http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060418/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/venezuela_arming_the_people

By FABIOLA SANCHEZ, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 18 minutes ago



CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez constantly warns Venezuelans a U.S. invasion is imminent.

Now he's begun training a civilian militia as well as the Venezuelan army to resist in the only way possible against a much better-equipped force: by taking to the hills and fighting a guerrilla war.

Supporters of the president, a former paratroop commander, are increasingly taking up his call. Chavez wants 1 million armed men and women in the army reserve, and 150,000 have already joined, surpassing the regular military's force of 100,000. Now Venezuelans are also organizing neighborhood-based militia units for Chavez's Territorial Guard.
...

"We're going to be a country of soldiers," declares Roberto Salazar, an unemployed 49-year-old, after scrambling under barbed wire, wading through a mud trench and skirting burning tires with other volunteers.

Venezuela's citizen-soldiers come mostly from the slums where Chavez draws his fiercest support. They train on weekends, learning how to handle assault rifles and run obstacle courses through clouds of tear gas.

"Venezuelans need to know how to be military people so that we can defend our fatherland and our president," Salazar says.

Chavez insists the plotters of a 2002 coup that briefly unseated him had Washington's blessing. The United States quickly recognized the interim leaders; U.S. intelligence documents indicate the CIA knew dissident military officers were plotting against Chavez.

Chavez now says all Venezuelans must be prepared for a "war of resistance," and has noted that the hills around Caracas provide excellent cover...

Ok, Spabby ! Much to do ,much to do . I'll get busy on Chevex as soon s I get some time off from the rest of the world .:mad:

My goodness ,can you beleive how many are out for us at same time ? :eek3:

We have enemies in low places . I'm bewitched, bothered and bewildered .

I take it this new old enemy is near Columbia ?

I don't think Chavez is 'the enemy'. I think maybe we are. Somewhere along the line you have to stand up for moral "right". He is doing that for his people. We should be doing it for ours.

Savages with AK's and good propaganda, I'm so scared.

Fortunately the average idiot in Venezuela is not following that madman Chavez in his effort to Cubanize that piece of crap country.

I don't care what the jackass does with his stupid country as long as he keeps the spigot on. When he turns it off, let it rain.

Fortunately the average idiot in Venezuela is not following that madman Chavez in his effort to Cubanize that piece of crap country.


They love him, snout. Hell, I'm American and I love him. :p

They love him, snout. Hell, I'm American and I love him. :p

Why because he's a populist, a man of the people?

That and because he is a man who believes so strongly in doing what he thinks is right by his people that he is willing to make great personal sacrifices to achieve those things.

Even if he's wrong, he's a People's Hero.

I don't care what the jackass does with his stupid country as long as he keeps the spigot on. When he turns it off, let it rain.


LOL, I don't care what he does either . I think we should leave him to his own . But i don't know alot about this new one . We have so many now :eek7:

They love him, snout. Hell, I'm American and I love him. :p
I have a strange feeling that if he was President of our country and ran the US the exact same way, you wouldn't love him:hmm:

You'd be wrong. ;)

The same people wouldn't like him here that don't like him there. The upper elite.

I don't think Chavez is 'the enemy'. I think maybe we are. Somewhere along the line you have to stand up for moral "right".The ppl in Venezuela have the right to elect a communist if they want one. Chavez is not a threat to the United States and no invasion is going to happen.

It is sad that most of that country's people are despreately poor despite the fact that their country is rich in oil.

I think every country should have a civilian militia...including the US.

If he turns of the spigot, well, that might as well be interepreted as an act of war in this day and age.

Nah, they only supply like 7% of the world's oil supply. From what I understand, it's not the light crude that the Middle East produces. It is a less desireable heavy type.

Like I said , I don't know anything about him or his country . I didcatch a few lines of somebody with a name like his running their mouth about us though, but he may not be the one . I have'nt heard the dictator mention him . The time to worry about war protest is before the war, not during it .

:rolleyes:

This is probably just a good way for Chavez to garner support from his people, by protraying the USA as their common enemy. I'm pretty sure the White House is more interested in attacking Iran than Venezuela.

