Cuban missile crisis II?

30 comments from readers

LibertyLover
12 September 2008 at 11:58

Memo from Medellin: Uribes government has cut violence 80%, statistically you are safer being a trade union member than you are being a member of the general public. The justice system is working as evidenced by ruling party members being subject to investigation and arrest. Surely a good sign. Uribes was democratically elected and is very popular. He is fighting a socialist terrorist group as well as drug gangs. He deserves the support of all freedom lovers.

antileft
12 September 2008 at 11:58

Oh Hugh! Quit exaggerating! Cuban missile crisis- honestly!!! Sure, hugh, the world might end. Right, nice one.

"The Brazilians for their part are worrying about US warships nosing around the vast, newly discovered offshore oilfields which hold an important key to Brazil’s prosperity and probably entry into OPEC."

Why would US warships "nose around" brazilian oilfields?! Are you trying to imply that theyre somehow going to take them over?! And why would Brazil care if they "nose around"? Brazil and America have good relations. Do you not know this?? No one would for a second suggest that America would interfer with Brazilian sovereignty! It's a ridiculous idea! And quit trying to link the moderate left with the nutty Chavez/Castro hard left- theyre a differerent species altogether.

"Washington’s only big ally is President Álvaro Uribe in Colombia and the shine is coming off him."

Oh hugh- in every article you say hes "in trouble" or "doing badly" and yet he's the most popular politician in Latin America and has been for years. Crime is down, murders are down, kidnapping is down, the economy is up. Youd have to be a radical or an idiot to not see that Uribe has been good for his country. Which are you?

"Colombia, which is Washington’s ally in the so-called “War on Drugs” - the campaign which targets cocaine and heroin but ignores the really important and dangerous drugs like alcohol and tobacco..."

Oh right, so the biggest exporter of cocaine should... Concentrate on alcohol and tobacco?? Are you serious, hugh? Hugh, mr "I like the venezuela where beer is not taxed and so costs 10 cents"? Why on earth would a country with such massive problems with cocaine and heroine (not to mention a guerilla war financed by them) waste time on alcohol and cigarrettes?! Oh Hugh, what a thing to say! It's a joke, right? Tell me it's a joke!

"...to the Uribe regime which rules a country where the rights – and lives – of trade unionists are worth very little."

Again, as I say after every one of your tacky articles which fails to note this: the murder rate has HALVED under uribe, and trade unionists HAVE A LOWER MURDER RATE THAN THE REST OF THE POPULATION". So what's the problem? Lousy journalism- I hope they don't pay you for it.

antileft
12 September 2008 at 12:01

Look at this- as I posted, the guy above me said EXACTLY what I said- and yet Hugh "I went to machu pichu during my gap year so I think I'm a bit of a revolutionary" doesnt seem to know about it. Read it, hugh. It's a fact. Make a note:

LibertyLover said "Uribes government has cut violence 80%, statistically you are safer being a trade union member than you are being a member of the general public."

Yes, Hugh, we all know more than you do.

Ian Crause
12 September 2008 at 12:06

I've said it here before, Mr.O'S. but I'll say it again because it needs to be heard, and as a private citizen I have few other outlets: I lived in Santa Cruz and have a small daughter there.I know the place and the people.When I lived there I saw not only a systematic and sophisticated media campaign which seemed to have the sole intention of destroying Morales' Bolivia (as it was now inevitably to become due to the demographical impact of increased literacy and with it increased suffrage) but also a constant low level violence and intimidation meted out to anyone who showed anything other than hostility to the cambistas.They have the Redneck worldview that anyone who questions anything whatsoever is a godless, treacherous subversive.

Everything from beatings to firebombings took place and were only reported by the one or two pro government channels in the city.Of these, I'm told the only one of any size, the state owned TV Boliviana, has been burned out in the last few days.If this is true, this will now give the CIA/Camba separatist message almost full bandwidth as it were within the city.

US Ambassador Goldberg flew into Bolivia on the spur of the moment, as I recall, in early Summer 2006 to replace the previous hapless incumbent.

