<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Monday, April 14, 2003 By: Oscar Heck

VHeadline commentarist Oscar Heck writes: True democracy no longer exists.

Now, the USA is thinking of invading Syria … and bring them “democracy.”

Will they invade Venezuela … and bring “democracy”?

According to Jim Krane, from the Associated Press, a USA-based information buyer/seller called ChoicePoint Inc., is collecting and selling personal information from people in Central America and South America, including Venezuela. This information is being sold to some three-dozen US government agencies, without the consent or knowledge of the people.

Democracy?

Krane states: “ChoicePoint says it buys the files from subcontractors in Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua. But it refuses to name the sellers or say where those parties obtained the data.“

and:

“If ChoicePoint can sell foreigners' details to Washington, it is also in the position to sell data on US citizens to foreign governments. It won't, for policy reasons. We don't think it's the right thing to do, so we're not doing it.”

Democracy?

Krane goes on to say: “In Colombia, ChoicePoint buys the entire country's citizen ID database, including each resident's date and place of birth, passport and national ID number, parentage and physical description”. (31 million Colombians)

What would Colombians say if they knew this? What would Venezuelans say if they knew that their private information is being sold to the US government?

Is this what the opposition wants as a “democracy”?

• A “democracy” that allows for unleashed purchase and re-sale of other people’s privacy? A “democracy” with double-standards?

Meanwhile, the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference (Bishops?), are criticizing the present Venezuelan government … claiming that the rule of law and political coexistence has been damaged by the struggle centering on the government's legitimacy and institutionality … "Polarization has paralyzed the country sinking us into growing poverty and an increase in division and social violence …violations of the right to life, citizen security and property have become so apparent that everyone can see them as they develop.”

Do these bishops (?) have short memories? (about poverty in Venezuela).

Maybe they never went to the slums in the 1970s? In general, the slums of today, have water, sewage systems and electricity (25 years ago, most didn’t). The homes in today’s slums are mostly made of red brick (25 years ago they were mostly made of cardboard and sheet metal). The slum area I usually live in has daily garbage collection! (25 years ago, there was no garbage collection ú and where I am in Canada at the moment, we have garbage collection once weekly).

In the 1970s, about 80% of the population was under the poverty line. (You can get statistics from the US government State Department) Today, the figure is about the same. Even if the per-capita income has decreased, the drop has not affected the 80%. The people that have been affected are the middle to upper-middle classes. Of course the poverty (?) level has increased amongst these classes! (They can no longer afford to take vacations to Disney World!).

In addition, these bishops (?) mention that citizen and property security (lack of) are evident. Yes, they are correct when speaking about the middle classes. Personal and property security in the slums is today no different than in the past. In fact, I find certain slum areas to be safer than ever.

Why do I bring this up?

Because 80% of the Venezuelan population live in slum-like conditions or worse. Therefore, when the bishops (?) make their statements, they are addressing a problem that in affecting the minority of the people, not the majority! They are manipulating opinions in favor of the minority classes that have always abused the 80%. (Typical!) In addition, there has always existed a class difference. What has changed is that a good portion of the 80% will no longer sheepishly accept to be squashed by the 20% … and rightly so!

Democracy?

Is this what “all” Venezuelans want … a “democracy” (such as the one implied by these bishops(?)) … that neglects and ignores a clear and real class difference, as if it did not exist?

In other words, a “democracy” that would continue to allow the 20% to abuse of the 80% and where the 80% continues to smile sheepishly and says “yes sir, yes sir”, like the American slaves did in the USA!

Democracy?

• A “democracy” where opinion and event manipulation is propagated as fact?

I do not want to be insensitive here, but I feel that I must mention the following:

Kayla Markert, in a letter to VHeadline.com, writes about the assassination of her friend’s father.  S/he states, “…Gustavo recognized he was being taken to a place where those who oppose President Chavez are murdered, so he fought back…”

I read and re-read her letter and I am still not clear as to the “facts.”

