Chavez: A "Star" in Oliver Stone movie?

Three months ago Oliver Stone's South of the Border movie premiered and the purpose of it was to portray Chavez and other South American leaders in a different light than how they are seen in the Western media. Has Stone been correct in his judgment and objectivity? Some critics have compared this documentary to Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story.

Read this article in TIME: South of the Border': Hugo Chavez and Stone's Love Story

Perhaps this documentary does show Chavez in a different light and highlights what he meant and accomplished for Venezuela, but nevertheless this documentary should still be viewed with a critical eye as Oliver Stone's points out: "If he succeeds it will be the first time in Latin American history where he has led an entire region away from the United States economic control." We should listen carefully to his words...If, if he succeeds...but at what cost?

Watch the trailer of "South of the Border"

Chavez Closes Banks- What's next?

On Monday, Chavez shut down four banks for “financial irregularities”. Two of the banks, Canarias, and ProVivienda have been closed permanently and their assets will be sold. Together the four banks formed 5.7 % of the banking sector when they were taken over on November 20^th by the Venezuelan government. Is this another step towards complete nationalization?

On Sunday during Chavez’s “Hello President” talk show he said that he would nationalize any banks, which will not lend to the poor or help Venezuela’s development.

In his usual rhetoric he warned: "I'm telling the private bankers, 'he who slips up loses', I'll take over the bank, whatever its size."

Source

In Times of Domestic Crisis Venezuela Buys Military Equipment

December 1^st – With the help of Russia, Venezuela will build a factory to manufacture Kalashnikov AK-103 assault riffles andalso purchase military helicopters. These military purchases are a part of an agreement signed this August 15^th.

Russia’s ambassador to Venezuela, Vladimir Zaemskiy has in addition stated that replacing military equipment was a “natural process of any country”, and that Venezuela is “guided by a new concept of national defense” most likely referring to Venezuela’s and Colombia’s tense relations over the U.S military bases in Colombia which will allow for military and spy operations across South America.

Russia and Venezuela also have companies working together to exploit oil and explore natural gas but their military agreements are increasing and since 2005 Venezuela has bought $4.4 billion of military equipment from Russia as well as a $1 billion loan that Russia has given to Venezuela all for military equipment.

The question is, why isn’t Chavez trying to improve Venezuela’s domestic problems at a time when his popularity is decreasing? Perhaps it is because this way he is distracting the world and Venezuelans from the real problems.

For more see:Source

Does Venezuela have Political Prisoners?

Richard Blanco, a Caracas city administrator and an opposition party leader has been ordered to stay in prison by the Venezuelan court while waiting for his trail to begin. He is accused of hurting a police officer during a protest this August.

Relatives of Blanco and opposition leaders are saying that he is one of two-dozen political prisoners while Chavez denies that there are any political prisoners at all.

Source

Ahmadinejad-Chavez Relations Grow

Ahmadinejad visited Venezuela during his tour of South America aimed at strengthening ties with countries such as Brazil, Bolivia and Venezuela.

Upon meeting president Evo Morales in Bolivia, Morales and Ahmadinejad spoke about the right of nations to have a peaceful nuclear program.

So far 270 agreements have been signed between Ahmadinejad and Chavez concerning agriculture, industry, energy and technology. However Adolfo Tayllardhat (the former deputy foreign minister) said that these accords are personal relations and the only connection between Venezuela and Iran is the fact that both of these countries are members of Opec.

Brazil’s Lula de Silva, who is seen as the “neutral” mediator of South America, said that Iran should not be isolated over its nuclear ambitions but Iran should be open to cooperation with the West.

Source

Latest on Venezuela-Colombia: Venezuelan Soldiers Destroy Bridges

Venezuelan soldiers blew up two pedestrian bridges on the border with Colombia, claiming that, illegal militia and drug traffickers used these bridges. Also Venezuela defends itself by saying these bridges were not included in any international treaty.

Colombia thought declared that this is a breach of international law and Gabriel Silva, Colombia’s defense minister, said that he will file a complaint with the UN and the OAS (Organization of American States).

Source

Confrontations between Uribe and Chavez Consolidate their Rule at Home

(Monday, November 16^th) The “level of confrontation” between Colombia’s president Alvaro Uribe and Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez helps their popularity in their respective countries and also consolidates their rule is the observation by Mexican writer Jorge Volpi.

Chavez popularity has recently been decreasing due to Venezuela’s economic problems, such as the electricity and water rationing, the high inflation rate and the high crime rate.

