Observations focused on the problems of an underdeveloped country, Venezuela, with some serendipity about the world (orchids, techs, science, investments, politics) at large. A famous Venezuelan, Juan Pablo Perez Alfonzo, referred to oil as the devil's excrement. For countries, easy wealth appears indeed to be the sure path to failure. Venezuela might be a clear example of that.
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Through his Twitter account, silent for the last two months, President Chávez himself said he arrived in Venezuela in stealth mode and will be at the Military Hospital in Caracas.
Was this all planned: Devaluation, swearing in, resignation, elections in 30 days?
Would make sense…
The Devil's Excrement 
June 14, 2013 at 10:36 pm
The rotavator is a machine or tool that is used to turn over soil and break
it up in preparation for planting, turfing, seeding and leveling.
Select the right chainsaw essential for your function.
If you feel that it is alright to learn about power saw safety through experimentation,
do yourself a favour and don’t, just one single slip-up can easily lead to a physical injury or possibly a trip to the hospital.
February 23, 2013 at 1:06 pm
Why, Miguel, why do you think they haven’t admitted the bloke is kicking the bucket?
February 22, 2013 at 4:51 pm
My expectation is that Chavismo is going bankrupt… and my hope is that there will be a change over government sooner or later… and a “Truth and Reconciliation Commission”… won’t that be DELICIOUS!
February 22, 2013 at 7:09 pm
So, some day they are going to check if the bones next Bolivar belong to chaves or someone else…
February 22, 2013 at 11:31 am
In any case, I’m certainly relieved that President Correa has stated that Maduro would be “extremely capable” of running Venezuela.Wondering who is more brain dead…Maduro or Chavez.
February 22, 2013 at 2:29 pm
Rigoberta Menchu is pulling a similar propaganda.
http://www.lapatilla.com/site/2013/02/22/rigoberta-menchu-dice-que-maduro-y-chavez-son-uno-solo/
#atandocablessueltosporordenesderaul.
February 22, 2013 at 10:24 am
Pues los etruscos y romanos tuvieron sus Idus Martiae
y nosotros tendremos nuestro Ido de Marzo.
February 22, 2013 at 10:52 am
O será Ido en Marzo?
Wondering if the under-the-radar announcement of Chávez’ death on Dec 30th 2012 pertained to his ‘muerte cerebral’, his system being kept alive through mechanical means.
February 22, 2013 at 12:38 pm
Syd if you are wondering why don’t you ask your “little birdie”. Please go back to playing bocce ball with your retired friends; exercise is good for you, you know.
February 22, 2013 at 12:53 pm
Lots of new names on this blog and CC as Hugo Chávez reaches the end.
One of these newly-coined names was “Boris” on this site and “Hugh” on CC, both with the same Miami-based IP, “both” responsible for calling me at 9:10 pm ET to tell me I was “a fucking bitch, etc”.
Now, how much respect do you think I’m going to give to that type of excrement and mental insanity? The same goes for you.
February 22, 2013 at 9:53 am
The supreme court will say that Chavez is able to govern up to two months after his heart stops. Then they will review the case to see if an additional two month extension is feasible.
If the corpse cannot be found, Chavez may be able to rule for the next six years.
You may smirk, but are you really sure Chavez is alive?
February 22, 2013 at 9:43 am
One possible conspiracy theory. If Chavez isn’t in Venezuela there will never be any leaks regarding “su vista”.
February 22, 2013 at 6:18 am
Well, the end is finally arriving.
They are preparing the faithful for the inevitable announcement:
Villegas: Insuficiencia respiratoria persiste y su tendencia no ha sido favorable
http://www.noticierodigital.com/2013/02/villegas-insuficiencia-respiratoria-persiste-y-su-tendencia-no-ha-sido-favorable/
How many of us actually believe that he hasn’t been dead for some time?
What a show!!
February 22, 2013 at 10:07 am
I believe Villegas is delivering on the planned preparation to inform the pueblo(‘s die-hard believers), so that they slowly, rather than abruptly, get used to their deity’s (soon-to-be) death.
