Had to share this.
The Devil's Excrement
Observations focused on the problems of an underdeveloped country, Venezuela, with some serendipity about the world (orchids, techs, science, investments, politics) at large. A famous Venezuelan, Juan Pablo Perez Alfonzo, referred to oil as the devil's excrement. For countries, easy wealth appears indeed to be the sure path to failure. Venezuela might be a clear example of that.
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The Devil's Excrement 
April 5, 2011 at 12:52 pm
I’m coming back to this post to leave a record commenting on the Goldstone backpedalling on his report on the Gaza war. I quote him:
“(…) civilians were not intentionally targeted as a matter of [Israel] policy”
“the crimes allegedly committed by Hamas were intentional”
“That comparatively few Israelis have been killed by the unlawful rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza in no way minimizes the criminality.”
March 21, 2011 at 10:46 am
Wow, I didn’t interpret that cartoon as either pro- or anti-Israel/Palestine. I just saw the dove looking for peace, and didn’t find it there, no finger pointed.
March 21, 2011 at 10:11 am
“El respeto al derecho ajeno es la paz” said Benito Juarez.
Respect for other’s rights EQUALS peace. Words less or more
What has been lacking? For all of the recent history of the Middle East?
Arabs have had a problem with producing new governments that aro NOT bad copies of fascism, or worse, national-socialism! If I were Arab with common sense, I would be even slightly less livid at totalitarian ideologies than the Jews.
Israelis and Palestinians have had a problem NOT coming to terms with the fact that most Palestinians and Israelis only want their rights as individuals recognized… That war must be over not because we became hippies all of a sudden, but because it is an unsustainable situation.
March 21, 2011 at 3:22 am
What is it about Middle Eastern heads of state and being blockheads? I would think that people like Saleh, the king of Bahrain, the Algerian president and Assad would have gotten a clue by now. Even the Iraqi leaders are acting like morons. Is it pride? Is it culture?
Then they complain about war and bloodshed.
March 20, 2011 at 12:21 am
FC ..the point is that loser countries always buy soviet/russian equipment…and live….or rather die to regret it
March 19, 2011 at 11:14 pm
It has nothing to do with the equipment and everything to do with the people flying it. I’m sure if they were F-16s instead of MiG-23s they would be falling from the sky in droves as well.
March 19, 2011 at 8:11 pm
ahhhh…..once again we see Russian made airplanes and tanks easily turned into scrap…..I wonder if Hugo is paying attention….all that money pissed away
March 19, 2011 at 6:28 pm
Get over it. Jews are not better and not worse than anyone else.
The guys really have to define it. Are we going to make religious scripts and myths get over law? Or is it about a “race”?
Is the US or Germany or whatever “primarily a Christian nation” and not a Jewish, Muslim, agnostic, laic, whatever nation? Everybody would be shocked.
Is the US or Germany or whatever “primarily a nation where Arians must be absolute majority by law?
That’s absolutely racist. It would be the same for absolutely any other nation. You cannot found it based on religion (as Iranians do, by the way) or on “race”.
March 19, 2011 at 6:01 pm
Ira,
Israel is occupying illegally territory since 1968 and carrying out ethnic cleansing of that area. It is completely against international law. Terrorism by the Arabs is not justified, but Israel has also being violating laws for m many years now.
It pretends to have some right to that land because of a book written over 2600 years ago, written by people who in reality are closer to the “Arabs” now in that place than to the Jewish settlers themselves.
Just for your information: although there is indeed Semitic roots among many Jews, they have a much greater European influence – also ethnically- than those Arabs who, by the way, are mostly NOT people who “just arrived” with Islam there (i.e. VII century AD) but people whose ancestors have been living much before there and were formerly Jews.
For instance: about a third of the “Jews” have a clear European haplotype from the male part and much more from the female part, among other things. That means those are people who once in the Middle Ages or later converted to Judaism. And since 1968 they have been occupying foreign land and throwing out people who have been living in that land since time inmemorial.
So, stop believing the bullshit evangelical fundamentalists and FOX News tell you and that book by Leon Uris, Exodus.
You won’t find out about much if you only watch US news.
March 19, 2011 at 5:23 pm
Did the drawing of the bulldozer set off some shills here, or what?
