CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez told thousands of visiting students that if U.S. forces were to invade the South American country, they would be soundly defeated.
The U.S. government has strongly denied Chavez's claims that it is considering military action against Cuba's closest ally in the Americas.
But Chavez said late Monday that the U.S. government, which "won't stop caressing the idea of invading Cuba or invading Venezuela," should be warned of the consequences.
"If someday they get the crazy idea of coming to invade us, we'll make them bite the dust defending the freedom of our land," Chavez said to applause.
He spoke during the opening ceremony of a world youth festival bringing together student delegations from across the world and convened under the slogan "Against Imperialism and War."
Chavez called the United States the "most savage, cruel and murderous empire that has existed in the history of the world."
The Venezuelan leader said "socialism is the only path," and told the students the collective goal is to "save a world threatened by the voracity of U.S. imperialism."
Earlier, the students waved flags, danced in traditional dress, and held signs praising socialism, Cuban leader Fidel Castro and Ernesto "Che" Guevara.
More than 300 students from the United States shouted out their disapproval of U.S. President George W. Bush, chanting "Get out Bush!" Other students chanted: "Bush, fascist -- you're a terrorist!"
Some 15,000 youths from 144 countries traveled to Venezuela for the weeklong festival and conference, organizers said.
Chavez wore a red shirt like many of the students, and embraced delegation leaders as their groups marched past.
The ceremony was held in Venezuela's military headquarters in Caracas. Troops looked on while students passed carrying colored flags and shouting: "We will overcome!"
This year's World Festival of Students and Youth is the 16th. The first, in 1947, was held in Czechoslovakia, and during the Cold War most host countries were aligned with the Soviet bloc.
Apart from the former Soviet Union, other host countries have included Romania, Poland, Finland, Cuba, the former East Germany and North Korea.
The weeklong gathering will include musical performances, panel discussions and an "Anti-imperialist Court," which in past years has condemned the U.S. government's actions.
While tensions have grown between Chavez and Washington, the Venezuelan leader has built close ties with countries from Iran to China.
Chavez expressed his support Monday for Iran's new president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, saying he expects to continue strengthening relations. Chavez said like Venezuela, Iran is a country that has been "attacked" for many years by "the hand of imperialism."
Chavez, whose country remains a major supplier of oil to the United States, also is sharply critical of the U.S.-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Nazgul
08-09-05, 11:49 AM
OOOOOOOKKKKKKAAAAY then.
kvrdave
08-09-05, 11:52 AM
-screwy-
I hope this is just posturing and they really aren't as crazy as they appear.
Myster X
08-09-05, 11:56 AM
Is he competing with Kim Jong for the nutjob award?
mapasu
08-09-05, 12:05 PM
Are THE SIMPSONS still banned from Venezuelan TV?
Mopower
08-09-05, 12:05 PM
Chavez, whose country remains a major supplier of oil to the United States.
Fucking hypocrite. If he hates us so much then why doesn't he cut us off?
mosquitobite
08-09-05, 12:09 PM
Or us. Why don't we just start using the oil we supposedly went to war for! :lol:
X
08-09-05, 12:14 PM
A big reason for CAFTA.
VinVega
08-09-05, 12:16 PM
Chavez called the United States the "most savage, cruel and murderous empire that has existed in the history of the world."
rotfl
Shwew, I need to take a breath. No wait, wait, did he say...?
rotfl
OldDude
08-09-05, 12:30 PM
Can we put countries on our "ignore" list?
Bandoman
08-09-05, 12:49 PM
I think we should invade just to prove him wrong.
But Chavez said late Monday that the U.S. government, which "won't stop caressing the idea of invading Cuba or invading Venezuela," ...
That's hot.
Mopower
08-09-05, 12:55 PM
We should have invaded Venezuela for the oil instead of Iraq. It would take the better part of a weekend.
DVD Polizei
08-09-05, 01:09 PM
You guys are funny.
We've obviously won the war in Iraq free and clear, so why not think we could take Venny on?
The only way the US can "win a war" is by using WMD. Otherwise, we can't fight worth shit. Guerilla Warfare is what it's called, and the US is mucho afraid of it. Read up on Colombia's drug cartel and discover the US politely deviated from sending any large amount of troops there, knowing full well they would get their asses kicked.
The US can invade any country it wants. This is true. But a few days after invading, is a whole other story entirely.
Thor Simpson
08-09-05, 01:16 PM
Sorry... why are we invading again? We're not busy enough with plans for N. Korea and Iran right now?
Mopower
08-09-05, 01:16 PM
You guys are funny.
We've obviously won the war in Iraq free and clear, so why not think we could take Venny on?
The only way the US can "win a war" is by using WMD. Otherwise, we can't fight worth shit. Guerilla Warfare is what it's called, and the US is mucho afraid of it. Read up on Colombia's drug cartel and discover the US politely deviated from sending any large amount of troops there, knowing full well they would get their asses kicked.
