They say sometimes you can learn from the unlikeliest source – even from “bad guys”. Learning what to AVOID is learning, innit?? In fact, that might be the most valuable lesson of all!! And that’s as true for leaders of countries as for individuals!! So if you think our leaders can’t learn anything from Burnham and Mad Maduro – let them ponder over the mistakes of these two dictators. The first thing you’d notice is that they – along with Mad Maduro’s predecessor Chavez – made practically the identical mistakes – even though Burnham had messed up since the seventies and could’ve been used as an object lesson and what NOT to do in running a country!!!
So how come this state of affairs came about?? Their failures come from their holding on to an IDEOLOGY – a set of ideas that not only supposedly EXPLAINS the world – but tells them EXACTLY what to do in that world!! In their case, that ideology was socialism but the lesson applies to ALL ideologies – when the true believer’s so dogmatic they refuse to accept that no EXPLANATION can be so complete that it’ll be executed without problems. Even God messed up with his creation, didn’t HE?? And it’s said he has COMPLETE information!!
Now what socialists of the extreme kind believe is that the rich EXPLOITS the poor, so therefore the poor have to get rid of the rich who run things – violently is necessary – and run the said things themselves. In our cases, the countries!! That’s it!! Burnham was installed by the big powers that figured his opponent; Jagan was an even more dogmatic socialist. Burnham was the better of two evils, so to speak. And once in, he promptly took over – socialists call it “nationalization! – the “commanding heights” of the economy and handed it to his followers!! And they – even more promptly – ran it into the ground and half the country fled with their rags by the time Burnham passed in 1985.
Fast forward to Venezuela in 1990 and Chavez attempts two coups to take over the Venezuelan government to share Venezuela’s “commanding heights of their economy” – oil – with the poor. He then won the 1998 elections and since it was oil which was already nationalized – but run by foreign oil companies that invested big time and took 60% of the profits – he unilaterally RENEGOTIATED the contract to reduce that percentage!! The companies left with their expertise, and Chavez’s appointees ran their oil industry into the ground. Mad Maduro is “mad” because he continued Burnham’s and Chavez’ folly!!
A quarter of Venezuela has fled and he still thought they’d vote for his referendum!! Watch him rig next year’s elections – like Burnham!!
…in genocide
The world’s all aghast at the genocide of Palestinians being committed by the Israelis in Gaza. How could a people who experienced the genocide of six million of their fellow Jews in gas chambers, now turn around and bomb into smithereens Palestinians who they’ve herded into a 25 square-mile concentration camp?? Well, they had a lesson from Kissinger – who just passed at 100. He’d fled Hitler’s Germany before their Holocaust but yet did the same thing to Cambodians in 1969-70!
Receiving intelligence that some Viet Kongs would take refuge over the border in Cambodia, Kissinger expanded the carpet bombing of Hanoi into Cambodia – with which it wasn’t even at war!! Altogether, the US dropped over 2 million tons of bombs on Cambodia the same amount the Allies dropped dropped during the ENTIRE WWII!! About 150,000 Cambodians were killed!!
Asked later years whether he was guilty of war crimes, Kissinger arrogantly responded, “Why is it a war crime to bomb people who’re killing your military units?”
Netanyayu learnt well from him!!
…referendum
When your Eyewitness discovered that Maduro didn’t permit official observers of his referendum, he knew Mad Maduro would be cocking the work. Even though he extended voting hours by 2 hours, it took threats to “motivate” those who came out!!
