Chavez is at it again..

[Dreamer128]

I can see where this is going.. But, err.. a six-hour work day? Damn, time to move to Venezuela.

Chavez reforms go to parliament

Venezuela's parliament, dominated by supporters of President Hugo Chavez, has begun its final debate on proposed changes to the constitution.
The changes would remove term limits for the presidency, and extend the term of office from six years to seven.

Mr Chavez on Tuesday added 25 amendments to a previous 33 passed by Congress, including proposals to detain citizens without charge in emergencies.

If passed, all the measures will be put to a popular referendum in December.

There are no opposition politicians in the Venezuelan National Assembly, since most of the anti-Chavez parties boycotted the last election in 2005.

However, several members of parliament have questioned the way these late changes have been introduced, calling it constitutional fraud.

'Strong protections'

Mr Chavez said the changes were "imperative to the revolution" and would help make the country more socialist.

One of the most controversial amendments would allow the president sweeping powers during a state of emergency.

The international organisation Human Rights Watch has condemned this, saying under international law all countries have to guarantee certain freedoms at all times.

"Recent Latin American history shows that it is precisely during states of emergency that countries need strong judicial protections to prevent abuse," said HRW Americas director, Jose Miguel Vivanco.

Among the other changes to the constitution proposed by Mr Chavez are:

Bringing in a maximum six-hour working day

Cutting the voting age from 18 to 16

Increasing presidential control over the central bank

Strengthening state economic powers, allowing the government to control assets of private companies before a court grants an expropriation order.

Also on Tuesday, a long-standing critic of the president, Roman Catholic Cardinal Rosalio Castillo Lara, died, aged 85.

He had consistently spoken out against Mr Chavez, saying the president was increasingly authoritarian and "fundamental democratic principles [were] ignored or violated".

For his part, the president called Cardinal Castillo Lara "a hypocrite, bandit and devil with a cassock".

Rosalio Castillo Lara was ordained in 1949, and was appointed cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 1986.

(Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7048229.stm )

[Arvon]

Why are you supprised at this?

[Dreamer128]

The only thing that surprises me is that the Venezualan people put up with this. Then again, the political opposition there isn't much better. They overthrew Chavez a few years ago, in a rather messy coup. Still, at this rate, good ol' Hugo will be president for life by the end of the year, and self-proclaimed God-Emperor of Venezuala before the decade is over.

[johnny]

When is Chavez going to officially claim our caribbean islands as Venezuelan territory? It could be my last chance to officially serve my country in a uniform, acting as the good guys. The next one will be more messy and more personal, and less official.

[Dreamer128]

And what's he going to send against our troops? His kamikaze-rowboats? By the way, I never took you for the military-type Johnny. You're in the Reserves?

[Thoran]

He's using a pretty standard recipe... whip up the sheep into a xenophobic frenzy and use that hysteria to lever yourself into a nice comfy dictatorship. At that point you can start to exploit those same sheep and they won't be able to do a thing about it.

[Dreamer128]

Yup. He's a populist of the worst kind. He promises plenty, but delivers little. I think he owes his popularity mainly to the fact that he is 'a man of the people'. A few weeks ago, he even recorded a CD, which was given freely to all citizens. Of course, he also scores points with his anti-American and anti-business retorics.

[johnny]

No D, i've never been in the army, apparently i was too agressive and too hard too handle for them when my number came up, because they gave me S5, i'm sure you know what that means? Back in those days our guys were being send out to Lebanon to go and sit between the radical muslims and the Israeli's to watch the missiles fly over, and i volunteered for that, but my background as a teen cought up with me, and they wouldn't have me.

[Dreamer128]

You probably got lucky. Catching bullets with your teeth really isn't a soldiers job.

[pritchke]

King of Spain tells Chavez to shut up.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNew...668977-ap.html

Funny Stuff!!!