No wonder Chavez makes Bush uneasy

[AGENDA21]

NEW YORK -- When the hated despots of nations like Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan loot their countries' treasuries, transfer their oil wealth to personal Swiss bank accounts and use the rest to finance (in the House of Saud's case) terrorist extremists, American politicians praise them as trusted friends and allies. But when a democratically elected populist president uses Venezuela's oil profits to lift poor people out of poverty, they accuse him of pandering.

As the United States and Europe continue their shift toward a "Darwinomic" model where rapacious corporations accrue bigger and bigger profits while workers become poorer and poorer, the socialist economic model espoused by President Hugo Chavez has become wildly popular among Latin Americans tired of watching corrupt rightwing leaders enrich themselves at their expense. Left-of-center governments have recently won power in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. Chavez's uncompromising rhetoric matches his politics, but what's really driving the American government and its corporate masters crazy is that he has the cash to back it up.

In their desperate frenzy to destroy Chavez, state-controlled media is resorting to some of the most transparently and hilariously hypocritical talking points ever. In the April 4 New York Times Juan Forero repeated the trope that Chavez's use of oil revenues is unfair--even cheating somehow: "With Venezuela's oil revenues rising 32 percent last year," the paper exclaimed, "Mr. Chavez has been subsidizing samba parades in Brazil, eye surgery for poor Mexicans and even heating fuel for poor families from Maine to the Bronx to Philadelphia. By some estimates, the spending now surpasses the nearly $ 2 billion Washington allocates to pay for development programs and the drug war in western South America."

Chavez, the story continued, is poised to become "the next Fidel Castro, a hero to the masses who is intent on opposing every move the United States makes, but with an important advantage."

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/eo20060418a2.html

[0007]

1. What is indeed hilarious, the U.S. no doubt would like to put

an embargo on Venezuela like they have on Cuba. But then again how can they when we receive about 16% of our oil from Venezuela?

[wordpix2]

2. how terrible that a democratically elected pres should help his people

:sarcasm:

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. Chavez is turning out to be far more benevolent than Fidel Castro.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

8. Geez. There's NO comparison.

Could you imagine Castro putting up with the amount of insults and lies and veiled threats Chavez gets from the media of his own country?

No. Way. In. Hell.

[Virginia Dare]

4. He has vowed to pay down Venezuela's international debt...

this makes the masters very unhappy.

[no_hypocrisy]

5. Venezuela offers better workers' benefits and security than this country.

I'm surprised that Mexican workers continue to cross our border when they would be exalted, not exploited, by Hugo Chavez. They could be part of a great South American economic revival.

[pberq]

6. Kick & Nominated - Viva Chavez!

[gratuitous]

7. That's it exactly

Chavez is using Venezuela's oil wealth to retire its national debt and truly lift all the boats with a rising tide of prosperity. This is totally anathema to oligarchs like Bush and his cronies, who prefer that po' folk remain heavily dependent on the overrich for their daily bread.

[Toots]

9. Maybe trickle down really works only not how they told us it would

A country that takes care of it's citizens, another truly novel idea.

[bigtree]

10. What really has the WH worried, besides his close relationship with Iran

is his pledge to take the 60% of Venezuela's oil business they give to the U.S. and transfer all of it to China by the end of the year.