JohnRM
Don't make me destroy you
Non-US Citizens do not have Constitutional protections.
President Hugo Chavez gets powers to remake Venezuela
- Thread starter GoodEnoughForMe
- Start date
Non-US Citizens do not have Constitutional protections.
Xanikk999
History junkie
So does that make it ok to torture and detain indefinitly citizens of other countries for crimes NOT committed?
JohnRM
Don't make me destroy you
I see another Zimbabwe-type situation, in Venezuela. Their national currency already took a major drop against the US Dollar, after the passing of the law.
JohnRM
Don't make me destroy you
So does that make it ok to torture and detain indefinitly citizens of other countries for crimes NOT committed?
I am not sure what the law says in that regard.
No, that would be morally wrong, and illegal - but because of other acts of Congress, not because of the US Constitution.So does that make it ok to torture and detain indefinitly citizens of other countries for crimes NOT committed?
Urederra
Mostly harmless
This is a thread about Chavez, not about Bush.
(I agree that the situation at Guantanamo has to change, either to judge or release the immates but that is absolutely not comparable to Venezuela, Last time I checked, Bush didn't try to extend his term nor he is running for president again)
(I agree that the situation at Guantanamo has to change, either to judge or release the immates but that is absolutely not comparable to Venezuela, Last time I checked, Bush didn't try to extend his term nor he is running for president again)
BirraImperial
Pura Vida!
The reason Chavez has the majority in Congress is because the opposition boycotted the parliament elections and didn't have any candidates. The opposition is very divided in Venezuela, that's why Chavez is so strong. I don't like him, but every country gets the leaders they deserved.
Chavez has good intentions, but his policies seem to be getting worse. The government stimulation of the economy is not bad in itself; the majority of growth in the economy is coming from construction and the like from the many government infrastructure programs (a very good thing), but the government is stretching the country's resources in the break-neck pace of construction. Inflation, at its low of 20 some years in May 2006, is back up again to the high teens. Furthermore, one of the fastest growing sectors is also banking, as the government is forcing the banks to lend out billions of Bolivars for both their projects and microloans. While the concept is not bad in itself, it's being done too quickly and the economy is overheating. The percentage of bad loans is starting to rise, and the growth rate is gradually falling. All of this has been possible due to the high oil prices that have given huge budget surpluses to the Venezuelan government (PVDSA, the major oil company is under government control), but oil prices seem to have reached their peak for the time being, and this type of spending will not be possible in the future. The coops that are the backbone of the Bolivarian revolution have actually not been that important in hurting or helping growth due to their small contribution to the economy (still only 7% of jobs, despite phenomenal increases in membership), but despite their socialist exterior, there are still mainly capitalist ones, although dissimilar from the first coops in England in the 19th century. However, with the new 14 year plan (National Simon Bolivar Project of 2007-2021), Chavez is going to change the nature of many of these coops to be more socialist, so Venezuela's not on a horrible path, but it is getting worse.
Pasi Nurminen
Deity
In your ten second google search, you didn't read any of the articles you posted links to.
In the article http://www.vcrisis.com/index.php?content=letters/200403020624 by my count only 16 of a total of 188 have not been "released" or "freed" and the website makes no mention of what they were charged with or what crimes it was alleged that they committed and only generalizes as to the supposed conditions prevalent in Venezuelan prisons.
The sole potentially credible news source, a BBC article, says that it is alleged there was torture of a few people arrested during a protest, failing to mention that the protest turned violent and therefore their arrest was just and failing to provide any evidence that such torture had occurred. Here's a hint: if the government of Venezuela really was despotic, there wouldn't have been anti-Chavez demonstrations in the first place.
To quote it: "But he said none of the deaths which occurred during the protests were caused by the troops."
And, of course, a blogspot site is a most reliable news source.
As for the press, you must be desperate if you are citing a BBC article which confirms what I said (that it had been working towards a coup against him, something which wouldn't be tolerated in any western country) and "narco news."
Here's another hint: not renewing a license if they've been found to have committed a genuine crime is not censorship.
Would you really be allowed on the air in America if you advocated a violent overthrow of the Bush administration?
I think not.
Commie #4522
Prince
He will bring Socialism to Venezuela which is something you can't say about America.
JohnRM
Don't make me destroy you
I wouldn't want to.
Kraznaya
Princeps
Chavez is facing the old Latin American instability block that is forcing him to be more and more authoritarian in his policies- which will be very bad in the long run. Bachelet is a much better Latin American Socialist leader.
GrandAdmiral
Deity
Do you have the stomach to give up everything and live in a real socialist hell?
I lean to left and I say he's an idiot. Not because of this decision but because every time he gives a speech he sound like a stupid child. He's the George of the Socialists. A clown when it comes to public speaking. My other problem with him is that he has tried to provoke the US just to solidify his power. He wants to be important, he wants to be our enemy just to get attention.
CCA
Emperor
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2003
- Messages
- 1,449
Excuse me, have you actually heard any other of his speeches besides the "George Bush is teh devil!!!" , No?
Typical western media giving a biased reporting
GrandAdmiral
Deity
Yes I have hence the reference to me listening to his speeches. My mother is a strong Chavez supporter and her best friend is an admitted communist and also my high school humanities teacher. DO you speak Spanish? If not you have no business asking me question like that then virtually answering it with faulty information. Western news sources actually make him sound better. Kind of like how Pravda made the Soviets sound worse then CNN did.
plarq
Crazy forever
Yep, due to stupidity and poor nationalism, the more their country is embargoed and facing US hostility, the more they will support their current authority and policies no matter how good it is or how screwed it is, poor people...
