. . .who needs freedom, am I right?

Quote :

"CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuelan police fired tear gas and plastic bullets into a crowd of thousands protesting a decision by President Hugo Chavez that forced a television station critical of his leftist government off the air."

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/05/28/venezuela.protest.ap/index.html

5/29/2007 7:10:59 AM

so if bush is the devil...what does that make Chavez?

5/29/2007 7:25:28 AM

Chavez is da man

5/29/2007 7:31:10 AM

Quote :

"Maria Conchita [Alonso] says, 'I thank The Latino Coalition for giving me this opportunity, as last year I was campaigning in Venezuela against Chavez, but the situation there has further deteriorated and I feel it is no longer safe for me, so I have taken the fight to film and am producing a movie called, TWO MINUTES OF HATE, which shows in real footage how, at the 2002 march Chavez' assassins gunned down opposition protesters. Although Danny Glover and I did a film together, we have different points of view. I don't think Sean Penn and Clint Eastwood, who work together, always share the same political views, although I do believe they express those views due to their caring and commitment. I respect all my fellow actors but I think I carry a more experiential voice, as I have already had to leave Cuba and Venezuela."

http://www.forbes.com/prnewswire/feeds/prnewswire/2007/04/30/prnewswire200704302005PR_NEWS_B_NET_DC_DCM137.html

5/29/2007 8:01:01 AM

What a terrible way to frame a thread. Look, I'd much rather hate on Chavez for this

Quote :

"Venezuelan police fired tear gas and plastic bullets into a crowd of thousands protesting a decision by President Hugo Chavez that forced a television station critical of his leftist government off the air."

Than for police trying to disperse protesters from a major highway. Did they have a permit to block the highway? Did they have a permit to throw rocks at the police

Quote :

"They later regrouped in Caracas' Plaza Brion chanting "freedom!" Some tossed rocks and bottles at police, prompting authorities to scatter demonstrators by firing more gas."

5/29/2007 10:06:18 AM

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200705/s1936930.htm

Quote :

"Venezuela to sue CNN Venezuela says it will file charges against US cable network CNN for linking President Hugo Chavez to Al Qaeda. It says it will also sue a Venezuelan TV network for encouraging Mr Chavez's assassination. "

5/29/2007 10:17:28 AM

^^ Um. . .what a terrible way to reply. The section of the initial quotation that you have in bold is the fucking point. I think most people get the point at issue, but if you need to emphasize it for yourself, go right ahead.

[Edited on May 29, 2007 at 10:18 AM. Reason : .]

5/29/2007 10:18:14 AM

Quote :

"Did they have a permit to block the highway"

Did the Colonists have a permit to dump British tea into Boston harbor?

5/29/2007 10:28:20 AM

Quote :

"Chavez says he is democratizing the airwaves by turning the network's signal over to public use."

Nice logic there, Chavez.

Quote :

"The president accused the network of helping to incite a failed coup in 2002, violating broadcast laws and "poisoning" Venezuelans with programming that promoted capitalism. "

He accuses all his enemies of trying to kill him.

5/29/2007 11:08:42 AM

5/29/2007 11:08:51 AM

Quote :

""Did they have a permit to block the highway" Did the Colonists have a permit to dump British tea into Boston harbor?"

Did the colonists have a permit not to have higher levels of oppression from the British because of their actions? Why even taken my point out of context if you aren't going to make a worthwhile point of your own?

The point is, hooksaw did a terrible job of setting this thread up by quoting the section he quoted. When I read what he quoted after he stated "who needs freedom", I fully expected these to be peaceful protesters protesting in a constructive way, not blocking up a highway. I'm not surprised they were gassed and rubber bullet shot. Had the "who needs freedom" comment been about the silencing of a tv station critical of him, then it would have been valid.

As it is now, it's stupid.

5/29/2007 11:29:35 AM

Why don't you (Hooknuts) go down there and protest this to really show us your OUTRAGE!!!1.



[Edited on May 29, 2007 at 11:31 AM. Reason : .]

5/29/2007 11:30:06 AM

^^It sounds like the police were blocking up the highway, not the protesters.

Quote :

"Police fired toward the crowd of up to 5,000 protesters from a raised highway Monday, and protesters fled amid clouds of tear gas."

5/29/2007 11:34:08 AM

Did you even look at the cnn.com link? You don't even have to read the entire thing, the first line of the summary should suffice

Quote :

"NEW: Protesting university students block one lane of a major highway"

5/29/2007 11:35:50 AM

Oh, well, they deserved to get hit with rubber bullets then

Look at how Calderon has handled the protesters in Mexico for an example of humane protest suppression.

