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Forum Post: "Issues That Obama and Romney Avoid", by Noam Chomsky

Posted 11 years ago on Oct. 7, 2012, 1:23 p.m. EST by shadz66 (19985)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement

"Issues That Obama and Romney Avoid"

by Noam Chomsky.

With the quadrennial presidential election extravaganza reaching its peak, it’s useful to ask how the political campaigns are dealing with the most crucial issues we face. The simple answer is: badly, or not at all. If so, some important questions arise: why, and what can we do about it?

There are two issues of overwhelming significance, because the fate of the species is at stake: environmental disaster, and nuclear war.

The former is regularly on the front pages. On Sept. 19, for example, Justin Gillis reported in The New York Times that the melting of Arctic sea ice had ended for the year, “but not before demolishing the previous record – and setting off new warnings about the rapid pace of change in the region.”

The melting is much faster than predicted by sophisticated computer models and the most recent U.N. report on global warming. New data indicate that summer ice might be gone by 2020, with severe consequences. Previous estimates had summer ice disappearing by 2050.

“But governments have not responded to the change with any greater urgency about limiting greenhouse emissions,” Gillis writes. “To the contrary, their main response has been to plan for exploitation of newly accessible minerals in the Arctic, including drilling for more oil” – that is, to accelerate the catastrophe.

This reaction demonstrates an extraordinary willingness to sacrifice the lives of our children and grandchildren for short-term gain. Or, perhaps, an equally remarkable willingness to shut our eyes so as not to see the impending peril.

That’s hardly all. A new study from the Climate Vulnerability Monitor has found that “climate change caused by global warming is slowing down world economic output by 1.6 percent a year and will lead to a doubling of costs in the next two decades.” The study was widely reported elsewhere but Americans have been spared the disturbing news.

The official Democratic and Republican platforms on climate matters are reviewed in Science magazine’s Sept. 14 issue. In a rare instance of bipartisanship, both parties demand that we make the problem worse.

In 2008, both party platforms had devoted some attention to how the government should address climate change. Today, the issue has almost disappeared from the Republican platform – which does, however, demand that Congress “take quick action” to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency, established by former Republican President Richard Nixon in saner days, from regulating greenhouse gases. And we must open Alaska’s Arctic refuge to drilling to take “advantage of all our American God-given resources.” We cannot disobey the Lord, after all.

The platform also states that “We must restore scientific integrity to our public research institutions and remove political incentives from publicly funded research” – code words for climate science.

The Republican candidate Mitt Romney, seeking to escape from the stigma of what he understood a few years ago about climate change, has declared that there is no scientific consensus, so we should support more debate and investigation – but not action, except to make the problems more serious.

The Democrats mention in their platform that there is a problem, and recommend that we should work “toward an agreement to set emissions limits in unison with other emerging powers.” But that’s about it.

President Barack Obama has emphasized that we must gain 100 years of energy independence by exploiting fracking and other new technologies – without asking what the world would look like after a century of such practices.

So there are differences between the parties: about how enthusiastically the lemmings should march toward the cliff.

The second major issue, nuclear war, is also on the front pages every day, but in a way that would astound a Martian observing the strange doings on Earth.

The current threat is again in the Middle East, specifically Iran – at least according to the West, that is. In the Middle East, the U.S. and Israel are considered much greater threats.

Unlike Iran, Israel refuses to allow inspections or to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. It has hundreds of nuclear weapons and advanced delivery systems, and a long record of violence, aggression and lawlessness, thanks to unremitting American support. Whether Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons, U.S. intelligence doesn’t know.

In its latest report, the International Atomic Energy Agency says that it cannot demonstrate “the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran” – a roundabout way of condemning Iran, as the U.S. demands, while conceding that the agency can add nothing to the conclusions of U.S. intelligence.

Therefore Iran must be denied the right to enrich uranium that is guaranteed by the NPT and endorsed by most of the world, including the nonaligned countries that have just met in Tehran.

The possibility that Iran might develop nuclear weapons arises in the electoral campaign. (The fact that Israel already has them does not.) Two positions are counterposed: Should the U.S. declare that it will attack if Iran reaches the capability to develop nuclear weapons, which dozens of countries enjoy? Or should Washington keep the “red line” more indefinite?

