ARD's Weltspiegel: Hugo Chavez's Useful Media Idiots

(By Ray D.)

Recently, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela began an expensive propaganda campaign to distribute heating oil at reduced cost to low-income families along the east coast of the United States, particularly in Boston and New York. OK. So what's wrong with that? After all, heating oil prices have been rising rapidly of late. What's the big deal?

Well, for starters, Venezuela’s poor are exponentially worse off than their US counterparts. According to Venezuela’s own National Statistics Institute (INE), over half of the country, or 54% of all Venezuelans, live in poverty and 25% live in extreme poverty. Despite being the world's fifth largest oil exporter, Venezuela's per capita GDP is less than one-sixth that of the United States. Yet Chavez chooses to send millions abroad in a petty attempt to embarrass the Bush administration while his own people wallow in poverty. Senator John Sununu put it this way:

"Hugo Chavez has used the recent spike in heating oil costs as an opportunity to grandstand on the world stage," said Sununu. "He is selling Venezuela's assets at cut-rate prices while his country languishes in poverty and essential infrastructure crumbles. This is a disgrace, and New Hampshire should take no part in such a tragic and misguided charade."

And why is it that states dominated by Democrats for decades (Massachusetts and New York) can't take care of those in need? Aren't they supposed to be the most compassionate and socially-minded of all? Why would they need help from Comrade Chavez?

OK. So what does this have to do with the German media you say? Three weeks ago, Germany's most-watched, state-sponsored (ARD) program on foreign affairs, "Weltspiegel," broadcast a seven minute report entitled "Freezing Americans: Venezuela Helping." (WATCH)

"Freezing Americans, Venezuela Helping: (...)The employees at the Boston welfare office know that this year many people will freeze to death in their houses."

The report is the one-sided epitome of everything we have come to expect of the German media's useful idiot elite. America and Bush are predictably portrayed as uncaring, energy-wasting, neglectors of the poor while wreckless despots worldwide are given a free pass. Here's a translated excerpt:

"Help came, of all things, from someone who the Americans actually hate: From Venezuela's socialist President Chavez. He donated cheap heating oil - however just one delivery. 200 gallons, or a bit more than 750 liters - without the oil from Venezuela, many citizens in the northeast USA would be at an end. Because the one-time financial support of their own government has long been used up. The employees at the Boston welfare office know that this year many people will freeze to death in their houses. The Bush government has promised additional help but hasn't made the necessary monies available. John Drew from Boston's welfare office: "It's our natural disaster in this country. Now the cold winds are coming from Canada and the poor people are practically cut off from the energy supply. How are they supposed to survive?""

The poor would "be at an end" and "freeze to death"? How come masses of frozen corpses haven't been discovered in Northeastern states that did not receive the cheap Chavez oil? Hmmmm...

Conveniently, there is also no mention that Democratic opponents of President Bush and his party have long dominated New York and Massachusetts. Yet all the blame is comfortably heaped on the national government while local leftists like Joseph Kennedy are portrayed as heroic activists. Kennedy is interviewed on energy policy, but not a single representative of the Bush administration is presented to defend the government. And that isn't all. While introducing Kennedy, reporter Thomas Bergmann blatantly interjects his opinion into the report:

"Joseph Kennedy holds the unrestrained energy policy of the Bush government for fully mistaken."

The "unrestrained energy policy" of the Bush government? Unfortunately Mr. Bergmann never explains what he means by "unrestrained energy policy" nor does he offer viewers a single, specific policy example. Mr. Bergmann has probably never even heard of the last major energy bill signed by President Bush in August 2005. At the signing ceremony for the "Energy Policy Act" Bush had this to say:

"First, the bill makes an unprecedented commitment to energy conservation and efficiency -- an unprecedented commitment.  The bill sets higher efficiency standards for federal buildings and for household products.  It directs the Department of Transportation to study the potential for sensible improvements in fuel-efficiency standards for cars and trucks and SUVs.  It authorizes new funding for research into cutting-edge technologies that will help us do more with less energy.

