Is the Chavez regime a Dictatorship? That is according to Carl Schmitt

Carl Schmitt was a German jurist and law professor. Along with Heidegger he was regarded as philosophers of the Third Reich. Therefore, he was famous for supporting the Nazi regime with his legal thoughts and theories. Basically he argued that the exception (i.e. state of emergency) to any norm justifies the existence of the rule in first place. Consequently, sovereign is he who decides on the exception. He is studied by Constitutional lawyers henceforward.

In 1921, Carl Schmitt became a professor at the University of Greifswald in Nazi Germany, where he published his essay "Die Diktatur" ("On Dictatorship"), in which he discussed the foundations of the newly-established Weimar Republic, emphasising the office of the Reichspräsident. In this essay, Schmitt compared and contrasted what he saw as the effective and ineffective elements of the new constitution of his country. To him, the office of the president could be characterized as a comparatively effective element within the new constitution, because of the power granted to the president to declare a state of emergency. This power, which Schmitt discussed and implicitly praised as dictatorial, was seen as more effective, more in line with the underlying mentality of political power, than the comparatively slow and ineffective processes of legislative political power reached through parliamentary discussion and compromise.

Schmitt was at pains to remove what he saw as a squeamish taboo surrounding the concept of "dictatorship" and to show that, in his eyes, the concept is implicit whenever power is wielded through pathways outside the slow and rusty processes of parliamentary politics:

“If the constitution of a state is democratic, then every exceptional negation of democratic principles, every exercise of state power independent of the approval of the majority, can be called dictatorship.”

For Schmitt, every government capable of decisive action must include a dictatorial element within its constitution. Although the German concept of Ausnahmezustand is best translated as "state of emergency", it literally means state of exception which,according to Schmitt, frees the executive from any legal restraints to its power that would normally apply. The use of the term "exceptional" has to be underlined here: Schmitt defines sovereignty as the power to decide the instauration of state of exception, as Giorgio Agamben has noted. According to Agamben, Schmitt's conceptualization of the "state of exception" as belonging to the core-concept of sovereignty was a response to Walter Benjamin's concept of a "pure" or "revolutionary" violence, which didn't enter into any relationship whatsoever with right. Through the state of exception, Schmitt included all types of violence under right. According to Giorgio Agamben, this kind of violence, which necessarily bears a juridical value, is another example of the fusion of right to "bare life" (It. vita nuda, Greek) that transforms the juridical system into a "death machine," able to perform acts of pure violence as needed for self-legitimation, creating Homo sacer, a being that cannot be "murdered" or "sacrificed" but only killed.

Schmitt opposed what he called "chief constable dictature", or the declaration of a state of emergency in order to save the legal order (a temporary suspension of law, defined itself by moral or legal right): the state of emergency is limited (even if a posteriori, by law), to "sovereign dictature", in which law was suspended, as in the classical state of exception, not to "save the Constitution", but rather to create another Constitution. This is how he theorized Hitler's continual suspension of the legal constitutional order during the Third Reich (the Weimar Republic's Constitution was never abrogated, underlined Giorgio Agamben; rather, it was "suspended" for four years, first at February 28, 1933 Reichstag Fire Decree, with the suspension renewed every four years, implying a -- continual -- state of emergency).

The direction all this leads, and the reason why Schmitt has been taken so seriously by political theory, is to the theorisation of the crisis and state of emergency as not exceptional moments in political life opposed to some stable normality, but themselves the predominant form of the life of modern nations.

I had to think about Schmitt, because yesterday Chavez addressed the Venezuelan people at his Alo Presidente "What I want means a direct order" he said on National Television...."yo quiero significa una orden"...I would go even further: Chavez is the law, because currently the rule of law comes from Chavez´s orders, this constitutes in my opinion a dictartorship...

Ordoñez booed by Venezuelan fans!

This past Saturday Magglio Ordoñez played for the Venezuelan baseball team that played and won against the Netherlands. The Venezuelan team won and today will play Puerto Rico for a spot in the Semis the World Baseball Classic 2009.

The issue was that when Magglio Ordoñez was about to take his turn, Venezuelan fans in the stands started booing Magglio and linking him with Anti-Chavez rants. Now this issue was highly addressed by the media yesterday Sunday, when a Government Television depicted zoomed videos of the fans booing and ranting against a Venezuelan baseball player, followed by "the opposition does not have a country"..."la oposición apatrida". Even Chavez at his Presidential address talked about the issue saying that the oposition is acting against their own country and its because they are "bastards". Major baseball analysts and journalists are now condeming the actions against Magglio arguing that he was playing for "Venezuela".

Now the problem is when you mix Politics and Sports. Magglio Ordoñez should have known that his public support for the Chavez regime would get radical people acting and being loud against him. Magglio was the first one to mix Sports and Politics and now he is paying a price of being labeled by us, Venezuelans, on account of his support to the Chavez regime. Magglio is currently making $85 Million Dollars and his contract expires in 2010 in the Major Leagues. However, he is also making lots of money in Venezuela, playing politics with Chavez, and has even built a 40 Million Dollar Soccer Stadium in Eastern Venezuela (Estado Anzoategui), and loads of construction works for Chavez in Falcon State. What are Magglio´s qualifications for these government contracts? Well, he publicly supports Chavez...Does he or his Wife Dagly live in Venezuela? No, they have several homes in the United States? Do their two daughters, Maggliana and Sophia live and are educated in Venezuela? Not really...Does Magglio know something about the insecurity in our streets? No again, probably he knows more about 8 Mile Road in Detroit.

Now, the Venezuelan fans attending the game in Miami, most of them loud against the constant violations of Human Rights in Venezuela, including the violations against the freedom of press, when they see Magglio on the field, they sure want to get their message accross, Magglio played with Chavista politics and now he has to pay a price!

Chavez kicks Bodies out of Venezuela

After the promised criminal investigation by the Venezuelan government, the Tax Administration (SENIAT) decided to kick out Bodies out of Venezuela and to temporarily close the business that brought the show (Evenpro). The tax authority gave 10 days for Bodies to abandon the country and revoked the customs permits because Evenpro declared they were plastic parts and not real bodies.

The funny side is that some journalist apparently wrote that this was ordered by Chavez himself after he saw the advert of the show. They figure the only way they could easily go after the Bodies exhibit is through customs and they were quite effective. On the downside, they promised to engage criminal action which they figured they couldnt do.

Madoff admits 50 Billion Dollar Fraud

Bernie Madoff has just pleaded guilty and admitted the charges relating to the 50 Billion Dollar fraud scheme. Now, my question is where did all the money go? Talking last night with a close friend (JimmyJoe) he told me, it was never there to begin with...

I would like to think that it was wasted paying high end goods, like Yachts, Cars, Jets, Limos, Jewelery and hotel expenses...Or better yet, all the money ended on 100 women goldigger wallets and spent on stupid business and real estate...

Now, where did all the money go?

Chile sues US Banks for Pinochets accounts

The Government of Chile is pursing a legal action against 4 US banks for hiding information relating to Augusto Pinochets accounts. If this legal action is succesful, this would be a landmark case for jurisdictional issues relating to banking operations. Specifically, all bank accounts relating to Chilean citizens can be legally requested to banking institutions worldwide. The legal action included Riggs Bank which was the first bank that leaked information on Augusto Pinochets accounts. I do not know why I see that this would Chavez case in 10 years. Lets remember the initial investigation...