The US can invade any country it wants. This is true. But a few days after invading, is a whole other story entirely.
Ok, why would we invade Venezula? That's what this retard Chavez needs to ask himself before making stupid statements. We have zero reason to invade. Same goes for Cuba. Maybe the guy needs to help out is own people with the bright shining light of socialism instead of talking shit.
DVD Polizei
08-09-05, 01:21 PM
I don't think we would invade Venezuela either. That's why CAFTA was made. :lol:
Goldblum
08-09-05, 03:09 PM
Booga Booga
Thor Simpson
08-09-05, 03:41 PM
Green thumbs came in handy for employees in Maturin, Venezuela, on United Nations World Environment Day in 2003. Workers pitched in to purchase and plant trees around the <B>Servicios Halliburton de Venezuela</B> facilities.
http://www.halliburton.com/about/community_impact.jsp
<b>It appears that Halliburton has 21 offices in Venezuela.</B>
Perhaps if Chávez were out of power, Halliburton could generate more profitable “beyond-scrutiny” contracts?
http://www.vcrisis.com/index.php?content=letters/200506270326
It begins... -eek-
classicman2
08-09-05, 04:05 PM
Otherwise, we can't fight worth shit. Guerilla Warfare is what it's called, and the US is mucho afraid....
General,
Let me put it as gently as I can - you don't know what in the fuck you're taling about.
Mopower
08-09-05, 04:26 PM
You guys are funny.
We've obviously won the war in Iraq free and clear, so why not think we could take Venny on?
The only way the US can "win a war" is by using WMD. Otherwise, we can't fight worth shit. Guerilla Warfare is what it's called, and the US is mucho afraid of it.
You think the military is doing everything they can in Iraq? They have their balls in a vise right now. Not much they can do in a political war.
eXcentris
08-09-05, 04:39 PM
Chavez called the United States the "most savage, cruel and murderous empire that has existed in the history of the world."
Damn, and the US is right next door. See ya later, gotta go work on that bunker.
B.A.
08-09-05, 04:53 PM
We should hurt him where it hurts the most - his pocket-book - when we quit buying his fucking oil.
Ranger
08-09-05, 05:01 PM
I think I'm gonna join the CIA just to kill off this idiot.
Whoops, my cover's blown.
Thor Simpson
08-09-05, 05:06 PM
I think I'm gonna join the CIA just to kill off this idiot.
Whoops, my cover's blown.
Eh, Rove already told me you were going to consider joining any way.
General Zod
08-09-05, 05:58 PM
His Venezuelan information minister is saying the same thing..
http://www.davidstuff.com/bagdad-bob1.jpg
"The U.S. will bite the dust if it invades. They will be lost in the desert. They will not come within a million miles of Caracas"
DVD Polizei
08-09-05, 06:00 PM
General,
Let me put it as gently as I can - you don't know what in the fuck you're taling about.
Time for a nap.
DVD Polizei
08-09-05, 06:08 PM
You think the military is doing everything they can in Iraq? They have their balls in a vise right now. Not much they can do in a political war.
Like invading Colombia wouldn't be political? The Bush Admin turned Iraq into a political war when they shifted from looking for WMD, to prosthletizing democracy.
The US would have to replace Colombia's infrastructure just like they are in Iraq. This is way too expensive and basically impossible. There are too many Colombians and surrounding countries who rely on drugs and drug trafficking as their main living resource. Mess with that, and not only do you have a pissy guerilla force, but angry civilians as well. Not good.
darkflounder
08-09-05, 07:12 PM
More than 300 students from the United States shouted out their disapproval of U.S. President George W. Bush, chanting "Get out Bush!" Other students chanted: "Bush, fascist -- you're a terrorist!"
Some 15,000 youths from 144 countries traveled to Venezuela for the weeklong festival and conference, organizers said.
Nice to know ACORN's rent-a-mobs can still get work.
huzefa
08-09-05, 07:40 PM
I think he just double-dared us!! THere's no way in the world we can't invade now!
DVD Polizei
08-09-05, 08:48 PM
I would imagine invading them with economics would do more damage than a physical confrontation.
VinVega
08-09-05, 08:52 PM
General,
Let me put it as gently as I can - you don't know what in the fuck you're taling about.
I guess Polizei touched a nerve here. :lol:
Determining success in a war is as much political as it is military these days. I think if you ask the military to achieve military goals, you're in good shape. When we turn our front lines soldiers into policemen, that's when things get a little tricky. The bottom line is that you need achievable goals.
I am enjoying the Pentagon round table as to how we will take Venezuela though. :lol:
X
08-09-05, 09:27 PM
We should hurt him where it hurts the most - his pocket-book - when we quit buying his fucking oil.China and India will be happy to take up the slack.