The latter position is that of the White House; the former is demanded by Israeli hawks – and accepted by the U.S. Congress. The Senate just voted 90-1 to support the Israeli position.

Missing from the debate is the obvious way to mitigate or end whatever threat Iran might be believed to pose: Establish a nuclear weapons-free zone in the region. The opportunity is readily available: An international conference is to convene in a few months to pursue this objective, supported by almost the entire world, including a majority of Israelis.

The government of Israel, however, has announced that it will not participate until there is a general peace agreement in the region, which is unattainable as long as Israel persists in its illegal activities in the occupied Palestinian territories. Washington keeps to the same position, and insists that Israel must be excluded from any such regional agreement.

We could be moving toward a devastating war, possibly even nuclear. Straightforward ways exist to overcome this threat, but they will not be taken unless there is large-scale public activism demanding that the opportunity be pursued. This in turn is highly unlikely as long as these matters remain off the agenda, not just in the electoral circus, but in the media and larger national debate.

Elections are run by the public relations industry. Its primary task is commercial advertising, which is designed to undermine markets by creating uninformed consumers who will make irrational choices – the exact opposite of how markets are supposed to work, but certainly familiar to anyone who has watched television.

It’s only natural that when enlisted to run elections, the industry would adopt the same procedures in the interests of the paymasters, who certainly don’t want to see informed citizens making rational choices.

The victims, however, do not have to obey, in either case. Passivity may be the easy course, but it is hardly the honorable one.

~

veritas vos liberabit ...

~

Noam Chomsky is emeritus professor of linguistics and philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass.

© 2012 Noam Chomsky

[Article copied verbatim under 'Fair Use' from : http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article32667.htm ]

66 Comments

66 Comments


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[-] 4 points by beautifulworld (23769) 11 years ago

Preventing a possible war in Iran is of the utmost importance. I will never understand how one sovereign nation has any right to tell another sovereign nation what weapons they should have, especially when the one having the hissy fit is the only nation that's ever dropped a nuclear bomb.

[-] 4 points by Marlow (1141) 11 years ago

You make the best arguement of why the US needs to open minds.. a Woman President. Many Wars.. nearly All the Skirmishes, could have been avoided if the 'Boys' werent so into their Wars and War Toys. .. When you go to war, you admit you havnt the Intelligence to avoid it. .. However, there are some leaders that are insane from power.. and those should just be taken out. That's not cold, it's more humane than War.

.. Women are not inclined to violence. It would be THE Most Historically Interesting Life in the USA.. A woman in the White House, what a concept for Real Change.

[-] 4 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Good comment.

A shift in paradigm - wealth in exporting peace and health - a new direction for industry - as well as for government - a shift that will need to be made from the ground on up - by the PEOPLE.

[-] 3 points by beautifulworld (23769) 11 years ago

Interesting thought, Marlow. I think women are great, of course, but plenty of men are against war too, don't you think?

[-] 3 points by Marlow (1141) 11 years ago

yes... but they have had MORE than their fair share of chances to never begin, or to stop them.

TY too.. M.

[-] 4 points by beautifulworld (23769) 11 years ago

I dunno. Hilary comes to mind. Condoleeza Rice. They had their chances. Women are great though, I agree, ;).

[-] 2 points by Renneye (3874) 11 years ago

Yes, that would be great, if it were a normal woman...like perhaps one of the terrific women on this forum! ^.~

I don't know...the women who have risen to the 'highest' positions of power today are kinda spooky. Hillary, Janet Napolitano, Pelosi, Angela Merkel. Yeesh! I had high hopes with Benazir Bhutto, but look what happened to her. I think that by the time any politician...man or woman, gets high enough in the 'order' of politics, they have had to sell out so badly, and are so compromised...there is no hope of them being 'free' enough to work for 'the people', not that I think they have any inclination to help 'the people' by then anyway. Therefor, a governing by 'the people' may be the only hope we have of genuine fairness. It is bewildering to me how we have so many powerful men and women in government, and they all seem to continually lead us from one crisis to the next...so one has to consider their motives suspect.

