Russia and Venezuela discuss cooperation on energy

[Judi Lynn]

Russia and Venezuela discuss cooperation on energy
27/11/2004 - 08:43:51

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday discussed energy cooperation between their countries, two of the world’s largest oil suppliers, and pledged to work to stabilise the world oil market.

After official talks, Russia’s Lukoil company signed a memorandum of understanding with the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA, which envisions setting up a joint venture on exploring and refining oil.

In a joint statement, Putin and Chavez pledged to ”continue efforts to maintain stability on the world oil market”.

On Thursday, Chavez said that OPEC should keep oil production unchanged and warned against letting oil prices drop sharply. He said that the minimum price per barrel should be $30 instead of the current $22-28 price corridor.
(snip/...)

http://212.2.162.45/news/story.asp?j=125525388&p=yz55z6x94&n=125526148

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Venezuela plans to buy a lot of Russian weapons
26 Nov 2004 18:55:22 GMT

Source: Reuters

By Tom Miles

MOSCOW, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Venezuela plans to buy large amounts of arms from Russia, President Hugo Chavez said after talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Friday.

"We are modernising and strengthening our armed forces against any form of aggression. We are talking about deliveries of 100,000 Russian machineguns," Chavez told a news conference.

"We also told the president about our wish to acquire large quantities of anti-tank and anti-aircraft equipment," he added.

Leftist former paratrooper Chavez is hoping Putin will help him diversify Venezuela's arms procurement away from the United States and the European Union. Putin said arms sales to Venezuela had doubled in the past year.
(snip/...)

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L26114140.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[aquart]

1. The power vacuum is being filled.

Alliances are being formed that cut us out of the power structure of tomorrow's world.

What's George gonna do? Invade Venezuela with his half-dead army? Nuke Russia? Shake his finger and stamp his foot?

He has left us naked to our enemies.

[Seldona]

2. Bingo!

And they know it.

[VivaKerry]

3. Thank you!!

I get poo poo'd around here when I talk about the russian/chinese alliance that is getting really strong!!

if you look at the whole pic -- china and russia are making the same friends the world over for the purpose of military buildup, geographic 'cover', economic alliances.

China signed a deal with russia last year for help getting china's military 'updated' and transformed from a troops-centered unit to a more high tech unit.

Gee, it would have been a good idea to tell china: "before we can consider giving you most favored nation status, you get a democracy rolling, boys."

[Robbien]

4. There is certainly nothing here to poo poo about

Every single country (except Britain, Canada and Australia) is looking around trying to solidify alliances which do not include the US. Spain and France went together to meet with China last month. Cuba has been talking with the Caribbean. Latin America also has been having talks with Russia and China. And so on.

When you have a rogue nation such as the US which ignores the Geneva agreement, which invades sovereign states and which stages coups in foreign nations; every other country should be watching their backs and making new alliances.

[Spazito]

5. Canada, too, is broadening it's alliances and it's export market...

given the crap bush has pulled on softwood lumber, etc. From every avenue, countries are reducing their 'contacts' with the US because of bush.

[Robbien]

39. Sorry Canadians, you have a rep of going along to get along

which fools us and then wham, much later we find that stuff you were doing was stuff under the radar which advances your own motives.

Being our closest neighbors cannot be easy.

[Spazito]

46. What we do is out in the open but the US media, as usual, doesn't...

report it because it doesn't involve sex, murder or sports! lol

[Just Me]

34. Sometimes, love requires stiff boundaries,...

,...and, as much as I love the content (people) of this country,...when I witness a particularly destructive course,...I am ready to reach out and ask for help to contain that destruction.

I'm more than an American,...I am a member of this world.

Although I and so many tens of millions like me have done our very best to maintain the experiment of democracy,...we need help,...and I believe that we are prepared to accept help.

[Wright Patman]

11. You mean like the "democracy"

we have here?

[Imperialism Inc.]

7. As strange as it sounds, leaving us naked and

encouraging such alliances is probably exactly what the neo-cons would like to see. As powerful as 9-11 was they know it can't last forever. They know they will eventually need more conventional enemies to scare the population with.

[Deja Q]

16. Not naked. We are wielding nuclear weapons. And we're covering our

limp balls with them.

And if the future heads the way that today's deals are progressing, the US will be naked soon. Which is okay, the nukes will annihilate this planet.

I already apologized to my pet parrot for how we humans can't manage the world despite being purportedly more intelligent. :eyes:

[Demeter]

6. Be Careful, Little Venezuela!

Just because they aren't US, doesn't mean they are any better. Teaming up with the rest of your continent would make a whole lot more sense.

[Judi Lynn]

8. Bush has undertaken nasty, hostile actions toward Venezuela

which would have provoked more powerful countries to explosive responses. He's a cheap bully.

Venezuela has been working very recently on joint projects with Colombia which sound very promising. Venezuela is also very cooperative and friendly with all the Latin American countries.

[Hotler]

9. Think they'll make the switch from...

dollars to Euros to price their oil deals???

[Wright Patman]

12. If he follows the Cuban example

with Russia, Chavez will probably trade oil for weapons. With Cuba it was oil for health care, I think. Cuba has a fairly advanced health care system and thousands of highly proficient doctors.

I am trying to think of something the U.S. has for barter to Venezuela, but I am coming up blank. It would probably be something agricultural, but that would cut the moneychangers out of the deal and the U.S. is run by moneychangers. That's why our foreign policy is to kill anyone who doesn't want to let us change their money.

[bin.dare]

15. dollars to euros? has already begun ...

the rising price of oil coincides with the rising euro. in other words, altho' not officially announced, the price of oil seems to be pegged to the euro and not the dollar. this is the first step, the next step will be slower because going too fast will cause the total collapse of the US and great hardship for the rest of the world.

[pig.]

33. not so

the rising price of oil coincides with the drop in value of the american dollar. we are debted past our eyeballs.

[leesa]

10. Way to go fool. Bush kicks in the head and shoves away another

important ally for our future survival.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

13. we are gonna really really suffer for the bush voter's choices this is ALL

their fault......this is accountability in action..the world IS now united against us and will punish America in every way it can!

FUCK YOU BUSH and YOUR MORONIC VOTERS!....

MAY YOU ALL DIE FROM YOUR IGNORANCE BEFORE IT KILLS US ALL AND ALL OUR CHILDREN!!!!

[coreystone]

14. So much to the end of the "cold war".......

Remarks at the Brandenburg Gate
West Berlin, Germany
June 12, 1987

Ronald Reagan

<snip>

"General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!

<snip>



Sure doesn't sound like an end to the "COLD WAR" to me!



George W. Bush, "Freedom and Fear are at War"
Address to a joint session of Congress 20sep01


<snip>

""Either you are with us,
or you are with the terrorists."

<snip>


Anybody wonder who may be against us???

:think:

[Chicago Democrat]

17. That was Exactly what I was going to say

[VegasWolf]

18. Greed and corruption killed Rome. China is now the number one

superpower in the world. A Russian, Chineese, Venezualian
power group makes perfect sense. While we struggle along
with our economy, Venezula posted a 17.5% GDP last year.
Way to go bushco.

