top
Americas
Americas
Indybay
Indybay
Indybay
Regions
Indybay Regions North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area California United States International Americas Haiti Iraq Palestine Afghanistan
Topics
Newswire
Features
From the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature

US televangelist wants Chavez killed

by ALJ
US televangelist Pat Robertson has called for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez while a radio host has been fired by a Washington station after he refused to apologise for calling Islam a terrorist organisation.
Calling Chavez a "terrific danger" to the US, Robertson, founder of the Christian Coalition of America and a former presidential candidate, said on Monday on his TV show The 700 Club, that it was the duty of the US to stop Chavez from making Venezuela a "launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism".

Chavez has emerged as one of the most outspoken critics of US President George Bush, accusing the US of conspiring to topple his government and possibly backing plots to assassinate him.

US officials have called the accusations ridiculous.

"You know, I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it," Robertson said.

"It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war ... and I don't think any oil shipments will stop."

A message to a Robertson spokeswoman were not returned.

Covert operatives

Robertson accused the US of failing to act when Chavez was briefly overthrown in 2002.

"We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability," Robertson said.

"We don't need another $200-billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator," he continued. "It's a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with."

In a separate development, conservative radio host Michael Graham was suspended by WMAL-AM after his 25 July broadcast drew protests from the Council on American-Islam Relations.

According to CAIR, Graham, who had a daily three-hour talk show on WMAL, had said: "We are at war with a terrorist organisation named Islam."

No retraction

On his website on Monday, Graham said WMAL had asked him to retract his comments about Islam and deliver an on-air apology. "I refused," he said. "And for that refusal, I was fired."

WMAL president and general manager Chris Berry told the industry publication Radio & Records: "Some of Michael's statements about Islam went over the line - and this isn't the first time that he has been reprimanded for insensitive language and comments.

"I asked Michael for an on-air acknowledgment that some of his remarks were overly broad and inexplicably he refused."

CAIR executive director Nihad Awad said on Monday: "Although we are saddened that Michael Graham would not take responsibility for his hate-filled words, we do welcome WMAL's action as a step towards removing some of the harmful anti-Muslim rhetoric that fill our nation's airwaves."

Graham blamed the Muslim group for his firing. "As a fan of talk radio, I find it absolutely outrageous that pressure from a special interest group like CAIR can result in the abandonment of free speech and open discourse on a talk radio show," he said.
Agencies

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/64428423-10B4-43C1-A38D-D93D05C26741.htm
Aug. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Television evangelist Pat Robertson told viewers the U.S. should kill Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to prevent the Latin American country from becoming a ``launching pad'' for extremism, the Associated Press said.

Chavez, 51, has repeatedly accused President George W. Bush of backing efforts to topple his government, a charge the U.S. denies. The U.S. has alleged Venezuela is using its oil to undermine democracy in Latin America. Venezuela, the U.S.'s fourth-largest oil supplier, has threatened to cut off supplies.

``We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability,'' Robertson said yesterday on the television program ``The 700 Club,'' AP reported. The cleric founded the Christian Broadcasting Network, based in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Killing Chavez, who is visiting Cuba, would be cheaper than starting a war, AP cited Robertson as saying. The U.S. can't allow Venezuela to become a ``launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism,'' he said, according to AP

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000086&sid=aHRr2Ul10eC0&refer=latin_america
by more
(CNN) -- Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson has called for the United States to assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, calling him "a terrific danger" bent on exporting Communism and Islamic extremism across the Americas.

"If he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it," Robertson told viewers on his "The 700 Club" show Monday. "It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war."

Robertson, a contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 1988, called Chavez "a dangerous enemy to our south, controlling a huge pool of oil, that could hurt us badly."

"We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability," Robertson said. "We don't need another $200 billion war to get rid of one strong-arm dictator. It's a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with."
...
In October 2003, Robertson, criticizing the State Department during an interview on "The 700 Club," said "maybe we need a very small nuke thrown off on Foggy Bottom to shake things up," referring to the nickname for the department's headquarters in Washington.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher called the remark "despicable."

In July 2003, Robertson asked his audience to pray for three justices to retire from the Supreme Court so they could be replaced with more conservative jurists. "One justice is 83 years old, another has cancer and another has a heart condition," he said.

Read More
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/08/23/robertson.chavez/
by more
Do you think Pat Robertson will say "The Devil made me do it" on this one?

