>From an editorial:
2002 ... the year that has only 363 days! VHeadline.com editorial commentary © by Charles Hardy
VHeadline.com : Thursday, September 19 (... or 17?), 2002 -- Dear Reader: If you live outside of Venezuela, I desperately need your help ... I don t know what the date is today! You may think this is a joke, but it is really a very serious matter. Let me explain.
For the past few days, I have been watching news programs on the TV ... something I don't do regularly. Over and over I've seen a scene of a few men (government supporters) firing handguns from the Puente Llaguno in Caracas on April 11.
(For some reason there aren't any pictures of snipers firing from surrounding buildings or of the Metropolitan Police using their more powerful weapons.)
This is not like the subliminal advertising that was used briefly some years ago to make a person hungry or thirsty while watching a movie or some other program on TV. No, there's nothing subliminal about this at all.
It's just repetition, repetition and more repetition of the same scene.
Now, here's my problem. In my memory, on April 12, a Mr. Carmona Estanga said he was President of Venezuela.
Then he eliminated the Constitution, disbanded the Congress and the Supreme Tribunal of Justice and even changed the name of the country.
Those were pretty powerful shots also ... and, as all of this was being announced, there was a room full of well-dressed people cheering every word that was said.
I also remember pictures of police rounding-up political opponents of Mr. Carmona. Then, there were the scenes of the members of the civil society destroying cars in front of the Cuban embassy and cutting off electricity and water because they thought President Chavez Frias might be inside.
But, now I think I may have imagined all these things ... I see nothing about them on television. I went looking for copies of El Nacional and El Universal for April 13 ... but people tell me they are hard to find and that for April 14 there are none.
This makes me suspect that maybe there was no news on the 12th and 13th ... that maybe those days didn't exist?
As a result, I think I am writing this on September 19. But if there was no April 12 or April 13 this year then today might be the September 16 or September 17.
So, please, dear reader ... if you live outside of Venezuela, could you please let me know what date it is where you live?
Also, did you hear something about a coup here in April?
Because, according to the commercial mass media here in Venezuela, nothing happened on April 12 and 13.
Apparently those days never existed.
Many thanks for your help,
Charlie
A native of Cheyenne, Wyoming (USA), VHeadline.com columnist Charles Hardy has many years experience
as an international correspondent in Venezuela. You may email him at: hardyce at hotmail.com