The Devil's Excrement

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While all eyes were on the attack by Chavista blond diva Lina Ron, on TV station Globovision, more than 10 people were injured as people in Puerto La Cruz in the East of Venezuela, were protesting the shut down of radio station Orbita FM 107.5. As hundreds of protesters were gathering near the radio station, cops from the municipality of Sotillo, began shooting at the peaceful protesters and were joined by red beret Chavistas, throwing stones and hard obcts at protesters.

A truch was burned by the Chavistas as the protesters had to take refuge in nearby buildings. The attack did not have the visibility of Chavez’ buddy and supporter Lina Ron attacking the local media enemy of the revolution, but it was more vicious and carried out with the aid of the local police, leaving ten people injured. By the time the attack was carried out, neither the Prosecutors office nor the Minister of (In)Justice El Aissami were around to give the usual recipe of platitudes about the Government persecuting those carrying the attacks and the Government had nothing to do with. Because there is no longer a Government in Venezuela, just a bunch of political hacks and fanatics trying to get Chavez’ attention.

And the injured should understand that it is no good to stand in the way of the “process” and they should simply get out of the way or else…This repression is to guarantee your freedom, get it?

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Sometines, on a rough day like today, only humor can hit the spot, Dickipedia on Hugo Chavez did that!

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Chavez’ revived henchman Diosdado Cabello is really getting back at the voters for not reelecting him as Governor, revealing a fascist streak unparelleled during the Chavez years, setting aside the big boss himself. Cabello seems to really be relishing his role, shutting down radio stations, threatening the media or politicians and announcing deals that don’t exist.

But the most remarkable ability of Cabello in the last few days is to simply lie with a straight face. He doesn’t even need to be asked about it, anytime a microphone happens to go near his face, the same lie comes out: All the Government is doing is restoring administrative order on Venezuelan media, as many concessions were no longer in the hands of those that were originally handed out the right to broadcast under the Government’s license, or something quite similar to that. Cabello has been saying this over and over since he first announced that the Government would shut down 240 radio stations, besides approving a new Bill regulating radio and, of course, the now infamous, Media Bill (CDM)

Except this is all a lie! Simply put, nothing in Venezuelan legislation limits, restricts or in any way says anything about the possibility inheriting or passing on to your families a media concession. In fact, as long your concession is valid, you can sell it na dsimply notify Conatel of the sale and that’s it! The rest as they say in Carora, is simply BS.

In fact, if that were not the case, the Chavez Government could have stopped TV station RCTV using the original owner argument, rather than the complicated renewal argument they had to use to shut down that media outlet.

In fact, as an imaginative Twitter used said today, you have to wonder how  the Cisneros brothers managed to keep their Venevision concession, given the fact that it was their father that originally obtained the concession.

But none of that happened because it was not in the law and the Government only “made up” this argument when it realized that there were tough times ahead and something had to be done about it.

So, really, you cant inherit the concession, because the boss, Hugo, does not feel like it. And as we said in the order to shut you down, you have fifteen days to appeal to Conatel and since you know we will nt change our minds, you have six months to go to the Supreme Court of Venezuela, where as you know…

We won’t feel like it either!!!

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Today the New York Times has an article today noting that while Hugo Chavez keeps denying that his Government is helping the Colombian FARC guerrillas, Venezuelan officials keep helping the terrorist group by arranging weapons deals and allowing them identity cards and to move freely around the country. The evidence for this, according to the New York Times, was computer material that points to collaborations between the Chavez administration and the FARC guerrillas as recent as a few weeks ago.

It turns out that during a recent raid, the Colombian military captured emails among the current FARC leadership and in them Ivan Marquez says that the acquisition of a variety of weapons for the guerrilla group was being “facilitated” by none other than General Henry Rangel Silva who until last month was the Head of police intelligence and known FARC supporter, Minister and spy extraordinaire Ramon Rodriguez Chacin.

What is clear from this is that Mr. Rangel Silva does a lot of the dirty work for President Chavez. The US Government has already accused the General of aiding drug trafficking. Additionally, Mr. Rangel Silva was the man that coordinated the attempt to cover up the infamous Maletagate case. In testimony in the Miami Court, Carlos Kauffman stated that the whole cover up of the 800,000 dollars in cash that Guido Antonini brought in the PDVSA plane to Buenos Aires began at a meeting in Rangel Silva’s office. This was later ratified by Moises Maionica another one of the men accused in the Maletagate case.

Given that Maletagate was a PDVSA operation, bringing n Rangel Silva shows what a key man he has become for Chavez, that he comes in to clean up the mess PDVSA left behind, except that the FBI was waiting for them when they came to Miami to convince Antonini to help in the cover up.

