Because it is public property, not the property of mega corporations. They should have a right to use the airwaves for their small businesses or nonprofits without being part of the media cartels.
Then it must be regulated! Can't let the public get out of hand. Better that they spend their money on items to express their personality than to express their discontent in a society that abuses them.
I was involved in the pirate radio scene in San Francisco and Santa Cruz.
That's awesome. Glad to hear it.
Down in Santa Cruz they had this micro-power radio station set up in the local anarchist house, which was also the main Food not Bombs house.
It seems anarchist houses are where many of the current pirate stations are run out of. All the more reason to donate money to them.
The FCC found out about it and came to try to bust them, but somehow they got word and skedaddled. No lie, they loaded up the station in a Food not Bombs bike cart and pedaled that sucker from hill to hill for a week, always one step ahead of the FCC snoops. Then the anarchist house started to sink into a sinkhole and got condemned, so the anarchists all had bigger things to worry about.
Sorry to hear that.
They had a stand off with the authorities for a month before the cops finally got a court order and raided the house. Funny story, they had this weird guy who lived in the attic and saved all his pee in jars, so they booby trapped the place with jars of pee. Those were not happy cops that day, I'll tell you what. But the spirit of the place was broken, and Santa Cruz lost its pirate radio.
Sorry to hear that as well.
In San Francisco, the station I knew had an actual studio in the Labor Temple right next to my IWW union office, and no one bothered them much. Heh, if you lived within five blocks of Mission and 16th, you might even have heard them. Woot! 30 whole watts of AWESOME POWER! Ah, good times, good times.
Not true, I listen to pirate radio around here that used to operate legally. I know of many other stations, and am in solidarity with their right to express themselves. The law was killed by corporate radio before not wanting additional options. I expect the law will be killed again, so we must contact our representatives and let them know this is important to us.
Because not everyone has the internet. Because listening to internet radio in your car is not an option for most people. Because radio is still a vital art form.
This law is essential to undo the injustice of the 2000 law.
Nobody in the opposition have "openly called for violence". If the channel showed people requesting to march, that isn't calling for violence. And the president has said "country, socialism or death" and has said "we must defend the revolution with our lives". Are you ok if i steal stuff that you bought with your money?
The mayor of Caracas is nobody? There are other examples, but obviously there are many calling for violent protest. I've posted the video a couple times in replies to others. I have of calls for violence. That's just an example.
No, I am not okay with you stealing my stuff. I am okay with a transformation of methods of production that would lower my standard of living to increase the standard of living of others.
What? So are you ok if i enter your house and kick you out of it, and steal everything you own? You should live in cuba. You lost all your credibility.
No, I am okay with a national movement to allow homes not filled to be occupied by additional people. I help support a structure that houses the homeless, and other people passing through in need of space. I currently do a part to make this occur, but there needs to be a national dialog on the issue, and a decision made by the people.
Slavery is Murder, Property is theft.
You should live in cuba.
I have just as much right to live in the United States as you do, and if you think people that disagree with you should live somewhere else, then you are the one that is against Democracy.
You lost all your credibility.
Credibility is a funny kind of word often used to mean, not within the standard propaganda system. You lose "credibility" if you believe anything aside from the current social structure that is design to consolidate wealth in the hands of few.
Credibility is also used against foreign governments in the same way. If you want to do anything that we are against, you lose this "credibility."
Yeah, I get it. Doesn't mean anything to anyone who is serious.
I disagree with most of what you said, but have countered the rest of it in other posts.
I just wanted to point out that Freedom House is an organization whose purpose is to produce flak. Their entire history has been producing incorrect conclusions and data for power structures. Their information on the Vietnam war is particularly interesting.
