Thoughts triggered by AP headlines in today’s San Francisco Chronicle
Bookworm on Jul 02 2011 at 7:44 am | Filed under: Uncategorized
Random stuff:
First the celebrations, now the reality: how does gay marriage affect the business of life in New York state? I know I’m what my husband calls a “hen” (i.e., a worrier), but I would have thought about these things before passing the legislation. Legislate in haste, repent in leisure.
I think it’s now official that as many people have died from organic food as died at Chernobyl.
The big question as I see it is whether Chavez had time to solidify his totalitarian takeover. Are enough systems in place for the tyranny to function without him, or was it a one man business that dies when he dies?
Email This Post To A Friend
10 Responses to “Thoughts triggered by AP headlines in today’s San Francisco Chronicle”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Interesting question about Chavez. Men like him are always served and supported by parasites along for the ride, so I think when he dies there will be plenty of momentum to continue to push toward tyranny. I remember the frantic passing of stalled legislation in Congress after JFK’s assassination, a sort of tribute to a fallen hero. Although Chavez is no Jack, I could see Venezuela’s ruling thugs pretending to memorialize their dearly departed leader by making his depredations permanent.
When we invaded Iraq (2nd time), my neighbor, a Iraqi scientist, warned that the real problem would be that too many people were vested in Saddam Hussein and they knew that the population, if allowed, would turn on them vindictively. As he put it, “those thugs will have no choice but to fight back”. Sure enough, the Iraqi Sunni resistance began soon after and was not resolved until they were convinced that they would be protected against the dominant Shia and Kurds.
I fear that something similar will happen in Venezuela. Chavez’s thugs will have no choice but to consolidate their power or face losing everything they have.
Chavez sulffurs from cancer.
- UN Report and pun via Sadie
My barber is a very sweet lady from Caracas. She’s not at all political but she speaks to family in Venezuela frequently. From what she tells me people are not very happy with Hugo.
From my reading the army is not personally loyal to the regime, but they follow orders. I do not think that they would suppress the civilian population.
How creepy was that article on Chavez? Why didn’t the Chronicle just send a reporter to Cuba to deliver that big sloppy wet kiss personally? Yeeeccchhh.
Tonestaple :
How creepy was that article on Chavez? Why didn’t the Chronicle just send a reporter to Cuba to deliver that big sloppy wet kiss personally? Yeeeccchhh.
The reporter only interviewed only Chavez supporters. Muckety-mucks in the government, and an attorney. Not exactly man in the street.
What is amusing is that in the face of the rumors circulating about Chavez and cancer a week before he went on TV, a lot of the higher up Chavistas got egg on their faces by stridently denouncing the “lies” about cancer. “Lies” which Thugo pretty much confirmed in his short talk.
Thugo has made sure that he is surrounded by sycophants he can easily control. While Thugo is charismatic but an incompetent administrator, his underlings are neither charismatic nor competent at governing. The main unifying factor after singing the praises of Thugo is to steal as much as you can.That may achieve unity of a degree, especially since many of the big-time thieves realize that a change in government means jail terms for corruption. The army higher ups make a lot of money from the cocaine trade, so they will not be willing to depose the Chavistas.
When the money runs out, the government will change.
Here are some oppo perspectives- English language blogs.
http://caracaschronicles.com/ Caracas Chronicles. Francisco Toro just had an article published in New Republic . Policy wonk. Francisco Toro has a Ph.D. either in economics or Poly Sci.
http://devilsexcrement.com/ Devil’s Excrement . Perspectives of a Physics Professor turned economist.
http://daniel-venezuela.blogspot.com/ Perspectives of a another Ph.D- biologist this time, Narratives.
Beyond the Michael Moore propaganda about Cuban medicine, the Obamacare line is that other countries have better health care than we do, as evidenced by the longer life expectancy.
However, the average life expectancy figure is manipulated, in ways that would only confuse the present issue. What is known, though, is that cancer survival rates are much higher in the US. The sophisticated treatment required to cure cancer may just not be a part of the Cuban scheme of things.
Another delightful thing is that Chavez may have some kind of charismatic hold on Venezuela, and, without him, although he has plenty of thugs who will want to hold on to power and protect themselves, the whole evil house of cards may collapse. At the very least, it ought to be possible for the next President to negotiate out the military alliance being formed with Iran. The current one, of course, would not even try.
Adams, somebody named A through Z said Cuban’s healthcare was superior than the US.
Think about that for a second… and then realize that they believe themselves to be the only “righteous” folks around. The “smartest guy in the room”. *snickers*
Gringo, it’s amazing how many people are like Z, who feel they can lecture the US about past evils, while the Zs of the world go on supporting the current modern evil regimes that exist today.
Perhaps they see it as a cheap grace, a way to achieve forgiveness for sin through personal atonement. For the jihadists, it is killing Jewish women and children and any other Westerners in Jihad. For the Zs, atoning for their current evil only requires them to blame America’s previous problems, which Z never had to deal with in a single day of a Zriel Life. *Get it, The Real Life*
Danny, Bush was listening to too many retarded State Department idiots led by former General whatever. They eventually figured out a “compromise deal” between the Pentagon and the State Department on Iraq in 2003. Then it turned out the State Department was no where to be seen on the ground afterwards… what a surprise.
Of course the military didn’t have a post-occupation plan worth a damn. That’s because the fig leaf for State’s support of the war was to be given de facto control over the post-war aftermath. Which they then proceeded to screw up because they didn’t know what the hell they thought they were doing.
A full time military governor would have been far less of a disaster. Even with “Diversity Casey” in charge….