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Venezuela Next?

It's hard to argue with Chavez' claim that the riches of the workd are controlled by a minority for their own benefit. Countries don't own wealth, people do, and it's the House of Saud rather than Saudi Arabia that has the wealth.
However, in the US, this kind of talk is enough to get you strung up a red, because anybody cab become a millionaire if they want do...
 
You just described capitalism not communism. So I don't know who would be strung up and for what?? Oh and anyone can be a millionare. All you have to actually do is save 20 bucks or so a week and put it in a diversified fund portfolio.
 
TonyBlair11 wrote;

All you have to actually do is save 20 bucks or so a week and put it in a diversified fund portfolio.


I was thinking of doing something similar myself - although when I'm rich I'll bet some people won't call me rich.

Apparently people who are rich get very offended if you call them rich.
 
coldelephant said:
I was thinking of doing something similar myself - although when I'm rich I'll bet some people won't call me rich.
.

No mostly they just call you Sir. :D
 
Oh and anyone can be a millionare. All you have to actually do is save 20 bucks or so a week and put it in a diversified fund portfolio.

Explain this to me some please i'm suddenly coming over all capitalist :D
 
The way it works is that you get a bank to invest money through an account for you.

The bank gives your money to other banks or stock brokers who then invest in companies and governments around the world, and you get dividends which then get invested back into buying shares and bonds as before so increasing the number of shares and bonds you have thereby increasing the likelyhood of dividends which if fruitful are invested back into buying more shares and bonds and that means more dividends....

Then after a number of years you cash it all in and get more than you invested.

Apparently.

The other way of going about it is to give your money to a stock broker - but if you only give them $20 they will laugh at you and tell you to go away.

Apparently.
 
coldelephant said:
The other way of going about it is to give your money to a stock broker - but if you only give them $20 they will laugh at you and tell you to go away.

Apparently.

Mostly they light their Cigars with them.
 
Posted on Fri, Feb. 03, 2006
VENEZUELA

Chávez expels U.S. diplomat, alleges spying

Venezuela expelled a U.S. naval attaché over alleged spying as the top U.S. intelligence official warned of dangers posed by President Hugo Chávez.

BY PABLO BACHELET
[email protected]

WASHINGTON - Already nasty U.S.-Venezuelan relations took another turn south Thursday when firebrand President Hugo Chávez ordered the expulsion of a U.S. naval attaché in Caracas on spying charges.

The first-ever expulsion of a U.S. diplomat stationed in Venezuela came on the same day that U.S. Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte said Venezuela posed the most serious threat to U.S. interests in Latin America and was seeking closer ties with North Korea and Iran -- both accused of having or seeking nuclear weapons.

Speaking at a nationally televised speech marking the seventh anniversary of his coming to power, Chávez announced that Navy Cmdr. John Correa, an attaché with the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, had been declared persona non grata and should leave the country immediately.

He warned that more expulsions could follow, although the U.S. Embassy in Caracas flatly denied the spying allegations. U.S. Ambassador William Brownfield told the TV channel Globovisión that a government note to the embassy on Correa only accused the officer of conduct out of line with international agreements.

''We have not received any communication from the government that explains the reason,'' for the expulsion, Brownfield said.

Venezuelan media reports have said the case revolves around a CD containing publicly available technical descriptions of military planes that Chávez wants to buy from Spain. The disc was allegedly sent by a retired Venezuelan Capt. José Ignacio Plaza, who lives in Orlando, to his father-in-law, a Caracas dentist who is under arrest.

Prosecutors in Caracas have accused half-a-dozen Venezuelan naval officers of spying for the United States and are allegedly investigating many more. Chávez said Correa tried to recruit naval officers to oppose him ahead of a possible U.S. invasion.

RETALIATION POSSIBLE

Correa's expulsion could prompt the Bush administration to expel someone at the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington, and trigger yet another downward spiral in the steadily deteriorating relations between the two nations. The State Department said it had no immediate reaction Thursday.