Freedom House, which dates back to the early I940s, has had interlocks with AIM, the World Anticommunist League, Resistance International, and U.S. government bodies such as Radio Free Europe and the CIA, and has long served as a virtual propaganda arm of the government and international right wing. It sent election monitors to the Rhodesian elections staged by Ian Smith in I979 and found them "fair," whereas the I980 elections won by Mugabe under British supervision it found dubious. Its election monitors also found the Salvadoran elections of I982 admirable. It has expended substantial resources in criticizing the media for insufficient sympathy with U.S. foreign-policy ventures and excessively harsh criticism of U.S. client states. Its most notable publication of this genre was Peter Braestrup's Big Story, which contended that the media's negative portrayal of the Tet offensive helped lose the war. The work is a travesty of scholarship, but more interesting is its premise: that the mass media not only should support any national venture abroad, but should do so with enthusiasm, such enterprises being by definition noble. In I982, when the Reagan administration was having trouble containing media reporting of the systematic killing of civilians by the Salvadoran army, Freedom House came through with a denunciation of the "imbalance" in media reporting from El Salvador. - quoted from Noam Chomsky.
While everything you have said is true, it is not the whole truth. I am too lazy to search for links, and they would be in spanish anyway.
I'm fine with Spanish links.
Some facts: -The electoral council was formed by 5 people. 3 of them have ties to the government. To this day, one is a judge for the maximum court, the other is now the country's vicepresident. The opposition denounced that they were not impartial, and sure they are now part of the goverment.
I have read about this. I have read counters. I do not currently recall enough information to adequately respond, but would be willing to with time if you would like to continue this further.
-The constitution was approved with less than 50% of the total voters.
I have not heard that. I would be willing to hear more, although I will research it on my own when I have time. Right now, I'm working on another topic.
-There were numerous complains about the machines used in the elections. Some printed a blank paper, some even switched the yes/no vote in the recall. The machine's software is closed source, and the goverment was part owner of the company that sold the machines.
I have seen numerous observers for and against Chavez state that the elections have been fair. I am willing to listen to argument, but there is a heavy burden of proof considering the evidence from international observers.
Very few political parties, the PSUV (partido socialista unido de venezuela) has joined all of the pro-chavez parties. What he says goes, so parties have to join to not be left outside the loop.
I don't understand what the problem is. This is within his right, and it's within the right of those who wish to continue their current parties, or form their own parties. Could you please clarify the issue for me? I have read about this, and see nothing wrong with his tactic in this regard.
No equality. I can't get a job inside the national oil industry because i signed the recall. My id renewal was even "lost" after this.
I am against this. Chavez has said that he does not support the list, and admitted that it existed, and told others they should not use it. My understanding is the government policy before that was that there was no list, although I certainly need to do more research on the topic to confirm that. What I would state as fact is merely his acknowledgment, and condemnation for using the list for hiring practices, or any other discrimination.
Branches aren't autonomous at all. Chavez governs them all. The maximum court even assigned all of RCTV's station hardware so the new pro-chavez tv station could have the same availability all over the country.
I don't have a problem with this as I am for nationalization under the context of allowing the people to generate the content, and be enabled to generate the content including the opposition and any other group provided they are not openly calling for violence.
The opposition pulled out of some Branches on their own which did create a very strong Chavez group. I would be willing to listen to argument, and will continue to research this topic on my own.
So there is no respect for private property. Chavez has said that venezuelans shouldn't have cars. There's a draft on a law that will decree that your home must be shared with someone else if it isn't fully occupied. Chavez has forced some land owners to sell their land. He has a big budget on food and clothing, although he has just said he will only keep 2 suits, some red shirts and 2 uniforms.
I believe that property is theft, and do not have any respect for private property myself. I agree with the decree that a home should be shared if it isn't fully occupied while people have no place to live. I agree with Chavez's forcing of some land owners to sell their land so that the people who were working on it could own it. I have seen/watched a few groups this is happened to, and although I understand the pain the
No, it's the answer to stupidity. Well, sometimes.
I think the answer to stupidity is to mature, not to grow up. There doesn't seem to be much maturing when you grow up within indoctrinal systems. It's more like breaking free.
When you nationalize industry, you effectively shut down private investment.
Private investment isn't the fear. It's the stopping of imports from countries who don't want you to take off in a direction that is against their interests in exploiting you that you have to fear.
Without private investment, you are handicapping yourself, consigning your people to a status of permanent poverty.