Volpi, also said that even though throughout the whole region the U.S military bases are seen as an “inconvenience”, Chavez needs to tone down his political rhetoric in order for the situation not to escalate.

Also he added that Venezuela would not like a confrontation with Colombia, who has a better army and better mobilization capabilities. Source

What Effect do the U.S Military Bases in Colombia have on the Region?

Last week in an article published for The Hill, Berndardo Alvarez, Venezuela’s ambassador to the U.S expressed his concern over the U.S military bases in Colombia as he pointed out how they will contribute to only further regional instability that even U.S agencies have confirmed. He also said that the military strategy in recent years to solve the illegal drug trafficking and their internal conflict has had serious consequences such as refugees immigrating to neighboring countries and this agreement will only further deteriorate the crisis.

Alvarez also pointed out that the concern over the agreement also extends to the region as it was evident this August when 11/12 member states belonging to the Union of South American States (UNASUR) expressed dissatisfaction with the agreement. The agreement does not exactly guarantee that the operations from the bases (such as regional intelligence operations) won’t violate the sovereignty of any of the neighboring countries.

For more see: Source

Uribe: "Unbreakable Affection" between Venezuela and Colombia

Colombia has released the four members of Venezuela’s national guard detained on Friday, on what Colombia claims was their territory. However Venezuela’s National Guard General Orlando Mijares said that the rivers are international and fall under an agreement made between these two countries.

This is the latest concerning the disagreement and accusations between these two countries and if one simplifies Chavez wants the U.S military bases to move out of Colombia and Uribe accuses Chavez of being involved with the FARC.

Uribe said that sending the troops back was a message of “unbreakable affection” between these two countries whose relationship keeps worsening. Source 1 Source 2

Chavez to "Bomb Clouds"

Due to a serious drought in Venezuela caused by El Nino phenomenon, Venezuela’s government has had to impose water and electricity rationing. Venezuela uses hydroelectric projects to produce electricity. Cubans are due to arrive in Venezuela and help to fly the airplanes over the Orinoco river in a procedure known as clouds seeding (firing silver iodine at clouds). How effective this method has been so far in other places is up for debate. Chavez’s government has been criticized for imposing water rationing in Caracas and bad planning. However Venezuelans should feel safe with such a thoughtful president who has a plan as on Saturday he said: “I’m going in a plane; any cloud that crosses me, I’ll zap it so that it rains.”

See: Source

Is Venezuela experiencing the “resource curse”?

If Venezuela has the largest oil reserves outside the Middle East and the strongest hydroelectric system then how come, this country is facing serious electric and water shortages?

In the last two years Venezuela has experienced 6 nationwide blackouts and power failures, which have lasted for hours in both rural and industrial cities. Recently water rationing has had to be implemented in Caracas.

Instead of being serious Chavez has mocked the people’s water wastage and has given advice such as taking 3-minute showers. It seems that it is always easier to blame the oligarchs for their habits too.

Venezuela has coal deposits, natural gas and oil reserves but as Venezuela’s public services has stated perhaps the issue is the: “resource curse”, which is the theory that countries with so much potential and resources are held back by political disagreements, and inefficiency by the government.

For more see:source

How Can a Leader Avoid Dealing with Serious Domestic Issues? Chavez has the Answer!

In his weekly “Hello President” show this Sunday on the violence and military buildup along the Colombian-Venezuelan border Chavez said: “Let’s not waste a day in our main aim to prepare for war and help the people prepare for war.” Chavez is know for his controversial and undiplomatic rhetoric at home as well as anywhere really but how serious is this last statement?

Issues between Colombia and Venezuela:

• In the last five years in South America arms purchases have doubled, and reached $ 50 billion last year.
  
• Venezuela and Colombia have a trade relationship worth $ 7 billion. In August Chavez closed the border to Colombian manufactured goods.
• There has been deaths on the border from both sides, accused spies arrested and Chavez has started to massively deport Colombians home even though more than 2 millions of Colombians live in Venezuela.
• Alvaro Uribe, Colombia’s president and Chavez don’t trust each other, as not only do they occupy opposite political spectrums but also issues such as Venezuela’s relationship with FARC, and the U.S military bases in Colombia are main issues blocking a functional relationship between these two neighbors.

Perhaps the U.S hasn’t handled the military base agreement well with the rest of the countries in the region, as Venezuela is not the only suspicious country. Chavez has used the U.S presence in Colombia (acting as a proxy) for arms build up and since 2005 has bought 5-7 billion dollars worth of equipment from Russia.

