Hugo Chavez: Warming Americans' hearts

reply to post by SLAYER69


I think its more about poking fun at America and making it look like the Third World nation it has become than bribes.

Those cubans are pretty funny.

reply to post by Dimitri Dzengalshlevi



Man I was really believing your post until you said, "Yeah, I damn well think government is a lot more efficient than leaving things up to corporations and the private sector. Got a problem with that?"

Wells let's look at a few businesses the government in the US runs,
Metro - broke
Sound transit - 4+ billion in debt
Post office - 4+ billion in debt
Social Security - broke ( for years gov denied that the actual money collected had been spent)
Medicaid - broke and unsustainable without changes.
Us government 15 trillion in debt
Many US cities either running a deficit or they are damn near bankrupt.

Now I could dig up a lot of sources here, but I think you see my point. They are far from efficient. Now I also recognize very profitable companies like UPS don't have to deliver to everyone....but?

Government entities have monopolies, they have a steady income stream but yet can never make ends meet. In the private sector those ingredients lead to leadership changes. Not in government. You get a pay raise and if you fail bad enough promoted to a cushy overseas job at an embassy being a foreign diplomat.

reply to post by SkurkNilsen

Ever since Chavez became president in 1999, Venezuelan cities have become hellholes in which murder rates have more than quadrupled. At 233 per 100,000, or one murder every 90 minutes, the rate in Caracas now tops that of every war zone in the world, according to an official National Statistics Institute study released Wednesday. In fact, crime is the defining fact of life in today's Venezuela. About 96% of all murder victims are poor and lower-middle class, the very people Chavez claims to represent. "Don't venture into barrios at any time of the day, let alone at night," warns the Lonely Planet guide to Venezuela to hardy adventure travelers.

The Killing Fields Of Caracas

Yep,Hugo is the workingman's,man........

reply to post by theubermensch


Let me ask you a question, if Venezuela is such a socialized Medicine Paradise then why did Chavez seek medical treatment outside of his own country? Also, Are you going to deny that he has personally profited handsomely from the seizure of the foreign investors businesses and assets?

It seems many here choose to take jabs at the US's faults [Which we hear about all day everyday] rather than look squarely at the truth about their Dear Leader. Oh wait. Wrong dictator. Never mind, I get them confused sometimes.

If a Dictator makes some donations they are the good guys now.

Again, I didn't realize some peoples opinions were so easily bought.
OK cool gotcha.

reply to post by SLAYER69


I find it Ironic that Hugo Chavez travels to Cuba,for medical treatment,and Haitians travel to America, bypassing Cuba,for the very same things. BTW 90 miles,compared to 710 miles to the US.

Wonder why...........

reply to post by SLAYER69


I get what you are saying. And I know America isnt all bad. And Chavez,Castro,Ahmadinejad arent perfect.

And I know all charity/aid is political. I just see guys like Venezuela and Iran,Cuba making donations as a way of saying to America "we can play the game too,and beat you" .

I think its pretty cool. All the major capitalist nations are pretty much bankrupt. In a way China and Russia hold capitalism in their hands. Whoda thunk it?

But I agree,Venezuala and Chavez arent perfect. Niether is Obama,Romney or Newt though.

Originally posted by theubermensch
I think its pretty cool. All the major capitalist nations are pretty much bankrupt. In a way China and Russia hold capitalism in their hands. Whoda thunk it?

That's a bit off topic but...
I wouldn't be counting your chickens until they've hatched if I were you.

But I agree,Venezuala and Chavez arent perfect. Niether is Obama,Romney or Newt though.

This is true.

I don't think too many here who are critical of Chavez would go to the mat for the Obama administration. I enjoy watching some people fall all over themselves trying to glorify the man while taking jabs at the US.

Originally posted by Agent_USA_Supporter

Originally posted by mike_trivisonno
Chavez is a piece of crap Communist.

