Venezuela's Opposition Concedes: Chavez Is Here to Stay




How big was the leftist leader's reelection victory? So big his opponents didn't even cry foul
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It's official: Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez will be in office longer than his arch-nemesis, President George W. Bush. Following his reelection to a new six-year term by a wide margin on Sunday, Chavez promised a "new era in the national Bolivarian project," his program to use Venezuela's oil wealth to fund social programs as well as to bolster a regional united front against U.S. influence. Now, the scale of his victory — the National Electoral Council gave him a 23% lead over contender Manuel Rosales with over three-quarters of votes counted — will be claimed as a mandate to deepen his "socialist revolution," with the help of a legislature wholly under the control of his allies after the opposition boycotted last year's parliamentary elections.

Still, this is hardly the first time Chavez has boisterously threatened further radicalization of his revolution, and Venezuela is still far from the Latin American Marxist nightmare that Washington fears it will become. Chavez has certainly cracked down on foreign oil companies and expropriated private property, but he still presides over a far-from socialist society that loves its Scotch whisky and shopping malls.

But revolutions are first and foremost about power, and the most dramatic reform that Chavez may seek — and the most worrisome to his foes — is a constitutional change to remove term limits on the presidency and allow him to run again in 2012. He also says he could create a single party out of the many that support him. The president denied last week that such reforms pointed to increasing authoritarianism, and assured that any constitutional reform would have to pass through a national referendum. "This isn't a dictatorship," he said. "It's democracy."

Chavez's staying power, however, could depend on the opposition's ability to rebound from a demoralizing loss and maintain the unity it established on the campaign trail to end years of self-defeating bickering among its various parties. Rosales' brief concession speech suggested the opposition may have resolved to accept that Chavez won't be ousted any time soon, and to instead take the long view and strengthen their movement through grassroots organizational work — a counterintuitive option for a movement that has its origins in two parties of the political and economic elite that had maintained a lock on power for 40 years.

Rosales surprised many on Sunday by refraining from crying electoral fraud — the opposition had accused the government of rigging the vote in the two previous elections. Supermarket shelves in the capital had been emptied last week in anticipation of chaos sparked by a contested election result. Instead, the streets of Caracas were quiet on Monday. The opposition may finally be abandoning the claim that Chavez can only stay in power by cheating. "The truth is that even with a tighter margin we recognize that today they defeated us," Rosales said Sunday night. "But we'll keep fighting."

It was Chavez's bedrock support among the poor, shored up by the government programs that ensure cheap food and free health care, that once again ensured his victory. Unless the opposition is able to find a message and policies that resonate with the impoverished majority, it will remain in the political wilderness.

For now, the nearly 40% of Venezuelans who voted for Rosales on Sunday still have no representation in the legislature. "I want a change, above all for my son," said Fabiola Pereira, a hairstylist, after voting for Rosales in the upper-middle class Caracas neighborhood of Altamira. "If Chavez takes more power we don't know what else he'll invent. It scares me. Anything can happen in six years."

One thing that may be predictable is that Chavez will continue to rail against Washington. He proclaimed his victory a defeat for the U.S. and dedicated it to the Cuban people and their ailing leader, Fidel Castro. After years of listening to their leader pounding away at Bush, Chavez supporters appear to believe that Washington is their main enemy. "This is a lesson we're going to give to Bush, because he's interested in our oil reserves," said Luis Jose Moreno, a voter in the poor Caracas neighborhood of Petare, about his conviction that Chavez would win. "Get out of here, Bush."

But Bush will, indeed, leave office before Chavez. And the Venezuelan president likes to remind audiences that Bill Clinton was a man he respected. So, if the White House reverts to the Democrats in 2008, Chavez may have more trouble rousing his base with anti-U.S. rhetoric.

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Today in History - Dec. 6

Today is Wednesday, Dec. 6, the 340th day of 2006. There are 25 days left in the year.


Today's Highlight in History:


On Dec. 6, 1889, Jefferson Davis, the first and only president of the Confederate States of America, died in New Orleans.


On this date:


In 1790, Congress moved from New York to Philadelphia.


In 1884, Army engineers completed construction of the Washington Monument.


In 1921, British and Irish representatives signed a treaty in London providing for creation of an Irish Free State a year later on the same date.


