Charles Hardy

THE "ARAB SPRING:" THE U.S. AND EUROPE'S FALL AND WINTER

Whenever I have asked someone in Venezuela if spring comes before or after summer, some answer �before� and others �after.� Almost all add that they really are not sure.

Two young men responded correctly that it comes before summer, and then added, �because that is when the leaves fall off the trees.� Another said it came after summer because that is when the trees begin to blossom.

�Spring� is not an important word in Venezuela. Here we have the wet season and the dry season.

I�ve never been to the Far East, Near East, or Middle East, so I don�t know what the people in these areas think about the seasons of the year. What I do feel here is that, in more ways than one, the �Arab Spring� idea is a U.S.-European one, full of U.S.-European concepts and wrapped with designer luggage that the whole world is expected to see as beautiful. It is an excellent example of U.S. and European citizens believing that the whole world thinks in the same way they do�and their way of thinking is not only the only way, but the correct way.

Almost half a century ago the Roman Catholic bishop, Fulton J. Sheen, made constant reference to the people who lived beneath the 30th Parallel. His job was to raise money for an organization called, �The Propagation of the Faith.� But his emphasis was to make people conscious of the poverty that existed south of the 30th Parallel.

Today I think it would be well to reflect again on the people who live beneath the 30th Parallel�not so much because of the poverty that continues to exist here but because of the different ways of thinking that are present. Everyone does not think in the same terms that U.S. and European citizens think.

Looking at the globe, I find it interesting that there is also another dividing line of importance. It is the 30th Meridian. I�ve never been east of that Meridian. As I mentioned, I don�t know if Eastern cultures refer to spring. But I am aware of the fact that if one goes east of the 30th Meridian one is confronted with cultures very different from the western way of thinking.

In other words, I see the United States and Europe boxed in culturally above the 30th Parallel and west of the 30th Meridian. And I also see them reacting as though they were mad dogs trapped in a corner. With their own economic and social problems, their only reaction to their surrounding environment is to attack viciously those they see as threatening their space.

There is an incredible lack of world understanding in the western-northern hemisphere. I was in the U.S. during the tenth anniversary of September 11, 2001. When I would ask friends if they could name another historic event that happened on a September 11, none could. But on September 11, 1973, the U.S. government, Henry Kissinger, and President Nixon, were supporting the overthrow of the democratically elected government of Chile and putting in power the dictator, Augusto Pinochet. Did any of my friends ever hear of Victor Jara , the Chilean singer whose hands were crushed so that he could never play the guitar again, and who after being tortured was executed and had his body thrown into a street? No. I use Jara as only one example of what happened as a result of September 11, 1973, sponsored by the U.S., but hardly known to U.S. citizens.

A Venezuelan friend showed me some statistics on the Internet that said over 60,000 civilians had died in Iraq since the U.S. started its invasion there. He pointed out that amounted to the same number of deaths as happened in the Twin Towers every four months for the past six years. But there was no minute silence for them.

A couple of friends, on different occasions said, �That�s war,� but neither recognized that the U.S. started the war. One said that war was part of the nature of human beings. My Venezuela friend reacted by saying, �That�s not part of my human nature. I have no desire to invade other countries to impose my ideas. And if the U.S. ever comes to my country and kills members of my family and my friends, do not just say to me, �That�s war.� We are talking about human beings being needlessly murdered.�

Somehow, I don�t think that type of reasoning is entering the minds of people in the U.S. and Europe. One friend said he felt proud when he saw an Iraqi showing a finger with indelible ink on it and saying that he had voted for the first time in his life. Maybe that Iraqi was happy. But I firmly believe that there are millions in the world who do not share his happiness at what the U.S. and Europe have inflicted on other parts of the world.

I do not believe that an Iraqi who had a child, husband or wife, mother, father, sister, brother, or other relative or friend killed by U.S. troops, would have the same attitude. Nor do I expect a parent of a dead child to be overjoyed when Halliburton or some other foreign contractor builds a new school in their neighborhood.

