tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post3788260237040472948..comments2024-03-26T00:37:34.943+01:00Comments on Venezuela News And Views: Alas! Antanas Mockus will never be president of Venezuela!Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12128609182544333477noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-74478540670468477022010-04-18T08:57:00.208+02:002010-04-18T08:57:00.208+02:00Thanks for the video on Mockus. It would interesti...Thanks for the video on Mockus. It would interesting to read the international reaction to any real possibility of Mockus winning this race. I, too, have my doubts on whether he would win. But should he win, it would once again throw everything into focus, just as the first Uribe victory had.<br /><br />For so long, we've been used to the idea of Uribe being a lightning rod for critics, from accusations of him being connected to the paramilitaries to him being generally uninterested in the lives of common people. With Antanas, you don't have those to easily peg him with. First, as the video showed, he started his political career from the streets after leaving his rector job at the University. Second, his style is quite unorthodox and can't be easily confused with Uribe's style, which come from a traditional background.<br /><br />At the very least, he would represent a clean break from the depressing lineup of LatAm presidents.jj06LotSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-72289696781130467092010-04-18T06:31:59.029+02:002010-04-18T06:31:59.029+02:00Nice find from 1979 Boat People:
"Both count...Nice find from 1979 Boat People:<br /><br />"Both countries also agreed that Argentinian President Hugo Chavez and Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega will meet in Caracas on July 23"<br /><br />Say what?m_asterahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10808513711410506159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-65156867909251495132010-04-18T03:08:39.966+02:002010-04-18T03:08:39.966+02:00Regarding Mockus having the first name of Antanas,...Regarding Mockus having the first name of Antanas, I am reminded of a Maracucho fellow employee who had the nickname of Satanás, perhaps because he was overflowing with energy.Boludo Tejanonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-53345522320246135482010-04-17T18:32:48.680+02:002010-04-17T18:32:48.680+02:00kepler
no censorship, you messed up your entry. ...kepler<br /><br />no censorship, you messed up your entry. that is all.Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12128609182544333477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-21192447025235987392010-04-17T12:42:13.711+02:002010-04-17T12:42:13.711+02:00Daniel, was that a censure of my post? I commented...Daniel, was that a censure of my post? I commented on the lines of Juan Cristobal, but with examples. <br /><br />What you call "pure whites" are anyway a rather tiny group. How many elected presidents have we had in the last 40 years? Not very many. <br /><br />And before that, most heads of states were definitely on the white spectrum, it was not like we had many foreigners before the fifties.<br /><br />Race in Venezuela, in spite of racism, is comparetively a minor thing and it is definitely the black who would have more problems getting elected.<br /><br />More need to kiss babies if white? Give me a break.Keplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11125538872924743270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-51637228734270435952010-04-17T01:29:39.072+02:002010-04-17T01:29:39.072+02:00UCC
and your point as to this post is?UCC<br /><br />and your point as to this post is?Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12128609182544333477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-48445508517524781272010-04-17T01:27:28.818+02:002010-04-17T01:27:28.818+02:00juan
i think you are making too much of my observ...juan<br /><br />i think you are making too much of my observation. if it is true that skin color is not a major political liability in venezuela (at least until chavez) it is also true that white candidates for president have not fared as well as off white: uslar pietri, lorenzo fernandez, eduardo fernandez, oswaldo alvarez. as a kid i remember that COPEI was called the party of the white and the rich. this being said, it did not stop you from being elected, it sort of required you to kiss even more babies.Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12128609182544333477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-6956483192625602532010-04-16T22:31:23.303+02:002010-04-16T22:31:23.303+02:00I confess! When I saw his name yesterday (apparen...I confess! When I saw his name yesterday (apparently Bayly is endorsing him) I could not stop thinking of many ways in which to use his name as a joke. No fault of his - his parents should know better!<br />Anyway, we are the joke - by we I mean Latin Americans and no wonder we are called underdeveloped!Milonganoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-39439672919205472462010-04-16T20:51:06.343+02:002010-04-16T20:51:06.343+02:00OT:
"
VENEZUELA AND NICARAGUA SIGN AGREEMENT...OT:<br /><br />"<br />VENEZUELA AND NICARAGUA SIGN AGREEMENTS IN HEALTH FOOD AND TOURISM<br />"<br /><br />http://news.brunei.fm/2010/04/16/venezuela-and-nicaragua-sign-agreements-in-health-food-and-tourism/<br /><br />Pay attention to the word "Argentina" in the 1st and the 2nd paragraphs.1979 Boat Peoplenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-374514296564622422010-04-16T20:31:29.198+02:002010-04-16T20:31:29.198+02:00and you probably thought Obama would be a moderate...and you probably thought Obama would be a moderate too.<br /><br />lol.<br /><br />He's an extremist.GeronLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13145189615256636055noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-16761881397756458122010-04-16T19:18:09.623+02:002010-04-16T19:18:09.623+02:00I highly recommend the video that giftzahn link...I highly recommend the <a href="http://www.megavideo.com/?v=0MKNIESG" rel="nofollow">video</a> that giftzahn linked to about the transformation of Bogotá. Well worth the hour. Thanks, giftzahn.Boludo Tejanonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-65272727585898768792010-04-16T17:14:25.514+02:002010-04-16T17:14:25.514+02:00Too white? I dunno about that. Color of skin has n...Too white? I dunno about that. Color of skin has not really been an issue with Venezuelan voters. In fact, Chavez is the darkest President we've had in a while. Intellectual abilities / you may have something there. But the racial profiling issue was out of left field, in my humble (and very white) opinion.<br /><br />(Oh, and since we've met personally, you know these tags about skin color strike a nerve with me...)Juan Cristobalnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-70464355101994662102010-04-16T16:20:47.913+02:002010-04-16T16:20:47.913+02:00amieres
around june 1998 i still thought that cha...amieres<br /><br />around june 1998 i still thought that chavez could not win. i resigned myself to his victory about a month before the election. i simply could not believe that such a creep could be elected president of a country. i suppose i underestimate the self destruction wishes of the people......Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12128609182544333477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-34367758213478488642010-04-16T16:05:44.717+02:002010-04-16T16:05:44.717+02:00Daniel, you summarized the situation very well and...Daniel, you summarized the situation very well and very sad indeed. People think they get what they want when most times they get what they deserve.Charlynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-36258361738063018592010-04-16T14:40:25.339+02:002010-04-16T14:40:25.339+02:00Good comment Daniel:
"The right should have ...Good comment Daniel:<br /><br />"The right should have long ago tried to reclaim the Green label, something not that difficult when one realizes that the survival of our species makes common sense for all. The conservative moral right has lost great opportunities by not embracing fast enough social concerns"<br /><br /><br />For me the Mockas character inspires a bit of ambivalence.First of all, i am an admirer of the deeply soulful Lithuanian culture so this creates quite a natural bias for me.Shame.Shame.<br /><br />No doubt he is an interesting candidate though he is apparently another charismatic ,likely to smite some rather than to work humbly.<br /><br /><br />However when I read this:<br /><br />"Famous initiatives included hiring 20 mimes to make fun of traffic violators, because he believed Colombians were more afraid of being ridiculed than fined."I could not help but smile.<br /><br />Sounds like he is looking for solutions here where they really lie and not just the sterile useless status quo ones.<br /><br />Indeed interesting and it will be fun to follow his career.firepigettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17348890269608169297noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-43604290583346894062010-04-16T11:43:44.507+02:002010-04-16T11:43:44.507+02:00A fascinating essay, Daniel. I don’t know where el...A fascinating essay, Daniel. I don’t know where else I would get such a perspective. I loved my time in Bogotá, even with its rain, cloudy skies, and crime. In part this is because I am very partial to tropical mountain climates and the Andes. I was told to not walk the streets of Bogotá, but did so safely- fingers crossed. I saw enough to realize the validity of the warnings, but my intuition carried me through when it came to the con men- who are definitely there.