Fausta's Blog

American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture

February 21, 2014 By Fausta

Venezuela: Not “a slow news week”


Not “a slow news week” at all.

I was listening to a podcast yesterday where the guest complained of it being “a slow news week”. Dude! The federal government is trying to unleash the FCC on the TV and cable networks here in the US, Ukraine is burning (here’s a before-and-after) in no small part thanks to Olympic host Putin,

and five people have been killed in Venezuela (a country that provides 10-15% of the USA’s oil, who supports Iran, and is directed from Cuba) by unofficial chavista shock troops and the “colectivos“, after two weeks of escalating protests over soaring inflation, rampant crime, and chronic shortages, and you call this “a slow news week”??

Some of it has to do with the mainstream media ignoring the Venezuelan story; a Venezuelan Journalist Rightly Wonders Why American Media Ignores Unfolding Crisis. Some has to do with Latin America’s Complicit Silence in Venezuela. Indeed, it is right to ask, Are the Americas turning a blind eye to chaos in Venezuela? Add to that,

Seeing that Ukraine and Venezuela are now aflame, joining his other diplomatic successes in the Middle East and North Africa, Kerry has decided to focus his languorous “energy” on the greatest threat of all, “global climate change.”

But, Dude, it’s happening, and Ukraine And Venezuela: This Ain’t No Velvet Revolution

In their protests, Venezuelans seem to be counting on a Velvet Revolution against these Cuban communists who, remember, didn’t fall during the real Velvet Revolution that took down a string of communist regimes in 1989. They seem to believe the Chavista regime, faced with massive peaceful protests, will melt away in shame, leaving office to let the good guys take over.

But here’s the irony: Over in the real land of Velvet Revolutions — Eastern Europe — there are no such illusions. Nobody in Ukraine thinks there will be any Velvet Revolutions there.
That’s why that uprising is a far more consequential pitched battle against a regime that clings to power at all costs because its fundamental control over the government and the people is now seriously endangered.

In fact, Cuban backups have landed to help the regime squash the opposition. This is No Venezuelan Spring: 4500 Cuban Military on Venezuelan Soil: $10B Annual US Subsidy at Stake – and the 4,500 does not include the 60,000 or so personnel imported from Cuba as “doctors”, etc.

Leopoldo López’s wife tweeted for him, since he’s in prison,

Maduro, stop the lies and fantasies. I do not negotiate, nor will I negotiate, with dictators. I presented myself on my own terms.

Maduro deja la mentira y la fantasia. Yo no negocio ni negociare con dictaduras. Di la cara en mis propios terminos /LT

— Leopoldo López (@leopoldolopez) February 20, 2014

 

Venezuela’s Revolution Will Be Tweeted

Twitter has become especially valuable as a platform for political expression as Maduro has cracked down on independent and opposition news outlets (a paper shortage in the country hasn’t helped matters). Last week, the Venezuelan president blocked access to NTN24, a Colombia-based news channel, after it broadcast live coverage of the country’s violent protests (as the pseudonymous Venezuelan blogger Daniel Duquenal puts it, all “airborne media” is censored in the country). Now, the government is moving to squash social media, even as it harnesses the same platforms to advance its own agenda. Twitter recently reported that Venezuelan authorities had blocked users’ access to images from demonstrations, and protesters claim that police are confiscating their cell phones.

As López told Venezuelans in a video he recorded in the event of his arrest, “I invite you to become your own media outlet.”

After CNN reporter Karl Penhaul and his crew were assaulted by police in Caracas for doing their job, Chavez’ Heir Threatens to Expel CNN From Venezuela “if it does not “rectify” its coverage of political turmoil in the Latin American country.”

There’s the nature of the story itself: Alek Boyd (whose own blog, Infodio, has been censored since 16 Jan 2014) writes,

Events in Venezuela are happening at a speed that makes impossible for traditional media to keep tabs. Protests are not taking place only in Caracas, the entire country is up against chavismo. Opposition leaders have called for a demonstration tomorrow, which is likely to turn into hundreds of thousands of people across the country taking to the streets to support students protests and to decry the deaths, injured, torture and the horrible economic situation.

