Comments on: In Costa Rica, actor Danny Glover compares Hugo Chavez to Nelson Mandela, says Chavez was his “brother”

By: Karen M. Mata

Karen M. Mata — Fri, 30 Aug 2013 14:38:00 +0000

The fact that I am here, Jim reflects the serious misgivings I share with you.

By: An t-eolaí

An t-eolaí — Fri, 30 Aug 2013 10:59:00 +0000

I see your point. I have also heard Mandela denounced as a terrorist many times (there is an argument there but, like the the American revolution, Irish Republican Army, French Resistance, etc.,, etc., one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter). Personally, I don’t think Chavez was perfect. My admiration of him is more to do with a mixture of his refreshingly unorthodox style and the way he was prepared to stand up to the US and global capitalism. Pragmatically, I also like Putin. In that case, I think the man seems to be a complete asshole dictator but he offers balance in the world. The US cannot go unchecked in its imperialistic desires because of Russia’s military might (I’m talking here, ultimately, of its huge nuclear arsenal). Likewise, Obama (for whom I once had a lot of respect and in whom I once placed a lot of hope for the world), puts a check on Putin’s excesses outside of his immediate sphere of influence. That contrast sort of shows why I like Chavez so much – he also helped other countries as a friend rather than as a bully who wanted to manipulate/exploit situations. Putin would defend Assad in doing horrid things but encourage him not to do them to save face for Russia. Obama seems intent on helping Al Qaeda in Syria for some reason (certainly not to ‘save lives’ as killing people in an inflammatory way whilst giving a military edge to assholes who want to slaughter random civilians like us is just about the most insane thing imaginable in a scenario in which you truly want to save lives in the long run). He wants to do this even after the lessons of helping them in Afghanistan and even though a NATO-commissioned opinion poll showed that the vast majority of Syrians, Sunnis included, support Assad and hate the Islamists Obama wants to help indirectly). Your huge military needs wars to give it a raison d’etre. Your arms manufacturers need wars to make a profit. The same is true, of course, of Russia. Ultimately, each stops the other messing things up too much. Chavez helped others because, in my opinion, he was a genuinely nice guy with good intentions. That stood him out among world leaders. He was not perfect by any means but, in global politics, everything is relative and he was relatively head and shoulders above everyone else in my honest opinion.

By: Ken Morris

Ken Morris — Fri, 30 Aug 2013 02:19:00 +0000

Hero worship is a mysterious thing. I tended (emphasis on tended) to support Chavez, but I also found him a mixed bag (with danger in the mix). All leaders are mixed, and I’ve heard scathing criticisms of Mandela too, but I’m afraid that Chavez was more mixed. It concerns me when we get fawning adoration of the guy almost as much as it concerns me when he is regarded as the devil incarnate.

By: Ken Morris

Ken Morris — Fri, 30 Aug 2013 02:13:00 +0000

Just want to ratify your posts. Finally something sensible and informed.

By: An t-eolaí

An t-eolaí — Thu, 29 Aug 2013 14:02:00 +0000

Politics comes in shades. Many people are liberal in some senses and far right or far left in others. You imply that the US saved the world from fascism. I would say it helped save Europe from a particularly nasty form of fascism (to serve its own ends, obviously) but has now imposed a new fascist/economic imperialism on the whole world that is possibly worse. Hitler’s crazy anti-Jew, anti-black, anti-communist, etc. policies were clearly the product of a sick mind. The US, and I refer to it as a gestalt, acts as an extremely intelligent entity that makes cold calculations purely based on its own nefarious wants and needs. Chavez loved his country and did a lot for the poorest among his people. Beyond that, however, he did more than his fair share for the rest of humanity. All America gives the rest of the world, including all of its allies except Israel (for some reason), is war and debt.

By: Karen M. Mata

Karen M. Mata — Thu, 29 Aug 2013 13:21:00 +0000

Who saved the world from fascism during WWII, and then rebuilt Europe following it?

And we can only comment when given your permission. F off.

By: Karen M. Mata

Karen M. Mata — Thu, 29 Aug 2013 13:15:00 +0000

Without Mel Gibson, there is no DG.

Handsome guy though

By: An t-eolaí

An t-eolaí — Thu, 29 Aug 2013 10:27:00 +0000

Why ‘Africa’? Is that because he is black? Also, I’m yet to hear of someone being deported to a continent as opposed to a specific country. Chavez was a great man – a great Venezuelan, a great socialist and a great internationalist who applied his unorthodox approaches to defend human rights and help people around the world. Whilst Britain can hardly be called a friend of Latin America, Chavez offered cheap oil to the former mayor of London to help with its hugely expensive public transport system. Like Cuba that offers its world-class healthcare and medical training to its neighbours even though the country is poor itself, Chavez saw that he had to help humanity and was able to use Venezuela’s oil wealth to help him in that quest. It isn’t all about tax dollars/colones/bolívares/etc. Chavez made international friends that have out-lived him and will out-live the oil. With no army, where are your friends should Nicaragua decide to annex parts of your country by force? Your racism, personal and collective, may prove your downfall.

By: disqus_r8w0IwvvLw

disqus_r8w0IwvvLw — Wed, 28 Aug 2013 18:10:00 +0000

y who destroyed the economy of the usa? Which country is in more debt? Which country has the most enemies? One should not comment unless one’s country has a better track record.

By: prdatki

prdatki — Wed, 28 Aug 2013 15:34:00 +0000

Glover at best is a D grade has been ,looking for publisity. Chavez has ruined Venezuela and destroyed it economy.
Glover should be deported to Africa where he can enjoy living away from the USA.