| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"Captain Compassion" |
| Date: |
13 Apr 2007 12:24:56 AM |
| Object: |
Chavez to Military: Socialism or Leave |
Chavez to Military: Socialism or Leave
Thursday, April 12, 2007 7:43 PM EDT
The Associated Press
By CHRISTOPHER TOOTHAKER
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — On the fifth anniversary of a coup that
briefly toppled him, President Hugo Chavez said Thursday that soldiers
who disagree with his government's socialist leanings should leave the
military.
Chavez marked the anniversary of his 2002 ouster repeating his
accusation that the U.S. was behind the coup and telling troops to be
on alert for new plots against the government.
"Today every commander at every level is obliged to repeat, from the
soul and raising the flag high, this slogan: 'Fatherland, Socialism,
or Death!'" Chavez told an audience of soldiers in a televised speech.
"If some feel uncomfortable with this, well, ask for your discharge
and go do something else."
Chavez, a former paratrooper who led his own failed coup in 1992
before being democratically elected president six years later, has
vowed to transform Venezuela into a socialist society. Government
opponents accuse Chavez of leading the country toward
authoritarianism, while U.S. officials call Chavez a destabilizing
influence in Latin America.
Chavez, a close ally of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, was arrested by
rebel officers on April 12, 2002, and was briefly replaced by a
transitional government, but returned to power in less than 48 hours
amid street protests and with the help of loyalist generals.
"We must remember that five years ago today, the first government that
declared its support for the new transitional government was the U.S.
government — of course, they planned the coup," Chavez said.
The Bush administration has repeatedly denied involvement in the coup.
It initially blamed Chavez for his own ouster, then joined other
countries in criticizing it.
"We cannot let down our guard," Chavez continued, drawing comparisons
between the coup and the war in Iraq. "Five years ago we were there on
the verge of a civil war, which is what some people want. Why? To
justify the intervention of the United States."
Chavez's ouster came after 19 people were killed when shooting broke
out during a massive opposition march that was headed for the
presidential palace. Chavez opponents accused government loyalists of
firing on the marchers, while the president's backers blamed police
and anti-Chavez snipers of firing on both pro- and anti-government
demonstrators.
No suspects have been convicted of those slayings, though eight former
police officers are jailed on charges linked to the killings of two
pro-Chavez protesters. The ex-police insist they are innocent.
--
There may come a time when the CO2 police will wander the earth telling
the poor and the dispossed how many dung chips they can put on their
cook fires. -- Captain Compassion.
Wherever I go it will be well with me, for it was well with me here, not
on account of the place, but of my judgments which I shall carry away
with me, for no one can deprive me of these; on the contrary, they alone
are my property, and cannot be taken away, and to possess them suffices
me wherever I am or whatever I do. -- EPICTETUS
"Civilization is the interval between Ice Ages." -- Will Durant.
"Progress is the increasing control of the environment by life.
--Will Durant
Joseph R. Darancette
daranc@NOSPAMcharter.net
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| User: "PagCal" |
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| Title: Re: Chavez to Military: Socialism or Leave |
13 Apr 2007 03:45:22 AM |
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CO2 Police?
Not a bad idea - Actually, we should immediately institute a Carbon Tax
of about 26$ / ton, to start. It comes down to about 10 cents per gallon
of gas, but should increase by 10 cents a gallon per year until we stop
killing Mother Earth and ourselves.
For countries that still want to pollute, such as China, we should
institute an equivalent Carbon VAT tax to block their imports until they
comply.
For once, good thinking, Captain.
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| User: "Docky Wocky" |
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| Title: Re: Chavez to Military: Socialism or Leave |
13 Apr 2007 09:33:31 PM |
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"Carbon Tax" What a laugh.
I bet it would go into a special fund. Like a Flower Fund for Mother Earth.
That means it would really end up bankrolling a lot more liberal Democratic
social engineering projects.
You simply cannot trust a Democrat with anyone else's dollars.
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| User: "Andrealphus" |
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| Title: Re: Chavez to Military: Socialism or Leave |
13 Apr 2007 09:34:57 PM |
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In News %3XTh.736$jR5.700@trnddc08,, Docky Wocky at mrchuck@lst.net, typed
this:
"Carbon Tax" What a laugh.
I bet it would go into a special fund. Like a Flower Fund for Mother
Earth.
That means it would really end up bankrolling a lot more liberal
Democratic social engineering projects.
You simply cannot trust a Democrat with anyone else's dollars.
Yeah, much better trust a Republican to start wars and kill people with it,
meanwhile running up the national debt by trillions of dollars.
I think I'll take the flowers.
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| User: "Captain Compassion" |
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| Title: Re: Chavez to Military: Socialism or Leave |
13 Apr 2007 10:02:55 PM |
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On Fri, 13 Apr 2007 04:45:22 -0400, PagCal <pagcal@runbox.com> wrote:
CO2 Police?
Not a bad idea - Actually, we should immediately institute a Carbon Tax
of about 26$ / ton, to start. It comes down to about 10 cents per gallon
of gas, but should increase by 10 cents a gallon per year until we stop
killing Mother Earth and ourselves.
For countries that still want to pollute, such as China, we should
institute an equivalent Carbon VAT tax to block their imports until they
comply.
For once, good thinking, Captain.
This sounds awfully bad for business.
--
There may come a time when the CO2 police will wander the earth telling
the poor and the dispossed how many dung chips they can put on their
cook fires. -- Captain Compassion.
Wherever I go it will be well with me, for it was well with me here, not
on account of the place, but of my judgments which I shall carry away
with me, for no one can deprive me of these; on the contrary, they alone
are my property, and cannot be taken away, and to possess them suffices
me wherever I am or whatever I do. -- EPICTETUS
"Civilization is the interval between Ice Ages." -- Will Durant.
"Progress is the increasing control of the environment by life.
--Will Durant
Joseph R. Darancette
daranc@NOSPAMcharter.net
.
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| User: "PagCal" |
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| Title: Re: Chavez to Military: Socialism or Leave |
17 Apr 2007 04:02:24 AM |
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Captain Compassion wrote:
On Fri, 13 Apr 2007 04:45:22 -0400, PagCal <pagcal@runbox.com> wrote:
CO2 Police?
Not a bad idea - Actually, we should immediately institute a Carbon Tax
of about 26$ / ton, to start. It comes down to about 10 cents per gallon
of gas, but should increase by 10 cents a gallon per year until we stop
killing Mother Earth and ourselves.
For countries that still want to pollute, such as China, we should
institute an equivalent Carbon VAT tax to block their imports until they
comply.
For once, good thinking, Captain.
This sounds awfully bad for business.
Not so. Since the tax would be applied universally, no one business
would have any advantage over the other.
And, an individual business can become more competitive by reducing
their CO2 output, thus helping their bottom line and the planet at the
same time.
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