[Bono71]

19. Venezuela also has triple the poverty rate since

Chavez took over. Not saying the US should interfere with a democracy, but Chavez is no gem. Moreover, I have lived and worked in China for a number of years and get back there 3-4 times a year on business. They are coming along nicely and have great potential, but to state they are the number one superpower is a little over the top, no?

[Judi Lynn]

20. Would you be good enough to furnish a reference to the actual proof

Venezuela has THREE TIMES its poverty rate prior to the three strongly supported elections of Hugo Chavez, the last being only a few months ago?

We had an unimpeachable DU'er who was IN Venezuela at the time of the coup when it happened in April, 2002. We got continuous communication from him throughout, and much commentary from him since, as well as insights from some intelligent members who have lived there, as well. There are a lot of DU'ers who are interested in the subject.

I'm sure your remarks will be so helpful.

[bemildred]

22. Let's see, 3 times 80% is 240% of all Venezuelans live in poverty.

Must keep them all pretty busy.

[Judi Lynn]

24. Maybe the pResident should ban travel to Venezuela, as well.

It will allow his regime to spin all the baloney about "leftist," popular Presidents we can handle, with absolutely no way to verify. Just like Cuba!

[ninkasi]

23. Yes, won't they?

Are you as grateful as I am for all the new members who ever so gently correct us? Purely for our own good, of course. Amazing that after being so extremely helpful in pointing out our flawed thinking, they never seem to last long. Oh, well, life is full of mysteries.

[Judi Lynn]

27. It seems they never have much luck pulling out that vital information

which would help to support their glorious defense of the Venezuelan oligarchy as the true friends of the poor.

Look how sublime are the aspects of housing the Venezuelan poor have been enjoying for decades under oligarchy control!

[Ima]

25. I also would like

to see some proof of that. As I understand it he has done a lot for the poor.

[Bono71]

26. Not ingnoring, working on the proof...it was reported

by NPR during the election shenanigans...

[Judi Lynn]

29. Maybe this will help. It's fairly recent.

Published: Wednesday, November 17, 2004
Bylined to: VHeadline.com Reporters


BCV Maza Zavala says Venezuela's economic recovery will continue through 2007


BCV director
Domingo Maza Zavala

alia2.net/Quantum writes: Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) director Domingo Maza Zavala says economic recovery will continue through 2007 ... “there must be continuity in the recovery in order for it to transform into growth.”
(snip)

On other occasions, Maza Zavala has stated that the Venezuelan economy will grow this year with a figure above 10% GDP ... a value that has been recognized as the highest in Latin America in terms of percent variation.

Nevertheless, risk analysts such as Fitch Ratings, and multilateral institutions have estimated a growth of 13.3% of the GDP for
BCV director
Domingo Maza Zavala

Venezuela, partly due to the high oil prices, industrial recovery, and the reactivation of the private sector.

According to Central Bank figures, the Venezuelan economy grew 34.8% of the GDP during the first quarter, and 13.6% in the second, for an average 23.1% of the GDP in this year’s first semester.
(snip/...)

http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=23545
(Free registration is required)

Or maybe this:Venezuela Economy Grows 16% in 3rd Qtr on Oil Prices (Update1)
Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuela's economy expanded 16 percent from July through September, the fourth straight quarter of growth, as record oil revenue boosted government spending.

Gross domestic product growth, the broadest measure of a country's output of goods and services, accelerated from 14 percent in the second quarter, the central bank reported. GDP had grown 35 percent in the first quarter, as the economy recovered from a 7.6 percent contraction for all of last year, when a two- month nationwide strike throttled oil output.

A 90 percent increase in government spending during the first eight months this year, fueled by a 39 percent rally in oil prices in the past 12 months, sparked consumer demand. Car sales more than doubled during the first 10 months.

``These are the good old days, as far as the government is concerned,'' said Robert Bottome, an analyst with research company Veneconomy. The economy expanded 20 percent in the first nine months of the year, the central bank said.

President Hugo Chavez defeated a vote to recall him in August and supporters of the former army lieutenant colonel won 20 of 22 state governorships in regional elections last month. The election results eased investor concern about political instability and boosted consumer confidence, said Gustavo Roosen, Chief Executive of CA Nacional Telefonos de Venezuela, the country's largest telephone company.

``Further economic recovery, together with the regional elections, can be expected to produce an improvement in the Venezuelan business climate,'' Roosen said in a conference call with analysts earlier this month. ``We expect to continue to reap the benefits of improved economic performance as oil and public spending drive growth.''
(snip/...)http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000086&sid=alScDNoHk7nY&refer=latin_america

[VegasWolf]

38. Excellent research Judi! n/t

[Judi Lynn]

43. Ha HA! Thank you, too much, VegasWolf! n/t

[Just Me]

37. Judi Lynn,...notice how "truth-sayers" escape you,...

,...and run away.

Causes me to imagine a different kind of prison,...that which captures all those who prove the ultimate failure of integrity.

[Judi Lynn]

44. Isn't that odd? Another "truth-sayer" bites the dust, sadly.

We've seen so MANY of these rascals around here, haven't we? They must have us confused with the ((((((((((( Hard Right Spin )))))))))) message board.

[Bono71]

47. This article documents the statements Kerry made about

your boy becoming a dictator.

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=1265

[Judi Lynn]

49. How crude of you to try to identify Chavez as a dictator

and to point your grubby finger at me, targeting me as a "dictator humper."

MY BOY? Do you realize how stupid that sounds? Maybe that kind of retarded labeling still goes over with the lost-in-time group in Miami, but it's simply vulgar and nasty every where else.

Here's a response to John Kerry's ill-advised remarks concerning Hugo Chavez:

March 24, 2004

An Open Letter to John Kerry
You Are Wrong on Venezuela, Senator
By EVA GOLINGER

As a registered Democrat who supports major changes to current US governance, I must express my utmost disappointment and disillusionment with your March 19, 2004 Statement on Venezuela. I am a US citizen of Venezuelan origin. I have voted on the democratic bill since I was first legally permitted to vote many years ago. Along with many other residents and citizens in this country, I believe the current US administration has acted in ways contrary to my beliefs and perceptions of democracy and progress, and has betrayed notions of what the United States of America should truly represent and pursue in the world community.

Up until Friday's statement, I had hope that you, as a presidential candidate, could offer the American people a true alternative and change from the brutal, insensitive and interventionist government we have had during the past four years. As a Venezuelan-American, I must tell you that your statement on Venezuela is not only highly misplaced, but also demonstrates how truly uninformed you are about the situation in Venezuela. It also leads me to believe that you have been influenced by interested parties insisting you take a stand on this issue in their favor.