I don't see any reason to believe that. The Latin America group that they have met in Bolivia many times to discuss seems like a pretty effective way of going your own way in international affairs.
Look at the People's Republic of China, the largest of the Socialist states.
It was in no way a socialist state. Pure propaganda. If we refuse to agree with that part of the argument, then Chavez is not a socialist, certainly not of the Chinese variety, and as a comparison point it is valuable only on a what to avoid scale when it concerns central power like the inability of people to control their own destiny.
After many years of failing with a nationalized socialist economy, they've moved to a market based economy and have moved towards away from state owned enterprise.
Regardless, there are many types of socialism as well (even if by some screwed up way we consider China socialist). Venezuela looks to be moving towards a Proud, or the system discussed by Proudham. It needs to be debated and discussed amongst it's own goals and values, and not of those by a completely different system of means of production, etc.
The Chinese leadership woke up to reality and decided to harness the power of the market for the good of their people.
If you think they are doing anything for the good of their people, then I don't know where to head to next. If any leadership needs a good overthrow by the people, they are one of them.
Please don't assume that I worship Capitalism. It is an economic system rife with contradictions and potential for abuse. However, it's the best system for creating value we've seen. Socialism has been a failure on the whole.
Proud/Anarchist values have not been a failure, on the whole or otherwise. They have proved quite successful in short periods of times until they were crushed by force.
And you've omitted at least one word, Capitalism is the best system for creating value for the rich we've seen. It's done an excellent job controlling and stifling a large portion of the population while allowing the rich to continue to monopolize wealth.
It has been successful for everyone but the people who have fought for every semblance of respect and freedom that they have.
What Chavez's effective elimination of term limits?
Term limits are one of the linch pins of democracy. Without them, no executive ever need fear answering for transgressions.
I think this alone makes Chavez a dictator. No matter how great his policies or effective his leadership, he is a dictator until he honors the previous constitutions terms limits.
I don't understand why you would place a word with a specific meaning on him for something that isn't even true with the power of the people. He's had more votes that anyone else in a 6 year span.
What Chavez is doing is unsustainable and will most likely leave Venezuela with a wrecked or at least vastly underdevelped economy in the long run.
That really depends on a lot of things. Looking at just the nationalization (which is where a lot of oil revenue is going), those are good return on investments. If they weren't, why are companies so hesitant to pay the reasonable price to sell them back to the government? Why are they buying them in the first place?
It is of more value to Venezuela to own them. It is their value to make. I see no reason they would be wrecked or vastly underdeveloped because of that.
Just the fact they rely on oil revenue is a concern, and Chavez is building a system where they will control their own destiny with other Latin American countries to create their own trading block.
So if the Bush decided not to renew the license of your favourite station because it annoyed him, you'd be happy with that?
I didn't indicate my feelings towards it, but since you asked, I would be unhappy with that. I like the idea that RCTV is being nationalized. I hope that TVes enables not only the oppositions, and the chavistas to speak, but others with their own opinion.
I am eager that Chavez is indeed building a proud, although there are dictatorship tendencies that much be watched for, and ultimately fought for if he gets out of line, although there is mass popular support for his administration. Just not the decision, and the opposition is trying to leverage that into a coup which will reinstall a real dictator like Carmona.
That is the truth of the matter.
Since when are politicians in charge of renewing station's licenses.
In every country that I know of, including ours. And it's wrong... Here, and there.
It's cute that growing up is always the answer to Socialism. You are indoctrinated your entire life to a capitalist lie, and if you didn't adequately internalize the propaganda then you're still a child (ultimately because they were children before the propaganda took hold.)
Several major Venezuelan journalists have received all-expenses paid trips to the U.S. for courses in an apparent effort of the U.S. State Department to influence the media in Venezuela, according to recently released documents. The Venezuelan-American attorney Eva Golinger, who released the information yesterday in a press conference in Caracas, also revealed evidence of a destabilization plan against the Chavez government to take place this weekend.
Golinger is the author of The Chavez Code, which documents U.S. funding of opposition groups and U.S. involvement in the 2002 coup attempt.
