Chavez plans on giving 350,000 laptops to school kids Mood: happy Now Playing: Venezuelan Government Begins Distribution of 350,000 Laptop Computers to School Children Topic: Venezuela Solidarity
Venezuelan Government Begins Distribution of 350,000 Laptop Computers to School Children
Nov 17th 2010 , by Juan Reardon – Venezuelanalysis.com
Mérida, November 17th 2010 (Venezuelanalysis.com) – The Venezuelan government this week distributed the first of an additional 350,000 portable laptop computers to be provided to public elementary school children by the end of the year.
In the Caracas neighborhood of El Paraíso on Tuesday, Minister of Education Jennifer Gil, presided over the ceremony in which 109 Canaima computers were handed to first and second grade students at Mario Briceño Iragorry Elementary.
“The Canaima Plan is a milestone and a technological innovation. It allows us to keep deepening our integral and massive education system that does not involve just students, but the entire family environment, parents, representatives and teachers,” stated Gil at the event.
According to Gil, the Venezuelan government has invested BsF 700 million (US$163 million) this year in the acquisition from Portugal of the kid-friendly Canaima laptop computers, 228,000 of which have already been distributed this year. The goal for 2010 is to distribute a total of 525,000 Canaima computers.
During his weekly televised address to the nation on Sunday, President Hugo Chávez announced that all public schoolchildren are to be secured a portable computer, school uniforms, and books.
In reference to an educational program available on the laptops that portrays Venezuela’s liberation hero Simón Bolivar, Chávez said that, “it is much better [that the children] watch these historical and cultural programs than the narco-soap operas filled with anti-values and the destruction of society.”
“Only in socialism is it possible to make real the rights of children, the rights of the people, to an improved quality of education and standard of living,” affirmed Gil.
The Canaima Program began in mid-2009 as part of an oil trading agreement between Venezuela and Portugal. The laptop computers run on the open source operating system Linux, and the educational programs and software included in them is designed by Venezuelan engineers at the Ministry of Education and the National Center for Information Technology (CNTI).
While in Portugal last month, Chávez announced the purchase of an additional 1.5 million Canaima computers as well as plans to install a Canaima production plant in Venezuela.
New Book by Eva Golinger - Describes US involvement in Latin America Mood: chillin' Now Playing: Golinger presents his new book on American aggression against Latin America Topic: USA IMPERIALISM
Using my web translator I found the following from this link here:
I used Babylon to translate the article and posted it below:
~joe
Golinger presents his new book on American aggression against Latin America
Caracas, Nov. 14. AVN .- The american Eva Golinger, in the company of Canadian journalist Jean Guy Allard, offers a new material to the peoples of Latin America on strategies for the United States against revolutionary processes that develop in the region. This is the book, The Permanent Aggression: Usaid, NED and CIA, which was baptized this Sunday in the VI International Book Fair of Venezuela (Filven).
He explained Golinger that the text presents updated data on the tactics of attack on South America, especially the nations that make up the Alliance Bolivariana for the peoples of Our America (Alba), through the Agency of the United States for International Development (USAID), the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
He noted, in statements offered to Venezolana de Television (VTV) that these entities have a militaristic expression in the region, with a network of subversion, which has made a business of destabilization.
He recalled that in 2009 there was a coup against Honduras with financing from the Usaid and the NED, through links of the intelligence services of US with the honduran Armed Forces.
He added that these strategies include the laboratories of psychological warfare that prepare arrays of opinion against governments that do not subordinate to their interests and peoples in the process of revolution.
"With the book, we try submit evidence, in a simple and very digestible, so that people can have in your hands as a political weapon, a tool for the defense of the revolution, knowledge, facts and evidence of what that imperial powers against the revolutionary processes," he said.
Guy Allard said, for its part, that this book aims to bring the people a material of permanent study of these phenomena of aggression of an appliance giant imperial.
The Filven, which develops from this Friday in the Park Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda, east of Caracas, will offer 3,000 copies of the Permanent Aggression: Usaid, NED and CIA under a cost of only two bolivars.
Chapulines, plural for chapulín, are grasshoppers of the genus Sphenarium, that are commonly eaten in certain areas of Mexico. The term is specific to Mexico and derives from the Nahuatl language. In Spain and most Spanish speaking countries, the word for grasshopper is saltamontes or saltón.
They are collected only at certain times of year (from their hatching in early May through the late summer/early autumn). After being thoroughly cleaned and washed, they are toasted on a comal (clay cooking surface) with garlic, lemon juice and salt containing extract of agave worms, lending a sour-spicy-salty taste to the finished product. Sometimes the grasshopers are also toasted with chili, although it can be used to cover up for stale chapulines.
One of the regions of Mexico where chapulines are most widely consumed is Oaxaca, where they are sold as snacks at local sports events and are becoming a revival among foodies. It's debated how long Chapulines have been a food source in Oaxaca. There is one reference to grasshoppers that are eaten in early records of the Spanish conquest, in early to mid 16th century.
Besides Oaxaca, chapulines are popular in areas surrounding Mexico City, such as Tepotztlan, Cuernavaca and Puebla. They may be eaten individually as a botana (snack) or as a filling, e.g.: tlayuda filled with chapulines.
In 2007, several American media reported concerns over lead contamination in products imported from Zimatlán, a municipality in Oaxaca, including chapulines. In California, an investigation among community residents in Monterey County showed a larger risk for lead poisoning on people who either were from or reported eating food imported from Zimatlán.
Contaminated chapulines which were found for sale in California were also identified in samples from Zimatlán. Lead levels found in the chapulines were as high as 300 times the maximum recommended lead dose for children under the age of 6 and pregnant women.
Venezuela Election, Victory or Setback for Chavez? Mood: sharp Now Playing: Voting crime and oil Topic: Venezuela News
Venezuela Election, Victory or Setback for Chavez?
English, 11 minutes
Uploaded by vertigo, broadcast date:2010-10-06
Gregory Wilpert is a sociologist, freelance journalist, editor of Venezuelanalysis.com, and author of the recently published book, Changing Venezuela by Taking Power.
Chavez Wants a Break from U.S. Meddling. Can You Blame Him? Mood: cool Now Playing: A repost from Venezuela Analysis article by Mike Whitney Topic: Venezuela Solidarity
Most people know that Iran, Russia and Venezuela all have vast oil reserves. And, they also know that Hugo Chavez, Vladimir Putin and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are on Washington's “enemies list.” So, why is it so hard for them to connect the dots? Can't they see that the media only demonizes the leaders that stand in the way of the corporate agenda? If Iran’s biggest export was pistachios (rather than oil), no one in America would have ever heard of Ahmadinejad. Instead, every time poor guy makes the slightest miscue, his face is splashed across the front pages of US newspapers.
Chavez doesn’t have horns any more than Ahmadinejad has a pointy tail. It’s just propaganda cooked up by the media.