When did we threaten Chevez ? I may see some logic with Iran being a threat . The president has a big threatening mouth against our ally, Israel .

If we allow a military power to set itself up in the ME, it would be the death of us . Right now china and india are building their nations off us, but the oil lords, don't really need us as much . And soon china and india won't either .

purely a defensive force. the fact that the people are willing participants validates the move.

You'd be wrong. ;)

The same people wouldn't like him here that don't like him there. The upper elite.


Spabby, how do you know how much money he has ? Or that he isn't elite himself ? If he' not he's the very first leader of a nation that i know who isn't . Even when they start out decent, power corrupts them and always absolutely ! I bet he has villas all over the world .

He has a long history of being for the working class. He's done a great deal for them over a great many yearz.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Ch%C3%A1vez

Chávez was elected President in 1998[3] on promises of aiding Venezuela's poor majority, and reelected in 2000.[4] Domestically, Chávez has launched massive Bolivarian Missions to combat disease, illiteracy, malnutrition, poverty, and other social ills. Abroad, Chávez has acted against the Washington Consensus by supporting alternative models of economic development, and has advocated cooperation among the world's poor nations, especially those in Latin America.

Chávez has been severely criticized, mostly by Venezuela's middle and upper classes.

...

Chávez also made great changes to Venezuela's constitution and foreign policy. Instead of continuing Venezuela's past support for U.S. and European strategic interests, Chávez has promoted alternative development and integration paradigms for the Third World.

...

2004–present
After his referendum victory, Chávez used Venezuela's increasing oil revenues — from rises in world oil prices — to focus on expanding social programs. Economic growth also picked up markedly, reaching double-digit growth in 2004, 9.3% growth in 2005 and a projected 7% growth rate for 2006....

...Chávez's foreign policy included humanitarian aid, construction projects, and other agreements with Argentina's Nestor Kirchner, China's Hu Jintao, Cuba's Fidel Castro, and Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad....Chávez's government also gave Amazonian indigenous peoples inalienable titles to 6,800 km² of lands and launched Mission Guaicaipuro.

At a graduation ceremony at Cuba's Latin American School of Medicine on August 20, 2005, Chávez announced the joint establishment of a tuition-free medical school, including 30,000 planned slots for poor students.[37]
...

Chávez's domestic policy is embodied by the Bolivarian Missions, a series of social justice programs that have radically altered the economic and cultural landscape of Venezuela. Although recent economic activity under Chávez has been robust under these programs,[41][42] per-capita GDP in 2004 has dropped around 1% from 1999 levels.[43][44] However, as of September 2005, there have also been significant drops since 1999 in unemployment[45] and in the government's definition of "poverty",[46] and there have been marked improvements in national health indicators between 1998 and 2005.[47][43]

Aims of the Bolivarian Missions have included the launching of massive government anti-poverty initiatives,[48][49] the construction of thousands of free medical clinics for the poor,[50] the institution of educational campaigns that have reportedly made more than one million adult Venezuelans literate,[51][52] and the enactment of food[53] and housing subsidies.[54] The Missions have overseen widespread state-supported experimentation in citizen- and worker-managed governance,[55][56] as well as the granting of thousands of free land titles to formerly landless poor and indigenous communities.[57] In contrast, several large landed estates and factories have been, or are in the process of being, expropriated....

He has a long history of being for the working class. He's done a great deal for them over a great many yearz.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Ch%C3%A1vez

Chávez was elected President in 1998[3] on promises of aiding Venezuela's poor majority, and reelected in 2000.[4] Domestically, Chávez has launched massive Bolivarian Missions to combat disease, illiteracy, malnutrition, poverty, and other social ills. Abroad, Chávez has acted against the Washington Consensus by supporting alternative models of economic development, and has advocated cooperation among the world's poor nations, especially those in Latin America.

Chávez has been severely criticized, mostly by Venezuela's middle and upper classes.

...

Chávez also made great changes to Venezuela's constitution and foreign policy. Instead of continuing Venezuela's past support for U.S. and European strategic interests, Chávez has promoted alternative development and integration paradigms for the Third World.

...

2004–present
After his referendum victory, Chávez used Venezuela's increasing oil revenues — from rises in world oil prices — to focus on expanding social programs. Economic growth also picked up markedly, reaching double-digit growth in 2004, 9.3% growth in 2005 and a projected 7% growth rate for 2006....

...Chávez's foreign policy included humanitarian aid, construction projects, and other agreements with Argentina's Nestor Kirchner, China's Hu Jintao, Cuba's Fidel Castro, and Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad....Chávez's government also gave Amazonian indigenous peoples inalienable titles to 6,800 km² of lands and launched Mission Guaicaipuro.

At a graduation ceremony at Cuba's Latin American School of Medicine on August 20, 2005, Chávez announced the joint establishment of a tuition-free medical school, including 30,000 planned slots for poor students.[37]
...

Chávez's domestic policy is embodied by the Bolivarian Missions, a series of social justice programs that have radically altered the economic and cultural landscape of Venezuela. Although recent economic activity under Chávez has been robust under these programs,[41][42] per-capita GDP in 2004 has dropped around 1% from 1999 levels.[43][44] However, as of September 2005, there have also been significant drops since 1999 in unemployment[45] and in the government's definition of "poverty",[46] and there have been marked improvements in national health indicators between 1998 and 2005.[47][43]

Aims of the Bolivarian Missions have included the launching of massive government anti-poverty initiatives,[48][49] the construction of thousands of free medical clinics for the poor,[50] the institution of educational campaigns that have reportedly made more than one million adult Venezuelans literate,[51][52] and the enactment of food[53] and housing subsidies.[54] The Missions have overseen widespread state-supported experimentation in citizen- and worker-managed governance,[55][56] as well as the granting of thousands of free land titles to formerly landless poor and indigenous communities.[57] In contrast, several large landed estates and factories have been, or are in the process of being, expropriated....


This is communism and it won't work ,it never has . Nothing is free and somewhere down the line somebody has to pay for it . And all the nations he is chumming up with hates us .

i would have to beleive that we are the worst nation on earth to agree with all these other nations . I don't beleive we are . I see us loseing a great nation because of our leaders who are also commys ,imo, .

Job creations are always a good thing ,but taking away one mans wages to keep up another is never beneficial to any nation .

It's easy to sell out your nations resources to other dictators to stay in office , but what happens when the piper gets paid ?

he's a socialist, wholet, but it's my opinion that for his country and his country's resources he's making choices that are a considerable step up from the kind of fascist dicators supporting an elite class with which venezuela has traditionally been run by.

he's a socialist, wholet, but it's my opinion that for his country and his country's resources he's making choices that are a considerable step up from the kind of fascist dicators supporting an elite class with which venezuela has traditionally been run by.


Spabby still somewhere down the line somebodys gonna have to keep this free milk and honey flowing . And if dictators are beng buddied up to ,he better be careful .

I don't know anything much about him, but I do know he has strange bedfellows to be a nice guy .

Anyway maybe he will let some of Central America come there and live for nothing and give us a break .:nice:

LOL who~

I like him. I think he's sincere, but like you I think some of his choices in political bedfellows are a little scary. Iran is scary. His friendship with Castro doesn't bother me though.

he's a socialist, wholet, but it's my opinion that for his country and his country's resources he's making choices that are a considerable step up from the kind of fascist dicators supporting an elite class with which venezuela has traditionally been run by.
:nice:

He was elected in a popular election on campaign promoses AND HE CAME THROUGH WITH THOSE PROMISES in a concrete way. I think American politicians should be taking notes from this guy. While many of his policies tend to be socialist it's what his people want!

Now with respect to his poor choice of allies, I think USA bashing is popular right now in most parts of the world... Latin America in particular (Our own meddling coming back around to bite us in the ass.). He's doing what's popular. I don't think he necessarily agrees with our enemies, but I think he disagrees with US foreign and economic policy. He's trying to forge his own path - an admirable quality in my book.