You declare that international pressure should bear on President Chavez to allow the referendum to proceed, which clearly demonstrates your ignorance of the referendum process in Venezuela. As per the Venezuelan Constitution, certain procedures must first be completed before a recall referendum can be held on President Chavez' mandate, and those clamoring for the referendum have yet to fulfill the necessary requirements that would permit such a vote to take place. It may be easy for you to make a statement on an issue you do not fully understand or care about, merely to acquire approval from a targeted voting pool, yet I would warn you to not make such whimsical declarations without first examining the entire situation.

You, as others in the current administration and congress, may feel as though President Chavez is somehow interfering in the referendum process. But, Mr. Kerry, I suggest you seek out other news and information sources than those currently serving you, because a more accurate report of the events in Venezuela would demonstrate to you that President Chavez has taken no steps whatsoever to impede a recall referendum. Venezuela's Electoral Council and Supreme Court are currently determining whether hundreds of thousands of potentially fraudulent signatures are subject to further review and certification. Determining whether substantial numbers of signatures on a very important petition is an issue, which I hope, you would consider worthy of scrutiny and absolute certainty. Or would you permit such a situation to occur in your own election and just let potentially fraudulent votes against you be counted without any further verification or review?

In Venezuela, it is not President Chavez, but rather the Venezuelan people who voted for him in 1998 and 1999 and still strongly support him today, who have demanded the petitions be free from fraud and corruption and have insisted the appropriate overseeing bodies ensure a fair, true and honest electoral process.

You also mention in your March 19th Statement that President Chavez has "repeatedly undermined democratic institutions using extra-legal means, including politically motivated incarcerations, to consolidate power". Honestly, Mr. Kerry, are you speaking of the same President Chavez who has been democratically governing Venezuela since 1998, has implemented one of the most progressive constitutions in the world in the area of human rights, has developed successful social programs that are benefiting millions of Venezuelans in the areas of health care, education, housing and jobs, and has brought more Venezuelans into the political process than any government in the nation's history? The same President Chavez who survived a coup d'etat in April 2002 by an opposition movement that violently ousted him from his democratically elected post and then proceeded to dissolve all of Venezuela's most treasured institutions, such as the Supreme Court, the National Assembly, the Constitution, the Public Defender and the Attorney General?
(snip/...)

http://www.counterpunch.org/golinger03242004.html

[Name removed]

50. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[VegasWolf]

21. Economically yes! They are coming along fantastically and we are

degenerating nicely. we're somewhere close to the intersection
points. I, for one, am not betting on the US and I am
moving my money overseas. Just my hunches, I've always followed
them and they've worked out well for me. Good luck to all of us.

The Roman guards in the palace were the last to believe Rome was
falling.

[Ima]

28. About the poor

Go to the barrios of Caracas, and it becomes obvious why the recall effort against Hugo Chavez failed: providing people with free health care, education, small business loans and job training is a good way to win the hearts and minds of the people. Story Tools
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More stories by Medea Benjamin



When the rule of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was reaffirmed in a landslide 58-42 percent victory on Sunday, the opposition who put the recall vote on the ballot was stunned. They obviously don't spend much time in the nation's poor neighborhoods.

I knew Chavez would win the referendum when I met Olivia Delfino in a poor Caracas barrio that our international election delegation visited. Olivia came running out of her tiny house and grabbed my arm. "Tell the people of your country that we love Hugo Chavez," she insisted. She went on to tell me how her life had changed since he came to power. After living in the barrio for 40 years, she now had a formal title to her home and a bank loan to fix the roof so it wouldn't leak. Thanks to the Cuban dentists and a program called "Rescatando la sonrisa" – recovering the smile – for the first time in her life she was able to get her teeth fixed. And her daughter is in a job training program to become a nurse's assistant.

http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:i0P8Nfh3ScwJ:www.alternet.org/story/19585/+Hugo+Chavez%2Bpoor+people&hl=en

[Judi Lynn]

30. Wonderful article! I've seen these things written elsewhere, as well.

That's why I know this is surely accurate:

Getting more and more animated, Olivia dragged me over to a poster on the wall showing Hugo Chavez with a throng of followers and a list of Venezuela's new social programs that read: "The social programs are ours, let's defend them." Then slowly and laboriously, she began reading the list of social programs: literacy, health care, job training, land reform, subsidized food, small loans. I asked her if she was just learning to read and write as part of the literacy program. That's when she started crying. "Can you imagine what's it has meant to me, at 52 years old, to now have a chance to read?" she said. "It's transformed my life."

Walk through poor barrios in Venezuela and you'll hear the same stories over and over. The very poor can now go to a designated home in the neighborhood to pick up a hot meal every day. The elderly have monthly pensions that allow them to live with dignity. Young people can take advantage of greatly expanded free college programs. And with 13,000 Cuban doctors spread throughout the country and reaching over half the population, the poor now have their own family doctors on call 24-hours a day – doctors who even make house calls. This heath care, including medicines, is all free.

The programs are being paid for with the income from Venezuela's oil, which is at an all-time high. Previously, the nation's oil wealth benefited only a small, well-connected elite who kept themselves in power for 40 years through an electoral duopoly. The vast majority in this oil-rich nation remained poor, disenfranchised, and disempowered. With the election of Hugo Chavez in 1998 on a platform of sharing the nation's oil wealth with the poorest, all that has changed. The poor are now not only recipients of these programs, they are actively engaged in running them. They're turning abandoned buildings into neighborhood centers, running community kitchens, volunteering to teach in the literacy programs and organizing neighborhood health brigades.
(snip)

This is one terrific look at the transformation proceeding to the great horror of the Venezuelan elite, who really WANT things to remain as they were for the desperately poor in Venezuela.

Oh, yes. Another thing to remember. Someone posted a great article here which explained why the "polls" taken in Venezuela always are so skewed: the poor don't have phones going to their shanties stacked on top of each other on the hillsides, and the poll takers are also unwilling to go there on foot, and getting "cooties" by getting too close physically to them to feel sufficiently cool.

[VegasWolf]

35. Why do Repukes hate Chavez? n/t

[Kathy in Cambridge]

45. Still waiting for you to come back w/statitistics

:eyes:

[Bono71]

48. Statistics on the way...here is a lovely article about

Chavez and the freedom of the press...can you say DICTATOR????

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/10278782.htm?1c

[NNN0LHI]

52. I am still waiting for the link to show poverty has tripled since Chavez

Until I see that link everything you say or post will be regarded as highly suspect. Know what I mean?

Don

[Bono71]

53. "Triple" was hyperbole...know what that means?

[Name removed]

54. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[resident bunnypants]

55. Damn! You beat me to it. n/t

[Bono71]

57. I guess the article from the Miami Herald that I posted above

that details Chavez's abuse of the freedom of the press is garbage to?

Answer?

[Rose Siding]

59. That article was precious.

A Miami opinion decrying another country's problems with the "rule of law" is always fun.

And this:
snip>
Political killing

Mr. Anderson was said to be investigating some 400 opposition leaders and businessmen who supported a 2002 coup that briefly ousted President Chávez from power. There is ample reason to believe his killing was politically motivated. His killers should be arrested and brought to justice as quickly as possible. But surely it is self-evident that the investigation must also be transparent and free of self-serving political manipulation -- which so far hasn't been the case.
-----------------

As Ashcroft would say at some closed, secret tribunal or another (before, during or after a curiously timed "terror alert") "cover those breasts!"

