Hugo Chavez Croaks

[Crackpot]

I know Citigo is/was owned by venezuela

[Big RR]

Citgo it is; for some reason Joe Kennedy Jr is the spokesman for this effort.

[Lord Jim]

Keld: I remember reading about that. (A pure publicity stunt)

Short term improvements (read "government give-aways") are easy - at the expense of long-term investment, infrastructure and international relationships.

That hits it precisely on the head...

What Chavez did, (and this is well trod ground for those consolidating a dictatorship) is use demagogic populism and plunder his country's strategic resources in order to provide short term goodies to his country's underclass in order to buy their support and enable him to solidify his authoritarian rule, while simultaneously relying on gangs of thugs to intimidate everybody else....

If you want to see where this road leads in the long run, take a good look at Zimbabwe....

The choice is not between continuing oligarchical exploitation and the Chavez brand of nihilistic, cynical, seed corn eating approach....

Take a look at some of the other countries in the region, Brazil for example....

Where they've managed to improve the lot of the impoverished people in their country without disemboweling the fundamental economic infrastructure of the nation, or sacrificing a law based democratic political system to the whims of some self-styled vain glorious "El Caudillo" ...

[Gob]

But they do advertise here (on LI at least) that if you need heating oil and cannot pay, Chevron (I think it's chevron) will help you out with free or discounted heating oil "courtesy of Chavez and Venezuela".
I kid you not.

Nice of Chavez to look after the poor

The children going hungry in America

6 March 2013

Child poverty in the US has reached record levels, with almost 17 million children now affected. A growing number are also going hungry on a daily basis.

Food is never far from the thoughts of 10-year-old Kaylie Haywood and her older brother Tyler, 12.

At a food bank in Stockton, Iowa, they are arguing with their mother over the 15 items they are allowed to take with them. There is little money to go shopping for extras.

Apple sauce is in, canned vegetables, tinned spaghetti, meatballs and ravioli might be.
Kaylie looks from a broken window Kaylie wants a decent education, so that she will not go hungry in future

But when Kaylie asks for ground beef, she is overruled as their motel room does not have a fridge to keep things fresh - just a sink filled with crushed ice. There's nowhere to cook, either.

It's not the first time that the family has struggled to get hold of the food they would like - or enough of it.

"We don't get three meals a day like breakfast, lunch and then dinner," says Kaylie. "When I feel hungry I feel sad and droopy."

Kaylie and Tyler live with their mother Barbara, who used to work in a factory. After losing her job, she was entitled to unemployment benefit and food stamps - this comes to $1,480 (£974) a month.

But they were no longer able afford to live in their house, which along with bills cost $1326 (£873) a month, leaving little for food or petrol.

Kaylie supplemented their income by collecting cans along the railway track near their old home - earning between two and five cents per can.

Tyler also helped out: "For mowing other people's lawns, I got $10 and I put in six of it for the gas, and gave the rest to my mum for some food."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21636723

[Gob]

Yeah we know here one of the best signals of a deteriorating economy and society is when they start inviting Cuban doctors to come help.

[dales]

Yeah, that's why obesity is such a big problem in poorer households.

[Lord Jim]

Geezus, that BBC piece literally looks like the stuff I remember reading in the English language version of Pravda back when I was doing research for papers I wrote for Soviet Studies courses in college, when the Soviets were trying to portray the US as some vast depression era basket case...

I've said it before; it's a tragedy to see what such a once respected beacon of journalistic integrity and objectivity has degenerated into...

[Gob]

Chavez was a wanna-be dictator, a tin-plated popinjay with delusions of godhood.