The bill recognizes that America is the world's leader in technology, and that we've got to use technology to be the world's leader in energy conservation. The bill includes incentives for consumers to be better conservers of energy.  If you own a home, you can receive new tax credits to install energy-efficient windows and appliances.  If you're in the market for a car, this bill will help you save up to $3,500 on a fuel-efficient hybrid or clean-diesel vehicle. And the way the tax credit works is that the more efficient the vehicle is, the more money you will save.  Energy conservation is more than a private virtue; it's a public virtue.  And with this bill I sign today, America is taking the side of consumers who make the choice to conserve."

But hey, real facts and policies don't matter when German journalists report on the USA...perceptions do: Bush lied and people died. Americans are energy-wasting barbarians who reject the eternal virtues of social democracy. At the end of the report, Bergmann concludes:

"Now Americans are paying the piper for their decades of failure in energy policy."

Right on, those short-sighted Americans had it coming! And naturally there is absolutely no mention of the dire poverty of the Venezuelan people. Moderator Peter Mezger states that Venezuela and Chavez can "easily afford" the program because of high oil prices. After all, they are living in a haven of socialist contentment. So who are we to criticize? Who cares if over half the people live in poverty and a quarter live in extreme poverty. At least they don't have "amerikanische Verhaeltnisse," that oft abused German code-word for all that is supposedly wrong with America's social fabric. And that's all that really matters to the useful media idiots at ARD's "Weltspiegel."

Readers can contact the staff of "Weltspiegel" at: [email protected]

Endnote: The same "Weltspiegel" program (from January 22) contained another brilliant report designed to shatter widely held stereotypes in Germany. Its focus? Bands of thieves in Poland. (Hattip: Michael K.)

UPDATE: In other news, at least nine people have already frozen to death in Germany this winter. In Hamburg alone, two homeless men have frozen to death. (Hattip kcom)

Comments

[Eg]

'...however just one delivery. 200 gallons,....'

Ok...who has those four(4), repeat four(4), fifty-five gallon barrels of heating oil? Where'd they go?

Thousands of lives are depending upon them.

[americanbychoice]

I get so tired of all the myths about the United States being peddled as truth in the German media.
The US has the strictest "Abgas gesetz" in the world. No German car could be imported into the US without many changes in cleaner burning engines as well as many safety factors.

The US automobile fleet does not use as much gas as the German fleet, a fact.

A few more Myths follow:

Debunking popular myths about the U.S.

