Chávez taunts US with oil offer


Robertson's such a jackass. I'm more angry that white Americans in power still think they can rule the entire world. It this type of covert political tactics that has created America's notorious reputation around the planet. I'm not an expert on Chavez's administration so far but I do know that he's had massive popularity with the the working masses of his country and they voted him in freely. They also worked to keep him in power when a coup threatened Chavez. I feel that we need more socialism and definitely progressive politics in the mainstream and I know that this level of capitalism cannot last that much longer. Capitalism must be modified to benefit the working people of this country and not the rich. I support people who are not afraid of speaking out against American policy that constantly puts profits over humans. This country is great but it's government needs systemic changes. I would never advocate violence and I hope we find nonviolent means to changing this American capitalist enterprise.


Chávez taunts US with oil offer

Venezuelan president hits back at assassination remarks with offer of cheap petroleum for poor Americans
Duncan Campbell
Thursday August 25, 2005

Guardian
President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela hit back vigorously at calls by an ally of President George Bush for his assassination by offering cheap petrol to the poor of the US at a time of soaring fuel prices.

In a typically robust response to remarks by the US televangelist Pat Robertson, Mr Chávez compared his detractors to the "rather mad dogs with rabies" from Cervantes' Don Quixote, and unveiled his plans to use Venezuela's energy reserves as a political tool.

"We want to sell gasoline and heating fuel directly to poor communities in the United States," he said.

Mr Robertson's remarks have threatened to inflame tension between the US and one of its main oil suppliers.

Yesterday the religious broadcaster apologised for his remarks.

"Is it right to call for assassination? No, and I apologise for that statement. I spoke in frustration that we should accommodate the man who thinks the US is out to kill him," he said.

In a TV broadcast on Monday, he said: "If he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it."

Yesterday Mr Robertson initially said his comments had been misinterpreted, but went on to add that kidnapping Mr Chávez might be a better idea.

"I said our special forces could take him out. Take him out could be a number of things, including kidnapping."

The Bush administration tried to distance itself from Mr Robertson's views without upsetting the large Christian fundamentalist wing which the veteran evangelist represents.

A State Department spokesman said assassination was not part of government policy. "He's a private citizen," Donald Rumsfeld, the defence secretary, said of Mr Robertson. "Private citizens say all kinds of things all the time."

But Mr Robertson's remarks are seen as an embarrassment at a time when the US is calling for a united front against terror.

Democrats have challenged the Bush administration to be more outspoken in its response to Mr Robertson's remarks on the Christian Broadcasting Network.

Venezuela's ambassador to the US, Bernardo Alvarez, said: "Mr Robertson has been one of this president's staunchest allies. His statement demands the strongest condemnation by the White House."

The Venezuelan government is asking for assurances from the US government that Mr Chávez will be adequately protected when he visits New York for a special session of the UN next month.

Venezuela's vice-president, José Vicente Rangel, said the possibility of legal action against Mr Robertson for incitement to murder should also be considered.

Venezuela, the world's fifth largest crude exporter, supplies 1.3m barrels of oil a day to the US. It remains unclear how poor Americans might benefit from the cheap petrol offer, but Mr Chávez has set up arrangements with other countries for swapping services in exchange for oil. Cuban doctors are working in the poorer areas of Venezuela in exchange for cheap oil going to Cuba.

Jamaica yesterday became the first Caribbean country to reach an agreement with Venezuela for oil at below-market terms. The Petrocaribe initiative is a plan to offer oil at flexible rates to 13 Caribbean countries. Jamaica will pay $40 a barrel, against a market rate of more than $60.

Mr Chávez said oil importers such as the US could expect no respite from the oil market, predicting the price of a barrel would reach $100 by 2012.

Trials & Tribulations of One Firebrand Chicana


Doves, silence for A-bomb victims
Hiroshima recalls day 60 years ago that changed face of war


I've got a lump in my throat.
I can't believe this took place... why?



Doves, silence for A-bomb victims
Hiroshima recalls day 60 years ago that changed face of war

HIROSHIMA, Japan (CNN) -- Hundreds of doves were released in Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima Saturday as tens of thousands of people gathered 60 years after the world's first atomic bomb was dropped on the city, killing nearly half of its residents.

At 8:15 a.m. (11:15 p.m. GMT Friday) -- the moment when the bomb detonated on Aug. 6, 1945 -- the crowd was hushed for a minute of silence in tribute to the more than 140,000 people who died either instantly or not long after the attack.

Thousands more suffered severe burns and the effects of radiation sickness, and many of these people also did not survive.

The park surrounds the closest building to survive the blast.

On August 9, 1945, three days after the Hiroshima attack, another atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba, who each year issues a Declaration of Peace for the anniversary, described it as "a time of inheritance, of awakening and of commitment ... to the abolishment of nuclear weapons and the realization of genuine world peace."

"No one else should ever suffer as we did," said Akiba, quoting the "hibakusha" warning from the bombing survivors. He urged nuclear powers to abandon their arsenals.

During the Hiroshima ceremonies, dignitaries placed wreaths and flowers at the base of the monument. Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi also paid tribute to the bombing victims, saying Japan has vowed "never to repeat the tragedies in Hiroshima and Nagasaki."

"We also will take the lead in the international community to promote ... nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation and do our best to abolish nuclear weapons," Koizumi added.

The anniversary comes as North Korea disarmament talks continue in Beijing.

Negotiations have reached an impasse over Washington's insistence that Pyongyang should not be allowed to have any nuclear program that might be converted to making weapons.

North Korea insists it has the right to developing nuclear power for peaceful means.

One of the Hiroshima survivors is Hiroko Yamashita, who was home alone when the bomb went off.

"I remember the figure of my little brother coming home from our neighbor's house, silhouetted in a white flash," she said.

Yamashita was 18, he was 6, and their parents had asked her to watch him.

Their house was about 800 meters (yards) from where the bomb exploded. Their three-story home collapsed, but she and her brother found each other.

"We're OK is all we could say, over and over."

She told CNN she saw survivors with burned skin hanging from bodies."I still remember the voices of the dying calling, 'help, help us,' but we could not help them."

Yamashita suffered gaping wounds that exposed her bones and went to a nearby airfield, where co-workers found her and re-united her and her brother with their parents.

She thought her brother was fine. But he collapsed, bleeding from his nose, and his hair fell out. He died at a medical facility, in the bed next to her.

Yamashita said she still suffers from recurring cancer from the bombing.

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/08/05/japan.hiroshima/