To understand how degraded Venezuela is, travel by plane....

Registration under Chavez

I left for a short holiday to Margarita and truly, it is an awesome experience. Not for the adventure, good food, beautiful scenery, but for the lousy service, the degraded infrastructure, the lack of basic items such as milk....  So there, a little summary.

It all started with the difficulty in finding a plane ticket. In Venezuela now, if you want to have a choice of travel dates, you need to buy a month ahead, even in low season, which is my case. By trying to get my ticket with barely three weeks notice, I could not find the adequate dates and I lost one day of my "package" while having to pay the full price anyway.  Not to mention the aggravation of useless web pages of Venezuelan airline companies which forced me in the end to go to an agency....

Proof that Chavez was a reactionary

But I got my ticket and on the set day I went to Valencia to take my flight.  To decorate this entry I have a collection of the airport political propaganda that I had to endure while at the airport: I had to be there two hours earlier to make sure I would not be bumped for a "waiting list" and my flight was 1 hour and a half late without any explanation. Click the pictures to enlarge for details.

Vagabunderias y permanente subdesarrollo chavista en Venezuela

Este fin de semana vimos dos cosas que deberían dejar pensativo a muchos en Venezuela. De un lado nos decretan un tal Instituto de Altos Estudios del Pensamiento de Hugo Chávez y por el otro leemos que analistas piensan que Mexico es el mejor candidato para ser un líder en tecnología, un Silicon Valley Latinoamericano. Empecemos por el segundo que es mas prometedor de futuro.

The Great Republican Hope...not

7 days or 7 eras, who's counting?

UPDATED

Oh dear....  Marco Rubio is one of the great Republican hopes for 2016 and yet he made a major blunder that basically bars him from ever receiving votes from people like me. Not that I vote in the US, mind you, but there are a lot of folks there who would love less taxes and a little bit more austerity in the US budget but could never entrust that task to someone that does not know the difference between 7 days and 7 eras, whatever "eras" mean....

Let's look at the actual quote from GQ who interviewed Marco Rubio, junior Florida Senator, already on any Veep GOP list.

When Chavez recognizes his defeat: tales of a rudderless campaign

Yesterday we had two quite extraordinary events that really reflect how bad is Chavez doing and how clueless he has become.  In chronological order.

Chavez had the bad idea to make a provocation in Monagas. True, it was the state where he was the most voted in 2006, I think, but after the major PDVSA oil spill over in Maturin's drinking water and the clumsy attempt at the regime to hide the ecological crime and force people to drink it anyway, he all but lost the state. That is, it might still be chavista enough for him to squeak a 1% victory but with the governor running against him now, and a lot of the local pols that know better, Chavez chances are dim.

Dictatorship on fire at Amuay

Many people criticize some of us when we use the term dictatorship to characterize the Chavez regime (I personally started using it in all propriety since the enabling law of 2010).  Of course, people are still in the mind frame of XX century dictatorships.  Times have changed.  With clever abuse of the media and understanding on how to make things "legal" dictatorships have assumed a new facet.  Now their objective is not controlling the daily life of people and killing scores of opponents.  Now they satisfy themselves by making sure a small "elite" stays in office through manipulated but still sort of real elections.  These "elites" are then allowed to plunder the state coffers, which was the point all along.  Let's say that absolute power has been replaced by absolute plunder.

The Amuay refinery is still burning this morning as I type this note.  But that is not the news.  What are the news today is really Chavez visit yesterday.  In that visit he bragged that he wanted to get closer to the fire, where even experts did not dare to go. We never got those images.  He declared that the explosion was not due to a leak or lack of maintenance. Even though the going on fire did not allow for any examination of the wreckage yet. He said that it was impossible that folks smelled gas on Friday even though the reports to that effect are too many to count and found their way even in the New York Times today. He warned the media on "speculation" and took plenty of time to try to humiliate publicly a Colombian journalist that dared to contradict his words.  He said that the show must go on, a tremendously telling subconscious betrayal. Etc...

