Thursday, November 29, 2007

AUTOCRITICOS.

El Fariseo, puesto en pie, oraba consigo mismo

de esta manera: Dios, te doy gracias porque no soy

como los otros hombres, ladrones, injustos, adúlteros,

ni aún como este publicano; ayuno dos veces a la semana,

doy diezmos de todo lo que gano.

Lucas 18:11-12 (Casiodoro de Reina, 1569).

War With No End (Verso, £7.99)

http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,2194988,00.html

Published in conjunction with the British and American anti-war movements, this collection opens with essays on the lives and freedoms lost as the price of the "war on terror" and the six-year war's consolidation of a 21st-century imperialism driven by hunger for resources and military bases. Then comes the first big name, as Arundhati Roy notes that other September 11 anniversaries - of the CIA-backed coup in Chile in 1973, and Britain's proclamation of its mandate in Palestine in 1922 - also deserve commemoration for showing how ruthlessly empires use their power. Fiction is represented by Hanif Kureishi's "Weddings and Beheadings" and (presumably, as it's ambiguously presented) by John Berger's story of women forming a human shield to protect resistance fighters. A weakness of War With No End is that reportage is confined to a Joe Sacco cartoon-strip; but it usefully extends its definition of the war on terror beyond the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq - Naomi Klein's essay on Israel's disaster capitalism is one of several pieces focusing on America's main Middle East ally.

John Dugdale

Claros cielos invernales en el Sureste Inglés. Imponentes crepusCULOS “rojillos” DELINEAN el nítido horizonte. Difícil CREER, al observer tales PAISAJES, que al mundo se lo está llevando LA TOSTADA. Fría pero soleada, esta mañana la afanadora del pisito contiguo (amiga de La PAM) me da una “aleccionada” matutina sobre cambio climatico. Ella dice que la gente quejándose del frío no sabe en realidad nada de clima, me recuerda que las etapas más CRUDAS del invierno en esta parte del REINO unido se presentan en los meses de Enero y FEBRERO principalmente. Continúa con un aplomo, que ya quisiera varios legisladores después de MISTERIOSAS llamadas teléfonicas, su exposición, mencionándome que, después de todo, de acuerdo con los escenarios climáticos más PICUDOS, la costa de Norfolk estaría completamente INUNDADA (no mencionó el derrame de ninguna PRESA como causa) para el año 2100. Seguramente el Fut o las comedias vespertinas no son sus programas favoritos por Televisión, ¿’edá? Su plática me hizo recordar uno de los primeros capítulos de “El Mundo y sus DEMONIOS” de Carl Sagan (sí, tienen razón, es el mismo de la serie televisiva COSMOS), en que, cuando NIÑO, hace una afirmación, que tiene mucho de incierto, entonces la mama del FINADO científico le revira: ¿Cómo estás seguro de eso?

El pasado Domingo me invitó a cenar una amiga que recién entregó su tesis. Debe haberme preparado un “cuatro” la muy LADINA, porque de pronto me veo sentado en la mesa departiendo con un grupo de 6 feminas y, obvio, el tema de la igualdad de género salta a la palestra. Que si son mal pagadas, que si las prestaciones, que si el “maternity leaving”, que si en ciertos trabajos inclusive no hay solicitudes para las mujeres en ciertos puestos “clave”. Inclusive comentan entre ellas que les ha sido imposible romper el “glass ceiling”, uchales ¡cómo no está la “semita” aquí pa’ que me explique todos esos conceptos tan complicados. Aguanto “estoico” el vendaval de cuestionamientos, pero llega un momento en que llegamos al caso Británico de una mujer (según esto de HIERRO) que accedió al poder. La British tiene que aceptar que no fue una muy “buena” experiencia. Como experimentado “Spin Doctor” que soy, aprovechó el momento para el contra-ataque; y les suelto que en realidad el meollo del asunto no está en la cuestión de género sino en la VENERACION a la PECHOnalidad, pero sobre todo la TRAICION a la DEMOCRACIA, venga de ‘onde venga.

Les voy a dar un “repasón” en buen plan. Vamo’ a ver. Mmm. Estados Unidos de América: Fraudes electorales en las elecciones de 2000 (Florida, principalmente, con la anuencia de la Suprema Corte, al norte del BRAVO también se cuecen habas) y 2004 (Cibernético, y voto definitivo en Ohio principalmente de “fundamentalistas” cristianos); España: el Gobierno Aznarista apoya “por sus pistolas” la ilegal INVASION a Iraq, desestimando la opinión pública; en la Gran Bretaña, Blair y sus “amigos” (creo que a estos no los “orgianizó” mi paisa el Lino Korrodi) “turn a blind eye” a las masivas manifestaciones (creo alcanzaron un millón y medio de PELADOS solamente en Londres) en contra de la “liberación” de cierto país del Medio Oriente que casualmente NADA en hidrocarburos.

Muchísimo más “plebeyo” es el caso Mexicano. Es indudable que a ciertos ejecutantes les viene “guanga” la partitura. Fuera de TONO, el “Nené” Castañeda y el “Burrén” Aguilar nos filtran ciertas historietas sobre los eventos que prepararon el horno en el que se cocinó, a FUEGO lento, el FRAUDE de 2006. El platillo salió tan chamusca’o que, como cuando se juega a “los quemados”, el Gran Estadista del CUARTO de hora, pide SALVACION a todos sus AMIGOS. Achtung, BABY!!!

¿Cómo sabes que son MENTIRAS?

Entre semana vino a visitarme la Koreanita de mi pisito. Como muchas veces me ha visto preparando o corrigiendo lo que les escribo y esta vez me sorprende leyendo en la pantalla, me dice que si tengo obsesión por mi Blog. ¿Cómo explicarle que es mi terapia para no reventar, porque veo que si no nos “aplicamos” el país se nos va de las MANOS? Una de las noticias de MI ESPACIO sobre Iraq llama su atención sobremanera y me inquiere sobre ella. Le planteo lo que considero son las mentiras del IMPERIO. Me pregunta medio dubitativa: ¿Cómo sabes que son MENTIRAS? Mmm. Intento explicarle que, ante todo, lo que afirmo me ha tomado muchas horas de VUELO (no me mal interpreten, no les hablo de secuestrar un avión de AeroCALIFORNIA y estrellarlo contra la Torre de PEMEX), y que solo así puedo contrastar diversas opiniones. ¿No es cierto que, en los momentos más decisivos de lo que llevamos de este siglo, se afirmaba que el regimen del Hussein y los Talibanes tenían LIGAS irrefutables, y que estos últimos eran los culpables de los atentados a las Torres Gemelas en la Gran Manzana Azul?; !ah, no! sin el adjetivo calificativo, per favore ...Cheers. No hace mucho tiempo, sin embargo, tuvimos la “Cándida” CONFESION del Greenspan, sobre las verdadera razón de la invasión: ¡Es el petróleo, estúpidos!

El Poder Terrenal y el Divino.

Hoy, me toco compartir la comida con un par de Anglosajonas: una British y una Gringuita. Como ustedes ya saben lo importante que son en estos días los “Medios de Condicionamiento de Masas”, al llegar ellas comentaban sobre una de las noticias de moda en la Gran Bretaña: el enredo en que se haya ATRAPADA una maestra Británica por lo que en Sudán consideran BLASFEMIA. De acuerdo con su versión, a la maestra se le ocurrió la puntada de pedirles a los ESCUINCLES que le pusieran un nombre a su OSITO de PELUCHE. A un inocente huerquillo se le hizo fácil preparar un FRAUDE, ¿no, verdad?, bueno, llamarle al MONO Mahoma (o Muhammad), cuando los padres del niño se han enterado de ello han puesto tremendo GRITO en el CIELO que no veas. Y pus ya saben, con la gran capacidad de ponerse en los ZAPATOS del otro, mis cuatas comentan la exageración de los Musulmanes, poco les faltó pa’ compararlos con el BABY BUSH, perdón, con una bola de bárbaros incivilizados. Aprovecho para comentarles que no se fallan con la finta en todas, que muchas de esas noticias son engaña bobos. Y no es que apoye esas medidas, pero si le rascamos un poquillo brotan las medias verdades. Les trato de convencer que no hay tal “Clash of Civilizations”, es más, haciendo una pequeña investigación de campo, entre mis CUADERNOS, todos coinciden en que no tienen broncas insalvables con los seguidores del Islam.

