• Barack Obama,  Hugo Chavez,  Newt Gingrich

    Newt Gingrich Rips Obama for Making Lovey Dovey With Hugh Chavez

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    President Barack Obama and Hugh Chavez extending each other a hand and photo op at this weekend’s Latin American summit

    Former GOP Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich lets it fly against President Obama for his palling around this weekend with Venezuela President and/or Dictator Hugo Chavez.

    Chavez has been one of the harshest critics of the United States in that part of the world. Obama said at the conclusion of the Latin summit Sunday that he didn’t think greeting Chavez would be “endangering the strategic interests of the United States.”

    Gingrich complained that the simple act of a smiling Obama shaking Chavez’s hand caused a book Chavez has written to skyrocket on the best-seller lists in the United States.

    “What I find distressing,” he said, “is that the administration opposes opening up oil exploration,” but yet Obama has “bowed to the king of Saudi Arabia” and now reached out to Chavez, whom Gingrich said has been conducting “a vicious anti-American campaign.”

    Gingrich, whose name has been mentioned in 2012 presidential speculation, said, “How do you mend relationships with someone who actively hates your country. … “

    “Cuba releases zero prisoners,” he said, “yet we make nice with Cuba. I’m for doing things methodically and calmly … things that will work, but I’m not for deluding myself about smiles and words.”

    Fantasy land world for Obama….

    Hugs and exchanging books will not change the policy of these American hating dictators.


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  • Barack Obama,  Hugo Chavez

    Photo: “The United States Empire is on its Way Down and it Will Be Finished in the Near Future, Inshallah (God Willing)”

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    This is what Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said in New York at the United Nations a few years ago.

    “The United States empire is on its way down and it will be finished in the near future, inshallah,” Chavez told reporters, ending the statement with the Arabic phrase for “God willing.”

    Chavez said that the United Nations is a “deceased” organization because it was formed to bridge the differences between the United States and Russia, and a brand new international organization would have to be formed to replace it.

    Earlier, Chavez initiated a verbal assault on President Bush, calling him “the devil” during an insult-riddled address to world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly.

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    Maybe Chavez has a point. Does Obama get it?

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  • Hugo Chavez,  Russia,  Venezuela

    Russian Warship To Cross Panama Canal – Will U.S. Navy Provoke?

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    Flap bets the Russian Navy may be in for a little surprise, no?

    A Russian warship will sail through the Panama Canal this week for the first time since World War II, the navy announced Wednesday, pushing ahead with a symbolic projection of Moscow’s power in a traditional U.S. zone of influence.

    The destroyer Admiral Chabanenko will arrive Friday at a former U.S. naval base in Panama’s Pacific port of Balboa for a six-day visit after carrying out joint maneuvers with the Venezuelan navy in the Caribbean Sea, navy spokesman Capt. Igor Dygalo said in a telephone interview.

    The Panama Canal has long been a symbol of U.S. clout in Latin America, and Dygalo said no Soviet or Russian military ship has sailed through it since World War II. The wartime alliance between the U.S. and the Soviet Union swiftly gave way to the mistrust, military buildups and proxy conflicts of the Cold War.

    In a throwback to those times, the Russian navy statement announcing the plans referred to the base the Admiral Chabanenko will visit as Rodman naval base—its name when it was a U.S. base many years ago.

    Rodman was the hub for all U.S. naval activities in South America and supported fleet units transiting the 50-mile (80-kilometer) canal. But control of the facility shifted to Panama a decade ago, and it is now called the Balboa naval base.

    Monday’s joint maneuvers with Venezuela, which brought the Admiral Chabanenko and the nuclear-powered missile cruiser Peter the Great across the Atlantic along with two support ships, were widely seen as a show of Kremlin anger over the U.S. use of warships to deliver aid to Georgia after its August war with Russia.

    Russian warships tailed U.S. ships in the Black Sea, where Russia borders Georgia, on that mission.

    Wow – two big Russian ships crossed the Atlantic to support dictator Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.

    Just a reminder to Americans that while the price of gasoline has fallen precipitiously that American Energy indpendence is essential over the next decade.

    Then, we don’t have to fund and deal with these tin-horn tyrants and their totalitarian governments.


