Yes, that's right -- Pigs Flew. To be sure, they were only airborne for a few minutes. And, yes, there was some turbulence. But over the weekend, viewers caught a glimpse of some rarely-seen reality on the CBS evening news. (Actually, it was more than a glimpse -- there were two 3-1/2-minute reports, twice the average length of a network news story.) On Saturday, they were treated to close-up scenes of actual shanty-towns in Venezuela -- along with narration from reporter Lee Cowan explaining why Hugo Chavez has overwhelming support from the populace. Even more amazing -- on Sunday the report featured a contingent of Americans visiting Venezuela on a Global Exchange Reality Tour. (See http://www.globalexchange.org/countries/americas/venezuela ) One could perhaps take issue with a detail here or there, but these reports were a long-overdue antidote to the distorted characterizations of Chavez & Venezuela that are so prevalent in the mainstream media. I especially liked Cowan's comment at the close of the second report: "Venezuela remains divided to be sure ? torn between those who think Chavez is either leading a grand socialist experiment ? or is a despot in the works." What a refreshing reversal of the usual, obligatory formulation, whereby socialism is always EQUATED with despotism -- rather than contrasted. The articles below are quasi-transcripts from the CBS News website (they were full of typos & inaccurate wordings that I had to correct). Of course, they simply don't convey the visuals -- so I would really encourage everyone to watch the videos that are also posted on the website. (Just mute the sound during the short commercial that comes on before each report. And don't try the "full-screen" option -- the image quality is terrible.) Lastly -- I am sure the right-wing will bombard CBS with complaints about these reports. So I think it's crucial that they also hear from people who appreciate good journalism -- and want to see more in the future! Send your supportive comments to: weekends@xxxxxxxxxxx and evening@xxxxxxxxxxx Craig Gingold (near) Midpines CA ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Chávez: Hero, Prophet Or Tyrant? http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/05/20/world/main1638266.shtml Tourists And The Two Venezuelas http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/05/21/eveningnews/main1638480.shtml CBSNews.com Chávez: Hero, Prophet Or Tyrant? Many Think Highly Of Venezuela's President, But Not In Washington May 20, 2006 The U.S. this week banned arms sales to Venezuela ? just the latest confrontation with a Latin American country that is a huge exporter of oil to the United States. CBS news correspondent Lee Cowan traveled there to explore the roots of the growing strain: Take a walk through the gritty barrios of Caracas Venezuela ? and it's hard to imagine that it's all sitting on what is estimated to be the largest reserves of crude oil in the world. Venezuela supplies almost as much oil to the U.S. as Saudi Arabia does ? gas here is still just 12 cents a gallon. But the disparity between those who benefit from that wealth ? and the vast percentage of those who don't ? is gut wrenching for American Charlie Hardy. "I lived in a cardboard shack for eight years in Caracas," says Hardy. "I was a Catholic priest. We had no water, no sewage system or anything," he says. But he says things are finally changing here for the better. The problem is that it's coming at the hands of a man the U.S. describes as nothing short of a dictator ? President Hugo Chávez. And Chávez doesn't seem to like Bush much either. In one public appearance, Chávez said, "George W. Bush: You are a donkey, Mr. Bush." His war of words with the Bush Administration is at times almost comical ? but the Bush Administration isn't laughing. The U.S. said little when Chavez was briefly ousted in a coup in 2002, and ever since then Chavez has seen the U.S. as the invaders from the North. He's gone on an arms-buying spree ? and recently began training as many as a half a million civilians as a military reserve. Guadalupe Rodriguez says she's already signed up. "The U.S. does whatever it feels like," she said through a translator. "We will not be caught unaware." Sounds extreme, but as Cowan and his team traveled through the country, they found Chávez is widely seen as the man leading Venezuela in a new direction ? a Socialist one. And whatever the U.S. says about him ? in Venezuela, there is plenty of popular support. "If Chávez has any power at all, it's only because people feel that he's representing them," says Hardy. "I said to a woman on the street, 'Are you a follower of Chávez?' She says, 'No, he's following my ideas.'" That common man's appeal comes largely from places like Venezuela's ramshackle barrios, where the poor and desperate live. About 80 percent of the population here is poor and makes up most of Chávez's political support. And no wonder. In this neighborhood Chávez is giving away land ? promising to build three-bedroom homes to replace shacks like the one Nellie Escalona lives in. Asked how she viewed Chávez, Escalona says, through a translator, "He's a