In his constant, tireless campaign to either discredit religious people who open their mouths to talk about politics or to inspire a straight-jacket factory to rush over and take his measurements, Pat Robertson has called for the assassination of Venezuela's President.

Actually, when you think about it, perhaps Mr. the Reverend Mr. Robertson is merely trying to cut down on diplomatic costs.

Who needs costly diplomats or policy makers when you can simply have a leader you don't like such as Hugo Chavez murdered?

Here via Media Matters are his comments — reflecting years of contemplating the meaning of the Bible, ethics and morality:

ROBERTSON: There was a popular coup that overthrew him [Chavez]. And what did the United States State Department do about it? Virtually nothing. And as a result, within about 48 hours that coup was broken; Chavez was back in power, but we had a chance to move in. He has destroyed the Venezuelan economy, and he's going to make that a launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism all over the continent.

You know, I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war. And I don't think any oil shipments will stop. But this man is a terrific danger and the United ... This is in our sphere of influence, so we can't let this happen. We have the Monroe Doctrine, we have other doctrines that we have announced. And without question, this is a dangerous enemy to our south, controlling a huge pool of oil, that could hurt us very badly. We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability. We don't need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator. It's a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with.

But let's be blunt.

Robertson is a disgrace. This isn't a matter of left or right or Democrat or Republican.

Hopefully his comments will be universally repudiated so he can then do what every politician or talk show host does when they say something dumb, or extreme and there's a major controversy: deny he ever made them.

PS, Pat: Didn't you ever think for one second that if we start sending out hit squads to whack other leaders of hostile countries some countries just might think that it's OK to do the same to the leaders of our country?

http://www.themoderatevoice.com/posts/1124769675.shtml
by more
Many times on the 700 club, Pat Robertson has wandered off the topic of religion and values and into hatred, condemnation, and calls for violence. Yesterday was another such example. Apperantly, the will of God as spoken through Pat Robertson is to assassinate Hugo Chavez.

Now this call for violence isn't very surprising for those who are familiar with Pat's work. It's just another addition to a long string of violent or otherwise stupid things Pat has said. The thing I find particularly disturbing is that this man has a large following and enough political influence to have private meetings with the President. Luckily, his willingness to lie about what the president said in such meetings will likely prevent further meetings of that nature. He is also intent on using the name of God to justify sinful acts. That, to me, is his most offensive quality.

Print This Story

Aug 23rd, 2005: 10:38:09

A part I found quite interesting about Robertson's remarks yesterday was his wandering into the discussion of the flow of oil should Chavez be assassinated. I just found myself wondering, if the assassination would be a Godly act, why would we first worry about oil concerns before perfoming the will of God? Surely by carrying out Gods will and assassinating Mr. Chavez, God will bless us with oil.

Anyway, I will end this with a short list from the long list of Pat Robertson's incoherent ramblings. I would end in a public prayer asking for God to remove him from his post, but I think only a complete jerk would pray to God for the deaths of others.

Pat praying for God to kill off SCOTUS justices:

In July 2003, Robertson asked his audience to pray for three justices to retire from the Supreme Court so they could be replaced with more conservative jurists. "One justice is 83 years old, another has cancer and another has a heart condition," he said.


from CNN article linked above.

Pat on why judges are responsible for 9/11:

We have a court that has essentially stuck its finger in God's eye. We have insulted God at the highest levels of our government. Then, we say, "Why does this happen?" It is happening because God Almighty is lifting His protection from us.


Pat on why homosexuals are responsible for 9/11:

We have imagined ourselves invulnerable and have been consumed by the pursuit of ... health, wealth, material pleasures and sexuality... It [terrorism] is happening because God Almighty is lifting his protection from us.


Pat on why 9/11 happened:

This is God's power and he sent this thing to warn us ... we needed a shock.


Pat on who is fit to rule:

Individual Christians are the only ones really -- and Jewish people, those who trust God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob -- are the only ones that are qualified to have the reign, because hopefully, they will be governed by God and submit to Him.


Pat on true Christians:

You say you're supposed to be nice to the Episcopalians and the Presbyterians and the Methodists and this, that, and the other thing. Nonsense. I don't have to be nice to the spirit of the Antichrist. I can love the people who hold false opinions but I don't have to be nice to them.