Did Gustavo have a gun? How was he able to have a shoot-out with the kidnappers? Why was this person kidnapped? By whom? Was she there? Was her friend there (the son)? Did the kidnappers say, “ We are taking you away to kill you because you are against Chavez?” I bring up these points because what Kayla says is typical of opposition rhetoric … assumptions and manipulations that are transmitted as facts! She certainly forgets to mention that rich Venezuelans are sometimes kidnapping targets, and have been for years. She forgets to mention that many deaths in Venezuela are due to “resisting muggings or kidnappings!”

A few weeks ago another government person got kidnapped (along with a businessman) and their car was hijacked. They were taken away to the mountain. They did not resist, and lived to tell the story (a factual one). I encountered a person in Merida who was kidnapped at 7 a.m. on a Sunday in January 2003. He was also taken up to the mountain (at gun point), he was dropped off there, and the thieves left with his brand new Jeep. He did not resist, and came away only with injured pride (as he has just bought the Jeep).

The above are examples of the kind of manipulation that occurs on a daily and regular basis at: Globovision, Venevision, RCTV and TeleVen … the four privately-owned Venezuelan television stations that are in full support of the supposed “democratic” opposition!

If they (the opposition) are “democratic,” then what are the pro-Chavez people?

What are the anti-opposition people such as myself?

True democracy no longer exists.

Oscar Heck oscar@vheadline.com

Note: Choice Point’s home page contains the following statements:

1. Choice Point has assisted in the recovery of 777 missing children
2. Choice Point honors the brave men and women of the coalition armed forces

How many children were murdered and/or injured in Iraq due to the USA “democratic” invasion?

Vheadlines Forums

The War in Iraq, effects and consequences discuss the role of the United Nations towards an equitable solution for the Iraqi people

Venezuelan Foreign Policy discuss the relative merits of Venezuela's foreign policy and its effects

Referendum 2003 discuss the pros and cons of a revocatory referendum

President Hugo Chavez Frias express your opinions on the Presidency of Hugo Chavez Frias and his Bolivarian Revolution

Bolivarian Circles Are Bolivarian Circles a Venezuelan form of Neighborhood Watch Committees or violent hordes of pro-Chavez thugs?

Venezuela's Opposition What is it? Is a force to be reckoned with or in complete disarray?

Our editorial statement reads: VHeadline.com Venezuela is a wholly independent e-publication promoting democracy in its fullest expression and the inalienable  right of all Venezuelans to self-determination and the pursuit of sovereign independence without interference. We seek to shed light on nefarious practices and the corruption which for decades has strangled this South American nation's development and progress. Our declared editorial bias is pro-democracy and pro-Venezuela ... which some may wrongly interpret as anti-American. --  Roy S. Carson, Editor/Publisher  Editor@VHeadline.com  

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Monday, April 14, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

British journalist, Richard Gott was called on to read out the conclusions of the " Solidarity with the Bolivarian Revolution" conference, highlighting the fact that the " unity of the Latin American peoples and the full exercise of their autonomy are part of the bases of a new multi-polar global order." 

Conference participants, Gott said, believe that President Hugo Chavez Frias and his political project is an alternative model to neoliberal globalization and Yankee imperialism. 

A practical conclusion was agreed upon, namely to help create solidarity networks to defend Venezuela and at the same time,  promote resistance against the onslaught of globalization and temptations of US Imperialism. 

Recognizing the existence of an opposition in Venezuela, the conference concludes that its " political practices smack of fascism, racism and anti-patriotism."

At a press conference with alternative media, President Chavez Frias countered criticism from aporrea.org and other popular organizations about the "elite character" of the conference dominated by intellectuals (mostly foreign) and forgetting the people who came out to risk all last year, arguing that international solidarity is indispensable for the survival of the Process but agreed that a parallel act was in order.

Referendum 2003 discuss the pros and cons of a revocatory referendum

President Hugo Chavez Frias express your opinions on the Presidency of Hugo Chavez Frias and his Bolivarian Revolution

Bolivarian Circles Are Bolivarian Circles a Venezuelan form of Neighborhood Watch Committees or violent hordes of pro-Chavez thugs?

