For anyone who caught the Venezuelan RCTV "scandal" a few weeks ago, there is an amusing update:

The corporate funded student movement that so vigorously protested the disappearance of RCTV was given a chance to speak in front of the Venezuelan National Assembly. The speech was nationally televised on the State-owned Channel 8. The speeches have been translated and are available for viewing here. It's really worth checking out to get a flavor of the tyrannical regime under which Venezuelans suffer.

The anti-Chavez speaker, Doublas Barrios, goes first and spends most of his time reciting platitudes and complaining to the assembled legislators and the entire country that is watching him that his freedom of speech is being repressed.

At the end of his speech Barrios takes off his t-shirt in a symbolic act of defiance and he and his brethren leave the chamber. Mind you, the 'speeches' were apparently set up as a debate, so leaving the hall effectively cuts off the debate since he's not around to hear the rebuttal. So much for free speech. Though it is oddly heartening to observe that frat boys are just as stupid in other countries as they are here.

Next comes the Chavista speaker, Hector Rodriguez, who had been sitting next to Barrios before being called to address the assembly. Apparently when the frat boys stormed out they left a copy of their script on their chairs, a script that was written by an advertising agency owned by Globovision. Globovision is owned by Alberto Ravel, one of the wealthiest men in Venezuela. Hilariously Rodriguez reads a page of the script aloud in front of the assembly including the stage directions: "takes shirt off".

So we now have another event to add to the list of unimaginables. Imagine, if you can, student protesters that opposed government policies being invited to speak on the floor of the US Congress. Think it will happen in your lifetime?

Imagine a US television station that had fomented the violent overthrow of the elected government. Would its owners and operators have escaped imprisonment or execution? Much less have been allowed to continue broadcasting through the next election? Much less be allowed to continue on satellite and cable after their broadcast licence expired and was not renewed?

Well, in case your imagination fails, you can always happily revert to calling free countries "tyrannies". It requires no imagination.