does this bother anyone else?

[thegladhatter]

BHO making nice with scumbags like Chavez and the Castro brothers......

[thegladhatter]

And BHO wants to cuddle up and be buddies with this guy!?!?

“The United States empire is on its way down and it will be finished in the near future, inshallah," Chavez told reporters, ending the statement with the Arabic phrase for "God willing."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,214709,00.html

[BNaylor]

Who gives a eff what Chavez says or does! The guy is a total moron.

Obviously Chavez's Arabic is very limited. He should have said "bukra inshallah" which is "tomorrow if God is willing". Same thing as Latinos saying "manana" when it comes to putting off work.

[HotZ28]

It's not uncommon for "Socialists" to get along well together!

Venezuela's Chavez to restore ambassador in US

ORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad — Hugo Chavez said Saturday that he is restoring Venezuela's ambassador in Washington, voicing hopes for a "new era" in relations after barely getting to know U.S. President Barack Obama at a regional summit.

Venezuela's socialist leader told reporters at the Summit of the Americas that he will propose Roy Chaderton, his current ambassador to The Organization of American States, as its new representative in a move toward improving strained ties with Washington.

The announcement crowns a week in which Obama rejected two centuries of U.S. "heavy-handedness" toward Latin America and raised the highest hopes ever for a rapprochement with Cuba, with which it severed ties 48 years ago. Venezuela under Chavez has become a close ally of Cuba.

Chavez expelled the U.S. ambassador to Venezuela, Patrick Duddy, in September in solidarity with leftist Bolivian President Evo Morales, who ordered out the top U.S. diplomat in his country for allegedly helping the opposition incite violence.

Washington reciprocated by kicking out both nations' ambassadors.
Chavez's decision on U.S. relations came after a day of exchanges with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other diplomats at a hemispheric summit in the twin-island Caribbean republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

A State Department official said Chavez approached Clinton during the summit sessions Saturday, and the two discussed returning ambassadors to their respective posts in Caracas and Washington. Clinton "welcomes this development, and the State Department will now work to further that shared goal," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions.

Chavez had stormy relations with the previous U.S. administration and once likened President George W. Bush to the devil. But he has warmed to the new American president at this weekend's summit, though Obama has been critical of him for his alleged harboring of and offering finance to Colombian rebels.

On Saturday, Chavez gave Obama a book about foreign exploitation of Latin America and repeated in English during a luncheon speech what he told the U.S. president the previous night at their first meeting: "I want to be your friend."
Chavez told reporters that he'd instructed his foreign minister, Nicolas Maduro, to begin the process of making Chaderton his new U.S. ambassador.

"He's my candidate," said Chavez. "We have to wait for the United States to give the appropriate acceptance."

At the 34-nation summit's inauguration on Friday, Obama won repeated applause with his promise to be an equal partner in the region and expressed his desire for a "new beginning" with Cuba, which was suspended from the OAS for 47 years.

Chavez has led the charge for demanding that the communist island nation be reinstated, and praised Obama's Friday night speech.

The Americas director of the Carter Center, Jennifer McCoy, called Chavez's announcement "surprising, but a outcome of the summit." She said Chavez may have realized he had little choice but to try to improve ties with the United States given Obama's overwhelming popularity in Latin America and elsewhere. "He can still criticize U.S. policy," McCoy said, "but it is much more difficult to criticize Obama the man."

Source

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by HotZ28

It's not uncommon for "Socialists" to get along well together!

Or Marxists which is probably the same. ....

As the old saying goes "familiarity breeds contempt".

[CL8]

Originally Posted by BNaylor

Who gives a eff what Chavez says or does! The guy is a total moron.

Obviously Chavez's Arabic is very limited. He should have said "bukra inshallah" which is "tomorrow if God is willing". Same thing as Latinos saying "manana" when it comes to putting off work.

That's true we shouldn't care what Chavez says or does.

But it should bother all Americans that our current president
is trying to befriend leaders who want us Annihilated!

[HotZ28]

Originally Posted by CLB

But it should bother all Americans that our current president
is trying to befriend leaders who want us Annihilated!

When we officially become a Socialists, or Marxists country, maybe the world will be more forgiving!

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by HotZ28

When we officially become a Socialists, or Marxists country, maybe the world will be more forgiving!

When hell freezes over Bo. This country will split into pieces not to mention an insurgency with real bullets flying before that ever happens.

