Moscow Street Named After Late Venezuelan Leader Chávez

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On Tuesday, a street in northern Moscow was named after late Venezuelan President Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías, the same day that Rosneft and Gazprombank inked significant deals with national oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela. Current Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Moros and Rosneft head Igor Sechin attended the naming ceremony, and Sechin announced that the Russian state-owned oil firm signed an agreement to help develop extensive offshore deposits in South America. Also on Tuesday, Gazprombank, affiliated with Russian energy giant Gazprom, said it signed a deal with Petroleos de Venezuela to invest 1 billion USD (32.3 billion Roubles. 770 million Euros. 660 million UK Pounds) in their joint venture, PetroSamora.

Speaking at the naming ceremony, Venezuelan President Maduro said that President Chávez had visited the Russian capital at least ten times, saying, “He never felt like a stranger in Moscow. I thank you for this gift”. Maduro arrived in Moscow on Monday for a two-day visit. Chávez, who ruled the South American nation for 14 years, died on 5 March at the age of 58 after a two-year fight with cancer. Last week, the acting chairman of the Moscow government’s public affairs committee, Aleksandr Chistyakov, said that Chavez Street (Ulitsa Chavesa) would be a 170-metre-long (558-foot-long) square.

2 July 2013

RIA-Novosti

http://en.ria.ru/russia/20130702/182018740/Moscow-Street-Named-After-Late-Venezuelan-Leader-Chavez.html

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Shall Snowden Stay in Russia or Go to Venezuela?

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Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Moros said that his country was ready to consider granting asylum to Edward Snowden, the former CIA employee wanted by the USA for leaking state secrets, saying, “We’d consider it, because asylum is a measure of humanitarian protection and a mechanism of international humanitarian law, which is popular in Latin America; we always used it to protect the helpless. No one has the right to spy on someone else, and this youngster [Snowden], who told the world about it, deserves humanitarian protection”. He also said that Snowden hasn’t yet officially requested asylum in Venezuela. On Tuesday, President Vladimir Putin said that Snowden, whose whereabouts were the subject of international speculation for the past two days, was in the transit area of a Moscow airport. Snowden is wanted by the USA for disclosing a top-secret surveillance programme that allegedly targeted millions of Americans. WikiLeaks said in a statement that Snowden took a plane from Hong Kong to Moscow on Sunday accompanied by WikiLeaks representative Sarah Harrison.

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On Wednesday, the whistleblowing organisation WikiLeaks said that former CIA employee Edward Snowden, wanted by the USA for leaking state secrets, might be permanently stuck in Russia. WikiLeaks said on its Twitter feed, “Cancelling Snowden’s passport and bullying intermediary countries may keep Snowden permanently in Russia”, but it didn’t specify the names of intermediary countries. The USA issued a warrant for Snowden’s arrest on charges of leaking details of an American surveillance programme and cancelled his US passport, which Washington says should prevent him from travelling internationally.

26 June 2013

RIA-Novosti

 http://en.rian.ru/world/20130626/181878347/Venezuela-Ready-to-Consider-Asylum-for-Snowden—Maduro.html

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20130626/181880675/Snowden-Possibly-to-Remain-in-Russia—WikiLeaks.html

Editor’s Note:

The USA’s going nuts because Russia and China won’t budge on Snowden. The USA’s been a nasty mofo and rouge for the last twenty-odd years… it’s come home to roost. Of course, the surveillance programme is nothing but the logical outcome of the Bushie “security state”. I agree with the old wisdom that those who give up freedom for security deserve neither. It’s time to abolish the Department of Homeland Security and the TSA… they’re nothing but Bush’s Gestapo, and the sooner they’re gone, the better off all will be. Of course, the FBI and Coast Guard will stay in existence… the Orwellian department that supposedly “coordinates” them would go, that’s all. The surveillance programme that Snowden exposed was part of Bush’s spurious, meretricious, and evil “Protect America Act of 2007“… it was an enabling law for totalitarian secret police work. If that doesn’t tell you that voting for Republicans is stupid, counter-productive, and without any offsetting merit whatsoever, nothing will.

There’s no need for constant fear and a level of police activity more suited to an occupied country than a free state. Let’s return to the socialist New Deal as it was under FDR (yes, kids, the USA was mostly-socialist under the New Deal)… he didn’t need a “Department of Homeland Security”… he gave Americans a fairer deal than they had before or have had since. It’s time to go “back to the future”…

Oh, one last thing… President Maduro is a former bus driver, not a lawyer. It sure shows you that electing lawyers (and other overeducated upper middle class sorts) to high office is folly of the highest order, doesn’t it? Note well that he’s “uneducated”, “working-class“, and “hoi polloi” as far the Corporate Media’s concerned… that sure tells you that they hear “Their Master’s Voice”… and NOT yours.

BMD

Maduro Tops Popularity Rankings Ahead of Venezuelan Presidential Election

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Acting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Moros leads the other presidential candidates in terms of popularity ahead of the forthcoming presidential election in the Latin American country. According to a poll by the Datanalisis sociological service, slightly over 49 percent of the voters stated that they’d cast their ballot for Maduro. Some 35% of those polled say they’d vote for the opposition leader, Henrique Capriles Radonski. This presidential election was called following the death of Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías on 5 March. The election is due on 14 April.

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Venezuela’s Acting President and top contender for the presidency, Nicolás Maduro Moros, pledged to stay the course of the Bolivarian Revolution if he wins next month’s election. Speaking on Monday, Maduro said that on April 14 his supporters were bound to score the biggest victory in the country’s entire history.