And now Muammar Gaddafi has been assassinated. The western media and politicians are celebrating the event. Their cameras are able to show people rejoicing around the world and especially in Libya. I could be wrong, but I believe there are many more around the world, and even in Libya, who are looking askance at what the NATO forces have done�bombing innocent people for �humanitarian� reasons in order to achieve their goals. There are people who are not on the streets, quietly pondering what has been done.

It has been said that the failings we see in others are generally a reflection of what is present within ourselves. As the western powers criticize the dictatorships in other countries, it would be well that they look within themselves. There they might be able to see what much of the world sees in them.

What the Western powers do not seem to realize, is that they have planted the seeds of their own destruction. Seeds of discontent with U.S.-European behavior have been planted around the world�below the 30th Parallel and east of the 30th Meridian. Spring is the time for planting. It is now spring in the southern hemisphere. But it is autumn in the north. I could be wrong, but I think a long winter is on its way there.

-30-

(This commentary was originally prepared for and published on Correo del Orinoco and on 21st Century Socialism ...

WHAT IS REALLY HAPPENING TO �THE POOR� IN LIBYA?

A few days ago I saw on CNN an interview with a woman who has lived in Libya for several years. She is no fan of Moammar Gadhafi.

The woman spoke perfect English. She had been born in the United Kingdom. Her face was covered, but not with a veil. She had a black hood over her head so that she could not be recognized.

There is only one comment of hers that caught my attention and that I remember. She said that Gadhafi still had many supporters, especially among the poor. Then she added that she didn�t know why because he hadn�t done anything for them.

I am always fascinated when upper-class people speak about and for �the poor.� The same happens here in Venezuela every day. I hear it repeated over and over again on radio and television. I see it in the opposition newspapers. �The poor� are suffering under this government. But if that is true, why do �the poor� keep supporting the Ch�vez government?

And why do �the poor� keep supporting Gadhafi. Today I saw on Telesur thousands of people marching in Tripoli in support of Gadhafi. Listening to this woman, I have to suppose that they are largely �the poor.� Why do they march?

I have read that Gadhafi supporters want to have elections�supervised by the international community. If he is elected, he stays in power. If not, he goes. But the West says no. The Libyan opposition says no. Why? If he is so unpopular, he will lose such an election. If we believe in democracy, why not give the people a chance to vote?

For me, the answer lies in what the woman said about �the poor.� She was speaking for them, without knowing their reality. For some reason they are supportive of Gadhafi.

Personally, I try not to use the words, �the poor.� One day in the barrio someone said something about �we poor,� and another barrio person corrected the person. He said something similar to: �We are not poor. We are exploited.�

I have reflected often on his words. If you talk about �the poor,� then you have �the poor� and �the middle-class� and �the rich.� But there is no verbal connection between these words. But if you speak of the �exploited,� then there are �exploiters� or exploitive situations. Or, if you speak of �the oppressed,� then there are �oppressors� or oppressive situations.

What we have in the commercial mass media are the oppressors and the exploiters telling us what they think the oppressed and the exploited think. They call it freedom of the press. It is really their freedom�the freedom of the exploiters and oppressors�to lie.

And so they tell us that Gadhafi is hated but they won�t let the people of Libya speak at the ballot box. That�s our beautiful Western democracy that we would like to see spread throughout the world�the democracy that kills innocent people, the �poor people,� for humanitarian reasons and decides for them who their leaders should be.

-3 ...

OH SAY CAN YOU SEE�THE BOMBS BURSTING IN AIR?

Shortly after arriving in Venezuela I remember hearing a conversation between two children, maybe four or five-years-old, that shocked me.

One child said to the other, �Don�t be so egoistical.� �Egoistic.� That is a word that I learned when I was leaving high school. I wanted to increase my vocabulary so as to do better in college and on standardized examinations. I bought the book, Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis. The book is still in print, but I still have the book I bought over fifty years ago.

The very first word that Norman Lewis chose to present to his readers was �egoist,� someone who is very selfish and greedy. And yet here I was faced with a little child using a word that I learned going into higher education in the U.S. I wondered, was the child already in college? Did he read Norman Lewis�s book that maybe had been translated into Spanish?

