With the loonie so high (among other reasons), oil & gas is slow in Alberta right now. If Chavez does cut the US off or continue to threaten to do so, at least we'll see work start to pick back up there!

edit: My BIL's are tweedling their thumbs so far this winter. They'd be so happy to see things pick back up!

Fu(k him!

we got pwnt

I know that this is the most insensitive and ill-informed mindset in the world, and would make life even worse, but it's times like these where I kinda wish that some nameless assassin would just unload all up in pudgy's face.

Can't he sell to whoever he wants? Would you continue business with someone who was robbing you?

That all aside he is on of the world's most glorious a*****es. Nice beret though.

Good for Hugo. Cut us off. Its about time somebody stood up the bully.

Not to be argumentative but...don't you think Nationalization is robbery in the first place? I guess the Joe Oil commercials will stop then? Citgos everhwere will go out of business? I say let him stop, see how much he likes it when we stop BUYING his oil and the Chinese decide to play hardball on price with the surplus. He's not going to stop selling us oil, that would be like a corrupt cop hitting a crack dealer up for a couple thousand dollars and the dealer's reaction being to stop slinging crack. Not gonna happen.

I agree with what you are saying but we won't stop buying his oil. If that was at all an option don't you think that people of the US would have done that at some point in the last 4 years as we watched the price of gas double and heating oil skyrocket, and oil companies post record profits?

The natural resources of any country belong to the people of that country. Rights for oil are sold to private companies that then manipulate the markets and create windfall profits for their shareholders.

I will admit that the oil market is complex and I don't truly grasp the details of it's inner workings. What I do know is that we don't buy it because we want it we buy it because we NEED it. The companies that sell it know we will buy it for whatever price they sell and when I look at how much they charge and that they close refineries and claim shortages I feel like I am getting robbed.

With all the research being done on alternative fuels now I am sure that they know their days of being able to do this sort of thing are numbered. With that in mind I don't think it is too far fetched to imagine that they are making as much money as they can while they can.

well...

Nationalization is among the only tools that small, pseudo-industrial, often mono-crop economies have....

And, no...it is not robbery...In virtually every case of industrial nationalization since WWII the terms have been more than fair...In Iran under Mossadeq the terms offered to US/UK interests was in line with the terms of likewise deals between the US/UK and Mexico and Saudi Arabia...prior to that, the people of Iran were entitled to less than 10% of the profits of their labor...

The only argument the ImperialCapitalist can make is that he supplied the equipment/technology...in most cases they usually neglect totally to train locals for skilled positions...the Nationalist claims that the profit derived from the resources upon which the people reside, and that derived from the labor they provide, should be more fairly distributed...this is true from Guatemala to Chile to Iran to Venezuela...

Nationalization is not robbery...but maintaining vicious and brutal police/military states that ensure few people, if any, ever own land or learn to read, while all along torturing, murdering, and terrorizing those that offer resistance is something worth putting a name on...How about f**king evil?

Would you not agree that Venezuelans should profit from their resources as well as Americans...would it not be odd if only American investors profited? That would not sound like some sort of organized robbery to you?

Would it piss you off if you and those around you worked for a Turkish-based s**t-Shoveling-Corp and nearly all of the profits were invested in the Turkish economy?

Much of Venezuela's oil industry was nationalized in 1976, anyway....




Quote:
The Venezuelan government is seeking negotiated settlements with all private companies presently involved in oil operations along the Orinoco Belt. As well, state-owned oil company PDVSA will assume a majority share of the reserves without putting an end to private investment in this profitable region. Negotiations are expected to be successful: oil industry analyst Patrick Esteruelas has said that, "A large majority of investors in Venezuela's heavy oil projects are expected to abide by new tougher terms to ensure future revenues… the incentives to remain are still strong."[6] In April a ConocoPhillips executive expressed confidence that his company can count on full compensation from PDVSA.

Do you REALLY believe the PEOPLE (ALL The PEOPLE) od Venezuela are benefitting from the nationalization of the oil? Poor people in Venezuela are still poor, and they are losing more freedoms, and are in danger of becoming disenfranchized with Chavez's steps to change the constitution. They may be fed (without having adequate and fulfilling work) they may have a modicum of decent health care from Cuba, the big beneficiary of the nationalization has been Chavez, and the burecratic classes.

in my best Simpsons voice "Ha Ha!"

Are you saying the US is the bully, or Venezuela?

Also, he can say whatever he wants about not selling us oil, it's crap. You can either sell oil, or you can't. There's no in between. If he sells it to anyone, it will still find it's way to whoever wants to buy it, namely, the US.

If I refuse to sell oil to my buddy Stan, but sell it to Joe, Joe will gladly sell it Stan for perhaps a little bit more, or if they're good friends, roughly the same price.

The only reason gas prices went up during the 70's is because people panicked and made a rush on gas stations, demand went up, and the prices skyrocketed.

a bunch of commie crap...

Is that the best you can do???

I didn't call you a fascist or an imperialist b*****d or an apologist or an accomadationist...

I would imagine you could do better, but I also imagine you are relying on the veracity of age-old values and theories that were farcical and invalid from the get go.

First of all, I wasn't commenting on Venezuela...though I think your characterization is not wholly true...

I was commenting on your statement that nationalization is robbery...by pointing out that robbery seems to be the m.o. of the whole show from the beginning.

We will not be able to judge the quality of Chavez's rule for a few years, at least, and even then only if Venezuela under Chavez is unencumbered by trumped up criticism and half-truths...

I am certainly against authoritarianism, and Chavez lost a good bit of my rhetorical support when he attempted to change the structure of the Venezuelan government...but I suppose you can't blame the guy considering he has at least once stopped a US-sponsored coup d'etat.

No! The United States government would never resort to such clandestine things like that... EVER. Now son, are you a terrorist?

(sarcasm)

Bump...Fu(k Him!!!

Bump...Fu(k Him!!!

Bump...Fu(k Him!!!

You are an eloquent communicator...

I can imagine the adrenaline and tingly sensation you felt as you decided to post versions 2-4 of your little opus...

"this will show that fugazi ass and all those pinko f**ks that upvoted his bulls**t...HAAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!! Look how I use the open parentheses key to get around the censors...my freedom will not be infringed upon by censor bots...my use of this variant of f**k is a testament to my patriotism AND my creativity!!!!! I will even attach additional exclamation points to further illustrate my rage...it is risky...some 1337ers could mistake them for Is or even 1s, but a linguistic maneuver such as this must not shy away from such risks!1!1!1!1....where is my "Ride of the Valkyries" mp3??? DumDaDaDumDum DumDaDaDumDum DumDaDaDumDum DumDaDaDummmmm!!!!!
USA...USA...USA...YEEEEAAAAARRRRGGGGHHH!!!"