[Bono71]

60. And your point? Do you deny Chavez is cracking down on

the press?

Note: because I am very weary of Chavez, does not mean I am for the rape, pillage and plunder of poor people by multinational corporations. I like the rhetoric of Chavez, but actions speak louder than words.

[Rose Siding]

63. This looks to be similar to laws here

snip>
Among other provisions, broadcasters would be liable for opinions expressed on their programs. They could be fined for ''messages that justify violence or aggression,'' inciting lawless activity, impeding law enforcement or disrupting ''public order.'' Critics complain that the law is so vague in parts that anything could be construed as a crime.
...........

I'm not going to hunt it up, so I won't assert that the Patriot Act goes further than this, but from what I recall, it is at least AS ambiguous as this.

Kerry didn't favor repealing the whole PA (I disagreed with him). He only warned that could be administered poorly.

Imagine how our own govt would act if someone on CBS or in the NYT began "justifying violence or aggression".

I like Chavez's rhetoric, too. So far, I haven't seen any actions that are worrisome. I've read he meets with the press and speaks with them. If they have the ability to question him as well, they are one up on our press. Contrast that with the MD gov who recently said that denying access to certain reporters was "meant to send a chilling effect". (I do have the link to that one handy: http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBXFF4B22E.html )

While the US is in its current condition, trying to dictate how other nations should properly be run is farcical. We have surrendered our authority to do so.

[Judi Lynn]

62. The Miami Herald hasn't been a decent publication since the Miami nutcase

Jorge Mas Canosa, who actually envisioned himself as becoming the next Cuban President (after the U.S. invaded Cuba again and installed him!) launched a filthy war against the former publishser, David Lawrence, who left town. Currently the publisher there is Alberto Ibarguen, himself a Cuban "exile." Here's how the Miami Cuban mafia ran him off:

May/June 1992 | Contents
TRYING TO SET
THE AGENDA IN MIAMI

Bashing the Herald is only part of Jose Mas Canosa's strategy

by Anne-Marie O'Connor
O'Connor, who is based in Miami, is Latin America and Caribbean correspondent for Cox Newspapers.
The Miami Herald usually takes and assumes the same positions as the Cuban government. But we must confess that they were once more discreet about it. Lately the distance between The Miami Herald and Fidel Castro has narrowed considerably. . . . Why must we consent to The Miami Herald and ElNuevo Herald continuing a destructive campaign full of hatred for the Cuban xile, when ultimately they live and eat, economically speaking, on our support?

Jorge Mas Canosa, chairman of the Miami-based Cuban American National Foundation, in a local radio broadcast, aired on January 21 and printed in full in El Diario las Americas.

The revelation that The Miami Herald and its Spanish-language counterpart, El Nuevo Herald, were in bed with Cuban leader Fidel Castro must have confounded the editors of the Cuban Communist party organ, Granma, since the Havana daily has repeatedly portrayed them as right-wing tools of the eternal CIA campaign against the thirty-three-year-old revolution.

Anywhere else, Mas Canosa's remarks might have been ignored. In the darker recesses of Miami's exile community, however, his words were clearly a call to arms. Within days Herald publisher David Lawrence, Jr., and two top editors received death threats. Anonymous callers phoned in bomb threats and Herald vending machines were jammed with gum and smeared with feces. Mas Canosa's Cuban American National Foundation quickly denied responsibility and condemned the hijinks, but Mas's words were highly inflammatory in a city where public red-baiting has served as a prelude to bombings and, in past years, murder.

That was in January, but editors at the Herald still feel besieged. Foundations ads saying "I don't believe The Herald" in Spanish are appearing on Dade County buses. Lawrence has heard that foundation people are sounding out advertisers over whether they would support a boycott -- a troubling prospect in a recession.
(snip/...)

http://archives.cjr.org/year/92/3/miami.asp


Mas Canosa's the clown right under the clock.

In response to being asked if Americans would take over Cuba, he said: ''That's bull----. They haven't even been able to take over Miami. If we kicked them out of here, how could they possibly take over our own country?''
http://www.fiu.edu/~fcf/caricature112497.html

[Bono71]

65. Well, we agree on one thing...

the Miami Herald isn't worth the paper its printed on.

As for Chavez, my points are these:

1) His country has not done well since he has arrived. True, he has not had cooperation, but that alone cannot excuse a dismal performance.

2) Chavez has, at times, done things that make a lot of good people (Kerry, Clinton, Carter) squirm. We should not take lightly a democraticly elected president (as Chavez was so elected). Nor should we encourage a coup. However, we should not fail to notice his shortcomings (as mentioned above, his treatment of those who oppose him, and his actions toward newspapers that write about him are at the least, ominous).

3) His rhetoric towards the poor (and some of his actions) are good things.

Cheers.

[Judi Lynn]

68. His country was doing horribly BEFORE he was elected.

WE all know the former President, Carlos Andres Perez was impeached for stealing many millions of dollars. He was actually caught in New York, with his mistress, depositing some of his stolen fortune.

He also was the man who called out the massacre at Caracazo, which we have read about, as well, having his government forces slaughter poor people demonstrating in the street after one of his strokes of genius in raising the price of bus transportation, which they desperately needed to get to and from work and stores, so very high they couldn't function any longer.

Carlos Andres Perez is STILL the close friend of George H. W. Bush, and actually has been a vocal supporter of the "opposition" throughout their attempts to seize the power of the Presidency again.

We are also well aware of the ENORMOUS part the right-wing-owned Venezuelan media played in the coup. This is NOT freedom of speech, it is a totally different critter altogether:

HOW HATE MEDIA INCITED THE COUP AGAINST THE PRESIDENT
Venezuela’s press power
Never even in Latin American history has the media been so directly involved in a political coup. Venezuela’s ’hate media’ controls 95% of the airwaves and has a near-monopoly over newsprint, and it played a major part in the failed attempt to overthrow the president, Hugo Chávez, in April. Although tensions in the country could easily spill into civil war, the media is still directly encouraging dissident elements to overthrow the democratically elected president - if necessary by force.

By Maurice Lemoine

"We had a deadly weapon: the media. And now that I have the opportunity, let me congratulate you." In Caracas, on 11 April 2002, just a few hours before the temporary overthrow of Venezuela’s president, Hugo Chávez, Vice-Admiral Victor Ramírez Pérez congratulated journalist Ibéyiste Pacheco live on Venevision television. Twenty minutes earlier, when Pacheco had begun to interview a group of rebel officers, she could not resist admitting, conspiratorially, that she had long had a special relationship with them.

At the same time, in a live interview from Madrid, another journalist, Patricia Poleo, also seemed well informed about the likely future development of "spontaneous events". She announced on the Spanish channel TVE: "I believe the next president is going to be Pedro Carmona." Chávez, holed up in the presidential palace, was still refusing to step down.