In 1923, a presidential address was broadcast on radio for the first time as President Coolidge spoke to a joint session of Congress.


In 1947, Everglades National Park in Florida was dedicated by President Truman.

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Today in History - Dec. 6

Today is Wednesday, Dec. 6, the 340th day of 2006. There are 25 days left in the year.


Today's Highlight in History:


On Dec. 6, 1889, Jefferson Davis, the first and only president of the Confederate States of America, died in New Orleans.


On this date:


In 1790, Congress moved from New York to Philadelphia.


In 1884, Army engineers completed construction of the Washington Monument.


In 1921, British and Irish representatives signed a treaty in London providing for creation of an Irish Free State a year later on the same date.


In 1923, a presidential address was broadcast on radio for the first time as President Coolidge spoke to a joint session of Congress.


In 1947, Everglades National Park in Florida was dedicated by President Truman.

source

Tags: TREATY | signed | session | representatives | providing | presidential | president | joint | died | CREATION | broadcast | ADDRESS | Washington | Philadelphia | New York | New Orleans | London | livermore | Jefferson | IRISH | Florida | Dec | DAVIS | COOLIDGE | Congress | Confederate | British | America

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Today in History - Dec. 6

Today is Wednesday, Dec. 6, the 340th day of 2006. There are 25 days left in the year.


Today's Highlight in History:


On Dec. 6, 1889, Jefferson Davis, the first and only president of the Confederate States of America, died in New Orleans.


On this date:


In 1790, Congress moved from New York to Philadelphia.


In 1884, Army engineers completed construction of the Washington Monument.


In 1921, British and Irish representatives signed a treaty in London providing for creation of an Irish Free State a year later on the same date.


In 1923, a presidential address was broadcast on radio for the first time as President Coolidge spoke to a joint session of Congress.


In 1947, Everglades National Park in Florida was dedicated by President Truman.

source

Tags: TREATY | signed | session | representatives | providing | presidential | president | joint | died | CREATION | broadcast | ADDRESS | Washington | Philadelphia | New York | New Orleans | London | livermore | Jefferson | IRISH | Florida | Dec | DAVIS | COOLIDGE | Congress | Confederate | British | America

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Prostitution Arrest In Carmel

A Carmel woman is under arrest after she agreed to perform sexual acts for money with an undercover officer. Carmel Police got numerous complaints about the woman and after a tip from State Police investigators went undercover.


"It's a shock, but actually it could happen anywhere," Carmel resident Martha Inniger said.


A wreath, Christmas decorations and even a welcome sign greet guests at a home in Carmel. But what police say was going on behind the door has neighbors outraged.


"I'm shocked, you know, there's little kids that live in this neighborhood, there's teenagers that live in this neighborhood," Carmel resident Diane Batza said.


According to police, 35 year-old Shelly Riddle was operating a house of ill repute. Investigators uncovered the illegal activity after getting several tips and complaints.


"It's a big surprise to me because this neighborhood. We've lived here for over 2 years, and it just been a wonderful neighborhood," Inniger said.


According to police, they found the ad in the back of a NUVO newspaper. They called the number and made an appointment.


Police say Riddle gave the undercover officer directions to her home and told him to be there at noon.


Investigators say once inside the home, Riddle agreed to perform sex acts for money.


24-Hour News 8 knocked Riddle's door. An unknown man answered, but refused to comment about what happened.


"It doesn't matter how rich you are or how poor you are, I mean people make choices and I'm not responsible for her choice, but I'm sad about it," Inniger said.


Riddle has been arrested. She's at the Hamilton County Jail being held on a $10,000 bond.


Riddle has a pervious prostitution conviction in Marion County from 2001.

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Thieves targeting holiday gifts in cars

In a Greenwood Police evidence locker Chief Joe Pitcher says there is at least 2 thousand dollars in stolen goods. The stash includes everything from toys to clothes to electronics.


All that stuff was taken in a three hour car break-in spree on one night around the Greenwood Park Mall with the suspect driving the lot looking in cars and taking what she could. We toured the lot and saw a toy box in one car, more bags with other Christmas presents in another, a backpack in a third and, in one car, we saw someone's purse left on the back seat.


Assistant Chief Rick McQueery says "The target of opportunity was there, no one was around and she pried the windows and the doors then get in and take her stuff then they leave."


