Venezuela begins shutdown of 34 radio stations

What a great way to Democratize the Country ,take the radio stations away from the People ! You monkeys just sit down and relax , Hugo will take care of everything !

CARACAS, Aug 1 Reuters - More than a dozen of 34 radio stations ordered shut by the Venezuelan government went off the air on Saturday, part of President Hugo Chavez's drive to extend his socialist revolution to the media.

The association of radio broadcasters said 13 stations had stopped transmitting, following an announcement Friday night by government broadcasting watchdog Conatel that 34 radio outlets would be closed because they failed to comply with regulations.

Critics said the crackdown infringed on freedom of speech and that owners were not given the right to a proper defense.

"They're closing the space for dissidents in Venezuela," William Echeverria, head of the National Council of Journalists, told RCTV, a private cable TV station, which did not have its broadcasting license renewed in 2007.

Chavez defended the closures, calling them part of the government's effort to democratize the airwaves.

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Ottawa radio station chastised for comments on Muslims

A Canadian radio host has run afoul of the shariah law, he questioned whether violence is symptomatic of islam. You can no longer speak the truth in Canada. Canada slipping further into dhimmitude. Canada.com

OTTAWA — A veteran open-line radio host in Ottawa contravened Canadian broadcasting standards when he made “abusive and discriminatory” remarks against Muslims, the national broadcast watchdog ruled Friday.

According to the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council, Lowell Green launched an “uninformed and unfair” attack when he told his CFRA audience in early December that the majority of Muslims are fanatics, and extremist behaviour is symptomatic of the religion, not just a radical minority.

Green had been inspired by the story of British schoolteacher Gillian Gibbons, whose elementary class in the Sudanese capital Khartoum named a teddy bear “Muhammad,” causing a storm of outrage across the Muslim world.[...]

Green posed the question to listeners: “Is there something inherent in the Muslim faith that promotes violence and oppression of women?”

In response to one Muslim caller who tried to defend Islam, Green responded: “Baloney,” and during another call, told a sympathetic, but apparently non-Muslim, caller that she had “abandoned common sense” and was being “silly.”

“Almost every act of terrorism around the world today is carried out in the name of Islam,” responded Green. “Don’t tell me this is the work of a few fanatics.”

The broadcast watchdog, an arm’s-length organization created and funded by private broadcasters to rule on listener and viewer complaints, was especially critical of Green for refusing to listen to pro-Islam callers, especially those who were clearly informed about the religion.

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