After Chávez came to power in 1998, the five main privately owned channels - Venevisión, Radio Caracas Televisión (RCTV), Globovisión and CMT - and nine of the 10 major national newspapers, including El Universal, El Nacional, Tal Cual, El Impulso, El Nuevo País, and El Mundo, have taken over the role of the traditional political parties, which were damaged by the president’s electoral victories. Their monopoly on information has put them in a strong position. They give the opposition support, only rarely reporting government statements and never mentioning its large majority, despite that majority’s confirmation at the ballot box. They have always described the working class districts as a red zone inhabited by dangerous classes of ignorant people and delinquents. No doubt considering them unphotogenic, they ignore working class leaders and organisations.

Their investigations, interviews and commentaries all pursue the same objective: to undermine the legitimacy of the government and to destroy the president’s popular support. "In aesthetic terms, this revolutionary government is a cesspit," was the delicate phrase used by the evening paper Tal Cual. Its editor, Teodoro Petkoff, is a keen opponent of Chávez. Petkoff is a former Marxist guerrilla who became a neo-liberal and a pro-privatisation minister in the government of rightwing president Rafael Caldera. The Chávez government is not, of course, above criticism. It makes mistakes, and the civilian and military personnel who surround it are tainted by corruption. But the government was democratically elected and still has the backing of the majority. It can also be credited with successes, nationally and internationally.

When it comes to discrediting Chávez, anything goes. There was a scandal in Caracas in March when a faked interview with Ignacio Ramonet, the director of Le Monde diplomatique, was circulated. In a statement alleged to have been made to Emiliano Payares Gúzman, a Mexican researcher at Princeton University, Ramonet was supposed to have said: "Chávez lacks a respectable intellectual corpus, and that is why his ship is always off course. When he won the elections, it seemed to me that he had something about him. But populism won out, as so often happens in such cases. I have seen videos in which he sings boleros while setting out his economic programme, if indeed he has one. I think those true and verifiable facts speak for themselves, I don’t need to voice my opinion of somebody like that."
(snip/...)

http://mondediplo.com/2002/08/10venezuela

[Bono71]

70. I think you might be wearing rose-coloured glasses

What do you say to those avowed right-wingers, like Kerry, Clinton and Carter who have all expressed reservations about Chavez?

What about the list making and the harassment (as reported by National Public Radio)?

And yes, what about the press? It is tilted toward the right...so what? Does that mean Bush should be allowed to shut down Al-Jazeera or Kerry, if elected, should shut down Fox? Do you really think people who were not already to the brink of revolution would suddlenly rise-up because the newspaper told them to? That doesn't hold water, to me.

By the way, when I wrote "Your Boy," it wasn't a Miami thing, it was a New York (Brooklyn) thing...didn't want to be mistaken for a Red-state-hack.

My point is this, he is not as good as you think and should be monitored, like any person in power.

[Judi Lynn]

73. It requires someone actually takes time out to run down info. to answer

or else remarks usually can just stand when people are really busy, and that just wouldn't be right.

You returned to Kerry once more. Many of DU's Venezuela watchers are well aware that a group of opposition members formed "Free Venezuela" and have taken credit for Kerry's position on Hugo Chavez:

Published: Tuesday, March 23, 2004
Bylined to: Curtis Reed


Tampa-based Free Venezuela, Inc: Our goal is regime change in Venezuela

Date: Tue, 23 Mar 2004 17:39:42 GMT
From: Curtis Reed [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Error: It was Venezuelans in TAMPA

In David Coleman's article "Venezuela's relations with USA to improve if Bush 2 loses election this fall" you stated that Senator Kerry's statement regarding the Chavez regime amounted to "Parroting anti-Venezuelan Miami Herald propaganda."

In fact, the Kerry position statement was the result of the effort of Venezuelan-Americans from the Tampa area who contacted his camp and conducted an education campaign to be sure that Kerry understood what a threat the Chavez regime represents to US interests, regional stability, and how it endangers democracy across the hemisphere.

We have been working constantly over several years to establish good contacts with our representatives, and it was through those contacts that we made direct contact with John Kerry and delivered to him the message you will find below.

We are now in the process of publishing more Op-Ed articles, organizing round table discussions about the Chavez regime, and speaking out on nationally syndicated radio shows. Let there be no confusion: the "Miami Mafia" had nothing to do with this. It was the result of hard work by US citizens and Venezuelan expatriate organizations like FREE VENEZUELA that we influenced Kerry, and we will continue to push US policy until we achieve our goal.

Our goal: regime change in Venezuela.

Finally, let your communist friends know that their propaganda machines are failing, and the tide has turned against the Chavez dictatorship. We have convinced Democrats and Republicans alike that Chavez and his criminal henchmen are the antithesis to Democratic principles.

Have a nice day.

Curtis Reed
(snip//)

http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=16656

The Venezuelan "opposition" which started buying up homes in South Florida is very open about its influence on John Kerry. That's why Democrats who believe in both the right of Venezuelans to determine their own destiny without ANY interference from the U.S. and also believe John Kerry was the ONLY choice in the last election had no problem supporting Kerry.

Many also hoped that once he got up to speed on the real facts of what has happened, in depth, he'd transcend his uninformed position in time.

I don't know a thing about Bill Clinton's position on Venezuela, and can't comment.

Jimmy Carter is a personal friend of Gustavo Cisneros, one of the wealthiest buffoons tycoons in Latin America, who has also been very intimately involved in the coup in April, 2002 in ways far beyond those taken by his newspapers and tv stations, one of them being Venevision:

Otto Reich, in charge of Latin American affairs at the State Department, confirmed having spoken “two or three times” during the coup with Gustavo Cisneros, a fishing companion of former President George Bush and head of a business empire extending from the United States to Patagonia (DIRECTV, Venevisión, Coca Cola, Televisa). Reich told Newsweek that he was only seeking information, not encouraging or directing the coup organizers. “We had absolutely nothing to do with it,” he added.

What is perhaps surprising is the case of two Salvadorans detained after the April 11 events, who, according to local intelligence sources, belong to a death squad trained for attacks in different Latin American countries (before in Cuba and Panama, and now in Venezuela). These sources point to links with the former Venezuelan ambassador to San Salvador, Christian Democrat Leopoldo Castillo, currently a radio commentator and business association adviser.

