MP Galloway to bring Hugo Chavez on next Gaza visit

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"Member of the British House of Commons George Galloway told the press Monday he was planning to organize a new solidarity convoy to Gaza that would include Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Galloway was in Egypt Monday to support the US Viva Palestina anti-siege convoy, which is scheduled to enter the Gaza Strip through its Rafah crossing along with 200 American solidarity activists.

The MP explained that he would continue to organize solidarity convoys, calling for lifting the siege imposed on Gaza. He revealed that Israeli lobbyists had sent three requests to US Attorney General Eric Holder trying to stop the convoy, which were all rejected.

Galloway also refuted Israeli accusations that he was pro-Hamas. "I was never pro-Hamas, yet I am pro-democracy, through which Hamas rose to power."

Galloway said that a US congressman from the Democratic Party from New York would join the convoy, in addition to a father and brother of the party's executive director, as well as another former lawmaker."

http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&Do=&ID=39200

[ProgressiveProfessor]

1. This could be really amsuing the next time around

[Ken Burch]

2. I assume you'll volunteer to help the IDF seize their boat-and the food donations

Like it or not, the world's poor see Hugo as a symbol of the spirit of liberation. They know that "our" kind of democracy doesn't include THEM.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

3. McKinney, Galloway, and Chavez are all attention seekers

So are most pols, so its not like I am just picking on them. I am sure they will come up with something novel in terms of PR for the next go round. I would hope that they would follow international law including respecting a declared MEZ. Might be nice if there was actually something other than token aid and not just the entourage.

Until then the people in Gaza need help and its up to the rest of us to make that happen.

[ConsAreLiars]

8. It seems name-calling is the only weapon of the rightists

who try to defend mass murder in Gaza or Iraq or anywhere else. Now, go ahead, reach deep into your arsenal, and call me antisemitic or whatever. I know, from your perspective, anyone who regards Palestinians as human and opposes mass murder deserves being called names and maybe shot and killed, as many have when they get within shooting or bulldozer range of the oh-so-honorable IDF.

Name-calling, demonizing, and murdering. That is the sequence. How far along that road to soul death have you traveled so far? You might want to take a look. It's obvious to some here, and you might want to take a look at what you have become.

[Behind the Aegis]

9. You might want to read your own post before projecting more of the same.

[Vegasaurus]

11. Chavez is not exactly the bastion of hope for anyone

[Dick Dastardly]

5. Do you mean the couple of trees and a bag of cement like the Mckinney boat

Maybe if they actually used the money spent on a propaganda stunt to buy and deliver aid through the proper and available channels rather than their illegal stunt they could actually help people.


You constantly make blanket unsupported statements and claims like this

Like it or not, the world's poor see Hugo as a symbol of the spirit of liberation. They know that "our" kind of democracy doesn't include THEM.


never showing how and where you came up with your informantion. Do you have a world poll that shows these claims of yours?

Its probably more like the view of the harder left who also are apologists for his illiberal actions and of the likes of Castro as well. The fact is many on the left who are not idealogues and the poor do question his actions. Sure there are many who probably do see it as you say but there are many who dont as well. It also does not mean they are right either.



some info



A Modern-Day Tyrant?

By Javier Corrales, Foreign Policy. Posted July 26, 2006.
Part provocateur, part CEO and part electoral wizard, his critics believe Hugo Chávez has updated tyranny for today.


clip
More damning for the Chávez-as-Robin Hood theory, the poor do not support him en masse. Most polls reveal that at least 30 percent of the poor, sometimes even more, disapprove of Chávez. And it is safe to assume that among the 30 to 40 percent of the electorate that abstains from voting, the majority have low incomes.

clip
Chávez's coalition today includes portions of the poor, the bulk of the thoroughly purged military, and many long-marginalized leftist politicians.

much more
http://www.alternet.org/story/38632/


Hugo Chávez effect finally wears off in Venezuela and around the world
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/3563606/Hugo-Chavez-effect-finally-wears-off-in-Venezuela-and-around-the-world.html


Global hero or evil populist: world view is split on Chavez
Americas Features
By Shada Islam and Heather Lima Dec 2, 2006, 7:26 GMT

[Ken Burch]

6. We can safely assume that none of the poor in Venezuela would prefer his opponents to be in power

Neoliberalism, globalization, increased corporate power and austerity budgets never benefited the world's poor. The Nineties showed that letting the market run things doesn't work.

