Caracas, Venezuela, like every other major city, is faced with a number of urban planning problems. Unlike other major cities around the world however, decades of rightwing aristocratic rule has left the country with a major shortage of skilled urban planners. In order to address this, Venezuela struck a deal with the City of London, England in 2007. In exchange for assistance from their highly skilled urban planners, Venezuela provided cheap fuel to the city’s mass transit system which allowed them to offer half price fares to the poorest of Londoners. In all, it was a pretty sweet deal for both cities.
Enter London’s new mayor, Boris Johnson, who, in a fit of rightwing spite, canceled the deal putting Caracas back to square one and leaving London taxpayers footing the bill for the subsidized transit fares. This provides an opportunity for Toronto’s mayor, David Miller, to step up and fill the void left by a London mayor who is clearly more interested in attacking socialist boogeymen than the well being of his city. Toronto, like London, also has highly skilled urban planners who are more than capable of tackling the problems Caracas is experiencing.
Mayor Miller should contact the Venezuelan government and strike a bargain similar to the one they had with London. TTC riders would certainly appreciate the mayor’s efforts to curb the transit system’s rising fuel costs that will inevitably result in higher fares.
I would be hesistant entering into any deal with Venezuela right now with their history of “reworking” deals already done.
Yes Robert… Let’s align ourselves with a dishonest, beligerent, socialist thug who has a track record of burning parties who enter into agreement with him. Great idea Bob. Can’t believe you’re not Prime Minister yet.
El Diablo, el propio Diablo está en casa. Ayer vino el Diablo aquí, (risas y aplausos) ayer estuvo el Diablo aquí, en este mismo lugar. Huele a azufre todavía esta mesa donde me ha tocado hablar..
Whatever anyone thinks and whatever happens, this will always have been worth it.
Have your mommies look it up for you, trolls.
For those of you “trolls” who don’t feel like wasting your time looking it up:
“Yesterday the devil came here, (laughter and applause) yesterday was the Devil here in this same place. Still smell sulfur in this table where I have to speak.”
This was part of a speech Chavez made to the UN back in 2006 when he took the stage and called for UN reform and the denouncement of Bush and his “imperialistic” practices.
Not really related to this thread but who cares.
Bryan, you epitomize the utter idiocy of the Screeching Right.
I’ll give you points for spelling Chavez’ name accurately but there isn’t another fact contained in your stupid, stupid, stupid portrayal of the hugely popular leader of Venezuela.
In a nutshell, you’re a simple-minded liar.
as for you, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz,
the only deals that Hugo Chavez has “redone” are those that were made by the self-serving oligarchy that had corruptly governed Venezuela for decades before he was elected to the presidency by a huge majority of his fellow citizens. They elected him with the mandate and the fervent hope that he would do something about the self-serving deals made by his predecessors with foreign business leaders and imperialistic foreign governments.
Since being elected, he and his party have worked tirelessly to correct the social imbalances and adjust the shady deals created by the ruling classes of his country to better reflect the interests of all Venezuelans while stringently following the rule of law. Period.
You are either misinformed or you’re just another stupid liar like Bryan.
Which is it?
“Bryan, you epitomize the utter idiocy of the Screeching Right.”
Fuck. Off.
Thank you for confirming my opinion of you so quickly, Bryan.
Well, well, well… I gave you credit for spelling Chavez’ name correctly yesterday, Bryan, and now I’ve realized you didn’t mention him by name in your post - it was zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz who correctly spelled his name.
That was careless of me. I apologize for giving you credit where none was due.
Art,
Are those the same “self-serving deals” that brought technology, expertise and a better understanding of developing oil and gas assets? Did you know that oil production has never returned to its high since Chavez came to power. However, oil co.s always take risk when they invest in areas of the world that will change the laws to serve their own self-interest. A couple of points:
1) Chavez needs to be careful not to alienate everyone in the west as he needs the skills and expertise that the world oil and gas business has to offer. Those that control capital (money, knowledge…) are weary of putting it in places where the rules change. Chavez must not bite the hand that feeds.
