Hugo Chavez // Current TV

Breast Surgery in Revolutionary Venezuela

The documentary focuses on the fact that breast enlargements are more common in... more

Rowsell
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2 years ago
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1 comment

Meme Watch: Chav Wolf, an introduction to a subculture

We've previously discussed how memes can express dissent in international... more

joshuaheller
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2 years ago
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Auto-Tune the News #9: Nobel. health care. United Nations.

There's a new AUTO-TUNE the NEWS and it stars Hugo! I'd say this is the... more

joshuaheller
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2 years ago
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Kanye goes to Venezuela

I use tumblr, to keep tapped into the pulse of the world's meme-o-sphere. I follow a lot of people in New York and Los Angeles. Somehow I follow lot's of Venezuelans. This is how I discovered the unrest in the online community over crackdowns on media by Hugo Chavez. It wasn't that funny so I forwarded that info on to Current's news man, Andrew Fitzgerald, who wrote a blog post about it.

Luckily this latest picture from the Venezuelan meme factory is funny.

This picture depicts the president of Venezuela being told to shut up by everyone's favorite interrupter-of-the-moment, Kanye West. This picture would evoke a laugh from any anti-Chavista. (I imagine Bill O'Reilly would love this picture, hates Hugo Chavez, and loves telling people to shut up.) But to the nuanced Latin meme-ster, this picture is a mashup of ideas.

It references an event from November 2007. At the Ibero-American summit, Hugo Chavez interrupted José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, the Spanish prime minister. Then Juan Carlos, King of Spain, leaned forward, turned towards Chávez, and said "¿Por qué no te callas?"
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This outburst was well received in sectors of Ibero-America, especially by those who feel that Chavismo is too radical. This video quickly became viral, and prompted several notable versions. (My favorite one is the Reggaeton style.) The phrase "¿Por qué no te callas?" was emblazoned on t-shirts, and even became a popular ringtone.

The above picture connects this meme to the meme-of-the-week. In a sort of cosmic revenge, the new interrupter, is interrupting the old interrupter.

This anti-Chavez imagery speaks to something the socio-political position that these Venezuelan tumblrs hold. In a nation like Venezuela there is vast disparity between the rich and the poor. Chavez's objective to redistribute wealth is something that affluent people are not excited about. (Along with general distaste for Chavez's pushes for lifelong autocracy.)

I think we (the meme-o-sphere) see so much opposition to Hugo Chavez, because many of his supporters often don't have access to the internet. You probably don't have time for funny internet videos, when you live in the slums of Caracas.

I think though that whatever your political proclivity you can agree that this video of Chavez dissing Fox News, is great Television.I use tumblr, to keep tapped into the pulse of the world's meme-o-sphere. I... more

joshuaheller
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2 years ago
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Chavez: Prepare for war

Amid all the news out there this Monday morning (health care bills, awakened Ft. Hood... more

afitzgerald
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2 years ago
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'Radio muere en Venezuela'

Venezuela shuts down another couple of anti-Chavez media outlets - the slow creep of restricting media freedom continues.

From The Guardian (UK): "The move followed last week's introduction of a draft law to jail journalists and broadcasters who 'harm the interests of the state', 'cause panic' or 'disturb social peace'. Critics denounced the moves as a recipe for censorship. 'What we are witnessing is the most comprehensive assault on free speech in Venezuela since Chávez came to power,' said Jose Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch."

Josh Heller of Current Comedy (who describes his interests as being 'Comedy, Viral videos, and Latin American politics') was watching closely when it was reported last week that licenses of some radio stations were revoked by the government. He contacted a local journalist, Jose Fernando Pepe, to shed a little light on how this was being perceived in Caracas.

Pepe wrote us: "Right now, most TV and radio stations fear for their concession to broadcast. The GRAND majority of these stations just doesn’t touch the subject. If they do, they try to make it reeeeeeaaaaaally objective, so it doesn’t show any leaning. At the end of the day, these people don’t want to lose their concession so they censor themselves to be at peace with everybody."

Radio is pretty popular in Venezuela, according to Pepe, "..they have really large audiences. In Caracas, people spend few hours a day stuck in traffic, so they listen to radio. In the poorest areas of the country, radio is all they have."

When the license revoking announcement came out, the Venezuelan blogosphere and Twitter erupted with the rallying cry of #freemediave and claiming that "Radio Muere En Venezuela" (Radio dies in Venezuela). This clever little image was making the rounds on Tumblr.

However as we were trying to contact people through Twitter we found that many accounts were set to private. Pepe explained: "People here are paranoid of who’s reading, who’s listening and who’s watching. It is well known that government illegally record private phone calls, view private email accounts, sneak into private chats… well, now you get where the paranoia comes from. So, people block their accounts to avoid any “surprise” prosecution for some weird, made-up accusation."

So what's next for Venezuela? Chavez doesn't seem to be going anywhere, but opposition media does. Chavez continues to be able to pass legislation harassing media outlets that disagree with him - and he reportedly has his sights on Globovision, the last remaining big opposition television station. What happens as sources of information become more limited? Will we see an explosion of alternative media sources like The Caracas Chronicles?

