Tag: Democracy

Journalist

What can Chile’s politicians learn from the coup in 1973?

What can Chile’s politicians learn from the coup in 1973?

Long before jihadists destroyed the World Trade Centre, another September 11th had entered history as a dark day, especially for Latin America. On that date in 1973 Chile’s armed forces overthrew Salvador Allende, an elected Socialist president, and his chaotic, divided government. The coup was a national trauma and a continental shock. Augusto Pinochet, its leader, went…
Read more

Aai-, dear, dear Steven, My esteem and respect for you, since the days when I visited you when you still studied so incredibly hard in the U.S. of A. and to which I even devoted a radio story, is boundlessly great. Your statement about suspending parliament in Suriname to save the country in various areas is in principle good and interesting. But now that I try to think about it further and deeper, I believe that other solutions must be found and sought after. 01) After the Second World War, the IMF, as an offshoot of Bretton Woods, saved Western Europe from ruin and poverty with good and respectful management of the money. So your comment that they are good for nothing is not entirely correct. I really understand very well that times have changed, but still. The distribution of wealth, albeit in fits and starts in Europe, is much better now in 2023 than elsewhere. And some countries prosper. 02) However, suspending parliament for five years is a very big question mark. Plans to return power to parliament after a certain time – such as the five years you are talking about – have already been tried and implemented in various countries. It is true: the economy could flourish again and achieve growth. But: [ what could be the results and at what human costs ] That’s why social history is so interesting. On our own continent: 01) Brazil 1964 with Marshal Castelo Branco and his successors lasted until 1989, the generals also had the plan to make it only five years. I was able to shake the hand of the last general in question Joao Figueiredo and still have a sore arm left. It is true that the economy has grown enormously and Brazil has been able to join the so-called BRIC countries thanks to a great variety of factors, mainly from the private sector and has quickly overtaken us in Suriname. But the better distribution of wealth was not due to the generals, but to an economist and president, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, who inspired Lula to better distribute the proceeds of taxes and all other incomes and, in return, demanded that the poor had to send their children to school and feed them well. ( And training of teachers, of course ) In this way, 38 million people have been lifted out of severe poverty.

Suspending the Parliament in Suriname – Pros and Cons in the Historic Context

Aai-, dear, dear Steven, My esteem and respect for you, since the days when I visited you when you still studied so incredibly hard in the U.S. of A. and to which I even devoted a radio story, is boundlessly great. Your statement about suspending parliament in Suriname to save the country in various areas…
Read more

Counting Pennies with a Broken Soul

Our Own Story of Life

Our Life Our Story Part II A. van Veelen Amsterdam, June 28th 2021– Anyone selling gossip is shooting him/herself in the foot.  Branding comes from burning.  You burn your fingers somewhere. Just look at the influencer without a last name. Zero experience with buying Chinese mouth caps, and yet he talked a hundred million into…
Read more

CCTV Tower Beijing

Reporters looking for a job in Beijing, London and Elsewhere – III

The New China Story Amsterdam, Feb. 18th 2021– But foreign journalists working at Xinhua, the state-run news agency, see their stories reaching much larger audiences. Government subsidies cover around 40% of Xinhua’s costs, and it generates income – like other news agencies, such as the Associated Press – by selling stories to newspapers around the…
Read more