Attorney general proposes regulation of freedom of expression

The Venezuelan Attorney General Luisa Ortega (botox anyone?) yesterday has proposed for a strict regulation of the right of freedom of expression. While the Attorney General, Luisa Ortega, recognized (thanks be to God) the constitutional right of freedom of expression, she proposes to regulate the freedom of expression by criminalizing the act based on "false news" that could trigger social reactions, including political retaliations by hecklers. She introduced a special law titled Law of Mediated Crimes. The rationale behind the law, according to Luisa Ortega, is that the constitutional right of freedom of expression must be curtailed and balanced. Now, I really think that Luisa Ortega is forgetting that the only limitation to the right of freedom of expression is defamatory laws or the criminalization of defamation. Venezuela provides for the criminal penalty of defamation, as the only limitation to the right of freedom of expression. If we compare legislations worldwide, there is not a single additional limitation to the right of freedom of expression. This limitation will surely constitute a further violation of the Venezuelan Constitution.

The proposed law includes a wording that any television reporter, broadcaster, artist or any citizen utilizing the media outlet for that matter, that bases itself on "false or erroneous news" will trigger criminal penalties, including prison from 2 to 5 years, depending on the case. Now, the keyword here in "false news", what really constitutes false news, when comparing it to "true news". Who will decide whether or not the news was false will be entirely based on political judgments, moreover in practical terms this will create difficulties for the prosecution, proving to the Criminal Court that the news was false. And what constitutes the truth? Definitely a spiritual exercise...

If this law is passed, this will create additional censorship on Venezuelan media outlets, now added to the current government financial and tax terrorism will virtually silence opinions in the media.

Artist review - Tim Burton

Tim Burton was born in Burbank, California (August 25, 1958) the first of two sons to Bill Burton and Jean Erickson. His year of birth is sometimes mistakenly given as 1960. Burton described his childhood self as quirky, self-absorbed and highly imaginative. As he grew older, he found home life and school somewhat difficult, often escaping the reality by watching horror and low budget films, to which he would later pay tribute in his biography of Ed Wood. Burton grew up on Evergreen Street, very near the Valhalla Cemetery in Burbank. He has spoken in interviews about the "weirdness" of growing up near a cemetery. He attended Providencia Elementary School in Burbank, Luther Burbank Jr. High, and later Burbank High School, which his father Bill had also attended. His father Bill worked for many years in the Recreation Department for the City of Burbank. Another film figure of importance in Burton's childhood is Vincent Price, whose films would deeply influence the upcoming director's career. He was inspired early on by Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion films.

After high school, he won a Disney scholarship to attend the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California. He studied at the Character Animation program for three years. Burton's first job in animation was working as a cell painter on Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings. Burton was then hired by the Walt Disney Studios as an animator apprentice. Burton's job was to draw for The Fox and the Hound but he was dissatisfied with the artistic direction of the movie. He later commented on the refusal of Disney to use his design for The Fox and the Hound because his designs made the characters, in opposition to Disney's desires, "look like roadkill". Burton was unhappy during his Disney period, but it was then that he wrote and drew the poem and illustrations that would be the basis for The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Burton was married to a German-born artist for four years, whom he left for Lisa Marie, a model with whom he lived and was "engaged" to 1992 through 2001. Lisa Marie had parts in all of his films while they were a couple, most notably Ed Wood and Mars Attacks! Burton currently lives with Helena Bonham Carter, whom he met while filming Planet of the Apes. Burton abruptly left Lisa Marie for Bonham Carter and they now have a son, Billy Ray Burton, born October 4, 2003, and a daughter, Nell Burton, born December 15, 2007. Burton and Bonham Carter split time between Los Angeles and London.

Close friend Johnny Depp is a godfather of Burton's son. In Burton on Burton, Depp wrote the introduction, stating, "What more can I say about him? He is a brother, a friend, my godson's father. He is a unique and brave soul, someone that I would go to the ends of the earth for, and I know, full and well, he would do the same for me."

Microsoft takes on Yahoo

Microsoft has long been after the purchase of Yahoo. Now almost 2 and half years after, lawyers from both sides reached an agreement which Yahoo will give control of its search engine to Microsoft, which in turn will power its own search engine site Bing.com. As consideration Yahoo will get 88% of the revenue from all search ad sales for the first 5 years of the deal.

