Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Talk:Che Guevara

2010-01-09T12:47:21Z

Agnapostate:

==Cut from intro==
:There has been no evidence to support the claims that he was plotting but some conservatives have suspected him of planning terrorism against the United States. He was shot in Bolivia by the Bolivian Special Forces in 1967. These Bolivian soldiers were trained, equipped and guided by U.S. Green Beret and CIA operatives.

What is the point of this? US bad, Che good, or what?

This man murdered hundreds of Cuban civilians who opposed the murderous despotic reign of Castro. The paragraph above sounds like a whitewash. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] 12:29, 27 March 2007 (EDT)

Another cut:

:He is also the voice of the conscience of [[Eva Peron]] in [[Andrew Lloyd Weber|Andrew Lloyd Weber's]] ''[[Evita]]''. In the cinematic version of the musical, "Che" is played by [[Antonio Banderas]], and Evita by [[Madonna]].

Wikipedia's article also has problems. --[[User:Ed Poor|Ed Poor]] 12:49, 13 April 2007 (EDT)

Ouch! It's totally true. Watch Evita. But it's not strictly important. Unless you love the musical like I do.-'''AmesG'''<su[http://www.conservapedia.com/User_talk:AmesG yo!] 12:51, 13 April 2007 (EDT)
:''Evita''!? We're gonna use the Screen Writers Guild now as sources? Might as well fold shop and all of us move back to Wikipedia. [[User:RobS|RobS]] 13:27, 13 April 2007 (EDT)

Wait, who's following the policy with Osama? Isn't the US government going hell for leather to try to kill Osama? [[User:MountainDew|MountainDew]] 13:19, 13 April 2007 (EDT)
:Nope. And never did. Studying the legend of Che, you now understand '''''why''''' it was never a priority to kill bin Laden. [[User:RobS|RobS]] 13:27, 13 April 2007 (EDT)
So stated US goals of killing him are lies? Or are you interpreting past the text? Because I thought you were a literalist type of character.-'''AmesG'''[http://www.conservapedia.com/User_talk:AmesG yo!] 15:10, 13 April 2007 (EDT)
::Since Guevara's killing in 1967 it has been debated among Intelligence analysts and policymakers the merits of killing a terrorist leader only to have him idolized in death as a maryr to a cause. After 1975, by Executive Order, such assassinations now are explicitly forbidden without Presidential authorization. In Israel, matters are handled somewhat differently, in that these sorts of decisions are Cabinet decisions, and not the responsibility of one man like under US law (see ''By Way of Deception'' by Victor Ostrovsky [http://www.amazon.com/Way-Deception-Victor-Ostrovsky/dp/0971759502]). Arafat, for example, while condemned to death ''in absentia'' by the Israeli cabinet, nonetheless a death warant was never issued by the Prime Minister for his arrest and/or execution, and this is because of pressure from the US State Department not to make a Che Guevara type martyr out of him. Similiarly with bin Laden. Killing him serves no purpose now. It does not undo the events of 9/11 or bring 3000 back from the grave. It probably would elevate him in death to something larger than he ever was in life. So he can be made more of an example as a coward, living in hiding in caves, a hunted man for the rest of his life, which serves more to deter any future bin Laden wanna be's than making a martyr out of him. [[User:RobS|RobS]] 15:39, 13 April 2007 (EDT)
So is that your position as to why the US hasn't caught him yet? Then why did they catch Saddam? Was that a "mistake," because your policy seems to suggest that dangers to society are better alive than dead no matter what.-'''AmesG'''[http://www.conservapedia.com/User_talk:AmesG yo!] 15:44, 13 April 2007 (EDT)
:Excellent parallel; Saddam too, like bin Ladan, was made an example of, living in a hole as a hunted man. And when he was caught, it wasn't the US that executed him. There is no doubt that if bin Laden is caught, he will be tried to. But killing him out in the jungle for revenge purposes, or of fear that he might lead a mass movement again, is not a likely scenario. [[User:RobS|RobS]] 16:09, 13 April 2007 (EDT)

Er, killing him in out in the jungle? Where, exactly, do you think he is? [[User:Pendayho|Pachuca]] 17:55, 19 May 2007 (EDT)

== Poster ==
Er- isn't this an article about Che? Should the only pictures present be ones of, oh, I don't know, CHE??!?!?--[[User:NTemple|NTemple]] 00:09, 4 January 2009 (EST)

*Maybe glasses would help? I see two pictures of Che. What do you see? --[[User:TK|'''₮K''']]/Administrator[[User_Talk:TK|/Talk]] 00:40, 4 January 2009 (EST)

==Image==

...but apparently you are here to push forward your silly "anti-Che" agenda. The t-shirt pic is completely innapropriate for an encyclopedia entry. [[User:MatteeNeutra|MatteeNeutra]] 17:45, 14 May 2007 (EDT)

:RobS, I tried to post on your talk page but it was blocked with a spam protection filter. Please read my comments and respond. Cheers [[User:MatteeNeutra|MatteeNeutra]] 18:12, 14 May 2007 (EDT)

:Why are you thinking this is encyclopedia?! --[[User:Aulis Eskola|Aulis Eskola]] 07:57, 25 July 2007 (EDT)

==Living legends==

Are you honest to God saying that the US is deliberately leaving Osama alive so he doesn't become an martyr? That's rich. [[User:Pendayho|Pachuca]] 17:51, 19 May 2007 (EDT)
==Liberal Activist?==
Che was a militant communist, he was the farthest thing from liberal. How can he be in this category. --[[User:JeffreyJamesRideout|JeffreyJamesRideout]] 20:17, 20 June 2007 (EDT)
==Pic is foolish==
I don't care if you hate the guy or not, that picture is immature and juvenile. --[[User:VincentValentine|VincentValentine]] 22:05, 21 June 2007 (EDT)

I like it. [[User:DanH|DanH]] 22:05, 21 June 2007 (EDT)

But isn't this supposed to be a serious encyclopedia? The pic seems like a joke --[[User:VincentValentine|VincentValentine]] 22:08, 21 June 2007 (EDT)
:I think I'll get the t-shirt myself! [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 22:09, 21 June 2007 (EDT)
That's why they call us Conservapedia--we don't 'baah' with the herd. [[User:RobS|RobS]]

Mayhaps, but when people see this, they're going to think this site is not encyclopedic. Wikipedia wouldn't allow a childish image like that. [[User:Maestro|Maestro]] 22:45, 21 June 2007 (EDT)
:Childish? And how would characterize honoring a terrorist? On second thought, that should be rephrased--I wouldn't wish to insult children by equalting their behaviour to romanticized T-shirts of Che Guevara. [[User:RobS|RobS]] 22:54, 21 June 2007 (EDT)
::Then how about an actual photograph? The article rips him apart, put the picture costs you credibility. [[User:Maestro|Maestro]] 22:58, 21 June 2007 (EDT)
:::As you said, "Wikipedia wouldn't allow it," I couldn't think of a better argument to keep it than that. We just need to expand a bit about our misguided youth on campus, and the societal factors that lead them astray, to pay actual money for his T-shirts, and worse yet walk around as if they are "hip" or proud to wear such a thing. [[User:RobS|RobS]] 23:01, 21 June 2007 (EDT)
::::It is really a rather childish. You could always use [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/ff/Famousphotoche-cropped.jpg this pic]. --[[User:Che|Che]] 23:23, 22 June 2007 (EDT)
:::::He almost looks like Jim Morrison in that picture. [[User:RobS|RobS]] 11:29, 23 June 2007 (EDT)
So would you have a picture of Hitler with a caption that said 'I invaded Poland and all I got was this lousy T-shirt?' You're making light of a serious issue. [[User:Maestro|Maestro]] 01:44, 23 June 2007 (EDT)
::::::Oh, Che was a head of State? [[User:RobS|RobS]] 11:29, 23 June 2007 (EDT)
== The guy actually wasn't that bad… ==

He was quite humane, gave Bolivian soldiers medical care, etc. Just because someone is a socialist doesn't automatically mean they're evil. --[[User:Che|Che]] 23:09, 22 June 2007 (EDT)
:A humane terrorist. How poetic. [[User:RobS|RobS]] 11:29, 23 June 2007 (EDT)

Ronald Reagan was a terrorist to? Remember Nicarauga, and helping Saddam --[[User:CheGuevara|CheGuevara]] 19:34, 23 June 2007 (EDT)
::[http://www.amazon.com/Exposing-Real-Che-Guevara-Idolize/dp/1595230270 I read he was a homophobe.] [[User:Jaques|Jaques]] 01:03, 25 June 2007 (EDT)

==Final sentence==
That final sentence should go. "[[Yasser Arafat]] and [[Osama bin Laden]] are two of the most prominent examples of this policy of not creating living legends in death by executing a terrorist leader." It basically says that the reason Osama hasn't been killed is to avoid making him a martyr, not because he can't be found. I really don't think that's true. And it's pretty debatable in Arafat's case as well. [[User:PortlyMort|PortlyMort]] 14:18, 18 July 2007 (EDT)

== Terrorism ==

It is unfortunate that the term terrorism is now used to refer to anyone out of favour with the United States, as if it were an ideology. Terrorists carry out unconventional attacks on civilians or occupying powers, which are designed to inspire fear and cause expense. Their reasoning is that the occupiers will find that the increased costs of security no longer justify their occupation, or that citizens of the occupying power will force their own government to withdraw. Some terrorists, especially crackpot groups in western countries, think that acts of terrorism will lead to armed insurrection and the overthrow of the government.

Terrorism should also be distinguished from committing atrocities, which are carried out by all military forces, even if not usually condoned.

Whatever their motives and their future actions, Castro and his followers were not terrorists, because they did not rely on terrorist tactics. They established a militia and took control of Cuba. However, if he begins to blow up government buildings, plant IEDs and wear a disguise in Cuba, then he would be a terrorist.

--[[User:The Four Deuces|The Four Deuces]] 20:25, 30 July 2007 (EDT)

:'''UNFORTUNATE?''' aww shucks...pity the poor terrorists....

:I block extremists who peddle nonsense and extreme views. [[User:RobS|RobS]] 21:26, 30 July 2007 (EDT)

== T-shirt image; categories ==

Categories:

Che Guevara was a Communist revolutionary. There is nothing 'liberal' about revolutionary Communism. The far left is no more 'liberal' than the far right.

Furthermore, it is not accurate to describe Che Guevara as a terrorist, any more than it would be accurate to describe those who overthrew British rule in America as 'terrorists'.

T-shirt:

The T-shirt image shown here is highly misleading, as the caption states that t-shirts bearing Che's image are highly popular. Yes, they are, but not the t-shirt shown here. The vast majority of Che t-shirts are resolutely pro-Che, and the t-shirt you show here represents a minuscule minority of t-shirts sold and as such presents an exceptionally misleading impression which would never in a million years pass muster in a credible encyclopaedia.

==Request Edit==
This page needs an update, please unblock-- [[Image:50 star flag.png|14px]] [[User:Jpatt|jp]] 23:23, 24 September 2008 (EDT)

==Image==
You have no sense of humor HelpJazz. I wanted Che supporters to fume. What is sillier, the picture or believing Che is an idol?-- [[Image:50 star flag.png|14px]] [[User:Jpatt|jp]] 15:05, 30 September 2008 (EDT)
:I have a sense of humor, but this is an encyclopedia not open mike night. I was going to put it back in somewhere else, but there wasn't a "criticism" section, interestingly enough. Plus, the picture that is now in front is better; instead of a joke it shows what an evil person he was. I think that hits the point home even better. [[User:HelpJazz|Help]][[User talk:HelpJazz|Jazz]] 15:06, 30 September 2008 (EDT)

This article says a lot more about the person who wrote it than Che Guevara

=="Rob"olution?==

In the first paragraph the text says "''Ernesto "Che" Guevara (b. June 14, 1928, died October 9th, 1967) was a sadistic Marxist guerrilla leader, with Fidel Castro, of the Cuban "Rob"olution and became a cultural icon for liberals, leftists, Communists, illegal aliens[1], and dumb white teenagers.[2]''"

Cuban "Rob"olution should be changed to Cuban Revolution as that is the historical name for that period of Cuban history and "Rob"olution isn't encyclopedic or professional sounding and comes off as the author's personal view rather then a historical descriptive term. I can see such a term in an 'essay' piece but not as an encyclopedic article. -- [[User:BMcP|BMcP]] 17:14, 23 June 2009 (EDT)

*Unlike liberal encyclopedia's, BM, Conservapedia believes if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is indeed a duck. The so-called Communist Revolution robbed the Cuban people, plain and simple. Anyone who does a few hours research knows that Guevara was a sadist, and indeed, finally a cowering coward. The man did nothing in his life to admire, so a person would have to be pretty stupid, as all of the classes identified in the article are, to admire such a fraud. --[[User:TK|'''ṬK''']]/Admin[[User_Talk:TK|/Talk]] 17:24, 23 June 2009 (EDT)

:: I am not asking for admiration of Che, nor am I commenting on what kind of person he was, or even how the author spoke of him, as that is an entirely different topic. I am just looking for historical accuracy for the name "Cuban Revolution". A communist revolution is still classified as a revolution no matter what we may think of those who instigated it or their governing philosophy, or what the results of that historical moment brought. If people want to think of it as robbery, that's fine, I just don't believe calling it Cuban "Rob"olution reflects the quality one would strive for in an opening paragraph of an encyclopedic article, it is not even a real word. -- [[User:BMcP|BMcP]] 17:48, 23 June 2009 (EDT)

==Medical Degree==

''"He flunked out of medical school, never got his diploma, and still was chosen to be the medic for Fidel Castro's so called 'revolution'."''

Is there a specific citation available for that statement? It is directly contradicted by Jon Lee Anderson's ''Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life'', which states, ''"In June, Ernesto obtained a copy of his doctor’s degree, and a few days later he celebrated his twenty-fifth birthday. With his title in hand and duly legalized, he was now a bona fide doctor."'' While I do recall Fontova being critical of Anderson's work on the topic, is there a specific denial of this claim or a presentation of a contrary account in his own book? [[User:Agnapostate|Agnapostate]] 07:47, 9 January 2010 (EST)

Salma Hayek

2010-01-09T12:09:43Z

Agnapostate: added ethnic background

[[Image:Hayek2.jpg|right|Salma Hayek|150px]]
'''Salma Hayek Jiménez''', born in Coatzacoalcos, [[Mexico]] on 2 September 1966 (age {{age|1966|9|2}}), is a Mexican actress of Lebanese and Spanish descent.

Salma Hayek left Mexico in 1991 looking for success in [[Hollywood]], anxious to make films and to explore her talent and passion. It was, the now cult classic ''Desperado'' (1995), which put her on Hollywood's map. Later Hayek was credited to several films including ''Fools Rush In'' (1997, opposite Matthew Perry), ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' (1997, playing Esmeralda), and ''Breaking Up'' (1997, with Russell Crowe).

In 2002 Hayek co-produced ''Frida'', and star in her dream role. The picture was nominated for six [[The Oscars|Oscars]]. In 2003, she starred in ''Once Upon a Time in Mexico'', the final of Rodriguez's "Desperado" trilogy.
She remains one of the most hardworking actresses in Hollywood. She owns the production company, "Ventanarosa".

