This is basically a not very useful post where in a hurry I will limit myself in pointing out articles that basically confirm some of what was written in this blog for the last two weeks. Not that I am any brighter, mind you!!!! Just that certain things can be said bluntly by a blog but cannot be articulated in the press for quite a while. The good news here is that when the press starts articulating things that are not necessarily very PC, it means that politicians are either already managing such scenarios or getting ready to do so. Without much ado, as a way to remove Honduras from our pressing agenda and go back to more pressing issues in Venezuela:
The Washington Post Editorial of last Thursday was titled, "A Chance for Honduras". In it Chavez was not surprisingly pointed out as the main culprit of the Honduran mess. The editorial starts as expected bemoaning yet another attack on democracy but wastes no time in making its condemnation of Chavez. "Fortunately, Mr. Chavez wasted his advantage: His foolish attempt to fly Mr. Zelaya back into Tegucigalpa on Sunday flopped, producing a ludicrous televised circus in the air and deadly violence on the ground." Apparently what I was already writing one Sunday ago was also what was thought in DC though they waited until Thursday.
But it gets better: "Now, with some help from the Obama administration, what could have been a catastrophe has become an opportunity to deal a defeat to the populist authoritarianism that Mr. Chavez and Mr. Zelaya represent."
And yet much better at the end: "Mr. Chavez dreams of a putsch in Tegucigalpa that would produce another lawless autocracy like his own; instead, he could watch as a peaceful solution is brokered by the United States and moderate Latin allies that would reinforce the Organization of American States' democracy charter." Woah!!! Now Honduras is a potential example on how to deal with a post Chavez transition....
The New York Times Friday also echoes some of the stuff I wrote in that Chavez and Insulza had ruled themselves out of mediation and thus real diplomacy could start taking place. The end of the editorial is another blow, softer maybe, but equally telling: "That left Washington available to help as an honest broker — a refreshing role given its history in the region.
There must be no going back to Latin America’s all-too-recent era of serial coups and big-power meddling. If the negotiations resolve the crisis, the whole hemisphere will benefit. It may be too much to hope for, but perhaps Mr. Zelaya — and his biggest backers, Mr. Chavez and President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua — will also come out of this with a greater respect for democracy, the rule of law and even the United States. "
I have news for the NYT, the very last part ain't gonna happen.
What is a little worrisome is that the interest of the West for threatened democracies in Latin America might not last long. The Washington Post has this Sunday about the recent ethnic clashes in China: "The United States and other Western countries have tried for years, in vain, to persuade Chinese leaders to change policy in Tibet. Unlike the Dalai Lama, Uighurs get little love in Paris or Hollywood; mostly they are known for the alleged militants held at the Guantanamo Bay prison, who have been found to pose no threat but who (with four recent exceptions) have not been released, for lack of a place to send them. But this minority, too, deserves support. The brutal suppression of the Uighurs' legitimate demands for justice will not make them go away; it will only weaken China's ability to hold on to the territory in the long term."
Ignoring the people that oppose Chavez and his hired help will only create future problems for the US, and the West. Chavez, like the Chinese leadership, is on a trip of racial/cultural superiority and those things end up in disaster. If in China such claims are clear, in Venezuela it is politically clear and soon enough will acquire additional cultural and racial action, as we can see in Peru or Bolivia.
Finally my prediction of the end of Insulza is getting close to be fulfilled: El Mercurio of Chile writes (in Spanish, sorry) that the US has announced to President Bachelet, as a courtesy I suppose, that they will not support the reelection of Insulza for the OAS secretary position. In short, Honduras was a double jeopardy for Insulza who was seen as personally invested in the return of Cuba to the OAS at the San Pedro Sula conference a few weeks ago. If to this you add his dismal intromission in Honduras where his role was closer to the one of the executioner than to the negotiator, it is clear that not only the US is going to withdraw its support, but many other countries, including Venezuela where Chavez has shown often enough that he is grateful for nothing.
-The end-
Monday, July 13, 2009
Thursday, July 09, 2009
On the power of blogging
Quico who has more patience than me with PSF literature noticed that Venezuelanalysis was asking for donations, concluding this as yet another sign of financial trouble in the chavista camp. This far I agree with him but I would have liked him to go a little bit further in his observations. I will thus pick where he left.
