De: "Jessica Rosenberg" jessica@obraweb.com Fecha: Vie, 25 de Abril de 2003, 5:54 pm Para: jessica@obraweb.com

Carla Puma : cpuma@sumate.org Federico Winckelmann: federicow@sumate.org

Necesitamos urgente que contactes la mayor cantidad de voluntarios en el exterior para la labor de validación. Estos voluntarios lo que tienen que hacer es conectarse por internet durante 1, 2, 3 ... horas (lo que puedan) y validar las firmas de diputados y del revocatorio que no pudieron ser leídas por el scanner. La explicación exacta de cómo hacer este proceso se las daremos vía web o internet una vez que tengamos sus datos (Nombre, Apellido, Teléfonos, Cédula o ID, Mail). Estas personas necesitan tener conexión con ABA o banda ancha.

La validación se venía haciendo con 50 personas en un call center y por 200 personas más en Caracas vía internet, pero necesitamos más voluntarios de lo contrario la validación de firmas se extenderá por varios meses más. Queremos contar con gente de todo el país y del exterior para terminar con el Firmazo lo antes posible.

Exactamente lo que tienes que hacer es enviarme los voluntarios lo antes posible. Yo le envío esta información al equipo técnico y ellos hacen el resto.

Necesitamos de la ayuda de todos los venezolanos.

Saludos

Juan Carlos Guinand

Coordinador Red de Voluntarios

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Monday, April 21, 2003 By: Becker Yvonne

Date: Sun, 20 Apr 2003 23:00:27 -0400 From: Becker Yvonne smash2707@terra.com To: Editor@VHeadline.com Subject: Who ruined the Venezuelan economy?

Dear Editor: I just read Oscar Heck's op-ed <a href=www.vheadline.com>Who ruined the Venezuelan economy? Chavez Frias? and my eyes cannot believe what they read.

Heck speaks about the right to eat?

Is Oscar Heck aware that Chavez said “con hambre y sin empleo con Chavez me resteo” which means “hungry and unemployed I support Chavez.”

Does Heck think this means Chavez cares about poor people?

Heck says most of the opposition is middle or high class ... it seems you live in another country than me. If about 20% is upper class (middle class and and rich people), how do you explain that at least 70% of the population opposes Chavez (some say 80%).

Did I miss something in my math classes?

Later Heck says Chavez gives poor people the right to complain about corruption and abuse? Maybe that is about the only right they have, because investigations don’t go any further than the complains. How can he explain the huge amounts of money this government has stolen or misused, and that no one has been convicted for corruption?

Access to good education? I guess that is the reason why public universities are practically broke, and "Bolivarian schools" break down less than three months after being build, and most of them don't give lunch (there is even a video of Chavez asking the students if they already had had lunch and they answer Noooooo!).

I wonder where Heck gets the "access to good education with filled stomachs" line from. He says that if elections are called after the Referendum Chavez would win ... who in his sound mind would think that someone who had just been revoked could run for Presidency? I don’t understand the logic.

I am sorry if I sound harsh.

I am just sick of reading false affirmations made by people who either don't know the Venezuelan reality, or believe what they read without researching any further or are paid by the government to make propaganda for a false revolution ... which has only brought destruction.

I don't deny that there were serious problems when Chavez came to power; but it is also truth that under his government poverty, unemployment, corruption and insecurity have increased. Further, the government seems to support criminality and terrorism, as can clearly be proven by Chavez' defense of murderers like Gouveia or violation of the laws and he Constitution.

Yvonne Becker smash2707@terra.com

Our editorial statement reads: VHeadline.com Venezuela is a wholly independent e-publication promoting democracy in its fullest expression and the inalienable  right of all Venezuelans to self-determination and the pursuit of sovereign independence without interference. We seek to shed light on nefarious practices and the corruption which for decades has strangled this South American nation's development and progress. Our declared editorial bias is pro-democracy and pro-Venezuela ... which some may wrongly interpret as anti-American. --  Roy S. Carson, Editor/Publisher  Editor@VHeadline.com

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Friday, April 04, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Health safety groups have expressed concern about the outbreak of disease in Venezuelan prisons.  Miranda Penitentiary Services Foundation (Funsepem) president Jose La Rosa reports that hepatitis B, scabies and influenza are the biggest health problems that inmates at El Rodeo 1 and El Rodeo 2 face. 