{{cquote|
About Madonna: "She always paid attention to the [[Latin]] community. I was grateful somebody like her appreciated our culture"
}}

== See also ==
*[[Victoria Beckham]]
*[[Marilyn Monroe]]
*[[Olivia Newton John]]
*[[Shia LaBeouf]]

== External links ==
*[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000161/bio Biography]
*[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000161/awards Awards]
*[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000161/ Photos]
*[http://www.celebcards.com/celebrity/salma_hayek/ Biography]

{{DEFAULTSORT: Hayek, Salma Jiménez}}

[[Category:Actresses]]
[[Category:Mexico]]

Noam Chomsky

2009-09-18T00:25:58Z

Agnapostate: Removed category:Liberal Activists on account of his anarchism.

[[Image:Chomsky3.gif|right|130px]]
'''Avram Noam Chomsky''' (born December 7, 1928) is a [[Linguistics|linguist]] who is perhaps better known for his strident anti-American political activism. He is an institute professor & professor of linguistics (Emeritus) at the [[MIT|Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (MIT) <ref>http://web.mit.edu/linguistics/people/faculty/chomsky/index.html</ref>.
Chomsky is very critical of [[America]]n and [[Israel]]i foreign policy, sympathizes with [[Palestine|Palestinians]] and has shown support for the terrorist organization [[Hezbollah]]<ref>http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=7&x_issue=11&x_article=1151</ref>. He has also been criticized for [[anti-Semitism]].

== Background ==
Chomsky was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of William Chomsky, a [[Russian]] immigrant, and Elsie Simonofsky Chomsky. His parents both practiced Judaism. His father taught [[Hebrew]], and published a scholarly edition of a medieval Hebrew grammar.<ref>http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/information/biography/abcde/chomsky_noam.html</ref>. He received his education at the [[University of Pennsylvania]] where he studied linguistics, mathematics, and philosophy, and eventually earned his [[Ph. D.]] in 1955. Since then, he has taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He previously held the Ferrari P. Ward Chair of Modern Language and Linguistics, and is now an Institute Professor.
==Linguistic Works==
Chomsky's work is considered to be the spark of modern linguistic thought. His research deals with questions including the critical analysis of language and grammar, the role of biology in language and language acquisition, and the importance (or lack there of) of structural grammar and formal grammar in language function and development.

Chomsky has argued that the primary role the linguist should play is to decipher a language's grammatical structure. Chomsky has provided the field of linguistics path and policy in describing language as a concept and particular languages, as well as core functions of any particular language.
===Generative Grammar===
Noam Chomsky advocates the view that the human brain has innate ability to generate grammatical sentences, thus, all utterances deemed sensible to the speaker are necessarily grammatical. All humans, he argues, shares a core of grammar that explodes into the thousands and thousands of distinct languages spoken by humans over time and place. Generative grammar ultimately suggests that the brain is like an unlabeled map, and a child's role is to assign different "paths" with particular labels.

===Universal Grammar===
Noam Chomsky also proposed the theory that a kind of universal grammar, a grammar that underlies all human languages, is hard-wired in the human brain. Thus all human languages are fundamentally the same, with only superficial differences.
===Criticism===
Both the theory of universal grammar as well as generative grammar have been criticized over time. A primary argument is that the majority of Chomsky's studies are based in English, and do not represent "human language" as a whole. Linguist Geoffrey Sampson suggests that the core of his arguments are not scientifically falsifiable, and therefore hold no more weight than mere opinion or conjecture. Sampson follows that Chomsky does not seem to be able to make predictions of what is possible in a language.
Finally, many of his critics claim that Chomsky's books are riddled with factual inaccuracies <ref>http://www.paulbogdanor.com/200chomskylies.pdf</ref>.

==Political Views==
Chomsky has stated that his "personal visions are fairly traditional anarchist ones, with origins in The Enlightenment and classical liberalism" and he has praised libertarian socialism.

His opponents accuse him of expressing admiration for governmental systems such as the Soviet Union, Chinese and Cambodian governments which are characterized by central control, xenophobia, and rejection of free expression, though he has openly expressed opposition to the Soviet Union and other regimes characterized by authoritarianism, arguing that they are not legitimate forms of socialism.<ref>http://chomsky.info/articles/1986----.htm</ref> He also counters that he is merely pointing out the West's own crimes and not condoning authoritarian governments that the West opposes. His stated justification for this is that criticism of other authoritarian governments will do nothing except give the United States ammunition against other countries, while being able to freely ignore their own crimes, whereas criticism of his own country may bring about what he considers to be positive reform. Chomsky identifies himself as a libertarian socialist who is opposed to both neoliberalism and authoritarianism. <ref>http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=19446</ref>
=== Anti-Semitism ===
Chomsky has been criticized for [[anti-Semitism]].<ref>http://www.jbooks.com/interviews/index/IP_Dershowitz.htm</ref><ref>http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=15381</ref>. In addition to his support for Hezbollah, He has stated that Jews are "the most privileged and influential part of the population", and that "Anti-Semitism is no longer a problem. It's raised, but it's raised because privileged people want to make sure they have total control, not just 98% control"<ref>http://www.variant.randomstate.org/16texts/Chomsky.html</ref>. His statements show striking similarities with classic anti-Semitism.

Chomsky has also been a vocal supporter of controversial author Norman Finkelstein, author of ''The Holocaust Industry'', who has argued that claims of anti-Semitism are used to silence critics of Israel and that the Holocaust is exploited by some Jewish institutions for their own gain.<ref>[http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=311000&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__international_news University denies tenure to Holocaust academic], ''Mail & Guardian'', 12 June 2007.</ref>

It should be noted that both Finkelstein and Chomsky are from Jewish-American backgrounds <ref>[http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/article.php?pg=11&ar=150]</ref><ref>http://www.tikkun.org/rabbi_lerner/noamchomsky2005</ref>, and that both Chomsky's parents were devout and involved in Jewish scholarship. It is unclear whether Chomsky still practices Judaism.

===Chomsky's Criticisms of the West===
Chomsky is one of the most vocal critics of the [[United States]] foreign policy. Some of his criticisms are:
#The overthrow of democratic and secular leader [[Mohammed Mossadegh]] in Iran and replacement with the Shah, a brutal dictator in 1953 (Done by the US and the UK)
#The overthrow of social democrat Jacobo Arbenz in [[Guatemala]] in 1954
#The overthrow of democratic socialist Salvador Allende in Chile on 9/11 in 1973
#The Dirty War against the Sandinista government in [[Nicaragua]] in the 1980s
#The backing of a brutal military dictatorship in [[El Salvador]] during the same time period
#Selling weapons to a terror-state ([[Iran]]) to fund another terrorist group (The Contras). (See [[Iran-Contra Affair]])
#Selling weapons of mass destruction to [[Saddam Hussein]] during the Iran-Iraq war.
#Supporting the mujahideen which later became al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan in the 1980s
#Invading [[Iraq]] in 2003 despite lack of support from the [[UN]]
#Blatant Support of [[Israel]] which Chomsky believes is a terror state despite his [[Jew]]ish ethnicity
(Source: Hegemony or Survival)

== See Also ==
*[http://web.mit.edu/linguistics/people/faculty/chomsky/publications.html List of Chomsky's Publications]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk8pxyAWTBk Chomsky Speaks about American Politics] Chomsky believes the Democrats and Republicans are a single entity
*[http://www.memritv.org/search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=1136# Video of Noam Chomsky with Hezbollah Leaders in Lebanon]
*[http://www.paulbogdanor.com/chomskyhoax.html The Chomsky Hoax] by Paul Bogdanor
*[http://www.grsampson.net/AGwg.html Grammar Without Grammaticality] by Geoffrey Sampson
*[http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=23543 Chomsky's New Blood Libel] by Alan Dershowitz
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXMZZCvFtlw Chomsky on Middle East Television] Chomsky speaks about American "imperialism."

==References==
<references/>
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chomsky, Noam}}
[[category:Scientists]]
[[Category:Linguists]]
[[category:Authors]]
[[Category:Socialists]]

Hugo Chavez

2009-08-09T04:39:45Z

Agnapostate: As mentioned on the talk page, substantially greater evidence of "dictatorship" is required. Please consult that prior to reversion.

[[Image:chavez.jpg|175px|right|thumb|Hugo Chavez]]
'''Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías''' (b. July 28, 1954) is the [[President]] of the Bolivarian Republic of [[Venezuela]]. Chávez was elected as President in 1998 and pledged to aid Venezuela's poor majority. Chavez was re-elected to the presidency in 2000 and 2006 and survived a 2004 recall vote in elections that opponents allege were characterized by fraud. There are similar allegations that his socialist economic policies have been disastrous and counterproductive in nature, and have led to food shortages, quotas, and rationing in his country, and caused thousands to flee.<ref>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/venezuela/4938993/Venezuelas-Hugo-Chavez-tightens-state-control-of-food-amid-rocketing-inflation-and-food-shortages.html</ref>

==Election fraud==
Steven F. Hayward wrote:
* While exit polls conducted by the very reliable American firm of Penn, Schoen, and Berland showed Chavez losing by a large margin (59 – 41), the official results put Chavez free and clear by a vote of 58 to 41 percent.<ref>[http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=5A8D0094-4590-4DFB-A7F0-C2E06A6820FB]</ref>

==Human rights concerns==
Hugo Chávez is a great friend of the tyrannical [[Cuban]] despot [[Fidel Castro]] and is said to have drawn his political style through influences such as [[Che Guevara]], [[Karl Marx]] and [[Simon Bolivar]]. The U.S. State Department ''Report on Global Anti-Semitism'' cited Chavez in August 2004 warning citizens against following the lead of Jewish citizens in the effort to overturn his referendum victory.<ref>[http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/40258.htm Report on Global Anti-Semitism] U. S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, [[Human Rights]], and Labor, January 5, 2005. </ref> Chavez has also embraced a number of world leaders that have hostile relations with the United States, including Holocaust-denier [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]], the President of [[Iran]], who Chavez has referred to as "my brother".<ref>[http://english.eluniversal.com/2006/07/31/en_pol_art_31A756133.shtml Chávez decorated in Iran; initials cooperation pacts]</ref> U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives [[Nancy Pelosi]] said of Chavez, "Hugo Chavez fancies himself a modern-day Simon Bolivar, but all he is is an everyday thug."<ref>[http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/pruden092206.php3 Back to the old days, if only for a minute], Wesley Pruden, ''Jewish World Review'', Sept. 22, 2006.</ref> He is also considered to be an ally of [[leftist]] [[Ecuador|Ecuadorian]] president [[Rafael Correa]], [[Bolivia|Bolivian]] president [[Evo Morales]] and the president of [[Nicaragua]], [[Daniel Ortega]] ... all radical leftists.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6187364.stm Correa]</ref>

In May 2007, Chavez silenced the only remaining opposition television station critical of his repression by revoking its licence.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/venezuela/story/0,,2085952,00.html Chávez silences critical TV station], Rory Carroll, ''The Guardian'', May 23, 2007.</ref> Crowds of students demonstrated saying they feared for the future of human rights in Venezuala. National Guard troops were ordered to fire tear gas and rubber bullets. Two students were injured, a third was hit with a tear gas canister, and about 20 people needed emergency medical attention for inhaling tear gas. <ref>[http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/05/28/ap3763178.html Troops Fire Upon Protesters in Venezuela], Fabiola Sanchez, Associated Press, 05.28.07. Retrieved from Forbes.com 05/31/07. </ref>

Chavez has said, “I am going to go after those who resist the revolution and eliminate them one by one.”<ref>[http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2007/jul/07/guest_commentary_we_must_help_venezuela_because_fr/ Because Freedom Matters], By U.S. Rep. Connie Mack IV and Blanquita Cullm, ''Naples Daily News'', July 7, 2007.</ref>

===Trafficking in Persons===
Venezuela under Chavez has been on the U.S. State Department’s Tier 3 list for trafficking in persons since 2004, which means that the government is categorized as one that has failed to make significant efforts to bring itself into compliance with the minium standards for the elimination of trafficking in persons. The State Department’s June 2007 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report maintains that Venezuela is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children trafficked for sexual exploitation and forced labor.<ref>U.S. Department of State, [http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2007/ Trafficking in Persons Report], June 12, 2007, p. 207.</ref>

==Relations with US==
[[File:Chavez Obama.jpg|thumb|At the Fifth Summit of the Americas.]]
Foreign relations between the [[United States of America]] and [[Venezuela]] are presently unstable. Chavez often criticizes the United States for its 'imperialism' on his radio segment 'Alo Presidente', and alleges the United States's supported a 2002 coup in Venezuela which toppled Chávez momentarily and later removed by Chávez supporters, also known as 'Chávistas'. Venezuela is heavily dependent upon trade revenue from oil sales to the United States.

===Terrorism===
In May 2006, the State Department determined that, pursuant to Section 40A of the [[Arms Export Control Act]], Venezuela was not fully cooperating with U.S. [[antiterrorism]] efforts. This triggered a prohibition on the sale or license of defense articles and services to Venezuela. Other countries on the Section 40A list include [[Cuba]], [[Iran]], [[North Korea]], and [[Syria]], not to be confused with the "state sponsors of
terrorism" list under Section 6(j) of the Export Administration Act of 1979, which currently includes Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria. The State Department asserted that the Section 40A determination was based on Venezuela’s near lack of antiterrorism cooperation over the last year, citing its support for Iraqi insurgents and Iran’s development of nuclear capabilities, the country’s status as a safe haven for Colombian and Basque terrorist groups, and its effort to derail hemispheric efforts to advance counter-terrorism policies in the OAS. In May 2007, the State Department again included Venezuela in its annual Section 40A determination that it was not cooperating fully with U.S. antiterrorism efforts.

In late April 2007, the State Department issued its annual Country Reports on Terrorism, which asserted that President Chávez "persisted in public criticism of U.S. counterterrorism efforts, deepened Venezuelan relationships with Iran and Cuba, and was unwilling to prevent Venezuelan territory from being used as a safe haven" by Colombian terrorist groups.

There have been long-held suspicions that Chávez has supported leftist Colombian guerrillas, although Chávez denies such support. The State Department’s terrorism report maintains that units of Colombia’s two leftist terrorist groups — the [[Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia]] (FARC) and the [[National Liberation Army]] (ELN) — often crossed into Venezuela "to rest and regroup with relative impunity."

In addition, according to the report, splinter groups of the FARC and a rightist terrorist group, the [[AUC|United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia]] (AUC) reportedly operate in various parts of the country and are involved in drug trafficking. The report maintained, however, that "it remained unclear to what extent the Venezuelan
Government provided material support to Colombian terrorists."

In addition, according to the report, Venezuelan citizenship, identity, and travel documents remained easy to obtain, making the country a potentially attractive waystation for terrorists. In July 13, 2006, congressional testimony, the State Department’s Principal Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism, Frank Urbancic, asserted that the United States was detaining increasing numbers of third-country aliens at its borders carrying falsified or fraudulently issued Venezuelan documents. U.S. officials also have expressed concerns about President Chávez’s close relationship with Cuba’s Fidel Castro, but Chávez defends his relationship with Cuba. Overall Venezuelan support to Cuba is estimated to be more than $2 billion a year.<ref>Frances Robles and Phil Gunson, ''Cuba Spotlights Chávez Friendship,'' Miami Herald, January 26, 2007.</ref> Venezuela supplies some 90,000 barrels of oil per day to Cuba on a concessionary basis under PetroCaribe. In return, Venezuela has received support from thousands of Cuban health care workers and sports instructors in the country.