Under a program named International Business Leadership Program, many Venezuelan journalists, mostly from the opposition media, but also some from the Venezuelan government, have received "scholarships" from the U.S. government to attend training courses during the years 2001-2005.
Some of the most recognized opposition journalists of the country have participated according to the documents, including Miguel Angel Rodriguez of RCTV, who received more than six thousand dollars for his participation in 2003, and Maria Fernanda Flores of Globovision among others, according to the documents obtained by Eva Golinger through the U.S. Freedom of Information Act.
With the supposed intention of teaching journalists about the media and journalism in the United States, the program also has the purpose of influencing how Venezuelan journalists cover events related to the U.S. foreign policy. According to the documents released, the programs denominated "Journalism IV" seek to "influence the approach and ultimately the coverage given to issues of importance to U.S. foreign policy and to strengthen the Venezuelan democratic process."
The State Department gave special attention to the Venezuelan news channel Globovisión, which they believe to be "the most influential channel" and to have the most positive coverage of the United States. The State Department sought a special relationship with this particular news network, and especially with one important journalist Maria Fernanda Flores.
According to an unclassified State Department memo, "A program that gives Flores a better understanding of and closer ties with U.S. media executive decision-making policies and practices can help Globovision, already the country's news leader, an even more professional responsible force in Venezuela's media environment, with profound implications not only for more positive coverage of U.S. policies but for Venezuela's evolving political situation as well."
Golinger emphasized, though, that the journalists involved in these programs were chosen by the U.S. embassy and could very well be unaware of the program's efforts to influence their coverage of U.S. foreign policy.
Golinger also spoke about other State Department programs including one to increase U.S. access to the Venezuelan Armed Forces through various training programs, whose objectives she said are similar to the program for journalists.
The Press Attaché of the U.S. Embassy in Venezuela, Bryan Penn, responded on Globovisión to Golinger's press conference yesterday by saying that the programs she presented were common with governments around the world and that the U.S. is "proud of them."
Destabilization Plan
Golinger also presented evidence of a destabilization plan for this Saturday, showing a flyer calling for people to come into the streets and march in the morning hours of Saturday, May 26th. According to the attorney, the campaign is designed by Freedom House, a U.S. organization dedicated to non-violent resistance.
Freedom House, headed by Peter Ackerman, has been involved in other countries and other campaigns to overthrow regimes such as Serbia and the Ukraine. According to Golinger, the flyers circulating in Caracas have the logo of a clenched fist, the same logo used in the campaigns in other c
Oh, well, if it's because of pornography, that's completely different! Thank God they're not being censored for political reasons!
I agree.
I think the political case is just. I think that the television stations should be owned by cooperatives with access to everyone.
But I agree with your points. Each of them. You are right on, and I had forgotten about the pornography charge only because it wasn't valid to me. It is useful to mention however, and it was my mistake leaving it out, and then questioning it.
But I'm 100% with what you said. I want enabling of all speech, and if there's a better way to do it then I've suggested I'd love to discuss it.
Just wanted to comment that the up and down karma I've experienced over this is quite humorous. There is nothing I've said even remotely "flamebait" or "troll"ish and yet looking through the karma I'm being attacked left and right.
If you don't like what I'm saying, respond to me. I'm not being rude, or in anyway limiting your right to counter my claims if they are incorrect. But moderating me like you are is cowardice.
Slashdot Mirror
Now my iPod FM trasmitter will suck even more.
Eh, it's not like it worked well anyway. Might as well listen to small radio stations instead of being isolated within your own personal preferences.
Because it is public property, not the property of mega corporations. They should have a right to use the airwaves for their small businesses or nonprofits without being part of the media cartels.
Then it must be regulated! Can't let the public get out of hand. Better that they spend their money on items to express their personality than to express their discontent in a society that abuses them.
I was involved in the pirate radio scene in San Francisco and Santa Cruz.
That's awesome. Glad to hear it.
Down in Santa Cruz they had this micro-power radio station set up in the local anarchist house, which was also the main Food not Bombs house.
It seems anarchist houses are where many of the current pirate stations are run out of. All the more reason to donate money to them.
