Chavez Admits To Cancer Surgery in Cuba; Venezuela Wonders What Comes Next

It's taken [T]hugo Chavez a couple of weeks, but he's finally come out and admitted that the reason he has been missing in action from the airwaves and media appearances for the past month has been the result of cancer surgery and recovery in Cuba.



It's rather telling just how serious the situation is that he has been silent for so long and that the military has had to come out and say that they will guarantee the ongoing safety and security.

General Henry Rangel Silva said on Friday the military would guarantee constitutional order during Chavez's absence for treatment in Cuba. The president, he said, would be home "soon" and was still in charge.

"We have seen our comandante thinner than usual but still standing. The truth is he is getting better, he's fine," Rangel told state television. "The country is calm."

The usually vivacious Chavez, 56, confirmed in a stern speech on Thursday he had surgery in Cuba to remove a cancerous tumor and was receiving more treatment. He said he needed time to recover before returning to Venezuela to run his self-styled revolution.

A fiery critic of the United States, Chavez will miss events marking Venezuela's 200th anniversary of independence from Spain. He had to cancel a regional summit planned for the momentous July 5 date.

Markets have generally reacted positively to news of Chavez's health problems, on the presumption they improve the chances of a more business-friendly government.

It's a sad day for democracy in Venezuela that everything has to hinge on Chavez's health; there's no line of succession and his underlings try to put on a veneer of calm when they have no idea what comes next.

It's also telling that Chavez had to go to Cuba for treatment; does Venezuela not have doctors and cancer care? Perhaps that was the result of Cuba being far more secretive about Chavez's condition and that he could get treatment without the prying eyes of media outlets. However, his prolonged absence spurred questions about his health condition.

I don't know, but this seems to be the position being taken by Chavez's apparatchik's and military:

Venezuela Wonders About [T]Hugo Chavez's Future

Venezuelans continue wondering about the health of Hugo Chavez, who remains in an undisclosed hospital in Cuba for an undisclosed ailment. The secrecy surrounding Chavez's health and his condition is particularly troubling since Chavez has spent years accumulating power and undermining democracy in the country.

It's little wonder then that his brother, a physics professor of all things, is claiming that Venezuelans support Hugo and that they should be willing to take up arms to continue Hugo's government.

"The revolution was born in the Bicentennial era, and it made it through elections and we want it to continue that way, following a peaceful path that allows us to build Bolivarian socialism, but aware of the dangers that beset us and that the enemy does not rest, we can not forget as authentic revolutionaries, other methods of struggle.... It would be inexcusable to limit ourselves to only the electoral and not see other forms of struggle, including the armed struggle."

Adan Chavez's comment adds to the threat made by General Rangel Silva late last year, when he said the military may not accept an opposition electoral victory.

Adan's comments must also be taken in context of a potential power struggle within the Chavista ranks. With the possibility that President Chavez will be weaker when he returns to power in a few weeks (not to mention quiet questions about succession), there is a struggle for control and influence within the Chavez ranks to fill that power vaccuum. While only Vice President Elías Jaua would be the legitimate constitutional successor for the president, others including Adan think they are better suited for power. Adan wants to make sure the military will be on his side if and when a struggle within the Chavista ranks breaks out.

While the death-watch appears to have started, Chavez supporters are out in force to try and dampen speculation about his health condition. They further claim that reports of cancer are also overblown or false.

The problem for Chavez's supporters is that someone who is normally omnipresent on Venezuelan television and radio with daily addresses and announcements has been pretty much absent from the airwaves since June 10. The level of secrecy surrounding his health condition and whereabouts are similarly strange.

Whither Venezuela's Chavez?

Hugo Chavez hasn't been seen in public in more than two weeks. He apparently fell ill while in Cuba and is believed to be in critical condition. Officially, he is being treated for a pelvic abscess, but no one knows what his true condition or ailment is.



Ever since [T]hugo came to power, he's cultivated a cult of personality and attempted to consolidate power in himself. He's surrounded himself with nothing but yes men, and with that situation, no one knows who exactly would assume power should Chavez not recover - or if he's incapacitated for any significant period of time.

The departure of Chavez for so long, particularly from the airwaves that he commandeers frequently in Venezuela, has prompted a heated debate over who would, or should, be in charge of the country. In a government that political analysts say is filled with yes-men who rarely question his decisions, Chavez’s illness has exposed the lack of any reliable leader to replace him.

“He has been centralizing power during 12 years now, putting himself in the foreground as the only and indispensable leader,” Demetrio Boersner, a historian and former Venezuelan diplomat, said by phone from Caracas. “So right now, there is no personality within the governing party that seems like the logical substitute in case it would be necessary to replace him.”

The government’s official account is that Chavez began suffering from abdominal pain during a meeting with Fidel Castro in Havana and was rushed to surgery.

Chavez, who turns 57 next month, soon phoned Venezuela’s main state television station to say he was recovering and there was no “malignant” illness. Officially, the government said that Chavez underwent surgery for a “pelvic abscess,” which is pus in the abdomen brought on by infection or other causes. Government officials said the president continued to sign bills and govern from Cuba, Venezuela’s closest ally.

“We don’t know what this pelvic abscess is about,” said Fernando Coronil, author of “The Magical State,” a book about pre-Chavez Venezuela. “He mentioned that there was some biopsy. There is no malignancy. But given the secrecy and given the delicate situation, we don’t know if that’s actually accurate.”

Since Chavez’s first explanation after the surgery, the only purported messages have been from the president’s Twitter account, the latest on Friday, when he sent a “big hug to my soldiers and my beloved people.”

