Feed your own people, your own family, or feed North American profligacy
<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Sunday, May 25, 2003 By: Chris Herz
Date: Fri, 23 May 2003 23:38:41 -0400 From: Chris Herz lildemocracy@earthlink.net To: Editor@VHeadline.com Subject: US Hegemonism
Dear Editor: Our US authorities tolerate only one course by any Latin nation -- supine obedience. This is especially so in the case of nations unlucky enough to possess the resources we need. In your case of course it's oil.
Historically, we require several things in this hegemonic system. First, the resources are to be controlled either by corrupt private interests or by corrupt public interests. Note the important factor being corruption. For in no case will US interests pay full market value for the products. We will demand heavy discount for payment with all the dollars we can print.
Thus honest, democratic governance cannot be tolerated ... people may get strange ideas like their country should be fairly compensated for its resources and that the proceeds accrue to the general ... and not private welfare. And, God forbid, independent countries might even decide to take payment in appreciating currencies like the Euro rather than declining dollars.
Thus a country like Venezuela, seeking moderate and reformist measures for its social and economic improvement, is going to be treated with the same inveterate hostility as real enemies of the United States, like, say Cuba ... even a major power, like France will experience severe punishment for disrespecting the empire.
The present US regime, that of Mr. Bush, has faced up to a serious problem created by its predecessors ... that is bankruptcy. The national economy is in severe stress, facing a declining dollar coupled with the threat of deflation. This has reached such proportions that it has become a serious temptation to wholly abandon even the pretense that we are "buying" the resources of other countries. We must now simply take them with the tremendous military built up in decades of cold war.
What happened in Iraq was an hostile takeover: of the Iraqi National Oil Company by Texas, Incorporated.
I believe the proximate cause of this bankruptcy is the failure to get real about alternative energy conservation, fuel cell technology and lots of other prudent measures following the oil embargo of 1973 and the fall of the Shah of Iran in 1979. Of course over-investment in military power and a vain attempt to take over the European imperial position after World War II is the ultimate cause of the problem.
But anyway, you can expect more calls for embargo from more people than Steve Forbes ... you will see more provocations against your government. It would seem now that the countries to our South who do not yet have US troops upon their territory need to consult amongst themselves as to whether they wish to remain independent, and then ... if they so wish ... unite in a true and steadfast Bolivarian manner.
- But either way, the people of this hemisphere are in for a prolonged period of desperate struggle.
I believe that you face a stark choice: Either feed your own people, your own family, or feed our North American profligacy ... live as Cuba, or die as Haiti.
Respectfully, Chris Herz lildemocracy@earthlink.net