Israel has been itching for a fight with Iran for a decade. Everyone knows this. Still, “Joe Sixpack” still thinks that Iran is the “bad guy,” and that the Mullahs are secretly building atomic bombs so they can go to war with a country that has over 200 nuclear weapons. This is ridiculous. Iran’s not suicidal.
Of course, when the case is presented like this, people can see how crazy it really is. But then--half an hour later--they flip on the TV and hear the same lies over and over again and start to think that there's some truth to it.
Edward L. Bernays figured it out a long time ago. In his book titled “Propaganda” Bernays argued that elites need to manage public perceptions to keep the masses in line. Here’s the opening passage from the book:
“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized.” (Edward Bernays. Propaganda Liveright, 1928; Ig Publishing, 2004)
There you have it---lying is policy. Bernays believed that “engineering consent” was a better way to control behavior than violence. It's easy to see how his theories eventually evolved into an entire industry--public relations.
Propaganda drowns out the truth; that’s how it works. It’s a way of saturating everything indiscriminately with the same lie over and over again. It’s ideological carpet-bombing. People know this, but they can’t resist. Eventually, the seed-thought takes root and grows wrapping its tentacles around the cortex leaving its victim mumbling the same mendacious gibberish that was broadcast just a half-hour earlier on the evening news.
The face of modern democracy is mostly public relations. Many people doubt that Presidents Obama or Bush have/had any real power at all. Would a two-year rookie senator with a background in community organizing really have been chosen to decide the fate of the world’s biggest empire? Would a man with Bush’s obvious limitations really be the one pulling the levers on issues of war and peace? It’s doubtful, but the farce goes on to preserve the illusion of “democracy.” The real power operates behind a curtain. The rest is public relations.
So, what do we really know about Iran that isn’t just PR-hype and lies?
What we know is that Iran poses no threat to the United States or Israel. None. The atomic watchdog agency, the IAEA, has said repeatedly that there’s “no evidence” that Iran has a nuclear weapons program or that Iran has diverted any of its low-enriched uranium to illicit activities. Iran is merely pursuing the peaceful use of nuclear energy to develop power plants which is explicitly approved under the terms of the NPT. In other words, Iran has kept its end of the bargain, whereas it antagonists (Israel and the US) have not.
So, should Iran cave in and allow itself to be bullied by the US and Israel or should it fight for its rights under the terms of the treaty?
Israel and the US know they don’t have a leg to stand. They know that Iran has been playing by the rules. That’s why they’ve concocted this ridiculous smear campaign against Ahmadinejad. That’s why we never read about “treaty obligations” or “compliance” in the media, just spurious accusations that Ahmadinejad is a religious fanatic, or Ahmadinejad is a anti-Semite, or Ahmadinejad wants to “wipe out” Israel or some other such nonsense. It’s all an attempt to divert attention from the fact that Iran sits on an ocean of oil and that Israel wants to expand its regional power. The rest is propaganda.
The same is true of Chavez. Chavez was the first world leader to offer to send food, medicine and doctors to the victims of Katrina. But no one heard about it, because it wasn’t reported in the US media. Bush rejected Chavez’s offer because Bush had other things in mind for the people of New Orleans. He wanted to test out his Nazi theories on martial law by cutting off vital supplies, and issuing “shoot to kill” orders for anyone suspected of looting. He wanted to herd thousands of poor, black people who lost their homes into the Superdome at gunpoint where they could live for nearly a week in squalid, prison-camp conditions, completely cutoff from the outside world.
Would the people have suffered as much if Chavez was in charge? Don't bet on it.
Life has improved dramatically for ordinary working people under Chavez. According to economist Mark Weisbrot:
“The UN Commission on Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) found that Venezuela had reduced inequality by more than any other country in Latin America from 2002-2008, ending up with the most equal income distribution in the region.” ("The Venezuelan Economy: Media Sources Get it Wrong, Again")
Washington hates Chavez because he’s raised living standards for the poor and because he won’t bow to the giant corporations. That’s why he’s pilloried in the media, because his socialist model of democracy doesn’t jibe with America’s smash-n-grab style of capitalism. Chavez has enacted land and oil industry reform, improved education and provided universal health care. He’s introduced job training, subsidies to single mothers, drug prevention programs, and assistance for recovering addicts. Illiteracy has been wiped out.
Chavez’s policies have reduced ignorance, poverty, and injustice. The list goes on and on. Venezuelans are more engaged in the political process than ever before. That scares Washington. US elites don’t want well-informed people participating in the political process. They believe that task should be left to the venal politicians chosen by corporate bosses and top-hat banksters. That’s why Chavez has to go. He’s given people hope for a better life.
Chavez’s social vision is at odds with the prevailing American/corporate view that allows Wall Street speculators to blow up the financial system without fear of reprisal, that permits big oil companies to despoil entire regions of the country and not be held accountable, and that allows lying politicians to drag the nation to a war with utter impunity. Chavez does not share that view nor does Ahmadinejad or Putin.
All three leaders would like nothing more than to get a break from America’s incessant meddling and belligerence. They don’t hate America and they are not our enemies. But they would like a little breather from the coups, the financial contagion, the kidnappings, the stolen elections, the propaganda, and the endless killing. Can you blame ‘em?
Chavez speaks about socialism and attacks on his life in 2006 Mood: lyrical Now Playing: Socialism Infection and US War Criminal George Bush Topic: CHAVEZ
Couple tried to sell nuclear arms to FBI - who was acting like Venezuela officials Mood: mischievious Now Playing: Renmember the WMD (USA) lie ...? Well what does this article remind you of Topic: Venezuela Solidarity
Lets just say ....
... the US (FBI) pretended to be Venezuela officials that end up catching 2 American.???
... All I can say is AMERICA looks dirty becasue they are the only players in this and they all are dirty!!!
(Fake Venezuela guys trying to buy Nukes) What The Fuck ???) (then a cought red handed / guilty US scientists and wife involvement)
So its all CRAP originating from the US and once again the headlines try to smear (innocent) Venezuela ~joe
This reeks of WMD retroic and propaganda that is
anti Chaves anti Latin America
USA / FBI --> "GET THE HELL OUT OF LATIN AMERICA "
Couple tried to sell nuclear arms secrets to Venezuela: US
WASHINGTON — A US scientist and his wife who worked at the leading nuclear research site were arrested Friday and charged with trying to sell secrets to help Venezuela start a nuclear weapons program, US officials said.
The pair, both US citizens, "have been indicted on charges of communicating classified nuclear weapons data to a person they believed to be a Venezuelan government official and conspiring to participate in the development of an atomic weapon for Venezuela," the US Justice Department said in a statement.
The defendants, Pedro Mascheroni, 75, and Marjorie Roxby Mascheroni, 67, had both worked as contractors at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the southwestern state of New Mexico, and could face life in prison if convicted on all charges.
They had sought 793,000 dollars in payment for the restricted and classified data which they believed they had provided to a Venezuelan contact, but who was actually an undercover FBI agent.
The Justice Department was quick to acknowledge that the indictment does not allege any wrongdoing by the Venezuelan government or anyone acting on its behalf, and also said no one currently working at Los Alamos was charged or accused of wrongdoing.
