more

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=reutersEdge&storyID=2008-02-15T185943Z_01_N15635088_RTRUKOC_0_US-EXXON-VENEZUELA-USA.xml&WTmodLoc=NewsHome_R4_reutersEdge-2

more on Chavez

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/02/15/ap4661922.html

Feb-14

Honduras to Import Venezuelan Oil
Authorities of Honduras and Petroleos de Venezuela S.A (PDVSA) met to prepare first purchases of Venezuelan oil within the framework of an initiative by Petrocaribe.

LATIN AMERICA

Thursday 14 February 2008 Send this page to a friend

Nicaragua Sends Protest to Colombia Over Dispute
Honduras to Import Venezuelan Oil
Honduras: Highest AIDS Rate in Central America
Bolivia Calls In US Ambassador
Colombian Rebels Lay Out Terms for Exchange

——————————————————————————–

Colombian Rebels Lay Out Terms for Exchange
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rejected the eventual mediation of Spain or the Catholic Church in an exchange of prisoners because of their positions in favor of the government of Alvaro Uribe.

FARC member Commander Raul Reyes told Prensa Latina via Internet on Wednesday that the guerrillas extradited and imprisoned in the US as well as the three CIA spies captured by FARC are prisoners of war and therefore part of a prisoner exchange.

The withdrawal of military forces from Pradera and Florida municipalities for 45 days are necessary for a safe zone, but Reyes said this was a new dilatory tactic of the government that prolongs prisoners’ and relatives’ pain.

The guerrilla applauded President Hugo Chavez’ proposal to recognize the guerillas as legitimate belligerents as the best political contribution to the humanitarian exchange and the quest for peace among Colombians.

He concluded by labeling rumors of ill health and disaffection among FARC leaders as a lying war tactic and said Commander Manuel Marulanda is in fine health.

Juan–

what is going on in Venezuela today?

Obama reminds me Chavez when he was candidate, well dressed, well spoken, charismatic, nice guy, talking about investments and how to improve the country middle class, how to reduce poverty, beautiful words …. then the reality stroke

I may be (I HOPE!) wrong but I see in Obama the American Chavez

Juan,

Maybe that Tshirt should read, “Commies for Obama”

Juan,
a picture is worth a thousand words…….

Obama is probably wishing this supporter had selected a different location to be photographed…..a big OOP’s

Maria Isabel Loves CHE GUEVARA and … OBAMA.

Not very well …

see this picture taken from the FOX NEWS Video

http://doc.noticias24.com/0802/houstonche02.jpg

Please NOTE the Cuban Flag and Che Guevara Picture

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/myfox/pages/News/Politics/Detail?contentId=5668120&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=3.14.1

Hello,

(OFF TOPIC?)

Anyways, America will get their own CHAVEZ if OBAMA wins the election.

Please don’t elect him

http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=287712495807374

If you want some input of whats goign on around in Venezuela, send me an email: morph(at)ssehost.com and i’ll try to answer as much as i can; trying to have a non biased opinion or at least with the knowledge i have of how things are goign around, there’s no name for the kind of politics we have around at least i like to call it Populist Pseudo Democracy.

Someone emailed me about this story– so I looked it up–

http://www.nationalalliance.org/cuba/benge1.htm

being Castro and Chavez are brothers– more horror stories

K2–

THANKS for the update–

Lord– this is getting so ugly– so ugly—

So…Adam…are you off to Caracas again? Anything like that in the cards? -Rod-

Rod and KT,
I have a very early and long day tomorrow – so I will check in late tomorrow for the updates…..

Have a good night.
K2

I wish I had a 500 gallon storage tank I could fill with gas tonight. I’m glad I put in 20 bucks yesterday. -Rod-

“Exxon Mobil turns oil into money for Chavez’s bank account” is what it should read. Exxon pays market price. Duhhhhh. -Rod-

Venezuelan state television has begun airing short anti-Exxon segments, with a message appearing on the screen in red text reading: “Exxon Mobil turns oil into blood.”

Yup. Bush needs to have his plan of action in place by morning when we get up and turn on the news. This can’t be unexpected so they hopefully a;ready have the details worked out. -Rod-

Rod,

I sure hope someone is paying attention.