His brother, Adan, said on Wednesday that Chavez was recuperating. He said the president would remain in Havana for 10 to 12 days, which would put Chavez back in Caracas in time for a previously scheduled summit of Caribbean nations.

The Situation Remains Dire In Libya as Fighting Continues

The situation in Libya remains dire as fighting continues between rebel groups and Khadafi loyalists.

Khadafi's goons captured three Dutch helicopter crewmembers who were trying to evacuate Dutch citizens from the country. Word of the capture had been kept under wraps until a Dutch paper spilled the beans.

Libyan forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi have captured three crew members of a Dutch naval helicopter who were rescuing European citizens, last Sunday, the Dutch Defense Ministry said on Thursday, the first report of foreigners being by held in Libya’s bloody and unfolding uprising.

Otte Beeksma, a spokesman for the Defense Ministry, said the pro-Qaddafi forces also captured two civilians being rescued — one Dutch, the other from an unspecified European country — who had since been released. Dutch officials decline to give personal details of the crew members while confidential negotiations for their release were underway.

The authorities had kept word of the capture a secret until a Dutch newspaper broke the story.

Mr. Beeksma, said the crew of a Lynx helicopter had landed in the coastal city of Sirte — a pro-Qaddafi stronghold — after flying from a navy ship, the HMS Tromp, anchored offshore. The helicopter was “surrounded by armed Libyan forces late on Sunday afternoon.”

The two people being evacuated were transferred to the Dutch Embassy in Tripoli on Sunday, but the crew and their helicopter were still being held. Mr. Beeksma did not identify the two people who were being rescued.

The use of military personnel in such operations is not limited to the Dutch authorities. Last weekend, British news reports said British special forces accompanied a rescue effort by the Royal Air Force to pluck oil workers to safety from remote desert encampments.

It's little wonder then that the US has moved its naval forces closer to Libya as I had noted yesterday. The US isn't likely to engage in military actions except if the humanitarian and relief flight crews come under attack. Capturing the three Dutch crewmembers who were conducting relief flights would qualify.

None other than Hugo Chavez of Venezuela (who's no stranger to undemocratic actions and stifling of dissent) is offering to mediate the conflict between Khadafi and the opposition. He's also busy railing that the situation in Libya is a pretext for a US invasion to take the country's oil.

The International Criminal Court will be investigating Khadafi for possible crimes against humanity in his attempts to quell the uprising and brutal use of force. Khadafi's goons continue attempts to retake territory captured by the opposition, including the oil port city of Brega. His forces have tried airstrikes and attacks from multiple fronts with little success.

While the opposition remains a ragtag collection of groups and even disgruntled army units with access to lots of weapons, including many of the same weapons that Khadafi has access to, they lack cohesive training. Reports indicate that these groups are in the process of training to better repel Khadafi's attacks, particularly airstrikes.

In Benghazi, the prime concern is that Khadafi will attempt airstrikes against the city.

UPDATE:
President Obama has authorized military airlifts to transport refugees from Libya to safe areas outside the country.

President Obama called again on Thursday for the immediate resignation of the Libyan leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, and said he had authorized American military airlifts to help transport refugees fleeing from Libya back to their home countries in the region.

“The U.S. and the entire world continues to be outraged by the appalling violence against the Libyan people,” Mr. Obama said after a White House meeting with President Felipe Calderón of Mexico. “Muammar el-Qaddafi has lost the legitimacy to lead, and he must leave.”

Mr. Obama said he had directed the Pentagon to prepare for a full range of possible military options in connection with the crisis in Libya. Asked about whether the United States would support sending warplanes over the country to keep the Libyan air force from attacking rebels, creating what is known as a no-flight zone, the president said that was one of the options being considered.

[T]hugo Chavez Seeks Power To Rule By Decree Once Again

Venezuelan strongman [T]hugo Chavez is at it again. He's calling on the National Assembly to grant him more power than he would be allowed to wield by circumventing the incoming Assembly that is comprised of more opposition groups. Chavez claims the power is necessary to deal with a series of natural disasters and the ongoing economic malaise:

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Tuesday asked congress to grant him special powers to enact laws by decree for one year, just before a new legislature takes office with a larger contingent of opposition lawmakers.

The measure would give the president the ability to bypass the National Assembly for the fourth time since he was first elected almost 12 years ago.

Vice President Elias Jaua made the request on Chavez's behalf, saying the president will use the authorization to ensure fast-track approval of laws aimed at helping the nation recover from severe flooding and mudslides that left thousands homeless and in government shelters.

"The measures we have to take are deep. Almost 40 percent of the country was affected" by the heavy rains, Jaua said.

It is expected to win easy approval in the outgoing legislature dominated by Chavez allies.

Chavez's opponents accuse him of using the natural disaster to impose socialist-inspired measures and undermine the power of newly elected opposition lawmakers.

Chavez's economic policies have brought about serious trouble for Venezuela, and the "reforms" will further undermine individual rights and protections. It's a power grab, using the natural disasters as a pretext.

Socialism In Action In Venezuela

It looks like Hugo Chavez's economic policies aren't exactly having a positive effect on the Venezuelan economy. Caracas now has to ration water because of shortages.

Residents of the Venezuelan capital face cuts in water service for as much as 48 hours per week, after the government imposed rationing to stem a 25 percent shortfall in the city's supply, officials said Monday.

Officials said cuts in water service were to be staggered throughout Caracas through the duration of the current dry season, which is not expected to end until May 2010.