First, his picture is not as comprehensive as I would have liked it to
be so I took my own shot, to make sure a date was recorded and to remind folks that a site who has published books out of its contents should be important enough not to have to request money. Heck, they should ask Eva Golinger and Ignacio Ramonet how it is done!!!! As far as I am concerned Greg Wilpert is at least as good as these two creeps, and way more civil than either one. I know because I was on radio with him once and exchanged courteous mails about links (I was the lone oppo blog to link to chavista sites for a long while; but that's me). Click on pic for details.
However it does get much better when you click on the links offered and read the info on why they seek help. I quote:
The next one is even better and gives the oppo blogosphere in English enough excuse to pat each other's back.
Furthermore from the google reference section I can guess what Miguel or Quico get based on what hits they send my way. I can assure readers that the combined sum of us can be the envy of V-analysis. And let's not even recall Alek who in his heyday had more victors than the rest of us combined, and by far.
To nail it all the way through, oppo blogs do not hide their stance and thus willingly or not filter their readership. V-analaysis pretends to be more objective and tries to attract potential opposition readership. Though they do it clumsily, according to this quote from the same fund asking letter:
Anyway, a few weeks ago I tested this blog unwillingly for donations to Globovision and to my great surprise I could have raised easily, very easily several thousand dollars. Yes, maybe you could argue that I have a rich right wing reader base, though you would be hard pressed to prove it so, but the fact of the matter is that the only payment I got for my years of work has been the occasional lunch from a grateful reader. Not even a paid for invitation to a conference, as many of V-analysis writers I am sure got.
I leave it up to the reader to draw his/her own conclusions.
--- --- --- --- --- --- ---
1) this hits numbers are very hard to evaluate as to their real meaning. Many are accidental arrivals from search engines, many are unique every week, etc, etc... Even the "stay on a page" number is not definitive to establish how many people actually read one blog.
-The end-
First, his picture is not as comprehensive as I would have liked it to
be so I took my own shot, to make sure a date was recorded and to remind folks that a site who has published books out of its contents should be important enough not to have to request money. Heck, they should ask Eva Golinger and Ignacio Ramonet how it is done!!!! As far as I am concerned Greg Wilpert is at least as good as these two creeps, and way more civil than either one. I know because I was on radio with him once and exchanged courteous mails about links (I was the lone oppo blog to link to chavista sites for a long while; but that's me). Click on pic for details.However it does get much better when you click on the links offered and read the info on why they seek help. I quote:
we have recently lost the support of some of our principal donors.After so many years of speculation about the funding sources for V-analysis, we would love to know those mysterious donors so affected by the current recession. I mean, actual capitalist business were sponsoring that site? Because, you know, we are told that PDVSA has no problems, from the very articles of V-analysis. What gives?
The next one is even better and gives the oppo blogosphere in English enough excuse to pat each other's back.
In its six years of existence, we have managed to steadily increase our readership, so that now over 40,000 people (“unique visitors,” according to Google Analytics) visit the site per month.Let me see if I get this right: with sponsors and many writers V-analysis did not manage to double my number of unique visitors, a number that I acquired on my own, writing alone except for the occasional guest post when I travel and did not own yet a lap top? Yes, that is right, be it Google analytics or the other counters on my site I get between 20 and 30K unique readers every month (1).
Furthermore from the google reference section I can guess what Miguel or Quico get based on what hits they send my way. I can assure readers that the combined sum of us can be the envy of V-analysis. And let's not even recall Alek who in his heyday had more victors than the rest of us combined, and by far.
To nail it all the way through, oppo blogs do not hide their stance and thus willingly or not filter their readership. V-analaysis pretends to be more objective and tries to attract potential opposition readership. Though they do it clumsily, according to this quote from the same fund asking letter:
Venezuelanalysis has regularly been the first place for people to visit for accurate, contextualized, and in-depth reporting from on the ground on crucial developments in Venezuela, whether on its many electoral contests, on Venezuela’s social movements, on the Venezuelan government’s innovative domestic and foreign policies, on opposition and media efforts to discredit and destabilize the Bolivarian Process, and on breaking news, among many other topics.How many contradictions can you pick from this paragraph? Are these innocent contradictions or are they fishing in troubled waters?
Anyway, a few weeks ago I tested this blog unwillingly for donations to Globovision and to my great surprise I could have raised easily, very easily several thousand dollars. Yes, maybe you could argue that I have a rich right wing reader base, though you would be hard pressed to prove it so, but the fact of the matter is that the only payment I got for my years of work has been the occasional lunch from a grateful reader. Not even a paid for invitation to a conference, as many of V-analysis writers I am sure got.
