World News
Hugo Chavez’ New Youth Movement Reminder of Hitler Youth, Cultural Revolution
Apr 16th
The recently released film clips of Venezuelan minors dressed in uniforms pledging their allegiance to the cause of president Hugo Chavez’ Bolivarian Revolution sent chills around the world. For some it conjured images of the Hitler Youth, or Mao’s Cultural Revolution, or perhaps even the Khmer Rouge. A favorite trick of dictators throughout history is to use young, malleable minds to do their bidding.
Chavez calls his new young recruits a communications guerilla whose goal is to propagate the ideals of his socialist Bolivarian Revolution and win the media war against its enemies . They will express the “message of the people” by painting patriotic graffiti and murals, distributing flyers , and participating in Internet social networks. Nationally, Chavez has taken total control over television, radio and print media, and has expressed a desire to censure the Internet as well. Perhaps these youngsters are his secret Internet weapon.
The youth squad has, among its missions, the duty to propagate the truth about the failed coup against Chavez in 2002, but not of Chavez’ own failed coup against the Venezuelan government of Carlos Andres Perez ten years earlier. Some parents in Venezuela are deeply troubled by the communications guerilla and have publicly voiced their disapproval, calling it a constitutional violation as well as an aberration of the educational process.
Venezuelan school curriculums have already been revised to fit the Chavista dogma, thus Chavez had already begun using minors to secure the future of his ideology. Will Venezuelan parents come to fear their own children, as happened under so many authoritarian regimes in the past? Or, is that already happening?
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Russia’s Dalliances with Venezuela Set Dangerous Precedent
Apr 9th
About the same time US president Barack Obama was boasting about the new nuclear arms reduction deal he negotiated with Russia, Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin was busy visiting Caracas, negotiating a series of agreements that will reshape the geopolitical landscape in the Americas. Upon his return to Moscow, Putin announced that he and Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez had an agreement for the sale of over five billion dollars in armament to the South American country. This exceeds the 4.4 billion dollars in Russian military hardware Venezuela has acquired since 2005. The new arms deal provides Venezuela with a credit line in excess of two billion dollars.
Photo by Nikita Golovanov
The rapid arms build-up started by the leftist leader has many foreign observers preoccupied, as Venezuela isn’t in any danger of being aggressed by any other country, despite Chavez’ wild claims of a Colombian-American conspiracy. Acquiring such an arsenal could be a sign that Chavez plans to use it for offensive purposes at some future date, most probably against neighboring Colombia, a country for which Venezuela as well as allies Ecuador and Nicaragua had secretly drafted an invasion plan in the recent past. Such a scenario is made more plausible by the current perception that Colombia’s ally, the United States, has lost interest in the region under president Obama, and would shy away from intervening militarily in any conflict. It’s conceivable that Venezuela, the world’s fifth largest oil exporter, may seek to gain a direct access to the Pacific Ocean and the lucrative Chinese market, something that would become a reality if it controlled Colombia.
Venezuela’s new arms purchase include submarines, tanks, combat helicopters, troop transport aircraft, and long range mobile artillery. Another 30 bilateral accords were signed during the Putin-Chavez meeting, including one that paves the way for Russian firms to build oil refineries in Venezuela, as well as develop the enormous Hunin-6 oil field. Acquiring its own refining facilities is of particular strategic significance for Venezuela, as this will end its dependence on American refineries. Another deal struck during the meeting was one with far more reaching consequences in terms of future US-Venezuela policy: Russian cooperation to build Venezuela’s first nuclear power plant. Could “Iran West” be far off?
Bolivian president Evo Morales, a staunch Chavez supporter, was also present at the summit and sealed an agreement that will allow Moscow to build an air base in Bolivia, described as a refueling stop for Russian military aircraft. Morales also signed deals for co-development of gas fields in his country. Putin has long been seeking to restore the global clout Russia enjoyed as the USSR, as well as undermining American global influence. In Chavez and his allies, Putin has found willing partners and has handed the United States a serious political blow in its own hemisphere. For Chavez, the protection afforded by a Russian alliance will give him more maneuvering room in his own plans for regional dominance. Never shying away from an opportunity to peddle Russian influence, Putin is also reaching out to Venezuela’s enemy and the US’ most important South American ally, Colombia, offering aid against terrorism and perhaps other incentives, which he’ll discuss with outgoing president Alvaro Uribe during his upcoming visit to Moscow. Could Colombia pact something with Russia as insurance against Venezuela, perhaps also motivated by Washington’s waning interest in its key ally since George W Bush left? Lest we forget, Colombians are still waiting for passage of the long promised free trade agreement, and Plan Colombian, Washington’s anti-drug war funding, saw cuts last year.
Washington’s response to recent events has been muted. If it can’t see beyond its own domestic problems, the US could well be witnessing the beginning of a new Cold War, born right in its own backyard!
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Why Doesn’t The World Condemn Hugo Chavez?