Problems are not just limited to Venezuela.

We have refinery problems.

Nigeria’s production of crude oil is down —- “Nigerian production has been slashed by about 500,000 barrels a day over the past two years because of attacks on facilities. Nigeria produces low-sulfur, or sweet, crude oil, prized by U.S. refiners because of the proportion of high-value gasoline it yields. ”

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601081&sid=a.GmWjbUfVAY&refer=australia

K2,

Chavez is acting like a spoiled child. He forgets that he essentially stole billions of dollars of Exxon property. They simply wanted it back. He disingenuously accuses them of stealing his oil, much like Al Queda accuses us of stealing Saudi oil, and completely skips over the fact that they’ve made billions of dollars in the deal. Some theft.

Bush needs to take this opportunity and cut Chavez off. It’s important that we not allow him to call the shots or he’ll be pulling our strings forever. -Rod-

Have you seen this?

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080212/venezuela_us_oil.html?.v=9

Venezuela Halts Oil Sale to Exxon Mobil

“Tuesday’s announcement by state-run Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, was limited to Exxon Mobil, which PDVSA accused of “judicial-economic harassment” for its efforts in U.S. and European courts.

PDVSA said it “has paralyzed sales of crude to Exxon Mobil” and suspended commercial relations with the Irving, Texas-based company.”

I wonder if our legislature is paying attention.

It is time to open ANWR.

gabriel-

im watching a show on the panana invasion of 1989…….Its amazing seeing all of the parallels between Noriega and Chavas. The use of thugs and drugs are identical.

Jose L Gomez I could bet everthig that I have that when they close Globovision if they can, that you will have a excuse to why they were shutdown. I also bet that when they close other networks and newspapers you will also have a excuse.

José–

what do you think about Chavez? Setting aside your post about the RCTV-

It is not just Fox reporting but many Venezuelans have had something to report– so what is your position on Chavez?

Good afternoon, FOX news should have informed you what the happenned with RCTV, I read many times that that TV station was not closed, the licence for further air broadcasting expired, however RCTV continues to broadcast through other means of communication such as cable, satellite or internet.
Fox news should publish a list of Radio and TV stations that have been shut down here in the U.S. by the FCC due to expiration or other situations. TV stations like I mentioned before and yours, are corporate founded and established media that serves and respects the capital and private sector because that that is the form of goverment you enjoy and we respect that too, however there are several like Fox in Venezuela that serve the private sector and they have not been respecting the form of government that the mayority of Venezuelan have chosen and are enjoying.
Like the FCC has the power to make decisions and establish laws and rules here on radio and TV signal broadcasting and stations, our government has and must excersise that power too. Venezuela is sovereign nation just like the U.S.A.
Have a nice day.

What can you expect of a president that says that there were pigs in Mars, but the U.S Empire desintegrated them by increasing global warming in the Universe. Please, give me a break! Chavez is out of his mind he needs mental help, we all know that! refer to this news here:

Adam,

I cannot tell you how thankful I am that someone like you is bringing all these news to the whole world. My country needs all the help it can get to get rid of the “monster”, Chavez!

Henry

Marie and Rebeca–

I love your posts– as well as the other Venezuelans who come in to post–

but you two have taught me so much y les agradezco la educación -

I like that word– cónchale–

Rebeca– muy buenos los videos– parace que va haber problemas– te cuidas- porque ya sabes que eres mi hija adoptiva– xxxx

Adam,
Thanks a lot for keeping visible to the world the fragile and explosive situation of my country. We the venezuelan democrats will keep figthing for freedom and Globovisión is an invaluable icon of our long strugle angainst the leftist dictatorship of our ‘narc-farc-president’. As someone said above, if they close Globovisión, the figth we’ll be brutal all the way untill this criminals are ousted for good…!!!
Again, thanks a lot for your interest

Even the Mayor of Berkley has a right to free speech while accepting federal funding for his city. In America you can protest against your government and still have the government pay you!