No, the reason why the child knew the word �egoist� is because the national anthem of Venezuela speaks of �vile egoism.� And thus pre-school teachers, explaining the words of the national anthem to children, talk about the need to overcome vile egoism.

This brings me to the question: what do pre-school teachers in the United States of America talk to their children about the national anthem there?

Imagine this scenario: �Good morning, boys and girls. Today we are going to sing our national anthem and afterwards we will talk about it.�

And so the children sing, �and the rockets� red glare; the bombs bursting in air; gave proof through the night; that our flag was still there.�

Afterwards the teacher says to the children, �You see, boys and girls, as long as there are bombs bursting in the air somewhere in the world�we know our flag is still there.�

I was never a great fan of the words of the U.S. national anthem, but I think it probably is very appropriate for the country to which it belongs. Has any other nation in the world ever dropped as many bombs as the Unites States has? Is there any other country in the world that has produced and sold to other countries as many bombs as the U.S. has?

I was in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on July 4 last year. I was shocked when the entrance hymn at one of the local Catholic churches was the U.S. national anthem. I could not sing with the congregation the words. It seemed terribly out of place��the bombs bursting in air!!!� We simply don�t think about what we are singing and what so proudly we hail.

I wish we could find some song that represents better our vision of our own country, our dreams of what we want to be, and our desires for a better world. The Star Spangled Banner just doesn�t do it.

-3 ...

A STRANGE INTERPRETATION OF MUSLIM CUSTOMS

Last night I had a call from a friend in the United States. In the midst of our long conversation, I mentioned my disgust at the manner in which Bin Laden had been buried.

My friend jumped in immediately to tell me that it was necessary because of the customs of the Muslim faith. He had to be buried within twenty-four hours.

An hour after our conversation I found myself laughing out loud because of the incredibility of my friend�s remark. The Muslim faith says that if an unarmed person is assassinated, he should be put into a bag, lifted up in a helicopter, and dropped into the ocean? The idea was so ridiculous that I couldn�t restrain my laughter�and also my surprise.

It is one thing if a person dies at sea, far from land, and has to be buried in the ocean. But this was not the case! My friend is an intelligent person, but had accepted what he had been fed by the U.S. media and the U.S. government.

What was done was improper. It is not what one would expect from the country where I was born.

Yes, I am from Wyoming, and yes people speak of the Wild West and the cowboy type of justice. I know of the lynching of innocent people in the southern states of the U.S., of which we cannot be proud. But this is the year 2011. And we are in the Wild West once again. We may have a black president! But we have the white south once again and he is at the head of it.

My friend was led to believe that what the U.S. government had done was laudable. I found it disgraceful.

There is something else that I should add about the whole Bin Laden assassination. People I that I have spoken to here in Venezuela have serious doubts that it really was Bin Laden. President Obama and his team lied to the public when they indicated that there had been much gunfire in the process of killing him. We learned a few days later that only one guard ever fired against the SEALS and that he was immediately killed. The rest of the firing of weapons was done by the SEALS assassinating unarmed people.

Why then should anyone ever be expected to believe anything President Obama says? Fool me once; shame on you. Fool me twice; shame on me. In Wyoming I was taught to judge a man by his word. President Obama has lost my trust in his word. That�s the way I was taught to judge a man.

- ...

SO YOU MIGHT WANT TO MOVE TO VENEZUELA

Dear Friend: Recently you wrote indicating that you are thinking about moving to Venezuela and asked for my advice. Let me give you some questions for your consideration.

How old are you? If you are a senior citizen or thinking about retiring here, it would probably be best to stay where you are or chose some place other than Venezuela.

I think of a man who was unhappy with the situation in the United States. He sold everything he had, packed a few bags, and came to Venezuela to start a new life. He spoke no Spanish, had no friends here, and expected the Ch�vez government to greet him with open arms because he had left the U.S. Less than half-a-year later, he moved to Canada.

However, there are some other elements that could make retirement here a possibility.