If you live down in Venezuela, or have some light to shed on this issue - let us know.Venezuela shuts down another couple of anti-Chavez media outlets - the slow creep of... more

afitzgerald
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2 years ago
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VIDEO: Maria Conchita Alonso’s “Open Letter to Sean Penn”…Rips His Love For Dictator Hugo Chavez

Maria Conchita Alonso writes open letter to Sean Penn, criticizes his support for Hugo... more

ctpatriot1970
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2 years ago
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1 comment

Chavez critic arrested in Venezuela

"The president of a Venezuelan TV station that has been critical of leftist... more

JeremyTG77
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2 years ago
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Chavez Wants To Be Like China

Chavez wants stricter control over his countries internet usage. shocking. another... more

diode
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2 years ago
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Venezuela’s Chavez calls for internet controls

chavez and chomsky on internet privacy

Marc_Okon
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2 years ago
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Spanish judge accuses Venezuelan government of assassination plot

MADRID—Spain and Venezuela headed toward a potential diplomatic face-off after a... more

Ricky84
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2 years ago
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7 comments

Chavez Turns to Cubans for Help With Energy Crisis

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- President Hugo Chavez has turned to his friends in Cuba for help in tackling Venezuela's energy crisis, drawing criticism for seeking advice from the communist-led island that has struggled with its own electricity woes.

Chavez gave few details on Wednesday about what is expected of Cuba, but insisted that ''it's valuable experience that's serving us well.'' He said that he spoke for hours Tuesday with Cuban Vice President Ramiro Valdes after his arrival in Venezuela to lead the consulting team.

The decision to seek help from Cuba bewildered Venezuelans coping with the nation's power shortage. ''It's laughable that he's looking for help from Cuba,'' said Aixa Lopez, director of the Committee for People Affected by Power Outages, which monitors the extent of current energy shortages and rationing in Venezuela.

Chavez blames a drought for bringing the country's hydroelectric reservoirs to their lowest levels in decades, prompting a wave of planned and unplanned blackouts across the country. Critics acknowledge the lack of rainfall, but blame Chavez's government for failing to upgrade power generation capacity even as the oil-rich country's consumption has soared.

Cuba itself has suffered a series of electricity crises since the collapse of the Soviet Union removed a major source of oil and financing. It now gets much of its imported oil from Venezuela. The island's communist government has had some success against once-routine blackouts by upgrading generating capacity and imposing sometimes draconian energy-saving measures.

Even so, Cuban officials last summer were forced to idle some state factories while turning off the lights and air conditioners in many government office buildings, banks, retail stores and other businesses. Officials have hinted at even more strict conservation methods will be imposed throughout 2010.

Chavez has experimented with similar measures, ordering some public institutions to close at 1 p.m. and partially shutting down state-run steel and aluminum plants. Officials also are installing tens of thousands of energy-saving light bulbs imported from Cuba.

Cuba is already aiding Venezuela in a cloud-seeding effort the government hopes will ease the drought.

Valdes, who fought alongside Fidel and Raul Castro to topple dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959, is a former interior minister and current minister of communications. For more than a decade, he ran Cuba's Electronic Group, overseeing technology projects and skirting the U.S. trade embargo by importing tons of equipment into Cuba through third-party nations.

Lopez said the electricity crisis should be resolved by Venezuelans and not Cuba's vice president. ''I don't think that Mr. Valdez is the most suitable for the job because of what's he's done in Cuba is impose rationing,'' he said ''He's not en expert in investment, maintenance and production.''

Chavez downplayed the criticism as something he expects from his opponents, saying: ''Whenever Cubans come here, the counter-revolutionary fury immediately explodes.''CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- President Hugo Chavez has turned to his friends in Cuba for... more

UrbanGypsy
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2 years ago
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AP: Chavez's 'Bolivarian Revolution' Badly Weakened

CARACAS, Venezuela — A new slogan appearing on the T-shirts and banners of anti-government protesters in Venezuela sums up a growing sentiment about President Hugo Chavez after 11 years in power: "You struck out." The list of strikes against Chavez keeps growing: Latin America's worst inflation, increased blackouts, runaway violent crime and a scandal involving bankers close to his government.

The socialist-inspired governing model that Chavez calls his Bolivarian Revolution – named after 18th-century independence leader Simon Bolivar – is weakened and hobbling. And though Chavez retains close ties with a bloc of leftist governments from Bolivia to Nicaragua, many Latin Americans don't see Venezuela's oil-funded populism as viable.

Among Venezuelans, Chavez's popularity slipped below 50 percent in polls late last year. The protest slogan "you struck out" recently appeared on banners held up during Venezuelan baseball games, which Chavez himself follows closely, and spread to signs and shirts during street demonstrations.

Last week, thousands gathered to denounce the government for yanking the anti-Chavez channel RCTV from cable television, and clashes involving riot police, government supporters and anti-Chavez students left two youths dead. Also last week, Chavez's vice president and defense minister, Ramon Carrizalez, resigned citing personal reasons.