I leave it up to the reader to draw his/her own conclusions.
--- --- --- --- --- --- ---
1) this hits numbers are very hard to evaluate as to their real meaning. Many are accidental arrivals from search engines, many are unique every week, etc, etc... Even the "stay on a page" number is not definitive to establish how many people actually read one blog.
-The end-
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
The Honduras cadena: chavismo propaganda at wits end?
There was a short cadena last night on the Honduras situation and it spoke volumes of the current mind set and phobias of chavismo.
First and again, as it always needs to be repeated, a cadena is a MANDATORY SIMULTANEOUS BROADCAST OF ALL TV AND RADIO STATIONS OF THE COUNTRY, FOR THE GOVERNMENT, BY THE GOVERNMENT, FOR AS LONG AS THE GOVERNMENT WISHES IT TO LAST. Of course no financial compensation is given to the private networks that lose ad time, nor any right to reply to the parties that might be attacked by Chavez or any of his sycophants during the cadena.
The cadena was supposedly a fair representation of what had been taking place in Honduras last week. Of course it represented only the side of Chavez and Zelaya even though the film had the pretense of a documentary. I will spare you the details, only too predictable, details that make other films such as "The revolution will not be televised" relative models of objectivity when compared to this product of chavista (Cuban?) studios. The mesh was so thick that one would have been hard pressed to figure out what was true, or at least genuine, from what was purely political manipulation.
But I was not shocked by the cadena. No. Heck, any rational and moderately informed person upon watching this hysteria might be tempted to become pro Micheletti just out of instinct.
As I was watching the cadena I was hit by a revelation of sorts: chavismo is descending into propagandist imbecility. I mean, really, do they actually believe for a minute that people who have made up their mind on Honduras will change it based on such a poorly made and clearly biased "documentary"? No, they are not that dumb; their stupidity lies elsewhere.
What is happening is that after ten years of massive propaganda, of constant cadenas, of Tascon lists, of ideologization campaigns, of training folks in Cuba to come back train the masses, they still cannot convince, their message does not reach as far as they think it should. They beleive that their message does not get through because of "others", not because of the flaws of their message. That cadena was not an argument, it was a screaming until-your-face-turns-blue moment. The objective was to drown with noise the words of the other side; to establish a truth "because I scream it louder than you". Exactly as some PSF juvenile tactics when they try to troll opposition comment sections in blogs. If this last one is understandable, seeing that government has reached the same level of idiocy in media is a sobering moment.
The other worrying element hitting home is that chavismo now believes more and more its own crap, as we could see alter that evening in La Hojilla commenting on the Clinton interview. Chavismo seems to have lost any critical perspective. In that "documentary" grand sweeping exaggerations were the norm, followed by minimizing, objectifying, and degrading anything that tried to stand in front of you.
I already knew all of that but last night I was faced with it in the crudest way, in the most naked show of force, demanding that I listen to Chavez view point. As if I had escaped it so far, as if I could escape it anyway.
In a way it is good because such crass imposition along the threats on Globovision are in my opinion counterproductive. It is just too much, it is beyond the pale, it just goes beyond the right of reply since people realize, no matter how uneducated they might be, that there is no reply possible, that the concept of reply is now alien.
And it also explains why in polls so many self described chavistas are against closing Globovision: no matter how hysterical this one might get it is still light years removed from what the state media has become and they still sense a need for balance in their lives, no matter how perverse that balance might be.
-The end-
First and again, as it always needs to be repeated, a cadena is a MANDATORY SIMULTANEOUS BROADCAST OF ALL TV AND RADIO STATIONS OF THE COUNTRY, FOR THE GOVERNMENT, BY THE GOVERNMENT, FOR AS LONG AS THE GOVERNMENT WISHES IT TO LAST. Of course no financial compensation is given to the private networks that lose ad time, nor any right to reply to the parties that might be attacked by Chavez or any of his sycophants during the cadena.
The cadena was supposedly a fair representation of what had been taking place in Honduras last week. Of course it represented only the side of Chavez and Zelaya even though the film had the pretense of a documentary. I will spare you the details, only too predictable, details that make other films such as "The revolution will not be televised" relative models of objectivity when compared to this product of chavista (Cuban?) studios. The mesh was so thick that one would have been hard pressed to figure out what was true, or at least genuine, from what was purely political manipulation.