good President. No other President has done what he has done." In this town, high in the Andes, Chávez has supplied doctors for the first time in a deal from Cuba, another thorn in the U.S. government's side. Chávez made a swap with Fidel Castro: He offered Cuba cheap oil, in exchange for some of Cuba's doctors ? like Niuris Mereno, who thinks the deal is working. "Some of these people," she says through a translator, "have never seen a doctor before." Chávez has also created a system of government-run food stores ? where staples like rice and beans now sell for 50 percent less than the market value. And in schools ? where students used to go only for half a day ? most now attend all day classes. There they are provided lunch along with literacy. All sound too good to be true? It's so intriguing that some Americans are coming to see it out for themselves ? as tourists. Vick Vinkey came from Rochester, N.Y. to investigate. "I came here to find out what's happening with what seems to be a massive social experiment." @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ CBSNews.com Tourists And The Two Venezuelas 'Radical' Caracas Attracts Activists Who Want To See For Themselves CARACAS, Venezuela, May 21, 2006 Charter buses arrive in Caracas, Venezuela just as in any other tourist hot-spot ? except, as CBS News correspondent Lee Cowan reports, these buses are dumping Americans off in some of the poorest neighborhoods in the world: This is Caracas, Venezuela ? where a radical blend of capitalism and socialism is enticing a new breed of reality tourist ? looking for the next great revolution. Seventy-four year-old Nancy Singham is one of a growing number of politically-minded, unabashedly leftist Americans, who came here with a group called Global Exchange. "I just can't get over the incredible enthusiasm..." she said, "The engagement of people looking for solutions for their own problems." The architect of it all is President Hugo Chavez ? a larger-than-life figure who is less than friendly with the United States. Funded by Venezuela's vast oil wealth, he's instituted a bevy of new social programs in an effort to "equalize" society ? just like Fidel Castro. For the first time, he's providing low cost food ? medical care ? housing ? and education to his country's poor families. Trevor Gardiner ? a high school teacher from California ? said, for a country this rich, it's about time. "The people, who have had very little historically, are starting to come up and starting to be educated, and starting to be given more resources," Gardiner said. Chavez is eager to take the credit for the improvements. Tourists are shown a string of community TV and radio stations ? all built and paid for by the government ? where volunteers cheer the revolution on. But people at the radio station say none of it is censored. That's proof in some people's minds that Chavez is no dictator. Ask one of the volunteer broadcasters if he feels free to say anything he wants, and the answer is, "Yes, we have never had this freedom before." The cult of celebrity around Hugo Chavez has to some extent romanticized the revolution to a whole new generation of Americans, but it would be impossible for any tourist to come here without being exposed to the other side of Chavez. Most of Venezuela's major newspapers are openly hostile to Chavez, as are four out of the country's five television networks. That's more proof, some say, that Chavez is tolerant of freedom of speech. But democracy activist Maria Machado thinks it's a sham. She said Chavez persecutes those who organize any opposition to his government. [Note: Machado is a very elegant-looking, Euro-Venezuelan -- clearly a member of the upper-middle-class elite, who speaks flawless English, most likely as a result of a U.S. college education. - C.G.] "The government has been able to put in place a system of true terror throughout society, to all levels," she said. She should know. As leader of a volunteer organization called Sumate, she's been charged with treason for taking money from the U.S. to help encourage democracy here. "I think there are two Venezuelas... those that are conscious of what's going on, and those that haven't realized it yet." Venezuela remains divided to be sure ? torn between those who think Chavez is either leading a grand socialist experiment ? or is a despot in the works. And some Americans are coming here to see and hear it all for themselves ? all from a Latin American neighbor who, these days, is anything but quiet. ======================================================= *** [==> If you're not part of the solution... you're part of the problem <==] *** ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Everything you need is one click away. Make Yahoo! your home page now. http://us.click.yahoo.com/AHchtC/4FxNAA/yQLSAA/xYTolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> New Pacifica Working Group http://www.egroups.com/group/NewPacifica 'Save Our Stations!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NewPacifica/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: NewPacifica-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/