Chavez launches Bush broadside at U.N.

By IAN JAMES, Associated Press Writer
20 minutes ago



UNITED NATIONS - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called        President Bush "the devil" in a speech to the        United Nations on Wednesday, making the sign of the cross in a dramatic gesture and accusing him of "talking as if he owned the world."
The fiery speech by the leftist leader, one of the Bush's staunchest critics abroad, was harsher in tone than that of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who sparred with Bush the previous day over Tehran's disputed nuclear program but avoided any personal insults.

"Yesterday, the devil came here," Chavez said, referring to Bush's address before the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday. "Right here. Right here. And it smells of sulfur still today, this table that I am now standing in front of."

He then made the sign of the cross, brought his hands together as if praying and looked up at the ceiling.

Lest anyone wasn't listening, Chavez continued:

"Yesterday, ladies and gentlemen, from this rostrum, the president of the United States, the gentleman to whom I refer as the devil, came here, talking as if he owned the world. Truly. As the owner of the world," Chavez said.

Chavez's words drew tentative giggles at times from the audience, but also applause at the end of the speech and when he called Bush the devil — a word he used no fewer than eight times.

Secretary of State        Condoleezza Rice said Chavez's remarks were "not becoming for a head of state."

"I am not going to dignify a comment by the Venezuelan president to the president of the United States," Rice told reporters in New York. The main U.S. seat in the assembly hall was empty as Chavez spoke, though the U.S. Ambassador John Bolton told The Associated Press that a "junior note-taker" was present, as is customary "when governments like that speak."

The address appeared to be one of Chavez' boldest moves yet to lead an alliance of countries firmly opposed to the Bush administration. The speech came after the leftist leader crisscrossed the globe this summer visiting like-minded nations from        Iran to Belarus.

The Venezuelan has become Latin America's leading voice against the U.S. government, and his speech was reminiscent of crusading addresses by his mentor        Fidel Castro of Cuba and the late Argentine revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara.

In his 23-minute address, Chavez also called Bush a "spokesman of imperialism" who was trying "to preserve the current pattern of domination, exploitation and pillage of the peoples of the world."

"An Alfred Hitchcock movie could use it as a scenario. I would even propose a title: `The Devil's Recipe,'" Chavez said.

He accused the U.S. of planning and financing a failed 2002 coup against him, a charge the U.S. denies. And he said the U.S. tries to impose its vision of democracy militarily in countries like Iran and        Iraq.

"We appeal to the people of the United States and the world to halt this threat, which is like a sword hanging over our head," he said. "The imperialists see extremists everywhere. It's not that we are extremists. It's that the world is waking up."

At the start of his talk, Chavez held up a book by American writer Noam Chomsky, "Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance," and recommended it to everyone in the General Assembly, as well as to the American people.

"The people of the United States should read this ... instead of the watching Superman movies," Chavez later told reporters.

He called U.S. consumerism "madness," saying Americans have wasteful habits in using oil and energy. He held up a satellite photo showing the world at night, with bright light emanating from the U.S. and other wealthy countries.

Consuming less should be an environmental priority, he said, "instead of looking for oil" through the war in Iraq.

The United States continues to be the top buyer of Venezuelan oil, bringing the South American country billions of dollars in earnings that help fund Chavez's popular social programs.

Accusing Bush of neglecting the poor, Chavez started a program last winter for Venezuela's U.S.-based oil company Citgo to sell discounted heating oil to poor American families. It distributed more than 40 million gallons of oil last winter to low-income Americans, and Chavez announced a doubling of that this winter.

Chavez also lambasted the U.S. government for trying to block Venezuela's campaign for a seat in the        U.N. Security Council. He said if chosen over U.S.-favorite Guatemala in a secret-ballot U.N. vote next month, Venezuela would be "the voice of the Third World."

The council currently consists of five permanent members with veto power — the United States, Britain, Russia, China and France — and 10 non-permanent members who serve two-year terms and have no power to veto resolutions.

