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Articles Posted by RedWhiteBlue

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  • HUGO BOSS

    02/05/2006 8:58:05 AM PST · by RedWhiteBlue · 11 replies · 644+ views
    Foreign Policy Magazine via Petroleum World ^ | Feb 6, 2006 | Javier Corrales
    Just when you thought Latin America was safe for democracy, along came Hugo Chávez. The charismatic Venezuelan president has amassed a stunning amount of power and become the world’s most strident anti-American. Chávez is also a political innovator who has created a playbook for authoritarians in a democratic age—and leaders everywhere are taking notes. - Javier Corrales Ever heard of a regime that gets stronger the more opposition it faces? Welcome to Venezuela, where the charismatic president, Hugo Chávez, is practicing a new style of authoritarianism. Part provocateur, part CEO, and part electoral wizard, Chávez has updated tyranny for today....
  • Lucky Fan is Twice In Right Spot (same guy catches grand slam and winning home run balls)

    10/10/2005 3:54:56 PM PDT · by RedWhiteBlue · 23 replies · 600+ views
    Houston Chronicle ^ | Oct. 10, 2005 | LEE CEARNAL
    Chris Burke's homer might not have been the only history-maker in Sunday's 18-inning victory over the Atlanta Braves. The fan who caught it — Shaun Dean of Porter — also caught Lance Berkman's grand slam shot in the eighth. Dean, 25, was sitting in the second row of the Crawford boxes. A client had given tickets to Joslin Construction, where he is comptroller."I never caught one in a game before," he said.But with one out in the eighth, with the bases loaded and the Astros down 6-1, Berkman hit his line drive. Fortunately, Dean was wearing a glove."It came right...
  • FOR BYRON (Poem written by Janet Norwood to her son, fallen Marine Byron Norwood)

    02/04/2005 2:00:26 PM PST · by RedWhiteBlue · 21 replies · 1,287+ views
    e-mail | Janet Norwood
    This is a poem being circulated amongst a group of Marine Moms. It was written by Janet Norwood. She is the woman who, along with her husband, attended the State of the Union Address to represent all families of our fallen heros. She and the Iraqi woman hugged during that very touching moment near the end of the speech. Admin, if this is a duplicate, please delete. I searched for it several ways and didn't find anything. For Byron I've heard the words oft times before - that "Freedom isn't Free". But that was long before I knew how they...
  • Of Thee I Sing (FR Original Essay --- Flashback to Election's Eve, 11-03-2000)

    11/01/2004 6:08:04 PM PST · by RedWhiteBlue · 9 replies · 47+ views
    Free Republic Archives ^ | November 3, 2000 | Luis Gonzalez
    *** Of Thee I Sing *** Take this as fair warning. I may get somewhat emotional here. I might because I am writing about one of my favorite topics. My America. So please accept my apologies in advance, sometimes I do get carried away. We near Election Day and it seems that all eyes are focused on the contenders for the World Heavyweight Title of politics. The right to occupy the White House for the next four years, the ability to guide the US into a direction either away from or closer to the magnificent experiment of Jefferson, Franklin and...
  • No Caller ID? Chávez falls for Castro prank 'call'

    01/07/2003 9:31:20 AM PST · by RedWhiteBlue · 32 replies · 4,082+ views
    The Miami Herald ^ | Tue, Jan. 07, 2003 | CHRISTINA HOAG
    Two Miami radio-show hosts known for playing outrageous pranks on the air scored perhaps the most outlandish one of them all Monday: They called Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and got him to believe he was talking to Fidel Castro.''We still can't believe it,'' said Enrique Santos, co-host of El Vacilón de la Mañana, (The Morning Hijinks), on WXDJ-FM El Zol 95.7, a Spanish-language salsa station. ``He fell for it.''The joke was part of a segment called Fidel Te Llama or ''Fidel's Calling You,'' in which Santos and co-host, Joe Ferrero, call various people and play snippets of a controversial...
  • The Triple Frontier: terrorist safe haven in Latin America?

    12/15/2002 8:21:33 PM PST · by RedWhiteBlue · 12 replies · 1,158+ views
    NYT / IHT ^ | Monday, December 16, 2002 | Larry Rohter
    CIUDAD DEL ESTE, Paraguay: The so-called Triple Frontier, where Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay meet, has long been South America's busiest contraband and smuggling center, a chaotic place where just about anything from drugs and arms to pirated software and bootleg whisky are available to anyone who can pay the price. Its reputation has brought the area under close surveillance by the police and foreign intelligence services for decades. But since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the Triple Frontier has been transformed into a sort of Casablanca, a center of intrigue scrutinized more intensely than ever for its suspected links...
  • TOYS FOR TOTS -- Christmas FReep REQUEST!!

