Friday, September 22, 2006

Tales from the pretty revolution ---In the 2005 proposed budget for 2005, the caring revolution budgeted US$ 1.56 billion for Defense and US$ 1.85 billion for public health. During 2005 the National Assembly approved an additional US$ 571 million in “extraordinary” credits for Defense, usually approved to cover insufficiencies in the budget that can not wait, but only approved US$ 31 million for public health in similar credits. This is a country where public hospitals are dysfunctional, have no supplies and turn back people regularly. In the end, Defense spending was 6.6% of the budget, while public health was only 5.8%. Chavez cares so much for his weapons, no? Certainly more than for the people. ---During a meeting at the Argentinean Foreign Office last year, PDVSA officials and Argentinean companies and Government offices met to discuss possible joint technology projects. Wind power! proposed on Argentinean company. How about solar energy for remote areas? Suggested one university. Biodiesel! Suggested the University of Santa Fe. Why don’t we develop software? Suggested Argentinean company Softlab? No, said the PDVSA representatives we have orders from above to work in a joint project to build nuclear reactors for the Orinoco Oil Belt. That was the only project signed during the trip. PDVSA has no nuclear engineers or specialists. ---And how abut the People’s Ombudsman, known in Spanish as “El Defensor del Pueblo”. He continued his long career in simply defending Hugo Chavez when he defended this week Chavez’ speech at the United Nations: “I think Chavez said what he had to say in the right place” said Chavez’ Defender. He continued by defending, who else? The government! by saying “We don’t have the levels of violence that people want everyone to believe…I don’t know where the analysts get their numbers, how can we think that Venezuela has more violence than Central America? Well, Mr. Mundarain, the analysts get the numbers from official sources, which you should know, if you were really trying to care and defend the people, instead of your boss the autocrat. His office should be renamed “El Defensor de Chavez” ---And in another harebrained priority project of the revolution, the National Assembly rushed through its first discussion the law that creates the Bolivarian Aerospace Agency, jokingly referred to as the “URO” (Unidentified Revolutionary Object). The Bill is full of truly revolutionary definitions: Article 2. In the context of the present Law and its regulations, we define the following: Aerospace: It is the space formed by the terrestrial atmosphere and the near external space or ultra terrestrial space…. Ultra terrestrial Space: It is the zone located further than the atmospheric space which extends all the way to infinity. You’ve to got to love the priorities and imagination of the caring revolution. I wonder if by law, the Assembly has decided that the Universe is indeed infinite, resolving once and for all that scientific controversy. 11:04:48 PM    comment []

Ganging up against Chavez in New York and in Caracas                  Daily News                                                                 New York Post This is not the devil by Teodoro Petkoff in Tal Cual  Hugo Chavez is a histrion. Up on the stage, he is delirious. He can twist his eyes, searching for God on the ceiling of the United Nations Puts his palms together, imploring.  And then, without a warning, he can release a whole bunch of insults, using the whole repertoire for that place-his peculiar communism, in the name of humanity, of peace and the redemption of the humble. Venezuelans know it: in his most pathetic occasion he had a little whistle in his mouth and with each blow into it, he would fire someone from PDVSA, broadcast live and direct. And nationwide over all TV stations. He is as simple minded as the one he has turned into his arch enemy. Both simplify and divide the world into good and evil. For now, Chavez uses his verbal artillery, of low quality, which as Bill Clinton himself said yesterday :” Hurts him and his country” A true and full revolutionary, of those truly compromised with what they say and how they say it, stays away from bullying people and from false postures like those our President adopted at the United Nations. Chavez requested the help of a psychiatrist to understand the speech by the President of the United States, who spoke from the same stage the day before. The psychiatrist could kill two birds with one stone, without even being very skilled. While he calls for a fairer world, his National Assembly, a few hours later, opened its second period of sessions approving a new credit of 43.5 billion Bolivars (US$ 20 million) so that the Ministry of Defense could acquire “munitions of common use, 40 millimeter caliber grenades, machine guns and pistols” This investment, explains the Ministry of Defense, will serve to maintain and train a new military corps called “the strategic reserve” which this peaceful revolution is incorporating to a national culture already sprinkled with epaulettes, battles, battalions, commands, units, squadrons and the whole militaristic  paraphernalia that the redemptor of the World conceives as “XXIst. Century socialism” During the same parliamentary session, we learned that billions are still missing to pay the interest on the national debt and that it will be necessary to reprogram the Debt Bill in order to fulfill old obligations, acquired but never delivered.  This is, thus, the Venezuela of Hugo Chavez, full of dollars, but in debt. Pacifist, but arming itself each day. “God is with us” said Chavez at the UN, with his eyes twisted, with his hands together, smelling the sulfur surrounding him, with a book by Noam Chomsky in front of him. “You have the threat in your own home” he added. And one feels like repeating the phrase around here. “You have the threat in your own house” 8:18:39 PM    comment []

