Chavez muzzles opposition voices in media

Venezuelans march against closure of TV station | International | Reuters :

"For years, Venezuela's television stations were virulently anti-Chavez and openly supported the 2002 putsch that briefly ousted him. But more recently the media have slowly started falling in line with the increasingly powerful government."

In a move condemned by a resolution in the US Senate, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has ended the 53-year existence of RCTV in Caracas. He has also threatened to pull the license of Globovision which was attacked by his thugs recently.

Don't look for any criticism from the American (or, should I say, anti-American) left in this country. Chavez is a hero of the left because he constantly attacks George Bush. The fact that he is a thug with utter contempt for civil liberties like his friend and mentor Fidel Castro seems to make no impression.

Bush gets the hatchet job from the most high profile show on CBS and takes it in stride. Yet he is denounced by those who claim to be interested in free speech. Chavez closes TV stations and the same crowd shows their commitment to free speech by freely refraining from speaking out against the suppression of dissent in Venezuela, Cuba and other repressive leftist regimes.