RoR: Forum

It is so amazing that the stupidity just keeps repeating itself without regard to the lessons learned so often before. I was also reading some other whining report on starving kids - terrible thing - but all focused on how terrible everyone is for not giving aid, when the real reason they are starving is the evil men who run their nations. These idiots will run on endlessly about charity, yet cry in horror if something is actually done to remove these people from power (i.e. a war).

People really do need to "shrug" and stop supporting these evil governments.

North Korea - This country has a 3% economic freedom index, dead last - its nearest competitor is Cuba at 30%! No deal with that fucker - his removal from power should be the ONLY way we negotiate with NK. I am sure we can make a deal with the Chinese for that to happen.

Post 1

Saturday, February 17, 2007 - 6:48pm

The truth is:

No despotism, no socialism.

(The former Chinese Core D-e-n-g X-i-a-o-p-i-n-g cheated us and said "no democracy, no socialism")

Post 2

Sunday, February 18, 2007 - 2:30am

I think that Latin America is the most unenlightened place of the world. Most of those countries were independent from Spain and Portugal in 19th century, their culture is the inheritance of the culture of Spain and Portugal in 19th century. Spain and Portugal were not democratic countries until 1970s, let alone they being in 19th century. Practically Latin America are reliving what Europe has experienced in early 20th century: communist revolution. Maybe they can wake up to reality in early 22th century.

Post 3

Sunday, February 18, 2007 - 11:58am

Femino,

Latin America has actually shown a great deal of promise in recent decades. At one point during the 1980s every nation in South America had a republican form of government, and some (Chile, Argentina Uruguay, partially Brazil, and the Peruvian unofficial economy) were experimenting with free market reforms. Prosperity was growing very rapidly in many places. So this thuggery on Chavez's part, along with Bolivia's copycat actions, represents a regression.

Costa Rica has long been a garden spot in Latin America, and Guatemala now has an entire university (http://www.ufm.edu.gt/atgalance.asp) dedicated to spreading free market and limited government ideas. That is something not even the United States, Japan, or Europe has!

In many respects of political culture, such as ability to criticize government policies, Red China today has not yet caught up to the level of freedom that many Latin Americans enjoyed 20 years ago. Many parts of East Asia and South Asia are comparable to or worse than most of Latin America. The Islamic Middle East has a political culture much more backward than the bulk of the Latin American countries. Overall, large parts of sub-Saharan Africa are the poorest and most politically and culturally backward places in the world.

-Bill
(Edited by William A. Nevin III
on 2/18, 11:59am)

Post 4

Tuesday, February 20, 2007 - 12:24am

Back at FEE in 1994, I met a student from that university in Guatemala.

Post 5

Friday, February 23, 2007 - 2:56pm

"Let the bastards starve. They brought it on themselves" Sam Erica.

I empathize with your point. But, at least one didn't...

Venezuela, Your Three Minutes Are Up
http://www.theatlasphere.com/columns/070220-perren-venezuela.php

I'm not normally sympathetic to the plight of others, but that young woman's story got to me.

Jeff Perren

Post 6

Saturday, February 24, 2007 - 7:34am

Jeff:

The alternative to "Let the bastards starve" is "Don't let the bastards starve." The direct implications are that you would allow the horror to continue and create many more such cases � presumably with US taxpayer complicity. The only solution is to let them realize the consequences of their actions (after all, the regime was democratically elected) and overthrow the SOB.

Sam

Post 7

Saturday, February 24, 2007 - 8:19am

"The alternative to "Let the bastards starve" is "Don't let the bastards starve." The direct implications are that you would allow the horror to continue and create many more such cases � presumably with US taxpayer complicity."

Sam, you're reading too much into my response. I would never advocate U.S. taxpayer support in such a case -- or any case except where U.S. self-defense is involved. (However, in this situation one might make a case that invasion of Venezuela for the purpose of getting the oil is appropriate. Given lots of other facts of the world, I wouldn't agree.)

It's not up to me whether the horror continues or not - that's for the Venezuelans to decide -- for the short time they have left to decide it. I'm not suggesting anyone in the U.S. do anything more than what I did, which is inform anyone who might listen what the facts and parallels are.

However, the majority of Venezuelans have clearly elected for suicide and it's a near certainty that they will go down for a long time. Anything they might need to see has already been seen in spades and there's no sign they are reversing course. I'm simply expressing some compassion for those like Corina who don't deserve it.

Post 8

Sunday, February 25, 2007 - 9:20pm

I urge her and others to leave the country as soon as possible. It will probably be a bit more time before he closes off the borders. She still has a chance. I hope we open up to more immigration from Venezuela.

Post 9

Wednesday, February 28, 2007 - 9:18pm