Llega un momento en que el disparejo mini DEBATE comienza a tomar sesgos anti-musulmanes. Me mientan que son exagerado los castigos por lo acontecido. Trato de conciliar el punto y les planteo que por tales razones, en lo personal, yo prefiero los Estados Seculares a las Teocracias porque, no importando la religión que se profese, el estado prevalece y es el mediador en este tipo de conflictos. No las convenzo mucho porque me restriegan en la cara la situación de la mujer en los países Islámicos. Es entonces que hago uso de todas mis lecturas y les contesto que, en realidad hasta donde tengo conocimiento el Corán no hace distinción alguna entre hombre y mujer (tengo pendiente un post sobre este y otros temas, ojalá el día tuviera más de 24 horas, comp@s). Las trato de cercar y hacerlas que muevan el “Mazacote” diría mi profesor de Resistencia de Materiales, y les preguntó: ¿Es la Religión o más bien la economía? ¿Porqué el voto del so called “Bible Belt” fue tan decisivo en la elección de 2004 en los EUA? ¿Qué fe profesa esa SECTA que se mueve entre las sombras y que tiene una influencia desproporcionada en el destino del México Contemporáneo? ¿Porqué estos grupos preparan “líderes” que mezclan el poder terrenal y el divino? ¿No será que nos quieren dorar “la píldora” de que hay lucha a muerte entre dos facciones del bando azul? Un pequeño grupo de analistas entre ellos el Alvaro Delgado apuntan que los puestos claves en el gabinete siguen en las “Manos Limpias” de los MIEMBROS de La Orquesta, ¿será, tú? (Retroalimentación, please).

NO ES LA RELIGION, NO ES (TOTALMENTE) LA ECONOMIA, ES EL PAIS, COMP@S.

Down Under en el corazón de lo que fue el antiguo imperio MEXICA parece que continuamos un poco credulos, comp@s. El otro día por accidente estaba viendo una entrevista que le hacía LA CARMEN al Mandoki y el Arreola. Oigan, ¿apoco siguen tratando de encontrar racionalidad, congruencia, consistencia, y demás entre los adversarios ideológicos? ¿Neta que le están apostando al Juego Limpio? ¿Qué no son estos tip@s los ejecutores del “Golpe de Estado Preventivo”? ¿No son los mismos que prepararon con absoluta SANGRE FRIA la Guerra Sucia Electoral?

Hace unos cuantos días le comentaba a la Coreanita que subestimé en mucho la lanotota involucrada en la elección presidencial de 2006, pero que a pesar de ello, seguimos en pie, en resistencia, pues. Ella me contesta que para que me desgasto, textualmente me dice: “It’s not your MONEY”. No señorita, es mucho más que eso, es mi PAIS. Nos han inoculado tanto con el evangelio del INDIVIDUALISMO, propio de las Teorías del Capital que casi olvidamos el significado de palabras como LIBERTAD, FRATERNIDAD, IGUALDAD; esos mismos VALORES que tienen a los Galos en las calles resistiendo contra el Sarkozy. Nel, me niego a aceptarlo. Por ello festejo que ahora apuesten por la organización celular, porque la vamos a necesitar. Requeriremos de lo mejor de nuestro grupo: los intelectuales comprometidos. Sin embargo, estas cabezas pensantes sin acción son arma inservible, recuérdenlo. ¿Tendremos que esperar al 2012 para contar con un gobierno de izquierda, como afirma Elenita? I don’t think so. Continuemos en la batalla, comp@s.

¿Propuestas? Mmm. El otro día leía en uno de los Magazines del Guardian –creo que lo “postié” por ahí- que la red del SKYPE se cayó porque está basada en P2P (Peer to Peer, sepa la bola qué es eso, pero suena chic), ¿podríamos aplicarlo para nuestros esfuerzos?, digo, digo, como “El Gallo Claudio”, ustedes son los expertos, a mi no más me vienen a la chompa las IDEOTAS.

Ya pa’ irme, me voy enterando que le “dieron pa’ atrás” a la Lydia en “La tremenda corte”. Mmm. Na’ más pa’ que nos demos un “quemón” del tipo de país que pretenden construir los golpistas de 2006. No se preocupen, batos; son inútiles los esfuerzos infantiles de los de la acera de enfrente. Se acerca primero un mazazo económico y luego climático como si fueran “Relevos Australianos”. De este cisma ni Dios Padre los va a salvar. AL TIEMPO.

M@rCríticO;

Norwich, G(ran) B(urrén);

29/11/07

"... sometimes your passions become larger than your fears" (Arifa Akbar).

P.D.VICENTICA. "...I'm a winner/I'm a SINNER/Do you want my autograph?/I'm a LOSER/What a JOKER!!!..." - Breakfast in AMERICA (SuperTRAMP).

P.D.AntiCRISTERA. "When I find myself in times of TROUBLE/MOTHER Mary comes to me /speaking words of WISDOM: LET IT BE..." – Let It Be (The Beatles).

SPECIAL REQUEST:

Oigan, si de pura casualidá se les ocurre enviar una MATA HARI, ahí les VAn los requisitos: poliglota, pacifista, versada en Historia Universal, melómana, fanática de la filmografía mundial, RATONA de biblioteca, sommelier, indigenista, Mexicanófila, experta en cibertecnologías, ... ¡ah! requisito indispensable... bonitilla.

PREGUNTAS SIN RESPUESTA:

¿Van a dejar ganar a las CHIVAS de nueX con tal de que se tomen la foto con los Sardos?

¿Tendrán relación los problemas bancarios –sobre todo el Northern Rock- con el extravío de los datos digitales (entre otros, movimientos bursátiles, err, bancarios) de millones de Brits?

PILONA ALTRUISTA:

...

On the other hand, I want to make one clarification here. When I struggle for the freedom of the Palestinian people and struggle for ending this apartheid system and this occupation, I do not see myself and my colleagues as people who struggle only for Palestinians. I feel I have struggled also for Israelis, because an Israel that is creating an apartheid system in the twenty-first century is not going to be secure, and an Israeli state that creates apartheid and continues occupation leaves its citizens with a very bad feeling, because they cannot feel proud about being the only apartheid in this world at this time. And that’s why I think the struggle we do is not only for Palestinians; it’s for our freedom, but it’s also for their freedom, because only when occupation ends and only when this injustice and discrimination stops, then Israelis themselves will feel really free.

MUSTAFA BARGHOUTI en Democracy Now (28/11/07).

ENCORE NIPON:

Himno Nacional Mexicano (New Japan Philarmonic, 1998)

http://www.4shared.com/file/30757972/39d9ce83/himno_nacional_mexicano.html






Wednesday, November 28th, 2007

“The End of America”: Feminist Social Critic Naomi Wolf Warns U.S. in Slow Descent into Fascism

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In her new book, “The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot”, Naomi Wolf says the United States is on the road to becoming a fascist society, right under our very noses. Wolf outlines what she sees as the ten steps to shut down a democratic society and argues that the Bush administration has already implemented many of these steps. Wolf is the author of several books including the 1990s feminist classic, “The Beauty Myth.” [includes rush transcript]
The United States is on the road to becoming a fascist society, right under our very noses. That’s the premise of a new book by feminist social critic Naomi Wolf. It’s called "The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot" and is already on the New York Times bestseller list.

Naomi Wolf outlines what she sees as the ten steps to shut down a democratic society and argues that the Bush administration has already implemented many of these steps. Wolf is the author of several books including the 1990s feminist classic, "The Beauty Myth.”