Eleven cars were hit, police say. The suspect eventually broke the screw driver used for the break ins and had to buy a new one to keep the spree going.


The break for police came while they were checking broken glass at the mall, across the street a motorist spotted the suspect's car and called 911.


Greenwood Police tracked the car to a house in Hendricks County where they found Kris Stull, just out of prison for similar crimes. Assistant Chief McQueery describes what he saw in her house. "Merchandise was laid out like an inventory process was going on on the kitchen table and the suspect's couch in the living room"


Police will call in break in victims to pick up their things in time for Christmas. Last week at a Westfield Shopping plaza south of Wal-Mart an elderly woman coming out of a car shop had her purse snatched by men in a passing car. She was dragged a short distance.


Two weeks ago our investigators showed the toll taken at Marion County Malls, too, last year.


"I don't lock my car," said one shopper at a music store across from the Greenwood Park Mall, "like ever."


But police say prevention starts with protection. His band, DESERT MUSIC, just bought an expensive new amplifier.


"I guess it worries me a little," says guitarist Eric Ballou. "I just don't think about."


But police want us to think about it by putting valuable including gifts in the trunk or out of sight.

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Missing men cases confound authorities

Imagine saying goodbye to a husband and seeing him off from home only for him to vanish and never return. It's the real-life nightmare three Central Indiana families say they're enduring this holiday season.


In a span of 11 months, 29 year-old Brad Hensley of Plainfield, 42 year-old Walter Smith of Franklin and 54 year-old Tony Jarrett of Indianapolis have gone missing.


"We just really hope that we just get that small bit of information that we need to get the ball rolling," to find them, said Plainfield Police Department Sergeant Jill Lees.


The most recent disappearance was last week, when Jarrett told his wife he was going fishing along the banks of the White River, in Indianapolis. He never came home. His wife searched along the river this past weekend.


"If he got hurt or something, and froze to death out here, you know, I'd want somebody to be looking for me," said Johnetta Jarrett.


Smith, of Franklin, was last seen leaving his home in September. Police eventually found his car, abandoned.


"It's not been good," said Smith's daughter, Natasha. "It's hurt me so bad because I love my dad so much."


Hensley's disappearance is perhaps the most puzzling. Like Smith, Hensley left his home for work in early January. Despite searches by foot, and by air, police say there is still no trace of Hensley or his Jeep. His cell phone and credit cards haven't been used in almost a year.


"It's so frustrating," said Hensley's wife, Kristin. "I feel like someone knows something."


Though foul play hasn't been ruled out in any of the disappearances, there is, according to police, no hard evidence to rule it in.


If you have any information on these missing men, you are asked to call police


Indianapolis Police: (317) 327-3264


Franklin Police: (317) 736-5111


Plainfield Police: (317) 839-2566


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Missing men cases confound authorities

Imagine saying goodbye to a husband and seeing him off from home only for him to vanish and never return. It's the real-life nightmare three Central Indiana families say they're enduring this holiday season.


In a span of 11 months, 29 year-old Brad Hensley of Plainfield, 42 year-old Walter Smith of Franklin and 54 year-old Tony Jarrett of Indianapolis have gone missing.


"We just really hope that we just get that small bit of information that we need to get the ball rolling," to find them, said Plainfield Police Department Sergeant Jill Lees.


The most recent disappearance was last week, when Jarrett told his wife he was going fishing along the banks of the White River, in Indianapolis. He never came home. His wife searched along the river this past weekend.


"If he got hurt or something, and froze to death out here, you know, I'd want somebody to be looking for me," said Johnetta Jarrett.


Smith, of Franklin, was last seen leaving his home in September. Police eventually found his car, abandoned.


"It's not been good," said Smith's daughter, Natasha. "It's hurt me so bad because I love my dad so much."


Hensley's disappearance is perhaps the most puzzling. Like Smith, Hensley left his home for work in early January. Despite searches by foot, and by air, police say there is still no trace of Hensley or his Jeep. His cell phone and credit cards haven't been used in almost a year.


"It's so frustrating," said Hensley's wife, Kristin. "I feel like someone knows something."


Though foul play hasn't been ruled out in any of the disappearances, there is, according to police, no hard evidence to rule it in.


