in case you missed it.
Dec. 5th, 2006 11:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rktthis, of course, is worrisome to some.
something chavez won. something. damn commies. OMGz maybe corrupt election something cuba something something damn commies again something ohNOES people have a voice.
i think that's what i got out of the fox news article. (commentaries and emphases are mine, all other words are courtesy of fox writer/s)
Venzuelan President Hugo Chavez Re-Elected by Wide Margin
Sunday, December 03, 2006
CARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chavez won re-election by a wide margin Sunday, giving the firebrand leftist six more years to redistribute Venezuela's vast oil wealth to the poor and press his campaign to counter U.S. influence in Latin America and beyond.
Challenger Manuel Rosales conceded defeat but vowed to remain in opposition. During the campaign, Rosales accused Chavez of edging Venezuela toward authoritarian rule and warned the president could undertake even more radical policies if re-elected.
which, i suppose, is an invitation for a certain country to ensure the world remains safe for democracyMinutes after the results were announced, Chavez appeared on the balcony of the presidential palace singing the national anthem. He pledged to deepen his effort to transform Venezuela into a socialist society.
"Long live the socialist revolution! Destiny has been written," Chavez shouted to thousands of flag-waving supporters wearing red shirts and braving a pouring rain.
"That new era has begun," he said, raising a hand in the air. "We have shown that Venezuela is red!... No one should fear socialism... Socialism is human. Socialism is love," Chavez said. "Down with imperialism! We need a new world!"
uh-oh. he's saying the S-word!Since he first won office in 1998, Chavez has increasingly dominated all branches of government and his allies now control congress, state offices and the judiciary. He has called President Bush the devil, allied himself with Iran and influenced elections across the region.
because boy-bush is the only one allowed to call people names and have his allies dominate the governments this allmakes chavez the evil...Chavez also has used Venezuela's oil wealth to his political advantage. He has channeled oil profits toward multibillion-dollar programs for the poor including subsidized food, free university education and cash benefits for single mothers. He has also helped allies from Cuba to Bolivia with oil and petrodollars.
oh, recap- a_ helping the poor means helping yourself. b_ cuba communists=bad. (not said=china communists=good).He now promises to solidify his social program.
With 78 percent of voting stations reporting, Chavez had 61 percent to 38 percent for challenger Rosales, said Tibisay Lucena, head of the country's elections council. Chavez had nearly 6 million votes versus 3.7 million for Rosales, according to the partial tally.
Turnout among the 15.9 million eligible voters was 62 percent, according to an official bulletin of results, making Chavez's lead insurmountable
78% voter turn out people To Elect the guy... and i'm supposed to buy he's "a dictator"?"We will continue in this struggle," Rosales told cheering supporters as he conceded defeat.
Some supporters at his campaign headquarters wept, while others were clearly angry.
"We have to do something," said Dona Bavaro, a 36-year-old Rosales supporter. "My country is being stolen. This is the last chance we have. Communism is coming here."
yep. see, there's the C-word. The Commies are coming! The Commies are coming!Rosales, a cattle rancher and governor of western Zulia state who stepped down temporarily to run against Chavez, focused his campaign on issues such as rampant crime and corruption, widely seen as Chavez's main vulnerabilities.
because before Chavez, there was no crime.A top Rosales adviser, Teodoro Petkoff, said the voting was carried out in a "satisfactory manner." He said some irregularities had occurred but most were resolved. Another member of the Rosales camp had accused pro-Chavez soldiers of reopening closed polling stations and busing voters to them.
Even before polls closed, Chavez supporters celebrated in the streets, setting off fireworks and cruising Caracas honking horns and shouting "Chavezisn't going anywhere!"
Earlier, Chavez loyalists jarred voters awake hours before dawn in Caracas with recordings of reveille blaring from truck-mounted loudspeakers.
"We're here to support our president, who has helped us so much," said Jose Domingo Izaguirre, a factory worker who waited hours to vote. His family recently moved into new government housing.
Rosales supporters accused Chavez of deepening class divisions with searing rhetoric demonizing his opponents.
Alicia Primera, a 54-year-old housewife, was among voters so passionate about the choice that they camped out overnight in voting queues.
"I voted for Chavez previously. I cried for him," Primera said. "Now I'm crying for him to leave. He's sown a lot of hate with his verbiage."
