Chavez Supporters Ramp Up Attacks On Venezuela's Globovision

Source: WSJ

CARACAS (Dow Jones)--A group from a political party aligned with President Hugo Chavez Monday stormed the headquarters of Globovision, a news network that is facing a mounting offensive by the government that could shut it down.

About 35 people riding motorcycles and wearing flags from Union Patriotica Venezolana (UPV), a political party that supports Chavez, entered the network's headquarters threatening personnel with guns and throwing tear gas, Globovision workers said in interviews broadcast by the news channel.

Images from security cameras transmitted by Globovision showed the men surrounding the channel in their motorcycles, wearing UPV flags on their backs and throwing devices that appeared to be tear gas.

Interior Minister Tarek El-Aissami said the government "energetically rejects" any violent actions. He said the government would take measures against the perpetrators of the attack regardless of who they were....

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090803-712716.html

---

Fun times in Venezuela.

because the usual suspects will not post that part.

Said details of that assassination a couple of months ago was going to be released on Wednesday. Many are still waiting on that prophesied Wednesday.

Do you also remember when you and others insinuated he orchestrated the attack on the synagogue last year?

It turned out to be an inside job aimed at robbing the Rabbi. I didn't see the many threads retracting the silly charges.

Wasn't me concerning the synagogue.

Admittedly, the link to the story doesn't work, but I'm thinking of the guys with the audio tape they were going to release.

of being paramilitaries which turned out not to be true? the Colombians were deported though I recall.

All politics is show business.

This crap is out of control and after watching Rachel tonight, the bastards feel all so high and mighty to shout down town hall meetings.

I say let's start the trials of Bush and Cheney. Maybe they will spill the beans about their yellow journalists friends as well.

fuck all republicans and right-side of the fence appeasers and sympathizers and fuck-off if you don't agree with me...call me a communist and I'll just laugh in your face for being so ignorant....I'm not and you'd be a stupid motherfucker for implying it...I'm a democratic socialist...much like FDR on his most liberal day!!

VIVA Chavez, Bravo!!

Damn, damn, damn, how perfectly stated! Agree one hunert percent amigo! Viva Hugo and Bravo usted!

Democratic socialists don't storm into the lobby of a media outlet brandishing guns and making threats.

God bless their selfless souls. All that good they are spreading. Thick as manure. Are they doing the Wall Street Shuffle while they spread it?

WSJ says this group is associated with Chavez and teabaggers are a spontaneous uprising.

to clue them in!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/03/AR2009080301023.html

Somebody needs to explain to Zuloaga that the Cato Institure isn't going to be able to do much for him.

Let's see if the Venezuelan government takes any real action against them.

:rofl:

and you think it's amusing.

I'm sure you will be the first to apologize.

Let's see if the Venezuelan government takes any real action against them.

This is the same bullshit as when the synagogue was attacked and you blamed Chavez. I guess he's everywhere at the same time like Moby Dick! But when those criminals were arrested, not a peep.

Brownshirts, my granny. There's nothing but a headline tying these thugs to the govrernment. There never has been and there never will be. lol

and where I blamed Chavez. I know you keep all those sorts of things bookmarked.

And apparently you didn't bother to read the article, since you claim there's "nothing but a headline tying these thugs to the government". But that's pretty much par for the course for you.

Point to the one where I blamed Chavez for the synagogue attack.

for tarring the Venezuelan government:

Chavez condemns attack on opposition TV station
By Fabiola Sanchez
Associated Press Writer / August 4, 2009


CARACAS, Venezuela—President Hugo Chavez on Tuesday condemned an attack on an opposition-aligned TV station that he has threatened with closure, announcing that one of his radical supporters was detained for allegedly taking part in the assault.
"counterrevolutionary, anarchist and an attempt against peace in the country."

He said Lina Ron, leader of a far-left party that supports the government's socialist policies,was arrested over the attack. He said Ron and those who accompanied her "must face the force of the law."

snip

Chavez has recognized Ron as an ally, but he has also criticized her in the past for going too far. Last year, she led Chavez supporters when they stormed and temporarily occupied the offices of the Vatican's representative in Caracas. She also led street demonstrations against Globovision to protest the channel's criticism of the government.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/articles/2009/08/04/chavez_condemns_attack_on_opposition_tv_station/

and then appeared next to Hugo soon after at political rallies. I'm sure things will be different THIS time though.

:)

I always wondered why anyone was upset with Scooter Libby. Afterall, he WAS indicted. :eyes:

Unlike Lina....
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lina_Ron

The images broadcast by Globovision show a woman the network says is Lina Ron, a UPV leader and a radical Chavez supporter. In the past, Ron has appeared side by side with Chavez at mass gatherings and participated in joint press conferences with the top brass of the president's socialist party.

In February 2008, Ron led a group that stormed the episcopacy in Caracas after leaders from the Catholic church criticized Chavez. The president at that time condemned Ron's actions, though months later appeared with her in political rallies.

Chavez has recently stepped up his efforts to tighten his grip over the media industry. His administration is waging a legal offensive against Globovision and could revoke its broadcasting license. Additionally, lawmakers are discussing new legislation that could impose up to four years of prison for broadcasting or publishing news deemed false or a threat to "the public's mental health."

On Friday, the government shut down 34 radio stations, a move that opposition leaders are trying to use as a rallying point for demonstrations against the government. As many as 285 radio and television stations could have their broadcast licenses pulled for what the government deems to be "legal irregularities."

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090803-712716.html

look like an army of Chavez mini-me's

I've seen you try to bring light to the Chavez Kool-Ade crew before and I admire the fortitude but best to let the howlers have the echo chamber to themselves. Same to you, Z! Peace to you both.

from Globovision itself.

Looks like the action happened in a parking area and not, as WSJ claims, inside the network's headquarters.

Had it been inside, Globovision would have gone to town with it.

At the end of the video you will see that the building is like a fortress, with high walls and concertina wire.

Near the end a man says the outside of Globovision was attacked, not the inside.

http://www.globovision.com/news.php?nid=123531

That's one positive aspect of the trumpeting of this bullshit here at DU. We get some taste of what our people are being subjected to, and can formulate questions about it, like WHY? And WHY NOW?

Something's up. The drums are approaching WMDs-in-Iraq levels. Front page of the NYT today-Chavez is a terrorist (according to the narco-thugs running Colombia). Put forward in all seriousness, without blinking, with no shame, a la Judith Miller.

I am very, very worried. If Oil War II-South America is about to break over our heads, once again these war profiteer psyops will render our people utterly bewildered as to how it happened.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6212112

Recycled baloney. I think it's because of the resistance to our new bases in Colombia.

into the anti-socialist right here at DU. I have no clue why anyone regularly posting on a progressive message board would be virulently opposed to democratic socialist reform, but here they are, ready to pounce on any evidence at all that Venezuela might be the reincarnation of the soviet union. 10 years into the Bolivarian Party reforms, still a vibrant democracy, still no dictatorship, but any day now...

We do not run socialist candidates in elections because that would open the door to losing
the elections. This thread is about pro Chavez thugs terrorizing people. Are you suggesting
those acts of violence be condoned or ignored?

I think the people are sick of the oligarchs.

You're right to decry thuggery, but why would you use it to defend the Venezuelan equivalent of neo-cons/FoxNews/etc.?

To accuse and fabricate BS about fox/cons/whatever is dishonest and an incorrect projection. No thanks.

You think the US is the only where the media kisses the oligarchs ass?

actually I do not think that is true. But carry on. As I said, these threads are interesting.

I'm talking full blown socialism like hugo is trying to force upon the people. I do not believe in
lowering the standard of living down to the lowest just to make everyone equal in wealth.

Not even if the leaders, lawmakers etc live at the same bottom level (and they never do).

"I do not believe in lowering the standard of living down to the lowest just to make everyone equal in wealth."

which appears to be your definition of your 'full blown socialism'. 'nuff said.

How many times have we heard that same drool, anyway?

Half-witted, half-assed totally ignorant slogans are so easy for them to repeat. It's so much easier than spending some of their time doing their homework, getting informed just like people who expect to be taken seriously.

s

As can be seen in Table 1, the private sector has grown faster than the public sector over the last 8 years, and therefore the private sector is a bigger share of the economy in 2007 than it was before President Chávez took office.9

Table 1 also shows the sectoral growth of Venezuela's economy over the last nine years, through the third quarter of 2007. The growth has all been during the current economic expansion – the four years and a half from Q1 2003 to Q3 2007. The fastest growing sector during this period has been finance and insurance, which grew 273.4 percent during this period. Other fast-growing sectors included construction (135.1 percent), trade and repair services (148.1 percent), communications (111.6 percent) and transport and storage (103.6 percent). Manufacturing has done better than the overall economy, with 93.9 percent growth, but this is not enough growth in this sector to contribute to a process of serious diversification away from its dependence on oil.10
9

http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/venezuela_update_2008_02.pdf

Now go and attack the source. The problem you all really face is that Venezuela is doing quite well, thanks, and is not some stalinist hell hole, but is instead a robust and interesting experiment in 21st century social democracy in a mixed economic system.

its OK though. I know until the last year to year and half Venezuela's the economy was growing quite well due to oil prices. no so much anymore.

still completely dependent on oil even your link states.

The Bolivarian government, unlike its abjectly corrupt predecessors of the last 20 years or so, has been trying to re-invest oil revenue into economic development that actually helps the people of venezuela. The results have been good for the vast majority of venezuelans. That is really what scares you and your friends, the idea that government can actually work for the people.

I hear the price controls on food and the resulting shortages have done wonders for the obesity epidemic.

keep spinning

sources are CIA World Book and World Bank WDI through wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Venezuela

Without 150$ a barrel oil, the economy starts to have problems:

http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-07-28-voa39.cfm

And why Caracas has fruit loops for 54$ a box:

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/16/why-is-caracas-latin-americas-most-expensive-city/

:rofl:

Venezuela refuting this. :eyes:

I can tell you about a great strip club in Caracas, if its still open.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3997232&mesg_id=3997321

Why don't you run down what he says on your own? I'm sure that will be much more convincing than anything I say. He's notorious for his hackery.

Same usual solution, same usual problems...

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUSN2233408420090722

If you want to know the location of that strip club, just let me know.

Inflation is a problem. On the other hand, oil is back up and last quarter, the Ven economy grew again. More people have food security than at any time in the last ten years and in the middle of the global meltdown, instead of bailing out banks, the Ven government pushed for a minimum wage increase.

I think Newsweek has the end result of the current policies.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/207382

And I think we've already gone over this NW article which is a scare piece. There is no lack of tech savvy in Venezuela. And the exchanges Chavez has worked for and promoted all over the region are benefiting everyone. That's one reason why he's so hated. He's encouraging regional independence from the vultures at the IMF and World Bank. That alone may get him killed.

I think I've only seen one poster that was actually from Venezuela post on DU and she was screamed down. Until we start getting info from the ground, then I'm not sure that anyone really knows. I haven't been there since 2002 so even my knowledge is somewhat out of date.

that insisted blood would run in the streets when oil went down and all the social programs had to be defunded.

That didn't happen.

Let's not forget that Nixon was also a fan of price controls.

Isn't it odd that they don't ship cars to Venezuela where they can get three times as much for them? Hmmm. Or does Venezula forbid imported cars? Hmmm. This is just hard to make sense of.

I'd expect that Ven would make business easier for countries that aren't trying to overthrow the government -- like Japan, for example.

"Protectionism" I would expect, but not outright bans. Triple the price is a lot of incentive, it would seem to indicate a healthy demand.

import taxes. electronic equipment, autos, bigger ticket items are very expensive in latin america because they are imported for the most part and then slapped with huge taxes. next time you fly to Latin America, ahem..., take note of all the luggage people are carrying back from the US.

regarding why manufacturers aren't importing more cars to Venezuela, the people can't afford them!!! what a car costs $30,000 here and the price in Ven is 3x that much. you think Chavez has made Venezuelans rich??????

That was the issue. I've been taught that when demand is high and supply is short, there is an incentive for competitors to come into the market at lower prices. I thought it said there were auto plants in Venezuela. But in any case, if demand is high, that suggests that a lot of people have money to spend.

because of the huge tax mark up.

there may be plants in Venezuela but are those cars for domestic consumption? and I would imagine there is still a huge government price mark up. there may be a demand for vehicles but at $50,000+ the consumer base is low.

like I said, lots of old US gas guzzlers in Venezuela.

On the other hand, Venezuela has or at least until recently had, a 'family vehicle program' that exempted certain low end cars from the VAT and made cars more affordable for working families in Venezuela. Did you not know about this program, or did you just forget to mention it?


Again, it seems that some posters here are just plain horrified that a democratic government could work for the people, and not just serve the interests of the elites.

of the leadership. that is a given. Venezuela, once again, is failing to do much of anything to diversify its economy, again.

While most Democrats are not socialists, most are not anti-socialist. In fact, in polls recently, as many of 35% of people said they preferred socialism conceptually to capitalism. I'm sure among Democrats only, that number is higher.

and because he has no problem speaking up for himself. He's the ultimate angry man of color that can't be shut up. That and most people get their news from the teevee. It makes them sitting ducks for this kind of propaganda.

n/t

They're obviously trying to create panic and manipulate the news by reporting the attack.

No doubt criminal charges will soon be filed against their staff.

Potentially.

Meanwhile, the opposition groups in Venezuela are trying to provoke a coup against Chávez, again. They are calling for destabilization activities throughout the nation in reaction to the Venezuelan communications commission's (CONATEL) suspension of 34 radio station's licenses to operate due to administrative irregularities. Apparently, the 34 stations that were suspended are completely in violation of the Telecommunications Law and administrative procedures - in some of the cases, the operators and owners of the stations didn't even have licenses to operate those frequencies, in other cases, the licenses were outdated and never renewed, and in other cases, the licenses had been illegally passed on to third parties without authorization from CONATEL.
http://www.chavezcode.com/2009/08/good-interview-with-president-zelaya.html


The WSJ never reports the facts.

Good thing we have chavezcode.com to supply unbiased "facts" about opposition to Saint Hugo.

And even assuming these "facts" are factual, how does it help justify thugs terrorizing the opposition?

except this slanted headline.

And Eva Golinger, unlike our presstitutes, makes no claim that she is impartial, does she?

...

You actually want armed thugs to storm the Fox News lobby throwing tear gas? If they do that they are no better than fascists thugs. Violence is always wrong.

Are you sure? You want to disband all military organizations an police departments? You are an uncompromising pacifist?

Do you?

I don't know how you can stand with someone whose position you don't understand. Both of them advocated non-violence because it was politically effective; and neither ever suggested anarchy was the way to go, or that military force was never justified.

oppose the types of tactics used by those people in Venezuela.

Which is what this appears to be.

Violence is "always wrong?" Really? I cannot possibly accept that premise.

remind me of them.

They have been repudiated and they will be found and arrested.

The government has zero history of violence against the opposition and in fact, has gotten a lot of criticism for allowing the opposition to be run wild in violent protests.

Give me a break.

What part of that is unclear to you? They're thugs.

are Chavez sympathizers, and that's good enough for me. And at the same time we have people in this thread defending the "thugs" and their tactics whether they are connected to Chavez or not. One poster even wants those same tactic used against Fox News.

in your name.

Zero history of violence against the opposition.

Zero.

I wondered if it would happen though. Don't put words in MY mouth. What I did mean is that I see it as analogous. A fascist media outlet was attacked. It is morally similar to if a mass of anti-racist protesters attacked a Nazi party newspaper in 1920s. I am not condoning it, however.

of similar tactics used by the Nazis and I stand by that. But of course I am not saying that Chavez has murdered 6 million Jews or any such thing.

Look, I don't like right wing media personified by either Fox News or Globovision any more than you do. In fact, just yesterday on my blog I called for the firing of the racist CNN anchor Lou Dobbs. But I don't advocate that the lobby of CNN by invaded by thugs with guns and tear gas. I advocate that peaceful means be employed to get rid of Dobbs, and I advocate that similar tactics be used against Fox News.

Leftist violence is just as unacceptable and insidious as right wing violence.

unlike the Venezuelan government, which has repudiated this criminality.

If the government wanted to terrorize this station, they wouldn't need bikers to do it.

Of course Chavez has to put up a front of condemning those tactics now, but I wonder what is really in his heart of hearts.

And as we know, the Chavez government has threatened to shut Globovision down.

Oh, and here we go.



http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/280229,globovision-attack-left-wing-politician-arrested.html

So according to this news report I was correct. It was supporters of Chavez. What part of "supporter of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez" do you not understand.

And am sure that you and the others on this thread that tried to smear the government with guilt by association are ready with your retractions.

Good grief. It's in your own post.

I then got attacked for saying that. And I have been vindicated. It was pro Chavez forces. And now Chavez probably thinks that he has the best of both worlds. Globovision was intimidated, and now he gets to come off like some kind of democrat by having the leader of the attack arrested. I hope that too many people don't fall for his charade.

The president of Venezuela doesn't have armed fucking militias.

It's obvious these people are thugs and it's also obvious that they're going to be prosecuted.

You have no rational basis to accuse the government of Venezuela of anything unlawful.

who else but Chavistas??

They are blinded by their bias and to them Chavez and his supporters can do no wrong. If it had been anti Chavez people who has pulled off a stunt like that the Chavez lovers at DU would be screaming like crazy about it.

but pro-Chavez posters can't be reasoned with?

lol

the leader of a group of militant Chavez supporters as opposed to keyboard warriors.



and yet another article describing them as Chavistas if you even needed another one.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8184671.stm

The Nazis killed tens of millions of people, in hideous ways.

If so, we agree on something anyway.

All you guys cheering on the dismantling of free speech in Venezuela wouldn't DREAM of doing something
analogous here. As much as I disdain the Chavez-sanctioned thuggery in Venezuela, at least his supporters have
something you never will: HUEVOS.

If Chavez is a dictator as so many accuse him of being. Then, wouldn't he just have shut down these unfriendly private media outlets in Venezuela? I would imagine if he was a dictator he'd long ago had media personnel who didn't report favorably toward him arrested and jailed.

:shrug:

They did a very good job of demonstrating the method for centuries.

:)

s

:puke:

The truth is, we don't know who these thugs are and the government has come out strongly against them. This isn't about free speech, this is about thuggery.

Caracas - A left-wing party activist and supporter of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was arrested as a suspect in the armed attack on opposition broadcaster Globovision, Chavez confirmed Tuesday. Lina Ron, 49, leads the People's Union of Venezuela (UPV), which is aligned with Chavez's ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV). Chavez said that she had broken the law and would have to face the consequences.

Ron was identified in video images from the attack on the station on Monday.

About 35 attackers waving red flags lobbed tear-gas canisters and assaulted security guards, one of whom suffered from burn injuries, Globovision reported. Two others were slightly injured, and numerous employees felt the effects of tear gas.

The order to arrest Ron came from the Attorney General's office, which said she was suspected of "participating" in Monday's violence. She will go before a judge after her arrest.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/280229,globovision-attack-left-wing-politician-arrested.html

its what happens afterward. See Scooter Libby and Marc Rich for reference.

s

Free press? Venezuela beats the US
Of course Chávez's new media law is bad. But it won't make a dent in the huge amount of press freedom in Venezuela

Mark Weisbrot guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 4 August 2009 18.03 BST

Denis MacShane attacks the British left for defending Hugo Chávez, the Venezuelan president, against an onslaught from the media, "new cold warriors", and rightwing demagogues throughout the world. His rhetorical trick is to tar the left with a new media law currently being debated in the Venezuelan congress, which he says "would impose prison sentences of up to four years for journalists whose writings might divulge information against 'the stability of the institutions of the state'."

Of course this is a bad law. There are a number of bad laws on the books in Venezuela, and in fact numerous countries in the region have desacato (pdf) laws that make it a crime to insult the president. Do MacShane's targets – he mentions Ken Livingstone and Richard Gott – support such laws? I would bet serious money that they do not. So his main line of attack is misleading if not downright dishonest.

MacShane also misrepresents the reality of press freedom in Venezuela. In fact, there is a much more oppositional media in Venezuela than in the US, and a much greater range of debate in the major media. This can be seen simply by looking at the most important media in both countries. In the US, for example, not even the most aggressive rightwing commentators such as Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity would present the idea that the president should be lynched. But Globovision, one of the largest-audience TV networks, had a show where a guest did just that.

This is not an isolated example in Venezuela. Its media routinely broadcasts reporting and commentary that would not be allowed under FCC rules in the US. And the vast majority of the media in Venezuela is still controlled by the rightwing opposition. This fact was buried in a footnote in a highly prejudiced and misleading 230-page report by Human Rights Watch. The footnote acknowledged that RCTV, which lost its broadcast licence for a long list of offences that would have landed its owners in jail in the US, still has a cable audience that is bigger than all the Venezuelan state television combined.

If the US had a media like Venezuela's, Barack Obama could never have been elected president. That's because the majority of Americans would have believed, as those beholden to some rightwing sources do, that he is a Muslim who was not born in the US. Think of Fox News and the Washington Times as the vast majority of the US media – that is the reality in Venezuela, only the media is more political and less accurate than America's biggest rightwing outlets.

More:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/aug/04/venezuela-media-freedom-chavez