The Devil's Excrement

Among the charges against the TV stations:  showing CNN interviews, criticizing the President’s trips, being critical of the President speaking out against the church and showing “ads” that were not appropriate and showing “somber” and “pathetic” images…. Sounds like censorship to me. What’s next, the Internet?

The opposition organized a march today south of Caracas. As we have become accostumed to, Chavez’ supporters were waiting for it and one person was killed and 29 were injured. The National Guard was there but did nothing, neither did the local police. The Mayor responsible for the local police blamed the Governor of Miranda State Enrique Mendoza for organizing the march and said in the best facist style: “I hope he has understood that this region is pro-Chavez”. The picture below shows a guy shooting at the opposition from a moving jeep. The car plates are on the image, but nothing will happen, the Government will investigate nothing.

From the Instapundit a link to the The Corner of the National Review on the anti-Chavez demosntration in San Francisco:

when I arrived at the Civic Center (the site of the rally) there was already assembled a sizeable (100 – 200 people) anti-Chavez contingent off to one side. They were great; all festooned in colorful outfits, waving Venezuelan flags, banging on drums, and singing this wonderful song/chant about how “He must go!” I went over to talk to them and was happy to see that several of their signs said things like “Chavez = Communist,” etc. Just then the main anti-war march arrived at the plaza led, of course, by the hard-core Socialist Worker Party types who were the main organizers of the event. As they passed in front of the laughing, singing Venezuelans I saw some of the dour communists recoiling as they read the anti-communist signs of the anti-Chavez crowd. The Venezuelans, on the other hand, surged forward in warm solidarity with the marchers causing the SWP drones to go quite a bit out of their way to avoid contact with the ideologically un-clean. This deformation of the march only ended once the true-believer vanguard had passed and the marchers became more ordinary Bay Area lefties who were only too happy to greet and enjoy the Venezuelans. I don’t think the Anti-Chavez folks ever understood why they were at first shunned by their fellow demonstrators.

I am glad Venezuelans everywhere are keeping the spirit, mantaining the cheerfulness and friendliness that we are accustomed to. Imagine this multiplied by four or five orders of magnitude, we do it four or five times a week!

My brother and I, at the suggestion of politicaobscura, have planned to have a Blog Day for Venezuela on January 23d, the 45th. anniversary of the overthrow of the our last dictatorsip.  The idea is that on that day, those that would like to participate will either put the banner above in their page designed by us to that effect or a text which links directly to the following page, where we simply are calling for elections as a resolution to the Venezuelan crisis:

As threatened by Hugo Chavez in his Friday address to the Nation, a TV station was visited today by officials from the Infrastructure and communications Ministry to serve notice that a procedure was opened against. The charge is unclear at this time but it has to do with broadcasting ads in favor of the opposition’s marches and demonstrations as well as the promotion of the civil strike. Curiously, the notification did not follow the law because cameras began taping the officials and they left, apparently beacuse they did not wnat their faces shown on TV. Maybe they were ashamed of participating in this type of action. According to the lawyers, the procedure is not valid as the law were not followed. Well, the guy who served the papers now went back to make sure things were done legally, what incompentence.

A second TV station was visited now, according to the lawyers the Government is seeking to suspend the TV station. I am still not clear on what grounds. It does sound like the Dictator is removing his mask, between this and what happened on Friday. The beginning of intimidation or outright repression? What a way to welcome Jimmy Carter to the negotiations!

COFAVIC the well respected human rights organization said today that the level of impunity is on the increase in Venezuela. The Head of COFAVIC said that acts against Human Rights are beinmg committed with “more obscene impunity”. COFAVIC says that it is rare what is happening in Venezuela, where “the criminals televise their acts and have had the unrestricted backiing of the State”. She said that in Latin America criminals acted under the shadows but in Venezuela thhey are acting in front of everyone because they are protected.She noted that there has been no public statement about the actions on Friday by the National Guard that are supposed to protect the rights of Venezuelans.

March of Venezuelans for the world today of foreigners adopted by Venezuela and their children. Chicken with a Coke can and a sign with the name of the General that confiscated the beer and soda on Friday. (More of my pictures inside)