Nice Try, Venezuela, But Your Censorship Backfired

Students are getting more organized. While Protests Continue, Government Creates Third fx Market, effectively devaluing the currency again, and clamps down: Shock Troops Target Protesters

The protesters will have to persevere – the question remains, will the military take their side? There are some signs it may.

Yes, The left has a blind spot on Venezuela. When will it acknowledge that Chavez’s socialist dream has turned into a nightmare?.

So Dude, what’s your excuse?

UPDATE:
Linked to by Maggie’s Notebook. Thank you!

Journalists under fire covering protests in Venezuela

Venezuela orders troops into border city amid fierce clashes
Objects placed by opposition protesters block a road in the Altamira neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela
Paratroopers sent into San Cristobal in the border state of Tachira and an internet blackout imposed, as residents say they are living in a ‘war zone’

Share

Filed Under: Communism, Cuba, news, Venezuela Tagged With: #LaSalida, Fausta's blog, FCC, Ukraine

December 12, 2013 By Fausta

This week at Da Tech Guy Blog

my latest article, Venezuela vs Ukraine: Why we won’t see the protests in Caracas

Share

Filed Under: Venezuela Tagged With: Da Tech Guy, Fausta's blog, Ukraine

March 26, 2011 By Fausta

Gaddafi ain’t going nowhere but his nurse is pregnant

Looks like Gaddafi’s not leaving…for now.

For starters, as Andy McCarthy points out,

We understand neither whom we are fighting for nor the consequences of invading a Muslim country. To apprehend these things requires a rudimentary grasp of sharia. You don’t need a doctorate in Islamic jurisprudence. As I contend in The Grand Jihad, the basics will more than suffice. The problem is that, since the World Trade Center was first bombed in 1993, the government has been telling us that Islam has nothing to do with the jihadist campaign against us, so we have studiously avoided informing ourselves about Islam and its law.
It has come to light in just the last few days that commanders of the “rebels” (you know, those secular freedom fighters who are supposedly better for us than Qaddafi) include one Abdul-Hakim al-Hasadi. And, I’ll be darned, it turns out that Hasadi is a jihadist who fought the United States in Afghanistan, and was detained for years until our forces turned him over to Libya. That was during the Bush years, when, through democracy-project alchemy, Qaddafi was transformed into a valuable U.S. ally against terrorism. Our new friend Qaddafi promptly . . . released him in 2008, in a deal designed to appease his Islamist opposition — a common practice in the Middle East, where, because Islam dominates life, even dictators must alternately court and repress jihadists in order to hang on.

Then there’s the fact that Obama’s ruled out killing him,
Barack Obama to lawmakers: We won’t kill Qadhafi, but we’ll sue him instead,

The president told lawmakers that NATO has begun proceedings against Qadhafi at the international court at The Hague, according to a GOP aide briefed on the call. He also said that the U.S. mission has always been humanitarian — to stop Qadhafi from slaughtering his own people — the aide said.

Do they expect Muammar to just step down?

And now for a deja vu moment: Remember when Reagan bombed Libya and Gaddafi posed with a dead baby, claiming Reagan had killed his daughter? There may be more of that coming up soon,

Gaddafi/Qadhafi’s nurse is saying she wants to go to Papa,

Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s Ukrainian nurse has reportedly said she believes he will put down the uprising in Libya and that she will be back by his side in a matter of weeks.

Noticias 24 was saying today that Papa knocked her up and she wants to be by his side when the baby’s born.

That, and she wants her $3,500/month salary back.

Apparently the first to report the baby news was Ukrainian daily Komsomolskaya Pravda v Ukraine, which says 38-year old Galina Kolotnitska is not saying who the father is, but she is pregnant and wants to return to Libya.

Wouldn’t surprise me if she does.

UPDATE,
Mr Bingley says, Sing it!

