Hugo Chavez is Dead

[Double Trouble]

Good riddance, may he gain a speedy entry into the fires of hell.

I see some of you posting garbage about a country you know nothing about. I've spent a lot of time there, grew up close to there, had friends and relatives there. Venezuela had a lot of problems well before Chavez... the inequity set the stage for scum like Chavez to come in and really screw over the country. He did away with the free media, turned schooling into brainwashing centers, put his political opponents in jail, stole people's property, pretty much the run of the mill dictator stuff.

I don't think things will get any better anytime soon because Chavez and his henchmen made sure they controlled the state media and shut down any media that didn't tow the line. With no possibility of mass communication for the opposition, there was no chance for them to win an election. When you hear "he was democratically elected", you can safely assume whoever is telling you that is an idiot and doesn't know what they're talking about.

 

[Double Trouble]

Say what you will about Chavez's nationalism and fiscal policy, but as he did win internationally monitored ejections, a dictator he was not.

Sorry, but you're wrong. You don't have to commit massive voter fraud on election day if you control all the media in the country and conveniently have your political opposition charged with offenses and thrown in jail well before that.

 

[Sinsear]

Anyone see Craig?

Someone should check on him

 

[nightspydk]

I'd advice everyone to have a look at Oliver Stones documentary on this and also while we are at ir his view on american history. Intersting indeed.

It can be found here:
http://documentarystorm.com/?s=chavez&submit=Search

 

[Double Trouble]

I'd advice everyone to have a look at Oliver Stones documentary on this and also while we are at ir his view on american history. Intersting indeed.

It can be found here:
http://documentarystorm.com/?s=chavez&submit=Search

Really? Oliver Stone? :biggrin:

Maybe my sarcasm meter is broken.

 

[Double Trouble]

Anyone see Craig?

Someone should check on him

Probably hanging out with Sean Penn mourning the passing of a 'great hero'.

 

[irishScott]

Probably hanging out with Sean Penn mourning the passing of a 'great hero'.

He's probably reading Salon.com's eulogy. They do everything but sing a hymn: http://www.salon.com/2013/03/05/breaking_hugo_chavez_dead/

 

[BoberFett]

This thread sure brought out the lurking Chavez fanatics.

 

[werepossum]

Oh, I forgot Qaddafi. was thinking Kim Jong Il.

Bush: 1
Obama: 4

Tomorrow people in North Korea, Venezuela, and pretty much all the Middle East will be pointing to this thread as proof that America IS the Great Satan who murders all their beloved leaders. Normally I'd feel very superior at this point, but the Trayvon Martin thread has proved that we have pretty much the same standards of proof. As for myself:
Hey Venezuela! All your base are belong to us!

I forgot about Kim Jong. Probably because he was just replaced by a chubbier clone of himself.

LOL Perhaps literally.

Hollywood is in mourning:

+1

Chavez never wanted slavery. You have to actually feed your slaves.

Ooh, wicked you are.

 

[Gintaras]

This thread sure brought out the lurking Chavez fanatics.

Every fool can parrot "news" that's in the papers or on TV...
And fools sometimes do wonder....why there are different kind of fools...

I do wonder sometimes too...It's much easier to be AN IDIOT - Idiots usually don't even know that they are idiots...

 

[Farang]

Good riddance, may he gain a speedy entry into the fires of hell.

I see some of you posting garbage about a country you know nothing about. I've spent a lot of time there, grew up close to there, had friends and relatives there. Venezuela had a lot of problems well before Chavez... the inequity set the stage for scum like Chavez to come in and really screw over the country. He did away with the free media, turned schooling into brainwashing centers, put his political opponents in jail, stole people's property, pretty much the run of the mill dictator stuff.

I don't think things will get any better anytime soon because Chavez and his henchmen made sure they controlled the state media and shut down any media that didn't tow the line. With no possibility of mass communication for the opposition, there was no chance for them to win an election. When you hear "he was democratically elected", you can safely assume whoever is telling you that is an idiot and doesn't know what they're talking about.

Not being familiar with Venezuela, I'm curious what the expert consensus is on his death. A lot of times a dictator's death is not necessarily a good thing. For as bad as he might have been Chavez never struck me as a particularly violent dictator, so I wonder what the possibilities are for his replacement going forward.

 

[monovillage]

Not being familiar with Venezuela, I'm curious what the expert consensus is on his death. A lot of times a dictator's death is not necessarily a good thing. For as bad as he might have been Chavez never struck me as a particularly violent dictator, so I wonder what the possibilities are for his replacement going forward.

My bet is that he's been dead for some time. His family and the Vice-President just took their time looting the country and consolidating their power before they announced it officially.
His family is worth $2,000,000,000.00 ($2 Billion) from some estimates.
http://newsfromvenezuela.tumblr.com...-estimates-chavezs-family-fortune-at-around-2

 

[Double Trouble]

Not being familiar with Venezuela, I'm curious what the expert consensus is on his death. A lot of times a dictator's death is not necessarily a good thing. For as bad as he might have been Chavez never struck me as a particularly violent dictator, so I wonder what the possibilities are for his replacement going forward.

Chavez has been ailing for a long time. While they tried to pretend that he was going to be fine so he could get re-elected, most people knew he wasn't going to be around long, and his henchmen have had plenty of time to set up their control.

