Examiner (Elizabeth Delaney): In a move to attempt to solve an alleged water shortage; President Hugo Chavez has decided that residents in Venezuela's capital city of Caracas will be slapped with cuts in water service for up to 48 hours per week.

While weather forecasters are saying that the drought is being caused by "El Nino," those less afraid of Chavez' repercussions for speaking against his policies are blaming the water shortage on, "poor government management of the country's water resources." And the water service cuts, which would be staggered throughout the city, would most likely last until about the middle of 2010.

Chavez insists that the problem is due to capitalism's "lack of feeling, a lack of humanity" among those in "rich" neighborhoods. Especially those who own swimming pools. Guess they didn't invite enough people over to share in the use of their pools. How interesting that capitalism is being blamed here and not "global warming." But then perhaps the Kyoto protocol (UN version of cap and trade) won't affect Venezuela as much as it will the US.

But water isn't the only item that is supposedly in short supply. A lack of electricity is also a problem. So Chavez created a government department to regulate electricity and appointed a Czar of electricity -- although he refers to the department as the "ministry of electricity."

Another area which is being regulated in Venezuela is the media. Back in August, Reuters reported that Chavez shut down 34 radio stations, and that "the owners were not given the right to a proper defense." Chavez said that he was just "democratizing the airwaves." Guess that's the Venezuelan version of the Fairness Doctrine.

The article went on to state that, "Chavez supporters say they are waging a 'media war' against private news companies and have denounced in recent days what they say is a renewed offensive by privately owned domestic and international media to discredit Venezuela.

• One radio station mentioned in the Reuters article has said that it would continue to broadcast on the internet at http://www.cnb.com.ve/index.php?id=1

There are 120 other radio stations who "were being investigated for administrative irregularities and the radio frequency of stations being shut down would be transferred to new community broadcasters." Wall Street Journal article mentioned that Chavez was planning to, "punish so-called media crimes with prison sentences of up to four years. Human-rights groups criticized the government for trying to strangle dissent as the president moves to impose a socialist economic model."

However, Venezuelans apparently had no intention of keeping silent. According to a USA Today article from August, Venezuelans have protested the move.

Chavez has said he would be willing to consider returning broadcasting licenses to those radio stations who would, "share his socialist vision."

http://www.examiner.com/x-16044-Christianity--Politics-Examiner
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