Especially with this recent statement, it is fairly obvious that Chavez is trying to take attention away from the serious problems plaguing his country such as the high inflation likely to reach 30% this year, the high crime rate, water shortages and electricity rationing.

Source

What is behind the Venezuela-Colombia Border Closure?

Two international bridges, Simon Bolivar and Francisco de Paula Santader in central-west Venezuela are still closed. There have been reports that residents and merchants were confused about what was going on and there were brief clashes between guards and residents.

Venezuela is blaming Colombian paramilitary and Venezuela’s vice president Carrizalez has called this the “paramilitary phenomenon,” that has been created in Colombia and has filtered through the border into Venezuela. He has also accused the Colombian government of being unconcerned about this paramilitary activity, which is aimed at destabilizing Venezuela. This august, relations started worsening when Colombia accused Venezuela of giving weapons to FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Venezuela).

For more see: Source

Chavez views the U.S and Colombia’s agreement which allows U.S personnel at the seven military bases to be an “act of war” with the aim to destabilize his socialist government. Chavez’s opposition to U.S presence in Colombia does make sense partly because it is believed that the U.S was behind a coup against him in 2002. Even former president Jimmy Carter has said that “there is no doubt that in 2002, the United States had at the very least full knowledge about the coup, and could even have been directly involved. "

See:Source

Another important and pertinent advice which can be applied to both Colombia’s and Venezuela’s accusations over the border violence and accusations, can be summed up by Carter who said that: "international relations would be better if he [Chavez] would stop his attacks and insults against the United States". In this case concerning the deteriorating relationship between Colombia and Venezuela, cooperation instead of accusations and petty games should be on their political agenda.

Latest on Venezuela's and Colombia's Border Violence

On Tuesday, November 3^rd Venezuela sent soldiers to block the main border crossing with Colombia after Chavez said that on Monday paramilitaries shot two Venezuelan soldiers. These paramilitaries have originally been set up to fight Colombian guerrilla groups and they operate on the border, as well as Colombian rebels and well as criminal gangs. The closing is not formal however measures had to be taken, as lately there have been quite a few incidents on the border. Last week 10 dead bodies were found identified by Venezuela as Colombian paramilitaries. Venezuela also charged three men (two Colombians and one Venezuelan) for spying for Colombia’s government.

For more see: Source

Chavez Announces Sean Penn Might Film a Movie in Venezuela

So far this seems like a neutral announcement probably pertaining to the entertainment business but with Chavez everything has to be politicized and behind the objective title of this post we see Chavez once again placing his political disagreements with Colombia and the U.S in the spotlight.

It seems that Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez never misses an opportunity to address his concern over the U.S military bases and their potential increase in neighboring Colombia.

In a visit on Wednesday, October 28^th Chavez said that he met actor Sean Penn and that he may film a movie based on Alejo Carpentier’s novel “The Lost Steps”.

Chavez also "mentioned" that they discussed politics and that as Penn mentioned he would soon see Obama, Chavez added that he should tell Obama to earn his Nobel Peace Prize and cancel the plan for the increase of U.S presence at their military bases in Colombia.

See:Source

“Barrio Adentro” in the Midst of Political Tension in Venezuela

Venezuela’s Health Care Project called “Barrio Adentro” (Inside the neighborhood) has provided opportunities for both the government and the opposition to use for political gain ahead of the National Assembly elections in 2010.

Barrio Adentro is a network of more than 6,000 clinics with 15,000 doctors (mostly Cuban) providing free health care to the poor.

Critics are saying this project is another proof of the “Cubanization” of Venezuela.The buildings are not in good shape, Cuban doctors are replacing the local ones and the traditional hospitals are not properly funded. Chavez, on the other hand tries to constantly promote the project.

The National Assembly has been dominated by Chavez since 2005 and even though Chavez’s current rating is at 50%, a survey by local pollster Datanalisis showed that 21.5% of Venezuelans are pro-government, 17.4 are pro-opposition and 54% have no political affiliation. Meaning it is true that most people are not ‘political’ and only worry about putting food on the table.

Karen Hooper (Latin American analyst at US think thank Stratfor) says that is not a question of the opposition winning but when Chavez will lose. Venezuela will experience negative economic growth, and high inflation in the 20’s this year along with other current problems like crime rate, unemployment and the most recent electricity and water cuts. See: Source

Venezuela Strengthens Ties with Syria

On his visit to Syria in September, Chavez announced the five trade, agriculture and energy cooperation agreements, which were signed this Monday, October 26^th.

