Reuters: Venezuela vows Orinoco oil takeover by May Day

[Eugene]

Venezuela vows Orinoco oil takeover by May Day

By Brian Ellsworth

24 minutes ago

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Thursday set a May Day deadline
for the world's biggest oil companies to surrender control of multibillion-dollar crude projects,
speeding up nationalizations a day after he received powers to rule by decree.

His pledge, which affects firms such as Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Conoco Phillips, Statoil and BP Plc,
forms a vital part of the nationalizations at the heart of Chavez's leftist revolution.

"I have given instructions that on May 1 -- May 1 -- all the fields of the Orinoco Belt should
wake up under our control," he told a news conference.

-snip-

Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said the state would seize the projects if no deals were struck.
The U.S. Department of Energy condemned the nationalizations as "a disturbing trend away
from open and transparent market principles."

-snip-

Full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070201/wl_nm/venezuela_oil_dc

[MasonJar]

1. Well, this is the result of the big oil companies of the US screwing the

Venezuelan people for generations. Go, Chavez, give your people a chance.

[katsy]

2. Good for Chavez...

great for the Venezuelans.

[David__77]

3. Actually, it's perfectly "open and transparent."

The nationalization decrees are completely clear and specific. Anyone can review them. Venezuela should only let Western capital in so that it can play a subordinate role while transfering technology to the domestic sector. If it cannot do that, then it is nothing but an economic parasite.

[Pavulon]

4. Time to get that bio fuel up and running

good thing mexico and canada can more than make up for the shift in their output.

It will be nice when corn is a global commodity and fuel source. We have the resources. Control of food export and fuel. Brazil can do it, we should be able to. Better to keep our money than piss it off to religious nuts and budding communistas.

May day, not may 5. and the water gets warmer for the froggies.

Do they have a big parade with missiles and tanks on may day (yet)...

[brentspeak]

5. I don't like Chavez one bit, but I wish we could nationalize OUR oil industry

Whose oil is it, anyway?

[ohio2007]

6. Will big oil "pack up" on May 1st and leave ?

If so, decisions are being made in the board rooms and I get the feeling they may pack up and leave only whats nailed down.

[Pavulon]

7. sure as shit

you take my house by decree, i am breaking the crystal chandelier and flushing concrete down the toilet. If I paid for the infrastructure, it aint working when i leave.

[ohio2007]

9. Chavez and his plan may backfire in time like that African Nation that nationalized

all the farms. The people that knew how to run the farms at a profit left and "brain drain" resulted in disaster. In a few short years,they were being asked to return. But that doesn't guarantee they will return and have the cycle begin again.

[paulk]

12. actaully, it backfired the last time

Venezuela nationalized the petroleum industry.

[manic expression]

11. Well

they'd probably punish you for destroying collectively owned property, if not make you leave before you can do so.

[Pavulon]

14. If I build a house

and the collective takes it, the damage I do is their problem. It is my house, I paid for it, so I will do my best to be sure the person stealing , err, nationalizing it get shit.

They can sue Exxon. good luck with that.

[manic expression]

15. If you build a house

there's a very good chance you're never going to live in it. If you pay for a house with money made from the labor of the people who don't have such a good house, there is good reason to collectivize the ownership of said house(s).

At any rate, the kulaks tried the same thing in the USSR. It didn't turn out too well for them. When Cuba nationalized many of its industries, they were able to keep much of the infrastructure intact IIRC. If Chavez nationalizes industry, I hope he can manage to do the same.

[Pavulon]

16. Worked well in Zimbabwe

Net exporter to net importer of grain in 3 years. Brilliant move. Exxon put money into building a business. Expecting a profit. A communist is taking it. Personally I could care less what they do, but it is a nice 3rd world move. Pretty common act, generally ends poorly.

I am sure other private sector companies will be willing to invest capitol in a nation that will just steal their end result.

Cuba is a massive industrial nation with lots to show. I mean their airliners and other heavy exports are unbeatable..

[manic expression]

17. Zimbabwe botched it and their leader went crazy

Poor comparison. Life expectancy, literacy and other things tend to go up in socialist countries ("communist country" is an oxymoron, by the way). To me, that's important.