But the revelations could still sharpen relations between the United States and Venezuela, whose firebrand leftist President Hugo Chavez is a vocal critic of Washington.
FBI agents arrested Mascheroni -- a naturalized US citizen from Argentina -- and his US-born wife early Friday.
According to the statement, among the 22 indictments, the defendants are charged with "communicating 'restricted data' to an individual with the intent to injure the United States and secure an advantage to a foreign nation," conspiring to participate in development of an atomic weapon, concealing US records, and several counts of making false statements.
The department revealed a series of startling details about the couple's plans to pass the nuclear secrets to Venezuela, beginning in March 2008 when the husband had conversations with the undercover agent.
During the talks, Pedro Mascheroni "allegedly said he could help Venezuela develop a nuclear bomb within 10 years and that, under his program, Venezuela would use a secret, underground nuclear reactor to produce and enrich plutonium, and an open, above-ground reactor to produce nuclear energy," according to the Justice Department.
Pedro Mascheroni is a physicist who worked at Los Alamos from 1979 to 1988, while his wife worked there between 1981 and this year, the Justice Department said. Both held security clearances that allowed them access to certain classified information.
"The conduct alleged in this indictment is serious and should serve as a warning to anyone who would consider compromising our nation's nuclear secrets for profit," Assistant Attorney General David Kris said.
In talks with the undercover agent, Mascheroni allegedly asked about obtaining Venezuelan citizenship, and described how he expected to be paid.
In July 2008, the undercover agent gave Mascheroni 12 questions purportedly from Venezuelan military officers and scientists, and months later Mascheroni delivered at the post office box being used as a dead drop location a disk with a 132-page document on it laying out his plan for a nuclear weapons development program.
Nearly one year later Mascheroni received another list of questions from the "Venezuelan officials" and 20,000 dollars in cash as a first payment. "On his way to pick up these materials, he allegedly told his wife he was doing this work for the money and was not an American anymore," the indictment said.
One month later Mascheroni took a disk to the dead drop location that contained a 39-page document answering the questions -- and allegedly included "Restricted Data" related to nuclear weapons.
The couple later lied about their involvement when FBI agents questioned them about the classified information delivered to the undercover agent.
The indictment "contains allegations only and that every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty," the statement said.
Chavez needs to win 2/3 majority in upcoming 2010 elections Mood: energetic Now Playing: Venezuela Assembly 2010 -too close to call ? Topic: Venezuela Solidarity
September 7, 2010
Venezuela Assembly
2010 Elections Too Close to Call
Greg Wilpert:
Chavez remains popular but people frustrated with some around him
PAUL JAY, SENIOR EDITOR, TRNN: Welcome to The Real News Network. I'm Paul Jay in New York City. Now joining us is Gregory Wilpert, author of the book Changing Venezuela by Taking Power. Thanks for joining us, Gregory.
GREGORY WILPERT, AUTHOR, EDITOR OF VENEZUELANALYSIS: Thanks for having me.
JAY: So there's elections coming up in Venezuela, September 26, for the National Assembly. Tell us who controls the National Assembly now in Venezuela and what's at stake in these elections.
WILPERT: Well, right now the National Assembly is entirely controlled by Chávez supporters. That's because the last elections, 2005, the opposition boycotted those elections, arguing that there were not going to be fair elections, even though the Carter Center and the Organization of American States urged the opposition to participate and, at the end, ratified that they were free and fair elections.
JAY: So right now, in terms of the polling, what's expected in this election?
WILPERT: Well, it's very different difficult to say, because polls in Venezuela tend to be divided, depending on the political affiliation of the pollsters. And it's very difficult to find neutral polls. So opposition polls tend to say that the opposition is going to win; pro-Chávez polls tend to say that Chávez is going to win. My guess is that it's going to be a very close call, it's going to be a very close election, because there's—on the one hand, Chávez is still a very popular individual, but he's not on the ballot, and there's a lot of problems in Venezuela right now with the recent recession Venezuela's coming out of and with the discovery of a corruption scandal. So there's some dissatisfaction. And so my guess is that a lot of people who would normally vote for Chávez, instead of voting for the opposition, because nobody—still the opposition is extremely unpopular, instead of voting for Chávez, they're going to abstain. And so that could make it a very close call.
JAY: So the people that might abstain are people that voted for Chávez in the past, and their main critique being what? That things have not happened quickly enough? There hasn't been enough changes? I mean, one of the critiques will be is that Chávez controlled the National Assembly and the national government, so there wasn't opposition to passing any legislation. So people are saying, well, then, why hasn't there been more successes?
WILPERT: Yes, that's certainly the case. I mean, one thing to consider, of course, is that Chávez has been in office for 11 years now, and that is a very long time for somebody to maintain the high levels of popularity that Chávez has maintained. And so there's a certain amount of fatigue that has set in with the people, especially—not necessarily with Chávez, but with the people around Chávez, and with the recurrence of certain problems, especially this corruption scandal that I mentioned earlier. And there was also another problem was the electricity rationing. Venezuela had experienced a drought, a very severe drought last year, and had to ration electricity because all of its electricity comes from one—practically all of it comes from one hydroelectric dam. And so those are a lot of problems to have accumulated, and particularly in an election year.
JAY: Well, one of the complaints the opposition's made is that that should have been foreseen, the electricity problem. How legitimate a critique was that?
WILPERT: It's partly legitimate, partly not, because it's impossible to really foresee a drought. And we're talking about a drought in which it didn't rain for an entire rainy season. Now, that's very unusual, which is probably traceable, actually, to global warming. So in that sense it might have been foreseeable, but it was not something that has ever happened in Venezuela before, as far as I know. And so—but on the other hand, there's certainly a lack—there was a lack of investment in the electrical sector, and so more could have been done to at least partially avoid this problem.
JAY: And the real litmus test for a lot of people, I think, from the outside, at any rate (of course, nobody from the outside's going to be voting), is life in the barrios. And to what extent has that really improved? And has it improved more quickly? Because what you read, at least in the Western press, is that in some of Chávez's base of support there's some question of abstention, there's some pulling back. How true is what we're reading in the newspapers here?
WILPERT: There's definitely some dissatisfaction. But on the other hand, there have been a lot of improvements for people living in the barrios. I mean, right now, Venezuela—actually, when Chávez got elected, Venezuela was one of the most unequal countries, according to economic analysis, and one of the most unequal countries of Latin America. Now it is the most egalitarian country in Latin America—that is, excepting Cuba, perhaps.
JAY: Measure—how are you measuring that?
WILPERT: Measured by the GINI coefficient, which measures inequality. Unemployment is lower than ever, poverty is lower than average, even though Venezuela's going through a recession. And the reason that it's managed to maintain poverty at a very low level and unemployment at a relatively low level despite a recession is that social programs are still in effect, and social programs have made a big difference in people's lives, whether they're educational programs, community health care, subsidies for single mothers, things like that. They've really made a big difference in people's lives. But that's something that was initiated already four years ago. So people have short memories, and there's other problems that are accumulating, such as electricity and the corruption.
