Cutting an oil artery (story on Venezuela & Chavez)

[cthrumatrix]

Cutting an oil artery
The virulently anti-American president of Venezuela, the fourth largest U.S. supplier, seems intent on severing those oil ties.

By DAVID ADAMS, Times Latin America Correspondent
Published February 7, 2005

---------------------------------------------------------------------


MIAMI - It's been one of the longest-serving and most reliable oil suppliers to the United States. But for how much longer?

That's the question facing United States oil companies and the Bush administration after reports this week that Venezuela's revolutionary government is seeking to cut its U.S. oil ties.

snip

Venezuela's fiery leftist president, Hugo Chavez, has emerged in recent years as one of the harshest critics of the United States. He has repeatedly warned of his determination to reduce dependency on sales to the United States. Lately Chavez has taken to accusing the United States of "robbing" Venezuela of tax revenue, claiming that Citgo receives its gas from PdVSA at a discount.

snip

"We ought to be concerned about this," said Florida Sen. Bill Nelson, who was part of a small Senate group that traveled to Venezuela last month for a two-hour meeting with Chavez.

EDITED BY ADMIN: COPYRIGHT

snip

http://www.stpetetimes.com/2005/02/07/Business/Cutting_an_oil_artery.shtml

looks like Nelson is the "oil cabal's hitman"... maybe a few calls to his office are in order

Read Confessions of an Economic Hitmen to see how the US does business. (ST Pete Times has a review of the book in today's bus section- same link as above)http://www.sptimes.com/2005/02/07/Columns/A_hit_man_comes_clean.shtml

[mhr]

1. Hence, The Hidden Excuse That Bush Will Use To Invade Iran

eom

[cthrumatrix]

2. it's all about oil, lies, power & $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[Massacure]

38. It would be quicker and easier to invade Venezuela.

Iran has too many nutjobs willing to blow themselves up.

[HuckleB]

3. Excerpt from "Confessions of an Economic Hitman" --

http://www.bkconnection.com/static/cehmexcerpt.asp

Hmm. Isn't it interesting how well this "bad boy bully" actually gets along with most of his neighbors? How the hell would Chavez bully Brazil and Argentina even if he wanted to do so? Nelson is clearly a bozo.

[cthrumatrix]

4. Nelson's office deserves a few calls..... ask which oil company is paying

him?

[mhr]

6. Democracy Now Interview With John Perkins

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/12/31/1546207&mode=thread&tid=25

http://play.rbn.com/?url=demnow/demnow/demand/2004/dec/audio/dn20041231.ra&proto=rtsp&start=

[cthrumatrix]

9. thanks

[Mika]

5. Remember, Bill Nelson campaigned for Mel Martinez.

The anti Castro/anti Chavez factions cross the political spectrum in the US of A.

---

[Carl Brennan]

7. Good catch. Great picture!

I wonder if Nelson went on a yacht cruise with Cisneros (the crook trying to overthrow Chavez) like Poppy did.

[cthrumatrix]

8. there are not 2 parties when it comes to US oil imperialsm and $$$$$

they are serving one master ---the corporate one.

[GHOSTDANCER]

11. It's food for the monster. We must feast....FEAST!!!!!!

<>

[On the Road]

10. He Wanted a Dialogue So Much

he supported a military coup!

[Judi Lynn]

17. The military coup was directed at impeached Carlos Andres Perez

the same man who ordered government troops to shoot down protesting poor people in the street, in the event called El Caracazo.

He was impeached and convicted for serious corruption.

Hugo Chavez was later pardoned for his part.

It's there for you to study anytime you research it. Right wingers usually don't find it worth their time to dwell too much on the reasons for the attempted coup of George H. W. Bush's friend, Carlos Andres Perez.

Contemporary politics in Venezuela begin with the ‘Caracazo’ of 1989, an explosion of political rage by the underclass in Caracas (and some other cities) against a neo-liberal programme imposed by a once-popular president (Carlos Andres Perez), who had just been elected to do something entirely different. For two days the city degenerated into violence of a kind not seen in Venezuela since the 19th century, sparked off by an increase in bus fares but reflecting a much wider political discontent. A thousand people, perhaps more, were killed in the subsequent repression by the armed forces.
(snip/...)

http://www.twnside.org.sg/title/twr149i.htm

[Judi Lynn]

20. Impeached President Carlos Andres Perez.......

Human Rights and International Treaties

Before Chávez came to power Venezuela was formally bound by human rights standards, but in practice often violated them. Torture, censorship, and violations of the right to assembly were quite common, especially during the second presidency of Carlos Andres Perez (1989-1993).
(snip/...)

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/articles.php?artno=1003

[not systems]

12. "You can't be the bad boy bully in the neighborhood" ...

that job is already taken.