He flew in the very same week that General Antezana of the Bolivian military publicly called for Morales to step down - a clear attempt at what I'd guess may be called caudillismo.It failed, but was a clear attempt to start a rising of the generals, á la Chile or Spain.That was the same week Chavez went on Bolivian TV to say effectively what he said this week, that any attempt to topple the Morales govt would be met by Venezuelan invasion and promptly reversed.Good on him.I'd previously regarded Chavez with suspicion, but let me tell you when fascists - check out the 'Unión Juveníl Crucenista' - are plotting to overthrow the elected government in which you reside, you stop regarding the man who stops them with reservations and start regarding him as a hero.

The camba, of course, are obssessed by the idea that a Venezuelan socialist would stop their elected government fromn being toppled by force, but not by the proven and repeated meddling of Johnny Yankee and his rich and violent corporate friends and their mercenaries in their affairs.How is the life!

The fact this didn't make the UK media then and still, even now, doesn't make the pages of even today's Guardian disgusts me.The situation is on a knife edge out there. I get the feeling the UK media tacitly still regards Latinamerica as Johnny Yankee's Back Yard.

I know in the US publications like the LA Times that have recently printed outright lies about Morales' government - bear in mind about a month ago he was given 68% of the electorate in a free and fair vote - don't allow you to post replies.The ones that do seldom get published.

All together now,'Oh say can you see.........'

Ian Crause
12 September 2008 at 12:16

The problem with some of you guys posting above is that you don't accept that there is no difference in LatinAmerica between the liberal centre left and people pushed firther to the left by necessity.

It's nice to luxuriate in tiny distinctions from the relative comfort of wherever you are (ie not Santa Cruz, Quillacollo or El Alto) but if, as a centrist and reformist you fly a MAS flag round election time, in Santa Cruz there's a good chance that if you don't live in one of the hard MAS barrios like Plan 3000, you'll get a rock or molotov over the wall, or just be known locally as a traitor.

The people Morales and Chavez are fighting for are some of the most taken advantage of on earth.

Go on.

Have some fucking humanity for once.

And whilst Lula has not thrown the US out of Brazil, if we're talking about personal relations between leaders, I have seen footage of him hugging both Morales and Chavez.Perhaps there's some of the same with Bush?I've not seen it.So the idea he holds them in low regard is rubbish.In addition, Brazil, along with Argentina were almost instantaneous in publicly stating their refusal to deal with the borderline fascist camba government.Lula also calls them both brothers.He was a union leader like Morales.

Bye.

antileft
12 September 2008 at 12:47

"The people Morales and Chavez are fighting for are some of the most taken advantage of on earth." Oh you think 1960s socialism is for the poor, do you Ian? You think that systematically destroying private enterprise is a way to help the poor?? Well, perhaps you should do a little research eh? In communist countries, it's ALWAYS the same. The state throws money at the poor, while inefficiently taking over private enterprise. Everyone rejoices. They slowly take over the media, the institutions of state, and any rival power, such as business. Everyone rejoices. Inflation kicks in as less and less is produced and more and more is spent. A dictatorship has to be formed to keep control of the hungry masses, and to keep the fatman in charge happy. The country is split into the "haves": a tiny group of people with connections, and the "have nots": the masses. Look at Cuba. You think Castro can't afford nice clothes?? You think he has to save for months to scrape together enough pennies to spend a night in a crappy hotel? Here's a work in progress:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6186990.stm

Yes, Ian, the middle class dont exist in communist countries. All there is is the state (inefficient at anything which doesnt involve handing cash to cadres) and the masses.

"And whilst Lula has not thrown the US out of Brazil, if we're talking about personal relations between leaders, I have seen footage of him hugging both Morales and Chavez.Perhaps there's some of the same with Bush?I've not seen it."