Weather forecasters blame the "El Nino" weather phenomenon, saying the periodic weather system has markedly reduced rainfall and created drought conditions.

Others blame the shortage on poor government management of the country's water resources, while President Hugo Chavez faulted the excesses of capitalism.

"What will the rich fill their swimming pools with?" the country's leftist leader asked recently.

Chavez is quick to blame the rich for the woes, but the government's inability to provide sufficient water should be a warning about Chavez's policies on other areas of the Venezuelan economy.

Instead of planning for the possibility of shortages, his government has sought to ration water and limit usage.

Despot Day at the United Nations

When you give lunatics, thugs, and despots like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Mumar Khadafi and Hugo Chavez the ability to speak before a world audience on the largest stage in the world, you can bet they're going to say some mighty interesting things.

Sadly, Khadafi and Ahmadinejad are following President Obama at the podium, which highlights the range of legitimacy between attendees. In addition to his repeated calls for Israel's destruction, Holocaust denial, support for jihad and international terrorism, Ahmadinejad stole the election in Iran, Chavez has been assaulting the democratic institutions in Venezuela to accumulate more power for years, and the dictator Khadafi has been thuggishly ruling Libya for decades all while supporting international terrorism (and who so warmly received the bomber convicted in the Pan Am 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland.

Those are only three of the high profile foreign attendees. Others include Robert Mugabe who has destroyed Zimbabwe's economy and has held an iron grip on his country by throwing that nation's elections.

So, when I say that the United Nations this week will resemble the Mos Eisley cantina, I'm not kidding. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy anywhere on the planet.

UPDATE:
Khadafi finally gave his speech, and it was a doozy. To recap Khadafi's craziness:

• Pharmaceutical companies create viruses in order to then sell vaccinations.
• Jack Ruby's killing of Lee Harvey Oswald needs to be investigated.
• Questioned the US war in Afghanistan.
• Called Iraq War the mother of all evils.
• Questioned the legitimacy of the Security Council permanent member vetoes, claiming their illegitimacy because the Charter claims that all nations are equal.
• He also questioned the existence and emergence of the swine flu, claiming it was likely a military weapon gone awry.
• He wants the African Union to get a permanent seat on the Security Council (which he also calls the Terror Council).
  

Bear in mind that he was only supposed to speak for 10 minutes, and he went raving for 94 minutes. That's a whole lot of crazy, and I'm sure a few of his more memorable phrases got lost in translation, but Ahmadinejad is going to have a hard time topping this craziness. Then again, Ahmadinejad always finds a way to let his crazy out.

[T]hugo Jumps on the Genocide Bandwagon

It's the fashionable season to blame Israel for carrying out a genocide against Palestinians. The latest to throw out this claptrap is none other than Venezuelan thug Hugo Chavez. Chavez has been real busy lately, cozying up with the Iranian regime (which coincidentally has a corner on the genocide business - alternatively blaming Israel for committing genocide and calling for Israel's destruction - genocide). Here's what Chavez had to say:

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has accused Israel of genocide against the Palestinian people, telling a French newspaper that the bombing of Gaza late last year was an unprovoked attack.

"The question is not whether the Israelis want to exterminate the Palestinians. They're doing it openly," Chavez said in an interview with Le Figaro published on Wednesday.

The Venezuelan president, who has just completed a tour of Middle Eastern and Arab countries, brushed aside Israeli assertions that its attack on Gaza was a response to rocket fire from Islamist group Hamas which rules the coastal enclave.
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"What was it if not genocide? ... The Israelis were looking for an excuse to exterminate the Palestinians," Chavez said, adding that sanctions should have been slapped on Israel.

Israel launched an offensive against the Gaza Strip on December 27, 2008, with the declared aim of curbing rocket fire from the region into southern Israel.

The land, sea and air assault lasted 22 days, and left some 1,300 Palestinians dead, according to medical sources.

So, what exactly was Chavez's context? He claims that Israel's Operation Cast Lead was genocide - completely ignoring the reason that Israel responded as it did - the thousands of rockets and mortars fired at Israelis for months.

Chavez claims that Israel has a right to exist, but then goes on talking about Palestinian rights, which but for Palestinian fecklessness, would have had a state alongside Israel back in 2000. Palestinians have self-determined, they chose the more extreme Hamas and jihad when Hamas rose to power, and which took over Gaza from Fatah in 2005. From that point forward, Hamas has sought ever more conflict with Israel, with the terror group treating Gazans as nothing more than cannon fodder. For all the claims of 1,200 Palestinians killed, the overwhelming majority were Hamas terrorists, and of the rest, most were killed because Hamas purposefully operated in densely populated areas.

Objectively, Israel is not carrying out genocide. Gaza's population continues growing and but for Palestinian terrorism, the security fence and Israeli military responses would not be necessary. Palestinians aren't wanting for food or anything else, but their leadership continues to agitate for jihad and unending war to secure Israel's destruction.

That's who Chavez sides with, and Iran would love nothing more than to push its own agenda at the same time.

Slouching Towards Collapse

Venezuela continues slouching towards disaster and [T]hugo Chavez's socialist plans for his country are going down in flames as he no longer has the oil revenues flowing to prop up his plans. Chavez doesn't have the money to pay the contractors who keep the oil industry churning along.

Venezuela’s state oil company is behind on billions in payments to private oil contractors from Oklahoma to Belarus, some of which have now stopped work, even as President Hugo Chavez funnels more oil revenue to social programs.

Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, says unpaid invoices jumped 39 percent in the first nine months of last year — reaching $7.86 billion in September. And that was when world oil was selling for $100 a barrel.

