Comments on PolEconAnalysis: Venezuela: The spectre of Big Oil

My comment should have caused neither embarassment...

2008-03-15T01:35:00.000-04:00

My comment should have caused neither embarassment nor confusion. It was calculated to do neither.

Rather, it was to state my plain disagreement with the blogger who simply has the same name as I do.

I'm an American journalist from New York. I do not subscribe to my Canadian counterpart's views and I wanted to make that very,very clear.

To my mind and to that of many others, Hugo Chavez is a dictator and a bully. He's noisy, rude, ill-mannered and a thoroughgoing pain in the neck.

The student movement in Venezuela seems to agree - they made sure he was prevented from altering the Consitution to suit himself. If Chavez had succeeded in that referendum, he'd have been able to run for President forever and would have likely, sooner or later, had himself declared President for life.

Chavez is an unabashed acolyte of Cuba's Fidel Castro, whose revolution has proved nothing short of disastrous for Cuba and the Cuban people. The fact of Castro's age, and his recent illness may finally occasion some economic and societal reforms on that island nation.

Chavez also may have been trying to influence elections in Latin America with illegal cash infusions to the candidates of his choice. I refer specifically to Argentina and to the man stopped by customs trying to smuggle in $850,000 in American currency.(see New York Times coverage).

Latin america doesn't need a leader like Chavez. What it could use would be someone in favor of democratic reforms and better conditions for all the people of Latin America, without the Communist or leftist doctrine.

Nchamah is right to defend Chavez from critics who...

2008-03-01T00:54:00.000-05:00

Nchamah is right to defend Chavez from critics who call him a "tin-pot dictator". The US twice elected Bush in very murky circumstances. The US has nothing to teach Venezuela about democracy.

If you're looking for the whole comment making the charges against Chavez, I've removed it. The author (bizarrely) has the same name as I do – and it was causing a little embarrassment and confusion.

Thanks for the comment Nchamah.

I am not so sure that Chavez has any tin pots abou...

2008-02-29T20:33:00.000-05:00

I am not so sure that Chavez has any tin pots about him - Venezuela has the oil - and speaking of illegitimacy have we forgetten the illegitimate means by which Bush stole the election in Florida??

Well, comrades I have been waiting for the boycott of EXONN to be announced by others but I can't wait any longer - so it is official I hereby declare a world boycott of EXXON effective immediately - please post to all list serves this is the first move in a series of other logistic steps to be taken with the same presicion as "they" make theirs - they waited for the outcome of the referendum in Venezuela - I shall be writing an article on this to outline precisely what was at stake and it was not, by the way, the changes of the term or duration of future presidencies.

nchamah miller