Venezuela Creates Own Time Zone [Archive]

A_3PO

12-09-2007, 05:12 PM

http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-12-09-voa24.cfm

http://www.voanews.com/english/images/afp_Venezuela_Hugo_Chavez_Nov_2007_210.jpg
By VOA News
09 December 2007

Venezuelans have set their clocks back half an hour as the country adopts its own time zone.

Speaking ahead of Sunday time change, President Hugo Chavez told reporters that he doesn't care if people think he is crazy. He said the new time will go ahead anyway.

The Venezuelan leader has said the time change will give schoolchildren more daylight.

The change was first announced several weeks ago but had been delayed for technical reasons.

Clocks will be set to Universal Time (UTC) minus 4.5 hours. The change is likely to affect time/date entries on computers and other devices.

Several other countries have time zones that set them apart from other nations. They include Afghanistan, Burma, India and Iran.

AroundTheWorld

12-09-2007, 05:29 PM

Several other countries have time zones that set them apart from other nations. They include Afghanistan, Burma, India and Iran.

...and Sri Lanka (was just there a couple of weeks ago).

That list above pretty much says a lot...

Chavez is terrible for Venezuela.

krnxsnoopy

12-09-2007, 05:36 PM

http://scottwax.com/rice/ratedr/attention%20whore3.jpg

Oski2005

12-09-2007, 05:54 PM

What's funny is a while back while talking about the time change during a live broadcast, he couldn't even remember if it was setting them forward or back and he had to look back at one of his advisors to find out.

Yaozer

12-09-2007, 06:21 PM

Oh Hugo... hugo hugo hugo...

sigh...

jo mama

12-09-2007, 06:22 PM

viva la revolucion!

rhino17

12-09-2007, 06:45 PM

I posted this story like 2 months ago......old news :o

rodrick_98

12-09-2007, 07:38 PM

The Venezuelan leader has said the time change will give schoolchildren more daylight.

how exactly do they get more daylight? will there still not be 10-12 hrs of daylight regardless of what the clock says?

A_3PO

12-09-2007, 07:54 PM

how exactly do they get more daylight? will there still not be 10-12 hrs of daylight regardless of what the clock says?
I'm gonna guess it will be lighter when they go to school in the morning. Sort of like how we "Fall backwards" when the days start getting shorter, which I think is a good idea. But changing it 30 minutes instead of an hour is just plain loopy.

SamFisher

12-09-2007, 08:35 PM

Nepal has its own timezone to differentiate itself from India and China , it's GMT + 5:45.

Lil Pun

12-09-2007, 08:48 PM

viva la revolucion!

Cheggit?

Mr. Clutch

12-09-2007, 08:49 PM

I would prefer daylight savings all year. It sucks that it gets dark so early.

rodrick_98

12-09-2007, 09:58 PM

come to think of it, this isn't much different than us changing our daylight savings date this year. according to bush we're going to save energy... as mentioned this all just seems kinda loopy. but i'm not convinced.

The energy bill signed by President Bush orders daylight-saving time to begin three weeks earlier, on the second Sunday in March, and be extended by a week to the first Sunday in November. The change begins in 2007.

Supporters of the change say it will save energy because people won't have to turn their lights on as early in the evening. Sports enthusiasts also look forward to more daylight in the evening.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/08/09/MNGF6E53FP1.DTL

HOOP-T

12-09-2007, 10:14 PM

I implemented my own time zone at our house. It's awesome. It's only 6:12 pm right now in fact. I think I'll get to making dinner.

My boss does get a bit irritated when I show up for work at noon...that's the only major drawback.

rodrick_98

12-09-2007, 10:21 PM

Mr. Clutch

12-09-2007, 11:02 PM

come to think of it, this isn't much different than us changing our daylight savings date this year. according to bush we're going to save energy... as mentioned this all just seems kinda loopy. but i'm not convinced.

Well except that we made the decision democratically. Hugo just did it cuz he felt like it. I dont think Bush has the power to just implement a new time zone.

torque

12-10-2007, 01:05 AM

Well except that we made the decision democratically. Hugo just did it cuz he felt like it. I dont think Bush has the power to just implement a new time zone.
Well, to be fair to ol' Hugo, he did it democratically as well. Venezuela is a presidential system just like the USA, so all law making decisions have to originate and be passed by a legislative body. Basically Venezuela's legislators serve as Chavez's puppet, doing whatever he tells them to do, but they were democratically elected just as Chavez was, and the system in Venezuela is the same as it is in the United States.