In a different deal, Telesur, the 24 hour Pan-Latin American television network created by Chavez, to counter U.S “hegemony” like CNN, will begin broadcasting its shows in Syria. For more see: Source

To remind you of Chavez’s busy schedule in September this year, Al Jazeera’s correspondent Dima Khatib (only foreign correspondent traveling with Chavez) kept a daily reporters dairy. See: Source

Upon their arrival in Damascus, Khatab reported on Chavez's and al-Asad's meeting: "Let's make a new organization which would group all the countries of the axis of evil!" Chavez joked with al-Assad."

Venezuela Places Barriers on Israeli Tourists

The most recent crisis between Israel and Venezuela concerning Israeli tourists who were not issued visas to travel to Venezuela, highlights the non-existent diplomatic relations between Venezuela and Israel, as well as Venezuela’s and Iran’s growing friendship.

The group of Israeli tourists was supposed to visit Venezuela this week but the trip was canceled after what seems to be absurd demands by the Venezuelan government.

First of all, there are no Venezuelan diplomats in Israel. Venezuela removed Israel’s ambassador in January therefore severing diplomatic relations. Israel followed by expelling the Venezuelan ambassador. Therefore these Israeli tourists had to obtain their visas through a consulate outside of Israel.

Finally Venezuela informed the tourist agency, Echo Outdoor Touring that they will accept the visas in none other than, Amman (Jordan) expecting them to appear there with the documents. Echo’s CEO says that this placed another barrier as people are afraid to travel there and in the end the trip had to be canceled due to “excessive demands and inflexibility” on part of Venezuela’s government.

This article (See here) further goes on to say that Iranians have a different treatment in Venezuela. In July the Israeli diplomat in Latin America, Dorit Shavit said that Venezuela issues fake documents to Iranians to make travel easier in the region.

Israel is threatened by Chavez’s relationship with Iran, his support of their nuclear program and the fact that Chavez has among other things condemned Israel accusing them of “genocide” against the Palestinians.

Useless Accusations over Drug-Trafficking Continue Between Venezuela and Colombia

Tensions between Colombia and Venezuela reach a new height yet again as Colombia’s minister for defense Gabriel Silva has informed the press on October 25^th that Venezuela is a “free trade zone for drug planes” before these planes go to Central America.

Ramon Carriazalez, Venezuela’s vice president answered back that Colombia always finds new accusations towards Venezuela before going to Washington, in order to please the United States, and distract from Colombia’s internal problems. He further explains that the whole world already knows that Colombia is the main producer of drugs and the U.S the main consumer.

Of course Chavez had comments of his own, calling Silva a cynic who claims that since they have “managed” to control the drugs over there now they worry about Venezuela. In his weekly “Hello President” show Chavez continues: “And they also say that they’ve managed to control the planes, but the planes pass through Venezuela. As if they come from the moon? These planes come from Colombia!”

Venezuela’s and Colombia’s relations are especially tense this year due to the fact that the U.S has Colombia’s permission to use 7 of its military bases which angers Chavez who doesn’t want U.S presence there. Colombia also claims that Venezuela is supplying the FARC with weapons while Venezuela has 20,000 soldiers on their border with Colombia. Are all these accusations and hostile attitudes truly helping the fight against drug trafficking?

Source

Control and Charm won’t solve any of the problems Venezuela is facing

Michael Shifter, a Georgetown University professor and vice-president of the Inter-American Dialogue think tank in his visit of Caracas has expressed his views of Chavez’s government saying that we are seeing an accumulation of power in a president who makes all the decisions therefore harming governance. In the last 11 years Venezuela’s government has apparently become more autocratic and it is no longer liberal democracy with power balance, which cannot function effectively in our globalized world. Shifter also warns that if problems that affect the majority, which are the poor, are not solved then control and charm become the methods used to stay in office and maintain power. Is this what we are seeing in Venezuela at the moment?

For more see: Source

Can Positive Change Happen in Venezuela’s Corrupt Police Agencies?

Venezuela’s police is one of the most corrupt in Latin America and Venezuela’s interior minister has recently admitted that the police is involved in 20 % of the crimes committed. Therefore Chavez’s government will work on setting up a national police force since currently there is no united police systems in Venezuela rather there are different police bodies/agencies.

