Posted on 05/07/2005 1:54:23 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
What do Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro and Al Jazeera have in common besides contempt for the United States? A 24-hour news network starting this month or next. Mr. Chavez is using his government's oil money, funds from Mr. Castro and other sources to create "Telesur," a "counter-hegemonic" Spanish-language network modeled partly after Al Jazeera. Latin intellectuals have long wanted media alternatives to CNN and Los Angeles-based Univision. .....South American governments including Argentina's and Brazil's are helping fund Telesur. But we figure they'll yearn for CNN when they see what a strongman, a dictator and Al Qaeda's favorite channel can do to the truth.
For one, Telesur's director, Uruguayan journalist Aram Aharonian, seems more interested in thwarting the United States than in conveying the truth. He calls the United States "the enemy" and the Iraq War "genocidal." In a March interview with La Jornada, after giving nods to Messrs. Castro and Chavez, he promised a free editorial line -- with the exception that he'll broadcast "nothing against regional integration or the struggle against neoliberal globalization." That's Marxist for nothing favoring the United States. He praises Al Jazeera and welcomes the comparison. "Al Jazeera wants to show the Arabian point of view and Telesur wants to show the Latin American point of view," he told the New York Sun in March.
... the president of Telesur's board, Andres Izarra, is also Mr. Chavez's information minister. Incredibly, Mr. Aharonian says that won't affect Telesur's coverage. No wonder the critics are already calling it "Telechavez."
....So far no private investors have emerged. Only governments,... Mr. Castro's 19 percent stake says something, ...Mr. Chavez is using his country's oil money. Next week, Qatari Emir Hamad Bin-Khalifah Al Thani reportedly will meet with Venezuelan officials to talk shop and deepen ties with Al Jazeera.
(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com ...
ditto
Time was (in the 70s, in at least my little corner of S. America) that TV was only available 1) in black & white; 2) via "rabbit ear" antenna; and 3) between 4 pm - midnight.
Now we're talking Telechavez 24/7. Not exactly "progress".
Yippy , 6 hour castro speechs . Now that is must see TV ;-)
Speaking of all that oil money, my Poli-Sci Latin American Comparative studies professor believes that even with that oil money, Venezuela was heading towards bankruptcy due to all the mismanagement of the economy caused by one Hugo Chavez. Although her expertist is on Mexico, she does know a lot about Latin America in general (and, if I have to say where she stands politically, I'd say she's a true moderate. Not that phoney moderate that's really liberalism that the MSM shoves down our throats, but moderate in the sense that, she's in the middle. Doesn't believe in socialism, regulations, etc. But also not pure caplitalism either). Obviously not a fan of him. Heck, not a huge fan of Castro either.
Even with 24/7 Al Castrozeera, I wonder how long he could run Venezuela down to the ground before something happens to him? Hopefully, sooner the better.
I have said this before and I will say it again, The US's next threat will be from the south and not just Mexico.South America is a hot bed for terrorist activity.The sad thing is we will probably be on our own in this fight. Don't expect anyone else to help us, and believe me, it's gonna get worse.
Agreed, and to a point I believe they will be a proxy for the Chinese.
People just don't understand that we are in a fight for our lives right now.Too much American Idol, Wrestlemania and other entertainment keeping them blinded to the point they can not or will not see what is happening.
While Fidel is a multimillionaire, I don't believe that he needs to give Chavez money. In fact Fidel is relying on Venezuela's for the cheap oil he used to get from Russia. Also when you by Citgo gas you are supporting Mr. Chavez.
ever notice how silly with money these so-called Marxist strongmen (and women) are after they've taken over the power structure in their countries? It's like they have a vanity streak a mile wide tucked away that comes out when they have the keys to the national treasury. Call it the "gypsy in the castle" syndrome. Sure, propaganda is a powerful tool, especially in a country filled with illiterates, when the small screen gets distributed. But don't they show to the world how shallow they really are when they go so public? Do thoughtful people believe the bombastic b.s. Castro spews? Do thoughtful people buy into the Chavez vitriol? After a few years of Al Jazeera, are their twisted views really taking over the world? Exposure is their worst tactic, it seems to me...
He's still alive because some clueless bishop saw Chavez crying after he was captured and believed Chavez's lying promises that he would reform and be nicer to those outside the thug-class that supposedly elected him. The bishop then convinced Chavez's captors to let him go. The rest is a fine lesson on why you don't have mercy on a poisonous snake and why it's a good thing to separate church and state.
That's interesting, I'd never heard that before. There are still a lot of leftist clergy in Latin America. But I don't think it has anything to do with church and state - the bishop didn't have any authority, after all, but was basically just a bleeding heart liberal who whined at the right people. One of the problems was that there was no leader set up to take over right then and there, as soon as Chavez was gone, and that we withdrew our support for the attempt almost immediately, thanks to the leftist-favoring idiots at State.
Personally, I think one of the things that has led to Bush's desire to shake up State is its massive misunderstanding/mismanagement of the Latin American situation, particularly VZ. It's also one of the reasons the Dems hate Bolton so, because he tried to clean it up, even though the leftist favoring analysts were the darlings of various left-leaning Dem legislators.
That said, the sooner Chavez is not alive, the better. But he's had a number of years to get deeply entrenched now and to extend his power throughout Latin America, through the channels set up by Cuba over the decades, and I think this problem is not going to be easy to solve.
I do business in Venezuela and she is absolutely correct. If you visit some places outside of Caracas that were beautiful 12 years ago, they are now a disaster. I can say that I have seen how socialism and demogogery brings down a country.
The irony is that the Jihadists have no use for these people either.
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