A user named "dodg531" uploaded this 10-part documentary on America's war on democracy. If you're reading this, dodg531, kudos to you from myself.
Notice the onus of this film and how it's illustrated in this first part: comparing the sheltered bubble that we all live in to the grim situation which many in third-world countries endure daily, and view each passing second as a struggle for survival. The desperation is largely blamed at "American domination" through right-wing dictators like Pinochet who stratified the pyramid of economic inequality and widened its base for the interests of the upper quintile.
Despite this, Simon Bolivar, the known "El Libertador" of South America, is brought forth as a reminder that revolution can crush a foreign influence given the people unite. Chavez is brought up as a potential change and antagonist towards American foreign policy, which, through "aggressive media coverage", brought forth opposition towards the alternative that is Chavez. However, I personally am not a fan of Chavez, but better Chavez than a puppet.
This video sheds light into Chavez's beliefs and how his vision of democracy seeks to include every Venezuelan and promote "human values". What I find interesting is his emphasis on targeting poverty and how he finds the "American way of life" (i.e. capitalism) "stupid" with regards to tackling the issue of poverty. While both Capitalism and Socialism have their ills, I personally believe they can work best together (give and take).
This 2nd part of Pilger's documentary also sheds light into the new policy changes that Chavez is implementing, thereby discrediting opposition towards his rule and at the same time plans for his deposition from office (i.e. foreign policy intervention).
Another part I find interesting is the example of the middle class gentleman who, like the other privately owned media institutions which have been more or less wrongly accusing the government for censorship, oppose Chavez based on politically-based grounds, primarily, as Pilger states, on how they
The upper class
And why the hell should he? Sure, he may not be an angel, but he's working on the interests of his own people.
Politics being what they are, opposition still remains. And it should for a country to progress democratically (read Hegelian dialectic: thesis, antithesis, synthesis, etc.). The case in point happened on April 11, 2002, where anti-Chavez protestors gunned down Chavez supporters and, via the use of videos and media angles, as well as a lot of editing, blamed Chavez supporters for the strife. Regardless of what happened, none of this can be blamed on Chavez moreso than on the protestors on both sides. Chavez should have stopped this, though, as he had the authority. Interestingly enough, anti-Chavez police elements were actually gunning down Chavez supporters.
The interesting thing about this fold of events is that it turned out to be a coup. This was the coup that overthrew Chavez back in 2002, and how a businessman-turned-dictator took over and cruelly abolished democracy. I find it interesting that people supported this madness... That the elected president of Venezuela was overthrown by a coup and the media justified and twisted this incident made it all the more hypocritical, and only serves to fuel my hatred for foreign policy, especially that of the U.S. administration.
The media is a weapon that has been used for all the wrong reasons, and for now I'm grateful that people like John Pilger came out with such a painfully accurate documentary like this.
Of worthy notice is the pain and agony that callers to the radio broadcasters exclaim 1 minute into this part of the documentary:
But Chavez's supporters didn't let him down: they came out and exposed the lies of the corrupt government. This lead to the presidential guard's taking over the palace, and Chavez being reinstated into his office (the one Venezuelans chose him in particular to sit in) as well as a comical outcome: the plotters fleeing to their sheltered homes in Miami.
Documents surfaced that proved that the U.S. administration funded the coup indirectly via U.S.AID, a "charity" that I believe should be disbanded for its less than honorable actions. The money went into the pockets of the usurpers, who Bush eagerly defended by saying that this money was a step towards "freedom". I call bull.
Pilger then tells us of the obvious nature of the American empire that is built on greed, corruption, selfish interests, shadowy agendas, poor people, and stacks of dead bodies... all for the "glory" that is the "American way of life". Why?
The example of Guatemala in the beginning of the video highlights the brainwashing of the American media, which seeks to brainwash the average American's perception of the world. It is also highlighting the problems of Guatemala back in the days when Arbenz was ruling Guatemala. Like Chavez, he was elected. He had "modest reform policies". And like Chavez, the U.S. administration hated him and wanted him to go. In effect, the CIA supported a coup by using propaganda and terrorism to destroy the Arbenz regime and impose a brutal dictatorship that wasted the lives of thousands of Guatemalans. And the funny thing is that Washington was there all the way to support the corrupt regime. Hypocrites.
And then there was Castro. Cuba was known for its medical and economical advances... and for not bowing down to America's administration.