[struggle4progress]

13. kick

[Moderator]

14. cthrumatrix

Per DU copyright rules
please post only four
paragraphs from the
copyrighted news source.


Thank you.


DU Moderator

[Vitruvius]

15. No sovereign nation has any obligation to trade with its' enemies;

in most countries, trading with the enemy is treason. And the US, under Bu$h, has certainly shown itself the enemy of Venezuela.

[d.l.Green]

18. Unless they've taken out IMF loans.../nt

[Vitruvius]

21. Well put. But they can repay those loans by trading with others,eg Japan,

Europe, etc.

In addition, if the US had had outstanding loans from Germany in the 1930s and 40s (instead of vice-versa), we would still have fought WWII against the Nazi regime. And the Nazis were not deterred by the loans Germany owed us when they took over, which they never repaid.

Nevertheless, you are indeed correct in the sense that being a debtor nation does give other nations a hold over you -- which is why the Bu$h deficits, which are largely financed by European and Asian central banks -- are dangerous to us...

[Javaman]

16. Kick

[govegan]

19. Money well spent for a change

The irony, Garrido points out, is U.S. oil payments continue to subsidize Chavez's every move. "It's revolution against the U.S. paid for by American consumers."

Who wouldn't pay more for oil to give the murderous, lying, perverted, neo-fascist bastards in DC and London the old bum's rush? A bargain, to be sure, as they appear hell-bent on extracting many times over that in treasure and blood the longer they remain in power.

[Blue_Tires]

22. Chavez

man....why couldn't he have been OUR president???

lol...he takes more shots at bush than castro does

[ctaylor]

23. Chavez is a thug

and a nutjob and he is a cancer on Venezula. If he were to get overthrown, I wouldn't shed a tear. Just because someone badmouths GWB doesn't make them smart and it certainly doesn't make them a just and honest public servant, it just means they can feel the wind of public opinion.

[DainBramaged]

24. If you ran a country (or your own home for that matter)

and a neighbor tried to meddle in your affairs or inject outsiders in an attempt to over throw your country (or take your family away) because they disagree with your style of governance, how do you think you'd react?

[ctaylor]

25. justice

Well, if I beat my wife because she said something I didn't like and some meddling do gooders tried to stop me then I'd probably be pretty upset. That doesn't mean that I would have been right to beat my wife. Or that the meddlers were wrong in protecting her, even though they lived in a different house.

Do you think human rights stop at some line on a map? Do you think some thugs "right" to the soveriegnty of his line on a map is more important than the rights of the human beings who live there?

[DainBramaged]

27. We only know what we read

Unless you live there, your opinion of Chavez as a nutjob is as valid as his opinion of *. Personally, from what i've read, we're no better as a country under * than we would be under Chavez.

[ctaylor]

28. Actually, my opinion is mostly informed by Venezuelans

who happen to be friends of mine. I suppose I do have to trust their descriptions, but I do.

Of course, for that matter, the only way you know what is going on in Washington DC must be to either read about it or to be there. If you weren't at the inauguration, how can you even be sure W is president? Ooo I've never been to Idaho... Maybe it doesn't really exist. Has anyone read anythign about Idaho?

As soon as right wing groups organized by Rove start shooting up Democrat protestors with guns provided by the military... THEN we'll be as bad. Until then I'll take the *.

[DainBramaged]

29. I guess you don't read what I read

Ever wonder why so many prisoners under the * regime have 'disappeared', or are still jailed without representation?

You can cheer for the demise of Chavez, but I thought world domination was so, Soviet Union?

[ctaylor]

32. oooookay

"You can cheer for the demise of Chavez, but I thought world domination was so, Soviet Union?"

Since when is hoping some other country gets a better leader suddenly the same thing as wanting Soviet Union style world domination?

So, all those Europeans who hoped Kerry was elected... they were engaging in Stalinism? If not, then what is that sentence of yours supposed to imply?

"Ever wonder why so many prisoners under the * regime have 'disappeared', or are still jailed without representation?"

Ok, I admit it. Obviously I am NOT reading the same thing you read. Are you trying to say that W is "disappering" his policial opponents? Holy Crap. If you really belive that the Repub are doing that, then what the (&^&%$@#&@#%(* are you doing posting on this website? If I thought that we had decended to that level in this country then I hope I'd have the courage to be out forming resistance cells instead of surfing the internet. I certainly know I'd have enough sense not to be posting my opposition views in a public forum. But yet... here you are. Why?

[DainBramaged]

41. I find your anger interesting

The metaphor "but I thought world domination was so Soviet Union", was meant to remind you that the Soviets played that game in the middle of the 20th Century, and it looks to all of us here that * is looking to mirror them.

Sorry my ideas don't exactly mirror yours.

