News on Venezuela regarding Hugo Chavez, Human Rights Violations, Political Prisoners and Terrorism. http://www.vcrisis.com Copyright by ProVeO Sun, 04 May 2008 06:58:34 -0400 jb@vcrisis.com Santa Cruz 04.05.08 | The first question the BBC reporter asked me was why we were participating in an electoral event deemed illegal. As much as I wanted to ask him what sort of evidence existed to support such argument, beyond what the government of Evo Morales had been saying, I stated that it was premature for us, as electoral observers invited by the electoral regional body, to express any opinion in that respect. Our role in this process is one of observation. Therefore in the interest of impartiality it is expected of us to hear all sides and their arguments. Nonetheless the questioned legality of this process is worth discussing, and we shall be doing so in many years to come.%26gt;%26gt; http://www.vcrisis.com/letters/200805040650 29,04,08 | The death of one Smartmatic founders in a plane crash yesterday in Catia La Mar, Alfredo Anzola, brought back to reality the huge conflict of interest behind its firm. In May 2006 Rep. Carolyn Maloney (NY-14), wrote to the Department of Treasury to ask if the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) had reviewed the Smartmatic deal to buy Sequoia, which they had not. This prompted an investigation that coupled with the fiasco in Chicago in March 2006, where Sequoia's electronic voting devices -- supervised by Venezuelan personnel-- did not perform adequately, accelerated Smartmatic's alleged departure from the lucrative US election industry business.%26gt;%26gt; http://www.vcrisis.com/letters/200804290722 28.04.08 | You bet. It has happened before and it will happen again. Vestey's farms in Venezuela were once raided by the army after Chavez declared war against latifundistas. Afterwards Chavez paid Vestey off. Now, residents of Choroní, near Chuao where Chavez conducted his weekly talk-a-thon yesterday, allegedly accused William Harcourt-Cooze, of famous Willie’s Wonky Chocolate Factory, of underpaying and exploiting them. The former coupster has already ordered an 'investigation.'%26gt;%26gt; http://www.vcrisis.com/letters/200804280419 10.04.08 | There are so many reasons why Londoners should boot Livingstone out of City Hall that is hard to enumerate all of them. In my opinion, near the top of relevance list, is Livingstone's cuddling of Venezuela's petro-caudillo Hugo Chavez, a failed coupster soon to be declared supporter of a terrorist organization by INTERPOL. Mind you, one key element in Livingstone's bid to win London's mayoral race is meant to be the environment. It does not bother him in the slightest, nor does it alert his daft opponents, that his militaristic chummy has pledged to build a 8,047 kilometers oil pipeline, through South American wilderness, from Caracas to Buenos Aires, which will destroy thousands of acres of rain forest. Neither does it trouble the communist mayor that Hugo Chavez heads one of the world's biggest, most polluting oil companies.%26gt;%26gt; http://www.vcrisis.com/letters/200804100735 02.04.08 | The other day I received an email from somebody from Connie Mack's office, which contained the Congressional Resolution calling for Venezuela to be named State Sponsor of Terrorism (SST): "Citing Venezuela’s continued support of and ties to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), an internationally-recognized terrorist organization, Congressman Connie Mack (FL-14) and House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL-18) introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives today that calls on the Administration to add Venezuela to the state sponsors of terrorism list." Said resolution is meant to have been supported by Reps. Michael McCaul (TX-10), Lynn Westmoreland (GA-03), Mike Pence (IN-06), Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-25), Doug Lamborn (CO-05), Patrick McHenry (NC-10), Lincoln Diaz-Balart (FL-21) and Mary Bono Mack (CA-45).%26gt;%26gt; http://www.vcrisis.com/letters/200804021122 01.04.08 | Wesleyan University Assistant Professor of Economics and Latin American Studies, Dr. Francisco Rodríguez, was kind enough to send his reply to Chavez's favorite 'economy-expert' Mark Weisbrot, an economist, we've been told, whose grasp of economic matters is deficient, to say the least. However this is not the first time, nor will it be the last, when it's proven, beyond doubt, that Chavez's multi billion dollar propaganda campaign just can not get him sycophants clever enough to spin reality to acceptable levels.%26gt;%26gt; http://www.vcrisis.com/letters/200804010547 30.03.08 | It is hard not to crack up at some headlines. The Associated Press sent out "Dueling Media Forums Set for Venezuela." Dueling, seems to me, to be a bit of a stretch. In one corner we have the Inter American Press Association, with its "membership in excess of 1,300, representing newspapers and magazines from Patagonia to Alaska, with a combined circulation of 43,353,762." In the other, we have Chavez and his media sidekicks, otherwise known as 'Bolivarian Communications Hegemonic Construct,' which according to its creator, fake journalist Andres Izarra, is modeled on Gramsci's "freedom and plural" hegemonic concepts. It is quite obvious that Izarra either does not have a clue about Gramsci's work or he is trying to mislead Venezuela's many gullible ignorants. However it is worth pointing out who these 'dueling' contenders are.%26gt;%26gt; http://www.vcrisis.com/letters/200803301212