Venezuela's Opposition What is it? Is a force to be reckoned with or in complete disarray?

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Monday, April 14, 2003 By: Gustavo Coronel

VHeadline.com commentarist Gustavo Coronel writes: For four days some 800 foreign and 1500 local revolutionaries met at the Teresa Carreno Theater and Parque Central in Caracas to celebrate the first year of Chavez' return to power, after being eased out by the current Interior Minister, General Lucas Rincon, in a very strange Palace coup.

This grotesque meeting would have been just a laughable extravagance if it had not been for the fact that the government also celebrated the killing of innocent Venezuelans at the hands of Chavez' followers. Part of the celebration included setting these killers free, leaving no doubt, among the relatives of the victims, that these crimes would never be punished by this government.

The event was very irritating for the millions of decent Venezuelans who saw it from a safe moral distance. The 800 foreign guests were a varied menagerie. There were some notorious visitors, like Ignacio Ramonet, the high priest of neofascism; Professor Jaime Petras; Daniel Ortega, the former President of Nicaragua and indicted rapist; the odd looking and un-maternal mother of the Plaza de Mayo, Hebe Bonafini; a British film maker named Alex Cox who seemed to be completely lost in that environment; a 10-year-old Cuban girl already full of hate at such an early stage of life. However, most of the cast was made up of unknown extras, all very happy to be there, all expenses paid by the financially bankrupt Venezuelan government.

There were Ecuadorian military, Araucano indians, ultra-leftist editors, a true "who is who" of international vagrancy.

The event merits a few comments:

1. I wonder if the $25 million which the government shelled out for the event could not have been better utilized to do something about the 250000 plus street children of Venezuela. Just outside the place of the event the visitors could not fail to see the miserable Amacuro Indian women begging for a few coins, or the street children sleeping in the sidewalks, or the buhoneros trying to sell anything from condoms to cigarettes to porno movies to bring some food home. To spend $25 million to finance the intellectual diarrhea that took place in Caracas, seems to be clearly immoral, when compared to the social degradation existing in Caracas and the rest of the country, due to the lack of sensibility of our verbose President.

I would have developed some respect for this government if they had decided to dedicate the $25 million to do something about the starving Venezuelan population, rather than spending it in this fascist bash.

2. Although the stated purpose of the event was the celebration of the first anniversary of the so called counter-coup, the main purpose became clear from day one: a bashing of the US. During the three days of the event, Bush was frequently compared to Hitler and all speakers made a point of condemning the War in Iraq, not so much because they were concerned about the people of that country but because one of their ideological icons, Saddam Hussein, had been expelled from power. The event had the misfortune to be held after the war was practically over and the people of Iraq could be seen in the streets showing their relief at getting rid of a monster who lived in abundance while his people suffered horrible poverty.

3. We heard very sad things for democratic ears. Daniel Ortega, accused of rape by a member of his own family, came to say that Chavez represented the hope of Latin America. Hebe Bonafini said that she had been happy at the tragedy of September 11 because the towers included "powerful people" plotting against the poor. Jaime Petras at least showed flashes of intellectual honesty, when he defined Chavez Law regulating Media Content as "protofascist." Alan Cox said that he did not know much about Venezuela but he assumed all leftists were with Chavez (the opposite is true). The pathetic Cuban girl sounded like a programmed robot, talking against US imperialism and other cliches.

Even more damaging for Venezuela, this event put the government of Hugo Chavez in a clear collision course with the government of the US.

Chavez brought to Caracas, all expenses paid, the most violent anti US fauna of the Americas. For a country like the US, which has already shown a short fuse when dealing with perceived enemies, this can easily be interpreted as a conscious and no longer harmless effort on the part of Hugo Chavez to antagonize them.

When combined with the obvious support Chavez has shown to the Colombian terrorist guerrillas and with his incontinent verbal abuses against the country which is our main client and our traditional political ally, it is easy to see that Chavez has now been included in the US list of undesirable characters.

• When Ramonet spoke about Venezuela being a future target for US military action, he was probably starting on the road of the self-fulfilling prophecies.