Hillary is a particular brand of freakishness. Do you remember her cackling comment when they got Bin Laden? "We came, we saw, he died". That's pretty weird, when seriousness should have been called for. There's another witchy comment from her in the link below...laughing about how a false flag attack on the US would expedite things. She's freakin' bonkers, if you ask me. It wouldn't surprise me at all, if that power hungry windbag of witchiness were to run for prez in 2016. Comments of her running are plentiful. Frankly...I think Hillary would give her left testicle to be president.

That being said, there are many beautiful, peaceful men who would make wonderful leaders around the globe. Stephen Lewis and Paul Hawken come to my mind initially...but there are many others. Ultimately though...I don't think that anyone understands our lives better than 'we the people'...and we should govern ourselves.

I have strong political beliefs, but I rarely talk politics on this forum, because, for a long time I didn't/don't think OWS was the place for that. That is difficult to do when one is speaking about freedom and peace...in that, given our current system, they are intertwined. On a rare openness to my personal political beliefs...I will say that libertarian socialism comes as close to my dream as possible...with the one stipulation that it is governed by 'we the people'. If we are not at the helm, it will be hijacked in short order. That is the nature of leaders who feign sincerity of working for the people. "They' are psycopaths with a penchant toward sanguinolency...and should be nowhere near anything that can control our lives. Lets govern ourselves in the fairest way possible.

http://geraldcelentechannel.blogspot.ca/2012/10/hillary-clinton-calls-for-false-flag.html

[-] 3 points by Marlow (1141) 11 years ago

Many people say freaky things.. Hillary especially, when she's over tired. To me, it's part of her charm.. Other than that #ows is all about Politics.. because everything in this Country that has been ruined, is born of something political..

I agree w/ DKA,, good reply you posted here..Thoughtful and articulate. TY.

Sorry to be so late in responding, but i have an unusual schedule. ..M.

[-] 2 points by Renneye (3874) 11 years ago

Agreed 'bw'! I envision our new humane "people's society" to have an outright 'total international ban' on weapons manufacturing. Not only getting weapons out of the hands of citizens...but arguably, and even more so, to get them out of the hands of governments. Weapons should not exist, period. The manufacturing of them should be illegal.

Naive? Perhaps, but I envision a world with no weapons...of any kind. I can dream, can't I?

[-] 4 points by beautifulworld (23769) 11 years ago

Not naive at all. Quite sensible, actually. And, when we can no longer dream, we're pretty much finished, right?

[-] 1 points by engineer4 (331) 11 years ago

BW. I believe that yes, the world does have a right to restrict weaponry (especially nuclear) in unstable countries that display clear inability to secure it, let alone be tempted to actually use it. Isreal uses that capability as a deterence, where iran would use it as an agressor. Also, (if you are) do not condem the US for dropping the two a-bombs in ww2. To end that war, it was either that or continue burning the island to a cinder with napalm fire bombing, which did more than the two bombs did.

[-] 1 points by cJessgo (729) from Port Jervis, PA 11 years ago

2 wrongs don't make it right.

[+] -6 points by shadz66 (19985) 11 years ago

"Elections are run by the public relations industry. Its primary task is commercial advertising, which is designed to undermine markets by creating uninformed consumers who will make irrational choices – the exact opposite of how markets are supposed to work, but certainly familiar to anyone who has watched television."- & please excuse the quote from Chomsky above article and also, the gratuitous 'self-bump' :-)

fiat lux ...

[-] 3 points by beautifulworld (23769) 11 years ago

The election is just days away now, so good timing, n'est ce pas?

[+] -6 points by shadz66 (19985) 11 years ago

"Euphemisms Away ! A World in Which Truth is a Dying Species", by Gaither Stewart :

"Hidden away somewhere within the labyrinth of the Pentagon there must be a top secret euphemism department engaged in the invention of the Orwellian surrogate words that have crept surreptitiously into the American English vocabulary and from there translated into many other languages. In my mind I see a unit of studiously serious executives, coffee mugs in their hands and their neckties awry, devising senseless terms for terrible things and used unthinkingly by people today from New York to California, from Maine to Texas. The goal of my imaginary secret unit is to render ugly terms meaningless or to transform them into their opposite. To quote the perceptive Scottish writer, Candia McWilliam, 'plain words are always under threat.' There are words that don’t say what they mean and there are words that say what they don’t mean.

