The evidence is plastered all over the walls of Caracas. Hugo Chavez has joined Mao and Lenin and Mussolini in the Cult of Personality.
Some have taken me to task for being too eager to announce Hugo Chavez' membership in the Junior Dictators Club. After all, he's just trying to help the people of Venezuela and if he's taken away free speech, judicial independence, rendered the legislature meaningless, shut down or intimidated the press and turned the schools into indoctrination centers, it's all been done with the best intentions. He may have complete autocratic power, a growing military and designs on his neighbors, but at least he hasn't tried to raise himself up like a larger than life figure and create a cult of personality. That's one of the things which really set dictators like Mussolini, Hitler, Lennin and Mao apart from more reasonable autocrats.…
Article comments
676 - moonraven
I would also like clavos to explain to us WHY anti-War vets are not allowed to participate in a parade in Long Beach, California.
Let's hear it for the freedom to protest and disagree with the Bush Gang!
GuantanamerO--O--GuatanamerO. (To music to you-know-the-song.)
677 - bliffle
Is waterboarding torture?
I see that this pressing question is (apparently) insoluble to the massed Intellectual Prowess of the Congress, the Bush Administration, the Supreme Court, and even the Mighty Brainpower of BC (which, as usual, seeks to hide it's failure in dilatory flights of irrelevance).
So, I have had to devise the path to the solution.
It's very easy, really. We simply request Mukasey, as prerequisite to his appointment, to make the decision. While being waterboarded by Moonraven, of course.
Nothing could be more fair.
And if not Mukasey, perhaps some other interested party would come forward to decide this important moral issue, like Rumsfeld, Cheney, Nalle, JOM, etc.
I'm sure we can think of suitable alternates should Mukasey be unavailable.
Everyone wants to be The Decider, after all.
678 - moonraven
The Decider is this beautiful bird, and I say: Start with Cheney!
At the very least, he will have a heart attack from being tortured, and will be out of the picture until the next lifetime--when he will come back as a dog turd in a Muslim country: Bangladesh.
679 - moonraven
I think that's it for the day, suckers and chumps.
The hammock is waiting....
680 - REMF
Or we could torture Rush Limbaugh...
Just deprive him of food for an hour or two...
Or maybe squeeze that zit on his lard-ass (you know, the one that got him out of 'Nam)...
681 - troll
waterboard him with snapple
682 - Franco
The opposition-run Bolivian Senate repelled Thursday Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez's "serious meddling" for his warning against a "machine-gun Vietnam" if his Bolivian counterpart Evo Morales were overthrown or killed.
Bolivian Senate refuses Chávez's "serious meddling"
683 - brian
clavos: 'According to this Miami Herald report, armed, hooded Chavista thugs, reminescent of the heyday of the KKK, poured onto the campus of the Central University firing their weapons and releasing tear gas in the vicinity of students returning from a peaceful demonstration at the Supreme Court to protest Chavez-proposed changes to the Venezuelan Constitution.'
grea source, Clavos...Miami is only a strong hold of latin american terrorists...i see no evidence the gun men were chavistas.
684 - brian
'
At about the same time I heard Bush say, "Freedom means you can rob anyone you want to."'
Which is the operative meaning of the word 'freedom'....in Bush Amerikkka.
Incidentally, KKK was/is an american institution, at home in the american south as are fascists like the cuba americans and their venezuela shopping counterparts
685 - brian
Watch those falafels!
Terrorism and Falafel
Author Author: Haitham
One of the traits of eating FALAFEL is the possibility of getting blacklisted in America or worse accused of being a terrorist.
Falafel and terrorismThis news story revealed that the FBI planed to use records from San Francisco grocery stores to spot terrorists; they believed that a spike in falafel sales would lead them to secret Iranian agents.
...
This is laughable. Its also an eg of ethnic targeting...no longer are terrorists justed by their acts,now its by what they eat...so all peoples who et falafel(which includes israelis) are automatically terrorists...
No wonder the dumb americans are such easy patsies for the much smarter zionists.