Dictators Supported by the US

Africa
MOBUTU SESE SEKO
Dictator of Zaire 1965-1997
MOHAMMED SIAD BARRE
President/Dictator of Somalia 1969-1991
GEN. IBRAHIM BABANGIDA
Military Dictator/President of Nigeria 1985-1993
GEN. SANI ABACHA
Dictator of Nigeria 1993-1998
HASTINGS KAMUZU BANDA
Dictator of Malawi 1966-1994
LAURENT-DÉSIRÉ KABILA
President/Dictator of the Democratic Republic of the Congo 1997-2001
GNASSINGBE ETIENNE EYADEMA
Dictator of Togo 1967-2005
FELIX HOUPHOUET-BOIGNY
Dictator/President of the Ivory Coast 1960-1993
HASSAN II
King of Morocco 1961-1999
TEODORO OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO
President/Dictator of Equatorial Guinea 1979-present
ZINE EL ABIDINE BEN ALI
President-Prime Minister/Dictator of Tunisia 1987-2011
ANWAR EL-SADAT
President/Dictator of Egypt 1970-1981
HOSNI MUBARAK
President/Dictator of Egypt 1981-present
IAN SMITH
Prime Minister of Rhodesia (white minority regime) 1965-1979
PIETER WILLEM BOTHA
Prime Minister of South Africa (white minority regime) 1978-1984, President 1984-1989
DANIEL ARAP MOI
President/Dictator of Kenya 1978-2002
HAILE SELASSIE (RAS TAFARI)
Emperor of Ethiopia 1928-1974
WILLIAM J. S. TUBMAN
President/Dictator of Liberia 1944-1971
SAMUEL KANYON DOE
Dictator of Liberia 1980-1990

Asia
MOHAMED SUHARTO
Dictator of Indonesia 1966-1998
NGO DINH DIEM
President/Dictator of South Vietnam 1955-1963
GEN. NGUYEN KHANH
Dictator of South Vietnam 1964-1965
NGUYEN CAO KY
Dictator of South Vietnam 1965-1967
GEN. NGUYEN VAN THIEU
President/Dictator of South Vietnam 1967-1975
TRAN THIEM KHIEM
Prime Minister of South Vietnam 1969-75
BAO DAI
Emperor of Vietnam 1926-1945, chief of state 1949-1955
LEE KUAN YEW
Prime Minister/Dictator of Singapore 1959-1990; behind-the scenes ruler since then.
EMOMALI RAHMONOV
President/Dictator of Tajikistan 1992-present
NURSULTAN NAZARBAYEV
President of Kazakhstan 1990-present
ISLAM A. KARIMOV
President/Dictator of Uzbekistan 1990-present
SAPARMURAD ATAYEVICH NIYAZOV
President/Dictator of Turkmenistan 1990-2006
MARSHAL LUANG PIBUL SONGGRAM
Dictator of Thailand 1948-1957
FIELD MARSHAL THANOM KITTIKACHORN
Prime Minister/Dictator of Thailand 1957-58, 1963-1973
CHIANG KAI-SHEK
President/Dictator (Nationalist) of China 1928-1949
President/Dictator of Taiwan 1949-1975
CHIANG CHING-KUO
President/Dicator of Taiwan 1978-1988; Prime Minister 1972-1978
DENG XIAOPING
De facto ruler of China from circa 1978 to the early 1990s
FERDINAND MARCOS
President/Dictator of the Philippines 1965-1986
SYNGMAN RHEE
President/Dictator of South Korea 1948-1960
GEN. PARK CHUNG HEE
President/Dictator of South Korea 1962-1979
GEN. CHUN DOO HWAN
President/Dictator of South Korea 1980-1988
SIR MUDA HASSANAL BOLKIAH
Sultan of Brunei 1967-present
GEN. LON NOL
Prime Minister/Dictator of Cambodia 1970-1975
POL POT
Dictator of Cambodia 1975-1979
MAJ. GEN. SITIVENI RABUKA
Dictator of Fiji 1987-1999
ASKAR AKAYEV
President of Kyrgyzstan 10/27/1990-2005

Europe
FRANCISCO FRANCO
Dictator of Spain 1939-1975
ANTONIO SALAZAR DE OLIVEIRA
Dictator of Portugal 1928-1968
COL. GEORGIOS PAPADOPOULOS
Prime Minister/President/Dictator of Greece 1967-1973