Critics describe her latest book, “The End of America,” as a wake-up call to Americans to heed the lessons of history and fight to save their democracy before its too late. Naomi Wolf joins me now in the firehouse studio.

  • Naomi Wolf. Social critic, feminist, and author of "The Beauty Myth.” Her latest book is called “The End of America: A Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot.”

RUSH TRANSCRIPT

This transcript is available free of charge. However, donations help us provide closed captioning for the deaf and hard of hearing on our TV broadcast. Thank you for your generous contribution.
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AMY GOODMAN: Today, we're joined by a special guest who has just written a book. The United States is on the road to becoming a fascist society, right under our very noses. That’s the premise of the new book by feminist social critic Naomi Wolf. It’s called The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot, and it’s already on the New York Times bestseller list.

Naomi Wolf outlines what she sees as the ten steps to shut down a democratic society. She argues the Bush administration has already implemented many of these steps. Naomi Wolf is the author of several books, including the ’90s feminist classic, The Beauty Myth.

Critics describe her latest book, The End of America, as a wake-up call to Americans to heed the lessons of history and fight to save their democracy before its too late.

Naomi Wolf joins us in our firehouse studio. Welcome to Democracy Now!

NAOMI WOLF: Thank you, Amy.

AMY GOODMAN: It’s good to have you with us. Start off with the stories that you tell in your book.

NAOMI WOLF: Well, they’re the stories of societies that were systematically closed down by would-be despots, would-be dictators, whether they were on the left or the right, who essentially developed a blueprint in the first part of the twentieth century to crush democracies or to crush democracy movements. So they’re also individual stories of how people react as a democracy is being closed down.

But I guess the book really began with a very personal story, because I was forced to write it, even though I didn’t really want to, by a dear friend who is a Holocaust survivor’s daughter. And when we spoke about news events, she kept saying, “They did this in Germany. They did this in Germany.” And I really didn’t think that made sense. I thought that was very extreme language. But finally she forced me to sit down and start reading the histories, of course, not of the later years, because she wasn’t talking about German outcomes, ’38, ’39; she was talking about the early years, 1930, ’31, ’32, when Germany was a parliamentary democracy, and there was this systematic assault using the rule of law to subvert the rule of law.

And once I saw how many parallels there were, not just in strategy and tactics that we’re seeing again today, but actually in images and sound bites and language, then I read other histories of Italy in the ’20s, Russia in the ’30s, East Germany in the ’50s, Czechoslovakia in the ’60s, Pinochet’s coup in Chile in ’73, the crushing of the democracy movement in China at the end of the ’80s. And I saw that there is a blueprint that would-be dictators always do the same ten things, whether they’re on the left or the right, and that we are seeing these ten steps taking place systematically right now in the United States.

AMY GOODMAN: Lay them out.

NAOMI WOLF: Well, they’re not happy. The first step is that all would-be dictators or would-be despots, which is what the founders of our country who foresaw exactly this kind of possibility would call them -- all would-be dictators invoke a terrifying internal and external threat. And often it’s a real threat, which they will hype or manipulate. For instance, Stalin spoke about sleeper cells, which is one of those phrases that are being recirculated now by the Bush White House. And this was an invention. He said there were capitalist secret agents who were hiding among good Soviet citizens and who are going to rise up at a signal and create terrorist mayhem -- fake story, but it worked to frighten citizens.

Pinochet talked about a real threat: armed insurgents. There were armed insurgents, but he hyped it using fake documents. And we saw -- we see this a lot in the historical blueprint, that a would-be dictator will fake documents. His were called Plan Z. He claimed they were going to bomb infrastructure, assassinate leaders. We saw fake documents used by the White House to hype of a terror threat when they used the fake yellowcake documents to claim that Iraq was trying to secure yellowcake uranium. And remember the famous sound bite -- “We can’t wait for the smoking gun to come in the form of a mushroom cloud” -- to drive us into an illegal war with a nation we were not at war with.

AMY GOODMAN: You also talk about the language, like the Department of Homeland Security.

NAOMI WOLF: That is where I, as a social critic and a student of language, get really scared. It’s scary enough to see these ten steps, but what is terrifying to me personally is how many actual phrases are being recycled, and tactics. “Homeland security” -- “heimat” -- became popularized by the National Socialists. Goebbels developed the practice of embedding journalists. Leni von Riefenstahl was embedded, for instance, in Poland. And we’re seeing embedded --

AMY GOODMAN: She’s the famous German filmmaker.

NAOMI WOLF: Filmmaker. If you look at the sequence of, you know, Hitler descending in an airplane in von Riefenstahl’s famous Triumph of the Will and being greeted by the uniformly armed paramilitary sort of surrounding their leader and him saying, “Help us accomplish our mission,” and then you look at other famous images from this administration --

AMY GOODMAN: Like George Bush on “Mission Accomplished.”

NAOMI WOLF: “Mission Accomplished,” exactly right. You look at how, you know, Hitler said we have to invade Czechoslovakia because they’re a staging ground for terrorists and they’re abusing their ethnic minorities -- again, a country that we’re not at war with, when the WMD charge vanished, the White House said we have to invade Iraq because they’re a staging ground for terrorists and they’re abusing their ethnic minorities. On and on and on.

I mean, this one scare's me to death. You know, Mussolini developed -- again, a parliamentary democracy, Italy was, in the teens and into 1920. He developed the Blackshirts, which were these paramilitary thugs that beat up newspaper editors, terrorized the population, and they intimidated people counting the vote in Milan. And then Hitler studied Mussolini, so many things were repeated by Hitler. Stalin studied Hitler, Hitler studied Stalin. But Hitler developed the Brownshirts, the SA, who intimidated people counting the vote in Austria. So 90% of them voted for their own annexation, because they were the Brownshirts. And you saw this scene of identically dressed Republican staffers in Florida in 2000 intimidating people counting the vote.

So things like that are really chilling. And they’re more and more chilling as -- I think right now people are kind of ramping up their awareness of these echoes, and what you also see predictably, because the blueprint is predictive, is that the White House is ramping up its implementation of some of the scariest aspects of its crackdown.

AMY GOODMAN: You began with these stories back in the summer of 2006 of headlines from a two-week period. Give some of those examples.

NAOMI WOLF: Well, 2006 seems so long ago and so innocent a time, considering how swiftly we’ve zoomed along implementing this blueprint or we’re suffering this implementation. In 2006, a blogger was jailed in San Francisco. In 2006, people in Alabama couldn’t get a fair hearing for protecting voter rolls. There was the beginning of the Military Commissions Act of 2006, in which the state basically legalized torture, which is one of these crucial turning points as an open society closes down.

AMY GOODMAN: You talk about Christine Axsmith, the computer security expert working for the CIA, who, what, wrote -- posted a message on a blog site on a top-secret computer network, criticizing waterboarding --

NAOMI WOLF: Waterboarding.

AMY GOODMAN: -- saying waterboarding is torture, and torture is wrong.

NAOMI WOLF: And then she lost her security clearance. She’s one of many, many whistleblowers, key individuals, who have tried to take a stand against some of these positions and who have faced -- again, in a closing society this is what happens. This is step seven: target key individuals. They face job loss, character assassination or worse. Valerie Plame's bolts were taken away from her back deck, fifty feet off the ground. She has two toddlers. People are being put on the watch list for criticizing the government, for engaging in antiwar protest. Their kids are being put on the watch list. But, yeah, back then, all she said was it’s wrong. And now we’ve just confirmed an attorney general who pretends not to know what waterboarding is, because if he acknowledged that it’s against US and international law, he’d be confirming the fact that there are criminals in the White House right now who have already staged a coup.

AMY GOODMAN: You say step three is establishing secret prisons.

NAOMI WOLF: That’s right. You establish secret prisons, and what I mean by that is unaccountable prisons where torture takes place. And often there will be a military tribunal system set in place. Lenin pioneered that. Mussolini developed the confino system. Hitler again studied Mussolini and developed the People's Court.