JAY: It was only four years ago the opposition seemed to be in chaos. One could barely imagine them mounting an election campaign. Now they're back, vying for perhaps winning control of the National Assembly. What happened in the last four years that the opposition was able to reorganize to such an extent?
WILPERT: It's the problems that are on the Chavista side that are giving the opposition an opportunity. There's nothing really new that the opposition has done. I mean, they've created a new umbrella organization, but they're still very internally divided and they still don't have a unified program and they still don't have a unified leadership. So it's really more the opportunity that they're being presented with than anything that they've done.
JAY: One of the things that seemed to spark the opposition again was the closing down of some of what was called opposition media. What is your take on all of that?
WILPERT: The whole issue of freedom of the press is really something that has caught on in the international media and international observers of Venezuela. But within Venezuela itself, I don't think that really is a story that has really caught on within Venezuela, because everybody knows that you pick up or look at the headlines of any newspaper stands and you see incredible diversity of opinions. You flip the TV dial on and you can also hear all kinds of voices from the opposition or from Chávez supporters. So there's still an incredible diversity of opinions. And so that's why this whole accusation of Chávez clamping down on freedom of speech doesn't really ring true for most Venezuelans, I think.
JAY: But there was a serious protest movement, was there not, with the closing down of a couple of the television stations. They said they were being closed on technicalities. But—I mean, I don't know the truth of it, but I know there was quite a movement within the opposition ranks. It seemed to re-energize the opposition, which had been quite deflated.
WILPERT: Well, actually, there was one television station that did not have its license renewed, mainly because its license expired and it was a key participant in the 2002 coup attempt. And, yes, there was a big movement that the opposition managed to mobilize, particularly around students and the youth, to oppose that. But I think to some extent Chávez supporters have countered that by organizing their own youth movement and their own student supporters to counter that. And also, that movement became a bit discredited, I think, once it came out how much the US government has been funding opposition groups, particularly student groups, through the National Endowment for Democracy and so on in Venezuela. They've really last lost a lot of relevance, I think, in the meantime.
JAY: So if in fact the abstentions are enough to shift the balance of power in the National Assembly to the opposition forces, what's the significance of that?
WILPERT: Well, what most people don't realize is that the National Assembly is a very important body in Venezuela. Actually, it's more powerful than the US Congress, if you consider that it appoints an independent attorney general, it appoints electoral council, which is independent, and it appoints the Supreme Court, which is independent. So it has a lot more power than the US Congress, which doesn't get to appoint all of these positions. Plus a lot of laws need to be passed with a two-thirds majority, laws that are particularly important that are derived from the Constitution. So if Chávez loses his two-thirds majority, that means that the Bolivarian Revolution will definitely [inaudible] because it will not be able to pass all of the laws that it still plans on passing. So that's a serious problem. If it were to lose its absolute majority, which I think is actually very unlikely—but if it loses its absolute majority, that could cause serious problems.
JAY: Thanks for joining us.
WILPERT: Sure.
JAY: And thank you for joining us on The Real News Network.
End of Transcript
DISCLAIMER: Please note that transcripts for The Real News Network are typed from a recording of the program. TRNN cannot guarantee their complete accuracy.
Qué mejor estrategia para un gobierno que contratar los servicios de un "ejército privado" para evadir responsabilidades morales y jurídicas amparadas bajo las leyes internacionales, acordadas anteriormente en guerras pasadas, las cuales fueron creadas para no repetir historias de barbarie.
Ejércitos privados cuyas filas están compuestas por miembros entrenados para luchar como fieras o hienas. Escondidos detrás de un gatillo, asesinando "enemigos", amparados legalmente y sin miedo a ser llevados a juicio gracias a prebendas jurídicas ofrecidas por sus anfitriones "desamparados". Pero nadie habla sobre esto. En Colombia hay unas 25 empresas con, aproximadamente, 800 contratistas privados para actuar en el país. Los cuales poseen igual inmunidad que los diplomáticos de la Embajada norteamericana.
Nadie sabe de tragedias ajenas hasta que las vive en carne propia.
Si alguien pierde un ser querido perteneciente a uno de estos ejércitos privados tendrá que procesar el dolor en soledad ya que sus familiares no recibirán una pensión, ni las condolencias, ni mucho menos las gracias o la bandera de su país. Morirán como anónimos no como héroes.
Blackwater es una de las muchas compañías de seguridad privada contratadas por USA. La empresa cambió su nombre en 2009 por el nombre de Xe Services LLC debido a la "mala reputación" que adquirió luego de un escándalo que dejó 17 personas muertas y 27 heridos en Irak contra civiles inocentes en el año 2007. Su fundador, Eric Prince, religioso y ultra conservador, ha decidido ponerla en venta y además piensa irse a vivir a los Emiratos Árabes.
Xe Services LLC, (Blackwater) acaba de negociar con el gobierno estadounidense la suma de $42 millones de Dólares para no ir a juicio después de comprobarse que la empresa violó los reglamentos que rigen el tráfico y exportación de armas en al menos 288 ocasiones. Además que, dicha compañía estuvo en tierras colombianas entrenando mercenarios en el año 2005 y llevó a tierras lejanas a entrenar compatriotas colombianos...
El dinero lo compra todo y 42 millones de dólares enterraron la verdad pues nunca conoceremos quienes fueron entrenados, o en cual lugar de Colombia tomaron lugar estos entrenamientos, ni quiénes lo financiaron o de donde salió el dinero. Además, tampoco sabremos cuales serán las repercusiones para el futuro de nuestro país, el cual lleva 50 años viviendo una guerra, dizque causada únicamente por las FARC o los narcotraficantes.
¡Colombia necesita superar esta guerra pero por las vías legales! Si no conocemos la verdad, la guerra seguirá igual.
Acaban de nombrar al Comité Internacional de la Cruz Roja como salvavidas para mitigar la guerra que vive la Comuna 13 en Medellín, mientras que afuera, en una esquina, en un semáforo o a la entrada de la casa, siguen -selectivamente- cayendo asesinados, luego de ser amenazados (o sin serlo) sindicalistas, periodistas, campesinos desplazados o líderes comunitarios. Como el asesinato de Norma Irene Pérez, madre de cuatro niños, quien valientemente había denunciado la existencia de una fosa común que al parecer contiene restos de víctimas de "falsos positivos".
Black significa negro y "negros tenés los ojos", decía mi padre..pero querido lector: no se confunda que nadie lo quiere confundir...una cosa es Agua y otra Águila.
Es sólo una cuestión confusa pensar que estamos confundidos.
Pobrecitos nuestros cerebros...oxidados con tanta confusión mientras la verdad escondida sigue siendo comprada...
Blackwater (Black Water), Blackeagle Eagles (Black) Let confusion! Claudia Ruiz, Blog at the time, Bogota, August 31 2010 What best strategy for a government to engage the services of a "private army" to evade responsibilities moral and legal covered under the international laws, agreed upon earlier in past wars, which were created for not to repeat stories of barbarism. Private Armies whose ranks are composed of members trained to fight as beasts or hyenas.
