A thoughtful comment that deserves a response
Hey Folks,
A while back I posted two Hugo Chavez-related items: “Truth and Fiction” http://www.ukuleleman.net/2006/09/truth-and-fiction.html and “Did I miss something?” http://www.ukuleleman.net/2006/09/hey-folks-did-i-miss-something-i.html .
A long, thoughtful comment was added at the second posting. I think it deserves a thoughtful response. That would take more space than is appropriate for one posting; so, I’m reprinting the comment first, and then will reply over several postings, part by part.
- Uke Man
Anonymous said...
Hi Tom,
You might not be able to think of many things that Chavez has done against many Venezuelans, but you might [not] be doing much research on the subject either.
According to a group of interviews conducted by Benjamin Dangl on Alternet (www.alternet.org): "Venezuelan people have not become richer with Chavez, but the poor are now happy to see the rich become poorer," he continued. "Rich people are poorer because with Chavez's politics we are buying more things from the exterior than we produce at home. There are also fewer investments in the country due to fears investors have about unclear policies and an insecure economic future in Venezuela ... I think there is a movement to 'Cubanize' many sectors of Venezuela. This is impossible because there is not an ideological or philosophical revolution going on here. It is just populism."
It's nice to have an opinion, but it's good to do homework on that opinion.
The Saudi economy is so completely dependent on oil now that opportunities for livelihoods in that country which are unrelated to petroleum are few and far between, which is just one of the causes of great and discontent for the educated young engineers and natural scientists who study abroad, specifically in the midst of Western prosperity, and return home to a country that cannot offer decent employment opportunities. When young people have no significant work to do, it's convenient for them to hang together and cook up resentments, schemes and activities that give meaning to their lives. Like blowing up American and Western interests.
And as much as you enjoy blogging your opinion, you might not be able to enjoy doing it in Venezuela. In an editorial on January 14 attacking the government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the Washington Post wrote, “Mr. Chavez has pushed through a new law that allows the government to fine or shut down private media for vaguely defined offenses against 'public order'.” Something to think about.
And in addition to Chavez aligning himself with an anti-Semitic leader like Ahmadinejad, you might want to ask yourself why he'd want to be pals with someone who is imposing the most primitive right-wing religious government outside of Saudi Arabia on his people. In case you hadn't researched this topic either, Sharia law calls for the death penalty for homosexuality, adultery, premarital sex, and lesser infractions only require the amputation of a hand or foot. Oh, and for all the atheists reading this, under Sharia law, "people of the Book" (Jews and Christians) have a choice of either converting or paying Jizyah (infidel tax), whereas Godless pagans and atheists have only two choices: convert to Islam or die by the sword.
You might want to do a little more research about how "heroic" and "benign" these guys [are] than you seem to be doing at the moment.
A while back I posted two Hugo Chavez-related items: “Truth and Fiction” http://www.ukuleleman.net/2006/09/truth-and-fiction.html and “Did I miss something?” http://www.ukuleleman.net/2006/09/hey-folks-did-i-miss-something-i.html .
A long, thoughtful comment was added at the second posting. I think it deserves a thoughtful response. That would take more space than is appropriate for one posting; so, I’m reprinting the comment first, and then will reply over several postings, part by part.
- Uke Man
Anonymous said...
Hi Tom,
You might not be able to think of many things that Chavez has done against many Venezuelans, but you might [not] be doing much research on the subject either.
According to a group of interviews conducted by Benjamin Dangl on Alternet (www.alternet.org): "Venezuelan people have not become richer with Chavez, but the poor are now happy to see the rich become poorer," he continued. "Rich people are poorer because with Chavez's politics we are buying more things from the exterior than we produce at home. There are also fewer investments in the country due to fears investors have about unclear policies and an insecure economic future in Venezuela ... I think there is a movement to 'Cubanize' many sectors of Venezuela. This is impossible because there is not an ideological or philosophical revolution going on here. It is just populism."
It's nice to have an opinion, but it's good to do homework on that opinion.
The Saudi economy is so completely dependent on oil now that opportunities for livelihoods in that country which are unrelated to petroleum are few and far between, which is just one of the causes of great and discontent for the educated young engineers and natural scientists who study abroad, specifically in the midst of Western prosperity, and return home to a country that cannot offer decent employment opportunities. When young people have no significant work to do, it's convenient for them to hang together and cook up resentments, schemes and activities that give meaning to their lives. Like blowing up American and Western interests.
And as much as you enjoy blogging your opinion, you might not be able to enjoy doing it in Venezuela. In an editorial on January 14 attacking the government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the Washington Post wrote, “Mr. Chavez has pushed through a new law that allows the government to fine or shut down private media for vaguely defined offenses against 'public order'.” Something to think about.
And in addition to Chavez aligning himself with an anti-Semitic leader like Ahmadinejad, you might want to ask yourself why he'd want to be pals with someone who is imposing the most primitive right-wing religious government outside of Saudi Arabia on his people. In case you hadn't researched this topic either, Sharia law calls for the death penalty for homosexuality, adultery, premarital sex, and lesser infractions only require the amputation of a hand or foot. Oh, and for all the atheists reading this, under Sharia law, "people of the Book" (Jews and Christians) have a choice of either converting or paying Jizyah (infidel tax), whereas Godless pagans and atheists have only two choices: convert to Islam or die by the sword.
You might want to do a little more research about how "heroic" and "benign" these guys [are] than you seem to be doing at the moment.
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