I think there could be at least one or two more announcements like these, each reporting, or rather, hinting on incrementally worse conditions, before the final announcement. I can’t believe that Chávez will be alive in April. I still wonder if he’ll die before March.
February 21, 2013 at 7:30 pm
Let’s see…only the Cuban regime and Venezuelan officials are stating El Commandante is alive and fighting his cancer battle in Venezuela..no foreign Latin American officials including Morales and Kirchner are allowed to see him…very curious.
February 21, 2013 at 4:48 am
I am astonished the leaks haven’t already started, bet the floor is an heavily enforced cellphone/cam free zone.
February 21, 2013 at 9:51 am
The floor is probably Cuban sovereign territory. Only Cuban security and Cuban doctors and staff are allowed. Chavez may be Vzla but the Cubans are still controlling all information.
February 21, 2013 at 2:56 am
Evo is not allowed. Chávez must not be looking right. They know if Evo gets in, the whole world will know right away the real condition.
February 22, 2013 at 4:47 pm
There’s nothing like hindsight…. and there will be hindsight later!
February 20, 2013 at 10:22 pm
I hope the piece of s%^t chavez dies soon. It will take generations to fix the chaos he has created, but that’s what you get when low intelligence/iq people get to vote. Thinking short term, you reap what you sow, the voters will eat it, not that many other country’s are better off, but they will put it off a little longer.
February 21, 2013 at 2:42 am
Germans didn’t have a lower IQ than other people in 1933-1945.
It does take a certain IQ level (not much, really) to realise things are much more complex than restricting voting rights.
February 22, 2013 at 7:27 am
It’s not the processor, it’s the programming.
February 20, 2013 at 8:08 pm
They wouldn’t let Evo Morales see him in the hospital according to a Wednesday Yahoo story.
February 20, 2013 at 8:22 pm
And your point??????
February 20, 2013 at 10:28 pm
The point is that Evo is not on Chavez (or should I say Raoul’s) insiders list. This is a put down of Evo. Evo may return to Vzla but only for the funeral.
February 21, 2013 at 1:49 pm
My problem is this: how can you believe anything?
Do you actually believe that Chavez is in Venezuela? Why? I am not saying that he isn’t, I’m just saying that until we know for sure it is worthless to speculate.
There is no proof of anything. The only sources are government sources that tell you -not me because I don’t believe anything they say- whatever they want you to know. They are manipulating you and you are playing along.
When are you going to realize -to quote Louis Carroll- that Venezuela has stepped through the Looking Glass, when?
For example: Why do you believe the source that reported that Evo did not see Chavez? And you actually think -assuming you believe it- that it was a put down of Evo? Who and why is trying to put down Evo? What is the motivation? What triggered Evo’s fall from grace? Can you answer any of these questions? No, you are just saying stuff.
So you are just posting stuff because it gives you a feeling you are doing something but it is just worthless junk.
February 19, 2013 at 6:49 pm
People who move quietly in the dead of night are generally robbers not presidents.
February 19, 2013 at 11:23 pm
Gordo, Chavez is a liar and a kind of a president. He did not use his personal Airbus for this trip. Did he leave it in Cuba?
February 20, 2013 at 8:52 am
They probably needed something that could move the bed of a vegetable.
I believe the move back to Venezuela confirms he will never come back. The Cubans don’t want him to die on their soil and on their watch. Just think of the repercussions. “You killed our President and you still want cheap oil?”
February 20, 2013 at 10:10 am
Excellent observation, Gordo.
February 19, 2013 at 6:41 pm
EL UNIVERSAL
Friday February 15, 2013 11:31 AM
Venezuelan Information and Communication Minister Ernesto Villegas said Friday in an official statement that Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is currently breathing through a tracheal cannula due to lingering respiratory distress.
Can anyone see any evidence of this in the photos that show a great deal of Hugo’s neck? It looks like a sizable device on Wikipedia. Maybe the Cubans were able to remove the scars in the last four days?
February 19, 2013 at 7:14 pm
I was wondering how the government (which supposedly is preparing the public for the revelation of Chávez’ ultimate station in life) was going to jump from the photos of a “robust” Chávez on “Feb. 15, 2013” to the presumed bag ‘o bones at the Hospital Militar.