In order to really restructure the police system experts are saying that the $120 a month salary is pushing the policemen into corruption.

Citizens worry that not much will be changed as there is no sense of trust between the police and the citizens. Over 10,000 people have been killed by the police in recent years.

For Venezuelans crime rate is their highest concern and the fact that the government has even acknowledged this issue as well as the police’s role may appear on the surface to be a step towards change but many still remain pessimistic.

For more see: Source

Has Chavez’s Popularity Increased?

According to the latest poll from the Venezuelan Institute of Data Analysis (IVAD) Chavez’s approval rating is relatively high at 62.4%.

Approval for his United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) is at 32.3%, which has decreased. The opposition parties are not doing too well either. See: Source 1

At the same time another polling company has presented different results. The director of the polling company Hinterlaces, Oscar Schemes during a “Social Understanding Forum” said that Chavez’s popularity has declined. Vote intention for Chavez has decreased as well to 40%, which is much lower than in the past. Although he didn’t state a specific rating, nevertheless his statement that Chavez’s popularity has recently declined does make the above-mentioned 62.4% seem inflated.

He also added that as Chavez’s popularity has decreased, so has the support for his opposition, which is due to their disunity and their lack of clear “message”. See: Source 2

Is a weaker currency good for the economy?

Two related stories, revealing the similar regulatory mentalities of British and American monetary authorities, recently appeared on the BBC World News website. It was reported on October 9th that "the US trade deficit shrank unexpectedly in August as the weak dollar boosted exports." See: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8299682.stm. The article goes on to quote Keith Hembre at FAF Advisors: "I would interpret a flattening out of the trade deficit showing a broader stability in the economy."

A separate story published October 13th reports on the anxiety in Britain over the prospect of continuing price deflation: "The inflation data showed that the Bank of England pumping of about £160bn into the the economy's money supply - so-called quantitative easing - had not yet taken effect, said James Hughes, chief economist at Black Swan Capital Wealth." See:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8304028.stm

Bizarrely, central bank authorities seem convinced that debasement of one's national currency to so called "competitive" exchange rates is a recipe for economic growth and "broad stability." Lower prices benefit consumers during an economic recession and individual purchasing power would be lifted in a non-inflationary environment. Manipulating exchange rates downward in order to boost exports hasn't produced anything resembling macroeconomic "stability" in Japan and debasement of the dollar will only serve to make U.S. debt less attractive, force up interest rates on that debt and make the U.S. itself an increasingly dubious place to invest.

Chavez Comments on Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize

Chavez has criticized Obama by saying that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the new military bases in Colombia should not be forgotten over his hopes for a nuclear arms-free world.

Hugo Chavez also said that giving Obama the Nobel Peace Prize was “rewarding someone for a wish that is very far from becoming reality.” The U.S and Venezuela do not have very good relations and yet the U.S is the main buyer of oil from Venezuela, a member of OPEC.

For more see: Source

Venezuela to collaborate with Britain on Anti-Drug Operations

The vice-minister of foreign affairs of the U.K, Chris Bryant visited Venezuela this week and signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate with Venezuela in preventing illegal drug trafficking. Venezuela has already signed similar cooperation agreements with forty other countries.

The U.S Drug enforcement Agency (DEA) and Venezuela’s government cooperated until 2005 when Venezuela accused the DEA of spying. On the other hand, the U.S is accusing Venezuela of not cooperating in the fight against illegal drug trafficking.

Bryant also praised Venezuela by saying that his visit has allowed him to “see the positive changes being promoted in Latin America.”

For more see: Source 1 Source 2

"Dollar rises on Bernanke comments"

The dollar has risen due to Fed chairman Ben Bernanke's assurance that the Fed will tighten monetary policy down the road to prevent "the emergence of an inflation problem." This is, however, a qualified assurance as Bernanke has again emphasized that he will only raise rates "as economic recovery takes hold." This begs the obvious question, what happens if economic rcovery doesn't match expectations? Already, the American situation is being termed a "jobless recovery." Raising rates in the current environment would certainly cancel any fragile gains in the stock market. On the other hand, waiting for a jobs recovery (which is unlikely to happen any time soon) increases exponentially the danger of waiting too long to reign in the cash. Bernanke is in a box and he knows it.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8298252.stm

Has the bond between Venezuela and Iran Grown Stronger?