The campaign has been hostile, with Chavez calling Rosales a pawn of Washington and Rosales saying he was on the alert for fraud. Rosales' campaign had endorsed the electronic voting system as trustworthy — as long as no attempts were made to thwart it.
More than 125,000 soldiers and reservists were deployed to safeguard the balloting.
In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Janelle Hironimus stressed "the importance of a free, fair and transparent process."
ok. stop laughing. no, really. stop it. we're not done with the article yet.Conflict and ambition have marked the rise of Chavez, 52, from a boy selling homemade sweets in a dusty backwater to a failed coup commander in 1992 and now a leader who could set the tone of Latin American politics for years to come.Queue traditional music
Constitutional reforms he oversaw in 1999 triggered new elections the following year that he easily won. Loyalists helped him survive a 2002 coup, a subsequent general strike and a 2004 recall referendum.
Chavez says he would convene a commission upon re-election to propose constitutional reforms, likely including an end to presidential term limits. Current law prevents him from running again in 2012.
ok. this, i can't say i'm too fond of. and it makes me worried for his/country's safety from a certain country that shall remain namelessThe president insists he is a democrat and will continue to respect private property — though he has boosted state control over the oil industry and has said he might nationalize utilities. Venezuela is the world's fifth largest oil exporter and soaring oil prices have made it the continent's fastest growing economy.
oh, shell, you gave up blood free oil, for what?Chavez has pledged at least $1.1 billion in loans and financial aid to Latin American countries in the past two years, and billions more in bond bailouts for friendly governments as well as generously financed oil deals. But the largesse has proved a weakness at home, with polls suggesting many Venezuelans believe the aid impedes efforts to address the country's own problems.
Chavez, who says Fidel Castro is like a father to him, has built increasingly close ties with Cuba, sending the island oil while thousands of Cuban doctors treat Venezuela's poor for free.
p.s. remember kids, if anyone tells you that those who are hungry should be fed, that those who need clothes should be clothed, that those who are without shelter should be given a place to stay, they're probably a socialist/communist and, therefore, a Bad Person.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-12-06 05:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-06 06:37 am (UTC)2.I still boycott shell and it is a boycott that I force on anybody I am riding in a car with.
3. I hope and pray that the US does not kill Chavez.
4. Cuba and Venezuela have better public health systems then the US.
5. I am a Bad Person. So are many of my friends and family members.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-07 11:48 pm (UTC)2. shell just needs to die.
3. the same. but i have no faith.
4. i'm not sure how much that is saying.
5. bad people unite.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-08 04:16 am (UTC)yea, no kidding.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-06 05:23 pm (UTC)He promised the poor all these great things, taking money from the rich and distributing it to them, but he just took their money and kept it for himself. The whole country's inffrastructure is in shambles because he borrows against the profits they make from selling oil, and the second he's out of office, or hell even when hes still in, their economy is going to collapse like a house of cards.
While I respect him for standing up to the U.S. even while we have a trigger happy president, I get antsy anytime there is a possibility that some might confuse him as the savior of the Venezuelan people.
Ok, I'm done ranting.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-07 11:51 pm (UTC)i do have to give chavez props for thumbing his nose at bush though. i just have to.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-06 06:48 pm (UTC)Well, aren't they?
no subject
Date: 2006-12-07 11:51 pm (UTC)you really have to learn how not to be an ass with your iconage.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-08 12:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-06 07:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-07 11:52 pm (UTC)tell me more about this tazza about which you speak.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-08 04:10 am (UTC)311 Henry St
Brooklyn, NY 11201
(718) 243-0487
here's a review from citysearch:
Wandered into Tazza and fell in love.
Posted by mimi03 on 02/11/2006
A bakery/enoteca, serving breakfast pastry, panini, cakes, cookies, coffee and wine. An eclectic mix, but I believe it works brilliantly. The espresso I had was fantastic, far better than any I have had recently in the Brooklyn/NY City area. The croissant, sublime, and much to my pleasure I discovered (from their warm, friendly staff) that they are from (one of my fav's) ceci cela. My sister ordered lunch. A beautiful panino of proscuitto, baby arugola and shaved parmesan on a devine ciabatta bread, with a georgeous glass of tempernillo on the side. We then indulged in a yummy coconut cupcake for dessert. The atmosphere was busseling, it was very busy, yet maintaining a warm, welcoming air. Seated at the copper bar we had a lovely time conversing amongst ourselves and some of the other satisfied regulars. Of which I may add we will become.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-08 04:12 am (UTC)