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Chavez says capitalism may have ended life on Mars

Chavez is a joke. He knows it.

Venezuela is number 1 in estimated oil reserves by country and Chavez heads it

Underestimate Chavez at your peril.
 
You do realize that the change in the constitution was voted upon by the people. 92% of those voting voted “yes” in response to the question about convoking a constitutional assembly and 86% approved of the procedures set forth by the president to change the constitution. If your talking about how he has rule decree while yes the Venezuelan National Assembly (their congress) voted to give him decree rule in several areas such as housing, public works, and finances, they announced to give him this power back in December because of the damaging floods that destroyed much of Venezuela farming community.

Yea yea yea dictator because "there are no term limits". Many democratic countries do not have term limits, but we dont call them a dictatorship. He has been re-elected over and over again. The EU released a report stating that elections in Venezuela are fair and free. "Elections were held in respect of national laws and international standards concerning electoral administration and the electronic voting system. The electronic voting system established in Venezuela is efficient, secure and auditable, and the competence of the technical experts is in line with its advanced technological level.]"
It seems that our media and only our country is the only people throwing around these terms. Remember when we did not have term limits?

So that makes you a dictator if you nationalize and use socialism as an economic policy? It makes you a dictator using agrarian reform? Publicly owned land has already been given to hundreds and thousands of farmers. Based on a 2001 land law that allows the government to expropriate land if judged either idle or unproductive.

On the media... According to Eva Golinger (winner of international award for journalism) "Documents reveal multimillion-dollar funding to journalists and media in Venezuela. State Department documents declassified under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) evidence more than $4 million USD in funding to journalists and private media in Venezuela during the last three years. This funding is part of the more than $40 million USD international agencies are investing annually in anti-Chavez groups in Venezuela in an attempt to provoke regime change." You do realize that there are currently between 90 and 100 newspapers and of which at least 80% side with the political opposition, and on radio there are at least 400 that broadcast the oppositions side? In a recent study "Venezuelan state TV channels had just a 5.4 percent audience share. Of the other 94.6 percent of the audience, 61.4 percent were watching privately owned television channels, and 33.1 percent were watching paid TV." (If you would like to take a look at the study and the data here is a quick link http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2010/images/wr_t_1.jpg ). Right... "murdering"... Right..

I would really like to see a source on the CNE please...

I have better things to do with my time than argue with a socialist about the character of whack jobs like Hugo Chavez. I’m more concerned with US issues at the moment so I’ll stick to those topics.

That said, here is a link where you can get a lot of information about what’s going on over there. Unless you speak Spanish however, you may find most of the supporting documentation hard to read:VENEZUELA: IS THE NATIONAL ELECTORAL COUNCIL CONTROLLED BY THE EXECUTIVE?
As for your argument, removal of term limits was simply one of many steps Chavez has/is taking to consolidate power so your attempt to argue the issue in a vacuum is disingenuous at best.

Also, your argument that it is “agrarian reform” is total hogwash. When a president expropriates the oil industry, banks, utilities, cement, steel, private property etc. you can’t call it socialism; maybe communism or totalitarianism but not socialism. And we are talking about entire industries so trying to compare it to eminent domain here in the US is a red herring argument. He also expropriated 11 US oil rigs.


Watch these videos and tell me that this is how “socialism” works.



 
Populistic whining about corporations...how about unbridled cheerleading and arse wipeage of crooked callous greedy corporations :)

when you see someone cheering corporations they know to be corrupt let me know. Many of the whiners on this board assume if a corporation is trying to make money they are corrupt when those who understand reality realize that that is exactly what a corporation should be doing
 
when you see someone cheering corporations they know to be corrupt let me know. Many of the whiners on this board assume if a corporation is trying to make money they are corrupt when those who understand reality realize that that is exactly what a corporation should be doing

That is an astute quote and precisely correct observation. Corporation is trying to make money and that, not living and breathing, is exactly what is its chartered objective. That is the problem. If the survival of that corporation goes against living and breathing, that's just tough noogies. It's just money and its continuity is its stated goal. This insulates against the damage it does against peoples in attempting to maintain policies, programs, functions, etc. that are a damage to mankind. Take a good look at the Corporate Centralized Distribution Network as an example. What price Fukushima? What price Bhopal? What price Chernobyl? 7 nuclear reactors lost under our ocean waters, but it's all good for GE, Westinghouse, Bechtel, Brown and Root, Shell, BP, Chevron, JPMorganChase, Goldman Sachs, and a huge number of other "fictitious entities" and fictitious entities is the exact legal term to describe these ogres. The system is flawed and something must be done. Look at the friggin' financial crisis and the Corporate sainthood responsible. Survival of the Corporations, at all cost. Global Warming, financial crisis, wars for resources, and where are the people in the picture. I'm probably just too naive to be able to figure it out, but as I do, so shall you, don't you think. If you work for the people and your name is Qaddaffi or Chavez, some very large corporations are going to sponsor commercials that say bad things about you, and that is legal.
 