I suspect there’ll be a few more soundbytes like these from Villegas, in the coming days, and each of them will reveal incremental deterioration.
February 19, 2013 at 7:22 pm
looks like someone else was thinking the same thing:
@cocando
Gobierno chavista quedó “preso” de fotos de Chávez sonriente con sus hijas: ahora no pueden presentarlo desmejorado en cuestión de días.
February 19, 2013 at 12:10 pm
Is it just me, or this whole thing plot is taken out of the Psycho classic movie? Scary indeed.
February 19, 2013 at 12:25 pm
Kolya,
Nope. Truth is stranger than fiction. You just can’t make this s**t up.
February 19, 2013 at 1:53 pm
Kolya
As psychiatrist turned-writer Herrera Luque said, there is a strong psychopath streak among Venezuelans.
February 19, 2013 at 9:30 am
Anyone can Twitter from anywhere. Even China. Perhaps someone can publisg a list of all the things that Prez Cavez has done to benefit his country and people. Then we could compare it to the similar list from the Prez and congress of the US. S.
February 19, 2013 at 11:15 am
wrong blog, my dear.
February 19, 2013 at 6:04 pm
Who’s Prez Cavez and what country is the US. S. Sweety?
February 19, 2013 at 8:59 am
The point is that through secrecy and otherwise, Chavez and Cuba have kept the initiative and kept the opposition on the defensive, and the opposition was no great shake to begin with. Only the students’ demonstration could have changed that but they don’t seem to have got much support nationwide. So ….
February 19, 2013 at 6:45 am
An interesting thing was the “carometer” at yesterdays ministers meeting, there was no joyce, only sporadical smiles. And that as the leader came back? They know that is not for good.
February 19, 2013 at 6:42 am
Hi Miguel, Syd,
I had obviously the same doubts about the pictures, and I think they used photoshop, but that is normal use, as long as the pictures are real, I don’t have a problem if they corrected more or less details (show me a not photoshopped picture of somebody in a relevant position…). I think it is only the certainty of the date and the presence of the 3 persons that is of concern.
As already posted in CCS Chronicles, I took the pictures from AVN and put the two that are nearest in the time as a pair, centering the second on the teeth of HCh, as the fixed reference point. The pictures are here: http://imageshack.us/g/94/avn2.png/ If you open the two pictures simultaneously (on the same window, as with preview on the mac) and change back and forth you get a realistic 3D (stereo) effect, as the photographer moved slightly in the time interval. I find that to be very realistic and I discount you can get that at least with photoshop. You can pay attention to the Granma, the shadows of the fingers, it is genuine to me. The paper doesn’t look like modified with photoshop to me, I can follow the creasing in the pages as they were together (and now open).
And for the medical record, remember they told he was doing better, and then he had the infection. It can be that he is not in a so bad state (and sure, he looks not good in these pictures!). But I think he comes to Venezuela because there is nothing more to be done, and he would die in the next time.
February 19, 2013 at 12:41 pm
Hi LD,
Yes, the use of photoshop is not a big deal, especially on official portraits. I call it using the digital darkroom, and it’s useful for reducing wrinkles, whitening teeth, eliminating flash spots, eliminating zits, etc.
But this family portrait, used for official (and highly volatile) purposes, has more than your average amount of photoshopping. Because what is in question is the subject on the supposed date (in Feb 2013) on which the photo was taken.
The 3-D effect that you broach is due to either a very tiny amount of camera shift (suspecting the camera is on a tripod), and/or the effects of cropping. My vote is on the latter. As for this minutiae, which is not so relevant, IMO, and others that are, you’ll have to forgive me for not spending a huge amount of time on the analysis. For I’m preparing images for a gallery showing and have a deadline; my use of photoshop is different to that which has been applied to these photos, and the analysis of the photoshopping has been expertly shown by the videotaped presentation, which Miguel provided us (and which has been discussed on another blog).