[DainBramaged]

42. P.S.

"Are you trying to say that W is "disappearing" his political opponents? " (spelling corrected)

Guantanamo & Abu Ghraib

[sadiesworld]

30. Please tell us about all of Chavez's "sins" as related by your...

Venezuelan "friends".

Really, we're shivering with anticipation.

[DainBramaged]

31. I'm waiting also.

I used to have friends in Columbia, but that was in the early Seventies, and they always told me to take care of my head first.B-)

[ctaylor]

34. bownshirts

Literally, their accusations amounted to the use of terrorism and terror tactics. Select groups of Chavez's supporters (the Bolivarian Circles) had access to military rifles and were intimidating and sometimes shooting into political rallies by their opponents and in some cases just neighborhoods known to contain a lot of anti-Chavez residents, while the military and law enforcement did nothing to stop them. Chavez's opponents are, of course, disarmed and harassed by the authorities.

[DainBramaged]

35. Hmmmm, I googled 'Bolivarian Circles' and this is what I got

First hit:

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=45&ItemID=3971

<snip>

The Bolivarian Circles, with 2.2 million members, are the backbone of the democratic revolution unfolding in Venezuela. After the attempted US-backed coup against Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez on April 11, 2002, the Bolivarian Circles helped organise the uprising that reinstated the pro-poor president. The Bolivarian Circles have also organised mass resistance against the corporate managers' and corrupt union officials' attempt to destroy the country's oil industry. DR RODRIGO CHAVEZ, coordinator of the Bolivarian Circles in Venezuela, was interviewed by TOM BURKE of the Colombia Solidarity Committee in Chicago.

<snip>


Hmmmmm.

[Name removed]

33. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

36. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[DainBramaged]

37. I would have thought you would have found something

by 'Googling' to back up your claim.

By the way, I would hope 'he is "I bet he's "pro puppies" and "anti toxic waste" too"
I am.

[HuckleB]

40. LOL!

My oh my, but hasn't this routine gotten old yet?

[govegan]

43. How is Hugo Chavez a thug?

That's a pretty heavy accusation to level with no evidence to back it up, coming from a wife-beater no less.

These trite comments indicate you're probably beating more than your wife as well.

[DainBramaged]

44. I question your logic by example

I read your post, and after reading this quote, "Well, if I beat my wife because she said something I didn't like and some meddling do gooders tried to stop me" I found your choice of words "do gooders" strange. If you were beating your wife, I'd be there in a heartbeat to stop you, and I'd hope that the cops considered me a "do-gooder". Beating your wife in the United States and the United States trying to overthrow a legitimate Democratically elected government are not one in the same, but both are disgusting.

[Name removed]

39. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[HuckleB]

46. Time to do your homework.

Hugo Chavez Is Crazy! --
http://www.alternet.org/story/16255

The Revolutionary --
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/content/?020422fr_archive03

The New Bolivar --
http://antiwar.com/justin/j010501.html

Venezuela Gets The Florida Treatment --
http://www.countercurrents.org/ven-palast120804.htm

Dick Cheney, Hugo Chavez and Bill Clinton's Band --
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0816-03.htm

Speakout: Picture of Venezuela's Chavez twisted --
http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/articles.php?artno=1207

Chavez calls for world ‘anti-globalisation' network --
http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/2004/610/610p21b.htm

Don King praises Venezuela's Chavez --
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/americas/02/01/king.chavez.ap/

Venezuela's Chavez Triumphant: History Making Democracy in Latin America --
http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/articles.php?artno=1250

Don't believe everything you read in the papers about Venezuela --
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4396083,00.html

Venezuela: Chavez Dumps Monsanto --
http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/tncs/2004/0505venezuela.htm

Venezuela's Chavez nationalizes Venepal under workers' control --
http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=24360

[SoCalDem]

26. The keywords are ...."fiery leftist president,"

look out Hugo... Remember "Panamanian strongman Noriega"??

Once they start defining you by bold adjectives, you are really in their sights...

Last time they tried a coup.. twice in fact.. then a "recall".. The people like Hugo, so the only thing left is..... :(


The US simply cannot "allow" a government in this hemisphere that gives power to the little people./.. Little people are the currency of the corporate giants.. Of course they use them up like so much kleenex, but they really need these serfs, and cannot allow them to get "uppity" and start thinking that they have rights...

Hugo will not last much longer, I fear:(

[applegrove]

45. Chavez knows that because he sits on oil - his country & his

Chavez knows that because he sits on oil - his country & his democracy isn't worth shit! The USA already tried once to get rid of him.

It is the same with all the other countries that sit on oil. Chavez knows it and wants something better for his people (independance from bullying).

Like the USA has become the biggest protection racket in the world!