"Crisis in the Americas," a film from the American SecurityCouncil Foundation (ASCF), argues that Mr. Chavez is "turning his country into a forward base for terrorists from around the world including such organizations as Hezbollah and Hamas," and fostering an anti-American partnership with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.Proper attention has not been paid to the situation evolving in Venezuela, the ASCF said, a situation that poses a threat to U.S. national security.Otto Reich, a former U.S. ambassador to Venezuela, said Mr. Chavez's tactics in both domestic and foreign policy are similar to those of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro and Mr. Ahmadinejad."Chavez's first international friend was Fidel Castro, a person who was a terrorist himself, came to power through terrorism, bombings, assassinations," Mr. Reich said. "Terrorists all the way from Mexico to Argentina and the Middle East, and other parts of the world, are Chavez's friends and they are in Venezuela."According to ASCF, the Chavez government is increasingly seeking to control the Venezuelan people. Last month, Mr. Chavez announced new taxes on tobacco, alcohol and luxury goods, saying Venezuela should "be ashamed" of its per-capita alcohol consumption."I'm not willing to continue offering dollars to import whiskey in these quantities. What kind of revolution is this?" Mr. Chavez said on Venezuela's state-operated TV station, according to the Associated Press.
Featured in the ASCF documentary is Andres Mendoza, a young Venezuelan journalist who said the press and broadcasters no longer have the right to operate independently under Mr. Chavez's rule and that the dictator is "controlling our population."

Former Rep. Bill McCollum, a Republican who is serving as Florida's attorney general, cited the failure of the American government and press to sufficiently discuss the issues at hand in Venezuela, and the serious effects that they have on the U.S."I think a lot of Americans are aware that Chavez is a dictator, and aware that he's causing problems, but that's probably the extent of it," Mr. McCollum said.Mr. McCollum and other officials featured in the documentary — available in DVD format from the ASCF's Web site (www.ascfusa.org) —said Venezuela and Mr. Chavez have enabled terrorists worldwide to operate freely in the Western Hemisphere. Hezbollah now has a presence in Venezuela, Mr. McCollum said, and drug traffickers and terrorists are able to move easily across and within Venezuelan borders.Mr. Chavez is "probably the largest drug kingpin in history, allowing huge drug transit to Europe and the United States through Venezuela," Mr. McCollum said.The objective of the documentary is to spread awareness and encourage consideration of an unstable leader situated in South America, posing a potential threat to the U.S., said Michael Waller of the Institute of World Politics."You can be a communist. You can be a left-winger of any type. You can be a drug trafficker. You can be a Shi'ite, or you can be Osama bin Laden. ... As long as you're against the United States, Chavez will take you as an ally," Mr. Waller said.

By Warren P. Strobel, McClatchy Newspapers
Fri Nov 2, 1:00 PM ET


WASHINGTON — The retired general who served as President Bush 's special envoy to deal with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) said the United States has failed to keep its promises to Turkey to confront the Kurdish terrorist group, and Turkey may feel that it has no choice but to attack the PKK's sanctuary in northern Iraq .

Retired Air Force Gen. Joseph Ralston , in a brief interview, declined to say why he stepped down several weeks ago. But published reports have said that he was frustrated by the Bush administration's failure to act against the PKK.

In his first extended comments since his departure, Ralston told McClatchy Newspapers that the United States is unwittingly "driving, strategically, the Turks and the Iranians together" because both nations share concerns about violent Kurdish separatist groups.

"The U.S. government should make good on the commitments they have made to the Turks," Ralston said.

Turkey is a NATO ally of the United States , while the United States and Iran are increasingly in confrontation across a range of issues.

The White House and the U.S. military have appeared leery about opening a new front in the war in Iraq — particularly in generally stable northern Iraq — by launching assaults against the PKK. Neither the U.S.-backed Iraqi government nor the semiautonomous Kurdish Regional Government has shown any inclination to go after the group.

The officer who commands U.S. forces in northern Iraq , Maj. Gen. Benjamin Nixon , last week said he planned to do "absolutely nothing" to curb PKK activities.