Oh come on! Type "lula bush hug" into google! Dear oh dear such ignorance. Here!

http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0d6Dg9H5JYgeH/340x.jpg

Is that a clear enough image for you? Get your facts right! Lula is friendly with BOTH Chavez AND Bush. Brazil is an independent country and it understands that a verbal fight with another country DOESNT HELP, unlike Chavez. Lula is PRO BUSINESS and welcomes foreign investment. He's a moderate, slightly populist leftie, and hes what the continent needs in order to reduce inequality, and indeed, to keep the radical hard left at bay. Totally different from the radicals in venezuela. Dont confuse them.

michaelpetek
12 September 2008 at 13:26

President Lula of Brazil? Didn't Gene Vincent have a hit with a song about his dad: B. Bopa Lula?

Pierre
12 September 2008 at 15:03

There was very little internal violence when the Nazis were in charge of Germany, The sooner the bush people and their fascist advisor's are out of power in the us the better the world will be.

anti banco blanco banditos
12 September 2008 at 18:07

wow, antileft is a man that really knows his cookies.

he has a detailed enough understanding of columbia, and how power in that country works to flippantly disregard uribes abuses because peple are getting arrested. thanks to him i see it now. the systems working not inspite of the government but becuase of it. maybe criminals are being arrested inspite of leftist human rights groups meddling, who knows.

he also understands that a union leader of coca farmers is just a 1960's socialist (im guesing hes talking about some eastern bloc government here) out to kill business in the hope of one day becoming el gordo of a corrupted country suffereing from inflation. a grand master plan indeed. your fellow american conspiracy theorists hiding out in a log cabin somewhere waiting for the federal government to fall would be proud of your ramblings.

hes also very insightful, so insightful in fact that he can read between lines that were never there in the first place. i mean i read this article, and i wasnt aware of the author sugesting that colombia should eradicate alcohol and tobacco. as a simpleton i only understood it to mean AMERICA's policy of warring with narcotics is ill at ease with its libertarian attitude towards nany state meddling with smoking bans and such. but im a simpleton, most people probably thought it was just pointing out that alcohol and cigarettes kill more americans.

i for one am thankfull of the man offering us pleps his wisdom, and all on his lunch break no less. thank you, thank you antileft for trying to rid me of my ignorance and replacing it with yours.

outsider
12 September 2008 at 23:11

As Hugh says, a ratcheting-up of tension is underway. The 4th Fleet rebirth, the Right-Wing thugs stirring up serious trouble in Venezuela and Bolivia, and attempts to split off the rich areas of Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador; the recent foiled coup, which caused Hugo to send the US Ambassador packing

( http://www.911forum.org.uk/board/viewtopic.php?p=125269#1252... ) (I've put the 9/11 Forum link to save messing around copying different links, and also to indicate the links of New World Order machinations in South America with 9/11, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and the 'War on Terror).

There will be a Demo outside the US Embassy next week, Tuesday or more likely Wednesday.

Douglas Chalmers
13 September 2008 at 04:00

"...if the US suspends naval operations around Latin America which it can’t afford; if Russia brings home the Peter the Great and if President Uribe cracks down on his paramilitary terrorists there will be relief all round..."

In the next day or two, hurricane Ike will or will not make a mess of the USA's major oil supply and refining and storage facilities and disrupt the population which works them and services them.

If it does happen, it will affect up to a quarter of the US oil supply. That would leave them in an intolerable situation as regards energy security. What happens next will be global, sudden and protracted.

Regardless, even if there is little damage, Ike is an indicator that the consequences of climate change are threatening US hegemony as never before. Foolishly, they will contend for scarce resources instead of sharing.

anti banco blanco banditos
13 September 2008 at 13:29

ahh the anti leftie [is that a bit like being the anti christ?] thinks i have to defend my polital views [liberterian] against his oh so nonchalant rants. im sorry son i dont. in the context of this article about rising military tensions where there needs be none. it is you, sychophant to murderous right wing washington stooges [a long and illustrious list of despots from pinochet, gaultieri and now uribe] who needs to defend himself.

colombia has dramatically reduced its murder and kidnap rate has it? please explain to me how the uribe government has reduced kidnappings???? its the sort of crime that exists at the whims of the perp in the anarchy the drug war has created. human rights groups [people im sure your daily mail reading counterparts despise as sneeaky lawyers] are still persecuted by the paramilitary forces. the ones that expect uribe to keep the US weapons coming.