Mar 24th
Venezuela’s president Hugo Chavez seems to have borrowed a page from the most infamous tyrants in history. Domestically he’s emasculated any media critical of him, modified the constitution to allow himself to be perpetually reelected, and effectively neutralized any political opposition, not to mention expropriated and nationalized both foreign and locally owned businesses.
Illustration courtesy of Jason Smith
Internationally, Chavez has made much publicized alliances with other pariah states such as Iran, Syria, North Korea and Libya, and more importantly, with Russia. He’s maintained an extremely close relationship with Cuba, installing thousands of Fidel Castro’s people in his own government, and maintained narrow ties with Manuel Ortega, Nicaragua’s own leftist ruler. Chavez has exported his leftist Bolivarian Revolution to Bolivia, where president Evo Morales seems to echo his every word. Honduras’ former president, Manuel Zelaya, was in the process of implementing Chavista reforms, when he was ousted last year. Ecuador, formerly Chavez’ strongest ally, has suddenly turned its back on him. Despite these reversals, it’s clear that Chavez doesn’t intend to keep his ambitions to his own yard, and no doubt will continue to seek to expand his sphere of influence on a worldwide scale.
Much of his efforts seem aimed at irritating the United States, the “imperialists” whom he continuously lambastes publicly. At the same time, he’s engaged in a rapid build-up of his military, triggering a regional arms race. Additionally, he’s relentlessly harassed and threatened neighboring Colombia, a strong US ally, covertly supporting armed rebel groups there. This is only a superficial sketch of a dictator dedicated to generating controversy, and whose mad rhetoric should be a source of great alarm. Mysteriously, the world’s leaders have mostly remained silent, refusing to criticize his affronts Latin America has been the most docile, Argentina offering vocal support, while Chile and Brazil have occasionally sided with Venezuela in international disputes. Why is nobody calling the teapot black?
It’s easy to criticize and isolate a despot such as Robert Mugabe, since Zimbabwe is an impoverished country with little direct foreign investment. There’s much more to lose if you aggravate the leader of the most oil rich nation in South America. Get Chavez angry, and he could seize your Venezuelan assets, stop importing your goods, or cut off your oil supply. He’s already demonstrated how far he can go with Colombia, totally dismantling bilateral trade in the shortest time span, seizing assets, and even convincing Ecuador to do the same for a while.
The US imports about 15 percent of its petroleum requirements from Venezuela,, an amount that could not easily be replaced. If Washington put Venezuela on its list of terrorist sponsoring states, as proposed by a bill now before congress, all trade with that country would become illegal. That’s not likely to happen., even though Venezuela deserves more than any other state to be put on that list. Another country that has strong reasons to cut off ties and condemn Venezuela is Spain, especially after it was verified that Chavez had aided and abetted the ETA, the separatist Basque rebel group. If Spain’s response has been rather timid, even apologetic at times, it can be attributed to its dependence on Venezuelan oil as well as fear for its large investments in that country. Some countries have benefited from Chavez’ largesse, receiving oil contracts at well below market cost, monetary aid or cheap financing amounting to several billion dollars just in Latin America and the Caribbean. Such gifts buy love!
Chavez’ immunity is rooted in the availability of petrodollars and the world’s dependency on oil. World leaders aren’t seeing beyond their economic interests and in so doing are allowing Chavez to buy time and thus increase his power base. If all the warning signs continue to be ignored, these same politicians may find their reputations sullied by what will ensue, which could either be an ugly regional armed conflict or something akin to a new cold war. But then again, history does tend to repeat itself, doesn’t it?
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Hugo Chavez Has Plans to Invade Colombia
Mar 22nd
Hugo Chavez, president and dictator of Venezuela, claims to be the reincarnation of Simon Bolivar, the liberator of a large swath of South America in the 19th century. His pseudo-socialist Bolivarian revolution aims to restore the glory of the Gran Colombia, a republic which briefly encompassed present day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama as well as parts of other countries. Chavez has repeatedly said that Venezuela and Colombia are one country.
Illustration courtesy of Gabriella Fabbri
Soon came the revelation that Chavez and his accomplices, Ecuador’s president Rafael Correa and Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega, had concocted a plan to invade Colombia from three sides. Ecuador would enter from the south, Nicaragua via the Caribbean, and Venezuela from the east. The plan, code-named Guaicaipuro, aimed to quickly encircle Bogota, Colombia’s capital, and topple president Alvaro Uribe’s government. FARC, the main Colombian rebel group was also enlisted for the attack, and would likely have participated in a new regional government. It’s been demonstrated beyond any doubt that Venezuela and Ecuador actively supported the FARC, supplying them with arms and important sums of money, as well as guaranteeing them safe passage through their territories.
Guaicaipuro is no longer a viable invasion plan since one of its key participants, Ecuador, has mysteriously done an about face and dropped its hostile policy towards Colombia and is no longer echoing Chavez’ demented rhetoric. I say “mysteriously” but the probable scenario is that president Correa was persuaded to change course by the threat that a mountain of evidence implicating him with the FARC, and possibly other scandals, would be publicized if he didn’t change course. A lot of the evidence in question could have come from the many computers found in FARC encampments captured by Colombian armed forces (with covert US assistance), including one inside Ecuador.