In short, he behaved like a banana republic dictator, of the XIX century no less.

Mythomania in Chavez bird brain

Chavez was doing yet another cadena. Surfing the waves I stumbled on him as he was "replying" to Capriles who promised that Venezuela would stop giving oil for free anymore. Instead of shutting up Chavez had to open his big mouth and look guilty, whether he did not intend it. If that was not bad enough he went to his old tired argument that when he reached office oil was at 10 a barrel and that he managed to rise it ten times.

Of course it is all baloney. You and I know that oil price increase is BRICS growth, speculation, less strikes, more expensive fields, etc...  Maybe Chavez knows/knew that too. What scared me tonight was that his body language, his voice, indicated to me that Chavez believes now that if it were not for him oil would still be a 10 usd a barrel.

Memo to Hugo: 1) stop replying to Capriles: you have no idea how to reply in an argument, and 2) consider changing your medication.

The full chavista paranoia package

Courtesy of blogs who love to follow such things (bless 'em), we are pointed to this video shown prime time in the official state TV of Venezuela, VTV.  There is no point in translating it but just with gestures and attitudes you an get the point that this guy has mental problems associated with paranoia and a fear of being left alone as soon as micomandantepresidente'ta'curao croaks.



For those who do not understand Spanish, a summary next:

He didn't say that! Did he? Your Christmas idiot on the loose

Holding a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, as a published scientist of things such as hot springs dwellers, having heard lectures by quite a few Nobel Prizes (received or received post conference), even if I am long retired from the field I get easily infuriated by the like of creationist idiots or totally unscientifically aberrant characters like Chavez today.  They both do the same thing, twist science out of recognition to sponsor their political agenda.  Today Chavez "suggested" that the odds were too high for 4 South American presidents to be stricken with cancer in the same span of time.  Must we believe that the CIA now stands for Cancer Inducing Agency?

In the video below Chavez does indeed do more than merely suggesting that the cancers of Lula, Roussef, Lugo, his own and as of this week Kirchner have no real natural cause and that maybe in 50 years from now we will find out that they were caused by Obama of all people.



First, as a Molecular Biologist by trade I wish we had reached such capabilities of some mystery targeted cancer producing agent (Bruni has an excellent post on how much BS is that Chavez accusation so I am not getting onto the details).

Of martyrs and burning bridges

Casually surfing during my breakfast I stopped at Spain's state TV, TVE.  They may have been focused on the latest announcement of ETA deposing its armed struggle unilaterally but they still had time to trash Chavez.  In Spain the state TV always has round tables of 3-4 journalists coming from both sides of the political spectra.  This morning they were all considering Chavez words on Qaddafi yesterday a disgrace.  Even though they had debated before whether Qaddafi should have been sent to trial or shot outright.  TVE puts a video of Chavez.

Indeed one must wonder about Chavez yesterday at Church stating that Qaddafi had been murdered by the empire and its European allies, that he was a martyr, that he will long be revered, that it was not over because there a "pueblo" in Libya with dignity.  I suppose that no one showed Chavez the video I put in my blog yesterday about said dignity.

That Libyan double standard and other half truths

Since Amr Moussa, maybe thinking about his eventual election as next president of Egypt, went on record dissociating himself of the attacks on Qaddafi bases, you can find many articles that go as far as mentioning the double standards of the West.  Indeed, if Sarkozy is bombing Libya why is Obama not bombing Bahrain or Yemen?

Una de las razones por la cual Chavez y sus focas no respetan la navidad

Si, es verdad, una de las razones por la cual Hugo Chavez siempre sale con vainas en diciembre es que sabe que la gente de bien, la gente de tradiciones, la gente de familia, la gente seria, deja un poco de lado sus menesteres cotidianos ese mes para dedicarse a su familia, sus amigos, y hasta a materias espirituales para algunos.  Por lo tanto el sinvergüenza ese aprovecha el descuido para cerrar televisoras y hasta imponer dictaduras, sabiendo que no recibirá la respuesta que se amerita e impondrá su odio.

