about Hugo Chavez...
an important story that i suspect will receive relatively little airtime:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7611705.stm
here's the video link to the speech:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k6waqH7beyoycfLq5C
and an approximate translation (the video's still worth it if you don't speak spanish--the man has style like a crazy churchman, not like a politician): "Go to hell, fucking yankees! this is a dignified people! this is a dignified country, you fucking yankees! go to hell a hundred times! we're the children of simon bolivar, etc., and we're determined to be free! i take responsibility for this situation, and everything that might occur to the US government, who is behind all the conspiracies against our peoples! I make myself responsible to the US government for oil exchange between US and venezuela. If anything happens here, no oil for those fucking yanquees! If any aggression comes against venezuela, no petrol for the US people gov't! we, KNOW IT, FUCKING YANQUEES, we're determined to be free, whatever happens, and whatever it costs--we're determined to be free! Enough! Enough of your shit, you fucking yanks! Enough! Enough!"
1. this confirms the enormous ego of the man. not the expulsion so much as the speech--i know the venezuelans love him, but chavez (to me) speaks like an egocentric hack. blatantly insulting your allies (he fondly refers to george bush as the devil--the US is venezuela's number one trade partner) and getting under their skin (the spanish prince told him to shut up at a conference last year--that got serious airtime) doesn't strike me as good foreign policy. but, then again, what do i know.
2. i don't think i'll be hearing anything about this on the news tomorrow, but considering the amount of oil we buy from venezuela (http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/company_level_imports/current/import.html for details), this situation strikes me as potentially problematic.
3. i know that chavez has gone nuts on us before, and he's more bluster than action, but really, the man just scares me. he's paranoid (i'm sure we've tried to take him down a few times--i wouldn't put it beyond bush and co--but he's convinced that our single dearest wish is his downfall) and in a position of relative influence (he's popular, and he's sitting on oil gold), and the combination of the two strikes me as bad.
4. he likes mccain. enough said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7611705.stm
here's the video link to the speech:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k6waqH7beyoycfLq5C
and an approximate translation (the video's still worth it if you don't speak spanish--the man has style like a crazy churchman, not like a politician): "Go to hell, fucking yankees! this is a dignified people! this is a dignified country, you fucking yankees! go to hell a hundred times! we're the children of simon bolivar, etc., and we're determined to be free! i take responsibility for this situation, and everything that might occur to the US government, who is behind all the conspiracies against our peoples! I make myself responsible to the US government for oil exchange between US and venezuela. If anything happens here, no oil for those fucking yanquees! If any aggression comes against venezuela, no petrol for the US people gov't! we, KNOW IT, FUCKING YANQUEES, we're determined to be free, whatever happens, and whatever it costs--we're determined to be free! Enough! Enough of your shit, you fucking yanks! Enough! Enough!"
1. this confirms the enormous ego of the man. not the expulsion so much as the speech--i know the venezuelans love him, but chavez (to me) speaks like an egocentric hack. blatantly insulting your allies (he fondly refers to george bush as the devil--the US is venezuela's number one trade partner) and getting under their skin (the spanish prince told him to shut up at a conference last year--that got serious airtime) doesn't strike me as good foreign policy. but, then again, what do i know.
2. i don't think i'll be hearing anything about this on the news tomorrow, but considering the amount of oil we buy from venezuela (http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/company_level_imports/current/import.html for details), this situation strikes me as potentially problematic.
3. i know that chavez has gone nuts on us before, and he's more bluster than action, but really, the man just scares me. he's paranoid (i'm sure we've tried to take him down a few times--i wouldn't put it beyond bush and co--but he's convinced that our single dearest wish is his downfall) and in a position of relative influence (he's popular, and he's sitting on oil gold), and the combination of the two strikes me as bad.
4. he likes mccain. enough said.