La Rosa has  headed a team of doctors that visited the two prisons after a hunger strike was lifted.  "We have managed to get an agreement with Universidad Central de Venezuela Faculty of Medicine to attend the prisons."

Doctor Jose Leonardo Gonzalez says hepatitis B is hard to control, , given prison overcrowding and the fact that the disease is handed on through body fluids.  There is also an environmental problem in both prisons ... we have observed places where deadly fungi grows, abundance of green bottle flies,  and a lot of uncontrolled dogs and cats wandering around."

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Friday, April 04, 2003 By: David Coleman

Two small business cooperatives have begun operations at Caracas (Simon Bolivar) international airport at Maiquetia creating 80 new jobs, mostly in terminal building maintenance and (much needed) cleaning services.

IAAIM director Jose Gregorio Vielma Mora, who is in overall charge of airport operations, says that the Guipuzcoana and 24 de Enero cooperatives bring together 17 employees assigned to service and maintenance of lawns ands green areas within the air terminal's perimeter with a further 24 assigned to collection and disposal of solid wastes from commercial concessions within the terminal itself.

Vielma Mora says that a total 10 small business cooperatives have been formed since January aimed at reducing endemic unemployment in local communities where IAAIM will contribute with democratic administration, social education and a limited amount of investment capital to each.  "Ideally, we will be able to get away from seasonal (6-month) employment contracts into a more permanent system ... we want to help small businesses with specialized courses, through the government training program INCE, to become viable year-round small businesses."

In the meantime Vielma Mora admits that authorities have activated a long-term savings program that will inevitably see a number of work contracts at the airport rescinded ... the net result is that some 50 seasonal employees will lose their jobs ... "we hope that most of them will move into the new jobs created with the new small business cooperatives."

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Thursday, April 03, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

VHeadline.com News Editor Patrick J. Donoghue writes: What is sad about the Llaguno Bridge Shooters court sentence is that it reveals how bad the legal system is in Venezuela. 

For all  opposition ravings about "bent" or corrupt judges, the government can point to several other high-profile cases to cry opposition control over what the media in 1996-1998 dubbed "complacent" judges. Just to mention a few:

• Lifting of arrest warrants against six top Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) executives & managers responsible for nearly scuttling the oil industry
• Carlos Fernandez released from house arrest
• Carlos Ortega, Pedro Carmona and Rear Admiral Molina Tamayo allowed to flee the country
• Rebel and insubordinate military officers reinstated and/or not put on trial
• Managers at the San Tome PDVSA plant reinstated after abandoning their posts

Why should there be any surprise about the 4 Llaguno Bridge Shooters?

Their lawyer used the same legal loopholes an opposition lawyer would use, in this case that there is no strong evidence to indicate that the bullets seen leaving the shooters' pistols actually killed somebody.

Why can't state prosecutors prepare their case properly and collect the evidence?

People were shocked to see civilians shooting from the bridge on April 11 ... it was a brilliant piece of filming that changed the course of Venezuela's history.  It was only days later that doubts began to appear about the role of the Metropolitan Police (PM) during the March on Miraflores and the following days. 

It has not been cleared up yet.

Can we conclude that Venezuela's legal system is as corrupt as ever and its judges are as vulnerable as ever to political control.

No wonder desperate opposition deputy, Liliana Hernandez takes a dig at people for not protesting on the streets ... who can blame people for showing skepticism after being led up the garden path so many times in the last two years by trade union leaders and business bosses playing politicians and politicians running around like headless chickens?

In the shooters' case the state prosecutor has to draw up a case against the suspects before April 20 for illegal use of firearms and public intimidation which carries an 8-year jail sentence.

State prosecutors must work harder and use their skills to draw up tighter cases against the PDVSA Six and Carlos Fernandez ... and the Shooters.

Will they? Probably not.

As one foreign legal expert comments: the majority of the judges are provisional anyway.  But justice must be seen to work whether the case is government or opposition.

What has happened to the Police Detective Branch (CICPC) special April 11 investigation?

What has happened to special Attorney General's Office watchdog, Father Vivas Suria?

That is why an independent truth commission is still the answer.

• There is nothing clear cut about April 11-14.

No side should get away with kidnapping April 11 for partisan use.