I went there with a pregnant wife and without doing any research at all. Big mistake.

I found Caracas to have some very negative energy. People seemed not to like tourists, almost no one speaks English, and police are very intimidating. They pulled me out of the cab once for no reason and frisked me. Wherever you go, people look at you in a weird way, like they don’t want you there. Very weird.

Anti-American propaganda is everywhere, but then on the other hand you have TGI Friday’s and Burger Kings with valet parking – every existing American fast food chain is there, and it’s killing it. Also, the majority of Venezuela’s oil export goes to the US.

And yes, Hugo Chavez has daily TV address to the nation.

–Boogie ( http://www.artcoup.com )

I‘m in Belgrade at the moment, digging through some old photos that my grandfather, Radomir Milivojevich (1900-1973), took of the Allied Bombing of Belgrade in 1944.

This is what WIKIPEDIA says about it:

Belgrade was bombed by Anglo-American air forces on April 16 and 17, 1944, which was Orthodox Easter Day. The most important unit that took part was American 15th Air Force, based in Foggia in the south of Italy. This carpet bombing raid was executed by 600 bombers flying at high altitude. Civilian casualties were 1,160, while German military losses were 18.

Bombing of the city was repeated on April 21, April 24, May 18, June 6, July 8, and September 3, 1944.