Saturday, February 09, 2008

Posted By:
Melanie Morgan
Permalink Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates Joined Code Pink in Picketing Marine Recruiting Center

http://www.moveamericaforward.org/index.php/DailyFile/berkeley_mayor_tom_bates_joined_code_pink_in_picketing_marine_recruiting_ce/

Adam: re your comment: Yes, very reminiscent of the Soviet Union and Cuba today. If you control information coming in (or a lack thereof) you control the people. They will eventually get used to the status quo. Kind of like the story of the frog in the pan of water. It was heated ever so slowly so that the frog became accustomed to the heat and didn’t know any better, until it finally was boiled to death. Not pretty, but that’s the way people are, they adapt to their surroundings to survive, until they begin to believe that’s the way things should be.

This is why chavistas hate Globovision:

Another link about oil industry…

http://www.noticierodigital.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=338808

PDoyle, maybe because our mainstream media would have to acknowledge that Chavez is corrput and is suppressing free speech. It would make sense for news medias to speak out against what Chavez is doing, kind of a brotherhood between one media to another in a foreign country. That might be a partial reason why celebrities who speak in favor of Chavez get away with what they do, because there’s not many out there that publicly challenging them.

Gabriel, ¿necesitan más motivos de los que hay? Cónchale, ¿hasta cuándo van a aguantar los abusos de ese engendro? ¿No han sido suficientes los 9 años?

Susan,

I predicted that the use of food crops for fuel would cause problems when it was first announced, so none of this is a surprise to me. It angers me that they could be so short sighted as to use a food staple in a competitive market like gasoline. How exactly did they think we’d benefit? And what do you suppose will happen when drought threatens both industries? We won’t be able to afford to eat OR drive.

Regarding Globovision shut down.

Hi adam Housley My name is Gabriel Valencia and I live In Caracas, Venezuela. I am one of millones of Venezuelan that are very concern about the shutdown of Globovision, but I can ashore you that this time we wiil go out to the streets of Venezuela and not come back until we get that signal back, in fact people are saying from the opposition to close Globovision that way it will give us a good reason to defend a freedom and finish Hugo Chavez Goverment.

It is correct that processing corn into fuel (ethanol) is (1) costly and uses OIL to run the processing plant, (2) destroys the water table and (3) is using a world food source. Also, the end result is NO better ‘gas’ mileage.

Brazil has used ethanol for almost 30 years. The fuel is made from sugar cane. The US also grows sugar cane. Perhaps this is more cost effective source of ethanol.

I believe the initial start-up costs to extract and refine oil in the sands should not be a deterrent. Over time, the process would improve, thus resulting in less costs.

Unfortunately, we have had our heads buried in the sand since the late 70’s. Let us pay attention to history and not repeat our mistakes.

I don’t understand why more news organizations in the US are not covering the Globalvision story especially in light of what is going on with Chavez in regards to Columbia, Exxonmobil, and a lot of other critical issues going on in Latin America.

Given time, it is becoming more and more apparent that Chavez with his constant open mouth and willingness to give the media plenty of ammunition, will hang himself, but it would be nice to see that the US media could at least recognize the fact that freedom of speech is a critical issue to not only Vz, but to all Americans who want to see freedom and liberty prevail in all countries and especially our neighbors in SA.

Exactly John. It’s there. The U.S. is sitting on a huge deposit, but getting to it and processing it is a little on the pricey side. Not cost effective at all, but apparently, progress is being made.

This is what I was eluding to earlier………..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_sands

There is plenty of oil left in the ground all over the globe to last us many generations to come. The problem is cost, both in monetary terms and ecological terms. Russia, for example, has at least as much oil under ground in Siberia as the whole middle east put together………problem is the perma-frost that’s above it. I’ve heard that for them to just break even by exploration, drilling and refining that oil, a barrel of the stuff would have to bring about $150 to $200 a barrel. That’s just not cost effective.

I love that blog– there are so many interesting articles– from all over-
this came from February 3-2008- an excerpt

The varied testimonies I have heard reveal that the co-operation between Venezuela and the guerrillas in transporting cocaine by land, air and sea is both extensive and systematic. Venezuela is also supplying arms to the guerrillas, offering them the protection of their armed forces in the field, and providing them with legal immunity de facto as they go about their giant illegal business.

Thirty per cent of the 600 tons of cocaine smuggled from Colombia each year goes through Venezuela. Most of that 30 per cent ends up in Europe, with Spain and Portugal being the principal ports of entry. The drug’s value on European streets is some £7.5bn a year.

The infrastructure that Venezuela provides for the cocaine business has expanded dramatically over the past five years of Chávez’s presidency, according to intelligence sources. Chávez’s decision to expel the US Drug Enforcement Administration from his country in 2005 was celebrated both by Farc and drug lords in the conventional cartels with whom they sometimes work. According to Luis Hernando Gómez Bustamante, a Colombian kingpin caught by the police last February, ‘Venezuela is the temple of drug trafficking.’
————————————————————————————————————-

Marie-

I am going to email that to one of the bloggers here who is pretty savy at figuring things out-

Speaking of corn– have you seen how the eggs have gone up? because of corn feeding chickens-
since they are doing that corn thing for alternative fuel, corn is now precious?

Susan, very familiar with Fausta’s blog. I’d still love to see that cartoon here.. perhaps Adam can help you.

http://faustasblog.com/labels/Colombia.html

Marie–

this is a great site– have you seen it?

faustasblog.com/labels/Colombia.html ·

P.S.

Marie– I was trying to figure out how to get those political cartoons over here and I found that article– so gracias–

Rebeca– tu me ayudaste– así que las gracias son para ti- xxxxxx

I just found this in today’s-

Monday, February 11, 2008

That remote control problem: closing down on Globovision
The international press might have highlighted again the now routine threats that Chavez will close the supply of oil to the US, but that was not the real news from Venezuela. Of course with 12 billion of PDVSA assets frozen, the casual observer might think that Chavez will finally shut down oil supply to the states. But that is not what matters in Caracas today: what matters is the renewed interests of chavismo to shoot the last messenger left, Globovision.

The reasons are very simple, and have not changed: Globovision is the only TV network that regularly displays the problems that the country is suffering, the real problems of the people. Which are these problems? Lack of some food items; crime reaching levels unheard of and putting Caracas in the top 5 more dangerous cities in the world; inflation among the highest in the world, affecting food prices the most, the prices which are most felt by the poor; lack of real jobs as too many depend on government handouts and public services jobs where wearing a red beret is de rigueur; and more, much more. It is easy to understand that at a time where the government is showing increasing strain and where its ineptitude is becoming extraordinarily obvious Globovision (or any other critical media) is something that will need to be dealt with.

There is that saying that homo sapiens is the only animal that stumbles twice over the same stone. It seems that the government has already forgotten that closing RCTV was a huge mistake, a mistake that was in large part the cause of losing the December 2 referendum as it made it clear to the Venezuelan people that the referendum was about naked power grab more than the betterment of the people. Closing Globovision would be a much , much worse mistake. That perspective does not seem to stop chavismo who as it feels the waters rising to its neck is showing signs of acute despair.

The problem for Chavez and the sycophants that surround him is that diversity is not their strong point. They are all mediocre individuals and have reached high position just because Chavez has charisma. Any other group that might show some success in their field is feared because it exposes their mediocrity. It is very simple actually, a very normal emotional reaction for the feeble of mind.

Chavismo simply cannot understand why Globovison is the most worn out button on the remote control in Caracas and Valencia, the only markets where Globovision is on open broadcast (the rest of the country is cable only). That is right: if you have no cable TV in Caracas the TV set will offer you a limited choice. From the government side, most of the media dedicate most of their broadcasting time to support or emit outright propaganda in favor of Chavez. You have VTV, ViVe TV, Teves, Avila TV, Telesur, ANTV just to name the main ones. That is 6 networks plus the minor players. On the border line supporting of chavismo you have Venevision and Canal I. Neutral there is only Televen. For the opposition there is only Globovision. Though it must be repeated endlessly that Globovision emits the news, that is, emits all the petulant declarations of Chavez and his ministers and offers them a mic if they were to accept their invitation. But the government has become allergic to probing questions by real journalists. On the other hand you can look for yourself how much from the opposition side makes it to the news in the 6 networks mentioned above.

Chavismo is helpless against Globovision whose ratings and surpass easily of any of the pro Chavez channels in Caracas, a truly remarkable feat for a 24 news channel. That it is due to the state media passing programs that do not reflect the reality of Venezuela does not seem to reach chavismo folks. So, after having tried to confuse the audiences by offering all sorts of media, there is only one recourse left for chavismo: take the remote control out of the people’s hand. Because this would be the effect of closing Globovision: there will be no more choice for news, thus no more need for channel surfing since all woudl say “viva Chavez!”.

Unfortunately for chavismo that would spell its final demise. Globovison is increasingly offering its air waves to chavista rank and file complaining that they cannot go to VTV to expose their just causes: a large chunk of chavismo knows now full well that if they have a complaint, the state media will not air it. That is why Chavez must shut up Globovision, as things are getting increasingly difficult for him he thinks he can hide it through censorship.

-The end-

Labels: censorship, globovision, rctv, totalitarianism

A strong rumor, as yet. Apparently about 8 months ago (probably around the time they shut down RCTV) there was a plan to call for shutting down Globo and giving Conatel (the watchdog) absolute control of cable TV. This plan was shelved but it seems that they may be dusting it off.

FYI, when the regime (I refuse to call it a government) shut down RCTV, people living in the barrios pooled their resources to install cable TV so that they would have an alternative. So, if Chavez thinks he is fooling anyone, he may want to rethink that!!

That’s shale oil your talking about. Very plentiful, but difficult to get to and process because you have to drill through rock and basically extract it from rock. We should be investing more time, money and effort in R&D, instead of planting more corn for ethanol (which isn’t even all that good; pretty bad pollutant).

Thanks Guys!!!

Thanks for posting the venezuelan news here!! I am looking for more info to share with you. Its amazing the wonderful people I have met here!! Thanks to all for take care and read about Venezuela’s news. Special thanks to Susan and Adam for doing such a great job!!

Greetings for all!!

P.S. Chavez said yesterday he will cut off oil supply to the U.S….. Did you guys get coverage about it???

From the other thread…it saves me some typing

The alternative fuel entities?

Meet the new boss
same as the old boss

It’s a passing fancy, it’ll be mostly forgotten by the end of this election cycle. Already studies done by Princeton show that biofuels will add to, not subtract from, global warming. And while hybrids and fuel cells all sound well and good, the average car buyer can’t afford it. We’re going to be gulping oil for a long long time yet.

I think that a decade from now we’ll still be having the same old discussions about needing to get away from foreign oil. We’ve been having this discussion since the Saudis put the squeeze on us in the 70’s. But putting an embargo on Chavez will hurt him more than it’ll hurt us, and it’ll hurt us quite a bit. Still, better to do it on our terms than on his. -Rod-

Hey Retread I thought you were in their working!! I’ll have to supervise you better and your spelling sucks because you don’t use spell check (naughty)

———-

We have some folks here in SD that are against the whole Canadian Oil idea but that’s purely because of the loss of some Farmland and the loss of the “little town feel.”

But in order to live like we are used to living we need to compromise.

Marie–

Interesting reference to Alice in Wonderland as this was written linking the characters to the economy and society of that time-

Susan, I think OPEC would say that, but when their profits decline they would come around, it happened a few decades ago.

How much time and damage to economies have to be done before this gets under control. If we started drilling here, temporarily, that would buy us some time to fix the long term problem. If we start drilling then we purchase less from OPEC, forget about Chavez, and they lose profit. They do not want to lose profit.

Retread……..is that Canadian crude, or is it that “sand” oil? If it’s the latter, I’ve heard that there is plenty of that in Canada, but that it’s very expensive to refine. But, I’m glad to hear that some people ( of SD ) are willing to sacrifice a little bit of their backyard for the betterment of our future.

Retread–

you live in one of the states Adam has never been to–

your spelling doesn’t suck- mine does-

and lol to your impeaching Chavez one 9mm at a time–

and your wife loves you-

warning***warning***warning

my spelling sucks! so no wise cracks please.

Hugo is a fool and a tyrant. The people of Venezuela will dispose of him soon enough, they may even impeach him 9mm at a time.

Susan-
the info is accurate I live in South Dakota and the state is pretty excited about this possible economic boom.

KT–

Your link– it appears that OPEC could care less-

Retread–

interesting info—

more of his comments-

“And more than one other nation is willing to take our side in this economic war. You will not frighten or dissuade us,” Chavez said, adding that Exxon Mobil was “a spearhead for imperialism.”

He said the company was part of a group that backed the invasion of Iraq and continued to support a genocide there.

Refineries are only apart of the solution. We need to drill for oil here in the US, off the coasts, in Colorado, Wyoming and Montana – they have enough reserves to keep us going for over 50 years. We need to build new reactors, coal fired power plants and yes use alternate forms of energy. But anyway we look at those, they are only temporary solutions to long term problems. We need to encourage our best minds in the high tech and industrial fields to ‘discover’ a new environmentally friendly and affordable energy source.

By the way for anybody that is interested there is a proposal by a Texas Co. to build a huge refinery in South Dakota capable of refining 500,000 barrels of Canadian crude per day! It has the blessings of the governor, the vast majority of the county that it will be built in, the vast majority of the people of South Dakota and me;)

If everything goes well it can be up and running in 5 -7 years (I think)

the latest lie-

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/3139

Adam,
Somewhere I saw a sight that said “Adam Housley will listen” and a link to this blog. I expect many more democratic seekers to come here for a chance to be heard, kinda of neat I think.

Marie, that idea I posted came from article in the Foreign Policy website that k2 posted (I’ve always enjoyed their articles).

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4151

Here’s the thing, this would be a long range plan, meaning it would have to come to the table for discussion, then approved or denied. However, it would be imperative for all voters of all countries who consume the most amount of oil to let their voice be heard by their Senators and Comgressmen. If they do not vote in favor of this, then we simply make it known that we will not vote them back into office. The people have to take back control. Additionally there will be internal opposition to deal with and there will need to be a committee formed to lobby the idea to the public, which will need to be funded. This doesn’t include OPEC’s eventual opposition who will fight against it and attempt to cause us further problems.

Because this is a presidential election year, concentration will not be geared towards this idea. So we need a year for elections then another year for discussions then if approved we will need time, possibly 5 years, for everyone involved to build up their supply.

In the meantime, we need to address the immediate problem of inflated oil prices. AMWR may or may not be able to produce that much oil. We do need more refineries quickly built and even if ANWR doesn’t produce that much oil then we would only need it on a short term basis. Perhaps that’s an argument that can be used against the enviromentalists, maybe they can meet us half way.

The article says that we would set barriers of oil prices and if OPEC exceeds that amount then we pull from the reserves. OPEC will then have no choice but to lower their prices. Additionally we need to get a hold of the spectators who freak out every time there’s an impending problem. Now, some people will lose money in the market and they too may oppose this process or else sell their stocks.

I do not know who takes the first step in mobilizing this idea. But, our governments have failed us big time and they are incapable of fixing this problem. We the people, around the world need to ban together and solve this.

Marie – no hogging by you here…..

Thanks for the clarification on the lists used by Chavez and his supporters. That information is very disturbing. Appreciate your insight.

The article written about creating an oil group to compete with OPEC was the result of a Washington based think tank.

Although it may be only on paper now, at least it was refreshing to see someone is actually thinking about ways to ‘fight’ OPEC.

I know what you mean Marie, I’m as much at fault as the next………I have my own favorite beaches where I can escape the realities of life for those all too short vacations. There is no way that I would want to have oil rigs in view of that serenity……….let alone have the possibility of an accident ruining “my” beach. I would gladly sacrifice having less oil, thus paying more for it, and being more depended on foreign oil, than to have to have my vacations ruined. Of course ,I could always move to Margaritta Ville and the only worry would be that their was enough booze in my blender……………anybody got a six-string I can borrow?

The people who oppose drilling in the Gulf or Pacific, for example, are known as NIMBY’s (Not In MY Back Yard).

You are correct about our ability to refine oil. Until we – USA – allow for the building of additional refineries, we are beholden to limited supply. Also, Venezuela sends its crude oil to the US to be refined.

Due to our prosperity, we have not taken certain steps toward conservation or alternative energy. However, when gas prices rose quickly during the summer and fall 2005, we did curtail our consumption.

As the prices fell, we increased consumption. As we began to see large fluctuations in gas prices, we became immune to the changes.

So, we do, as a nation, respond to higher prices. Unfortunately, we now accept gas prices which hover around $3.00 per gallon.

That’s the hard part John, getting people to accept the fact that new refineries are needed. As you say, everyone wants oil, but no one is willing to make the sacrifices needed. Here in Florida we had that argument about oil drilling. Everyone agrees that by drilling in the Gulf we could improve supplies and not rely as much on imports, but it would ruin the view and tourism is a huge part of the State’s income. How do you strike a balance?

Building oil reserves sounds good on paper, however, in reality it means that we will have to sacrifice our present day oil consumption. Which I don’t think Americans are ready to do………if ever. It’s like trying to save money for retirement, it sounds easy until you actually try to do it, AND, also live a comfortable present day life. You find out that you’ll have to sacrifice certain “luxuries” today to save for “necesaties” down the road. In this “keep up with the Jones’” society I don’t give that much of a chance.
The main problem we have in the US is not so much that we can’t get oil……….it’s what we do with that oil that’s the problem. Our refineries are running near, or at maximum capacity………so even if we had an abundance of oil, or strike the mother load of all mother loads in our own backyard, it won’t matter much if we can’t refine it into usable products. We must accept the fact that if we are to continue to be a oil using nation, than we have to build more refineries……even if that means it’s in YOUR backyard.

My apologies for hogging the thread!

Susan, Chavez isn’t impervious to criticism. Like all narcissists he hates criticism. Adulation is the name of the game. He also doesn’t want people to be informed. All autocrats do the same, stifle information and dissent. So far he’s taken over the branches of government, the state-owned oil company, the Central Bank, the national assembly, shut down RCTV, come to some sort of arrangement with Venevision and Televen, corrupted the Armed Forces, is taking over local police forces, ostensibly to fight crime (ha!!), then he will go after the banks and universities and finish his work on curtailing freedom of the press… by then you will have a totally closed society (at least in theory). I could go on and on, but won’t bore you.

That idea KT of a reserve to counter OPEC sounds interesting. Is it doable?

The celebs are opportunists with their hands out for easy money for pet projects – at the expense of the Venezuelan people – or for free publicity. It seems that the more outrageous one is the more people pay attention. K2, that list is known as the Tascon List (name of the Chavez acolyte that put it together) and it is used to discriminate against those people. If your name’s on the list you will be barred from getting a job, passport, medical service, etc. People cannot imagine what is going on in that country because of the huge lobbying effort in this country by U.S. lobbyists to make it all look like a few disgruntled oligarchs opposing “progress”. The senators and celebs that go down there are wined and dined and shown only what the regime wants them to see. Ask Adam, he’s been around and knows what’s what.

As for Globovision, after Chávez shut down RCTV the only TV station that had nationwide coverage, little Globovision – a 24-hour news channel tried to do it’s best to cover the news. The Chávez TV networks transmit one-sided propaganda and the TV station that was launched using the facilities of RCTV and its equipment (stolen-confiscated for the greater good by CH) is now DEFUNCT. The only option left for information for most people, unless they have cable, is Globo. There will be an uproar if he shuts that television station down.

The newest accusation levied against Globo by the all red National Assembly is that Globo is portraying the “President” as a drug user. No one will swallow that line because Chávez himself chewed coca leaves and admitted to using coca paste every day in a “cadena” (nationwide transmission that ALL TV and radion stations must transmit by law). Alice in Wonderland, anyone?-

I would be interested to know what the “celeb” friends of Mr. Chavez think about this? Will they rally to his side now that he is shutting down television stations to silence critics?

Oh, the irony for them. If the media in any form was shut down in the US, the “celebs” would not have an outlet with which to support Mr. Chavez………………….

Another article I read discussed what happened to the people who signed a petition against Chavez. The petition was seized by Chavez and his supporters and is now used against those who signed.

So, that helps explain why some do not speak out. Fear of retaliation. Fear of loss of employment or even prison.

Rod–

I am moving your link over here- it fits here-

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,330252,00.html

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I think it was Globovision who reported on the milk shortage and showed how these hundreds of people were lined up at this one supermarket waiting for it to open– I will have to check for sure-

but they close Globovision down and more unemployed people–

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good night all– have to be at the dentist at 8:00
xxxx

If the claim is that Globalvision is “constantly discrediting President Chávez and distorting the facts.” then all they need to do is back up the facts. The cliam is not that Globalvision is restricted for opposing Chavez, the claim is the distortion of facts. If CNE is corrupt then Globalvision loses. If CNE is legitimate then Globalvision keeps their license. At least in the outcome we’ll know whose side CNE is on and if Chavez has them in their pockets.

Chavez is no different than China. The poor people are just powerless. Where are these outspoken people now that the last bit of free speech is being taken away? Shove this in their face and get them on record trying to defend their position. I wish reporters would knock on their doors and interview them. Put them on the spot and let themselves be idiots in front of the rest of the world. Perhaps then they will stop this outrageous behavior. The final question the reporter should ask each of them should be… did you enjoy your right to free speech during this interview?

China and its censoring what goes on the internet and Chavez, who is impervious to criticism, closing down the stations…

Makes me sick!

If we go ahead and put the oil we purchase into this national reserve along with other large consumers of oil, we then bring OPEC and Chavez to their knees. We take back control and no longer can be threatened by Chavez.

This is an older article (2006). It outlines how the increase in oil prices decreases freedom in oil rich countries.

The First Law of Petropolitics

By Thomas L. Friedman

Opening paragraph - Iran’s president denies the Holocaust, Hugo Chávez tells Western leaders to go to hell, and Vladimir Putin is cracking the whip. Why? They know that the price of oil and the pace of freedom always move in opposite directions. It’s the First Law of Petropolitics, and it may be the axiom to explain our age.

Further in the article -
“Politically, that will mean that a whole group of petrolist states with weak institutions or outright authoritarian governments will likely experience an erosion of freedoms and an increase in corruption and autocratic, antidemocratic behaviors. Leaders in these countries can expect to have a significant increase in their disposable income to build up security forces, bribe opponents, buy votes or public support, and resist international norms and conventions”

Entire article – http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3426

Had posted this previously, but it really belongs here.

As we know, one huge reason Chavez has become so ‘powerful’ and outspoken is due to his wealth from Venezuela’s oil. A lot of discussion has been seen here about the US getting off its foreign oil dependence. Plus, with Chavez threatening to cut off our supply, if Exxon and ConocoPhillips are successful in the lawsuit, our leaders need to wake up and take action.

This article is from the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, a Washington-based energy policy think tank. It discusses OPEC and one possible solution to the ever increasing oil prices.

This is just an excerpt – Begging the Saudis to open the taps is no recipe for energy security. Instead, the West and Asia should find ways to replace the cartel as the sole provider of swing capacity in the global market. Nearly three quarters of the world’s oil is consumed by the United States, the European Union, and Asia (China, Japan, India, and South Korea). These countries should band together in building robust strategic petroleum reserves and creating a stabilization mechanism to release the oil in response to OPEC shenanigans.

Link to the entire article – http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4151

in the United States), who will argue that media and dissent is not being suppressed in Venezuela…

Tell me about it– it wore me out one night and half a day trying to convince someone Venezuela is being run by a dictator– thanks to Rebeca, I had the back up–

I am so burnt out on him– he just doesn’t stop- he goes and goes and goes and goes–

Exxon Mobil has gone after the assets of state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA in U.S., British and Dutch courts as it challenges the nationalization of a multibillion dollar oil project by Chavez’s government.

A British court has issued an injunction “freezing” as much as $12 billion in assets.

“If you end up freezing (Venezuelan assets) and it harms us, we’re going to harm you,” Chavez said during his weekly radio and television program, “Hello, President.” “Do you know how? We aren’t going to send oil to the United States. Take note, Mr. Bush, Mr. Danger.”