But I was not shocked by the cadena. No. Heck, any rational and moderately informed person upon watching this hysteria might be tempted to become pro Micheletti just out of instinct.
As I was watching the cadena I was hit by a revelation of sorts: chavismo is descending into propagandist imbecility. I mean, really, do they actually believe for a minute that people who have made up their mind on Honduras will change it based on such a poorly made and clearly biased "documentary"? No, they are not that dumb; their stupidity lies elsewhere.
What is happening is that after ten years of massive propaganda, of constant cadenas, of Tascon lists, of ideologization campaigns, of training folks in Cuba to come back train the masses, they still cannot convince, their message does not reach as far as they think it should. They beleive that their message does not get through because of "others", not because of the flaws of their message. That cadena was not an argument, it was a screaming until-your-face-turns-blue moment. The objective was to drown with noise the words of the other side; to establish a truth "because I scream it louder than you". Exactly as some PSF juvenile tactics when they try to troll opposition comment sections in blogs. If this last one is understandable, seeing that government has reached the same level of idiocy in media is a sobering moment.
The other worrying element hitting home is that chavismo now believes more and more its own crap, as we could see alter that evening in La Hojilla commenting on the Clinton interview. Chavismo seems to have lost any critical perspective. In that "documentary" grand sweeping exaggerations were the norm, followed by minimizing, objectifying, and degrading anything that tried to stand in front of you.
I already knew all of that but last night I was faced with it in the crudest way, in the most naked show of force, demanding that I listen to Chavez view point. As if I had escaped it so far, as if I could escape it anyway.
In a way it is good because such crass imposition along the threats on Globovision are in my opinion counterproductive. It is just too much, it is beyond the pale, it just goes beyond the right of reply since people realize, no matter how uneducated they might be, that there is no reply possible, that the concept of reply is now alien.
And it also explains why in polls so many self described chavistas are against closing Globovision: no matter how hysterical this one might get it is still light years removed from what the state media has become and they still sense a need for balance in their lives, no matter how perverse that balance might be.
-The end-
The road to Ledezma: passing through Canossa or Damascus?
Although I do not particularly care for Ledezma I have never underestimated him. The hunger strike he started last week end is looking like a much bigger success than he probably expected himself. Not only he got OAS secretary Insulza finally to return a phone call, but he is going on with his hunger strike as the who's who of Venezuela opposition fights to be seen at Ledezma's hunger bedside. Suddenly the Ledezma hunger strike is looking like a cathartic moment for all involved.
Insulza who has to sense that his image is getting worse daily as now Costa Rica is asked to be the mediator in the Honduran fiasco decided to call Ledezma and invite him over to Washignton DC along the governors of Venezuela who are harassed daily by Chavez. I am pretty sure that tonight some china will be broken at Miraflores, no matter what a fat check Chavez may or may not have sent Insulza's way (reelection votes count in the scheme since oil checks to tiny banana republics/islands can be transformed into OAS votes). For Insulza the road to Ledezma goes through Canossa. At least until he can come up with something to deflect the attention.
Ledezma is starting to garner a few headlines, not much yet, but how can you compete with Michael Jackson funeral and the Honduras flying circus? However inside Venezuela it has given the opposition increasing strength in daring not to toe the Chavez line on Honduras. It seems to work as clearly symbols like Raul Castro talking democracy in Managua or a Venezuelan plane as the personal taxi ride of Zelaya do not go down well with some within the chavista electorate. At any rate it seems that linking the Honduras coup to the coup against Ledezma by Chavez is working better than linking the Honduras coup to whatever Chavez is trying to link it to. On this respect notice how chavista sites spend on Ledezma, be it tackyly at Vheadline or angry ignorance at Aporrea, duly obsessed by everything Honduras per its leader orders. Clearly they do not seem aware that they have been placed on a road.
But the opposition is finding its road to Damascus. Ledezma seems to single handedly do more than anyone else for the opposition unity than anyone else before he went in hunger strike. New born again unity preachers are declaring from the OAS legation doors. Maybe leaders are afraid that Ledezma will become the leader of the opposition, maybe they do not want to be left behind if he becomes the leader of the the opposition, maybe they kiss him Judas like before they find a way to stab him, but all go to the Caracas OAS embassy to pay their respects, and I mean this choice of words, to Ledezma.
At least within the opposition the hunger strike of Ledezma has been a fabulous success in pro of political unity against Chavez. Let's see how well it holds, hoping that many wake up to the chinks appearing in Chavez Teflon armor, faults exploitable only though concerted strategy.