686 - brian
Who here, besides me, opposes the US war in and occupation of iraq?
Lets see what people think...
687 - brian
Clavos: 'That's not an answer to my question, Brian. I already know what anarchy is, thanks'
But does Bush? Whats more important than freedom? If you were starving, evne you would say: a crust of bread.
688 - Clavos
"grea source, Clavos...Miami is only a strong hold of latin american terrorists...i see no evidence the gun men were chavistas."
Not the only source I linked in that comment. There was also a link to an AP article, which you conveniently forgot to mention.
But you're right; those masked gunmen firing on anti-chavez demonstrators clearly weren't chavistas.
According to Cuban intelligence sources they were actually a bunch of Argentines in town for some diplomacy training from el chango who were dissatisfied with Sra. de Kirchner's victory and who got a little mixed up about where they were.
No way they could have been chavistas; they're all peaceful socialist (oops! bolivarian) flower children.
689 - Dave Nalle
I don't quite get the point of #683. If the Civil Rights Commission got a couple of extra Republicans added to it, won't that mean better protections for minorities, especially in the south? Why is that a problem?
Dave
690 - troll
Clavos - tell me that you really don't see the possibility that the thugs/provocateurs were looking to generate sympathy for the opposition
but where are the martyr's coffins - ?
'firing on the students'...I'm drafting a recommendation that when Chavez gets his AK factories going he forget the selector switch - fully automatic is the only way for such poor shots
691 - Clavos
troll,
I'll grant you the possibility, as in anything is possible, but...
692 - Franco
Troll,
This opposition protest was specificly over the 69 proposed changes to the Venezuelan Constitution. Just one of those changes would grant unlimited power to president for life Hugo Chavez to call a state of emergency anytime he wants for any reason he wants without approval of the courts or the congress or any other living soul in Venezuela. .
If he can make the student opposition look like “violent fascist” now, and the sooner the better makes it already justifiably when he has this power he can call a state of emergency and forbid the opposition from even protesting.
So troll - tell me that you really don't see the possibility that the thugs/provocateurs were looking to generate sympathy for Chavez is support of constitutional changes.so he can totally control the opposition, democratically of course.
693 - moonraven
If franco [Personal attack deleted by Comments Editor] he would KNOW that this paying and training of thugs by the CIA has been seen over and over again in Caracas since 2002. It's now worth a yawn or two at best. Everyone knows that the thugs are not chavistas. The CIA doesn't hire and train chavistas. Duh.
Same old same old. And clavos still provides no proof that the thugs were chavistas, either. [Personal attack deleted by Comments Editor]
Oh and the Scarcity of Frijoles caper has now moved to Nicaragua - where opposition to Ortega's government is now hoarding beans so that the folks who do not depend on the beans for their daily meals can complain [Personal attack deleted by Comments Editor].
Frijoles are plentiful here--well, of course, not in Tabasco State--which is under a few feet of water thanks to government corruption (pocketing the money budgeted by the congress for hydraulic measures).
Sigh. Same old same old.
694 - moonraven
I would like franco and clavos to explain to us why they are supporting the opposition students--who tried to set fire to the School of Social Work building at UCV Wednesday while not allowing the 150 students inside--mostly women wear SI stickers indicating their support for the referendum--to go out.
Would you hand out soap and Zyclon B, too?
695 - moonraven
Brian,
I am against ALL wars and All invasions--two of which are happening in Afghanistan and Iraq.
696 - brian
Clavos favours AP... his naive faith in this institution is touching. But ive found it to be less than honest.
First of all AP is an AMERICAN newsagency.
1. the Times years ago wrote the following:
'Mr. Pinchot is a careless man. He made this statement:
"I have had a long acquaintance with The Associated Press. I am perfectly willing to stand behind the charge made by Eastman and Young that The Associated Press does color and distort the news, that it is not impartial, and that it is a monopolistic corporation, not only in constraint of news but in constraint of truth."'
To which Mr Pinochet replied:
'The Times says that the Associated Press could not possibly color the news, because it serves all kinds of newspapers--"Republican, Democratic, Bull Moose, Independent, etc."--so that if it was not impartial "there would be a deafening uproar and tumult all over the country." I do not think that this is either an impressive argument or a fair statement of the case.