Listed below are 15 commonly-held myths about social, economic, health and environmental conditions in the United States, followed by facts that debunk the myths. The facts have been gleaned from the Pocket World in Figures 2005, published by the The Economist magazine.
Myth # 1: The U.S. ranks low in human development.
Fact: On the Human Development Index, which measures literacy, life expectancy and income levels, the U.S. ranks above Japan, Switzerland, Denmark, Holland, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, Austria, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and 38 other countries.
Myth #2: The U.S. is uncompetitive in global markets.
Fact: The U.S. is the world's biggest exporter, twice as big as Japan and three times as big as China. It also ranks first in manufacturing output, with 80 percent more output than Japan and more than twice as much output as either China or Germany. And it is surpassed in per-capita Gross Domestic Product by only Luxembourg, Norway and Switzerland, all of which are tiny, lily-white countries. The social-welfare countries of Germany, France and Italy have a per-capita GDP that is only 66 percent, 67 percent and 57 percent, respectively, of the per-capita GDP of the U.S.
Myth #3: Because the U.S. doesn't produce enough scientists and engineers, it has lost its edge in innovation.
Fact: It ranks first on the Innovation Index, which is a measure of human resources skills, market incentive structures and the interaction between the business and scientific sectors. It also ranks first in the number of Nobel Prize winners in economics, medicine, physics and chemistry. The first-place rankings are in spite of the U.S. ranking fifth in R&D spending as a percentage of GDP and dropping to 10th place on the Index of Economic Freedom.
Myth #4: American roads are congested due to a lack of mass transit.
Fact: The U.S. ranks 42nd in the number of vehicles per kilometer of road. Germany, a country with a lot of mass transit, ranks third.
Myth #5: The U.S. is the most car-crazy country.
Fact: It ranks 12th in the number of cars per 1,000 people, surpassed by such countries as New Zealand, Luxembourg, Iceland, Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Australia.
Myth #6: The U.S. has a high rate of auto accidents.
Fact: It ranks 31st in the number of people injured per miles traveled. Italy, Canada, Belgium, Israel and Germany have more injuries.
Myth #7: The U.S. ranks low in educational achievement.
Fact: Only one nation, South Korea, ranks higher than the U.S. in the percentage of the population enrolled in post-secondary education, in spite of the U.S. having a large number of immigrants from third-world countries.
Myth #8: The U.S. leads in breast cancer, lung cancer and diabetes.
Fact: It does not make the top-20 list in deaths per 100,000 people for breast cancer. The top five countries for breast cancer are Denmark, Iceland, Belgium, United Kingdom and Hungary. The U.S. ranks eighth in lung cancer, surpassed by the Netherlands, Italy, Croatia, United Kingdom, Denmark, Belgium and Hungary. And it ranks 14th in diabetes, surpassed by such countries as Canada, Spain, Italy, Greece and Singapore.
Myth #9: Americans don't read books.
Fact: The U.S. is tied with Singapore in fourth place for book sales per capita. Japan, Norway and Germany rank first, second and third, respectively. France is in 17th place.
Myth #10: American teenagers watch the most TV and drink the most alcohol.
Fact: The U.S. ranks tenth in the percentage of 15-year-old males who watch TV four or more hours a day on weekdays. Ukraine is in first place. The U.S. does not make the top-14 list in 15-year-olds who drink alcohol weekly.
Myth #11: Americans are heavy smokers and drinkers.
Fact: The U.S. does not make the top-20 list in per-capita smoking. Greece is in first place. In beer consumption, the U.S. is in 11th place; and in alcohol consumption, it doesn't make the top-23 list. The Czech Republic ranks first in beer consumption, and Luxembourg ranks first in the consumption of alcoholic drinks.
Myth #12: The U.S. leads in crime.
Fact: The top ten countries for serious assaults per 100,000 people are in rank order: Australia, Sweden, South Africa, Belgium, Ghana, Swaziland, Fiji, Jamaica, Netherlands, United States. The top ten countries for theft are: Australia, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Norway, Belgium, France, Austria, United States, Germany, Iceland.
Myth #13: The U.S. leads in defense spending.
Fact: When measured as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product, the United States does not make the top-39 list. North Korea is first, Israel is tenth, and Singapore is nineteenth. Most Arab countries are on the list, and many rank near the top. For example, Saudi Arabia is fifth, Kuwait is sixth, and Jordan is eleventh.
Myth #14: The U.S. leads in threatened species.
Fact: It is in 21st place in mammal species under threat and in 10th place in bird species under threat. Indonesia, China, India and Brazil rank in the top five in both categories.
Myth #15: The U.S. leads in sprawl and deforestation.
Fact: It ranks third in the amount of forested land and second in the amount of land under protected status. It doesn't make the top-48 list of nations with the highest rural population density. __________
Mr. Cantoni is an author and columnist. His new book, Breaking from the Herd: Political Essays for Independent Thinkers by a Maverick Columnist, retails for $18.95 but can be purchased directly from him for $10. You can contact him at either [email protected] or [email protected].

[Orbit Rain]

...so I take it the market for writers that don't know shit must be pretty good in Germany...

[Carl Spackler]

Some information.

