Good article in the Miami Herald (sent by Russell) on how the Chavez Government discriminates against those that oppose the Government, most of the stories are not new and they are truly sad, when a Government discriminates against its won people on the basis of political beliefs. Even more remarkable is the bit about the People’s Ombudsman firing those that are not pro-Chavez. What really irked me in the story was MVR Deputy Luis Tascon saying that discrimination is insignificant; he knows that PDVSA has sent letters to all its contractors and providers telling them they can not hire any of the 18,000 people fired by PDVSA. Now, imagine that, 18,000 people can not work for any oil or oil service company in a country where the Government controls that industry. What else can they do? Somewhere in this blog is the link to a copy of the letter sent by PDVSA Western Manager to all service companies telling they could not hire any fired workers. I know that people with Ph.D.’s who worked in PDVSA can not find jobs at Government research institutes because they are branded as traitors. Thus this Government acts like all those fascists Governments one reads about in history books but thinks it can not happen again as issues as basic and human rights are better ingrained in the world. Well, let me tell you they are not, the same people that claim a few signatures in the recall petition are bad ignore thousands of Venezuelans and their families that are being discriminated against. Moreover, many of these same people are choosing to leave the country to be able to support their families. Many of them have advanced degrees that cost the country a lot of money to obtain. Even worse, they have experience in fields which are not only critical to the country’s oil industry, but in which it is quite difficult to find qualified people. But as it has been usually the case with anything that has to do with knowledge, ability and competence, those are values despised by this perverse Government.