In 2004, a United States Senate money laundering investigation led by Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) and Norm Coleman (R-MN) — ordered in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks — uncovered a network of over 125 securities and bank accounts at Riggs Bank and other U.S. financial institutions used by Pinochet and his associates for twenty-five years to secretly move millions of dollars.[44] Though the subcommittee was charged only with investigating compliance of financial institutions under the USA PATRIOT Act, and not the Pinochet regime, Sen. Coleman noted:

“ This is a sad, sordid tale of money laundering involving Pinochet accounts at multiple financial institutions using alias names, offshore accounts, and close associates. As a former General and President of Chile, Pinochet was a well-known human rights violator and violent dictator.[44] ”

Over several months in 2005, Chilean judge Sergio Muñoz indicted Augusto Pinochet's wife, Lucia Hiriart; four of his children --Marco Antonio, Jacqueline, Veronica and Lucia Pinochet; as well as his personal secretary, Monica Ananias, and former aide Oscar Aitken on tax evasion and falsification charges stemming from the Riggs Bank investigation. In January 2006, daughter Lucia Pinochet was detained at Washington DC-Dulles airport and subsequently deported while attempting to evade the tax charges in Chile. In January 2007, the Santiago Court of Appeals revoked most of the indictment from Judge Carlos Cerda against the Pinochet family. But Pinochet's five children, his wife Lucia Hiriart, and 17 other persons (including two generals, one of his ex-lawyer and his ex-secretary) were arrested in October 2007 on charges of embezzlement and use of false passports. They are accused of having illegally transferred $27m (£13.2m) to foreign bank accounts during Pinochet's rule.

In September 2005, a joint-investigation by The Guardian and La Tercera revealed that the British arms firms BAE Systems had been identified as paying more than £1m to Pinochet, through a front company in the British Virgin Islands, which BAE has used to channel commission on arms deals. The payments began in 1997 and lasted until 2004.

Furthermore, in 2007, fifteen years of investigation led to the conclusion that the 1992 assassination of DINA Colonel Gerardo Huber was most probably related to various illegal arms traffic carried out, after Pinochet's resignation from power, by military circles very close to himself. [10]. Huber had been assassinated a short time before he was due to testify in the case concerning the 1991 illegal export of weapons to Croatian paramilitaries. The deal involved 370 tons of weapons, sold to Croatia by Chile on 7 December 1991, when the former country was under a United Nations' embargo because of the war against Serbia. In January 1992, the judge Hernán Correa de la Cerda wanted to hear Gerardo Huber in this case, but the latter may have been silenced to avoid implicating Pinochet in this new case ] — although the latter was not anymore President, he remained at the time Commander-in-Chief of the Army. Pinochet was at the center of this illegal arms trade, receiving money through various offshores and front companies, including the Banco Coutts International in Miami

LSE´s wining photographs 2009

London School of Economics holds an annual competition for LSE student and staff. These are this years winners

4. House of Terror. This photo was taken by Xuan Cao.

'A museum in Budapest. It contains exhibits related to the fascist and communist dictatorial regimes in 20th century Hungary. The background wall is a memorial to the victims of these regimes.'

3. Firewall. This photo was taken by Matilde Emma Gawronski.

'Going to Ramallah is an experience. This piece of wall tells the story of a conflict. If only it was enough to press CTRL+ALT+DEL then, the wall seems to be saying, the war would be over too.'

2. Deeper. This photo was taken by Sylvia Chant.

'An impressively long spate of underwater plumbing - the capacity of humankind to adapt to any environment. Picture taken in The Gambia, 2008'

1. Memories from Poland. This photo was taken by Bruno Serdoura.

'Taken during my Erasmus period, during the first large snowfall.'

Chavez-Restaurants and government regulation of the arepa

Yes people Chavez has finally outdone himself. Recently he has announced the creation of the restaurants for lower income Venezuelans, of course he suggested the name "Restaurante Chavez". As if no dictador has tried to engrave his name in the conscience of its population. I remember the president of Turkmenistan requesting to change the first month or January to his last name. His name is Saparmurat Niyazov, and coincidently he was named president for life of Turkmenistan...

At the same time, an recently insane appointed Minister of Commerce, Mr Eduardo Saman, a week ago declared to the media a "War for the Arepa", because his office could not conceive the Venezuelan arepa being sold at Bs. 18 to Bs. 20 each. The fair price, he argued would be around Bs. 1,5 to Bs. 2. He argued that the cost structure of the arepa would be usury. Now, today Mr Eduardo Saman argues that he never intended an official regulation of the arepa, like regulation of oil or foreign exchange, but an argument that consumer protection agency could prosecute Arepa business owners for usury should they sell arepas above Bs. 2.

Now this is really insane, no direct price regulation but threaten restaurant owners with criminal usury charges should they sell arepas (or any other product for that matter) above what the government deems is a fair price and falls according to their cost structure. I do not want to sound pessimist but this constitutes evidence that the government is moving to destroy private capitals.

The argument of usury is truly insane and constitutes a further violation of freedom of commerce (libertad de comercio) and protection of private property (propiedad privada). Further a clear violation of the principle of economic freedom (articles 112 and 115 CRBV) Usury clearly consitutes a limitation of freedom of commerce, but however can only be conceived when considering loans of sums of money or tradable assets, not when considering the sale of wholesale goods and services. Now, is the Venezuelan government going to prosecute everyone in Venezuela for usury as applied to sale of goods and services? Does the new Commerce Ministry going to review the cost structure of every economic activity in Venezuela so they can prosecute usury? I do not want to sound alarmist, but I do not like where this line of reasoning is going to take us...

"When money is lent on a contract to receive not only the principal sum again, but also an increase by way of compensation for the use, the increase is called interest by those who think it lawful, and usury by those who do not." (Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, p. 1336).

In the United States, usury laws are state laws that specify the maximum legal interest rate at which loans can be made. Congress has opted not to regulate interest rates on purely private transactions, although it arguably has the power to do so under the interstate commerce clause of Article I of the Constitution.

In Venezuela the regulation of usury dates back to 1946. When the then President Romulo Betancourt enacted the regulation of usury.

In its article 1 provides:

Cualquiera que intencionalmente se valga de las necesidades apremiantes de otro para obtener para sí o para un tercero una prestación, cesión, garantía o algo análogo que implique una ventaja o beneficio que, tomando en cuenta las circunstancias concomitantes, resultare notoriamente desproporcionada a la contraprestación o entrega que por su parte verificare, será castigado con prisión hasta de dos años o con multa hasta de diez mil bolívares (Bs. 10.000,00)

Sin perjuicio de la limitación que establece el Código Civil en su artículo Nº 1.746, se considera constitutivo del delito de usura el préstamo de dinero en el cual se estipule o de alguna manera se obtenga un interés que exceda de uno por ciento (1%) mensual.

"Anyone who intentionally benefits from strigent neccesaties of another in order to obtain for himself or to a third party a loan, assignment or collateral guarantee or any other form, that implies an advantage or benefit to, taking into consideration the surrounding circumstances, that results notoriously disproportioned to the original obligation or consideration will be punished with up to 2 years in prison or a fine of ten thousand bolivars (Bs. 10,000).

Without prejudice of the provision of the Civil Code article 1746 that provides for the crime of usury the loan of money that stipulates or in some other form produces an interest exceeding one percent (1%) a month."

Now recently Chavez has produced his own version of the still effective Usury decree. That is the enactment of the Special Law for the Defense of Hoarding, Speculation, Boycott and any other Conduct that affects the consumption of Food or Products subject to Price Control. With that name he clearly gives in their (or Chavez´s) frustration to control the inflationary economy. The funny thing is that the government forgot to include provision for the usury and it was left out...an evident mistake?