Chávez, an elected leftist pursuing a self-avowed ''socialist revolution,'' regularly refers to President Bush as ''Mr. Danger'' and blasts ''the empire.'' He also has accused Washington of backing a failed coup against him in 2002.

SPY CHIEF TESTIFIES

U.S. officials flatly deny involvement in the coup attempt and have accused him of supporting leftist subversion around Latin America while imposing an increasingly autocratic rule at home.

Some of the U.S. concerns were reiterated by Negroponte when he told the Senate Intelligence Committee that Chávez was embarked on an ``activist foreign policy in Latin America that includes providing oil at favorable repayment rates to gain allies, using newly created media outlets to generate support for his . . . goals and meddling in the internal affairs of his neighbors by backing particular candidates for elective office.''

He said that if Chávez wins reelection late this year, he will likely be ready ``to continue to stifle the opposition, to reduce press freedom, and entrench himself through measures that are technically legal, but which nonetheless constrict democracy.''

Negroponte's testimony dealt with U.S. concerns over worldwide threats, but Venezuela, a close ally of Cuba and supporter of new Bolivian President Evo Morales, dominated his remarks about Latin America.

''We expect Chávez to deepen his relationship with Castro,'' Negroponte said. ``He also is seeking closer economic, military, and diplomatic ties with Iran and North Korea.''

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in a separate appearance noted that Chávez ''was elected legally, just as Adolf Hitler was elected legally, and then consolidated power.'' He added that Chávez is now working closely with Cuban leader Fidel Castro. ``It concerns me.''

Last month the Bush administration, concerned that Venezuela is embarked on an arms-purchasing spree, blocked the use of U.S. technology in the sale of 12 military patrol and transport aircraft by Spain to Venezuela, potentially foiling the $600 million deal and angering the Spanish government.

FORMER U.S. ALLY

The move also irritated Chávez, who accuses the United States of denying him spare parts for his U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets. The aircraft were purchased in the 1980s, when Venezuela was one of the United States' closest allies in the region.

Venezuela is one of the top five oil exporters to the United States, providing about 1.2 million barrels per day. The Venezuelan government has provided more than 45 million gallons of heating oil at discounted prices to poorer homes in the Northeast, a move that some analysts say is aimed at improving Chávez's image in the United States.

Chávez has taken other actions in the past against U.S. personnel in Caracas, ejecting U.S. military officers from their offices at the Tiuna army base in 2004 and later that year evicting U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents from Venezuelan government installations, also on accusations that they were spying.

www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/13779720.htm
 
I don't think Rummy can spot the irony in what he says:

Rumsfeld Compares Venezuela's Chavez to Hitler

By Al Pessin
Pentagon
02 February 2006


U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has compared Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to the Nazi leader Adolph Hitler, saying both were elected legally and then "consolidated power." Secretary Rumsfeld made the comment as part of an answer to a reporter's question about the election of left-wing leaders in Latin America.

Speaking at the National Press Club in Washington, Secretary Rumsfeld told the questioner that the rise of corruption in democratic governments in Latin America caused voters to look for what he called more "populist" leaders.

"We've seen some populist leadership appealing to masses of people in those countries and elections, like Evo Morales in Bolivia, take place that clearly are worrisome," said Mr. Rumsfeld.

Secretary Rumsfeld said he would not characterize the situation as "a new wave of left-wing anti-American regimes," as the questioner did. But he went on to criticize the leftist Venezuelan leader, Hugo Chavez, who has become a sharp critic of the United States and a close friend of Cuba's communist leader, Fidel Castro.

"We've got Chavez in Venezuela with a lot of oil money," he noted. "He's a person who was elected legally, just as Adolph Hitler was elected legally, and then consolidated power, and now is, of course, working closely with Fidel Castro and Mr. Morales and others. It concerns me."

As Secretary Rumsfeld spoke, President Chavez was preparing to travel to Cuba late Wednesday to visit President Castro and accept an award from the United Nations for promoting Latin American culture.

