Hugo Chavez tells rich folk to give away luxuries
Guzzo
8,611 Posts
This makes me respect him more, but it'll be interesting to see how human nature plays out herehttp://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/06/11/chavez.socialists.reut/index.html Chavez orders supporters to give up extra possessions[/b]CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez told his supporters to give away possessions they do not need such as an extra refrigerator because he only wants true socialists to be members of a new single party he is forming."Whoever has a fridge they do not need, put it out in the village square. Whoever has a truck, a fan or a cooker they do not need, give something away. Let's not be selfish. I demand you do it," Chavez said at a milk producing cooperative, in remarks released on Monday.Chavez, who calls capitalism an evil, said he would donate $250,000 of his own money and added, "Let's see who follows the example."The anti-U.S. president who calls Cuban leader Fidel Castro his mentor denies he is turning the OPEC nation of avid consumers into another communist state as his critics say.But since coming to power in 1999, Chavez has proposed increasingly radical steps to drive Venezuela toward a socialist state and, after a landslide re-election late last year, he declared himself for the first time a communist.Chavez, who rules by decree, has focused his political ambitions this year on forming a single party from the hodgepodge of affiliations that have traditionally supported him in what he says is his crusade against U.S. imperialism.Officials say millions of followers have signed up to be members of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela that Chavez plans to use as a platform to govern the country for decades."If I were to end up with only five people signing up out of those 5 million, I'd be happier," Chavez said on Sunday in remarks that were distributed on Monday by the government and published in the local media."I only want to be accompanied by true socialists," he said.Chavez's critics complain his constant railing against U.S.-promoted consumerism contrasts with the behavior of senior government officials who can can be seen dining out at fancy restaurants or riding around in expensive cars.
Comments
hugo is limping on thin petrol fortified ice right now
whats LLbeans beef?
i'm shakng my head over here. been feeling some of chavez moves of the past...but less and less now. damn. i guess i always will have hopes for a true populist with some sense to build bridges and not burn them. lotta bluster coming from chavez and hanging onto power past your alotted time is rarely a good sign.sigh
"that's it; he's gone TOO FAR!"[/b]
watching the 700 Club between boogaloo bids eh Rey?
Two refrigerators = Capitalist Pig
Riddle me this.........
"How does a true Socialist obtain $250,000"
classic soul strut bovine
well, I should explain that I don't have much respect for a grandstanding political figure to start with, but if he is making a sacrifice then yeah, I respect him slightly more than I did before
ABC needs to look into this for the Fall Season.
And your point is?
There was a middle class in Venezuela before Chavez?
This Venezuelan station was shut because it was advocating violence, the overthrow of a democratically elected president and it wasn't living up to its responsibility of the airwaves. Now just imagine if this was in the US and CBS's Katie Couric came on the news every night and advocated the violent overthrow of Bush (which i wouldn't be against doing, but that's beside the point). You know the FCC would immediately step in and shut down CBS. Would people judge this FCC move as going against freedom of speech? My point being that this story that is circulating around about Venezuela not renewing this tv stations' public license, though it can still broadcast on satellite and cable, should not be viewed as censorship. Any other responsible country would have done the same. just my two cents.
You wouldn't be against it happening here but you are against it happening there??
we will all always have our own personal political views, but that doesn't mean we all have a right to get our own channel on the public airwaves and advocate our own politics 24/7.
Send me your records so I can deejay, sample, and sell some of them.
HIT ME ON THE PM DUN!
"One Fridge, One Disc"
for real, ive been following venezuelan politics when i can for the last 6-7 years and my outlook has gone from hopeful to gloomy.
to an extent, i agree with maswax about the ridiculous nature of the television stations content. they have been at it for years. i always felt that, to his credit, chavez was allowing them to spew their rants. that shit would not be condoned in the united states for very long at all. its sad to see him shut them down.
chavez gives lipservice to being a populist. he definitely seems to take actions that would appear to benefit the poor to the detriment of the rich and the middle class. but he has done everything possible in the last few years to consolidate power, crush opposition movements (understandable , when they actually lead a fleetingly successful coup against him) and establish an authoritarian regime. i appreciate many things that Castro has done for Cuba...but ruling for 50 years and repressing opposition is not one of them. Chavez is trying to mirror Castro's hold on power in many ways.
Its an odd situation. there are active civic councils that operate in a democratic fashion EXCEPT for their inability to function if they do not support official policy. democratic voice with little choice. equates to nothing. If Chavez wanted to put his money where his mouth is, he wouldnt even run in the next election and retire. but he's drunk off that oil money and the power that comes with it.
i'm not crying for the elites that have lost the privileges that they enjoyed for decades at the expense of an extremely poor population (much like cuba). but repression and limited freedoms arent pretty anywhere. ashame that the accomplishments of the cuban and venezuelan "socialist" movements are going to be rightfully discredited by human rights abuses,one party rule and political posturing.
sad sad sad
A. Ronald Reagan
B. George Washington
C. Theodore Roosevelt
D. Jimmy Carter
Man, this is like trying get past the age verification questions to play Leisure Suit Larry.
Is it B?
who trained you to be such a douchebag?
does it come naturally or did you go to a special school to learn how to be a dork?
William Cooper....he was broadcasting in the us for about 7 years before the feds took him out just after 9/11 when nobody was watching.