5/29/2007 11:40:43 AM

I think Blind Hate's point, for the logically impaired, is that the actions taken were no different than what would have happened in the US under similar situations, and that Hooksaw didn't think his first post through (big surprise, right?) by attacking Chavez for one thing we would do, while not attacking chavez for the thing he should have been attacked for.

Basically, Hooksaw implied that the Venezuelans weren't free because they were tear gassed for an un-permit-ed protest that blocked a major highway, when Americans would have been tear gassed for the same thing.

5/29/2007 12:50:33 PM

Quote :

"The section of the initial quotation that you have in bold [shutting down of the TV station] is the fucking point. I think most people get the point at issue, but if you need to emphasize it for yourself, go right ahead."

I guess everyone quit reading half way through the sentence. Next time, Hooksaw should not bother quoting complete sentences for fear it will mislead people.

[Edited on May 29, 2007 at 2:01 PM. Reason : .,.]

5/29/2007 2:00:15 PM

Why does it matter what he does in his OWN country?

[Edited on May 29, 2007 at 4:32 PM. Reason : .]

5/29/2007 4:32:36 PM

umm...

some of us don't really like tyranny

anywhere

5/29/2007 4:37:33 PM

Yeah, I'm not a big fan of the suppression of free speech.

It just makes it easier for a dictator to get away with civil rights abuses.

5/29/2007 4:40:37 PM

the people in venezuela must be retarded to elect that guy

5/29/2007 4:40:48 PM

Quote :

"the actions taken were no different than what would have happened in the US under similar situations"

yeah thats what happened when Clinton got FoxNews kicked off the air and Bush got CNN kicked off the air...no different at all than the US

5/29/2007 4:43:10 PM

What does the actions of cops against protesters, for whatever reason they may be protesting, have to do with the statement you just made?

5/29/2007 4:58:51 PM

what "similar situation" could possibly happen in the US?

5/29/2007 5:04:49 PM

To quote Hooksaw:

Quote :

" Um. . .what a terrible way to reply. The section of the initial quotation that you have in bold is the fucking point. I think most people get the point at issue, but if you need to emphasize it for yourself, go right ahead."

Lets get back on topic, people.

5/29/2007 5:05:48 PM

just playing devil's advocate

5/29/2007 5:06:58 PM

Quote :

"what "similar situation" could possibly happen in the US?"

The section you bolded has to do with riot police and protesters, not fox news and cnn.

5/29/2007 5:07:34 PM

Chavez forced a TV station off the air

What similar situation could possibly happen in the US?

5/29/2007 5:08:44 PM

Quote :

"Basically, Hooksaw implied that the Venezuelans weren't free because they were tear gassed for an un-permit-ed protest that blocked a major highway, when Americans would have been tear gassed for the same thing."

Stop trolling, it isn't cute or funny.

5/29/2007 5:10:22 PM

i asked moron a question

why dont you quit trolling and let him speak for himself you fucking faggot alias

5/29/2007 5:11:43 PM

^^I'm pretty sure that you hijacked this thread by trying to tell us what hooksaw thought, instead of what he posted.

to reiterate:

Quote :

"Um. . .what a terrible way to reply. The section of the initial quotation that you have in bold is the fucking point. I think most people get the point at issue, but if you need to emphasize it for yourself, go right ahead."

[Edited on May 29, 2007 at 5:12 PM. Reason : 2]

5/29/2007 5:12:25 PM

Quote :

"Chavez forced a TV station off the air What similar situation could possibly happen in the US?"

5/29/2007 5:12:30 PM

Quote :

"^^I'm pretty sure that you hijacked this thread by trying to tell us what hooksaw thought, instead of what he posted. "

What he posted was lazy and ineffective. LoneSnark agreed with me. Go away dakotaman.

5/29/2007 5:15:49 PM

somebody should suspend this alias faggot and force him (GOD FORBID) to actually post under his regular account

5/29/2007 5:16:45 PM

^^LOL, you think LoneSnark is agreeing with you?

Quote :

"I guess everyone quit reading half way through the sentence. Next time, Hooksaw should not bother quoting complete sentences for fear it will mislead people."

I hate to break this to you, but he's making fun of you there.

[Edited on May 29, 2007 at 5:18 PM. Reason : 2]

5/29/2007 5:17:24 PM

dont waste your time Prawn Star...he made that particular alias just to troll...currently he has trolled in 1,087 posts

5/29/2007 5:18:39 PM

It's amazes me how many posts you spend whining about my posting and how little substance you add to this section. Do you have some sort of paranoia complex. I don't know who you are, you don't have pics of yourself up, and I really don't care. All I need to know is what you post, which is not much of anything of worth. No one else in this section has a problem with me except you. I add plenty of dialog and alternative viewpoints and I don't turn threads into flame wars with anywhere close the frequency that you do. I think if anyone needs the ax, it's you pal. Fact.