During an April 2005 trip to Cuba, Presidents Chávez and Castro announced commercial deals worth over $400 million, including a joint shipyard to build small navy ships and a joint housing construction company. In January 2007, a delegation of Cuban officials visited Caracas and signed a number of agreements to increase economic linkages, including an agreement for joint oil exploration in both countries.

PdVSA is also involved in refurbishing an unfinished oil refinery in Cienfuegos, Cuba. Beyond Latin America, the Bush Administration has expressed concerns with Venezuela’s growing relations with Iran. In February 2006, Secretary of State Rice referred to Venezuela, along with Cuba, as “sidekicks” of Iran in reference to those countries’ votes in the International Atomic Energy Agency against reporting Iran to the U.N. Security Council over its uranium enrichment program.<ref>Pablo Bachelet, “Rice Bashes Venezuelan Leader, Politics,” Miami Herald, February 17, 2006; House International Relations Committee, Hearing on the Fiscal Year 2007
International Affairs Budget, Testimony of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, February
16, 2006.</ref> In testimony before the Senate Select Intelligence Committee in February 2006, Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte expressed concern that President Chávez "is seeking closer economic, military, and diplomatic ties with Iran and North Korea."<ref>Senate Select Intelligence Committee, Hearing on World Wide Threats, Testimony of Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte, February 2, 2006.</ref> ran and Venezuela signed an agreement for a $200 million fund to finance joint investment and social projects, and commercial agreements in the early stages include plans for a cement factory, oil exploration in the Orinoco River belt, and a joint operation to build oil and liquid natural gas tankers.<ref>Steven Dudley, "Chávez’s Wooing of Iran Called Troubling," Miami Herald, March 2, 2006.</ref> During a visit by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Venezuela in mid-January 2007, the two countries announced they would use a $2 billion investment fund to finance projects in both countries and other countries as well.<ref>Simon Romero, ''Iranian President Visits Venezuela to Strengthen Ties,'' New York Times, January 14, 2007.</ref>

Some Members of Congress have expressed concerns about relations between Venezuela and Iran. In the 110th Congress, H.Res. 435 (Klein) would, among its provisions, express concern over national security implications of the relationship between the leaders of Iran and Venezuela.

==Oil monopoly==
[[Image:Hugo-chavez8.jpg|left|175px|thumb|Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez with Fidel Castro.]]
Through Venezuela's state owned petroleum industry and membership in [[OPEC]], Chávez has now used powers granted to him by Parliament to increase oil prices, adding revenue for the Bolivarianist projects. Countries such as the United States have criticized Chávez for the increase in cost for crude oil. Chavez is at the forefront of wanting to set crude oil prices at $60 a barrel minimum, according to the ''Asia Times''<ref>[http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/HL07Dj01.html ''Bush, OPEC and Chavez of Arabia''], Pepe Escobar, Asia Times, 7 December 2006.</ref>

==Drug trafficing==
The ''Associated Press'' reported in July 2007 that since Chavez's ascension to power, illegal narcotics passing through Venezuela from [[Colombia]] has risen by as much as 30 tons a year and now accounts for roughly a third of the world's supply of [[cocaine]]. Mildred Camero who was in charge of Venezuela's anti-drug efforts stated, "[[Caracas]] is replacing [[Bogota]] as a center of everything related to drug operations." Camero was fired in 2005 after reporting high-level corruption. <ref>[http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/07/01/ap3875048.html Venezuela Becomes Cocaine Conduit], By Ian James and Frank Bajak, ''Associated Press'', 1 July 2007. Retrieved from Forbes.com 8 July 2007.</ref>

==Subversion==

According to the ''Washington Post'' Chavez has been accused of supplying weapons to Colombian rebels, of financing Bolivian and Ecuadorian groups seeking to establish "Marxist" states, and of being, with Cuban leader Fidel Castro's guidance, a "[[subversion (political)|subversive]]" everywhere else in the region. <ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/25/AR2005082501420.html?nav=rss_world/centralamerica ''Dealing With the Good and Bad Hugo Chavez''], Marcela Sanchez The Washington Post 25 August 2005.</ref>

==Religious==
Chavez demanded that [[Pope Benedict]] apologize for saying the Roman Catholic Church purified Indians in Latin America. Chavez called the treatment of Indians after [[Christopher Columbus]] landed in 1492 a "holocaust".<ref>[http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSN1819661120070519 Chavez demands Pope apologize for Indian comments], Reuters, May 19, 2007</ref>

==Quotes==
*ON closure of RCTV, claiming the network's broadcasts amounted to a "permanent attack on public morals" with cartoons that were "poisoned with hatred, violence and even sex."

*"Private banks have to give priority to financing the industrial sectors of Venezuela at low cost...If banks don't agree with this, it's better that they go, that they turn over the banks to me."

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==See Also==
[[Previous Breaking News/Hugo Chavez|Articles about '''Hugo Chavez''' from previous "Breaking News"]]

==Further reading==
*[http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/] An in depth view on Venezuela under Hugo Chávez.
*[http://www.latinbusinesschronicle.com/app/article.aspx?id=706] An overview of articles on Venezuela's business under Hugo Chávez.
*[http://www.realclearpolitics.com/Commentary/com-2_24_06_AVL.html ''Why The Left Should Cringe at The Mention of Hugo Chavez''], Alvaro Vargas Llosa, Independent Institute, February 24, 2006.
*[http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_kmnew/is_200108/ai_kepm313968 ''Bolivar, Dictator or Paladin?''] Interview: Hugo Chavez talks about Venezuela, Maria Amparo Lasso, Newsweek, Aug 20, 2001.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chavez, Hugo}}
[[Category:Venezuela]]
[[Category:Dictators]]

Talk:Hugo Chavez

2008-12-23T06:02:37Z

Agnapostate: /* chavez IS NOT a dictator */

This page appears fine to me. Citations are needed throughout the article, but as far as everything else goes, I approve. [[User:ColinR|ColinR]] 05:18, 13 March 2007 (EDT)

== Thanks ==

I'll get to work on some citations, but thankyou for accepting it, It's good to see some objectivity on this site. =)
==This article is surprisingly neutral==
I'm impressed that this article is surprisingly neutral towards Chavez, I figured it would call him a totalitarian communist.--[[User:DemocraticSocialist|DemocraticSocialist]] 11:50, 20 May 2007 (EDT)
:He's more of a '''greedy''' communist robber baron. [[User:RobS|RobS]] 16:36, 20 May 2007 (EDT)
It must be liberal subversion hahahaha--[[User:DemocraticSocialist|DemocraticSocialist]] 11:51, 20 May 2007 (EDT)

:Sorry to burst the bubble. He has been referred to as a dictator [http://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Template:AboutC&oldid=139640 here]. Have patience this article will eventually follow suit. [[User:Auld Nick|Auld Nick]] 11:59, 20 May 2007 (EDT)

I knew it was too good to be true. While Castro is a dictator, Chavez who was elected by almost two thirds of the population is clearly not --[[User:DemocraticSocialist|DemocraticSocialist]] 14:58, 20 May 2007 (EDT)
:We're waiting for Castro to die before her passes the baton. [[User:RobS|RobS]] 16:27, 20 May 2007 (EDT)
==Dictator!!!!????==
How can someone who is democratically elected be referred to as a dictator --[[User:ScandalousHegemony|ScandalousHegemony]] 23:57, 23 May 2007 (EDT)
:How about that Hitler guy in 1933? [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 21:16, 30 May 2007 (EDT)
::...Who was not democratically elected. --[[User:Hojimachong|'''Ĥøĵĭmåçħôńğ''']][[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]] 21:17, 30 May 2007 (EDT)
::: Maybe the question should be, "how can someone who continues to hold democratic elections at the frequency prescribed in the nations constitution (Like Mr. Chavez for example) be called a dictator?" The answer to that question is, he cannot. Because he isn't. Like it or not, Hugo Chavez is the democraticly elected leader of a democratic country and any suggestion that he is a dictator is little more than an insult to democracy. How can this website call Chavez a Dictator, but not someone like General [[Pinochet]] of Chile??? This 'encyclopedia' gets progressively more ridiculous by the day. Unless someone either 'locks this page for editing' or gives me some very good evidence to suggest that I am wrong about Mr. Chavez and his democratic government I will delete the word 'Dictator' from this entry.
:::::: Oh look, how suprising. It's already been locked. That's it. I've had enough of Conservapedia. You have to look less hard to find the truth in UNcyclopedia than Conservapedia. At least they admit they are a comedy parody of the truth. And at least they dont get all angry because I choose to spell suprising with an 's' instead of a 'z'.

It doesn't matter how he got into power, especially if he significantly increases his power while in office. [[User:DanH|DanH]] 21:19, 30 May 2007 (EDT)
:Chavez does not have a record of increasing his power, merely changing the economy to having a socialist slant. --[[User:Hojimachong|'''Ĥøĵĭmåçħôńğ''']][[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]] 21:21, 30 May 2007 (EDT)
::*actually, he does [http://www.mywire.com/pubs/ForeignPolicy/2006/01/01/1111144/print]. Chavez is an autocrat.[[User:Bohdan|Богдан]] [[User talk:Bohdan|Talk]] 21:28, 30 May 2007 (EDT)
I used to have neighbors from Venezuela whose relatives were on Chavez's hit list. [[User:DanH|DanH]] 21:28, 30 May 2007 (EDT)
:Not surprising. Mr. Homimachong seems to be a fan of Kim Jong il and Hitler and Saddam Husseien, and he can't NOT be a fan of someone like Chavez. If you liked Hitler, you'll like Chavez! '''Scorpion'''[[User_Talk:Scorpion|Vote for Pedro]] 14:18, 29 November 2007 (EST)

== chavez IS NOT a dictator ==

you conservatives all suck. how can someone who was democratically elected be considered
a dictator? you are all a bunch of imperialist fascists!

:Typical non-spelling, America-hating fascist liberal, accusing others of fascism! Go to Venezuela. '''Scorpion'''[[User_Talk:Scorpion|Vote for Pedro]] 14:14, 29 November 2007 (EST)
:And Hitler was also voted in democratically. Are you going to say that he was Germany's "president"? '''Scorpion'''[[User_Talk:Scorpion|Vote for Pedro]] 14:15, 29 November 2007 (EST)
::We 'wouldn't' say that Hitler was Germany's "president," considering that he abolished the office after Paul von Hindenburg's death. Nor was he democratically elected. He was 'appointed' to the chancellorship by Hindenburg, and then assumed presidential powers after Hindenburg's death that he was never intended to have. Hence, as Chavez is a democratically elected head of state, you need greater evidence that he is a "dictator." [[User:Agnapostate|Agnapostate]] 01:02, 23 December 2008 (EST)

== Irony ==

Guys, you lost me at "Repressive Dictator". Can you really not see the irony in this skewed, worthless article namecalling democratically elected foreign (to you) leaders?. Someone please kill this article as it is embarassed by it's own existence.

Can anyone actually explain the point of this article; a blinkered, one sided repressive waste of time projecting its own ignorance onto others. Really there is no point to it. {{unsigned|Mrivpond}}

== What a disgrace. ==

How can anyone seriously type that he is a repressive dictator? He was democratically election every single time, his new bid to remove term limits is being done by REFERENDUM.. are you guys on something, how is he a dictator in '''ANY WAY'''?

And don't get me started on this RCTV stuff, he closed it down because it actively called for a violent revolution against him, and then when that actually occured and an ACTUAL DICTATORSHIP was put in place, it just ran anti-Chavez ads the entire time, then when the dictatorship was crumbling as the people fought back to put Chavez back in, instead of running actual news saying this, it showed dramas like the Bold and the Beautiful. And so when it came around the renewing the liscence for it, he refused. '''ANY COUNTRY WOULD DO THIS''', If there was a television channel in the United States actively calling for a violent revolution against the US government and falsifying news, what do you think the US government would do? The exact same. PLUS, RCTV can still be viewed on cable television.

It also is in ''no way'' the only anti-Chavez media source in the country, most media in the country are hostile to Chavez. [[User:Pallawish]]

:So sorry to hear that, Mr. Chavez. I bet you'd rather be like your pal over in North Korea, who has a media that praises and worships him! '''Scorpion'''[[User_Talk:Scorpion|Vote for Pedro]] 14:12, 29 November 2007 (EST)

==NOT A DICTATOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!==
CHAVEZ WAS ELECTED WITH TWO THIRDS OF THE VOTE, HOW CAN YOU CALL HIM A DICTATOR. YOUR PRESIDENT WAS ELECTED WITH LESS THAT HALF THE VOTE. --[[User:ChavezFan|ChavezFan]] 16:24, 29 October 2007 (EDT)
:Two thirds? Wow, Hitler beat him with 92% & Saddam got 99%. Looks like Chavez still has his work cut out for him. [[User:RobSmith|Rob Smith]] 13:18, 30 October 2007 (EDT)

::Perhaps ChavezFan would like to go down to Venezuela right now and begin his own newspaper with the expressed purpose of being critical of the government in general, and Chavez in particular. Let's see how long it lasts. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 13:33, 30 October 2007 (EDT)

:What is this Chavestite doing in America????? '''Scorpion'''[[User_Talk:Scorpion|Vote for Pedro]] 14:08, 29 November 2007 (EST)

== Pro-Chavez ==

I don't care how Chavez was sworn in, he can certainly become a dictator in office! I, frankly, am appalled at all those on here who love this man. If you love this man you must be a chavestite yourself or went to a ultra-pro-Chavez Venezuelan school. If so, you have a lot of surprises waiting for you! This article isn't even listing the things he said about Bush, like calling him "the devil". If he thinks Bush is the devil, why isn't he following him?? '''Scorpion'''[[User_Talk:Scorpion|Vote for Pedro]] 14:22, 29 November 2007 (EST)

== Dictator ==

I want to agree with the views expressed above. I am by no means a fan of Chavez; he is a manipulative, power-hungry, buffoonish demagogue who may yet drive his country into the ground and is stripping away his citizens' freedom. But he is absolutely ''not'' a dictator. A dictator has total or near-total control of the government; Chavez, whatever he may wish, is still heavily hamstrung by the apparatus of Venezuela's democracy. He has had to refer many of his measures to the voters, and was recently handed a defeat which he could do nothing about. You can call him a dictator-wannabe or repressive, but it ill-serves the credibility of Conservapedia to say he is something he is not. [[User:Tor|Tor]] 16:53, 2 March 2008 (EST)
:Thank You Tor to are completely correct on this one. You know I am beginning to have my doubts about whether this website is being edited in good faith. Chavez is not perfect, and has done a lot of things to harm his country's economy and its people but a dictater? Well that's nonsense and for our encyclopedia to say so because we dislike his economic and social positions, well that's nonsense on stilts.--[[User:DamianJohn|DamianJohn]] 08:59, 8 July 2008 (EDT)

Anyone here heard the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra? No? I thought not. [[User:AlanE|AlanE]] 22:54, 12 August 2008 (EDT)

=="Silencing" the Media==
''"In May 2007, Chavez silenced the only remaining opposition television station critical of his repression by revoking its licence."''
This claim has more problems than the "non-American spelling," which has caused Conservapedia to be critical of Wikipedia in the past. It is outright disingenuous to claim that Chavez "silenced" RCTV because they were "critical of his repression." RCTV's license was simply not renewed; it was not "revoked." And the reason that it was not renewed is because five years prior, RCTV had openly endorsed the overthrow of the democratically elected President Chavez. If a news outlet in the U.S. had openly called for the overthrow of Bush, and Bush was temporarily removed from power, it's likely that the persons responsible would be imprisoned and charged with treason, not have their license not renewed five years after the fact. --[[User:Agnapostate|Agnapostate]] 21:28, 10 October 2008 (EDT)
:Well, given that nobody here has expressed any opposition to this, I'm editing the media claim. --[[User:Agnapostate|Agnapostate]] 21:25, 12 October 2008 (EDT)

William Ayers

2008-12-23T05:55:38Z

Agnapostate: /* Work with Radical Groups */

[[Image:Features_ayers1.jpg|thumb|William Ayers]] '''William Charles "Bill" Ayers''' (born 1944) is a professor at the [[University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign|University of Illinois]] at [[Chicago]] and former Chicago community organizer. He is best known as a radical [[left-wing]] activist in the 1960's and 1970's and founder of the violent [[terrorist]] organization the [[Weather Underground]].
 