Do you have any friends or relatives already here? No matter how experienced you are as a world traveler, culture shock will hit you someday. And if you don�t have anyone to listen to you and to accompany you during that moment (or those moments) your life could be horrible. That is not what you would be searching for in moving here.

Do you speak Spanish? If you have no Spanish ability, I think it would be good to get some before coming here. Also, spoken Venezuelan Spanish is not the easiest to understand. It is fast; syllables are left out; there are regional differences; and, many words have different meanings here than they do in other Spanish speaking countries (E.g., a watermelon in Mexico is a �Sandia.� Here it is a �patilla.� �Patilla� in Mexico is a man�s sideburn.)

One can move to a European country and expect to find many people who speak English well enough to help you in a variety of situations. That is not true here.

What�s your financial situation? Things are very expensive here right now (July, 2011). Gasoline and public transportation are very inexpensive. But to buy a car, new or used, or to get repairs can be extremely costly. And, everything else is not cheap. I bought three pieces of fried chicken the other day (carry-out) and the total was more than ten U.S dollars. I avoid restaurants, but yesterday ate with a friend at an outdoor caf�. A simple empanada, arepa (the Venezuelan sandwich), two cups of coffee and two fruit drinks, cost us more than $20.00. McDonald�s main promotion is a �combo,� consisting of a hamburger, French fries, and a soft drink. It costs over eight dollars.

Are you coming to help the people here? If that is your intention, please don�t come. It indicates an attitude of superiority. One doesn�t go to a university with the idea of teaching the teachers, but rather to learn. If you are moving to another country you should have the same attitude.

Why are you leaving the country where you presently live? This, for me is the most important question. My answer is simple: if you are happy where you are at present and in the other places you have lived during your lifetime, you will be happy here. If you don�t like the place where you are now or have found other places disagreeable, I think you will encounter the same problems here.

I really don�t think it is a matter of encountering friendly people in other countries; it is up to you to make friends.

My father taught me from childhood a German proverb: Mit dem Hut in der Hand, Kommt man durch das ganze Land. Freely translated it says that with your hat in your hand you can travel through every land. It means that if you show respect to others, you can go wherever you want to. The contrary would be that if you expect other people to tip their hats to you first, showing that you are very important, you will not be welcomed.

Finally, you might be wondering about security in Venezuela. The local and international press paint a pretty glum picture of Venezuela in this regard. Personally, I don�t feel that there is any more danger for the ordinary person living in Venezuela than in any other country in the world. In Caracas, there are pickpockets and cell phones get ripped out of people�s hands. But a friend told me of a woman whose camera was taken at knifepoint in the Coliseum in Rome. My brother lost several hundred dollars there when a couple of men were helping his family board a bus. An elderly cousin of mine in Vienna no longer walks down the street near her home alone at night for fear of being attacked. I know of friends who will not return to London because they fear the youth there. A few months ago, a friend told of a relative who was beaten over the head in the subway in Washington, D.C. and left lying on the floor.

I have lived here for twenty-six years and have had very few negative experiences.

I hope these questions will be of some help to you in making your decision. I am happy here and think Venezuela is a great place to live and the Venezuelans are a wonderful people. But the missionary group I came with made me go through more than a year of psychological and educational preparation. Then they gave me a multitude of supports during the eight years I worked with them and even after I left the organization. I don�t know if I would have survived or enjoyed my experience here without that help�so maybe I am not the best person to answer your questions. But I hope my questions for you will be of help to you in making your decision.

- ...

A MEMORIAL DAY REFLECTION�THE U.S.A. �MADE IN CHINA�

Last Memorial Day (2010), I once again had the privilege of running in the 10K race in Boulder, Colorado�the Bolder Boulder.

It is a wonderful occasion. Fifty to sixty thousand people run or walk in it each year. Thousands more line the streets to cheer them on and to celebrate in their own way�eating breakfasts on their lawns, drinking champagne, doing belly dancing, singing, playing, spraying water, etc.

At the end, the participants run into the University of Colorado�s Folsom Field Stadium. There they receive a soft drink and some snacks�even a beer if one is of legal age. Last year we were also offered a plastic flag of the United States of America.

