(Miami) Rally set in response to synagogue attack in Venezuela

[Mika]

Rally set in response to synagogue attack in Venezuela
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/southflorida/story/900016.html

A group of Venezuelan and Jewish organizations will hold a rally Friday in front of the Venezuelan consulate in Miami to show solidarity with the Venezuelan Jewish community after a recent attack on a Caracas synagogue.

Armed men took over the Tiferet Israel synagogue on Jan. 31, holding the guards hostage for hours while they desecrated the altar and scrawled ''Death to All'' on the walls. It was the latest sign of growing hostility toward Venezuelan Jews since Israel began its Gaza operation in December.

Many community members blame the government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez for rising anti-Semitism, a charge that he and other government leaders have denied. Chávez condemned the attack on the synagogue.

For Friday's event, Independent Venezuelan American Citizens, Recivex, All for Venezuela and other groups will gather at 10 a.m. at the consulate, 1101 Brickell Ave.

Exiles continuing to stir the pot.

[Judi Lynn]

1. Apparently they don't bother to read much if they don't know who did this!

Holy smokes!

They could spend less time at the Versailles, and more time sounding out the words in their newspaper. They should strictly forget about turning to Fox, or the Miami equivalent if they hope to have a prayer of knowing what the hell is happening in the real world.

Any bets on whether or not Vigilia Mambisa is there? They could use the exercise. Heck, the last time they chased a Venezuelan pro-Chavez guy down the street from a demonstration in Miami, Miguel Saavedra completely missed his head when he pitched his megaphone at the guy's dome!

http://cubainforma.interfree.it.nyud.net:8090/2007/terrorismo/saavedra.jpg
Sure, they were able to surround the car and kick the bejesus out of it, but it's just not the same as being able to clock the commies!

[Mika]

2. The guy in the red shirt is from The Bolivarian Circle of Miami

Brave group that faces death threats almost daily.

The Bolivarian Circle of Miami
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=25867633


http://groups.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=groups.myGroups&UserId=25867633&username=Bolivarian+Youth&Mytoken=20050523131629

[Judi Lynn]

4. They've got real guts trying to get their point across in that town, Mika!

They really need to watch behind their backs. The FBI didn't name Miami "America's Terror Capital" for nothing.

[EFerrari]

3. I had some hopes for Miami until realizing that the waves of exiles

from Venezuela & etc were rejuvenating the wacko community there. :(

Fyi, Connie Mack introduced HR 161. VIO says it has no co-sponsors as of this morning:

"Mr. Speaker, this weekend, the Venezuelan people will go to the polls to determine the future of freedom and democracy in their country. Venezuela's Hugo Chavez in his continued quest for power, is demanding that the people of Venezuela get rid of presidential term limits. Chavez has just celebrated 10 years in power, and his legacy is clear: Higher poverty, more crime, rampant inflation, growing anti-Semitism, less freedom, alliances with Iran, Russia, and Cuba, and a loss of hope and opportunity for the Venezuelan people. Mr. Speaker, Venezuelans cannot afford to have Chavez leading them into the Communist abyss. Today, I am introducing a resolution calling upon the Members of the House to stand for free and fair elections this weekend in Venezuela. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the important resolution and to stand with the Venezuelan people in their fight for freedom from the iron fist of Hugo Chavez."

[Judi Lynn]

5. Didn't know! No co-sponsors, HILARIOUS. This wouldn't have happened with a fascist majority.

No doubt it is leaving someone like Connie Mack and his wife, the former Mrs. Sonny Bozo, er, Bono even MORE dazed and confused.

http://www.clevelandleader.com.nyud.net:8090/files/mack-bono-married.JPG

Have you ever thought about how comical it is the Republicans flail away at leftists in the film industry, claiming no one wants to know what Sean Penn, or Danny Glover, or Susan Sarandon, or so many others think, while they have ALWAYS been the first to race off and snag anyone they could find with name recognition to run them for office? Where the hell do they think they found Ronald Reagan? Sonny Bono? Fred Thompson? ETC.? Then you start into nationally recognized athletes (never known for their intelligence) and we're off to the races. They've got GOBS of athlete/politicians.

What a bunch of a-holes. Repulsive, dishonest as the day is long!