The FCC found out about it and came to try to bust them, but somehow they got word and skedaddled. No lie, they loaded up the station in a Food not Bombs bike cart and pedaled that sucker from hill to hill for a week, always one step ahead of the FCC snoops. Then the anarchist house started to sink into a sinkhole and got condemned, so the anarchists all had bigger things to worry about.
Sorry to hear that.
They had a stand off with the authorities for a month before the cops finally got a court order and raided the house. Funny story, they had this weird guy who lived in the attic and saved all his pee in jars, so they booby trapped the place with jars of pee. Those were not happy cops that day, I'll tell you what. But the spirit of the place was broken, and Santa Cruz lost its pirate radio.
Sorry to hear that as well.
In San Francisco, the station I knew had an actual studio in the Labor Temple right next to my IWW union office, and no one bothered them much. Heh, if you lived within five blocks of Mission and 16th, you might even have heard them. Woot! 30 whole watts of AWESOME POWER! Ah, good times, good times.
Good times, fellow Wobblie. http://youtube.com/watch?v=GgYjVOFZZFc
I agree, excellent points. Fuck Clear Channel
Not true, I listen to pirate radio around here that used to operate legally. I know of many other stations, and am in solidarity with their right to express themselves. The law was killed by corporate radio before not wanting additional options. I expect the law will be killed again, so we must contact our representatives and let them know this is important to us.
Because not everyone has the internet. Because listening to internet radio in your car is not an option for most people. Because radio is still a vital art form.
This law is essential to undo the injustice of the 2000 law.
Piratebay are trying to be the guardians while acting like anarchists. They will do more harm than good.
c hism/anarchism.html
I hope you don't mean to imply that Anarchists have done more harm than good.
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Goldman/Writings/Anar
Yes. Image hosting. Better image hosting that you can get from any other site I know of.
Also, they won't take down images of corporate parodies, or anything else that people with financial ties would.
It's a good thing.
Nobody in the opposition have "openly called for violence". If the channel showed people requesting to march, that isn't calling for violence. And the president has said "country, socialism or death" and has said "we must defend the revolution with our lives". Are you ok if i steal stuff that you bought with your money?
The mayor of Caracas is nobody? There are other examples, but obviously there are many calling for violent protest. I've posted the video a couple times in replies to others. I have of calls for violence. That's just an example.
No, I am not okay with you stealing my stuff. I am okay with a transformation of methods of production that would lower my standard of living to increase the standard of living of others.
What? So are you ok if i enter your house and kick you out of it, and steal everything you own? You should live in cuba. You lost all your credibility.
No, I am okay with a national movement to allow homes not filled to be occupied by additional people. I help support a structure that houses the homeless, and other people passing through in need of space. I currently do a part to make this occur, but there needs to be a national dialog on the issue, and a decision made by the people.
Slavery is Murder, Property is theft.
You should live in cuba.
I have just as much right to live in the United States as you do, and if you think people that disagree with you should live somewhere else, then you are the one that is against Democracy.
You lost all your credibility.
Credibility is a funny kind of word often used to mean, not within the standard propaganda system. You lose "credibility" if you believe anything aside from the current social structure that is design to consolidate wealth in the hands of few.
Credibility is also used against foreign governments in the same way. If you want to do anything that we are against, you lose this "credibility."
Yeah, I get it. Doesn't mean anything to anyone who is serious.
Oh come on! Do you really think that once it's nationalized anyone but Chavistas will speak?
It's certainly one of the possibilities.
I disagree with most of what you said, but have countered the rest of it in other posts.
I just wanted to point out that Freedom House is an organization whose purpose is to produce flak. Their entire history has been producing incorrect conclusions and data for power structures. Their information on the Vietnam war is particularly interesting.