Pero también hay otra razón y esa nos la describe Yoani Sánchez de una manera sobria y al punto: esa gente, los chavistas de poder, no creen en nada, y menos en los hombres.  No se pierdan su escrito de como el pueblo poco a poco logra recuperar la navidad en Cuba.

It rains, Chavez blames el latifundio...

If you needed proof that Chavez is out of ideas, out of touch, out of even the bare minimum common sense, watch THIS VIDEO from El Universal courtesy of D.B. reader.  In it you will see first an hysterical woman telling Chavez that she lost her fridge, her furniture and even her stove.  Chavez basically mumbles nothing much.  Then she says that she lost her small plot of aji (chile).  What does Chavez reply?  He asks if there are "latifundios" where she lives, that is large landholders.  The woman of course says yes becasue anyone in her area has probably more land than what she does!  Everything is latifundio compared to her aji plot of land!!!  What does Chavez reply?  He protests against her asking her how come she is not denouncing latifundios as vehemently as she is denouncing her flooded house and the abandon that the regime has kept her village since Chavez is in office.

I am not going to insult your intelligence commenting further...

Foreign Policy wants you to take Chavez seriously

For the kick of it read this entry on Foreign Policy as to why it is time to see Chavez more than a clown, a dangerous clown.  Short and to the point. (Hat tip J.R.)

And while you are at it read the latest Hitchens where you will learn interesting tidbits as to Chavez doubting the moon landing and the existence of Osama.  Somethings just cannot be invented....

PS: and you can also read the confirmation hearings questions by Senator Lugar to ambassador designated Palmer. (hat tip P.M.).  At least we know that if Palmer is confirmed he will now what he is getting himself to.

Chavez secretly sends troops to the Colombian border

Chavez said: (my emphasis)

"Hemos desplegado unidades para defender nuestra soberanía en caso de una agresión. Unidades de defensa aérea, unidades aéreas, unidades de infantería, de operaciones especiales; en silencio porque no queremos agredir a nadie ni queremos causar alarma en las poblaciones"

"We have deployed units to defend our sovereignty in case of aggression.  Units of aerial defense, aerial units [?], infantry units, of special operations; silently because we do not want to attack anyone nor cause alarm in the population"

aarghhh, cough, cough, hahahahhahahahah....


[a relative found the author of this blog convulsing on the floor in what seemed an extraordinary attack of laughter.  The relative took the liberty to post this anyway hoping readers will be kind enough to understand]

An Uribe Santos spat behind the latest citation of Venezuela to the OAS?

UPDATED.  Do not count me in those who think the latest initiative of Uribe in bringing Venezuela to account for its harboring of FARC terrorists inside its borders is the sure sign of a rift between Uribe and his protege president elect Santos.  The OAS session to deal with the accusations will be held next Thursday and one would think that sparks will fly.  But thinking that this is the main show would also be a mistake.

Chavez idiocy of the evening

Of the evening because he already said a few ones earlier today.  Closing the PSUV congress he admitted that the Venezuelan GDP could drop this year.  things must be very bad for him to admit already that it could drop.  His words:

"¿Que el PIB cayó en el 2009?, es verdad, ¿y que volverá a caer en el 2010?, pudiera ser verdad, pero, ¿es para angustiarnos? En lo más minimo"
That the GDP dropped in 2009? It is true. And that it will fall again in 2010? it could be true, but, should we worry? Not at all!

I suppose he does not need to worry, he will always have food on his table and the army will keep his job. As for us, well, you know, life is tough, nobody said it was fair, deal with it, go away, shoo, shoo...
 
Let us eat cake.

