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Tank Posturing in South America (pg. 2)
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| George Smiley |
| quote: | Originally posted by hiram
what makes you say this? |
Because of what happens to trade unionists in Colombia |
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| George Smiley |
| quote: | Originally posted by tathi
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Excellent post! Shame we don't have more posts of this quality!
Is this all from personal experience/things you've read in the press etc, or do you have any reccommendations for any good books as the situation in Colombia is something I'd like to know more about
All I know is that back in the day, I would have had sympathy for the ideology/aims of FARC, but today I think most people agree they have abandoned their ideology and are merely a murderous criminal cocaine organisation, altho I would say the right-wing paramilitaries are far worse, but that might be because I'm on the left and have a strong sense of solidarity with the trade unionists over there |
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| tathi |
most of it i picked up in my couple of months travelling through the country, just talking to people and reading the newspapers, i did however listen to Noam Chomskys "An American Addiction: Drugs, Guerillas and Counter Insurgency in U.S. Intervention in Colombia" which is very eye opening
ive also heard The Fruit Palace is a very very good read
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fruit-Palac...l/dp/0099274043 |
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| pkcRAISTLIN |
| ing awesome post jake. definitely send that to some newspapers. pm me if it ends up anywhere :) and chomsky is awesome too. |
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| shaolin_Z |
| quote: | | Originally posted by tathi |
Interesting post "hake" :D. I assume you're back in Australlia now? I'm somewhat confused, as the last time we spoke you said you were at work. The time before that you said you were still in Argentina, and a few weeks before that you said you were leaving in a couple of days. So I'm thouroughly confused now :p. |
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| shaolin_Z |
| quote: | Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN
...chomsky is awesome too. |
It's interesting how most of the people who weren't particularly fond of him before 9-11 love him now, but still ignore just about everything he has to say. [EDIT:] BTW, Chomsky's been labeled and anti-semite in the past for supporting a "holocaust deniers" right to free speech, and for being one of the most prominent critics of the state of Israel. He's also been called a "conspiracy theorist" by people in the past, eventhough everything he's published is thoroughly documented with footnotes. Chosmky's also breifly mentioned (or more like referced) Bush and Kerry's "secret society" membership in an interview with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now, prior to the 2004 election. |
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| pkcRAISTLIN |
| quote: | Originally posted by shaolin_Z
It's interesting how most of the people who weren't particularly fond of him before 9-11 love him now, but still ignore just about everything he has to say. [EDIT:] BTW, Chomsky's been labeled and anti-semite in the past for supporting a "holocaust deniers" right to free speech, and for being one of the most prominent critics of the state of Israel. He's also been called a "conspiracy theorist" by people in the past, eventhough everything he's published is thoroughly documented with footnotes. Chosmky's also breifly mentioned (or more like referced) Bush and Kerry's "secret society" membership in an interview with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now, prior to the 2004 election. |
i never said i agreed with him ;)
but he is a member of fringe politics that is as intelligent as his prose is compelling, and can do so without lying or cheating or parading intellectual dishonesty like its some kind of virtue. he wrote some fantastic stuff on why australia should be a republic (despite his strong-state oppositions) which was a joy to read.
you'll find there's a lot of writers i once enjoyed reading despite my general disagreements with them. and no, i had already finished with chomsky before the attacks in 2001. |
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| Magnetonium |
| quote: | Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN
ing awesome post jake. definitely send that to some newspapers. pm me if it ends up anywhere :) and chomsky is awesome too. |
You like Chomsky? Since when? Heheh ;-) :D
EDIT: Never mind, I am reading your posts down the page ... still looking good though! :)
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I consider Colombia to be the Little Israel of South America, as my friend calls it, and the incursion into Ecuador only proves it further.
Uribe's support on the paramilitary forces that operate in colombian soil which have a singular account on more than 50,000 people dead, tortured and dissapeared transforms him in the biggest hypocrite of all when he calls upon the world to bring genocide charges against Chavez.
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| shaolin_Z |
| quote: | Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN
i never said i agreed with him ;)
but he is a member of fringe politics that is as intelligent as his prose is compelling, and can do so without lying or cheating or parading intellectual dishonesty like its some kind of virtue. he wrote some fantastic stuff on why australia should be a republic (despite his strong-state oppositions) which was a joy to read.
you'll find there's a lot of writers i once enjoyed reading despite my general disagreements with them. and no, i had already finished with chomsky before the attacks in 2001. |
Who's "lying or cheating or parading intellextual dishonesty" here exactly? Those are pretty bold assertions with in the absense of any compelling argument or evidence. Or perhaps you're just projecting your insecurities on others? |
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| pkcRAISTLIN |
| quote: | Originally posted by shaolin_Z
Who's "lying or cheating or parading intellextual dishonesty" here exactly? Those are pretty bold assertions with in the absense of any compelling argument or evidence. Or perhaps you're just projecting your insecurities on others? |
you really need to learn how to take a chill pill mate. i wasnt talking about anything/anyone specific :rolleyes: |
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| Q5echo |
| quote: | Originally posted by tathi
Chavez and Uribe hate eath other.
Chavez supports the ideaology of the Guerillas (even though it has long become bankrupt)
most of the Cocaine is smuggled out of the eastern border with venezuala which is very porous.