My prediction, Chavez government will try to regulate, whether directly through pricing controls or indirectly through legal action, sale of goods and services. Specially those considered neccesary for the population at large. This is no more than an excuse to try to control the inflationary economy. At the same time we should also see a direct devaluation of the Venezuelan currency and/or loads of economic measures, such as new taxes, increase in the value added tax (iva, currently at 9%) and increase in the tax unit (unidad tributaria). Tough economic times for Venezuela...

Do you believe?

Come, my friends,
is not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down:
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.
Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'

We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

Excerpt from Alfred Lord Tennysons' Ulysses

Chavez vs. Bodies Exhibition

The Chavez regime has started their case against Bodies exhibition, in this case Premier Exhibitions, or their Venezuelan agent, Evenpro. What is really funny is that it was the tax administration would confiscated the bodies, since their where brought by international courier. Now the Venezuelan Public Prosecuting office (Fiscalia Ministerio Publico) is pressing charges against the company. To this very moment they are investigating where did the bodies come from and have even considered to press criminal charges against the promoters. What is on Chavez mind is that this could easily be a way for black market homicide....Ugh! Chavez thinking like the crook that he know he is...

I personally find it amusing to exhibit for medical or scientific purposes the remains of humans who previously have given their informed consent. On contrast, my fathers opinion is that he finds it awful and does not think it should be exhibited.

However, their has been a past with this Bodies exhibition. Prior to the 2005 U.S. premiere of the Bodies exhibit, the Florida Attorney General expressed the opinion that the State Anatomical Board’s approval should be required. The Board fought the Tampa Bodies exhibit, with its director expressing the opinion that the exhibit should be shut down. Premiere Exhibitions officials disagreed, claiming that the Board had jurisdiction only over medical schools and not museums; the exhibit opened two days ahead of schedule at the Tampa Museum of Science and Industry.

Questions regarding the origins of the bodies continue to be raised. In 2006, reporting from Dalian, China for the New York Times, David Barboza described "a ghastly new underground mini-industry" with "little government oversight, an abundance of cheap medical school labor and easy access to cadavers and organs." Premier representatives say "the bodies were not formally donated by people who agreed to be displayed." The director of the Anatomical Committee of the New York Associated Medical Schools (NYAMS) worries that "you have no documentation of who this is."

ABCNews' program 20/20 produced a major report exposing the "secret trade in Chinese bodies." Claiming that bodies are sold on the black market for $300, the report spawned not only a series of other articles but also a Congressional inquiry, an investigation by the NY Attorney General,and the resignation of Premier's CEO Arnie Geller.

On the front of their exhibition website reads a disclaimer describing the presumed origin of the bodies, and fetuses:

Disclaimer:

-This exhibit displays human remains of Chinese citizens or residents which were originally received by the Chinese Bureau of Police. The Chinese Bureau of Police may receive bodies from Chinese prisons. Premier cannot independently verify that the human remains you are viewing are not those of persons who were incarcerated in Chinese prisons.

-This exhibit displays full body cadavers as well as human body parts, organs, fetuses and embryos that come from cadavers of Chinese citizens or residents. With respect to the human parts, organs, fetuses and embryos you are viewing, Premier relies solely on the representations of its Chinese partners and cannot independently verify that they do not belong to persons executed while incarcerated in Chinese prisons.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo concluded his investigation of Premier, finding "The grim reality is that Premier Exhibitions has profited from displaying the remains of individuals who may have been tortured and executed in China. Despite repeated denials, we now know that Premier itself cannot demonstrate the circumstances that led to the death of the individuals. Nor is Premier able to establish that these people consented to their remains being used in this manner. Respect for the dead and respect for the public requires that Premier do more than simply assure us that there is no reason for concern. This settlement is a start."

In June 2007, Elaine Catz quit her job of 11 years as science education coordinator for the Carnegie Museum of Science in protest over the exhibit, citing religious objections and questions regarding provenance, including the issue of reports of organ harvesting from Falun Gong in China.

In 2007, a Washington State bill was introduced to ban exhibits of bodies without clear documentation of consent, and a similar bill was introduced in January 2008 by California legislator Fiona Ma.

In June 2008 New York State passed a bill requiring anyone showing an exhibit that uses real human bodies in museums across New York to get a permit to show where exactly the bodies came from. Senator Jim Alesi sponsored the bill.

Professional ethicists, human rights activists and religious leaders have also objected. "Given the (Chinese) government's track record on the treatment of prisoners, I find this exhibit deeply problematic," said Sharon Hom, the executive director of the advocacy group Human Rights in China. Professor Anita L. Allen, a University of Pennsylvania bioethicist, argued spending money to "gawk" at human remains should raise serious concerns. Thomas Hibbs, Baylor University ethicist, compares cadaver displays to pornography in that they reduce the subject to "the manipulation of body parts stripped of any larger human significance." Even if consent were to be obtained, Rabbi Danny Schiff maintains that we should still question what providing "bodies arranged in showcases for a hungry public" says about a society.[29] Harry Wu, a long-time human rights activist, terms the practice of obtaining exhibit specimens from China "immoral" and describes how the Chinese label of 'unclaimed' on bodies may imply that families were not notified of the death.

Regarding the educational concerns around these exhibits, St. Louis Diocese Archbishop Raymond Burke directs Catholic Schools there to avoid field trips, citing serious questions for Catholics. Prior to the exhibit's opening in Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese endorsed the educational content of the exhibition, while noting that it would not be appropriate for everyone and welcoming continued discourse regarding the place of such exhibits in society. Rev. Daniel Pilarczyk, Archbishop of Cincinnati, issued a statement: "I do not believe that this exhibit is an appropriate destination for field trips by our Catholic schools."

In 2006, citing concern over how "some kids will process these images," Abbotsford, British Columbia School Superintendent Des McKay barred field trips to exhibits of plasticized human beings. In an editorial, Lutheran Reverend Christoph Reiners questioned the effect on the values of children. Elaine Catz, who helped coordinate field trips for the Carnegie Science Center prior to resigning in June 2007, maintains "it teaches that, once he is deceased, there is nothing wrong with taking a person's body without his consent; it teaches that there is nothing wrong with exploiting the dead in order to make a profit, as long as it is in the name of science or education or art. It teaches that it is incredibly easy to dehumanize others."

In 2009, after a week of presence in Venezuela, on march 4th the authocratic president Hugo Chavez confiscated the corpses, that will remain under his jurisdiction for undetermined time.

Carl Andre / Artist Review

Remembering my days in 2006 when I roamed what is now my favorite museum in the whole wide world, Tate Modern in Southwark, London. At the Tate Modern in one of the exhibitions I remembering seeing a sculpture of an artist called Carl Andre.

The sculpture in the picture is called Equivalent VIII. Nothing more than a pile of bricks. 120 white firebricks placed in a rectangular form, constitutes this piece of minimalist work.

Andre´s piece provocked an uproar in London in 1976 when it was subject to a piece in the Sunday Times, questioning the content of art of this Tate Modern art display...I would say he is a genius...

Carl Andre (born September 16, 1935) is an American minimalist artist recognized mainly for his ordered linear format and grid format sculptures ranging from large public artworks (such as Stone Field Sculpture, 1977 in Hartford, CT) [1] and Lament for the Children,1976 [2] in Long Island City, NY) to more intimate tile patterns arranged on the floor of an exhibition space (such as 144 Lead Squares [3], 1969 or Twenty-fifth Steel Cardinal, 1974)..

Andre was born in Quincy, MA. He completed primary and secondary schooling in the Quincy public school system and studied art at Phillips Academy in Andover, MA from 1951 to 1953[4]. While at Phillips Academy he became friends with Hollis Frampton who would later influence Andre's radical approach to sculpture through their conversations about art[5] and through introductions to other artists[6].

Andre served in the U.S. Army in North Carolina 1955-56 and moved to New York City in 1956. While in New York, Frampton introduced Andre to Constantin Brâncuşi through whom Andre became re-acquainted with a former classmate from Phillips Academy, Frank Stella, in 1958. Andre shared studio space with Stella from 1958 through 1960[7].

Andre's early work in wood may have been inspired by Brâncuşi, but his conversations with Stella about space and form led him in a different direction. While sharing a studio with Stella, Andre developed a series of wooden "cut" sculptures[8] (such as Radial Arm Saw cut sculpture, 1959, and Maple Spindle Exercise, 1959). Stella is noted as having said to Andre (regarding hunks of wood removed from Andre's sculpture) "Carl, that's sculpture, too."[9]

From 1960-64 Andre worked as freight brakeman and conductor in New Jersey for the Pennsylvania Railroad. The experience with blue collar labor and the ordered nature of conducting freight trains would have a later influence on Andre's sculpture and artistic personality. For example, it was not uncommon for Andre to dress in overalls and a blue work shirt, even to the most formal occasions.."[10]

During this period, Andre focused mainly on writing and there is little notable sculpture on record between 1960 and 1965. The poetry would resurface later, most notably in a book (finally published in 1980 by NYU press) called 12 Dialgues in which Andre and Frampton took turns responding to one another at a typewriter using mainly poetry and free-form essay-like texts[11]. Andre's concrete poetry has exhibited in the United States and Europe, a comprehensive collection of which is in the collection of the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam[12].

In 1965 he had his first public exhibition of work in the "Shape and Structure" show curated by Henry Geldzahler at the Tibor de Nagy Gallery. Andre's controversial "Lever" was included in the seminal 1966 show at the Jewish Museum in New York entitled, "Primary Structures." In 1970 he had a one man exhibition at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and has had one man exhibitions and participated in group shows in major museums, galleries and kunsthalles throughout America and Europe.

In 1969 Andre helped organize the Art Workers Coalition.

In 1972 Britain's Tate Gallery acquired Andre's Equivalent VIII, an arrangement of bricks. It was shown several times without incident but became the center of controversy in 1976 after it featured in an article in The Sunday Times. It was defaced with paint later in the year. The "Bricks controversy" became one of the most famous public debates in Britain about contemporary art.[13]

In 1979 Andre first met Ana Mendieta through a mutual friendship with artists, Leon Golub and Nancy Spero at AIR Gallery in New York, N.Y.[14]. Andre and Mendieta eventually married in 1984 but the relationship ended in tragedy. Mendieta fell to her death from Andre's 34th story apartment window in 1985 after an argument with Andre. Andre was charged with second degree murder. He elected to be tried before a judge with no jury. In 1988 Andre was acquitted of all charges related to Mendieta's death.[15]

Jonathan Meese / Artist review

Jonathan Meese (born January 23, 1970, Tokyo) is a German painter, sculptor, performance artist and installation artist based in Berlin and Hamburg. His (often multi-media) works include collages, drawings and writing. He also designs theater sets and wrote and starred in a play, "De Frau: Dr. Poundaddylein - Dr. Ezodysseusszeusuzur" in 2007 at the Volksbühne Theater.

Meese attended Hochschule für bildende Künste in Hamburg, but left the school before completing his studies and was picked up by Berlin gallery Contemporary Fine Arts. An early installation Ahoi de Angst was presented at the first Berlin Biennale in 1998. Susanne Titz, writing about the Biennale said, "It was thus clear that Meese had indeed put his finger on the pulse of his generation and presented it." [1] According to Karel Schampers, "Jonathan Meese can tell a story in such a gripping way that you would never have the idea to doubt its truth. Especially his installations benefit from this quality," [2]

He has been included in exhibitions “Spezialbilder” at Contemporary Fine Arts in Berlin, “Grotesk!” at Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt and “Schnitt bringt Schnitte” at Ausstellungsraum Schnitt in Köln. Recent exhibitions include Thanks, Wally Whyton (Revendaddy Phantomilky on Coconut Islandaddy) at Modern Art, London, and a performance at Tate Modern, entitled Noel Coward Is Back — Dr. Humpty Dumpty vs. Fra No-Finger. [3] [4] He has exhibited at Modern Art, London, Galerie Daniel Templon, Paris, and Centro Cultural Andratx, Mallorca.

He is represented by Contemporary Fine Arts in Berlin, Leo Koenig in New York, and Modern Art in London. In 2007 he collaborated with the composer Karlheinz Essl on the installation FRÄULEIN ATLANTIS shown at the Essl Museum in Vienna/Klosterneuburg.

He has worked collaboratively with the painters Jörg Immendorff, Albert Oehlen, Tim Berresheim, Daniel Richter, Tal R and the composer Karlheinz Essl.

Benicio del Toro in Caracas, Venezuela playing politics

Benicio del Toro was last night in Caracas. No doubt paid by the Venezuelan government. According to the Venezuelan news agency, de Toro (who played Dr. Gonzo in one of my favorite movie, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), assisted to the premiere of the movie el Che in Nuevo Circo in downtown Caracas. In the pictures he is caught right next to Libertador mayor and Ex-Electoral Vice President Jorge Rodriguez. What is really pathetic is that they were showing the movie in a Bull Fight arena. Nuevo Circo in Caracas is legendary for bull fights with bullfighters from Spain and all over the world. Poetic, I would say so...

As for Che Guevara, I have a lot to say about this fellow. Mythical I would certaintly say so. Specially when you can see him in T Shirts all over, trying to get a reaction from society. Most people do not know much about the history of Che Guevara and how we met Fidel, climbed on a boat with him in Mexico to invade Cuba, how we was appointed President of the Central Bank and how we escape Castros hands to hide in the mountains of Bolivia. There are a bunch of movies out there, concerning Che and Fidel, let alone television documentaries, so why is Steven Soderberg doing another movie about Che Guevara?

The truth is Che Guevara was a sociopath killer hired by Fidel Castro for the invasion of Cuba. When the invasion succeded the monster Che Guevara was getting bigger than Fidel´s...

I will post this article by Dale Yeager, and US writer on who was really Che Guevara. And not the manipulative version out there trying to make a quick buck...

Yogui, this is for you:

Why He Became Famous

A search for his name in Google produces 1,120,000 hits. His image is tattooed to the belly of Mike Tyson [and Maradona´s shoulder], and he frequents the t-shirts and hats of college students and celebrities.

In 1952, former Cuban president Fulgencio Batista was third in the race for president and decided to hold a coup. By the way, he had done this earlier in 1933 and was elected the first time by forming a political alliance with the Cuban Communist Party, sound familiar?

In 1953 a young attorney named Fidel Castro, tried to oust Batista but he and his group failed after which he was arrested and jailed. After two years, Batista freed Castro. That same year Castro meets Che Guevara and Che joined Castro’s 26th of July Movement.

In 1956 Castro and his 26th of July Movement launched another attack and was beaten by Batista’s troops…again. Castro moved to the mountains for three years. In 1958, several groups [not affiliated with Castro], tried to bring down Batista, along with Castro’s crew.

Eventually Batista realized that the gig was over for him and he fled Cuba on New Year's Day 1959.

After the revolution's success, the 26th of July Movement was joined with other bodies to form the United Party of the Cuban Socialist Revolution, which in turn became the Communist Party of Cuba in 1965.

So who was Che Guevara?

His full legal name was Ernesto Rafael Guevara de la Serna. He was of Spanish-Irish descent.
In 1928, he was born into an aristocratic and politically Marxist family in Rosario Argentina. As a boy he played rugby and was nicknamed the “The Raging" because he was extremely aggressive.
In 1948 Guevara entered the University of Buenos Aires to study medicine. There is no evidence that he graduated with a medical degree. In fact the only medical job he had was that of a medical assistant and his efforts to get an internship as a doctor were not successful.
1956 he married his first wife Hilda Gadea, an exiled Peruvian Marxist. They had one child. Later in 1959 he decided to divorce Gadea and marry a Cuban, Aleida Marsh. They had four children. In 1964 this loyal father had an extramarital affair with Lilia Rosa López, and they had a son Omar Pérez. His closest friends described Che as a father using one word …absent. In reality he was – like all political extremists – obsessed with his cause and his personal pleasure instead of the well being of his family.
But many people see Che Guevara as a liberator as a social savior. He was far from that. When Guevara met Castro and joined forces with him Cuba needed saving….or did it?

Facts from a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization report on Cuba released in 1957:

· "One feature of the Cuban social structure is a large middle class”.

· "Cuban workers are more unionized (proportional to the population) than U.S. workers.

· The average wage for an 8 hour day in Cuba in 1957 is higher than for
workers in Belgium, Denmark, France and Germany.

· Cuban labor receives 66.6 per cent of gross national income. In the U.S. the figure is 70 per cent, in Switzerland 64 per cent. 44 per cent of Cubans are covered by Social legislation, a higher percentage then in the U.S."

· In 1958 Cuba had a higher per-capita income than Austria and Japan. Cuban
industrial workers had the 8th highest wages in the world. In the 1950's Cuban stevedores earned more per hour than their counterparts in New Orleans and San Francisco.

· Cuba had established an 8 hour work-day in 1933 -- five years before FDR's New Dealers got around to it. Add to this: one months paid vacation.

· Cuba, a country 71% white in 1957, was completely desegregated 30 years before the U.S.

· In 1958 Cuba had more female college graduates per capita than the U.S.

In reality the Cuban people had lost control of their government when Batista seized power in 1952. When the Castro / Che team took over the country was thriving economically and in some ways socially but it had lost its direction. History has shown that when liberal democracies lose their direction there is always an opportunist ready and waiting to take over.

But maybe with all of his faults Che was a kind man, a loving man, think again! In his article “The Killing Machine”, Alvaro Vargas Llosa details the violent side of Guevara.

· In April 1967, speaking from experience, he summed up his homicidal idea of justice in his "Message to the Tricontinental": "hatred as an element of struggle; unbending hatred for the enemy, which pushes a human being beyond his natural limitations, making him into an effective, violent, selective, and cold-blooded killing machine."

· "I feel my nostrils dilate savoring the acrid smell of gunpowder and blood of the enemy,"

· Guevara's disposition when he traveled with Castro from Mexico to Cuba aboard the Granma is captured in a phrase in a letter to his wife that he penned on January 28, 1957, not long after disembarking, which was published in her book Ernesto: A Memoir of Che Guevara in Sierra Maestra: "Here in the Cuban jungle, alive and bloodthirsty."

· In January 1957, as his diary from the Sierra Maestra indicates, Guevara shot Eutimio Guerra because he suspected him of passing on information: "I ended the problem with a .32 caliber pistol, in the right side of his brain.... His belongings were now mine."

· Later he shot Aristidio, a peasant who expressed the desire to leave whenever the rebels moved on. While he wondered whether this particular victim "was really guilty enough to deserve death," he had no qualms about ordering the death of Echevarría, a brother of one of his comrades, because of unspecified crimes: "He had to pay the price." At other times he would simulate executions without carrying them out, as a method of psychological torture.

· Instruction given to his underlings, "If in doubt, kill him".

· José Vilasuso, a lawyer and a professor at Universidad Interamericana de Bayamón in Puerto Rico, who belonged to the body in charge of the summary judicial process at La Cabaña [the prison Castor put Che in charge of], told me recently that Che was in charge of the Comisión Depuradora. The process followed the law of the Sierra: there was a military court and Che's guidelines to us were that we should act with conviction, meaning that they were all murderers and the revolutionary way to proceed was to be implacable. My direct superior was Miguel Duque Estrada. My duty was to legalize the files before they were sent on to the Ministry. Executions took place from Monday to Friday, in the middle of the night, just after the sentence was given and automatically confirmed by the appellate body. On the most gruesome night I remember, seven men were executed.

· Javier Arzuaga, the Basque chaplain who gave comfort to those sentenced to die and personally witnessed dozens of executions, spoke to me recently from his home in Puerto Rico. A former Catholic priest, now seventy-five, who describes himself as "closer to Leonardo Boff and Liberation Theology than to the former Cardinal Ratzinger," he recalls that there were about eight hundred prisoners in a space fit for no more than three hundred: former Batista military and police personnel, some journalists, a few businessmen and merchants. The revolutionary tribunal was made of militiamen. Che Guevara presided over the appellate court. He never overturned a sentence. I would visit those on death row at the galera de la muerte. A rumor went around that I hypnotized prisoners because many remained calm, so Che ordered that I be present at the executions. After I left in May, they executed many more, but I personally witnessed fifty-five executions. There was an American, Herman Marks, apparently a former convict. We called him "the butcher" because he enjoyed giving the order to shoot. I pleaded many times with Che on behalf of prisoners. I remember especially the case of Ariel Lima, a young boy. Che did not budge. Nor did Fidel, whom I visited. I became so traumatized that at the end of May 1959 I was ordered to leave the parish of Casa Blanca, where La Cabaña was located and where I had held Mass for three years. I went to Mexico for treatment. The day I left, Che told me we had both tried to bring one another to each other's side and had failed. His last words were: "When we take our masks off, we will be enemies."

· Che set up the first forced labor camp, Guanahacabibes, in 1960. This camp was the precursor to the eventual systematic confinement, starting in 1965 in the province of Camagüey, of dissidents, homosexuals, AIDS victims, Catholics, Afro-Cuban priests, and other such scum, under the banner of Unidades Militares de Ayuda a la Producción, or Military Units to Help Production. Herded into buses and trucks, the "unfit" would be transported at gunpoint into concentration camps organized on the Guanahacabibes mold. Some would never return; others would be raped, beaten, or mutilated; and most would be traumatized for life, as Néstor Almendros's wrenching documentary Improper Conduct showed the world a couple of decades ago.

But maybe the people of Cuba today are benefiting from his reforms and economic genius. According to Ernesto Betancourt his deputy at the Cuban National Bank where he was put in charge by Castro, " Che was ignorant of the most elementary economic principles”.

Today Cuba is a mess.

Water and sewer pipeline networks are in shambles.
Only 62% of Cubans have access to clean water.
Cuba is lacking 1.6 million housing units.
Cuban schools rely on 18 year old high school graduates as their primary teachers.
Cuba, with the governments blessing, has become a major sex tourism destination and is a source country for women and children trafficked for exploitation.
AIDS victims are imprisoned in locked compounds and not allowed out.
Way to go Che!

This article is dedicated to the men, women and children killed by Che Guevara.