On Mr Obama if he wants to appease morons like Chavez more power to him but he has a side to him that even the Marxists probably won't like since some of his views are conservative or right leaning in nature so it is all a PR stunt for now.

And who cares what the rest of the world thinks.

[twospirits]

People People People, when are some of you going to come to the conclusion that regardless of political preference, it all boils down to money. Venezuela as well as Cuba has oil and plenty of it which we all need here. Speaking of Cuba, besides the fact that the US embargo has done nothing in its objective to overthrow Castro. Cuba is on the verge of becoming one of the worlds biggest oil producers if the claims are true of having 10-20 billions bbl of oil just off the waters of Cuba. Naturally, since this was first made public back in Sept 2006, the republicans started to see $ signs and even introduced bills to exempt Big oil from the embargo. The change of command in the White House now sees an opportunity to get in on the game. Little baby steps such as lifting restrictions on Cuban Americans, allowing US telecommunications firms to seek business in Cuba, are leading to lifting the embargo overall. So whats wrong with shaking hands with Chavez and being a bit more friendly with Venezuela. We already are kissing other countries such as China, Russia, Iraq, Iran etc etc.
Its all part of the bigger picture, or should I say money bag.

More Sources
BBC-2008
BBC-2006

TS out

[BNaylor]

Man, I almost fell out of my chair Dave. Not often that you dabble at this forum.

BTW - You might want to carefully read that one link you posted. All speculation for now.

Also, when did you start getting along with Cubans? ....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7675234.stm

[twospirits]

Well I used to post in here in the past, but held back from posting since 2006. As for Cubans, I have distant relatives in Cuba, I've lived with one for 25 years, gone to Cuba and try to keep on top of news about the island.

TS

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by twospirits

Well I used to post in here in the past, but held back from posting since 2006. As for Cubans, I have distant relatives in Cuba, I've lived with one for 25 years, gone to Cuba and try to keep on top of news about the island.

TS

Interesting. Yeah I remember going back to at least 2005. You liked participating in discussions about Cuba. The reason why I asked that question is I recall a discussion about Cubans but it turned out it was about Miami Cubans so I was just wondering. See link.

Click here

I lived in Miami for two years during the Cuban missile crisis so I have exposure to Cubans that left Cuba for a better life here. One of my best friends back then was Cuban.

Also, here is a more recent article about Cuba's oil possibilities but for now until they hit the big one speculation and extraction will be a major issue. Like in Texas we have plenty of dormant oil but an expensive steam injection process will be needed to revive the old oil fields. In comparison at least Mexico let the oil companies in a long time ago to get the oil industrial infrastructure going and then nationalized the oil fields/off-shore rigs kicking the U.S. and other foreign companies out.

Source: US News

Link to Article

[ericn1300]

I don't have a problem with it. When the Bush/Cheney administration vilified Chavez all it did was to elevate Chavez's standing in the minds of those who hate America. Obama's handshake seems to have marginalized Chavez as he now is just another participant at the O.A.S. Summit.

If it wasn't for the right wingers here in America making this guy into the anti-christ he would have a lot less influence. Well done Mr. President

[HotZ28]

Originally Posted by ericn1300

I don't have a problem with it. When the Bush/Cheney administration vilified Chavez all it did was to elevate Chavez's standing in the minds of those who hate America. Obama's handshake seems to have marginalized Chavez as he now is just another participant at the O.A.S. Summit.

If it wasn't for the right wingers here in America making this guy into the anti-christ he would have a lot less influence. Well done Mr. President

Obviousley, some people are to young to understand the significance of this event!

Otto Reich: Obama’s Encounter With Chavez Damaged U.S. Foreign Policy

“I think it’s very unfortunate. I don’t think President Obama really understands, perhaps out of lack of experience in international affairs, the importance of symbolism,” said Reich, who was policy adviser on Latin America for John McCain’s presidential campaign.

“You don’t go around slapping the back of a foreign dictator, a would-be dictator in the case of Chavez, who has done everything in his power to undermine U.S. interests in the region and who calls himself an enemy of the United States.”

Martella asked whether people will “misinterpret” those photos.
Reich responded that the pictures certainly are being misinterpreted in Venezuela “despite what President Obama wishes. I think he probably realizes now that he made a mistake.

“But in Venezuela Hugo Chavez said last night this is the greatest triumph in Venezuelan diplomacy ever. Because what he is trying to do is to portray this as an endorsement of his policies, which is calls 21st century socialism but which is really just retread 20th-century fascism.”

Source