Secretary Rumsfeld did not comment on, and at that time may not have known about, Venezuela's expulsion of a U.S. military attaché. The official, a U.S. Navy captain, was accused of spying. Several Venezuelan military officers have been accused of passing information to the U.S. military through the embassy in Caracas. There was no immediate response from the U.S. government.

www.voanews.com/english/2006-02-02-voa79.cfm

I have this vision of him walking into talks with these Central and South American leaders, staring at them for a minute, whispering "Allende" in a menacing tone and then leaving again.
 
Donald Rumsfeld has compared Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to the Nazi leader Adolph Hitler, saying both were elected legally and then "consolidated power."

Now George W. Bush can't even claim that distinction!

There's been an awful lot of people who are 'like Hitler' in recent years.

I, for one, am beginning to think that he can't have been all that uniquely bad afterall.

Why not opt for 'like Stalin' as a variation on a tired theme.
 
Here's a gem for those looking for precedents:

I don't see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist due to the irresponsibility of its own people. The issues are much too important for the Chilean voters to be left to decide for themselves." — Henry Kissinger
 
Oh, Henry...that champion of democracy. If you have to bomb a few Cambodians just to get them to realise that they should democratically elect a different government, well the principle is the important thing.

And while Dubya may not have been legally elected (or he might, it's a matter of interpretation) he's certainly working on the consolidation of power. He's been trying (although many people claim it has actually been Karl Rove who's been trying) to become king, and establish the divine right of the President.

As for precedents from the Nixon administration - where do you think he got the idea for the wiretaps?
 
Sardan2 said:
theyithian said:
Now George W. Bush can't even claim that distinction!

Well if you are talking about the elected legally bit GWB won his second term by a landslide.
Those paperless electonic voting booths just love Dubyah! :yeay:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._presidential_election,_2004

...

# George W. Bush became the first candidate since his father—George H. W. Bush, elected in 1988—to receive a majority of the popular vote. It also marked the seventh consecutive election in which the Democratic nominee failed to reach that threshold.
# Although Bush received a majority of the popular vote: 50.73% to Kerry's 48.27%, it was—percentage-wise—the closest popular margin ever for a sitting President; Bush received 2.5% more than Kerry; the closest previous margin won by a sitting President was 3.2% for Woodrow Wilson in 1916. In terms of absolute number of popular votes, his victory margin (approximately 3 million votes) was the smallest of any sitting President since Harry S. Truman in 1948.

...
 
Mighty_Emperor said:
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has compared Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to the Nazi leader Adolph Hitler, saying both were elected legally and then "consolidated power." Secretary Rumsfeld made the comment as part of an answer to a reporter's question about the election of left-wing leaders in Latin America.

Wait I'm really confused here, so democracy is bad if we don't agree with the choice of the overwhleming majority of people?
 
Heckler20 said:
Mighty_Emperor said:
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has compared Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to the Nazi leader Adolph Hitler, saying both were elected legally and then "consolidated power." Secretary Rumsfeld made the comment as part of an answer to a reporter's question about the election of left-wing leaders in Latin America.

Wait I'm really confused here, so democracy is bad if we don't agree with the choice of the overwhleming majority of people?

I can agree that nazi germany was a bad democracy, most people would think that. I don't see whats so confusing?
 
tonyblair11 said:
...

I can agree that nazi germany was a bad democracy, most people would think that. I don't see whats so confusing?
Nazi Germany was not a democracy. It was a totalitarian dictatorship.

Weimar Germany was a weak democracy, Hitler and his party got in with only about 33% of the vote in 1933 and struggled to make a coaltiton:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weimar_Republic

Eventually Hitler and the Nazis simply seized power:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machtergreifung

Then the Reichstag Fire allowed Hitler the leeway he needed to introduce special powers:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_Fire

Hitler and the Nazi Party only took part in the democratic process to get their foot in the door, after that, old balloons like Hindenburg couldn't stop them.
 
Chavez seized power in a military coup, however he then held a democratic election in which the majority of people returned him as the leader of choice.

He has subsequently held another election in which he was returned with a greater majority.