Nicolas Maduro is the current VP who will take over. He's pretty much the same as Chavez in terms of policies, but doesn't have nearly the same charisma. He's been stepping up his anti-US rhetoric lately to try and shore up his base (knowing that Chavez was going to kick the bucket soon). Maduro hates the Catholic church and the US, a true socialist/communist.

While he's Chavez' appointed successor, he doesn't have the same charisma, so I honestly would not be surprised if there was a coup by Diosdado Cabello, he's another of the henchmen, and he has a lot of power in the military.

Unfortunately for the people of Venezuela, since Chavez essentially crushed the free press, there's not too good of a chance of a significant step forward anytime soon. The country is a corrupt mess, and with no free press there's nobody to even expose any of it.

Venezuela has tremendous natural riches, it's a shame its leaders have made such a mess of it.

 

[rudder]

Too late.... The rabid and rather vapid ideologues have pounced on it.

The USA has a long and sordid history of vilifying a democratically elected governments in Latin America that do not bend over to its whims.

Say what you will about Chavez's nationalism and fiscal policy, but as he did win internationally monitored ejections, a dictator he was not.

Very easy to win elections when you control the ballot process... not to mention being able to jail or murder your political opponents.

 

[Whiskey16]

Very easy to win elections when you control the ballot process... not to mention being able to jail or murder your political opponents.

An argument could be made of worse oppression in pre-Chavez days.

Face it, as per the concise and externally monitored election results and of lessened oppression than of the past, a dictatorship this was not. Such historical amnesia driven hyperbole is tossed out among the same crowds in the USA who cheered on the terror of past brutal right-wing regions in Latin America under the relativism barbarism of 'better dead than red.' Seriously, Yanks, in light of your long record of shameful interference against democracy and states in this hemisphere, just butt out.

 

[irishScott]

An argument could be made of worse oppression in pre-Chavez days.

Face it, as per the concise and externally monitored election results and of lessened oppression than of the past, a dictatorship this was not. Such historical amnesia driven hyperbole is tossed out among the same crowds in the USA who cheered on the terror of past brutal right-wing regions in Latin America under the relativism barbarism of 'better dead than red.' Seriously, Yanks, in light of your long record of shameful interference against democracy and states in this hemisphere, just butt out.

So because he's (for the sake of argument) legitimately elected and put out slightly less oppression, he wasn't a brutal, asshole dictator? Wow, and I thought it was American schools that were lacking.

 

[werepossum]

Chavez never wanted slavery. You have to actually feed your slaves.

My bet is that he's been dead for some time. His family and the Vice-President just took their time looting the country and consolidating their power before they announced it officially.
His family is worth $2,000,000,000.00 ($2 Billion) from some estimates.
http://newsfromvenezuela.tumblr.com...-estimates-chavezs-family-fortune-at-around-2

As always seems to happen when dictators nationalize corporations "for the people", most of the money stuck to his own fingers. Odd, that.

 

[monovillage]

An argument could be made of worse oppression in pre-Chavez days.

Face it, as per the concise and externally monitored election results and of lessened oppression than of the past, a dictatorship this was not. Such historical amnesia driven hyperbole is tossed out among the same crowds in the USA who cheered on the terror of past brutal right-wing regions in Latin America under the relativism barbarism of 'better dead than red.' Seriously, Yanks, in light of your long record of shameful interference against democracy and states in this hemisphere, just butt out.

Waaa! Waaaa! Waaaa! another candy ass commie whining about the big bad USA meanies.

 

[MrColin]

I have yet to meet a Venezuelan who liked him. Of course almost all of the Venezuelans I have met fled to the US specifically to get away from his regime.

 

[Abwx]

I have yet to meet a Venezuelan who liked him. Of course almost all of the Venezuelans I have met fled to the US specifically to get away from his regime.

Likely corrupted people that looted the public funds and fled
to the US....

You think that they where to tell you their past actions ??...

 

[monovillage]

Likely corrupted people that looted the public funds and fled
to the US....

You think that they where to tell you their past actions ??...

How do you feel about the Chavez family looting $2 Billion from Venezuela?

 

[Double Trouble]

How do you feel about the Chavez family looting $2 Billion from Venezuela?

Obviously for the good of the people

 

[Genx87]

Likely corrupted people that looted the public funds and fled
to the US....

You think that they where to tell you their past actions ??...

Yeah if people escape oppression it had to be because they were crooks. Nevermind the crooks doing the oppressing.

 

[IronWing]

Ya'll just butthurt because Bush's attempted overthrow of Chavez ended with Bush looking like the fucking idiot he is. Chavez is dead, no tears here but the gleeful dancing on the part of American fascists makes you look retarded.

 

[ichy]

Hahaha! Troll? Chernobyl was a nuclear reactor accident, depleted uranium is an active US/NATO military weapon. Russia never used DU in combat.

I love how idiots get their panties in a bunch over DU just because it has the word "Uranium" in it.

Wars involve shit burning and blowing up. Regardless of whether you're using DU weapons or not they're going to be all kinds of nasty, toxic crap in the air. I can only imagine what kind of an environmental nightmare a burning tank is. This notion that DU is some sort of uniquely awful thing is laughable.