Myster X
08-09-05, 10:07 PM
What if we did invade? I mean, will other OPEC countries stand up for Venezuela? They're the only OPEC member in the western hemisphere. Maybe other OPEC countries can sacrifice a single member.
troystiffler
08-09-05, 10:38 PM
I'm going to go kill a kitten. JUST - CAUSE - I - CAN. :)
CRM114
08-09-05, 11:37 PM
Ok, why would we invade Venezula? That's what this retard Chavez needs to ask himself before making stupid statements. We have zero reason to invade. Same goes for Cuba. Maybe the guy needs to help out is own people with the bright shining light of socialism instead of talking shit.
Are you serious?
Venezuela is the US's 3rd largest supplier of oil. When they supposedly start arming themselves (the audacity!) and choose socialism, it is OUR DUTY to invade. I don't like how the US aggression of late seems to be solely with the oil-rich nations. Coincidence? Vonnegut was right.
OldDude
08-10-05, 08:08 AM
Venezuela is the US's 3rd largest supplier of oil. When they supposedly start arming themselves (the audacity!) and choose socialism, it is OUR DUTY to invade. I don't like how the US aggression of late seems to be solely with the oil-rich nations. Coincidence? Vonnegut was right.
OK, OK, so Iraq, if we did it for the oil, where the fuck is our oil?
I want some cheap gas, dammit. I wonder if we wouldn't get more
oil from just drilling ANWR.
nevermind
08-10-05, 08:35 AM
OK, OK, so Iraq, if we did it for the oil, where the fuck is our oil?
I want some cheap gas, dammit.
:up::up::up:
classicman2
08-10-05, 08:38 AM
If you want cheaper oil, which will result in cheaper gasoline, I've got a suggestion: kill all the speculators in oil. ;)
Myster X
08-10-05, 11:54 AM
We need to start drilling of the California's coast.
atlantamoi
08-10-05, 02:22 PM
I wish we could all get in a line and give him a nice slap across the face. Pansy.
I have a Venezuelan friend who was forced to leave the U.S. after her visa expired (she went to college here) and she hates living down there. Desperately wants to come back.
B.A.
08-10-05, 02:42 PM
China and India will be happy to take up the slack.Of course they would.
DVD Polizei
08-10-05, 04:43 PM
I wish we could all get in a line and give him a nice slap across the face. Pansy.
I have a Venezuelan friend who was forced to leave the U.S. after her visa expired (she went to college here) and she hates living down there. Desperately wants to come back.
Just tell her to get Mexican citizenship, then come to the US. I would imagine after CAFTA gets going, in a few years, everyone south of Mexico won't have any problems getting into the US.
silentbob007
08-10-05, 09:01 PM
If you want cheaper oil, which will result in cheaper gasoline, I've got a suggestion: kill all the speculators in oil. ;)
... or we could build more refineries and get rid of some of the 20 million different grades that have to be produced according to region.
CRM114
08-10-05, 11:05 PM
OK, OK, so Iraq, if we did it for the oil, where the fuck is our oil?
I want some cheap gas, dammit. I wonder if we wouldn't get more
oil from just drilling ANWR.
:lol: You think they are going to cut YOU in on the action? Prices aren't ever coming back down. Record profits abound!
Fokker's Feint
08-11-05, 10:15 AM
I posted this the last time we had a Venezuela thread and it's just as good now as it was then...
Venezuela's oil revenues subsidize food prices for the poor, although a large bottle of cooking oil can cost just pennies. The money generated from the $50-per-barrel cost also is being used to buy weapons such as 100,000 Kalashnikov rifles and 30 attack helicopters from the Russians. There also have been discussions about a possible $4 billion purchase of advanced MiG fighter jets.
One U.S. State Department official noted, "We shoot down MiGs."
Gojira69
08-11-05, 03:12 PM
...the US can "win a war" is by using WMD
I agree. Let's do it.
BobB
Goldblum
08-11-05, 04:13 PM
You think the military is doing everything they can in Iraq? They have their balls in a vise right now. Not much they can do in a political war.
Completely agree. Polezi, do you honestly believe the only way the U.S. could win a war is with WMD?? Please. If we didn't care so highly about avoiding civilian deaths and public opinion, we could take them out over lunch. We're stalled because of politics, which was inevitable, I suppose.
Goldblum
08-11-05, 04:17 PM
:lol: You think they are going to cut YOU in on the action? Prices aren't ever coming back down. Record profits abound!
Yes, didn't you all know? As we speak, the Iraqi oil is travelling via pipeline deep beneath the Atlantic Ocean, where it empties into one giant vat at the rear of the White House, where Bush, Cheney and Rummy frolic about all night long, naked and engaging in money fights with their newfound wealth.
CRM114
08-11-05, 05:02 PM
Yes, didn't you all know? As we speak, the Iraqi oil is travelling via pipeline deep beneath the Atlantic Ocean, where it empties into one giant vat at the rear of the White House, where Bush, Cheney and Rummy frolic about all night long, naked and engaging in money fights with their newfound wealth.
Who said anything about the Shrub? I'm speaking of a much greater evil, oil companies. Go take a look at some balance sheets.
BJacks
08-11-05, 05:53 PM
Who said anything about the Shrub? I'm speaking of a much greater evil, oil companies. Go take a look at some balance sheets.Using a nickname as stupid and childish as "Shrub" immediately invalidates any argument. Seriously, why can't liberals just call him by his name? Is it that difficult?
Thor Simpson
08-11-05, 06:07 PM
Who does "Shrub" refer to? I feel left out. :(
CRM114
08-11-05, 06:20 PM
Using a nickname as stupid and childish as "Shrub" immediately invalidates any argument. Seriously, why can't liberals just call him by his name? Is it that difficult?
Where did I present an argument? I merely provided a perspective. And the focus wasn't on the Shrub at all.
And how quickly we forget the 90s. :lol: Or else some are too young and I'm getting old.
General Zod
08-11-05, 06:25 PM
And how quickly we forget the 90s. :lol: Or else some are too young and I'm getting old.
Shrub -ohbfrank- At least stick with well known and respective name like Slick Willy.
Thor Simpson
08-11-05, 06:45 PM
K... I'm assuming Shrub refers to Bush somehow, but where does this come from? Is it like a little Bush? Please tell me that's not it.
OldDude
08-11-05, 07:06 PM
Who does "Shrub" refer to? I feel left out. :(
It is a sign that liberals have nothing intelligent to say and have chosen to settle for insulting the President because they don't know what else to do.
Mammal
08-11-05, 07:06 PM
Yes, shrub it the little Bush. I think Molly Ivins came up with it a while ago. As opposed to big Bush, who was a fair-to-middling President.
DVD Polizei
08-11-05, 07:17 PM
If Bush were here, he would shrub his shoulders in disappointment.
Mopower
08-11-05, 07:27 PM
I guess you have to be a hardcore liberal to be lam...I mean smart enough to get the shrub thing.
Thor Simpson
08-11-05, 07:50 PM
Wow. That's pretty creative.
And who's this Cheney guy? With all that hot air he's blowing, it's more like CHIMNEY! Get it? Chimney! Cause it sounds like Cheney but it blows smoke. Ahahah... ha... h... ahem.
Anyone want some Condoleeza-a-roni?
General Zod
08-11-05, 07:59 PM
Wow. That's pretty creative.
And who's this Cheney guy? With all that hot air he's blowing, it's more like CHIMNEY! Get it? Chimney! Cause it sounds like Cheney but it blows smoke. Ahahah... ha... h... ahem.
Anyone want some Condoleeza-a-roni?
Brilliant! I laughed once.. I laughed Thrice! Get it? Condeleeza thrice! :lol: I'm darn good at this. Right? ... hello? .. this thing on? (tap tap tap)
Thor Simpson
08-11-05, 08:04 PM
Let's get back on topic. Chavez... Chavez...
Man, I can't think of any good nicknames. :(
CRM114
08-11-05, 08:31 PM
It is a sign that liberals have nothing intelligent to say and have chosen to settle for insulting the President because they don't know what else to do.
You slay me!
Surely you recall the 90's? rotfl
If I wanted to insult the President, I would reiterate my belief that this President is the most incompetent we've had in my lifetime. But that would be off topic.
Thor Simpson
08-11-05, 08:36 PM
You slay me!
Surely you recall the 90's? rotfl.
Sorry... is your argument that Republicans had nothing intelligent to say in the 90's so it's only fair that liberals have nothing intelligent to say now? :confused:
DVD Polizei
08-11-05, 08:45 PM
I can't say no Moore.
OldDude
08-11-05, 08:49 PM
You slay me!
Surely you recall the 90's? rotfl
Hey, "Slick Willie" might not have contributed that much to the conversation, but at least it was relevant to the charges being brought.
Shrub is just stupid. But it is a useful warning flag not to bother reading because the poster has no game, just trash talk.
CRM114
08-11-05, 09:03 PM
Hey, "Slick Willie" might not have contributed that much to the conversation, but at least it was relevant to the charges being brought.
Shrub is just stupid. But it is a useful warning flag not to bother reading because the poster has no game, just trash talk.
You guys need to lighten up. :fro:
Would "Ignoramous George" be more fitting?
Thor Simpson
08-11-05, 09:20 PM
Would "Ignoramous George" be more fitting?
Nah, stick with shrub. It gets the point across far better and shows that you're willing to take part in an honest, open political discussion. Plus, it shows that Georgey georgey bo-borgey creativity that we all admire. :up::up:
Mike Lowrey
08-11-05, 10:53 PM
Like invading Colombia wouldn't be political? The Bush Admin turned Iraq into a political war when they shifted from looking for WMD, to prosthletizing democracy.
You know this argument has to be the lamest in the whole debate.
Do you really think we invaded Iraq soley for the search for WMD? I mean really... True, that was the reason given at the UN because there were UN resolutions concerning that issue and the Bush Admin thought that it would be an easy sell. However some members on the UNSC was in on the take with the Oil-for-Food Program, so there was no way even a legitmate cause for war would fly with them.
Now then, one of the goals floating around before the war was the simple concept of "regime change"...I'm sure you've heard of it, right? Now what do you think that means? It meant that either Saddam's Ba'athist regime were to change its ways and give up its WMDs or be overthrown which ultimately happen. So then what's the long-term solution after a dictatorship is overthrown? I'll give you a hint...Germany 1945, Japan 1945. Yes...a democracy. Wow! Amazing how logic and common sense helps explain these simple things, huh? Or do you really think that after deposing the dictatorship that we'd just leave and leave the Iraqis to fight it out amongst themselves. Think Pol Pot's Cambodia for the answer to that. If you think the ~30,000 dead Iraqis are bad, just think what would happen if Iraq fell into a civil war. We'd be talking hundreds of thousands, if not millions.
Mike Lowrey
08-11-05, 10:59 PM
You slay me!
Surely you recall the 90's? rotfl
If I wanted to insult the President, I would reiterate my belief that this President is the most incompetent we've had in my lifetime. But that would be off topic.
Curious...incompetant in what way? Not being as slick as Slick Willy?
I was a pre-9/11 Democrat. I left the Dems and joined the GOP after I saw the leadership qualities in Bush once we launched Operation Enduring Freedom on Oct. 7, 2001.
If losing jobs after 9/11, the most devastating attack on the US since Pearl Harbor, is somehow the president's fault, then color me purple.
The problem with this whole war is that not only are we fighting terrorists who want to kill us and who don't care if they die themselves, is that we're also having to fight the politically correct liberals who still believe we're living in a pre-9/11 world.
Gojira69
08-12-05, 01:08 AM
Curious...incompetant in what way? Not being as slick as Slick Willy?
Hey! Don't talk about B.J. Clinton like that!
Fokker's Feint
08-12-05, 11:14 AM
Do you really think we invaded Iraq soley for the search for WMD? I mean really... True, that was the reason given at the UN because there were UN resolutions concerning that issue and the Bush Admin thought that it would be an easy sell.
:thumbsup:
It came down to feasability, especially in terms of "legitmizing" the invasion (Saddam's track record of humanitarian abuses, invading Kuwait and constantly screwing with the weapons inspectors made him an easy target).
It seems pretty obvious that WMDs were merely a pretext for rallying domestic support and at least some semblance of legitimacy in the international arena. People need to read between the lines…the WMD smokescreen was merely a means to an end. Is there any doubt that the true aim all along was to establish a democratic foothold in the Middle East?
VinVega
08-12-05, 11:18 AM
This thread has been so hijacked, I don't even know who's going to bite the dust anymore. :(
Do you really think we invaded Iraq soley for the search for WMD? I mean really... True, that was the reason given at the UN because there were UN resolutions concerning that issue and the Bush Admin thought that it would be an easy sell. However some members on the UNSC was in on the take with the Oil-for-Food Program, so there was no way even a legitmate cause for war would fly with them.
So the reason we provided to the international community for going to war wasn't the real reason? And we provided that reason because we thought it would be an "easy sell"? :hscratch:
Fokker's Feint
08-12-05, 12:01 PM
To maybe put it another way, it was the best possible "sell" given the circumstances. In hindsight we obviously know that the threat was not as great as originally percieved. But at that time you'd be hard pressed to find any major intelligence agency (including the French and Germans) that didn't think Iraq was hiding WMDs somewhere.
Fokker's Feint
08-12-05, 12:07 PM
And here's where it gets even more convoluted. While France and Germany publicly opposed the invasion based on a lack of firm evidence of WMDs in Iraq, that wasn't the real reason for their opposition either. We can talk about the oil-for-food scandal implications, but in my opinion they viewed it more as an opportunity to publicly flex their political muscle. Ever since the end of the cold war, these countries have been itching to get out of the U.S. shadow.
You can be sure that French and German intelligence was telling their leaders, "We can't 100% confirm that there are WMDs there either, but we believe that it is very likely that they do."
Fokker's Feint
08-12-05, 12:13 PM
Dammit....I went and hijacked it again. OK, here's another Chavez pick:
BOGOTA, Colombia (CNN) -- A Colombian airliner carrying 160 people crashed Tuesday in a remote area of western Venezuela, aviation officials said.
No survivors have been found.
A spokeswoman for West Caribbean Airways, based in Medellin, Colombia, told CNN there were 152 passengers and eight crew members on board, making it the deadliest plane crash in Venezuela's history.
The MD-82 aircraft left Tocumen International Airport south of Panama City around 1 a.m. local time, headed for Fort de France, Martinique, according to Panamanian aviation officials.
Most of the passengers were from Martinique, according to civil aeronautics officials in Colombia, and the crew was Colombian.
The flight had been chartered by tourists in Martinique, a French possession in the Caribbean.
Venezuelan officials said the jetliner's pilots reported engine problems shortly before contact was lost with the aircraft around 3 a.m. ET.
Tomas Paredes with Panama's aviation agency told CNN in a phone interview the pilots had asked to descend from 31,000 feet to 14,000 feet because both engines were having problems.
That was the last communication from the aircraft, Paredes said.
Explosion reported
Some residents in Venezuela's Zulia state reported hearing a loud explosion early in the morning, near the city of Machiques and Lake Maracaibo, local law enforcement officials said. The crash site is not far from the border with Colombia.
Search and rescue crews are removing bodies from the site of the crash, officials said, and will move them to a morgue.
Local officials said there are no survivors.
At least 150 workers are at the crash site -- including national guard members and firefighters -- according to the Venezuelan aviation authority.
Reporter Jeidis Osechas of the Venezuelan television network Globovision told CNN from the scene of the crash there was still smoke coming from the heavily forested region, and the wreckage appeared to be strewn over a large area.
French President Jacques Chirac released a statement expressing his sorrow about the accident that claimed the lives of several French citizens.
"The president expresses, on behalf of all French citizens, his saddest condolences and his deep compassion for the families and friends of the victims," the statement said.
Chirac said he was sending his overseas territories minister to Martinique immediately, and the French Foreign Ministry has set up a crisis office to deal with the accident.
A smaller aircraft owned by West Caribbean Airways crashed as it took off in Colombia in March, killing eight people and injuring eight others.
Previous crashes
The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 series has been involved in 11 fatal crashes since it went into service in 1980 -- seven involved the MD-82 model.
The deadliest was the December 1, 1981, crash of an Inex-Adria Airways flight that went down in Ajaccio, France, killing all 180 people on board. Human error was found to be the cause of that crash.
Boeing acquired McDonnell Douglas in 1997 and ended production of the MD-80 series in 1999. The plane is still in use around the world.
CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuela's vice president accused religious broadcaster Pat Robertson on Tuesday of making "terrorist statements" by suggesting that American agents assassinate President Hugo Chavez.
On Monday, Robertson said on the Christian Broadcast Network's "The 700 Club": "We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability."
"We don't need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator," he continued. "It's a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with."
Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel said Venezuela was studying its legal options, adding that how Washington responds to Robertson's comments would put its anti-terrorism policy to the test.
"The ball is in the U.S. court, after this criminal statement by a citizen of that country," Rangel told reporters. "It's huge hypocrisy to maintain this discourse against terrorism and at the same time, in the heart of that country, there are entirely terrorist statements like those."
The U.S. government distanced itself from Robertson's comments.
Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, appearing at a Pentagon news conference, said when asked: "Our department doesn't do that kind of thing. It's against the law. He's a private citizen. Private citizens say all kinds of things all the time."
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack called Robertson's remarks "inappropriate."
"This is not the policy of the United States government. We do not share his views," McCormack said.
There was no immediate comment from Chavez, who was winding up an official visit to Cuba on Tuesday. Scores of journalists awaited Chavez at the airport, where he was to board a plane for a trip to Jamaica to discuss a Venezuela initiative to supply petroleum to Caribbean countries under favorable financial terms.
Chavez has emerged as one of the most outspoken critics of President Bush, accusing the United States of conspiring to topple his government and possibly backing plots to assassinate him. U.S. officials have called the accusations ridiculous.
"You know, I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it," Robertson said. "It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war ... and I don't think any oil shipments will stop."
Rangel called Robertson "a man who seems to have quite a bit of influence in that country," adding sarcastically that his words were "very Christian."
The comments "reveal that religious fundamentalism is one of the great problems facing humanity in these times," Rangel said.
Robertson's remarks appear likely to further stoke tensions between Washington and Caracas. Chavez has repeatedly claimed that American officials are plotting to oust or kill him — charges U.S. officials have denied.
The United States is the top buyer of Venezuelan crude, but Chavez has made it clear he wants to decrease the country's dependence on the U.S. market by finding other buyers.
Chavez has survived a brief 2002 coup, a devastating two-month strike that ended in early 2003 and recall referendum in 2004. The former army paratroop commander, a close ally of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, is up for re-election next year, and polls suggest he is the favorite.
X
09-05-05, 07:25 PM
If he wants an invasion he should just keep doing this...
Venezuela Troops Told to Seize Heinz Plant
CARACAS, Venezuela - A state governor allied to leftist President Hugo Chavez has ordered Venezuelan troops to seize an abandoned tomato-processing plant owned by the H.J. Heinz Co., a state official said Monday.