A word about photoshop analysis. You cannot do a good job with a web image that must be 72 ppi — a low resolution. You cannot do a good job with an image that’s too small. Best to download the images from minci, open up in photoshop, and enlarge, say up to 400%. That’s what I suggested to the Miami pervert who yesterday went by the name of “Boris”. The images from the minci website are at 200 ppi, if memory serves. Enlarge them in photoshop and you can start to see anomalies more clearly.
One of the anomalies, which may or may not have been mentioned, is the distortion in the lines of type of the newspaper in Hugo’s (or another person’s) hands.This is especially noteworthy in the lower right-hand corner of the image. And to me, that’s another tell-tale sign of manipulation used to fool people into thinking that the photo was taken in Feb. 2013. I suggest you photograph a friend reading a newspaper, much the way that Chávez is holding it. Then bring up the image in photoshop. Note the upper outline of that newspaper and compare it to that of the manipulated photo. Also note the type on the “bent” page. I doubt it will look as distorted as the Granma held by Hugo’s hands (or those of another).
http://tinyurl.com/awerfg9
Enough. I have to get to work, and prefer coming to this site as a release to get my mental batteries charged in another direction that is not photoshop.
February 19, 2013 at 1:49 pm
Hi Syd, thanks for answering!
Did you see the pictures? It will take you a minute.
It is not cropping, it is the shift of the camera (-man). That’s why it gives you a 3D effect (similar to 2 eyes). That shows that these are real pictures.
I also searched at the MINCI URL, but they didn’t had one of the pictures but some other two times (foto09/foto091). MINCI pictures are 2400×1500 pixel my screenshot from AVN is 1281×799 (from pictures stored there, not small web pictures, this is not scaled up, not that bad). I had a look at 400% from the MINCI pictures too. I see some artifacts, no doubt, but the part with the paper is not as in the youtube explanation IMO, I don’t see there the supposed manipulation, but realistic effects of light and shadow on curved surfaces.
This is with the two pictures is use very realistic. I don’t see artifacts there.
If somebody wanted to do that with photoshop it would implies two perfect works, and building in a tilt effect and shadows changes. Don’t think they do that.
I’m critic of HCh, but I try to be critical with all things.
Maybe that is not important, but anyway, it makes me curious and I was not satisfied with the other explanations.
February 19, 2013 at 7:05 pm
Yes, I saw the photos. And if you try the exercise with two poses, the camera in once place, then crop one photo and not the other, you’ll find an optical displacement in the background. But whatever the case, this issue of yours is really a non-issue. I think you’re under the impression that when people say the photos are fake, they mean that there has been a total photoshop makeover. That is not the case. The images are fakes because the government has tried to sell the public on the idea that the photos were taken on Feb. 15, 2013. The way the government has tried to do this is by having the photographer slip in (and poorly, I might add) several elements into the photos.
I saw all 4 photos on the minci site, and at 200 ppi, they were clear enough for a good visual exercise. The photos you refer to are compressed jpegs at 72. Absolutely no good for analyses. Count on it.
The warp tool is one that even many experienced photoshoppers don’t excel in. The man who produced the two videos, above, is highly skilled, including in the warp tool. You might want to see that first video — try looking for the full screen version on youtube. And you’ll see how shadows and light can be perfectly applied to the substituted element in a photo — assuming one knows how to use the proper tool.
Please let’s end this discussion. It’s going nowhere. You’re welcome to hang on to your view.
February 19, 2013 at 9:32 pm
OK, I hang on my opinion, well it looks like I’m not alone:
http://www.hackerfactor.com/blog/index.php?/categories/1-Image-Analysis
“Sunday, February 17. 2013
As I mentioned in my previous blog entry, FotoForensics has been inundated with literally hundreds of unique pictures that show Hugo Chavez. Each are variations of the same four pictures. Each variant is different — different scaling, cropping, color adjustments, compression levels, etc. Hundreds of variants of these same four pictures. …
Originally I had no idea why these pictures were so popular. Thanks to Zulukato (@Magnonive), I now understand the potential scandal: Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez has been in the hospital for two months. He’s been undergoing cancer surgery and recovery. However, he has completely vanished from the public view. Since he hasn’t been seen in two months, there is a strong rumor that he is dead.”
See there for a good analysis.
February 18, 2013 at 11:14 pm
I have not talked much about the pictures. I thought when I saw them, this is part of a plan, the pictures are just a stage of the plan and whammo, Chavez shows up today. But after watching these videos, I dont trust the pictures and think we will see a swearing in (tomorrow?) a resignation soon afterwards and elections March 17th maybe .
February 18, 2013 at 11:55 pm
Agree, Miguel, on two counts.
Even before the photoshop analyses, there was a rat smell about the photos: the laughter from the 3-some reading the fine-print history of Martí and his sister, on the back page of the Feb 14, 2012 edition of Granma — a deadly serious rag. All the while, Chávez was rosy and apple cheeked, after being submitted to extraordinary measures and bed-ridden for over 60 days, his bones and lungs having been invaded by MT cancer cells. There were too many bells saying, hey, wait a minute, what’s going on here? There was a disconnect between the medical facts – as far as we could understand them, logic, of course, and the images presented to us. The elements simply did not add up. The videos you show by this particular photoshop analyzer, as circulated on other blogs, are tops. He knows his stuff, presents his findings with utmost seriousness, and has the skills to share them on video.
The tension is such that I believe, like you do, that an announcement is imminent.
February 19, 2013 at 4:36 pm
se ve mas muerto que vivo! ni con photoshop se puede ocultar eso – sinverguenzas
February 18, 2013 at 10:48 pm
Wow.. it appears everyone is supplementing with testosterone. I just know that in the past 2 weeks it has been a bombardment of info & change that has everyone on their last nerve. Info low, rumors high, expectations anxious.
It would have been very unfortunate for Cuba if HCF had officially died there. Not good Protocol.
He has (has been) returned to facilitate smoke, Mirrors & more paquetazorojo. They are attacking on all fronts, eliminating contenders for Pres. Election, creating more Gov dependency etc etc.. They will wait until everything is in place before the death is announced – officially to make sure they can take advantage of that also. Unless they do decide to put the price of gas up, then, who knows what will happen .. was not good last time it was done.
February 18, 2013 at 9:52 pm
Everything that this government does these days is chaotic. Even the Castro statements don’t mesh with anything said in Venezuela. That sounds like there is no one single dictator in charge anymore. His son-in-law said, “Mr. Chavez sometimes writes notes and manages to make himself understood.” This sounds like a guy who can barely tell the nurse he needs his diaper changed. Of the 55% who voted for him (many of whom were coerced or did not even exist), how many have lost faith in HIM now I wonder?
February 18, 2013 at 9:20 pm
To the pervert who impersonates “Boris”, or whomever, and has a live rat up his behind.
Stop calling me at this hour to ask about my sexual habits. You’ve been reported. Your voice was identifcal to the douche bag that called me a few times, last year, twice “collect”.
Find something more productive to occupy your time and your wallet.
February 18, 2013 at 9:54 pm
Syd, there so far is no proof Chavez is really back, much less alive. The Hospital Militar was unguarded at 8-9 A.M. this morning. Rumors from his family in Barinas were that he died on Dec. 30, true or not. The recent photo was an obvious fake, as you pointed out. IF he is still alive, and back, it’s probably to die, and try to perpetuate the myth. Cheers.
February 18, 2013 at 11:24 pm
Yes, NET, of course the recent photo issue of Chávez reading Granma was a fake.
I’m aware of the possibility that Chavez died on Dec 30th (@LucioQuincio, before he started ramping up the narcissim curve…. #credibilityloss). But I prefer to believe in @marquina-bocaranda et al, in spite of any false notes — and there are bound to be several, especially in the past 2 weeks. Marquina in particular has been very generous with his information and very respectful.
And of course, if alive (and thin by now, though perhaps not yet a bag of bones), Ch. is back to die. The regime can’t keep up the farce for long. At one point they’re going to have to spill the beans — Ch’s resignation or death, whichever comes first. And yes! there’ll be myth marketing.
Here’s a little observation. In the air ambulance, only Rosa Virginia accompanied Chávez, along with Arreaza. Where was María Gabriela, if she and her sister were at their dad’s bedside just 3 days ago for that “photo shoot”…
February 18, 2013 at 7:10 pm
I was at a local market this morning and saw a vehicle honking its horn and with the windows painted proclaiming that Chavez had returned.. Not much reaction from anyone there. Later in the day I heard a few folks talking about it. All in all though, it almost seemed like a non-event. I think most of the populace knows that his end in near.
February 18, 2013 at 5:41 pm
Perhaps they will ban Che t-shirts now that Chavez is about to become the new revolutionary icon. They’ll give you free Chavez t-shirts if you visit the mausoleum when the time comes…
February 18, 2013 at 4:18 pm
Borges no tiene ni idea.
http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/salud-presidencial/130218/borges-da-la-bienvenida-a-chavez-y-le-pide-que-derogue-la-devaluacion
He thinks that by trying to be populist but without having sweeties he will be able to do something at this stage.
For goodness sake, that guy should be talking about crime, about corruption,
about the stinky, polluted water people in Carabobo get from their taps,
about shitty schools, about pollution in Monagas, about public hospitals in Lara but he doesn’t know about those things because he doesn’t know people who have to face those things.
We could be bugging Chávez really hard. Instead, we have guys like this who seem to be targeting I don’t know what bloody choir!
February 18, 2013 at 3:46 pm
Oh~uh!
According to El Universal about 300 Chavistas were inclined to make their way to Bolivar Square this morning in order to sing, dance and bang some pots and pans. 300. That’s it. How the hell are these bozo’s gonna encourage a ‘Cult of Personality’ around Hugo Chavez if they can’t bring more thant 300 to such a festive occasion? To make matters worse, El Universal stated that, “…they were not spontaneous attendees, but public servants emboldened to appear in the scene. About four blocks from Bolívar Square, loud speakers were placed to play songs extolling the president.”
That’s a helluva way to throw a political rally. Chavez should put on that flag colored track suit from his ICU room in Cuba, and go down there and kick some serious butt.
February 18, 2013 at 3:21 pm
Unfortunately, in an era of instant news, we’ve come to expect — and news outlets have begun to pander to — fast, even if wildly incorrect, answers.
February 18, 2013 at 4:43 pm
Please back up your statement, firepigette.
February 18, 2013 at 7:24 pm
Syd,
Since when are you giving orders on Miguel’s blog ?
February 18, 2013 at 7:35 pm
Firepigette. Know the difference between a request with a ‘please’ and an order. You of all people should know better.
February 18, 2013 at 8:15 pm
Syd havent you noticed how you PO and turn-off people and we are all on the same side?
February 18, 2013 at 8:42 pm
Boris, What is it, now?
Haven’t you noticed that I don’t care what you think?
February 18, 2013 at 1:37 pm
No se han fijado? Realmente Chávez usa esa vestimenta porque así les es más fácil reutilizar sus fotos. Es la misma vestimenta de jogging que usaba cuando lo mostraban con los Castros, cuando estaba con las infantas, etc.
February 18, 2013 at 1:59 pm
sí. la distorción del tiempo se hace facilito con el mismo traje. Claro, que el concepto tiene sus límites, por razones obvias.
February 19, 2013 at 11:39 pm
That was already pointed out many months ago
February 18, 2013 at 12:36 pm
Miguel, everbody
Let’s see: what are the scenarios now?
Hugo
1) resigns in the next days and elections are called
or
2) takes oath, formally starts presidency and right away 1)
or
3) takes oath, lives for a year or so, etc
I think 3) would be the best scenario for us.
Is there any difference between 1 and 2? I mean: Nicolás is the anointed
and there is nothing that will change that in the eyes of the Supreme Court.
February 18, 2013 at 2:42 pm
Maduro y Villegas mandaron a fabricar el sarcófago, listo hace rato. @estebangerbasi
February 18, 2013 at 12:00 pm
Sorry to post a second time but the internet is killing us. We all “vent” in these forums to exchange opinions with fellow thinkers and that gives us a sense that we are doing something but in reality we are comfortably sitting on our sofas in our living rooms sipping a cup of coffee.