Mr. Clutch

12-10-2007, 01:14 AM

Well, to be fair to ol' Hugo, he did it democratically as well. Venezuela is a presidential system just like the USA, so all law making decisions have to originate and be passed by a legislative body. Basically Venezuela's legislators serve as Chavez's puppet, doing whatever he tells them to do, but they were democratically elected just as Chavez was, and the system in Venezuela is the same as it is in the United States.

I think there are a lot of differences in the Venezuelan and US systems.

And did legislators pass this or did Huges make an executive decision?

torque

12-10-2007, 02:14 AM

I think there are a lot of differences in the Venezuelan and US systems.

And did legislators pass this or did Huges make an executive decision?
The Venezuelan and US systems are fundamentally the same. And Chavez cannot make "executive decisions" under Venezuelan law. All law making must originate from the legislative body.

Venezuela's Congress has NOT ONE member of an opposition party, which essentially does allow Hugo to rule by decree, but Chavez cannot just make executive decisions and have them be law.

HOOP-T

12-10-2007, 09:20 AM

he should look at it this way... you always work late ;)

Actually....no.........I created the time zone in such a way that at 3 pm, the time "springs forward" 2 hours. So I really only get a good 3 hours of work in per day.

Dubious

12-10-2007, 09:44 AM

Chavez's plan is a populist compromise; freeing the people from the facist dicatates of government time shifting.

Ill-Skillz

12-10-2007, 09:47 AM

Too bad Chavez doesn't try to change the time zone in Pasadena. If he did, I'm sure Joe Horn would fear for his safety and shoot Chavez in the back.

Rule0001

12-10-2007, 11:57 AM

I would make it so that everything is backwards. That would be ****ing crazy

weslinder

12-10-2007, 12:52 PM

Venezuela doesn't bow to the Imperialistic British and their Greenwich Time! Venezuela uses whatever time it wants. Power to the People!

DonkeyMagic

12-10-2007, 01:59 PM

I wish Texas would follow his lead in this matter. It getting dark at 6 o'clock is flat out retarded. I miss the days of living in Arizona when there was no time change and it got dark at a more reasonable time throughout the year

Bandwagoner

12-10-2007, 02:05 PM

He was gonna do this weeks ago but on the commercial where he was explaining it to people HE got confused.

Yaozer

12-10-2007, 03:01 PM

If he wants to be different.. instead of just moving it 30 mins ahead, why not just add an extra hour to a day.. like 25 hours in a day. That would throw everybody off. Then maybe he could also have an independent Venezuelan calendar consisting of only 10 months.

Rocket River

12-10-2007, 03:08 PM

At the end of the day . . . . .what exactly does this change?

Rocket River

glynch

12-10-2007, 03:13 PM

The Venezuelan and US systems are fundamentally the same. And Chavez cannot make "executive decisions" under Venezuelan law. All law making must originate from the legislative body.

Venezuela's Congress has NOT ONE member of an opposition party, which essentially does allow Hugo to rule by decree, but Chavez cannot just make executive decisions and have them be law.

The opposition refused to run in the legistlative elections when it was apparent that they would not get the majority as Chavez and his party were very popular at that time. Frustrated after the unsucessful coup and a genral strike by rightists in the oil industry, they just refused to participate.

It will be interesting to see if the opposition decides to run next time around since they won the recent referendum.

I do think that the 1/2 hr move , instead of 1 hr is just plain stupid. I would think that it would make doing international business more difficult with Venezuela.

glynch

12-10-2007, 03:14 PM

The Venezuelan and US systems are fundamentally the same. And Chavez cannot make "executive decisions" under Venezuelan law. All law making must originate from the legislative body.

Venezuela's Congress has NOT ONE member of an opposition party, which essentially does allow Hugo to rule by decree, but Chavez cannot just make executive decisions and have them be law.

The opposition refused to run in the legistlative elections when it was apparent that they would not get the majority as Chavez and his party were very popular at that time. Frustrated after the unsucessful coup and a strike by rightists in the oil industry, they just refused to participate.

It will be interesting to see if the opposition decides to run next time around since they won the recent referendum.

I do think that the 1/2 hr move , instead of 1 hr is just plain stupid. I would think that it would make doing international business more difficult with Venezuela.