Dictator Chavez steals second Hilton hotel in Venezuela

It is clear to me that you are confused on the definition of "dictator". A dictator is a non-democratically elected tyrant who got to the top by force.

Chavez is a winner of a legitimate democratic election. And I repeat, his people love him. No, I'm not talking from 1st hand experience, but I have several friends from Venezuela who adore Chavez and talk about all the great stuff he's done for that country, essentially taking it from the $h!tter and making it somewhat decent.

and meeting with dictators doesn't make you one. Several U.S presidents met with dictators, did you consider them dictators as well?

and no, antisonic, Chavez isn't Stalin. Chavez doesn't oppress his opposition. He beats them in legitimate elections.

I don't understand the hypocrisy of you people. Why do you hate the guy so much? He's democratically elected, he has undoubtedly improved the lives of Venezuelans, and he hasn't done anything wrong. Is it because he stood up and criticized Bush's empire building and policing of the world? is it because he had anti-U.S sentiment after the Bush administration tried to assassinate him? this is the ultimate example of how the media can shape up people's opinion and eliminate any rational thinking simply by pounding the idea into your brain over and over again. "Chavez bad! Chavez bad! Chavez bad!", and all of the sudden you're 100% convinced that he's a tyrant, a dictator, and a criminal.

 

You should look into that, because that's exactly what he does. There's no denying that hes helped curb poverty and improve the lives of a lot of Venezuelans, but a lot of the things he and his cronies do will have long term implications that will eventually lead to a state wheres he is pretty much a dictator(if he isn't one already). And its pretty easy to hate him because of the anti-american\western rhetoric that comes out of him, which isn't surprising since we allegedly backed a coup against him.

 

No wonder why chavez and murdernejad are such chummy pals.

 

Please don't compare Chavez to Kim. You are comparing a real dictator to someone who is at most a dictator in training.

I agree that if Chavez doesn't reimburse the other share holders he's cheating. He has abused power before, and seems to be abusing powers now. That still doesn't put him in the league with Kim Jong Il. Chavez has been elected many times, and despite his abuses of power is an improvement over the govt. that was in power before him.

 

Maybe you ought to pay more attention yourself. His political opponents always seem to conveniently find themselves arrested and charged with corruption whenever they start to gain momentum.

Media that is critical of him is getting shut down.

People who signed the referendum for his recall were put on a public blacklist which was then put up on a website by Luis Tascon a member of the national assembly (http://www.11abril.com/index/videos/lalista.wvx [i hope you speak spanish, you can see Chavez sending people to the website during one of his tv chats]). If they had government jobs, they've been fired from them.

 

Sounds like a POTUS we all know and love.

 

Not really, not in the slightest.

 

Spoiler

 

The Statement below says it all:

"To hold the conference we had to ask for permission... and the owners tried to impose conditions on the revolutionary government. No way," AFP quotes Chavez as saying. "So I said, 'Let's expropriate it.' And now it's been expropriated."

How dare the government have to ask for permission to do something with a private entity. How dare any conditions be placed on the government. My friend's family's Energy business was expopriated. Just as the looters in Atlas Shrugged, they must make themselves feel as if it was morally justified to steal other' property. And if anyone's been to Venezuela lately, crime is worse than ever and there are no oil fund reserves despite one of the largest energy price spikes in history.

 

It's not the govt. having to ask of the private industry. It's the largest share holder of that industry that was being forced to ask. In this case the govt. happened to be the largest share holder.

 

So what does it say when his approval rating has dropped around 25% in one year?

 

If they were unhappy with the management, FB, they could have fired them or pressured to have them replaced.

Instead it looks like expropriation for a very petty reason. Exerting power because they can. That's not good for long term prospects. Who would want to invest in a country like that? Who would keep their money there? Venezuela has 25% inflation and a fleeing middle class. Unless you think the government should or even can be the ultimate engine of the economy, this ain't good for Venezuela.

 

I agree that this sounds like an abuse of power. I also said that if the other share holders aren't reimbursed it is stealing.

I just think we should portray this bad action as accurately as we can, and not sensationalize it into something even worse.

 

When people are starving do you think they really care if a dictator or democratically elected gov't is in charge?

What he is doing is wrong, but as long as he keeps the masses happy he should be ok.

 

Did anyone watch Parks and Rec last night? It was Chavez heavy and quite funny

 

this is why no one takes you and the tea partiers seriously. comparing chavez to obama is beyond ridiculous and quite frankly down right insulting. stop hating your president, its very unpatriotic

 

That's fine, let him take the Hilton. The USA will take Venezuela next, just like Kuwait and Afghanistan... and Iraq... and...

Sorry, I don't know what the heck the D&D is... I am trying... big FAIL?

 

Hey, sarcasm thrives down here!

 

Smiley face or not, I knew you had gone over the edge a long time ago.

You can now officially stop pretending to be some moderate non-fringe political organizer seeking compromise and progress.

 

it says that people tend to disapprove of the government in tough economic times during what looks like the biggest global financial crisis in a long long time.

it also says that people aren't "oppressed", and they are free to express their disapproval of the president, unlike what the U.S media portrays Venezuela to be.