EL BLOG SOBRE EL PODER

Otro Blog relativo al poder de la comunicación DIGITAL...Vale la pena conocerlo.

Un BLOG SOBRE VENEZUELA

Un BLOG sobre Venezuela y las posibilidades de que en el FUTURO vuelva la democracia al país...

Ingenua Reflexión

"La culpa no es del ciego sino de quien le da el garrote."


Pedro Ascanio (*)

Es increíble la velocidad con la que han reaccionado la OEA y la comunidad internacional ante el problema político existente en Honduras versus la inacción, durante años, frente a las incontables violaciones constitucionales del actual desgobierno venezolano, las cuales darían lugar -sin duda- a una declaración de Estado Forajido por parte de la OEA.

Hace años que el desgobierno venezolano viene implantando -en cómodas cuotas- un golpe de estado particular y no han habido reacciones de los organismos internacionales ni de la comunidad internacional, como si les fuera indiferente la suerte de los venezolanos; así mismo, no han tratado de coadyuvar a la recuperación de nuestro inexistente Estado de Derecho.

Ojalá que lo de Honduras -en cuya situación tiene clara injerencia Hugo Chávez - sirva de campanazo de alerta frente a los desmanes del desgobierno venezolano contra sus nacionales.

(*) Consultor independiente
04/07/09

Robert F. Kennedy vs. Barak Obama

Robert F. Kennedy vs. Barak Obama
Different politicians but similar lessons
Alfredo Ascanio (askain)
Published 2009-07-04 16:03 (KST)


In his first book in November 1967, "To Seek A Newer World", Robert F. Kennedy announced his candidacy for the Presidency of the United States.

He announced, “I do not run for the Presidency merely to oppose any man, but to propose new policies. I run because I am convinced that this country is on a perilous course and because I have such strong feelings about what must be done that I am obliged to do all I can.”

This young politician wanted to be president to close the gaps between black and white, rich and poor, young and old and to stand for hope instead of despair, for the reconciliation of men instead of the growing risk of world war.

Today Obama said the same thing. Intentions are the same. But what are the differences? This is the subject of this article.

First, 1968 is not equal to the context of 2009. Today there is a deep depression like the 1930's. Nevertheless, these are big problems that have claimed Obama's attention.

The two politicians worked in the Senate and the Senate is a place where problems are dealt with as they arise, and attention and effort are devoted to the crisis of the moment. But problems of public finance are different. In the US economy of 40 years ago, over 20 percent of total output was purchased by government budgets and one-third of total income was collected in taxes.

Beyond the budgetary function, public policy influences the course of economic activity through monetary, regulatory, and other devices. But with Obama public enterprise plays a big role, because the crisis demands it that way.

Obama knows that the modern capitalist economy is thus a thoroughly mixed system in which public and private sector interact in a comprehensive fashion. Nevertheless, these are the problems which have most insistently claimed the attention of this president: How to preserve capitalism, but also to control destructive capacity of the unemployment and the crisis of consumption.

And certainly today's president would be asking the following questions:

1) What criteria should be applied when one is judging the economic efficiency of various budgets polices?

2) What are the responses of the private sector to various fiscal measures, such as tax and expenditure changes?

3) What are the social, political, and historical forces that have formed the shape of present fiscal institutions and which determine the formulation of contemporary fiscal policy?

Question one requires setting standards of “good” performance. Corresponding to the analysis of efficient behavior of households and firms in the private sector, this calls for a type of economics, which, in professional jargon, is referred to as “welfare economics” or “normative economics”.

Question two must be asked if the outcome of alternative policies is to be traced. Analyzing the effects of fiscal measures thus involves what has been referred to as “positive” economics (i.e, how firms and consumers will respond to economic changes and testing such predictions empirically).

Question three likewise involves a “positive” approach, asking why the fiscal behavior of governments is what it is. This not only is a matter of economics but also includes a wide range of historical, political, and social factors. How do interest groups try to affect the fiscal policies, and how do legislators respond to pressure? How are the fiscal preferences of voters determined by their income and social and demographic characteristics, and how does the political process, in fact, serve to reflect their preferences?

The concerns of Robert F. Kennedy included racial injustice and improving the condition of workers. The slums or the inner city and the sub-employment rate (an average of 35 percent) and the possibilities of a self-government because democracy, in any active sense, begins and ends in communities small enough for their members to meet face to face.

The alliance for progress or vast cooperative effort, unparalleled in magnitude and nobility of purpose, to satisfy the basic needs of the American people for homes, work, health and schools; a plan to transform the 1960s into a historic decade of democratic progress.

At that time there were problem with China and nuclear weapons and today Iran and North Korea are the problems.

South Vietnam and another kind of war-new in its intensity, ancient in its origin-war by guerrillas, subversives, insurgents, assassins, war by ambush instead of by combat; by infiltration instead of aggression, seeking victory by eroding and exhausting the enemy instead of engaging him. A lesson, which carries with it some basic truths, said Kennedy.

