Is Venezuela the New Cuba?

Not only is Venezuelan strong man, Hugo Chavez, Anti-American, he is also erratic. This can make him very dangerous. He makes every effort to try and weaken the U.S. The Bush gang has contributed to the problem by antagonizing Chavez, just as they have Russia. Miscalculation could create a very dangerous situation.

Two Russian strategic bombers landed in Venezuela on Wednesday as part of military maneuvers, the government said, announcing an unprecendented deployment to the territory of a new ally at a time of increasingly tense relations with the U.S.

Could we have a new missile crises in the not too distant future?

Russia's Defense Ministry said the two Tu-160 bombers flew to Venezuela on a training mission. It said in a statement carried by the Russian news wires that the planes will conduct training flights over neutral waters over the next few days before heading back to Russia.

Also Wednesday, NATO said it ended a routine exercise by four naval ships in the Black Sea. Russia had denounced the exercise as part of a Western military buildup sparked by the Georgia conflict.

And it ain't just the Venezuelans Bush is antagonizing. It almost seems this neo-fascist administration is bent on war with everyone and everything. Will we survive until January?

President Evo Morales said Wednesday that he is expelling the U.S. ambassador in Bolivia for allegedly inciting violent opposition protests.

Morales' announcement came hours after his government said a pipeline blast triggered by saboteurs forced the country to cut natural gas exports to Brazil by 10 percent.

"Without fear of the empire, I declare the U.S. ambassador 'persona non grata,'" Morales said in a speech at the presidential palace. He said he asked his foreign minister to send a diplomatic note to Ambassador Philip Goldberg telling the American to go home.

The war of words just worsens along with intrigue.

President Hugo Chavez on Wednesday derided as a "show" a U.S. trial of a Venezuelan man accused of acting as a foreign agent in a scandal over an attempt to smuggle $800,000 into Argentina in a suitcase.

The comments by Chavez came a day after a Venezuelan businessman testified in a Miami federal court that Chavez had personally ordered the head of his intelligence service to handle fallout from the incident, which sparked an international scandal.

"The North American empire is again attacking Venezuela," Chavez said, dismissing the trial as an American attempt to embarrass his government.

Like I said, the war of words just gets worse.

White House drug czar John Walters said Tuesday that Venezuela President Hugo Chávez' policies toward the cocaine trade represents a ''global threat'' that puts Europe, especially, at risk.

Venezuela has rejected U.S. requests to resume cooperation in the war on drugs, insisting it has made progress despite an alleged fourfold gain in the amount of Colombian cocaine passing through its territory.

Walters said most of the cocaine passing through Venezuela ends up in Europe via Africa and that Chávez's policies therefore were a big threat to both continents.