5/29/2007 5:19:25 PM

did the alias troll just say something? i didnt read it cause if it was worth a fuck, he'd post under his regular account

5/29/2007 5:20:40 PM

Oops. You got me there dakota, the point still stands

Quote :

"What a terrible way to frame a thread."

He didn't add any real commentary for which to begin the discussion with. We all know Chavez is a dictator. So he broke an unspoken TSB rule. By posting only the section he posted, he makes it seem like police strong armed innocent protesters acting in a civil manner. Sure, it's petty, but I had to actually click the link to see they were being tear gassed for holding up traffic on a major highway. I guess I just take issue with him because his postings are a little bit too partisan and argument starting for what they are worth, and assumed that is what he was trying to do again.

And it seems like TreeTwista is trying to argue that this wouldn't happen in the United States, which means that my post didn't hijack any thread anyway.

5/29/2007 5:23:36 PM

the moron implied that this police reaction would've happened if a similar situation had happened in the US

thats a stupid comparison from the get-go, because this wouldnt happen in the US, because our leaders dont shut down TV stations that disagree with them...hence the Clinton/FOXNews Bush/CNN scenario

so there is no "similar situation" in the US...and I asked the moron that question anyway, not you

5/29/2007 5:25:53 PM

Man, I had no clue that people don't protest in the United States. What a dumb comparison moron made.

5/29/2007 5:27:24 PM

i wish you were as selective with the number of user accounts you had as you were selective in deciding which pieces of quotes to nitpick you fucking faggot alias

5/29/2007 5:31:07 PM

Even someone with as apparently low an IQ (high TQ?) as you can see that when moron said "situations", he wasn't talking about the entire banning of TV stations AND rioting, but was simply talking about rioting, especially since he added this statement that I posted and you said I was trolling

Quote :

"Basically, Hooksaw implied that the Venezuelans weren't free because they were tear gassed for an un-permit-ed protest that blocked a major highway, when Americans would have been tear gassed for the same thing."

Now, are you going to focus on what I am posting or are you going to whine and cry and complain that you don't know me? I suppose it's much easier to do that than actually attempt an honorable and just debate, right?

5/29/2007 5:34:53 PM

stfu you stupid faggot

waaaaah...my name is blind hate but when somebody blindly hates me i like to whine about it....waaaaaaa

5/29/2007 5:50:52 PM

For what it's worth: The topic of this thread is the fact that Chavez "forced a television station critical of his leftist government off the air." In addition, if one were to simply read the headline in the link I posted, one would see that the TV station being forced off the air was the antecedent for the events that followed.

Blind Hate = BridgetSPK?

[Edited on May 29, 2007 at 7:28 PM. Reason : .]

5/29/2007 7:28:06 PM

Quote :

"yeah thats what happened when Clinton got FoxNews kicked off the air and Bush got CNN kicked off the air...no different at all than the US "

Blind Hate correctly interpreted my post. No where did I even imply that the media was or would be shut down by the gov. in the us. My point was that police would and do use tear gas and rubber bullets to control assemblies that cause a disruption, especially in cases where the people don't have a permit. And if any of our media outlets supported a coup against the presidency, you bet that they would be treated harshly.

I'll admit though, I only read Prawn Star's post and Blind Hate's above it, and between those 2, Blind Hate was right, but I didn't read anyone else's post. And considering that most of the article was about the rioters and how they were treated, it's easy to see why someone might think hooksaw was picking on the way the rioters were treated more so than the shutting down of the TV station.

5/29/2007 7:39:40 PM

^ Thanks for sharing. Now, can we dispense with the fucking red herrings and deal with the topic?
Chavex kicked a TV station critical of him off the air--go.

5/29/2007 7:46:22 PM

Hey hooksaw.

where were you after hundreds of riot police fired teargas and rubber bullets, hosed
pepper spray, threw concussion bombs and clubbed the heads of protesters at the
1999 WTO convention? they arrested over 600 people, many without cause, chased
down groups of bystanders including old women and children.



fuck venezuela. this is in America. wheres your sense of outrage?

http://www.photomediagroup.com/pmm/issues/Winter2000/wto.htm




[Edited on May 29, 2007 at 7:54 PM. Reason : ]

5/29/2007 7:53:42 PM

Quote :

"^ Thanks for sharing. Now, can we dispense with the fucking red herrings and deal with the topic? Chavex kicked a TV station critical of him off the air--go."

We can talk about important human rights abuses--by any country--after some meaningful discussion ON THE TOPIC!

5/29/2007 8:03:45 PM

Considering that the same TV station supported a coup against Chavez in 2002, it's very generous of him to merely not renew their license now.

Wasn't Chavez democratically elected anyway? There's only so much hate you can have for him, until you have to blame the people of Venezuela.

5/29/2007 8:14:49 PM