I think without internet Chavez would have been gone by 2009.
February 18, 2013 at 12:33 pm
Possibly. And that’s why I take my hat off to the students before the Cuban embassy in Caracas. http://www.lapatilla.com/site/2013/02/18/estudiantes-levantan-la-protesta-frente-a-la-embajada-de-cuba-la-lucha-continua/
February 18, 2013 at 1:46 pm
Very good point syd. So why aren’t more people in front of the Cuban embassy? These guys are never ever going to go by elections. Forget it.
Our side is afraid of physical violence and they aren’t. We know we will be civilized with them but we also know they’ll never be civilized with us. They know it too, and so the story goes.
What good does it do to even speculate about what comes next? The answer is: whatever they want to happen next, we have no control over the storyline, it’s like a soap opera what happens next is whatever the writers want to do.
Reading the news on Reuters, the headline says: “Chavez returns to Venezuela”. You see that is a huge problem when the news services report as fact the fiction the “junta” is selling, the headline should read: “Chavez REPORTEDLY back in Venezuela”.
February 18, 2013 at 2:00 pm
good one, on the “reportedly”.
February 18, 2013 at 12:00 pm
Just as the medieval pilgrims made their way to Galicia (Spain) to the shrine of Santiago de Compostela to be in the presence of St. James, or the Athenians climbed the mountain in southern Greece to reach the oracle of Delphi, so too have the loyal Chavistas now made their way to the Military Hospital in Caracas. I understand that fireworks were in order. Really. A vigil has gathered outside the gates. A 21st century form of paganism has evolved in Venezuela. Chavez has been transformed into a new kind of diety, one who tweets his thoughts to the masses. The oracle at Delphi only spoke from behind a wall, and in complex riddles. Progress. But, you know what, I don’t think it’s gonna work. Nope. This is insanity. When you treat people like fools, especially the pueblo of Venezuela, it becomes too obvious. This silliness will backfire, big time. Bring on the elections!
February 23, 2013 at 10:24 am
If Chavez is a diety, his message was one of “hope”…. wait until things get hopeless… what then?
February 18, 2013 at 11:52 am
How do we even know he is back? Can anyone explain this to me?
February 18, 2013 at 12:08 pm
That’s right diego, “Show me the body” …
February 18, 2013 at 11:41 am
Excuse the bluntness but Chávez is looking more and more like plain intestinal gas:
Chavistas enjoy it like one of their own
The rest of the country winks
But no one sees him
February 18, 2013 at 11:29 am
The only conclusion here is that the Cuban DI / G2 deceit machine is light years ahead of everybody, except that people of “normal” countries wouldn’t put up with this circus.
February 18, 2013 at 11:39 am
Mike, not trying to be confrontational but could you elaborate on “how would normal countries deal with this circus”?
Not allowing a lying ideologue, adorer of the Castros be elected President would be step one. But we did.
So now what can one do when the entire edifice of the government (including the military) is in their hands?
I also disagree with Gordo (post above) that the looming economic meltdown will be their undoing, look at what is going on with the price of oil.
How is this going to end is impossible to predict the only thing certain -at least to me- is that it will continue quite a bit longer.
February 18, 2013 at 2:32 pm
Much of my assessment is based on history and the economic trend it portrays. The economy is deteriorating, and what is there that can possibly turn that trend around? Their delay tactics are getting ever more desperate! Do you see anything?
One particular trend that is getting my attention… people are spending their Bolivares as fast as they can. That is a disturbing trend, and it makes sense to spend it while you can buy something with it!
February 18, 2013 at 11:08 am
It’s a public relations event that was engineered carefully. What’s happening behind the curtain is carefully hidden, but we will see in unfold in time. The only thing I can predict with confidence is that there will be economic austerity and suffering that will get steadily worse as long as these thugs remain in power. Chavismo will hide, blame, obfuscate, lie, attack and cheat, but that will not alter the looming economic melt-down. At what point will the masquerade run out of gas?
February 18, 2013 at 1:00 pm
gordo: When people start to get hungry.