Every Venezuelan expat I have talked to despises this communist piece of dung.

And whats the west?

trying to take over Venezuelan oil, and yeah i doubt you talked to every Venezuelan.

Bush and King Obama, has done great wonders for America, just look at its image around the world.

edit on 2-2-2012 by Agent_USA_Supporter because: (no reason given)

Don't look at your perceived bias of America's image to determine what the world thinks of us. Name a country that has more visa requests than the USA. For such a terrible place with a horrible image around the world, we sure have a lot of people, from a lot of countries, wanting to come here to live.

What exactly has Chavez done wrong? Anyone want to list something?

I don't understand all the Chavez hate. I'm also aware of the US propaganda campaign against him, where stories have been spun completely around. I'm specifically talking about the 2002 coup attempt funded by the CIA. They justified it saying Chavez was responsible for the killings, but those on the ground claimed they were snipers on a building. Those killed were hit in the head. I'm going to go ahead and say, they were probably CIA snipers.

In 2002, the CIA attempted to overthrow Hugo Chavez, president of Venezuela, in a military coup. On the 11th of April 2002, an opposition March towards the presidential palace was organized by the US backed Venezuelan opposition. en.wikipedia.org... The opposition version of events puts the blame on Chávez, or at least on his supporters. A Venevisión camera positioned on a rooftop that afternoon captured images of people using handguns to shoot from the pro-Chávez counter-march being held on Puente Llaguno, an overpass that crosses one of central Caracas's busiest avenues; it is unclear who they are shooting at, but the opposition narrative is that they were shooting at the opposition march and responsible for the deaths.[50] The gunmen argue that they were, in fact, returning fire at unknown snipers and Metropolitan Police firing towards them. The documentary The Revolution Will Not Be Televised shows footage captured from another angle by an amateur cameraman of the gunmen firing while the street below is empty; another documentary, X-Ray of a Lie argues the former's footage obscures Metropolitan Police trucks on the street below. The 2004 documentary Puente Llaguno: Claves de una Masacre showed that the Chavistas on the bridge did not begin shooting until 4.38pm, by which time most of the opposition deaths had already occurred.[47] In addition, most of the opposition deaths were at least 300 yards away from the bridge, too far to be killed by the Chavistas' pistols with the precise head shots witnessed

Originally posted by AzureSky
The typical communism scapegoat.
The -amount- of foreign aid doesn't matter, because 70% of that foreign aid is funneled into US-Multinational corporations in order to 'help economies' become democracy and skyrocket! Even though it doesn't work and only benefits a small portion of their population while the rest are left to starve.

Anyways.

Helping heat grannies house with some of his oil? Thats pretty nice of him to help support some americans. Seeing as how the american government won't.

Your beloved Prezidente gave your tax dollars to socialist Brazilian Petrobas and put a moratorium on our own offshore drilling, so please don't be naive about this socialist tactic.

how many wars did senhor Chávez start since 1998?

none

this alone makes him a better guy than any US president

watch: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

Originally posted by Prokofiev
how many wars did senhor Chávez start since 1998?

none

this alone makes him a better guy than any US president

watch: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

edit on 3-2-2012 by Prokofiev because: (no reason given)

Based on research by several Venezuelan universities, Venezuela had a murder rate of 67 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2011. That compares to 32 per 100,000 last year in neighboring Colombia, and 14 per 100,000 in Mexico - two countries suffering widespread drug-related violence.

In November, President Hugo Chávez announced the creation of a new armed force - the People's Guard - to improve public security. Thousands of troops were deployed to support police on the streets of Caracas and other regions where crime levels are high.

LINK


Not Televised,hey?

Originally posted by hangedman13
But which one accomplishes more? The latter may be more generous but it worth less in buying power. And it proves one of my personal issues with charity. It's not a competition for who gives more, it's about helping your fellows. But it seems to devolve into a peeing contest about who gives more.

