Nightfly said:
Here's the thing. Pinochet was the Saddam Hussein of South America. He had thousands killed upon his orders. He's so damned old and frail that he will probably not even survive his trial for his crimes.
To further Nightfly's brief history on Pinochet-Ugarte, here is a link from The Biography Channel detailing exactly what sort of respected "leader" this fine, upstanding gentleman really was:
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http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/new_site/biography.php?id=493
"Highlights" of his oh-so-brilliant political career:
A. September 1973, Chilean President Salvador Allende lost his life in the coup led by General Pinochet, who lead a military junta representing Chile's armed forces.
B. Pinochet ordered the purges that saw more than 3,000 supporters of the Allende regime killed, and many thousands more tortured or forced into exile.
C. He closed down the Chilean Parliament, banned all political and trade union activity and, in 1974, appointed himself president.
D. In 1990 he reluctantly stepped down as president. However, he remained commander-in-chief of the army, a position he used to ensure both that there were no prosecutions against members of the security forces suspected of human rights abuses, and to block any radical political initiatives.
And, dear friends, he ACTUALLY has the wherewithal and temerity to post his own version of his regime's story on a web-site dedicated to... whom else... himself:
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http://www.publica.com/bio.html
God, how I love research!!
georgez...
Telling someone who is well respected to "fuck off" ain't really cool. He has just as much right to express his opinion and to post such on this thread as you do. While I definitely do not agree with your assessment about Pinoche-Ugarte, I have to say: to each his own.
Just don't force it down our throats or profanely chastise someone when their opinions differ.
:hatsoff: