Venezuela Happy about Bush Snub

[Joanne98]

Venezuela Happy about Bush Snub

Caracas, Feb 27 (Prensa Latina) Far from feeling rejected, Venezuela is happy Tuesday about being excluded from US President George W. Bush s Latin American tour that will take him to Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Uruguay and Guatemala.

Brazil Lays out Super Security for Bush
Venezuela: No OAS Hemispheric Force

"Thank God," said Venezuelan Vice President Jorge Rodriguez to a journalist, who asked him about the non-inclusion of his country, while President Hugo Chavez recalled Vice President Richard Nixon s terrible experience during a visit to Caracas in 1958.

Although it is not included in the agenda, the aim of Bush s tour, slated for March 8 through 14, is to isolate Chavez government and stop the regional integration process, which threatens US hegemony in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Interviewed by "El Universal" newspaper, Rodriguez said Bush will probably receive a slap in the face from most of the countries he will visit.

According to him, the current Latin American process will provoke that his presence reinforces regional peoples self-determination. "We are no longer the US backyard," noted the country s vice president.

In his daily program "Alo Presidente," Chavez augured on Monday strong demonstrations of popular repudiation for the US president s tour.

sus iff ml mf PL-4

http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID={03645EDD-F396-4ACA-AA3F-14166B93D1E9})&language=EN

[Forkboy]

1. "Thank God!"

:rofl:

[Joanne98]

2. LOL!

:)

[Judi Lynn]

3. Oh, yeah! They ADORE our right-wing maggots in Venezuela.

Here are some photos of Richard M. Nixon's Tour of Triumph in Caracas, 1958!

[Forkboy]

7. Those are great pics!

:)

[Judi Lynn]

9. They don't look impressed with Nixon, do they?

I think photos like these appeared in the large photo news magazines like Life and Look back then.

They came from this great site, found in an "image" search:
http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/home.html

[Forkboy]

12. Holy crap!

That page is awesome! I have that one bookmarked.Looks like a million things to read there.

Thanks!

[madrchsod]

11. i was 11 years old and i remember that happening

it was on the news and in life magazine. i did`t understand at that time why anyone would do this to the vice president.

[Judi Lynn]

17. Yeah, the whole country was baffled, and remains that way.

As DU'er Say_What has said, "propaganda works!"

I'm sure people just thought Venezuelans were inexplicably vicious. No one had a CLUE about what could make them so angry.

It has taken decades for the real information to start making its way to the American public.

[Vidar]

4. Bush unites more of the world behind Chavez almost daily.

[Pastiche423]

5. And it's the only good thing he's done in six years

[Vidar]

10. I like your spin.

[truthisfreedom]

14. Bwa-ha-ha-haaaa. Good work, bush!

[badgerpup]

20. Guess he IS a 'uniter'!

Just not the kind of 'uniter' you want to have 'uniting' on your side...:scared:

[EFerrari]

6. LOL!

:rofl:

[xultar]

8. How can BushCo.think he'll stop integration?

What fucking arrogant losers.

[Divernan]

13. Will meetings be held at military bases & airport terminals?

If Bush tries driving through capitol cities to official government buildings, there will be hell to pay because of demonstrators.

[Megahurtz]

15. Lol! n/t

[Matilda]

16. Having just experienced the dubious honour of a visit from Cheney,

I can only say that I wish Cheney had snubbed us.

We had to put up with Black Hawks flying overhead at dawn, starting days before he arrived and
driving people nuts with their noise. Then all city streets around his hotel were closed off to
cars and people, in spite of the fact that the area is close to the harbour and a major tourist spot.
Whenever he drove anywhere through the CBD, all surrounding streets were closed to traffic. And on
the last day, Sunday, the Harbour Bridge was closed to all traffic while John Howard entertained his
guest on the lawns of Kirribilli House on the harbour - even though I swear it would be physically
impossible for anyone to shoot, bomb or throw anything from the Bridge anyway - closing the footway
would have been sufficient.

It was total overkill, but the US security services ran the show their way. We just have to pay the
bill.

[ProudDad]

18. He has to visit y'all

He can't visit here:

"Go fuck yourself Mr cheney!"
http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Cheney_told_to_go_fuck_yourself_in_Gulfport_Missi_0908.html
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/9/8/123441/6549

cheney slinks out of town
http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2005/06/318841.shtml

[Divernan]

21. Cheney is the most despised, cowardly war profiteer/politician in American history

(From your link)
Cheney slinks outta town
author: Lone, surprised voice
On my way to work this morning, I was barred from walking down Stark Street. Since I only work a block past the barricade, I asked the lone police officer if I could pass. He said I could not. Suddenly, it dawned on me why. "Is this for Cheney?" I asked. He nodded politely. I frowned and began to walk away. At that moment, the shiny black limos and the big stupid SUV thing emerged from the underground parking lot.

Without even thinking about it, I turned and walked back to the edge of the sidewalk and waved my middle finger at the limos. I was only a couple of feet from their sneering, blackened windows. Then I screamed, "Fuck you Cheney! Fuck you, war criminal! FUCK Cheney! Fuck you!" I had no prepared speeches to give, no well-thought-out responses. Only a visceral, gutteral roar from the pain of impotence growing in the depths of my soul ever since the wars started and people began dying in my name without my consent. And I was alone.

I could wonder why my voice was the only one. I was close enough to spit on him, had the window only been down. His pompous arrogance should choke him in the face of all that he and bushco have done, in the name of all the people who have died for their sins. Why was I standing there alone, screaming obscenities. Strangely, though, I was not dispirited by the absence of others. Because I know why there weren't others. It was because Cheney had had to sneak into and out of town like the unwanted criminal that he is. I had only heard about the royal visit less than 30 minutes before, on the radio as I got ready for work. This, in itself, is a victory of sorts. He is not welcome here, and he knows it. There are no parades, no adoring fans, no flowers for the entourage. There is only hatred for him. So he must sneak quietly in at the last minute, with no advance notice and no public access.

These are not elected officials, these are frightened figureheads on a creaking platform. This was not an opportunity to meet with the people, this was a sneaky mission to the outskirts of the empire, in the hopes of rallying the rats as they desert the ship. This is Nero, fiddling. This is the beginning of the end. So if my voice was the only one out there, and if my words were not written out eloquently in advance, so be it. He heard the quaking emotion, the stinging hatred in every syllable, and he knows I am not alone. Everywhere he goes in the world for the rest of his life, there will be at least one voice, standing for thousands upon thousands of others. And no matter how hard he tries to avoid contact with the people, at least one of us will always find him.

[Peace Patriot]

22. Thank you for this wonderful report! And for representing all of us!

I've always said that ONE PERSON standing all alone on a street corner holding their sign, protesting injustice, has ripples through the world that we cannot see but that we most certainly do feel. It is a spiritual as well as political act. It RESONATES.

People sometimes play the numbers game. The police say 10,000 at a protest (always greatly underestimating). The people there know that it's more like 50,000. And we get into this game. Back in Gulf War I, I think it was, the protesters put up their own helicopter and did an expert count--giving the lie to corporate media and police about the size of protests against that war. And the police STOPPED estimating crowds. Because they were wrong. It's now their policy generally not to say anything--and to let the corporate news monopolies play their word games in the headlines, marginalizing and minimizing protest, with no official estimate.

But it doesn't matter to me. Numbers don't matter. Cindy Sheehan's lonely voice against the Iraq War soon grew to millions. Now over 70% of the American people want the Iraq War ended. ONE PERSON. That's all it takes. Because justice is like a river. You cannot stop its flow. The one person with the one sign in their lonely public stance is deeply connected to the flow of justice--and those who would try to dam up that flow will soon be swept away by it.

Your spontaneous shouts at Dick Cheney were the shouts of the whole world. Because you were there, representing justice, justice will prevail. You may not think so--although, from your writing, I gather that you feel that deep rumble in a profound way. You pulled the plug on the fascist dam, because you are connected to us all.

I thank you for being there to protest their secret ride--what ever brought you there, who knows? It seems like destiny. You are such a fabulous writer. And your account is now indelibly stamped on my mind, and soon will reach others. It's amazing how this works. Peace to you. You've done your part. Now it's for the rest of us to take up that shout and carry it to its proper conclusion.

[Peace Patriot]

23. Hey, Divernan, that post ought to be an OP! Give it its own thread. Spread the news

of this magnificant one-person protest, as the dark windows slinked by.

[ProudDad]

19. Viva Chavez

and go fuck yourself, bush...

[donkeyotay]

24. Will bush be issuing threats or bribery?

All he can do is try to buy or bully heads of state.

Although it is not included in the agenda, the aim of Bush s tour, slated for March 8 through 14, is to isolate Chavez government and stop the regional integration process, which threatens US hegemony in Latin America and the Caribbean.