The Devil's Excrement

Russel sends this link to an article in the San Francisco Gate about the tricks the Government may have use to stop the recall referendum. These are the type of things I am worried about that will keep people from signing the petition, the regulations require that all the National ID numbers of those that signed the petition. This means two million public workers will be intimated by the possibility of being fired if they do sign…..

After labeling the fires (see below) last Sunday in the Caracas military airport of La Carlota “an accident”, today the Minister of Defense said that this explosion, together with those in Fuerte Tiuna (The largest military facility in the country) were the result of terrorism. There was apparently a third incident at the same time, near the Presidential palace. In all cases, the explosions were caused by fragmentary grenades which are accessible  only to the military, within either military facilities (La Carlota, Fuerte Tiuna) or heavily guarded areas (Palacio Blanco). What is difficult to understand is the silence by the Government. Not even the oppositionwas accused! In fact, it was the Minister of Defense that condemned the events. Suggestions are that these are explosions set by military personnel who are unhappy with the turn of events in the country and are threatening to continue if the recall referendum is not allowed to proceed.

Separately, local newspaper El Mundo, reported that there were actually two deaths in the La Carlota explosion and the Attorney General’s office was trying to investigate, it but was not being allowed to do so by military authorities.

Great picture by Ilich Otero in today’s Tal Cual (by subscription). A banner in front of a shack says “The new PDVSA belongs to the people”, PDVSA the state oil company really belongs now to the revolution and its cronies only and is being used and abused right and left (many storties below on that issue). Sadly, down the line, the “new PDVSA” will contribute less to the standard of living of the poor than it has in the last ten years due to mismanagement. All indications are that the Government is ready to burn all of the company’s cash to “improve” things before the recall referendum……

MVR Deputy Nicolas Maduro, called today for an investigation of CIA activites in Venezuela. Maduro said that US intelligence is promoting and financing terrorists acts. Maduro the referred to the attacks on CONATEL (two guys in a motorcycle threw an unidentified explosive device at the building), La Carlota (The Government says it was an accident and is mum on the issue) and Fuerte Tiuna (There was an explosion in Caracas’ biggest military fort, the Government has said nothing about it, but like someone said, it was either an inside job or security is terrible at the country’s biggest military facility).

Can’t find anything in the news anywhere, but there was a large confirmed explosion at La Carlota military airport in Caracas an hour ago and there are reports of a second one at the largest military facility in the city Fuerte Tiuna. Will update as soon as more is known. Curious how these explosions always take place at heavily guarded facilities. Is teh Chavez Government setting things up so that tehre is no petition drive for the referendum?

Huge fires are burning at this time at Caracas’ military airport, will try to get pic off TV.

Got this picture off the TV screen. Very little information, firefighters that came to aid the military airport are being asked to leave at this time. TV says it was gasoline storage trucks that caught fire.

So far, it appears it was indeed an accident or that is the impression the Government is giving or wants to give, guess we are all tense here…….

Hugo Chavez was in his best diplomatic behavior calling those public international figures that condenmed the confiscation of Globoviison equipment by the Government “imbeciles” and “delinquents”. I wonder what the Secretary Geenral of the OAS, Roger Noriega or the Head of the Human Rights Commision are thinking about this. Or our Foreign Minister? I guess it takes one to know one.

– You are a CONATEL inspector, you do an inspection. You are done. Where do you go? Obviously to your office, to turn in the paperwork, talk to your boss, etc… Not here,. as shown by Globovision you go to the largest military base in Caracas where you meet with some people and later switch cars to go somewhere else. This is the procedure that the Government called “routine” last night…….You believe it?

Reading the Sunday’s papers, I learn that the only condition under which CONATEL can confiscate equipment is when it finds a clandestine trsnamission. Now, to call Globoviison clandestine is reaching, no? As usual the Government does the half-truths, tries to give the appearance of legalities for its actions, hiding behind gray regulations.

Lost in the noise over the Globovision affair on Friday was the case of the Catholic Church in Barquisimeto which was searched on Friday by more than fifty security and military personnel in a raid that was jointly performed by the Intelligence police, the National Guard and regional police. It all started as a false alarm that an explosive device had been placed at the church but somehow became an all out raid. It was the police that said they had a call on the bomb and they proceed to search the church, including all of the files. The cops said they had found “subversive material”, by this they mean pamphlets by a community group calling for blocking of the media bill that the Chavez administration wants approved. Where are the People’s Ombudsman and the Attorney general? Nobody knows…..

Rafael Quiroz, a Professor of Economics at Central University, who nobody can accuse of being anti-Chavez, wrote an article in today’ El Nacional (by subscription only) about Orimulsion and the Government’s decision to scale back the program. Some highlights:

–          Orimulsion has become itself a source of national pride, because its conceptualization. Research, development, manufacture and commercialization are 100% Venezuelan. It is the only successful example, in the hydrocarbons area, which has flowered in Venezuelan land.

–          They are pretending to change the definition of Orimulsion from “natural “bitumen” to “extra heavy oil”, with all the international implications this has. In the past, Venezuela made great efforts to demonstrate that it was a “natural bitumen” and thus not subject to the taxes imposed on oil.

–          The offensive against Bitor and Orimulsion under the excuse that it is less profitable than the strategic associations, which is not true, because Bitor has a profitability of 20% has had earnings and has paid more for royalty taxes and income taxes than the Orinoco Oil belt associations, which are exempt from income taxes and have a royalty regimen under which they only pay 1% for ten years. Thus there is no apparent reason unless they want to hand out the Orinoco Oil Belt to multinationals to produced fuel oil.