Hidden behind a trigger, murdering "enemies" covered legally and without fear of being brought to trial thanks to prebends legal offered by their hosts "stranded". But nobody talks about this.
In Colombia there are about 25 companies with approximately 800 private contractors to act in the country. Which possess equal immunity that diplomats from the us Embassy. No one knows of tragedies outside until the lives in flesh. If someone loses a loved one belonging to one of these private armies will have to process the pain in solitude because their families did not receive a pension, or the condolences, much less thank or the flag of their country. Die as anonymous not as heroes.
Blackwater is one of many private security companies contracted by the USA. The company changed its name in 2009 by the name of Xe Services LLC due to the "bad reputation" which acquired after a scandal that left 17 people dead and 27 wounded in Iraq against innocent civilians in the year 2007. Its founder, Eric Prince, religious and ultra conservative, has decided to sell and also thinks go and live the United Arab Emirates. Xe Services LLC, (Blackwater) just to negotiate with the u.s. government the sum of $42 million dollars not to go to trial after checked that the company violated regulations governing the traffic and arms exports in at least 288 times. In addition, the company was in land colombian trained mercenaries in the year 2005 and led to distant lands to train fellow Colombians...
The money it buys everything and $42 million buried the truth never know who were trained, or in which place of Colombia took place these trainings, or about what financed or where he left the money. In addition, nor will know which will be the implications for the future of our country, which carries 50 years living in a war, so-called caused solely by the FARC or drug traffickers. What Colombia needs to overcome this war but the legal channels!
If you do not know the truth, the war will stay the same. Just to appoint the International Committee of the Red Cross as lifesaving to mitigate the war that lives the Comuna 13 in Medellin, while outside, in one corner, in a traffic lights or at the entrance to the house, still -selectively- falling murdered, after being threatened (or without being) trade unionists, journalists, displaced farmers or community leaders. As the murder of Standard Irene Perez, mother of four children, who courageously had denounced the existence of a common grave apparently contains remains of victims of "false positive".
Black means black and "blacks have the eyes," said my father..but dear reader: not to confuse that nobody wants confuse...one thing is Water and another Eagle. It is only a question confused thinking that we confused. Poor our brains...oxidised with so much confusion while the truth hidden remains purchased...
Good Insight on Opposition Right-Wing News / Media Spin and Deception Mood: bright Now Playing: Venezuela�uro;�8222;�s Opposition: Manufacturing Fear in Exchange for Votes Topic: Venezuela News
“Venezuela, more deadly than Iraq” read a headline in the New York Times on Aug. 23 – a headline of such shock value that it can only mean one thing: it’s election time in Venezuela. Inside Venezuela, similar headlines are printed almost daily in corporate media with the upcoming September 26 national assembly elections. Coincidentally, the Venezuelan corporate media and their allies among the Western press continually draw on the same crime statistics “leaked” from unidentified government sources or compiled by rightwing NGO’s.
The point of the articles is not to illuminate the real crime problem in Venezuela, but rather to persuade potential voters during the election campaign. Corporate media in Venezuela, which is owned by wealthy elites largely opposed to President Hugo Chavez, has continually used fear as a way to create an atmosphere of insecurity in an attempt to generate votes during elections.
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International coverage was sparked most recently by the publication in the Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional of a graphic and highly disturbing photo of corpses piled haphazardly in a morgue in the epicenter of Venezuela’s violence – the capital city of Caracas. While the photo was printed in the lead-up to this year’s election campaign, it was quickly discovered that it was taken no later than December of last year. Yet El Nacional’s owner, Miguel Henrique Otero, waited for a more political opportune moment. As he pointed out himself on CNN, they decided to hold off printing the photo until this month because “Venezuela is in campaign-mode.”1
Using the media as a political tool is not a new strategy of the opposition. When the government decided not to renew the license of RCTV – a television station involved in inciting protest and misreporting events during the 2002 coup that briefly overthrew democratically-elected President Hugo Chavez 2 – media reports claimed freedom of speech was threatened in Venezuela. Similar cries of censorship were printed in US media after the Venezuelan government tried to pass legislation that barred newspapers from printing graphic photos like the one published by El Nacional.
What the reports do not mention is that the press, a majority of which still remains in the hands of Venezuela’s right-wing opposition, is used as a tool to advance the narrow political interests of the country’s oligarchy. The photo printed in El Nacional, which was too graphic to be shown in US media, is just one example of how the opposition has abused the freedom of press for their own political gain.
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History of Media and Violence
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A look back to before Chavez was elected in 1999 helps give context to the current challenges facing Caracas today. One of the wealthiest countries in Latin American largely due to its immense oil reserves, Venezuela also became known for its drastic inequalities of wealth. After the implementation of numerous neoliberal policies that cut social programs and raised the price of basic goods, many of the city’s poor were forced to turn to gangs and illegal activities. Police corruption and easy access to guns created a sense of chaos in the streets. In The Street is my Home, the Venezuelan author Patricia C. Marquez reports on research she conducted on violence in Caracas in the 1990’s:
“In effect, Caracas, is now in a state of siege. The walls that surround the properties of the well-to-do grow higher and higher, and even among the less well off and the poor, there is anxiety, uncertainty, and hopelessness. But while some seek to protect themselves in their fortresses, others cannot escape the bullets flying inside their thin rancho wall.”
However, as Marquez claims, the media largely underreported the violence. She notes that, “The violence in Caracas is much more serious than anything portrayed in the media.” Before 1999, the media, she continues, underplayed “the dimension of the problem to avoid disturbing the public.”
When I spoke with Julio Cesar Velasco, the former civil boss of a poor barrio in central Caracas, he reaffirmed Marquez’ remarks: “Before President Chavez the media reported one of every hundred killings.” However, now he argues, “the media reports every killing a hundred times.”
Yet one NGO, the “Venezuelan Observatory of Violence” (OVV) claims to use media as a method to generate statistics. Numbers published by the OVV, which is run by a right-wing opposition member, Roberto Briceño León, are widely quoted in numerous articles including the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. Strangely both articles were printed this month even though Reuters reported the same statistics in March of this year.3
Another report published in 2008 by Foreign Policy magazine claimed that according to “official” statistics, Caracas was one of the “Murder capitals of the World”. Mary O’Grady of the Wall Street Journal also quotes supposed “leaked” official reports in a piece published last week. Both articles fail to offer an explanation as how they obtained statistics that were not published and showed no investigation into their validity.
Furthermore, it is unclear what percentage of the actual murders is gang related, has been perpetrated by the police themselves or is a result of violence that has spilled over from the Colombian conflict. Reports also ignore vital information on how the data is collected and the background and funding of organizations such as the OVV. By denying the root causes and steps taken by the administration to solve the problem, the articles mislead the reader into believing the problem of violence was manufactured by Chavez.
