Socialist Capitalism?

The Gathering Storm, September 25, 2008

September 25, 2008

Visiting China yesterday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said socialism has protected both countries' economies from financial crises, noting "In the face of the collapse of global capitalism, we can say: how fortunate that China had a revolution, how fortunate that Venezuela had and still has a revolution, how fortunate that we got to know each other." The two countries also agreed to double a joint investment fund to $12 billion. The money will be invested in an oil refinery in Venezuela and four massive tankers that will transport oil to China.

While Chavez was in China, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited the United Nations this week and used the opportunity to rail against "Zionist murderers." Referring to Israel, Ahmadinejad said, "The Zionist regime is on a definite slope to collapse, and there is no way for it to get out of the cesspool created by itself and its supporters." He referred to the U.S. while addressing international concerns over his country's nuclear program, saying "A few bullying powers have sought to put hurdles in the way of the peaceful nuclear activities of the Iranian nation by exerting political and economic pressures against Iran, and also through threatening and pressuring the IAEA."

Ahmadinejad also told the U.N. General Assembly that the "American empire" was "reaching the end of its road," and that the U.S. had started wars in Iran and Afghanistan, "in order to win votes in elections."

Russia has pulled out of a meeting of foreign ministers to discuss further sanctions against Iran. The meeting was set to include ministers from France, Britain, the U.S., China, Russia, and Germany but was cancelled. "We see no ‘fire alarm' that would require us to put off other things in the extremely busy week of the U.N. General Assembly and meet in emergency [session] on the Iranian nuclear problem," Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said.