and an interesting perspective...The Depression — let’s call it what it is — leaves us, well, depressed. But there is very good news from around the world. Our enemies are collapsing under the strain of dropping oil and gas prices. What we had all hoped conservation and off-shore drilling would achieve, the global economic collapse is accomplishing: the defeat of OPEC, Iran, Chavez, Putin and the weakening of the financial underpinnings of Islamist terrorism. In each of these nations, the hold of the dictator is weakening as, one after the other, they face the consequences of dropping oil prices.... ◼ Dick Morris on THE IMPENDING COLLAPSE OF OUR ENEMIES
...Because of corruption and incompetence, Venezuelan oil production has dropped from over 3 million barrels per day when Chavez took over to about 1.7 million today. As long as oil prices were quadrupling, it didn’t matter, but when they crashed, a harsh wind of reality blew in the door. Chavez was losing popularity before the oil price dropped. He lost a constitutional referendum to give himself lifetime tenure and he just lost his municipal elections in the largest cities and states in the nation. After knocking out most of the major opposition candidates on phony charges of corruption, he managed to hang on to the governorships of the small, rural provinces, but he lost the cities — even the poor areas of the cities vote d against him.
Now, beset already by food shortages and galloping inflation, Venezuela has to make do with less subsidization and drastic cuts. Feeling cold times ahead, Chavez is desperately pressing ahead with a new attempt to abolish term limits in a vote set for the end of February, but, if he falls short — which we think he will — he could be out in a matter of months....
Good.
ReplyDeleteChavez is a tyrant, a bit unbalanced, and a danger to S. America, C. America and the U.S.
The drop in oil prices is temporary. OPEC has vowed to cut production. Demand will force prices up another 50 dollars per barrel by this coming summer. At which time Venezuelan petroleum money will allow Chavez to continue offering low interest loans to Latin American countries that have had their economies pilfered by Wall Street.
ReplyDeleteAmerican oil giants are grateful and do not commiserate with your once and future pain. The Wall Street community is divided in opinion, even as they invest their pilfered fortunes in petroleum futures that will force prices back up to that heady 150 dollar per barrel price!
Mohammad smiles.
Dreadful Anonymous
Maybe - but watch for the Obama administration to push gas prices up up and up - they need it over $4 a gallon to push the alternative fuel thing - so I expect they'll raise taxes on gas.
ReplyDeleteThing is, we ought to commit to alternative energy NOW even if oil goes to .50¢ a gallon.
Commit as a nation to being fossil fuel free in 10 years. Go solar.
Commit to alternative clean energy and tax oil companies after instituting a price ceiling. Use that tax money to create domestic jobs in the clean energy field and put an end to Wall Street's carbon casino that progressives protested at the climate summit in The Hague where meaningful solutions for future CO2 reductions were ignored by Northern governments and the unified corporate climate lobby to escape their promised CO2 reductions. They backed carbon trading in order to protect their corporate profits and allow them to significantly increase their emissions, instead.
ReplyDeleteDred