5000 new rifles, but no milk in Venezuela

I read this statement from Venezuela President Hugo Chavez’ Alo! Presidente speech last Sunday as quoted by the Christian Science Monitor in the Washington Post today;Â
“I’m going to buy 5,000 Dragunov rifles from Russia…with telescopic sight, the best in the world, with infrared night-view. We will knock out any imperialist that approaches.”
I guess we know at which imperialists Chavez wants to aim his Dragunov rifles. Any soldier worth his salt would prefer a Remington to the clunky Dragunov, though – but Hugo isn’t a real soldier anyway – he just pretends to be one in his drama play for the world’s thugs.
Regardless, his choice of weapons isn’t the subject of this post. It didn’t take me long to find something more worthy of Chavez’ money instead of rifles. Julia, a Venezuelan who blogs on The end of Venezuela as I know it writes about the shortages of staples in Caracas. In Part I there’s sugar;
“This is flour!†– I said – “No… try it… it’s also sweet… it’s the snow sugar that your mom uses for decorate the cakes…†I thought the sugar shortage was extreme enough when I started to get used to the brown sugar. I was clearly wrong; you never know when it’s extreme enough because my dad couldn’t even find brown sugar that day so decided to buy the two kinds of sugar that remained in the supermarket just to, well, give us the option to decide between the worse of those two.
In Part II it’s cooking oil and milk;
Then I make a quick calculus, 1000 ml for six people (without counting my godchild who is three months old) it’s almost nothing and won’t last for long. Besides, the shortage now its just partial, but before we notice it, we are not going to be able to find not even that small package of normal milk in a while…
But Julia will very happy to learn that Chavez will have 5000 new sniper rifles with which to fight those nebulous imperialists that will never come – irrespective of who owns the rifles.
I almost choked on my beer while reading this piece of trash from some pencil-necked dork named Steve Lendman who claims that Venezuela is a more perfect form of democracy than the United States. Sorry, I’m not linking it – you can google the retard;
Chavez wants his new United Socialist Party (PSUV) to drive the revolutionary process and continue his agenda of reform for all Venezuelans. He wants everyone to enjoy the benefits, not just a privileged few like in the past and in the US today. Under his leadership, their future is bright while in America poverty is growing, the middle class is dying, and the darkness of tyranny threatens everyone under George Bush with his agenda likely continuing under a new president in 2009.
Governance differences exist between these two nations because their constitutional laws are mirror opposite, and America has no one like Hugo Chavez. He’s a rare leader who cares and backs his rhetoric with progressive people-friendly policies. In the US, there’s George Bush, and that pretty much explains the problem. Knowing that, which leader would you choose and under which system of government would you prefer to live?
Well, Stevie, I don’t see Americans flocking to Venezuela – do you? And I think if you read Julia’s Part II, you’ll get a pretty good idea which Venezuelans prefer;
I should be able to go protesting everywhere I want to without having the fear of being attack or/ and detained by the police. I should be able to go out and came back home at any time I want or I need to without taking the risk to be mugged or kidnapped or killed. I should be able to say whatever I want to say about the government out loud even in government institutions without being called oligarch, rich or imperialist just because I think different. I should be able to ask any government’ help or support in health, or education or whatever I need or have the right to request as a citizen without being forced to wear a red t-shirt.
[…]
Sometimes I want to be like other young people are, of course they have troubles and concerns in their political systems but they don’t feel constantly threatened by it. Some people can criticize and oppose to their governments and continue having a normal life. They can go to the beach in their own countries and find some peace. Not halfway peace, but real tranquility. I should be able to go to have some drinks with my friends, concerning only about calling the attention of the guy I like; without saying good bye because they are leaving the country.
Chavez promises refineries to Nicaragua and Panama, oil to the Caribe Basin, oil to Cuba, pays for his cohorts’ political campaign in other countries. Oh, and this from AP;
Laid-off Brazilian factory workers have their jobs back, Nicaraguan farmers are getting low-interest loans and Bolivian mayors can afford new health clinics, all thanks to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
Bolstered by windfall oil profits, Chavez’s government is now offering more direct state funding to Latin America and the Caribbean than the United States. A tally by The Associated Press shows Venezuela has pledged more than $8.8 billion in aid, financing and energy funding so far this year.
Yet his own people don’t have staples. What a wonderful guy.
Related; Mary Anastasia O’Grady reviews two new books about Chavez and Venezuela in the Wall Street Journal today.
Hugo Chávez By Cristina Marcano and Alberto Barrera Tyszka Random House, 327 pages, $27.95
¡Hugo! By Bart Jones Steerforth, 570 pages, $30
Category: Foreign Policy, Hugo Chavez
Wow, this Lendman fellow is delusional about Venezuela. Entre dicho y hecho hay gran trecho. While he correctly cites articles of the Bolivarian Constitution, he fails to analyze the ways in which Chávez has categorically violated his own words. One would think that this man, who so closely follows how Bush hasn’t followed our Constitution 100%, would do the same with Chávez. I just I expect entirely too much from people.
Jonn Lilyea wrote: Hey, Kate. Well, the Left have been looking for someone to hold up as their new socialist savior since Mao died. It’s hard to sell communism when the only communists left are a dying Castro, racist Robert Mugabe and that North Korean lunatic with a comic hairdo. A commie with petro dollars must seem like a Godsend. That book by Bart Jones (an AP reporter) seems to be along the same lines as Lendman’s screed.
“Progressive people-friendly policies” – I almost choked on my martini when I read that bit of absurdity.
Does that ‘friendly’ policy include silencing the opposition by shutting down media outlets that print critical opinions of chavez.
You are right about the weapon chavez has purchased for his little army, it is near useless against a conventional forces and he most likely overpaid for them.
Bolivia et al wouldn’t need outside aid had they not adopted socialist/communist governance more than 50 years ago.
Venezuela is destined to be yet ANOTHER example of a potentially robust economy and civilization subdued and subjugated into poverty and destitution by Chavez, who has just cleared the way to be dictator for life. See Cuba? Venezuela is headed there. More boat people to come.
Jonn Lilyea wrote: Welcome BARman – glad you finally made it here. Actually the rich are already leaving Venezuela. Many are moving to nearby capitalist-friendly Panama.
A blogger named Jungle Mom, recently returned to America after many years as a Christian Missionary in Venezuela, reports in a post today that children may stay with their parents until age three. Then they will be taken by the government to be indoctrinated. They will be allowed to return two days a month to their parents. I wonder what Jimmy Carter thinks of that!
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