==Early Life and Upbringing==
Ayers grew up in a wealthy home as the son of Thomas G. Ayers, former Chairman and CEO of Commonwealth Edison. <ref>Northwestern University, Obituary: Thomas Ayers Served as Board Chair from 1975 to 1986[http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2007/06/ayers.html]</ref> He lived in Glen Ellyn, a suburb of Chicago. Ayers attended public schools and received a bachelor of Arts degree from the [[University of Michigan]] in 1968. At age 21, Ayers became director of the Children's Community, a small school in a basement that did not have grades, report cards, and had children address teachers by their first names. It was part of a "free school movement."

==Work with Radical Groups==
[[Image:Ayers.jpg|left|Bill Ayers in August 1968.]]
In 1968, Ayers became leader of the [[Students for a Democratic Society]], and then a prominent leader of the violent "Weatherman group." Ayers and other members of the Weather Underground group created a bomb factory in [[New York]], and the organization would go on to bomb buildings such as the [[United States Capitol]], [[The Pentagon]], the United States [[Department of State]]. The aim of these acts was never to kill or injure human beings but rather to intimidate the government and sway popular opinion -- the organization always announced its targets beforehand and allowed time for evacuation. The only instance of a fatal Weatherman explosion was in [[Greenwich Village]] in [[New York City]], when an accidental explosion killed three members of the Weather Underground organization. In 1969, the Weather Underground planted a bomb at a statue dedicated to [[police]] casualties in the 1886 [[Haymarket Riot]]. The statue was blown into pieces, but was rebuilt in 1970. It was blown up again by the Weather Underground, five months later.

In a 2001 interview with the [[New York Times]], Ayers said, "I don't regret setting bombs" and "I feel we didn't do enough." Ayers later claimed that he was quoted out of context, and that he meant that he felt that he had not done enough to oppose the war in Vietnam, which he defined as ''"[an] illegal, murderous, imperial war."'' <ref>Bill Ayers' blog, Episodic Notoriety–Fact and Fantasy, by Bill Ayers, 4/06/2008[http://billayers.wordpress.com/2008/04/06/episodic-notoriety-fact-and-fantasy/]</ref>

<blockquote>
Today, Ayers and his wife -- fellow former Weather Underground fugitive [[Bernardine Dohrn]] -- live in Hyde Park, where they moved after surrendering in 1980. Federal charges against the two were dropped because of improper surveillance, so they avoided prison. <ref>Chicago Sun-Times, ''Who is Bill Ayers? Former radical or respected prof, he's a liability if Obama's nominated, Hillary warns'', April 18, 2008, by CHRIS FUSCO AND ABDON M. PALLASCH[http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/902213,CST-NWS-ayers18.article]</ref>
</blockquote>

Ayers has claimed that his actions were not terrorist acts.<ref>Bill Ayers' blog, Episodic Notoriety–Fact and Fantasy, by Bill Ayers, 4/06/2008[http://billayers.wordpress.com/2008/04/06/episodic-notoriety-fact-and-fantasy/]</ref> He has stated that according to the official definition of both the U.S. and the U.N., terrorism consists of violent acts intended to intimidate or coerce a populace into a political end, and that his actions were intended to draw attention to and combat the state terrorism of the U.S. in the Vietnam War. In his autobiography, Fugitive Days, Ayers claimed that his bombing of the Pentagon prevented aerial bombardments in Vietnam for several days, which he defined as terrorism. In this regard, Ayers has implied that he ''prevented'' terrorism rather than caused it.

==Prairie Fire==

[[Image:Prairie Fire.jpg|thumb|left|150px]]
In 1974, William Ayers, Bernardine Dohrn and other members of the Weather Underground wrote the book, ''Prairie Fire: The Politics of Revolutionary Anti-Imperialism''. In this book, William Ayers admits that he is a communist,

:"We are a guerrilla organization. We are communist women and men, underground in the United States for more than four years."

[[Image:Dedicated to Sirhan Sirhan.jpg|thumb|right|Prairie Fire is dedicated to Sirhan Sirhan, Robert F. Kennedy's assassin.]]
Interestingly, the book lists [[Sirhan Sirhan]], [[Robert F. Kennedy]]'s assassin, among many other now-obscure '60s-era radicals, criminals and revolutionaries on the dedication page.

[[Image:Weather Underground bombings.jpg|thumb|right|Ayers and his fellow co-authors brag about their numerous acts of domestic terrorism.]]
Ayers and his fellow co-authors brag about their numerous acts of domestic terrorism, and provide a handy list detailing not only each crime but in most cases the justification for each crime as well.

Among the bombings by Ayers' group listed in the book:

*Haymarket police statue, Chicago
*Chicago police cars
*New York City police headquarters
*Marin County Courthouse
*Long Island City Courthouse
*Department of Corrections, San Francisco
*Office of California Prisons, Sacramento
*Department of Corrections, Albany NY
*103rd Precinct of New York City police
*Harvard Center for International Affairs
*U.S. Capitol
*MIT research center
*The Pentagon
*Draft and recruiting centers
*ROTC buildings
*ITT Latin America Headquarters
*National Guard Headquarters, Washington D.C.
*Presidio Army Base and MP Station, San Francisco
*Federal Offices of Health, Education and Welfare, San Francisco <ref>[http://www.zombietime.com/prairie_fire/ William Ayers' forgotten communist manifesto: Prairie Fire], zombietime.com, October 22, 2008</ref> <ref>[http://www.dakotavoice.com/2008/10/forgotten-terrorist-manifesto-prairie.html Forgotten Terrorist Manifesto: Prairie Fire], Bob Ellis, Dakota Voice, October 24, 2008</ref> <ref>[http://michellemalkin.com/2008/10/23/reading-bill-ayers/ Reading Bill Ayers], Michelle Malkin, MichelleMalkin.com, October 23, 2008</ref>

==Relationship with Barack Obama==
Obama and Ayers worked together at the Chicago Annenberg Challenge (CAC), from 1995-1999, an [[organisation]] that was guided to contribute money to organisations such as ACORN (The Association Of Community Organizations For Reform Now). From 1999 to 2002, Senator [[Barack Obama]] joined Ayers again in a paid nine-member board of the Woods Fund of Chicago, an [[poverty|anti-poverty]] foundation. While running for the state Senate in [[Illinois]] in 1995, Ayers meet with Obama and would later introduce him at his house. In 2001, Ayers supported and contributed $200 to Obama's state Senate campaign<ref>[http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/contributor.phtml?d=330121189]</ref>. Barack Obama was asked about the relationship in an April 2008 Presidential debate by moderator George Stephanopoulos:

:''"Can you explain that relationship for the voters, and explain to Democrats why it won't be a problem?"''

To which Obama replied,

:''"This is a guy who lives in my neighborhood, who's a professor of [[English]] in Chicago who I know and who I have not received some official endorsement from. He's not somebody who I exchange ideas from on a regular basis. And the notion that somehow as a consequence of me knowing somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago, when I was eight years old, somehow reflects on me and my values doesn't make much sense, George"''

In February of 2008, Obama Chief Strategist David Axelrod said:

:''"Bill Ayers lives in his neighborhood. Their kids attend the same school … They’re certainly friendly, they know each other, as anyone whose kids go to school together."'' He called Ayers current defense of his 1960s bombings ''"objectionable, and I think Barack would also say that was objectionable. I don't think he's ever had an in-depth discussion [with Ayers] about them."''<ref>Politico, ''Ax on Ayers'', by Ben Smith, February 26, 2008 [http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0208/Ax_on_Ayers.html]</ref>

In an October 2008 article in ''American Thinker'', Jack Cashill speculated that Ayers [[ghostewrite|ghostwrote]] Obama's first book, "Dreams From My Father".<ref>American Thinker, October 26, 2008, ''Who Wrote Dreams From My Father?'', by Jack Cashill, October 09, 2008 [http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/10/who_wrote_dreams_from_my_fathe_1.html]</ref> He based his assertion on a comparison of the writing styles of Bill Ayers' 2001 memoir, ''Fugitive Days'', and Barack Obama's earlier 1995 book, ''Dreams From My Father'', and came to the conclusion that Ayres had ghostwritten ''Dreams''.<ref>www.cashill.com, ''Who Wrote “Dreams From My Father"?'', by Jack Cashill, October 9, 2008, retrieved on 10/16/2008 [http://www.cashill.com/natl_general/who_wrote_dreams_from.htm]</ref><ref>WorldNet Daily, ''Obama didn't write 'Dreams from My Father''', by Jack Cashill, October 13, 2008[http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=77815]</ref>

==See Also==
*[[Mystery:Who Ghostwrote Obama's Books?]]

==References==
<references />

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayers, William}}

[[Category:Terrorists]]
[[Category:Criminals]]

William Ayers

2008-12-23T05:55:20Z

Agnapostate:

[[Image:Features_ayers1.jpg|thumb|William Ayers]] '''William Charles "Bill" Ayers''' (born 1944) is a professor at the [[University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign|University of Illinois]] at [[Chicago]] and former Chicago community organizer. He is best known as a radical [[left-wing]] activist in the 1960's and 1970's and founder of the violent [[terrorist]] organization the [[Weather Underground]].
 
==Early Life and Upbringing==
Ayers grew up in a wealthy home as the son of Thomas G. Ayers, former Chairman and CEO of Commonwealth Edison. <ref>Northwestern University, Obituary: Thomas Ayers Served as Board Chair from 1975 to 1986[http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2007/06/ayers.html]</ref> He lived in Glen Ellyn, a suburb of Chicago. Ayers attended public schools and received a bachelor of Arts degree from the [[University of Michigan]] in 1968. At age 21, Ayers became director of the Children's Community, a small school in a basement that did not have grades, report cards, and had children address teachers by their first names. It was part of a "free school movement."

==Work with Radical Groups==
[[Image:Ayers.jpg|left|Bill Ayers in August 1968.]]
In 1968, Ayers became leader of the [[Students for a Democratic Society]], and then a prominent leader of the violent "Weatherman group." Ayers and other members of the Weather Underground group created a bomb factory in [[New York]], and the organization would go on to bomb buildings such as the [[United States Capitol]], [[The Pentagon]], the United States [[Department of State]]. The aim of these acts was never to kill or injure human beings but rather to intimidate the government and sway popular opinion -- the organization always announced its targets beforehand and allowed time for evacuation. The only instance of a fatal Weatherman explosion was in [[Greenwich Village]] in [[New York City]], when an accidental explosion killed three members of the Weather Underground organization. In 1969, the Weather Underground planted a bomb at a statue dedicated to [[police]] casualties in the 1886 [[Haymarket Riot]]. The statue was blown into pieces, but was rebuilt in 1970. It was blown up again by the Weather Underground, five months later.

In a 2001 interview with the [[New York Times]], Ayers said, "I don't regret setting bombs" and "I feel we didn't do enough." Ayers later claimed that he was quoted out of context, and that he meant that he felt that he had not done enough to oppose the war in Vietnam, which he defined as ''"[an] illegal, murderous, imperial war."'' <ref>Bill Ayers' blog, Episodic Notoriety–Fact and Fantasy, by Bill Ayers, 4/06/2008[http://billayers.wordpress.com/2008/04/06/episodic-notoriety-fact-and-fantasy/]</ref>

<blockquote>
Today, Ayers and his wife -- fellow former Weather Underground fugitive [[Bernardine Dohrn]] -- live in Hyde Park, where they moved after surrendering in 1980. Federal charges against the two were dropped because of improper surveillance, so they avoided prison. <ref>Chicago Sun-Times, ''Who is Bill Ayers? Former radical or respected prof, he's a liability if Obama's nominated, Hillary warns'', April 18, 2008, by CHRIS FUSCO AND ABDON M. PALLASCH[http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/902213,CST-NWS-ayers18.article] </ref>
</blockquote>

Ayers has claimed that his actions were not terrorist acts.<ref>Bill Ayers' blog, Episodic Notoriety–Fact and Fantasy, by Bill Ayers, 4/06/2008[http://billayers.wordpress.com/2008/04/06/episodic-notoriety-fact-and-fantasy/]</ref> He has stated that according to the official definition of both the U.S. and the U.N., terrorism consists of violent acts intended to intimidate or coerce a populace into a political end, and that his actions were intended to draw attention to and combat the state terrorism of the U.S. in the Vietnam War. In his autobiography, Fugitive Days, Ayers claimed that his bombing of the Pentagon prevented aerial bombardments in Vietnam for several days, which he defined as terrorism. In this regard, Ayers has implied that he ''prevented'' terrorism rather than caused it.

==Prairie Fire==

[[Image:Prairie Fire.jpg|thumb|left|150px]]
In 1974, William Ayers, Bernardine Dohrn and other members of the Weather Underground wrote the book, ''Prairie Fire: The Politics of Revolutionary Anti-Imperialism''. In this book, William Ayers admits that he is a communist,

:"We are a guerrilla organization. We are communist women and men, underground in the United States for more than four years."

[[Image:Dedicated to Sirhan Sirhan.jpg|thumb|right|Prairie Fire is dedicated to Sirhan Sirhan, Robert F. Kennedy's assassin.]]
Interestingly, the book lists [[Sirhan Sirhan]], [[Robert F. Kennedy]]'s assassin, among many other now-obscure '60s-era radicals, criminals and revolutionaries on the dedication page.

[[Image:Weather Underground bombings.jpg|thumb|right|Ayers and his fellow co-authors brag about their numerous acts of domestic terrorism.]]
Ayers and his fellow co-authors brag about their numerous acts of domestic terrorism, and provide a handy list detailing not only each crime but in most cases the justification for each crime as well.