Latin America
ANASTASIO SOMOZA GARCIA
Dictator of Nicaragua 1937-1947, 1950-1956
ANASTASIO "TACHITO" SOMOZA DEBAYLE
Dictator of Nicaragua 1967-1972, 1974-1979
MANUEL ESTRADA CABRERA
Dictator of Guatemala 1898-1920
GEN. JORGE UBICO CASTANEDA
Dictator of Guatemala 1931-1944
COL. CARLOS ENRIQUE CASTILLO ARMAS
Dictator of Guatemala 1954-1957
GEN. JOSE MIGUEL YDIGORAS FUENTES
President/Dictator of Guatemala 1958-1963
COL. ENRIQUE PERALTA AZURDIA
Military Junta, Guatemala 1963-1966
COL.CARLOS ARANA OSORIO
Dictator of Guatemala 1970-1974
GEN. FERNANDO ROMEO LUCAS GARCIA
Dictator of Guatemala 1978-1982
GEN. JOSE EFRAIN RIOS MONTT
Dictator of Guatemala 1982-1983
MARCO VINICIO CEREZO ARÉVALO
President/Dictator of Guatemala 1986-1991
MAXIMILIANO HERNANDEZ MARTINEZ
Dictator of El Salvador 1931-1944
COL. OSMIN AGUIRRE Y SALINAS
Dictator of El Salvador 1944-1945
CIVILIAN-MILITARY JUNTA, EL SALVADOR
1961-1962
COL. ARTURO ARMANDO MOLINA BARRAZA
Dictator of El Salvador 1972-1977
JUNTA, EL SALVADOR
1979-1982
ALFREDO FÉLIX CRISTIANI BUKARD
President/Dictator of El Salvador 1989-1994
TIBURCIO CARIAS ANDINO
Dictator of Honduras 1932-1948
COL. OSWALDO LOPEZ ARELLANO
Dictator of Honduras 1963-1975
ROBERTO SUAZO CORDOVA
President/Dictator of Honduras 1982-1986
GEN. OMAR HERRERA-TORRIJOS
Dictator of Panama 1969-1981
GEN. MANUEL ANTONIO MORENA NORIEGA
Dictator of Panama 1982-1989
AUGUSTO PINOCHET UGARTE
Dictator of Chile 1973-1990
GEN. JORGE RAFAEL VIDELA
Dictator of Argentina 1976-1981
COL. MARCOS PEREZ JIMENEZ
Dictator of Venezuela 1950-1958
GEN. ALFREDO STROESSNER
Dictator of Paraguay 1954-1989
ALBERTO FUJIMORI
Dictator of Peru 1990-2000
FRANCOIS "PAPA DOC" DUVALIER
Dictator of Haiti 1957-1971
JEAN-CLAUDE "BABY DOC" DUVALIER
Dictator of Haiti 1971-1986
MILITARY JUNTA / LT. GEN. RAOUL CEDRAS, GEN. PHILIPPE BIAMBY and LT. COL. MICHEL-JOSEPH FRANCO
Haiti 1991-1994
GEN. RENE BARRIENTOS ORTUNO
President/Dictator of Bolivia 1964-1969
GEN. HUGO BANZER SUAREZ
Dictator of Bolivia 1971-1978
DR. GETULIO VARGAS
Dictator of Brazil 1930-1945, 1951-1954
GEN. HUMBERTO DE ALENCAR CASTELLO BRANCO
Dictator of Brazil 1964-1967
CARLOS PRIO SOCARRAS
Dictator of Cuba 1948-1952
FULGENCIO BATISTA
Dictator of Cuba 1933-44, 1952-1959
GERARDO MACHADO MORALES
Dictator of Cuba 1925-1933
RAFAEL LEONIDAS TRUJILLO
Dictator of the Dominican Republic 1930-1961

Middle East
MOHAMMED REZA PAHLAVI
Shah of Iran 1941-1979
SADDAM HUSSEIN
Dictator of Iraq 1969 (1979)-2003
GEN. MOHAMMED AYUB KHAN
President/Dictator of Pakistan 1958-1969
GEN. AGHA MUHAMMAD YAHYA KHAN
President/Dictator of Pakistan 1969-1971
GEN. MOHAMMAD ZIA UL-HAQ
President/Dictator of Pakistan 1977-1988
PERVEZ MUSHARRAF
Dictator of Pakistan 1999-2008
ABDUL IBN HUSSEIN I
King of Jordan 1952-1999
TURGUT ÖZAL
Prime Minister of Turkey 1983-1989, President 1989-1993
SHEIK JABIR AL-AHMAD AL SABAH
Emir of Kuwait 1977-2006
Prime Minister of Kuwait 1962-1963, 1965-1978
FAHD IBN ABDUL-AZIZ AL SAUD
King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia 1982-2005

[Lord Jim]

Good thing the Brits didn't support any of those folks...