    12/13/2002 3:19:51 PM PST · by RedWhiteBlue · 16 replies · 332+ views
    US Marine Corps ^ | December 13, 2002 | Self
    First I ask your understanding regarding this vanity; to date it is the only one I have ever posted. I just wanted to remind all Freepers that it is not too late to do something to help with the US Marine Corps charity "Toys For Tots." At the very least, click HERE. Just by clicking this link, you will go to the Bristol Meyers Excedrin website, and Bristol Meyers will donate a $1 to Toys For Tots. What could be easier!! Also, please keep this thread bumped to make it more likely that other freepers will learn about this link....
  • Whipping Suggested for Lustful Men

    10/28/2002 7:59:16 PM PST · by RedWhiteBlue · 27 replies · 754+ views
    Singapore Straights Times ^ | October 29, 2002
    Whipping suggested for lustful men KOTA BARU - Polygamous Muslim men who dump their first wives after 'extracting all their sweetness' should be whipped until they become impotent, said the Parti Islam SeMalaysia spiritual leader, Nik Aziz Nik Mat. Datuk Nik Aziz, who is Kelantan Mentri Besar, said too many Muslim men were abusing Islamic tenets that allow them to take up to four wives, Utusan Malaysia reported yesterday. 'Does he take on a second wife to ensure the woman's welfare, or is it to satisfy his own lust?' he said in the state assembly on Sunday. He said that...
  • It's Manila in Black

    09/16/2002 8:56:36 AM PDT · by RedWhiteBlue · 1 replies · 263+ views
    It's Manila In Black MANILA - A publicity picture of President Gloria Arroyo and her top aides wearing black suits and dark shades like those worn by Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in the Hollywood blockbuster Men In Black has stirred up controversy in the Philippines. 'Protector of the Philippines', Mrs Arroyo and her top officials' take on the Hollywood blockbuster Men In Black has stirred controversy. -- REUTERS In the photo, a serious-looking Mrs Arroyo is flanked by her Chief Cabinet Secretary Alberto Romulo, Defence Secretary Angelo Reyes, Trade Secretary Manuel Roxas and Finance Secretary Jose Isidro Camacho....
  • S'pore nabs 21 for suspected terror activities - Singapore

    09/16/2002 7:08:50 AM PDT · by RedWhiteBlue · 8 replies · 340+ views
    AS A result of the continuing investigation on the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) network, the Internal Security Department (ISD) has arrested 21 additional persons suspected of involvement in terrorism-related activities last month. The Home Affairs Ministry on Monday said the suspects, who were arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA), are all Singapore citizens. Nineteen of those arrested are current or previous JI members, with most belonging to or linked to JI operational cells. Two others are linked to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a secessionist group in the Philippines. A few have reportedly undergone military training at Al Qaeda...
  • Bedeviled by Debt

    08/15/2002 8:40:52 PM PDT · by RedWhiteBlue · 210+ views
    ABC News / Go.com ^ | August 15, 2002 | Mike Lee
    Bedeviled by Debt Unusual Venezuelan Bill Collector Embarrasses Debtors Into Paying By Mike Lee C A R A C A S, Venezuela, Aug. 14 — South America has fallen upon hard times largely because credit has been so easy to get. Governments, and many ordinary people, have been living beyond their means, and now are finding they can't keep up the payments on loans that were supposed to make things right. <! -- begin MoreOnBox --> MORE ON THIS STORY FULL COVERAGE • Mike Lee's Road to Anywhere Series   International banks and the U.S. Treasury Department pressure leaders...
  • Chavez Faces $2.3 Billion Scandal

    05/23/2002 7:56:31 PM PDT · by RedWhiteBlue · 7 replies · 493+ views
    Chávez faces $2.3 billion scandal The Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) said Wednesday that it never received $2.3 billion from the government destined for a rainy day fund, plunging the administration of President Hugo Chávez into a major misappropriation scandal. Domingo Maza Zavala, director of BCV, the institution that administers the nation’s Macro Economic Stabilization Fund (FIEM), said BCV was not credited the money it needed to transfer the $2.3 into the Fund.The government requested and was granted permission to appropriate the equivalent of $2.3 billion from the National Treasury by the National Assembly early this year listing the FIEM...
  • Venezuelan Coup Leader Escapes

    05/23/2002 7:39:24 PM PDT · by RedWhiteBlue · 2 replies · 142+ views
    Venezuelan Coup Leader EscapesThe Associated Press, Thu 23 May 2002 CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The businessman who become interim president during the short-lived overthrow of Hugo Chavez escaped from house arrest Thursday and took refuge in the Colombian embassy, the foreign ministers of Venezuelan and Colombia said. Pedro Carmona has asked Colombia for political asylum, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Luis Alfonso Davila said. Davila did not say how the Venezuelan government planned to react. In Bogota, Colombia Foreign Minister Guillermo Fernandez said his nation would try to decide on the request quickly. Carmona's escape came a day after an appeals court...
  • The big squeeze (Chavez in tight spot with less power than before)

