Meanwhile, back at San Jose, our future might be decided today

[UPDATED] There is one missing candidate for the presidential line up in Venezuela and his fate might be decided today. Or may not.

Leopoldo Lopez, ex Chacao Mayor, ex favorite candidate for Caracas Mayor at large, did not get his deserved reward because chavismo managed to bar him from running in 2008. It did not help them much as the opposition did take Caracas after all, forcing the government to further unconstitutional measures by stripping that high elected office of budget and attributes to give them to an appointed sycophant, who of course has done nothing for the city ever since.

But beyond the dirty politics of chavismo of which we are getting only too used to, the case is a violation of human rights, according to the Commission for Human Rights of the OAS. A novel case perhaps in that it addresses political rights of individuals, but a human rights case nevertheless, no matter what the Venezuelan regime thinks of. Whatever ruling the Inter American Court for Human Rights in San Jose reaches today, it is not only going to affect Leopoldo Lopez, the most visible figure in the case, but a bevy of politicians all across the continent where different governments like to use administrative tricks to ban them from political activity (including the rather distasteful FARC agent Piedad Cordoba). (1)

Que degradante es seguir a Chávez.....

Aquí les recuerdo tres vídeos de algunas de las peores barbaridades que Hugo Chávez ha dicho, de esas barbaridades que reflejan lo inculto, y arrogantemente bruto que el es al fin y al cabo pese a ser un vivo.  El asunto aquí no es la brutalidad e ignorancia ya psicótica de Hugo Chávez, ambas bien conocidas e establecidas.  Aquí el asunto son las abyectos aduladores que aplauden tamañas declaraciones, en contra de toda evidencia, toda ciencia, toda verdad, toda respeto a si mismos.

En el primer vídeo Chávez declara que la especie humana tiene poco mas de 20 siglos sobre el planeta.  O sea que las pirámides de Egipto no fueron construidas por humanos, digo yo.  He aquí la ignorancia.

The fall of Tripoli's Green Square did not happen in Libya, but in Qatar

With paid actors, says Chavez...

Giving conspiracy theories yet a new twist... (From Miguel's)

I have been distracted by pressing work problems this past week and they are far from solved. So not much blogging for the time being. But I could not pass on this denial from Chavez, shown in TeleSur so I am not making this up.

But then again this is the man that states, unchallenged by his crowd, that capitalism destroyed life on Mars and that the human species has been around for 2,500 years...  Chavez, the man that makes Creationists look smart and objective.

The ex finance minister of Venezuela, now central bank chief, thinks that 7x7 is "around 36"

Another one for the bolibanana records.  The finance minister of Venezuela, Nelson Merentes, a once upon a time mathematician now turned president of Venezuela's central bank, does not know that 1 ton is 1000 kilos and thinks that 7 times seven is around 36.  As La Patilla points out, maybe the Chavez cadena frazzled him, but still...  can you imagine Merentes at question time in the commons?

The video edited by La Patilla replays at the end the 7X7=36. The moment when Merentes does not know the 7 tons=7000 kilos is not as obvious but around sec 22 you can hear someone whispering it to him...
They are going to steal that gold, just watch out!  Those people just want to grab it and split the loot.  They cannot even be bothered in having their facts straight!

Actualización de vocabulario: meretriz no tiene que ser puta solamente

Mi previo escrito, me doy cuenta ahora, necesita una definición mas clara para la palabra meretriz. Me disculparan mis lectores pero uso esa palabra en un sentido culto, el que me enseñaron los escritos de gente como Manuel Caballero [Q.E.P.D.]. Es decir, para mi la meretriz no es una puta aunque cobra sus servicios. Si bien la Real Academia española en su version de Internet iguala puta y meretriz, otras fuentes no son tan drásticas y nos remontan al uso histórico de la palabra merĕtrix, -īcis en tiempos romanos.  Wikipedia nos aclara el asunto con un artículo claro al respecto sobre la diferencia entre meretrices y prostitutas durante el imperio romano.  O si prefieren algo mas corto pueden leer un sitio de etimología de palabras de Chile.

Dicho todo esto, mi articulo de ayer "stands as is" como dicen en el imperio.  Y lo que hacen con 6to Poder es una barbaridad por la cual seguramente algún día pagarán esas mujeres.

Otra carta abierta a Hugo: tu, Muammar y vuestras meretrices

6to Poder en la calle

Esta tarde estaba viendo el vocero de tu pana Muammar, un tal Mussa Ibrahim (tomo la misma ortografía de tu RNV, para que sepas de quien hablo).  Pues resulta que el tipo dice que no se puede creer, que es ilegal, que la OTAN tome bandos en una guerra civil.  Eso si, el tipo no nos dice como empezó la guerra civil en Libia, que ilegalidad tuvo que romperse para poder llevar un pueblo a tanto sufrimiento.  Menos nos habla de la supuesta legalidad de Muammar, casi 42 años en el poder sin la mas mínima activad electoral de carácter democrático que se pueda documentar.  Tu, Hugo, por lo menos ganaste en 1998 y 2000.