25694
Share

Filed Under: Barack Obama, Libya Tagged With: Fausta's blog, Galina Kolotnitska, Muammar el-Qaddafi, Muammar Gaddafi, Muammar Qaddafi, Ukraine

January 7, 2009 By Fausta

Putin: Mr Freeze

Via RWN, The day the sea froze: Temperature plunges to MINUS 12C and forecasters say it won’t warm up until Sunday

Temperatures plunged so low today that the sea actually began to freeze as Arctic conditions continued to grip the UK.

In the exclusive enclave of Sandbanks in Poole, Dorset the surf had frozen solid as the waves lapping the shore began to frost over.

A half-mile stretch along the shoreline reaching about 20 yards out to sea is covered in ice on the expensive peninsula.

In southern England, normally immune to the worst of the cold weather in winter, temperatures fell as low as -12C – and the chill will go on for several days according to forecasters.

Benson in Oxfordshire and Chesham in Bucks were both close to -12C and the UK’s coldest areas, with other large parts of the south also recording -9C and -10C.

My iPod newsfeed from Le Monde has a slide show of “Europe under the snow”, saying “the heart of Europe is under a cold wave, from Berlin to Belgrade”, “Switzerland announced record lows of – 26c”, and northern Italy is under a blanket of snow.

Here’s a guy cross-country skiing at the port of Marseille:

Just in time, Putin steps in and halts natural gas to Europe: Exports of Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine appear to have completely stopped amid a dispute over gas supplies between the two countries.

Heating systems shut down in some parts of central Europe, as outdoor temperatures plunged to -10C or lower.

The EU depends on Russia for about a quarter of its total gas supplies, some 80% of which is pumped through Ukraine.

The list of countries that have reported a total halt of Russian supplies via Ukraine includes Romania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Macedonia, Serbia, and Austria.

The Financial Times writes about the battle of oligarchs while Europe freezes.

Via the Baron, Cold war! EU gives Russia 24 hours to switch pipeline back on after 12 countries left without power

Russia today shut off all gas supplies to Europe through Ukraine, leaving 12 countries without fuel in freezing winter conditions.

As millions of people struggled to cope in sub-zero temperatures, the European Union said the continent had effectively been ‘taken hostage’ by a trade dispute.

The Commission subsequently issued an ultimatum giving Russia and Ukraine a 24-hour deadline to resolve the situation or face an intervention.

What are they going to do? Invade? Send a strongly-worded letter?

Moscow pulled the plug on three major pipelines after a pricing dispute with Ukraine.

Supplies have dwindled throughout this week and today Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic confirmed their pipelines were empty.

Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Turkey are already out of gas.

Italy suffered a 90 per cent plunge, France was down 70 per cent and Germany was affected for the first time.

Britain, however, is unlikely to run out of gas as only two per cent of supplies come from Russia which can be replaced from other sources if necessary.
…
Britain only has capacity to store enough gas for 16 days, France has enough for 88 days and Germany 77.
…
Europe receives about 20 per cent of its gas from Russia, via the Ukraine pipelines.

Maybe, maybe it’s time we start thinking here in the USA what we need to do to reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources. We have plenty of natural gas, shale, and coal, while we’re the only country in the world that prevents itself from exploring and exploiting our own energy sources.

UPDATE
Fountains frozed

Digg!

Share on Facebook

Share

Filed Under: energy, England, EU, oil, Russia, UK, Vladimir Putin Tagged With: Fausta's blog, natural gas, Ukraine

Tweets by @Fausta
retirees_raise-2015_300x250

Pages

  • About
  • Email

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Previous Posts

  • Mrs. Maisel goes full Alinsky on Mrs. Schlafly
  • Venezuela: Did the Minister of Defense back out at the last minute?
  • You need to unfriend me
  • Go ahead and Kiss the Girl, if you dare
  • Ashamed