<br /><br /><i>The right should have long ago tried to reclaim the Green label, something not that difficult when one realizes that the survival of our species makes common sense for all. The conservative moral right has lost great opportunities by not embracing fast enough social concerns such as abortion, gay rights, climate change, clean water, etc.... If the post Marx left has survived to this day it is because it sucked in such movements that were not necessary for theirs to grab.</i><br /><br />While what you write is largely applicable to conservatives, there are exceptions. For example, consider <a href="http://www.mmisi.org/ma/38_02/bliese.pdf" rel="nofollow">Russell Kirk</a> , one of the first contributers to National Review and author of The Conservative Mind. <br /><br /><i>In 1970, Kirk “applauded” college student activists who were protesting about pollution and destruction of forests. “Nothing,” he claimed, “is more conservative than conservation.”<br />Later that year, he wrote that “pollution, exhaustion of natural resources, the transformation of city and countryside for the worse, and various social afflictions are bound up with our swift technological advance.” He singled out atomic wastes as a particular problem, because no one knows how to dispose of them permanently. He warned that “the rising generation has the prospect of bad air to breathe, poisoned rivers and lakes, cities devastated by a ‘progress’ hastened through technology, and a society that may become little better than a sullen and violent producer-consumer equation.” He therefore approved heartily that many young people were then questioning “obsessive materialism and total infatuation with technology.”</i><br /><br />I was one of those environmental activists back in 1970. While I was a lefty, I did read National Review to keep track of the dark side, and back then was aware of what Russell Kirk had said. I suggest that you Goggle “crunchy cons.”Boludo Tejanonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-25594054311748219382010-04-16T11:13:24.223+02:002010-04-16T11:13:24.223+02:00This is a good documentary about Mockus and Peñalo...This is a good documentary about Mockus and Peñaloza, the two mayors of Bogota who made Bogota what it is today - Mockus did at a city level, what the Caracas Metro did with caraqueños - he educated citizens to be CITIZENS in sometimes unorthodox ways. Peñaloza rebuilt Bogota -- <br /><br />I found the documentary very good and made me a little envious - where are our Mockuses and Peñalozas?<br /><br />Anyways, the documentary (I don't know how long it will stay there in Megavideo):<br /><br />http://www.megavideo.com/?v=0MKNIESGgiftzahnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-74753326564401618972010-04-16T10:12:25.908+02:002010-04-16T10:12:25.908+02:00You didn't think Chávez could win?
I remember...You didn't think Chávez could win?<br /><br />I remember when he was pardoned in 94 I thought he could do like Hitler and reach the presidency now by charmin the people. Just a passing thought.<br /><br />And then again when Hugo Banzer was elected president in Bolivia I was shocked, how stupid can people be? he's no longer a dictator and yet they let him back into power? People should ban from politics wanna be dictators yet they let them into power with so much ease.<br /><br />Never was Bolivar more right than when he said "an ignorant people is the blind instrument of its own destruction"amieresnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-56011528538600088162010-04-16T08:26:39.391+02:002010-04-16T08:26:39.391+02:00I prefer Mockus' bio from the spanish wiki:
h...I prefer Mockus' bio from the spanish wiki:<br /><br />http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antanas_Mockus<br /><br />At least that one mentions his well-known custom of pulling his pants down and mooning people. (Supposedly, he's done that quite a few times, though Wikipedia only mentions one time. In fact, an uncle of mine told me that he saw him do just that in Caracas while Mockus was visiting before his first election as mayor of Bogotá.)<br /><br />I think part of his appeal is the fact that people know very well that, if elected president, he's going to do that to Chavez RIGHT ON HIS FACE if the caudillo gets uppity in a Unasur meeting.Al in Cucutanoreply@blogger.com