Chavez incredibly cheap pettiness on the US role in Haiti

One of the most amazing things to be heard in Caracas these days are the stupid, small minded, bitter, resentful words Chavez directs at the US rescue and help effort towards Haiti.  We have heard it all, even that the earthquake in Haiti was planned by the US so as to take over Haiti.  Weil cartoon in Tal Cual today says it all, almost:

1) The role of the US taking advantage of the Haiti tragedy is disgusting and an aberration.
2) They have taken control of the airport and the presidential palace!
3) (I wish I could have done the same)

Chavez idiotic moment of the day: recognizing Georgia "dissident " republics

In yet another effusive moment of misplaced "grandeur" Chavez opened his big mouth in Moscow and recognized (alone with Russia and Nicaragua) the dissident republics of Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Ever helpful the Moscow Times tells us that there was no quid pro quo between Russia and Venezuela for that recognition. Yeah, right.....

I am not going to discuss the merits of Abkhazia and South Ossetia separatist movement. However I am going to condemn Chavez for yet another naked intervention into other people business while he does not tolerate even slight comments about him of his cattle ranch that used to be a country. Only grief comes from such cheap posturing as any potential rewards will be cashed by Russia.

But in a way I am delighted: when the outlying areas of Chavez cattle ranch that can become an independent state on their own decide to separate, countries like, say, Colombia, will have the perfect excuse to recognize the "new republics". After all in Zulia they do not speak like in Caracas and they do not even worship the same Virgins. Not to mention that they work harder than the Caracas bureaucrats and care deeply for their business and modernity. Another country altogether.

-The end-

Happy birthday Hugo Chavez! Here, have some Bofors Swedish bazookas to play with your FARC pals

It might have been Chavez birthday today, but instead of having a good time the guy showed his low class once again by having to go and defend what cannot be defended. Since he did not like Colombia's latest finding of collusion between his regime and the FARC, well, he did the most predictable thing: brinkmanship with Colombia, "freezing" relations for a start. Who knows, by midnight he might send his tanks to the border again. It would be wise to send them at midnight, they would avoid the Maracay rush hour tomorrow morning that stopped the previous invasion attempt....

To summarize briefly. The sympathies between the FARC and Chavez/chavismo are now vox populi, from Chavez himself to a cohort of servants proclaiming their love to the FARC (Iris Varela and Rodriguez Chacin among the most explicit of the lot). Direct collaboration was not yet absolutely proved but there was enough evidence to point out to active support since before the days when Rodrigo Granda was quietly living in an Aragua village. When the Reyes computers were seized last year and evidence of close ties came up it was a surprise to no one.

Ecuador was also in the brew since for some reason the empty suit of Correa hates Colombia and Uribe more than Chavez does, if possible. But more about that later, suffice to say now that for Venezuela and Ecuador the need to remove Uribe and his ideas from Bogota is a strategic must as Colombian success only amplifies the more the failures of these XXI socialism regimes.

Now Colombia has revealed that anti tank weapons sold to the Venezuelan government by Sweden's Bofors more than a decade ago, BEFORE Chavez gained office, have found their way to FARC camps. This is a violation of all sorts of international treaties and agreements that I shall not insult your intelligence in detailing.

Before I go further I cam going to tell you how this came to be, and I am willing to bet a lot on my hypothesis.

Chavista military and FARC sympathizers are simply stupid and uneducated (no redundancy here). They probably thought that weapons sold to Venezuela more than 10 years ago were forgotten by all and that no one would worry about them if missing. No one in chavismo ever bothers to check out contracts, conditions, rules, supervision, etc, etc... When you live in Venezuela you know that just by looking outside your window at your street look. That is why Venezuela gets into so much legal trouble overseas: neglect and ignorance magnified by arrogance.

So, one day, simply some chavista agent had the "great" idea to give those things to the FARC (and probably pocket for himself the money/goodies he was supposed to give them instead). In all fairness it is quite possible that Chavez had no idea of that, probably would not have approved if informed of it, but has to fix the problem anyway. Though Chavez is arrogant enough to have authorized that deal, you know. With the bolibananians all is possible.