State-imposed economic controls, meanwhile, have failed to contain 25 percent inflation, rapidly eroding the earnings of the poor who have been Chavez's core of political support. Chavez's devaluation of the currency this month – aimed at allowing the government finances to boost public spending – is expected to push prices even higher.

To counter that, Chavez deployed inspectors and soldiers to check, threatening to expropriate any businesses engaging in price-gouging. Some have been temporarily shut down. The government recently seized a French-controlled retail chain, Exito.

Chavez's foes say such measures will only further discourage private investment, which fell 7.6 percent last year amid the nationalization of banks, coffee producers and oil field service companies.

Critics also decry a banking scandal that broke in November in which several bankers with close government ties were arrested on charges of financial crimes.CARACAS, Venezuela — A new slogan appearing on the T-shirts and banners of... more

UrbanGypsy
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2 years ago
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20 comments

Cuba: The New Haiti?

Much has been written about Haiti being a failed state in the wake of its devastating... more

UrbanGypsy
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2 years ago
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1 comment

USGS claims Venezuela sits on Earth’s largest oil reserves

Venezuela may have just become the center of an energy-starved world. The Orinoco... more

bansheewail
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2 years ago
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67 comments

Chavez and Russia: U.S. Used HAARP “Earthquake Weapon” On Haiti…As Described By Jesse Ventura’s Conspiracy Theory…Full VIDEO…

Earlier this week, a Spanish newspaper quoted Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez as saying... more

ctpatriot1970
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2 years ago
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Anti-Chávez channel is taken down

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- A cable television channel critical of President Hugo... more

current89
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2 years ago
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25 comments

Haiti Has Larger Oil Reserves Than Venezuela Say Scientists (An Olympic Pool Compared to a glass of water)

Haiti Has Larger Oil Reserves Than Venezuela Say Scientists (An Olympic Pool Compared to a Glass of Water)
I have heard rumors that Haiti has vast oil reserves -- and that the globalists want these reserves. However, the globalists cannot get the reserves, because the oil belongs to the Haitian people. So the globalists do not allow the Haitians to exploit the oil reserves, because it would allow the Haitian people to prosper. It would allow the Haitians to build proper infrastructure, so that 7.0 earthquakes do not have such a devastating effect.

The article below is translated from French (read the original here) using Google, so it may not be 100% translated and of course verify whether these scientists are to be believed. Nevertheless, as I stated in my previous article Haiti Has Huge Resources of Gold and Iridium Says Former Dominican Petroleum Refinery President Leopoldo Espaillat Nanita, it is interesting that Bill Clinton and George Soros have been recently talking about rebuilding Haiti's infrastructure and starting business ventures in the country. Perhaps Clinton, Soros and the many other globalists have confirmed that these oil, gold, uranium, zyconium and iridium deposits DO exist in Haiti and they want to gain control at the expense of the Haitian people.

Haiti is full of oil say Daniel and Ginette Mathurin

Scientists Daniel and Ginette Mathurin indicate that under Haitian soil is rich in oil and fuel fossible which were collected by Haitian and foreign experts. "We have identified 20 sites Oil, launches Daniel Mathurin stating that 5 of them are considered very important by practitioners and policies.

The Central Plateau, including the region of Thomond, the plain of the cul-de-sac and the bay of Port-au-Prince are filled with oil, he said, adding that Haiti's oil reserves are larger than those of Venezuela. An Olympic pool compared to a glass of water that is the comparison to show the importance of oil Haitian compared to those of Venezuela, "he explains.

Venezuela is one of the world's largest producers of oil.

Daniel Mathurin reveals that investigations of several previous governments have allowed to verify the existence of these large deposits of oil. It reminds a document of Lavalas party to power in 2004, had specified the number of sites in Haiti hydrocarbons.

According to Daniel et Ginette Mathurin, the lake region, with cities like Thomazeau and Cornillon, contains large deposits of oil.

Asked about the non-exploitation of these sites, Ginette Mathurin said that these deposits are declared strategic reserves of the United States of America. While stating his incomprehension of such a situation, it reminds that the Caribbean is considered the backyard of the United States.

But Daniel and Ginette Mathurin indicate that the U.S. government in 2005 authorized the use of strategic reserves of the United States. This door must be used by the Haitian political négiciations to launch with U.S. companies with a view to exploiting these deposits adds Daniel Mathurin

Experts argue that the government acted Jean Claude Duvalier had verified the existence of a major oilfield in the bay of Port-au-Prince shortly before its fall.

Moreover, Daniel et Ginette Mathurin show that uranium 238 and 235 and the deposit zyconium exist in several regions including in Jacmel. Uranium is used in nuclear reactors to produce electrical energy.Haiti Has Larger Oil Reserves Than Venezuela Say Scientists (An Olympic Pool Compared... more

WeAreChangeKy
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2 years ago
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HUGO CHAVES ACCUSES U.S. OF USING WEAPON TO CAUSE HAITI QUAKE

CLICK LINK FOR MORE INFO http://getwititmagazine.com/2010/01/21/2099/

GetWitIt
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2 years ago
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Hugo Chavez Says U.S. Caused Haiti Earthquake by Testing a "Tectonic Weapon"

dudefromtherock
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2 years ago
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