And what starts to happen is -- and this is what’s so scary about Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib and these black sites around the world -- apart from the moral issue -- and your interview just now with the Palestinian representative brought me to tears, because when he said it’s not just the Palestinians he’s concerned about, it’s the Israelis who lose their souls by this kind of occupation -- it’s not just the often-innocent prisoners in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib and these black sites around the world we should be concerned about, it’s our own American souls that are at stake. But just for purely personal reasons, we should be afraid when the state starts to torture people that it sees as at the margins or that citizens see at the margins: brown people on an island in Guantanamo with Muslim names, whatever. That’s what they did in Germany in ’31, ’32: anarchists, communists, Gypsies, Jews, whatever, homosexuals, whatever. You know, people didn’t care, because they were seen as at the margins. People knew about the torture cellars in Germany.

But then, what always happens, always -- you can’t name a society in which this doesn’t happen, Amy -- is that there’s a blurring of the line. And once the state legalizes torture of people at the margins, inevitably it will begin to direct state abuse at people at the heart of civil society, and it’s always the same cast of characters: journalists, editors, opposition leaders, outspoken clergy and labor leaders. And when that starts to happen, society can close down in a heartbeat, because people start to sensor themselves.

AMY GOODMAN: It’s interesting. During the lead up to Nazi Germany, American reporters were fired by their American editors, pulled back from Germany, because they were sounding the warning. They were saying, “We’re seeing a fascist society build.” And they were told that they were biased, they were not understanding the circumstances in which Hitler was rising up, people were concerned about their economy, they had been devastated, and that they were being alarmist.

NAOMI WOLF: Interesting. That’s really interesting. I mean, I’m immediately thinking, as you say that, which I actually hadn’t known, that -- thinking of a lot of books I’ve been reading lately about deep US involvement. Some corporations were deeply involved in Nazi Germany, making millions, like IBM. How did they round people up so quickly, you know, in Germany when they were rounding up the Jews so fast? It’s because IBM had developed this prototype of a punch card system, and they were secretly working with the Nazis. Prescott Bush, Bush's grandfather, was making millions in consolidation with Krupp, Thyssen, and it’s very interesting to me, because in the Nuremberg trials they went after these industrialists like Krupp, and so there was a moment at which the Nuremberg trial was about to identify supporters of these war crimes who were US collaborators.

AMY GOODMAN: But they didn’t.

NAOMI WOLF: But they didn’t. But I think it’s interesting that there is that historical memory in the family.

AMY GOODMAN: It’s the question of who controlled the trials, right? It’s the question of who controlled the trials and not wanting their own people to be involved.

NAOMI WOLF: I see.

AMY GOODMAN: You talk then -- four, developing a paramilitary force and surveiling ordinary citizens. Those are the fourth and fifth steps.

NAOMI WOLF: Yeah, that’s another big one. I just want to note about the blurring of the line why we’re in such a moment of danger right now. The President has said that he can say, “Amy Goodman, you’re an enemy combatant. Naomi Wolf, you’re an enemy combatant. This guy behind the camera, you’re an enemy combatant. A person walking down the street, enemy combatant. can be anyone. A person walking down the street, enemy combatant.” And it doesn’t matter that we're innocent US citizens. I mean, we could be Republicans, we could be evangelicals. It doesn’t matter. He can take us, and if he says it’s true, that makes it true, because it’s a status offense, and he can put us in a ten-by-twelve-foot cell in a Navy brig in solitary confinement for three years, making it difficult for us to see our families, to contact an attorney, to get charges filed.

They can’t torture us yet, though I was chilled to learn that an adviser to the White House was reported in a British newspaper yesterday as not ruling out waterboarding against US citizens. However, psychologists know that prolonged isolation makes sane people insane. That’s what happened to Jose Padilla. So, you know, when I say everyone’s got their moment at which they start to silence themselves, the day I read in the New York Times that someone I identify with has been named an enemy combatant and is sitting in a Navy brig in isolation, that’s when I’m going to stop talking in a context like this, because that’s when I will become too afraid.

AMY GOODMAN: We're talking to Naomi Wolf. Her book is The End of America: A Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot. Number six in these ten steps toward fascism: infiltrate citizen groups. Seven: arbitrarily detain and release citizens. Eight: target key individuals. Infiltrate citizens’ groups, the evidence?

NAOMI WOLF: Well, the ACLU is suing many agents of the state for illegally infiltrating citizens’ groups. It’s not a new thing in the United States. COINTELPRO did it quite a lot. But it is a hallmark -- it’s an extension of a surveillance society, and it’s a hallmark. It’s an extension of step number four, which was the surveillance apparatus. Now, you can’t close down a democracy without a surveillance apparatus aimed at ordinary citizens. And what many of us know is that there’s been a heightening of surveillance in the wake of 9/11.

But what we’ve got to understand is that our country is unique right now in directing the crackdown on civil liberties and surveillance at citizens. In countries like England and Spain, experienced the same terror attacks, the same kind of terror attacks by the same bad guys that we did, but they're not using that as a pretext to strip citizens of civil liberties in the same way. And what is so terrifying -- again, Italy had a surveillance apparatus, people were informing on each other; Germany, surveillance, the Stasi in East Germany. You couldn’t have a conversation with your neighbor without fearing that it was going to go into your file.

You can’t close down a society without a paramilitary force. We skipped over that one. It’s very important. Blackwater, the Blackshirts, the Brownshirts, that’s not answerable to the people, and surveillance.

So why am I petrified, you know, when I read about Blackwater and about surveillance? I was on the watch list for a year and a half, Amy, which means that every time I got on a plane, I got taken aside for extra searching, quadruple-S high-risk Naomi, you know. And I was told, “You’re on a list.” And I found out that many critics of the administration are on the list: ACLU staffers, Ted Kennedy, antiwar activists, David Altoon [phon.], a highly decorated Vietnam War veteran who was critical of the Iraq war. Not only is he on the list, but people who come to me in tears after my readings are more upset that now their kids are on the list if they write a letter critical of the Bush administration.

AMY GOODMAN: Have you been able to get off the list?

NAOMI WOLF: Well, I was off the list ’til this book came out, and now I’m back on the list. Why is this more than a sort of irritation? Or, you know, in a strong society, it’s just like whatever, you know, it’s a kind of compliment. But in a closing society, it gets very frightening. In February, the management of the list, which has swollen from 45,000 to 775,000 Americans -- they’re adding 20,000 names a month, right? Where are they getting those names? Remember when I said, how do they round up people so quickly in a closing society? The management of the lists is going to go from the airlines to the government. And in February, unless we push back this regulation -- it’s being slipped in very quietly -- we are going to have to apply to the state to get an airline ticket to cross a border, which moves us from 1931 to about 1936.

AMY GOODMAN: Number nine and number ten of your steps toward fascism: restrict the press; cast criticism as espionage, dissent as treason. Subvert the rule of law is eleven. What is the patriot’s task, where you conclude?

NAOMI WOLF: Well, the patriot’s task is, first, wake up. I mean, all around the world, democracy activists who are familiar with these same ten steps are sort of waving their arms at us, going, “No! You know, recognize this.” You don’t make it easier for the President to declare martial law, as we just did with the 2007 Defense Authorization Act. You don’t make it easier for the President to lock up political opponents in a cell or strip people of habeas corpus. No, you don’t make it easier for the President to have a paramilitary force like Blackwater, composed of hand-selected torturers and murderers from countries like Chile and Nigeria and El Salvador, where they're trained to torture their own civilians. You know, you don’t set them loose in Illinois and Southern California and North Carolina. No! Bad idea! So, first, you wake up. You see the blueprint.

AMY GOODMAN: We have ten seconds.

NAOMI WOLF: Finally, we have to -- we started the americanfreedomcampaign.org. It’s a democracy movement to restore the rule of law. We're calling for lawyers across the country and citizens to call for hearings, special prosecutor, identify the crimes, impeach and prosecute, and save the country.

AMY GOODMAN: Naomi Wolf, I want to thank you for being with us. Do you think Democratic candidates are raising these issues, for president?