In my opinion this is a work of art deal in terms of contractual law. I give credit to the negotiating teams and specially to the lawyers from both sides. Now, will this a first series of steps towards the purchase of Google? Then Youtube?

Is Microsoft is waking up from the golden slumbers that lead Steve Jobs and Apple take over the gadget world?

My bets are all in favour of Google and youtube.com, however.

“It is difficult to keep quiet if you have nothing to do”

Arthur Schopenhauer


Sometimes, time is against fate...

Back from Vacations

Chavez v. Globovision (update)

Yep, this is probably the fifth or sixth round in the personal battle of Hugo Chavez Frias against Globovision. It’s been almost 3 months since he ordered it to be shut down on several occasions on live television. This is without legal process or any reasonable objection against Globovision. Lets clearly remember that almost two months ago, Venezuelan tax authorities (SENIAT) audited Globovision and handed them a almost a 2 Million dollar outstanding tax fee along with applicable penalties. People from all parts of Venezuela quickly started gathering money to support Globovision and pay the Chavista inspired tax fee. Spontaneous manifestations of people on the streets trying to help keep Globovision on the airwaves with their spare change. This I am sure enraged Chavez even further…
Now, Chavez (or his goons, and I remember Machiavelli´s Prince trying to please the King) is after Globovision´s president and owner Guillermo Zuloaga. In a fascist fashion weeks ago they raided Zuloaga´s residence to find 23 Toyota trucks in the residence. The explanation behind this is that Zuloaga´s son owns a Toyota dealership in Caracas and he was using the parking space. This was supported by the fact that title deed showed they were all Zuloaga´s companies. During the raid, legal counsel for Zuloaga, Mrs. P. Jaime objected the illegal procedure was shortly after quickly charged with obstruction of justice, criminal process is pending. Now, the Chavez´s prize is to criminal prosecute Guillermo Zuloaga, Globovision´s president for Usury and conspiracy to commit usury.

Globovision is still on the airwaves, however. But the question for how long?

by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference...

Now by Dylan Thomas

Now
Say nay,
Man dry man,
Dry lover mine
The deadrock base and blow the flowered anchor,
Should he, for centre sake, hop in the dust,
Forsake, the fool, the hardiness of anger.

Now
Say nay,
Sir no say,
Death to the yes,
the yes to death, the yesman and the answer,
Should he who split his children with a cure
Have brotherless his sister on the handsaw.

Now
Say nay,
No say sir
Yea the dead stir,
And this, nor this, is shade, the landed crow,
He lying low with ruin in his ear,
The cockrel's tide upcasting from the fire.

Now
Say nay,
So star fall,
So the ball fail,
So solve the mystic sun, the wife of light,
The sun that leaps on petals through a nought,
the come-a-cropper rider of the flower.

Now
Say nay
A fig for
The seal of fire,
Death hairy-heeled and the tapped ghost in wood,
We make me mystic as the arm of air,
The two-a-vein, the foreskin, and the cloud.

Self Reliance

Emerson

So use all that is called Fortune. Most men gamble with her, and gain all, and lose all, as her wheel rolls. But do thou leave as unlawful these winnings, and deal with Cause and Effect, the chancellors of God. In the Will work and acquire, and thou hast chained the wheel of Chance, and shalt always drag her after thee. A political victory, a rise of rents, the recovery of your sick or the return of your absent friend, or some other quite external event raises your spirits, and you think good days are preparing for you. Do not believe it. It can never be so. Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles.



"Keeping my eye on today is about all I'm capable of. And today, I think I'll go for a run."

John Bingham, "Back to the Future,"

After 5 days Ledezma finishes hunger strike

After giving in to his demands, Antonio Ledezma has recently finished his hunger strike. His first demand, to have a special commission of the OAS come to Venezuela, was declared by Jose Miguel Insulza, Secretary General of the OAS. His second demand to have the Executive government give him the money to comply with workers obligations was also declared by the Executive government.

Antonio Ledezma is a true representation of the tenacity and sacrifice of Venezuelans in crunch time all for the sake of Venezuelan democracy...My personal respects to Mr Ledezma!

A total of 5 days or 120 hours without food!

8th Tour de France for Lance?

Lance Armstrong races on for his 8th Tour de France?

