The Golinger story

As often repeated, the chavismo tide brings to the top some of the scum that lays on the edges of nations. It is difficult to find a better case to illustrate this phenomenon than Eva Golinger, a Venezuelan/US citizen (we are told anyway) we went from semi failed lawyer in New York to one of the "intellectuals" of the regime.

Yesterday Eva Golinger reached a top of sorts: she was trashed with a full editorial in Tal Cual (translated here by Miguel, as this post is sort of a double post, we agreed that he would translate and I would give some of the context). Briefly, the editorial tells us that Ms. Golinger has completed her transformation from immigration lawyer in the US to official government snitch in Venezuela, and McCarthy method training teacher.

Ms. Golinger started haunting web pages a few years ago, where she was defending Chavez. We did meet her in a sort of way. That is, we had the opportunity to exchange letters with her, a correspondence usually initiated by her about something we did not like form her texts, a mail that often included threats. The woman was already showing her true colors then.

During these years she also "documented" a research book where she pretended to prove that Bush was actively financing the anti Chavez movement, the "Chavez code" in a tasteless imitation of a more famous book. That book propelled her to fame since it tapped into the insecurities of chavismo and its great beloved leader. From then on, if trains run late in Venezuela it is Bush's fault.

Ms. Golinger moved thus to Venezuela where her Venezuelan ancestry compensated for her US accent when speaking in Spanish. Apparently some foreigners are more welcome than others. She soon became the darling of state TV talk shows and even started getting some articles in the press. Unfortunately for her she was also exposed as a phony by Alek Boyd, his own research on Eva golinger making it to the press. At the every least she was shown to be as a sloppy researcher. And not by Boyd alone.

Her only merit is to take the time to peruse documents available through the Freedom of Information Act. Her demerit is to try to make these documents say what they are not saying. And thus she has been happily trying to destroy the career of anyone she can. Her latest feat was to manage to tag 33 journalists as participating in anti Venezuelan activities just because they accepted a junket trip to the US, a long standing US policy who tries to have foreign journalists of all types visit the country and know first hand what the US is all about. Nothing that Chavez does not do himself with the constant visits from diverse leftists characters from around the world who are shipped to Venezuela, wined and dined while they admire one or the other of the Potemkin villages of the Revolution. Eva Golinger having started as on of those, by the way.

Now the National Assembly, prodded by no one else but representative Tascon, a great connoisseur in McCarthy methods since his famous name sake list is citing 33 journalists for anti Venezuelan activities in an unprecedented attempt to coy the press into submission. Fortunately someone seems to keep her head cool as Desiree Santos realizes that giving such a tribune to these journalists might be much worse than letting Eva smear them at will.

But the best part of it is that Eva does a good job about smearing herself: we think she has no sense of ridicule. To begin with, is she were an objective investigator she could demand the Venezuelan government to create a FOIA law in Venezuela. The fact of the matter is that her ill use of US legal system does not stop her from sleeping quietly at night with the knowledge that no one in Venezuela could do against her what she does in the US, that is for example expose how much cash folks like her are getting, even legally.

Her latest descent into ridicule is her interpretation of a robbery that took place at her home. Apparently the people she denounces have sent someone to rob her and intimidate her. She will be unbowed, and she stressed that she has a copy of all of her documents in a safe place. Eva is simply delusional and does not know where she leaves.

This blogger, since Chavez has reached office, has had three breaks into his car and 2 breaks into his apartment, once when he was sleeping in. The second break was actually quite like Eva robbery: a ransacked apartment with not much missing except electronic equipment and cash. In fact in one of those robberies my wallet was searched, the money taken, but the credit cards and ID papers left inside. At no point did I write a blog post accusing Chavez of sending his goons to search me, to plant evidence, to intimidate me. Get a deep breath Eva, this is just the kind of petty robbery that we, in Venezuela, have had to get used to since Chavez is president of your beloved revolution. You might want to think about that for a second.


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