Recent Comments

  • John on Mrs. Maisel goes full Alinsky on Mrs. Schlafly
  • Today’s hot topics: Democrats’ collusion shift, tax-return rift, Venezuela drift, and more! – PoliticalWitchDoctor.com on Venezuela: Did the Minister of Defense back out at the last minute?
  • Today’s hot topics: Democrats’ collusion shift, tax-return rift, Venezuela drift, and more! - AmericanTruthToday on Venezuela: Did the Minister of Defense back out at the last minute?
  • Did Venezuela’s Minister of Defense Back Out At The Last Minute? on Venezuela: Did the Minister of Defense back out at the last minute?
  • Roseanne Not Back, Khan not Invited, Operaman’s back, Jobs back, Fausta’s back (but not here yet) Thoughts under the fedora – Da Tech Guy Blog on Venezuela: Did the Minister of Defense back out at the last minute?

Archives

  • 2019
    • December 2019
    • May 2019
    • January 2019
  • 2018
    • December 2018
    • October 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
  • 2017
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • July 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017
    • March 2017
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
  • 2016
    • December 2016
    • November 2016
    • October 2016
    • September 2016
    • August 2016
    • July 2016
    • June 2016
    • May 2016
    • April 2016
    • March 2016
    • February 2016
    • January 2016
  • 2015
    • December 2015
    • November 2015
    • October 2015
    • September 2015
    • August 2015
    • July 2015
    • June 2015
    • May 2015
    • April 2015
    • March 2015
    • February 2015
    • January 2015
  • 2014
    • December 2014
    • November 2014
    • October 2014
    • September 2014
    • August 2014
    • July 2014
    • June 2014
    • May 2014
    • April 2014
    • March 2014
    • February 2014
    • January 2014
  • 2013
    • December 2013
    • November 2013
    • October 2013
    • September 2013
    • August 2013
    • July 2013
    • June 2013
    • May 2013
    • April 2013
    • March 2013
    • February 2013
    • January 2013
  • 2012
    • December 2012
    • November 2012
    • October 2012
    • September 2012
    • August 2012
    • July 2012
    • June 2012
    • May 2012
    • April 2012
    • March 2012
    • February 2012
    • January 2012
  • 2011
    • December 2011
    • November 2011
    • October 2011
    • September 2011
    • August 2011
    • July 2011
    • June 2011
    • May 2011
    • April 2011
    • March 2011
    • February 2011
    • January 2011
  • 2010
    • December 2010
    • November 2010
    • October 2010
    • September 2010
    • August 2010
    • July 2010
    • June 2010
    • May 2010
    • April 2010
    • March 2010
    • February 2010
    • January 2010
  • 2009
    • December 2009
    • November 2009
    • October 2009
    • September 2009
    • August 2009
    • July 2009
    • June 2009
    • May 2009
    • April 2009
    • March 2009
    • February 2009
    • January 2009
  • 2008
    • December 2008
    • November 2008
    • October 2008
    • September 2008
    • August 2008
    • July 2008
    • June 2008
    • May 2008
    • April 2008
    • March 2008
    • February 2008
    • January 2008
  • 2007
    • December 2007
    • November 2007
    • October 2007
    • September 2007
    • August 2007
    • July 2007
    • June 2007
    • May 2007
    • April 2007
    • March 2007
    • February 2007
    • January 2007
  • 2006
    • December 2006
    • November 2006
    • October 2006
    • September 2006
    • August 2006
    • July 2006
    • June 2006
    • May 2006
    • April 2006
    • March 2006
    • February 2006
    • January 2006
  • 2005
    • December 2005
    • November 2005
    • October 2005
    • September 2005
    • August 2005
    • July 2005
    • June 2005
    • May 2005
    • April 2005
    • March 2005
    • February 2005
    • January 2005
  • 2004
    • December 2004
    • November 2004
    • October 2004
    • September 2004
    • August 2004
    • July 2004
    • June 2004
    • May 2004
    • April 2004
    • March 2004
Content Copyright Fausta's Blog

Site Developed and Managed by 300m.com