On the afternoon of the coup , the plotters, including Carmona, met at the Venevisión television station. “This government was put together at Gustavo Cisneros’ office,” said opposition legislator Pedro Pablo Alcántara (Democratic Action Party). The person who read Carmona’s decree and who Carmona named as attorney-general was Daniel Romero, who had been a private secretary to former President Carlos Andrés Pérez and a functionary in the Cisneros organization.
(snip/...)

http://www.worldpress.org/Americas/581.cfm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remarks on Carter and his level of involvement in Venezuela:

Today in Venezuela, faced with a referendum of dubious validity, backed by the most rancid reactionaries, Carter once again poses as a "neutral monitor" while working with the anti-Chavez opposition to first legitimate the referendum then to provide opportunities for its favorable outcome. Carter has said absolutely nothing about strenuous US funding of the opposition--a blatant violation of any democratic, electoral process -- activities which would be felonious in his own country, the USA. He calls for "fair reporting" by the hysterically anti-Chavez mass media, knowing full well that, with a wink of his eye, they have free rein to provide exclusively favorable coverage of the opposition and uniformly negative disinformation about Chavez. In exchange Carter secured from Chavez a promise to avoid compulsory national chain broadcasts. Carter refuses to recognize that the electoral playing field is not equal, yet under the guise of "free press" he defends the right of the media oligarchs to voice venomous lies, denying the electorate the right to hear both sides. Carter refuses to recognize the intimidating effects of US military maneuvers in the Caribbean, the belligerent statements of undersecretary of state of Latin American Affairs Noriega against Chavez and the hyperactivity of the US Ambassador Shapiro in support of the anti-Chavez forces. Above all Carter ignores the plots, fraudulent practices and paramilitary activities leading up to and beyond the referendum. Focusing on enforcing the Government's compliance with electoral procedures and ignoring the highly prejudicial context of the election, Carter is fulfilling his role of a "set-up man" for either an electoral victory of the opposition or in the event of a defeat, for a post-election pretext for violent coup. Carter's history provides an extremely useful context for substantiating these observations and affirmation.
(snip/...)

http://www.counterpunch.org/petras07082004.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Published: Thursday, January 30, 2003
Bylined to: Robert Rudnicki

George Bush senior to spend luxury holiday with Gustavo Cisneros

Former US President George P. Bush is heading to the Dominican Republic for a ;uxury holiday, where he will spend quality time with anti-government Venezuelan media tycoon Gustavo Cisneros, who President Hugo Chavez Frias accuses of leading a push for a coup d'etat to have him forcibly removed from office.

The Venezuelan leader has threatened to take action against many privately-owned media companies ... particularly the four privately-owned TV stations ... for broadcasting "seditious opposition propaganda" and a series of advertisements urging Venezuelans to support the work stoppage, which has had devastating effects on the country's economy.

Bush is set to arrive on the Caribbean island next Tuesday, where he will stay at the Casa de Campo resort owned by the Fanjul brothers, Alfi and Jose ... he will then join the Venezuelan media tycoon in several rounds of golf in the town of La Romana.

There are strong indications that Bush will also meet secretly with corruption-impeached former Venezuelan President Carlos Andres Perez.

This will be Cisneros' second meeting with a former US President in less than a month, after holding talks with Jimmy Carter in Caracas several weeks ago. Carter returned to Venezuela to break the political deadlock following a direct invitation from Cisneros to do so.
(snip/)

http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=2092

[Bono71]

74. Lol...

Wow...let me see:

Carter and Kerry don't count because some internet websites posted that tripe or because some group takes credit for Kerry's anti-Chavez position? Are you really going with that? Wow. Do you think Carter is a bad guy? Really? Didn't Carter put a stamp of approval on the election? FYI: Carter called it like he saw it...Chavez should be watched carefully because he has done some questionable things.

Let me guess, Castro is/was a good guy too, and all those people he murdered had it coming because they were part of the oligarchy?

Puhlease.

[Judi Lynn]

75. Carter said he found the recall election results were transparent, valid.

What does Fidel Castro have to do with the Venezuelan coup and Venezuela's economic recovery?

I don't accept your appraisal of my sources as being tripe.

Didn't say Carter is a bad guy.

So far, I'm the one with the references here which sustain my point of view.

[Bono71]

76. And my point of view, derived in part by listening to the

polical figures I trust (Kerry, Carter and Clinton) will not waiver. So, you win (heh, heh).

[Judi Lynn]

77. Would you be so good as to share what you heard when you listened to

Kerry, Carter, and Clinton as they discussed Hugo Chavez?

After sharing this information, it would be appropriate if you explained how their opinions of Hugo Chavez should be more important than the actual election of their president by the Venezuelan majority.

[Bono71]

79. Again, my thoughts:

1) Kerry/Carter/Clinton: be WARY :) of Chavez because of his political crackdowns on the press, opposition, etc.

2) I never wrote their opinions are more imprtant than the elections. Read point "2" of my post that begins "Well...". Chavez won a democratic election. Boom! He is the president and is legitimate. I believe this. However, from what I have read about him, I am suspicious about him. I like his rhetoric to a degree (who doesn't want to help those who are getting screwed). However, I think he is a far cry from other progressive governments around the world.

We'll see, hope your right.

[Bono71]

56. Here is an article talking about the increase in poverty...

granted it sugar coats it...

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/articles.php?artno=1038

[Judi Lynn]

58. Thanks for posting this great article. Very helpful.

From the article:

It is not a secret for anybody in Venezuela, that President Hugo Chavez has criticized (and rightly so) members of the church for their active participation in the April 2002 coup d’etat and their silence when previous administrations ransacked the treasury, ignored the needs of poor population, and acted repressively against popular protests. Mr. Chavez recalls examples when, while working at the Government palace for other administrations as a military attaché, he witnessed the corrupt practice of government high ranking officials handing out cash to clergymen in return for their ignorance of the real problems in society. Due to this position by Mr. Chavez, Porras has been an active and outspoken adversary of the Chavez administration.

But, lets look at beneath the layers of Mr. Porras’ statements to reveal the real agenda that the clergy in Venezuela is after.

It is true that poverty, unemployment, corruption, violence, insecurity and some of the other qualifiers currently exist in the Venezuelan society. However, to voice these facts at this time by clergymen, when they have not done so in previous administrations is inexcusable. In Venezuela, these social ailments have existed for many years prior to Mr. Chavez taking control of the government. Invasions of land by poor people were allowed by administrations since the 1960’s as a result of lack of jobs in rural areas, to the point that major metropolitan areas are completely surrounded by shacks and poor neighborhoods. UNESCO rates Venezuela´s poverty rate at 80% of its population, but this figure was calculated prior to Mr. Chavez taking control of the government. Unemployment has risen in the current year due to four strikes in 2002, called for by the business elite. In total, the last strike produced losses in the order of 8 billion dollars to the economy and the subsequent closure of businesses brought the unemployment rate higher. What the pamphlet ignores is that many of these businesses closed after the strike, because the business owners who endorsed the strike wanted to retaliate against the government. By leaving people in the unemployment line, business owners maintained the pressure over the government leaving a large number of workers on a limb to find out new jobs which were no longer available. The implementation of currency exchange controls has precluded more money to leave the fragile economy, and this is a measure that has been applied by previous administrations as a measure to preclude economic chaos.
(snip)