whats YOUR problem with bolivian independence from yankee corporations? i for one have no problem with disenfranchised peasants finally benefiting from THEIR natural wealth. of course only commies would think that way. this is above all a nationalist independence movement and all the right wing offers is more corrupt bannana plantation el gordos like the one correa beat, or pinochet sychophants in chile that are only marginally less digusting than those bosnian serbs john major did his best to protect.

theres a reason these DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED in power now, have been elected on anti imf/world bank/odeous dept tickets, and you're still drooling over fdi stats. its these democrats in bolivia, in brazil and venezuella [where everyone finally votes now] that washington wants to 'keep in line'. they failed with their 2002 coup and their using every dirty CIA trick in the book.

btw i was comparing you to right wing yanqui conspirisicts [watch fox 'news' for a while you'll see what i mean] not saying you were one. along with the banco blanco banditos that are loosing power they're the only ones i know that share your 'views'

Douglas Chalmers
14 September 2008 at 11:31

"Fourth Fleet .....sailing round the Western Hemisphere..... to “promote coalition building and deter aggression” and “to promote peace, stability, and prosperity”..."

Just looking at this piece from the Japanese author of the Art of Peace, isn't it amazing that he was fully aware of "putting all options on the table" back in the 1930's which he then termed "an unlimited set of responses...", uhh? He and Sarah Palin would get along extremely well, ha ha.....

"The totally awakened warrior can freely utilize all elements contained in heaven and earth. The true warrior learns how to correctly perceive the activity of the universe and how to transform martial techniques into vehicles of purity, goodness, and beauty. A warrior's mind and body must be permeated with enlightened wisdom and deep calm. Always practice the Art of Peace in a vibrant and joyful manner.....

It is necessary to develop a strategy that utilizes all the physical conditions and elements that are directly at hand. The best strategy relies upon an unlimited set of responses..." http://www.aikidonj.com/pages/ueshiba.html

But meanwhile, the Fourth Fleet has other objectives to pre-occupy it as well elsewhere in "the Western Hemisphere":-

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP): "Russia said Friday it was renovating a Syrian port for use by the Russian fleet, signaling an effort to establish a firmer foothold in the Mediterranean at a time of tensions with the United States over Georgia. Syria was Moscow's strongest Mideast ally during the Cold War..." http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-syria-...

And also:-

"Russia's Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier heads for Mediterranean As the West awaits Moscow’s threatened reprisal for the treaty installing American missile interceptors at Redzikowo, on Poland’s Baltic coast – signed in Warsaw Wednesday - the Kremlin is striking back in the Middle East – hence Russian president Dimitry Medvedev’s honeyed words of reassurance to Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert in a call he made to Jerusalem Wednesday, Aug. 20.....

DEBKAfile’s military sources disclose that a powerful Russian naval contingent, led by the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov , left Murmansk on the Barents Sea Aug. 18 to dock at the Syrian Mediterranean port of Tartus Saturday, Aug. 23. It includes the Russian Navy’s biggest missile cruiser Moskva and at least four nuclear missile submarines..." http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2065592/posts?page=67

antileft
14 September 2008 at 17:36

Oooh dear anti banco blanco banditos, you really aint too bright are ya? Perhaps you should do something less intellectually challenging?

"it is you, sychophant to murderous right wing washington stooges [a long and illustrious list of despots from pinochet, gaultieri and now uribe] who needs to defend himself."

Dont make assumptions about my political beliefs. I dislike the left- that doesnt make me pro-washington, or pro-pinoshit. Indeed, Im quite against both those things. Learn to think properly- quit thinking in black and white.

"colombia has dramatically reduced its murder and kidnap rate has it?"

This is hilarious!!! Oh how ignorant you are!!! Yes, anti banco blanco banditos, it has. You obviously have no idea at all do you?! You just dont know the first thing about the situation! Why do you even bother to debate colombia if you dont even know the basic facts?! Remember, youre debating with someone who worked and studied there. Im not basing all my knowledge on the above article- unlike you. If youre out of your depth, please dont embarrass yourself further- do something else! Seriously...