If it were a normal government what would have happened? The foreign ministry and the defense ministry would have announced an inquiry at home, would have asked for the serial numbers of the weapons seized and within a few days would have done a mea culpa of sorts. Soon, if needed, a fall guy who have been conveniently found, apologies to Colombia and Sweden issued, even an offer of inspection of the remaining weapons, allowing Colombia to know exactly how many were "stolen", and now possibly located in the FARC controlled areas of Colombia.

That would have been pretty much it.

But in bolibanana things do not work out this simple and logic way. Why? Because the rulers of bolibanana are delinquents and they know that any serious inquiry will be very damaging. Thus instead they accuse Colombia and the rest of the world of slander, say that Sweden has not asked for anything (totally false), suspend relations with Colombia and go as far as announcing that Colombian investments in Venezuela will be reviewed and, well, seized I suppose. Without compensation of course as no amount of money can repair the tarnished honor of the beloved Supremo of bolibanana.

Not only they likely made a buck sending the Bofors toys to the FARC but they are going to make an extra buck by blackmailing Colombian interests.

Thus tonight the irate and out of all proportion presentation of Chavez on TV, outright lies included. But he needs it, he thinks anyway. As the Honduras feudal possession is flailing badly, and literally through the harm waiving of Zelaya, as protests at home increase daily, Chavez needs to awaken the cheap patriotism so characteristic of proto fascist regimes. Tonight outburst is not directed at me, nor the readers of such blog, it is directed to the uncouth masses (still masses?) that support him still but who everyday wonder more and more how come Chavez sends now weapons to the FARC while crime at home is increasing daily (though according government officials it is only a "perception" of crime we suffer). I mean, one more incongruity added to the litany of previous incongruities of chavismo, eventually it has to add up and Chavez must know that.

What does this mean? Apparently nothing really. Chavez knows that Colombia now depends too much on its trade surplus with Venezuela which allows Colombia to compensate for its huge trade deficit elsewhere. So Uribe, pressed inside, will not go much further than these denunciations, hoping for things to quiet down soon enough as Chavez realizes that he cannot replace Colombia's imports that easily, now that he is short of cash to pay for the expensive shipment that would mean bringing stuff from further away than Colombia (and not in Venezuelan taste which are very close to Colombia's tastes; that matters, believe it or not, elemental marketing, since we eat Colombian yogurt, wearing Colombian underwear, taking many a Colombian manufactured pharmaceutical drug, and driving in a Colombian assembled car to purchase all of these things).

But this would only be apparent. I have the impression that Colombia has resigned itself to the idea that sooner or later as long as Correa and Chavez remain in office the possibility of a war will increase as the instability inside these two countries will inexorably continue to increase. The more refugees start crossing the Colombian border, the closer to a war we get. I have written already that Uribe has been trying to decrease the trade surplus with Venezuela, through rather infantile measures such as increasing toll fees at the border. Now he will be forced to take more stringent measures. After such a Chavez outburst, coupled to the pitiful show in Honduras to which Correa is associated, Uribe is going to press harder for a close relation with the US, from an FTA to US military bases in Colombia. Public opinion of Colombia is today somewhat in favor of these things and the more Chavez screams, the more he helps the Uribe camp. Colombians are a well educated and courteous people who already before Chavez looked down on silly and vulgar Venezuelans.

On the long run what Chavez is creating is a recipe for disaster, for Venezuela, not for Colombia. Right now, if he were foolish enough to create a broader incident, Colombia would win the war in a week or less. A week and a couple of day if Ecuador jumps in. Colombia has a real army, well trained and experienced, and lean officers. Venezuela Army is not an army anymore, just an agency to pillage the oil money profits, by selling weapons to the FARC for example. And managed by potbellied grease sweating generals.

PS: I put Ecuador as a foot note though it is involved in this mess. What I simply want to state is the absolute lack of credibility that Correa has, and how he thinks we are all stupid. A few days ago a FARC video was revealed and in it the FARC admitted funding Correa's electoral campaigns. Correa of course denied everything, Chavez style.

