection of President Hugo Chavez, the possibility of establishing a Cuba-like political system and the "violent" clash with Washington are rejected by most Venezuelans, according to a new poll unveiled last week.

The poll by Hinterlaces, a Caracas think tank that carries out surveys and analysis for private clients, also showed that Chavez's popularity has dropped 13 points since November, from 52 percent to 39 percent.

Hinterlaces' figures indicated that the average Venezuelan is increasingly rejecting an ideological agenda in key areas such as the rights of private property and the country's shift toward Cuban-style socialism.

"More than a revolution, what Venezuela is living is a process of democratic maturation and the remodeling of its political culture," said Oscar Schemel, president of Hinterlaces, which correctly predicted Chavez's landslide reelection in December.

The political interests of today's Venezuelans are "the opposite of extremist speeches" not only by Chavez, but also by his radical opposition, Schemel added.

He said Chavez's radical stances "seem to run counter to the key ideas and meanings of the sociopolitical culture of Venezuela" and are generating resistance among Venezuelans.

The latest Hinterlaces poll, which consulted 990 people in five major Venezuelan cities in May and June, showed the following results:

_63 percent rejected unlimited presidential reelection.

_47 percent opposed the establishment of socialism.

_85 percent opposed Cuban-style socialism.

_86 percent rejected the idea that "to be rich is bad."

_87 percent supported private property.

_75 percent rejected the "violent and rude" confrontation with Washington.

_81 percent said the country needs new leaders.

Since his December reelection, the leftist Chavez has stepped up his efforts to move Venezuela toward "21st century socialism" and pushed for a constitutional change to allow unlimited presidential reelection.

Hinterlaces first asked respondents whether they supported unlimited reelection in February, obtaining a 61 percent negative response. Other polling companies have obtained similar results.

The rejection of Chavez's ideological agenda shown in the polls "has been consistent in the nine years of Chavez government," said Carlos Escalante, director of the Miami-based Inter-American Center for Political Management.

Escalante added, however, that he found it paradoxical that "people don't want to look like Cuba, and prefer private property and keeping their freedom, yet each day the positive evaluation of Chavez remains high."

The poll's release came one day after the pro-Chavez president of the national legislature, Cilia Florez, attacked what she called an attempt to "manipulate the proposal for presidential reelection," saying it was not for indefinite reelection but rather "continuous" reelection.

"If a president has been running a country correctly and the people are satisfied with that rule, we cannot take away their opportunity to reelect that president," Florez said at a news conference.

Posted on Thu, July 19, 2007

McClatchy Newspapers 2007

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/world/story/18198.html
 

Makkonnen

The Quizatz Haderach
BGOL Investor
The poll by Hinterlaces, a Caracas think tank that carries out surveys and analysis for private clients, also showed that Chavez's popularity has dropped 13 points since November, from 52 percent to 39 percent.

:hmm:

same ol shit
 

Spectrum

Elite Poster
BGOL Investor
Chavez to expel foreign critics :lol:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6911246.stm

Chavez to expel foreign critics
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. File photo
Mr Chavez said public criticism by foreigners would not be tolerated
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has vowed to expel foreigners who publicly criticise him or his government.

"No foreigner can come here to attack us. Anyone who does must be removed from this country," he said during his weekly TV and radio programme.

Mr Chavez also ordered officials to monitor statements made by international figures in Venezuela.

His comments came shortly after a senior Mexican politician publicly criticised the Venezuelan government.

"How long are we going to allow a person - from any country in the world - to come to our own house to say there's a dictatorship here, that the president is a tyrant, and nobody does anything about it?" Mr Chavez said during his "Hello, President" broadcast on Sunday.

"It cannot be allowed - it is a question of national dignity," he said.

He did not mention any names, but his comments came on the same weekend that Manuel Espino, president of Mexico's ruling National Action Party, criticised Mr Chavez at a pro-democracy conference in Caracas.

Mr Espino told the conference a plan by Mr Chavez to end term limits on Venezuela's presidency were a threat to democracy.

He accused Mr Chavez of trying to extend his rule indefinitely with the proposed constitutional reform, which would let Mr Chavez run for the presidency again in 2012.

Mr Chavez said the reform package would increase the influence of local community councils and student groups as part of his "21st-Century socialism" revolution.

He is due to present the proposal to Venezuela's National Assembly next month. The assembly consists solely of politicians who back the president.

Mr Chavez was re-elected to a third term last year with support from the millions of impoverished Venezuelans who back his social development policies.
 

QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
Chavez said:
"How long are we going to allow a person - from any country in the world - to come to our own house to say there's a dictatorship here, that the president is a tyrant, and nobody does anything about it?" Mr Chavez said during his "Hello, President" broadcast on Sunday.
Apparently Senor Chavez has a double standard.

Does he recall his own remarks, IN THIS COUNTRY,
to the President of these United States ???
I don't recall anyone expelling Senor Chavez.

QueEx
 

Makkonnen

The Quizatz Haderach
BGOL Investor
Write your congressman and tell them you dont like the UN being hosted in NY for foreigners to come and complain. :hmm:

Venezuela isn't home of the UN is it?

Not really comparable situations unless your just on a free speech rant which would then make it kinda bullshit too since you can't even wear a fuckin t-shirt in this country without being arrested.


You dont recall that(Chavez being expelled) but you should recall Homeland Security harassing Venezuelan diplomats to the UN and Morales of Bolivia being on the Homeland Security No-Fly list. I'd say those actual events are worse than him running his mouth.
Or if you read this thread you might recall the US wanting to take Chavez prisoner after the coup.
 

QueEx

Rising Star
Super Moderator
<font size="5"><center>Chávez seeks changes allowing indefinite rule</font size></center>


Fred Attewill and agencies
Monday August 6, 2007
Guardian Unlimited


The Venezuelan president, Hugo Chávez, has announced his intention to change the country's constitution, allowing him to rule indefinitely.
The socialist leader used his weekly television programme, Hello President, to confirm widely anticipated plans to scrap the limits on presidential terms.

Mr Chávez said the expected change - which must be agreed by parliament and approved by voters in a referendum - would enhance democracy.

However, critics of his leadership will see it as an attempt to tighten his grip on Venezuela and cement his self-styled "revolution", which has sharply divided opinion at home and abroad.

"It will be the people who make the final decision about how long I stay," Mr Chávez told viewers during a marathon edition of Hello President - which lasted for more than seven hours - yesterday.
Under the current law, the Venezuelan president must leave office when his presidential term expires in 2012. By then, he will have been in power for 13 years.

Mr Chávez had earlier admitted that indefinite re-election would "naturally cause controversy", but said the system was used in many European and Asian countries.

Last month, he announced plans to expel foreigners who criticised his government while in the country, ordering cabinet ministers to monitor statements by visitors and deport them if they "denigrated" his leadership.

He also told the armed services to reflect socialist values, and said education officials must purge the "perversity of capitalism" from school textbooks.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/venezuela/story/0,,2142710,00.html
 
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