As a matter of fact there has been a tumult of protest against Associated Press news coloring throughout the country. And with this protest newspaper owners who are members of the Associated Press and dependent upon it for their information are in many instances heartily sympathetic. Within the last month I have talked with a number of editors of newspapers that are members of the Associated Press. They assured me that the charges of suppression and misrepresentation made by THE MASSES are well within the truth. They, each of them, expressed the sincere hope that there would be a searching investigation which would result in a change of policy. Marxists.org
=======================
2. Associated Press lies:
'The Associated Press Lies
Submitted by davidswanson on Sat, 2005-09-24 19:15. Media
There are hundreds of thousands of people marching in DC, right now, but the AP reports:
Demonstrators call for U.S. troops to leave Iraq
JENNIFER C. KERR
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Opponents of the war in Iraq marched by the tens of thousands Saturday in a clamorous day of protest, song and remembrance of the dead, some showing surprisingly diverse political views even as they spoke with one loud voice in wanting U.S. troops home. AfterDowningStreet.org
===============
3. 'Associated Press Falsely Portrays Chavez as Seeking 25 Year Term
by Justin Delacour *
A little scrutiny of a recent Associated Press report about Venezuela provides a lesson in how the English-language press often gets the story wrong. VoltaireNet.org
====================================
And of course, the western and esp american media has been telling lies and demonising Chavez since he was first elected.
YOU place a great deal of trust in AP and other media, whereas you should be scrutinising them.
697 - brian
Franco: 'tell me that you really don't see the possibility that the thugs/provocateurs were looking to generate sympathy for Chavez is support of constitutional changes.so he can totally control the opposition, democratically of course.
'
Well, i dont see the 'possibility' or th actuality....How can Chavistas shooting people generate sympathy for Chavez? Duh....
Logic seems to have abandoned you.
We know this stunt was tried in april 2002, are the power obsessed Opposition at it again?
698 - Franco
Troll, considering some of the questions you have asked, I thought you might find this interesting about Simón Bolívar, The following are some excerpts from the full study linked below.
.
Ignorance and its remedy, education, concerned Bolivar greatly. His letters and public addresses make frequent mention of the illiteracy of the masses to which he attributed their lack of interest in democratic government.
A constitution could not, in his opinion, change political concepts and practices molded by three centuries of royal government.~ His political system was primarily one of paternalism. He envisioned a transitional period during which the people would be educated for complete democracy. History has proved the validity of his views. But many of his contemporaries claimed he sought a crown-a charge unwarranted by the evidence at hand.
Bolivar fervently believed in democracy, yet more in the Hamiltonian sense than the Jeffersonian. He, like many other statesmen of Colombia, pleaded for recognition of the lack of political experience on the part of the people. Few, too few, were even acquainted with parliamentary procedure; and virtually none possessed an appreciation for compromise, so vital to the operation of the United States and English systems of democracy.
Viewed in the historical perspective, his greatest political opponent was the United States Constitution of 1787. Bolivar's own words are proof of this statement.' Time and time again he pleaded with congressional delegates and friends not to adopt many of the features of that instrument of government. The colonial political experience of the United States citizen, he repeated, was utterly different from that of the Spanish-American of the day. Time and time alone together with a truly patriotic guidance could prepare the people of Colombia for full participation in their government.
he was a political martyr engendered of colonial adolescence in the field of government and enraptured by the paeans to the United States, English, and French: democratic-republican systems.
The grandeur of Bolivar's plans is vividly reflected in the present-day Organization of American States
Terms such as Inter-American Cooperation, Continental Solidarity, Non-Intervention, and Continental Defense have real meaning today. They were born of necessity created by a fear that the continental European nations of the 1820's, leagued under the Holy Alliance, would seek to eradicate republicanism in the Spanish New World.
New York: Bolivarian Society of Venezuela. 1951
699 - moonraven
FRanco,
I fail to see YOUR point.