What's gold in this video is what the New York congressman (possibly Democrat), Jose Serrano, said, with pure cynical sarcasm:
What's also funny is the "Red Scare" that swept the American nation. This highlights the control the media and government have on the people of the United States. I don't know whether to laugh or cry, though: the prospect of a mislead populace doesn't sound too comforting should I be part of it.
Pilger then brings up the fascist overthrow of Allende in Chile, and how Allende supporters were tortured, raped, and killed by Pinochet's goons, as well as the inhumane treatment of these people. The medical student Pilger interviews graphically describes this occurrence. I will not spoil the "surprise" for you. Watch it yourself.
Many of those who were imprisoned in the stadium mentioned were never to be seen or heard from again...
A Chilean balladier described the horror of this torture in the beginning of this video, only to be put to death 2 days later. This would precede the description of the coup on Allende. Nixon wantonly ordered the removal of Allende, and got what he wanted. And in the midst, Washington denied the attack. Yet Pilger proves them wrong again, pointing out that these fascists and the elite were gaining the upper hand with the help of the "freedom-loving" U.S. government.
And they have supporters. Disgusting. Yes, I know I said it before, but I do need to repeat myself.
After receiving more graphic testimonies from torture victimes, Pilger confronts Duane Clarridge, head of CIA, Latin American branch. This bigot denied the sufferring of those who need not have sufferred. His argument? It's okay to overthrow a democratically-elected government.
And it's worth preserving national interests, continues this bloated buffoon.
Pilger describes the "School of the Americas", where interrogation and torture techniques were taught to the henchmen of these bastards who ruled South America via U.S. administration proxy relationships. And these techniques were outright fascist. What ensues is how this influential center promoted the brutal actions of these terrorist dictators who served the interests of those fascists.
Then there were the massacres in El Salvador: children... CHILDREN! Not the killers, but the VICTIMS. A mother described graphically how children were rounded up and shot.
Pilger then returns to Clarridge, who defends himself by saying that national interests are more important. And yet, it is these interests that lead the world to hate the American government.
Sister Dianna Ortiz describes her ordeal with the Guatemalan military. She, an outspoken critic of the treatment of the indigenous Mayan people of Guatemala, is imprisoned and tortured and... gang-raped.
The 8th part of the documentary on Youtube starts with Reagan spinning on totalitarianism, naming it "democracy". The spin starts with dictators who supposedly bring economic success to the nations they rule with iron fists. At the surface, things look good. Dig deeper, and you'll find stratification at its best. The bustling of the upper class veils the larger lower classes, who live in poverty, unemployment and harsh conditions. Life in Chile is good for those "well off". Those who aren't well off still suffer, and their plight is not in good hands. It's in the hands of the corrupt governments that rule Latin America.
Then there's Bolivia, which was ruled by elitists. It was an example of the corrupt right-wing governments that led Latin American countries in the past few decades. But there is change, as Pilger points out. And this change is already coming.
Bolivia's dictatorship is described in as stereotypical a manner as possible: fat, righ men sitting atop golden chairs. Yet, Pilger shifts his attention to the response to those greedy enough to sell their country's resources just to fill their fat pockets. Even worse was how these corrupt government destroyed the opposition, killing those who simply protested against the government. Called the nightmare of Latin America, Bolivia was just another unsung example of brutal tyranny supported by the Amerikan empire. But that was the legacy that preceded Evo Morales, another upsetter of the U.S. administration.
The last part of an excellent documentary by John Pilger (check out his ZNET archive and homepage). He ends the video by reminding us of the Holocaust's important lesson: NEVER AGAIN. Too bad a lot of people didn't learn that.
All in all, I'm sick of the U.S. administration's hypocrisy. This string of foreign policy should stop. In the end, truth will stand clear from error, and the American administration will learn that its ways are indeed errorful. I only pray that the errors of today be reprimanded for the generation of tomorrow.
But who am I kidding? As long as the American administration is maintaining its iron-hold on corrupt governments, we won't go anywhere but down.
Salaam, from Saracen
Notice the onus of this film and how it's illustrated in this first part: comparing the sheltered bubble that we all live in to the grim situation which many in third-world countries endure daily, and view each passing second as a struggle for survival. The desperation is largely blamed at "American domination" through right-wing dictators like Pinochet who stratified the pyramid of economic inequality and widened its base for the interests of the upper quintile.
