Hugo Chavez Loves Free Speech...

JihadJane said:
Are you suggesting than oil prices aren't going to skyrocket again?

Because Venezuela has large oil deposits and is a major oil supplier to the US, not to mention that Chavez is a socialist, it is very naive to claim that "nobody cares about" him!
Click to expand...

Yet, if he keep pissing off the service companies or just stealing them he will not be able to get the oil out of the ground. Thats why he has backed down to US companies recently.

Chavez needs these companies as much as the US needs his oil.
 
dudalb said:
The Chavez defenders remind me strongly of those who in the 1930's could see no evil in the wonderful job that Comrade Joe Stalin was doing in the Soviet Union.
None is so blind as those who refuse to see for ideological reasons.
Click to expand...

He can do no wrong.
 
dudalb said:
The Chavez defenders remind me strongly of those who in the 1930's could see no evil in the wonderful job that Comrade Joe Stalin was doing in the Soviet Union.
None is so blind as those who refuse to see for ideological reasons.
Click to expand...

They could see no evil because no evil was broadcasted. When his atrocities became widely known his defenders fell off pretty darn quick. Stalin managed to single-handedly kill off Communism as a viable political faction in the US.

What I'm saying is that the initial complaints about Chavez and the old Communist revolution were just ideological, regarding the marketplace and social welfare. There was a massive campaign to discredit Chavez before he had attempted to silence anyone, simply because of his socialism.

Right now there is a creditability problem with a lot of outlets when it comes to Venezuela and it is because he wanted socialism from get go. You want our condemnation? Hey, this article looks pretty wide spread so it looks like the real deal. But even then it is hardly anywhere near what Stalin was caught doing.
 
Last edited:
daenku32 said:
They could see no evil because no evil was broadcasted. When his atrocities became widely known his defenders fell off pretty darn quick. Stalin managed to single-handedly kill off Communism as a viable political faction in the US.

What I'm saying is that the initial complaints about Chavez and the old Communist revolution were just ideological, regarding the marketplace and social welfare. There was a massive campaign to discredit Chavez before he had attempted to silence anyone, simply because of his socialism.

Right now there is a creditability problem with a lot of outlets when it comes to Venezuela and it is because he wanted socialism from get go. You want our condemnation? Hey, this article looks pretty wide spread so it looks like the real deal. But even then it is hardly anywhere near what Stalin was caught doing.
Click to expand...


Sorry,but your first paragraph is BS.
What Stalin was up to was exposed by the mainstream media as early as the early Thirties. The Militant Left chose to ignore it with the classic chant of "Lies! Lies! All Capitalists Lies"!
And Stalin had many hardline defenders on the left until Krushchev did his famous "Expose" speech in 1956.
 
Virus said:
Hooking people into an authoritarian regime with a few welfare programs is the oldest trick in the book.

Hamas and Hezbollah benefit the poor. Might as well support them too.
Click to expand...

Does that count as a Godwin?
 
Wondering where all the Chavez lovers are...

oh wait... was I too late with that one? ;)
 
Politician kicked out of country for insulting elected president= forced starvation of Ukraine

Surely invoking Stalin is a form of Godwinning?
 
dudalb said:
The Chavez defenders remind me strongly of those who in the 1930's could see no evil in the wonderful job that Comrade Joe Stalin was doing in the Soviet Union.
None is so blind as those who refuse to see for ideological reasons.
Click to expand...

Someone needs to brush up on their history, may I suggest these books.

Comparing Chavez to Stalin is ridiculous.
 
Compare him to Castro instead. That's who he openly admires and supports with free oil. Castro also happens to run one of the least free countries in the world.
 
Praktik said:
Someone needs to brush up on their history, may I suggest these books.

Comparing Chavez to Stalin is ridiculous.
Click to expand...

Agreed,..Chavez is just a minor league dictator compared to Uncle Joe...but the way some of his supporters refuse to see anything wrong with Chavez is the same as the worshippers of Uncle Joe in the 1930's.
 
The apologists come out of the woodwork... I wonder how long before Hugo replaces Che as the icon of the head-in-the-sand left?
 
Am I an apologist for thinking there must be some reason he seems to enjoy substantial support at home?
 
dudalb said:
I guess shutting down the opposition is only evil if you are a right wing dictator. If you are a Left Wing Dictator it OK.
I get the impression that freedom of speech does not hold a high spot in geni's scale of values.
Click to expand...

It's more that Chavez fundimently fails on my scale of values (coup attempt back in the 90s) so I prefer to move on to how to deal with him pragmaticaly rather than bothering with an assment that isn't going to improve.
 
dudalb said:
I guess shutting down the opposition is only evil if you are a right wing dictator. If you are a Left Wing Dictator it OK.
I get the impression that freedom of speech does not hold a high spot in geni's scale of values.
Click to expand...

There is freedom of speech in both Venezuela and the USA. In both countries you can walk down the street saying Obama is an idiot and NOTHING WILL HAPPEN to you.

Look, dudalb. The moment Chavez was elected, many people here, myself included, said this is bad news -- yet another South American country on the way to dictatorship. The allegedly "sophisticated" "progressive" folks went over the top about such hurtful, unjustified accusations. How dare we say that about someone who SAYS ALL THE RIGHT THINGS about socialism and Bush being evil and American imperialism! We're just stooges for the right-wing media who hates Chavez for exposing Bush and America as the evil entities that they are! Well, turns out we were right. The "sophisticated progressives" were once more shown to be useful idiots of the latest dictator who gains their undying support by saying a few anti-USA, pro-communism cliches as he plans complete takeover.

Once again, they were played for suckers. You'd think they might have learned something from their previous support of Che, Castro, Mao, Stalin, Arafat, Khumeini, Ho chi Minh and the rest, but nooooooooooo.....
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom