Blogcritics Comments on A Great Silence is Settling Over Venezuela

Comment by Dave Nalle on A Great Silence is Settling Over Venezuela

Mon, 11 Jun 2007 23:55:05 EDT

Thanks for the link, Julia. Access to Venezuelan blogs from the grassroots ought to be very helpful in getting a real ground-level view of what's really going on there. Dave

Comment by Clavos on A Great Silence is Settling Over Venezuela

Mon, 11 Jun 2007 22:48:02 EDT

Re #117: You tube now has about a dozen videos from Caracas with footage of chavistas firing on demonstrators.

Comment by Julia_1984 on A Great Silence is Settling Over Venezuela

Mon, 11 Jun 2007 22:18:47 EDT

Since the RCTV clossure for many venezuelans, like me, internet has become the only source of information, although we suspect its sometimes banned by the government. Many things that happens here don't reach even Globovision, the last remaining oposition channel. That's why, among other reasons, I started a blog. Although It's not exactly a news blog (and I don't intend it to be), I tell there how is my life under Chavez regime. Others have been doing the same for years. I encourage who ever is reading this to use those blogs as a source no matter if you are agree with Chavez policies or not, you should hear venezuelan voices, since we are losing the regular channels to inform. I'm sorry about the commenters who thinks this is only a rich people issue, everyone no matter how rich or poor is, should have equal rights. But in Venezuela if the government thinks you are rich, and you are not agree with the revolution, you dont have those rights. I guess for many some people are just more equal than others. For me anyone is a human been and deserves to live with dignity. A list of venezuelan blogs among other links can be found at www.venezuelatoday.net, I also provide a few links. PS: Excuses about the grammar and spelling mistakes you might find on the lines above. As Celia Cruz used to say "my english is not very good looking"

Comment by Dave Nalle on A Great Silence is Settling Over Venezuela

Mon, 11 Jun 2007 13:55:14 EDT

Found a fascinating video on YouTube which shows armed chavistas firing on protestors during the shutting down of RCTV. dave

Comment by Clavos on A Great Silence is Settling Over Venezuela

Wed, 6 Jun 2007 23:44:46 EDT

Here's an excellent (and on topic) NYT op-ed piece by former President of Peru Alejandro Toledo. Ch�vez's actions are clearly beginning to worry some of his Latin American neighbors. As President Toledo notes: " This is about more than one TV station. President Ch�vez has become a destabilizing figure throughout the hemisphere because he feels he can silence anyone with opposing thoughts. He wishes to hear only his own voice, to see his own face replicated a thousand times on the television channels that he controls. He ignores the fact that the true revolution of our era consists of listening to others rather than silencing them through repression or government decrees. The rest of Latin America's leaders cannot remain indifferent to the closing of RCTV or to Mr. Ch�vez's threats to close other media outlets that give time to opposing opinions. Those of us who confronted authoritarianism in the past must again stand up for continent-wide solidarity." Mr. Toledo gets right to the heart of what is, despite Ch�vez's avowals to improve the lot of Venezuela's poor, the fatal flaw in his leadership and administration: "Latin America's common enemies are poverty, inequality and exclusion — not dissident thought. Hunger is not fought by silencing critics. Unemployment does not disappear by exiling those who think differently. We cannot have bread without liberty. We cannot have nations without democracy." �Hazle caso, Hugo. Escuchale!

Comment by J.J. Hunsecker on A Great Silence is Settling Over Venezuela

Wed, 6 Jun 2007 19:59:05 EDT

Is that "Who Wants to be a Millionaire"? In Austin, it's on KEYE at 12pm and they are preparing to tape the '07 season late summer. It was surprisingly easy to Google.

Comment by Dave Nalle on A Great Silence is Settling Over Venezuela

Wed, 6 Jun 2007 19:15:57 EDT

MR, that idiotic show is not even on the air here in the US anymore. Dave

Comment by moonraven on A Great Silence is Settling Over Venezuela

Wed, 6 Jun 2007 11:16:33 EDT

Back to the topic of this thread: Just to show readers how much the opposition here in Venezuela is on its knees before the US: Tonight, in the Plaza Afredo Sadel in Caracas, RCTV will be showing--on a giant screen--�Quien quiere ser milionario? The station owners know that when something is out of sight, it is out of mind, so they have decided to take their programs--no longer on Channel 2--to the streets. Only in middle or upper middle class areas, of course. But their choice of programing is a giant Fruedian slip!

Comment by MCH on A Great Silence is Settling Over Venezuela

Tue, 5 Jun 2007 21:00:07 EDT

"MR, if you think Texas is a hellhole I suspect you've never been to Austin. You'd fit right in." - Dave Nalle What's your point, Vox? So if Austin isn't a hellhole, then it's an OK town; and if moonraven fits right in, than she's OK, too...?

Comment by moonraven on A Great Silence is Settling Over Venezuela

Tue, 5 Jun 2007 17:10:12 EDT

Sorry, Nalle: Been to Austin, San Antonio, Dallas and Houston. A couple would probably be okay places except for the people.... Well, now, you managed to write a sentence in English that made absolutely no sense. Keep up the good work.

Comment by Dave Nalle on A Great Silence is Settling Over Venezuela

Tue, 5 Jun 2007 14:27:21 EDT

MR, if you think Texas is a hellhole I suspect you've never been to Austin. You'd fit right in. Everyone here has NPD. As for my excellent Spanish sentence, I think you prove that I'm on the right track with my ongoing efforts to communicate with illegals. Dave

Comment by moonraven on A Great Silence is Settling Over Venezuela

Tue, 5 Jun 2007 11:15:35 EDT

Oh well--what do you expect from Nalle, who tries to write ONE sentence in Spanish--after telling us he has some facility in the language--and it comes out making absolutely no sense--not grammatically, nor in meaning.... My chuckle of the day.

Comment by MCH on A Great Silence is Settling Over Venezuela

Tue, 5 Jun 2007 10:44:42 EDT

To me, just living in a fortified compound would be hell-hole. I can't imagine being so paranoid. (Howard Hughes comes to mind...)

Comment by moonraven on A Great Silence is Settling Over Venezuela

Tue, 5 Jun 2007 10:32:16 EDT

Interesting, Nalle. I have always considered Texas to be a hellhole. Different strokes for different folks. On this site--the circle jerk. Out here in the real world, life STILL goes on.

Comment by Dave Nalle on A Great Silence is Settling Over Venezuela

Tue, 5 Jun 2007 00:39:36 EDT

MR, if I ever have so much time on my hands that I decide to do a tour of socialist hellholes (having already done my time in far too many of them), I'll bring along a translator of my own choosing, to make sure the translations are accurate. Maybe Clavos will come with me - or wait, I live i Texas, so half my friends and neighbors speak Spanish. Hell, I'm even developing some facility myself. How far will I get saying "Recuerde de utilizar suficiente mortero, Paco." Dave

Comment by moonraven on A Great Silence is Settling Over Venezuela

Mon, 4 Jun 2007 11:12:04 EDT

Nalle supports Pinochet (mercifully dead now), yet is against folks who take away people's rights? ?????????????????????? The right to live, apparently, is not a right that Nalle is concerned about. Folks tortured, imprisoned, thrown into common graves that are still being found all over Chile, folks being thrown out of airplanes over the Pacific--just collateral damage for folks like Nalle who think about nothing but money--but, oddly, never have any. Nalle, Call me when you get off the plane--I'll taxi down to the airport on the coast and pick you up. You'll need a translator while you're here...

Comment by MBD on A Great Silence is Settling Over Venezuela

Sun, 3 Jun 2007 16:53:16 EDT

Just as a dime wouldn't buy a cup of coffee, your word wouldn't buy it either.

Comment by Dave Nalle on A Great Silence is Settling Over Venezuela

Sun, 3 Jun 2007 16:47:00 EDT

MBD, that's not an answer. Just accept that I'm not a big fan of Israel. Unless you can prove otherwise you kind of have to take my word for it. Dave

Comment by MBD on A Great Silence is Settling Over Venezuela

Sun, 3 Jun 2007 16:32:56 EDT

LOL! Your response is too evasive for any other comment.

Comment by Dave Nalle on A Great Silence is Settling Over Venezuela

Sun, 3 Jun 2007 16:29:51 EDT

Have you stopped beating your wife? The burden of proof is on you, MBD. Show me where I've ever written anything particularly positive about Israel. I'm not sure I've ever even written an article about Israel at all. And BTW, objecting to Hamas or Hezbollah is not the same as supporting Israel. Dave

Comment by MBD on A Great Silence is Settling Over Venezuela

Sun, 3 Jun 2007 16:18:40 EDT

"I hope I've never given you the impression that I support Israel or their rather barbarous behavior" Do you have a link where you display your lack of support of their rather barbarous behavior?

Comment by Dave Nalle on A Great Silence is Settling Over Venezuela

Sun, 3 Jun 2007 15:48:13 EDT

I hope I've never given you the impression that I support Israel or their rather barbarous behavior, MBD. Dave

Comment by MBD on A Great Silence is Settling Over Venezuela

Sun, 3 Jun 2007 15:35:56 EDT

Nallecon says... "Oh, I'm all for a better world. I just don't think we get there by confiscating property and taking away peoples rights." But that is exactly what we encourage Israel to do. Without US Taxpayers footing the bill, it couldn't happen. You want a better world? Start there.

Comment by bliffle on A Great Silence is Settling Over Venezuela

Sun, 3 Jun 2007 13:49:39 EDT

Put the cowboy hat back on, Nalle! I can't read your articles, blinded by the gleam from the chrome dome. You can get one just like the old one for about $2.99 at the truckstop down the road.

Comment by Dave Nalle on A Great Silence is Settling Over Venezuela

Sun, 3 Jun 2007 13:34:04 EDT

1. Pinochet was put in place by Nixon and Kissinger and the US held his hand all the way to opening his hundreds of bank accounts in Miami. Chile still has one of the most unequal distributions of income in the hemisphere--second only to the inequality of income in Brazil. But yet it still has one of the most prosperous economies in the region with a per capita GDP almost double that of Venezuela, an unemployment rate less than half that in Venezuela, less than 1/5th the inflation rate of Venezuela, etc. Sure, it's GINI rate is slightly higher (8pts), but that's more than made up for by the overall level of higher pay and employment in every level of the society. I do not consider that Pinochet made any social progress--his regime cancelled the agrarian reform and other reform programs and put the increased copper revenues in the pockets of the wealthy--as well as in his above-referenced bank accounts. A little progress has been made in the past 17 years since he left power, but until his minions are pushing up daisies it's going to be more than an uphill battle. Yes, but your standards of social progress are based on how much the business class is harmed, not on how much the population in general is benefitted. 2. WITHOUT USING DICTATORIAL POWERS, Everyone here knows that's a lie, except you. Chavez has managed to pull his country out of the toilet. Oil was at 7 bucks a barrel when he took office in 1999, and the coffers were empty. Where is oil now--thanks to Chavez' revival of OPEC? Just about 10 times the price, I believe. Again, your ignorance shows. Stick to the price of bread in Caracas. You clearly know nothing about the oil industry. The current price increase has nothing to do with OPEC. They're trying to stop it from happening. It's mostly the result of limited refinery capacity, which some are claiming is an artificial crisis created by the oil companies. He also has managed to thwart the US government's schemes to destroy Venezuela's economy and take over its resources, You don't seem to grasp that the US and its government pays virtually no attention to anything that goes on in Venezuela. It's trivial. and despite the lockout in 2002-2003 that damaged the economy to the tune of 10 billion dollars, he has managed from 2004 to the present to create a booming economy (higher growth that China's is NOT to be sneezed at in my book), An 8.8% growth rate looks nice on paper, but remember where he's starting from. 8.8% growth on a GDP per capita of only about $6000 isn't enough to bring incomes in Venezuela up even to the level of Mexico any time soon. renationalize much of the country's resources, create a free health care scheme, free schooling for all (meals included while on campus), free and discounted food, eliminate illiteracy, dramtically reduce the poverty level, and a long list of etceteras. And all you have to pay for that is your right to a free press, to join a political party, to assemble in public or to acquire wealth and property. 3. He has done all of the above and more WITHOUT killing thousands of folks opposed to him like Pinochet did with the approval of the US government and the active participation of the CIA. Pinochet killed remarkably few people during his time in power. Sure, more than anyone would like to see, but what makes him a benevolent dictator is that on the whole he did a lot more good than harm. Some of his supporters have been murdered, true--most notoriously the prosecutor Danilo Anderson--but he has not returned the favor. You might want to tell that to the families of those murdered by his police and his supporters since 1999. You might want to start by looking into the assassinations of journalists like Joaquin Tovar and Jorge Aguirre - but maybe there's no informaton on those crimes available there in Caracas. And Marcel Granier may be no longer on Channel 2, but he is not in jail (where he probably should be and would be in just about any other country) but is going about his business and the case he put before the Supreme Court will proceed to be heard. By a court packed by Chavez which rubberstamps his edicts. join the rest of humanity that is pushing for a better world being possible. Oh, I'm all for a better world. I just don't think we get there by confiscating property and taking away peoples rights. Dave