Tuesday, November 22, 2005

The sad images of local poverty while Chavez promotes himself abroad by given away our wealth photo: Isabel Haddad While Hugo Chavez spends millions of dollars buying Argentina's debt, subsidizing gasoline so that Uruguayans can go to to the beach and now subsidizing oil so that "poor" americans, richer than 90% of Venezuelans as measured by the images shown on TV today, all of which are simply part of the self-promotion of Hugo Chavez, you could go around Caracas and take dozens of sad pictures like the ones above, despite a windfall that now tops US$ 200 billion during his seven years in power. This from the cynic who said on 1998: " If in three years, there are still street kids in Venezuela, I will resign". Well, your resignation is well overdue! 10:13:51 PM    comment []

More proof of the use of the Tascon Fascist list right at the top I still remember when I first started talking about the Tascon list and how it was being used to violate the most basic rights of Venezuelans, that pro-Chavez readers of this blog began questioning whether this was true or not, while people I knew well were being denied jobs, their ability to deal with the Government or even basic services like getting a passport or an ID number for the basic fact that they signed the petition to recall President Hugo Chavez, a right in the Venezuelan Constitution, put in by Chavez himslef. In time, the evidence mounted, case after case of the use of list became public, of how it was being used throughout the Government to deny the rights of people. Then the ultimate proof came out: First it was the memo in which Chavez asked the President of the Electoral Board to hand over the petition database directly to Tascon, for which the Presidency provided Xerox machines and personnel to copy the thousands of pages containing the names of those that signed. Then, in his verbosity, the chief blabbermouth of Venezuela told Deputy Tascon in his Sunday radio program that it was time to put away or “bury” the list. Those same readers never said anything and most of them have continued to support this Government despite this clear evidence of fascism, absence of the rule of law and abuse of the rights of people that went right to the top. Today, Tal Cual revealed a conversation between Rocio San Miguel, the former legal council to the National Council for Borders and her former boss Feijoo Colomine, the Executive Secretary of that Council. The Council is directly dependent from the Vice Presidency of the Republic. San Miguel was not only fired from her job at the council, but also from her teaching job at the School of Air Wars for signing the petition to call for a referendum to recall Higo Chavez. Moreover, her husband, an Air Force Colonel, has had no assignment and has been at home ever since his wife made her accusations public. San Miguel tried to go through the Courts but because the judicial system is controlled by the Government, her case has gone nowhere. She is now planning to go to the Interamerican System for the Protection of Human Rights. Today, San Miguel revealed the same taped conversation she had try to use in her case in which the Secretary General of the council, recriminates her for signing the petition and tells her directly that the decision to get rid of the people was made by Vice-President Jose Vicente Rangel directly. In any country where decency prevails the Vice-President would resign in the face of such an accusation of repression, abuse of power, human rights violation and plain fascist behavior. In a country with the rule of law, he would be indicted. In the Venezuela of the revolution, this will not even be considered by these heartless crooks without scruples. For those that do not speak Spanish, here are some excerpts from the conversation between San Miguel (SM) and her boss Feijoo (F): SM: This makes me very sad. In some fashion Thais and I will move forward, but I don’t understand why they meddle with Magally and with Guerra (Others fired), for only signing…how can you collaborate with this? F: Well, I am not going to argue, because...the alternative is that I resign, see? And I am not going to do that SM: But are you conscious that an abuse is being committed??? Your Government has claimed thousands of times about any citizen having the rights to exercise what they put in the Constitution. And why that retaliation? I understand if you are a Minister, you are fired, but we have technical jobs, I don’t go around making political statement s of any sort. F: There are decisions that are being made, they make them, and I did not like it…I do not agree…But the Government has made a decision SM: To kick out all its employees that signed. F: Well, at least Jose Vicente (the VP) made the decision in our case …The VP signed it. There you have it, evidence of fascist behavior right at the top once again. Anyone care to defend it? How much are you willing to support and collaborate with this type of behavior? That is why this post is going in the category: Tascon Fascist list. And it is a long list of fascism and abuses by this silly “revolution”! 8:59:10 PM    comment []

The ever more convoluted story of the Anderson case and the Prosecutor General A year ago, the Chief Head of Homicides of the investigative police (CICPC), the Chief Prosecutor of the region of Lara and the Governor of Lara state said that Juan Carlos Sanchez, who was being followed by the police in connection with the Anderson case, was shot dead when he did not obey the order to leave the hotel room where he was with his hands up. The police described how Sanchez was being tracked via his cell phone and followed to the location where he was killed and in that shooting a cop was also injured. At the time, the cops also said Sanchez was getting ready to leave the country, had weapons, some C-4, money and a passport. His family argued that this was not true. Sanchez’ car had a GPS protection device that indicated he never left Caracas and one of those charged in the case, Juan Guevara, said Sanchez was tortured in Caracas, he could hear the screams while he was being detained. Guevara happens to be the person that was also “detained” last year on Nov. 20th. with the Prosecutor General confirming it that day, only to deny it later, saying he made a mistake. Guevara “disappeared” for a few days according to his wife, only to be detained (again?) in Southwest Venezuela. Sanchez’ family has charged all along that his death was a “set-up” by the police and that his body had evidence of torture, which was always denied by the authorities…until today. Well, the Prosecutor General said on a TV interview today that Sanchez’ death was a “set-up” and that he was killed in order to protect the identity of the main people behind Anderson’s asssination. According to this new version by the Prosecutor General, those behind the explosion thought they had control of the police and may have sent the cops to simulate Sanchez’ death in a confrontation. This “new” version, which seems to have come out of a movie, is made more incredible by the fact that those that announced and described how the confrontation took place where high ranking officers of the police, together with the Governor of the state. Why did they lie? Were they involved? All of these questions are left now up in the air. Here is Petkoff’s take of the same topic in today’s Tal Cuela Another one from the Prosecutor General by Teodoro Petkoff Well Hugo, this mini reporter believes that it is time to tie up your nutcase before he turns the Anderson case into an episode of The Three Stooges. Now Isaias comes out with a version that Juan Carlos Sanchez was ordered killed by the Guevaras, manipulating the intelligence police. I don’t know if this is the truth or a lie, but then, what happens now to the first version, handed out by the National Homicide Chief of the Investigative Police, the regional prosecutor and none other than Governor Reyes Reyes, according to which Sanchez died in a confrontation? All those gentlemen were in cahoots to present what now, according to Isaias, was simply a set up? If it was set up, these gentlemen did not commit a crime and shouldn’t Rodriguez the bard, be opening an investigation against them to charge them for simulating a punishable crime? Or is he going to come out and tell us another one of his typical ones, assuring us that he read “sincerity” in the eyes of all of those officials and that is why he believed them? On top of that, Isaias should reveal to us how come the Guevaras could so easily manipulate the “revolutionaries” that directed the intelligence police at the time and take them to get rid of Juan Carlo Sanchez. Maybe Colonel Miguel Rodriguez Torres, chief of the intelligence police then, may have something to tell us about this comic strip. 6:35:22 PM    comment []