"It's Not A Coup!"- What's Really Going On In Venezuela

Socialist loving liberals keep claiming that what is happening in Venezuela is a coup backed by the American government. The dire situation in that country, both economic and political, also caused by United States interference.

Comedian/writer/actress Joanna Hausmann, a Venezuelan/American living in New York puts that fallacy to rest in the video below where she explains what is really going on over there. And it's not the fault of the big bad imperialist United States of America and its unholy goal of oil dominance.

Hausmann says:

"What is happening in Venezuela is NOT a U.S. backed coup"

"This is not a fight between the Venezuelan Right Wing and the Venezuelan Left Wing. This is a fight of the great majority of Venezuelans to democratically get rid of an illegitimate and punitive dictatorship. A dictatorship of countless human rights issues"

"The people of Venezuela are seeking fair democratic elections using the laws written in our constitution."

"Juan Guaido did not just declare himself president out of nowhere, that is not how it works."

She then explains who Juan Guaido is, and how he was elected as an "interim" president until democratic elections can be held. She then delves into why Nicolas Maduro is "illegitimate" and why the elections were considered "illegitimate" by the international community as a whole, including some European socialist countries.

As for Maduro's alleged popularity in Venezuela?

"80 percent of Venezuelans disapprove of Maduro's government.." 

"He took the minimum wage from $350.00 a month to $7.00 month."

"Inflation hit 1.7 million percent in 2018."

"According to U.N. projections over 5 million people have left the country causing a refugee crisis of Syrian proportions. That's more than 10 percent of the Venezuelan population."

A while back I was talking to a friend who lives in Colombia who told me about the huge influx of refugees pouring into that country from Venezuela. Hausmann's claims are true.

As for all that money from the Venezuelan oil industry, one of the largest reserves in the world?  Stolen by politicians and others with ties to Maduro and Chavez, which is usually what happens with communist/socialist oligarchies. Those ruling at the top have all the money and privileges, while the 'people' get a pittance.

From a Miami Herald article last year:

A web of former Venezuelan officials and businessmen was charged in Miami Wednesday with operating a massive $1.2 billion international money-laundering racket funded with stolen government money that was invested in South Florida real estate and other assets.

The defendants are accused of embezzling funds from Venezuela’s vast oil income and exploiting its foreign-currency exchange system to amass illegal fortunes in the United States and other countries, according to a federal criminal complaint.

The complaint describes a Venezuelan government culture in which officials, politicians and businessmen connected to President Nicolás Maduro and his predecessor, the late Hugo Chávez, have plundered the national oil company, PDVSA, to enrich themselves while impoverishing the South American country.

But the Socialist loving lefties blame the ills in Venezuela not only on the U.S. but Israel and the Saudis as well.

Ronda on Twitter is convinced that we- along with the Israelis and Saudis- are responsible for the demise of the Venezuelan economy.

⏳╰☆ 💕☆𝓡𝓸𝓷𝓭𝓪☆ 💕☆╮ ⏳

‏@39_Ronda
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Replying to @Incognito73 @Rainbojangles
The US, Israel, and Saudi purposely manipulated oil prices, to crash the Venezuelan economy! Saudi flooded the market with oil, even taking a lose for Wall Street and Tel Aviv. It has nothing to do with socialism and everything to do with the greed of a few.

Many lefties happen to be anti-Semitic as well, so not surprising they blame Israel.  Ronda also happens to be an anti-Israel, pro-Pali tool.

Sadly, you can't change their minds.



If Joanna can't convince you, what about this from Foreign Policy-  they endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2016.

James Bloodworth has this to say about how "the left keeps getting Venezuela wrong."

Venezuela is engulfed in a government-inflicted economic crisis twice the size of the Great Depression, which has provoked the largest movement of refugees in the recent history of Latin America. Meanwhile, the regime that has presided over this catastrophe is morphing from a nasty autocracy to a potentially full-blown dictatorship.

[snip]

Yet much of the Western socialist left has persisted in ignoring the trajectory of Venezuela in order to sustain a fantasy of “21st-century socialism.” It’s reminiscent of the Western apologists for the Soviet Union that Arthur Koestler once compared to peeping Toms “who watch History’s debauches through a hole in the wall” while not having to experience it themselves.

This willingness to stand by a brutal dictator—albeit passively—belies a deeper sickness on the contemporary left. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, few on the left have had much real idea as to what a contemporary socialist economic program would—or should—look like in practice.

Although he is also critical of those on the right who he claims are glomming on to the current affairs in Venezuela in order to paint the modern Socialist movement as a failure.  It's definitely worth a read.



H/T: Bob from Brockley.

Venezuelan Opposition On The Road To Victory

I was wondering how long it would take the Venezuelan people to wake up and realize that Hugo Chavez's Socialist 'Chavismo' movement was far from the promised utopia, and was actually keeping them impoverished and desperate. I guess they finally got tired of the food rationing, and the toilet paper shortage.

It took a good long 16 years, but things are looking up for the Venezolanos. It seems that even Chavistas were finally so fed up that in the latest elections the opposition Democratic Unity won a whopping 99 seats versus 46 seats the Socialist party won in the National Assembly.

About time!

There is also renewed hope that the next presidential elections will see an opposition leader take the reigns of the country and bring back economic and political stability. Henrique Capriles perhaps? You might remember Chavez's smear campaign against Capriles during the 2012 elections. Current president Nicolas Maduro can't be too happy.

More on the story here.

Congratulations to Venezuelan people for finally making the right choice!

And we have fools here who are actually pro-socialist Bernie Sanders.

Lefty Idiot Of The Day- Professor Smokes and Rants On Airplane About Love Of Chavez

An idiot gringa lefty professor started ranting about U.S. imperialism and her love of Venezuela's dead President Hugo Chavez, her hero, on a recent plane trip back from Nicaragua.  She was arrested upon arrival at Miami airport since she happened to also be smoking on the airplane, which is verboten.

Karen Bettez Halnon teaches sociology at Penn State, and says on a YouTube video:

“The United States has declared war on Venezuela. ” “Venezuela has been declared a national security threat.”

She said she had just woken up after an American Airlines flight from Nicaragua to Miami.

“So you’re aware the police are meeting the aircraft to take you out,” a flight attendant can be heard saying.

Halnon responded, “I already know that so I’m gonna say my piece before I’m arrested.”

Jailed for disorderly conduct, she's back in Pennsylvania, and had this to say about her conduct:

“I was speaking loudly, that’s often interpreted as yelling when a woman speaks loudly,” she said.[snip]
She says she had just returned from a work trip helping single mothers in Nicaragua.

“I felt it was necessary to speak for not only the Venezuelans but the rest of the poor of the world that are constant victims of US military global domination,” she said.

As for her smoking on a plane:

“Yes, that was me and I was actually smoking a cigarette briefly. I took a few puffs out of it and then I put it out and then I joked that the guy next to me made me do it, but that was just a joke,” she said. 

“Every other revolutionary smokes. Fidel, Daniel Ortega, Tomas Borge, Che Guevara, etc. And so that’s one of the significance… to identify with a revolutionary spirit.”

Miss Revolutionary maybe needs to move to Venezuela so she can be closer to her dead hero.

Regarding U.S. imperialism:

"Imperialism has to stop. And people have to use their voice. We have to act up. It’s necessary,” she said.

How about taking action against Islamic imperialism, which is a far more probable and worse threat, Miss Revolutionary.

The rest here, including a video of her rant.

What an idiot.  And this is the kind of person teaching our kids.

Venezuela Is Out Of McDonald's Fries

If you want fries with your Big Mac or your kid's Happy Meal, it's not gonna happen in Venezuela. They're out of them. Like so many other shortages in the socialist utopia that the late Hugo Chavez spearheaded, there are no taters, so they've resorted to serving yuca fries (root vegetable), arepas (corn patties), or salads. Mickey D franchisers blame a union labor contract dispute with dock workers on the West Coast of the US, but there is no strike, yet. But others blame it on government policy, which is a far more likely scenario, considering no other Latin American franchisees are having any trouble getting their frozen fries shipped from the U.S. At least according to Sonia Ruseler of Arcos Dorados Holdings (Golden Arches) the Latin American and corporate entity that owns, operates and franchises McDonald's in Latin America and the Caribbean. She remained mum as to the reason why. Government officials have said it's not the government's fault.

The U.S. Potato Board, on the other hand, claims that last year, before any major problems with the union dock workers, Venezuela ordered way fewer frozen fries compared to the same 10 month period in 2013. Just 14 % of the amount from the prior year.

Whatever the reason, consumer's are not happy.

"It's because of the situation here; it's a total debacle," said Maria Guerreiro, who huffed out of a Caracas McDonald's with her family when she found out they were serving only fries made of yuca, which is also known as cassava. Her daughter won't eat that starchy root, she said, and they'd come for the sole purpose of treating the two-year-old to a Happy Meal."

Woops.

Should be interesting to see how Venezuelan's vote the next time around.

Source: Al Arabiya

Bush Family and Zionists Financed Hitler, Claims Venezuela Muslim MP

Here's a good one regarding Hitler, the Nazis and WW II: it combines both the "blame it on Bush" and "blame it on the Zionists" conspiracy theories.

In a video on Hizbullah's Al-Manar channel, Muslim Venezuelan MP Adel Al-Sughayar (chairman of FEARAB- a federation of Arab societies in Latin America- claims that Hitler was financed mostly by Zionists and the George Bush family prior to WW II in order to destroy Europe and

"impose the American economy and the dollar currency on it."

 "Hitler killed those Jews who belonged to progressive organizations... You will not find on those lists any representatives of global Zionism."

Watch the Memri Video here.

He's not the only one who has these bizarre theories. There are a plethora of non-Muslim, non-Arabs who believe the Jews financed Hitler.

Venezuela Starts Food Rationing

Hugo Chavez must be proud as he looks up from his privileged place in hell to see his beloved Venezuela has finally joined two other communist countries- Cuba and North Korea - in food rationing. There have always been shortages, but this is official. Good luck finding basic staples like oil, milk, rice, coffee, chicken, diapers. To make sure no-one cheats, they are now using a fingerprinting machine.

Despite its technological twist on the old allotment booklet, Venezuela’s new program of rationing is infuriating consumers who say it creates tiresome waits, doesn’t relieve shortages and overlooks the far-reaching economic overhauls the country needs to resolve the problem.
[snip]

The government rolled out the system last month across 36 supermarkets in this western border state, Zulia, whose capital is Maracaibo, with a recent expansion into a select number of state-owned markets in Caracas.

Venezuela is turning to rationing because of shortages caused by what economists call a toxic mix of unproductive local industry—hamstrung by nationalizations and government intervention—and a complex currency regime that is unable to provide the dollars importers need to pay for basics.

Oil prices have plummeted, which will cause Venezuelans even more grief. Some blame the government:

“The government is the one that lets the problems flourish,” said Eliseo Fermín, an opposition member of Zulia’s state congress. “Now the average citizen bears the brunt.”

The government blames smugglers, claiming the commie price-controlled products are smuggled out and sold in Colombia for a profit.

Though economists estimate that about 10% of Venezuelan consumer merchandise winds up in Colombia, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has said that the figure is 40%. He has closed checkpoints along the whole 1,375-mile border at night to stem the flow, and a crackdown on smugglers has led to the arrests of shoppers that officials believe to be planning to sell what they purchase in Colombia, say border guards.

“It is the responsibility of everyone to unite against contraband,” Zulia Gov. Francisco Arias, a member of Mr. Maduro’s Socialist Party, said on a recent TV show. He and other officials say fingerprinting prevents bulk buying for resale more effectively than requiring shoppers to show their national identity cards, a method that is used to track and limit purchases in some Caracas stores.

Water is also rationed. Sometimes up to 108 hours a week.

And automotive fuel.  Scanners  make sure drivers fill up only twice a week.

Maybe by the next election the people will be so fed up they'll make the right choice. Or not.  After all cheap food is a good thing, even though you can't find any.

The story here.

Toilet Paper Shortage In Venezuela

It seems that things aren't going so great in the utopian socialist land of the late Hugo Chavez. Nope. There have been shortages of all sorts of goods, but now the people are having a devil of a time finding toilet paper. Naturally, current Prez Nicolas Maduro blames the opposition, when it actually has to do with Chavez's implementation of price controls.

Either way, the people are not happy about the idea of not having something to wipe their bums with.

Venezuelans scrambled to stock up on toilet paper Thursday as fears of a bathroom emergency spread despite the socialist government's promise to import 50 million rolls.

After years of economic dysfunction, the country has gotten used to shortages of medicines and basic food items like milk and sugar but the scarcity of bathroom tissue has caused unusual alarm.

"Even at my age, I've never seen this," said 70-year-old Maria Rojas. She said she had been looking for toilet paper for two weeks when she finally found it at a supermarket in downtown Caracas.

Thousands of rolls flew off the store's shelves as consumers streamed in and loaded up shopping carts Thursday morning.

"I bought it because it's hard to find," said Maria Perez, walking out with several rolls of paper.

"Here there's a shortage of everything — butter, sugar, flour," she said. But the latest shortage is particularly worrisome "because there always used to be toilet paper."

Economists say Venezuela's shortages of some consumer products stem from price controls meant to make basic goods available to the poorest parts of society and the government's controls on foreign currency.

The country is a mess.  But it has been for a long time, thanks to Chavez and socialism.

Read more here.

As for the TP shortage, maybe they should follow Sheryl Crow's 'one square' per restroom visit.  Or better yet, vote the Chavistas out come next election.

US "Far-Right" Wants To Kill Capriles", Chavez Helped Pick Pope and Other Maduro Lunatic Thoughts

More fun stuff from Venezuela.

Hugo Chavez will not be embalmed and permanently displayed for all to see after all. It looks like they started the process too late, which means he has probably started to decay.  Apparently, it wasn't Hugo's idea in the first place. According to an embalmer from Colombia, Camilo Jaramillo, Chavez just wanted to be buried in his hometown of Sabaneta. Vice President (now acting Prez ) Nicolas Maduro also mentioned that the idea of permanent display had been suggested by visiting leaders and his own love for his comandante.

Maduro also happens to think that Hugo had something to do with the latest Pope pick.

"The debate was between an African and a South American pope," Nicolas Maduro said, after taking part in a group prayer at a book fair in Caracas.

"I don't know, but we know that our commander ascended to those heights and he's face-to-face with Christ," said Maduro. "He had an influence for the choosing of a South American pope. Some new hand came in and Christ declared: 'Well, South America's time has come'."

Of course Pope Francis I, formerly known as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, is actually of Italian heritage. His dad was born in Italy, and although his mum was born in Argentina, her parents hailed from Italy.
Maybe it had more to do with the fact that 40% of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics live in South America. Besides, I sincerely doubt Chavez is hanging out with the angelic crowd.

And last but certainly not least, Maduro has already demonstrated how unhinged he is by accusing the West (most notably the U.S.) of poisoning Chavez, now the man is claiming that the U.S. "far right"  have their sights set on opposition leader Henrique Capriles Radonski. Yes, Republicans are plotting to assassinate Capriles.

Venezuela's acting president said on Wednesday that "far right" figures in the US were plotting to kill opposition leader Henrique Capriles in an increasingly volatile atmosphere ahead of an April 14 election.

"We have detected plans by the far right, linked to the groups of (former Bush administration officials) Roger Noriega and Otto Reich, to make an attempt against the opposition presidential candidate," Nicolas Maduro said.

Maduro is so concerned about Capriles's well being that he sent one of his men to meet with Capriles's people.  Right. This is the same man that Chavez launched a vicious smear campaign against during the last Venezuelan elections. The same man the U.S. right was rooting for. I know I was.

Noriega dismissed the whole thing as "absolute nonsense", saying:

"They call you what they are and they accuse you of doing what they do. That is the way they operate."

I wouldn't be at all surprised if Maduro and his henchmen were planning on killing Capriles, and then blaming it on the evil right-wing Yankees.

So lets see, Maduro thinks Chavez was poisoned by his U.S. 'enemies', persuaded Jesus to get a Latino Pope elected, and is convinced the U.S. "far right" wants Capriles dead- when it's more than likely it's Maduro they want out of the picture. And this man could be the next official Venezuelan President?

God help us. He's as wacko, if not more so, than Chavez.

Hugo Chavez To Be Displayed In Glass Coffin, Forevermore

UPDATE: 3/14/13: Chavez will not be embalmed after all.

So the Venezuelan people "will always have him", Hugo Chavez's embalmed corpse will be placed in a see-through glass casket and permanently displayed at the Museum of the Revolution. So says, Vice President Nicolas Maduro, who is now acting Prez. That way his doting, now mourning, Chavistas, Hollywood elite- the likes of  Sean Penn, Michael Moore and Oliver Stone- and people like Jimmy Carter, who admired him can have look-see whenever they want.

He will join other communist luminaries in being publicly displayed. In perpetuity.

The tradition of displaying socialist leaders began with Vladimir Lenin, founder of the Soviet Union, upon his death in 1924.

The practice was repeated with his successor, Joseph Stalin, in 1953, though the Georgian strongman’s body was later removed removed from Lenin’s tomb in 1961 at Premier Nikita Kruschev’s urging.

Other communist leaders such as Mao Zedong in China, Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam and both successive patriarchs of the “Kim Dynasty” in North Korea (Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il) have also been put on permanent display.

Not unexpected for a narcissist. After all, if he placed his image on cans of tuna that he shipped over to Peruvian quake victims back in 2007, he would make sure he was remembered forevermore.

Chavez Poisoned By Enemies- Says VP Maduro

Although the world was finally told of the passing of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez,  I have a feeling it might have happened a tad earlier than officially announced- considering the veil of secrecy surrounding his illness towards the end. When a series of photos of Chavez surfaced after his most recent cancer surgery, an L.A. based digital animator posted on Youtube his 'evidence' that the photo of Chavez with his daughters reading a dated 'Granma' newspaper were, in actuality, photoshopped. So we still don't have any definitive proof how long he was alive after the last surgery, not that it matters now. He died of his cancer, and all the loons are blaming the U.S.

When he was alive, Chavez was convinced that the U.S. gave him and other leftist Latin leaders cancer, including Argentina's Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, until it turned out her thyroid wasn't cancerous at all. And just prior to the announcement of Hugo's demise, Vice President Nicolas Maduro accused "enemies" (like the U.S.) of having poisoned his comandante, after it was revealed that Chavez had developed "a new, severe" respiratory infection.

“We have no doubt that Commandant Chávez was attacked with this illness, we have not a single doubt,” Maduro said. “The established enemies of our land specifically tried to harm the health of our leader.”

Maduro said he will order the creation of a “scientific commission” to look at this alleged conspiracy that Chávez was sickened through medical means.

“We already have leads, which will be further explored with a scientific investigation,” Maduro said.

Arafat died in 2004, less than a month after coming down with “flu-like” symptoms. Conspiracy theorists and some Palestinian leaders suggest that Arafat was poisoned medically by Israeli operatives.

“There have been too many cases throughout history, including the most recent, of the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, it’s widely known that was poisoned medically.”

Of course, the fact that there was no access to Chavez by foreign operatives prior to the respiratory infection means naught. And no mention of the fact that Yasser Arafat died from HIV/AIDS, at least according to his personal doctor Ashraf al-Kurdi.

And these people rule countries. 

Hugo Chavez Gets Another Six Years To Ruin Venezuela

Did anyone really expect anyone other than Hugo Chavez to win the Venezuelan presidential election?  I know I didn't, although I had hoped that Henrique Capriles Radonski would somehow manage to persuade the Venezuelan people he was a far better choice, considering crime has soared since Chavez took control of the country. With 19,000 murders last year, Venezuela has the dubious honor of being one of the most dangerous countries in the world. And what about the food shortages, which can be blamed on the strict price controls that are part and parcel of Hugo's Bolivarian revolutionary thought? I guess Chavistas don't care, after all the little they do get is cheap, and along with their free apartments why wouldn't they vote for Chavez again?  Sound familiar? It's a little like Mitt Romney's "47%" who will vote for Barack Obama for all the free goodies they get.

So, Chavez won by about 54% ( with 1 million plus votes), compared to Capriles'  45%.  Capriles did surprisingly well, in spite of a nasty smear campaign against him by Chavez and his goons.

Of course his Hollywood useful tools, including Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro and Harry Belafonte are elated, and Danny Glover was actually in Caracas to share in the joy.

Venezuela gets six more years of Chavez, so he can totally run that country into the ground like every other socialist/communist country.  That is if he lasts that long.

I hope the American people aren't as stupid as the Venezuealans.

Hugo Chavez Plans a "Guerilla Army" Against US Imperialist Invasion

Delusional Hugo Chavez has always had it in his head that the evil imperialist US Empire is planning an invasion of Venezuela- as if we have the resources, the means or the desire to take over his failing country. But he's convinced, and so the secret "Plan Sucre" was born, at least according to opposition Parliamentary Rep Maria Corina Machado of the centre right Justice First party who told El Universal news that,

"Plan Sucre" – apparently crafted with input from close ally and fellow US foe Cuba – covers the legal, logistical and other angles necessary to "transform a professional army into a guerrilla army."

Machado also believes that the Chavez government plans on involving the Venezuelan people in that guerilla war. Machado, who had an unsuccessful presidential bid, wrote a letter to the Defense Committee of the National Assembly, warning Venezuelans and members of the National Armed Forces (FAN),

"..of the contents of a secret document that will change our lives, and turn us all into defenders of the revolution, thwarting what is established in the Constitution. We will cease being citizens to become combatants."

She then goes onto say that the plan's strategic objective is apparently

"...to build a new Bolivarian military doctrine in order to successfully wage a protracted people's war" in response to "a supposition of war by the Empire against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela".

The "Empire" being the U.S. Machado goes on to explain that:

"the protracted popular war, in its basic concept, means maintaining the people's support and drawing the enemy to the interior of the country, where the population can bleed them...."

The plan also "favors the employment of the Territorial Militia over members of FAN," and the government intends on recruiting a million militia by 2013 and two million by 2019.

Machado added that by reducing homeland defense to deal with one single external enemy and one single threat, the government will make Venezuela unacceptably vulnerable, and that the whole plan smacks of Cuba. Apparently, it's very similar to that of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba.

Hugo's paranoiac fear of Yanqui imperialism might be one factor in his desire to increase a guerilla army, but let's face it, he wants to further strengthen his own personal militia corps- which is basically what his current "army of the public" is, since they report to him directly- because with a million to two million strong he can pretty much ensure his presidency for life. That is, if the cancer doesn't get him.

Sources: Notitarde

Hugo Chavez Cronies Lanch Smear Campaign Against Opposition Candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski

The Venezuelan presidential election is scheduled for October 7 this year, and it's already getting ugly. Hugo Chavez and his cronies, who will do anything to remain in power, have resorted to mudslinging to ensure the newly elected opposition leader, 39-year-old Henrique Capriles Radonski, has no chance of becoming president.

Surprisingly, Chavez (not the sharpest knife in the drawer) is letting his stooges do his dirty work for him, and it's nasty.  Capriles, whose maternal grandparents were Jewish, is actually a committed practicing Catholic, but that hasn't stopped Chavez associates from launching anti-Semitic attacks. Of course this is nothing new for the popular governor who won this latest nomination with an overwhelming 60 plus percent of the vote, and who is Venezuela's greatest hope for defeating Chavez in October. Since he became governor of the state of Miranda in 2008, he has been subject to  anti-Semitic slurs, and it looks like  that won't end any time soon. Since anti-Semitism isn't anything new in Venezuela, many believe bringing up his Jewish roots is a way to play into the anti-Semitic/anti-Israel feelings prevalent in that country.

Chavistas obviously fear Capriles' popularity so the attacks started almost immediately after winning the Coalition For Democratic Unity's primary.  First there were the claims that the he's a "bourgeois" and a "fascist".  Chavista Diosdado Cabello, Congress leader, said of Capriles,

'Now we know who is the candidate of imperialism, of capitalism and the right wing. The anti-patriotic candidate has a face. He won't have an easy election campaign.'

In spite of the fact that Capriles considers himself a centre-left 'progressive',  inspired by former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's form of government.

Then you have the sexual allegations from Mario Silva, the state media commentator on his The Razorblade TV show:

Silva insulted opposition leaders and then read out a purported police document reporting Capriles was caught in a car having sex with another man in 2000. Capriles denied the allegation and said the document was falsified. Police have not commented.

So far, Capriles isn't taking the bait:

'I wasn't elected to fight with anyone but to solve problems. 'The only confrontation I want is against violence, unemployment, corruption and other problems in Venezuela.'

Unfortunately, people are predicting Chavez will still probably win because of his huge support by the poor in Venezuela, but I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Good luck Henrique!!

His blog.

UPDATE:

Chavez has stepped into the fray. In a speech today he called Capriles a "low-life... pig" saying "you have a pig's tail, a pig's ears, and you snort like a pig."

His anti-Semitism rears its ugly head. Muslims have often called Jews descendants of apes and pigs.

Stay classy Chavez.

U.S. Expels Venezuelan Consul In Miami, Livia Acosta Noguera, Over Iranian Cyber Attack Plot

The U.S. State Department has just given the boot to Venezuela's consul general in Miami. According to William Ostick, Livia Acosta Noguera has until Tuesday to leave the country after being declared 'persona non grata' for allegedly being a very naughty girl:

The State Department had said last month it was looking into “very disturbing” allegations that Ms Acosta was a participant in an alleged Iranian plot to launch cyber-attacks on sensitive US national security facilities.

According to the Spanish-language TV network, Univision, Ms Acosta was taped discussing the alleged plot with Mexican students who later sought asylum in the US. The discussions reportedly took place in 2007 while she was serving at the Venezuelan embassy in Mexico City.

Ostick wouldn't give any details regarding the matter, but the allegations came to light after a documentary aired on Univision in December which highlighted her involvement in a plot to target the FBI, CIA and the White House. Naturally, Hugo Chavez denied those allegations, but it wouldn't be surprising at all if they were true, considering Chavez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are best buds.

I can't wait to hear what Chavez has to say about the expulsion of one of his diplomats.

Hey Chavez, Argentina's President Never Had Cancer!

The good news for Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner is the surgery to remove her cancerous thyroid gland went swimmingly on January 4.  The bad news- it wasn't cancerous after all.

According to Eduardo Faure (thyroid cancer specialist, but not Kirchner's doctor) the papillary carcinoma diagnosis was a 'false positive', which can happen occasionally:

"The cells may originally appear to be cancer but in 2 percent of cases, after the operation, when a more thorough examination can be performed, it turns out they are not," the doctor said in an interview.

I'm glad it turned out that Fernandez de Kirchner never had cancer, and I'm sure so is she, but I'd be pretty pissed off if some misinformed doctors had removed my thyroid for no compelling reason, especially in light of the fact that the effects of being thyroid-less are not much fun. As expected the Argentine people are also pretty darn ecstatic that the popular lefty leader never had cancer. News of her upgraded  'cancer-free' diagnosis, by spokesman Alfredo Scoccimaro, was greeted with great jubilation by some fans who had kept vigil by the hospital throughout her ordeal.

But I have to wonder how idiot-boy Hugo Chavez feels about this new 'no cancer for Kirchner' status update. I wonder if he's bummed out. After all, Chavez was convinced that the U.S. was probably behind the rash of cancerous diseases besetting so many Latin leftist leaders, including his own and Kirchner's. Now he has to scratch one off his list.  I'd like to think he was alone in his lunatic thinking, but there are many equally delusional folk (see comments) who also entertained the notion that the U.S. has nothing better to do than give people cancer.  If that's the case, Ahmadinejad and others would be long gone.

Hugo Chavez Thinks The U.S. Gave Him and Other Lefty Latin Leaders Cancer

The always laughable Hugo Chavez, has come out with another doozy. This time, the loco Venezuelan President said he thinks that the U.S. might have given him, along with several other lefty Latin leaders, the big "C".  Yes, somehow the U.S. spread some cancer-inducing mojo their way, and voila.  Apparently, these thoughts came to him after he heard Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has thyroid cancer.

“It’s very difficult to explain, even with the law of probabilities, what has been happening to some of us in Latin America,” Chavez said in a nationally televised speech to the military. “Would it be so strange that they’ve invented technology to spread cancer and we won’t know about it for 50 years?”

Now he wants a powwow with others who have had cancer, to compare notes. That would include Fernando Lugo (Paraguay) and Luiz Inacio Da Silva and Dilma Rousseff of Brazil. He also told other lefties to watch their backs:

“I’m just sharing my thoughts, but it’s very, very, very strange,” Chavez said. “Evo take care of yourself, Correa, be careful, we just don’t know,” he said, referring to Evo Morales and Rafael Correa, the leaders of Bolivia and Ecuador.

He also shared some advice that his commie buddy Fidel Castro gave him:

“Fidel always tells me, ‘Chavez be careful, they’ve developed technology, be careful with what you eat, they could stick you with a small needle,’” the Venezuelan leader said today. “In any case, I’m not accusing anyone, I’m just using my freedoms to reflect and issue comments on very strange events that are hard to explain.”

But Chavez has always been uber-paranoid and bizarre. He's convinced the U.S. is planning on invading Venezuela, although he shares those delusional beliefs with many others.  An article posted on Venezuelanalysis.com back in 2007 claimed that an invasion of Venezuela was imminent. Let's see-  it's been 4 years hence, and nada. In 2009, there was another article on this blog talking about a planned invasion by the U.S. through Colombia, and 2 years later- nada. Then in 2010 on the blog 'Postcards From The Revolution', award winning journalist Eva Golinger who is currently residing in what she terms "a country with a vibrant democracy and the largest oil reserves in the world"  [that would be Venezuela she's referring to] also talks about that invasion. I'm still waiting. But what's even more stupefying is that seemingly intelligent people actually buy into what he says.  Just take a look at the comments on Eva's blog and you'll see what I mean.  Pretty darn strange.

But I still think that the most laugh-inducing Chavez comment was when he claimed that capitalism killed the Martians.

I think I might actually miss him when he's gone.

Hugo Chavez Calls Barack Obama a "Clown"

For some reason Obama, who during the first three years in office has avoided publicly criticizing Hugo Chavez (although a tongue lashing was certainly warranted on many occasions), suddenly decided to blast Venezuela for its ties to Iran and Cuba. There is speculation by certain individuals that it might, indirectly, have something to do with the 2012 election, and that could very well be. Javier Corrales, an Amherst College expert on Venezuela, seems to think it's Obama's way of responding to an 

 ”increasing pressure by conservatives on [sic] the United States to sanction Venezuela, especially because of its ties with Iran. Under Bush, the Conservatives were tolerant with the administration's policy. Under Obama, this tolerance is waning. " 

Chavez has been best buds with Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for a very long time, this is not something new, so why Obama chose this moment to blast him is somewhat suspect, albeit justified.

Predictably, Chavez (who believes it has everything to do with next year's elections), blasted back at Obama calling him "a clown" and an "embarrassment", and essentially told him to butt out. On state TV Chavez told Obama to

“Focus on governing your country, which you've turned into a disaster

"Mr. Obama decided to attack us. Now you want to win votes by attacking Venezuela. Don't be irresponsible. You are a clown, a clown. Leave us in peace … Go after your votes by fulfilling that which you promised your people.”

“Go and ask the black communities of your country what you are for them: the greatest frustration. Go and ask the poor people of your country what you mean for them, a great frustration."

As much truth as there might be in Chavez's words, can you say 'pot- kettle-black. Chavez is one of the world's greatest buffoons, an even greater embarrassment, and has managed to turn his country into a major disaster.

In an interview with the Venezuelan newspaper, El Universal, Obama said,

“It seems to me that the ties between Venezuela's government and Iran and Cuba have not served the interests of Venezuela and its people.”

He also expressed his concerns about the threat to democracy in Venezuela.  Those threats have been around way before Obama took office, so why the concern now is rather odd.

Of course there's also speculation that Chavez, who is also up for re-election in 2012, and isn't about to lose that one, was trying to get some election leverage out of his rebuke. Corrales said that while

"Obama's motives for doing the interview were less predictable [snip] Chávez response was predictable. ”Chávez seizes every opportunity he can find to have a fight with the U.S and his response to this interview follows that line faithfully."

It will be interesting to see if either of their tactics will work in getting them reelected.

I hope not.

Hugo Chavez Is Dead Spam Email Leads To Worm-Infected Website

No, Hugo Chavez is not dead, though some malware creators hoped you'd be interested enough to click on a video in the bogus news article they spammed to people in Latin America last week.  Chavez has been battling cancer this past year, so some might very well have thought (or even hoped) that the story was true.  But bald-headed Hugo is alive and well, cured of cancer, and raring for the next Venezuelan elections scheduled for October 2012, or so he says. Others in the know claim he won't make it to next year's election. One Venezuelan doctor, Salvador Navarrete, who claimed Chavez has only a few years left, was forced to flee the country, and is currently in hiding. Only time will tell how long he has, and why he feels the need to lie, if he is still sick, but he is still kicking, for the time being.

As for that malware email, it certainly looks legit.

It says, that government officials confirm the unfortunate death of 57-year-old Hugo Chavez after an arduous battle against cancer, that was diagnosed this year. It goes on to say, that news of the president's death had upset various world leaders who had expressed their deep felt condolences via media outlets. It also mentions that thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets, and that Chavez's adversaries had claimed that a dark stage in the history of Venezuela had come to an end.

Maybe his buddies Ahmadinejad and Fidel Castro might have been upset, but I'm not sure  many others would have been too broken up over the news. That should have been a tip off, in itself.

According to Naked Security, the blog/newsroom for Sophos security software, if you had clicked on the linked website, you would have found yourself infected with the W32/Dorkbot-AM worm.


It's a good reminder to never click on any link within an email even from friends and family, unless you contact the sender. Email addresses are easily 'spoofed', and might seem as though they came from a friend. And definitely NEVER click on a link from a spam email.

Iranian General and Hugo Chavez Support Occupy Wall Street Movement

The Occupy Wall Street movement is garnering support from all of the usual, laughable suspects. 

From that oppressive land of mullahs- a country that condemns  women to death by stoning for adultery, hangs homosexuals and leads the world in executing children comes Gen. Masoud Jazayeri of the ruthless Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

Jazayeri thinks what's occurring here is just dandy, calling what's happening on the streets of major cities across the U.S. the "American Spring".  The "Arab Spring", that began earlier this year in the Middle East and elsewhere, managed to oust several long-time dictators and autocrats.   No mention, of course, of Iran's Green Revolution of 2009 and the brutal suppression by police and the Basij (who get their orders from the Revolutionary Guard). Many were killed during those post-election protests, and female prisoners arrested after the crackdown have spoken of being raped in prison.  Jazayeri's only concern is the toppling of Western capitalism, not the myriad of human rights violations in his own country.

Blaming Obama he said:
 

"The failure of the U.S. president to resolve the Wall Street crisis will turn this economic movement into a political and social movement protesting the very structure of the U.S. government. A revolution and a comprehensive movement against corruption in the U.S. is in the making. The last phase will be the collapse of the Western capitalist system."

Then, of course, Venezuela's joke of a President Hugo Chavez (who also happens to be good buddies with Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) had to pipe in, as is customary. Hugo condemned the "horrible repression" of  Wall Street protests.  Uh, yeah, a little mace and a few arrests here and there for rowdy protesters is horribly oppressive.  Anyone hear any condemnation from Hugo during all the violence against the Iranian peaceful protests in 2009? Didn't think so.   And how about his other buddy Fidel Castro's jails full of political prisoners. And how many political prisoners does Hugo have in his jails?
 
Occupy Wall Street activists can be proud to have these two jokers support their movement.