Hugo Chavez telling the U.N and the people of America to read a bit of Chomsky

[Kirkland Laing]

I want to see the new Oliver Stone film about Chavez.

Video: Watch a world exclusive trailer for Oliver Stone's South of the Border | Film | guardian.co.uk

[Kirkland Laing]

Venezuela's Chavez Squeezes Oil Companies With Taxes, Raids Aug. 24, 2002 (Bloomberg) -- On July 14 in the western city of Maracaibo, Venezuelan government tax auditors and a prosecutor went to the offices of Chevron Corp., the second-largest U.S. oil company.
They seized boxes of records to build a case that San Ramon, California-based Chevron and 21 other energy companies owe Venezuela $3 billion in back taxes. The raid is part of President Hugo Chavez's push to squeeze more money out of foreign companies that want to pump oil from the world's fifth-largest petroleum exporter.
Since October 2004, he has raised heavy-oil royalty fees to as high as 30 percent from 1 percent, begun paying for some services in nonconvertible bolivares instead of U.S. dollars, and ordered oil well contracts converted into government-controlled joint ventures.
Chavez, 51, wants to use the revenue to pay for homes, clinics and schools for the 58 percent of Venezuelan families who live on less than $200 a month.









Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's plan to take control of oil production joint ventures run by Exxon Mobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips may lead to defaults on $1.6 billion in bonds.
Chavez said his government would seize four companies owned in part by Exxon, ConocoPhillips and Chevron Corp.....


Chavez has already changed the terms of agreements that cover the four ventures located in the Orinoco Belt, where crude is extracted from deposits of heavy oil. In October 2004, he raised their royalty rates to 16.66 percent from 1 percent. The fee was raised again this year, to 33.3 percent. The four will also face a higher income tax rate of 50 percent starting Jan. 1, up from 34 percent.












MANAUS, Brazil (AP) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is criticizing Venezuela's reported efforts to purchase 100,000 AK-47 assault rifles from Russia, suggesting that Venezuela's possession of so many weapons would threaten the hemisphere. Officials fear Chavez's actions could lead to a new arms race.

Venezuela's democratically elected president, Hugo Chavez, has warned that he will cut off shipments of his country's oil to the United States if the Bush administration supports an attempt to force him from office.



Pakistan's Order Lifts Lockheed F-16 Plant

By Charles R. Babcock and Renae Merle
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, March 26, 2005; Page D12

The Bush administration's decision to sell F-16 fighter planes to Pakistan is likely to be as warmly greeted in Fort Worth as it is in Karachi.

That's because Lockheed Martin Corp. has said it needs new orders for the jet before this fall, or it will have to take action to close the production line there that employs about 5,000 workers.

The imminent sale to Pakistan may cause the Indian government to consider the American plane.




Ever since the partition of the subcontinent in 1947, India and Pakistan have been bitter rivals. During five decades they have fought three wars, two of them over the disputed region of Kashmir, which is divided by the "Line of Control."

But recently tensions have abated, and the leaders of India and Pakistan have embarked on a series of measures to resolve a spate of security issues, including the hotly disputed Kashmir.

The neighbors have already enforced a total cease-fire between forces lined up on each side of the border and have resumed air, rail and bus links. All eyes will be watching if a series of talks between the leaders of these two South Asian nations can put an end to their decades-old animosity.

Kashmir, BBC special report, 2004.




Rice delayed F-16 announcement
WASHINGTON, March 26 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said she decided not to announce the F-16 sale to Pakistan during her recent trip to South Asia.

To soften an expected strong reaction to the proposed sale, Washington said it wants to see India as a major world power and is willing to sell sophisticated weapons to New Delhi as well.

India, however, insists that by selling F-16s to Pakistan, the United States was starting an arms race in the Subcontinent. Washington has rejected the charge.



Q. What message does that send when you're giving F-16s to a military regime that ousted a democratic government at a time you're trying to promote democracy?

SECRETARY RICE: Robin, Pakistan is worlds away from where it was three and a half years ago. One has to look not at fixed points in time, you know, international politics is not like a satellite that comes over and takes a snapshot, takes a snapshot, it's a process.

Condoleezza 'Two Times' Rice, remarks to reporters.




















US worried about Venezuelan arms buildup



By FOSTER KLUG, Associated Press Writer Foster Klug, Associated Press Writer – Mon Sep 14, 2009 7:00 pm ET
WASHINGTON – A U.S. official said Monday that Venezuelan arms acquisitions could spark an arms race in Latin America and he also expressed misgivings about the country's possible nuclear ambitions.
State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said U.S. officials were worried about Venezuela's arms buildup, "which we think poses a serious challenge to stability in the Western Hemisphere."