"please explain to me how the uribe government has reduced kidnappings???? its the sort of crime that exists at the whims of the perp in the anarchy the drug war has created."

Oh what a moronic statement! How exceptionally little you know about this subject! Seriously, it's quite obvious how little you know!!! Youre not fooling anyone! It seems that you arent even aware of how FARC pays for itself! (kidnapping/narcotics) Let me answer your moronic question (I feel like Im teaching a little boy here). He did it by reducing rebel numbers massively, by sending out troops and cracking down. ELN (do you even know what that is?!) almost dont exist anymore, FARC are probably less than half their size, and far weaker than before (they used to control half the country, which Im sure you also didnt know), and the paramilitaries have also been reduced quite considerably (although Im sure you assumed there are more now- not true at all). That's how you reduce kidnappings! Did you pay attention? Your homework- DO SOME RESEARCH.

"of course only commies would think that way."

Are you admitting youre a commie? Must be embarassing...

"or pinochet sychophants in chile that are only marginally less digusting than those bosnian serbs john major did his best to protect."

For every Pinoshit there's a castro and you know it. The difference is that the right rarely attempts to defend pinoshit, whereas you losers can rarely accept that castro is an illegitimate dictator who ruled for 50 years. And what's more- communism ALWAYS ends in dictatorship or capitalist revolution. Capitalism can survive a vote.

"...and you're still drooling over fdi stats."

You dont think FDI is important? Shows how little you understand economics. My word dont know much do you? Yes, anti banco blanco banditos, it's boring and technical. Sorry!

"its these democrats in bolivia, in brazil and venezuella [where everyone finally votes now] that washington wants to 'keep in line'."

Dont link Brazil and Venezuela- only a complete idiot would not know that one is pro-business and the other is against. That's rather important.

"along with the banco blanco banditos that are loosing power they're the only ones i know that share your 'views'"

LAST QUESTION and I want an answer to this. If very few people share my views- why is the world so very capitalist and why does communism barely exist anymore? Even in Europe- the only countries with left wing governments ruling on their own are Britain (hohoho very left), Spain (also not very left) and portugal. Can you name anymore? Maybe there is one or perhaps two Im forgetting... Oh alright then, lets look at other countries. Canada? Right. Japan? Right. Australia? As left as Britain. Russia? Moving from hard left to somewhere else. China? more right than anyone. India? System moving to the right.

You still think only very few people share my beliefs? Or will you accept that youre on the losing side, and that your last statement was as moronic as the rest?

Do something less intellectually challenging.

nawawimohamad
15 September 2008 at 10:47

Actually the US doesn't want a new liberal Cuba under Raul Castro. If Cuba becomes a democracy then there will be no more issue for the US to play with. Therefore to maintain the current status quo the US has to create some events with seemingly catastrophic outcome to intimidate Cuba and some Latin American nations. So much ado with just one Russian ship!

anti banco blanco banditos
15 September 2008 at 14:54

oh dear lord i get it now, judging by the conclusions youve drawn from the easily understandable things ive written, its quite obvious that youre just DELUSIONAL. this is pretty much evident to anyone who can read and doesnt have the cognitive problems you clearly do. i cant come up with any other explaination as to why you assume the things you do. i dont know how ive suggested the farc doesnt fund itself by kidnapping and drugs, or even why you think i equate your very narrow views simply as 'capitalist' and anything against your very narrow views as 'anti capitalist'. very strange.

oh and i cant imagine anything less intellectually challenging than studying in colombia [maybe studying in yale like dubya did perhaps]. you're clearly no economist [ive actually studied it at a proper school]. now when youve solved those cognitive problems i might consider replying. ta ta.

James
15 September 2008 at 15:34

anti banco blanco banditos: nice one!

anti-left: you are a broken record. I can't wait until Carl Jones arrives so you each put forward your famous arguements. You, that Chavez and Morales are statist communists out to enslave mankind and he, that our past, present and future is a "NWO Construct" out to enslave mankind.

James
15 September 2008 at 15:50

Anti-left: "LAST QUESTION and I want an answer to this. If very few people share my views- why is the world so very capitalist and why does communism barely exist anymore?"

