RIP Hugo Chavez

[Bill77]

A real man, a real leader.

http://www.theage.com.au/world/hugo-chavez-dead-says-venezuelan-vicepresident-20130306-2fjwq.html

[Dimko-piperkata]

just hear it on the german news too....

god bless him....I believe that he was slowly poisoned by the CIA bastards

[Risto the Great]

Talk to many Venezuelans, they will be cheering.
Nothing is as clear as it seems.

[Vangelovski]

As a human being, I mourn his death. As a leader who caused havoc and ensured poverty, good ridance.

[Bill77]

I might have a simplistic view, but I must say (according to the article ) the poor adored him, therefor on the other end of the scale, we have those potential capitalists that would blame Chavez for their countries economy brought on by policies and tensions with mainly the USA.

Now Chavez could have been a Gruevski or any other Macedonian leader and become a puppet for the west and loose its sovereignty, but he stood up to this power, even though there was a consequence.

[Risto the Great]

The gist I received from the many Venezuelans I know is that the trade ties with the USA never really changed. A whole bunch of rhetoric and chest beating to make himself look good in the eyes of the poor. Violence and lawlessness has increased.

As an indicator, Colombia is understood to be a safer destination nowadays. Which is saying something!

[DraganOfStip]

The only guy in the region (besides Cuba) that stood tall against a larger and mightier enemy (USA) and prevailed.My respect for that.

[Bill77]

The only guy in the region (besides Cuba) that stood tall against a larger and mightier enemy (USA) and prevailed.My respect for that.

Because of this, Many history books will have his name along side the likes of, Che.....Augusto Sandino......Carlos Fonseca etc etc.

[George S.]

perhaps our leaders could learn from them to be much tougher & not give in to our enemies.But as one pointed he bought more poverty & havoc.Just as amatter of contrast.

[EgejskaMakedonia]

Rest in peace. It's difficult to draw judgements about these kind of people, especially due to the western controlled media that is all around us.

The point is, he opposed imperialism, similar to the likes of Che and Castro. That is admirable.

[Bill77]

perhaps our leaders could learn from them to be much tougher & not give in to our enemies.

Speech's in the United Nations, Gruevski would say something like "we love Greece, why can't we be friends? We send troops to NATO as part of this war on terror, in this, we have something in common with the Americans, we wanna be like America...." etc etc.

Then Chavez gets on the podium (not long after Obama) and says "oh lord" (I pochnuva da se Kersti.....) "I smell the stench of sulpha. The devil is in this room " etc etc. lol

I'd rather be thought of as some one that is inappropriate and a little crazy,
Than someone that is a whore.

[Vangelovski]

Imperialism? Standing up to the US? Believing Chavez's BS?

I'm always amazed at how people can still buy into socialism 150 years after some moron dreamed it up and 100 years after it was actually implemented and led to disasterous results. When you read the Communist Manifesto, did you read it to the end? If it wasn't bad enough to begin with, it completely falls apart with its BS about "withering away" of the dictatorship (yes, dictatorship) and a 'bright new future under a socially reingenered (according to some fool's view of the world) new communist man'.

There are a few posters here who seem to buy into the whole socialist/communist theory that people actually belong to one of two (economic/ideological) classes and that somehow there is a zero-sum game between "capitalists" or the supposed "1%" (the new term for bourgeoisies) and the supposed "99%" (the new trendy term the proletariat). These classes didn't make sense when they were dreamed up in the 1840's, let alone now, when by definition, nearly everyone in the world could be considered a "capitalist". Some try to fence of "capitalists" as the "super rich", but can't even define what that means and completely ignore the trickle down effect of wealth creation and its taxation.

It also never ceases to amaze me how people here, in particular, who supposedly support individual rights and freedoms (from which collective/national rights stem), consistently develop a love relationship for dictators who practice the complete opposite. It appears that Tito is alive and well both in Macedonia and the diaspora.

[Bill77]

Tom, you have to go and spoil it with your well versed post lol

Seriously, i don't think anyone is buying into socialism/communism theories. In my case I don't know much about it to be frank. But I have no doubt like anything else, both systems have its good and its bads.

Regarding Chavez..... It's a case of anyone that's an enemy of my enemy, is a friend (so to speak, it might come as a suprise that we really never knew each other and have never gone out partying with the dude even though I've sent many invitations). Why would I call USA an enemy? It's their history of meddling and authortariasm around the world which I'm sure many individuals and nations can agree to that.

[Vangelovski]

Tom, you have to go and spoil it with your well versed post lol

Seriously, i don't think anyone is buying into socialism/communism theories. In my case I don't know much about it to be frank. But I have no doubt like anything else, both systems have its good and its bads.

Regarding Chavez..... It's a case of anyone that's an enemy of my enemy, is a friend (so to speak, it might come as a suprise that we really never knew each other and have never gone out partying with the dude even though I've sent many invitations). Why would I call USA an enemy? It's their history of meddling and authortariasm around the world which I'm sure many individuals and nations can agree to that.

I think there's quite a few that do buy into socialism here.

As for Chavez, why would you support an authoritarian ruler that suppresses the freedom of his own people? Why support a regime over the Venezuelan people?

You should not buy into the anti-American myths and ignore the reality on the ground when it comes to the 'enemy of your enemy'. Venezuela has been ruled by authoritarian regimes virtually its entire existence and has a long history of meddling in the internal affairs of its neighbours. Chavez's friends aren't anything to brag about either - oppressive regimes from Cuba to North Korea. While no state or government will ever be perfect, Chavez's regime is a far cry from the United States whose democratic governance, individual freedom and respect for human rights goes beyond anything the vast majority of the world could even imagine. There are few states that can match the US in any of these repects and Venezuela (under Chavez) is definitely not one of them - I would not put him into the 'hero' category. He's no better than Tito or any other egotistical dictator.

[Pelagon]

Imperialism? Standing up to the US? Believing Chavez's BS?.

I am not here to defend or praise Chavez but IMPERIALISM is well and alive today and one does NOT need to be a "Communist" or a "Socialist" (which is rather a loose term anyhow) to oppose it. I am strongly anti-imperialist and anti neo-colonialism. USA is an imperialist state and should be opposed wherever it seeks to dominate rather than cheered and praised by true lovers of peace, justice, freedom and democracy.

FYI, Communism (in USSR and China) did help a lot of nations achieve national liberation from the colonial yoke imposed by western imperialists. That is a huge positive contribution to humanity and it also played a major role in the Macedonian Cause being advanced before and during WWII. But the practice of "Communism/Socialism" in Serbian dominated Yugoslavia/SFRY was a national disaster for Macedonians and we are still suffering the effects of that denationalising ideology.

Lastly, why does the USA spend more than the rest of the world on military expenditure but half of its population needs to receive food stamps in order to survive (many of those being people who work but the minimum wage is not enough to survive on)?