Chavez believes that Uribe is a puppet of the US and any act of agression on this border will be instigated by the US |
so is there more here?
or are we supposed to believe there is just some innocuous, coincedental circumstances going on here? |
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| tathi |
hey guys i need your help! i just spent the last couple of hours writing the following, i have contacts at a few newspapers here in australia so it would be good to get it published but ive run out of time and i will be really busy with work over the next couple of days..so any advice on editing it would be appreciated, i need to fix up the introduction and the conclusion, im going to have to print out a copy on the train and try and do it there...
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Now that tensions have eased and trade routes reopened each of the three leaders support amongst their people has been bolstered because of their ability to reassert their sovereignty and national identity on the international stage.
As little as two hundred years ago the nations that represent modern day Colombia, Venezuala, and Ecuador existed as one “Gran Colombia” which was formed by Simon Bolivar the legendary figure who united Latin America against Spanish Imperialism. Bolivars dream of a unified Latin America was short lived as Gran Colombia was sundered soon after his death due to internal conflict.
Today, Hugo Chavez who lead the “Bolivarian Revolution” and renamed his country once elected to the “Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela” sees himself as the uniting force against US imperialism and is convinced that the bombing of a FARC base inside Ecuador on march 1st is part of a plan by the United States to further divide the three countries.
While Ecuadors president Rafael Correa considers himself a personal friend of Hugo Chavez he has repeatedly insisted he is not apart of the Bolivarian movement. He stressed Ecuadors interest in remaining uninvolved in Colombias internal conflict but condemns the FARCs kidnappings, violations of human rights and bombings.
Colombias violation of Ecuadors territory took relations between the three countries to the brink of war. According to an unnamed Colombian military source, an international call made by Hugo Chavez to inform Raul Reyes of the release of three hostages held by the FARC for almost 7 years had been sucessfully completed was intercepted by authorities and used to track the rebel leader.
President Correa said that Colombia has “trampled international law” and that it should not remain unpunished. He felt that he had been “betrayed” by Uribe who “knew” that Ecuador was negotiating the release of 12 FARC hostages including the French-Colombian Ingrid Betancourt.
Correa called to sanction Colombia against the harmful precedent that “a country can bomb the territory of another country under the pretext of its fight against terrorism¨ a precedent which caused Hugo Chavez to mobilize 9,000 troops along its porous border with Colombia, the main exit point for Cocaine smuggled out of the country where FARC Guerillas enjoy a non-agression pact with the Venezualan military.
The president of Colombia, Alvaro Uribe, whose fathers’ assasination by the FARC Guerillas became a motivating force to focus on his political career, claimed that documents seized during the raid implicated both Venezuala and Ecuador in supporting FARC activities and threatened to bring Chavez to the International Criminal Court for crimes of funding terrorism and genocide. Both Correa and Chavez vehemently deny these claims calling Uribe a “liar”
Uribes tough stance on the FARC Guerillas has seen terrorist attacks drop almost 50% to their lowest level in almost 20 years during his term in office, he now enjoys unparalled support among middle and upper class Colombians who say the country has never been safer – for peasants living in the countryside nothings changed.
Colombia has the largest internal refugee crisis in the world. The Civil War has forced three million people from their homes into the slums surrounding the mega-cities like Bogota or further into the unforgiving jungle where the harsh, humid conditions and lack of roads or infrastructure mean it is impossible for the farmers to cultivate anything other than the resilient Coca Plant.
Of the billions of dollars of US Foreign Aid sent to Colombia, the vast majority is used to arm military and rogue paramilitary groups. A tiny percentage of this aid is used to assist farmers in the development of alternative crops to the Coca plant. However the people who need this aid most, those living in FARC controlled territories, will not receive it.
While the FARC originally began as an ideaological movement for social justice for Colombias poor with Bolivarian inspiration in the 1960s, it has long lost any moral highground it may have once had due to extortion, kidnapping, recruiting of underage boys and girls (according to the FARC any child over 11 years old is fit to fight) and its involvement in the lucrative Cocaine trade.
To combat the insurgency the Colombian army began to arm and train civilian self defense groups funded by large landowners and cattle ranchers. These groups became todays Paramilitaries which have become even more ruthless than the FARC guerillas in their quest for control of the countries Coca fields.
Colombias largest paramilitary force, the United Self-Defense Forces have earned the nickname “The Head Cutters” because their victims are normally tortured, multilated, and finally decapitated. The Paramilitaries attack those that are suspected of being guerilla “sympathisers” which include peasants, peace advocates, human rights workers, and leaders of labor unions.
While the Colombian army now tries to distance itself from the Paramilitaries there have been cases of collusion between the two armed groups. In 2007 Uribes government sponsored a controversial amnesty for paramilitary groups to lay down arms. It says that 30,000 have been demobolized
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ive written a little about Correa aswell to tie it into the theme i introduced in the begining, but im afraid its become too tangential and im going to have to cull it
President Rafael Correa will soon stand for reelection in Ecuadors volatile political landscape which has seen a civilian or military government take control democratically or by force on average every two years. All three democratically elected presidents between 1996 and 2006 failed to finish their terms.
Without the chance to mature each Government has been unable to address Ecuadors reappearing problems of a roller coaster economy and class warfare that have haunted the country since independence.
With each new president comes new promises, to eradicate inequality and rid the ruling class of corruption. Time and time again the promises turn out empty as the poor are misrepresented and marginalised by the new president who inaugurally attempts to appease the elite ruling class and their stranglehold over the judicial and legislative courts. |
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