2) One must be careful entering into agreements with this man because he has shown that he has no problems changing the rules halfway through the game. Oil Co.s must never forget that it is Venezuala’s resource but more importantly a geo-political tool that can and will be used as such regardless of the economic realities.
3) If you think this was “about the people”, you are living in lala land. This is about power and control. Chavez just wants a tighter grip and more leverage wo control the nation. Everything else is just theatrics and optics.
My point is that we (Canadians) must look at agreements like this with “eyes wide open”. Leave your ideology at the door and make sure you fully understand the risks associated with dealing with a man like Chavez.
Actually no, they’re not. They’re the deals that brought shoddy oil reclamation practices to Venezuela and encouraged political corruption. The fact that Chavez’ opposition is now complaining about the need to “modernize” the oil patch is rich. If the oil companies and their investment arms had been investing their ill-gained profits back into the infrastructure modernizations they now claim are needed you might have had a point.
After reading your latest missive, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, I have say again: “You are either misinformed or you’re just another stupid liar like Bryan. Which is it?”
The oil will still be in the ground in Venezuela long after the scoundrels trying to steal it from it’s rightful owners are gone from the scene. When the latest technologies are needed, someone will be found willing to provide them because there is always going to be an expanding market for this increasingly valuable resource, isn’t there?
And can you provide any citations or links to the “facts” behind your allegations that Chavez has changed the rules in the midst of negotiations or even after those negotiations were believed to be finalized? I’d love to read them.
Fuk, where to begin…
“Actually no, they’re not. They’re the deals that brought shoddy oil reclamation practices to Venezuela and encouraged political corruption. The fact that Chavez’ opposition is now complaining about the need to “modernize” the oil patch is rich. If the oil companies and their investment arms had been investing their ill-gained profits back into the infrastructure modernizations they now claim are needed you might have had a point.”
So if they brought nothing to the table, why were they there in the first place? This is an important question because it is the base of your whole argument. Why didn’t Venezuela just develop the assets themselves?
What makes these profits “ill gained”? If two parties sign an agreement, who are you to judge that it is not fair for one side. Or are you suggesting that the Vens are too stupid to look after themselves. If two parties form an alliance to extract oil from the ground, it is not stealing, it’s a partnership. You may not like it, but it’s not your oil and it’s not your expertise. What part of that is so hard to understand. Oh that’s right, you think they should be developed free of charge. Just like when you go to work and don’t bill any of your clients for the work you do.
“The oil will still be in the ground in Venezuela long after the scoundrels trying to steal it from it’s rightful owners are gone from the scene. When the latest technologies are needed, someone will be found willing to provide them because there is always going to be an expanding market for this increasingly valuable resource, isn’t there?” You mean someone like a ‘Shell’, a ‘Total’, a….. Yup, I guarantee that “someone” will be willing to provide the latest technology and capital required to extract the resource. Will you stand up then and bitch that they are again being taken advantage of just like you are now. How will it happening in the future be any different from when it happened in the past? This statement clearly indicates that you have no idea what you are talking about. Oil out of the ground today is worth more than oil out of the ground tomorrow. Simple time value of money at work here. Look it up at http://www.investopedia.com and it will explain the concept to you.
“Actually no, they’re not. They’re the deals that brought shoddy oil reclamation practices to Venezuela and encouraged political corruption.”. So it’s big oils fault that the politicians are corrupt? Because they should have known the Vens. morality was weak???? What a stupid argument.
“And can you provide any citations or links to the “facts” behind your allegations that Chavez has changed the rules in the midst of negotiations or even after those negotiations were believed to be finalized? I’d love to read them. ” Sure.
-he changed the royalty structure from 1% to 16%
-income tax rates on windfall profits were changed from 34 to 50%
-changing the current ownership structure from 30-40% of the heavy oil assets to over 60%.
They don’t want to “expel foreign companies, they just think they should have a majority stake”.
You can read all about it here:
Where are your market manipulation facts art? I am sure you aren’t lying and trying to ignore the question, so let’s have them proofs!
Shit, I didn’t do the link right. Anyways, the article is there and the question still remains. Where’s the proof darling?
Still no support. Art, take your lies somewhere else.