However, this would not be the first time the New York Times and other corporate media outlets have used questionable statistics. Simon Romero, whose article in the New York Times argues Venezuela is more dangerous than Iraq, uses the group Iraq Body Count as the basis for his statistics. However, the World Health Organization says deaths are over three times higher than what the Iraq Body Count claims. Surely, Romero, who lives comfortably in Caracas, does not think he would be safer in Baghdad?
Government Policies to Improve Security
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Since Chavez took office over 11 years ago, numerous policies have been experimented with to tackle the violence. More general policies meant to battle poverty, specifically the social missions, which provide healthcare, education, jobs and rehabilitation centers (to list a few) to Venezuelan citizens, have had positive results.
Since the initiation of the programs, poverty has dropped in half and youth have new alternatives to a life on the street. However, with easy access to weapons, gun crime remains common and impunity often leads to repeat offenders. Tackling that issue, however, has been difficult in part because the corruption of the Metropolitan Police of Caracas (PM).
The PM has a long history of involvement in the murder, torture and oppression of youth and much of this violence has continued under Chavez. According to statistics from the government, not only in Caracas but also around Venezuela, police are responsible for some 15-20% of criminal activity.
As a method to tackle the problem, Chavez’s administration created the National Bolivarian Police (PNB). The idea for the PNB was developed from a National Police Reform Commission in 2006 in which the government and police forces participated in numerous community-based assemblies to determine the structure of police reform. According to the government, the new police force will adapt preventative and humane practices while working directly with communities and being held accountable to community councils. In January of this year, the first officers were deployed in Catia, the largest barrio on Caracas’s west side, which since then has seen an over 50% reduction in murders.
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Community Response
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One of the most successful initiatives of the government in battling violence has been through the support of community organizations and councils that directly respond to the needs of their neighborhood. In areas such as La Vega, which used to hold the title as being one of the most dangerous barrios, culture programs have been the primary response in taking youth off the streets. On any given evening sport, music and art programs aimed at young males, those most likely to get involved in gangs, can be seen in almost every neighborhood.
The government does not only promote many of the culture-based groups in La Vega but also supports them with resources, while in some cases the Ministry of Culture will hire local teachers. As Tirso Maldonado, who coordinates a nightly political hip-hop school in La Vega told me, “In the 90’s, in one weekend we would wake up to 30 dead in our community. Now when one person dies people are in shock and community members march out of their houses enraged.” In La Vega, it is quite common to see people partying in the streets on the weekends and propping their doors open during the daytime. In the 1990’s, I’ve been told, that was unheard of.
Additionally, in 23 de Enero, an area with a population of over 500,000, residents were successful in actually removing the police from their barrio completely. Since then the community created their own police force and have taken over former areas home to drug-sellers, turning them into parks and meeting spaces. According to accounts from those living in the barrio, there has been an over 90% reduction in murders.
La Vega and 23 de Enero are not unique cases. From my own experience of not only conducting numerous interviews but also living in over a half-dozen of Caracas’s most “dangerous” barrios, there is a widely held belief that things are drastically improving despite the media reports.
Problem Areas
Violence still remains an issue, though one that is not unique to Caracas but which also affects numerous cities around Latin America. The Venezuelan government’s failure to produce reliable statistics that are available to the public has been an obstacle in understanding the size of the problem. Not only would statistics aid the government in better attacking problem areas, it would also restore the public’s confidence in the handling of the matter.
Other obstacles facing the government are the concentration of violence in areas that are difficult to patrol. Petare, the largest barrio, and quite isolated on Caracas’s east side, has had scattered outcomes. The region is home to a large Colombian immigrant population and also one of the poorest and most densely populated barrios in the city. Furthermore, since regional elections in 2008, Petare has been under the control of the opposition, making it difficult for the national government to implement new security policies.
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In western Venezuela, new threats of violence continue along the 1,375-mile border of Venezuela and Colombia, which has been a challenge for Venezuelan authorities to control. Drug traffickers and paramilitaries have been found operating along border cities and even as far east as Caracas. To add to the chaos, it is estimated that hundreds of thousands displaced by civil-conflict in Colombia migrate into Venezuela annually, many landing in the already overcrowded Caracas streets.
Reducing the murder rate in Caracas and elsewhere will continue to be a challenge to the current government in the coming years. However, with the creation of the national police force and the increased involvement of grassroots and community organizations, there is strong optimism that the problem will only improve. Unfortunately, the wealthy elite has shown that it is in their interest for Venezuela to remain violent – making it increasingly apparent that it is not Chavez’s policies that stand in the way of a safer Venezuela but the manufacturing of fear promoted by the opposition’s own media.
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Lainie Cassel currently divides her time between Caracas, Venezuela and New York City. She can be reached at Lainie.Cassel[at]gmail.com.
PROPAGANDA - Negative spin on Good Life Card by International Press Mood: irritated Now Playing: Chávez said the card could be used to buy groceries at the government chain of markets and supplies. Topic: Opposition Opinions
Presented by President Hugo Chávez as an instrument to make shopping for groceries easier, the ``Good Life Card'' is making various segments of the population wary because they see it as a furtive attempt to introduce a rationing card similar to the one in Cuba.
The measure could easily become a mechanism to control the population, according to civil society groups.
``We see that in short-term this could become a rationing card probably similar to the one used in Cuba,'' Roberto León Parilli, president of the National Association of Users and Consumers, told El Nuevo Herald. ``It would use more advanced technological means [than those used in Cuba], but when they tell you where to buy and what the limits of what you can buy are, they are conditioning your purchases.''
Chávez said Tuesday that the card could be used to buy groceries at the government chain of markets and supplies.
``I have called it a Good Life Card so far,'' Chávez said in a brief statement made on the government television channel. ``It's a card for you to purchase what you are going to take and they keep deducting. It's to buy what you need, not to promote communism, but to buy what just what you need.''
Former director of Venezuela's Central Bank, Domingo Maza Zavala, said this could become a rationing card that would limit your purchases in light of the country's recurring problems with supplies.
``If the intention is to beat inflation, they should find a good source of supply for the entire market and not only for centers that are part of social chains,'' he said. ``To do that, you need to encourage local production with the help of the private sector, since they cannot do it by themselves. The government cannot become the ultimate food distributor.''
Humberto Ortega Díaz, minister for public banking and president of the Venezuelan Bank, minimized such criticism and said that all this measure is trying to do is to improve service at the government supply chains.
``Why can't our Bicentennial chain use a card to make it easier for customers to buy their groceries?'' the minister said in an interview broadcast on a government channel. He said that this type of initiative has been used by private commercial entities.
Yet, critics pointed out that the measure could turn out not as innocent as the minister makes it to be, and they insist that the government control over the supply chain is too broad and depends greatly on imports the government authorizes through its currency exchange system.
In theory, the government could begin to favor the import of products to be sold through the government chains and have more control over the type of products purchased and the people buying them.
Jaime Suchlicki, director of the University of Miami's Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, said that Venezuela's current problems of scarce supplies are very similar to those Cuba faced when Fidel Castro introduced the rationing card.
