Hugo Chavez Says U.S. Weapon Caused Haitian Earthquake

[REVLEFT'S BIEGGST MATSER TROL]

http://newsone.com/world/news-one-staff/hugo-chavez-says-u-s-weapon-caused-haitian-earthquake/

Anyone know if Chavez actually said this? Seems wacky to me.

[bajo.el.arco.del.sol]

Seems to have all come from the Spanish ABC - who are clearly anti-Chavez. First paragraph of their story? "The anti-American government of Venezuela, in its habitual paranoia against yankee imperialism, assures that the earthquake in Haiti is a clear result of an American Navy test, and underlines that an experimental U.S. earthquake devastated the Caribbean country".

The claim is debunked here - you can use google translate or babelfish or something to see it in english
elpolvorin.over-blog.es/article-terrorismo-mediatico-manipulan-declaraciones-de-chavez-sobre-terremoto-en-haiti-43406125.html


The gist of it is that ABC cites their source as an article on Vive TV, but the article in question is an anonymous editorial posted on the site by "patria grande" rather than a statement by Chavez. ABC carefully chooses their wording to imply rather than state outright that the Chavez said this, but it seems that everyone who picked up the story from them doesn't bother.

[Patchd]

Seems to have all come from the Spanish ABC - who are clearly anti-Chavez. First paragraph of their story? "The anti-American government of Venezuela, in its habitual paranoia against yankee imperialism, assures that the earthquake in Haiti is a clear result of an American Navy test, and underlines that an experimental U.S. earthquake devastated the Caribbean country".
Thanks for the clear up, but I was wondering where you got the link to Spain ABC from, I couldn't find one in that article.

[Robocommie]

Thanks for the clear up, but I was wondering where you got the link to Spain ABC from, I couldn't find one in that article.

After I first heard about this, I went looking for corroborating news articles. There are some, though not many from major news networks as far as I've seen, and the only citation seems to be Spain ABC.

[Kléber]

Now I see why the anarchists attacked ABC headquarters in 1936 :lol:

[FreeFocus]

While it does seem wacky, the US military is actively researching and pursuing the development of these types of weapons that cause storms and other natural calamities. It isn't that far-fetched (that a weapon like this is being researched), but this wasn't caused by a weapon, and it doesn't exist yet.

Moreover, Chavez didn't say this, he'd be getting ridiculed everywhere if he had.

[The Red Next Door]

I doubt he is that silly.

[Nolan]

So they get their stories from Glenn Beck?

[REVLEFT'S BIEGGST MATSER TROL]

Seems to have all come from the Spanish ABC - who are clearly anti-Chavez. First paragraph of their story? "The anti-American government of Venezuela, in its habitual paranoia against yankee imperialism, assures that the earthquake in Haiti is a clear result of an American Navy test, and underlines that an experimental U.S. earthquake devastated the Caribbean country".

The claim is debunked here - you can use google translate or babelfish or something to see it in english
elpolvorin.over-blog.es/article-terrorismo-mediatico-manipulan-declaraciones-de-chavez-sobre-terremoto-en-haiti-43406125.html


The gist of it is that ABC cites their source as an article on Vive TV, but the article in question is an anonymous editorial posted on the site by "patria grande" rather than a statement by Chavez. ABC carefully chooses their wording to imply rather than state outright that the Chavez said this, but it seems that everyone who picked up the story from them doesn't bother.

Thanks, I'm shocked that they've got away with such a blantant character assassination!

[Dimentio]

Thanks, I'm shocked that they've got away with such a blantant character assassination!

Anything is possible with Chavez. It is a way of psychologically prepare the ground for the need to remove him.

[Dimentio]

The next person who brings up HAARP, I will ban on the spot.

[Communist]

Good grief, I am certainly glad Chavez didn't say this.
Problem is, because of his verbal reputation (numerous questionable statements have come from Chavez), a lot of folks probably will believe this...
:rolleyes:

[Tatarin]

It's funny - people like Beck, O'Reilly and Kissinger can walk around and say anything they like without any consequence, but when Chavez says one word then suddenly he is mad?

[Sendo]

It's funny - people like Beck, O'Reilly and Kissinger can walk around and say anything they like without any consequence, but when Chavez says one word then suddenly he is mad?

Please, Beck makes O'Reilly look like Bill Buckley.

Anyway, Chavez may not the most verbally disciplined leftist, but hey, they're going to trash him anyway. I was a little worried at first, but glad to it's been debunked.

The goal of this lie is to make him seem like a conspiracy theorist and call into doubt his suspicions (or rather deductions) over US-Colombia military projects.

[the last donut of the night]

Please, Beck makes O'Reilly look like Bill Buckley.

