By Joe Emersberger - October 11, 2008

[Human Rights Watch] has routinely ignored critics who have shown that it has increasingly become a tool of US imperialism. Ed Herman, David Peterson and George Szamuely wrote [a] very extensive and damning assessment of HRW's role as a "campaigner for the NATO Wars in the Balkans"...Jonathan Cook, Norman Finkelstein and Sara Founders have highlighted flagrant imperial bias in HRW statements involving Israel...The important thing is to spread awareness of the role [HRW] have increasingly come to play as a group that marshals support among liberals for very nasty imperial projects.

By Nikolas Kozloff - September 29, 2008

[Socialist Prime Minister of Spain José] Zapatero seemed to agree with [Hugo] Chavez's desire to create a more "multipolar" world in which smaller nations unite and deal with the U.S. on more equal terms. Now that Chavez has consolidated power and is extending economic and political ties not only with neighboring South American countries but also with Europe, the United States looks increasingly bereft...[I]t's easy to see why [John] McCain might view these developments with alarm. Consciously or unconsciously, he may [lump] South America and Spain together within his own Axis of Evil.

By Nikhil Shah - September 24, 2008

At a time when the international community has turned a blind eye to Israel's crimes towards the Palestinians, Venezuela has been one of the few nations who has the courage to openly condemn Israel for its crimes and express support for the Palestinian people....[Hugo] Chavez has been outspoken in his criticism of Israeli policies and has undertaken and proposed steps to hold Israel accountable for their actions.

For nearly eight years, the Bush administration has sought to oust Hugo Chavez.

Federico Fuentes

Four retired and one active Venezuelan military officials have been arrested, a further 33 questioned and the US ambassador expelled in the wake of the September 10 revelation of a planned coup and assassination attempt against President Hugo Chavez.

CARACAS, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Friday he is "taking back" mines, a sign the leftist may order takeovers in a sector that includes a large gold project run by Canada's Crystallex.

Chavez, who has nationalized swaths of the oil-based economy, appeared to single out Las Cristinas, the Crystallex-owned project that has the potential to be a world-class mine but was denied an exploration permit in April.

Once again the corporate media misreports on Venezuela and its democratic President.

By Federico Fuentes - July 21, 2008

"As a product of four weeks of meetings between the different currents in the National Union of Workers (UNT), together with important union federations, we have democratically decided, in consultation with the grassroots, that [on September 19-21] we will hold a national congress...By no later than February next year, we will go towards a transparent, democratic process of internal elections"...These announcements mark an important step forward in forging working class unity and come at a time of an upturn in struggle as well as further steps towards union democratisation.

By Michael Albert - ZNet

Hugo Chavez tells us he wants to build twenty first century socialism...He regularly excoriates capitalism. His innovative approaches to popular political and economic decision making via councils and his prioritization of radicalized health, education, and other human services via innovative public missions, inspire great hope. But beyond Bolivarian claims and short term policies, where is the Bolivarian Revolution structurally going? What are its main institutional goals and timetables?...These are questions I think a lot of people need answers to if they are to have solid attitudes about Venezuela.

By Stephen Lendman - June 07, 2008

Reports keep surfacing about new threats against Hugo Chavez. Given past ones, they can't be taken lightly. Chavez is alerted and reacts accordingly. Case in point: revamping Venezuela's decades old intelligence services. It's long overdue and urgently needed given the Bush administration's tenure winding down and its determination in its remaining months to end the Bolivarian project and crush its participatory democracy.

By Stephen Lendman - June, 07 2008

[For an earlier version of this article, click here.]

Reports keep surfacing about new threats against Hugo Chavez. Given past ones, they can't be taken lightly. Chavez is alerted and reacts accordingly. Case in point: revamping Venezuela's decades old intelligence services. It's long overdue and urgently needed given the Bush administration's tenure winding down and its determination in its remaining months to end the Bolivarian project and crush its participatory democracy.

Washington targets Chavez for removal.

[Heinz Dieterich Steffan] envisions a scenario much like against Cuba that led to the 1962 missile crisis - a naval blockade and sees "no cohesion" in Venezuela's military as there was in Cuba. The antidote is Latin American unity.

[The] Global Peace Index targets Venezuela and has [a] distinct Washington aroma in it.

Information from Colombian-seized FARC-EP files appears to be fake.

Who said crime doesn't pay? Read on.