NAOMI WOLF: Not enough. This is a transpartisan issue, and we all need to push them, hold their feet to the fire across the board.

AMY GOODMAN: Naomi Wolf’s book is The End of America. Thank you for being with us.

To purchase an audio or video copy of this entire program, click here for our new online ordering or call 1 (888) 999-3877.


Identity theft, pornography, corporate blackmail – in the web's underworld, business is booming. Rob Sharp finds out what's happening where, and whether we can ever stop it
Published: 28 November 2007

The criminal mastermind lives somewhere in Russia. Drawing on his links to the underworld, he uses the internet to pull the strings of a shadowy network of misanthropes allegedly connected to the Kremlin. Nothing escapes this kingpin's malevolence: online pornography, fraud, corporate blackmail – it all causes his coffers to fill and his ego to grow. And therein lies his problem. He gets cocky. Known only as "Flyman", his notoriety spreads and the attention forces him to go to ground.

It sounds like a piece of Raymond Chandler for the noughties, a hybrid of films like Hackers, The Matrix or any cyberpunk thriller from the past 20 years. But it is, in fact, real. The network is the Russian Business Network (RBN) – thought to be led by the nephew of a well-connected Russian politician – and it has been attracting the attention of security experts worldwide. Now, after briefly disappearing off the radar, it is believed that the group has moved its operations to China.

Meanwhile, in Britain, members of a similar organisation using the ShadowCrew website could face stiff sentencing next month for online fraud. Wherever you look, web-based crime is in the news. Everyone has experienced the annoyance of an email claiming to come from a legitimate bank, asking for account details (a process known as "phishing"). There are millions of incidences of online crime in Britain each year. At a time when the government is still reeling from losing 25 million child benefit claimants' details, concern over identity theft is in a heightened state.

But online crime is not easy to fight. The technology used to perpetrate it often runs at a pace that lawmakers cannot match. And having your bank account drained by a fraudster in China is akin to being pick-pocketed from halfway around the world.

Take the RBN. It is thought to be behind as much as half of every incident of "phishing" worldwide. It first came to the attention of security experts 18 months ago. Acting as an internet service provider, it soon began allowing criminals to host illegal websites, arguing that its own activities were not illegal; it was just the people using its services that were breaking the law.

The organisation does not communicate with its potential users through conventional means. Instead, it posts advertisements on underground bulletin boards. According to SecureWorks, an Atlanta-based security company, those who want to buy its services can also contact its operators through instant-messaging services. Potential customers also must prove they are not law enforcement officers, sometimes by proving they were involved in criminal activity.

Vitaliy Kamlyuk, a virus analyst at Russian computer security firm Kaspersky, has been following RBN's activities. Since October, something strange has been happening: one by one, the websites linked to the organisation have closed down. But its modus operandi has been spotted across the Far East. RBN is not shutting down, it's diversifying. "We suppose that the organisation has been planning this for a long time," Kamlyuk says, "but the attention it has gained has speeded up its activity. We believe they had connections with Chinese servers; and criminals trying to hide often go to Malaysia, China, Korea or Japan."

It is thought the organisation is using China because the country's huge number of internet users makes the group's activities hard to monitor. There has been talk in Russia about introducing a clampdown on internet crime, and service providers around the world have blocked many of RBN's websites.

The race is on to spot the RBN's new websites. Raimund Genes, the chief technology officer of Trend Micro, one of the big US-based internet security firms, says he has linked the organisation to attacks on the Turkish and Brazilian governments. "What has happened at RBN has been related to all kinds of attacks on the internet," he says. "I believe they have been too greedy."

Genes has found that the RBN has been behind the registration of scores of websites in China – and says the Chinese authorities are aware of this. Whether RBN plans to sell these sites on or run them itself, only time will tell. He has also spotted the RBN's techniques at work in Panama.

Genes concludes: "We can't believe there is so much criminal activity out there. Previously infections and viruses used to be spread by email attachments. Now the big thing is spreading by visits to web pages."

In Britain, the Serious Organised Crime Agency is hoping for a strict sentence for members of a crime ring that used ShadowCrew, an American website that shared the know-how needed to set up phishing rackets. The website was investigated by US authorities in October 2004 and a spate of arrests followed.

The crime ring using the ShadowCrew website was organised by Bryn Wellman, 35, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges for conspiring to obtain up to £16m by fraud earlier this year. Wellman's scheme involved buying stolen card details online and researching card holders' personal information using various techniques (including impersonating officials to phone up unsuspecting victims). Other members of his crime ring face sentencing next month.

But whatever happens to RBN and ShadowCrew, one thing is for sure: cybercrime is booming.

Israel

In the first six months of this year, Israel had the most malicious activity per internet user. In 2005, investigators revealed that a "Trojan Horse" program had infiltrated some 60 companies, which became Israel's biggest corporate espionage scandal. A swathe of companies came under investigation for allegedly stealing information from rivals.

United States

Online fraud has overtaken viruses as the greatest source of financial loss in the US. According to California-based security firm Symantec, in the first s ix months of this year the US accounted for 61 per cent of worldwide denial of service (DoS) attacks, which attempt to make computer resources unavailable to their intended users.

Panama

In these countries – as well as Turkey, Malaysia and Singapore – the Russian Business Network is alleged to operate servers. The locations are disparate presumably in order to spread the risk of being permanently shut down by one country's police force.

United Kingdom

Around 3 million internet crimes were committed in the UK last year. One of the most common is identity theft. In 2004, two people were arrested over an internet crime ring, the Shadow Crew, that allegedly planned to defraud consumers and financial institutions out of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Nigeria

Online fraud is a burgeoning business in this nation. one trick is to lure potential victims into a scam via an unsolicited email. The unwitting recipients are promised a large commission on a multi-billion-dollar fortune. They are persuaded to open an online account, to which they contribute funds, never to be seen again.

Russia

The shadowy Russian Business Network was reportedly launched by young computer science graduates, and was registered as an internet site last year. After a period of legitimate activity, it has since been linked by security firms to child pornography, corporate blackmail, spam attacks and online identity theft across the globe.

China

Bots are software applications that run automated tasks over the internet. China has 29 per cent of the world's bot-infected computers, with Beijing hosting the majority of these. Bots are often benign but can be used for various nefarious tasks, such as harvesting email addresses from address books to help distribute spam.

Estonia

Last year, Russian web users launched a "cyber-war" on the Estonian government, infecting 1 million computers with "bots". This overwhelmed the country's networks by requesting more information than they were designed to cope with. The effect was equivalent to 5,000 clicks per second and many websites were forced to shut down.

Canada

In 2004, US Secret Service agents arrested members of the Shadow Crew in Canada, who were using the website to orchestrate document forgery and drugs operations. In Vancouver, one of their number was just 17; he saw online underworld activities as a "rebellion against authority" according to reports.

Citigroup sees the arrival of Middle Eastern benefactors as a vote of confidence. But most people see it as a sign of the desperate state of affairs at the world's largest bank. By Stephen Foley
Published: 28 November 2007

If a bank was offering an interest rate of 11 per cent on your money, you would bite their hand and most of their arm off to get it. Not even junk bonds, the riskiest investments in the world of fin-ance, offer a double-figure percentage yield, usually. Yet here we have Citigroup, the largest bank in the United States, offering to pay 11 per cent, guaranteed, for the next three years.

Before you pick up the phone, Citigroup is not offering this rate to its customers. This is the figure it has agreed to pay to the government of Abu Dhabi, the oil-rich emirate, in return for a $7.5bn cash infusion. Citigroup was yesterday characterising the arrival of its Middle Eastern benefactor as a significant vote of confidence in the com-pany; outsiders thought only that the startling interest rate proves how desperate Citigroup is to shore up its crumbling balance sheet.