Pero esta noche me entero que Luisa Estela esta mandando a poner presa la gente del semanario 6to Poder.  Parece que las mujeres de tu gobierno se sienten ofendidas por la fotico que tus secuaces (féminas) pasearon hoy por Caracas.  ¿Y cual era la noticia ofensiva?  ¿Que Leocenis ponía en su justo lugar a esas mujeres que tu pusiste a cachifear para la pseudo-revolución?  Pero todo eso ya se sabia y si vas a poner Leocenis preso vas a tener que poner un montón de gente presa, incluyendo a este bloguero que ya hizo un escrito muy leído de título "las cachifas de Chávez".  Eso fue el 5 de julio del 2010, ¡Imagínate!

Shorn Goldylocks

Since the bolibanana revolution is a big fairy tale, sure enough Goldilocks ought to follow Cinderella.

The announcements on the gold policies of Venezuela have created quite a stir, giving us articles by people that actually took seriously the announcement as if some economical principle were to be of concern.  Well, it is not.  As all things chavista, it is all political.

See, things must really worse than what we think they are when the regime is quickly dispatching the remains of "management" and "democracy" that may still linger here and there.  As usual, the key to understand these is always the same : the regime cannot surrender power peacefully because too many of its "dignitaries" would find their asses pushed to jails.  As such it is already taking the necessary measures to avoid such a fate were the opposition odds of winning in 2012 to become too good for comfort.

I will not go into the politics, which include fictitious law suits against the opposition as a whole and generals announcing that they will not respect an unfavorable decision in 2012.  Those deserve a full post.  Today, let's just look at how little of management is left, and discarded.

Cinderella could be a chavista if she wanted to

La Patilla brings the latest rage in capitalo-revolutionary shoes.  With even models in red for when you march in the streets to support your beloved leader's fight against capitalism and consumerism.  Start at a very popular price for "el pueblo" of a mere 67.50 USD.  I suppose it is for El Pueblo in Marin County malls....  (Hat tip Caro).

August round up

And thus I am starting to get back into the groove of Venezuelan politics after, oh, a 1.5 month mental recess?  Now that my ranting on the 2012 reality is behind, we need to go back to the electoral coverage because no matter how weak the opposition is, we need to get rid of Chavez if we want to have any chance at improving the country.  Besides, we are still better off as an opposition than the Argentina one who got a major, MAJOR trouncing yesterday, in large part due to its put-offing divisions.

Below, in no particular order, a list of the political opposition candidates as I perceive them to be this mid August (call it an Iowa straw poll if you must...).  Also, I am not yet getting into discussion of the chavista camp who is in a mess as per Chavez ass cancer.  We need to give them some time for their return to earth.

The front runner

Making mail run on time

Mail in Venezuela has always been bad but in the last couple of years it has gone from bad to useless.  I cannot tell you how many problems I have had with some people outside of Venezuela that cannot understand why a letter will take at the very least a month to reach me.  But today was just too much...  I went to my POBox to check it out after a week absence.  And there were 5, FIVE, issues of Scientific American.  FIVE fucking issues arrived at once! For a monthly magazine!

Chavez return from chemo II

So Chavez returns from Cuba after his acknowledged second session of chemotherapy.  Noticias 24 gives the gross display of that return.....  making us sympathy puke along Chavez's side effects. 

The Venezuelan opposition will lose even if it wins

I am not quite concerned about the outcome of 2012.  The realization has come to me that even if the opposition were to win in December 2012, it will probably end up losing the battle anyway as I have strong doubts that it will be able to rule.  The way the campaign has been developing so far is worrisome, but not because Chavez may yet implode or because the opposition is taking desperately slow but somewhat effective steps toward creating an electoral option.  The thing, it seems, is that the opposition best shot is to be able to create an electoral option, not a ruling option.  Allow me to explain.

XXI century (socialists?) idiots

Even though I am rather too busy to write these days, I still follow in awe the new recession running our way.  Benefiting of a few minutes, I decided to check out what chavismo and its XXI century pals had to say.  In no particular order and for your amusement only:

Prensa Latina from Cuba suddenly starts writing about the Paris stock exchange among others, explaining to us that the AAA rating of the French debt is now threatened.  Since when does Cuba delves in such loving details on the CAC40 index (or any capitalist tool for that matter)?  Could it be because Sarkozy is a main bomber of Tripoli, Havana's twin city?