14 executed by Che in the Sierra Maestra during the anti-Batista guerrilla struggle (1957-1958):

1. ARISTIDIO 2. MANUEL CAPITÁN 3. JUAN CHANG 4. “BISCO” ECHEVARRÍA 5. ECHEVARRÍA BROTHER #1

6. ECHEVARRÍA BROTHER #2 7. EUTIMIO GUERRA 8. DIONISIO LEBRIGIO 9. JUAN LEBRIGIO 10. “EL NEGRO” NÁPOLES

11. “CHICHO” OSORIO 12. ONE UNIDENTIFIED TEACHER (“EL MAESTRO) 13.-14. 2 UNIDENTIFIED PEASANTS



10 executed in Santa Clara at Che’s orders in only two days (January 1959):

1. RAMÓN ALBA 2. JOSÉ BARROSO 3. JOAQUÍN CASILLAS 4. FÉLIX CRUZ 5. ALEJANDRO GARCÍA OLAYÓN

6. HÉCTOR MIRABAL 7. J. MIRABAL 8. FÉLIX MONTANO 9. CORNELIO ROJAS 10. VILALLA



156 executed at La Cabaña Fortress prison at Che Guevara’s orders:

1. VILAU ABREU 2. HUMBERTO AGUIAR 3. GERMÁN AGUIRRE 4. PELAYO ALAYÓN 5. JOSÉ LUIS ALFARO

6. PEDRO ALFARO 7. MARIANO ALONSO 8. JOSÉ ALVARO 9. ANIELLA 10. MARIO ARES POLO

11. JOSÉ RAMÓN BACALLAO 12. CEVERINO BARRIOS 13. EUGENIO BÉCQUER 14. FRANCISCO BÉCQUER

15. RAMÓN BISCET 16. ROBERTO CALZADILLA 17. EUFEMIO CANO 18. JUAN CAPOTE FIALLO

19. ANTONIO CARRALERO 20. GERTRUDIS CASTELLANOS 21. JOSÉ CASTAÑO QUEVEDO 22. RAÚL CASTAÑO

23. EUFEMIO CHALA 24. JOSÉ CHAMACE 25. JOSÉ CHAMIZO 26. RAÚL CLAUSELL 27. ÁNGEL CLAUSELL

28. DEMETRIO CLAUSELL 29. JOSÉ CLAUSELL 30. ELOY CONTRERAS 31. ALBERTO CORBO 32. EMILIO CRUZ

33. JUAN FELIPE CRUZ 34. ORESTES CRUZ 35. HUMBERTO CUEVAS 36. CUNY 37. ANTONIO DE BECHE

38. MATEO DELGADO 39. ARMANDO DELGADO 40. RAMÓN DESPAIGNE 41. JOSÉ DÍAZ CABEZAS

42. ANTONIO DUARTE 43. RAMÓN FERNÁNDEZ OJEDA 44. RUDY FERNÁNDEZ 45. FERRÁN ALFONSO

46. SALVADOR FERRERO 47. VICTOR FIGUEREDO 48. EDUARDO FORTE 49. UGARDE GALÁN

50. RAFAEL GARCÍA MUÑIZ 51. ADALBERTO GARCÍA 52. ALBERTO GARCÍA 53. JACINTO GARCÍA

54. EVELIO GASPAR 55. ARMADA GIL Y DIEZ CABEZAS 56. JOSÉ GONZÁLEZ MALAGÓN 57. EVARISTO GONZÁLEZ

58. EZEQUIEL GONZÁLEZ 59. SECUNDINO GONZÁLEZ 60. RICARDO GRAO 61. BONIFACIO GRASSO

62. RICARDO JOSÉ GRAU 63. OSCAR GUERRA 64. JULIÁN HERNÁNDEZ 65. FRANCISCO HERNÁNDEZ LEYVA

66. ANTONIO HERNÁNDEZ 67. GERARDO HERNÁNDEZ 68. OLEGARIO HERNÁNDEZ 69. SECUNDINO HERNÁNDEZ

70. JESÚS INSUA 71. ENRIQUE IZQUIERDO 72. OSMÍN JORRÍN 73. SILVINO JUNCO 74. ENRIQUE LA ROSA

75. IGNACIO LASAPARLA 76. JESÚS LAZO 77. ARIEL LIMA LAGO 78. RAÚL LÓPEZ VIDAL 79. ARMANDO MAS

80. ENERLIO MATA 81. ELPIDIO MEDEROS 82. JOSÉ MEDINAS 83. JOSÉ MESA 84. FIDEL MESQUÍA

85. JUAN MILIÁN 86. FRANCISCO MIRABAL 87. LUIS MIRABAL 88. ERNESTO MORALES 89. PEDRO MOREJÓN

90. DR. CARLOS MUIÑO, MD. 91. CÉSAR NECOLARDES ROJAS 92. VICTOR NECOLARDES ROJAS 93. JOSÉ NUÑEZ

94. VITERBO O'RREILLY 95. FÉLIX OVIEDO 96. MANUEL PANEQUE 97. PEDRO PEDROSO 98. RAFAEL PEDROSO

99. DIEGO PÉREZ CUESTA 100. JUAN PÉREZ 101. DIEGO PÉREZ CRELA 102. JOSÉ POZO 103. EMILIO PUEBLA

104. ALFREDO PUPO 105. SECUNDINO RAMÍREZ 106. RAMÓN RAMOS 107. PABLO RAVELO 108. RUBÉN REY

109. MARIO RISQUELME 110. FERNANDO RIVERA 111. PABLO RIVERA 112. MANUEL RODRÍGUEZ

113. MARCOS RODRÍGUEZ 114. NEMESIO RODRÍGUEZ 115. PABLO RODRÍGUEZ 116. RICARDO RODRÍGUEZ

117. JOSÉ SALDARA 118. PEDRO SANTANA 119. SERGIO SIERRA 120. JUAN SILVA 121. FAUSTO SILVA

122. ELPIDIO SOLER 123. JESÚS SOSA BLANCO 124. RENATO SOSA 125. SERGIO SOSA 126. PEDRO SOTO

127. OSCAR SUÁREZ 128. RAFAEL TARRAGO 129. TEODORO TELLEZ CISNEROS 130. FRANCISCO TELLEZ

131. JOSÉ TIN 132. FRANCISCO TRAVIESO 133. LEONARDO TRUJILLO 134. TRUJILLO 135. LUPE VALDÉS BARBOSA

136. MARCELINO VALDÉS 137. ANTONIO VALENTÍN 138. MANUEL VÁZQUEZ 139. SERGIO VÁZQUEZ 140. VERDECIA

141. DÁMASO ZAYAS



*15 additional executions were reported by The New York Times (on 2/6/59, 2/8/59, 3/16/59, and 4/2/59),

but names are unknown.

References:

1. State Department on Repression in Cuba, Fact Sheet Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor and the Bureau of Public Affairs
Washington, DC December 15, 2003

2. The Killing Machine, Alvaro Vargas Llosa, The New Republic, 7/11/2005

3. UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization) report on Cuba, 1957

4. CAFC.gov U.S. Department of State July 2006

5. FREE SOCIETY PROJECT, INC. http://www.cubaarchive.org/

Venezuelan Government seizes 2 Rice Plants

As of yesterday, Monday March 2, 2009, the Venezuelan Government has seize 2 important rice plants in Venezuela. One of the plants, Primor, is own by the Polar group and solely represents 22% of the market of rice. The rationale behind government intervention is that the private companies are underproducing rice on account of shortages of raw material. Private companies are producing approximately -15% of what they produced exactly last year while the government alleges that theres is plenty of raw (rice) materials.