With prices plummeting by more than half, PDVSA is trying to renegotiate some contracts. But analysts say hardball tactics to reduce charges from crucial service providers could backfire by lowering Venezuela’s oil output. And foreign debt markets are reflecting jitters about Venezuela’s finances.

Chavez doesn't have the money to pay for his military expansion, the oil industry, and the folks he needs to buy the votes of in the elections scheduled for later this year. Without the pork projects he hopes will bide him more time among the poor who rely upon such things, Chavez wont have anything to offer Venezuelans other than the usual amount of socialist claptrap and blaming everyone but himself for Venezuela's problems.

Meanwhile, the situation in Zimbabwe isn't improving either. The cholera epidemic shows no signs of letting up as 69,000 cases are now reported.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change's decision to create a unity government with President Robert Mugabe could give authorities a better chance of tackling the disease that has deepened Zimbabwe's hardships.

Zimbabwe's health system has collapsed under an economic crisis that has left eight in 10 people out of employment in the once prosperous country. Poor medical facilities and sanitation have helped spread the cholera.

More than half of Zimbabwe is surviving on food aid and the population is also struggling with the world's highest inflation rate of over 231 million percent as of July last year.

Zimbabwe's parliament passed a constitutional bill last week to allow a coalition government of Mugabe and opposition rivals to be set up under a deal to end the political and economic crisis.

That's a far too optimistic picture of the situation in Zimbabwe given that Mugabe has refused to give up power and the opposition led by Morgan Tsvangirai isn't going to have the power to actually alter the economic policies that led Zimbabwe to ruin. Tsvangirai's deal with Mugabe only allows some foreign assistance to flow, but doesn't address the underlying fundamental problems with the economy, which are due entirely to Mugabe's socialist redistribution policies that have led the country to ruin.

Operation Cast Lead: Day 20

The Hamas terrorists continue firing rockets into Israel, and continue attacking Israeli forces operating in Gaza from UN positions. This should come as no surprise. UNRWA admits that they've had Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists on their payroll for years and have been freely teaching anti-Semitic and anti-Israel propaganda in the UNRWA-operated schools. As FoxNews reports:

The United Nations agency that administers a school in Gaza where dozens of civilians were killed by Israeli mortar fire last week has admitted to employing terrorists to work at its Palestinian schools in the past, has no system in place to keep members of Hamas or Islamic Jihad off its payroll, and provides textbooks to children that contain hate speech and other incendiary information.

A growing chorus of critics has taken aim at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in recent years, although momentum on Capitol Hill has been slow. But last week’s incident, which Israel maintains was prompted by Hamas operatives firing mortars at Israelis from a location near the school, has prompted some lawmakers to scrutinize the U.N. agency.

UNRWA isn't the solution. It's a huge part of the problem. It has condoned the activities of terrorists and provides them with safe havens from which to operate, including schools and the very refugee camps that UNRWA administers.

So, it should come as no surprise that Hamas thugs were firing on Israeli positions from in the vicinity of UNRWA administrative buildings in Gaza. Israel responded to Hamas anti-tank fire with attacks of its own. The NYT reports that UN officials (namely Chris Guiness) were told by unnamed Israeli officials that the attack was a mistake. MSNBC says that Ehud Barak told the UN that there had been a "grave mistake", but the Jerusalem Post contradicts that statement claiming that Israel was justifiably firing on terrorists operating in the vicinity of UNRWA facilities. Carl in Jerusalem has more on this. If Hamas or other terrorists were firing on Israeli positions from UNRWA facilities, Israel is more than justified under international law to return fire. Terrorists do not get the benefit of doubt.

Reports also indicate that the nearby hospital was hit by gunfire. Hamas has no care for human life, and purposefully uses human shields to maximize the body count. Israel has sent five of its firetrucks to assist in dousing the fires at the UNRWA headquarters.

The UN continues to push out nonsensical and morally bankrupt statements such as the death toll in Gaza being unbearable. If that's the case, why isn't the UN demanding that Hamas cease attacking Israel and laying down its arms as it operates from within UNRWA administered locations throughout Gaza? But for the Hamas war against Israel, Israel would not be forced to defend itself by going after Hamas terrorists inside Gaza.

Where is the UN and ICRC to demand access to Gilad Shalit. He's been held by Hamas for more than 2.5 years, and the only reason that he's being held by Hamas is so that Hamas can demand Israel release hundreds of terrorists in exchange for Shalit. Where are the demands by the UN or other human rights groups for Hamas to engage in a humanitarian gesture by releasing Shalit unconditionally. The reason is simple. No one expects the terrorists to engage in humanitarian gestures. That's why Hamas continues violating each and every 3-hour Israeli ceasefire allowing humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. It's why it's sheer folly for Israel to consider any longer ceasefire when Hamas will use that time to regroup and rearm.

That's because the UN too is part of the problem and its organization is riddled with the same anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment that we see from Hamas and other Islamic terrorist groups.

Venezuela is the latest country to break off relations with Israel. [T]hugo Chavez is close warm personal friends with Iran's Ahmadinejad (who's busy calling for the Arab world to cut relations with Israel), so it should come as no surprise that he's doing his friend's bidding. The same goes for Bolivia's Evo Mendes, who broke off relations with Israel yesterday. Never mind that all three countries are busy funding terrorists and call for Israel's destruction.