Et encore 'bw', mes mercis.

e tenebris, lux ...

[-] 1 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Wouldn't it be wonderful if the energy and drive used in campaigning for election actually went into the daily running of government? Looking at and speaking out on issues and getting people involved and doing the right thing.

Sorry must have been dreaming.

[+] -6 points by shadz66 (19985) 11 years ago

May Powers of The Universe Bless The Dreamers & re. The Occupy Movement, for you and others :

A feature length documentary on the Occupy movement, this film not only offers answers for those who continue to ask : “what does the occupy movement stand for ? What are our demands ?” - it offers a challenge and an invitation to engage with the movement.

per aspera ad astra ...

[-] 2 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Well that is too bad - the documentary has been removed. I wanted to watch and then forward it.

[+] -5 points by shadz66 (19985) 11 years ago

I just watched it on RT on UK Freeview, Ch. 85 & I'll get on with looking for another link asap.

spero ...

[-] 2 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Please - I so wanted to watch and get and then forward some good food for thought - all of this election crap and the storm damage idiots who want to throw a party are really a pain in the ass - would like to see something of value this morning to share.

Thanks for your efforts shadz

[+] -5 points by shadz66 (19985) 11 years ago

Alternate link : http://vimeo.com/47690515 & here's hoping !!

spero meliora ...

[-] 1 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Awesome - thanks - it is working - just starting it now = http://vimeo.com/47690515

[-] 1 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

shadz - I had to reply here - something goofy with the reply button on your last comment - it bootes me to the top of the post instead of opening the comment box.

Anyway I have seen this video - and it is worth watching again and again.

I will be tweeting it again as well. http://vimeo.com/47690515

[+] -5 points by shadz66 (19985) 11 years ago

The Real Struggle Starts on 7th November !!!

Thanx for sharing & also see shorter video above.

fiat lux ...

[-] 1 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Keep-on Keeping-on.

This is a world wide struggle for survival.

[-] 1 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Distraction of the election will be past and we can more vigorously push the issues.

[+] -5 points by shadz66 (19985) 11 years ago

Whichever candidate gets the most votes - its The Money that wins !!!

Solidarity with an eYe to 2016 !!

Onwards and upwards !

dum spiro, spero ...

[-] -3 points by shadz66 (19985) 11 years ago

A very heart centred (& shorter, lol) video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxHG3jUqdQ0 ~*~

pax ...

[-] 1 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

With all of the good material you share I have actually already seen this one from you - I know - I know - hard to believe ( perhaps not so much as you keep good stuff in circulation ) Like I said before it is worth more then one viewing. {:-]) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxHG3jUqdQ0

[-] 2 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

I hope a proper place for this item:

On October 13th, just weeks before the 2012 election, thousands of real, non-corporate People will gather at Ocean Bean in San Francisco to spell out "DUMP CITIZENS UNITED" with their bodies, making 100-foot-tall letters visible from the air. And we want you to help promote that by clicking "LIKE" and "SHARE" on the following Facebook image right NOW:

And if you are going to be in the San Francisco area, or know someone who is, please check out HumanBannerSF.com for yourself.

Thank you for all you do to make this movement real.

Sincerely,

Andy Menconi, The Other 98%

[+] -6 points by shadz66 (19985) 11 years ago

Solidarity SF !!! W0W !! Very nice, inspiring, smile inducing & also moving for me because the date Oct.13 is a special day in my life, so thanx for the very karmic 'proper placement' here !

Corporations are NOT 'people' per se even if they are comprised of individuals humans - Corporations are a Self-Generating Monstrous Memes, which have metastasised all over the planet. For anyone who still hasn't already, please see :

I think that this documentary film is as essential viewing as 'Inside Job' for all those with any questions about what 'OWS' is really all about.

pax, amor et lux ...

[-] 2 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

Thank you - I had not expected to hit such a chord but am glad I did. Thanks for all that you do shadz.

