Spain's king tells Chavez to 'shut up' during summit

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Steven,

If you oppose speech I favor, you're being PC. If you oppose speech I oppose, you da man!

It isn't a difficult concept. We're only human.

that's pretty much it

...at least you're honest about it.

[JVKn'CVO 11]

Spanish King Juan Carlos, seated next to Zapatero, angrily turned to Chavez and said, "Why don't you shut up?"

Hey, it was an honest question!!

or more of a "suggestion"

Saludos,

Caro

Edited November 11, 2007 by JVKn'CVO

[JODO 2]

Spaniards back king for telling Chavez to shut up By Andrew Hay

Sun Nov 11, 12:12 PM ET

Even Spaniards normally critical of the royal family backed King Juan Carlos on Sunday for telling Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to shut up, but some voiced concerns the monarchy was getting too involved in politics.

The king's flare-up at the Ibero American summit followed days of criticism by leftist Latin American leaders of Spain's political and business influence in former colonies.

The spark came when Chavez repeatedly called Spain's former conservative prime minister, Jose Maria Aznar, a fascist.

Spain's left-leaning El Periodico de Catalunya newspaper, representing a region where anti-royal sentiment runs high, said on Sunday that Chavez's behavior had been intolerable.

"Maybe it wasn't the best thing to say but the Monarch's fit shows just how much the Venezuelan's diatribe upset the Spanish," the newspaper said in its editorial.

Raising his hand at the fiery Venezuelan president, Juan Carlos had shouted "Why don't you shut up?"

In newspaper editorials, bars and Internet chatrooms, Spaniards said Chavez had been in the wrong.

"What the king said was completely justified, it's overdue," said bank worker Carlos Garcia, adding that he did not consider himself a supporter of either the royal family or Aznar.

But some appeared uneasy at the king taking on a more political role ahead of next year's general election.

Government ally El Pais said the king acted within his rights but raised concerns that the monarchy was losing the symbolic state function it has under Spain's constitution.

"The monarchy has recently been taking on a role that does not help in its important work to encourage moderation," El Pais said in its Sunday editorial.

The run-in with Chavez follows the first visit by Juan Carlos as king to Spain's disputed north African enclaves, sparking protests from Morocco, which claims the territories.

Juan Carlos won the trust of Spaniards by promoting the transition to democracy after the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975 and has distanced himself from any political role.

One of the few voices in Spain to criticize the king over the attack on Chavez came from the Izquierda Unida leftist group, which said he acted like a 17th century monarch addressing his vassals.

"Telling an elected head of state to shut up is something you can't do in Spain or abroad," said Willy Meyer of Izquierda Unida.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/id...119360220071111

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I don't think telling Chavez to shut up is stifling his free-speech, especially when the guy is trying to interrupt others. You could look at it the other way and say that his attempt to hog the floor is preventing everyone else from speaking and therefore infringing upon their freedom of speech.

Now CAIR is trying to get Michael Savage off the air... what say you about that?

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page...T20071109b.html

Well from what I've heard of his show - Savage is one of these ten-a-penny commentators who say clearly offensive things for effect, while in essence saying very little. In other words - he's all bluster and anger, and very little substantive dialog.

Whether or not he believes the stuff he says is another thing - but its problematic either way. I wouldn't want to see his show banned - but I do think its unfortunate that there is a consumer market for that sort of cheap, divisive material. That speaks as much to his regular listeners as to him, though again I'm undecided whether he actually believes the stuff he says, or whether he's cynically telling people what they want to hear. Either way its pretty sad IMO.

What's also a little weird is the way in which people seem to want to take ownership of extreme-commentators like Savage. Are we saying there really no moderate conservatives out there - and that people can't separate an attack on a mad b*stard on the radio with an attack on their entire ideology?

I'd like to think that most people are more reasonable than that.

Did you happend to catch Wally George on TV here in CA when you lived here? He's supposedly the first right wing talk show that incorporated this confrontational, in-your-face presentation and disguise it as a real discussion. He never really gave his guests the chance to debate him as his audience would boo them until Wally would get up out of his seat and pretend like he's going to get into fight with the person and then the guest was escorted off by stage people dressed like cops.

Some people get off on that but its troubling when people confuse it with a real discussion or debate. All I can say is there's enough stupid people in this country that find that kind of ####### stimulating for their intellect.