[rabs]

6. What astonded me was the Herald

Nary a word in it's blurb about police announcing days ago that it had been a robbery and that the defamation of the temple had been a smokescreen. I can remember when the old LATAM hands at the Herald (Juan Tamayo, Shirley Christian , and Bill Montalbano spring to mind) would not have tolerated garbage like this.

Really sad about the Herald, which back in my day was one of the really good newspapers in the country.

[Judi Lynn]

7. They've had the news right there, at the Herald about the findings of the investigation, too.

Just found this a few minutes ago:

Venezuelan official visits synagogue after attack
The Associated Press
Published: February 12, 2009

CARACAS, Venezuela: Venezuela's foreign minister visited a synagogue on Thursday that was recently attacked by vandals and promised the country's Jewish community that authorities would determine who was responsible for the assault.

During a visit to the Tiferet Israel Synagogue in Caracas, Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro told Venezuelan-Israelite Association president Elias Farache that investigations would continue until police "get to the bottom of the truth."

Authorities have arrested 11 people, including eight police officers, suspected of ransacking and vandalizing the synagogue on Jan. 30. The assailants shattered religious objects, spray-painted "Jews, get out" on the temple's walls and stole a computer database with names and addresses of Jews living in Venezuela.

One of the synagogue's security guards and a police officer who authorities say worked as a bodyguard for a local rabbi are among the 11 suspects under arrest. Police are currently searching for four more suspects.

Farache thanked the government for "returning peace and tranquility to our congregation" and praised federal police "for apprehending the perpetrators."

More:
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/02/12/news/LT-Venezuela-Anti-Semitism.php

~~~~~~~~~
The direction the Herald has taken to assist a false perception of Latin America is unforgivable.

I remember seeing Juan Tamayo's name, for sure.

[EFerrari]

8. The Miami "we'll print anything!" Herald has been very trashy for a long time.

I was hoping they'd do better after McClatchy bought them, but they are still a truly awful propaganda rag. A shame.

[rabs]

9. Can you give us an upate on the rally

Was wondering how many people showed up.

Also curious about the Venezuelan community voting in S. Florida tomorrow.

Trust you will keep us updated. Gracias.

[Judi Lynn]

10. Venezuela’s Referendum: Media’s Double Standards

Published on Saturday, February 14, 2009 by CommonDreams.org
Venezuela’s Referendum: Media’s Double Standards

by Steve Rendall & Isabel Macdonald

With Sunday's Venezuelan referendum on term limits, we can expect to hear a lot about Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez’s “plan to become president for life” and its reflection on "Venezuela's battered democracy"--as the New York Times editors put it around the time of Venezuela’s last (failed) term limits referendum.

But when Colombian President Álvaro Uribe's efforts to lift term limits succeeded in 2005, the U.S. media took little notice, and Uribe's reputation as the U.S.'s favorite 'democrat' in the region remained intact.

In Colombia, the lifting of term limits was a big story, in good part because the Colombian courts have sentenced the congress member who cast the deciding vote on the amendment to almost four years in prison for taking bribes from Uribe aides (he knew nothing, of course) in exchange for her vote. And though Uribe supporters are collecting signatures to get him on the ballot for 2010 elections, the bribery affair has caused Colombian courts to raise questions about Uribe’s eligibility.

Yet Uribe’s scandal-ridden term limits law was treated as far less newsworthy by U.S. editors than the Venezuelan government’s moves to put the question of term limits to the popular ballot. A search of “Álvaro Uribe and “term limits” in the Nexis database of U.S. newspapers and wires turns up 60 articles, in contrast to 1003 articles about Chávez and term limits. A spot check reveals that even the articles mentioning Uribe and “term limits” were often about Chávez's efforts to lift term limits, not Uribe's.

Similarly, 286 articles mentioned both Chávez and “president for life,” while only 29 articles mention Uribe and that epithet--but virtually all of those 29 were again referring to Chávez's perceived power grabs, not Uribe's. (One Associated Press story did compare Uribe to Chávez, but didn’t quite apply the term to Uribe: “The wonkish, diminutive but tirelessly tenacious politician , who turned 56 on Friday, has been cagey on that score. Those who oppose the idea say it would put him in league with his continental rival, Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, who has been widely branded autocratic for doing his utmost to try to stay president for life.")

More:
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/02/14-6