Hugo Chavez: Warming Americans' hearts

:::breaks out the soapbox:::

And while I am at it....

We are the richest country the world has ever seen. We send billions of dollars in foreign aid around the globe....

and yet we have citizens right here at home, in the richest country the world has ever seen, who can't feed themselves. Our elderly can not be independent and care for themselves. They worry about food, heating cost, and even rent/mortgage. If this makes sense to anyone, then I dont know what to tell you. In my eyes it is a crime.

reply to post by MrWendal


Voting for Ron Paul will only serve to hurt those very same social programs you just mentioned.

Even if he doesn't do away with them immediately, I don't trust his long-term goals should he ever touch the office of President. Pigs are more likely to fly. I'd much rather not vote.

reply to post by SkurkNilsen


castro has also used this tactic, and ignorant Americans, and other ignorant people around the world swallowed his deceipt as castro tried to claim he is a good man...

Originally posted by Sharpenmycleats
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.

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

Ya know, it's funny how these institutions were in the black and worked just fine for the last hundred years. Now as corporations have more or less taken over government, all of these institutions are failing and we hear the call for privatization. Privatize our mail system, our prisons, our roadways, etc, etc. (Seriously, privatizing prisons, while the prison companies lobby the legislature to make/pass new laws??? If that doesn't scare the s*** out of you, then you're probably rich or near death.)

And who are the heads of government departments that are running things into the ground - former CEOs of the companies that will take over when things are privatized. And these guys aren't voted in, they're appointed by our "representatives" who have gotten lots of "support" (insider trading tips, trips, "campaign financing", etc.) from those same companies.


Gee, it's almost like they planned it this way... The giant companies complained about regulations, but somehow these regulations aided them in destroying all of their competition. Now that the competition is out of the way, they can come in and save us with privatization!


You see, I hold Libertarian beliefs and I like the idea of business coming in and government getting out. The problem is that we've let it go for too long. Libertarian ideals work when you're building something from the ground up. But, in the situation we have now, where companies have used government to crush their competition and become too powerful for anyone new to compete...
Well I still hold Libertarian ideals, but realistically I have serious doubts that anything will get better when business have overt control - as compared to the covert control they exercise now.

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.

Out of interest, do the US donate the most in terms of the total cash amount, or as a percentage of their GDP ?

Originally posted by The Sword
reply to post by MrWendal

 

Voting for Ron Paul will only serve to hurt those very same social programs you just mentioned.

Even if he doesn't do away with them immediately, I don't trust his long-term goals should he ever touch the office of President. Pigs are more likely to fly. I'd much rather not vote.

No they would not. You obviously have no idea what Paul's ideas are on these issues.

I recall there were some US state department documents in Wikileaks revealing tactics and/or attempts to discredit him. I recall a US sponsored anti Chavez satellite TV station.

The web site Axisoflogic.com deals with Latin American issues. Some revealing but biased articles on US corporation driven foreign policy. The history of government backed corporate American exploitation of Latin America is shameful and Venezuelan oil is among the worst. Let us do the exploration, drilling, refining and marketing and you get xx% of the remaining profit, which after padded expenses was just enough to satisfy one person, the corrupted president/dictator

Chavez's recent hip/pelvis cancer rings of the old KGB method of removing old senile party officials, being a radioactive pellet stuffed in the crease of their chair.

Its funny, whenever I hear the phrase "foreign financial aid" it seems to process in my brain as "money and military equipment given to other countries to help bend them to the will of the U.S. "financial aid" is a fancy word for a bribe.

That being said, I've seen bad men do good things, and good men do bad things. I like seeing a story that goes against what we're constantly being told to believe by the media.

OMG


Hugo Chavez is a saint


IF YOU FELL FOR THIS PR STUNT...YOUR A MORON, PERIOD!!!

double post


Anyway, there is obviously a MASSIVE Anti west campaign in full swing at the minute online, i can't go anywhere without seeing lies & propaganda aimed at turning uninformed US/Western citizens on to turn on there own government, alot of it is coming from RT, some from here and youtube,

Hold tight folk the web is now a battle ground, say hello to the information war

reply to post by mike_trivisonno

Chavez is a piece of crap Communist.

why dont you go to a place called a library and get yourself something called a book. So that you can learn what communism actually is.

Originally posted by Dimitri Dzengalshlevi
Are you serious? Did you just claim that Venezuela's socialist medicare program is a bad thing because its paid for by taxes?

I mean, this is seriously mind-boggling to me. I don't get what you're saying. Do you, as a Canadian, not seem to understand how important fundamental and universal healthcare is? Especially within a developing nation?

If you have such a problem with this concept, then by all means stop paying Canadian medicare premiums and only receive medical attention from a private service. That way my taxes won't be paying for your bullsh*t.

Perhaps you go back and first read your OP, then my retort. You will realize i wasnt complaining about our health care, i was explaining to you how nothing is free, especially "free" medicare.

Originally posted by Dimitri Dzengalshlevi
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?

