CARACAS, Venezuela – President Hugo Chavez’s government is taking its battle against U.S. “imperialism” into Venezuelans’ dictionaries, urging state phone company workers to avoid English-language business and tech terms.

Through a campaign launched Monday, newly nationalized CANTV hopes to wean employees and others from words like “staff” (“equipo” is preferred), “marketing” (“mercadeo”) and “password” (“contrasena”).

Stickers and banners printed up by the company exhort Venezuelans to “Say it in Spanish. Say it with pride.”

The Communications and Information Ministry said in a statement that Venezuelans must recover Spanish words that are “threatened by sectors that have started a battle for the cultural domination of our nations.” Other English words targeted include “mouse” (the company prefers “raton”), “meeting” (“reunion”) and “sponsor” (“patrocinador”) – all of which have become common in Latin American countries.

The leftist president has sought to counter what he calls U.S. cultural imperialism on all fronts, financing Venezuelan cinema as an alternative to the “dictatorship of Hollywood” and forcing radio stations to play more Venezuelan music.

English is still taught in schools alongside other languages, however. And Chavez himself often breaks playfully into English during speeches, sometimes to salute his close friend, former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, saying: “How are you, Fidel?”

GPS devices, online maps mislead truck drivers in N.J.

SECAUCUS, N.J. – Modern technology is leading some drivers in Secaucus, N.J. straight into a dead end.

Truck drivers relying on GPS devices and online maps to show them the route to an industrial area are instead running into a road block.

The electronic maps don’t show a gate that separates residential and industrial areas. It’s only opened for a couple hours on weekdays in the northern New Jersey city.

Mayor Dennis Elwell says residents on Fifth Street started complaining about trucks clogging their street about a year ago as GPS devices increased in popularity. Some drivers have to call police to open the gate because their trucks are too big to turn around.

Garmin International spokesman Jake Jacobson says the GPS maker has to receive a request or complaint and go through a thorough process before maps can be changed.