As per the NYT report, Israeli human rights groups were ignoring Hamas terrorist attacks and tens of thousands of documented terrorist incidents - each and every instance a war crime - and instead are seeking to find war crimes against Israel:

Also on Wednesday, nine Israeli human rights groups called for an investigation into whether Israeli officials had committed war crimes in Gaza. The groups say that tens of thousands of civilians in Gaza have nowhere to flee, the Gaza health system has collapsed, many people are without electricity and running water, and some are beyond the reach of rescue teams.

“This kind of fighting constitutes a blatant violation of the laws of warfare and raises the suspicion, which we ask be investigated, of the commission of war crimes,” the groups said in a news conference on the 19th day of the war.

The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Jakob Kellenberger, who spent Tuesday in Gaza City, agreed that the situation with civilians was dire but said that the principal hospital was making do with medical supplies, and that doctors, working around the clock, were mostly coping with the flow of the wounded.

Let's ignore the Hamas use of human shields, attacking from civilian areas, putting civilians at risk, purposefully targeting Israeli civilians, and calls to genocide and ethnic cleansing of Israel. Instead, these "human rights groups" stand human rights on its head and attack a nation's right to defend itself from attack. Hamas is responsible for the events in Gaza, and but for the rocket attacks, Israel would not have responded. Indeed, Israel didn't respond to the rocket attacks for years, and didn't respond to the hundreds of kassam attacks during the last ceasefire, which is why Hamas continues to believe that it can and will destroy Israel.

If Israel injures or kills civilians accidentally, it rushes to apologize. Hamas attacks civilians purposefully and cheers gleefully when Israelis die. Yet the media, the human rights groups, and the diplomats ignore this crucial difference. Do mistakes happen during wars? Yes. Do civilians get killed during wars? Yes. Do terrorists deserve the benefit of doubt. Absolutely not. The death toll in Gaza is higher precisely because Hamas seeks to maximize the casualties by operating outside the bounds of the laws of war and the Geneva Conventions.

Where can Gazans flee? Egypt doesn't want them. Israel left Gaza in 2005 precisely to see whether Gaza could live in peace with Israel. Gazans have to choose between war and coexistence; and that means finally standing up against Hamas and Islamic Jihad. They have a choice to make, and knowing how Palestinians have chose in the past, they will again choose Hamas and terrorism, despite the terrible toll.

UPDATE:
Israeli operations killed five Hamas terrorists, who happened to be bodyguards to one of the Hamas bigwigs, Mahmoud Al Zahar. Arab reports suggest that the IDF has Zahar's home surrounded. Israellycool has the details and more extensive updates.

The Muqata reports that Israeli soldiers came under fire from UNRWA positions and from buildings being used by journalists, which explains why Israel returned fire to those locations and their vicinity. Hamas is using journalists and the UN as cover to carry out their terror operations and hopes that Israel kills civilians, UN officials and/or journalists to further Hamas propaganda aims.

Muqata also has this report:

12:12 PM Italian reporter, one of the first members of the foreign press allowed into Gaza claims that there is no real humanitarian crisis in the strip and, surprisingly enough, reports in the Arab media are greatly exaggerated. This is in line with G.S.S. Yuval Diskin's statement for a couple weeks ago. (source in Hebrew)

UPDATE:
UNRWA is claiming that Israel fired on the warehouse using white phosphorus (WP). Expect to see whining and seething from the human rights groups that this is somehow a human rights violation or war crime, when Israel is within its rights to use WP.

There's nothing controversial about the use of WP, other than the fact that Israel is using it. It isn't an illegal weapon, it isn't a chemical weapon, and nations the world over have it in their arsenals. Human rights groups and anti-Israel groups are trying to make it controversial, but they're treading on thin ice. They're hoping that the repeated mention of it creates outrage and forces Israel to stop using yet another tool in their defense.

UPDATE:
Expect to hear complaints about how Israel killed Hamas' interior minister.

Hamas' interior minister, Said Siam, considered one of the most senior members of the Palestinian group's leadership, was killed Thursday afternoon in an Israeli air strike on his brother's home in Gaza City, the Israel Defense Forces said.

Siam's brother Ayad and the head of Hamas' security organization in Gaza, Salah Abu Sharah, were also killed in the strike. Palestinian sources reported that 20 other people were injured in the attack.

Siam, 50, is the most senior Hamas figure assassinated in Operation Cast Lead so far, and is the most senior Hamas figure killed by Israel since the assassination of Dr. Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi in April 2004.

People will attempt to claim that there's a difference between Hamas military and political wings, but that's a smokescreen. Both are Hamas and both are dedicated to the same goal. What are the Siams' role in Hamas? These guys organized the top level terror infrastructure.

UPDATE:
Hamas is now more accepting of a ceasefire? I guess when your top terrorists are dying in airstrikes, you reconsider your alternatives - a hudna lets you regroup, rearm, and prepare for the next battle. Of course, note too that Hamas wants to do everything possible to make the ceasefire one-sided. It claims to be doing so in the name of the Palestinian people, but if that ever were the case, Hamas would not have started a rocket war against Israel and attempted to negotiate a peace deal on the basis of the 2000 Camp David outlined proffered by Ehud Barak. In fact, Palestinians could have already had their state if they offered up counterproposals rather than rockets and mortars and suicide bombers in response to the Barak offer. Instead, we've got nothing but death, pain and misery because Arafat refused to provide a counteroffer to Barak, and Arafat, the PA, Fatah and Hamas launched into another Intifada.

UPDATE:
Photo review time.
Palestinians transport wounded people. I'd get hurt just attempting to ride in a car like that.