February 18, 2013 at 10:45 am
I suspect he’s returned to die. But also as part of a well-orquestrated play to make his believers forget about the effects of the paquetazo.
February 18, 2013 at 10:52 am
Syd: did a “little birdie” tell you Chavez was coming back? :}
OK Syd tell us what is going to happen next, we can’t wait to hear it.
February 18, 2013 at 11:39 am
No, no birdie told me Ch was coming back. I had not formed any opinion on the matter. But I still believe he’s closer to death than what Dubraska Mora and die-hard chavistas think.
Suggest you follow the news, rather than me, you sarcastic little twit.
February 18, 2013 at 5:00 pm
Syd, you told us the pictures where cheap montage, IOW the Granma was fake. What is it now? You can’t stand criticism and you are always right it seems. Now you opine he’s near death, I remember how you criticized others for opining the same. you should respect others right to opine because you don’t and then maybe others will respect you.
February 18, 2013 at 5:12 pm
What is it now?
You don’t make any sense, Boris. I have not deviated from my opinion that
1. the insertion of Granma into the photos of Chávez and 2 daughters constituted a cheap montage
2. there were other, smaller elements of manipulation involved in that photo.
3. the family portraits in the hospital were not taken just the other day.
4. Ch. is close to death.
Read the news — from as many sources as possible — and come to your own conclusions, instead of getting your information solely from these blogs, and getting annoyed when the opinions don’t conform exactly to script. It’s that simple.
February 18, 2013 at 8:08 pm
I beg to differ that the feb 14th copy of Granma was superimposed or inserted or whatever you want to call it. HCF was holding that paper in his hands and I have yet to see anyone disprove, just theories of how it was done. If you would take the time to show us the fake then I will listen.
February 18, 2013 at 8:38 pm
Download the image from the minci site. Open it in Photoshop. Enlarge the image about 400% in the disputed areas. And compare these areas with similar ones, farther away. You’ll get the hang of it. Eventually.
February 18, 2013 at 9:07 pm
Bullshit Sydney, I had those files before you and the copy of Granma is real. Looks like you are in a bind. I am not surprised by your response
February 18, 2013 at 9:24 pm
As long as they have a photograph of him holding a newspaper and another photo of a current newspaper being held in the same manner with the same lighting, switching the two would be easy. Unless they release a very high quality copy, it might be impossible to prove it was a fake. Jmo
February 18, 2013 at 8:11 pm
BTW, I don’t get my info solely from these blogs. please don’t make assumptions or statements that are blatantly false and unsupported as you do not know me.
February 18, 2013 at 8:32 pm
Then don’t ask ridiculous questions of me, as you did, which didn’t make any sense. It’s that simple.
February 18, 2013 at 10:26 am
I suspect he’s returned to his homeland to die.
February 18, 2013 at 9:37 am
“no da(-n) puntada sin hilo”
February 18, 2013 at 10:30 am
Dead is dead. Like the Castro’s, a couple years tops. Then the powers that be, both sides, fight each other over what is left. Just like a pack of wild dogs with a carcass, it will be a free for all.
February 18, 2013 at 9:26 am
Plus: make sure that neither Leopoldo Lopez or Capriles can be candidates.
Now comes resurrection, elevation to the heights of sainthood, venerations, etc. This will insure that the “pueblo” vote for his hand picked successor. Neat!
February 18, 2013 at 9:24 am
When you put it that way, Klein’s ‘shock doctrine’ comes to my mind. And shock is probably the first word that comes to my mind when I see the sluggish MUD’s response to the situation…
February 19, 2013 at 3:00 pm
Totally agree with the sluggish response from the MUD.
Look, I am from Colombia so I can’t say how I would react, but now that Chavez is “supposedly” back in Caracas and you know what hospital he is in, I would expect the opposition to stage rallies by the hundreds of thousands in the vicinity of the hospital demanding proof of life.
It is obvious that the regime is in trouble, this is when the opposition has to take the initiative and make them play defense.
Speculating as to when there will be another devaluation or when the next election will take place is sooooo pasive. Instead speculate what you can do to end this tragedy.