[-] 2 points by Middleaged (5140) 11 years ago

One of the first action should be to dismiss the US Senate for the Next 2 years to prevent Useless, Costly, Human Misery of War.

"The Senate just voted 90-1 to support the Israeli position."

So we need a National Referendum to Suspend the US Senate and Censure the US Senate Vote above. I think that means we would need a General Election to pass such a Vote. Obviously we would have to Petition to get a General Election to take this action against the US Senate.

1) Libertarians should support this.
2) Tea Party should supprt this.
3) OWS should support this.
4) Socialist, Anti-war, Anti-nuc, Anti-Empire, Anti Military Expansion, and all Human Rights organizations, The Legue of Women Voters, The Green Party, Hollywood, New York City, NAACP, Green Peace, and the Sierra Club should all Support this.
5) NATO should support this.
6) The UN Should support this.
7) The EU should suppor this.

So Pass the Word????

[-] 2 points by gsw (3407) from Woodbridge Township, NJ 11 years ago
[-] 1 points by Middleaged (5140) 11 years ago

Thanks. Maybe I'm naive. Maybe the US has to double federal government in size to match China. Having a large and active Military is one way, and veterans can then be recruited to work in other parts of the federal government (loyal employees with military background). Maybe going to war and expanding the federal government is all just an attempt to match the kind of loyal government employee in China. Militarization as a strategy to create strong loyal generations to work for federal and state government jobs. More important as older government workers (baby boomers) reitre.

[+] -6 points by shadz66 (19985) 11 years ago

What you are describing here is a possible inexorable slide into Fascism. China has an ancient history of a cadre of meritocratic mandarins, responsive to & representative of - the wider population, mitigating against this - however The US does not have these deeper traditions and the 'checks & balances' in the US system have ossified the US Democracy. Covert and overt Fascism is the deep fear in this situation.

caveat ...

[-] 2 points by Middleaged (5140) 11 years ago

Yes. Seems like what we got. But citizens are afraid to use the word fascist. And perhaps never would because our citizens are so loyal and naive. Even if we had goose stepping soldiers citizens would not see fascism. That is why I just call it Socialism, the growth of government and military causing dependence of its citizens. No one is willing to see the power of corporations, so we just ignore it.

I am afraid you are right we don't really have the deeper traditions of rule following with expections of integrity. At some points we expect to see corruption and see things go off track and even see ourselves as either unable to stop it or else being part of the corruption. <very sad>

But in general the military tries to teach these things. Could be our universities turn out straighter arrows with better brains to lead though.

[+] -6 points by shadz66 (19985) 11 years ago

"Fascism Anyone ?", by Laurence W. Britt :

"Fascism’s principles are wafting in the air today, surreptitiously masquerading as something else, challenging everything we stand for."

respice, adspice, prospice ...

[Removed]

[+] -6 points by shadz66 (19985) 11 years ago

Re. "the fossil fuel industry" : "The True Cost of Oil/Tar Sands", by Garth Lenz @ TEDxVictoria :

"What does environmental devastation actually look like? At TEDxVictoria, photographer Garth Lenz shares shocking photos of the Alberta Tar Sands mining project -- and the beautiful (and vital) ecosystems under threat.

"For almost twenty years, Garth's photography of threatened wilderness regions, devastation, and the impacts on indigenous peoples, has appeared in the world's leading publications. His recent images from the boreal region of Canada have helped lead to significant victories and large new protected areas in the Northwest Territories, Quebec, and Ontario. Garth's major touring exhibit on the Tar Sands premiered on Los Angeles in 2011 and recently appeared in New York. Garth is a Fellow of the International League Of Conservation Photographers."

quis custodiet ipsos custodes ?

[Removed]

[Removed]

[+] -6 points by shadz66 (19985) 11 years ago

The 2C target is untenable. I agree with the comment. Thanx for the link to a very interesting site.

multum in parvo ...

[+] -8 points by yobstreet (-575) 11 years ago

There are so many new avenues of history and science to explore... why is this guy wasting his time on national politics?

[-] 4 points by MattLHolck (16833) from San Diego, CA 11 years ago

divide and concur

[+] -6 points by shadz66 (19985) 11 years ago

"divide and concur" - very good Matt :-) & further :

divide et impera ...

[-] -1 points by shadz66 (19985) 11 years ago

So that he can annoy the likes of Right-Wing(nuts) - like you ?!

verum ex absurdo ...

[+] -8 points by yobstreet (-575) 11 years ago

I'm actually a left wingnut, with backwards threads... can you screw on that?

[-] 3 points by VQkag2 (16478) 11 years ago

You lie!

[Removed]

[-] 1 points by VQkag2 (16478) 11 years ago

Who does he think he is kiddin'?

Whatta joke!

[-] -2 points by yobstreet (-575) 11 years ago

I'm not here to kid... I'm here to present you to the world. :)

And I've been relatively successful.

[-] 1 points by VQkag2 (16478) 11 years ago

Good luck in all your good efforts.

LMFAO!!!

[-] -2 points by yobstreet (-575) 11 years ago

Thank you for your support.

[-] 2 points by VQkag2 (16478) 11 years ago

If you say so Yoby.

[+] -7 points by shadz66 (19985) 11 years ago

I take it you that you know that a 'Yob / Yobo' = 'Thug, Lout, Hooligan, Delinquent' - in The UK, lol !!

minima maxima sunt ...

[-] -1 points by yobstreet (-575) 11 years ago

Something like that, yea.

[-] -1 points by shadz66 (19985) 11 years ago

You've only been "relatively successful" in proving that you're an (x) !!!

nosce te ipsum ...

[-] -3 points by shadz66 (19985) 11 years ago

Venezuela Result = Chavez, 54% ; Capriles, 44% on a Turnout of 80.4% !!!

So 'Mr. Lefty', I suppose that you are rejoicing !!

iTodo Para Todos! Viva El 99 % !

at spes non fracta ...

[-] 0 points by Builder (4202) 11 years ago

That's excellent news. Thanks.

[+] -5 points by shadz66 (19985) 11 years ago

Yes 'B' :-) Very Good News for pro-99%er Bolivarians Everywhere !!!

Together We Are Stronger !!

Viva El Socialismo !

pax, amor et lux ...

[+] -4 points by Clicheisking (-210) 11 years ago

Outstanding! Señor Chavez WILL show us the way!

[-] -3 points by shadz66 (19985) 11 years ago

Chavez has had a generational effect on The Venezuelan 99%. He will pass on politically and from this world in due course but his very real compassion and help for those who need it most is unquestioned. Venezuela's US enamoured 1% & 0.01% Oligarchs, will squeal like pigs whose noses have been forced from the trough but the proceeds of Venezuela's vast natural resources will go towards the uplift and betterment of the whole country, where real democratic advances have been made.

That is a "way" that will benefit the majority of the people in Venezuela and indeed the region at large and for this reason Chavez will continued to be vilified by the wholly owned Corporate MSM and US Govt. and 'Kool Aid' overdosed 'numpties' like you.

& http://www.landdestroyer.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/us-prepares-for-overthrow-of-venezuela.html?m=1 !!!

temet nosce ...

[-] 2 points by Ache4Change (3340) 11 years ago

Hugo Chavez loves Venezuela & almost all its people and he is going to leave a social movement for the best interests and of the the majority of the people that country. Our 'rulers'hate him for it! Most of the nearly 20% who did not vote, would have done if they understood the issues and got it together to vote for their own benefit! Just like in here in the US! Voting is all we have got so we have to use it or lose it.

[+] -6 points by shadz66 (19985) 11 years ago

Thanx for your excellent points & see the link above. Also please see :

"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" (a.k.a. : 'Chavez - Inside the Coup'), is a 2002 documentary about the April 2002 Venezuelan coup d'etat attempt which briefly deposed Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. A television crew from Ireland’s Radio Telifís Éireann happened to be recording a documentary about Chávez during the events of April 11, 2002. Shifting focus, they then followed the events as they occurred. During their filming, the crew recorded close images of the events that they say contradict explanations given by Chávez opposition, the private media, the US State Department, and then White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer. The documentary ends saying that the coup was the result of a conspiracy between various old guard and anti-Chávez factions within Venezuela and the United States.

respice ; adspice ; prospice ...