Mr. Porras calls for revoking Mr. Chavez presidency with a referendum, as the celestial answer to all the problems in Venezuela. Our country suffers from structural cancers. These cancers have been created, not in the last four years of Mr. Chavez’ administration. These cancers have been the result of many years of corruption, neglect, failed administrations that have worked to enrich themselves. Venezuelans have risen above those who want to continue enriching themselves and those foreign and domestic supporters of this corrupt elite, who do not know what to do for living other than taking and taking from the treasury. Mr. Porras is on the wrong side of the issue. This issue goes beyond Mr. Chavez. This is a river whose rampant waters have been allowed to rush by Mr. Chavez. The process of changes in Venezuela has started and will continue with or without Mr. Chavez. This is the reality that the opposition and Mr. Porras do not want to understand. The time is for those in the lower classes and the poor to take control of the future of this country. Mr. Porras is wrong when, writing this pamphlet during his comfortable plane ride to Rome as he stated in the pamphlet, he ignores the clamor of the poor people for changes, changes that will only bring hope for their future. Mr. Porras has forgotten the preaching by Jesus Christ when he walked on earth to do and work for the poor. Mr. Porras is on the wrong side of history, however, it is probably too late for him to understand this because his interests are not with the poor people of Venezuela. Mr. Porras’ agenda is to use the negative aspects of society to confuse people and persuade them to revoke Mr. Chavez’ government, and give back control of the government to the corrupt elite business class. Mr. Porras forgets that the people, the majority of Venezuelans do not want to turn back to the time when clergymen received pay checks in secret from government officials; the people do not want any more deals closed behind their backs, Venezuelans do not want to have their oil industry squandered and sold to foreign investors, and Venezuelans do not want any more repressive governments who use military power to kill people demanding their rights. Venezuelans want hope and a new future, where the poor can finally become somebody.
(snip/)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is superb. Very glad to read it. Venezuela watchers started seeing the commentary coming from certain elements of the Venezuelan clergy supporting the opposition in 2002. Very eye-opening, and a lot of us recognized the connection then.

It's still shocking to see men allegedly in the service of a higher realm castigating "the poor," isn't it, in light of the teachings of Christ? You'd think they'd stand a little closer to his message.

[Bono71]

61. The article's "points" are circular arguments. The fact remains

that poverty has increased and that a large portion of the middle class (not the filthy rich oligarchy) is unhappy with Chavez.

[Judi Lynn]

66. The article you provided points out what most DU'ers already know

The "business elite" created the four massive strikes and lockouts, resulting in massive unemployment and hard times for their workers. As in the case of embargoes, the punishment was meant to crush the working class, which would, under duress, strike out to remove their leader. The "opposition" apparently didn't understand how alone they actually are in their hatred of the massively elected President of Venezuela.

You may want to review the news which is published almost continuously, that Venezuela has been rebounding well, and very steadily. Please check the info. in articles it seemed you ignored in post #49:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1024992#1028673

[Bono71]

67. My final thoughts are posted above "Well, we agree..."

[AP]

69. Do you promise that those are your final thoughts?

To borrow a term you used, reading your arguments has made me "weary."

[NickB79]

71. Thats how you read this article?

What I got out of reading it was that business owners who opposed Chavez went on strike to spite Chavez's election. The strike was so damaging to their businesses, however, that those businesses went out of business. When they went out of business, their employees were left unemployed. Since only one upper-class business owner can have hundreds, if not thousands, of employees, of course the middle class would be hit hardest. However, since the upper class is already filthy rich, they can afford to lose some of their businesses while their former employees starve.

So basically, the tripled unemployment rate in Venezuala is the direct result of the opposition party's actions, not those of Chavez. The opposition party appears to be trying to use a long-term plan of economic terrorism to turn public sentiment against him by themselves increasing the unemployment rate.

[Bono71]

72. No, that's how I read the article, also...

[VegasWolf]

31. A Pfennig for Your Thoughts 11/18/2004

Interesting snip from
"EverBank World Markets,A Pfennig For Your Thoughts"
regarding the euro. Wait for the next dip then buy
like mad.

Why do repukes not understand the US is losing it economically and
morally to the rest of the world. Smart people move with the
money. It's a damn shame asswipe was reselected, but I'm not
going to let him lose all the money I made during the Clinton years.

<snip>
Good day.... Well, I hope you all got over the shock of seeing the
euro
above the 1.30 handle yesterday... And yes, it was a typo that I said
it had
risen to 1.38... Of course, one reader wrote... "I love a guy that
thinks
ahead!" HAHAHA! The euro has gone as high as 1.3075 overnight... But is
backing off at this point... As we go higher with the euro, each step
is
going to be much like that of trying to get past the 1.30 handle...
>
> That's because... We have European and Japanese officials that want
this
to slow down, or stop! Eurozone officials weren't that upset with a
rising
euro as long as oil was trading at $50 per barrel! But now that it has
backed off, which in my opinion is just temporary, they can't deal with
a
strong euro! And Japan? Well, I saw dollar / yen dip to the 103 handle
yesterday... Now that's got to be a bee in the Bank of Japan's bonnet!
But,
unless they want to go back to the intervention table and spend
trillions of
yen on a falling currency, their quiver is out of arrows!
>
> No... Instead, the ECB and the Bank of Japan would prefer to have the
U.S.
join them and do some co-coordinated intervention... But that's not
going to
happen... And I think John Snow pretty much told them that in his
speech the
other day, that I talked about yesterday. The ECB is going to have to
do
some deep soul searching, because soon the "boys" are going to be
calling
for a rate cut to stem the euro's tide... Recall, the ECB held these
guys
off last spring, and that's the thing that got them recognized as
having
credibility... Let's hope they don't blow that credibility card they
earned!
Besides, they can point to Switzerland and Japan as countries that
thought
that cutting interest rates to the bone would be enough to stop their
respective currencies from rising, and look what happened anyway!
>
> OK... There's a big rumor going around this morning that Russia is
contemplating abolishing their current system of currency pegging...
This
has also brought out the old rumor that Russia is going to price their
oil
contracts in euros...
>
> 1. About 65% of Russia's total trade flows are with the Eurozone, so
changing their currency basket to reflect that would probably make
sense...
And if Russia were to take that newly formed basket and mirror their
foreign currency reserves (which would make sense), the Russian Central
Bank
could potentially increase their reserve allocation of euros from 25%
to
65%.
>
> I saw a report recently that said Russia's FX reserves were broken
down as
follows... 70% USD, 25% EUR, and 5% in GBP & Yen... Oh, and the total
amount
was about $86 Billion worth...
>
> This is something that I see as a rumor that could have some legs to
it...
>
> 2. Going back to the point I made above about 65% of Russia's total
trade
flows going to the Eurozone, would basically lead me to believe they
could
change their oil contracts to euros... Since that's the destination of
most
of that oil...
>
> These would not be good things for the dollar folks... And could send
it
to levels not even talked about by me in the past... So, I'll have to
keep
an eye on these rumors... But I think I smell smoke... And where's
there's
smoke... There's fire!
>
> I shared another rumor going around yesterday with the desk because I
thought it was important... There were rumors going around about
yesterday
that the U.S. was going to raise the debt ceiling by $1 Trillion, or
just
abolishing it all-together! Talk about something that would also take a
toll
on the dollar!
>
> Today, we will see the Philly Fed Index data, which last month was
awful,
and is expected to repeat that showing this month... This along with
Initial
Jobless Claims data could lead the euro closer to the 1.31 handle...
But
quite frankly, I am of the opinion that these steps to 1.31, 1.32, 1.33
and
so on will take their time, and slowly move in that direction. In fact,
we
could see a sell-off in euros to clean out old stale longs... But
that's not
going to be the end of the trend, so use any sell-off as an opportunity
to
buy on a dip! In fact, I'm seeing one as I put the finishing touches on
today's Pfennig!
>
> As I mentioned above, Japanese yen is really moving in the right
direction
again, and taking Thai baht and Singapore dollars with it... This is
exactly
what I told you would eventually happen, in that the markets would grow
tired of waiting for some movement from China, and start to move the
"floating currencies" of Asia... Yen, baht, Sing-dollars... Again...
Interest is not playing any part of these currencies move higher VS the
dollar.
>
> Currencies today: A$ .7810, kiwi .7090, C$ .8325, euro 1.3030,
sterling
1.8650, Swiss .8585, rand 6.03, krone 6.25, forint 188.14, zloty 3.26,
koruna 24.04, yen 104.10, baht 40.11, pesos 11.31, and gold... $443.28
>
> That's it for today... Keep an eye on that data today, could
determine of
this mini sell-off I'm seeing right now will continue or turn around...
Besides that, there's not much else to talk about... I think I can see
the
light at the end of the tunnel regarding my remodeling project at home!
YAHOO! Have a great Thursday!
>