Sitting in the stadium, I looked closer at the flag I had been given. It said, �Made in China.� Then I watched thousands of people waving in their hands the flag of the U.S.A., and also waving, �Made in China.� I had to laugh.

But then I looked at my Adidas shoes: �Made in China.� My running shorts said, �Made in Taiwan.� The t-shirt that the organizers of the Bolder-Boulder gave me was �Made in Mexico.�

I must admit, I wondered if I was in the country where I had been born. I felt a little bit estranged and alone, something of a rarity. My problem: I was �Made in the U.S.A.�

- ...

TORTURE IN EGYPT

In recent days I heard a CNN reporter refer to the U.S. policy in Egypt as a balancing act between American ideals and economic interests. Maybe so. But the U.S. also had another interest in Egypt: torture.

A year ago, I had the privilege of meeting Noha Atef at the Narco News School of Authentic Journalism in Mexico. She is a talented young woman from Egypt.

I was sitting next to her one evening at supper. We had a speaker, but I don�t remember who the person was or what was said. What I do remember was I noticed that Noha was crying. When supper was finished, we spoke for a few moments.

I was speaking to an incredible woman who loved her native Egypt and worried about her responsibilities to the people in her country. The next day she spoke to all of the participants at the School. That day I was one of those who had tears in my eyes also.

Noha had started a website, Torture in Egypt . For that, she and her family had suffered. Respecting her privacy and her right to tell her own story, I will not write more about her and her experiences in Egypt.

Hopefully, you will be able to access her website soon, although I suspect the Egyptian government has interfered with it. Currently, I am unable to gain access. When you do, keep in mind that this website�about torture in Egypt�had its origins years ago. At the School of Authentic Journalism, Noha, together with other students, produced a video worth watching .

It is also important to remember that the Egyptian government, responsible for this torturing, has had the full backing and friendship of the United States. Additionally, there is another dimension that should be noted about torture in Egypt. The U.S. used Egypt for their rendition program, handing over prisoners to countries where torture is allowed. Common Dreams had an interesting article on this topic recently.

One has to wonder where torture fits in the scheme of �American ideals.� I have been watching CNN for several hours each day. I have not heard the rendition program mentioned once. It seems a key player in all of this was Omar Suleiman, a friend of the U.S. government and the man Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak chose to be his vice-president.

In spite of the opinion of the CNN commentator, I don�t think there was ever a balancing act in U.S. foreign policy toward Egypt--between American ideals and economic interests. I wonder if there ever really is�in relation to any other country anywhere in the world.

-30-

This commentary was originally prepared for 21st Century Socialism ...

WikiLeaks, the Frenchman Was Right: Hugo Ch�vez Is Crazy

WikiLeaks has just let us know that the U.S. government was interested in the mental health of Argentina�s president, Cristina Kirchner. It will be interesting to see what they want to know about Venezuela�s president, Hugo Ch�vez, but I can tell them one thing: he�s crazy.

There are supposedly over four thousand documents that WikiLeaks is releasing that refer to Venezuela. The only one that I have seen so far is from France where the Elysee Diplomatic Advisor Jean-David Levitte, says that Hugo Ch�vez is �crazy.�

Possibly such mention in a diplomatic �SECRET SECTION� document gives it some importance, but I have seen the same word in Caracas since 1998 in graffiti on the walls of the city and in telephone booths. I�ve heard numerous Venezuelans say it out loud.

I agree: he�s crazy and he keeps giving more and more reasons to confirm this. Two examples:

Recently President Ch�vez met with his counterpart in Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos. As his caravan was moving from the airport to the place of encounter in Santa Marta, Ch�vez saw people lined up along the street. Frustrated because he felt isolated from them within the vehicle that was carrying him, he ordered that the caravan stop. He got out and walked among the people and visited with them.

That�s crazy! Do you think the head of the Holy Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI, would suddenly stop his popemobile in Catholic Columbia, get out of the glass bubble, and walk among his flock? And yet there was Hugo Ch�vez, in supposedly hostile territory, walking among the people!