Don't be so simplistic to presume that the world works they way it does becasue people actually wish it to be so. Capitalism, communism etc etc, these are just words with varying definitions. They are platonic ideals of how the world actually is that people can rally around without having to think for themselves. How the world actually is, that is how human society works, has little to do with how people feel about these platonic ideals. The world as it is, is made up of the day-to-day social processes that we are all part of, often contributing without reflection and in ways even the brighest academics struggle to describe. If the dominat social process is 'capitalism' (for brevity) it does not follow that the majority of people in the world are supportive of that process. We are part of the process becasue it increases our changes of survival (as opposed to attempting to opt out) and your normative views matter very little.

Douglas Chalmers
16 September 2008 at 02:47

# " If Cuba becomes a democracy then there will be no more issue for the US to play with..... the US has to create some events with seemingly catastrophic outcome to intimidate Cuba..."

Ha ha, interesting prospect of a 'false flag' incident, nawawimohamad, but that is just how things started in 1898 re the Spanish-American war.

From there, the USA 'acquired' a naval base in the Philippines and was thus able to harass China and Japan with its gunboat diplomacy (along with the British).

As a result, Japan defeated the Russian navy and attacked the USA and there was eventually a nuclear reprisal - Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This time, things have turned full circle but do we really want the modern nuclear equivalent outcome?

babygurlove
16 September 2008 at 05:02

You gotta laugh at the Russian Wolverine. A decade or so ago the Russians were bailed out by free American GM. grain and the much hyped talk of then, but forgotten now, mass exodus of starving ex-commies descending on Europe never materialised.

Free, easy wealth for the Russians and Arabs from oil is one of history's charades. These bullies lose their own, territorial integrity to the Chinese in the Amur, yet pick upon brave plucky little Georgians. The role of these people, both now and historically is to provide cannon fodder for the Chinese or other Hun like groups that would attack Europe. Until we can invent a new weapon we have no choice but to play the game for the time being .

antileft
16 September 2008 at 06:05

"i dont know how ive suggested the farc doesnt fund itself by kidnapping and drugs"

Here's what you said!

Kidnappings are... "the sort of crime that exists at the whims of the perp in the anarchy the drug war has created."

Sounds a little bit like you DIDNT EVEN KNOW that kidnappings are one of the main ways FARC finances themselves and that hence OBVIOUSLY Uribe cutting down on FARC would lower the kidnap rate. Not complicated, is it?! Such a shame you didnt read up a little before you decided to attempt to debate! You dont know the first thing, and its so obvious. Thats why you actually had to ask me if colombia had lowered kidnappings! Hahahaha! Nice one!!! Do some research!!!

"Don't be so simplistic to presume that the world works they way it does becasue people actually wish it to be so."

You think that people want communism, do you?! Well then, lets see. Capitalist countries are generally more democratic. And they generally stay capitalist. Communist countries are ALWAYS repressive and NEVER allow a free vote. And when the system collapses, capitalism comes and they allow a vote? They choose capitalism. Sounds to me like the will of the people is being more or less done. The world knows better. Shame you and the dumbass who doesnt know where colombia is have a lower than average intelligence, and cant see that COMMUNISM DOESNT WORK. (The rest of the world can)

James
16 September 2008 at 10:14

anti-left: "You think that people want communism, do you?!"

No. That's pretty much the opposite of what I said. Too one-track minded.

antileft
16 September 2008 at 11:04

Not at all. Pay attention. My point was you can see no one wants communism by the fact that the whole world is moving away from it. Then you gave some speel about how "just because we have this system it doesnt mean people want it!" Which has at least a tiny crumb of logic to it. But if you dont think people want communism, then your post was a little pointless, wasnt it?

dallack
16 September 2008 at 17:09

anti left, I cant work out whether it would be great to live in the complete ignorance and trust in your right wing national leaders or whether the hate filled vehemence you display would make it all too uncomfortable.