The reason for this challenging attitude on the part of Chavez is obvious. I have said before and now say again that the only road left open to Chavez is martyrdom. He is incompetent as a President and he does not know how to govern. He is incapable of solving our problems. The only way an inept politician can find a place in history is by becoming a martyr.

I suggest there is a much less traumatic way for Mr. Chavez: Please resign and make us happy so that we can have, at least, a kind memory of you...

Gustavo Coronel is the founder and president of Agrupacion Pro Calidad de Vida (The Pro-Quality of Life Alliance), a Caracas-based organization devoted to fighting corruption and the promotion of civic education in Latin America, primarily Venezuela. A member of the first board of directors (1975-1979) of Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), following nationalization of Venezuela's oil industry, Coronel has worked in the oil industry for 28 years in the United States, Holland, Indonesia, Algiers and in Venezuela. He is a Distinguished alumnus of the University of Tulsa (USA) where he was a Trustee from 1987 to 1999. Coronel led the Hydrocarbons Division of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) in Washington DC for 5 years. The author of three books and many articles on Venezuela ("Curbing Corruption in Venezuela." Journal of Democracy, Vol. 7, No. 3, July, 1996, pp. 157-163), he is a fellow of Harvard University and a member of the Harvard faculty from 1981 to 1983.  In 1998, he was presidential election campaign manager for Henrique Salas Romer and now lives in retirement on the Caribbean island of Margarita where he runs a leading Hotel-Resort.  You may contact Gustavo Coronel at email gustavo@vheadline.com

Referendum 2003 discuss the pros and cons of a revocatory referendum

President Hugo Chavez Frias express your opinions on the Presidency of Hugo Chavez Frias and his Bolivarian Revolution

Bolivarian Circles Are Bolivarian Circles a Venezuelan form of Neighborhood Watch Committees or violent hordes of pro-Chavez thugs?

Venezuela's Opposition What is it? Is a force to be reckoned with or in complete disarray?

<a href=new.stockwatch.com>StockWatch.com 2003-04-14 13:51 ET - News Release

SAN DIEGO, April 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) today announced results for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2003 (Fiscal 2003).

SAIC achieved revenues of $5.9 billion, reflecting a growth rate of 2 percent over the previous year's revenues of $5.8 billion. Revenue from our regulated segment, primarily federal government customers, increased 12 percent over the prior year. Due to the continued slowdown in the telecommunications industry, revenues from our telecommunications commercial customers decreased 25 percent. In addition, our other commercial revenues decreased 3 percent, largely due to the reduced contract spending on outsourcing initiatives by our customers in the energy industry.

SAIC's operating income for Fiscal 2003 was $499 million, compared to $432 million for Fiscal 2002. The increase in operating income was driven by improved performance in the government business, as well as by lower overall costs at the company's Telcordia Technologies telecommunications subsidiary due to the restructuring and cost control efforts undertaken in Fiscal 2002 and 2003.

Non-operating expense items for Fiscal 2003 totaled $142 million compared to $417 million in Fiscal 2002. The majority of the change from the prior year resulted from $134 million of net loss on marketable securities and other investments in Fiscal 2003 compared to $456 million of net loss on marketable securities and other investments in Fiscal 2002. The majority of the Fiscal 2003 net loss related to impairment charges for private equity investments held in the company's investment portfolio, experienced during the continued downturn in the technology market during the year. In Fiscal 2002, the majority of the net loss related to impairment charges on the company's public equity investment in VeriSign, Inc. during a period of steep technology market decline. In Fiscal 2003, the company liquidated its investments and related equity collars in VeriSign and Amdocs Limited for gross proceeds of $631 million. As a result of these transactions and other investment activities, including the impairment charges, the company's investment portfolio is now $128 million as compared to $1 billion at the end of Fiscal 2002.

Net income for Fiscal 2003 was $246 million compared to $19 million in Fiscal 2002, and increased primarily due to the improved operating performance and the lower impairment charges described above.