700 - Amrita
Very informative article on cult of personality!
701 - Daniel Brockert
As an anti-war activist I can tell you from personal experience that the US media made it very difficult to get airtime. Amy Goodman made an excellent video about it.
Retired Generals got significant airtime, giving regular commentary. I never once saw an anti-war activist sitting with the anchor and retired general for a significant amount of time.
I'll cede you the point that there was no government censorship, but that was precisely because it wasn't necessary. No US media network has been involved in any coup attempts.
Lets compare US treatment of Al-Jazeera in Iraq to Hugo Chavez' treatment of RCTV. Chavez had a much stronger foundation for not renewing the station license than the Bush administration and Iraqi governments had for placing restrictions on Al-Jazeera.
In the case of RCTV, they actively colluded with forces inside the Venezuelan military to overthrow the government. In the case of Al-Jazeera it was granting interviews to Al-Qaida, which happens to be a group I want to know about. I think knowing what Al-Qaida thinks happens to be very important.
On a separate matter I have a couple questions, for starters, what is a "junior dictator?" How is a "junior dictator" different from a regular dictator? Is a junior dictator a president that wins elections and accepts defeats?
702 - Dave Nalle
As an anti-war activist I can tell you from personal experience that the US media made it very difficult to get airtime. Amy Goodman made an excellent video about it.
I'm not sure what the context of this is. If you're talking about anti-war activists on US TV I'm skeptical given how much airtime was given by the national networks to code pink and VVAW.
Retired Generals got significant airtime, giving regular commentary. I never once saw an anti-war activist sitting with the anchor and retired general for a significant amount of time.
Then you're watching the wrong channels. And plenty of those generals were anti-war. The key thing is that they have some qualifications as commentators, while anti-war activists as a group are embarassingly ignorant about world affairs and especially about any factual aspects of the Iraq War.
Lets compare US treatment of Al-Jazeera in Iraq to Hugo Chavez' treatment of RCTV. Chavez had a much stronger foundation for not renewing the station license than the Bush administration and Iraqi governments had for placing restrictions on Al-Jazeera.
They placed restrictions on all media, not just al Jazeera, and they did nothing to restrict their ability to broadcast TO Iraq.
In the case of RCTV, they actively colluded with forces inside the Venezuelan military to overthrow the government. In the case of Al-Jazeera it was granting interviews to Al-Qaida, which happens to be a group I want to know about. I think knowing what Al-Qaida thinks happens to be very important.
Interviews in which there were several instances of al Qaeda representatives sending out coded messages to their organization, as well as broadcasting what was essentally al Qaeda propaganda in pure, unedited form, all of which is equivalent to aiding and abetting the enemy which is on a par with the very limited role RCTV played in the coup attempt.
On a separate matter I have a couple questions, for starters, what is a "junior dictator?"
A dictator who hasn't seized full power yet.
How is a "junior dictator" different from a regular dictator?
Well, in Chavez' case there's no longer much difference.
Is a junior dictator a president that wins elections and accepts defeats?
I hardly think that accepting a defeat on one plebescite and then end running it to get his way through direct presidential order is a saving grace.
Dave
703 - REMF
"The key thing is that they have some qualifications as commentators, while anti-war activists as a group are embarassingly ignorant about world affairs and especially about any factual aspects of the Iraq War."
- Dave Nalle
Wrong again, Nalle. See ivaw.com and votevets.org, both of which are comprised of Iraq veterans opposed to the invasion/occupation.
704 - Dave Nalle
MCH, in the same comment you're responding to I did point out that VVAW which IVAW is a spinoff of did get a lot of media exposure. The tiny number of anti-war vets have been represented in the media far out of proportion to their numbers, as you point out.
Dave
705 - Cannonshop
Chavez is entertaining in a paranoid-fidel-wannabe sort of way, and the thirty-foot-tall posters just really give him that wonderful "Banana republic presidente" vibe, it jibes with his rhetorical style. It's just really kind of amusing that the leader of a country like Venezuela would play so well to stereotypes. it's like he was scripted or something.