Hugo Chavez Has 50 More Years to Live!

If you trust the world's state-run media, Hugo Chaz is invincible, anti-Putin demonstrators are phonies and Kim Jong-Un's enemies will "find no breathing spell in this land and sky." Today's installment of Propaganda Parade begins in Venezuela...

Hugo Chavez Has 50 More Years to Live!

The cancer in Hugo Chavez's pelvis is dominating his re-election campaign so it should come as no surprise that state-owned TV is helping tip the scales in his favor. Despite widespread belief that Chavez is suffering from a terminal illness, Venezolana de Television has a new political cartoon titled "Hugo Chavez, Ready for Battle!" boasting a literally cartoonish diagnosis of his health.  His pelvic region is totally healthy! His heart is in optimal condition! Best of all, his life expectancy is 50 more years!

Forget that the diagnosis would render the ailing leader alive at 107 years-old, this man has an election to win. He's shooting for another six-year term for the presidential vote in October against his 39-years-old rival who has slammed the clandestine manner he's dealt with his cancer. If elected, Henrique Capriles promises his health will be a "matter of public knowledge." But will it be a matter of public cartoons? Something to consider, Venezuela.

Russian TV Goes Too Far

You know your propaganda isn't working when listeners are actually trying to jam the signal of your broadcast. On Thursday, state-owned NTV enraged some Russians by airing a pro-regime documentary "Anatomy of a Protest," which argued that opposition leaders were hell bent on overthrowing the Russian government and suggested that opponents were paying off migrant workers to attend anti-Putin protests. In a recent blog post, blogger/anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny vowed to jam frequencies used by the government channel and replace it with his own broadcast. “Through a not-very-powerful device assembled by one’s own hands, it’s possible to shut down the signal of NTV or Channel One and replace it with a little bit of truth,” he wrote. Apparently, he's not the only one willing to break the law to protest the documentary. The Associated Press reports that 100 people were detained protesting outside of of NTV on Sunday.  A reporter with the state-subsidized outlet RT dismissed the protesters today saying "it's clear the opposition needs a new face and needs concrete and constructive demands and it's rallies like this that really show the lack of organization."

North Korea Gets Angry

There are two tonal modes for North Korea's state-owned media arm: Fawning praise for the Kim Jong-Un and ominous anger toward North Korea's perceived enemies. Today, the Korean Central News Agency was in the latter mode, defiantly justifying its planned rocket launch of a satellite and attacking its critics. "The peaceful development and use of space is a universally recognized legitimate right of a sovereign state," KCNA news agency said. The agency calls South Korea's Lee Myung Bak's criticism of the plan "Impudent" and says it missile launch is "not contradictory" with its nukes-for-food agreement with the U.S. For added effect, a dynamic banner stretches across the site that reads:

Very subtle, guys.