Surely this is the democratic ideal at work (apart from the military coup at the start ;) ) so who are we to argue with the majority of people who legally elect a leader?

Answer is, we have absolutely no right, he is not oppressing his people, he is not making expansionist rumblings, the only threat I can see is that he might just be able to unite South America and cut off a very lucretive cheap labour market for the US.
 
Heckler20 said:
... the only threat I can see is that he might just be able to unite South America and cut off a very lucretive cheap labour market for the US.
Don't forget the sizeable OIL reserves, too. :)
 
now they have really annoyed hugo. its goodbye sailor... i'm a bit worried about the iran part.

Arms, votes and the man

Feb 9th 2006 | CARACAS
From The Economist print edition


Hugo Chávez turns spycatcher

Get article background

AS SPY scandals go, this one is more Austin Powers than James Bond. John Correa, an American militaryattaché declared persona non grata by the leftist government of President Hugo Chávez on February 2nd, holds the same rank—navy commander—as Ian Fleming's fictional 007. But the most sophisticated gadget he has been accused of using is an e-mail account. Mr Chávez claimed to have infiltrated the embassy so effectively that he even knew where the diplomats ate reinas pepiadas, a popular Venezuelan snack. William Brownfield, the United States' ambassador, responded that he had never eaten the snack in question in his life.

Mr Chávez, however, is not amused. He claimed that up to two dozen naval officers were supplying Commander Correa with classified information by e-mail. George Bush's administration, which denies the spying charges, responded by expelling the number two at the Venezuelan embassy in Washington DC, Jenny Figueredo, who was a political appointee rather than a diplomat.

The tit-for-tat expulsions mark a new low in relations between Mr Chávez and what he calls “the empire”. In recent months, the United States has adopted a low-key approach to Venezuela. It has ignored Mr Chávez's incendiary rhetoric while working to prevent him acquiring newmilitary hardware. Its veto on the sale of American-licensed components may end up scuttling a deal with Spain for 12 naval reconnaissance and transport aircraft. Some of the spying—if such it was—concerned the Spanish planes.

The same fate may befall two other orders, one for Spanish patrol boats and another for groundattack aircraft from Brazil's Embraer. Mr Chávez says he will look elsewhere, to China or to Russia, which is already supplying him with military helicopters andrifles. He has reiterated a plan to arm 1m citizens to deter an “imperialist” invasion. He also talks of a “strategic alliance” with Iran.

Meanwhile, Venezuela continues to send more than 1m barrels a day of oil to the United States. Mr Chávez faces a presidential election in December. His calls to forge “21st-century socialism” do not impress many Venezuelans as they watch their country's infrastructure crumble. But gringo-bashing goes down well. “Nationalism is a key connector between the leader and the masses,” says Luis Vicente León of Datanálisis, a polling firm. The Americans will continue to keep a close eye on Mr Chávez—and he will uncover more “imperialist plots”.



http://www.economist.com/PrinterFriendl ... id=5501201
 
His calls to forge “21st-century socialism” do not impress many Venezuelans as they watch their country's infrastructure crumble.

It's always amusing to see the Economist sniping at Chavez. They really don't like people who don't go with their version of capitalism.
 
The last time I saw Venezuela on the news it was in the context of thousands of Cuban doctors and nurses being employed there and school building. It seems to me that since the Oligarchy got chucked out the infrastructure is blooming, and without US sabre rattling and saboteur training not so much would be spent on arms. As you say good old economist.
 
I wonder if he is cosying up to the South American coutries:

11 February 2006 02:21


Hand back Falklands, Venezuela tells Blair

By Jamie Lyons and Jon Smith, PA
Published: 10 February 2006

Downing Street today refused to be drawn into a fresh war of words with Venezuela's president after he called on Britain to hand over the Falklands to Argentina.

Hugo Chavez said the islands belonged to Argentina and demanded Prime Minister Tony Blair give them back.

Mr Blair infuriated Mr Chavez earlier this week when he said he should respect the rules of the international community.

The Prime Minister also said he would prefer to see Venezuela's ally Cuba function as a true democracy.

