<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Wednesday, June 25, 2003 By: A. Pharma

Date: Wed, 25 Jun 2003 12:09:10 -0400 From: A. Pharma a.pharma@hotpop.com To: Editor@VHeadline.com Subject: Commentary to the interaction between Mr, Coronel & others

Dear Editor: Any plan or road-map can only function when there is trust and some reasonable level of stability and continuity. Especially in between elections.

This trust does not exist and has not existed in Venezuela for a long time.

Even before Black Friday (at the beginning of the 80s), the level of distrust has been extremely high. Accion Democratica (AD) does not trust the Christian Socialists (Copei) and vice-versa and the general population does not trust either one.

Hate ... a facet of distrust ... has always been there.

As the distrust is generalized, any project (government or industrial) lasting longer than one term fails from the start for the following reason:

Because of distrust of the previous government ... all players in key and not so key positions are fired and new ones hired.

The first year the new government is busy consolidating its position ... previous contracts are cancelled and new ones made.

The next few years show a modicum of stability but more distrust as obligations and promises cannot be met.

The last year almost everything stops ... next year they lose their job, so why continue?

This not only happens in Venezuela, but happens in most Latin American countries.

One step in the right direction would be to keep key and not-so-key players in their positions between elections.

For example: Is it necessary to change Customs personnel when government changes hands? Not really, they're there to perform a function, a job. If they do their job well, why change them? They have, after all, a certain amount of experience.

Another example: Is it necessary to change not-so-key personnel such as clerks when government changes hands? Again, the answer is no. These people know their jobs and very likely the status of any unfinished business ... they are assets, not liabilities.

Most perfectly normal human beings look for some form of economic stability. These same perfectly normal human beings will have very good incentive for dislike and hate when displaced from their positions for such reasons as political change.

Even though the road-map as mentioned by Mr. Coronel is a move in the right direction, it suffers from three big defects.

One: It cannot be accomplished within one term.

Two: It makes no provisions, contractual or other, to prevent abuses by the same people that made the road-map ... that makes it suspect.

Three: It does not attempt to create an atmosphere of trust.

A. Pharma a.pharma@hotpop.com

By Greg Palast, <a href=www.alternet.org>AlterNet June 25, 2003

Editors note: As a globetrotting investigative reporter who has worked for major news outlets on both sides of the Atlantic, Greg Palast has had ample opportunity to see how media coverage can strongly skew how events are seen by the public. Last week, in an original article published on AlterNet, "The Screwing of Cynthia McKinney", he showed how sloppy reporters at the New York Times and National Public Radio were complicit in the political destruction of progressive Rep. Cynthia McKinney. Now, in another case study, he takes on U.S. media coverage of Venezuela's political turmoil.

Last June, on Page One of the San Francisco Chronicle, an Associated Press photo of a mass of demonstrators carried the following caption:

"TENS OF THOUSANDS OF VENEZUELANS OPPOSED TO PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ..."

The caption let us know this South American potentate was a killer, an autocrat, and the people of his nation wanted him out. The caption continued: "[Venezuelans] marched Saturday to demand his resignation and punishment for those responsible for 17 deaths during a coup in April. 'Chavez leave now!' read a huge banner."

There was no actual story in the Chronicle – South America simply isn't worth wasting words on – just the photo and caption. But the Chronicle knew no story was needed. Venezuelans hated their terrible president, and all you needed was this photo to prove it.

And I could confirm the large protests. I'd recently returned from Caracas and watched 100,000 march against President Chavez. I'd filmed them for BBC Television London.

But I also filmed this: a larger march, easily over 200,000 Venezuelans marching in support of their president, Chavez.

That picture, of the larger pro-Chavez march, did not appear in a single U.S. newspaper. The pro-Chavez marchers weren't worth a mention.

By the next month, when the New York Times printed a photo of anti-Chavez marchers, they had metastasized. The Times reported that 600,000 had protested against Chavez.

