In media news — the Venezuelan government officially launched Telesur — a new Latin American satellite TV station. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has said the station will give South America a voice independent of traditional media conglomerates like CNN. At a launch ceremony on Sunday Chavez said “This is part of an awakening of our peoples.” The station is being launched with help from other Latin American governments including Argentina, Cuba and Uruguay. Board members include a group of international supporters including the actor Danny Glover, the writer Tariq Ali and Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel. The new station is not being well-received in Washington. Last week the U.S. House passed an amendment calling for the U.S. to begin broadcasting its own channel into the region to counter Telesur. Republican Congressman Connie Mack of Florida said the U.S. government should “initiate radio and television broadcasts that will provide a consistently accurate, objective, and comprehensive source of news to Venezuela.” Mack said this is needed to counter what he described as Telesur’s “anti-Americanism.”