The plant in the eastern state of Monagas still belongs to Heinz but hasn't been used for years, said Angelica Rivero, a spokeswoman for the governor.
"The governor decided to seize the plant so it can be protected from looters and later be put to use," Rivero said.
Monagas Gov. Jose Gregorio Briceno told the state-run Bolivarian News Agency the plant changed hands several times under previous governments before Heinz purchased it in 1997 and later ceased operations.
Debbie Foster, a spokeswoman for the Pittsburgh-based food company, said the plant had not been used for eight to 10 years but gave no other comment.
Officials were expected to expropriate the plant, a move that would require the Venezuelan National Assembly to declare the property to be of "public interest." It wasn't immediately clear whether soldiers were posted at the plant Monday.
Chavez, a close ally of Cuba's
Fidel Castro who says he supports socialism, has said the government may expropriate the property of companies whose factories are idle or partially paralyzed in order to put them back to work.
One nearby town, Caicara, suffered because of the actions of the "transnational monopoly," Briceno told the state news agency, known by its Spanish initials ABN.
"At that time I was mayor of that town and I felt impotent, my hands tied, as 30 million kilos (66 million pounds) of tomatoes ... were produced, and the closing of the business led the farm workers to go broke," Briceno told ABN.
Venezuela's constitution says the government will respect private property but that the state may expropriate property if for public use or "social interest," as long as compensation is paid.
So far this year, the government has expropriated the assets of a failed paper company and an industrial valve maker.
The governor's order to seize the tomato plant came as Venezuela's largest food producer, Alimentos Polar, said it was challenging the legality of a military takeover of its storage facilities in the southernwestern state of Barinas.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050905/ap_on_bi_ge/venezuela_plant_seizure_4 Maybe it's just eminent domain.
Goldblum
09-05-05, 10:19 PM
Maybe it's just eminent domain.
Ginsberg would agree.
Gallant Pig
09-05-05, 10:21 PM
If he wants an invasion he should just keep doing this...
Maybe it's just eminent domain.
Come on, it was Heinz ;) We all know Karl Rove is behind this.
Thor Simpson
09-17-05, 10:19 AM
Update...
<B>Chavez: U.S. planning to invade Venezuela</B>
Friday, September 16, 2005; Posted: 11:10 p.m. EDT (03:10 GMT)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Friday <B>he has documentary evidence that the United States plans to invade his country.</B>
Chavez, interviewed on ABC's "Nightline," said <B>the plan is called "Balboa" and involves aircraft carriers and planes.</B> A transcript of the interview was made available by "Nightline."
He said U.S. soldiers recently went to Curacao, an island off Venezuela's northwest coast. He described as a "lie" the official U.S. explanation that they visited Curacao for rest and recreation.
<B>"They were doing movements. They were doing maneuvers,"</B> Chavez said, speaking through a translator.
He added: <B>"We are coming up with the counter-Balboa plan. That is to say if the government of the United States attempts to commit the foolhardy enterprise of attacking us, it would be embarked on a 100-year war. We are prepared."</B>
Chavez has been attending the summit of world leaders at the United Nations in New York this week. On Thursday, he denounced the U.S.-led war in Iraq and told other leaders they should consider moving the U.N. headquarters out of the United States.
To prove U.S. intentions to invade Venezuela, <b>Chavez offered to send "Nightline" host Ted Koppel maps and other documentation.</B>
"What I can't tell you his how we got it, to protect the sources, how we got it through military intelligence," he said.
<b>In the event of a U.S. invasion, Chavez said the United States can "just forget" about receiving any more oil from his country.</B>
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/americas/09/16/chavez.ap/index.html
Maybe he's getting scared now. He dodn't say we'd bite the dust this time, but that we'd be stuck in a 100 year war (in this day and age?!) and that he'd stop giving us oil. :banana:
I wonder if the counter-plan is called "Creed"
Myster X
09-17-05, 01:24 PM
He made a fool out of himself on Nightline.
Suprmallet
09-17-05, 08:01 PM
I find it hilarious that a post about how oil companies gouge prices became a debate about nicknames and Iraq.
Forget Bush or Clinton or any other political figure, oil companies suck.
Thor Simpson
09-17-05, 08:22 PM
I find it hilarious that a post about how oil companies gouge prices became a debate about nicknames and Iraq.
That was a month ago. I was trying to get things back on track. :)
Chavez will try to improve U.S. relations
By SAM DOLNICK, Associated Press Writer
Published 9:05 am PDT Monday, September 19, 2005
NEW YORK (AP) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Saturday that he would attempt to improve his relations with Washington, which have been rocky in recent months.
"Sometimes I make mistakes, I tend to respond to any official from the government of Mr. Bush who verbally attacks Venezuela," Chavez said during a speech at a Manhattan church, his last public event in New York before heading to Cuba to meet with his close ally Fidel Castro.
