Venezuela breaks off Israel ties

[IndianaGreen]

Source: Al Jazeera

Venezuela breaks off Israel ties

Venezuela has joined Bolivia in severing ties with Israel in protest against its war in the Gaza Strip, which has left more than 1,000 Palestinians dead.

"Venezuela ... has decided to break off diplomatic relations with the state of Israel given the inhumane persecution of the Palestinian people," the foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan president, decided to expel Israel's ambassador and embassy staff last week because of the offensive, calling the Israeli onslaught a "holocaust".

Evo Morales, the president of Bolivia and a close ally of Chavez, said that he would seek to get senior Israeli officials, including Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, charged with "genocide" in the International Criminal Court.


Read more: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/01/200911536357502.html

[Poll_Blind]

1. Didn't Bolivia sever diplomatic ties earlier today/yesterday?

PB

[IndianaGreen]

2. Yes, Bolivia broke off relations yesterday

There is a LBN thread on that.

[Alamuti Lotus]

3. Yes!

See this thread from earlier today. Venezuela does so as well now.

[Idealism]

4. A quasi dictator has more of a moral compass than our elected leaders...

sad.

[Name removed]

5. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[mh2222]

6. well stated

I must agree, we have become a shameful country.You can`t blame us for the state of the Union, we caught for the Confederacy.
Camp William Lundy SCV #1699 Florida

[EFerrari]

8. Oh, please. Venezuela's democracy is in better shape than ours is

in some respects.

Put another way, if Chavez was as corrupt as BushCo says he is (for which there is no evidence), he'd be in there with Uribe of Colombia picking up a Medal of Freedom, too. lol

[Bacchus39]

10. no, I'd say its time for change in Venezuela

if Democracy is so strong and well respected by Chavez why is proposing never ending re-election when the voters already said no last year. and he ruled by decree for 18 months or so wasn't it including decreeing initiatives rejected by the voters a year earlier. of course definitions of democracy vary I suppose.

[EFerrari]

11. Dropping term limits is not "never ending re-election" as you well know.

And the special powers he was given were for a discrete amount of time and purpose, as you also well know. But, nice try.

[ronnie624]

25. As usual, you provide no documentation to support your bubble-headed claims. n/t

[bitchkitty]

26. Up to the voters - that really chaps your butt, apparently.

And the voters weren't saying no to term limits - they were saying no to a whole lot more - this time the amendment will be for re-election only, and will probably pass.

Why do you fear democracy?

[Idealism]

15. Arguably

I identify more with Chavez than I do with American politicians. I have a soft spot for social democracies, what can I say.

[EFerrari]

17. I like his sense of humor. He called the American Empire

the Dracula of Oil in one interview, and said that it was as desperate right now as Dracula becomes when he sees the first rays of sunrise. lol

[Idealism]

18. Thom Hartmann today mentioned one of Chavez's speeches before the UN

He spoke after Bush and when he first got to the podium he said something to the effect of "smells like sulfur up here"

[EFerrari]

19. The whole Assembly laughed out loud -- we played the video here

when it happened. The American media somehow missed that reaction. :)

[Union Yes]

7. The World is rising in protest.....

[ShadesOfGrey]

9. Good to hear that some countries are protesting this slaughter. k&r

[demo dutch]

12. There goes the back-up plan for oil, Mind you Israel does not have diplomatic relations with most

the countries from it imports oil. (like Iran)

[question everything]

13. Wahhhh oh Venezueal, please don't.. NO!

Israel really should not care about this lunatic.

:nopity:

[subsuelo]

14. Viva Chavez nt

[Rosa Luxemburg]

16. Chavez doesn't waste much time does he?

I think many of the other leaders worldwide are more polite

[MellowDem]

20. Political schlop

O mighty Chavez! You are a true beacon of light! Who knew Chavez held other countries to such high standards? That is, other countries that don't fit into Venezuela's foreign policy plan... or that he doesn't rely on to buy his oil and keep his petro dictatorship chugging.

[IndianaGreen]

24. Chavez doesn't occupy land that doesn't belong to Venezuela, and he doesn't invade other countries

I'll take what you described as "Venezuela's foreign policy plan" over America and Israel's.

[bemildred]

21. Venezuelan embassy in Paris attacked following break with Israel

Unidentified people hurled stones and metallic devices on Wednesday night at Venezuela's embassy in Paris, smashed two windows into pieces and painted the slogan "Israel will win" on the façade, reported on Thursday a Venezuelan diplomatic source.

The events were denounced at the relevant security authorities on Thursday morning. At the same time, a notice was forwarded to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reporting of the damages caused and asking for protection for both the site and the embassy's officials, said the source, as quoted by AFP.

"Regretfully, this event shows the extent of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, as opposed to President Hugo Chávez's call for peace," the source commented.

Last Wednesday, the Venezuelan government broke diplomatic relations with Israel.

http://english.eluniversal.com/2009/01/15/en_pol_esp_venezuelan-embassy-i_15A2193975.shtml

[subsuelo]

23. "Israel will win"?

the hell is that supposed to mean

[cobalt1999]

22. That's like my 5th grade girlfriend saying she won't talk to me anymore

Like either side really cares.