Adios Hugo

[sesamosinsal]

http://edition.cnn.c...mment-820370943

And you know, I could say that for all of the politicians. Change a few minor details; throw in Bush, Obama, CFK, or anyone else; and it's the same old story.

I'm not optimistic that it will ever stop repeating itself.

 

[Napoleon]

In fairness, if Menem had not dropped out, Néstor would have splattered him in the runoff.

In fairness, if Menem had not dropped out, [blow up doll endorsed by Duhalde] would have splattered him in the runoff.

 

[Yogur griego]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yApnfqoVZhs

Uno puede vivir sin Coca Cola!

 

[Joe]

With Hugo gone and Fidel retired, has Cristina become the Standard Bearer of the Bolivarian Revolution?

 

[GS_Dirtboy]

The Nazis took power with ~34% of the vote.

Nestor "won" one term and one term only with 22% of the vote.

George W. Bush "won" with 500,000 fewer votes than Al Gore.

Apparently, democracy didn't get the memo about a "majority".

The US and German examples are representative democracies, not direct democracies. The President of the United States is not elected by a direct vote. US voters don't go to the polls, vote for the President, and then they count up all the votes to see who got the most. We have an electoral college where the votes are cast state by state. The reason is that the United States puts a great emphasis on state authority, autonomy, and powers as opposed to other countries which have more emphasis on national powers. For instance, many laws about the same issue are different state to state in the US - same-sex marriage, gun rights, speed limits, etc.

Argentina had a similar electoral system until 1994 when a constitutional reform changed it to a direct democracy.

 

[citygirl]

And you know, I could say that for all of the politicians. Change a few minor details; throw in Bush, Obama, CFK, or anyone else; and it's the same old story.

I'm not optimistic that it will ever stop repeating itself.

Bradley - have you been to Venezuela? I have and I will say, the political system there is nothing and I mean nothing like I had seen/experienced before. Nor can I imagine anyone there visiting feeling like the country was on an upswing.

I actually thought that piece was pretty nuanced and very accurate. While I applaud his attempts to lift the lowest classes out of poverty and call attention to some of the inequities, I think a huge amount of the capital was wasted and a huge amount of time was spent on vendettas and making sure everyone toed the line, not in bettering the lives of the average citizen.

 

[Gringoboy]

I'm dammed sure that CFK will now become the standard bearer; the baton has now been passed on.
She reads from the same text and her imminent trip to Caracas will crystallise her philosophy.
Also, without wishing to sound disrespectful to Chavez, I am of the opinion that his 'death' was carefully orchestrated between Caracas and Havana, spoon feeding Venezuela and the rest of the world.

 

[Dipoots]

among all the articles written, this is quite interesting. unfortunately, i cannot reprint it.

http://www.ft.com/in...l#axzz2Mo6Gs5Qf

Chávez leaves legacy of economic disarray

By Francisco Toro

--------------

also, the Colombia oil industry was essentially rescued by the PDVSA exiles...

 

[Sulacochilcano]

Just a reminder that he wasn't always the bad guy. (A former shipmate and current CPO who served on the goodship YORKTOWN back in the day has about 2 dozen pictures of a smiling Presidente Chávez touring CG-48.)

Not exactly my favorite líder of all time, but . . .

Requiem Aeternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetuae luceat ei. Requiescat in pace.

 

[ajoknoblauch]

Just a reminder that he wasn't always the bad guy. (A former shipmate and current CPO who served on the goodship YORKTOWN back in the day has about 2 dozen pictures of a smiling Presidente Chávez touring CG-48.)

Not exactly my favorite líder of all time, but . . .

Requiem Aeternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetuae luceat ei. Requiescat in pace.

He is not resting. He is not, like the Norwegian parrot in the Monty Python sketch, pining for the fjords. He is dead.