[Dick Dastardly]

12. You can assume all you want and make your blanket unsupported statements but

as usual you would be wrong. Obviously you just ignore anything that goes against your assumptions rather than even bothering to give any support for it.



As the Alternet article said which you obviously ignored......


clip
More damning for the Chávez-as-Robin Hood theory, the poor do not support him en masse. Most polls reveal that at least 30 percent of the poor, sometimes even more, disapprove of Chávez. And it is safe to assume that among the 30 to 40 percent of the electorate that abstains from voting, the majority have low incomes.

clip
Chávez's coalition today includes portions of the poor, the bulk of the thoroughly purged military, and many long-marginalized leftist politicians.



A free market capitalist economy with proper safety nets (not laissez-faire)is far superior to some bloated state controlled bureaocracy that breeds corruption, inefficiancy, economic stagnation and political repression as seen throughout history. The greater economic freedom of a free market economy increases innovation, economic growth, standards of living and is a barrier to too much state power which leads to political repression. The converse is true of centralized control of an economy by the state which decreases economic freedom and increases the states power and its ability and tendency for political repression. We even see the political repression by the Chavez regime as an example.

[Tripmann]

4. YES! Go Galloway!!!

I listen to his radio show. The guys a legend. This whole 'attention seeker' thing is really growing old. The guy was campaigning relentlessly for the palestinian cause since before I was born.

[varelse]

7. This will be interesting (nt)

[Kurska]

10. Oh how funny would it be to see Hugo get deported from Israel

I hope it happens.

[pelsar]

13. reality and Galloway dont really go together....

Galloway also refuted Israeli accusations that he was pro-Hamas. "I was never pro-Hamas, yet I am pro-democracy, through which Hamas rose to power."

i'm assuming that the little civil war in gaza, where hamasnikim threw fatah member(s) off the roof, executed fatah children, and otherwise "bent the rules" of democracy to gain absolute power was missed by him.

anybody pro democracy would be revolted by hamas and their governing style...unless of course govt sponsored morality squads, dragging people in the streets for breaking morality laws, etc are now considered "democracy"


but then...its not democracy thats the issue, thats only the means/excuse..the end goal is tribalism.....

[LeftishBrit]

14. Galloway hasn't always been so 'pro-democracy'

What really put me off him at first was his reaction to the Pakistan coup in 1999 that brought Musharraf to power.

Quote:

'Only the armed forces can really be counted on to hold such a country together... Democracy is a means, not an end in itself and it has a bad name on the streets of Karachi and Lahore.'

He also expressed, and continues to express, support for some other past and present undemocratic regimes, most notably the Soviet Union.

And he is a bit arrogant if he thinks he can 'bring' Chavez to do anything. If Chavez decides to support the mission, it will be because he wants to, not because Galloway has suggested it.

Like many Brits, including many on the left, I don't have a lot of respect for Galloway, who has done some good things in opposing Blair and the war, but is a bit of a buffoon (e.g. taking time off Parliament to appear in Celebrity Big Brother); and has often been a bit too cozy with the Muslim Right and other non-democratic types.

As I've said before: I do think that the Free Gaza movement is a good thing *in principle* - INCLUDING the attention-seeking aspect: one of the main points of political activism is to draw attention to an issue. However, I do think they should vet their activists and spokespeople a bit better than they do (not meaning just Galloway but people like Yvonne Ridley in the past).