chavez protests in venezuela

[BUTNAHHHH]

channel surfing and saw on news that chavez took a local tv station off the air that was very outspoken and a critic to chavez. Since then violent protests have broken out, tear gas, rubber bullets, who knows what else. College students as well as business men and women, senior citizens even out. should be exciting to see how chavez reacts....maybe some real fireworks to come

[natedogg]

All is unfolding as we expected. Chavez continues to unveil his true colors as a communist dictator and the people of Venezuela are going to suffer incredibly until he is gone.

I can't wait to hear how the american socialists defend him this time.

natedogg

[tomdemaine]

Those damn capitalists and speculators! What have they done this time?

[Bilgefisher]

hopefully he shot himself in the foot by doing so. I wouldn't be surprised to hear some of his opposition disappear as well. He is following the same tract that numereous dictators have. Appease the masses, then slowly squeeze every freedom away from them once you have the power to do so.

[AzDesertRat]

[ QUOTE ]
hopefully he shot himself in the foot by doing so. I wouldn't be surprised to hear some of his opposition disappear as well. He is following the same tract that numereous dictators have. Appease the masses, then slowly squeeze every freedom away from them once you have the power to do so.

[/ QUOTE ]

look no further than DC for a close up example of that. [img]/images/graemlins/ooo.gif[/img]

[bdk3clash]

No offense, but all of the posts in this thread indicate a fundamental lack of understanding of the reality of the situation in Venezuela. Here are a few articles to get you situated:

Don't Cry For Venezuela's RCTV

Coup Co-Conspirators as Free Speech Martyrs

BoingBoing post "Venezuela media crackdown: the other POV"

From this post:

[ QUOTE ]
Rick Potthoff says,

The other side of this is that RCTV deserves to be shut down because they supported the coup against Chavez. Do you think that if, say, ABC had come out against Pres. Bush during a coup that failed they wouldn't end up in Gitmo? Revoking their broadcast license is still retaliation, but mild retaliation. Don't repeat the BS that because Chavez is trying to help the poor of Venezuela he is 'socialist.' All that means is that he doesn't toe the line of the WTO/FTA free trade agenda. He is as 'socialist' in the same sense FDR was.

[/ QUOTE ]

Venezuelan Government Will Not Renew “Coup-Plotting” TV Station’s License

Hugo Chávez and RCTV: Censorship or a legitimate decision?

Venezuela's RCTV: Sine Die and Good Riddance

[ QUOTE ]
...RCTV played a leading role instigating and supporting the aborted April, 2002 two-day coup against President Chavez...RCTV and the other four corporate-run TV stations violated Venezuela's Law of Social Responsibility for Radio and Television (LSR). That law guarantees freedom of expression without censorship but prohibits, as it should, transmission of messages illegally promoting, apologizing for, or inciting disobedience to the law that includes enlisting public support for the overthrow of a democratically elected president and his government.

In spite of their lawlessness, the Chavez government treated all five broadcasters gently opting not to prosecute them, but merely refusing to renew one of RCTV's operating licenses (its VHF one) when it expired May 27 (its cable and satellite operations are unaffected) - a mere slap on the wrist for a media enterprise's active role in trying to overthrow the democratically elected Venezuelan president and his government. The article explained if an individual or organization of any kind incited public hostility, violence and anti-government rebellion under Section 2384 of the US code, Title 18, they would be subject to fine and/or imprisonment for up to 20 years for the crime of sedition.

[/ QUOTE ]

(emphasis added)

We should back Chávez

[ QUOTE ]
In RCTV's case, the broadcaster failed to meet basic public-interest standards. The criterion for this assessment is similar to that used by the US Federal Communications Commission. RCTV will be free to broadcast via cable and satellite, which are available across the country.

[/ QUOTE ]