That there is some serious shoring up to be done is not in doubt. Citigroup's investment banking arm has been one of the most heavily affected by the credit crisis and is still totting up billions of dollars in losses from bets on sub-prime mortgages and mortgage-backed collateralised debt obligations (CDOs), which could reach $15bn or more. Worse, lurking on the sidelines, the bank has set up off-balance-sheet vehicles with more than $80bn in assets, which are feeling the pain, too. These might have to be bailed out or, following the example of HSBC this week, brought on to Citigroup's books.

Meanwhile, in the retail bank, customers are defaulting on Citi mortgages in increasing numbers and there are worrying signs of problems among its credit card customers. All of which would be tough for any financial institution, but for one that has long had a weaker balance sheet than almost any other, and which is fighting to reduce its bloated cost base, these are tough times indeed. With hindsight, it seems a shame that Citigroup folded its longstanding logo, the bright red umbrella, at the start of this year – just before the sky fell in.

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) is paying $7.5bn for equity units that pay the 11 per cent coupon until they convert into Citigroup shares in 2010 and 2011 at a conversion price slightly above the current share price, which is languishing at a five-year low. The emirate will end up with a stake of up to 5 per cent in Citigroup, overtaking its current largest shareholder, the Saudi prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who snapped up his holding during the last US mortgage crisis in the early Nineties.

Citigroup's tier one capital ratio, a measure of fin-ancial strength, was at 7.3 per cent in the first quarter, below its target of 7.5 per cent, but the latest cash infusion will push it back above target. Mike Mayo, the bearish analyst at Deutsche Bank, agreed it is a move towards stability, but at a price.

"The move gives Citigroup additional capital flexibility to take on $100bn of assets on its balance sheet (such as the structured investment vehicle assets, if required), incur additional CDO writedowns (if necessary) above and beyond the estimated $8bn-$11bn announced for the fourth quarter, and to improve its reserve for loan losses," Mr Mayo said. "Yet it probably does not provide enough flexibility to do all three, any or all of which may ultimately be required."

Citigroup continues to insist it is committed to its current dividend, costing $11bn a year, even though many analysts now believe it should be cut to conserve cash. Mr Mayo suggested it would be unseemly to carry on sending $11bn a year out of one door while having to haul new cash in through another. At the current share price, the dividend yield is above 7 per cent – explaining the 11 per cent coupon on the new equity units, which is at a typical premium. Sir Win Bischoff, Citigroup's acting chief executive, said: "The investment from ADIA enables us to access capital in an efficient manner, and is consistent with our strategy of maintaining a balance sheet that benefits from highly diverse sources of funding in terms of both geography and type of security. Coming from one of the world's leading and most sophisticated equity investors, it provides further capital to allow Citi to pursue attractive opportunities to grow its business."

The deal sparked a rally on Wall Street and traders hailed Abu Dhabi's move as evidence that financial stocks have been oversold. Jeff Harte, financial sector analyst at Sandler O'Neill, said the capital infusion may not solve Citigroup's specific problems, but he kept his buy rating on the stock. "The question is whether investors are approaching Citigroup [ie, this is a buying opportunity] or whether Citigroup is approaching investors [ie, in desperate need of capital]. We suspect the former."

ADIA's managing director, Sheikh Ahmed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, said that Citigroup possesses a unique position in the financial markets throughout the world. "We see in Citi a highly respected company with a premier brand and with tremendous opportunities for growth. This investment reflects our confidence in Citi's potential to build shareholder value."

Shares in Citigroup have lost two-fifths of their value over the last four months as losses from the credit crisis have spiralled. At the start of this month, Chuck Prince, the chief executive for the past four years, bowed to the increasingly shrill calls for his resignation, and investors worry that the scale of the problems will deter talented executives from seeking the post.

Any new leader faces significant challenges, from the big picture – should the company abandon its conglomerate structure and split the investment banking and brokerage businesses from the retail bank? – to the nitty gritty, such as how to extend the current round of cost-cutting beyond existing plans for 17,000 job losses. Employees are braced for still more blood-letting, amid reports that middle managers have been told to seek additional job cuts.

What the new man, or woman, at the helm won't have is any input from Abu Dhabi. The emirate has committed to being a passive shareholder, with no role in the management or governance of the bank and no representation on the board. In doing so, it is acknowledging sensitivities in the US about the growing influence of so-called "sovereign wealth funds", investment vehicles controlled by the increasingly rich governments of emerging markets and oil-rich nations. Charles Schumer, the New York senator whose bellicose opposition to the takeover of US port operations by a Dubai company scuppered that deal last year, said yesterday that he welcomed Abu Dhabi's investment in Citigroup. "It will help preserve New York's status as the world's financial centre," he said.

Citigroup executives must have breathed a giant sigh of relief.

The rise of sovereign wealth funds

Fox Business, the new Rupert Murdoch-owned US business channel, may take a while to recover its credibility after the hilarious blooper when an arm of the Abu Dhabi government snapped up a $622m stake in Advanced Micro Devices, the chip maker, this month. After initially announcing the buyer was Apple, and having a spirited debate about what a brilliant deal it was for the iPod manufacturer, the anchors clutched their squawking earpieces and backpedalled: "It's not Apple, we're hearing... it's Apple Dubai... no, Abu Dubai... oh, OK, the Arabs."

Fox may still be catching up, but Wall Street has come to know well the purchasing power of the governments of the Middle East, reinvesting their soaring income from oil across different industries and across the globe. The general public are also increasingly aware – and wary. Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Dubai all have longstanding investment arms – the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority which has just bailed out Citigroup is the world's largest, with $650bn at least in assets – and in recent years they have been joined by funds controlled by the governments of China, Singapore and others.

Dubai has accumulated a string of New York landmarks, plus a large chunk of the London Stock Exchange, and this week added a stake in Sony. China has put $1bn into the Wall Street bank Bear Stearns and three times that into the private equity giant Blackstone.

For now, these so-called "sovereign wealth funds" are operating as traditional investors. But the Group of Seven nations, prompted by the US, has called for more transparency from the funds and for them to promise that they will not use their investments for political ends.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

11 millones de dólares gastados para desestabilizar a Chávez y al referéndum del 2 de diciembre


por José Sant Roz*

La Revolución Bolivariana de Hugo Chávez sigue en la mira de poderosas fuerzas extranjeras aliadas a elementos nacionales venezolanos que promueven planes desestabilizadores en el país. Todo pretexto es bueno. Por el momento es generar el caos interno. Muchos venezolanos no han comprendido todavía que la causa principal de esta lucha son lo enormes recursos petroleros del país que escapa al control del lobby internacional. Piensan ingenuamente que su país nunca será invadido como lo ha sido Irak. La Tercera Guerra Mundial por los recursos energéticos del planeta ya ha comenzado.


Otros intríngulis del plan de la CIA para provocar una guerra civil en Venezuela

Nada fortuito fue la inusitada reacción del Presidente Uribe, al eliminar al Presidente Chávez como mediador en el canje humanitario entre el Gobierno colombiano y las FARC. En América Latina las fuerzas de derecha se organizan para emprender una dura batalla contra el proceso bolivariano, extendido ahora a varios países de la región.

A medida que comprenden los oligarcas que este despertar coloca en serios aprietos sus intereses, sus viejos y antiquísimos privilegios, íntimamente relacionados con el poder de los capitalistas del Norte, están ahora desesperadamente moviendo todas sus piezas coaligados con la Iglesia, con las transnacionales, con empresarios lacayos y con todos los medios de comunicación poderosos, principalmente los dirigidos por la Sociedad Interamericana de Prensa (SIP).

En esta nueva arremetida, un caballo de batalla importante que ha entrado en escena es el de los medios de comunicación españoles, liderados por el grupo PRISA, del extinto Jesús Polanco.
Se cuentan entre otros: Televisión Española Internacional, El País, El Mundo, ABC [son los principales diarios de España] , La Razón, televisora Antena 3, quienes tienen el trabajo de tergiversar todas las informaciones que salen de Venezuela.