Among the bombings by Ayers' group listed in the book:

*Haymarket police statue, Chicago
*Chicago police cars
*New York City police headquarters
*Marin County Courthouse
*Long Island City Courthouse
*Department of Corrections, San Francisco
*Office of California Prisons, Sacramento
*Department of Corrections, Albany NY
*103rd Precinct of New York City police
*Harvard Center for International Affairs
*U.S. Capitol
*MIT research center
*The Pentagon
*Draft and recruiting centers
*ROTC buildings
*ITT Latin America Headquarters
*National Guard Headquarters, Washington D.C.
*Presidio Army Base and MP Station, San Francisco
*Federal Offices of Health, Education and Welfare, San Francisco <ref>[http://www.zombietime.com/prairie_fire/ William Ayers' forgotten communist manifesto: Prairie Fire], zombietime.com, October 22, 2008</ref> <ref>[http://www.dakotavoice.com/2008/10/forgotten-terrorist-manifesto-prairie.html Forgotten Terrorist Manifesto: Prairie Fire], Bob Ellis, Dakota Voice, October 24, 2008</ref> <ref>[http://michellemalkin.com/2008/10/23/reading-bill-ayers/ Reading Bill Ayers], Michelle Malkin, MichelleMalkin.com, October 23, 2008</ref>

==Relationship with Barack Obama==
Obama and Ayers worked together at the Chicago Annenberg Challenge (CAC), from 1995-1999, an [[organisation]] that was guided to contribute money to organisations such as ACORN (The Association Of Community Organizations For Reform Now). From 1999 to 2002, Senator [[Barack Obama]] joined Ayers again in a paid nine-member board of the Woods Fund of Chicago, an [[poverty|anti-poverty]] foundation. While running for the state Senate in [[Illinois]] in 1995, Ayers meet with Obama and would later introduce him at his house. In 2001, Ayers supported and contributed $200 to Obama's state Senate campaign<ref>[http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/contributor.phtml?d=330121189]</ref>. Barack Obama was asked about the relationship in an April 2008 Presidential debate by moderator George Stephanopoulos:

:''"Can you explain that relationship for the voters, and explain to Democrats why it won't be a problem?"''

To which Obama replied,

:''"This is a guy who lives in my neighborhood, who's a professor of [[English]] in Chicago who I know and who I have not received some official endorsement from. He's not somebody who I exchange ideas from on a regular basis. And the notion that somehow as a consequence of me knowing somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago, when I was eight years old, somehow reflects on me and my values doesn't make much sense, George"''

In February of 2008, Obama Chief Strategist David Axelrod said:

:''"Bill Ayers lives in his neighborhood. Their kids attend the same school … They’re certainly friendly, they know each other, as anyone whose kids go to school together."'' He called Ayers current defense of his 1960s bombings ''"objectionable, and I think Barack would also say that was objectionable. I don't think he's ever had an in-depth discussion [with Ayers] about them."''<ref>Politico, ''Ax on Ayers'', by Ben Smith, February 26, 2008 [http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0208/Ax_on_Ayers.html]</ref>

In an October 2008 article in ''American Thinker'', Jack Cashill speculated that Ayers [[ghostewrite|ghostwrote]] Obama's first book, "Dreams From My Father".<ref>American Thinker, October 26, 2008, ''Who Wrote Dreams From My Father?'', by Jack Cashill, October 09, 2008 [http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/10/who_wrote_dreams_from_my_fathe_1.html]</ref> He based his assertion on a comparison of the writing styles of Bill Ayers' 2001 memoir, ''Fugitive Days'', and Barack Obama's earlier 1995 book, ''Dreams From My Father'', and came to the conclusion that Ayres had ghostwritten ''Dreams''.<ref>www.cashill.com, ''Who Wrote “Dreams From My Father"?'', by Jack Cashill, October 9, 2008, retrieved on 10/16/2008 [http://www.cashill.com/natl_general/who_wrote_dreams_from.htm]</ref><ref>WorldNet Daily, ''Obama didn't write 'Dreams from My Father''', by Jack Cashill, October 13, 2008[http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=77815]</ref>

==See Also==
*[[Mystery:Who Ghostwrote Obama's Books?]]

==References==
<references />

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayers, William}}

[[Category:Terrorists]]
[[Category:Criminals]]

Talk:Hugo Chavez

2008-10-13T01:25:00Z

Agnapostate:

This page appears fine to me. Citations are needed throughout the article, but as far as everything else goes, I approve. [[User:ColinR|ColinR]] 05:18, 13 March 2007 (EDT)

== Thanks ==

I'll get to work on some citations, but thankyou for accepting it, It's good to see some objectivity on this site. =)
==This article is surprisingly neutral==
I'm impressed that this article is surprisingly neutral towards Chavez, I figured it would call him a totalitarian communist.--[[User:DemocraticSocialist|DemocraticSocialist]] 11:50, 20 May 2007 (EDT)
:He's more of a '''greedy''' communist robber baron. [[User:RobS|RobS]] 16:36, 20 May 2007 (EDT)
It must be liberal subversion hahahaha--[[User:DemocraticSocialist|DemocraticSocialist]] 11:51, 20 May 2007 (EDT)

:Sorry to burst the bubble. He has been referred to as a dictator [http://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Template:AboutC&oldid=139640 here]. Have patience this article will eventually follow suit. [[User:Auld Nick|Auld Nick]] 11:59, 20 May 2007 (EDT)

I knew it was too good to be true. While Castro is a dictator, Chavez who was elected by almost two thirds of the population is clearly not --[[User:DemocraticSocialist|DemocraticSocialist]] 14:58, 20 May 2007 (EDT)
:We're waiting for Castro to die before her passes the baton. [[User:RobS|RobS]] 16:27, 20 May 2007 (EDT)
==Dictator!!!!????==
How can someone who is democratically elected be referred to as a dictator --[[User:ScandalousHegemony|ScandalousHegemony]] 23:57, 23 May 2007 (EDT)
:How about that Hitler guy in 1933? [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 21:16, 30 May 2007 (EDT)
::...Who was not democratically elected. --[[User:Hojimachong|'''Ĥøĵĭmåçħôńğ''']][[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]] 21:17, 30 May 2007 (EDT)
::: Maybe the question should be, "how can someone who continues to hold democratic elections at the frequency prescribed in the nations constitution (Like Mr. Chavez for example) be called a dictator?" The answer to that question is, he cannot. Because he isn't. Like it or not, Hugo Chavez is the democraticly elected leader of a democratic country and any suggestion that he is a dictator is little more than an insult to democracy. How can this website call Chavez a Dictator, but not someone like General [[Pinochet]] of Chile??? This 'encyclopedia' gets progressively more ridiculous by the day. Unless someone either 'locks this page for editing' or gives me some very good evidence to suggest that I am wrong about Mr. Chavez and his democratic government I will delete the word 'Dictator' from this entry.
:::::: Oh look, how suprising. It's already been locked. That's it. I've had enough of Conservapedia. You have to look less hard to find the truth in UNcyclopedia than Conservapedia. At least they admit they are a comedy parody of the truth. And at least they dont get all angry because I choose to spell suprising with an 's' instead of a 'z'.

It doesn't matter how he got into power, especially if he significantly increases his power while in office. [[User:DanH|DanH]] 21:19, 30 May 2007 (EDT)
:Chavez does not have a record of increasing his power, merely changing the economy to having a socialist slant. --[[User:Hojimachong|'''Ĥøĵĭmåçħôńğ''']][[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]] 21:21, 30 May 2007 (EDT)
::*actually, he does [http://www.mywire.com/pubs/ForeignPolicy/2006/01/01/1111144/print]. Chavez is an autocrat.[[User:Bohdan|Богдан]] [[User talk:Bohdan|Talk]] 21:28, 30 May 2007 (EDT)
I used to have neighbors from Venezuela whose relatives were on Chavez's hit list. [[User:DanH|DanH]] 21:28, 30 May 2007 (EDT)
:Not surprising. Mr. Homimachong seems to be a fan of Kim Jong il and Hitler and Saddam Husseien, and he can't NOT be a fan of someone like Chavez. If you liked Hitler, you'll like Chavez! '''Scorpion'''[[User_Talk:Scorpion|Vote for Pedro]] 14:18, 29 November 2007 (EST)

== chavez IS NOT a dictator ==

you conservatives all suck. how can someone who was democratically elected be considered
a dictator? you are all a bunch of imperialist fascists!

:Typical non-spelling, America-hating fascist liberal, accusing others of fascism! Go to Venezuela. '''Scorpion'''[[User_Talk:Scorpion|Vote for Pedro]] 14:14, 29 November 2007 (EST)
:And Hitler was also voted in democratically. Are you going to say that he was Germany's "president"? '''Scorpion'''[[User_Talk:Scorpion|Vote for Pedro]] 14:15, 29 November 2007 (EST)

== Irony ==

Guys, you lost me at "Repressive Dictator". Can you really not see the irony in this skewed, worthless article namecalling democratically elected foreign (to you) leaders?. Someone please kill this article as it is embarassed by it's own existence.

Can anyone actually explain the point of this article; a blinkered, one sided repressive waste of time projecting its own ignorance onto others. Really there is no point to it. {{unsigned|Mrivpond}}

== What a disgrace. ==

How can anyone seriously type that he is a repressive dictator? He was democratically election every single time, his new bid to remove term limits is being done by REFERENDUM.. are you guys on something, how is he a dictator in '''ANY WAY'''?

And don't get me started on this RCTV stuff, he closed it down because it actively called for a violent revolution against him, and then when that actually occured and an ACTUAL DICTATORSHIP was put in place, it just ran anti-Chavez ads the entire time, then when the dictatorship was crumbling as the people fought back to put Chavez back in, instead of running actual news saying this, it showed dramas like the Bold and the Beautiful. And so when it came around the renewing the liscence for it, he refused. '''ANY COUNTRY WOULD DO THIS''', If there was a television channel in the United States actively calling for a violent revolution against the US government and falsifying news, what do you think the US government would do? The exact same. PLUS, RCTV can still be viewed on cable television.

It also is in ''no way'' the only anti-Chavez media source in the country, most media in the country are hostile to Chavez. [[User:Pallawish]]

:So sorry to hear that, Mr. Chavez. I bet you'd rather be like your pal over in North Korea, who has a media that praises and worships him! '''Scorpion'''[[User_Talk:Scorpion|Vote for Pedro]] 14:12, 29 November 2007 (EST)

==NOT A DICTATOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!==
CHAVEZ WAS ELECTED WITH TWO THIRDS OF THE VOTE, HOW CAN YOU CALL HIM A DICTATOR. YOUR PRESIDENT WAS ELECTED WITH LESS THAT HALF THE VOTE. --[[User:ChavezFan|ChavezFan]] 16:24, 29 October 2007 (EDT)
:Two thirds? Wow, Hitler beat him with 92% & Saddam got 99%. Looks like Chavez still has his work cut out for him. [[User:RobSmith|Rob Smith]] 13:18, 30 October 2007 (EDT)

::Perhaps ChavezFan would like to go down to Venezuela right now and begin his own newspaper with the expressed purpose of being critical of the government in general, and Chavez in particular. Let's see how long it lasts. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 13:33, 30 October 2007 (EDT)

:What is this Chavestite doing in America????? '''Scorpion'''[[User_Talk:Scorpion|Vote for Pedro]] 14:08, 29 November 2007 (EST)

== Pro-Chavez ==

I don't care how Chavez was sworn in, he can certainly become a dictator in office! I, frankly, am appalled at all those on here who love this man. If you love this man you must be a chavestite yourself or went to a ultra-pro-Chavez Venezuelan school. If so, you have a lot of surprises waiting for you! This article isn't even listing the things he said about Bush, like calling him "the devil". If he thinks Bush is the devil, why isn't he following him?? '''Scorpion'''[[User_Talk:Scorpion|Vote for Pedro]] 14:22, 29 November 2007 (EST)

== Dictator ==

I want to agree with the views expressed above. I am by no means a fan of Chavez; he is a manipulative, power-hungry, buffoonish demagogue who may yet drive his country into the ground and is stripping away his citizens' freedom. But he is absolutely ''not'' a dictator. A dictator has total or near-total control of the government; Chavez, whatever he may wish, is still heavily hamstrung by the apparatus of Venezuela's democracy. He has had to refer many of his measures to the voters, and was recently handed a defeat which he could do nothing about. You can call him a dictator-wannabe or repressive, but it ill-serves the credibility of Conservapedia to say he is something he is not. [[User:Tor|Tor]] 16:53, 2 March 2008 (EST)
:Thank You Tor to are completely correct on this one. You know I am beginning to have my doubts about whether this website is being edited in good faith. Chavez is not perfect, and has done a lot of things to harm his country's economy and its people but a dictater? Well that's nonsense and for our encyclopedia to say so because we dislike his economic and social positions, well that's nonsense on stilts.--[[User:DamianJohn|DamianJohn]] 08:59, 8 July 2008 (EDT)

Anyone here heard the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra? No? I thought not. [[User:AlanE|AlanE]] 22:54, 12 August 2008 (EDT)

=="Silencing" the Media==
''"In May 2007, Chavez silenced the only remaining opposition television station critical of his repression by revoking its licence."''
This claim has more problems than the "non-American spelling," which has caused Conservapedia to be critical of Wikipedia in the past. It is outright disingenuous to claim that Chavez "silenced" RCTV because they were "critical of his repression." RCTV's license was simply not renewed; it was not "revoked." And the reason that it was not renewed is because five years prior, RCTV had openly endorsed the overthrow of the democratically elected President Chavez. If a news outlet in the U.S. had openly called for the overthrow of Bush, and Bush was temporarily removed from power, it's likely that the persons responsible would be imprisoned and charged with treason, not have their license not renewed five years after the fact. --[[User:Agnapostate|Agnapostate]] 21:28, 10 October 2008 (EDT)
:Well, given that nobody here has expressed any opposition to this, I'm editing the media claim. --[[User:Agnapostate|Agnapostate]] 21:25, 12 October 2008 (EDT)

Talk:Hugo Chavez

2008-10-13T01:24:53Z

Agnapostate:

This page appears fine to me. Citations are needed throughout the article, but as far as everything else goes, I approve. [[User:ColinR|ColinR]] 05:18, 13 March 2007 (EDT)

== Thanks ==

I'll get to work on some citations, but thankyou for accepting it, It's good to see some objectivity on this site. =)
==This article is surprisingly neutral==
I'm impressed that this article is surprisingly neutral towards Chavez, I figured it would call him a totalitarian communist.--[[User:DemocraticSocialist|DemocraticSocialist]] 11:50, 20 May 2007 (EDT)
:He's more of a '''greedy''' communist robber baron. [[User:RobS|RobS]] 16:36, 20 May 2007 (EDT)
It must be liberal subversion hahahaha--[[User:DemocraticSocialist|DemocraticSocialist]] 11:51, 20 May 2007 (EDT)

:Sorry to burst the bubble. He has been referred to as a dictator [http://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Template:AboutC&oldid=139640 here]. Have patience this article will eventually follow suit. [[User:Auld Nick|Auld Nick]] 11:59, 20 May 2007 (EDT)

I knew it was too good to be true. While Castro is a dictator, Chavez who was elected by almost two thirds of the population is clearly not --[[User:DemocraticSocialist|DemocraticSocialist]] 14:58, 20 May 2007 (EDT)
:We're waiting for Castro to die before her passes the baton. [[User:RobS|RobS]] 16:27, 20 May 2007 (EDT)
==Dictator!!!!????==
How can someone who is democratically elected be referred to as a dictator --[[User:ScandalousHegemony|ScandalousHegemony]] 23:57, 23 May 2007 (EDT)
:How about that Hitler guy in 1933? [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 21:16, 30 May 2007 (EDT)
::...Who was not democratically elected. --[[User:Hojimachong|'''Ĥøĵĭmåçħôńğ''']][[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]] 21:17, 30 May 2007 (EDT)
::: Maybe the question should be, "how can someone who continues to hold democratic elections at the frequency prescribed in the nations constitution (Like Mr. Chavez for example) be called a dictator?" The answer to that question is, he cannot. Because he isn't. Like it or not, Hugo Chavez is the democraticly elected leader of a democratic country and any suggestion that he is a dictator is little more than an insult to democracy. How can this website call Chavez a Dictator, but not someone like General [[Pinochet]] of Chile??? This 'encyclopedia' gets progressively more ridiculous by the day. Unless someone either 'locks this page for editing' or gives me some very good evidence to suggest that I am wrong about Mr. Chavez and his democratic government I will delete the word 'Dictator' from this entry.
:::::: Oh look, how suprising. It's already been locked. That's it. I've had enough of Conservapedia. You have to look less hard to find the truth in UNcyclopedia than Conservapedia. At least they admit they are a comedy parody of the truth. And at least they dont get all angry because I choose to spell suprising with an 's' instead of a 'z'.

