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

First Post

It has been widely reported that despite massive liquidity injections on the part of central banks (notably the Fed in the United States), commercial banks are reluctant to resume 'normalized' lending activity. The reason usually given is the degree of economic uncertainty still lingering in the air around Wall Street. Major lenders, just recovering from near oblivion, are weary of assuming the same credit expansion that almost bankrupted the entire financial industry.

see: http://moneywatch.bnet.com/economic-news/blog/macro-view/why-us-banks-arent-lending/974/

Politically, rhetorical admonitions to resume lending to the "taxpayer who bailed you out" often contradict widespread concerns over the likely inflationary consequences of aggressive credit expansion. Especially given the extent to which the U.S. monetary base has been expanded and interest rates lowered in the Fed's desperate moves to recapitalize banks.