I have better things to do with my time than argue with a socialist about the character of whack jobs like Hugo Chavez. I’m more concerned with US issues at the moment so I’ll stick to those topics.

That said, here is a link where you can get a lot of information about what’s going on over there. Unless you speak Spanish however, you may find most of the supporting documentation hard to read:VENEZUELA: IS THE NATIONAL ELECTORAL COUNCIL CONTROLLED BY THE EXECUTIVE?
As for your argument, removal of term limits was simply one of many steps Chavez has/is taking to consolidate power so your attempt to argue the issue in a vacuum is disingenuous at best.

Also, your argument that it is “agrarian reform” is total hogwash. When a president expropriates the oil industry, banks, utilities, cement, steel, private property etc. you can’t call it socialism; maybe communism or totalitarianism but not socialism. And we are talking about entire industries so trying to compare it to eminent domain here in the US is a red herring argument. He also expropriated 11 US oil rigs.


Watch these videos and tell me that this is how “socialism” works.





Right "whack jobs"... Right... Why is he a "whack job". Im guessing mainly because he is a leftist and is nationalizing US companies...
Soo Chavez bill to remove term limits which was popularly voted on and passed the assembly is just a way for him to "stay in power", even when there are elections that are held i believe every 6 years or something like that, which the elections are deemed to be fair by man onlookers the only country and media that claims that these elections are not fair and are rigged seem to be the US and the US media...
Nationalizing the oil industry is not right? Why? Nationalizing the banks is not right? Why? Nationalizing these things are not right why? If your going off the basis that he is a dictator because he is nationalizing US companies then that makes a buck ton of DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED LEADERS dictators. Are pretty much all the leaders in South America dictators now? Morales? Is he a dictator as well? You do realize that the private sector has a bigger share of the economy...
You do realize by nationalizing these industries the country has made great strides for the people. Poverty is down, extreme poverty is down, the GDP is way up, inflation is going way down.
On the video of him expropriate buildings in Caracas is a move for him to preserve Venezuelan heritage and historical sites. The buildings were once occupied by Simon Bolivar, pass into state hands, as well as a number of other sites of historic interest.
I see where you are coming from on the CNE and the legitimacy of the council... But you make it seem like Chavez just appoints them and bam they are there. The apointees have to be elected by a majority of the National Assembly and the rulings have to be agreed by a majority of the principal members.
 
when you see someone cheering corporations they know to be corrupt let me know. Many of the whiners on this board assume if a corporation is trying to make money they are corrupt when those who understand reality realize that that is exactly what a corporation should be doing

Agreed. Trouble is NO business ever pays a tax. THEY ARE A BUSINESS. That means taxes, salaries, employee benefits, cost of materials, transportation, advertising, etc. are all overhead. They are incorporated into the price of their goods and services, plus profit margin.

You can increase a business' taxes 100% and all that happens is they have to increase their prices. Because you can't increase the taxes to a particular business, the price increase will be across the board and all that means is that your big Mac now costs x amount of dollars.
 
Chavez is a joke. He knows it.

He should hang out with Michele Bachmann. I'd love to see the debate:

Chavez : Capitalism wiped out the martians
Bachmann: No, it was Obama

:)
 
How is Chavez a dictator again?

Chavez given power to rule by decree for 18 months

He taunted the incoming opposition congressmen in a television address. "You won't be able to make a single law, little Yankees," he said, deploying one of his favourite insults, which depicts his opponents as American stooges.

"We're going to see how you make laws now."

The 18-month period means the opposition will be blocked from any significant role in Venezuelan politics until just months before the 2012 presidential election.

The law granting presidential decree powers – for the fourth time in his nearly 12-year presidency – also will allow him to enact measures involving telecommunications, the banking system, information technology, the military, rural and urban land use and the country's "socio-economic system."
His foes accused him of taking advantage of the floods to stage a crude power grab by violating the constitution as he tried to impose a Cuban-style system.

Not a dictator….Right!

Going to allow fair elections in 2012….Right!
 
thats some far reaching thought for you, not farther than jesus tho :p

but the more realistic way of explaining it is how GOPs killed NASA
and cancelled our human trip to mars for 2012

Well...... mabye the private sector will invest in it when theres money to be made

we gotta find that "unobtanium", cause its all about the fuel, thats one thing Chavez knows hahaha
 
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He should hang out with Michele Bachmann. I'd love to see the debate:

Chavez : Capitalism wiped out the martians
Bachmann: No, it was Obama

:)

:failpail: That was beyond lame. :failpail:
 
Chavez given power to rule by decree for 18 months





Not a dictator….Right!

Going to allow fair elections in 2012….Right!