The U.S. argues that Venezuela — closely allied with Iran,        Syria and Cuba — would be a disruptive force. The campaign for a U.N. seat is shaping up to be a formidable diplomatic test for Chavez, gauging his ability to lobby head-to-head against the United States.

Chavez said the U.N. in its current system "doesn't work" and is "antidemocratic." He called for the world body to be overhauled, saying the U.S. government's "immoral veto" had allowed recent Israeli bombings of Lebanon to continue unabated for more than a month.

The Mideast was in the spotlight, with ministers from the Quartet that drafted the stalled so-called "road map" peace plan — the U.S., the U.N., the        European Union and Russia — planning to meet. The Security Council also was scheduled to hold a ministerial meeting Thursday that Arab leaders hope will help revive the peace process.

On Wednesday, Bush met with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and described him as "a man of peace" who can help move forward the stalled peace process.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai also addressed the General Assembly, warning that terrorism is rebounding in his country. He said efforts to build democracy there had suffered setbacks over the past year as violence increased, especially in the volatile south where        NATO forces have been battling Taliban militants in some of the fiercest battles since the hard-line government was toppled in 2001.

"We have seen terrorism rebounding as terrorists have infiltrated our borders to step up their murderous campaign against our people," he told the General Assembly.

He also expressed concern about "the increased incidents of Islamophobia in the West," saying it does not "bode well for the cause of building understanding and cooperation across civilizations."

Limewire Hits Back Hard: Sues RIAA For Antitrust And Consumer Fraud
from the this-may-get-interesting dept

Last month, the RIAA sued Limewire after Limewire wouldn't agree to simply roll over and pretend the RIAA's interpretation of the Supreme Court decision in the Grokster case was actually what the Supreme Court said. The court actually said that services could be found liable, if they were shown to actively induce infringement. The RIAA and the MPAA pretended this meant that any file sharing network that had unauthorized content was flat-out illegal. Of course, that's a bit of a stretch. So, it already seemed like it would be an interesting case, but now Limewire has hit back even harder with counterclaims accusing the RIAA of antitrust violations, consumer fraud and other misconduct. Specifically, they seem to be making the case that the RIAA only wants to shut down Limewire because it is a competitive distribution mechanism that they cannot control, which helps compete with their monopolistic control on traditional distribution. It's an interesting claim that does make some sense, though the RIAA will simply try to paint Limewire as a tool for "thieves." As with many of these types of cases, there's probably a decent chance that the sides will settle before any decision is made, but in this case, it would be very interesting to see the actual outcome of any lawsuit -- both on the issue of whether or not simply running a file sharing network is inducement and on whether or not there really is an antitrust claim here. If the case does go forward and the RIAA loses on the antitrust issue, it could have a big impact on the traditional labels, and could actually be a catalyst towards forcing them to accept the changing nature of the market. This is becoming a case well worth watching.

Fighter planes intercept Russian bombers
MARY PEMBERTON
Associated Press

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - American and Canadian fighter planes were launched to intercept a pair of Russian bombers after the bombers came close to Alaska while conducting an exercise, military officials said Friday.

The Russian aircraft on Thursday penetrated a 12-mile buffer zone near American airspace, according to the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD.

The bombers never violated U.S. or Canadian airspace, said Maj. Gen. Brett Cairns, NORAD director of operations.

Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage sent four F-15s to meet the Russian aircraft, said Master Sgt. Tim Hoffman, a base information officer. Two F-15s intercepted the planes by making visual contact and verifying their identity.

The Russian planes then left the buffer zone, he said.

"We just carried out our typical mission," Hoffman said. "They were in international airspace the whole time."

CF-18 fighters also were launched from Canada, but did not intercept the Russian planes.

Lt. Gen. Igor Khvorov, commander of Russian long-range aviation, said the exercise involved 70 bombers, which test-fired 18 cruise missiles, the Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported.

"All the aircraft involved flew over neutral waters, and none of them came closer than 12 nautical miles to the maritime borders of any country," Khvorov said.

What made the event somewhat unusual was that the Russian military had told the United States about the maneuvers ahead of time, Hoffman said, a sharp contrast to Cold War practices.

"They have become more open with the exercises," he said.