[pig.]

32. Friend of mine's father owns a gas station

he said most US oil actually comes from Venezuala right now. like 80% i think he said.

wonder what they are getting ready to do?

[foo_bar]

36. they're like a sitcom family

Hey, what's mine say?

[VegasWolf]

40. The Brady Bunch? Leave It To Bever? n/t

[bemildred]

42. Smothers Brothers. Guess who is Tom? nt

[Judi Lynn]

64. Great photos! Only saw them today for the first time.

It really shows you <sub>Bush's "serious side!" You know, the side which does all that "hard work!" Guy looks like he's PLAYING at being a man of importance. Pity.

What a buffoon.</sub>

[hunter]

41. It's a policy of containment...

Surprise! The most dangerous nation in the world, the United States, is no longer a "superpower."

If we don't play by the rules, we don't play.

[Judi Lynn]

51. NED Back on the Offensive in Venezuela

NED Back on the Offensive in Venezuela

......... by Eva Golinger November 28, 2004


On November 8, 2004, National Endowment for Democracy (NED) president Carl Gershman made an historic visit to Venezuela with a very peculiar purpose. Gershman traveled to the South American nation to request President Chavez to influence the outcome of a legal case brought against NED direct grantee Sumate ... currently in the hands of the independent Attorney General's office.

But much to Gershmans surprise, no meetings had been authorized with the Venezuelan President or cabinet members and therefore he was unable to exert the weight of the US-backed NED over the popular head of state.

Gershman did meet with Attorney General Isaias Rodriguez and Chief Justice Ivan Rincon. However, both legal chiefs were unwilling to succumb to NED pressure and, instead, made very clear that Venezuelas judiciary is independent of the Executive and that international influence will not be allowed to interfere with, or impede, due process of law.

The case brought against NED-grantee Sumate has caused uproar in the ranks of the US State Department and the quasi-governmental NED (which receives all of its financing from the US Congress and is obliged to report annually on its activities and use of funds).

On occasion, such as in Venezuela, the State Department issues special funds to the NED to finance its activities in nations of "key interest." In April 2002, just days after the failed coup d'etat against Venezuela President Hugo Chavez, the State Department gave the NED a US$1 million grant entitled Special Venezuela Funds .. which was distributed to many of the very same groups that had just led and participated in the coup.
(snip/...)

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=45&ItemID=6745

[bemildred]

80. WRT NED and Sumate, you might find this interesting:

Danilo Anderson was an investigating magistrate in charge of several prominent and politically sensitive cases. His work proceeded in the context of recent elections confirming overwhelming popular support for President Hugo Chavez. Among the cases within Anderson's brief were those against the leader of a mob that attacked the Cuban Embassy in Caracas during the failed coup d'etat of April 12th (2002) and against members of the Caracas Metropolitan Police accused of unlawful attacks under opposition ex-mayor Alfredo Pena. Anderson was also processing cases against owners of Venezuelan TV and Press media implicated in the April coup of 2002 as well as the signatories of the coup declaration overthrowing the elected government.

Perhaps the most internationally sensitive case he was working on was that against the Sumate organization, a supposedly impartial NGO funded by the CIA's companion organization the National Endowment for Democracy. In fact, Sumate actively campaigned with US government money to defeat President Chavez throughout the long process ending in last August's recall referendum. Such activity contravened Sumate's neutral non-profit status, breaking Venezuelan law in the process.

Writer and academic Heinz Dieterich has written cogently about Anderson's murder, "The menace of Danilo for Washington's terrorist project was two-fold: he threatened one of its main instruments of power, Venezuela's corrupt class justice system and too he was becoming a symbol of the honest patriot and servant of the majority of the new Bolivarian nation....Danilo Anderson's murder shows that the subversion has made a qualitative leap to a generalised offensive. From now on, people emblematic of the process whose death may have a high propaganda value for Washington will be in danger. Likewise, the subversion will begin attacks against energy and transport infrastructure and carry out more murders and incursions along the Colombian border...Looking back in history, we can say that the Bolivarian revolution has entered the phase of the Cuban revolution of 1960 when the US-Cuban counter-revolution launched attacks, sabotage and murders from nuclei in the Sierra Escambrey or, too, Nicaragua from 1983 onwards." (http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=7885)

The silence from international media has been eloquent. An ever ready litmus test of mainstream media hypocrisy is to check out the less reactionary media that preen themselves on their "balance". But if you review the web sites of UK media like the Guardian, the Independent or the BBC you will look in vain for any report on the murder of Danilo Anderson. Why is this? Presumably for the same reasons UN supervision of the murder and rape of opponents to the US puppet regime in Haiti fails to make the news - lazy complacency, herd instinct, advertiser-conscious self-censorship and jobsworth respect for the limits of dissent.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0411/S00361.htm

[Judi Lynn]

81. Excellent comments, and probably correct in forecasting the next stage

of attack on the elected government of Venezuela.

Looks like a lot of people are going to be watching this next wave as it unfolds. I hope the present Venezuelan government can withstand it. It would be a shame to see another country simply succumb to right-wing psychopaths in order to avoid further terrorism.

It's a real shame knowing what is planned, based on how our Republican Presidents have operated in the past. They do not plan on sharing the world with others. Damned awful.

[Judi Lynn]

78. I don't know if anyone noticed this

but I just looked at the last photo in the opening post, and realized that when a man tries to combine SWAGGERING with SCAMPERING, he looks quite a bit like a chimp!