Once again, the larger pro-Chavez demonstrations were, as they say in Latin America, "disappeared." I guess they didn't fit the print.

Look at the Chronicle/AP photo of the anti-Chavez marchers in Venezuela. Note their color. White.

And not just any white. A creamy rich white.

I interviewed them and recorded in this order: a banker in high heels and push-up bra; an oil industry executive (same outfit); and a plantation owner who rode to Caracas in a silver Jaguar.

And the color of the pro-Chavez marchers? Dark brown. Brown and round as cola nuts – just like their hero, their President Chavez. They wore an unvarying uniform of jeans and T-shirts.

Let me explain.

For five centuries, Venezuela has been run by a minority of very white people, pure-blood descendants of the Spanish conquistadors. To most of the 80 percent of Venezuelans who are brown, Hugo Chavez is their Nelson Mandela, the man who will smash the economic and social apartheid that has kept the dark-skinned millions stacked in cardboard houses in the hills above Caracas while the whites live in high-rise splendor in the city center. Chavez, as one white Caracas reporter told me with a sneer, gives them bricks and milk, and so they vote for him.

Why am I explaining the basics of Venezuela to you? If you watched BBC TV, or Canadian Broadcasting, you'd know all this stuff. But if you read the New York Times, you'll only know that President Chavez is an "autocrat," a "ruinous demagogue," and a "would-be dictator," who resigned when he recognized his unpopularity.

Odd phrasings – "dictator" and "autocrat" – to describe Chavez, who was elected by a landslide majority (56 percent) of the voters. Unlike our President.

On April 12, 2002, Chavez resigned his presidency It said so, right there in the paper – every major newspaper in the USA, every single one. Apparently, to quote the New York Times, Chavez recognized that he was unpopular, his time was up: "With yesterday's resignation of President Hugo Chavez, Venezuelan democracy is no longer threatened by a would-be dictator."

Problem was, the "resignation" story was a fabulous fib, a phantasmagoric fabrication. In fact, the President of Venezuela had been kidnapped at gunpoint and bundled off by helicopter from the presidential palace. He had not resigned; he never resigned; and one of his captors (who secretly supported Chavez) gave him a cell-phone from which he called and confirmed to friends and family that he remained alive – and still president.

Working for the Guardian and the BBC, I was able within hours of the kidnapping to reach key government people in Venezuela to confirm that this "resignation" factoid was just hoodoo nonsense.

But it was valuable nonsense to the U.S. State Department. The faux resignation gave the new U.S.-government-endorsed Venezuelan leaders the pretense of legitimacy – Chavez had resigned; this was a legal change of government, not a coup d'etat. (The Organization of American States bars recognition of governments who come to power through violence.) Had the coup leaders not bungled their operation – the coup collapsed within 48 hours – or if they had murdered Chavez, we would never have known the truth.

The U.S. papers got it dead wrong – but how? Who was the source of this "resignation" lie? I asked a U.S. reporter why American news media had reported this nonsense as stone fact without checking. The reply was that it came from a reliable source: "We got it from the State Department."

Oh.

"He's crazy," shouts a protester about President Chavez on one broadcast. And if you watched the 60 Minutes interview with Chavez, you saw a snippet of a lengthy conversation – a few selective seconds, actually – which, out of context, did made Chavez look loony.

In the old Soviet Union, dissidents were packed off to insane asylums to silence and discredit them. In our democracy we have a more subtle – and more effective – means of silencing and discrediting dissidents. Television, radio, and print press obligingly sequester enemies of the state in the media's madhouse. In this way, Bush critic Rep. Cynthia McKinney became "loony" (see "The Screwing of Cynthia McKinney"); Chavez a mad "autocrat."

It's the electronic loony bin. You no longer hear what they have to say because you've been told by images, by repetition, and you've already dismissed their words ... if by some chance their words break through the television Berlin Wall.