El canal nacional Globovisión da las pautas informativas a CNN, y la Conferencia Episcopal Venezolana se comunica directamente con los medios españoles. Por ejemplo, en la falsa noticia transmitida ayer martes, 27 de noviembre, por Televisión Española Internacional de que un grupo numeroso de estudiantes de la Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (UCAB) estaban siendo sitiados por la policía, fue el padre Luis Ugalde, rector de esta casa de estudios, quien la envió directamente a Televisión Española Internacional. Sin procesarla, sin confirmarla, fue inmediatamente lanzada al mundo.

El gran plan desestabilizador fue confeccionado hace tres meses; la CIA movió sus piezas en el país, y organizó otra nueva arremetida introduciendo elementos nuevos que venían siendo trabajados desde hacía más de dos años: al general Raúl Isaías Baduel y al jefe del partido PODEMOS, Ismael García. Los lanzaron a la pelea mediática a pocos meses antes del inicio de la campaña por el referendo sobre la Reforma Constitucional. En el informe que envía Michael Middleton Steere, de US Embassy in Venezuela a Michael Hayden, Director Agencia Central de Inteligencia, le dicen que Baduel y García hicieron un buen papel porque lograron quitarle «a Chávez 6 puntos en su posición de arranque inicial, tal como NO había ocurrido en otras campañas, donde ha partido con una ventaja entre 15% y 20%. Sin embargo, se puede esperar un congelamiento del impacto esperado, ya que tales tendencias tocaron piso.»

Todo esto en el documento «Avance de la Fase Terminal de la Operación Tenaza». Hasta ahora han gastado en este Plan, más de 11 millones de dólares y están implorando por más dinero, porque en los pagos realizados a políticos y militares han usado más de cinco millones de dólares. Baduel e Ismael García están muy contentos y con la vida de sus familiares muy asegurada. Piensan pasar las navidades en el Norte, porque cuentan con varias invitaciones a Nueva York, Washington, Boston, Chicago y, claro, Miami.

Los contactos con Baduel se iniciaron a finales de 2004. La CIA consideró que Baduel representaba una de las bases esenciales del bolivarianismo; lo analizaron y consideraron que tenía carisma, fuerza dentro de las filas del chavismo, hombre moderado y disciplinado, de extremada confianza del Comandante Presidente. Ya para principios del 2005, el general Baduel aceptó parte del trabajo que le encomendó la CIA y se reunió con un grupo de intelectuales extranjeros que por cierto dirigen una importante revista marxista para América Latina.

Baduel fue convencido por este grupo de que debía ir parándole el trote a Chávez en sus ataques desmedidos a los Estados Unidos.
Convocaron a una reunión en Maracay que debía realizarse el 11 de abril del 2005. Quien esto escribe, por error, fue invitado a esa reunión.
Yo les comuniqué de esta grave situación a altos revolucionarios del chavismo, y se alarmaron tanto de lo que les referí que llegaron a pensar que yo estaba delirando, que estaba totalmente paranoico o seguramente tenía alguna aversión personal contra Baduel.

Tuve que callarme y dejar de lado unos artículos que había redactado sobre este asunto. Pero la CIA también ha hecho su trabajo con varios gobernadores y alcaldes, que no han saltado la talanquera sencillamente porque carecen de la fuerza estremecedora a nivel internacional, y la CIA no les ha «embarrado» suficientemente todavía los bolsillos.
Ya el pronunciamiento de ciertos gobernadores «chavistas» ha quedado para otro momento (o quizá nunca se dará ya).

En la Fase Terminal de la «Operación Tenaza» se informa que las tendencias de intenciones de voto se mantienen: dan al SI una ventaja entre 10 y 13 puntos (57 % SI, 44% NO ), y que tal estimación porcentual se dan en el marco de una abstención que ronda el 60% de los votantes inscritos.
La CIA sabe que esta tendencia es irreversible en el corto plazo, «es decir, en los próximos quince (15) días no se pueden modificar esos porcentajes de una manera significativa.»
Por lo tanto la CIA ha organizado todos sus cuadros: estudiantes burgueses, Iglesia, los grupos empresariales, para llamar a votar por el NO al tiempo que preparan un escabroso plan para que el mismo día del 2 de diciembre, lanzar una furiosa y terrorífica alerta nacional e internacional de que se ha producido un espantoso fraude.

Hay paramilitares muy bien entrenados y apertrechados con armas sofisticadas, para esta acción, en los Estados Táchira, Mérida, Trujillo, Zulia, Lara, Carabobo, Aragua y Miranda.
Al tiempo que se tratará de impedir el referendo incitando al caos, a las guarimbas, a los ataques armados, estarán también llamando al NO.

Los días lunes y martes, 26 y 27 de noviembre, varias ciudades: Valencia, Mérida, San Cristóbal, Maracay, Barquisimeto fueron sacudidas por estos planes, con saldos de varios heridos y de un chavista (que iba para su puesto de trabajo) muerto salvajemente a tiros en la ciudad de Valencia.

De modo que la Fase Terminal de la «Operación Tenaza» apunta al «acondicionamiento político del no reconocimiento de los resultados del referéndum». Ya se tiene montada toda «una matriz de opinión sobre un triunfo seguro del NO y en tal sentido seguiremos trabajando con las encuestadoras que hemos contratado».

Al mismo tiempo que mantenemos una sostenida campaña por el NO –sigue diciendo el informe al jefe de la CIA Michael Hayden-, se viene trabajando en la crítica al CNE y su conexión con una serie de trampas, lo cual genera en la opinión pública la sensación de fraude. En ese sentido hemos venido insistiendo en los tópicos referidos a las inconsistencia del registro electoral permanente, donde contactamos con un equipo de expertos de las universidades, que por su prestigio académico hace creíble una manipulación de la data por parte del CNE, igual ocurre sobre las dudas sobre la tinta y el comportamiento de las máquinas de votación.

Sigue diciendo el informe de esta Operación: «hemos convenido con fuerzas aliadas comenzar a dar información en las primeras horas de la tarde del Domingo 2 de Diciembre, explotando los sondeos preliminares en las mesas de votación. La operación montada requiere de una coordinación con medios de comunicación a nivel internacional, según lo pautado».

La CIA tiene grandes esperanzas de que esta Operación, culminará con el levantamiento general de una parte sustancial de la población. Pero al unísono, implora Michael Middleton Steere, todas estas acciones debe ir acompañadas «de un sostenido esfuerzo diplomático para aislar aún más a Chávez en el terreno internacional, tratar de lograr la unidad de la oposición y buscar la alianza de los abstencionistas y los que votan por el NO, incrementar la presión de calle en los días previos al 2 de Diciembre, sostener con firmeza la propaganda contra el régimen, ejecutar las acciones militares de apoyo a las movilizaciones y tomas propagandísticas, culminar los aprestos operacionales de nuestras fuerzas acantonadas en la Base aledaña. El apoyo de los equipos externos provenientes del país verde y azul, esta coordinado, la acción marítima de azul esta prevista y, las fronteras con verde en los puntos determinados esta libre.»

La coordinadora clave de todas estas acciones las hace la periodista Patricia Poleo (implicada en el asesinato del fiscal Danilo Anderson) desde Miami. Patricia es la agente estrella de la CIA para la acciones contra Venezuela. Ella ha sido la gran mediadora para conseguir que se pongan de acuerdo los rectores Rudolph Benjamín Scharikker Podolski de la Universidad Simón Bolívar y Ugalde de la Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, junto con los dirigentes estudiantiles como Yon Goicochea (UCAB), Juan A. Mejías (USB), Douglas Barrios (U. Metropolitana), Ronel Gaglio (U. Monte Ávila), Gabriel Gallo (U. S M), Ricardo Sánchez (UCV), con el Comando Nacional de la Resistencia y con Primero Justicia.

En su último viaje a Miami, el dirigente estudiantil Stalin González, reunido con Patricia, mostró cierta oposición a la manera como está conduciendo el movimiento opositor, Goicochea y el recientemente elegido Presidente de la FCU de la UCV, Ricardo Sánchez. Para Stalin hay que evitar la violencia que buscan los grupos sometidos a la CIA.