It depends upon how it's put to use. It also means others are more willing (and possibly able) to put themselves to to the task. Just think what it could do, in the right hands. Regardless, I still think the thought does count.

Originally posted by miniatus
Chavez is motivated by politics.. his gestures are there to convince people he's less than horrible .. And by the fact you posted this, it's worked to some degree.. don't get me wrong, it's great he's done it .. and he can keep on doing it.. I won't mind! but his motivations are less than admirable.

Chavez would fit right in with U.S. politics then.
2nd

I'm going to take the pessimistic view that Hugo Chavez only supports these programs to exercise power. Even so however, it is not necassary a bad thing. He utilized resources peacefully to utilize soft power (i.e. non military power). It is a great statement for Venezuela and impacts the perception of the American and global vision of his government. While America boasts about being the richest most advanced and developed country, the champion of democracy and proseperity, a 3rd World, left-wing borderline dictatorship is providing aid to the citizens of the so called "greatest country in the world". While I may be pessimistic in regards to his motives for such an act (considering he could easily redirect that money and oil to helping the Venezuelans still stuck in the Bario's/slums), I cannot deny that it is smart and actually usefull.

reply to post by mike_trivisonno


I'm sure you'd rather old people freeze to death in their homes because YOUR capitalist policies are what put them there in the first place?

That's right. You vote for someone that supports cutting home heating aid and other programs and YOU are the problem!

Originally posted by mike_trivisonno
Chavez is a piece of crap Communist.

Every Venezuelan expat I have talked to despises this communist piece of dung.

And yet he can walk around the streets of Venezuela and no one attacks him.

Do you think any US President could walk through the streets of any State with no worry? I don't.

Originally posted by nightbringr
reply to post by SkurkNilsen

 

And which country donates more money and resources to other countries than any other country in the world? The USA.

Its all relative. Im not a huge fan of US foreign policy either. Hugo likes to make himself look good, all the while suppressing freedoms in his own country. Oldest trick in the book.

I agree, clearly he sees war is brewing. He probably figures when TSHTF he wants to be on the side that wins.

Question to all those who are saying bad things about Chavez. To start, I honestly don't know much about Chavez's history nor the history of Venezuela but look at Gaddafi and Lybia. Gaddafi was a tyrant at first and did many evil things for many years. As Gaddafi got older he started to change. He started to do good for his people. Watch ATS's the Truth is Viral # 3 and you'll see what he was starting to do. Maybe as these tyrants get older they start to realize their faults and change. I am not saying that Chavez is a saint, but I am saying that people can change. Politically motivated or not, Chavez has done more for that lady than her own government. What do you guys think? Can anybody enlighten me on this subject. I of course will be researching Venezuela's history and the History of Chavez but I would love some input.

one more thing: Usually when the media demonizes something there is a reason. . . what's their reason for demonizing Mr. Chavez?

Great post!

Originally posted by hangedman13
reply to post by The1Prettiest1One

 

Wanna make a bet? How about $10,000? 65% of 10,000 leaves 3,500 and 65% of 1,000 leaves 350. The latter is more generous.

But which one accomplishes more? The latter may be more generous but it worth less in buying power. And it proves one of my personal issues with charity. It's not a competition for who gives more, it's about helping your fellows. But it seems to devolve into a peeing contest about who gives more.

I'm with this guy! Who's with me?


Oh, except that Jesus and most other moral icons throughout history would be extremely disappointed. Seriously, I'm not super-Christian, but I recognize what Jesus was saying when he said that the poor woman who gives a penny is giving much more than the rich man who gives a dollar...

The denial of sinful wealth in the U.S. media has brainwashed too many. "OH NOES he's talkin' about class warfare!!! They should get to keep all their monies that they couldn't spend in 1000 lifetimes!" How did we get to the point where greed is a virtue?

Eh, what am I talking about. Jesus for pointing out the obvious, and they crucified him because they couldn't stand his truth. Nothing has changed since.