SWOPblogger

This is an amazing story about a music program changing the lives of poor youth in Venezuela. It's truly inspirational and gets at the need for programs like these around the world.

This was an amazing quote from a young man: "A clarinet feels a lot different than a gun."

You have to watch it. Even though it is CBS, its good.

El Sistema

Labels: after school programs, music programs, orchestra, Venezuela

Caracas, March 4, 2008 (venezuelanalysis.com) - A diplomatic stand-off between Colombia and its neighbors Ecuador and Venezuela, triggered by Colombia's military attack on the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in Ecuadorian territory, (which resulted in the deaths of 16 guerrillas, among them Raúl Reyes, the FARC second in command), intensified Tuesday as Venezuela closed its border with Colombia in response to Colombia's accusations that the Venezuelan government had funded the FARC.

Colombian National Police director Oscar Naranjo, claimed yesterday that documents allegedly found in three computers seized during Colombia's raid, show that the Venezuelan government has provided $300 million to the FARC and that the guerrilla group has acquired 50 kilograms of uranium. The Colombian government also claims that documents show links between Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa and the FARC.

Both Ecuador and Venezuela dismissed the claims as "absolute lies" and have sent thousands of troops to their borders with Colombia and expelled Bogotá's ambassadors out of their countries. Venezuelan Agriculture Minister Elías Jaua, announced today that Venezuela has also taken measures to close its border with Colombia.

In an extraordinary session of the Organization of American States (OAS), today Venezuelan representative Jorge Valero said, "The Colombian government has lied blatantly. All of the accusations the Colombian government has made against Venezuela and Ecuador are false, totally false."

"They are trying to confuse international opinion in order to evade their own responsibility," he added.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, whose government receives $600 million a year in military aid from the U.S. insisted today he was going to take Chavez to the International Criminal Court for "sponsoring and financing genocide" by allegedly providing money to the guerrillas.

Retired Venezuelan General, Alberto Müller Rojas described Colombia's "evidence" as an "exercise in falsification" and pointed out that "the only foreign government that finances the conflict in Colombia is the United States."

You gotta keep reading to see what Bush says, it's just awful.

Labels: Bush, bush sucks, Colombia, Ecuador, Oil, Venezuela, war

If you watch American news programs, you’d never know that the denial of a renewal license for Venezuelan television station RCTV to use the public airwaves is perfectly justifiable and legal within the democratic political system of that country.

You also would not realize that the denial of the license does not “shut down” RCTV. In fact, the station can continue to broadcast on satellite, cable, and internet stations. You would also not know that Venezuelan media is dominated by private news print, television, and radio outlets that are virulently opposed to the government. In other words, the media climate in that country is completely “free” and remains so despite incredible media hostility directed toward Hugo Chavez for years.

Thankfully, we have some media analysis help from our friends at FAIR, detailing the bias on this topic within American media, as well as a history of RCTV’s coup mongering. RCTV, in fact, was an active participant in the failed coup that briefly removed Chavez from power in 2002, and the station went on to encourage a shut down of government in the so-called “business strike” the following year.

Now, imagine if you were watching NBC, ABC, or CBS and newscasters began openly calling for the military overthrow of George Bush during a period in which it seemed like a real possibility. Imagine that you are in an (imaginary) world in which Bush was elected overwhelmingly more than once to the presidency, and a small group including one of these big news stations successfully plotted his overthrow. Then, imagine that when the majority of the population successfully prevailed and reinstated the president, this station decided to air movies and cartoons instead of covering the democratically elected president’s return to his legitimate office. This is exactly what RCTV did. Do you really think our government…that “we” in fact…would let that station continue to use our public airwaves, much less for another five years? No, in this country it would immediately be branded as Treason.

So why doesn’t the American media cover this story in an objective fashion? I could answer it for you but I’d rather hear what you have to say.

But lets’ be clear: the administration of Hugo Chavez is supported by a big majority of the Venezuelan population. We call that “Democracy.” Therefore, the denial of a renewed license for RCTV to use the public airwaves is endorsed by a big majority of the Venezuelan population, despite what the other private media in that country or in ours wants us to believe.

We call this “Democracy.” So, do we believe in democracy? I do, even if I don’t always agree with the actions of my government. Additionally, the denial is perfectly legal within the framework of the Venezuelan system of government, following rules that were in place before Hugo Chavez came to power. We can debate whether or not we think they have a good system in place, but its irresponsible in today’s climate to unjustifiably brand Hugo Chavez a dictator. It simply isn’t true.

-Marjorie

Labels: Hugo Chavez, Public News Networks, RCTV, Venezuela

Hon. Miguel P. García
New Mexico House of Representatives District 14

Albuquerque, New Mexico
May 11, 2007

Luis Posada Carriles committed the worst crime of terrorism in 1976 by
masterminding a mid air bombing of a Cuban airliner killing seventy-three
innocent human beings. These victims were our brother and sisters in
Christ. They left behind a grieving spouse, sons and daughters, mothers
and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, uncles, cousins, friends,
colleagues, and neighbors.