-The end-
Insulza who has to sense that his image is getting worse daily as now Costa Rica is asked to be the mediator in the Honduran fiasco decided to call Ledezma and invite him over to Washignton DC along the governors of Venezuela who are harassed daily by Chavez. I am pretty sure that tonight some china will be broken at Miraflores, no matter what a fat check Chavez may or may not have sent Insulza's way (reelection votes count in the scheme since oil checks to tiny banana republics/islands can be transformed into OAS votes). For Insulza the road to Ledezma goes through Canossa. At least until he can come up with something to deflect the attention.
Ledezma is starting to garner a few headlines, not much yet, but how can you compete with Michael Jackson funeral and the Honduras flying circus? However inside Venezuela it has given the opposition increasing strength in daring not to toe the Chavez line on Honduras. It seems to work as clearly symbols like Raul Castro talking democracy in Managua or a Venezuelan plane as the personal taxi ride of Zelaya do not go down well with some within the chavista electorate. At any rate it seems that linking the Honduras coup to the coup against Ledezma by Chavez is working better than linking the Honduras coup to whatever Chavez is trying to link it to. On this respect notice how chavista sites spend on Ledezma, be it tackyly at Vheadline or angry ignorance at Aporrea, duly obsessed by everything Honduras per its leader orders. Clearly they do not seem aware that they have been placed on a road.
But the opposition is finding its road to Damascus. Ledezma seems to single handedly do more than anyone else for the opposition unity than anyone else before he went in hunger strike. New born again unity preachers are declaring from the OAS legation doors. Maybe leaders are afraid that Ledezma will become the leader of the opposition, maybe they do not want to be left behind if he becomes the leader of the the opposition, maybe they kiss him Judas like before they find a way to stab him, but all go to the Caracas OAS embassy to pay their respects, and I mean this choice of words, to Ledezma.
At least within the opposition the hunger strike of Ledezma has been a fabulous success in pro of political unity against Chavez. Let's see how well it holds, hoping that many wake up to the chinks appearing in Chavez Teflon armor, faults exploitable only though concerted strategy.
-The end-
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Hillary Clinton talks to Globovision
[Post interview update]
The news that will have chavismo foam at the mouth tonight is the interview that Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State in case you were still not
aware, granted not only to Globovision but to its leading show, Alo Ciudadano, and its anchor Leopoldo Castillo. The picture of the three of them, Globovision baseball cap included (on the right side Ravell, Globovision director).
Of course, I will not insult your intelligence interpreting this piece of news because even if Hillary talks for one minute only and about the weather only, the symbol is there for all to see. Enjoy!
To be filed under the "I cannot believe it is not butter" label.
Update: Waiting for the show I heard a lovely interview of Lucio Gutierrez, ex Ecuador president, removed forcibly from office in an Honduras like move. But then Insulza was not yet on the payroll of Chavez while Lucio had managed the shit list of Chavez after having been one of his favorite person in the world (like Chavez, he was a failed coupster). There are so many threads of double and triple and quadruple standards that my head spins.
Update 2, post interview
The interview was functional. Leopoldo Castillo was obsequious and ill at ease, wondering whether he should behave like an ex-ambassador or a journalist. Annoying presence.
Questions were standard and Hillary responses standard, avoiding any controversy, avoiding to say what Castillo wanted her to say. Still, she made it clear that things in Venezuela are not kosher and that she is aware of it. All in all, very competent at what she is supposed to do right now, avoid further trouble for her country which is overtaxed.
No matter what, the interview does not solve anything, does not protect Globovion from being closed though it makes very clear that the price Chavez will have to pay for it will be very high. Interestingly, the Honduras part of the country revealed how irrelevant Venezuela will become as negotiations keep going. The US might have taken the lead by sponsoring Nobel winner Oscar Arias as an intermediary but the confidence of Clinton betrayed that the US is backed. And if it is not by Venezuela/ALBA you can guess easily who it is.
As soon as the interview was over I switched to VTV to watch La Hojilla reaction. I was not disappointed as Mario Silva was livid, as furious as I ever saw him. And to add insult to injury his guest was Eva Golinger who is becoming "la propia vende patria". Comments were predictable: Obama is the same thing; Castillo is betraying the country; we are going to close Globovision anyway; and the like.... Proving that the interview hit a raw nerve. The top was Silva belching "who named Arias?" betraying his resentment at 1) his boss not being on the forefront anymore and 2) that Arias did the most to block a commie take over of Central America 20 years ago.