The race finishes on July 29, 2009, currently he is 0.13 seconds away from the yellowshirt...

Antonio Ledezma bolder than ever - more than 75 hours of hunger strike

Antonio Ledezma continues his hunger strike, now from more than 75 hours. A dozen of workers from the Mayorship of the city of Caracas have also joined the elected mayor in his strike.

The hunger strike is taking place in the offices of the OAS (Organization of American States) in Caracas. My deepest solidarity for Ledezma and his courageous effort to restore democracy in Venezuela.

This is in spite of the media blackout doned by official media outlets and also private-chavista media outlets like Panorama, Ultimas Noticias and Vea. All Chavista editorial newspapers in Venezuela. Some day justice will be served...

Antonio Ledezma calls for hunger strike from OAS

Antonio Ledezma Venezuela opposition leader and the elected mayor of the city of Caracas (Alcaldia Mayor), has today declare himself on a hunger strike from the offices of the Organization of American States in Caracas, Venezuela.

Let’s remember that Antonio Ledezma was elected Mayor of the City of Caracas (Alcaldia Mayor) last December. The President Hugo Chavez has not liked the idea of having an opposition mayor in the city of Caracas, important Chavista controlled zone. Chavez promoted through the National Assembly that officially creates an office of governorship of the City of Caracas (Primera Autoridad), and the appointment comes straight from President Chavez.

Antonio Ledezma in his hunger strike requests the OAS, the following:

1. The immediate release of the public funds for the workers of the Mayorship of the city of Caracas
2. To stop the arbitrary dismantlement of the Office of the Mayor of the city of Caracas by the Executive Government.
3. The OAS should designate a high level Commission to travel to Venezuela, with urgency status, to observe the grave situation democracy is going through in Venezuela, and how the national Constitution is violated, specially the office of the Mayor of the city of Caracas and the governorships of Tachira, Zulia, Miranda, Carabobo and Nueva Esparta.
4. To verify in the case of the Mayor Antonio Ledezma, the National government and the rest of its representatives mock Venezuela´s national sovereignty

If Ledezma continues with this hunger strike, it could be groundbreaking and perhaps ignite a social upheaval and could get the international attention on the democracy in Venezuela. In my mind, I can see parallels between Mel Zelaya and Antonio Ledezma. Or better yet, between Zelaya and Hugo Chavez who constantly violates the Constitution of Venezuela and remains, yet, unpunished.

Constitutional Crisis in Honduras?

This past weekend the events in Honduras has raised international attention. The events that led the Armed Forces of Honduras to take action against the elected President, Zelaya.

The constitutional quagmire as I understand is as follows. President Zelaya requested in an additional referendum question in Honduras (political survey) asking the Hondurans whether or not they are in agreement with the establishment of a Constitutional Assembly to draft a new constitution, and thus enabling himself for reelection. Now, the issue at hand is that the current Honduran Constitution provides in article 239 that anyone who has been previously elected president can not be eligle for President. Further, article 239 of the Honduran Constitution provides that anyone who breaches the rule or proposes its ammendment, and those who directly or indirectly give their support, will cease from public office and will remain politically disable for 10 years.

Now in my view President Zelaya has breached Honduran Constitutional law, specifically article 239, by submitting or trying to submit the possibility of his political reelection by the establishment of a Constitutional Assembly.

Cartoon

Venezuelan National Assembly orders Telcoms to monitor communications 24/7

The Venezuelan National Assembly approved today an amendment to the Organic Penal Procedure Code (in spanish Código Orgánico Procesal Penal) in first discussion. The amending Organic Penal Procedure Code expressly orders all the telecommunication operators in Venezuela to have a Surveillance Unit which will be readily available to the Public Prosecuting Office (Ministerio Público) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for real time surveillance. The law was approved in first discussion and now will be subject to review concerning human rights and open for second and third discussion.

It seems Chavez´s intention is to limit personal freedom, not only economic freedoms but also human rights, all in favour of a greater social good.

Goicochea clarifies absence

Yon Goicochea, the Venezuela student leader has clarified from Mexico City, Mexico, that his absense will solely be a short 2 month stint. He will participating in a book of "Responsible Governance" by a private entity in Mexico. Goicochea will write the respective Venezuelan chapter.

Now, who is paying Goicocheas trip?