Mr Chavez responded to Mr Blair's comments by branding him "a pawn of imperialism" and "the main ally of Hitler" - a reference to US President George Bush.

In his latest attack on Mr Blair today, Mr Chavez said Britain had violated the sovereignty of various nations - citing the case of the Falklands.

"We have to remember the Falklands, how they were taken away from the Argentinians," he said.

Speaking in the western Venezuelan city of Maracaibo, he added: "Those islands are Argentina's. Return them, Mr Blair. Those islands are Argentina's."

Downing Street would not rise to the attack.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "I don't think it is to anybody's benefit to get into a war of words on this. The position of the Falkland Islands has been stated many times. That remains the position.

"I am not sure comments like this are helpful and I think it is better to draw a veil and move on."

Britain recaptured the Falklands after Argentinian troops invaded in 1982. Hundreds were killed on both sides in the three-month conflict.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/ame ... 344644.ece
 
Or just trying to windup Bush's lapdog? It would make a lot of sense for there to be some kind of South American alliance though.
 
And who could blame Hugo for cozying up with his neighbors I just read this.
Letter From Venezuela

By Christopher Bollyn
American Free Press
2-17-6

The Bush administration, which has demonstrated an appalling disregard for the rule of law and the welfare of its own people, is viciously attacking Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez, a populist leader who is using his nation's immense oil wealth to improve the lives of his people and his neighbors ­ including many Americans.

ISLA MARGARITA, Venezuela ­ The ongoing war of words being waged between the Bush administration and Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez was in full swing as I traveled from Miami to Caracas, the capital of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld made the outrageous comparison of Hugo Chávez with Adolf Hitler in the beginning of what The Washington Post reported as having been "an especially ugly week in the hostile relationship" between the Bush administration and the increasingly popular Chávez.

The week started with Venezuela expelling a U.S. naval attaché on charges of spying, which led to the expulsion of a senior Venezuelan diplomat from Washington, and ended with the U.S. blocking a deal in which Venezuela was to buy coastal patrol boats from Spain. While Spain had initially said it would replace the U.S.-made components on the boats with French-made parts, by the end of the week Spain had suddenly cancelled the lucrative contract with no explanation provided.

Rumsfeld, who serves under a president who was, in fact, not elected by the people, made a rather odd comment comparing two legally elected leaders: "Chávez was elected legally, just as Adolf Hitler was elected legally," Rumsfeld said, "And then consolidated his power." The "populist leadership" of Chávez, which appeals to "masses of people," Rumsfeld said,
is "worrisome" to the Bush administration.

After a week in Venezuela, however, I have yet to meet a Venezuelan who has expressed any worries or concerns about the populist reforms initiated by Chávez. The Venezuelans and foreigners I have met have nothing but praise for the wide-ranging improvements Chávez has brought to the people. They talk frequently of the improved public hospitals and schools where medical treatment and education are now provided free of charge.

Venezuelans often ask if I am American. When I tell them that I am from Chicago they seem pleased and go out of their way to be helpful. I am writing from Playa El Yaque on the south coast of Isla Margarita, where American windsurfers in 1984 first discovered ideal sailing conditions with consistent strong winds and smooth seas. Since then it has become an international haven attracting windsurfers and kite-surfers from all over the world.

Driving through Caracas in a large American-made car from the 1980's, the taxi driver told me that Venezuela's cheap gasoline was "a gift" from Chávez. A gallon of gas costs less than 280 Bolivars, the equivalent of about 12 U.S. cents, and it costs less than $2 to fill the tank. Likewise, Venezuela provides subsidized oil and gas to dozens of nations throughout the Caribbean Basin and Latin America.

"Chávez is making friends while Bush is earning enmity," was the title of Andres Oppenheimer's article in The Miami Herald on February 9. "You don't have to be a genius to figure out why Washington is losing influence in Latin America," Oppenheimer wrote. "While Chávez is making headlines with vows to give about $3.7 billion a year to his neighbors, the Bush administration wants to cut back its estimated $1.2 billion in U.S. foreign aid to the region."