-The end-
The news that will have chavismo foam at the mouth tonight is the interview that Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State in case you were still not
aware, granted not only to Globovision but to its leading show, Alo Ciudadano, and its anchor Leopoldo Castillo. The picture of the three of them, Globovision baseball cap included (on the right side Ravell, Globovision director).Of course, I will not insult your intelligence interpreting this piece of news because even if Hillary talks for one minute only and about the weather only, the symbol is there for all to see. Enjoy!
To be filed under the "I cannot believe it is not butter" label.
Update: Waiting for the show I heard a lovely interview of Lucio Gutierrez, ex Ecuador president, removed forcibly from office in an Honduras like move. But then Insulza was not yet on the payroll of Chavez while Lucio had managed the shit list of Chavez after having been one of his favorite person in the world (like Chavez, he was a failed coupster). There are so many threads of double and triple and quadruple standards that my head spins.
Update 2, post interview
The interview was functional. Leopoldo Castillo was obsequious and ill at ease, wondering whether he should behave like an ex-ambassador or a journalist. Annoying presence.
Questions were standard and Hillary responses standard, avoiding any controversy, avoiding to say what Castillo wanted her to say. Still, she made it clear that things in Venezuela are not kosher and that she is aware of it. All in all, very competent at what she is supposed to do right now, avoid further trouble for her country which is overtaxed.
No matter what, the interview does not solve anything, does not protect Globovion from being closed though it makes very clear that the price Chavez will have to pay for it will be very high. Interestingly, the Honduras part of the country revealed how irrelevant Venezuela will become as negotiations keep going. The US might have taken the lead by sponsoring Nobel winner Oscar Arias as an intermediary but the confidence of Clinton betrayed that the US is backed. And if it is not by Venezuela/ALBA you can guess easily who it is.
As soon as the interview was over I switched to VTV to watch La Hojilla reaction. I was not disappointed as Mario Silva was livid, as furious as I ever saw him. And to add insult to injury his guest was Eva Golinger who is becoming "la propia vende patria". Comments were predictable: Obama is the same thing; Castillo is betraying the country; we are going to close Globovision anyway; and the like.... Proving that the interview hit a raw nerve. The top was Silva belching "who named Arias?" betraying his resentment at 1) his boss not being on the forefront anymore and 2) that Arias did the most to block a commie take over of Central America 20 years ago.
-The end-
Meanwhile, back at the Venezuelan ranch
We need to take a break of our Honduras extensive coverage to remind people what is going on in Venezuela.
Briefly on Honduras first. Two people were indeed killed yesterday, including a teenager. Inasmuch as it is a sad event we can be happy that the count was so low. It is not good propaganda for the sitting regime of Tegucigalpa but the way Zelaya so carelessly handed his "return" is going to make these deaths difficult for internal consumption. True, outside people are going to scream in horror but what matters, let's face it, is how "zelayistas" will mobilize and that is not a certain thing at least looking at the past week. And when you read that Zelaya will come back through the back country roads, you wonder how long is it going to take until the guy finally realizes he is wasting his 15 minutes of fame.
Back at the ranch. The news today is the Venezuelan opposition making a big fuss about the REAL constitutional violations. The OAS might still not be replying but there are clear indications that the local regime is getting anxious.
First, the hero du jour, Ledezma, is persisting in his hunger strike now going into its fourth day. He has been joined by some folks and has received many well known visitors. True, In English you will not find much material on Ledezma but wait a couple more of days and we will talk about it again.
One of Ledezma visitors was one of his old foes, the one who kicked him out of AD. Now Ramos Allup came in the name of the current unity group of the opposition to challenge the OAS at its own embassy. And he was not afraid to compare Venezuela as worse than Honduras.
Do not think that the OAS is going to be able to play dumb and deaf fro much longer. First, in a tough editorial at Tal Cual today, Teodoro Petkoff deliberately broke the secrecy rule and reported a conversation he had a few weeks ago with OAS secretary Insulza. Needless to say that Insulza reputation is not going to improve, and his crazy bias on their way to due exposition as we are told that he is perfectly aware of Chavez regime violations of the Inter American charter now brandished against Honduras.