"I'm proud that we've been able to achieve consistent growth by delivering quality service to our customers for 34 years," said Dr. J. Robert Beyster, SAIC chairman, president and chief executive officer. "Providing quality service has never been more important than now, during this time when our government and country need our support the most. Through the hard work and dedication of our employee owners we will continue to deliver at the highest level."

Revenues for the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2003 were $1.54 billion, compared to $1.46 billion in the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2002, as growth in government revenues was partially offset by revenue reductions in our telecommunications and other commercial business. Operating income in the fourth quarter was $117 million in Fiscal 2003, compared to $129 million in Fiscal 2002 and decreased largely due to lower operating income generated by Telcordia as a result of the decrease in its revenues. The fourth quarter net income was $81 million in Fiscal 2003 compared to a net loss of $158 million in Fiscal 2002, and improved primarily as a result of lower impairment charges on the company's investment portfolio.

Recent political and economic events in Venezuela have impacted the operations of the company's joint venture, INTESA. INTESA was formed in January 1997 with Venezuela's national oil company, PDVSA, to provide information technology (IT) services in Latin America. In December 2002, an embargo and general work force strike occurred in Venezuela that affected the petroleum sector, including PDVSA and INTESA. For these and other reasons, INTESA suspended operations, and the operations of INTESA are not expected to resume. Consequently, INTESA has been classified as a discontinued operation in the company's consolidated financial statements and is excluded from the revenue and operating income described above. INTESA's revenues for Fiscal 2003 and 2002 were $215 million and $323 million, respectively, with a net loss of $261,000 in 2003 and a net income of $7 million in 2002.

"With contract awards of more than $8.4 billion last year, SAIC is prepared to continue our tradition of assisting government and commercial clients in solving their most challenging scientific and technical problems," said Dr. Beyster.

SAIC continued to win several major contracts and task orders in the government and commercial marketplaces including:

• The Gateway/Defense Message System (DMS) contract from the Department of Interior's GovWorks Federal Acquisition Center. DMS is the secure messaging system that will replace the Department of Defense's (DoD) legacy Automatic Digital Network. The five-year contract has a potential ceiling value of $1 billion. * A contract award from the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) to perform next generation engineering services for federal and DoD agencies worldwide. This multiple award, indefinite- delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract will have a seven-year lifecycle and a total overall contract ceiling value of $1 billion. * A 10-year contract with a total ceiling value of $690 million was awarded by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) to support their arms control, nonproliferation and homeland security initiatives. Under the terms of the contract, SAIC will supply research and development services for DTRA programs to reduce the threats from weapons of mass destruction. * An award from the National Guard Bureau to provide environmental engineering, scientific, and remediation support services for the Air National Guard and Army National Guard. This multiple, IDIQ contract has a ceiling value of $598 million with one base and nine option years. * A contract to provide consolidated IT infrastructure and managed services to BP in Houston, Texas. The $360 million contract is for a four-year period to provide IT services to BP's lower 48 state upstream business units in Houston. * A contract award from the National Security Agency (NSA) to be the provider of the technology demonstration platform (TDP) phase of the TRAILBLAZER program. The TDP phase of the NSA program currently is estimated at $280 million and will be performed over a period of 26 months. * The Department of the Interior's U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) Data Center contract. SAIC will provide scientific, engineering and operational technical support services to USGS. The five-year contract, valued at approximately $155 million, will be supported at the EROS facility, located near Sioux Falls, S.D. * A contract awarded to the Boeing-SAIC team to lead as system integrator for the U.S. Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, working with the Army, is the contracting agency. The FCS contract has an expected value of $154 million, and represents a portion of the program which is estimated at $4 billion over the next five years. * AMSEC LLC, a joint venture between SAIC and Northrop Grumman, was awarded a five-year, $93 million contract from the Naval Surface Warfare Center Philadelphia for engineering services and installation support associated with introduction of "Enabling Technologies" into U.S. Navy ships. Enabling Technologies are designed to improve warfighting capabilities by reducing the sailor workload required to operate, maintain and train on the many and various Navy ship systems and equipment. * A team led by SAIC was awarded a $60 million contract from the U.S. Navy Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center San Diego. Under the agreement, SAIC will provide engineering and technical support services for the Submarine Communications Information and Command, Control, Communications, Computer and Intelligence Systems Division. * A contract from the U.S. Customs Service to provide preventive and corrective maintenance and support for its Vehicle and Cargo Inspection System (VACIS) units throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. Valued at $46.5 million, this contract will have a performance base of one year, with the option to renew for four years. Since 1999, the company has been working with U.S. Customs on a series of contracts for various configurations of SAIC's VACIS to reduce the smuggling of contraband across international borders. * A contract award from Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) to provide technical desktop computer support to over a third of its computer user community. The SNL contract has a potential value of more than $40 million, and will be performed over a two-year base period with four two-year options to renew. * A contract from the Southeast Alaska Acoustic Measurement Facility, the Pacific Fleet component of the U.S. Navy's acoustic signature program for submarines. The 10-year task order contract has a value of up to $40 million if all options are awarded. * A contract from Bristol-Myers Squibb Company to provide expanded information technology support to its Pharmaceutical Research Institute. The expanded multi-million dollar contract has a performance period of three years. * A task order to provide the U.S. Army Europe (USAREUR) the support required to consolidate USAREUR information technology services throughout Europe. The cost-plus-fixed-fee task order has a potential value of $38 million. * The signing of an estimated $31 million, three-year information technology services agreement with Calpine Corporation, an independent power company, based in San Jose, Calif. SAIC will furnish help desk, server, desktop support, network, voice and video services to more than 3,300 Calpine employees in 126 locations throughout the United States and Canada. * The signing of a four-year outsourcing agreement with Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, headquartered in Anchorage, Alaska. Under the terms of the agreement, SAIC will help reduce costs, and enhance business performance by integrating all information technology service lines andproviding software management through SAIC's Applications Solutions Center. * An award from Ford Motor Company to provide engineering services aimed at standardizing vehicle electrical system designs. Under the terms of the agreement, SAIC will apply its aerospace engineering experience and technology to the development of an electrical architecture to support Ford's future vehicle designs.