Venezuelan student leader bails from communist Venezuela

Yon Goicochea, a Venezuelan student leader recently has left Caracas, Venezuela with his young son and his wife, to Mexico. Apparently the student leader, who graduated from the Law School of my alma mater, Universidad Catolica Andres Bello, left Caracas because of the political tension against the opposition.

Yon Goicochea was the leader of the student movement which in 2006 organized against the Constitutional Reform present by the socialist President, Hugo Chavez. Goicochea was severely critizied for not taking a more proactive approach towards politics and with certain shyness was involved with the political party, Primero Justicia.

For his involvement in the student movement against the Constitutional Reform back in 2007, Goicochea was given the Milton Friedman award for Freedom with a check of US$500,000.

Now what has Yon Goicochea done with the money so far? Obviously buy a home in his now beloved Mexico...I seriously think hes got a lot of explaining to do, specially student who remain here in Venezuela!

The Existential and Pessimist Jose Saramago

Jose Saramago, a nobel literature prize winner and writer of one of my favorite novels "The Gospel according to Christ", "Baltazar and Blimunda" and "Blindness" recently gave some declarations from his home in Portugal. He stated: "Nothing is getting better, nothing changes"

Saramago was born in Portugal even though in the 1990s he sought political asylum in Spain (Canary Islands). The reason was his book on The Gospel according to Christ, a narration of the gospel from the point of view of Jesus Christ, as a completely normal human being. The book was thought to be heretic by Portuguese religious authorities. Saramago has been a member of the Portuguese Communist Party since 1969, as well as an atheist and self-described pessimist.

"I am not a pessimist; it is the world that is pessimist"

His views have aroused considerable controversy in Portugal, especially after the publication of The Gospel According to Jesus Christ. Members of the country's Catholic community were outraged by Saramago's representation of Jesus Christ as a fallible human being. Portugal's conservative government would not allow Saramago's work to compete for the European Literary Prize, arguing that it offended the Catholic community. As a result, Saramago and his wife moved to Lanzarote, an island in the Canaries (Spain).

He is publishing a new book, The Notebooks, which contain a collection of his blog entries dealing with several issues. Jose Saramago´s blog can be accessed here.

He ends this recent interview stating that "nothing is getting better, even the British democracy, which seemed untouchable, is now having Members of Parliament charging for their pets food, is a real shame." He furthers by saying that even tough humanity has seen some technical changes; morally things are getting worse than before. He even states that with the economic crisis they are trying to save some furniture, but capitalism will remain.

Saramago´s only hope is recently elected US President Barack Obama while at the end of his interview he categorically rejects the Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez by stating that it is dangerously close of being a totalitarian regime.

High Court in the UK- No Privacy for bloggers

Bloggers have no expectation of privacy

The Times Newspaper could reveal the identity of the 'Night Jack' blogger, said the High Court on 16 June 2009 in a landmark ruling (Author of a Blog v Times Newspaper Limited [2009] EWHC 1358 (QB)). The court ruled that blogging is essentially 'a public rather than private activity'.

The complainant - a policeman by day - operated a blog in which he would write about the social and political issues affecting the police force and the administration of justice. When a Times reporter managed to identify him, the blogger sought an injunction from the court to stop the newspaper from disclosing his data as he believed that this would put him at risk of being exposed to disciplinary action for discrediting and bringing unwanted media attention to the police force. In his blog, the policeman - now named as DC Richard Horton - allegedly made references to the cases he worked on, although he denied providing any information that identified the parties involved. He was also said to have 'criticised a number of ministers'.

The court ruled that, even if Horton had a right to anonymity, he would not have passed the public interest test: '[I]t would seem quite legitimate for the public to be told who it was who was choosing to make, in some instances, quite serious criticisms of police activities and, if it be the case, frequent infringements of police activities.'

“Mr Justice Eady [the judge in the case] is to be thanked on three accounts", said Francis Aldhouse, Consultant at Bird & Bird. "First, he has recognised breach of privacy as a routine, if still novel, cause of action with well-established elements. Secondly, he has given us practical guidance in drawing a line around the private sphere and declaring “blogging” as a public activity. Thirdly, the media, often unfairly critical of this judge, should welcome the emphasis he gives to the recent remark of Toulson, L. J. in Napier v. Pressdram that ‘freedom to report the truth is a precious thing’".