``The card emerged when goods began to become scarce,'' Suchlicki said. ``The government had seized many companies that did not work because the government managed them poorly. Then they decided to distribute groceries through those cards.''
And although the cards were introduced as a mechanism to deal with scarcities, Suchlicki said, they later became an instrument of control.
``People depended on the government to eat, and nothing gives you more power than having people depend on you to get their food quota,'' he said.
Edward Ellis writes about Agricultural Production in Venezuela in 2010 Mood: chatty Now Playing: Venezuela’s Agricultural Production Advances Topic: Venezuela News
Venezuela’s Agricultural Production Advances
By Edward Ellis - Correo del Orinoco International
Over the past eleven years, Venezuela has seen an increase of 48% in agricultural lands under cultivation, the Minister for Land and Agriculture, Juan Carlos Loyo, reported last week.
According to official statistics released by the Ministry, the number of hectares now being planted has reached nearly 2.4 million (5.9 million acres), up from 1.6 million (3.9 million acres) in 1998.
Crops such as corn, rice, soybean, and coffee have also seen important production increases during the presidency of Hugo Chavez.
Community-Based Farming
Loyo made the announcements during an inspection of the Socialist Production Unit Indio Rangel in the state of Aragua, where 235 hectares of under-utilized land have been turned over to small farmers working collectively.
The land that is now being worked by 80 small-scale farmers was previously under the domain of a private sugar cane hacienda, which according to the Venezuelan News Agency, had been abandoned for 6 years.
Last year the hacienda land was handed over to the farmers, organized in nine community councils, and has been converted into a productive farm where staple crops such as corn and other vegetables are being planted.
Loyo made a similar inspection last Friday in the state of Carabobo as part of a government follow-up plan being implemented in all the agricultural lands that have been redistributed in Venezuela’s Central Region since the passage of Presidential Decree 5,378.
The decree established the preservation of 53,000 hectares of high quality farmlands in the Lake Valencia basin, close to the capital Caracas. “These are lands recovered by the Bolivarian Revolution,” Loyo said during the inspection of the Monte Sacro farm in Carabobo. “In this latifundio, a project is being developed… We came to inspect close to 170 hectares of white corn in very good condition”, he stated.
According to the Land and AgricultureMinistry statistics, the production of white corn in Venezuelahas increased by 132% in the past eleven years.
Arepas, the single most importantstaple food in the Venezuelan diet, are made with the flour derivedfrom white corn.
Loyo said that winter cycle of 2010 would see an estimated production of 1.5 million tons of the crop, an increaseof 3.5% from last year.
Production Increase
Soybean production, accordingto the ministry, has grown by 858% to 54,420 tons over the past decade.
Rice production has risen by 84%, reaching nearly 1.3 million tons yearly while milk productionhas risen to 2.18 million tons, a 47% increase.
Coffee has also seen an increase of 12% since 1998.
Loyo attributes these advances to Venezuela’s Land Law, which serves to “strengthen national production in the countryside.”
The Land and Agricultural Development Law, originally passed by presidential decree in 2001, implemented Venezuela’s new agrarian reform, creating the legal basis for the government to redistribute fallow and under-utilized farmlands to landless campesinos.
Before the government of Hugo Chavez came to power in Venezuela, World Bank statistics had placed Venezuela as the country with the second worst land inequality in Latin America.
A government agricultural census revealed that in 1998, 5% of the Venezuelan population owned 70% of the land.
Over the past 6 years, more than 2.5 million hectares of land have been distributed to some 250,000 campesino families, according to government sources.
Food Sovereignty
An important part of the currentagrarian reform lies in the premise of lowering the nation’s dependence on food imports and creating food sovereignty.
Historically, Venezuela’s dependenceon oil exports has created an underdeveloped agricultural sector,resulting in the importation of the vast majority of food products.
According to Loyo, the strides being made in agricultural productionhave been significant, but more are needed.
“The advances have been quantitativein agricultural terms, but it’s unquestionable that there is still much ground to cover and it’s for that reason that our work will continue…in all of our nationalterritory, we will continue with special efforts to regularizeland, rehabilitate agricultural routes, and ensure grant credits to our producers.”
In Santa Maria del Rosario, a municipality Cotorro, everyone praises a young People's Power delegates elected by the decision of men and women of this picturesque town declared a World Heritage Site.
This is Yaima Valley Barrios, first lieutenant in the FAR, who is serving his first term as a delegate of the Council.
Concerned about the positions of their constituents on the critical situation of the streets in the area, laid out a plan to solve what seemed impossible until recently: repair them all.
With the support of all was given the task of preparing conditions for such an endeavor, they made what would be his rustic cylinder to flatten, got wagons, rakes ... After having everything at hand proceeded to a visit to the asphalt plant's UBEI east of Havana very close in Eight Ways. There he met his manager and learned from it that they have a plan consisting of delivery of asphalt for streets with potholes community effort, only that they had never requested.
Everything was fast and the neighbors repair all water leaks own efforts, collections were to rent the trucks, spilled the fun, with the participation of all in such a worthy task that seemed impossible, to repair its streets.
When talking to an old revolutionary of all, Jacinto Eduardo Ontiveros (Papi) tells us how in all meetings of the community that was a popular claim, finding that the passage of more than 30 years without doing anything about it, the streets were almost impassable.
The Milan teammate Michel Reyes, president of the Government in Cotorro, also joined in the place and commended the joint effort that kept the population in the constituency with his delegate.
Yaima happy. He says that this was their first experience with the community and would like to acknowledge the outstanding work of three of its voters who have cast ashore to help that effort and stay with quality work, Abel, Raul and Javier.
It only wish this young delegate success in his future work and in his thesis as a PhD in criminal sciences.
En Santa Maria del Rosario, municipio Cotorro, todos elogian a una joven delegada del Poder popular electa por la decisión de hombres y mujeres de este pintoresco pueblito declarado Patrimonio de La Humanidad.
Se trata de Yaíma Valle Barrios, primer teniente de las FAR, quien cumple su primer mandato como delegada de este Consejo.
Preocupada por los planteamientos de sus electores sobre la situación crítica de las calles de la circunscripción, se trazó un plan para dar solución a lo que hasta hace poco parecía imposible: repararlas todas.
Con el apoyo de todos se dio a la tarea de preparar condiciones para tal empeño, fabricaron lo que seria su cilindro rústico para aplanar, consiguieron vagones, rastrillos… Luego de tener todo a mano procedió a realizar una visita a la planta de asfalto UBEI del este de La Habana muy próxima en las Ocho Vías. Allí se entrevistó con su administrador y supo por éste que ellos tienen un plan consistente en entrega de mezcla asfáltica para con esfuerzo comunitario bachear calles, sólo que nunca se lo habían solicitado.
Todo fue rápido y entre los vecinos repararon todos los salideros de agua con esfuerzos propios, hicieron colectas para alquilar los camiones, se desbordó la alegría popular, con la participación de todos en tan digna tarea que parecía imposible, reparar sus calles.