Try it: Do a Google or Lexis search on the words Chavez and autocrat.

For who is the autocrat? Today, there are hundreds of people held in detention without charges in George Bush's United States. In Venezuela, there are none.

This is not about Venezuela but about the Virtual Venezuela, created for you by America's news wardens. The escape routes are guarded.

January 5, 2003, New York City. Picked up bagels and the Sunday Times on Delancey Street. Looks like that s.o.b. Chavez is at it again: Here was a big picture of a half-dozen people lying on the ground. The Times story read: "Protesters shielded themselves from tear gas during an anti- government rally on Friday in Caracas, Venezuela. In the 33rd day of a national strike, several protesters were shot."

That was it – the entire story of Venezuela for the Paper of Record.

Maybe size doesn't matter. But this does: Even this itty-bitty story is a steaming hot bag of mendacity. Yes, two people were shot dead – those in the pro-Chavez march.

I'd be wrong to say that every U.S. paper repeated the Times sloppy approach. Elsewhere, you could see a photo of the big pro-Chavez march and a photo of the "Chavista" widow placed within an explanatory newswire story. Interestingly, the fuller and correct story ran in an outlet that's none too friendly to Chavez: El Diario, New York City's oldest Spanish-language newspaper.

Lesson: If you want to get accurate news in the United States, you might want to learn a language other than English.

Friday, January 3, 2003. The New York Times ran a long "News Analysis: Venezuela Outlook." Four experts were quoted. For balance, two of them don't like Chavez, while the other two despise him.

The Times reporter wrote that "the president says he will stay in power." "In power?" What a strange phrase for an elected official. Having myself spoken with Chavez, it did not sound like him. He indicated he would stay "in office" – quite a different inference than "in power." But then, the Times' phrasing isn't in quotes.

That's because Chavez never said it.

This article was based on a contribution to the compendium, "Abuse Your Illusions," released this month by Disinformation Press. Oliver Shykles, Fredda Weinberg, Ina Howard, and Phil Tanfield contributed research for this report. Palast, an investigative reporter for BBC television, is author of the New York Times bestseller, "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy" (Penguin/Plume 2003).

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Monday, June 23, 2003 By: VHeadline.com Reporters

Venezuela Today's Washington D.C. Bureau reports that Venezuelan lawyers have laid out their full case against Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) with the government side claiming that SAIC has been involved in "a pattern of half truths and lying in regards to the actions of state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) as they relate to a now defunct Intesa/SAIC joint venture.  San Diego (California) SAIC is reportedly heading into bankruptcy.

According to lawyers the ending of the contract with SAIC was "a simple business decision ... the work could be done for less" with another company, and the relationship was terminated. Furthermore, the Venezuelan government adds that, in June last year, SAIC had been made fully aware of the decision to end the relationship in order to allow SAIC plenty of time to cease its activities in Venezuela. The lawyers also disputed a SAIC claim that its workers had been locked out of their facilities in Venezuela, unable to claim their personal possessions.

These dispute comes on the heels of another debacle between the Venezuelan government and Canada-based Enbridge Inc. where the government says Enbridge walked out of an agreement which was canceled in clear default.

The Chavez Frias government is adamant that it needs to encourage foreign investment and continues to strive towards maximizing foreign investment while working to use economic investment to help the less fortunate in Venezuelan society. The nation's economy is still recovering from a crippling national stoppage orchestrated by anti-government business and labor sectors ... the stoppage hurt Venezuela to the tune of $4.7 billion and has economic growth back dramatically.

<a href=www.crash.net>Crash Net, Venezuelan Milka Duno has found sponsorship from one of Venezuela's largest companies in order to compete in the 2003 World Series Light Division of the increasingly popular Superfund World Series by Nissan.

