[mediawatch] Compare and Contrast

I recently wrote about Venezuala and Chavez’s government there. Some recent action there has been in the news all over. Compare and contrast:
From the BBC:

Venezuelan troops have used tear gas and water cannon to disperse thousands of students in the capital, Caracas…The students are demonstrating against constitutional reforms proposed by Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez… The students want a December referendum on the reforms to be postponed, to give voters more time to study the plans.

From VenezualaAnalysis.com:

Violent clashes took place yesterday between opposition students and the police when students tried to break police lines near Venezuela’s National Electoral Council building… Several thousand pro-Chavez students gathered in a counter protest in support of the reforms… the opposition students carried banners and placards openly calling for violence… When the opposition protest arrived, the CNE directors received a delegation from the students, giving them drinks and cake as they handed over their document. However, on leaving the student delegation attempted to chain themselves to stair well in the entrance of the building before being removed by the National Guard.
The protest then turned violent as the opposition students attempted to break through the police security cordon to get into the CNE, throwing rocks and bottles and setting fire to trash cans, trees and street poles. The police and National Guard then responded with teargas, water canon, and plastic shrapnel to disperse the crowd.

And while I’m on the compare and contrast tip:
A cartoon in the satirical magazine The Onion, October 27 2007:
Halloween: what is it teaching our kids?
* Everyone deserves handouts!
Fox news talking head Sean Hannity, October 31, 2007:
Halloween is teaching our kids to be liberals. Because we’re teaching kids to knock on other people’s doors and ask for a handout.
We are living in the land beyond satire.