Joe Kennedy, has amongst other things, an organization called, ‘Citizens Energy.’ The last year I could find, he pulled in $400,000, from the fuel charity, which gave out $3 million. So, just his salary alone was 15% of the total. Nice. No heavy lifting. No pumping fuel oil in the middle of a winters night, and all that lovey-dovey press. This is from just one of his so called charity companies. Bitterly this is called, “Doing well by doing good.”

His uncle, Ted Kennedy, Senator for life from the State of Massachusetts, which motto is, “Grab All You Can”. I don’t think the Russian Mafia could keep their gold fillings the state is so uniformly and smoothly corrupt. Anyways, Ted is keeping a wind farm from being built, as it is in a small way would be seen from his families’ summer compound in the town of Hyannis. Ted is flown around in his own Gulfstream 20 passenger jet, he is such an environmentalist.

Anyways, just to the north of Massachusetts is, of course Canada, which right off it’s shores the Canadians have allowed and the companies have found and tapped large natural gas supplies. These large fields descend off the Massachusetts coast, but for over 20 years Senator Ted Kennedy has prevented even exploratory drilling. As it is now the gas is imported as a frozen liquid from Africa and into the port of Boston.

So, you see just like Robert Mugabe, the Kennedys do everything they can to impoverish their own people and make sure that they have their picture taken handing out a pail of oil to someone who, truth be know, probably doesn’t need it, but looks the part. Massachusetts has an elderly population, a declining population and a heavy tax burden with an entrenched one party state, whose party members are stealing, paying, taking, pensioning, grafting each and every penny. If a small businessman should say anything troublesome, legions of state employed inspectors, tax agents, health agents, will loyally descend and bring charges and compel you to cease your business for a few years until the poor businessman can win a appeal in a court. Of course, by then, you’ll be broke and your business sunk. So, those smart enough, with property and a lifetime’s work to risk, say nothing.

[Don Miguel]

I'd suggest that Peter Mezger take a trip down to Venezuela to find out what the country can really "easily afford." Even better, why doesn't he try an exchange program and be a journalist in Venezuela for a while? Then he could see what a journalist there can "easily afford" to say without getting the crap beat out of him or tossed in the slammer. Of course with the way he apparently thinks, he would fit right in at the Ministry of Propaganda.

[dries]

who the heck needs that 200 gallons of oil?
january 2006 was the warmest since anyone bothered to keep records. on some days, i had windows & balcony wide open, as temps reached 15C. looking at my heating bill, i rather like global warming.

[Assistant Village Idiot]

Senator Sununu may be the smartest of the lot in terms of IQ. He is one of the few Senators who have any scientific training and enough math that he doesn't have to reduce his economics to a bumper-sticker. As you can see from the above, he also has some sense of honor and morality.

[George M]

@ Carl

“Joe Kennedy, has amongst other things, an organization called, ‘Citizens Energy.’ The last year I could find, he pulled in $400,000, from the fuel charity, which gave out $3 million. So, just his salary alone was 15% of the total.”

It gets worse than that! Citizens Energy is located in a mansion overlooking Cohassett (MA) harbor. Cohassett is a well to do Boston suburb that is famous as the location for the film, “The Witches of Eastwick.” I grew up near there and I occasionally show this place to out of towners, (especially Germans), because the wealth located in this town is obscene. The property that Citizens Energy is located on must be worth 10 million dollars. In all the years that I have driven by this property, I have never seen an oil truck parked out in front.

Other members of the Kennedy family are employed at Citizen’s Energy. Joe’s late brother, Robert Jr., was not only employed there, but lived in a 5 million dollar sea-side house one mile away. (Robert Jr. met his demise in a skiing accident at Aspen. Even Kennedy’s are not immune from skiing full force into a tree!) Before his death, Robert Jr. was the subject of a statutory rape charge. He allegedly had a tryst with his 15 year old baby sitter. Statutory rape in Mass is consentual sex with a minor under 16 year of age. The parents of the girl were apparently "bought" and the girl would not testify to the grand jury.

Cohassett also has an old New England pub called the Red Lion Inn. Kennedy cousin, Richard Skakel, used to finish up his work at Citizen’s Energy at 4:30 pm so that he could make happy hour at the Red Lion. Unfortunately, Richard is no longer employed at Citizens Energy. He is now doing time in Connecticut for the murder of Martha Moxley.

[George M]

Now that I have read the article, I ‘m pissed.

First: “Baustil, Amie Hauser sind aus Holz gebaut”

A standardized oil tank in the U.S. and Canada holds 250 gallons. This equals approximately 1,000 liters. I used to own a house with 2400 square feet of living space. In an average winter, I would fill the tank 4 times.

My sister in law in Germany has a modern euro-style house of cinder-block and concrete with approximately the same living space. She has 4 x 1,000 liter plastic oil tanks. The difference is, like a typical German, she fills up once a year in the Spring when the prices drop. But there is no difference in consumption between the two houses. If any thing, New England winters are colder than German winters.

Second: I practice some Elder law in Massachusetts.

Most poor people live in the subsidized housing in the projects or in Section 8 housing. They simply do not pay for their heating costs! They are payed for by the city or by the landlord. Most of the people that receive assistance from the likes of Joe Kennedy are the elderly. These people probably bought their houses 30 to 40 years ago. The equity in their houses have gone up 20 fold. In other words, these people that are getting cheap Venezuelan crude, are sitting on 250 to 500 thousand dollars in equity! In addition to the equity, many of these houses have rental units for additional income.

Didn’t I read somewhere that some elderly person froze to death in Northern Germany when the ice storms knocked over the power lines for 7 days?

[kcom]

Regarding this statement, "The employees at the Boston welfare office know that this year many people will freeze to death in their houses."

I would like to see Weltspiegel keep a running total of the people in Boston who freeze to death in their houses this winter. I would like them to publish that total come spring. Let's see how accurate their prediction is. Would I be surprised if it was completely inaccurate? No, I would not be.

Let's also compare that number to how many in Germany have died in heat waves and cold snaps the last few years. In the land of "social justice", sweetness, and light, I would expect that number to be zero, or so small as to be indistinguishable from zero.

I think the article reflects two things that seem to recur frequently in German publications (if the examples at DM are an accurate guide, since I don't read German I can't see the big picture myself). One, a fairly complete lack of understanding of how our system works in a different way than the German one. The concept that if you don't do something like Germany you must not be doing anything at all seems to be quite common. And two, the in-built anti-American bias that seems to deprive the German media of the ability to think in context. Despite loads of evidence that they live in a big glass house, that can't seem to restrain themselves when they get the urge to throw stones. One example, a homeless man dies from the cold in Germany. How could that be? Surely homelessness does not exist in Germany.

[JJfromBa]

This is yet another example of the use of the "Big Lie" theory (first popularized by Joseph Goebbels) employed by the far left:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Lie

It's not even a secret amongst them. They openly admit, if pressed and talking on a personal level, that they don't mind blatant lies such as these. And certainly, they do look ridiculous - The United States wages imperialist wars for oil, yet heating oil is so expensive that America can't even keep its own citizens from freezing to death. And let's not forget that Americans live in a land of "Cowboy Capitalism" with "amerikanische Verhältnisse". Heck, it wasn't even mentioned that this has been one of the warmest winters in recent history, and that this is not exactly conducive to people, "freezing to death in their houses".

But one is certain that such stories did not accompany the many deaths during the course of the 2003 heat waves which enveloped France and Western Europe - one in which the poor public policy of the French government actually did lead to many deaths due to inadequate heating/air conditioning, unlike in the United States. But such stories would not fit the purposes of the writer, and, as such, are not reported.

The simple fact is that with the current state-owned hegemony over the media in Western Europe, there is no accountability. This never would have even made it on the air in a land with a free and varied press, because another network would have already picked it apart. So it will be some time before we see the end of these sorts of ridiculous lies in the European press, despite the fact that people cling to their delusional beliefs that state-owned media is totally free of inherent intellectual bias.

[UBetcha]

Hugo Chavez was obviously trying a PR stunt. It should have been presented as such. 200 gallons is a joke! Also wood is much better insolation than stone for example. Using a stove for aditional heating also costs a lot.

So this story has 3 obvious "problems" right on the page.

americanbychoice has a nice list of Myths there. Myth #13 makes the whole list look a little bad though. Defense spending is, for better of for worse (I think for worse, because it has lead to such inflation in prices in the defense industry, they sell stuff that doesn't work for way too much money, take missile defense) huge. More than the rest of the world is spending for example.

[Oh Eric!]

I think anyone who looks at the situation objectively, has to admit that the living standard is higher in the US than Germany, and based on economic growth will be for the forseeable future. I also think that the social safety net for the poorest among us is more reliable here than in Germany.

If you take that as given (just for the sake of argument, even if you don't agree), then just what are Germany journalists (i.e. not just those at Weltspiegel) trying to accomplish with stories liket this?

Is it just tabloid journalism to make money? Do they really believe it? Is it like the French agenda of opposing the world's only "hyperpower" regardless of facts? Is it sort of a delusional inferiority complex? Or just force of habit that defies rational explanation? What motivates this left wing group-think that is so blatantly irrational? I certainly don't know.

[MKL]

Ray, You should know that any deaths caused by freezing temperatures in Europe will be blamed on Bush for not signing the Kyoto Protocols......

[grlzjustwant2havefun]

Hugo is working on socialism for the 21st century.

It's a little rocky right now, they're short flour, sugar, milk and he's screwing the coffee distributors.

[othercoast]

"First: “Baustil, Amie Hauser sind aus Holz gebaut”

A standardized oil tank in the U.S. and Canada holds 250 gallons. This equals approximately 1,000 liters. I used to own a house with 2400 square feet of living space. In an average winter, I would fill the tank 4 times.

My sister in law in Germany has a modern euro-style house of cinder-block and concrete with approximately the same living space. She has 4 x 1,000 liter plastic oil tanks. The difference is, like a typical German, she fills up once a year in the Spring when the prices drop. But there is no difference in consumption between the two houses. If any thing, New England winters are colder than German winters."

I've been meaning to ask about this for some time, as I knew that the "wooden houses (which makes Germans think "log hut"), badly insulated" myth would show up soon, like it does every winter - just how much oil do German houses use for heat? It's not the easiest comparison, but the above data point (similar quantities) does make a point because German winters aren't quite as harsh as New England winters.
Any more data points, anybody?
For comparison: Our 2100-sq.ft. house (not counting the basement, which gets some heat-leakage from the ground floor) takes about 3-4 fillups per winter. Though the tank holds 250 gallons, it's an average 175 gallons per fill-up (700 liters). That's Maine winters, and this house is insulated to absolute minimum legal insulation standards.

Time for a letter-to-the-editor at Bayrrrische Rrrundfunk, I think. Kennedy (spit), indeed.

[Cousin Dave]

I get a laugh when leftist journalists talk about Bush's or America's "failed energy policy". Most of these people wouldn't recognize an actual energy policy if one snuck up behind them and set their underwear on fire. What the left expects a "policy" to do is actually cause energy to become unlimited and free (for them, of course). More proof that what the "reality-based" community actually expects from government is magic.

[americanbychoice]

The myths about America continues :)
In the US ecology is now the second highest cost for business. Just behind wages.

However, the German media always criticizes the US for doing nothing about climate change, just because Bush didn't sign that useless Kyoto protocol.
Well, it was defeated by the senate 98-0 under the Clinton administration. I bet only 5% of Germans even know that?