It doesn't matter how he got into power, especially if he significantly increases his power while in office. [[User:DanH|DanH]] 21:19, 30 May 2007 (EDT)
:Chavez does not have a record of increasing his power, merely changing the economy to having a socialist slant. --[[User:Hojimachong|'''Ĥøĵĭmåçħôńğ''']][[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]] 21:21, 30 May 2007 (EDT)
::*actually, he does [http://www.mywire.com/pubs/ForeignPolicy/2006/01/01/1111144/print]. Chavez is an autocrat.[[User:Bohdan|Богдан]] [[User talk:Bohdan|Talk]] 21:28, 30 May 2007 (EDT)
I used to have neighbors from Venezuela whose relatives were on Chavez's hit list. [[User:DanH|DanH]] 21:28, 30 May 2007 (EDT)
:Not surprising. Mr. Homimachong seems to be a fan of Kim Jong il and Hitler and Saddam Husseien, and he can't NOT be a fan of someone like Chavez. If you liked Hitler, you'll like Chavez! '''Scorpion'''[[User_Talk:Scorpion|Vote for Pedro]] 14:18, 29 November 2007 (EST)

== chavez IS NOT a dictator ==

you conservatives all suck. how can someone who was democratically elected be considered
a dictator? you are all a bunch of imperialist fascists!

:Typical non-spelling, America-hating fascist liberal, accusing others of fascism! Go to Venezuela. '''Scorpion'''[[User_Talk:Scorpion|Vote for Pedro]] 14:14, 29 November 2007 (EST)
:And Hitler was also voted in democratically. Are you going to say that he was Germany's "president"? '''Scorpion'''[[User_Talk:Scorpion|Vote for Pedro]] 14:15, 29 November 2007 (EST)

== Irony ==

Guys, you lost me at "Repressive Dictator". Can you really not see the irony in this skewed, worthless article namecalling democratically elected foreign (to you) leaders?. Someone please kill this article as it is embarassed by it's own existence.

Can anyone actually explain the point of this article; a blinkered, one sided repressive waste of time projecting its own ignorance onto others. Really there is no point to it. {{unsigned|Mrivpond}}

== What a disgrace. ==

How can anyone seriously type that he is a repressive dictator? He was democratically election every single time, his new bid to remove term limits is being done by REFERENDUM.. are you guys on something, how is he a dictator in '''ANY WAY'''?

And don't get me started on this RCTV stuff, he closed it down because it actively called for a violent revolution against him, and then when that actually occured and an ACTUAL DICTATORSHIP was put in place, it just ran anti-Chavez ads the entire time, then when the dictatorship was crumbling as the people fought back to put Chavez back in, instead of running actual news saying this, it showed dramas like the Bold and the Beautiful. And so when it came around the renewing the liscence for it, he refused. '''ANY COUNTRY WOULD DO THIS''', If there was a television channel in the United States actively calling for a violent revolution against the US government and falsifying news, what do you think the US government would do? The exact same. PLUS, RCTV can still be viewed on cable television.

It also is in ''no way'' the only anti-Chavez media source in the country, most media in the country are hostile to Chavez. [[User:Pallawish]]

:So sorry to hear that, Mr. Chavez. I bet you'd rather be like your pal over in North Korea, who has a media that praises and worships him! '''Scorpion'''[[User_Talk:Scorpion|Vote for Pedro]] 14:12, 29 November 2007 (EST)

==NOT A DICTATOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!==
CHAVEZ WAS ELECTED WITH TWO THIRDS OF THE VOTE, HOW CAN YOU CALL HIM A DICTATOR. YOUR PRESIDENT WAS ELECTED WITH LESS THAT HALF THE VOTE. --[[User:ChavezFan|ChavezFan]] 16:24, 29 October 2007 (EDT)
:Two thirds? Wow, Hitler beat him with 92% & Saddam got 99%. Looks like Chavez still has his work cut out for him. [[User:RobSmith|Rob Smith]] 13:18, 30 October 2007 (EDT)

::Perhaps ChavezFan would like to go down to Venezuela right now and begin his own newspaper with the expressed purpose of being critical of the government in general, and Chavez in particular. Let's see how long it lasts. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 13:33, 30 October 2007 (EDT)

:What is this Chavestite doing in America????? '''Scorpion'''[[User_Talk:Scorpion|Vote for Pedro]] 14:08, 29 November 2007 (EST)

== Pro-Chavez ==

I don't care how Chavez was sworn in, he can certainly become a dictator in office! I, frankly, am appalled at all those on here who love this man. If you love this man you must be a chavestite yourself or went to a ultra-pro-Chavez Venezuelan school. If so, you have a lot of surprises waiting for you! This article isn't even listing the things he said about Bush, like calling him "the devil". If he thinks Bush is the devil, why isn't he following him?? '''Scorpion'''[[User_Talk:Scorpion|Vote for Pedro]] 14:22, 29 November 2007 (EST)

== Dictator ==

I want to agree with the views expressed above. I am by no means a fan of Chavez; he is a manipulative, power-hungry, buffoonish demagogue who may yet drive his country into the ground and is stripping away his citizens' freedom. But he is absolutely ''not'' a dictator. A dictator has total or near-total control of the government; Chavez, whatever he may wish, is still heavily hamstrung by the apparatus of Venezuela's democracy. He has had to refer many of his measures to the voters, and was recently handed a defeat which he could do nothing about. You can call him a dictator-wannabe or repressive, but it ill-serves the credibility of Conservapedia to say he is something he is not. [[User:Tor|Tor]] 16:53, 2 March 2008 (EST)
:Thank You Tor to are completely correct on this one. You know I am beginning to have my doubts about whether this website is being edited in good faith. Chavez is not perfect, and has done a lot of things to harm his country's economy and its people but a dictater? Well that's nonsense and for our encyclopedia to say so because we dislike his economic and social positions, well that's nonsense on stilts.--[[User:DamianJohn|DamianJohn]] 08:59, 8 July 2008 (EDT)

Anyone here heard the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra? No? I thought not. [[User:AlanE|AlanE]] 22:54, 12 August 2008 (EDT)

=="Silencing" the Media==
''"In May 2007, Chavez silenced the only remaining opposition television station critical of his repression by revoking its licence."''
This claim has more problems than the "non-American spelling," which has caused Conservapedia to be critical of Wikipedia in the past. It is outright disingenuous to claim that Chavez "silenced" RCTV because they were "critical of his repression." RCTV's license was simply not renewed; it was not "revoked." And the reason that it was not renewed is because five years prior, RCTV had openly endorsed the overthrow of the democratically elected President Chavez. If a news outlet in the U.S. had openly called for the overthrow of Bush, and Bush was temporarily removed from power, it's likely that the persons responsible would be imprisoned and charged with treason, not have their license not renewed five years after the fact. --[[User:Agnapostate|Agnapostate]] 21:28, 10 October 2008 (EDT)
::Well, given that nobody here has expressed any opposition to this, I'm editing the media claim. --[[User:Agnapostate|Agnapostate]] 21:24, 12 October 2008 (EDT)

Peter Singer

2008-10-12T23:21:27Z

Agnapostate:

'''Peter Singer''' is an [[Australian]] [[philosopher]] who wrote the book ''Animal Liberation'', which puts [[animals and people]] on the same moral level.<ref>''[[Newsweek]]'' wrote, "The modern [[animal rights]] movement may be dated to the 1975 publication of ''Animal Liberation'' by Australian philosopher Peter Singer."http://www.amazon.com/Animal-Liberation-Peter-Singer/dp/0060011572</ref>
Singer is best know for advocating the killing of severely disabled newborn infants at the discretion of their parents. Some have alleged that the conditions that he considers sufficiently acceptable for active infanticide include [[Down syndrome]], [[spina bifida]], and [[hemophilia]].<ref>http://www.social-ecology.org/article.php?story=20031202122825648</ref> However, Singer has directly denied this, claiming that his statements were distorted and taken out of context.<ref>''Writings on an Ethical Life'' pps. 325</ref>

He is currently Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at the University Center for Human Values at [[Princeton University]] and Laureate Professor at the [[University of Melbourne]]'s Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics.<ref>http://www.princeton.edu/~psinger/</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
[http://www.princeton.edu/~psinger/ Peter Singer's Home page]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singer, Peter}}

[[category:philosophers]]
[[category:authors]]

Talk:Peter Singer

2008-10-12T23:18:27Z

Agnapostate:

This doesn't talk about Singer's efforts to feed millions of starving children throughout the world, it only seems to mention his tendencies towards favoring abortion.
==False Claims==
The claim that Singer has identified hemophilia as an acceptable condition for which one can euthanize an infant is patently false, and is directly denied by him in ''Writings on an Ethical Life''. ''"Hemophilia is one of the misrepresented examples I was referring to. The quotation everyone uses is plucked from a section in Practical Ethics in which I was developing the implications of a particular view of utilitarianism to get people to think about the differences between that view and an alternative view. I wasn't suggesting as a matter of public policy that parents should be allowed to kill infants with hemophilia. In our society today, that would be wrong...Killing it should not be an option.'' I'm reverting that. --[[User:Agnapostate|Agnapostate]] 19:18, 12 October 2008 (EDT)

Noam Chomsky

2008-10-11T23:25:04Z

Agnapostate:

[[Image:Chomsky3.gif|right|thumb|130px]]
'''Avram Noam Chomsky''' (born December 7, 1928) is a Jewish linguist who is best known for his writings on politics. He is an institute professor & professor of linguistics (Emeritus) at the [[MIT|Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (MIT) <ref>http://web.mit.edu/linguistics/people/faculty/chomsky/index.html</ref>.
He has always been very critical of [[America]]n and [[Israel]]i foreign policy and sympathizes with [[Palestine|Palestinians]] and has shown support for the terrorist organization [[Hezbollah]]<ref>http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=7&x_issue=11&x_article=1151</ref>. He has also been criticized for [[anti-Semitism]].

His opponents accuse him of expressing admiration for governmental systems such as the Soviet Union, Chinese and Cambodian governments which are characterized by central control, xenophobia, and rejection of free expression, though he has openly expressed opposition to the Soviet Union and other regimes characterized by authoritarianism, arguing that they are not legitimate forms of socialism.<ref>http://chomsky.info/articles/1986----.htm</ref> He also counters that he is merely pointing out the West's own crimes and not condoning authoritarian governments that the West opposes. His stated justification for this is that criticism of other authoritarian governments will do nothing except give the United States ammunition against other countries, while being able to freely ignore their own crimes, whereas criticism of his own country may bring about what he considers to be positive reform. Chomsky identifies himself as a libertarian socialist who is opposed to both neoliberalism and authoritarianism. <ref>http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=19446</ref>

== Background ==
Chomsky was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of William Chomsky, a [[Russian]] immigrant, and Elsie Simonofsky Chomsky. His parents both practiced Judaism. His father taught [[Hebrew]], and published a scholarly edition of a medieval Hebrew grammar.<ref>http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/information/biography/abcde/chomsky_noam.html</ref>. He received his education at the [[University of Pennsylvania]] where he studied linguistics, mathematics, and philosophy, and eventually earned his [[Ph. D.]] in 1955. Since then, he has taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He previously held the Ferrari P. Ward Chair of Modern Language and Linguistics, and is now an Institute Professor.

== Anti-Semitism ==
Chomsky has been criticized for [[anti-Semitism]].<ref>http://www.jbooks.com/interviews/index/IP_Dershowitz.htm</ref><ref>http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=15381</ref>. In addition to his support for Hezbollah, He has stated that Jews are "the most privileged and influential part of the population", and that "Anti-Semitism is no longer a problem. It's raised, but it's raised because privileged people want to make sure they have total control, not just 98% control"<ref>http://www.variant.randomstate.org/16texts/Chomsky.html</ref>. His statements show striking similarities with classic anti-Semitism.

Chomsky has also been a vocal supporter of controversial author Norman Finkelstein, author of ''The Holocaust Industry'', who has argued that claims of anti-Semitism are used to silence critics of Israel and that the Holocaust is exploited by some Jewish institutions for their own gain.<ref>[http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=311000&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__international_news University denies tenure to Holocaust academic], ''Mail & Guardian'', 12 June 2007.</ref>

It should be noted that both Finkelstein and Chomsky are from Jewish-American backgrounds <ref>[http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/article.php?pg=11&ar=150]</ref><ref>http://www.tikkun.org/rabbi_lerner/noamchomsky2005</ref>, and that both Chomsky's parents were devout and involved in Jewish scholarship. It is unclear whether Chomsky still practices Judaism.

==Chomsky's Criticisms of the West==
Chomsky is one of the most vocal critics of the [[United States]] foreign policy. Some of his criticisms are:
#The overthrow of democratic and secular leader [[Mohammed Mossadegh]] in Iran and replacement with the Shah, a brutal dictator in 1953 (Done by the US and the UK)
#The overthrow of social democrat Jacobo Arbenz in [[Guatemala]] in 1954
#The overthrow of democratic socialist Salvador Allende in Chile on 9/11 in 1973
#The Dirty War against the Sandinista government in [[Nicaragua]] in the 1980s
#The backing of a brutal military dictatorship in [[El Salvador]] during the same time period
#Selling weapons to a terror-state ([[Iran]]) to fund another terrorist group (The Contras). (See [[Iran-Contra Affair]])
#Selling weapons of mass destruction to [[Saddam Hussein]] during the Iran-Iraq war.
#Supporting the mujahideen which later became al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan in the 1980s
#Invading [[Iraq]] in 2003 despite lack of support from the [[UN]]
#Blatant Support of [[Israel]] which Chomsky believes is a terror state despite his [[Jew]]ish ethnicity
(Source: Hegemony or Survival)

Many of his critics claim that Chomsky's books are riddled with factual inaccuracies <ref>http://www.paulbogdanor.com/200chomskylies.pdf</ref>.

==Linguistic Works==

===Generative Grammar===
Noam Chomsky advocates the view that the human brain has innate ability to generate grammatical sentences, thus all utterances which is deemed sensical to the speaker is necessarily grammatical, and the only role the linguist should play is to decipher its grammatical structure. This view has been criticized by many linguists as [[nihilism|nihilistic]] in that it rejects the notion of ungrammatical sentences. Noam Chomsky also pointed to instances of infants utter grammatical sentence fragments they have not been taught before as evidence for Generative Grammar.