First, that a total military victory is not within sight or around the corner.

Second, that the pursuit of such a victory us not necessary to our national interest and is even damaging that interest.

Third, that the progress we have claimed toward increasing our control over the country and the security of the population is largely illusory.

Fourth, that the central battle in this war cannot be measured by body counts or bomb damage, but by the extent to which the people of South Vietnam act on a sense of common purpose and hope with those that govern them.

Fifth, that the current regime in Saigon is unwilling or incapable of being an effective ally in the war against the Communists.

Sixth, that a political compromise is not just the best path to peace, but the only path, and we must show as much willingness to risk some of our prestige for peace as to risk the lives of young men in war. And also that the best way to save our most precious stake in Vietnam -- the lives of our soldiers -- is to stop the enlargement of the war, and that the best way to end casualties is to end the war.

Although the war in Vietnam was different from today in Iraq and Afghanistan, lessons are the same and this similar problems has to be resolved by the two politicians: Kennedy and Obama.

Are You a Citizen Reporter?

Are You a Citizen Reporter?
Some writing tips from a fellow citizen reporter.
Alfredo Ascanio (askain)
Published 2009-07-03 04:23 (KST)

Why learn to write? That sounds like a foolish question, but before passing it by too lightly, think it over. It does not mean penmanship, nor does it mean simply the casting of words, phrases, and sentences into paragraphs.

But it does mean this: Can you write effectively? Can you influence another person through writing or speaking?

In whatever line of work you engage, you may have the best ideas in the world, but if you cannot express them so that people will understand and be influenced by them, you will probably not accomplish much.

The average person believes that writing for publication is a mysterious sort of thing. People are born writers, it is said. But like almost any other line of work, much can be learned. Some individuals show more aptitude for it than others, but nearly everyone with a working knowledge of English can accomplish something. And there are few lines of work in which effort properly applied will show such quick and tangible results.

This article deals with the magazine article. Most important of all, this article aims to show you how to dig down to the bottom of a subject, assimilate large amounts of material quickly and readily, and hand the material over to the reader in an interesting form.

It will show you how to secure crisp, well-defined ideas and how to keep your writing from becoming commonplace. You will learn how to write interestingly. These things will be invaluable to you, no matter what line of work you may later take up.

The Idea

Newspaper reporters often gravitate into the business of writing for magazines because they have this sense of knowing what will make a good story. In newspaper work, this is known as a “nose for news” or news sense. In magazine writing, as you will learn later, this same sense exists, but in a much broader way.

Editors decline essays, articles, and papers submitted to them because they do not mean anything to the great mass of the people in the country today.

What interests people? To insure acceptance, a manuscript must fit a particular magazine or newspaper; that is, it must some appeal to that publication’s readers. So we are going to simplify this matter by dividing articles into four main types:

1. Articles that deal with subjects that are unique, new, out of the ordinary.
2. Articles the primary purpose of which is to impart useful knowledge.
3. Articles concerning or written by interesting personalities.
4. Articles that succeed not so much because of subject matter but because of writing style.

Whether in writing, it is the idea that counts. This article deals with the rather simple matter of writing articles. But before we get through, we are going to learn, rather definitely, just how to discover an idea for an article. Then we shall learn how to develop it, and finally how to inveigle some unsuspecting editor into sending us a good congratulation.

The “nose for news or article” is the first requisite of a good newspaper reporter and is the first requisite of the reporter writer. There is an often used example of the fact that a dog biting a man would not be news, but a man biting a dog would make a first-rate item for a daily newspaper.

The articles that are easiest to sell are those that “feature” something or somebody, or aid in accomplishing something. The article, which deals with abstract ideas, usually falls down because it lacks “backbone”.

The first task of any writer is to secure the reader’s attention. His second task is to hold that interest throughout the article. And, very important, the writer must remember that the same things that catch the reader’s attention when he opens a newspaper are naturally those things that catch the editor’s attention when he sifts a manuscript out of the morning mail.

There are four ways by which this reader attention is secured: (1) By the title of the article; (2) By the photographs accompanying it; (3) By the name of the author; (4) By the beginning of the article, or the lead, as it is called.

If the attention is not secured, all is lost. And the article has failed in its purpose. Keep in mind the reader.

Shorter Paragraphs and Vigor

The tendency today is toward shorter paragraphs. Some well-known editorial writers and others go so far as to make practically every sentence a paragraph. The main thing to remember is that paragraphs should not be drawn out to too great length. Break them up.

Writing today is much more vigorous than the writing of a few generations ago.
If you have anything to say, say it without fear or apology or imitation of fine writing. And as far as possible, use the active rather than the passive voice. This will insure greater vigor and choice of proper words.