In your rant on how all the world has chosen capitalism over communism(i must have missed the referendum), you singularly failed to mention the left wing governments of morales and chavez as being democratically elected. I also think you'll find that most elections in south and latin america have voted for left wing governments. Why? countless years of oppression by the US and before them Spanish and British capitalists exploiting the indigenous population for their own gain.

You say you know more columbia because you studied and worked there. Hmm let me guess you are white, middle class and worked for big business, quelle suprise.

You use the fact that chavez is anti big business like its a bad thing, well of course its not, thankfully there are kleaders in latin america who are putting the rights and wellfare of their people before the united fruit company or exxon mobile. Or maybe you are a believer in the trickle down effect, well as a working class glaswegian who has lived under capitalism since it was invented I can tell you I'm still waiting on the profits from big business to trickle down to me.

anti banco blanco banditos
17 September 2008 at 14:11

anti left, i know i said i'll only reply when those cognitive problems are solved [might i suggest an evening class in literature], but im gonna have to break that promise. not out of frustration but for the benefit of science. allow me to explain via a short detour...

the algorithm [named after the brilliant mathematician from baghdad via somewhere near samarkand, 'al khwarizmi'] is hard for me to explain to a layman. basically its a way of calculating something by followaing a defined process. at each stage of that process decisions need to be made, simple decisions, which collectively equate to calculating something very complicated. its applications for programming are obvious. however its kind of a dark art to make those stages relate to each other. this is something normal people [ i have a doctorate in computer science so im not] might find interesting, to help illustrate its practical applications http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/robert_lang_folds_way_new...

anyway, how antileft fits in to the progression of the algorithm is this; imagine his thought process as an algorithm, mathematics doesnt warrant such slander i hear you say. on the contrary, mathematics is too set in its ways, too comfortable in its malaise, and all too ready to idly sit by and watch a PC with the more than enough power to run the space shuttle, a few ICBM's and an elaborate toaster struggle with anti-virus software & halo. heres the crack; you may not know it but antileft is in possession of vast computational power, epic even. you see, his mind can wander from reading this...

"...please explain to me how the uribe government has reduced kidnappings???? its the sort of crime that exists at the whims of the perp in the anarchy the drug war has created..."

... to concluding this...

"Sounds a little bit like you DIDNT EVEN KNOW that kidnappings are one of the main ways FARC finances themselves..."

antileft can do this without his brain crashing, i guarantee you that IBM's blue gene woud have [worlds most powerfull CPU circa 2006, i dont recognise the validity of the IBM roadrunner, its name isnt silly enough]. he does this so effortlessly that he doesnt even relaise he's a mathematical genius. this by the way is why im happy to turn the other cheek when he calls me uneducated [3 degrees from UMIST] or words to that effect. He doesn’t even understand why jumping from one statement to the other is so miraculous, and i doubt he ever will. he would have to be studied by the finest minds in the world so we can finally figure out quantum computing, there is no other way he is doing this other than being monumentally ignorant [which of course he isnt because he can read the economist].

i hope nobody explains to him that anyone whos ever picked up a newspaper [or a glossy mag with an article about meg ryan and russell crowe] knows how the farc finance themselves. im having alot of fun showing this exchange to friends and children of friends who find his comprehension skills so very cute.

but i will tell him this, 'research' and recieved wisdom from people more intelligent than you but with the same world view are not the same. so when otto riech's idea [im convinced the idea came from him not the state department, no proof tho] of the 'dangerous' left and the 'good' left trickles down to the aniteftie by way of analysts and other 'venerable' south america watchers and commentators, it has morphed into gospel. i bet he was the sortta idiot who believed reagan when he said the contras were freedom fighters or that grenada was dangerous. 25 yrs ago lula wouldve been overthrown [becuase of independence not leftyness]. today, they have to put up with his meddling at the WTO with other countries that dont want the washington concensus.

the devide and rule strategy is being appplied more effectively though against maracaibo and other oil rich areas of the 'evil left', where rich white people are starting to be convinced its either autonomy or exile in miami.

anti banco blanco banditos
18 September 2008 at 00:51

james, thanks for the moral support. i cant help but feel like a fool for even wasting time replying to him, he does have a touch of the conspiracy theorist about him [in a ronald reagan american medical association propaganda video way (see sicko) rather than a timothy Mcvae flavour]. does it always end in an enslaved humanity with those two?

anyway, does anyone know why the US would switch back to using the military as a persuasive instrument? thought it was over all that???? major u-turn in execution of their policy.

antileft
18 September 2008 at 08:08

"anti left, I cant work out whether it would be great to live in the complete ignorance and trust in your right wing national leaders or whether the hate filled vehemence you display would make it all too uncomfortable."