Pat on feminists:

The feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism, and become lesbians.


Pat on male dominance:

God's pattern is for men to be the leaders, both in the church and in the family... "Women should listen and learn quietly and submissively. I do not let women teach men or have authority over them."


A bit more on female inferiority:

I know this is painful for the ladies to hear, but if you get married, you have accepted the headship of a man, your husband. Christ is the head of the household and the husband is the head of the wife, and that's the way it is, period.


Pat on gay nazism

Many of those people involved with Adolph Hitler were Satanists, many of them were homosexuals -- the two things seem to go together.


Pat on the gravitational pull of homosexuals:

If the widespread practice of homosexuality will bring about the destruction of your nation, if it will bring about terrorist bombs, if it'll bring about earthquakes, tornadoes and possibly a meteor, it isn't necessarily something we ought to open our arms to.


Pat on white supremecy in Africa:

I think "one man, one vote," just unrestricted democracy, would not be wise. There needs to be some kind of protection for the minority which the white people represent now, a minority, and they need and have a right to demand a protection of their rights.


Pat on nuking the US State Department:

"If I could just get a nuclear device inside Foggy Bottom, I think that's the answer."

Ok, that's enough fun for me. We won't even get into Pat's conversation with Bush of which he lied about later. The point of all this, Pat, to me, is a radical cleric. He appears to be a few bricks short of a load, and he is also a public face of the religious conservatives. I am not a social conservative, and I think his alliance with the Republican party does hurt the overall party image. My question would be this:
Does Robertson appear as crazy to social conservatives as he does to others?

http://casualobservervations.redstate.org/story/2005/8/23/10389/9807
by Pat Robertson-a peaceful "Christian&quot
Walking sack of human garbage...too bad they didn't send a plane into the 700 club.
by Adam Richmond (sf_adam at rocketmail.com)
We are Hands Off Venezuela in the SF Bay Area. Come to our meeting this Saturday where we'll be showing a film about Venezuela and hear a report on the recent World Youth Festival. Here's a link:

http://www.indybay.org/news/2005/08/1761281.php

We're bringing a labor leader from Venezuela to SF on 9/25. We can build a movement to defend Venezuela from the war plans--not only from ultra-right windbag Robertson, but more menacingly by those in the White House and Pentagon, and State Department--and fully supported by the bipartisan Congress.

So come by and learn more about HOV!


by The Bush Tribunal
Bush: "Sorry to Oil the Gospel and The Ten Commandments but Oil comes first."
Pat Robertson, the Christian fundamentalist politician and broadcaster with close ties to the Bush administration, has publicly called for the assassination of the president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez.

Robertson issued his Mafia-like appeal for the US government to “take out” Chavez on his television show “The 700 Club,” broadcast to over one million viewers on his own Christian Broadcast Network and Disney’s ABC Family Network. After a ten-minute news clip aimed at portraying Chavez’s Venezuela as a major threat to the United States, Robertson proceeded to make the case for assassination:

“He has destroyed the Venezuelan economy, and he’s going to make that a launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism all over the continent.

“You know, I don’t know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we’re trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. It’s a whole lot cheaper than starting a war... and I don’t think any oil shipments will stop. This man is a terrific danger, and this is in our sphere of influence.”

He continued, “[W]ithout question, this is a dangerous enemy to our south, controlling a huge pool of oil, that could hurt us very badly. We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability. We don’t need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator. It’s a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with.”

Robertson is not simply a crackpot. He was a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 1988 and is a major force within the Republican Party. Robertson and his ilk on the fundamentalist right, like James Dobson of Focus on the Family and Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, hold de facto veto power over the Bush administration’s policy decisions, such as which individual to nominate for the Supreme Court.

Read More
http://wsws.org/articles/2005/aug2005/prob-a24.shtml
by What if Jesus was alive Today?
Bush: "JESUS YOU PINKO COMMIE FAG LIBERAL HIPPIE TERRORIST LOVING LEFTIST!!!!! HOW DARE YOU CALL ME A HYPOCRITE!!! AFTER ALL THAT MONEY I POURED INTO CHURCHES!!! HOW DARE YOU!!! Ahem! Secret Service Jesus and his Pinko Commie Disciples are not to be admitted into the GOP Prayer Breakfast."
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!

Donate

$110.00 donated
in the past month

Get Involved

If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.

Publish

Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.

IMC Network