Freedom House, which dates back to the early I940s, has had interlocks with AIM, the World Anticommunist League, Resistance International, and U.S. government bodies such as Radio Free Europe and the CIA, and has long served as a virtual propaganda arm of the government and international right wing. It sent election monitors to the Rhodesian elections staged by Ian Smith in I979 and found them "fair," whereas the I980 elections won by Mugabe under British supervision it found dubious. Its election monitors also found the Salvadoran elections of I982 admirable. It has expended substantial resources in criticizing the media for insufficient sympathy with U.S. foreign-policy ventures and excessively harsh criticism of U.S. client states. Its most notable publication of this genre was Peter Braestrup's Big Story, which contended that the media's negative portrayal of the Tet offensive helped lose the war. The work is a travesty of scholarship, but more interesting is its premise: that the mass media not only should support any national venture abroad, but should do so with enthusiasm, such enterprises being by definition noble. In I982, when the Reagan administration was having trouble containing media reporting of the systematic killing of civilians by the Salvadoran army, Freedom House came through with a denunciation of the "imbalance" in media reporting from El Salvador. - quoted from Noam Chomsky.
While everything you have said is true, it is not the whole truth. I am too lazy to search for links, and they would be in spanish anyway.
I'm fine with Spanish links.
Some facts:
-The electoral council was formed by 5 people. 3 of them have ties to the government. To this day, one is a judge for the maximum court, the other is now the country's vicepresident. The opposition denounced that they were not impartial, and sure they are now part of the goverment.
I have read about this. I have read counters. I do not currently recall enough information to adequately respond, but would be willing to with time if you would like to continue this further.
-The constitution was approved with less than 50% of the total voters.
I have not heard that. I would be willing to hear more, although I will research it on my own when I have time. Right now, I'm working on another topic.
-There were numerous complains about the machines used in the elections. Some printed a blank paper, some even switched the yes/no vote in the recall. The machine's software is closed source, and the goverment was part owner of the company that sold the machines.
I have seen numerous observers for and against Chavez state that the elections have been fair. I am willing to listen to argument, but there is a heavy burden of proof considering the evidence from international observers.
Very few political parties, the PSUV (partido socialista unido de venezuela) has joined all of the pro-chavez parties. What he says goes, so parties have to join to not be left outside the loop.
I don't understand what the problem is. This is within his right, and it's within the right of those who wish to continue their current parties, or form their own parties. Could you please clarify the issue for me? I have read about this, and see nothing wrong with his tactic in this regard.
No equality. I can't get a job inside the national oil industry because i signed the recall. My id renewal was even "lost" after
this.
I am against this. Chavez has said that he does not support the list, and admitted that it existed, and told others they should not use it. My understanding is the government policy before that was that there was no list, although I certainly need to do more research on the topic to confirm that. What I would state as fact is merely his acknowledgment, and condemnation for using the list for hiring practices, or any other discrimination.
Branches aren't autonomous at all. Chavez governs them all. The maximum court even assigned all of RCTV's station hardware so the new pro-chavez tv station could have the same availability all over the country.
I don't have a problem with this as I am for nationalization under the context of allowing the people to generate the content, and be enabled to generate the content including the opposition and any other group provided they are not openly calling for violence.
The opposition pulled out of some Branches on their own which did create a very strong Chavez group. I would be willing to listen to argument, and will continue to research this topic on my own.
So there is no respect for private property. Chavez has said that venezuelans shouldn't have cars. There's a draft on a law that will decree that your home must be shared with someone else if it isn't fully occupied. Chavez has forced some land owners to sell their land. He has a big budget on food and clothing, although he has just said he will only keep 2 suits, some red shirts and 2 uniforms.
I believe that property is theft, and do not have any respect for private property myself. I agree with the decree that a home should be shared if it isn't fully occupied while people have no place to live. I agree with Chavez's forcing of some land owners to sell their land so that the people who were working on it could own it. I have seen/watched a few groups this is happened to, and although I understand the pain the
No, it's the answer to stupidity. Well, sometimes.
I think the answer to stupidity is to mature, not to grow up. There doesn't seem to be much maturing when you grow up within indoctrinal systems. It's more like breaking free.
email my gmail account, slash user @ gmail.com, might be useful to discuss further.
yesque\@gmail\.com
s/yes/not/
When you nationalize industry, you effectively shut down private investment.
Private investment isn't the fear. It's the stopping of imports from countries who don't want you to take off in a direction that is against their interests in exploiting you that you have to fear.
Without private investment, you are handicapping yourself, consigning your people to a status of permanent poverty.
I don't see any reason to believe that. The Latin America group that they have met in Bolivia many times to discuss seems like a pretty effective way of going your own way in international affairs.
Look at the People's Republic of China, the largest of the Socialist states.
It was in no way a socialist state. Pure propaganda. If we refuse to agree with that part of the argument, then Chavez is not a socialist, certainly not of the Chinese variety, and as a comparison point it is valuable only on a what to avoid scale when it concerns central power like the inability of people to control their own destiny.
After many years of failing with a nationalized socialist economy, they've moved to a market based economy and have moved towards away from state owned enterprise.
Regardless, there are many types of socialism as well (even if by some screwed up way we consider China socialist). Venezuela looks to be moving towards a Proud, or the system discussed by Proudham. It needs to be debated and discussed amongst it's own goals and values, and not of those by a completely different system of means of production, etc.
The Chinese leadership woke up to reality and decided to harness the power of the market for the good of their people.
If you think they are doing anything for the good of their people, then I don't know where to head to next. If any leadership needs a good overthrow by the people, they are one of them.
Please don't assume that I worship Capitalism. It is an economic system rife with contradictions and potential for abuse. However, it's the best system for creating value we've seen. Socialism has been a failure on the whole.
Proud/Anarchist values have not been a failure, on the whole or otherwise. They have proved quite successful in short periods of times until they were crushed by force.
And you've omitted at least one word, Capitalism is the best system for creating value for the rich we've seen. It's done an excellent job controlling and stifling a large portion of the population while allowing the rich to continue to monopolize wealth.
It has been successful for everyone but the people who have fought for every semblance of respect and freedom that they have.
What Chavez's effective elimination of term limits?
Term limits are one of the linch pins of democracy. Without them, no executive ever need fear answering for transgressions.
I think this alone makes Chavez a dictator. No matter how great his policies or effective his leadership, he is a dictator until he honors the previous constitutions terms limits.
I don't understand why you would place a word with a specific meaning on him for something that isn't even true with the power of the people. He's had more votes that anyone else in a 6 year span.
So, what?
What Chavez is doing is unsustainable and will most likely leave Venezuela with a wrecked or at least vastly underdevelped economy in the long run.
That really depends on a lot of things. Looking at just the nationalization (which is where a lot of oil revenue is going), those are good return on investments. If they weren't, why are companies so hesitant to pay the reasonable price to sell them back to the government? Why are they buying them in the first place?
It is of more value to Venezuela to own them. It is their value to make. I see no reason they would be wrecked or vastly underdeveloped because of that.
Just the fact they rely on oil revenue is a concern, and Chavez is building a system where they will control their own destiny with other Latin American countries to create their own trading block.
So if the Bush decided not to renew the license of your favourite station because it annoyed him, you'd be happy with that?
I didn't indicate my feelings towards it, but since you asked, I would be unhappy with that. I like the idea that RCTV is being nationalized. I hope that TVes enables not only the oppositions, and the chavistas to speak, but others with their own opinion.
I am eager that Chavez is indeed building a proud, although there are dictatorship tendencies that much be watched for, and ultimately fought for if he gets out of line, although there is mass popular support for his administration. Just not the decision, and the opposition is trying to leverage that into a coup which will reinstall a real dictator like Carmona.
That is the truth of the matter.
Since when are politicians in charge of renewing station's licenses.
In every country that I know of, including ours. And it's wrong... Here, and there.
Grow the fuck up.
It's cute that growing up is always the answer to Socialism. You are indoctrinated your entire life to a capitalist lie, and if you didn't adequately internalize the propaganda then you're still a child (ultimately because they were children before the propaganda took hold.)
Good times.