SAIC enhanced its growth with several strategic acquisitions and mergers during Fiscal 2003, including:

• SAIC announced that it has acquired Arthur Andersen's North American Oil and Gas Consulting Practice. The team of management consultants joined SAIC as part of the company's strategy to strengthen and grow its management consulting capabilities. * SAIC completed the acquisition of Quality Research, Inc. (QRI). Based in Huntsville, Ala., QRI specializes in the areas of information technology, modeling and simulation, training, and technical and engineering services. * Recently, the company acquired certain assets of SCIENTECH, Inc. that comprise its DoD Engineering Business Segment. SCIENTECH, headquartered in Ogden, Utah, performs engineering and technical services for the DoD, and expands SAIC's presence in Ogden, enhancing SAIC's services to the Air Force Materiel Command customers at Hill Air Force Base. * SAIC announced that it completed the acquisition of VGS, Inc., an employee-owned information technology systems integrator, based in Fairfax, Va.

SAIC is the nation's largest employee-owned research and engineering company, providing information technology, systems integration and eSolutions to commercial and government customers. SAIC engineers and scientists work to solve complex technical problems in national and homeland security, energy, the environment, space, telecommunications, health care, transportation and logistics. With annual revenues of $5.9 billion, SAIC and its subsidiaries, including Telcordia Technologies, have more than 38,000 employees at offices in more than 150 cities worldwide. More information about SAIC can be found on the Internet at www.saic.com.

Statements in this announcement other than historical data and information constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause our actual results, performance, achievements or industry results to be very different from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some of these factors include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set forth in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended January 31, 2003, and such other filings that the Company makes with the SEC from time to time. Due to such uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.

SAIC

CONTACT: Ron Zollars, San Diego, +1-858-826-7896, zollarsr@saic.com, or Zuraidah Hashim, Washington, +1-703-676-2541, hashimz@saic.com, both of SAIC

Web site: www.saic.com

<a href=www.smartmoney.com>smartmoney.com-Dow Jones Newswires April 14, 2003

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Hughes Electronics Corp. (GMH) posted a much narrower first-quarter net loss, largely because of the year-earlier adoption of new accounting rules regarding goodwill amortization.

Nonetheless, the firm reported better-than-expected results, thanks largely to continued strengthening of its DirecTV business in the U.S.

The satellite-services provider reported a net loss of $50.9 million, compared with a year-earlier net loss of $837.7 million. Hughes doesn't provide per-share figures because it is a tracking stock of General Motors Corp. (GM).

The prior year's results included a $681.3 million goodwill write-down and $24.9 million losses from discontinued operations.

Revenue rose 10% to $2.23 billion from $2.02 billion.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, soared to $305 million from $164.5 million.

When the company released its fourth-quarter results in January, Hughes projected first-quarter revenue of $2.1 billion and Ebitda of $175 million to $225 million.

Meanwhile, Hughes also posted its first operating profit in four years -- $41.9 million. The company defines operating profit as revenue minus operating costs, depreciation and amortization.

"An outstanding first-quarter performance by DirecTV U.S. drove Hughes' strong first-quarter revenue and Ebitda growth," President and Chief Executive Jack A. Shaw said in a prepared statement. "The DirecTV U.S. performance is a direct result of our profitable growth strategy that focuses on attracting long-term, high-quality subscribers who provide us with exceptional financial returns."

DirecTV's U.S. revenue jumped 17% to $1.71 billion, and the home-satellite operator added a net 275,000 subscribers, both of which Mr. Shaw noted were better than anticipated. Ebitda surged to $230.4 million from $93.7 million. Hughes had forecast revenue of $1.63 billion and Ebitda of $160 million.

Total U.S. subscribership as of March 31 was 9.8 million, up 11% from a year earlier. Average monthly revenue per users increased 4.2% to $59.10, "primarily due to increased customer purchases of local-channel and premium-programming packages, as well as additional fees from the increased number of customers that have multiple set-top receivers," said Hughes.

As for DirecTV's struggling Latin America business, which filed for bankruptcy last month, it lost 54,000 net subscribers in the first quarter "primarily due to the economic turmoil following the general strike in Venezuela," putting total subscribership in the region at 1.6 million, down 7%.

Revenue slumped 15% to $140 million, largely the result of the subscriber losses and the 2002 devaluation of the currencies of Brazil and Venezuela.

PanAmSat Corp. (SPOT), which is 81%-owned by Hughes, reported net income Friday of $30.9 million, or 21 cents a share, up from $21 million, or 14 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue fell 3.6% to $199.8 million from $207.1 million.

Going forward, Hughes is forecasting second-quarter revenue of $2.25 billion to $2.3 billion and Ebitda of $250 million to $300 million. DirecTV U.S. is projected to generate revenue of $1.75 billion and Ebitda of $225 million.

Hughes also raised its 2003 revenue forecast to $9.5 billion to $9.6 billion from $9.3 billion to $9.5 billion. Ebitda is now projected to be $1.15 billion to $1.2 billion, versus the company's January estimate of $1.1 billion.

DirecTV's 2003 revenue target was raised to $7.3 billion from $7.1 billion, while Ebitda is now anticipated to be $900 million, compared with the earlier forecast of $800 million to $850 million. Subscribership is projected to grow by 800,000 to 850,000, not the 750,000 to 800,000 first estimated.

It was announced Wednesday night that News Corp. (NWS) agreed to acquire a controlling 34% stake in Hughes for about $6.6 billion in cash and stock, ending a three-year pursuit by Rupert Murdoch's media conglomerate to buy a stake in the satellite broadcaster.

The deal calls for News Corp. buying GM's 20% stake in Hughes, plus an additional 14% stake from Hughes shareholders and GM's pension and other benefit plans, for $14 a share. Investor reaction has been cool to the proposal, as Hughes' shares have dropped below $11 from the $11.48 the stock was at before the deal was announced.

-Kevin Kingsbury; Dow Jones Newswires; 609-520-4367 (END)