Ohh boy. Ewww "Rule By Decree" it sounds so scary and sooo totalitarian. Didnt i state this in like my 3rd post? I just love the US Newspaper headlines on this subject: "Is Chavez Becoming Castro?" And those are the restrained ones. The right-wing rags have headlines like "A Dictatorship Rises," and "Hugo Chavez Kills Democracy." Just gets your attention doesnt it and you pretty much make up your mind before even looking into it.. The Venezuelan assembly passed a law which gives the executive (Chavez) branch more leeway to establish norms. Most of these involve guidelines for the president's own cabinet-level agencies. In other words, the Venezuelan version of the IRS will map out the country's tax structure; the Transportation department will devise its own strategic plan for public transit nationwide, etc. This represents a shift of certain powers from the legislative branch to the executive, to be sure, but on paper they don't seem to stray too far from the powers that the executive branch in the United States already has.
This kind of power **** is covered under the 1999 constitution, also under the previous constitution before the 1999 it was also allowed in the older constitution.
Previous presidents that came before Chavez which were considered "friendly" and the US loved so dearly also did this many times throughout the 70's, 80's and 90's. But when Chavez does it we immediately scream dictator now dont we? Hypocrisy? I think sooo....
So lets see what he is doing with this "decree power." Well he is funding the construcion for 4,000 new homes.Currently providing several billion dollars in relief aid for housing construction to help thousands displaced from the severe rains that hit the nation in late November. Chavez announced the creation of a 10 billion bolivar (US$2.3 billion) emergency fund to provide relief for those affected by the torrential rains that have ravaged parts of the country. 506 million bolivars ($117.7 million) of the newly created Simon Bolivar Fund will be put to use to construct four thousand new homes in areas of the western state of Zulia, one of the regions most affected by the downpours. President Chavez has this power for only 18 months and can pass laws in key areas aimed at weeding out corruption, increasing government efficiency, and bringing more equality to our poorest citizens. You failt to mention or even maybe fail to know (based on the press) that these laws can be modified or rescinded by the National Assembly at any time and the population has the guaranteed right under our constitution to nullify any of these laws through a national referendum.
He has the power to rule by decree in areas of housing, public works, and finances.
Chavez claims that he will only use this power to help rebuild the destroyed areas. Under a law passed under the decree people have powers on deciding how to spend local development funds, the project grants self-governance under Community ruling. The law would also establish a series of municipal institutions, such as a communal parliament and a communal bank, which would pertain only to the communes and enhance public participation in the decision-making process.
If Chavez was ruling by decree and promised to privatize everything, nobody would mention the "d" word on the corporate ran media, now would they? And wait dont we kinda have a decree isnt it called an "executive order"?
 
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since you are the defender of tyrants, care to explain what Chavez meant when he said this to his assembly?

You won't be able to make a single law, little Yankees,

If you try to deflect by answering with another question, our chat is over.
 
Maybe that's because it is totalitarian? just a guess.

Well saying he has limits on his power under the decree and it was democratically recognized through the national assembly its not.. .
 
This represents a shift of certain powers from the legislative branch to the executive, to be sure, but on paper they don't seem to stray too far from the powers that the executive branch in the United States already has.

Which US powers of the executive branch are you referring to? I'm having trouble recalling anything even remotely similar to the powers Chavez has.
 
since you are the defender of tyrants, care to explain what Chavez meant when he said this to his assembly?



If you try to deflect by answering with another question, our chat is over.

Calling supporters of the US economic policy in his government yankees... I believe that is what he means sense Anti-Castro supporters have been trying to block government funding to the housing projects, and the nationalization of banks.
 
Maybe that's because it is totalitarian? just a guess.


Can you respond to my whole post. Im interested in what you have to say or your point of view on it is.
 
Well saying he has limits on his power under the decree and it was democratically recognized through the national assembly its not.. .

So Hitler wasn’t a dictator either according to your logic. He was elected and eventually obtained power through similar means too.
 
Calling supporters of the US economic policy in his government yankees... I believe that is what he means sense Anti-Castro supporters have been trying to block government funding to the housing projects, and the nationalization of banks.

By “supporters of the US economic policy” I assume you mean those who refused to support Chavez.

Sounds like what a dictator would do/say to me.
 
So Hitler wasn’t a dictator either according to your logic. He was elected and eventually obtained power through similar means too.

Hitler was not democratically elected first off. He was appointed.. He was appointed Chancellor of Germany. Hitler rose to power through the Nazi Party and used intimidation and try to put him in a position of power. In 1933, under pressure from the Nazi Party and the ineptitude of his own subordinates to deal with Hitler, President Hindenberg appointed Hitler as Chancellor.
 
By “supporters of the US economic policy” I assume you mean those who refused to support Chavez.

Sounds like what a dictator would do/say to me.


Wouldndt a dictator just make himself the all time ruler? Cancel elections? Kick out oversights of the elections?
 
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