===Universal Grammar===
Noam Chomsky also proposed the theory that a kind of universal grammar, a grammar that underlies all human languages, is hard-wired in the human brain. Thus all human languages are fundamentally the same, with only superficial differences. This theory of universal grammar has been criticized by linguist Geoffrey Sampson as being not falsifiable, arguing that the grammatical generalizations made are simply observations about existing languages and not predictions about what is possible in a language. To this day, the search for such universal grammar has been fruitless.

For decades, Noam Chomsky and his followers have been trying to make sense of sentences such as:
<blockquote>
''Who will be easy for us to get his mother to talk to?''
</blockquote>
which are deemed to be ungrammatical by a lot of linguists; by using techniques such as linking theory, anti-c-command requirement, A-positions, Bijection Principle, weakest crossover configurations, bound variable anaphora, asymmetric linking, licensing conditions, index of a pronoun, null operator analysis, variable binding, configurational conditions, inappropriate and appropriate antecedents, etc.

== See Also ==
*[http://web.mit.edu/linguistics/people/faculty/chomsky/publications.html List of Chomsky's Publications]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk8pxyAWTBk Chomsky Speaks about American Politics] Chomsky believes the Democrats and Republicans are a single entity
*[http://www.memritv.org/search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=1136# Video of Noam Chomsky with Hezbollah Leaders in Lebanon]
*[http://www.paulbogdanor.com/chomskyhoax.html The Chomsky Hoax] by Paul Bogdanor
*[http://www.grsampson.net/AGwg.html Grammar Without Grammaticality] by Geoffrey Sampson
*[http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=23543 Chomsky's New Blood Libel] by Alan Dershowitz
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXMZZCvFtlw Chomsky on Middle East Television] Chomsky speaks about American Imperialism

==References==
<references/>
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chomsky, Noam}}
[[category:Scientists]]
[[Category:Linguists]]
[[Category:Political People]]
[[category:Authors]]
[[Category:Liberal Activists]]
[[Category:Writers]]
[[Category:Atheists]]

Noam Chomsky

2008-10-11T23:24:11Z

Agnapostate:

[[Image:Chomsky3.gif|right|thumb|130px]]
'''Avram Noam Chomsky''' (born December 7, 1928) is a Jewish linguist who is best known for his writings on politics. He is an institute professor & professor of linguistics (Emeritus) at the [[MIT|Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (MIT) <ref>http://web.mit.edu/linguistics/people/faculty/chomsky/index.html</ref>.
He has always been very critical of [[America]]n and [[Israel]]i foreign policy and sympathizes with [[Palestine|Palestinians]] and has shown support for the terrorist organization [[Hezbollah]]<ref>http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=7&x_issue=11&x_article=1151</ref>. He has also been criticized for [[anti-Semitism]].

His opponents accuse him of expressing admiration for governmental systems such as the Soviet Union, Chinese and Cambodian governments which are characterized by central control, xenophobia, and rejection of free expression, though he has openly expressed opposition to the Soviet Union and other regimes characterized by authoritarianism, arguing that they are not legitimate forms of socialism.<ref>http://chomsky.info/articles/1986----.htm</ref> He also counters that he is merely pointing out the West's own crimes and not condoning authoritarian governments that the West opposes. His stated justification for this is that criticism of other authoritarian governments will do nothing except give the United States ammunition against other countries, while being able to freely ignore their own, whereas criticism of his own country may bring about what he considers to be positive reform. Chomsky identifies himself as a libertarian socialist who is opposed to both neoliberalism and authoritarianism. <ref>http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=19446</ref>

== Background ==
Chomsky was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of William Chomsky, a [[Russian]] immigrant, and Elsie Simonofsky Chomsky. His parents both practiced Judaism. His father taught [[Hebrew]], and published a scholarly edition of a medieval Hebrew grammar.<ref>http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/information/biography/abcde/chomsky_noam.html</ref>. He received his education at the [[University of Pennsylvania]] where he studied linguistics, mathematics, and philosophy, and eventually earned his [[Ph. D.]] in 1955. Since then, he has taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He previously held the Ferrari P. Ward Chair of Modern Language and Linguistics, and is now an Institute Professor.

== Anti-Semitism ==
Chomsky has been criticized for [[anti-Semitism]].<ref>http://www.jbooks.com/interviews/index/IP_Dershowitz.htm</ref><ref>http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=15381</ref>. In addition to his support for Hezbollah, He has stated that Jews are "the most privileged and influential part of the population", and that "Anti-Semitism is no longer a problem. It's raised, but it's raised because privileged people want to make sure they have total control, not just 98% control"<ref>http://www.variant.randomstate.org/16texts/Chomsky.html</ref>. His statements show striking similarities with classic anti-Semitism.

Chomsky has also been a vocal supporter of controversial author Norman Finkelstein, author of ''The Holocaust Industry'', who has argued that claims of anti-Semitism are used to silence critics of Israel and that the Holocaust is exploited by some Jewish institutions for their own gain.<ref>[http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=311000&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__international_news University denies tenure to Holocaust academic], ''Mail & Guardian'', 12 June 2007.</ref>

It should be noted that both Finkelstein and Chomsky are from Jewish-American backgrounds <ref>[http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/article.php?pg=11&ar=150]</ref><ref>http://www.tikkun.org/rabbi_lerner/noamchomsky2005</ref>, and that both Chomsky's parents were devout and involved in Jewish scholarship. It is unclear whether Chomsky still practices Judaism.

==Chomsky's Criticisms of the West==
Chomsky is one of the most vocal critics of the [[United States]] foreign policy. Some of his criticisms are:
#The overthrow of democratic and secular leader [[Mohammed Mossadegh]] in Iran and replacement with the Shah, a brutal dictator in 1953 (Done by the US and the UK)
#The overthrow of social democrat Jacobo Arbenz in [[Guatemala]] in 1954
#The overthrow of democratic socialist Salvador Allende in Chile on 9/11 in 1973
#The Dirty War against the Sandinista government in [[Nicaragua]] in the 1980s
#The backing of a brutal military dictatorship in [[El Salvador]] during the same time period
#Selling weapons to a terror-state ([[Iran]]) to fund another terrorist group (The Contras). (See [[Iran-Contra Affair]])
#Selling weapons of mass destruction to [[Saddam Hussein]] during the Iran-Iraq war.
#Supporting the mujahideen which later became al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan in the 1980s
#Invading [[Iraq]] in 2003 despite lack of support from the [[UN]]
#Blatant Support of [[Israel]] which Chomsky believes is a terror state despite his [[Jew]]ish ethnicity
(Source: Hegemony or Survival)

Many of his critics claim that Chomsky's books are riddled with factual inaccuracies <ref>http://www.paulbogdanor.com/200chomskylies.pdf</ref>.

==Linguistic Works==

===Generative Grammar===
Noam Chomsky advocates the view that the human brain has innate ability to generate grammatical sentences, thus all utterances which is deemed sensical to the speaker is necessarily grammatical, and the only role the linguist should play is to decipher its grammatical structure. This view has been criticized by many linguists as [[nihilism|nihilistic]] in that it rejects the notion of ungrammatical sentences. Noam Chomsky also pointed to instances of infants utter grammatical sentence fragments they have not been taught before as evidence for Generative Grammar.

===Universal Grammar===
Noam Chomsky also proposed the theory that a kind of universal grammar, a grammar that underlies all human languages, is hard-wired in the human brain. Thus all human languages are fundamentally the same, with only superficial differences. This theory of universal grammar has been criticized by linguist Geoffrey Sampson as being not falsifiable, arguing that the grammatical generalizations made are simply observations about existing languages and not predictions about what is possible in a language. To this day, the search for such universal grammar has been fruitless.

For decades, Noam Chomsky and his followers have been trying to make sense of sentences such as:
<blockquote>
''Who will be easy for us to get his mother to talk to?''
</blockquote>
which are deemed to be ungrammatical by a lot of linguists; by using techniques such as linking theory, anti-c-command requirement, A-positions, Bijection Principle, weakest crossover configurations, bound variable anaphora, asymmetric linking, licensing conditions, index of a pronoun, null operator analysis, variable binding, configurational conditions, inappropriate and appropriate antecedents, etc.

== See Also ==
*[http://web.mit.edu/linguistics/people/faculty/chomsky/publications.html List of Chomsky's Publications]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk8pxyAWTBk Chomsky Speaks about American Politics] Chomsky believes the Democrats and Republicans are a single entity
*[http://www.memritv.org/search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=1136# Video of Noam Chomsky with Hezbollah Leaders in Lebanon]
*[http://www.paulbogdanor.com/chomskyhoax.html The Chomsky Hoax] by Paul Bogdanor
*[http://www.grsampson.net/AGwg.html Grammar Without Grammaticality] by Geoffrey Sampson
*[http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=23543 Chomsky's New Blood Libel] by Alan Dershowitz
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXMZZCvFtlw Chomsky on Middle East Television] Chomsky speaks about American Imperialism

==References==
<references/>
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chomsky, Noam}}
[[category:Scientists]]
[[Category:Linguists]]
[[Category:Political People]]
[[category:Authors]]
[[Category:Liberal Activists]]
[[Category:Writers]]
[[Category:Atheists]]

Talk:Noam Chomsky

2008-10-11T22:47:24Z

Agnapostate:

why do you keep reverting my edits, its not vandalism, its removing POV --[[User:UncleJalapeno4|UncleJalapeno4]] 09:11, 19 May 2007 (EDT)
::Noam's support for Hezbolla is not just an accusation, it's a fact.[[User:Jaques|Jaques]] 00:33, 20 May 2007 (EDT)

Cite it --[[User:DemocraticSocialist|DemocraticSocialist]] 10:52, 20 May 2007 (EDT)

Ok, i checked out the source, but it is pretty suspect. It has a strong right wing bias. How can we even be sure Chomsky said that. I've heard Chomsky denounce dictatorships of all political ideologies, and the only thing I've heard him say about the Khmer Rouge is why are they getting all the media attention while the Indonesian genocide is ignored. How is saying that supporting the Khmer Rouge. --[[User:DemocraticSocialist|DemocraticSocialist]] 11:01, 20 May 2007 (EDT)

Well looks like you were right, Noam did meet with Hezbollah commanders, I'm dissappointed that Noam would speak with terrorists but just because he speaks with them doesn't mean he supports their brutal methods. Besides George Bush meets with Colombian president Uribe and the Saudi Arabian government and they are both terror states. --[[User:DemocraticSocialist|DemocraticSocialist]] 11:54, 20 May 2007 (EDT)
::Quite true. I don't understand why my (very measured) edits were deleted. It is a demonstrable fact that he does not support Hamas, nor did he support the Soviet Union, which he (again, in fact) described repeatedly as "a dungeon." He also, smaller point, identifies himself as a libertarian socialist, not an anarcho-syndicalist; perhaps that last bit is semantics, but still. --[[User:Keep_the_faith|Keep the faith]] 6:15, 22 May 2007 (EDT)
::::The terms `libertarian socialist' and `anarcho-syndicalist' are pretty much interchangable [[User:Michaelmuffin|Michaelmuffin]] 22:16, 29 September 2008 (EDT)
::::::That's not necessarily true, actually. Anarcho-syndicalism is a type of libertarian socialism, but libertarian socialism is not necessarily anarcho-syndicalism. Anarcho-syndicalism itself is typically only a component of a wider ideology, usually anarcho-collectivism or anarcho-communism, as it focuses on workers' liberation, while the wider philosophies of anarcho-collectivism and anarcho-communism focus on society as a whole. (There's a distinction between those two as well.) I don't remember exactly what type of libertarian socialist Chomsky is, though he's almost certainly an anarcho-collectivist or anarcho-communist, probably the latter. --[[User:Agnapostate|Agnapostate]] 18:47, 11 October 2008 (EDT)

== the agenda against Chomsky here ==

I've made a few edits. The only not so suspect piece is the one viz. his 2006 visit with Nasrallah. He explains it thus, as he wrote to me: "I visited Lebanon to give talks at the American U[niversity] of Beirut. While in Lebanon, I tried to meet as wide a range of leading figures as I could, along with popular groups, in order to learn something about the country, as I do everywhere, in fact as any sane person does who wants to learn something about a country and is not merely interested in repeating some Party Line. I therefore was pleased to be invited to speak to Nasrallah, the head of Hizbollah, and ... to be invited to Walid Jumblatt's Mukhtara, where I spent considerably longer time with him than with Nasrallah, including a meal... Jumblatt ... is not only one of the leading political figures in Lebanon, but also the most outspoken supporter of the US war in Iraq and the most outspoken opponent of Hizbollah."

The rest, excluding the more-or-less comments about his linguistic theory (of which I am mostly ignorant), is just slander. There is also no mention of his past involvement with Hashomer Hatzair, but apparently that doesn't fit the agenda here. I'm no fan of the idolatrous, unthinking adoration a lot of people have for him. All that is required is a fair representation, which is not provided; I made the edits, in a small way, to steer the article toward that standard.{{unsigned|Keep the faith}}

William Ayers

2008-10-11T02:39:13Z

Agnapostate:

Norman Finkelstein

2008-10-11T01:40:57Z

Agnapostate:

[[Image:64385464 f72bf10cee m.jpg|right|thumb]]
'''Norman G. Finkelstein''' (born December 8, 1953) is the [[liberal]] author of ''The Holocaust Industry'', a book which takes some jewish institutions to task for seeking to profit from the [[Holocaust]]. While not denying that the Holocaust took place, Finkelstein's views have led some to accuse him of anti-semitism and Holocaust denial, although Finkelstein's parents are Holocaust survivors. He has also argued against many of [[Israel]]'s policies.

He was an assistant professor of political science at [[DePaul University]] until they denied him tenure in 2007, due to "unprofessional personal attacks [which] divert the conversation away from consideration of ideas, and polarize and simplify conversations that deserve layered and subtle consideration." <ref>[http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/06/10/america/NA-GEN-US-Professor-Tenure.php U.S. university denies tenure to professor who questioned Holocaust compensation]</ref>

He was placed on (paid) academic year for the final year of his university contract.

==References==
<references/>

==See Also==
:[http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/ Norman G. Finkelstein's personal site]
:[http://condor.depaul.edu/~psc/vitae/Finkel_CV_07Feb.pdf his C.V.]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finkelstein, Norman}}

[[Category:Political Scientists]]
[[Category:Liberal Activists]]

Noam Chomsky

2008-10-11T01:37:46Z

Agnapostate: His first and middle names were improperly reversed.

[[Image:Chomsky3.gif|right|thumb|130px]]
'''Avram Noam Chomsky''' (born December 7, 1928) is a Jewish linguist who is best known for his writings on politics. He is an institute professor & professor of linguistics (Emeritus) at the [[MIT|Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (MIT) <ref>http://web.mit.edu/linguistics/people/faculty/chomsky/index.html</ref>.
He has always been very critical of [[America]]n and [[Israel]]i foreign policy and sympathizes with [[Palestine|Palestinians]] and has shown support for the terrorist organization [[Hezbollah]]<ref>http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=7&x_issue=11&x_article=1151</ref>. He has also been criticized for [[anti-Semitism]].