Despite this, Simon Bolivar, the known "El Libertador" of South America, is brought forth as a reminder that revolution can crush a foreign influence given the people unite. Chavez is brought up as a potential change and antagonist towards American foreign policy, which, through "aggressive media coverage", brought forth opposition towards the alternative that is Chavez. However, I personally am not a fan of Chavez, but better Chavez than a puppet.
This video sheds light into Chavez's beliefs and how his vision of democracy seeks to include every Venezuelan and promote "human values". What I find interesting is his emphasis on targeting poverty and how he finds the "American way of life" (i.e. capitalism) "stupid" with regards to tackling the issue of poverty. While both Capitalism and Socialism have their ills, I personally believe they can work best together (give and take).
This 2nd part of Pilger's documentary also sheds light into the new policy changes that Chavez is implementing, thereby discrediting opposition towards his rule and at the same time plans for his deposition from office (i.e. foreign policy intervention).
Another part I find interesting is the example of the middle class gentleman who, like the other privately owned media institutions which have been more or less wrongly accusing the government for censorship, oppose Chavez based on politically-based grounds, primarily, as Pilger states, on how they
"lost... political power over a huge oil economy".Despite this protest, capitalism still remains booming in Venezuela.
The upper class
kept a large slice of the profitsfrom oil. That ended when Chavez went into power, and rightly so. Yet because he refrains from maintaining the status quo, the U.S. administration complains about Chavez not conforming to U.S. interests.
And why the hell should he? Sure, he may not be an angel, but he's working on the interests of his own people.
Politics being what they are, opposition still remains. And it should for a country to progress democratically (read Hegelian dialectic: thesis, antithesis, synthesis, etc.). The case in point happened on April 11, 2002, where anti-Chavez protestors gunned down Chavez supporters and, via the use of videos and media angles, as well as a lot of editing, blamed Chavez supporters for the strife. Regardless of what happened, none of this can be blamed on Chavez moreso than on the protestors on both sides. Chavez should have stopped this, though, as he had the authority. Interestingly enough, anti-Chavez police elements were actually gunning down Chavez supporters.
The interesting thing about this fold of events is that it turned out to be a coup. This was the coup that overthrew Chavez back in 2002, and how a businessman-turned-dictator took over and cruelly abolished democracy. I find it interesting that people supported this madness... That the elected president of Venezuela was overthrown by a coup and the media justified and twisted this incident made it all the more hypocritical, and only serves to fuel my hatred for foreign policy, especially that of the U.S. administration.
The media is a weapon that has been used for all the wrong reasons, and for now I'm grateful that people like John Pilger came out with such a painfully accurate documentary like this.
Of worthy notice is the pain and agony that callers to the radio broadcasters exclaim 1 minute into this part of the documentary:
"My soul aches for my son and daughter and all the young ones, who will be adrift at the mercy of these corrupt people who have thrown this country into total chaos. It's immoral."It pains me to see people willing to support such corruption.
"The hope of a people has gone. The constitution's gone. Democracy's gone. The hope of the children has gone."
But Chavez's supporters didn't let him down: they came out and exposed the lies of the corrupt government. This lead to the presidential guard's taking over the palace, and Chavez being reinstated into his office (the one Venezuelans chose him in particular to sit in) as well as a comical outcome: the plotters fleeing to their sheltered homes in Miami.
Documents surfaced that proved that the U.S. administration funded the coup indirectly via U.S.AID, a "charity" that I believe should be disbanded for its less than honorable actions. The money went into the pockets of the usurpers, who Bush eagerly defended by saying that this money was a step towards "freedom". I call bull.
Pilger then tells us of the obvious nature of the American empire that is built on greed, corruption, selfish interests, shadowy agendas, poor people, and stacks of dead bodies... all for the "glory" that is the "American way of life". Why?
Empires have nothing to do with freedom. They're vicious. They're all about conquest, theft, control and secrets.America's administration is the new Julius Caesar.
The example of Guatemala in the beginning of the video highlights the brainwashing of the American media, which seeks to brainwash the average American's perception of the world. It is also highlighting the problems of Guatemala back in the days when Arbenz was ruling Guatemala. Like Chavez, he was elected. He had "modest reform policies". And like Chavez, the U.S. administration hated him and wanted him to go. In effect, the CIA supported a coup by using propaganda and terrorism to destroy the Arbenz regime and impose a brutal dictatorship that wasted the lives of thousands of Guatemalans. And the funny thing is that Washington was there all the way to support the corrupt regime. Hypocrites.