Over the past 5 years, the government has increased its regulation concerning the sale of rice, coffee, ketchup, vegetable oil, in its frenzy to control inflation. Now those who understand how the market operates, know that its only a matter of time until they creatively comply with such government regulation. On creative compliance I will try to address it separately since its such a deep subject of government regulation. We Venezuelans now can find, Ketchup light or Ketchup hot sauce instead of regular ketchup because its price are regulated, flavored rice instead of white rice, decaffinated and flavored coffee instead of black coffee, so on and so forth...

What is true is that its obvious that this government intervention measure will severely permeate through other wholesale goods. Why? Well a couple of days ago the Government made an announcement calling for economic measures in 15 days, its obvious the government is battling against inflation and the strong loss of purchase power of the Venezuelan Bolivar, and what is worse, the economy seems to have slow down...

My advise, again divest Venezuelan currency and watch for more and more government intervention of wholesale goods. This morning a government consumer protection agency has announced that they will intervene vegetable oil and flour plants.

I also predict that investment and financial frauds schemes will become very popular as the population will severely go desperate...

US State Department unloads against Venezuela

On Feb. 25, 2009, the United States State Department release its Country Report on Venezuela concerning the status of human rights. Its not that the United States is perfect in this regard, after all its one of the few countries with lawful death penalty. However, the State Department issues this report so that people can learn on the violations of human rights in that specific country and recognize the development of policies in favor of protecting human rights.

I will paste certain parts of the report, which can be found here

"Venezuela is a constitutional democracy with a population of approximately 26 million. In 2006 voters reelected President Hugo Chavez of the Fifth Republic Movement (MVR). Official observation missions from both the European Union and Organization of American States (OAS) deemed the elections generally free and fair but noted some irregularities. While civilian authorities generally maintained control of the security forces, there were instances in which elements of the security forces acted independently of government authority.

Politicization of the judiciary and official harassment of the political opposition and the media characterized the human rights situation during the year. The following human rights problems were reported: unlawful killings; harsh prison conditions; arbitrary arrests and detentions; a corrupt, inefficient, and politicized judicial system characterized by trial delays, impunity, and violations of due process; official intimidation and attacks on the independent media; discrimination based on political grounds; widespread corruption at all levels of government; violence against women; trafficking in persons; and restrictions on workers' right of association."

Here the report is totally correct, the politicization of the Judiciary is obscene in Venezuela, as a practicing attorney can give loads of examples, I remember that when the Initial Celebration of the Judicial year, all the Justices of the Supreme Court chanting Chavez no se va! Chavez will not go away. This is dead on. Unlawful killings, well one can read the papers in Venezuela to see that we have more dead count than the war in Iraq and Afganistan, put together. Trial delays, impunity and violations of due process. I wish to remember the people in Venezuela, that we have political prisoners, awaiting for years for a trial thats never going to come. The names, Lazaro Forero, Henry Vivas, Ivan Simonovics, Gral Martinez Mendoza, Jose Mazuco from Zulia State police, among others. Widespread corruption, well this is totally correct!!!

"In October the Ministry of Interior and Justice reported that 18,313 police officials, or 16 percent of the country's police force, were under investigation for misconduct and alleged human rights violations, including kidnapping, torture, unlawful arrest and detention, and extrajudicial killings stemming from cases filed from 2000-07. In 2007 alone, 1,948 police officers were accused of alleged misconduct, according to the Ministry. The National Organic Police Law was passed in April 2007. This law created a national police force; however, there have been no efforts to staff this organization. In January the Caracas Metropolitan Police Force was placed under the authority of the Ministry of Interior and Justice."

"
While the constitution provides for an independent judiciary, judicial independence remained compromised. The judiciary also was highly inefficient, sometimes corrupt, and subject to political influence, particularly from the Attorney General's Office, which in turn was pressured by the executive branch.

The judicial sector consists of the Supreme Court and lower courts, the Attorney General's Office, and the Ministry of Interior and Justice. The Supreme Court is the country's highest court and directly administers the lower courts through the Executive Directorate of the Judiciary.

According to the NGO Foro Penal, almost 40 percent of the judges were provisional and temporary. The Supreme Court's Judicial Committee may hire and fire temporary judges without cause and without explanation, and it did so. Provisional judges legally have the same rights and authorities as permanent judges. The provisional and temporary judges, lacking tenure in their profession, particularly were subject to political influence from the Ministry of Interior and Justice and the attorney general.

The law provides that the Moral Council (attorney general, human rights ombudsman, and comptroller general) may suspend judges and allows the National Assembly to revoke the appointment of Supreme Court judges by a simple majority vote.

Lower court judges hear pretrial motions, including prosecution and defense motions, prior to criminal cases going to trial judges. Executive judges oversee the application of sentences. Appeals courts, consisting of three-judge panels, review lower court decisions. The attorney general oversees the prosecutors who investigate crimes and bring charges against criminal suspects.

In accordance with President Chavez's December 2007 amnesty decree, the charges against governor-elect of Miranda State Henrique Capriles Radonski, for his alleged involvement in the arrest of Ramon Rodriguez Chacin, were dropped. In October the courts reopened the case against Capriles related to a violent demonstration in 2002 outside the Cuban Embassy.

In March an ex-prosecutor accused former attorney general Isaias Rodriguez of altering witness testimony and falsely implicating critics of the government in the Danilo Anderson case. Anderson was a high-profile prosecutor killed in a car bomb explosion in November 2004. The government's one-time key witness, Giovanny Vasquez, told the media that Rodriguez paid him 1,075,000 Bs.F (approximately $500,000) to present false testimony in the case. The government reportedly reopened the case following the allegations against Rodriguez.

Trial Procedures

The law provides for open, public, and fair trials with oral proceedings for all individuals. The accused have the right to be present and consult with an attorney. Public defenders are provided for indigent defendants, but there continued to be a shortage of public defenders. Defendants have the right to question witnesses against them and present their own witnesses. The accused and their attorneys do not necessarily have access to government-held evidence. Defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty. Defendants and plaintiffs have the right of appeal.

Trial delays were common. A professional judge and two lay judges try serious cases; a single judge may hear serious cases if requested by the defendant or victim or if attempts to appoint lay judges have failed. Difficulty in finding persons willing to serve as lay judges also resulted in delays.

The law provides that trials for military personnel charged with human rights abuses after 1999 be held in civilian rather than military courts.

Political Prisoners and Detainees

There were an estimated 12 political prisoners in the country. In some cases the political prisoners were held in distinct penal facilities, including DISIP installations and the Ramo Verde military prison. The International Committee of the Red Cross was permitted access to these political prisoners.

In December 2007 President Chavez decreed a partial amnesty for persons implicated in the drafting or signing of the 2002 Carmona Decree, which recognized an interim government during the 2002 coup against Chavez, and in a series of enumerated acts surrounding the coup. Human rights organizations welcomed the measure but urged Chavez to broaden the amnesty to include all those accused of involvement in the events of 2002 and to all implicated in political crimes.

Retired army General Francisco Uson remained free on conditional release from Ramo Verde after being released in December 2007. Uson served three years and six months for allegedly "defaming" the army. The conditions for his release included not traveling outside of greater Caracas and reporting before a judge every 15 days. He was also prohibited from participating in demonstrations or commenting on his case to the media.

