Posts Tagged ‘lies’

If The Revolution Can’t Do Something, It Just “Substitutes” Words To Make It Happen

January 22, 2012

The ability to lie and twist is legendary for the Chavista revolution. From illiteracy to oil production, facts are changed, twisted and  massaged in order to fit what Chavez and the Government want to say they achieved, even if complete lies have to be said.

The latest is the new euphemism the Government has found for what constitutes building a new home. Given that the country’s problem is the shortage of housing, estimated at over 2.5 million housing units, a new home should be a newly built unit, until Chavez decided he wanted to build 150,000 housing units in 2011.

It was an impossible task from a Government that has never built more than 80,000 housing units in one year and given the fact that his “Mision Vivienda” was announced in April. But by the end of the year Chavez was talking about completing 94% of the goal and the year ended with an official number of 146,714 units built by the Government.

The number has been repeated so many times, that it has become the truth, even if nobody believes it. But this week, Minister of Oil and Energy Rafael Ramirez explained the “miracle”, Chavismo simply changed the definition. How? It now includes among new housing units built all rancho (shacks)”substitutions”.And it says that a whopping 45% of all the “new” units, were actually “substitutions”.

From what I have been able to understand, a “substitution” is the definition for a rancho (the type of elementary housing you see in the hills of Caracas) that has been upgraded in the materials that are used in its construction. Which means we have no idea what it really means.

Which also implies that we have no clue what it really meant when the Government claims to have built only 80, 692 new housing units, its best number in thirteen years, but still above other estimates.

So, maybe next time you drive by a barrio, look up and if you see a freshly painted rancho, you are seeing one such “substitution”. Not much change beyond that.

Another way of hiding the revolutions inability to do anything, just change the definition and the goal has been accomplished and Chavez is certainly pleased.

As it should be.

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Another Lie, Another Cynical Day For PDVSA’s President Rafael Ramirez

January 15, 2012

Today the direct, straight lie, like Chavez feeling offended by having MCM calling him a “thief”, which he is, comes from the Minister of Energy and Oil, Rafael Ramirez:

With a straight face, only a Bible missing from the scene, Ramirez tells us:

“In the new projects of PDVSA with foreign companies, in none of them we will never establish that we will renounce our sovereignty. International arbitration does not exist in any of these new projects”

Funny, that he only mentions “companies”, because when it comes to countries, Chavez and Ramirez seem to have no problem in selling the heart, the soul and that same sovereignty of the country, as shown by the Devil himself a while back.

Indeed, in the contract between Bandes, the Chinese Oil Company, PDVSA (yes, the company Ramirez happens to be President of) and the China Development Bank whereby China lends Venezuela a gizillion dollars, guaranteed by barrels of oil sent by PDVSA. (Ramirez does not sign the contract, Asdrubal Chavez does it)

View this document on Scribd

In page 6, it clearly states in point 10:

“10.
DISPUTE RESOLUTION
All disputes, controversies or claims arising out of or in relation to this Agreement,including the validity, invalidity, breach or termination thereof, shall be settled exclusively by arbitration in accordance with the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules (“Rules”) in effect atthe time of the arbitration, except as such Rules may be modified herein or by mutualagreement of the parties:
10.1.1
the arbitration shall be administered by the Singapore International ArbitrationCentre (“SIAC”) in accordance with its practice rules and regulations;
10.1.2
the place of arbitration shall be Singapore;
10.1.3
the language of the arbitration shall be English;
10.1.4
the number of arbitrators shall be three (3) to be appointed as follows;
(A)
the claimant shall appoint one (1) arbitrator in the request for arbitration.If there is more than one (1) claimant, all claimants shall jointly appointone (1) arbitrator in their request for arbitration. If they cannot agree ontheir choice of arbitrator, any claimant may request the SIAC in writingto appoint the arbitrator for them and the SIAC shall appoint thearbitrator for them as soon as practicable following receipt of suchrequest;(B)
the respondent shall appoint one (1) arbitrator within thirty (30) days following the service of the request for arbitration upon the respondent.If there is more than one respondent, all respondents shall jointly appoint one (1) arbitrator within thirty (30) days following the service of the request for arbitration upon the respondents. If at the end of the 30-day period the second arbitrator has not been appointed, the Chairman or Deputy Chairman of the SIAC shall appoint the second arbitrator as soon as practicable.
10.1.5
the two (2) arbitrators thus appointed shall choose the third arbitrator who will act
as the presiding arbitrator of the tribunal. If within thirty (30) days of theappointment of the second arbitrator, the two (2) appointed arbitrators fail toappoint the presiding arbitrator, the Chairman or Deputy Chairman of the SIACshall appoint the presiding arbitrator.10.1.6
the arbitral award shall be in writing and shall be final and binding on the Parties.The award may include an award of costs, including reasonable attorney’s feesand disbursements. Judgment upon the award may be entered by any court having jurisdiction thereof or having jurisdiction over party against which the award is entered or its assets;
10.1.7
during arbitration, all the Parties shall continue to fulfill their respectiveobligations under this Agreement and the other Transaction Documents; and
10.1.8
the Parties agree to waive, for purposes of arbitration pursuant to this Clause 10(Dispute Resolution), any right of application to determine a preliminary point of law or appeal to any court of law on a point of law which may be available to it under any applicable law.

 

So much for “sovereignty”, so much for “never again”, it is the usual gray line, these guys give away sovereignty, the Republic and whatever is needed for their political means,  whenever it is needed. They are cynics, they are liars and they do it all with a straight face.
Or, is Singapore in Venezuela? Not that I know of.
That is how cynical and liars these guys are. Just like their boss.

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