Venezuela's Chavez says cancer has returned

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Reports from Cuba say Chavez is on his deathbed, and may be dead within hours. An open letter from Fidel Castro to Venezuela has a very dark tone, almost like that of an obituary, using the past tense very often.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-venezuela-chavez-20130103,0,1329257.story?track=rss

http://frontpagemag.com/2013/david-paulin/castro-fuels-rumors-of-a-chavez-death-watch-2/

Chavez is no Hitler, and I cannot say I wish him death, but I think his removal from office, whether it be by death or him simply not being able to take power come January 10th for health reasons, is a good thing.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I don't think Chavez has killed as many people as Pinochet, so Chile was a very poor example.

Chavez is no Hitler, and I cannot say I wish him death, but I think his removal from office, whether it be by death or him simply not being able to take power come January 10th for health reasons, is a good thing.

You mean the apocalyptic civil war that will begin among his "allies" to succeed him will be a good thing?

You criticized MasterJedi for not knowing enough about foreign affairs, yet you believe an armed conflict will take place in a second world nation because the dictator dies? How did that work out in North Korea? Or Gabon? The Vice President will take over and a string of less charismatic and less entertaining clowns will follow.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

1) When did I even interact with MJ?

2) I obviously wasn't talking about an armed conflict (that remains a possibility, but probably not the most likely).

3) CHAVEZ. IS. NOT. A. DICTATOR. For God's sake, how is it possible that this guy makes every single person, right or left, lose any sense of nuance to the point of being completely oblivious of basic facts?!? Being a bad person and a bad leader doesn't make you a dictator.

Forgive me, I mistook you for Franzl. Sorry, did not mean to direct that at you. But why would describe a power struggle taking place behind closed doors as a "apocalyptic civil war." Furthermore, Chavez has banned opposition television for God’s sake! George Bush is what you described as a "bad leader." Chavez is a full blown dictator.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

1) When did I even interact with MJ?

2) I obviously wasn't talking about an armed conflict (that remains a possibility, but probably not the most likely).

3) CHAVEZ. IS. NOT. A. DICTATOR. For God's sake, how is it possible that this guy makes every single person, right or left, lose any sense of nuance to the point of being completely oblivious of basic facts?!? Being a bad person and a bad leader doesn't make you a dictator.

Forgive me, I mistook you for Franzl. Sorry, did not mean to direct that at you. But why would describe a power struggle taking place behind closed doors as a "apocalyptic civil war." Furthermore, Chavez has banned opposition television for God’s sake! George Bush is what you described as a "bad leader." Chavez is a full blown dictator.

Infringements to free press occur in democratic and semi-democratic States as well. They can take different proportions, but if you think that in western countries the political power never tries to influence the media that's pretty naive honestly. By your standards, there are a few new leaders who would qualify as dictators (Silvio Berlusconi, who was the private owner of half TV networks and controlled the other half through the state apparatus, is the most obvious example).

On the other hand, there is little doubt that Chavez was the choice of the Venezuelan people in his different elections. There were a few allegations of fraud and certainly a lot of unfair electoral practices, but elections were generally deemed free by external observers and the opposition has been able to fully contest them.

Yeah, Chavez is a pretty awful leader, and certainly a narcissistic clown with authoritarian tendencies, but if words have a meaning, he isn't a dictator.

Chavez has been elected fairly. After all, isn't gas $0.50 per gallon? I understand your point, and I agree, dictator is not the right word. But in no way can one doubt the fact that Chavez is on a level similar to Putin when it comes to his autocratic tendencies.