Former Caracas Metropolitan Police commissioners Ivan Simonovis, Henry Vivas, and Lazarro Forero, along with eight other police officers, remained imprisoned without conviction, stemming from charges of being accomplices to murder committed during the events related to the civil disturbances in 2002. The three commissioners were held in DISIP installations, while the eight other police officers were in Ramo Verde. On January 16, a judge denied a motion to dismiss the charges under President Chavez's December 2007 amnesty decree. The ruling followed statements by Chavez and Attorney General Luisa Ortega Diaz that the accused were not eligible to benefit from the amnesty.

In September 2007 government officials imprisoned and accused Jose Sanchez "Mazuco," former chief of security for Zulia State, which is controlled by opposition governor and former presidential candidate Manuel Rosales, in connection with the killing of Claudio Macias, a Military Intelligence Police (DIM) informant who was jailed at the time. Prosecutors contended that Sanchez authorized the hanging of Macias. Sanchez remained in custody at the Ramo Verde military prison at year's end."

Buckle up Venezuela! Its going to be a [economic] bumpy ride...

Yep, finally today the Venezuelan Government has issued a statement concerning the real deal economic global crisis affecting also, who? Venezuela. It is obvious that Venezuela is probably one of the first affected countries in the whole world. The reason, well would it be just because 90% of government spending comes from oil revenues. And more importantly, Venezuelan economy depends roughly 60% from imports. The drop of the oil prices had to mean something to Venezuelan economy, almost a year ago Venezuela oil crude was trading around $125 per barrel, now its lucky to get even $38, thats a -30%, and I am being very optimistic.

So finally today Chavez gave in on the subject, Ali Rodriguez, Venezuela´s Finance Secretary has issued a statement saying that the Government will make economic adjustments announcements in 15 days. What??? I know Mr Rodriguez is the Finance Minister but is he buying time? At the same token the inflation levels seems to surging through the days of the year 2009, and at the same time next week we have an increase in the Tax Unit (Unidad Tributaria) from Bs. 46 to Bs. 55, an increase in 19% percent. How will this affect Venezuelans? Well, let me put it this way, how about Stanflation, that is inflation with economic recession. I seriously think that it will probably take 3-4 weeks to really feel it in local supermarkets.

At the same time, considering that Venezuela generally depends on its oil revenues for its internal economy, the President of PDVSA and Energy Minister (Venezuelan Oil Czar) has also announced that PDVSA is considering renegotiating with Venezuelan oil contractors a decrease in 40% for their fees. He is arguing a radical change in circumstances, and as an attorney know the implications of such an argument. Bottomline, it is publicly known in Venezuela that PDVSA has defaulted on its local contractors and now PDVSA will argue "radical change in circumstances" to negotiate their way out of their legal quagmire. The term legally is Rebus Sic Stantibus, which derives from latin "fundamental change of circumstances" that gave reason for the contract to take place and remains a lawful option to excuse performance on contractual terms. Whats going to happen then Venezuelans would ask? Contractors will have no other option but to accept...and ooops, another factor to consider for the Stanflation to seriously kick in.

My economic advise, divest Venezuelan currency and invest in real estate and wholesale goods. Watch the government regulation on the latter...

Rupert Murdoch apologizes for racist cartoon

Financial mogul and international billonaire Rupert Murdoch has issued a formal apologies for the racist cartoon that was published a while ago in the New York Post. Murdoch was born in Australia and is the owner of News Corp, including Fox, Sky network in Europe and a vast collection of newspapers, including the famous NY Post.

The New York Post published a cartoon depicting two NY Cops killing a chimp and asking themselves who will write the next economic stimulus package. Several afro american groups in New York were requesting an explanation to the newspaper. Well the head honcho himself issued a statement titled "Statement from Rupert Murdoch" and goes like this:

Today I want to personally apologize to any reader who felt offended, and even insulted," said Murdoch, head of the media giant News Corp, which owns the Post.

"We all hold the readers of the New York Post in high regard and I promise you that we will seek to be more attuned to the sensitivities of our community," Murdoch wrote."


I personally think that this cartoon is not race related, in fact I think it wouldve conveyed the same message if it were another animal perhaps a dog, a horse or even a pig...

What gets my attention is the effectiveness of people coming together and protest againt a consumer product (a newspaper in this case) that completely disregards the emotions and affections of their clients. Mr Murdoch as he is always well advised, issued a statement to settle the issue out of the courts and out of the public scrutiny.

the Wheel of Fortune (or destiny)

If you create an act, you create a habit. If you create a habit, you create character. If you create a character, you create a destiny.

Its the little choices that make up our lives. Human being are governed by free will, however we rarely see such choices come up in our lives. Its the little choices that count, those choices like waking up earlier or later, or wearing this or that outfit, that make up our lives. Even better, the choices that makes our day, taking this road, instead of that one, taking time to listen to a friend or a relative...

We choose constantly throughout the day, sometimes it seems that the choices pick you, instead of us making sound and sane choices. Then coincidences are no longer little freak events where we try to look busy and really interested in some other place and time. We must stop looking foolishly busy or not interested in these coincidences, but must act pleasently surprised to find that they constitute the makeup of our minds and our lives...

Carlo Tamagnone, an Italian philosopher from Turin, proposed a pragmatic view of destiny, like a force on the back that pilots the life of the men. According to him the destiny is therefore not an anthropological a priori, but an a posteriori of the flow of life, as evolutionary way under construction by every living person. In fact, apart from the genetic factor as its base, the destiny is forming by living and by accumulating experiences of life. In this perspective, the dstiny is therefore something that each individual built up as largely as an involuntary "project" of his life, acting and influencing his decisions and choices. Tamagnone recognizes six destinal elements-agents: the genetic inheritance, the childish imprinting, the condition, the situation, the role, the social class and the level of wealth

the blue house

Alone I sit from my blue
house that shelters me from
strange and afars, sights
and smells of tree

Alone I sit, and afar I read
your verses from wherever you are
Inside with me

This blue ceiling and walls
is what I see, and the covers
and the paintings they are blue
inside of me.

Afar from the winds and the feathers
while some leaves still stay with me
from the red yearning of my soul
to the green inspiration of my trees,
turning blue into everything that I see...

painting by Marc Chagall

the more things [climate] change, the more they stay the same

As published by Harpers magazine, the increase in lobby for climate change policy has really blossomed in the United States. This makes me outright challenge climate change allegations. Its not that I do not agree the planet is taking a beating with pollution, over harvesting, fishing and what not, but our understanding of how does the planet work, and better yet, is the remedial action going to have the planned effects?

I think Al Gore is suspect...

The number of lobbyists seeking to influence federal policy on climate change has grown more than 300 percent in five years, with a slew of new interests from Main Street to Wall Street adding to the challenge of addressing global warming, according to a new Center for Public Integrity report, The Climate Change Lobby. The report provides a first-of-its-kind look at the universe of special interests shaping debate in the United States and how it has sharply expanded between 2003— when Congress previously voted on climate change— and 2008.

Among the report’s findings:

More than 770 companies and organizations hired some 2,340 lobbyists to work on climate change and spent at least $90 million lobbying in 2008. The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity—a group of 48 companies—topped the list of those solely focused on the issue, spending $9.95 million.

Finance, insurance and investment firms, with virtually no presence in the climate debate on Capitol Hill in 2003, last year had as many lobbyists as alternative energy firms— about 130. Their interest is in shaping the rules of a market-based “cap-and-trade” system.

Despite the huge growth in the number of environmental, health and alternative energy lobbyists, they are outnumbered by industry and other interests 8-to-1.