Teme Stalin González que se desboquen y sean reducidos a cero como ocurrió con los intentos golpistas del 11-A del 2002. Hay que agregar que Stalin se está haciendo pasar por marxista, cuando realmente su mundo es la frivolidad, la moda y las necedades consumistas. A todos les encanta pasar días enteros por los centros comerciales de Miami. Patricia le pone al servicio excelentes guías, con buenas sumas de dinero.

La CIA ha medido sus «Operación Tenaza», dejándose llevar otra vez por las indicaciones de Patricia y están contando con un pronunciamiento militar. Patricia les ha hecho saber que el componente más averiado es la Guardia Nacional, y les ha dado nombres para que se reúnan con ex militares que antes estuvieron Chávez, entre ellos Guyón Celis y Luis Alfonso Dávila.

La CIA, siguiendo indicaciones de Baduel, ha hecho algunos contactos y han conseguido comprar a unos altos oficiales a los que les han ofrecido toda clase de protección desde la mediática hasta la diplomática, con asilo y seguridades para todos sus familiares. Pero estos oficiales, a pesar de que ya han cobrado parte de su trabajo, ahora dicen carecer de dirección real en los comandos.

Hace poco fueron detectados y decomisados parte del armamento para la acción en Caracas, en Mérida y Valencia, y han dejado montones de evidencias y rastros en celulares y en laptos. La guerra decisiva empezará el 2 de diciembre.

Hay mucho arsenal escondido todavía, pelotones de paramilitares organizando sus puntos de combate y un plan desestabilizador en la calle que promete ser de película según el propio Michael Middleton Steere, con más quinientas cámaras repartidas por toda Venezuela.

Bien tontos hemos sido hasta ahora los chavistas que después de ocho años de gobierno, casi nunca disponemos ni de una cámara en escenas cruciales, para luchar contra Globovisión y las tramas golpistas de la Embajada norteamericana.


José Sant Roz
Profesor de matemáticas en la Universidad de Los Andes (Venezuela), con un doctorado en Teoría Combinatoria. Es autor de más de veinte libros que abordan el tema de los conflictos políticos en Venezuela y Colombia desde el siglo XVIII, entre ellos: Conjura Constitucional, ediciones Ministerio de Educación, Caracas, 1986; Colombia en un Soplo, Consejo de Publicaciones de la ULA, 1987; Toque de Queja. Episodios de la vida del General Francisco de Paula Santander, (novela), Ediciones Centauro, de José Agustín Catalá, 1990; Maldito Descubrimiento, Kariña Editores, 1993; Los Verdaderos Golpistas, Kariña Editores, 1998; Obispos o Demonios, (Co-autor junto con Giandomenico Puliti), Kariña Editores, 2000; Capos de Toga y Birrete, Kariña Editores, 2001; El Jackson Granadino - Biografía del General José María Obando - el asesino de Sucre, Kariña Editores, 2001; Las Putas de los medios, Kariña Editores, 2002; Bolívar y Chávez- Dos posiciones en conflicto, Kariña Editores, 2003, Gustavo Cisneros - Un Falacia Global, Kariña Editores, 2004.
Los artículos de esta autora o autor




In onda la foto del capo di stato venezuelano e sotto la scritta «Chi l'ha ucciso?»


Sotto accusa la Cnn spagnola

Il presidente sta verificando se esistano i termini per «istigazione all'uccisione di capo dello Stato»

CARACAS - Chavez morto per sette secondi e poi risorto. In sostanza è quello che è successo martedì sulla Cnn in lingua spagnola. In pratica mentre l'annunciatore commentava le iniziative degli studenti venezuelani schierati per il no alla riforma della costituzione su cui domenica si svolgerà un referendum, sullo schermo è apparsa l'immagine del presidente colombiano Alvaro Uribe, e vicino quella di Chavez con la sovrimpressione «Chi l'ha ucciso?».

«ISTIGAZIONE ALL'UCCISIONE DI CAPO DI STATO» Ora il presidente venezuelano ha dato istruzioni al Procuratore della Repubblica Gladys Gutierrez di verificare se esistano gli estremi di un reato di «istigazione all'uccisione di capo dello Stato». Intervenendo a La Hojilla della tv governativa Vtv, Chavez non ha risparmiato critiche alla Cnn e ha osservato: «Dovremo valutare questo sotto il profilo giuridico, ma non vi è dubbio che le immagini fanno parte di una guerra psicologica». La catena statunitense non ha fornito ufficialmente una spiegazione del fatto, ma l'annunciatore quando si è reso conto che le immagini, rimaste sullo schermo per sette secondi, non corrispondevano ai fatti che stava raccontando, ha chiesto con voce decisa di togliere il video.




Il ministro delle Acque, Abel Mamani


Bolivia: il presidente Evo Morales licenzia il suo vecchio compagno di lotta, «pizzicato» in un bordello

LA PAZ - La sua foto abbracciato a una prostituta gli è costata la poltrona di ministro. Il presidente della Bolivia, Evo Morales, ha infatti dato il benservito dal governo ad Abel Mamani, ministro delle Acque, dopo che è stata pubblicata una sua foto in cui appare abbracciato a una prostituta poco vestita.

PROTESTE - Prima di diventare ministro, Mamani era un leader radicale delle favelas di El Alto. Insieme a Morales ha guidato le proteste di piazza che hanno portato alle dimissioni nel 2005 del presidente Carlos Mesa e che poi ha aperto la strada alle elezioni che hanno visto trionfare lo stesso Morales. Mamani è stato anche a capo del movimento che ha cancellato il contratto con una controllata della multinazionale francese Suez per la privatizzazione dell'acqua potabile in Bolivia che prevedeve forniture a prezzi nettamente maggiorati.

DIFESA - Mamani si è difeso affermando che le foto sono state truccate e che è stato vittima di un'estorsione. Morales comunque non ha escluso che le accuse contro Mamani «possano far parte di una guerra sporca» per indebolire il governo. Il ministro, infatti, aveva già avuto problemi qualche settimana fa a causa di presunte irregolarità commesse dal suo ministero nell'amministrazione della Epsas, l'azienda statale che gestisce la fornitura dell'acqua a La Paz ed El Alto.


... M&M's.

El economista jefe del Fondo Monetario Internacional (FMI), Simon Johnson, advirtió que la economía mundial podría enfrentarse a una "tormenta perfecta" que conllevaría una contracción del comercio mundial.

El término "tormenta perfecta" se refiere al momento en el que una serie de fenómenos que individualmente no revisten especial gravedad, se dan al mismo tiempo, generando una situación prácticamente inmanejable.

En una entrevista con la BBC, Johnson dijo también que el FMI piensa rebajar sus previsiones de crecimiento para Europa y Estados Unidos.

Según el economista jefe del FMI, en septiembre hubo signos de que la crisis financiera de los últimos meses se resolvería por si sola.

Pero, en cambio, acabamos de entrar en una segunda fase de turbulencias, dijo.

Además, parece que las autoridades no podrían hacer mucho para solucionar la crisis si los altos precios del crudo y la inflación les impiden rebajar las tasas de interés.

"El peligro está ahí, ya que tenemos como elementos de la 'tormenta perfecta' la crisis financiera del siglo XXI junto con la crisis del petróleo de los setenta", afirmó Johnson.

"Contracción del comercio"

"Si ambas cosas ocurren a la vez, tendremos una contracción del comercio internacional propia del siglo XIX a la que nadie es inmune".

"No hay ningún país que tenga suficientes reservas para soportar este tipo de impacto", concluyó el economista.

Johnson cree que la mayoría de las previsiones de crecimiento para EE.UU. son demasiado optimistas.

Lo que se inició como una crisis financiera para los bancos puede afectar las cantidades que éstos prestaron y dañar la actividad económica real en todo el mundo.

Podríamos haber previsto cualquiera de los problemas actuales de manera independiente, afirma Johnson, pero no todos al mismo tiempo.






... Northern Rock.