venezuela becomes number 1

[I think not]

the north american fascists-- are really concerned at the prospect of social justice and real democracy breaking out-- so they label this strategy-- communism

I wouldn't call socialists fascists, but hey, your call.

the fascists-- are defeated in south america---
we have to now concentrate on defeatinng them here
so that they cant interfere with ---well south america
and anywhere else for that matter

The fascists aren't defeated yet, Castro is alive and well. If you want to defeat them in Canada, vote Conservative or Liberal.

as i see right wing america fail and others begin to stand up i feel more and more hopefull for the future

When I see both the radical right AND left I will feel hopeful for the future, till then, hunting season is open.

 

[cortezzz]

you are confused

 

[I think not]

Not at all, why not use Castro as a prime example of what you want Latin America to become? Too socialist for you? Pick a country so we can use a frame of reference, so we know what you're talking about.

 

[damngrumpy]

hey Zoofer, I am not a commie but I do support the efforts of Chavez. America is not a democratic nation its a large conservative empire. I don't see America suppling heating fuel to their poor, I don't see America helping the poorest of the poor in
South America like Chavez is. Hell the Americans have been sticking their nose into south american affairs for decades, propping up right wing dictators and stealing the resourses of that region for little or nothing only to charge large profit for the product in North America.
I believe all natural resourses should come under the control of a strong central government. Not altogether owned by the government but tightly controlled and subject to change for the good of the nation. And at least Chavez is standing up to the United States. The only problem is if they invade Venezeula they will have to fight all of south america as they are all sliding to the left. Soon central america will take the same road to destiny.
Under the Republicans, the Americans will be more and more marginalized, as the economies of India and China grow and the rest of the world will not need to feel the oppression of the American thumb any longer.

 

[Said1]

Yes Beav, starve them first then feed them and then brain-wash or inforce by Military Brutality complete compliance of body, mind and soul. Wow, I thought the Commie Doctorine died 20 years ago.

the north american fascists-- are really concerned at the prospect of social justice and real democracy breaking out--
so they label this strategy-- communism

the fascists-- are defeated in south america---
we have to now concentrate on defeatinng them here
so that they cant interfere with ---well south america
and anywhere else for that matter

as i see right wing america fail and others begin to stand up
i feel more and more hopefull for the future

But democracies don't have leaders for life.

I can't figure out why pro-Chavez people don't find that puzzling.

 

[jimmoyer]

http://www.caribbean-media.net/articles/article352.html

caribbean-media .net




Some Venezuelan television channels began altering their programs Thursday, citing fears of penalties
under a new law restricting violence and sexual content over the airwaves.

The law, which took effect Thursday, limits broadcasts deemed to be obscene or violent and details a range of offenses for which the government may fine noncompliant media organizations.

The private TV channel Globovision blocked out photographs of street violence with white space when
it displayed the day's newspapers, filled with coverage of Wednesday riots that police said left at
least 25 injured.

"We cannot show the images," said Carlos Acosta, who hosts the morning news program "Front Page," as cameras focused on several Caracas newspapers.

President Hugo Chavez signed the Law for Social Responsibility in Radio and Television on Tuesday
night, following its approval by legislators last month.

Critics say the law threatens press freedoms and have dubbed it the "gag law."

But Chavez and his supporters say they are committed to freedom of expression. They say the changes will ensure more responsible programming and television that is suitable for children and adolescents.

The law distinguishes between news and opinion programming. It also bans "vulgar" language, images of sex and "psychological" or physical violence from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.

One clause prohibits "images or graphic descriptions that show real violence or its consequences." The law allows the government to impose fines and permits regulators to close down stations that break the
rules.

Officials defend the law as a way to improve the quality of television and radio programs and say it is
similar to laws in other countries.

The law, which includes 31 articles, requires at least 50 percent of a radio station's programming to be
Venezuelan music and at least 85 percent of its commercials to be Venezuelan-made.

Desiree Santos, a lawmaker in Chavez's governing party, said the law allows TV channels to air coverage of events that can turn violent. She cited coverage of Wednesday's riots, which erupted when police tried to clear street vendors from parts of downtown Caracas.

"What they cannot do is show morbid images, then repeat them over and over again," Santos said.

Media who suggest they are being forced into self-censorship are "exaggerating," she said.

Some TV hosts disagreed.

"We are adjusting everything at the channel to (respect) the law," Globovision talk show host
Leopoldo Castillo said in a telephone interview. "We are walking on thin ice."

Chavez has clashed repeatedly with news organizations critical of his government, accusing them of
conspiring against him. Media executives deny the allegations.

Chavez's critics say the law could be used to restrict opinion programs and make TV and radio stations
responsible for what interviewees say.

Miguel Angel Rodriguez, host of "The Interview" on Radio Caracas Television, obliged two street vendors
"to swear" Thursday that neither he nor his channel had pressured them into making statements critical of police who quelled Wednesday's riots.

That channel's president, Marciel Granier, said there will be scheduling changes to comply with the law but that "we cannot resort to self-censorship."

 

[cortezzz]

yawn

 

[FiveParadox]

cortezzz, contribute something meaningful, or park it somewhere else.

jimmoyer, thank you for having posted such an interesting article. In terms of this new law, I would suggest that it borders dangerously close on state-sponsored censorship of the mainstream media, and would urge His Excellency Hugo Chavez, the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to reconsider such a measure. I think that many entities in Venezuela are going to feel "gagged" by this enactment.

 

[Said1]

What a let down.

 

[jimmoyer]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2905683.stm

news. bbc. co. uk /2 /hi /entertainment /2905683 .stm



TV battle in Latin America

Nick Higham
BBC media correspondent


Imagine a world in which Tony Blair hosts a television programme called Hello, Prime Minister from locations around the country every Sunday on BBC One and on every BBC radio station.

Imagine this programme, in which he lambasts his political opponents and cries up the government's achievements for three or four hours at a time.


Imagine he also commandeers airtime on ITV and Channel 4 and Five at peaktime, sometimes two or three times a week.
And then imagine a world in which news coverage on those same commercial channels is routinely hostile to the government - while the BBC, of course, is a government mouthpiece, its programmes preceded by video vignettes in which Union Jack-waving workers and peasants march across the screen in slow motion to the accompaniment of stirring music.

It is of course unthinkable - in Britain, but not in Venezuela.

I have just returned from my first visit to Latin America, and I found it frankly staggering.

Venezuela is the most deeply polarised country I have ever been to.

Deposed

Since 1998 its president has been Hugo Chavez, a populist swept to power on a promise to do something, anything, for the two-thirds of Venezuelans living on or below the poverty line.

Last year he was briefly deposed in a coup (until the military switched sides to reinstate him).


Last December the middle classes, whose own standard of living has been plummeting, began a two-month general strike to try and unseat him.
They fear he is trying to "do a Castro" and turn Venezuela into a kind of Cuba, proudly independent and desperately poor.

The strike succeeded only in paralysing the economy, which enjoyed what the economists call "negative growth" of nine per cent last year and is predicted to shrink by a further 20% this year.

Throughout, the media have played a shamelessly partisan role.

Chavez thumps the tub every Sunday in his programme Ola! Presidente.

Economy

In the edition I saw (number 144) he was broadcasting from a new workers' housing development somewhere in the provinces, taking time out to attack the invasion of Iraq.

Venezuela, whose economy depends on oil exports, thinks America's purpose in the Gulf is to smash Opec and drive down the price of oil.

In 1998 Chavez was the first head of state to visit Saddam Hussein in Baghdad since the Gulf War.

Dr Marcel Granier, chief executive of RCTV, which along with its rival Venevision is one of Venezuela's two main commercial channels, maintains that TV coverage of the 1998 election was relatively impartial and that government spokesmen are still given airtime in his station's news programmes.

But in Granier's view the government are "a gang of felons" with little belief in democracy and the rule of law.

Given his shameless use of state TV and radio, Granier says Chavez has no right to complain if commercial TV channels are biased against him (Granier does not concede that they are, though other observers disagree).

Resents

RCTV's Todos Intimos, at 9pm each night, is currently one of the top-rating telenovelas or soap operas which dominate the ratings in Venezuela - which may be why Granier so resents what he calls Chavez's frequent "confiscation" of RCTV airtime during Todos Intimos's transmissions.

With the country's major newspapers all lined up against Chavez, the president himself feels beleaguered, railing against middle class "saboteurs" out to destroy his populist revolution.

The result: there is nowhere ordinary Venezuelans (or visiting foreign journalists, for that matter) can turn for reliable, impartial coverage of affairs.

Like most Latin American countries Venezuela's history is one of dictatorship: a lasting democracy was only established in 1958.

Civil society has had less than half a century to take root. Television's inability to stand back from the fray is a reflection of Venezuela's wider social failures: almost certainly, it is also making things worse.

To use a metaphor appropriate to a petroleum-based economy, Venezuela's broadcasters aren't pouring oil on troubled waters, they are fuelling the flames.

This column also appears in the BBC's publication Ariel.


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/entertainment/2905683.stm

Published: 2003/04/01 09:44:22 GMT

© BBC MMVI

 

[jimmoyer]

I
http://in.news.yahoo.com/050413/137/2kq1s.html


INTERVIEW - Chavez TV channel aims to be Latin American voice

By Pascal Fletcher

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Three years ago, private Venezuelan television stations chose not to cover a military-civilian uprising that rescued President Hugo Chavez from a short-lived coup.

Now firmly back in power, the leftist leader will launch a state-run regional TV channel this summer to break what he calls a conspiracy by international and local commercial networks to silence and distort news from Latin America.

Telesur, a new 24-hour Spanish-language satellite station formed by the governments of Venezuela, Argentina and Uruguay, is due to go live in July or August, its director general said on Tuesday.

"This is a political project because it will help Latin American integration," Aram Aharonian said in an interview.

Aharonian, a Uruguayan journalist who has worked in Venezuela for years, said the new Caracas-based station will offer an alternative voice to U.S. and European broadcasters in Spanish like CNN En Espanol or Spain's TVE.

Chavez, a firebrand nationalist first elected in 1998, often accuses CNN and other international media of bias. He says they repeat U.S. government criticism of his self-styled "revolution" in the world's No 5 oil exporter.

"We in Latin America and the Caribbean have been trained to see ourselves through foreign eyes .. We should be looking at ourselves with our own eyes," Aharonian said.

The state TV networks of Cuba and Brazil are also assisting Telesur, which will do its own news reporting and also try to reflect its rich ethnic and cultural diversity by broadcasting locally produced programs, he said.

"Europeans and Americans see us in black and white, and yet this is a technicolor continent," said Aharonian.

Flush with oil income, Chavez's government is providing 70 percent of Telesur's $2.5 million start-up capital, and Information Minister Andres Izarra is company president.

The left-leaning presidents of Argentina and Uruguay, Nestor Kirchner and Tabare Vazquez, have also signed up. Argentina has a 20 percent stake and Uruguay 10 percent.


PROPAGANDA MOUTHPIECE?

Skeptics fear the controlling Venezuelan government stake, plus the presence of a senior Cuban state TV official, Ovidio Cabrera, on the board of directors, may turn Telesur into an anti-U.S. propaganda mouthpiece for Chavez and his closest ally, Cuban President Fidel Castro.

But Aharonian denied this. He said the board also included experienced journalists from Brazil, Argentina and Colombia, besides himself.

"I don't understand these concerns. If it's a propaganda channel then no one will watch it, will they?" he said.

Outside its Caracas base, Telesur will have a network of correspondents in Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico and the United States.

But would the station provide balanced cover of political opponents of Chavez and Castro? "If they're news, then we certainly will, but if it's just propaganda, certainly not," Aharonian said.

International rights groups have accused Chavez of eroding press freedom in Venezuela by threatening his media critics and passing a law that regulates TV and radio content. They say the law exposes private media to government persecution.

The president says the media legislation, and the Telesur project, will help counter what he calls "media terrorism" against him.

Aharonian said Telesur would not imitate Venezuelan state TV by broadcasting intact Chavez's speeches, which can last for hours. "We'll cover the president's speeches, but journalistically," he said.

 

[jimmoyer]

http://www.gregpalast.com/printerfriendly.cfm?artid=485

Ironically by invading Iraq George Bush has boosted oil prices and effectively transferred billions of dollars from American consumers to Chavez. Up to $200 million a day - half of it from the US - is flooding into Caracas. Chavez is spending this on building infrastructure and increasing the minimum wage and improving health and education in the poor ranchos which surround the cities. As a result even his opponents accept that Chavez is extremely popular and will easily win the next Presidential election in December.

Chavez is also spending billions in the rest of Latin America - exchanging contracts for oil tankers and infrastructure projects and buying up loans in Argentina and Brazil. He has made cheap oil deals with Ecuador and the Caribbean.

He has also spent some of the dollars which have come in from the US supporting Fidel Castro in Cuba. In return Cuba has supplied the thousands of doctors and teachers who are transforming conditions in the barrios of Caracas. Washington accuses Chavez of buying influence in Latin America.

The Newsnight team had to endure the long speeches and marathon six hour TV shows which Hugo Chavez delights in. Chavez posed for Newsnight posing with the sword of Simon Bolivar the 18th century liberator who drove out Spanish imperialists from South America. The symbolism was clear but behind the showman is a clever political brain.

 

[Finder]

Good for Venezuela.

I wonder if that means the USA will invest more money in a coup, perhaps enough to keep their envolvment less known then the last attempt.

 

[jimmoyer]

This sounds like something the Christian Right
might want to do. Instead it comes from a very
unlikely source:

Imagine if YOUR leader did this.

-------------------------------
Some Venezuelan television channels began altering their programs Thursday, citing fears of penalties
under a new law restricting violence and sexual content over the airwaves.

The law, which took effect Thursday, limits broadcasts deemed to be obscene or violent and details a range of offenses for which the government may fine noncompliant media organizations.

The private TV channel Globovision blocked out photographs of street violence with white space when
it displayed the day's newspapers, filled with coverage of Wednesday riots that police said left at
least 25 injured.

"We cannot show the images," said Carlos Acosta, who hosts the morning news program "Front Page," as cameras focused on several Caracas newspapers.

President Hugo Chavez signed the Law for Social Responsibility in Radio and Television on Tuesday
night, following its approval by legislators last month.

 

[zoofer]

Chavez is acting like Hitler or Castro.

 

[jimmoyer]

http://www.wan-press.org/article23.html

wan-press .org

World Association of Newspapers based in France.


The meeting with the Paris-based WAN and the WEF was the first time Chavez has welcomed an international press freedom group since the failed coup.

"We hope that the President’s willingness to see us is confirmation of his willingness to seek reconciliation with the press in Venezuela," said Roger Parkinson, President of WAN.


The delegation asked President Chavez:


to stop abusing the President’s right to have his speeches broadcast in their entirety on all television channels. Some of his television addresses have extended for more than five hours;




to fully investigate all attacks on journalists and media and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice. The delegation was particularly concerned with the murder of photographer Jorge Tortoza, who was killed by a sniper who was shooting from a government building during an anti-Chavez demonstration on 11 April.

to ensure that journalists and media are allowed to work in conditions that guarantee freedom and independence and ensure that police protect media professionals and intervene when they are attacked;

to cease his inflammatory comments about the press that have encouraged mob attacks and other violence against journalists and media;

to include press representatives in reconciliation dialogues;

to fully respect article 143 of the Constitution, which guarantees press access to all information of public interest and to guarantee government transparency. President Chavez was also asked to guarantee that he and government officials will stop their de facto boycott of the press and participate in interviews and debates;

to publish the text of a proposed new information law, which has been sent to the National Assembly, to avoid suspicions that its objective is to limit freedom of expression in Venezuela;

to eliminate any financial or moral support to the violent "Circulos Bolivarianos" groups that have been attacking journalists and media organisations.