If Israel really wants you dead, here's what they do to your home. That was the home of a major Hamas terrorist. That's a clarion call that terror masters understand. Despite their bravado, they're cowards at heart and aren't keen on dying. They'd much rather have others die for them - the more Palestinians who die, the better since Hamas doesn't have a clue how to govern but it churns out the propaganda like clockwork.

Propaganda masquerading as captions.

Chavez Cuts Off Cheap Heating Oil Program Stunt Because He Can't Afford It

[T]hugo Chavez, the socialist leader of Venezuela is having to scale back his socialist operations and among the first to go is his attempts to lure Americans to believe his socialist claptrap.

He's had to stop the low cost oil program in the US. Crashing oil prices meant that Chavez didn't have the money on hand to run the program. Of course, Chavez doesn't have the money to expand his military either, so it's a win-win proposition for those who see Chavez's bellicose statements and his repeated efforts to undermine the Venezuelan democracy by granting himself greater powers at the expense of the people.

Chavez is an economics nitwit, peddling his socialist visions, and Venezuela's economy was already reeling from Chavez's economic programs, so that the worldwide slowdown and lowered demand for oil has meant that Chavez doesn't have the money to spend on his socialist cause.

Hardest hit aren't the people who had been taking advantage of the free oil program, but the useful idiot Joe Kennedy, who had been shilling for Chavez for years. Jammie notes that Kennedy is getting the cold shoulder not only from Americans, but Chavez isn't exactly reaching out to him either.

Chavez Seeks Unlimited Reelections As Economy Crashes Around Him

Give [T]hugo Chavez credit. Once he's picked out a course of action, nothing is going to stop him from attempting to bring it to fruition. In his case, it's not only seeking totalitarian powers and a lifetime presidency, but destroying the economy of Venezuela and its neighbors through socialism and price controls.

Chavez is limited from running for reelection after 2013, but that's not stopping him from trying to get the laws changed.

Chavez, who was first elected in 1998, is barred from running again when his current term expires in 2013. He sought to abolish term limits last year, but Venezuelan voters rejected the bid, voting down a package of proposed constitutional changes.

"Last year, when we lost the referendum, I said I should accept the majority's decision," the former paratroop commander told a crowd of red-clad government supporters at a rally in Caracas. But now, he added, "I say you were right: Chavez will not go."

Any new attempt at a reform, which must be approved in a nationwide referendum, would open a new front for tensions between government-backers and their rivals — many of whom warn that Chavez wants to be president for life.

Opposition leader Gerardo Blyde said Chavez's plan to end presidential term limits would be overwhelmingly defeated.

At the same time, Chavez's economic policies are having a disastrous spillover effect into Colombia. Much of the recent growth in Venezuela's economy was due to oil revenue, and with the decline in oil prices, Venezuela simply doesn't have money to burn and Colombia's economy is reliant on Venezuela even as they are rivals:

That boom, part of a seven-fold surge in Colombian exports to its northern neighbor that helped drive the peso to a nine- year high in June, is coming to an end as Venezuela’s oil-driven economic expansion careens toward a bust.

“Time to tighten the belt,” says Hernandez, whose company, Marroquinera SA, has been exporting to Venezuela since 1985.

The looming slowdown in trade will deepen the peso’s 30 percent slide against the dollar since mid-June and make it the worst-performing currency in Latin America over the next year, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. say. When Venezuela last fell into a recession, in 2002, Colombian shipments to its second-biggest trading partner sank 38 percent, helping spark a 21 percent rout in the peso.

There’s going to be “a major drop in Venezuelan demand for Colombian products,” said Boris Segura, a Latin America economist at Morgan Stanley in New York. “That’s a clear and imminent risk.”

That's one of the reasons that Colombia needs to have closer trade ties with the US; not only to bolster US ties in Latin America, but to thwart Chavez's ambitions for the region.

Venezuela Votes With Mixed Results

[T]hugo Chavez didn't get the sweeping endorsement he hoped would carry his socialist policies into action with a compliant parliament waiting to rubber stamp them into effect. The opposition won nearly half the popular vote, but only 5 of 22 provinces.

In power for almost a decade, the popular anti-U.S. president won 17 of 22 states, but the opposition held onto the two states it won at the last regional elections four years ago, picked up three more and won the powerful mayoralty of the capital Caracas.

Opposition candidates were helped by widespread voter complaints the government has done too little to control some of the world's worst murder rates and Latin America's highest inflation rate.

The overall mixed results triggered a public relations battle as each side fought to seize the momentum by persuading Venezuelans it was the victor in an election where a high 65 percent of voters cast ballots.

The outcome of the post-election tussle could determine whether Chavez has the backing to realize his reelection goal or follow through on threats to spread his nationalizations program by seizing assets from landowners or food companies.

Needless to say, this is a good thing for the Venezuelans, who must be realizing by now that Chavez's economic policies are ruining their economy and he can't simply blame the US for all that ails his country.

Venezuela's economic woes are self inflicted - from the nationalization of industries to price controls that have sent inflation spiraling out of control and caused shortages of food and other goods.

Chavez can't afford to put his grandiose plans to rework the economy in his warped image because the price of oil has collapsed but he continues to gear his socialist rhetoric to those who are among the most poor and downtrodden, and yet they're seeing the least benefit from Chavez's policies because he simply doesn't understand basic economics.

UPDATE:
Ed Morissey has a similarly upbeat assessment of the vote as being a bigger defeat for Chavez than I note. Chavez will continue to scheme at pushing through his agenda by any means necessary, and this vote will likely cause him to redouble his efforts, which include intimidating the opposition.