His opponents accuse him of expressing admiration for governmental systems such as the Soviet Union, Chinese and Cambodian governments which are characterized by central control, xenophobia, and rejection of free expression. Chomsky counters that he is merely pointing out the West's own crimes and not condoning authoritarian governments that the West opposes. Chomsky identifies himself as a libertarian socialist who is opposed to both neoliberalism and authoritarianism. <ref>http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=19446</ref>

== Background ==
Chomsky was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of William Chomsky, a [[Russian]] immigrant, and Elsie Simonofsky Chomsky. His parents both practiced Judaism. His father taught [[Hebrew]], and published a scholarly edition of a medieval Hebrew grammar.<ref>http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/information/biography/abcde/chomsky_noam.html</ref>. He received his education at the [[University of Pennsylvania]] where he studied linguistics, mathematics, and philosophy, and eventually earned his [[Ph. D.]] in 1955. Since then, he has taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He holds the Ferrari P. Ward Chair of Modern Language and Linguistics.

== Anti-Semitism ==
Chomsky has been criticized for [[anti-Semitism]].<ref>http://www.jbooks.com/interviews/index/IP_Dershowitz.htm</ref><ref>http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=15381</ref>. In addition to his support for Hezbollah, He has stated that Jews are "the most privileged and influential part of the population", and that "Anti-Semitism is no longer a problem. It's raised, but it's raised because privileged people want to make sure they have total control, not just 98% control"<ref>http://www.variant.randomstate.org/16texts/Chomsky.html</ref>. His statements show striking similarities with classic anti-Semitism.

Chomsky has also been a vocal supporter of controversial author Norman Finkelstein, author of ''The Holocaust Industry'', who has argued that claims of anti-Semitism are used to silence critics of Israel and that the Holocaust is exploited by some Jewish institutions for their own gain.<ref>[http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=311000&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__international_news University denies tenure to Holocaust academic], ''Mail & Guardian'', 12 June 2007.</ref>

It should be noted that both Finkelstein and Chomsky are from Jewish-American backgrounds <ref>[http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/article.php?pg=11&ar=150]</ref><ref>http://www.tikkun.org/rabbi_lerner/noamchomsky2005</ref>, and that both Chomsky's parents were devout and involved in Jewish scholarship. It is unclear whether Chomsky still practices Judaism.

==Chomsky's Criticisms of the West==
Chomsky is one of the most vocal critics of the [[United States]] foreign policy. Some of his criticisms are:
#The overthrow of democratic and secular leader [[Mohammed Mossadegh]] in Iran and replacement with the Shah, a brutal dictator in 1953 (Done by the US and the UK)
#The overthrow of social democrat Jacobo Arbenz in [[Guatemala]] in 1954
#The overthrow of democratic socialist Salvador Allende in Chile on 9/11 in 1973
#The Dirty War against the Sandinista government in [[Nicaragua]] in the 1980s
#The backing of a brutal military dictatorship in [[El Salvador]] during the same time period
#Selling weapons to a terror-state ([[Iran]]) to fund another terrorist group (The Contras). (See [[Iran-Contra Affair]])
#Selling weapons of mass destruction to [[Saddam Hussein]] during the Iran-Iraq war.
#Supporting the mujahideen which later became al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan in the 1980s
#Invading [[Iraq]] in 2003 despite lack of support from the [[UN]]
#Blatant Support of [[Israel]] which Chomsky believes is a terror state despite his [[Jew]]ish ethnicity
(Source: Hegemony or Survival)

Many of his critics claim that Chomsky's books are riddled with factual inaccuracies <ref>http://www.paulbogdanor.com/200chomskylies.pdf</ref>.

==Linguistic Works==

===Generative Grammar===
Noam Chomsky advocates the view that the human brain has innate ability to generate grammatical sentences, thus all utterances which is deemed sensical to the speaker is necessarily grammatical, and the only role the linguist should play is to decipher its grammatical structure. This view has been criticized by many linguists as [[nihilism|nihilistic]] in that it rejects the notion of ungrammatical sentences. Noam Chomsky also pointed to instances of infants utter grammatical sentence fragments they have not been taught before as evidence for Generative Grammar.

===Universal Grammar===
Noam Chomsky also proposed the theory that a kind of universal grammar, a grammar that underlies all human languages, is hard-wired in the human brain. Thus all human languages are fundamentally the same, with only superficial differences. This theory of universal grammar has been criticized by linguist Geoffrey Sampson as being not falsifiable, arguing that the grammatical generalizations made are simply observations about existing languages and not predictions about what is possible in a language. To this day, the search for such universal grammar has been fruitless.

For decades, Noam Chomsky and his followers have been trying to make sense of sentences such as:
<blockquote>
''Who will be easy for us to get his mother to talk to?''
</blockquote>
which are deemed to be ungrammatical by a lot of linguists; by using techniques such as linking theory, anti-c-command requirement, A-positions, Bijection Principle, weakest crossover configurations, bound variable anaphora, asymmetric linking, licensing conditions, index of a pronoun, null operator analysis, variable binding, configurational conditions, inappropriate and appropriate antecedents, etc.

== See Also ==
*[http://web.mit.edu/linguistics/people/faculty/chomsky/publications.html List of Chomsky's Publications]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk8pxyAWTBk Chomsky Speaks about American Politics] Chomsky believes the Democrats and Republicans are a single entity
*[http://www.memritv.org/search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=1136# Video of Noam Chomsky with Hezbollah Leaders in Lebanon]
*[http://www.paulbogdanor.com/chomskyhoax.html The Chomsky Hoax] by Paul Bogdanor
*[http://www.grsampson.net/AGwg.html Grammar Without Grammaticality] by Geoffrey Sampson
*[http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=23543 Chomsky's New Blood Libel] by Alan Dershowitz
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXMZZCvFtlw Chomsky on Middle East Television] Chomsky speaks about American Imperialism

==References==
<references/>
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chomsky, Noam}}
[[category:Scientists]]
[[Category:Linguists]]
[[Category:Political People]]
[[category:Authors]]
[[Category:Liberal Activists]]
[[Category:Writers]]
[[Category:Atheists]]

Talk:Hugo Chavez

2008-10-11T01:28:37Z

Agnapostate:

This page appears fine to me. Citations are needed throughout the article, but as far as everything else goes, I approve. [[User:ColinR|ColinR]] 05:18, 13 March 2007 (EDT)

== Thanks ==

I'll get to work on some citations, but thankyou for accepting it, It's good to see some objectivity on this site. =)
==This article is surprisingly neutral==
I'm impressed that this article is surprisingly neutral towards Chavez, I figured it would call him a totalitarian communist.--[[User:DemocraticSocialist|DemocraticSocialist]] 11:50, 20 May 2007 (EDT)
:He's more of a '''greedy''' communist robber baron. [[User:RobS|RobS]] 16:36, 20 May 2007 (EDT)
It must be liberal subversion hahahaha--[[User:DemocraticSocialist|DemocraticSocialist]] 11:51, 20 May 2007 (EDT)

:Sorry to burst the bubble. He has been referred to as a dictator [http://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Template:AboutC&oldid=139640 here]. Have patience this article will eventually follow suit. [[User:Auld Nick|Auld Nick]] 11:59, 20 May 2007 (EDT)

I knew it was too good to be true. While Castro is a dictator, Chavez who was elected by almost two thirds of the population is clearly not --[[User:DemocraticSocialist|DemocraticSocialist]] 14:58, 20 May 2007 (EDT)
:We're waiting for Castro to die before her passes the baton. [[User:RobS|RobS]] 16:27, 20 May 2007 (EDT)
==Dictator!!!!????==
How can someone who is democratically elected be referred to as a dictator --[[User:ScandalousHegemony|ScandalousHegemony]] 23:57, 23 May 2007 (EDT)
:How about that Hitler guy in 1933? [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 21:16, 30 May 2007 (EDT)
::...Who was not democratically elected. --[[User:Hojimachong|'''Ĥøĵĭmåçħôńğ''']][[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]] 21:17, 30 May 2007 (EDT)
::: Maybe the question should be, "how can someone who continues to hold democratic elections at the frequency prescribed in the nations constitution (Like Mr. Chavez for example) be called a dictator?" The answer to that question is, he cannot. Because he isn't. Like it or not, Hugo Chavez is the democraticly elected leader of a democratic country and any suggestion that he is a dictator is little more than an insult to democracy. How can this website call Chavez a Dictator, but not someone like General [[Pinochet]] of Chile??? This 'encyclopedia' gets progressively more ridiculous by the day. Unless someone either 'locks this page for editing' or gives me some very good evidence to suggest that I am wrong about Mr. Chavez and his democratic government I will delete the word 'Dictator' from this entry.
:::::: Oh look, how suprising. It's already been locked. That's it. I've had enough of Conservapedia. You have to look less hard to find the truth in UNcyclopedia than Conservapedia. At least they admit they are a comedy parody of the truth. And at least they dont get all angry because I choose to spell suprising with an 's' instead of a 'z'.

It doesn't matter how he got into power, especially if he significantly increases his power while in office. [[User:DanH|DanH]] 21:19, 30 May 2007 (EDT)
:Chavez does not have a record of increasing his power, merely changing the economy to having a socialist slant. --[[User:Hojimachong|'''Ĥøĵĭmåçħôńğ''']][[User_Talk:Hojimachong|talk]] 21:21, 30 May 2007 (EDT)
::*actually, he does [http://www.mywire.com/pubs/ForeignPolicy/2006/01/01/1111144/print]. Chavez is an autocrat.[[User:Bohdan|Богдан]] [[User talk:Bohdan|Talk]] 21:28, 30 May 2007 (EDT)
I used to have neighbors from Venezuela whose relatives were on Chavez's hit list. [[User:DanH|DanH]] 21:28, 30 May 2007 (EDT)
:Not surprising. Mr. Homimachong seems to be a fan of Kim Jong il and Hitler and Saddam Husseien, and he can't NOT be a fan of someone like Chavez. If you liked Hitler, you'll like Chavez! '''Scorpion'''[[User_Talk:Scorpion|Vote for Pedro]] 14:18, 29 November 2007 (EST)

== chavez IS NOT a dictator ==

you conservatives all suck. how can someone who was democratically elected be considered
a dictator? you are all a bunch of imperialist fascists!

:Typical non-spelling, America-hating fascist liberal, accusing others of fascism! Go to Venezuela. '''Scorpion'''[[User_Talk:Scorpion|Vote for Pedro]] 14:14, 29 November 2007 (EST)
:And Hitler was also voted in democratically. Are you going to say that he was Germany's "president"? '''Scorpion'''[[User_Talk:Scorpion|Vote for Pedro]] 14:15, 29 November 2007 (EST)

== Irony ==

Guys, you lost me at "Repressive Dictator". Can you really not see the irony in this skewed, worthless article namecalling democratically elected foreign (to you) leaders?. Someone please kill this article as it is embarassed by it's own existence.

Can anyone actually explain the point of this article; a blinkered, one sided repressive waste of time projecting its own ignorance onto others. Really there is no point to it. {{unsigned|Mrivpond}}

== What a disgrace. ==

How can anyone seriously type that he is a repressive dictator? He was democratically election every single time, his new bid to remove term limits is being done by REFERENDUM.. are you guys on something, how is he a dictator in '''ANY WAY'''?

And don't get me started on this RCTV stuff, he closed it down because it actively called for a violent revolution against him, and then when that actually occured and an ACTUAL DICTATORSHIP was put in place, it just ran anti-Chavez ads the entire time, then when the dictatorship was crumbling as the people fought back to put Chavez back in, instead of running actual news saying this, it showed dramas like the Bold and the Beautiful. And so when it came around the renewing the liscence for it, he refused. '''ANY COUNTRY WOULD DO THIS''', If there was a television channel in the United States actively calling for a violent revolution against the US government and falsifying news, what do you think the US government would do? The exact same. PLUS, RCTV can still be viewed on cable television.

It also is in ''no way'' the only anti-Chavez media source in the country, most media in the country are hostile to Chavez. [[User:Pallawish]]

:So sorry to hear that, Mr. Chavez. I bet you'd rather be like your pal over in North Korea, who has a media that praises and worships him! '''Scorpion'''[[User_Talk:Scorpion|Vote for Pedro]] 14:12, 29 November 2007 (EST)

==NOT A DICTATOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!==
CHAVEZ WAS ELECTED WITH TWO THIRDS OF THE VOTE, HOW CAN YOU CALL HIM A DICTATOR. YOUR PRESIDENT WAS ELECTED WITH LESS THAT HALF THE VOTE. --[[User:ChavezFan|ChavezFan]] 16:24, 29 October 2007 (EDT)
:Two thirds? Wow, Hitler beat him with 92% & Saddam got 99%. Looks like Chavez still has his work cut out for him. [[User:RobSmith|Rob Smith]] 13:18, 30 October 2007 (EDT)

::Perhaps ChavezFan would like to go down to Venezuela right now and begin his own newspaper with the expressed purpose of being critical of the government in general, and Chavez in particular. Let's see how long it lasts. [[User:Karajou|Karajou]] 13:33, 30 October 2007 (EDT)

:What is this Chavestite doing in America????? '''Scorpion'''[[User_Talk:Scorpion|Vote for Pedro]] 14:08, 29 November 2007 (EST)

== Pro-Chavez ==

I don't care how Chavez was sworn in, he can certainly become a dictator in office! I, frankly, am appalled at all those on here who love this man. If you love this man you must be a chavestite yourself or went to a ultra-pro-Chavez Venezuelan school. If so, you have a lot of surprises waiting for you! This article isn't even listing the things he said about Bush, like calling him "the devil". If he thinks Bush is the devil, why isn't he following him?? '''Scorpion'''[[User_Talk:Scorpion|Vote for Pedro]] 14:22, 29 November 2007 (EST)

== Dictator ==

I want to agree with the views expressed above. I am by no means a fan of Chavez; he is a manipulative, power-hungry, buffoonish demagogue who may yet drive his country into the ground and is stripping away his citizens' freedom. But he is absolutely ''not'' a dictator. A dictator has total or near-total control of the government; Chavez, whatever he may wish, is still heavily hamstrung by the apparatus of Venezuela's democracy. He has had to refer many of his measures to the voters, and was recently handed a defeat which he could do nothing about. You can call him a dictator-wannabe or repressive, but it ill-serves the credibility of Conservapedia to say he is something he is not. [[User:Tor|Tor]] 16:53, 2 March 2008 (EST)
:Thank You Tor to are completely correct on this one. You know I am beginning to have my doubts about whether this website is being edited in good faith. Chavez is not perfect, and has done a lot of things to harm his country's economy and its people but a dictater? Well that's nonsense and for our encyclopedia to say so because we dislike his economic and social positions, well that's nonsense on stilts.--[[User:DamianJohn|DamianJohn]] 08:59, 8 July 2008 (EDT)

Anyone here heard the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra? No? I thought not. [[User:AlanE|AlanE]] 22:54, 12 August 2008 (EDT)

=="Silencing" the Media==
''"In May 2007, Chavez silenced the only remaining opposition television station critical of his repression by revoking its licence."''
This claim has more problems than the "non-American spelling," which has caused Conservapedia to be critical of Wikipedia in the past. It is outright disingenuous to claim that Chavez "silenced" RCTV because they were "critical of his repression." RCTV's license was simply not renewed; it was not "revoked." And the reason that it was not renewed is because five years prior, RCTV had openly endorsed the overthrow of the democratically elected President Chavez. If a news outlet in the U.S. had openly called for the overthrow of Bush, and Bush was temporarily removed from power, it's likely that the persons responsible would be imprisoned and charged with treason, not have their license not renewed five years after the fact. --[[User:Agnapostate|Agnapostate]] 21:28, 10 October 2008 (EDT)