Oh wait...


Gee Strop, you must be wearing your Che Guevara tee shirt today...

[Jarlaxle]

Hugo Chavez has laid Venezuela's economy to waste. One of the world's great energy producers must turn its streetlamps off at night. One of the world's wealthiest exporters cannot afford to import enough food. One of the world's energy superpowers is seeing its production slowly dwindle away because of chronic under-investment in the oil fields and the loss of access to technology as foreign companies are harassed and expropriated.

But they do advertise here (on LI at least) that if you need heating oil and cannot pay, Chevron (I think it's chevron) will help you out with free or discounted heating oil "courtesy of Chavez and Venezuela".
I kid you not.

Citgo, not Chevron. (Though Chevron may do that...)

[Gob]

Gee Strop, you must be wearing your Che Guevara tee shirt today...

[Rick]

Moa Tse Gob...

[Lord Jim]

I suspected as much....

Under Venezuelan law (such as it is at this point), in the event of the death of The Comandante, there is supposed to be a new election, (of sorts) held to replace him within 30 days....

Assuming this election takes place, it is expected to have Acting Presidente Nicolas "I can have all the TV time I want" Maduro square off against centrist opposition leader Henrique "Three 60 second ads a day and opposition media crushed" Capriles, who faced Chavez back in October....

An optimist would hope that Maduro is not really crazy enough himself to believe that Chavez's cancer was the work of nefarious US forces, and that he just said that in order to play to the ignorant and paranoid to try to consolidate his position...

A pessimist, (or perhaps a realist) might think that since he was Hugo's hand picked successor, that "not really crazy" probably wasn't an important part of his resumé in being selected for the position...

[MajGenl.Meade]

Dictators not supported by the USA
Mousie Dung
Adolf Hitler
Benito Mussolini
Joseph Stalin
Vladimir Ilych Lenin
Genghis Khan
Pol Pot
Every Burmese leader since time began
Ho Chi Minh
Hugo Chavez
Every Japanese leader between 1900 and 1945
That Hungarian chap
Those Czech chaps
Those Bulgarian chaps
Those Yugoslav chaps
All Arab leaders
Robert Mugabe
Idi Amin
Every North Korean leader since the beginning of North Korea
etc etc etc

I'm not sure that lists of dictators supported or not supported by the USA has anything to do with the fact that Chavez was bat-shit crazy, an enemy of civil society and a scum-bag. And that's the favourable side.

I am however not exulting in his death as I don't think that it is, in itself, something to applaud

Meade

[Guinevere]

Citgo it is; for some reason Joe Kennedy Jr is the spokesman for this effort.

Joe Kennedy is the CEO of Citizens Energy, which provides free heating oil for about 200-3000k families in the winter. Citgo provided much of that oil (83 million gallons according to wiki). And in the meantime State and federal assistance for similar programs has been cut, and US companies don't step up, despite record profits.

[Lord Jim]

Joe Kennedy is the CEO of Citizens Energy, which provides free heating oil for about 200-3000k families in the winter

Nice to see at least some of that bootleg whiskey legacy going to a good cause...

[oldr_n_wsr]

Citgo, not Chevron. (Though Chevron may do that...)

Yes, Citgo. Thanks for the correction.

[Rick]

I am however not exulting in his death as I don't think that it is, in itself, something to applaud

I don't know that I'm exulting it as much as I'm giving it the recognition it deserves...

[Big RR]

Citgo it is; for some reason Joe Kennedy Jr is the spokesman for this effort.

Joe Kennedy is the CEO of Citizens Energy, which provides free heating oil for about 200-3000k families in the winter. Citgo provided much of that oil (83 million gallons according to wiki). And in the meantime State and federal assistance for similar programs has been cut, and US companies don't step up, despite record profits.

Point taken Guin, but the TV commercial does give him the appearance of being a stooge for Chavez. One could argue that the help for the needy justifies this, but I can't agree. Chavez was a brutal thug, and deserves no cudos.

[oldr_n_wsr]

At least here on LI and maybe NY state, there is help for those in need of fuel for heating their homes. And LIPA (the electricity supplier) is not allowed to shut off power during the cold months (of course that doesn't apply to Sandy victims who are SOOL.