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  • Hugo Chavez,  Venezuela

    Michael Ramirez on Hugo Chavez

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    Chávez Looks at His Critics in the Media and Sees the Enemy

    “Sound the alarm in the hills, slums and towns to defend our revolution from this new fascist attack,” President Hugo Chávez said in a nationally televised speech this week as his government was under siege by student protests over his decision to take a dissident television network off the air. “We are waiting for you.”

    With such chilling threats of retribution, Mr. Chávez seems prepared to harden his treatment of both the protesters and any media organizations that oppose him, even as the demonstrations ebbed somewhat on Thursday.

    Previous:

    The Michael Ramirez Files


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  • Censorship,  Hugo Chavez,  Venezuela

    Hugo Chavez Watch: Protests Continue in Venezuela – United States Calls on Chavez to Reopen Television Station

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    An opponent to the Venezuelan government waves a flag in front of the police during a protest 28 May 2007, in Caracas, in the aftermath of the closure of private network RCTV (Radio Caracas Television). The United States called on Venezuela’s leftist president, Hugo Chavez, Tuesday to reverse his decision to close the country’s oldest television station.

    AFP: US calls on Venezuela’s Chavez to reverse television closure

    The United States joins the expressions of concern made by the international community about the May 27 closure of RCTV, Venezuela’s only independent television network with nationwide broadcast coverage,” said State Department spokesman Tom Casey.

    “Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right, it’s an essential element of democracy anywhere in the world,” he said.

    “We’d certainly call on the government of Venezuela to abide by its commitments under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Inter-American Democratic Charter and to reverse these policies that they’re pursuing to limit freedom of expression,” he said.

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    In this photo released by Miraflores Press Office, Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez speaks during a meeting with retired people in La Guaira, Venezuela, Tuesday, May 29, 2007. Chavez defended his decision not to renew the license of a popular opposition-aligned television network and warned he might crack down on another critical TV station, accusing it of trying to incite attempts on his life.

    But, Hugo Chavez will not reverse course. In fact, he has threatened a second station.

    Venezuela’s leftist government accused a leading TV station of calling for the assassination of President Hugo Chavez, El Universal reported Tuesday.

    Globovision TV was said to be openly calling for the death of Chavez when it aired the 1981 assassination attempt of Pope John Paul II accompanied by the phrase, “This doesn’t end here.”

    The accusation against Globovision follows the decision by Venezuela to shut down an opposition TV station and replace it with a state-backed network triggered angry protests Monday.

    The Venezuelan Social Television started broadcasting shortly after midnight, taking over the frequency previously occupied by Radio Caracas Television.

    The state-run broadcast included traditional songs and dances, cartoons, documentaries and a statement from station President Lil Rodriguez — who said that as a self-respecting nation, Venezuela now has a new source of messages of dignity, VOA reported.

    But RCTV employees and university students protested in Caracas Monday, calling the station closure an attack on free speech. Bank worker Marycel Montiel said she joined a protest to denounce Chavez’ authoritarian policies, comparing them to measures taken in Cuba.

    And the protests continue despite Hugo Chavez’s threats:

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    Riot police stand guard as university students protest against Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez’s decision to shut down opposition-aligned television station Radio Caracas Television, RCTV, and replace it with a new state-funded channel, in Caracas, Tuesday, May 29, 2007.

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    Students protest against Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez’s decision to shut down opposition-aligned television station Radio Caracas Television, RCTV.

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    Will Chavez use deadly force against his own people to stifle freedom of the press?

    Fidel Castro is his mentor.

    Here is some video from today’s street protest in Venezuela:

    Stay tuned……

    Previous:

    Hugo Chavez Watch: Chavez Closes and Re-Opens Nationalized Venezuelan Television Station

    Cox & Forkum: Belly Up

    Hugo Chavez Watch: Iran and Venezuela Plan to Fund Projects – To Thwart United States Domination

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  • Censorship,  Hugo Chavez,  Venezuela

    Hugo Chavez Watch: Chavez Closes and Re-Opens Nationalized Venezuelan Television Station

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    A woman supporter of Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez displays a doll representing Chavez during a demonstration organized by Venezuela’s embassy in Managua, Sunday May 27, 2007. The demonstration was to support Chavez’s decison of not renewing the license to broadcast of RCTV, Radio Caracas Television channel, the sole opposition-aligned TV station with nationwide reach. The writing on the background pro-Chavez sign reads in Spanish ‘Yes to integration, Yanquis ( Americans ) out of our America’.