If you have any information on these missing men, you are asked to call police


Indianapolis Police: (317) 327-3264


Franklin Police: (317) 736-5111


Plainfield Police: (317) 839-2566


source

Tags: confound | Hensley | Year-Old | vanish | span | seeing | SEARCHED | saying | rolling | return | real-life | NIGHTMARE | months | missing | information | HUSBAND | hurt | holiday | goodbye | going | fishing | families | enduring | Disappearance | CASES | BANKS | authorities | WALTER | Tony | Smith | SERGEANT | police | Plainfield | jill | Jarrett | INDIANAPOLIS | Indiana | franklin | department | Central | brad

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What's Toxic In Toyland


MARGOT ROOSEVELT


San Francisco's ban on toys like these has sparked a sharp debate about the dangers of plastic contaminants.

They line the nursery section children's toy stores like brightly colored candies: rubber duckies for bathtime, chewable rings for teething, soft-covered books for pawing and mouthing. Parents shopping for their babies can be forgiven if they assume that everything on those shelves is 100% child safe. So why did the city of San Francisco issue a ban last week on the sale of certain plastic toys aimed at children under 3? And why are activists warning holiday shoppers in the most alarming terms against buying them? "Sucking on some of these teethers and toys," says Rachel Gibson of Environment California, a nonprofit, "is like sucking on a toxic lollipop."

At issue are contaminants in plastics used to make the toys. Environmentalists have long argued that some of these chemicals can leach out and harm children, pointing to animal studies that link the substances to birth defects, cancer and developmental abnormalities. Those warnings are hotly disputed by the chemical industry and toy manufacturers, which cite stacks of scientific studies that have found the plastics to be safe at federally approved levels. But the issue has gained traction on the strength of new evidence from independent and university-sponsored studies. The European Union has banned some chemicals in toys since 1999, and now half a dozen state legislatures are considering similar laws.

The controversy centers on a family of chemicals called phthalates (pronounced "thalates"), which are used to soften vinyl, and on bisphenol A (BPA), a substance used to make clear and shatterproof plastic. Most are known to be so-called endocrine disrupters, capable of interfering with the hormones that regulate masculinity and femininity. Several hundred animal studies have linked phthalates to prostate and breast cancers, abnormal genitals, early puberty onset and obesity. More recently, they've been shown to affect humans as well. In a paper published last year in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and several universities found that boys born to mothers with higher phthalate levels are far more likely to show altered genital development, linked to incomplete testicular descent. Harvard School of Public Health studies report that men with higher phthalate levels have lower sperm counts and damaged sperm DNA.

The American Chemistry Council (ACC), which represents manufacturers such as ExxonMobil and Dow Chemical, says the crackdowns on toys are not justified by the science. "The E.U. aims to ban products that show adverse effect at very high doses in rats," says the ACC's Marian Stanley. "Many essential products are made from starting materials that can be quite toxic at high doses. This does not mean that the final consumer products are toxic." As for recent phthalate studies on humans, she says, they are either preliminary or "overhyped." Meanwhile, toy companies are relying on a 2001 review by a Consumer Product Safety Commission panel that found "no demonstrated health risk" in toys made with DINP--one of the phthalates used in vinyl. Critics fault the panel for failing to examine the effect of DINP when combined with other phthalates.
The focus on BPA is new. Its use is widespread--it's found in dental sealants and the epoxy linings on food cans as well as in baby bottles. Studies in animals over the past five years have found that the substance, which mimics the human hormone estrogen, alters brain structure and chemistry as well as the immune system and reproductive organs. Some of these effects show up at extremely low doses, in some cases 2,000 times below the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) safety guideline, according to Frederick vom Saal, a University of Missouri endocrinologist. Chemical companies say the findings are not applicable to humans, but the federal National Toxicology Program has launched a reassessment of the safety standard. "The literature around BPA is very controversial," warns EPA scientist Earl Gray. "Next year's review should clarify things."

The problem for retailers--and parents--is that the U.S. does not require manufacturers to disclose ingredients in most consumer products. How can you tell which contain the contaminants when chemical companies guard the information as proprietary? "Stores have products stacked to the ceiling for the holidays," says Daniel Grossman, CEO of San Francisco's Wild Planet Toys. "They have no idea what has phthalates and what doesn't."