Edited November 11, 2007 by Mister Fancypants

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I don't think telling Chavez to shut up is stifling his free-speech, especially when the guy is trying to interrupt others. You could look at it the other way and say that his attempt to hog the floor is preventing everyone else from speaking and therefore infringing upon their freedom of speech.

Now CAIR is trying to get Michael Savage off the air... what say you about that?

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page...T20071109b.html

Well from what I've heard of his show - Savage is one of these ten-a-penny commentators who say clearly offensive things for effect, while in essence saying very little. In other words - he's all bluster and anger, and very little substantive dialog.

Whether or not he believes the stuff he says is another thing - but its problematic either way. I wouldn't want to see his show banned - but I do think its unfortunate that there is a consumer market for that sort of cheap, divisive material. That speaks as much to his regular listeners as to him, though again I'm undecided whether he actually believes the stuff he says, or whether he's cynically telling people what they want to hear. Either way its pretty sad IMO.

What's also a little weird is the way in which people seem to want to take ownership of extreme-commentators like Savage. Are we saying there really no moderate conservatives out there - and that people can't separate an attack on a mad b*stard on the radio with an attack on their entire ideology?

I'd like to think that most people are more reasonable than that.

Did you happend to catch Wally George on TV here in CA when you lived here? He's supposedly the first right wing talk show that incorporated this confrontational, in-your-face presentation and disguise it as a real discussion. He never really gave his guests the chance to debate him as his audience would boo them until Wally would get up out of his seat and pretend like he's going to get into fight with the person and then the guest was escorted off by stage people dressed like cops.

Some people get off on that but its troubling when people confuse it with a real discussion or debate. All I can say is there's enough stupid people in this country that find that kind of ####### stimulating for their intellect.

I think I caught him on (very) late night TV once - isn't he dead now?

Its ironic really even to mention freedom of speech in relation to those guys - they demand sympathy when something like this CAIR thing demands them being shut down (again not that I agree with this) but you do have to wonder how many times they are the ones telling people to shut up - their own guests even.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I think I caught him on (very) late night TV once - isn't he dead now?

Its ironic really even to mention freedom of speech in relation to those guys - they demand sympathy when something like this CAIR thing demands them being shut down (again not that I agree with this) but you do have to wonder how many times they are the ones telling people to shut up - their own guests even.

Yeah, he died in 2003....father of Rebecca De Mornay but they hadn't spoken during the last 15 years of his life. He was notorious for bringing on strippers on to his show and being outraged by their lewdness, but they would always end up stripping and wouldn't be escorted off the stage until they were scantily dressed, while he'd yell, "Sick! Sick! Sicke!" I don't know if he was brilliantly making fun of himself or if he was really that delusional.

That's why I'm thoroughly confused on the definition of PC? It's either a loose term that gets applied to many things, or people are mistaking freedom of speech with being PC.

Edited November 11, 2007 by Mister Fancypants

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I think I caught him on (very) late night TV once - isn't he dead now?

Its ironic really even to mention freedom of speech in relation to those guys - they demand sympathy when something like this CAIR thing demands them being shut down (again not that I agree with this) but you do have to wonder how many times they are the ones telling people to shut up - their own guests even.

Yeah, he died in 2003....father of Rebecca De Mornay but they hadn't spoken during the last 15 years of his life. He was notorious for bringing on strippers on to his show and being outraged by their lewdness, but they would always end up stripping and wouldn't be escorted off the stage until they were scantily dressed, while he'd yell, "Sick! Sick! Sicke!" I don't know if he was brilliantly making fun of himself or if he was really that delusional.

That's why I'm thoroughly confused on the definition of PC? It's either a loose term that gets applied to many things, or people are mistaking freedom of speech with being PC.

I'd say that about sums it up.

[♥JP♥ 5]

I still find this funny

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I still find this funny

Amen. There's a lesson there for all of us.

[Jasman0717 9]

Get out the boxing glooves

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Yay for the King!

[almaty 19]

That Venezuelan shoe needs to STFU.

well stated sister

[camifree 2]

The King was able to do in one second what we've been unable to do in more than 8 years!!!! Shame on us, Venezuelans... time to have some cojones to say NO NO NO

Inshallah... Our country is in God's hands right now...

[Saddle Bronc 124]

:thumbs: for Juan Carlos, for his understated response to chopfrack Chavez!

[eric&gen 0]

Shut the fuc up lol.