Exxon put money into exploiting resources and people, expecting to make money off of the deprivation of others. That's business as usual in capitalism. Socialists and communists, on the other hand, try to make those resources go to where they should: to the people. Free trade and property are tools which are used to enrich the few through the labor of the many.

I am sure that collectivized countries would rather keep their industries nationalized, so I'm sure they won't be crying too many tears over tycoon x or y not investing in their country.

Cuba is a country with higher infant mortality rates, literacy rates, lower rates of homelessness (virtually 0%, while Vietnam veterans freeze to death under bridges in the US) and more. Consider that before trying to mock their achievements (in spite of a siege that has lasted almost half-a-century).

[Pavulon]

18. USSR, East Germany,, and NK

are models for great societies. If you need a heart transplant, or brain tumor removed be sure to head to cuba. I am sure there is a collective that beats the pants off of john hopkins.

The little socialist pipe dream the chavistas are running is funded by dead dino sales. Nothing else. No industry, no service sector, just crude. Hope that market stays stable. I mean a country built on one thing has to be stable right?

[manic expression]

19. You need to know what you criticize

the USSR before 1928 was very good for the people. The soviets practiced direct democracy, and the Bolsheviks created programs for everything from education to working conditions.

Here are a few first hand accounts by John Reed (an American journalist who was in Russia during the October Revolution and years after):

http://www.marxists.org/archive/reed/1921/01/russianow.htm
http://www.marxists.org/archive/reed/1918/soviets.htm

East Germany was specifically designed to keep Germany weak, which is what Russia wanted. After facing two devestating invasions in the span of 30 years from the same country, it is not surprising that the Russians would have pursued such a policy. The fact is that East Germany was never supposed to make Germany strong, its purpose was to keep Russia protected.

Do you even know what the ideology of North Korea is? Furthermore, NK claims to be "democratic", so I guess democracy doesn't work, either....:eyes:

[ohio2007]

20. If there is no such thing as 'peak oil' production,

Hugo can run those oil rigs into the ground for lack of spare parts the way I see it. There is a lot of money in the spare parts aftermarket.He'll need infrastructure to maintain current levels.

Now,
with that said,
which one of you two is going to get off your collective azz and build me a house I can move in to when completed ?

LOL

[manic expression]

21. Tell you what

if your community adopts a socialist economy/model (collectivize, abolish private property, etc...), I will try to help your community build a new house.

That's a fair deal, right? :toast:

[ohio2007]

22. I'll pass

No offense, but for a family of five living in a two bedroom collective high rise apartment house isn't my idea of utopia. It might be appeal to the masses in theory, but in practice ? Thats how life in urban Havana looks.

[manic expression]

23. Look closer

Do you think Vietnam veterans freezing to death under bridges is better? That's America; that's capitalism. The poor are thrown on the streets to die while the rich who exploit them live in unending luxury. Socialism provides the fruits of labor to the laborers, and Cuba has proven this. How? Everyone in Cuba gets shelter. Even with the embargoes, they've managed to keep a very respectable standard of living (ever hear of universal healthcare?). That is an achievement. Go to any capitalist country in the third world, or go to any impoverished area in the US, and tell me socialism isn't better; the fact is that it is.

[denverbill]

8. Geez. Looks like Chavez is about to become the world's most dangerous terrorist.

I hear he tried to buy large amounts of yellowcake uranium from Niger. And that he had meetings with one of the 9-11 terrorists. Plus he has rape-rooms and gassed his own people!

[ohio2007]

10. China will fill the void.

Will Chavez be able to expel them as easy?

[ohio2007]

13. forgot the link

U.N. hopes China pushes for Darfur end
KHARTOUM, Sudan - The United Nations hopes the Chinese president will push for a solution to the Darfur crisis during his landmark visit to Sudan on Friday. But Khartoum expects its staunchest diplomatic ally to stick to boosting commercial ties, particularly those assuring its access to Sudan's oil.

<snip>

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070201/ap_on_re_af/sudan_china