Al conversar con un viejo revolucionario del lugar, Jacinto Eduardo Ontivero (Papi) nos narraba cómo en todas las reuniones de la comunidad ese era un reclamo popular, al ver que al paso de más de 30 años sin hacer nada al respecto, las calles estaban casi intransitables.
El compañero Michel Milán Reyes, presidente del Gobierno en el Cotorro, se personó en el lugar y felicitó el esfuerzo mancomunado que mantuvo la población de la circunscripción junto a su delegada.
Yaíma está feliz. Nos comenta que ésta ha sido su primera experiencia con la comunidad y que quisiera reconocer el trabajo excepcional de tres de sus electores que han echado pie en tierra para ayudarla a tal empeño y que el trabajo quedara con calidad, Abel, Raúl y Javier.
Solo le deseamos a esta joven delegada éxitos en sus futuras tareas y en su tesis como doctora en ciencias penales.
Despite President Obama’s promise to President Chavez that his administration wouldn’t interfere in Venezuela’s internal affairs, the US-funded National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is channeling millions into anti-Chavez groups.
Foreign intervention is not only executed through military force. The funding of “civil society” groups and media outlets to promote political agendas and influence the “hearts and minds” of the people is one of the more widely used mechanisms by the US government to achieve its strategic objetives.
In Venezuela, the US has been supporting anti-Chavez groups for over 8 years, including those that executed the coup d’etat against President Chavez in April 2002. Since then, the funding has increased substantially. A May 2010 report evaluating foreign assistance to political groups in Venezuela, commissioned by the National Endowment for Democracy, revealed that more than $40 million USD annually is channeled to anti-Chavez groups, the majority from US agencies.
The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) was created by congressional legislation on November 6, 1982. It’s mandate was anti-communist and anti-socialist and its first mission, ordered by President Ronald Reagan, was to support anti-Sandinista groups in Nicaragua in order to remove that government from power. NED reached its goal after 7 years and more than $1 billion in funding to build an anti-Sandinista political coalition that achieved power.
Today, NED’s annual budget, allocated under the Department of State, exceeds $132 million. NED operates in over 70 countries worldwide. Allen Weinstein, one of NED’s original founders, revealed once to the Washington Post, “What we do today was done clandestinely 25 years ago by the CIA…”
VENEZUELA
Venezuela stands out as the Latin American nation where NED has most invested funding in opposition groups during 2009, with $1,818,473 USD, more than double from the year before.
In a sinister attempt to censure the destination of funds in Venezuela, NED excluded a majority of names of Venezuelan groups receiving funding from its annual report. Nonetheless, other official documents, such as NED’s tax declarations and internal memos obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, have disclosed the names of those receiving its million dollar funding in Venezuela.
Of the more than $2.6 million USD given by NED to Venezuelan groups during 2008-2009, a majority of funds have gone to organizations relatively unknown in Venezuela. With the exception of some more known groups, such as CEDICE, Sumate, Consorcio Justicia and CESAP, the organizations receiving more than $2 million in funding appear to be mere façades and channels to distribute these millions to anti-Chavez groups.
Unknown entities such as the Center for Leadership Formation for Peace and Social Development received $39.954 (2008) and $39.955 (2009) to “strengthen the capacity of community leaders to participate in local democratic processes”.
For several years, the Civil Association Kapé Kapé, which no one knows in Venezuela, has received grants ranging from $45,000 (2008) to $56,875 (2009) to “empower indigenous communities and strengthen their knowledge of human rights, democracy and the international organizations and mechanisms available to protect them”. In a clear example of foreign interference, NED funds were used to “create a document detailing the human rights violations perpetrated against them and denounce them before international organizations”. In other words, the US funded efforts inside Venezuela to aid Venezuelans in denouncing their government before international entities.
FUNDING STUDENT MOVEMENTS
A large part of NED funds in Venezuela have been invested in “forming student movements” and “building democratic leadership amongst youth”, from a US perspective and with US values. This includes programs that “strengthen the leadership capabilities of students and youth and enhance their ability to interact effectively in their communities and promote democratic values”. Two jesuit organizations have been the channels for this funding, Huellas ($49,950 2008 and $50,000 2009) and the Gumilla Center Foundation ($63,000).
Others, such as the ‘Miguel Otero Silva’ Cultural Foundation ($51,500 2008 and $60.900 2009) and the unknown Judicial Proposal Association ($30,300 2008), have used NED funds to “conduct communications campaigns via local newspapers, radio stations, text messaging, and Internet, and distribute posters and flyers”.
In the last three years, an opposition student/youth movement has been created with funding from various US and European agencies. More than 32% of USAID funding, for example, has gone to “training youth and students in the use of innovative media technologies to spread political messages and campaigns”, such as on Twitter and Facebook.
FUNDING MEDIA AND JOURNALISTS
NED has also funded several media organizations in Venezuela, to aid in training journalists and designing political messages against the Venezuelan government. Two of those are the Institute for Press and Society (IPyS) and Espacio Publico (Public Space), which have gotten multimillion dollar funding from NED, USAID, and the Department of State during the past three years to “foster media freedom” in Venezuela.
What these organizations really do is promote anti-Chavez messages on television and in international press, as well as distort and manipulate facts and events in the country in order to negatively portray the Chavez administration.
The Washington Post recently published an article on USAID funding of media and journalists in Afghanistan (Post, Tuesday, August 3, 2010), an echo of what US agencies are doing in Venezuela. Yet such funding is clearly illegal and a violation of journalist ethics. Foreign government funding of “independent” journalists or media outlets is an act of mass deception, propaganda and a violation of sovereignty.
US funding of opposition groups and media inside Venezuela not only violates Venezuelan law, but also is an effort to feed an internal conflict and prop up political parties that long ago lost credibility. This type of subversion has become a business and source of primary income for political actors promoting US agenda abroad.
BAD DIPLOMACY
On Tuesday, statements made by designated US Ambassador to Venezuela, Larry Palmer, on Venezuelan affairs were leaked to the press. Palmer, not yet confirmed by the Senate, showed low signs of diplomacy by claiming democracy in Venezuela was “under threat” and that Venezuela’s armed forces had “low morale”, implying a lack of loyalty to the Chavez administration.
Palmer additionally stated he had “deep concerns” about “freedom of the press” and “freedom of expression” in Venezuela and mentioned the legal cases of several corrupt businessmen and a judge, which Palmer claimed were signs of “political persecution”.
Palmer questioned the credibility of Venezuela’s electoral system, leading up to September’s legislative elections, and said he would “closely monitor threats to human rights and fundamental freedoms”. He also stated the unfounded and unsubstantiated claims made by Colombia of “terrorist training camps” in Venezuela was a “serious” and real fact obligating Venezuela to respond.
Palmer affirmed he would “work closely to support civil society” groups in Venezuela, indicating an intention to continue US funding of the opposition, which the US consistently has referred to as “civil society”.
These statements are a clear example of interference in internal affairs in Venezuela and an obvious showing that Obama has no intention of following through on his promises.
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