Duno, Venezuela's 'driver of the year' in 2000, has secured the support of Petroleos de Venezuela SA [PDVSA], the state-owned oil company for the series, which begins in earnest this weekend at Monza, after making its public debut during the last Nissan round in France. The season will also see her compete at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz, the A-1 Ring, Magny-Cours and in Barcelona, Valencia, Jarama and Albacete. "I am so very proud to have the support of such a large and respected corporation," Duno said, "That they are from my home country of Venezuela is even more special to me. As I have raced all over the world the past few years, I have been proud to be a representative of Venezuela in many countries. I will continue to do so with even more pride as a representative of PDVSA."

This season will mark Duno's third year in the series, and she will once again compete as a member of the highly-respected Italian Vergani Racing team. Duno will race the #12 Dallara, powered by a 275bhp AER engine specifically developed for the championship.

PDVSA has proven reserves of 77.9 billion barrels of oil - the most outside the Middle East - and is one of the top exporters of oil to the United States. PDVSA's exploration and production take place in Venezuela, but the company also has refining and marketing operations in the Caribbean, Europe and the US.

<a href=www.abs-cbnnews.com>abs-cbnnews.com, Wednesday, June 18, 2003 10:1:0 p.m

A study conducted by investment firm JP Morgan Securities Ltd. showed that the Philippines has one of the lowest cement prices in the whole world and the lowest cement prices in Southeast Asia.

JP Morgan’s “Construction & Building Material Sector” report published in February showed that the cement price in the Philippines is among the lowest in the world. The country was ranked 69 out of 73 countries in terms of cement prices.

The study showed that Switzerland has the highest cement price in the world with $110 per ton followed by Dominican Republic and Venezuela’s $100 per ton. China, on the other hand, has the lowest cement price at $28 per ton.

The study revealed that the $34 per metric ton cement price in the Philippines is the lowest in Southeast Asia compared to Indonesia’s $60 per ton, Vietnam’s $55, Malaysia’s $52, Taiwan’s $46, Thailand’s $39 and Singapore’s $38 per ton.

Trade Secretary Manuel Roxas II earlier said the continued imposition of additional duties on imported cement has helped the government in its efforts to keep prices of cement stable despite the peak season of construction activities in the country.

Roxas said stable cement price was in sharp contrast to earlier claims that prices of cement would go up after the Department of Trade and Industry imposed a P20.60 per bag additional duty on imported cement since December 2001 after it found merit in the petition filed by the Philippine Cement Manufacturers Corp. (PHILCEMCOR).

Roxas ordered the imposition of an additional P20.6 per bag duty November of 2001 on all cement imports after finding enough evidence that the influx of cheap cement into the country have injured the local players.

However, the Tariff Commission ruled in March last year that no definitive safeguard measure in the form of quota restrictions or higher tariff should be imposed on cement imports as PHILCEMCOR failed to prove that imported cement caused material injury on the domestic market. PHILCEMCOR elevated the case to the Court of Appeals.

On June 5, the appellate court upheld the authority of the DTI secretary to overturn the ruling of the Tariff Commission and remanded the cement petition back to the DTI.

Meanwhile, Akbayan Party-list Rep. Loretta Ann P. Rosales Wednesday called on Roxas to publicly declare what he intends to do regarding the application for safeguard measures to protect the local cement industry.

Roxas denied an application for safeguard measures in the form of 50-percent tariffs on imported gray Portland cement from certain countries like Indonesia and Taiwan on April 5, citing a Department of Justice opinion saying he was bound by the “negative findings” of the Tariff Commission advising against imposing definitive safeguard measures in favor of the cement industry.

However, the CA ruled that the Tariff Commission’s findings were merely recommendatory, regardless of whether it was positive or negative. L. Agcaoili

Rosales said it was important for the DTI to act expeditiously on the matter since it is not only the local manufacturers who are in dire need of protection but the thousands of workers whose jobs will be affected by any downturn in the industry.

Rosales believed that the CA decision was a big win for workers, who would bear the brunt of a surge in cement imports had the decision found Roxas bound to the Tariff Commission’s recommendations.