I am writing this on Sunday evening, November 28, and a few minutes ago Ch�vez gave another proof of his insanity. We�ve had bad rainstorms recently in Venezuela and many families have lost their homes and others have been encouraged to abandon theirs because of the pending danger of landslides. Well, Ch�vez just said that he felt eight or ten families could be temporarily accommodated in the presidential compound. I didn�t see George W. Bush doing something like that when the Katrina tragedy hit. Yes, he is going mad!

No, that�s wrong. He has already proven that he�s mad. He is going even madder! He said, I believe very sincerely, that it was mostly a symbolic measure. But I also believe it shows where his heart is, even if some might question his brain.

So, let�s give Mr. Levitte at least one point for a correct observation about Ch�vez�s sanity and a note of thanks to WikiLeaks for letting us in on his observation.

At the same time, we�ve got to take one point away from him for his observation that �even Brazil wasn�t able to support him [Ch�vez] anymore.� The memo was dated 16 September 2009. That was over a year ago. Looking back at all the Ch�vez-Lula meetings since then, Mr. Levitte was sure wrong on that evaluation.

And we should also subtract one more point for his evaluation that �Ch�vez is taking one of the richest countries in Latin America and turning it into another Zimbabwe.� Oh, come on! Has he ever been in Zimbabwe or Venezuela?

So �one� minus �two� equals a �-1� for the advice from Mr. Levitte. I wonder how much other useless advice will appear in the WikiLeaks� revelations. U.S. government officials say that lives might be in danger because of the information in these documents. I don�t know about that. But I would certainly think Mr. Levitte�s career as an Elysee Diplomatic Advisor should be.

- ...

Speaking Engagements in California, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Georgia

I will be in the United States for the next few weeks and will be making a series of presentations. Come if you can. The following are open to the public.

Tuesday, November 9, Larkspur, California , Marin Interfaith Task Force on Latin America, Redwoods Presbyterian Church, 110 Magnolia, 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, November 10, Oakland, California , Oakland City Hall, City Council Chambers, 1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza (between 14th and 15th Streets at Clay Street), Noon - 2:00 p.m.

Thursday, November 11, LaCrosse, Wisconsin , Viterbo University, 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, November 13, Beloit, Wisconsin , (Place and time TBA)

Monday, November 15, Milwaukee, Wisconsin , University of Wisconsin (Milwaukee), UWM Union, Ballroom West, 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd, 7:00 p.m.

Tuesday November 16, Chicago, Illinois , Latin American Solidarity Coalition (Chicago), 1901 S. Loomis - Decima Musa Restaurant, 1901 South Loomis, 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, November 20, Columbus, Georgia , School of the Americas Watch (SOAW) Gathering, Convention Center, Room 202, 5:00-6:30 p.m.

In addition, I will be making presentations at the following universities, should you be a student at one of them.

Monday, November 8, Oakland, California , Holy Names University, Heafey 653, 4:00 � 6:00 p.m.

Tuesday, November 16, Chicago, Illinois , Northeastern University, US/Latin American Relations class, 4:15 p.m.

Wednesday, November 17, Hammond, Indiana , Purdue University�Calumet, 131 Lawshe Hall, 9:30 a.m.

- ...

BITS AND PIECES�STARING

Staring�somewhere over the Caribbean Ocean (Written October 4, 2010) One of my sisters told me recently of a friend who is in a rest home. She said that all her friend does is simply stare all day long.

She never watches television or performs any other activities. My sister said this in criticism of her friend. I�m not sure that I would feel the same.

I am on a flight between Caracas and Atlanta at this moment. To do nothing for a bit, I was seeing how long it would take me to complete a Sudoku puzzle in the flight magazine. But suddenly the plane jerked and so I looked out the window�and saw the clouds. Beautiful clouds.

I wonder if God jerks planes from time to time so that the passengers will look at the clouds�the clouds that pass overhead daily and that we never take time to notice.

And so I simply stare. Is that bad? And my sister�s friend? Maybe she is just looking at the clouds that she missed seeing before.

...