But the scary thing is that two or three weeks ago Chavez removed Rangel Silva and moved him to the Presidency of CANTV, a move that some have interpreted as Chavez trying take some of the heat off by moving the dirty General to a cushy position.  But I have to agree with Quico, that this is a very ominous move at a time that the most basic elements of our freedom are being attacked frontally by the Chavez administration.

First of all, I don’t think Chavez cares much about whether Gen. Rangel Silva is or not considered to be a key man in drug trafficking in Venezuela. Chavez allows the drug trafficking to go on and knows about it, or did you really think nobody can go south of Amazonas State for security reasons?

But when Chavez moves one of his top spooks and henchmen into the Presidency of the phone company, this is no coincidence, this is in preparation to begin an intense campaign of both spying and limiting our basic rights. There can be no other interpretation to this. And it is downright scary…

Chavez’ super spook is now in charge of shutting us up!

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Today, the General Prosecutor Luisa Ortega went to the National Assembly to propose in her words, for the State to “regulate freedom of speech”. I have so many problems with that sole sentence that I will simply use the text she presented to the National Assembly and ask her, figuratively speaking, if it is not the Government that she is part of and has been part of for almost ten years that is the biggest and most regular violator of all of the points she made  today. In her words, she proposes to penalize anyone or any media that :

“Whose actions or omissions damage the right to opportune information…”

The Chavez Government does not allow all of the media into some official acts, this limits and damages the right of Venezuelans to opportune information.

“…information which is true and impartial…”

Has the Prosecutor ever seen VTV? That is the most partial view of the news in the country, which acts not only as the spokesman for the Chavez Government, but for Chavez’ party PSUV, a totally partial view of the news, which includes lies and manipulations daily.

“which threatens the social peace….”

Has the General Prosecutor ever heard Chavez’ Sunday program Alo Presidente? Doesn’t Hugo Chavez attempt against the social peace of Venezuela when he reminds everyone that his revolution is armed? Doesn’t he violate social peace when he threatens to take over private property and claims that the State can take it over when it is justified. (This is also a lie according to the Venezuelan Constitution)

“the security and independence of the Nation….”

When the President of the Republic allows Cuban officials to run Venezuela’s intelligence services, Venezuela’s identification office and now its ports, isn’t he and the Government he presides going against the security and independence of the country? When Chavez attempts to involve Venezuela in the Honduran conflict, isn’t he threatening for personal use the security of Venezuela?

“…that generate the sensation of impunity…”

Doesn’t all of the anti-crime policies of the ten years and the intromission of politics in the Judicial system during the Chavez Government generate a “sensation of impunity”? Doesn’t the Anderson case investigated by none other than you, Luisa Ortega who promotes this Bill, “generate the sensation of impunity”?  Doesn’t the partial way in which opposition Governors and politicians are persecuted generate a “feeling of impunity?

“Anyone that divulges through the media a fake news item which affects public peace..”

When her predecessor accused the opposition of plotting Anderson’s murder, he affected public peace and was lying. When Chavez says Colombia is ready to invade us, he is lying and attempting against public peace. Is General Prosecutor Ortega ready to prosecute the President any time he lies on his Sunday TV program or any of the hundreds of his obligatory speeches and diatribes that the media is forced to broadcast?

“anything that causes a prejudice against the State…”

Does this mean that her office will prosecute whenever someone causes a prejudice from the State? Like Chavez taking over companies and reducing their value within a year of taking them over? Or Ramirez hiring more and more people to see if that way things get done?

and in closing, she says:

“anyone…that promotes hate”

Did the General prosecutor hear the statements made by Minister of Energy and Oil and President of PDVSA Rafael Ramirez in which he stated in no uncertain terms that he “hates the oligarchy and the opposition” and that anyone that does not join a socialist committee is “suspect of conspiring”

Doesn’t someone that openly says he hates 40% of the population promote hate? Does that mean that the General Prosecutor will stop Ramirez from saying such things in the media? Didn’t see you saying anything about that when he did and you were the General prosecutor, an independent power supposed to uphold and defend the law. Were you out of the country that week? Just being servile? Or simply a coward?

and when it comes to promoting hate by “race, religion, nationality, ideology or political affiliation”

Well, Ms. Ortega, I just don’t know where to start. Should I tell you to view the Hojilla TV program in the Government’s TV station? Or how about Chavez’ statements about Israel, Jewish people, Colombians, the Church, the US, black people, women, Condoleeza Rice…should I continue? Because Hugo Chavez can be right down sexist, racist and discriminatory. Do you remember the Tascon/Chavez list?

Do you really ever watch TV? Or do you spend your days only watching Globovision to see if you can catch them doing something? Do you ever watch Hugo Chavez, La Hojilla or VTV?

Or do you simply want to find a limit to gag, control and impose limits on the right of free speech of those that are not in agreement with the Government you are a part of?

By the way, you are supposed to be an independent power, but you ain’t!