Venezuela launches Zeppelin to tackle rampant crime

Venezuela launched a Zeppelin on Thursday to patrol Caracas, seeking to fight crime in one of Latin America's most dangerous cities but also raising fears that President Hugo Chavez could be turning into Big Brother.

news.yahoo.com...

i'd venture to say that the First one stationed over the city
will have very basic cameras & electronics aboard
as it will take at least a year to learn the ins & outs
& tricks of he trade to keep it effective in all
sorts of weather conditions 24/7/365

Pres. Hugo might just station these aerial monitoring platforms
at the oil fields, gold mines, and other Venezuelan national resource projects...
i have to wonder if it uses infrared at night, or just shuts down?

If you would say that Big Brother is in Venezuela because of one Zepplin, what would you say for Canada, The USA, and Britain with their UAV's, CCD's, troops patroling subways and Traffic Cameras? LOL

I dont think the Venezuelan public need a zeppelin to make big brother claims.. chavez has already pretty much taken complete control of their govt hasnt he?

Originally posted by Kr0n0s
I dont think the Venezuelan public need a zeppelin to make big brother claims.. chavez has already pretty much taken complete control of their govt hasnt he?

No, Chavez was given the power by democratic vote of the legisltor, with
full support from the people, the power to decree things for a period of
18 months, he also has to be elected by the people.


As for the blimp, well I think it's an interesting idea, and I don't think it's
that bad of a thing, I mean it just watches the city, not what everyone is
doing wherever they are.

Thanks for clearing that up for me. I knew he had acquired more powers but I wasnt sure exactly how he acquired them.
If im not mistaken Chavez is a very popular leader in Venezuela, especially with the poor to middle class. Gasoline is the cheapest than it is anywhere else in the world, I seem to recall hearing that (i think) hes reformed the medical system, giving the poor access to free healthcare.
The media claims that his popularity is due to the fact that he rose up from a poor family to become president as opposed to coming from the elite class that most of the other leaders came from, much like Irans president.
He has also "stood up" to America and this has given him a lot of popularity.
Its funny in my city, which is in South Texas on the Gulf of Mexico, every single Citgo fuel station, which are owned by Venezuela have disappeared and been replaced by Valero stations. Valero was formerly known as Diamond Shamrock, which is headquartered in San Antonio Tx.
As far as I know there isnt a single Citgo station left down here.

I think it's a great idea. Robert Plant alone could draw enough of a crowd to end crime in a city. I say we add Floyd and AC/DC to make it a true peaceful society.