But Correa went a step further and asked the FARC to validate the video. The FARC assuredly obliged by saying that the video is fake. And voila, Correa thinks he is off the hook. Unbelievable, only Chavez and Correa can pretend that the narcoterrorist FARC is a honest broker! ¡Se cuenta y no se cree!


-The end-

Talking moose: Chavez and chavismo reach new levels of idiocy

As a constant blog writer there are permanent challenges that I must face. One of the most difficult one is to try to find new ways to describe recurring situations. One would hope that it should be obvious by now that the government should know better than repeat tired lines. Another difficulty is to avoid to just insult Chavez and his minions without even bothering to explain why they are idiots. Well, today I was sorely tested once again.

Let's start by the latest attack on a Globovision owner, as a way to try to find excuses to close Globovision. The Nazional Assembly commission for the environment has taken upon itself to demand an investigation of a few hunting trophies that appear in the TV images of Mr. Zuloaga office while it was searched. Chavismo suspect that some environmental crime might have been exposed, that current laws have been broken and what not. Even though apparently some of the hunting trophies, if not all, are from North American origin, this has not stopped chavismo to pretend that great harm was suffered by Venezuelan wild life, not to mention that the trophies might be unsanitary. And some other reckless B.S.

I am not going to discuss of the bad taste of keeping such trophies, or even speculate that Mr. Zuloaga inherited such trophies (he does not seem to be of the hunter type but I might be wrong). I am not even going to wonder about whether these trophies were obtained years before current legislation on that matter was enacted and thus no law can be broken in a retroactive way.

No, what I am going to wonder is where is the zeal of the Nazional Assembly when real ecological destruction takes place and this one is not investigated at all, not even noticed by the less than august assembly. I do not need to look for telling evidence such as the deterioration of Venezuelan National Parks, the overcrowding of Morrocoy or some other disasters that the web will reveal to you fast. On the very pages of this blog you could go for example to a post about a year ago when I was reporting how in San Felipe pastures and a water shed where destroyed, trees fallen, so that squatters could take over sensitive ecological areas where in addition they were putting their own lives at risk. They are still there, they have expanded and as far as I know no environmental commissar of the Nazional Assembly has come to at least investigate.

So large chunks of the country are destroyed in front of our eyes but a stuffed moose head is ground to punish Mr. Zuloaga. You can grade the ridicule by yourself.

The other element is the re-apparition of Chavez,and you guessed it, through yet another lengthy cadena. The highlight seems to have been the explanation that he did not go to El Salvador because they were going to shot rockets at the Cubana de Aviaicion airplane that was going to take him there.

As before let's not delve on the curious fact that the famous expensive airbus that the purchased in 2004 is not used anymore by him, the Cuban body guards having managed to convince him to fly with their plane, probably after they saw how deficient was the upkeep of Chavez's Airbus. Let's not also elaborate on the fact that Chavez could have gone by helicopter to, say, Maracay and take another plane to El Salvador. Or where anti Chavez rockets placed at every Venezuelan airport? If Hillary Clinton and a few others feel safe enough to land in El Salvador, why cannot Chavez land there?

No, let's instead focus on how Chavez himself insisted that Posada Carriles was the leader of this nth assassination attempt. A Posada Carriles under home arrest in Miami. A Posada Carriles who is old and senile, who can barely walk, who is probably constantly watched at distance by Castro or Chavez agents in Miami. That man was able apparently to organize an assassination attempt against Chavez.....

Is this the only thing Chavez could come up to justify a three days absence? Has he lost of sense of ridicule? Is he becoming an idiot?

I am afraid that Chavez now considers all of us idiots, supporters or not. Like the thug he is who reached the top of the food chain he only shows disdain for anything below him, mocking us deliberately with tales as idiotic as this one.

By the way, is such a cosnpiracy has been discovered, where is the evidence? As it has alwasy been the case so far, nothign susbtantial will ever be shown.


-The end-