Posted on 12/09/2007 9:14:19 AM PST by blam
Hugo Chavez invents new half-hour time zone
By Jeremy McDermott, Latin America Correspondent
Last Updated: 3:35pm GMT 09/12/2007
Venezuela has created its own, unique time zone on the orders of President Hugo Chavez, setting clocks back half an hour and putting the oil-rich nation out of step with its neighbours.
"I don't care if they call me crazy, the new time will go ahead," said Mr Chavez.
Hugo Chavez has already changed the national flag and coat of arms
The president said the change would improve health, as the sun will rise before most Venezuelans get up ensuring all go to work or school in daylight.
"These children have to get up at five in the morning... they arrive at school dead tired," said Mr Chavez. "And why? Because of our time."
Government ministers lined up to support the president's theory.
"The human brain is conditioned by the light of the sun," offered Hector Navarro, the Minister of Science and Technology, assuring that the health and productivity of the nation will improve thanks to the change.
Many Venezuelans were not impressed with the change or bamboozled by the technical jargon coming out of the Science and Technology Ministry.
"The only thing this will do is inject yet more chaos into our lives," said John Marulanda, a young executive. "This president believes in change for change's sake." President Chavez has now changed the flag, the national coat of arms, the salute of the armed forces and the constitution.
He sought to change Venezuela's political system on Dec 2, when he proposed a referendum to enshrine socialism in the constitution and grant the president indefinite re-election and even greater powers.
Fifty-one per cent of Venezuelans said no, delivering Mr Chavez his first electoral defeat in nine years.
However the president has vowed to press ahead with his changes and has enough power through his control of the armed forces, the National Assembly, the judicial system, the Central bank and increasingly of the media, to introduce change without recourse to another referendum.
wow, I didnt know he changed the flag. that is just screaming fark photoshop contest
I know this solution is overly complicated for the little dictator, but why not start school later in the morning?
Next, he should adopt the Mayan calendar—really show those European intruders a thing or two! (I know the Mayan influence didn’t extend that far south in pre-Columbian days—if there is any record of the pre-discovery calendar used in Venezuela, he can use that instead.)
You can get the whole list from the Windows time zone tab. Katmandu is GMT + 5:45.
‘but why not start school later in the morning?’
i bet schools run 2 shifts of students, so kids have to be at school at 7 or so....
This guy is certifiable and armed
This guy has 2 kalishnakov factorys, and 9 submarines on order
See how it affects their international commerce, and its cultural goings ons.
Newfoundland is the Eastern-most part of a big country. It makes perfect sense for them to balance business with daylight by their half hour offset.
Art Bell used to opening his show saying something like "...in all twenty-four timezones....".
The US had just gone into Afghanistan, so I looked up its tz, and saw that Kabul is on the half hour, as well as Tehran.
I sent in a complaint saying there are at least 31 tzs...
I must not have been the only one, because about a month later, he started saying "...in however many timezones there are..."
CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) announces time thusly: “It’s ten minutes past the hour, that’s forty minutes past the hour in New Found Land.” (They pronounce it that way, like three words.)
I'll say this about the reporting, there is nothing "unique" about a half-hour offset time zone.
-PJ
Next he will decree that everyone must wear their underwear on the outside. After that, decree that the tide will not come in. He has lots of things he can decree after this.
Yes, indeed. Stay tuned for ACE, if you know what I mean....
Chavez playing with the clocks makes about as much sense as our DST madness.
[but why not start school later in the morning?]
Better yet why don’t WE instead of the daylight savings farce?
I know Ben Franklin proposed it but STILL.....
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