The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

[Gerryatrics]

Point me to a Central or South American country that doesn't have corrupt police. So now we must hold Chavez to a standard we don't even hold Mexico?

So it doesn't matter what acts a National Leader are responsible for, as long as other leaders in neighbouring countries commit more or less equivalent acts? Then why do you spam the forum with dozens of heavily edited articles from newspapers and websites of dubious (at best) quality about the Bush Administration? Last I checked the United States of America was part of the Americas... But apparently you want to hold Bush to standard we don't even hold Mexico.

[Nbadan]

Human rights defender Maria del Rosario Guerrero Galluci and her husband, Adolfo Martínez Barrios, were victims of an assassination attempt by unknown assailants in the State of Guárico on 21 April. They currently have no official protection or security and Amnesty International is concerned for their safety and that of their family. The attack appears to be linked to Maria del Rosario Guerrero Galluci’s accusations of human rights violations by the police in the State of Guárico.

The only google hits on either of the names - Maria del Rosario Guerrero Galluci and her husband, Adolfo Martínez Barrios - were from the Amnesty International site. Not saying the attacks didn't happen, but if the international media hasn't bothered to run with the story, then why should the Attorney General investigate? Would Ashcroft have investigated if a political opponent of Dubya made these charges against the police? I doubt it.

[Nbadan]

So it doesn't matter what acts a National Leader are responsible for, as long as other leaders in neighbouring countries commit more or less equivalent acts? Then why do you spam the forum with dozens of heavily edited articles from newspapers and websites of dubious (at best) quality about the Bush Administration? Last I checked the United States of America was part of the Americas... But apparently you want to hold Bush to standard we don't even hold Mexico.

We should hold ourselves, and our police to the highest standard, not try and match the Mexican or Venezuelian police. All I was saying was that, it doesn't matter who heads Venezuela, there will always be corrupt police. Chavez is the President, not the police chief.

[Gerryatrics]

The only google hits on either of the names - Maria del Rosario Guerrero Galluci and her husband, Adolfo Martínez Barrios - were from the Amnesty International site. Not saying the attacks didn't happen, but if the international media hasn't bothered to run with the story, then why should the Attorney General investigate? Would Ashcroft have investigated if a political opponent of Dubya made these charges against the police? I doubt it.

Yeah, because if it isn't on Venezuelanalysis it must not be true. So since Amnesty International is no longer trustworthy, are you going to retract all the times you've sourced Amnesty International? Like you did twenty posts earlier in this thread?

[Nbadan]

are you going to retract all the times you've sourced Amnesty International? Like you did twenty posts earlier in this thread?

Why should I? I have nothing against Amnesty International. I just think that its a little difficult to make the jump from crooked police force to Chavez. I'm sure even the folks at Amnesty International can see that.

[Gerryatrics]

Why should I? I have nothing against Amnesty International. I just think that its a little difficult to make the jump from crooked police force to Chavez. I'm sure even the folks at Amnesty International can see that.

Yeah, I guess it's too much to think that the leader of a country should involve himself with the massive corruption of his nation's police forces. I'm sure he has a hard time sleeping when the police crack open the heads of demonstrators who oppose him. But besides the fact that you could be killed with little or no justification, Venezuela is still the model of a peaceful and prosperous democracy.

[Nbadan]

Yeah, I guess it's too much to think that the leader of a country should involve himself with the massive corruption of his nation's police forces. I'm sure he has a hard time sleeping when the police crack open the heads of demonstrators who oppose him. But besides the fact that you could be killed with little or no justification, Venezuela is still the model of a peaceful and prosperous democracy.

If it was a widespread problem, like in some US-supported South and Central American countries, you can bet that Venezuela's private news media would use it to their advantage to attack Chavez. Just like they attempted to in the previous coup. Some of the masterminds of the previous coupt still lead the opposition in Venezuela, they aren't in jail.