Last week Chavez’s joke about Venezuela’s potential transfer of nuclear materials with Iran, was not a source of amusement for the worried West. In a televised Cabinet meeting as Sanz, Venezuela’s Mining Minister walked in, Chavez posed the question: "How's the uranium for Iran? For the atomic bomb?"

Last month, Chavez attracted attention when he announced that he was asking for Russia’s help to develop nuclear energy in Venezuela and when Sanz reveled he was asking Iran to help Venezuela locate its own uranium reserves. Experts say that Venezuela hydro-generates 75% of its electricity and so a nuclear-energy program is not exactly needed. Also there is speculation whether Venezuela really does have “a lot of uranium” as Iranian experts have concluded.

Venezuela has made an agreement for Iran to purchase 20,000 barrels of gasoline a day and Chavez insists that Iran is enriching uranium for peaceful purposes. Chavez however has stated that if Iran is accused of building an atomic bomb and economic sanctions are imposed this will not affect their gasoline agreement.

The West is slightly worried at how far Chavez has taken his relationship with Iran, as his harmless mocking attitude might take a serious turn.

For more see: Source

US deficit 'hits record $1.4tn'

The U.S. federal government tripled its budget deficit in 2009, stoking fears of higher interest rates on government bonds in the future. Aside from adding to the national debt, now estimated to be upwards of 9 trillion dollars, the widening deficit will making holding U.S. government debt increasingly less attractive to investors. Expectations of falling demand for U.S. Treasury Debt has contributed to recent falls in the value of the U.S. dollar.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8296079.stm

How is Chavez interpreting Bolivar’s legacy for an independent and united South America?

Last month The Socialist Review published a review of: “Hugo Chavez Presents Simon Bolivar: The Bolivarian Revolution” which was released in mid-August. See: Source

The book, which is composed of Bolivar’s works features an introduction by Chavez who claims to continue Bolivar’s struggles to unite South America; however this time U.S ‘imperialism’ has replaced the Spanish colonial rule in the 19th century.

The review states that in the introduction Chavez attempts to adapt Bolivar’s philosophy and ideas to fit his own political agenda. Apparently Chavez hints at the idea that Bolivar was leaning towards socialist politics.

Furthermore, the reviewer points out that Bolivar had contradictory politics and that in his "Address to the Constituent Congress in Bolivia" declared that the country required a “president for life” in order to guard the country from the “tyranny of democracy”. Interestingly enough in February 2009 in Venezuela the term limits were abolished in a referendum allowing for Chavez to run for re-election in 2012.

Ban violent video games: Venezuela’s proposed legislation to fight high crime rate

Is Venezuela’s proposed legislation to ban violent video games in order to fight crime rate a façade of some sort?

See: Source

During the next couple of weeks Venezuela’s National Assembly will decide on a legislation proposed in September banning violent video games and toys. While parents are in support of a possible ban, Chavez’s critics are saying that this is just a cover up for the government’s failure to deal with the country’s high crime rate, which according to public polls is of concern to the public. Weekly, on average 152 homicides occur, which for a country the size of Venezuela is high.

Chavez’s critics also claim that even though the law could close internet cafes and arcades the selling of pirated video games would not be affected as the people selling these games are from the working class which make up the majority of Chavez’s electorate.

If Venezuela does go through with this law it would firstly become one of the few countries to ban the "manufacture, importation, distribution, sales and use of violent video games and bellicose toys," and secondly this law would give the consumer protection agency the right to chose the prohibited products and impose fines.

The 163 inspectors of this consumer-protection agency are already busy containing Venezuela’s high inflation rate, which for 2008 was estimated to be 30.4%.

Source

Australia raises interest rates

The model of a sound economy today, Australia's wealth is underpinned not by an excessive service economy but by raw materials people can't do without. This helps explain why the 'land down under' experienced one of the milder recessions of major industrialized nations. Aside from natural geologic advantages though, Australia has pursued a decidedly more prudent monetary policy. See:http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20091006/tbs-australia-first-big-economy-to-lift-5268574_1.html

Australia's regulators are already raising interest rates in a still weak world economy in a bid to stave off the full negative effects of their monetary 'easing.' Compare that to zero percent interest rates and continuing 'quantitative easing' in America. Of course, this is contingent on the idea that the Fed can, at the last moment, raise rates sharply to prevent rampant inflation from occurring. But with so many academic voices extolling the benefits of low interest rates and the economy far from positive growth, the Fed seems unlikely to tighten monetary policy soon enough and to the necessary extent.
see: http://mises.org/story/3432