That one plan is dead doesn’t mean that there isn’t another either already hatched or on the drawing board. Chavez has been making major purchases to refurbish his military, using the country’s abundant petrodollars, and has consistently sought to provoke an incident along Venezuela’s border with Colombia. At one point, he even announced that his country was preparing for war with its neighbor. Chavez poses a grave danger to regional stability and particularly to Colombia, and whether his grip on Venezuela strengthens or weakens, the threat remains very real. It’s very plausible to envision Chavez using his favorite scapegoat, Colombia, to distract public attention from the disastrous policies at home. Inventing a Colombian-American attack against Venezuelan territory sounds ludicrous, but history is full of fabricated wars, and history does tend to repeat itself! Add to that the very eccentric nature of Chavez, the man who told the world he admires Idi Amin Dada, the dictator who terrorized Uganda for 8 years, and Carlos the Jackal, the 1970′s international terrorist, and has made alliances with rogue state Iran as well as Russia.
As the United States’ most important ally in South America, Colombia feels more secure in the shadow of the world’s largest military, as its own forces are woefully unprepared for a full scale armed conflict. One of the most dissuasive tactics used by Colombia against its belligerent neighbor has been the recent treaty with the USA, authorizing them to use seven military bases deep inside its territory. Recently, a leak revealed the treaty as a subterfuge which Colombia demanded from Washington in order to create the illusion of a tight military association. The reality is that should Venezuela do the unthinkable and invade Colombian soil, it is by no means certain that US troops would intervene directly. The US is busy with two costly and unpopular conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as wrestling with the aftermath of the worst recession in 60 years, thus starting another war would probably not win many votes. This doesn’t preclude a “remote control” intervention via the air and sea, a military policy that was used effectively during the Clinton administration.
Hugo Chavez isn’t going away and he’s ready to destroy his country and the entire region as well before ceding any power. US congress voting to place Venezuela on the list of states sponsoring terrorism was a necessary and correct move, but it won’t do much to change history: the US may eventually have no choice but to launch a full scale war in its backyard if this strongman isn’t stopped soon. The sense we have here, within Colombia, is one of a clear and present danger.
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Is your Web Site Censured in China?
Mar 22nd
There’s still a lot of people out there who don’t realize China isn’t a democracy, perhaps confused by its booming capitalist economy that’s expected to replace Japan this year as the world’s second biggest in terms of GDP. China doesn’t have elections, has no freedom of speech and, of course, censures the Internet.
Photo courtesy of Alek von Felkerzam
Recently it backed away from requiring that all computers have its Green Dam software installed, a content control system. Perhaps the embarrassing public revelation that Green Dam contained code copied from Net Nanny, a commercial Internet filtering program, and the subsequent law suit filed by the publishers had something to do with the about face.
However, Green Dam wasn’t absolutely necessary for the Communist party to achieve its aims, it was just an additional measure to restrict what the Chinese view over the Internet, and perhaps a way to identify subversive citizens. The fact is, what you can see in China is already controlled via the Internet service providers as well as content providers who cow-tow to the party’s policy, lest they be summarily unplugged and prosecuted. Industry insiders refer to the censure system as the “Great Firewall of China“.
Go to a cybercafe in Shanghai or Beijing and try accessing YouTube or Facebook, and you’ll get “server cannot be reached”, or maybe even some Chinese web page that has nothing to do with these sites will be returned. Then try searching for “Dalai Lama” on Baidu, the country’s most popular search engine, and the results will be for web pages that condemn the exiled Tibetan leader. That’s just a tiny sample of what the Chinese government deems as inappropriate content.
Google China made headlines by announcing it would not filter search results as required, threatening to abandon China if the authorities tried to force them to comply. Very noble on Google’s part, but if you’re in China, clicking on the search result links won’t take you to the banned sites. I’m not sure if Google’s cached versions would still be accessible. Note that Hong Kong ,although administered by the Chinese government, isn’t subject to censure.
how can you find-out if a web site, perhaps your own, is on China’s restricted list? One way is to type the domain name in the form at http://www.watchmouse.com/en/ping.php which will try accessing the domain through a large number of places, including Shanghai. Here’s a few top domains I tested and what transpired through a Shanghai isp:
myspace.com – Not blocked
cia.gov - Not blocked
hrw.org (Human Rights Watch) – BLOCKED
dalailama.com – BLOCKED
wikipedia.org – Not blocked
Wikipedia page about Tiananmen Square protests: BLOCKED
falundafa.org – BLOCKED
wsj.com (Wall Street Journal) page about Uighurs’ protests: Not blocked
From these results we can conclude that while a web site itself isn’t blocked, any pages it contains which refer to subjects the Chinese government is sensitive about may be censured, although they appear to not have the means to catch all of them. If they could, there’s no doubt that they would!
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