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DOS ONG acusan al gobierno venezolano

"En Venezuela se criminaliza el trabajo de los cooperantes"
Dos ONG acusan al Gobierno de Chávez de hostigamiento y amenazas, y denuncian una constante vigilancia

VERÓNICA CALDERÓN
Madrid

Feliciano Reyna es presidente de Sinergia, una ONG venezolana fundada en 1996 especializada en salud, educación y defensa de los derechos humanos. Entre otras actividades, su organización atiende a enfermos de sida. Afirma que atiende a unos 35 ó 40 infectados al día. "Tenemos mucho trabajo en la ONG, pero pasamos la mayor parte del tiempo defendiéndola", comenta. Reyna se refiere a las amenazas y el hostigamiento del Gobierno del presidente venezolano, Hugo Chávez, hacia las ONG. "Descalifican al mensajero, pero no atienden al mensaje", explica.

"En Venezuela se criminaliza el trabajo de los cooperantes", comenta Liliana Ortega, directora de la ONG Cofavic (Comité de Familiares de las Víctimas). Su organización, según apunta su web (www.cofavic.org.ve), se dedica a la protección de los derechos humanos y ofrece asesoría jurídica.

Su página también aclara que la organización es "independiente de toda doctrina o institución partidista y religiosa". Mas su argumento no le exime del proyecto de ley sobre cooperación internacional que prepara el Gobierno venezolano. La nueva legislación pide a los activistas revelar los detalles de sus investigaciones "a cualquier ciudadano" y les exige que sus programas se ajusten a los de los proyectos gubernamentales. "Se trata de una desarticulación de la labor de las organizaciones", afirma.

Las reyertas entre Hugo Chávez y las ONG que operan en su país no son nuevas ni poco frecuentes. En septiembre de 2008, el director para América de Human Rights Watch, José Miguel Vivanco, fue expulsado del país tras difundir un informe crítico sobre las libertades públicas en Venezuela. El canciller venezolano, Nicolás Maduro, advirtió entonces de que "todo aquel que pretenda inmiscuirse en los asuntos internos venezolanos recibirá el mismo trato que Vivanco".

Vigilancia a los activistas

La nueva ley no obliga a las ONG a dejar el país, pero sí vigila sus programas y actividades dentro del país. Amnistía Internacional ha advertido de que la legislación "obstaculizaría" la labor de los activistas y ha señalado que "no explica claramente los criterios" bajo los que operarían, decisión que queda en manos del presidente venezolano, responsable de emitir la normativa al respecto.

Ortega afirma que el decreto pone en riesgo la labor que su ONG ha efectuado hasta ahora. "Cercena el trabajo de las organizaciones y desmantela muchos de los logros que hemos obtenido hasta el momento". Y entre si son peras o son manzanas, afirma que la situación no admite más espera. "Si hay algo que une a los venezolanos es la preocupación por la violencia", comenta. Una encuesta realizada por el Instituto Venezolano de Análisis de Datos difundida el año pasado señala que el 77% de la población de Venezuela señala a la inseguridad como el principal problema del país.

Los datos están de su lado. Caracas es la capital mundial del asesinato, según señala Foreign Policy, con una tasa de 130 homicidios por cada 100.000 habitantes. Venezuela ocupa el primer lugar del continente. En 2008, se cometieron unos 52 asesinatos por cada 100.000 habitantes. Una cifra considerablemente mayor que los 35 de Colombia, los 20 de Brasil y los 17 de México. En Venezuela, un país de 26 millones de habitantes, unas 14.000 personas murieron asesinadas en 2008. La sangrienta lucha contra el narcotráfico en México, un país con 111 millones de ciudadanos, se cobró unas 6.500 vidas el año pasado.

Escalada de la violencia

En Venezuela, la violencia se ha agudizado en los últimos 10 años. En 1999, cuando Chávez asumió el poder, la cifra era de 5.974 muertos.

Cofavic realiza investigaciones sobre los crímenes, pero Ortega explica que "las posibilidades para investigar de manera independiente son muy pequeñas. Las víctimas y los activistas sufren acoso y hostigamiento, además de impunidad". Ortega subraya que sólo un 2% de las denuncias llega a juicio y de éstos, sólo un 1% recibe una condena. Reyna agrega que las cárceles venezolanas atraviesan una situación aún más apremiante. Cita las cifras que reflejan la inseguridad en las prisiones venezolanas. Un informe del Observatorio Venezolano de Prisiones señala que un 2% de los reos del país muere asesinado.

En Brasil, Argentina, México y Colombia, la tasa no supera el 0,1%. Las cifras oficiales, además, no incluyen los asesinatos cometidos en los penales. "Pasamos discutiendo sobre la legalidad de nuestro trabajo, cuando la mayor discusión debe ser los problemas que sufrimos todos los venezolanos", concluye.

Fuente : El País, España