    Venezuelan TV station goes off the air

    Venezuela’s oldest private television station went off the air at midnight Sunday as thousands banged on pots and pans in protest against President Hugo Chavez’s decision not to renew the license of the opposition-aligned channel.

    If the press disagrees or ridicules your government, then why not take over the press? In a blatant demonstration of government censorship, ala Cuba, and the Soviet Union, Venezuela President Hugo Chavez finds a solution.

    Control the press – in this case television.

    And when the people protest, stage a counter-demonstration and unleash the police and water cannon to stifle the dissent.

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    A water cannon sprays demonstrators during a protest against the closure of private network RCTV (Radio Caracas Television) in Caracas, 27 May 2007. Venezuela’s oldest television network has gone off the air at midnight in a move slammed by the opposition as a new push by President Hugo Chavez to tighten his grip on the nation’s media.

    Will the print press that is mainly privately owned be the next to go?

    Probably, if they criticize Hugo Chavez.

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    A woman shouts slogans during a protest against the closure of private network RCTV (Radio Caracas Television).

    Previous:

    Cox & Forkum: Belly Up

    Hugo Chavez Watch: Iran and Venezuela Plan to Fund Projects – To Thwart United States Domination

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  • Cox & Forkum,  Hugo Chavez,  Iran,  Venezuela

    Cox & Forkum: Belly Up

    Readers: Please Vote in Flap’s January 2008 GOP Presidential Poll

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    Cox & Forkum: Belly Up

    CNN: Venezuela to nationalize ‘absolutely all’ energy sector.

    Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez said on Saturday the country’s entire energy sector had to be nationalized, reinforcing his socialist revolution and possibly giving himself more targets for state take-over.But he said he would permit foreign firms to hold minority stakes in energy deals.

    The anti-U.S. leader, in power since 1999, this week announced he would nationalize power utilities and the country’s biggest telecommunications firm, confirming his status as the catalyst of Latin America’s swing to the left.

    “We have decided to nationalize the whole Venezuelan energy and electricity sector, all of it, absolutely all,” Chávez said in his annual state of the nation address to parliament, potentially opening up more projects for state acquisition in the No. 4 crude exporter to the United States.

    The president was reinaugurated this week for a term that runs through 2013.

    Chávez has already pursued oil and gas projects and power utilities but on Saturday left no leeway for a private company to hold a majority in operations anywhere in the energy sphere.

    What will be targeted?
    It was not immediately clear whether his pronouncement on nationalizing the whole sector was a precursor to moves against specific projects or companies.

    Venezuela will have to judge how closely private firms must be connected to the country’s oilfields, refineries, pipelines, gasoline stations and coal mines to count as targets for nationalization.

    Huge oil service companies such as Halliburton and Schlumberger operate in Venezuela but Chávez gave no indication whether deals involving such businesses were now in his sights.

    Hugo Chavez Watch: Iran and Venezuela Plan to Fund Projects – To Thwart United States Domination

    AP: Iran and Venezuela plan anti-U.S. fund

    Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez and Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — fiery anti-American leaders whose moves to extend their influence have alarmed Washington — said Saturday they would help finance investment projects in other countries seeking to thwart U.S. domination.

    The two countries had previously revealed plans for a joint $2 billion fund to finance investments in Venezuela and Iran, but the leaders said Saturday the money would also be used for projects in friendly countries throughout the developing world.
    “It will permit us to underpin investments … above all in those countries whose governments are making efforts to liberate themselves from the (U.S.) imperialist yoke,” Chavez said.

    “This fund, my brother,” the Venezuelan president said, referring affectionately to Ahmadinejad, “will become a mechanism for liberation.”

    “Death to U.S. imperialism!” Chavez said.

    Solution:

    USA Energy Independence


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  • Hugo Chavez,  Iran,  Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,  Venezuela

    Hugo Chavez Watch: Iran and Venezuela Plan to Fund Projects – To Thwart United States Domination

    Readers: Please Vote in Flap’s January 2008 GOP Presidential Poll

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    Iran ‘s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, left, and his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez stand at attention outside Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Saturday, Jan. 13, 2007.