    04/28/2002 9:17:08 AM PDT · by RedWhiteBlue · 5 replies · 64+ views
    Infoven ^ | April 27, 2002 | Tony Bianchi
    Following Hugo Chávez’s reinstatement as president, several incautious journalists, including news agency correspondents, reached the precipitated conclusion that our man from Sabaneta had returned to the pinnacle stronger than before. Many Venezuelans who could not stand the so-called Fifth Republic any longer, their hopes shattered, went hiding under their bed covers in a profound state of shock and depression convinced that the future reserves an even worse authoritarian rule. More than a few have gone as far as refusing to believe that Carmona’s was a genuine fumble and have suggested that the coup and the gross counter-coup that followed...
  • PACE International Union Protests Harsh Treatment of American Workers By Venezuelan General

    04/18/2002 8:55:02 AM PDT · by RedWhiteBlue · 1 replies · 268+ views
    PACE PRESS RELEASE ^ | April 18, 2002
    PACE International Union Protests Harsh Treatment of American Workers By Venezuelan General and CITGO CEO at Trade Summit in Corpus Christi, Texas NASHVILLE, Tenn., April 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Oil workers and members of the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International Union (PACE) will be protesting today the harsh treatment of CITGO union members and employees by Venezuelan General and CITGO CEO Oswaldo Contreras at the AmericasUnidas trade summit in Corpus Christi, Texas. ``We place responsibility for the complete lack of respect shown by the company toward our union on General Contreras, who has allowed these practices to occur,'' said...
  • Venezuela's Dud Returns

    04/18/2002 8:48:31 AM PDT · by RedWhiteBlue · 41+ views
    National Post Online ^ | April 17, 2002
    Blink and you might have missed last week's coup in Venezuela, which briefly deposed Hugo Chavez from power. On Thursday a violent street protest led the military to demand the president's resignation. By Sunday, however, protests in his favour and an outcry from neighboring nations gave the generals cold feet, and he was reinstated. Mr. Chavez was democratically elected and does have a legitimate claim to power. But his commitment to democracy is flimsy and he befriends some of the world's cruellest despots. Venezuela can do better. Mr. Chavez's odyssey has global ramifications because Venezuela is the world's fourth largest...
  • Ch vez Seeks Consensus, Disorders Under Control (Chavez backs down on PDVSA board changes)

    04/16/2002 7:16:03 AM PDT · by RedWhiteBlue · 12 replies · 150+ views
    Venezuela Online News ^ | April 15, 2002 | Unknown
    Under pressure from the military that restored him to power following a short-lived weekend coup President Hugo Chávez on Monday reiterated his promise to seek national consensus and to remedy some of his mistakes. At the same time the National Guard and other police forces throughout the country fully resumed their operation to quell widespread disorders and looting in Caracas and several other major Venezuelan cities erupted because of lack of security. Chávez announced in a press conference that he was convening a "federal conciliatory council" that would elect a "national conciliatory commission" to iron out the differences between the...
  • Venezuelan President Carmona Resigns in Face of Riots; At Least 9 More Dead

    04/13/2002 9:38:28 PM PDT · by RedWhiteBlue · 52 replies · 209+ views
    Bloomberg ^ | 04/13 23:24 | Peter Wilson, Alex Kennedy, Patrick Gordon, and Toby Muse
    <p>Caracas, April 13 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuela's interim President Pedro Carmona resigned after supporters of Venezuela's deposed leader Hugo Chavez seized control of the presidential palace and demanded his return to power.</p> <p>Chavez's vice president Diosdado Cabello said he was in control until Chavez returned from a military post in the Caribbean.</p>
  • Chavez's Term Seen Cut Short As Venezuelans Grow Defiant

    04/09/2002 9:27:00 AM PDT · by RedWhiteBlue · 7 replies · 133+ views
    Dow Jones Newswire ^ | August 9, 2002 | Charles Roth
    DJ-As Venezuela careens into a national strike Tuesday that will include an alarming drop in oil production and exports, the clock on President Hugo Chavez's presidency appears ever closer to striking midnight. While the way the endgame plays out isn't yet clear, that Chavez has antagonized enough workers and managers at state-oil behemoth Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (E.PVZ), or PdVSA, to bring oil exports to a virtual halt and cut gasoline distribution in parts of the country lead analysts to conclude that he won't last through December. "What we've seen is President Chavez's slow-motion theft of democracy, and we're now...
  • Protests, coup rumors in Venezuela (Mayor of Caracas Asks Catholic Church to Exorcise Chavez)

    02/10/2002 10:51:39 AM PST · by RedWhiteBlue · 11 replies · 328+ views
    Chicago Tribune ^ | February 10, 2002 | T. Christian Miller
    Protests, coup rumors in Venezuela Chavez watches popularity drop By T. Christian Miller. Special to the Tribune. T. Christian Miller is a staff writer for the Los Angeles Times, a Tribune newspaper Published February 10, 2002 CARACAS, Venezuela -- President Hugo Chavez on Friday faced his most serious challenge since coming to power, after a week of tumultuous protests that spurred calls for his removal from civic leaders, military officials and ordinary citizens. Coup rumors have surged, and blood-red graffiti calling for Chavez's death popped up along major highways. The mayor of Caracas asked the Roman Catholic Church to conduct ...