And then there was Castro. Cuba was known for its medical and economical advances... and for not bowing down to America's administration.
What's gold in this video is what the New York congressman (possibly Democrat), Jose Serrano, said, with pure cynical sarcasm:
How dare you, 90 miles from my country, for the last 45 years, put a different form of government! How dare you haven't allowed American corporations to buy you out! How dare you continue this arrogance that says that you'll never succumb to us! Don't you know who we are? Don't you know who these corporations are? Don't you know your life would be better if you drink Coca-Cola every day?I couldn't stop laughing from this.
What's also funny is the "Red Scare" that swept the American nation. This highlights the control the media and government have on the people of the United States. I don't know whether to laugh or cry, though: the prospect of a mislead populace doesn't sound too comforting should I be part of it.
Pilger then brings up the fascist overthrow of Allende in Chile, and how Allende supporters were tortured, raped, and killed by Pinochet's goons, as well as the inhumane treatment of these people. The medical student Pilger interviews graphically describes this occurrence. I will not spoil the "surprise" for you. Watch it yourself.
Many of those who were imprisoned in the stadium mentioned were never to be seen or heard from again...
A Chilean balladier described the horror of this torture in the beginning of this video, only to be put to death 2 days later. This would precede the description of the coup on Allende. Nixon wantonly ordered the removal of Allende, and got what he wanted. And in the midst, Washington denied the attack. Yet Pilger proves them wrong again, pointing out that these fascists and the elite were gaining the upper hand with the help of the "freedom-loving" U.S. government.
And they have supporters. Disgusting. Yes, I know I said it before, but I do need to repeat myself.
After receiving more graphic testimonies from torture victimes, Pilger confronts Duane Clarridge, head of CIA, Latin American branch. This bigot denied the sufferring of those who need not have sufferred. His argument? It's okay to overthrow a democratically-elected government.
And it's worth preserving national interests, continues this bloated buffoon.
Pilger describes the "School of the Americas", where interrogation and torture techniques were taught to the henchmen of these bastards who ruled South America via U.S. administration proxy relationships. And these techniques were outright fascist. What ensues is how this influential center promoted the brutal actions of these terrorist dictators who served the interests of those fascists.
Then there were the massacres in El Salvador: children... CHILDREN! Not the killers, but the VICTIMS. A mother described graphically how children were rounded up and shot.
Pilger then returns to Clarridge, who defends himself by saying that national interests are more important. And yet, it is these interests that lead the world to hate the American government.
Sister Dianna Ortiz describes her ordeal with the Guatemalan military. She, an outspoken critic of the treatment of the indigenous Mayan people of Guatemala, is imprisoned and tortured and... gang-raped.
The 8th part of the documentary on Youtube starts with Reagan spinning on totalitarianism, naming it "democracy". The spin starts with dictators who supposedly bring economic success to the nations they rule with iron fists. At the surface, things look good. Dig deeper, and you'll find stratification at its best. The bustling of the upper class veils the larger lower classes, who live in poverty, unemployment and harsh conditions. Life in Chile is good for those "well off". Those who aren't well off still suffer, and their plight is not in good hands. It's in the hands of the corrupt governments that rule Latin America.
Then there's Bolivia, which was ruled by elitists. It was an example of the corrupt right-wing governments that led Latin American countries in the past few decades. But there is change, as Pilger points out. And this change is already coming.
Bolivia's dictatorship is described in as stereotypical a manner as possible: fat, righ men sitting atop golden chairs. Yet, Pilger shifts his attention to the response to those greedy enough to sell their country's resources just to fill their fat pockets. Even worse was how these corrupt government destroyed the opposition, killing those who simply protested against the government. Called the nightmare of Latin America, Bolivia was just another unsung example of brutal tyranny supported by the Amerikan empire. But that was the legacy that preceded Evo Morales, another upsetter of the U.S. administration.
The last part of an excellent documentary by John Pilger (check out his ZNET archive and homepage). He ends the video by reminding us of the Holocaust's important lesson: NEVER AGAIN. Too bad a lot of people didn't learn that.
All in all, I'm sick of the U.S. administration's hypocrisy. This string of foreign policy should stop. In the end, truth will stand clear from error, and the American administration will learn that its ways are indeed errorful. I only pray that the errors of today be reprimanded for the generation of tomorrow.
But who am I kidding? As long as the American administration is maintaining its iron-hold on corrupt governments, we won't go anywhere but down.
Salaam, from Saracen
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