[Gerryatrics]

If it was a widespread problem, like in some US-supported South and Central American countries, you can bet that Venezuela's private news media would use it to their advantage to attack Chavez. Just like they attempted to in the previous coup. Some of the masterminds of the previous coupt still lead the opposition in Venezuela, they aren't in jail.

http://www.wan-press.org/article11198.html

The Americas

With more than 20 journalists behind bars in Cuba, media under threat in Colombia, and a photojournalist killed in Venezuela, the Americas have suffered a number of setbacks in press freedom in the past six months.

Cuba, with 24 journalists remaining in prison, is the hemisphere’s - and indeed one of the world’s - most notorious jailors of journalists. Twenty-three of them were victims of the March 2003 crackdown on the press. Many have developed serious health problems, creating increased concern over their general well being.

Legal attacks against freedom of expression continue in Venezuela, with a new law on social responsibility in radio and television, additional reforms of the penal code, and a spate of other new laws, decrees, rules and regulations to further restrict the independent media in the country.

In the United States, major internet companies continue to place profit ahead of principle, with Google being the most recent example of companies that have bowed to China’s rigid censorship laws in order to gain access to its market. In February, the search engine launched a Chinese web browser which has been censored to satisfy Beijing’s hard-line rulers.

http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/74397/

Relations between the authorities and the privately-owned press continue to be tense in Venezuela, where judicial proceedings have been initiated since the start of 2006 against 10 journalists under the December 2004 Law of Social Responsibility of the Broadcast Media and the March 2005 criminal code reform. By making it punishable to "insult" a public official, the criminal code reform undermines the ability of the press to play the role it should have in a democracy, which is to question and challenge the government. Nonetheless, no final sentence has yet been passed, and the context still favours a dialogue between government and media.

[Nbadan]

Legal attacks against freedom of expression continue in Venezuela, with a new law on social responsibility in radio and television, additional reforms of the penal code, and a spate of other new laws, decrees, rules and regulations to further restrict the independent media in the country.

you mean like the patriot act?

[Gerryatrics]

you mean like the patriot act?

What does the Patriot Act have to do with the press? What part of the Patriot Act addresses the media at all?

[Nbadan]

What does the Patriot Act have to do with the press? What part of the Patriot Act addresses the media at all?

It is still unclear how or when the FBI's expanded wiretapping and warrantless search powers will affect journalists, but the Justice Department has shown that it intends to use its powers aggressively, even making clear that a law barring newsroom searches is trumped by the USA PATRIOT Act when it comes to 'alleged' terrorism investigations. Investigations that can be shielded under the guise of national security.

[whottt]

You guys get all your posting in on this one...soon as ya'll get done this badboy is going into classics just on the basis of MM's all time smackdown of Nbadan. Never have I seen someone just flatout nailed as badly as Dan was in that post...well, at least not very often.

[Gerryatrics]

It is still unclear how or when the FBI's expanded wiretapping and warrantless search powers will affect journalists, but the Justice Department has shown that it intends to use its powers aggressively, even making clear that a law barring newsroom searches is trumped by the USA PATRIOT Act when it comes to 'alleged' terrorism investigations. Investigations that can be shielded under the guise of national security.

I fail to see how "making clear that a law barring newsroom searches is trumped by the USA PATRIOT Act when it comes to 'alleged' terrorism investigations" equals "a new law on social responsibility in radio and television, additional reforms of the penal code, and a spate of other new laws, decrees, rules and regulations to further restrict the independent media in the country" and "making it punishable to "insult" a public official". Especially since the government hasn't started searching newsrooms, the wording you quoted isn't actually in the Patriot Act and the Privacy Protection Act already lays out when newsroom searches are forbidden and the limited exceptions thereof, which the Patriot Act neither supercedes or even addresses. I guess "Patriot Act!" is the standard response when someone mentions restrictions of civil liberties, instead of actually addressing facts which don't add up to your tinfoil hat wearing, koolaid drinking, black helicopter avoiding, the government invented AIDS to kill off all the liberals so far left of left wing it's almost doubled back on itself viewpoint. I think I'm starting to see a trend. OK, I'm done.