Anyway, Chavez may not the most verbally disciplined leftist, but hey, they're going to trash him anyway. I was a little worried at first, but glad to it's been debunked.

The goal of this lie is to make him seem like a conspiracy theorist and call into doubt his suspicions (or rather deductions) over US-Colombia military projects.

Yes.

All anti-imperialists are conspiracy theorists! :laugh:

[LeninistKing]

How stalinist you are !! Why the fuck you wanna ban people. Isn't socialism supposed to be about freedom? Man give me 1000 Bush, over 1 stalinist fascist leftist

.


The next person who brings up HAARP, I will ban on the spot.

[Decommissioner]

Good grief, I am certainly glad Chavez didn't say this.
Problem is, because of his verbal reputation (numerous questionable statements have come from Chavez), a lot of folks probably will believe this...
:rolleyes:

And you are right, sadly lots of people DO believe this. I've heard this repeated at least once every day. No one ever contends it, they just assume it sounds just about right given the fact the quote comes from that crazy commie dictator.

[cyu]

The goal of this lie is to make him seem like a conspiracy theorist and call into doubt his suspicions (or rather deductions) over US-Colombia military projects.

Reminds me of this: excerpts from http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/01/15/sunstein/index.html

Sunstein is currently Obama's head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs where, among other things, he is responsible for "overseeing policies relating to privacy, information quality, and statistical programs." In 2008, while at Harvard Law School, Sunstein co-wrote a truly pernicious paper proposing that the U.S. Government employ teams of covert agents and pseudo-"independent" advocates to "cognitively infiltrate" online groups and websites -- as well as other activist groups -- which advocate views that Sunstein deems "false conspiracy theories" about the Government. This would be designed to increase citizens' faith in government officials and undermine the credibility of conspiracists.

He also proposes that the Government make secret payments to so-called "independent" credible voices to bolster the Government's messaging (on the ground that those who don't believe government sources will be more inclined to listen to those who appear independent while secretly acting on behalf of the Government).

there is a very strong case to make that what Sunstein is advocating is itself illegal under long-standing statutes prohibiting government "propaganda" within the U.S., aimed at American citizens

He acknowledges that some "conspiracy theories" previously dismissed as insane and fringe have turned out to be entirely true (his examples: the CIA really did secretly administer LSD in "mind control" experiments; the DOD really did plot the commission of terrorist acts inside the U.S. with the intent to blame Castro; the Nixon White House really did bug the DNC headquarters).

[Uppercut]

Actually, the USA has a weapon called "HAARP" (High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program) that can, infact, cause earthquakes. Some say that's what caused the one in China a few years back.

There's a couple videos that show a multicolored cloud in the sky about a half hour before the Chinese earthquake struck. I'm in school right now so I can't post a link to youtube. I know conspiracy theories sound "unbeleivable" and "irrational" but I wouldn't doubt the U.S. would pull something like this to get what they want.

From Wikipedia:

The HAARP project became the subject of controversy in the mid-1990s, following claims that the antennas could be used as a weapon. In August 2002, a critical mention of HAARP technology came from the State Duma (http://www.revleft.com/wiki/State_Duma) (parliament) of Russia. The Duma issued a press release on the HAARP written by the international affairs and defense committees, signed by 90 deputies and presented to then President Vladimir Putin (http://www.revleft.com/wiki/Vladimir_Putin). The statement claimed:
The U.S. is creating new integral geophysical weapons that may influence the near-Earth medium with high-frequency radio waves ... The significance of this qualitative leap could be compared to the transition from cold steel to firearms, or from conventional weapons to nuclear weapons. This new type of weapons differs from previous types in that the near-Earth medium becomes at once an object of direct influence and its component.[13] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#cite_note-12)