    AP: Iran and Venezuela plan anti-U.S. fund

    Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez and Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — fiery anti-American leaders whose moves to extend their influence have alarmed Washington — said Saturday they would help finance investment projects in other countries seeking to thwart U.S. domination.

    The two countries had previously revealed plans for a joint $2 billion fund to finance investments in Venezuela and Iran, but the leaders said Saturday the money would also be used for projects in friendly countries throughout the developing world.
    “It will permit us to underpin investments … above all in those countries whose governments are making efforts to liberate themselves from the (U.S.) imperialist yoke,” Chavez said.

    “This fund, my brother,” the Venezuelan president said, referring affectionately to Ahmadinejad, “will become a mechanism for liberation.”

    “Death to U.S. imperialism!” Chavez said.

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    Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez(L) welcomes Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas. Iran and Venezuela called for new OPEC oil production cuts to support plunging crude prices.

    Ahmadinejad, who is starting a tour of left-leaning countries in the region, called it a “very important” decision that would help promote “joint cooperation in third countries,” especially in Latin America and Africa.
    It was not clear if the leaders were referring to investment in infrastructure, social and energy projects — areas that the two countries have focused on until now — or other types of financing.

    Iran and Venezuela are members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, and Chavez said Saturday that they had agreed to back a further oil production cut in the cartel to stem a recent fall in crude prices.
    “We know today there is too much crude in the market,” Chavez said. “We have agreed to join our forces within OPEC … to support a production cut and save the price of oil.”

    Isn’t it clear as to how the United States should proceed?

    ENERGY INDEPENDENCE

    The United States must use its technology to free itself from the OIL YOKE attempting to be imposed by totalitarian dictators like Hugh Chavez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

    Solutions:

    Drill in ANWR and further develop American oil reserves – cutting dependence on Venezuela and Middle East oil

    Develop more nuclear power plants

    Use technology to develop alternative fuels and electric power for automobiles, trucks and trains.

    But, the United States needs to start today…….

    Stay tuned……..

    iranjan132007cweb

    Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad(C-L) is received by Venezuelan Vice President Jorge Rodriguez(C-R) upon his arrival to Simon Bolivar international airport in Caracas. Ahmadinejad, seeking support among Washington’s critics, arrived for talks with his ideological “brother” President Hugo Chavez in a decidedly anti-US Latin American tour.

    Previous:

    Michael Ramirez on Hugo Chavez of Venezuela

    Hugo Chavez Watch: Chávez Attacks Bush as a “Genocidal” Leader

    Hugo Chavez Watch: 7-Eleven Dropping Venezuela’s CITGO

    Hugo Chavez Watch: Chavez – Bush Has Given Order to Kill Me

    Hugo Chavez Watch: Chavez Calls President Bush “THE DEVIL” During United Nations Speech

    9/11 Conspiracy Theory Watch: President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela Says 9/11 Conspiracy Theories Bear Examination

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  • Hugo Chavez,  Socialists

    Michael Ramirez on Hugo Chavez of Venezuela

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    CNN: Chavez says he’s ready to transform Venezuela

    President Hugo Chavez says nothing can stop him from swiftly transforming Venezuela into a socialist state, and he faces few obstacles now that a crushing re-election win has given him free rein to pursue more radical changes.

    His first big move — to nationalize “strategic” power and telecommunications companies — heralds a series of planned “revolutionary laws” that remain vaguely defined. But with oil profits booming and his popularity high, Chavez appears to be in step with a majority of Venezuelans even as spooked investors dumped shares in the affected companies.

    “Everything the man is doing is good,” said Orlando Vera, a 63-year-old window washer, on Tuesday, adding that his economic situation has improved under Chavez. As for nationalization, Vera said it makes sense for companies that serve the public interest.

    Chavez, an admirer of Fidel Castro, says he is crafting a new sort of “21st Century Socialism.” Critics say it is starting to look like old-fashioned totalitarianism by a leader obsessed with power.

    “Fatherland, socialism or death — I take the oath,” Chavez said.

    A Fidel Castro Communist style dictator in the making.

    A fearless leader with life tenure?

    Nationalization, laws by decree, elimination of elections – Where have we heard this before?


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