The Post does not mince words in an editorial that will make it to the desk of Speaker Pelosi. The editorial ends questioning Ms. Pelosi integrity, even though it is cast and amusing and diplomatic terms. And a little before that we read a grudging support for Bush:
To be sure, President Bush provoked Ms. Pelosi. But he forced the issue only after months of inconclusive dickering convinced him that Democrats were determined to avoid a vote that would force them to accept accountability for opposing an agreement that is manifestly in America's interest. It turns out his suspicions were correct.
Yes, the apple of discord is again the FTA with Colombia. That agreement is one of the very few good things that Bush has done in his mercifully to be done eight years. Yet, Democrats are willing to jettison that, not even because it would spite Bush, it is too late for that, but because they are in bitter internal campaign where any tiny support they can get is worthy ditching the bigger interests of the country.
Thus not only Pelosi panders irresponsibly, and is justly exposed by the Post, but empty headed Obama even threatens to balk out of NAFTA while Clinton is willing to lose all of her credit as a respectable New York Senator to win Pennsylvania. It is staggering for me to see how the Democrats are toying with the future of the US in the Americas just because some disgruntled Union Worker in Scranton might stay home on election day.
Thus in the very same week I get to describe how the two sides of the US are equally tone deaf to what is really going on in Latin America. The United States, like it or not, is "the Empire", and even if today Empires are not supposed to send Marines, nor even send subversive money, they have a responsibility to set example and help as much as they can any democratic process, no matter how feeble that one is, when it is directly threatened by clearly established undemocratic actors. And this the more so when it happens not even three hours away by plane.
Let's not kid ourselves, what Mack and Ros-Lehtinen are doing from Florida trying to put Venezuela on a terrorist sponsor list is not any better than what Pelosi is doing trying to sink the Colombia trade deal. All of them, including Obama and Clinton, are making a big mistake on Latin America, to the point of making Bush look good and fair and knowledgeable!
If Pelosi and the trade union wing of the Democratic party were serious they would have negotiated a rider on the Colombia deal, to set some goals for Colombia to reach in a reasonable amount of time otherwise the deal is canceled. After all some Democrats such as Pelosi know and recognized that Colombia human rights have made some progress. But their problem is that they have accepted to become hostages to people who just want to eliminate any FTA, no matter what, and Human Rights is just too much of a convenient excuse to not look mean and petty. The hypocrisy is highlighted when Obama, to name one, calls for an Olympics boycott and yet does not say much about punishing Human Rights violations of China through stiffer import quotas from them. What gives?
If Pelosi and Mack and Ros-Lehtinen are let get away with their objectives the result will be extraordinarily simple: Chavez will be consolidated in power, Uribe will be weakened and eventually a permanent anti US group of countries will line the Southern flank of the US (even with a Democratic president, by the way). That group incidentally will support all sorts of terrorist actions against the US as well as against their only people so as to dominate them better. Where will be the people who "lost South America" when the truth comes home?
Is this Liberal blogger going to have to support McCain? I suppose that I should be grateful that Huckabee or another of those right wing weirdos did not make it tot he GOP nomination....
Written from the Venezuelan provinces, this blog started as private letters to my friends overseas, letters narrating the difficult days of the 2002/2003 strike in Venezuela. These letters became this mix of news, comments, pictures of the Venezuelan situation. Unknowingly, I have written the diary of Venezuela slow descent into authoritarianism, the slow erosion of our liberties, the takeover of the country by a military caste, the surrendering of our soul to our inner demons.
Click logo above to go directly to the English language blog. Click here to go to the Spanish language mirror.
Estamos en Venezuela, nunca se sabe. In spite of its Spanish title, an irregular blog about a French student observing Venezuela. Interesting pictures.
General info and discontinued blogs but with good archives
Venezuela Crisis has a visual and textual record "hors pair" of the recent electoral campaign in Venezuela, the first blogger to have covered live a Venezuelan campaign. Seems to be on a resting phase for a few weeks.
Digital papers with Venezuela and LatAm in mind (in Spanish)
There are two major digital papers with forums and all, for a permanent clash between factions. Noticiero Digital is the oldest one and Noticias 24 is giving it a run for tis money.
And a new comer:Venezuela es noticia.
Ciudadania Activa has a large selection of articles on Venezuelan politics and civil rights issues.
Relevant info to expose some of the regime's propaganda and human rights violations
The lies of April
The famous "infamous" video "The revolution will not be televised" has been duly analyzed and shown to be in large measure a crass manipulation. Counter-video in Spanish here, and summary of main points here.
There is a documentary that follows the April 2002 events from the perspective on what Chavez did that April 11, "La Cadena". It is about the forced broadcast made by Chavez to hide the massacre of the pacific march on Miraflores.
The infamous apartheid like system of the Tascon and Maisanta lists
The compilation of various documents from Miguel.
The video "La Lista" and my reviews in English and Spanish by invitation at Hispalibertas.
The El Nacional review of Perez Oramas.
The original video itself can be seen here.
Diverse Human Rights pages
Of course, from Amnesty International to the Human Rights Watch page, without forgetting local organizations such as prestigious COFAVIC, the Venezuelan government comes only too often lacking in its Human Rights record.
OTHER FOLKS WITH VENEZUELA MORE OR LESS IN THEIR MIND (Please send links that should be added here)
And of course to be fair there must be links to pro-Chavez sites. I do pride myself of having been the first opposition blog to have listed pro Chavez links; a situation that has now changed. However extremely rare is the pro Chavez page or blog that links to any of the sites listed above. The readers might draw their own conclusion
Aporrea (Beat up, bruise! as in the imperative mode of the verb; the only interesting one if you can read Spanish. Predicts the future)
And of course the full time propaganda agencies, ALL at tax payer expenses, the National Radio coverage, RNV, and the rather deficient official news agency, ABN (both in Spanish).
Without forgetting the "official" newsletter in English.
Some blogs, more or less sycophantic.
Yosmary, campaigning for Mario Silva, quite something.
Less sycophantic, even critical on occasion Terreno baldio.
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Map of Venezuela to help you locate the different locales mentioned through the blog (click here for a more detailed map)
For the memories. The picture below dates from the epic days of the December 2002/January 2003 "El Paro", when the opposition was strong and decided, and when Chavez was low in polls.
Then came the "misiones" and the worst populist episode of our history. Through pacific protests and strikes we tried to preserve democracy.
History proved us right even if we lost that battle.
Marching toward Hotel Melia, 01/31/03, 5 PM.
Small yellow square under the Pepsi ball is the big stage.
A special thanks to JoAnne Schmitz for the suggestions and help in setting this blog up.