HAARP is the subject of numerous conspiracy theories (http://www.revleft.com/wiki/Conspiracy_theories), with individuals ascribing various hidden motives and capabilities to the project, among them; a powerful death beam, a source of alternative energy, a missile defense system, and a mind control weapon. Journalist Sharon Weinberger (http://www.revleft.com/wiki/Sharon_Weinberger) called HAARP "the Moby Dick (http://www.revleft.com/wiki/Moby_Dick) of conspiracy theories" and said the popularity of conspiracy theories often overshadows the benefits HAARP may provide to the scientific community.[14] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#cite_note-Wired-13)[15] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#cite_note-Nature-14)
Skeptic computer scientist David Naiditch called HAARP "a magnet for conspiracy theorists", saying the project has been blamed for triggering catastrophes such as floods, droughts, hurricanes, thunderstorms, and devastating earthquakes in Afghanistan (http://www.revleft.com/wiki/Afghanistan) and the Philippines (http://www.revleft.com/wiki/Philippines) aimed to "shake up" Muslim (http://www.revleft.com/wiki/Muslim) terrorists. Naiditch says HAARP has been blamed for diverse events including major power outages (http://www.revleft.com/wiki/Power_outage), the downing of TWA flight 800 (http://www.revleft.com/wiki/TWA_flight_800), Gulf War Syndrome (http://www.revleft.com/wiki/Gulf_War_Syndrome) and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (http://www.revleft.com/wiki/Chronic_Fatigue_Syndrome), as well as the Columbine High School shootings (http://www.revleft.com/wiki/Columbine_High_School_shootings). HAARP has also been variously described as a missile defense shield, a death ray, a machine that can interfere with the migratory paths of wild animals, a tool of the Antichrist (http://www.revleft.com/wiki/Antichrist), a worldwide communications jammer (http://www.revleft.com/wiki/Radio_jamming), an apparatus that can cause the Earth to spin out of control, and a system linked to UFO (http://www.revleft.com/wiki/UFO) activity. Conspiracy theorists have also suggested links between HAARP and the work of Nikola Tesla (http://www.revleft.com/wiki/Nikola_Tesla) and physicist Bernard Eastlund (http://www.revleft.com/wiki/Bernard_Eastlund). According to Naiditch, HAARP is an attractive target for conspiracy theorists because "its purpose seems deeply mysterious to the scientifically uninformed".[16] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#cite_note-Naiditch-15)
Some conspiracy websites and some Venezuelan (http://www.revleft.com/wiki/Venezuelan) and Russian (http://www.revleft.com/wiki/Russian) media have reportedly blamed HAARP as a cause of the 2010 Haiti earthquake (http://www.revleft.com/wiki/2010_Haiti_earthquake).[ (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#cite_note-ADN-16)

Do some research on the HAARP project and see what you can find. It can easily be used to create enviromental distasters and invoke intimidation.

[Dimentio]

If such a weapon indeed was feasible or has been constructed, its only conceivable usage could be world wars - because earthquakes are unforseeable. An earthquake in Haiti or China could create tension in the crust of Earth, later on creating earthquakes in other places not originally intended as targets, such as the San Andreas area...

[KurtFF8]

I know this post is a little old but this story has been debunked:


http://www.borev.net/2010/01/venezuela_rocked_by_72_magnitu_1.html

Venezuela Rocked By 7.2 Magnitude Rumor!

Hey here is something that only happens every other week or so! The news is reporting on something maddeningly crazy that Hugo Chavez has said, only when you conduct your own independent investigation involving sophisticated journalistic techniques (Google) you find out that it is all, in fact, complete bullshit. Here's how it worked this time, pretty much exactly like it works every other time:

1. Some Venezuelan blogger wrote a weird story about the U.S. causing the Haiti earthquake with some sort of earthquake weapon.

2. A website operated by a Venezuelan state TV channel included a link to the post in their roundup of Haiti coverage from all over the country.

3. Some right-wing newspaper in Spain published a story about the link, referring to it as a Venezuelan state "press release."

4. Fox News reports the Spanish story, saying the earthquake weapon claim comes from "Hugo Chavez' mouthpiece."

5. Randomly, Vladimir Putin's English language teevee channel Russia Today claims that Chavez himself made the statement. This video report is picked up all over the fucking place, Drudge sirens!!

6. Right wing news "analysts" opine about what level of threat this represents to the United States.

Bomb bomb bomb bomb bomb etc. etc. Repeat.

http://casa-del-duderino.blogspot.com/2010/01/omg-hugo-chavez-madness-takes-down.html

The other day, some of those ever so informed anonymous anti-Evo commentators pointed out the obvious idiocy of Bolivian VP Alvaro Linera's criticisms of the US response to the Haitian disaster. How could anyone question the good will of the United States towards Haiti? (please do not read this, that, or the other thing) To exemplify what a preposterous idiot Linera is the anonymous commentator pointed out that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez made the insane accusation that the Haitian earthquake was caused by a super-duped secret US weapon! And since we all know that Morales and Linera are puppets of Chavez, they are idiots by default.

Ok, this perplexed me a bit, since I had not heard Chavez say anything of the kind. So, I went to trusty Google expecting to prove this wingnut commentator wrong. But OMFG!!!, right there on Fox News:


The United States apparently possesses an "earthquake weapon" that set off the catastrophic quake in Haiti and killed 200,000 innocents. Don't believe it's true? Just ask Hugo Chavez.

Oh noes! Where did we go wrong? Chavez really is nutters! A wack-job conspiracy theorist! Those assholes were right all along. I guess this whole Boliviarian Revolution business is all nonsense. We better pack our bags and jump on the Washington Consensus back to neoliberalandia.

And then I read on and got more confused.

Citing an alleged report from Russia's Northern Fleet, the Venezuelan strongman's state mouthpiece ViVe TV shot out a press release saying the 7.0 magnitude Haiti quake was caused by a U.S. test of an experimental shockwave system that can also create "weather anomalies to cause floods, droughts and hurricanes."

Wait, that's not Hugo Chavez himself, but state TV. This all sounds fishy, so I did some more Googling, but luckily for me I speak Mexican so I ran across this piece which had an image of the original conspiracy theory article in question.

The conspiratorial article happens to have been briefly be posted on Venezuelan community participatory TV's website under the anonymous byline "Patria Grande". As the posting on Rebelion explains, the rightwing Spanish ABC news agency then wrote up a story claiming Chavez had made the conspiratorial claim, which then got picked up by Fox News (among others) and ended up being posted on my blog by some anonymous anti-Evo wingnut.

Hugo Chavez said nothing of the kind. Spanish ABC news simply lied and others followed. You will remember ABC news from other such lying fiascos like when they made up the existence of a shadowy conspiracy behind the Bolivian and Venezuelan constitutions, which was later repeated by the Washington Post.

Turns out the only conspiracy is of cryptofascist corporate media making up lies about Latin American leftists to make them look bad.

Update: BoRev writes a superior post on the matter: "Venezuela Rocked By 7.2 Magnitude Rumor".


http://www.hurryupharry.org/2010/01/24/chavez-and-haiti-update/

Chavez and Haiti: Update

Neil D, January 24th 2010, 11:14 pm

Well, it appears that the story that I mentioned regarding Hugo Chavez suggesting the US government set off the Haiti earthquake was incorrect. A rumour started by a Venezualan website managed to propagate itself through the world media. More here.

So apologies are in order.

However, it’s interesting that as well as mainstream Spanish news and Fox news accepting this story, it was also propagated by Press TV and Prison Planet. It seems that this story panders to disparate prejudices from both those think little of Chavez or and those who think the US is capable of anything.

[Red Commissar]

Is there a possibly another news site that has mentioned this which is a bit more professional? It would be good if we could spread an accepted story for this. Those convince me, but might not convince people who think it's leftist bias or something.

[The Vegan Marxist]

Is there a possibly another news site that has mentioned this which is a bit more professional? It would be good if we could spread an accepted story for this. Those convince me, but might not convince people who think it's leftist bias or something.

Well, I know Venezuela Analysis reported on it once. Here's the article:


On January 19, Spanish newspaper ABC, a newspaper of record in Spain, published foreign outlets (http://translate.google.ca/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.abc.es/20100119/internacional-/chavez-acusa-provocar-seismo-201001191332.html&ei=vZlaS5y6BIXssQOX2_2ZAw&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CA8Q7gEwAQ&prev=/search%3Fq%3DChavez%2Bacusa%2Ba%2Bee.%2Buu.%2Bde%2 Bprovocar%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-GB:official%26hs%3D2WF">a story[/URL] entitled Chavez accuses US of causing earthquake in Haiti.

The story was quickly picked up by around the globe - most quoting Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez as saying the U.S. used a new tectonic weapon to induce the Haitian earthquake. This was, according to Chavez - "only a drill, and the final target is destroying and taking over Iran".

Within the actual story, ABC noted that the information came from an obscure [URL="http://www.vive.gob.ve/inf_art.php?id_not=15464&id_s=3">opinion post on the website of a Venezuelan state television channel, VIVE Television. The post referenced a supposed Russian military report on American seismic weapons.

All quotes subsequently attributed to Chavez regarding Haiti and earthquake weapons were in fact direct quotes from this web posting - none of which was ever uttered by Chavez.

Spurred on by the international attention being received by its first story, ABC posted a second article on January 20 under the banner in which it cites Chavez as having blamed the US for razing Haiti.

By the time the story had run its course, it had been covered with varying degrees of accuracy by [URL<a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,583588,00.html">corporate news channels, [URL="http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=116688&sectionid=351020704) eager to accuse the U.S. of another evil deed, and conspiracy websites (http://www.prisonplanet.com/chavez-says-us-weapon-caused-haiti-quake.html) happy to have their ideas officially validated.

In the end, it serves as one more reminder to those who prefer truth over ideological delusion: there are some subjects (http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=d51_1262598681) for which the myths of journalistic standards will still be displayed - stories about the government of Venezuela are not one of those subjects.

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/5117

UPDATE: For some reason, I'm being prevented from posting the entire article. It only allows the first & last paragraph of the entire article to be posted. So if you want the entire article, then just go by the link.