Venezuela Votes

Venezuela is voting in municipal elections and it once again holds the future of Hugo Chavez's socialist agenda in the crosshairs.

Chavez has said the vote — held one year after he suffered his first electoral defeat — could decide "the future of the revolution, the future of socialism and also the future of Hugo Chavez."

Early turnout was high as Venezuelans formed long lines to cast ballots for governors, mayors and other local officials.

After a decade in office, Chavez still enjoys widespread popularity and has maintained control of most local posts. But last year's defeat of his attempt to abolish term limits has energized the opposition, which has sought to capitalize on complaints about rampant crime, corruption and inflation.

The vote could either hand Chavez another setback or help him lay the groundwork to extend his rule beyond 2013, when his six-year term ends.

Chavez said after casting his ballot that Venezuela's democracy is "demonstrating its strength once again" and that its automated voting system is one of the most "transparent, quickest, most secure in the world."

He urged all to respect the outcome and said, "We're prepared to recognize any result."

Pre-election polls showed Chavez's candidates leading in a majority of races, while the opposition was ahead or in tight races in several of Venezuela's most populous states.

Aquiles Vera, a 47-year-old construction worker who voted in a Caracas slum, said he supported Chavez's candidates and believed the president's ability to stay in office was at stake.

Let's just say I'm not exactly trusting Chavez to keep his word that he'll abide by the outcome of the vote if it goes against him. He's already shown that he's more than willing to try and circumvent the vote by attempting to push through laws to extend the term of his office, and impose his socialist agenda regardless of the damage it has already done to the Venezuelan economy.

He Speaks From Experience

[T]hugo Chavez is back in the news. He thinks that the US needs a new constitution because the current one doesn't quite work.

Speaking to reporters in Lisbon on the last leg of a tour that included visits to China and Russia, he said: "I think the United States should start a constituent process to create a constituent assembly, a new truly democratic model."

A constituent assembly is a body elected to draft and sometimes adopt a new constitution.

"It was capitalism that caused the ruin" in the United States, said Chavez, who is one of Washington's fiercest critics, calling the financial crunch "the worst financial crisis in history".

"Let the U.S. empire end and let a great nation and great republic rise from the ruin ... It's time to shout 'Liberty!' again in the United States," Chavez said, calling for a new government to be free of the "dictatorship of the elite" such as big banks and corporations.

Critics accuse Chavez of running an authoritarian, Cuban-style regime in oil-rich Venezuela.

Chavez, who has signed various deals from weapons to energy this week in China and Russia also signed an agreement with Portugal's Socialist government on Saturday to buy 1 million ultra-cheap laptops for schools and 50,000 pre-fabricated houses in deals worth $3 billion.

Chavez is an expert on this.

He tried to rewrite the Venezuelan constitution, coerce the legislature into giving him more power, and has used and abused what power he has to usurp capitalists in his country by nationalizing one industry after another.

Chavez is a socialist. Constitutions are useful only inasmuch as they enable accumulating still more power.

It's still more ironic to see that he's looking to foreign countries to buy laptops and pre-fabricated houses.

The entire computer industry was built by capitalists who invented the technologies in the US, promulgated companies that would expand and move the technology to the forefront so that you can now find low cost computers in every corner of the planet.

Henry Ford capitalized on the assembly line to reduce costs and standardize products so that the masses could buy one of his cars. Other capitalists took those lessons and now churn out prefab homes.

Yet, Chavez slams capitalism at every turn. Without the capitalists building the infrastructure and technology he craves, he would have nothing but a big puddle of oil on which his nation rests.

Attention Grabbing Demagogue Seeks Out Thuggish Dictator For City Hall Romp

New York City Councilman Charles Barron, whose previous exploits have included inviting Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe to come to City Hall, now wants to bring Venezuelan thug Hugo Chavez to City Hall. Barron wants to invite [T]hugo to City Hall next week during the opening of the United Nations General Assembly:

Acknowledging that the visit would be "a long shot," Barron praised Chavez as "a shining example of a humanitarian."

In a speech at the UN two years ago, Chavez mocked President Bush as "the devil."

Former Mayor Ed Koch called Chavez "a fascist," and added, "Barron has a right to invite anybody he wants, and everybody else has a right to moon him."

Barron had called Mugabe, who's economic and social policies have absolutely destroyed Zimbabwe; inflation runs anywhere from 12.5 million percent to 20 million percent, food is scarce, the racist regime has forced whites from their lands and redistribution of wealth has resulted in Mugabe's inner circle benefiting while everyone else suffers, a great man. Barron thinks anyone who criticizes Mugabe is racist. Mugabe stole elections, and refuses to cede power to the opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. Mugabe is busy letting his thugs roam the streets murdering and raping the opposition. Then again, most of Mugabe's victims are also black, which doesn't exactly help Barron's rant.

Chavez has been known to do the same (rant and rave like a lunatic, albeit a lunatic with far too much power and who is determined to throw his weight around, like funding FARC terrorists against Colombia).

Barron is a race-baiter and has a long history of engaging in demagoguery and inviting [T]hugo to City Hall is just the latest in a long line of craziness that deserves a serious shout-down.

Barron is an absolute disgrace and [T]hugo has no business being anywhere near City Hall when [T]hugo spends his trying attempting to subvert Venezuelan democracy and stealing the property of its citizens and businesses with socialist takeovers and price controls that force businesses to choose between selling their operations to the government or having the government take it from them.