-----------------------------------------------------------

In March, WAN and the WEF protested against the attacks on the press and asked the President of the World Bank, James Wolfensohn, and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, to help pressure Mr Chavez to stop violating press freedom in his country.

Members of the WAN/WEF delegation were Mr Parkinson, Mr Ramirez, Marcelo Rech, Editor of the Brazilian daily Zero Hora and Mogens Schmidt, Assistant Director General of WAN and Director of the World Editors Forum.

WAN, the global organisation for the newspaper industry, defends and promotes press freedom world-wide. It represents 18,000 newspapers; its membership includes 71 national newspaper associations, individual newspaper executives in 100 countries, 13 news agencies and seven regional and world-wide press groups.

Inquiries to: Larry Kilman, Director of Communications, WAN, 25 rue d’Astorg, 75008 Paris France. Tel: +33 1 47 42 85 00. Fax: +33 1 47 42 49 48. Mobile: +33 6 10 28 97 36. E-mail: lkilman@wan.asso.fr

 

[damngrumpy]

I support Chavez and the South American left, its high time they broadcast the real truth, and put pressure on the right wing privately owned media outlets. Chavez is not acting like hitler or the great Castro, he is acting on behalf of the ordinary guy, and the poor people of Venezeula. Ameerica is about to start the long trip down and the American people should brace themselves the worst is yet to come. I don't want to see America crushed, as I don't care too much for the other guys either, from the Middle East and parts of Asia. I do want to see America humbled and sport a very large bloody nose. If they are beaten up a little perhaps they will learn to mind their own business.
The Republican Party and the Born Again Right are about to get theres, as I believe even in America, there is a moderate swing to a more left of centre administration.
I am hoping we will see Canada become more nationalistic, and begin to put Canadian interests first in this country.

 

[jimmoyer]

The Republican Party and the Born Again Right are about to get theres (theirs)....
---------------------damngrumpy------------------------

Then explain why you won't let the Born Again Right
do this:

This sounds like something the Christian Right
might want to do. Instead it comes from a very
unlikely source:

Imagine if YOUR leader did this.

-------------------------------
Some Venezuelan television channels began altering their programs Thursday, citing fears of penalties
under a new law restricting violence and sexual content over the airwaves.

The law, which took effect Thursday, limits broadcasts deemed to be obscene or violent and details a range of offenses for which the government may fine noncompliant media organizations.

The private TV channel Globovision blocked out photographs of street violence with white space when
it displayed the day's newspapers, filled with coverage of Wednesday riots that police said left at
least 25 injured.

"We cannot show the images," said Carlos Acosta, who hosts the morning news program "Front Page," as cameras focused on several Caracas newspapers.

President Hugo Chavez signed the Law for Social Responsibility in Radio and Television on Tuesday
night.

---------------------------------------------------

And, damngrumpy, would you allow any leader
to co-opt hours of every television channel with no limit
whenever such leader demanded ?

 

[FiveParadox]

Re: RE: venezuela becomes number 1

And, damngrumpy, would you allow any leader
to co-opt hours of every television channel with no limit
whenever such leader demanded ?

I would; however, I would think that the right of a leader to do so should only be exercized in the event of some sort of catastrophic emergency, the likes of which would require the immediate attention of the population to the Government of Canada. Granted, however, such a situation is not in line with the one being presented in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

 

[cortezzz]

sometimes---righteous causes like those championed by Chavez
require strong leadership and clever strategies----
the right wingers are cowards and wuz bags winers who would rather sit on their big mac asses than do what is necessary to lift millions and millions of people out of poverty

chavez-- is emerging as a great leader--
perhaps not yet as great as
mao
giap
che
castro
or lenin

god bless them all,

but be patient give him some time