Ralston, a vice chairman of the Washington -based Cohen Group , a consulting firm, said the statement was "directly opposite" promises Bush has made to Turkey .

Asked whether the Turkish military would invade northern Iraq , which PKK fighters use to launch attacks into Turkey , Ralston said: "They're going to have to, in the absence of the U.S. doing anything."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday condemned the sanctions imposed recently by the United States, saying U.S. sanctions "cannot check the progress of the Iranian nation," the official IRNA news agency reported.

This statement was the first reaction by Ahmadinejad since the United States unilaterally imposed the new sanctions against Tehran last week.

"The recent U.S. decision (against Iran) has made it clear that the Americans are not even able to harm us unilaterally," Ahmadinejad told a local gathering.

"The Americans think that they can force the Iranian nation to retreat by imposing unilateral economic sanctions and publicizing through some of their internal agents (in Iran) that the sanctions were effective and people faced economic difficulties," the president said.

"But the people of Iran should know that we have identified the evil hands involved in economic sabotage and will completely cleanse them from the country's economic scene soon, we are in a position today that the political and propaganda schemes to stop the Iranian nation have failed and the enemies have realized they are unable to check the progress of the Iranian nation," he added.

The United States announced on Thursday that it is imposing new sanctions against Iran, charging that Tehran supports terrorism in the Middle East, exports missiles and is engaging in a nuclear buildup.

The sanctions will be imposed against Iran's defense ministry, its Revolutionary Guard Corps and more than 20 Iranian companies, banks and individuals.

Under U.S. laws, any assets found in the United States belonging to the designated groups must be frozen. Americans are also forbidden from doing business with them.

The sanctions are believed to be the toughest Washington has levied against Iran since the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini has condemned the sanctions, saying the measures were doomed to failure.

Iran President criticizes US double standard in terror campaign Tehran, Oct 28, IRNA - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that the United States' double standard in international campaign against terrorism is the reason for its inaction towards Kurdish rebels who launch attacks against Turkey from northern Iraq. The president made the comment in a phone conversation with Turkish President Abdullah Gul. Turkey said it would not hesitate to send troops across the Iraqi border if needed to pursue the rebels of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Saturday, "Whenever an operation is needed to be carried out, we will do that. We do not need to ask anything from anyone for that." President Ahmadinejad also made phone calls to Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki Saturday night to offer his country's help in mediating the crisis and he met Sunday with Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan. Ahmadinejad, in his call with Gul, lashed out at the US occupation of Iraq, suggesting it was the root cause of Turkey's problems with the rebels. "Occupiers have prepared ground for disunity and are supporting terrorists through their double standard policies." Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, after meeting with Babacan Sunday, said he suspected the United States had "behind the scene agreements" that made them reluctant to contain the PKK rebels. "Nevertheless, I am hoping the United States will correct their ways and help with campaign against terrorism in the region," Mottaki said. Mottaki said that Ahmadinejad, in his call to the Iraqi leaders, "expressed his concern about terrorist acts taking place in the region and stressed the need to find a solution."

I spent the better part of the day retrieving a petition that was circulated in four different cities in Tennessee, this petition was in regards to Nancy Pelosi resigning her post as Speaker of the House. My oldest son and i rode half the day and about 200 miles to collect the petition, so that by the first of November it could be delivered to Ms Pelosi in her San Francisco office.
The most amazing thing during this whole petition venture was the fact that many of the people we talked to didn't even know who Pelosi was,and didn't know what Speaker of the House consisted of.
On the way back home from Portland Tn. my son made the remark that he thought we were wasting our time and efforts for a cause that we have already lost, and to some degree i tend to agree with him.
Our nations founders fought, and many died, against an opressive government just for the hope of freedom, now we have a lazy, craven peoples, that would give this nation to the same type of tyrants because they don't have the strength or courage to resist these criminals,they just except what they think they can't change,and feel like they can vote themselves out from under opression, i fear that they have a very rude awakening coming.
And now i have started to wonder if we even deserve our freedom, what have we done to maintain it?