Hundreds of thousands of poor Americans in five Northeastern states have been on the receiving end of Venezuela's generosity. This winter alone, hundreds of thousands of low-income Americans from Pennsylvania and New York to Maine and Vermont have received more than 25 million gallons of subsidized heating oil for their homes.

"LYNCHING" CHÁVEZ

Late last year as oil prices spiked, a dozen U.S. senators asked 10 major oil companies to donate a portion of their record profits to help the poor. As USA Today reported, "Only Citgo [a subsidiary of Venezuela's state-owned oil company] responded, dispatching tankers to housing projects in New York and Massachusetts in what Felix Rodriguez, the company president and chief executive, called a purely 'humanitarian' gesture.

"Rodriguez said that Chávez had ordered the giveaway so poor Americans wouldn't have to choose between food and heat."

But rather than showing appreciation, the USA Today article by David J. Lynch carried a photo of motorists pumping gas at a Citgo gas station with the alarming caption, "Chávez could destroy the U.S. economy in 90 days, an energy banker said."

"What if Chávez closed Citgo's refineries?" the CIA-linked newspaper asked?

"He'd only have to do that for 90 days, and he'd destroy our economy," Matthew Simmons, "a prominent energy investment banker," told Lynch. "He actually has our livelihood in his hands," Simmons said.

"At the high point of oil and gas prices, a dozen U.S. senators of both parties appealed to oil companies' 'sense of corporate citizenship' to help less fortunate Americans get through the winter in the face of cuts in federal assistance," Fadi Kabboul of the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington wrote to USA Today in response to the Lynch article. "Citgo did its part. No other oil company has done so. It makes the criticism in the article seem petty."

So why is the Bush administration so hostile to Chávez? Why is a government that shares its oil wealth with its people and neighbors considered a threat? Why is the foreign leader who was first to offer help to the hurricane ravaged Gulf Coast viewed as harboring evil intentions by the controlled media and the federal government whose own response to the dire plight of its citizens has been called "late, uncertain and ineffective," by Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine)?

The answer to these questions is obvious. Venezuela, the world's fifth-largest oil exporter with the largest proven reserves outside of the Mideast, has long been considered by the "big oil" companies as America's own privately-run gas station. Chávez, however, has put an end to foreign control and plundering of Venezuela's oil resources and the immense profits they generate. One does not have to look far to see that, over the decades, very little of this nation's oil wealth has trickled down to the average Venezuelan.

Venezuela is particularly strong in refining capacity. As I rode past the sprawling refinery outside of Puerto de la Cruz, I was amazed at the size of Venezuela's second largest refinery, which covers thousands of acres. Venezuela's largest refinery, the Paraguana Refining Center is five times larger with a capacity of nearly 1 million barrels per day.

Venezuela also owns a 50 percent equity interest in the Hovensa refinery on St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, which has a capacity of 500,000 barrels per day, and it leases the huge Emmastad refinery on the nearby island of Curacao. Over decades, most of the products produced at these refineries have been exported to the U.S.

The Bush administration and the "big oil" money behind it are clearly displeased with the change in ownership, the nationalization of Venezuela's oil fields, which Chávez brought about. These plutocrats are now engaged in an international political and propaganda campaign to malign the popular leader who has stood up to their global tyranny.

New Year's Day 2006 saw the return of Venezuelan state control over 32 privately operated oil fields. Venezuelan oil minister Rafael Ramirez said the state successfully completed "the recovery" of the 32 fields whose control had been ceded to private hands in the 1990s under concessions allowing companies to independently pump oil under contract.

In 2001, Venezuela passed a law requiring oil production to be carried out by companies majority-owned by the government. The deadline for converting the privately-owned operating agreements into joint ventures in which the state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), would hold the controlling stake was Dec. 31.

While other oil companies went along with the conversions, Exxon Mobil Corp. of Irving, Texas, resisted the contract changes, the Associated Press reported on Jan. 4. The conversions to joint ventures with PDVSA "will significantly reduce the oil companies' share of profits and control over operations and could also undermine the value of their Venezuelan assets," AP reported.