Sheesh. Some of us can read the news.
March 19, 2011 at 4:42 pm
One of the lamest anti-Israel cartoons I’ve seen. Swing and a miss, Miguel.
I’m with Ira.
March 19, 2011 at 4:38 pm
With all the errors, lately and with all mistakes, If the coalition force finally decapitate Khadafy, like they did with Hussein before, there will be a better planet to live on.
March 19, 2011 at 4:20 pm
About France…the french president need to increase his approval ratings…so what is better than a war…remember Bush?, but unfortunately Gadaffy/ Khadaffy (sp?) was no having the interest of Lybian people as a priority. HE just want to remain in power in spite of his people said enough…it is incredible what humans can do to each other!
March 19, 2011 at 3:48 pm
I have to admit that I have Jews friends, and in the past I admired the Jews and Hebrew people, I still have some respect and admiration as Jews as special people. But The Israel Government is another history, and the Jews that not consider muslins as human been I personally do not like.
Actually, the rights of lands in that area apparently depends more on lobbies in Washington, army power and nuclear bomb than in legal and moral rights. And Varsovia ghetto and Gaza ghetto looks alike.
March 19, 2011 at 3:08 pm
It looks like the escalation in Libya has begun in earnest. Is it too late for the Gaddaffi opponents?
March 19, 2011 at 3:07 pm
Ira, the same UN that allow attack Khadafy to defend Libyans civilians, give some land after Second World War to the Jews/Hebrews to begin a nation. That Last, acts of Jews/Hebrews to take lands from other peoples, lands not original given by Jews/Hebrews by UN, from people that have like 5.000 years of History in that land, do not give to only right to the Jews/Hebrews, just by taking these lands arbitrary.
So Read serious History and not interpreted in an arbitrary way the Torah.
March 19, 2011 at 2:46 pm
And they abstained from voicing an opinion, AFTER vehemently objecting to Zelaya’s LEGAL removal from office.
Sorry folks, but Brazilian politics has been based on nothing but self-interest the last 10 years. One would think that with Lula out and the Madame President in, this would have changed. But no.
Brazil remains third world, unworthy of permanent Security Council membership.
Abstentions don’t earn you that.
March 19, 2011 at 2:30 pm
Lazarus:
France is taking the lead in nothing!!!
Let’s examine, over the next few days. how much French military assets are actually dedicated to this effort compared to what the U.S. and U.K. are bringing to the table. Because let’s face it–when it comes to combat, the French are a JOKE.
Also interesting is Brazil’s desire to gain permanent membership on the Security Council, and their ground-breaking vote on the No-Fly Vote was “Abstain.”
Fuck Brazil, and deservedly so!!!!
Either stand up for your beliefs (do they have any???), or vote no.
These pieces of garbage ABSTAINED from voicing an opinion.
Again–F Brazil!!!!!
March 19, 2011 at 2:25 pm
I agreee.
Another topic for discussion is the students hunger strike of students of the UCV vs the budget straining new Chavista Bolivarian endoctrination centers dizque universidades to once again confront the venezuelan society with becas regaladas para estos estudientes.
March 19, 2011 at 2:23 pm
Don’t understand these cartoons at all:
Any violence in the West Bank was instigated by Palestinians, and Israel’s responses have been incredibly measured. Gaza, of course, is an an enemy enclave that Israel allows to exist on its peripheral…a people vowed to its destruction…yet Palestinians no longer (or ever) had any real claim to the land that usurps that of the Jews/Hebrews.
Compare Israel’s response to its real “enemies” as opposed to Ghaddafi’s and others in North Africa and the Middle East. Israel has been an ANGEL compared to the moral-less activities going on in the rest of the region.
Actually, Ghadaffi’s BIGGEST problem is that he can’t blame his CURRENT problems on Israel–as 99% of mid-east leaders like to do.
March 19, 2011 at 1:33 pm
Can somebody contact the coalition forces against Khadafy and convince them that: Chavez = Khadafy ?
March 19, 2011 at 11:48 am
no mention of Tunisia and Egypt, which were peaceful and successful for the most part, and Saudi Arabia and Iran where stronger gov’t forces stopped a weaker opposition before they could gain traction.. and now France takes the lead in Lybia?