Chavez said the Rev. Jesse Jackson and U.S. Rep. Jose Serrano, D-N.Y., who sat with him at the church, had advised him "not to be provoked" by representatives of the U.S. government.
He acknowledged that he has occasionally "gone too far with words" when responding to U.S. officials who criticize his government, and he said his criticism of the Bush administration has sometimes been misunderstood as attacks against the American public.
"I love the people of the United States," he said.
In reference to the U.S.-led war in Iraq, Chavez said it was justifiable for people in an invaded country to defend themselves.
"The true war we ask for is the war against poverty and misery," he said to rousing applause.
Two days earlier, Chavez harshly criticized President Bush in front of a United Nations summit for waging war in Iraq without U.N. consent.
Chavez also criticized U.N. reforms Saturday, saying they would permit powerful countries to invade developing ones whose leaders are considered a threat.
In a speech earlier Saturday that was broadcast on state-run television in Venezuela, Chavez said the document adopted at a U.N. summit Friday was developed without consensus and was "invalid and illegal."
He singled out a section of the document creating a Peacebuilding Commission that outlines a "responsibility to protect." He called it suspicious, saying "tomorrow or sometime in the future, someone in Washington will say that the Venezuelan people need to be protected from the tyrant Chavez, who is a threat."
Chavez, a self-declared revolutionary, has often clashed with the U.S. government and has accused Washington of seeking to oust him - a claim U.S. officials have denied, though they have expressed concern about Chavez's ties with Castro and what opponents call his authoritarian tendencies.
The disagreements between the two sides drew more attention last month when religious broadcaster Pat Robertson suggested the United States "take him out" because Chavez poses a danger to the region. Chavez responded that Robertson clearly "expressed the wish of the elite that govern the United States." Robertson later apologized, and the State Department said his remark had been inappropriate.
DVD Polizei
09-19-05, 09:40 PM
So like, does Chevy want a new reactor too?
Thor Simpson
10-20-05, 11:06 PM
I guess this is how you improve relations:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/americas/10/20/venezuela.chavez.ap/index.html
<B>Chavez warns U.S. against invasion
United States says it has no plans</B>
Thursday, October 20, 2005; Posted: 9:57 p.m. EDT (01:57 GMT)
PARIS, France (AP) -- <B>Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Thursday that his government is preparing for a possible U.S. invasion, and he warned that such "aggression" would send gasoline prices in the United States soaring.
The U.S. government repeated that it is not planning any such thing.</B>
Chavez, a vocal critic of "imperialism" and the Bush administration, said he was not against the American people -- just the current government.
"We are sure that it will be very difficult for the United States to attack Venezuela," Chavez said. He said his country has eight oil refineries and 14,000 gasoline stations in the United States.
<B>"If the United States tried to attack Venezuela by a direct invasion, forget the oil," </B>he said during a two-hour news conference beamed live to Venezuela. "Everyday we send 1.5 million barrels to the United States."
<B>The barrel price of crude oil could hit $150 following a U.S. attack, Chavez said. Currently New York light sweet crude oil trades around $60 a barrel.
"That's why Pat Robertson, the spiritual adviser of Mr. Bush, is calling for my assassination. That would be much cheaper than an invasion," </B>Chavez said.
Robertson, the U.S. religious broadcaster, said in August that Chavez should be killed, then later apologized.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Chavez's suspicions were unfounded.
"I've stated many times before, the United States is prepared to work with any government in the region: left of center, center, right of center. Our issue is with states that don't govern in a democratic manner," McCormack said.
The Venezuelan leader used his news conference to trumpet what he called his "alternative" vision of a world that works for the poor rather than corporations seeking profits.
Chavez reiterated longtime claims that the United States finances his opponents, seeks his ouster and sabotages efforts to move his country forward.
"Venezuela is used to defending itself ... and fighting imperialism," Chavez said, speaking in Spanish with a French translator.
"We must be ready for an aggression," said Chavez, who previously said Venezuela is organizing an expanded military reserve and civilian defense units.
In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp. radio aired earlier Thursday, Chavez said he had evidence to prove the U.S. government was planning an invasion.
Chavez said he believed the reason Washington was plotting an invasion was to take control of Venezuela's oil fields.
<B>Meanwhile, Israel canceled -- under American pressure -- a lucrative deal to upgrade Venezuelan warplanes</B>, Israel TV reported Thursday.
The report said <B>Israel was to install its own systems in U.S.-made F-16 fighters for the Venezuelan air force, but the U.S. government forced Israel to call off the deal. </B>No dollar figure for the deal was given.
Israeli Defense Ministry officials were not immediately available for comment.
DVD Polizei
10-20-05, 11:09 PM
I'm sure the US is going to pay for the Israeli budget as well. Jesus, all this money we seem to have and yet we have so many things within our own country that need fixing. Roads. Education. Ecnomically destitute families. People who can't afford healthcare.
Buy: