Today the fascisto-communist regime of Venezuela (your pick!) has crossed a new line. Maria Corina Machado, noted Venezuelan National Assembly representative, former primary candidate, one of the main members of the opposition international outreach, and the one of the broken nose during her line of duty at the Nazional Assembly has had her private conversations taped, edited and passed as if it were a conspiracy phone call. Cuban G2 modus operandi.
The regime presented earlier today the "phone taping" as a proof that MCM was into some form of dark conspiracy, just another one of the fantastic ones presented daily in Venezuela, without a shred of evidence even when they claim to involve the purchase of a dozen and a half of war planes. Brouhaha for a while but the reply came back smashing tonight as MCM told us that in fact, the words in that conversation (which would have been badly wiretapped to begin with) were a illegal recording of a 2 hours conversation that she had in the library of German Carrera Damas, a noted historian.
That is right, the regime managed to bug the library of an elderly intellectual, something not too difficult to do, and took that private conversation, took words out of context and built up an alleged 2 minutes phone conversation that never occurred.
Why the regime would take such a risk today? To begin with, after such a fiasco no future "conspiracy conversation" will benefit of much credit now that we know what the regime is willing to lower itself. On this respect, outside of the idiotic chavista fringe, nobody will believe at face value any future recording. Also, the ones presenting that "conversation" not only probably discredited themselves utterly but may lose big in politics. One is harshly criticized Caracas-Libertador mayor, Jorge Rodriguez, who may have killed his reelection dreams (which I personally do not think he had as he was forced by Chavez to a job he did not want). The other is formerly appreciated journalist, Ernesto Villegas who has turned into the totally discredited information/propaganda minister from whom you may not even trust his watch for time of the day.
No, the point is elsewhere.
Now chavista officials, in the middle of a never ending succession war now that even their at home private conversations are not safe anymore (cell phone conversations are gone of the repertoire for conspiracy of any type). The more so that mayoral candidacies must be decided inside chavismo and the regime tries to avoid desperately primaries.
All the rest is inconsequential. MCM will come out the bigger person for her spirited defense and counter attack. Capriles has been enough attacked but is enough of the consensus leader that this will not scratch him (she supposedly complained about the lack of response on late April which not only she is not alone for that but that she voiced already). Guillermo Aveledo by now has a Teflon coat. And all appreciate the hard work she does in her role to blame her of a personal opinion. After all, contrary to chavismo, inside the opposition the debate is lively and primaries held when pertinent.
The home lesson is dramatic: from now on we ALL know that even our bedroom conversations are fair game for a regime that has lost any respect for individual rights.
Notes.
Jorge Rodriguez and Villegas can be sued. I hope MCM does follow through. When the regime changes she can have them fined heavily even though they are not corrupt rich.
Snowden is an idiot: bringing up Venezuela (among Ecuador, Russia and Cuba) as countries to protect him and favor his trips only shows that he is an ignorant, no matter how justified his crusade may be. To protect his right of free speech he uses countries where freedom of speech in under attack or nonexistent. thus, once again, Wikileakes et all are not about freedom, they are about finding ways to attack the US.
The regime presented earlier today the "phone taping" as a proof that MCM was into some form of dark conspiracy, just another one of the fantastic ones presented daily in Venezuela, without a shred of evidence even when they claim to involve the purchase of a dozen and a half of war planes. Brouhaha for a while but the reply came back smashing tonight as MCM told us that in fact, the words in that conversation (which would have been badly wiretapped to begin with) were a illegal recording of a 2 hours conversation that she had in the library of German Carrera Damas, a noted historian.
That is right, the regime managed to bug the library of an elderly intellectual, something not too difficult to do, and took that private conversation, took words out of context and built up an alleged 2 minutes phone conversation that never occurred.
Why the regime would take such a risk today? To begin with, after such a fiasco no future "conspiracy conversation" will benefit of much credit now that we know what the regime is willing to lower itself. On this respect, outside of the idiotic chavista fringe, nobody will believe at face value any future recording. Also, the ones presenting that "conversation" not only probably discredited themselves utterly but may lose big in politics. One is harshly criticized Caracas-Libertador mayor, Jorge Rodriguez, who may have killed his reelection dreams (which I personally do not think he had as he was forced by Chavez to a job he did not want). The other is formerly appreciated journalist, Ernesto Villegas who has turned into the totally discredited information/propaganda minister from whom you may not even trust his watch for time of the day.
No, the point is elsewhere.
Now chavista officials, in the middle of a never ending succession war now that even their at home private conversations are not safe anymore (cell phone conversations are gone of the repertoire for conspiracy of any type). The more so that mayoral candidacies must be decided inside chavismo and the regime tries to avoid desperately primaries.
All the rest is inconsequential. MCM will come out the bigger person for her spirited defense and counter attack. Capriles has been enough attacked but is enough of the consensus leader that this will not scratch him (she supposedly complained about the lack of response on late April which not only she is not alone for that but that she voiced already). Guillermo Aveledo by now has a Teflon coat. And all appreciate the hard work she does in her role to blame her of a personal opinion. After all, contrary to chavismo, inside the opposition the debate is lively and primaries held when pertinent.
The home lesson is dramatic: from now on we ALL know that even our bedroom conversations are fair game for a regime that has lost any respect for individual rights.
Notes.
Jorge Rodriguez and Villegas can be sued. I hope MCM does follow through. When the regime changes she can have them fined heavily even though they are not corrupt rich.
Snowden is an idiot: bringing up Venezuela (among Ecuador, Russia and Cuba) as countries to protect him and favor his trips only shows that he is an ignorant, no matter how justified his crusade may be. To protect his right of free speech he uses countries where freedom of speech in under attack or nonexistent. thus, once again, Wikileakes et all are not about freedom, they are about finding ways to attack the US.