Oh come on what moronic nonsense! The only right wing leader Ive backed here is Uribe, for the reasons Ive mentioned (and no one has contradicted them). I also SPECIFICALLY said I dislike both bush and pinoshit. Which "leaderS" are you talking about?

"Why? countless years of oppression by the US and before them Spanish and British capitalists exploiting the indigenous population for their own gain."

Yes of course that's why! youre not saying anything new here. They voted for these commie boneheads because the ones that came before were also a bunch of hopeless corrupt morons. That's why the countries are still so hopelessly poor. How does that justify anything?!

"You say you know more columbia because you studied and worked there."

No I didnt- I said I know at least something about colombia AND I have studied and worked there. Dont misquote me.

"Hmm let me guess you are white, middle class and worked for big business, quelle suprise."

I am white. You have a problem with that? I am middle class. You have a problem with that? I worked for a regular colombian company and taught workers at cigarette factories, students, kids, manual labourers, a fair cross-section of the country. What's the problem? You think a bonehead like you knows more from reading NS?! I doubt it very much.

"You use the fact that chavez is anti big business like its a bad thing, well of course its not"

How are you ever going to reduce poverty without business?! Oh what an idiot. You think the state will do it?!

"Or maybe you are a believer in the trickle down effect"

TELL ME ONE FIRST WORLD COUNTRY WHICH DIDNT GET TO WHERE IT IS WITHOUT BIG BUSINESS. TELL ME ONE WHICH DIDNT MANAGE IT WITH THE TRICKLY DOWN EFFECT.

"well as a working class glaswegian who has lived under capitalism since it was invented I can tell you I'm still waiting on the profits from big business to trickle down to me."

Of course you are! Youre a skill-less moron with no uses whatsoever! Why would anyone employ you!?

antileft
18 September 2008 at 08:14

anti banco blanco banditos, Ill ask you 2 simple questions. Lets see if youre even bright enough for this:

"i hope nobody explains to him that anyone whos ever picked up a newspaper [or a glossy mag with an article about meg ryan and russell crowe] knows how the farc finance themselves."

Well then explain this to me.

Farc finance themselves with kidnapping.

Uribe cuts down on Farc.

Do you think, per chance, that therefor kidnappings would go down??

And if so, why do you ask me how Uribe could have cut the number of kidnappings?

anti banco blanco banditos
19 September 2008 at 23:15

you clearly have absolutely no idea of how any big organisation works. but ill humour your question [there was only one, the other rambling waffle was a corrollary without the logic]. if coca cola close half of their operations tomorrow does that mean they are only half as able to conduct their accounting? no it doesnt. i could go on [like i did yesterday, but the post didnt show up, dodgy maintenance] but i doubt you have developed the comprehension skills to warrant my time.

and as for your economic wisdom, ive met many like you in my uni days, complete with convictions long before analysing any data. at least they could defend themselves [not well], and werent complete witless morons. believing in myths like the trickle down effect and the hidden hand, bet your the kind of moron who thinks nafta was a good idea. but then again you seem to think uribe deseves credit for his sugar daddy dubya slipping dollar bills down his g-string.

antileft
28 September 2008 at 12:33

"if coca cola close half of their operations tomorrow does that mean they are only half as able to conduct their accounting?"

What on earth does coca cola's accounting have to do with it?! If the the government kills or captures half of coca cola's staff while fighting the rest in the jungle and making them so weak that one employee cannot even communicate with another employee, let alone travel, then coca cola wont be able to do much. Not very smart, are you? Your analogy is just moronic. Try to answer the question again- without pathetic analogies which dont work.