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!-- S IIMA --> Chavez attacked Bush in front of the Buenos Aires crowd It was the kind of situation that the Venezuelan leader, Hugo Chavez, loves - 40,000 flag-waving supporters joining him in hurling insults at the US President, George W Bush.He was at a football stadium in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, leading what he called an anti-imperialist rally to coincide with Mr Bush's arrival in neighbouring Uruguay. Most of the crowd were members of trade unions, left-wing and human rights organisations, those who already supported Mr Chavez and what he calls his brand of socialism for...

Argentina`s first couple, a power pair often compared to Bill and Hillary Clinton, won`t say whether it will be a his or hers candidacy in this year`s presidential election. President Nestor Kirchner boasts soaring approval ratings amid an economic recovery. His wife, Sen. Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner is also popular — and unlike Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, she established her own political career long before her husband became president. With both Kirchners doing well in the polls, they`ve been floating the idea that she should run to succeed him while he`s still in office. Cristina Kirchner flew off without her...

Chávez lashes out at Mexico On the same day the Calderón administration took steps to ease rocky relations with Venezuela and Cuba, Venezuela´s Hugo Chávez on Thursday hurled personal insults at his Mexican counterpart Wire reports El Universal Viernes 02 de febrero de 2007 On the same day the Calderón administration took steps to ease rocky relations with Venezuela and Cuba, Venezuela´s Hugo Chávez on Thursday hurled personal insults at his Mexican counterpart. Chávez´s ire was raised as he attacked Calderón for comments the latter made in Davos, Switzerland, last week criticizing countries that "nationalize industries" and "interfere in the...

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Tuesday stepped in to help his leftist ally Argentine President Nestor Kirchner by bailing out an Argentine firm to prevent its purchase by a fund involving billionaire investor George Soros. Chavez, whom Kirchner wished good luck before his landslide re-election on Sunday, said he would lend $80 million to Sancor, a struggling private cooperative dairy sought by Adecoagro, a fund in which currency speculator and philanthropist Soros has a stake. "The capitalist magnate wanted to buy it out. Now I have signed the first part of the deal. We are going to issue credit of...

Okay, today our theme, for this fourth "class," is emotional expressionism. This developed in the first decade of the twentieth century and features Matisse, as a French Expressionist (or Fauvist, if you want to get really picky) and the two branches of German Expressionism: the Bridge and the Blue Rider. They are all inspired by the work of van Gogh and Cezanne which we saw in the last “lesson”: the emotional power of van Gogh and the strong composition of Cezanne. Henri Matisse (1869-1954) dropped out of a career as a lawyer. He became a leader of the Fauves (which...

...Russian news services are reporting that both U.S. and Colombian military sources have confirmed that Venezuela's defense ministry has purchased several advanced MiG-29 fighters and that that U.S. sources have detected them on training missions. ..."Venezuela plans to spend approximately $5 billion on acquisition of Russian fighters including purchase of armament, airdrome and airborne equipment." ...UPI: "letters addressed last year to the director general of Russian Aeronautic Corp., Nicolai F. Nikitin, the Venezuelan air force requested the 'latest version' of the MiG-29 SMT equipped with high-tech weaponry, including radar-guided missiles and 2,000-pound bombs." UPI: "The plane must have the capacity...

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Thousands of Argentine supporters of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro broke through security Monday night, creating pandemonium and forcing authorities to cancel Castro's first speech in Argentina. The University of Buenos Aires Law School was slated to host Castro's speech in the homeland of fellow revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevarra. Authorities late Monday were trying to arrange for Castro to address the country via a televised broadcast. Supporters of Castro overran security to overflow an auditorium beyond double its 3,200-seat capacity. People fainted and were trampled in the chaotic confusion. There were no reports of deaths or...

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) - To the cheers of thousands of screaming Argentines, Cuban leader Fidel Castro criticized U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and Latin America in a speech Monday. Castro, who attended Sunday's inauguration of President Nestor Kirchner, was on his first trip to this economically troubled South American country since 1995. Dressed in a dark blue suit and tie, Castro drew shouts of "Ole! Ole! Ole!" and "Fidel! Fidel!" as he spoke for more than two and a half hours outdoors on a crisp winter night. Castro began by paying homage to Argentina-born revolutionary Ernesto...

Argentina's Chief Is Sworn In and Comes Out Fighting By LARRY ROHTER BUENOS AIRES, May 25 — Promising to "reconstruct our identity as a people and a nation" after the worst economic crisis in Argentina's history, Néstor Kirchner was sworn in as president today. He immediately issued strong challenges to foreign creditors, the armed forces and the political establishment, which has opposed his unexpected rise to power. In a 50-minute inauguration speech, Mr. Kirchner, who for the past dozen years has been the governor of a remote and sparsely populated province in Patagonia, took a markedly nationalist tone. He made...