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Two candidates registered to run for the presidency in Venezuela, Hugo Chávez’s successor Nicolás Maduro Moros, and opposition leader Henrique Capriles Radonski. Both have a bit more than a month to attract as many supporters on their side as possible. Snap presidential elections in Venezuela shall occur on 14 April. The previous presidential elections in Venezuela took place October 2012. Then, Sr Chávez, who was diagnosed with cancer, won with an 11 percent lead over his rival Capriles. This time around, the opposition Coalition for Democratic Unity again picked Capriles as its candidate.

Zbignev Ivanovsky, an expert at the Institute for Latin American Studies, said, “Capriles is 40 years old, and was brought up in a Catholic family. He graduated from Andrés Bello Catholic University in Caracas with a degree in law; he’s also a successful businessman… his family owns assets in the media and in the film industry”.

In the 2008 regional elections, he won election as Governor of Miranda state, defeating Chávez supporter and former Vice President Diosdado Cabello Rondón. One should mention that Capriles received this nomination after his party’s defeat in the presidential election. Now, Henrique Capriles is going to compete with interim president Nicolás Maduro Moros. Ivanovsky went on to say, “He’s a very energetic politician. He’s 50, and he’s had a meteoric political career…from bus-driver to Vice President. He was a member of the left-wing opposition party, was a trades union activist, and took part in writing the Venezuelan Constitution. For many years, he served as the country’s foreign minister. Therefore, he’s a very experienced politician. Although he didn’t receive higher education, he has impressive experience”.

Although Capriles enjoys wide support from middle-class Venezuelans, most analysts predict that Maduro would win the election. He’s of working-class background, and has support from ordinary people. Besides, he’s promised to retain Chávez’s policies, which is what many people hope for these days. Chávez’s critics will vote for Capriles.

 Aleksei Chernyaev, an expert in American and Latin American politics, said, “As far as Russia’s position is concerned, it’d like to see Maduro as president, as that would guarantee that Venezuela would fulfil previously-reached agreements. However, it would be quite likely that if Capriles becomes president, he would suspend arms deals with Russia”. The presidential campaign has just begun, but the candidates have already exchanged harsh remarks… Maduro called his rival “a fascist”, whilst Capriles promised Maduro a difficult path to the presidential post. The struggle is going to be tough.

Natalya Kovalenko

12/19 March 2013

Voice of Russia World Service

http://english.ruvr.ru/2013_03_19/Maduro-tops-popularity-rankings-ahead-of-elections-in-Venezuela/

http://english.ruvr.ru/2013_03_19/Venezuela-to-stay-true-to-Chavez-legacy-Maduro/

http://english.ruvr.ru/2013_03_12/Venezuela-presidential-race-is-going-to-be-tough/

Venezuela Honours Cuban Doctors for Chávez Treatment

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On Tuesday, Venezuelan media sources said that the Venezuelan government awarded state medals to four Cuban doctors and three nurses who provided medical care to late President Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías in Cuba during his two-year-long fight with cancer. According to La Gaceta Oficial de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela, a government publication, Acting President Nicolás Maduro Moros signed a decree that recognised the Cuban healthcare professionals for their “dedicated commitment to the care of our Supreme Commander of the Bolivarian Revolution, Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías”. Chávez, who ruled Venezuela for 14 years, died in a military hospital in Caracas on 5 March at the age of 58.

Within the past two years, the charismatic Venezuelan leader underwent four surgeries and four courses of chemotherapy in Cuba and Venezuela. Chávez spent most of his convalescence in Cuba after his first operation in June 2011, but he was transferred to Caracas two weeks before his death. Cuba provided extensive medical aid to Venezuela since 1999 in exchange for oil supplies. Under a bilateral program, known as “oil for doctors”, Cuba sent 31,000 doctors to Venezuela, and it provided training for 40,000 Venezuelan medical personnel. In exchange, Venezuela ships 100,000 barrels of oil per day to Cuba.

20 March 2013

RIA-Novosti

http://en.ria.ru/world/20130320/180127325/Venezuela-Honors-Cuban-Doctors-for-Chavez-Treatment.html

Editor’s Note:

There are four main reasons why the Republican Party, in particular, hates the present Venezuelan government. Firstly, the late President Chávez was of mixed racial background, which made him unacceptable to the Republican racists. Of course, if he had sucked up to them, making clear that whites were superior, all would’ve been hunky-dory, but Chávez didn’t. Secondly, the present authorities are socialist… they spend Venezuela’s oil revenues on developing their country and helping ordinary folks, not sending them to parasitical American investors in Tarrytown and Orange County. Thirdly, Venezuela is friendly with Cuba, which is anathema to Cuban-Americans, who’re all descendants of American collaborators under Batista (remember, they helped the Mafiosi to rape their country), and who’re all fanatical rightwing Republicans. Lastly, President Maduro is a former bus-driver, a former trades unionist, a working-class man, not a lawyer… oh, the humanity! We all know how Republicans HATE trades unionists, social justice, and economic equity. Actually, the last item is the worst to them… you see, they have to kick working people down whenever they can, wherever they lift up their heads; otherwise, Americans might get ideas… that would really fry their ice, wouldn’t it?

Oh, yes, their champion Capriles is of Affluent Effluent background (his father was a lickspittle executive for Kraft Foods, an American conglomerate), a lawyer, anti-Cuban, and anti-union… what’s not to like, from a Republican standpoint? No worry… all polls state that Capriles is in for a drubbing. Venezuelans don’t want to be American colonial subjects, after all…

BMD