Venezuela's stake could be as much as 90 percent in the new ventures. The amount of investment made by the private companies in the fields will determine the amount of control they have, Ramirez said.

Finis

Photo: As the cold weather arrived late last fall, and oil prices reached new highs, a dozen U.S. senators appealed to the major oil companies to show some 'sense of corporate citizenship' and help less fortunate Americans get through the winter in the face of cuts in federal assistance.

With hundreds of thousands of low-income Americans unable to heat their homes, President Hugo Chávez ordered CITGO to send subsidized heating oil to New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and other Northeastern states so that poor Americans wouldn't have to choose between food and heat.

When the U.S. Congress asked the oil companies, who have had record profits during the past few years, to help the poorest Americans in their hour of need ONLY one company answered the call: CITGO ;)
 
US warns against Chavez 'danger'

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez is one of the biggest dangers facing Latin America, Washington has said.

US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice said Mr Chavez was trying to influence others away from democracy, and called for a united front against him.

President Chavez responded by accusing the US of aggression, saying "world opinion is with Venezuela".

The exchange would appear to undermine recent efforts to improve increasingly strained ties between the two states.

Low point

Addressing a congressional hearing on Thursday, Ms Rice accused Mr Chavez of leading a "Latin brand of populism that has taken countries down the drain".

[The US has] tried for some years to isolate us, to block us. They've failed and they will fail because they are wrong
Hugo Chavez

She described Venezuela's close relationship with Cuba as "particularly dangerous".

"The international community has just got to be much more active in supporting and defending the Venezuelan people," she said.

The Venezuelan president dismissed Ms Rice's comments as "crazy".

"Could it be true what the people in the street are saying? That Chavez is driving [US officials] crazy?" he said.

"[The US has] tried for some years to isolate us, to block us. They've failed and they will fail because they are wrong."

On Tuesday, US and Venezuelan diplomats held talks in Washington, which were welcomed by both sides as a step towards greater communication.

Earlier this month, relations hit a new low when Washington expelled a Venezuelan diplomat in retaliation for the expulsion of the US naval attache.

Mr Chavez accuses the Bush administration of trying to orchestrate his removal, a charge denied by Washington.

-----------
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/w ... 723902.stm

Published: 2006/02/17 14:36:32 GMT

© BBC MMVI
 
crunchy5 said:
And who could blame Hugo for cozying up with his neighbors I just read this.
Letter From Venezuela

By Christopher Bollyn
American Free Press
2-17-6

[snip]

ISLA MARGARITA, Venezuela..

[snip]

I am writing from Playa El Yaque on the south coast of Isla Margarita..

[snip]


I've actually been to Margarita. One side of the island has fabuously expensive 5-star hotels, marinas and top-of-the-line boutiques like Cartier, Versace et.al., while the other side (where we stayed) has family resorts next to fishing villages, farms and a volcano.

Right in the middle, is the main city of Porlamar - it's a bit like the Barras crossed with Blackpool promenade.

Every shop sells bootleg games, DVDs and CDs - clothes shops especially. You'll find official branded stores like the NIKE store, and right next door will be a bootleg NIKE store, selling cheaper knock-offs of the very same goods sold next door. Quality ranging from shoddy to indistinguishable from the real thing.

It's a pretty cool place, but the heat was unbearable - I have a picture somewhere, wherein I am pictured keeling, hands raised to the sky in praise of the tropical storm I am being engulfed by (and loving every minute of the precious rain).

We were there not long after a failed attempt to dislodge Chavez.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,688071,00.html
 
"The international community has just got to be much more active in supporting and defending the Venezuelan people," she said.

For once I agree with Ms Rice.

But we might differ on exactly what the Venezuelan people need defending from...
What with Chile, Bolivia, Brazil and Argentina all being run by dangerrous pinkoes now, the CIA boys are going to be very busy in the next few years.

(I've also been to Venezuela, and Lord, it was HOT. Brilliant for birding though.)
 
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