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20080219
• Oil - History - Texas - US - Countries - Nigeria - Venezuela - "Oil Closes Above $100 For First Time." ... "There was no single driver behind oil's sharp price jump; investors seized on an explosion at a 67,000 barrel per day refinery in Texas, the falling dollar, the possibility that OPEC [Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries] may cut production next month, the threat of new violence in Nigeria and continuing tensions between the U.S. [United States] and Venezuela." ... "Light, sweet crude for March delivery rose $4.51 to settle at a record $100.01 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after earlier rising to $100.10, a new trading record. It was the first time since Jan. 3 that oil had been above $100." ... "Oil prices are still within the range of inflation-adjusted highs set in early 1980. Depending on how the adjustment is calculated, $38 a barrel then would be worth $96 to $103 or more today." -AP via -CBSNews 

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20070420
• Fuel - Food - Poor - People - Auto - Environment - Economy - US - Venezuela - Mexico - "Ethanol policy divides Latin America: US efforts to promote ethanol have raised food prices in the region." ... "Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez calls the boom in ethanol the equivalent of starving the poor "to feed automobiles."" ... "Ethanol, which is derived from crops such as corn or sugar, is seen by some as a green alternative, a rising star on the path toward reducing independence on foreign petroleum. But it's not just Mr. Chávez who is questioning whether the benefits outweigh the unintended consequences." ... "Now poultry industry executives, who have seen the price of feedstock has gone up; Mexican consumers, facing a 60 percent jump in the cost of tortillas; and even environmentalists, who look at the amount of fertilizer that will be needed to grow extra crops, are wondering aloud whether ethanol will help or hurt Latin American economies." ... ""I think people worry that rich Americans are trying to fuel cars at the expense of hungry people in poorer countries," says Janet Larsen, director of research at the Earth Policy Institute in Washington. "This increased push for ethanol production could be an incredible foreign policy blunder."" (1, 2) -By Sara Miller Llana and Daniel Cancels -CSMonitor 

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20070325
• US - Florida - Cuba - Venezuela - 2008 Election - Languages - "Romney Finds Peril in Checklist for '08." ... "As [Republican] Mitt Romney transitions from one-term governor to presidential candidate [2008 election], he has been ticking through a presidential checklist, sometimes with perilous results." ... "But this month, Romney scratched when he tried to wade through the cauldron of Cuban-American politics during a speech to South Florida Republicans." ... ""Hugo Chavez has tried to steal an inspiring phrase - 'Patria o muerte, venceremos.'" Romney said, referring to the Venezuelan president and persistent U.S. critic. "It does not belong to him. It belongs to a free Cuba."" ... "In truth, the phrase does not belong to free Cubans. It has been the trademark speechmaking sign-off of their most despised opponent, Fidel Castro. And unlike Romney, Castro would switch to English to declare, "Fatherland or death, we shall overcome."" -By Glen Johnson -AP 

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20060510
• Human Rights - Politics - China - Cuba - Pakistan - Russia - Saudi Arabia - Azerbaijan - Iran - Venezuela - "New U.N. Rights Group Includes Six Nations With Poor Records." ... "Six nations with poor human rights records were among those elected to the new Human Rights Council on Tuesday, although notorious violators that had belonged to the predecessor Human Rights Commission did not succeed in winning places in the new group." ... "China, Cuba, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan, countries cited by human rights groups as not deserving membership, were among the 47 nations elected to the council. But in a move hailed by the same groups, both Iran and Venezuela failed to attract the needed votes." -By Warren Hoge -NYTimes

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20051206
• Venezuela - "Chávez claims boost from 'landslide' victory: Less than 25 percent of eligible voters showed up to vote in Sunday's legislative election, raising questions of legitimacy." ... "Many voting stations across Venezuela were eerily quiet during Sunday's congressional elections as allies of President Hugo Chávez gained almost complete control over the country's national assembly in a landslide victory." ... "Mr. Chávez's Fifth Republic Movement (MVR) says progovernment parties have won all 167 seats in the assembly, with MVR winning 114, far surpassing the two-thirds majority needed to fast-track any legislation. Critics worry that Chávez may use his strengthened position to do away with presidential term limits." ... "But five opposition parties boycotted the vote, claiming that the nation's electoral authority was biased toward Chávez's allies. And fewer than 25 percent of registered voters participated in the elections, leading some critics and analysts to say there is a crisis of legitimacy." -By Jens Erik Gould -CSMonitor 

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20050825
• -  - Pat Robertson -  - Abortion - Religion -  - Gay - "Robertson Assassinations Remarks Not New." ... "The Rev. Pat Robertson's suggestion that the United States assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was the latest in a long line of incendiary remarks by the religious broadcaster, including at least one other call to "take out" oppressive world leaders." ... "Following the Sept. 11 attacks, he said that "God Almighty is lifting his protection from us" because "we have insulted God at the highest level of our government," allowing things like abortion and pornography and barring school prayer." ... "And in launching a 21-day "prayer offensive" in 2003 to pray for three justices to leave the U.S. Supreme Court after it had decriminalized sodomy, Robertson said: "We ask for miracles in regard to the Supreme Court."" ... "One justice was 83 years old and two others had serious ailments, he noted." -By Richard N. Ostling -AP via -LAtimes 

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20050823
• -  - Pat Robertson -  -  -  - "Venezuela reacts to Robertson statement: Televangelist wants Chavez killed; White House calls idea 'inappropriate'." ... ""The ball is in the U.S. court, after this criminal statement by a citizen of that country," Rangel said. "It's a huge hypocrisy to maintain this discourse against terrorism and at the same time, in the heart of that country, there are entirely terrorist statements like those."" ... "Rangel called Robertson "a man who seems to have quite a bit of influence in that country," adding sarcastically that his words were "very Christian." He said the comments "reveal that religious fundamentalism is one of the great problems facing humanity in these times."" -MSNBC 

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• -  - Pat Robertson -  -  -  -  - "Robertson Is Pilloried for Assassination Call." ... "The conservative Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson has made news over the years for making explosive comments on his daily television program lambasting everything from feminists and "activist" judges to the United Nations and Disneyland." ... "Now Mr. Robertson has set off an international firestorm by saying that the United States should assassinate President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela. "It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war, and I don't think any oil shipments will stop," Mr. Robertson said on his program on Monday." ... "Today, the vice president of Venezuela denounced Mr. Robertson for making "terrorist statements," and in Washington a spokesman for the State Department called the comments "inappropriate."" -By Laurie Goodstein -NYTimes

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• -  - Pat Robertson - Virginia -  -  -  - "Venezuela Says Robertson Call to Kill Chavez Criminal (Update1)." ..."Venezuelan Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel said that calls by U.S. television evangelist Pat Robertson to kill Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez were ``criminal.''" ... "``I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it,'' Robertson said of Chavez. ``This is a dangerous enemy to our south controlling a huge pool of oil.''" ... "Robertson, 75, made the comments on Chavez yesterday on his program, an audiotape of which was posted on the Web site of the Christian Broadcasting Network, founded by the cleric in 1960 and based in Virginia." -Peter Wilson and Alex Morales -Bloomberg

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• -  - Pat Robertson -  -  -  -  - "TV host urges US to kill Chavez: US religious broadcaster Pat  Robertson has called for the US to assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez." ... "Mr Robertson caused controversy with the comments on his TV show, describing Mr Chavez as "a terrific danger"." ... "Venezuela's vice president accused Robertson of making "terrorist" remarks and said the US response would put its anti-terror policy to the test." ... "Venezuela is the fifth-largest oil exporter and a major supplier of oil to the United States." -BBC /News

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20050518
• -  -  -  -  - "U.S. Arrests Cuban Exile Accused in Deadly '76 Airline Bombing." ... "Immigration officials arrested Luis Posada Carriles, a Cuban exile suspected in a deadly airplane bombing and other attacks, on Tuesday, weeks after he slipped into the United States and shortly after he withdrew an application for political asylum." ... "The Bush administration, which had been mostly silent about Mr. Posada's presence and until Tuesday denied knowing if he was even in the country, faced growing pressure from Cuba and its ally Venezuela to extradite him. Critics had questioned why the United States would not root out a suspected terrorist, even one hailed by Cuban exiles as a freedom fighter against Fidel Castro." (1, 2) -By Abby Goodnough with contributions by Tim Weiner and Terry Aguayo -NYTimes 

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20030221
• -  -  - "Price gouging:  Oil strike, threat of war with Iraq push gas prices to more than $2 in California." ... "Political instability in Venezuela and the prospect of war in Iraq are triggering price hikes that normally don't kick in until the peak driving season. And experts warn prices could shoot up even more as the political situations and the weather heat up." ... "The average retail price for a gallon of regular unleaded, $1.66, has risen 22 cents since the beginning of the year." -AP via -WCFCourier.com

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20021208
• -  - "Chavez threatens state of emergency." ... "President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela has warned he may declare a state of emergency if disruption caused by an national strike continues to escalate." ... "In a speech to supporters in Caracas, Mr Chavez accused his opponents of trying to sabotage the oil industry, which provides half the government's revenue." ... "Crude oil production has dropped by up to a sixth of the total national output since refinery workers and oil tanker crews joined other strikers, threatening the economic backbone of the world's fifth biggest oil exporter." ... "Analysts have warned that a shutdown for longer than two days could have a major impact on US and world oil prices." -BBC/News 

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