I've always loved that skit, you'll find it as a favorite on my youtube account. :)
By: Chris Carlson of http://boog.dnsalias.org/chris/
Several major Venezuelan journalists have received all-expenses paid trips to the U.S. for courses in an apparent effort of the U.S. State Department to influence the media in Venezuela, according to recently released documents. The Venezuelan-American attorney Eva Golinger, who released the information yesterday in a press conference in Caracas, also revealed evidence of a destabilization plan against the Chavez government to take place this weekend.
Golinger is the author of The Chavez Code, which documents U.S. funding of opposition groups and U.S. involvement in the 2002 coup attempt.
Under a program named International Business Leadership Program, many Venezuelan journalists, mostly from the opposition media, but also some from the Venezuelan government, have received "scholarships" from the U.S. government to attend training courses during the years 2001-2005.
Some of the most recognized opposition journalists of the country have participated according to the documents, including Miguel Angel Rodriguez of RCTV, who received more than six thousand dollars for his participation in 2003, and Maria Fernanda Flores of Globovision among others, according to the documents obtained by Eva Golinger through the U.S. Freedom of Information Act.
With the supposed intention of teaching journalists about the media and journalism in the United States, the program also has the purpose of influencing how Venezuelan journalists cover events related to the U.S. foreign policy. According to the documents released, the programs denominated "Journalism IV" seek to "influence the approach and ultimately the coverage given to issues of importance to U.S. foreign policy and to strengthen the Venezuelan democratic process."
The State Department gave special attention to the Venezuelan news channel Globovisión, which they believe to be "the most influential channel" and to have the most positive coverage of the United States. The State Department sought a special relationship with this particular news network, and especially with one important journalist Maria Fernanda Flores.
According to an unclassified State Department memo, "A program that gives Flores a better understanding of and closer ties with U.S. media executive decision-making policies and practices can help Globovision, already the country's news leader, an even more professional responsible force in Venezuela's media environment, with profound implications not only for more positive coverage of U.S. policies but for Venezuela's evolving political situation as well."
Golinger emphasized, though, that the journalists involved in these programs were chosen by the U.S. embassy and could very well be unaware of the program's efforts to influence their coverage of U.S. foreign policy.
Golinger also spoke about other State Department programs including one to increase U.S. access to the Venezuelan Armed Forces through various training programs, whose objectives she said are similar to the program for journalists.
The Press Attaché of the U.S. Embassy in Venezuela, Bryan Penn, responded on Globovisión to Golinger's press conference yesterday by saying that the programs she presented were common with governments around the world and that the U.S. is "proud of them."
Destabilization Plan
Golinger also presented evidence of a destabilization plan for this Saturday, showing a flyer calling for people to come into the streets and march in the morning hours of Saturday, May 26th. According to the attorney, the campaign is designed by Freedom House, a U.S. organization dedicated to non-violent resistance.
Freedom House, headed by Peter Ackerman, has been involved in other countries and other campaigns to overthrow regimes such as Serbia and the Ukraine. According to Golinger, the flyers circulating in Caracas have the logo of a clenched fist, the same logo used in the campaigns in other c
Oh, well, if it's because of pornography, that's completely different! Thank God they're not being censored for political reasons!
I agree.
I think the political case is just. I think that the television stations should be owned by cooperatives with access to everyone.
But I agree with your points. Each of them. You are right on, and I had forgotten about the pornography charge only because it wasn't valid to me. It is useful to mention however, and it was my mistake leaving it out, and then questioning it.
But I'm 100% with what you said. I want enabling of all speech, and if there's a better way to do it then I've suggested I'd love to discuss it.
Just wanted to comment that the up and down karma I've experienced over this is quite humorous. There is nothing I've said even remotely "flamebait" or "troll"ish and yet looking through the karma I'm being attacked left and right.
If you don't like what I'm saying, respond to me. I'm not being rude, or in anyway limiting your right to counter my claims if they are incorrect. But moderating me like you are is cowardice.
Thanks.
But he's a thug who maintains his popularity by bribing the poor
So when a leader actually does something to help the poor, it's bribing...
You're not the first to echo the sentiment, but every time I hear it, it drives me crazy.
The rest I can basically agree with. I would prefer the U.S. government to stay out of it, although they haven't, and they won't.