Furthermore that government of Chavez has given a wonderful argument to the opposition, at the worst moment: the banning of the CEDICE TV advertisements have been legally digested by the opposition and a strong counteraction is under way, timed along the Honduras events it seems. REUTERS might tend to be forgiving to Chavez but their report, even if it includes "virulent" as an adjective for Globovision, cannot hide the attempt at censorship now taking place in Venezuela. The New York Times correspondent is also noting in a brief dispatch that 240 radio stations are about to be closed. Expect a longer article on the matter soon, just as the OAS will meet again for Honduras.
I am not sure of what is really going on but I have a sense that the opposition is for once sensing its opportunity to really bother Chavez and that many countries are waiting for the excuse to silence Chavez and make a deal on Honduras. Or has no one noticed the relative calm of Brazil, Chile or Colombia, limiting themselves to the pro forma condemnation of the Honduras coup?
I do not know about you, but so far I am not seeing Chavez winning this hand. He will come back and exact revenge on us for sure, but he might have overplayed his Honduras game, even with people starting to die for the "zelayista" revolution who seems lack in people...
And here, well, once again, unity of the opposition is the key to any success, as Honduras might yet demonstrate us. The time for resolve has come.
-The end-
Briefly on Honduras first. Two people were indeed killed yesterday, including a teenager. Inasmuch as it is a sad event we can be happy that the count was so low. It is not good propaganda for the sitting regime of Tegucigalpa but the way Zelaya so carelessly handed his "return" is going to make these deaths difficult for internal consumption. True, outside people are going to scream in horror but what matters, let's face it, is how "zelayistas" will mobilize and that is not a certain thing at least looking at the past week. And when you read that Zelaya will come back through the back country roads, you wonder how long is it going to take until the guy finally realizes he is wasting his 15 minutes of fame.
Back at the ranch. The news today is the Venezuelan opposition making a big fuss about the REAL constitutional violations. The OAS might still not be replying but there are clear indications that the local regime is getting anxious.
First, the hero du jour, Ledezma, is persisting in his hunger strike now going into its fourth day. He has been joined by some folks and has received many well known visitors. True, In English you will not find much material on Ledezma but wait a couple more of days and we will talk about it again.
One of Ledezma visitors was one of his old foes, the one who kicked him out of AD. Now Ramos Allup came in the name of the current unity group of the opposition to challenge the OAS at its own embassy. And he was not afraid to compare Venezuela as worse than Honduras.
Do not think that the OAS is going to be able to play dumb and deaf fro much longer. First, in a tough editorial at Tal Cual today, Teodoro Petkoff deliberately broke the secrecy rule and reported a conversation he had a few weeks ago with OAS secretary Insulza. Needless to say that Insulza reputation is not going to improve, and his crazy bias on their way to due exposition as we are told that he is perfectly aware of Chavez regime violations of the Inter American charter now brandished against Honduras.
Furthermore that government of Chavez has given a wonderful argument to the opposition, at the worst moment: the banning of the CEDICE TV advertisements have been legally digested by the opposition and a strong counteraction is under way, timed along the Honduras events it seems. REUTERS might tend to be forgiving to Chavez but their report, even if it includes "virulent" as an adjective for Globovision, cannot hide the attempt at censorship now taking place in Venezuela. The New York Times correspondent is also noting in a brief dispatch that 240 radio stations are about to be closed. Expect a longer article on the matter soon, just as the OAS will meet again for Honduras.
I am not sure of what is really going on but I have a sense that the opposition is for once sensing its opportunity to really bother Chavez and that many countries are waiting for the excuse to silence Chavez and make a deal on Honduras. Or has no one noticed the relative calm of Brazil, Chile or Colombia, limiting themselves to the pro forma condemnation of the Honduras coup?
I do not know about you, but so far I am not seeing Chavez winning this hand. He will come back and exact revenge on us for sure, but he might have overplayed his Honduras game, even with people starting to die for the "zelayista" revolution who seems lack in people...
And here, well, once again, unity of the opposition is the key to any success, as Honduras might yet demonstrate us. The time for resolve has come.
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Monday, July 06, 2009
O'Grady goes all out against Zelaya and Chavez
Maria Anastasia O'Grady might be an hawk, but it is difficult to disagree with her last piece. If you do not agree about her claims on 2004 electoral cheating in Venezuela, you can hardly find fault with her condemnation of US polices toward Chavez since then, including present White House tenant. And you have to congratulate her for saying loud what many think secretly, even if you do not agree with her. Refreshing, no?.
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