Artwork for getting out the vote Next Tuesday there will be a rally in Chacao at 4 PM where the Metro station is located, to unveil the artwork to mobilize the people to vote in the December election: 8:17:39 PM    comment []

Weil strikes again How many time can I say it: Weil is a genius! They may say that Rosales is moving up in the polls, but I have my reserves 8:16:32 PM    comment []

A Government of fools and clowns Even if you don't speak Spanish, this video of an interview of the pro-Chavez Governor of Carabobo state proves that there is more than one clown in this Government of fools. 6:25:41 PM    comment []

With an absentee President, Rangel justifies attacks, Rosales ignores them One of the ironies of the current Presidential campaign is that while Chavez became President by visiting every barrio, town and city in the country and being in touch with the concerns and worries of the people, he has so far campaigned only by holding rallies, where he is carefully protected from any contact with the people. Meanwhile, Manuel Rosales’ campaign is exactly the opposite. Everyday Rosales visits numerous barrios, concentrating his campaign on attracting those whose support for Chavez has become lukewarm to cold in the most popular barrios of the country. Rosales has now been attacked a few times by pro-Chavez groups, some of which have gathered hours ahead of Rosales’ scheduled stops, to attempt to block his path. While these thugs are threatening, Rosales has refused to stop his visits and continues his daily visits to these areas. The day before yesterday Vice-President Rangel, representing the absentee President in his nth. trip in 2006, said that the attacks on Rosales are simply a reflection of the rejection by the people of his candidacy and that Rosales should simply go “at his own risk” into those areas. There are quite a number of conclusions that can be derived from this statement by the Vice-President: --First of all, this is an irresponsible and inefficient Government incapable of providing security for its own citizens, as demonstrated not only by crime statistics, but by the fact that it can not even provide the necessary security for people to go out campaigning in the exercise rights guaranteed by the Constitution. --Second, the Government assumes no responsibility if anything were to happen to the unity candidate of the opposition, saying he is provoking the people and if he does go in the barrios, he does at his own risk --Third, Rangel is indirectly authorizing the aggression of a leading politician in the country, just because he is daring to go and campaign in what apparently Rangel believes is his own turf as if 100% of the people supported Chavez. To me, this is simply an attempt at intimidation. Obviously, Rangel fails to see a number of ironies in all this. Yes, Rosales has been attacked a few times, but he continues doing this day after day, attracting large and festive crowds and in some cases, protected not only by the police but by but Rosales’ own supporters in the barrios. Listening to the problems the people have, talking to them, being with them. But the biggest irony of all this, is that Chavez does not dare campaign openly in any barrio or even city. It is not only his intense paranoia which stops him from doing so, but the fact that he can not tolerate the criticism, complaints and protests that have met him when going into facilities or stages to hold rallies. In fact, only last week, two ladies started heckling him and kept complaining at the President during one of his staged indoor “events” and Chavez asked them to quiet down and said that his party needed unity and not “washing the clothes in public for everyone to see”. This from the man who eight years ago loved crowds and went to sports and artistic events so that he could receive the daily dose of adoration from his supporters. He can no longer do that and even if he did, his intolerance to dissent and discussion, would simply make him look very bad, with his outrageous outburst and his unhappy expressions. That is why Chavez prefers to campaign in Beijing, Harlem, Buenos Aires or New York and enjoy the comforts and pleasures of international travel, reading Chomsky and Sartre and meeting his heroes. he loves signing agreements that nobody will ever complain to him were never completed or fulfilled and dreaming of becoming the leader of the Third World, while failing to fulfill his most basic campaign promises to the people of this small country, despite the biggest oil windfall Venezuela has ever seen. 1:59:04 AM    comment []