Oh my, so hostile! I dont beleive that for one second. Government run monopolys are typically the least efficient businesses, as there are no competitors to compete against, driving innovation and efficiency. I thought you were an economics student, are you really denying this fact?

Originally posted by Char-Lee

Originally posted by Chewingonmushrooms
reply to post by miniatus

 

Yes allegations of voter fraud has been going on since he was first elected. I am fully aware that dictators often hold dummie elections, we do here in the US too (contrary to what most believe). Is he a dictator? I don't know maybe he is maybe he isn't. He obviously has a lot of enemies, especially in the high rung of society and history has shown that with enough funding you can find "professionals" to make an argument that the sky is red, if that is your agenda. Money rules the world, and truth is usually the first victim if it is in the way.

Let me say one thing however, if it is true that he is rigging votes and shutting down free press then he is no better than those that he demonizes.

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

"Is he a dictator? " if he is the so was Bush and so are most of the leaders we have in recent decades. Also where have gone the in depth reporting of investigative reporters...real news?

As far as I know about the situtation I feel the same way. It's really hard in these times to know what is fact and what is propaganda. Shame really, but snakes operate in deceit.

Originally posted by Magnificient
reply to post by SkurkNilsen

 

He is a communist and the poor are weak toward communistic ideas such as nationalized health care, subsidized housing, fuel, groceries, etc. If you want a clear picture of how Chavez is ruining his country take a look at America's average income and his people's average income. Yes, he can put on a show for a while, but in the long-term he will fail. That woman you mentioned bitching over the cost of heating, she should have no reason to bitch. With that many kids and grandchildren, they should all be helping to take care of her. What she should be bitching about is the breakdown of the American family system. I know my mom is about that old and also poor, but everybody is always making sure she has what she needs.

You can try and flaunt communism, but all you really have to do is take a look at the CIA's fact book and see how those communist countries really stack up. They don't stack up, then tend to crumble and fall.

Actually I think the word you are looking for is "socialist countries", and they are doing great as a matter of fact...

Originally posted by hangedman13
reply to post by The1Prettiest1One

 

Umm read and comprehend grasshopper, what the man said was who was the first person Obama saw???? And gave him his very own copy of the "best selling"

biography! I digress, using Chavez to contrast with US aid is kinda, no it is stupid. Comparing the sizes [

] of the respective countries you see Venezuela is a bit tiny compared to the US. Same thing w/Norway and the other cited charity nations. So using % is a bit off. 65% of 10,000 is a lot different from 65% of 1,000.

Well.... Per capita. 3% of a dollar is not the same as 52% of a dollar is it?
And as I mentioned earlier 1/3 of US foreign aid goes to Israel and Egypt, and it's aid allways comes with a catch.

Originally posted by SkurkNilsen
And as I mentioned earlier 1/3 of US foreign aid goes to Israel and Egypt, and it's aid allways comes with a catch

Yes...

The "Catch" is PEACE between the two. The last thing the world wants, needs or can handle is another war between Egypt and Israel over the Suez canal which would stop Hundreds of Billions of dollars worth of commerce of many nations whose economies rely on it.

oliver stone made a documentary with hugo chavez called south of the border. its a good movie that really lets him get his side out. he also rides around without security which really says alot about how much he trusts his people. when was the last time you saw an american president without LOTS of security.

Originally posted by SLAYER69

Originally posted by SkurkNilsen
And as I mentioned earlier 1/3 of US foreign aid goes to Israel and Egypt, and it's aid allways comes with a catch

Yes...

The "Catch" is PEACE between the two. The last thing the world wants, needs or can handle is another war between Egypt and Israel over the Suez canal which would stop Hundreds of Billions of dollars worth of commerce of many nations whose economies rely on it.

Agree.

Actually,since we are doing SO poorly here in the United States,how about ending foreign aid to Every country?
We wouldn't have to have Chavez using the US as a propaganda piece,and we could use all that money to take care of the ills right here in America. Screw peace,its overrated.



Maybe Obama needs to go on a Worldwide "Look what America is giving in aid to your country "tour!

Lol For the political illiterates who brag about all the foreign "aid" their government gives to other countries, here's a 101 refresher on International Relations, what you call foreign "aid" is generally in the form of loans, not true monetary donations. Learn some real international relations before you brag about something not worth bragging about. At least Chavez is giving real donations to poor Americans for heating their homes.

Originally posted by MrWendal
:::breaks out the soapbox:::

And while I am at it....

We are the richest country the world has ever seen. We send billions of dollars in foreign aid around the globe....

and yet we have citizens right here at home, in the richest country the world has ever seen, who can't feed themselves. Our elderly can not be independent and care for themselves. They worry about food, heating cost, and even rent/mortgage. If this makes sense to anyone, then I dont know what to tell you. In my eyes it is a crime.

You know if we truly had a freedom loving and decent country we would let people OWN their homes after they pay them off and not have any chance that they could be kicked out because the gov is the true owner of everything we "have".