American citizens are freedom loving individuals that deplore the innocent
taking of a life by deranged individuals who have no respect for human
decency. It has come to my attention that the Bush administration has
created a precedent setting act of malfecense in government by objectively
giving Luis Posada Carriles card blance asylum in the United States, knowing
that Mr. Carriles illegally entered the United States in 2005.

Worst of all is the fact that the Bush administration fails to abide by
international extradition laws pertaining to the harboring of terrorists.
Venezuela is rightfully seeking extradition of Mr. Carriles to hold him
accountable for the horrific tragedy of the 1976 incident.

As American citizens, we have an obligation to uphold our constitutional
obligation in upholding the health, safety, and welfare of our communities.
The Bush administration, by refusing to extradite Mr. Carriles, and by
having his presence in our midst, gives us no choice but to side with our
constitution and seek the “citizens arrest” of Luis Posada Carriles.

Freedom loving people in New Mexico and the United States must engage in an
effort to apprehend Luis Posada Carriles and carry out a “citizens arrest”
of the individual. Mr. Carriles creates a serious breach of peace in our
presence with the potential for violent injury to our citizenship given his
terrorist background.

I am committed to do what I can in my capacity as a State Representative to
engage in a citizen to government relation with Venezuela to insure the
return of Luis Posada Carriles to that country for prosecution and
incarceration of his terrorist act. It does us no good to engage in a
“citizens arrest” of Mr. Carriles and turn him over to U.S. federal
officials only to see him go free again in order to see him return to his
mansion in Miami so he can continue watching the novelas on TV and drinking
his rum & coke.

Labels: Cuba, Immigration, luis posada carriles, Venezuela

Public demands Luis Posada Carriles be Tried or Extradited for Acts of Terrorism

Press Advisory
For Immediate Release: Thursday, May 10th, 2007
Contact: Albuquerque, Louis Head: 505-463-0439, Jo Ann Gutierrez Bejar – 505-247-8832
San Antonio, Che Lopez: 210-378-5132

PROTEST: Friday, May 11, 2007 @ 12 noon
Federal Court House
333 Lomas Blvd. NW (between 3rd & 4th)

The SouthWest Organizing Project (SWOP), Albuquerque, NM and Southwest Workers Union (SWU), San Antonio, TX will be demonstrating – in conjunction with similar demonstrations in El Paso, Washington, New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Charlotte, Boston, Miami, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto and Montreal – in front of the US Federal Court House to demand that terrorist Luis Posada Carriles either be tried for his crimes in the US or that he be extradited to Venezuela to stand trial there.

“The terrorist Luis Posada is considered by many to be the ‘Osama bin Laden of the Americas.’ To this we say “Immigrant Families Yes, Terrorists No!” exclaims Louis Head, board member of SWOP.

Posada a Cuban national and naturalized Venezuelan citizen was involved in the mid-air bombing of a commercial jetliner in 1976, bombings of Cuban hotels in the 1990s, and an attempt on the life of Cuban President Fidel Castro in 2000. In 2005 Posada entered the US and spent two months free in Miami before US authorities finally arrested him on immigration violation charges. Posada, a long time US intelligence asset and CIA agent, was charged with illegally entering the US and of lying to immigration officials, not with crimes related to his history of terrorism. He is wanted in Venezuela on charges related to the 1976 plane bombing, which resulted in the deaths of 73 people including part of the Cuban national fencing team and several Guyanese students traveling to Cuba to attend medical school.

Despite an 84-year-old extradition agreement between the US and Venezuela, the Bush Administration refuses to return Posada, who escaped from a Venezuelan prison in the 1980s.

On Tuesday, May 8, 2007 a federal judge in El Paso dropped all immigration charges against Posada, stating that the Justice Department had improperly dealt with his case. He now walks free in Miami.

“The US government is engaged in criminalizing millions of undocumented workers and their families, yet lets a terrorist like Luis Posada roam freely. The United States judicial system needs to try Luis Posada for committing terrorist crimes against humanity, or send him back to Venezuela where he is a wanted man!” states Che Lopez, Co-Director of the Southwest Workers Union in San Antonio, TX.

“According to international law, according to antiterrorism agreements, when there is an attack on a civil plane, the country that has a suspect in its custody and is asked for him to be extradited to another place so that he can be investigated and tried, that country that has him has only two options: to extradite him or, without exception, to try him itself. Posada is not a suspect. Posada was being tried, formally accused over twenty years ago by another Venezuelan government, by other Venezuelan courts that have been demanding him ever since then.” – Ricardo Alarcon, President of the Cuban Parliament.

Labels: Cuba, Immigration, luis posada carriles, patriot act, Venezuela