The Venezuelan AVN is certainly not going to remain behind and enlighten us about the measures that UNASUR will take to stop any speculative actions against South America.  Was not UNASUR meant as a defense tool in the military sense?  How can Kristina vice presidential candidate dares to say that UNASUR will stab the Dow Jones?  Trading generals fro traders maybe?  Or something like that.  Boudou, brilliantly, says that South American countries should use local currencies for their exchange.  Conveniently forgetting that they are all dependent on the euro or USD for their mutual exchange rates.  Or is Boudou suggesting that Brazil's Real becomes our continental currency?  Only an Argentinean politician running for office can say that and get away with it.  But of course AVN always willing to help suggests to use the SUCRE of Chavez and Correa for currency exchanges...

Crazed Iris Varela is solving the jail problem of Venezuela by... emptying the jails

Those crazy eyes....

When Iris Varela was appointed minister for "penitentiary services" in care of "liberty-deprived citizens" in the PC lingo du jour, I thought she would really go to bat to "solve" the problems.  That is, if we assume that solving the problem means taking it away from Chavez political image.

There are two ways to do that.  The rational one which means, e.g., building fast at least some sort of provisional interment camps for low risk prisoners, and those accused of crimes not involving murder.  That way overcrowding and delinquency education is partially solved while new jails are built for the medium term solution, as long term solutions of social changes to decrease crime rates are undertaken.  She is crazy but she has the big mouth required to obtain from the regime, in election years, the funds for such endeavors.

And there is the bat-crazy way that, sure enough, she picked.

A number is worth a bunch of words

The "admitted" inflation rate for Venezuela just for July 2011 is 2.7%.  "Admitted" because it is the very manipulated official number.  But let's accept it for the sake of the argument.

This being said, the TOTAL inflation of the following countries for 2010 was LESS than 2.7% for the whole year.

Austria, The Bahamas, Belgium, Benin (!?), Burkina Fasso (!!!), Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Senegal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, United States (plus a dozen small ones).

All sizes, shapes and conditions.  It can be done.  You draw your own conclusions.

Otro mas para la sección "se cuenta y no se cree"

Parece que el inefable Jesse Chacon de GIS XXI  hizo encuestas sobre el cáncer de Chavez antes de que este lo confirmase.  Todavía no entiendo como periódicos como Europa Press repiten sin cuestionar encuestas como las de GIS XXI.  Porque no es la primera vez que se pela la GIS....

Reminder: Chavez is STILL backing up Gaddafi and Assad

Least you forgot this factoid while you wonder about way more important things such as the US and European economic crisis, Chavez is still vociferous in his backing of the butchers of Tripoli and Damascus.  He dared to receive an emissary from Gaddafi asking him to help in selling Libyan oil one way or the other (thus we can infer that Gaddafi mercenary army is running out of cash),  and said that he would never recognize the rebel movement of Benghazi (as if Moammar had ever been democratically elected) [sigh!....].  To add insult to injury he dispatched his foreign minister to the TV to support Assad and state as if nothing that the West was operating a war of aggression on Assad already benefiting form the Libyan training, accusing the West of sabotaging the democratic initiatives of Assad to open participation in Syria.  For good measure he reminded us that Syria is at the front of the Arab Reunification, whatever that may mean.  Too bad there was no real journalist in front to ask him how Assad progressed on said reunification....

Yes, I know, I know, all of these are really destined to internal consumption of the chavista lumpen, but still...  Are Chavez in his henchmen that out of touch with the world?  Don't they realize that Lybia and Syria are after all minor locales when the health of the Euro and Dollar is at stake?  Is Tripoli really more important than Athens today?  Is Chavez not aware that the sooner peace comes back to Libya with a dethroned Gaddafi the sooner the West recovery will/could restart and  the price of oil go durably up for Venezuela?  Someone should let Chavez know that if Madrid defaults tomorrow, if Gaddafi does not clear out of Tripoli soon, a new economic crisis will come and he will be swept away when oil prices go down to 80, or less....  He can scream all what he wants in favor of Gaddafi and Assad, he is useless and absolutely irrelevant because of his cowardliness in actually doing something real to help these criminals....

Chavismo's strategy. Well, sort of.....

As slowly but surely I get back into the disaster mentality I thought that to clear up my mind further I should let you know what my thoughts are.  Maybe someone can let me know whether I am getting it....?

There is a method in the madness of chavismo.  That is, to explain the hits and runs that we have been witnessing last week we need to understand that there was already a well planned strategy to block the opposition form reaching power in 2012 (by all means, legal or not), that has suddenly found itself complicated by Chavez disease.  Thus, the distinct possibility that Chavez might be dead, or unable to assume the campaign the way he should, have lighted a few fuses inside chavismo.  We can divide the reactions according to two set of people: those who think that chavismo will remain in office and those who are not so sure of that factoid.