[T]hugo Strikes Again

This time, he's expelled two people who work with Human Rights Watch, which as the name implies, looks at situations around the world and complains about human rights violations. There's plenty of them in Venezuela, and the thug in charge, Hugo Chavez, has been clamoring for more power to turn the country into a socialist basket case.

Armed men in uniforms apprehended José Miguel Vivanco, a Chilean citizen who is the Americas director for the New York-based group, and Daniel Wilkinson, an American who is deputy director for the Americas, and placed them on a flight to São Paulo, Brazil, where they arrived on Friday morning.

“About 20 men, some of them in military uniform, intercepted us when we arrived at our hotel after returning from dinner Thursday night,” Mr. Vivanco said in a telephone interview from São Paulo. He said he struggled briefly with the security officials when he tried to send a message on his BlackBerry to The New York Times about the expulsion.

The officials then disabled the BlackBerries of the two men and prevented them from contacting anyone in Venezuela, including diplomats from the embassies of Chile or the United States. “They informed us of our apprehension and told us they had entered our rooms and had packed our belongings,” Mr. Vivanco said.

The expulsion, broadcast partly on state television here, comes at a time of increasingly erratic actions by Mr. Chávez. In the last week, he expelled the American ambassador, rounded up military officers and accused them of plotting to kill him and clashed with the Vatican over its granting of political asylum to a political opponent.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Mr. Vivanco violated the law by entering the country on a tourist visa to do human rights work. The ministry also said that Human Rights Watch, which is an outspoken critic of the Bush administration, was acting in concert with the United States government in a campaign of aggression against Venezuela.

He's well on his way, but it's easier when you don't have people looking over your shoulder to expose your thuggish policies. Human Rights Watch and the US government don't see eye to on a whole lot, but even HRW can't be blind to what Chavez is doing.

Cuba Seeks Limited Lift of Trade Embargo

HAVANA — Cuba has turned down American storm relief handouts, but is asking for trade restrictions to be lifted so it can buy American materials to assist in its recovery from Hurricane Ike, officials said yesterday.

"Cuba hasn't asked the United States government to give it anything," the Foreign Ministry said in the Communist Party newspaper Granma. "Simply that it lets us buy."

The Foreign Ministry said it has twice turned down an American government offer to send a disaster assessment team, insisting that Cuban experts are capable of assessing Ike's damage to the island. Cuba says it wants some American trade restrictions lifted instead, so it can buy American roofing and other construction materials to repair homes and the island's electrical grid. It also wants to buy food on credit.

Actually, I am in favor of this. Let Cuba buy American goods and materials. First, it helps the U.S. economy, it improves the U.S. trade deficit and it shows the Cuban people how good our materials are here in the U.S. Look, if we don't let them buy from us, they will get them from [T]Hugo Chavez for free. This is a win-win situation -- American business get to sell goods and we may preempt Chavez from digging his claws into Cuba further.

Venezuela Slouches Towards Socialism

The slow creep to socialism continues in Venezuela, where [T]hugo Chavez's latest move is to seek to nationalize the fuel distribution companies in the country. Private companies would have 60 days to negotiate a deal with the government, or else face expropriation of their assets.

Venezuela's state-run oil company would control all fuel distribution but would not nationalize gas stations, under a bill that received initial approval in the National Assembly on Wednesday.
Final approval is expected later this week.

This is what the socialists and leftists in the US would love to do - get private companies out of the energy business.

And as usual among the left, Chavez demonizes the oil companies and whatever profits they make. That's on top of the other industries that Chavez already has nationalized. There is more to come:

The law gives distributors 60 days to negotiate the sale of their businesses to the government or face expropriation. It also forces distributors to sell storage tanks and gasoline pumps to PDVSA, and to relinquish their brand names.

A PDVSA subsidiary controls 49 percent of fuel distribution in Venezuela, with the rest controlled by private companies, according to industry representatives.

Under Chavez, the government has nationalized Venezuela's largest telephone, electricity, steel and cement companies and has assumed majority control over four major oil projects.

Also Wednesday, the president said in talks with the Mexican ambassador, the government negotiated a deal that will let Venezuelan authorities take full control of Mexican cement company Cemex SAB's local plants.

Chavez will not be satisfied until all industry is nationalized and firmly within his iron grip.

Venezuleans Finally Catching On to Chavez's Socialism

Hugo Chavez has been trying to turn Venezuela into a socialist dictatorship in his own image for years. His thugs have repeatedly taken to the streets to beat the opposition into submission, though he's not managed to cow the legislature into granting him dictatorial power just yet.

His efforts have stalled precisely because a combination of factors, including a stagnant economy despite high oil prices. Chavez continues to press for the kind of reform that would place still more power in his hands as part of "reform":

Riot police used tear gas Wednesday to block hundreds of Venezuelans protesting the latest moves by President Hugo Chavez to concentrate his power. The demonstrators said a blacklist of opposition candidates and a series of socialist decrees are destroying what's left of their democracy.

Though the protest of about 1,000 people chanting "freedom!" was small compared to past marches, there is a growing public outcry over the sidelining of key government opponents ahead of state and local elections in November.

Chavez opponents also are outraged by 26 laws the president just decreed, some of them mirroring the socialist measures voters rejected in a December referendum.

"We said in the referendum that we didn't want that, and now he's put it in the decrees," said protester Josefina Bravo, a 59-year-old who wore a sticker reading "No means no" on her baseball cap. "That's the problem we have: All the powers are concentrated in the president."

We've seen these tactics before, and the results are invariably the same - the people suffer tremendously as the dictatorship and his inner circle benefits. It's happened in Zimbabwe and it will happen here as well.