They may soon find out. The San Francisco Chronicle recently had 16 toys tested in a private lab. One rubber ducky contained the phthalate DEHP at 13 times San Francisco's allowed level. A teether contained another phthalate at five times the limit. Meanwhile, a rattle, two waterproof books and a doll contained BPA, which is prohibited by the city at any level. Although the products comply with U.S. law, some toymakers, including Goldberger Doll, are cutting out phthalates. Richard Woo, owner of a local store called Citikids, estimates that he might have to pull a third of his items off the shelves. Next month manufacturers will go to court to block the new law. Whatever the ruling, parents will be left wondering how safe their children's toys really are.

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Today in History - Dec. 6


The Associated Press

Today is Wednesday, Dec. 6, the 340th day of 2006. There are 25 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Dec. 6, 1889, Jefferson Davis, the first and only president of the Confederate States of America, died in New Orleans.

On this date:

In 1790, Congress moved from New York to Philadelphia.

In 1884, Army engineers completed construction of the Washington Monument.

In 1921, British and Irish representatives signed a treaty in London providing for creation of an Irish Free State a year later on the same date.

In 1923, a presidential address was broadcast on radio for the first time as President Coolidge spoke to a joint session of Congress.

In 1947, Everglades National Park in Florida was dedicated by President Truman.

In 1957, America's first attempt at putting a satellite into orbit failed as Vanguard TV-3 blew up on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Fla.

In 1969, a free concert by The Rolling Stones at the Altamont Speedway in Livermore, Calif., was marred by the deaths of four people, including one who was stabbed by a Hell's Angel.

In 1973, House minority leader Gerald R. Ford was sworn in as vice president, succeeding Spiro T. Agnew.

In 1982, 11 soldiers and six civilians were killed when an Irish National Liberation Army bomb exploded in a pub in Ballykelly, Northern Ireland.

In 1989, 14 women were shot to death at the University of Montreal's school of engineering by a man who then took his own life.

Ten years ago: Stock markets around the world plunged after comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan were taken to mean that U.S. stock prices were too high. Former NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle died in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., at age 70.

Five years ago: The U.S. House of Representatives, by a one-vote margin, gave President Bush more power to negotiate global trade deals. Yasser Arafat's intensified crackdown on Islamic militants met angry resistance as 1,500 Hamas supporters battled Palestinian riot police outside the home of the group's leader. President Bush dedicated the national Christmas tree to those who had died on Sept. 11 and to GIs who had died in the line of duty.

One year ago: Two suicide bombers struck Baghdad's police academy, killing at least 43 people. An Iranian military transport plane crashed in a Tehran suburb as it was trying to make an emergency landing, killing at least 115 people, including 21 on the ground. Sami Al-Arian, a former Florida professor accused of helping lead a terrorist group that carried out suicide bombings against Israel, was acquitted on nearly half the charges against him by a federal court jury in Tampa, Fla.; the jury deadlocked on the other charges. Philadelphia won the first NHL scoreless game that was decided by a shootout, beating Calgary 1-0.

Today's Birthdays: Jazz musician Dave Brubeck is 86. Country singer Helen Cornelius is 65. Actor James Naughton is 61. Rhythm-and-blues singer Frankie Beverly (Maze) is 60. Former Sen. Don Nickles (news, bio, voting record), R-Okla., is 58. Actress JoBeth Williams is 58. Actor Tom Hulce is 53. Actor Kin Shriner is 53. Talk show host Wil Shriner is 53. Actor Miles Chapin is 52. Rock musician Rick Buckler (The Jam) is 51. Comedian Steven Wright is 51. Country singer Bill Lloyd is 51. Singer Tish Hinojosa is 51. Rock musician Peter Buck (R.E.M.) is 50. Rock musician David Lovering (Pixies) is 45. Actress Janine Turner is 44. Rock musician Ben Watt (Everything But The Girl) is 44. Rock musician Ulf "Buddha" Ekberg (Ace of Base) is 36. Actress Colleen Haskell is 30. Actress Lindsay Price is 30.

Thought for Today: "Each and every one of us has one obligation, during the bewildered days of our pilgrimage here: the saving of his own soul, and secondarily and incidentally thereby affecting for good such other souls as come under our influence." — Kathleen Norris, American author (1880-1960).

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