flautist
7th October 2005, 09:54 AM
llondy, that article was so full of half truths, it was unreal! Chavez does not hate the US. He dislikes Bush, and I can't say that I blame him. Chavez was even willing to put aside his differences and offer cheap oil to the US after Katrina, and the offer was turned down.
You say that country is split, yet you forget to mention that he has now been domocratically elected 3 times.
You mention that he was elected after the military coup, but forget to mention that the coup was overthrown after only 2 days by citizens who support Chavez. It's pretty impressive that he has enough supporters to overthrow an all-out military coup in a country so divided.
Chavez has also said that he will uphold the rights of the people and the Venezuelan constitution. Not very Dictatorial of him.
Also, the poverty rates in Venezuela have been on a steady DECLINE since Chavez came to power, rising briefly for a year. That year was when the coup happened, and then after the coup there was a short oil strike. Since those two things have been resolved, the poverty rates have been on a decline once again.
As for him buying weapons, I would be buying weapons if I were him, too, especially after seeing what Bush has been doing to any country who decides not to agree with him. Tell me something? How many nukes does he have? Now how many do we have? 'nough said.
Also, what is wrong with socialism? If Chavez has been democratically elected so many times, it's obvious that the majority of Venezuelans like what he's been doing. If they like it, why should it be stopped? What is so bad about Socialism? Maybe we should ask Sweden, Finland, and Norway, three of the most socialist countries in the world, and also the three countries in the world with the lowest poverty rates.
On September 11 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11), 1973 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973), the Chilean military, led by General Pinochet, staged the Chilean coup of 1973 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilean_coup_of_1973) against Allende. Allende died during the capture of the La Moneda (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palacio_de_La_Moneda) Presidential Palace. According to the junta's official version, he committed suicide (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide) with a machine gun (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_gun). The stock of the gun bore a golden (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold) plate with the words "To my good friend Salvador Allende from Fidel Castro (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fidel_Castro)" engraved on it. At the time and for many years after, his supporters nearly uniformly presumed that he was killed by the forces staging the coup; in recent years, the story of his suicide has become more widely accepted. Another version says that Allende was killed in combat on the steps outside the Presidential Palace.
It is known that the United States played a role in Chilean politics prior to the coup, but its degree of involvement in the coup itself is debated. The CIA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIA) was notified by its Chilean contacts of the impending coup two days in advance, but contends it "played no direct role in" the coup.
Sounds pretty darn similar to the Venezuelan coup attempt in 2002, no? That's why people think the CIA had a role in trying to overthrow Chavez. The role they had in '73 is disputed, but as they knew about it and did nothing to stop it, they had at the very least, an indirect role. And the way the specified no direct role in '73 makes me think they had a bigger role in helping the Chileans than we previously thought.
You say that country is split, yet you forget to mention that he has now been domocratically elected 3 times.
You mention that he was elected after the military coup, but forget to mention that the coup was overthrown after only 2 days by citizens who support Chavez. It's pretty impressive that he has enough supporters to overthrow an all-out military coup in a country so divided.
Chavez has also said that he will uphold the rights of the people and the Venezuelan constitution. Not very Dictatorial of him.
Also, the poverty rates in Venezuela have been on a steady DECLINE since Chavez came to power, rising briefly for a year. That year was when the coup happened, and then after the coup there was a short oil strike. Since those two things have been resolved, the poverty rates have been on a decline once again.
As for him buying weapons, I would be buying weapons if I were him, too, especially after seeing what Bush has been doing to any country who decides not to agree with him. Tell me something? How many nukes does he have? Now how many do we have? 'nough said.
Also, what is wrong with socialism? If Chavez has been democratically elected so many times, it's obvious that the majority of Venezuelans like what he's been doing. If they like it, why should it be stopped? What is so bad about Socialism? Maybe we should ask Sweden, Finland, and Norway, three of the most socialist countries in the world, and also the three countries in the world with the lowest poverty rates.
On September 11 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11), 1973 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973), the Chilean military, led by General Pinochet, staged the Chilean coup of 1973 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilean_coup_of_1973) against Allende. Allende died during the capture of the La Moneda (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palacio_de_La_Moneda) Presidential Palace. According to the junta's official version, he committed suicide (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide) with a machine gun (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_gun). The stock of the gun bore a golden (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold) plate with the words "To my good friend Salvador Allende from Fidel Castro (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fidel_Castro)" engraved on it. At the time and for many years after, his supporters nearly uniformly presumed that he was killed by the forces staging the coup; in recent years, the story of his suicide has become more widely accepted. Another version says that Allende was killed in combat on the steps outside the Presidential Palace.
It is known that the United States played a role in Chilean politics prior to the coup, but its degree of involvement in the coup itself is debated. The CIA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIA) was notified by its Chilean contacts of the impending coup two days in advance, but contends it "played no direct role in" the coup.
Sounds pretty darn similar to the Venezuelan coup attempt in 2002, no? That's why people think the CIA had a role in trying to overthrow Chavez. The role they had in '73 is disputed, but as they knew about it and did nothing to stop it, they had at the very least, an indirect role. And the way the specified no direct role in '73 makes me think they had a bigger role in helping the Chileans than we previously thought.