Monthly Archives: April 2010

Friday on-topic: Evening light

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Setty Venezuela travel guide Part I

Bring cash. That’s the key thing to know about Venezuela. Currency controls mean that your foreign cash is worth more than a foreign ATM or credit card. And with the way things are going this week, way more. A foreign … Continue reading

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Oh, did I mention the Iran-Cuba-Venezuela-Nicaragua-Russia nuke threat?

If there’s one topic that the world outside Venezuela seems curious about, it’s the Iran-Venezuela-Russia (and maybe China, Bolivia, Nicaragua, and/or Cuba) group that by some accounts are trying to destabilize the U.S. and its allies. It’s a hot topic. … Continue reading

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Speaking of ride a bike

The bike-riding, beard-trimming, mime-hiring, spandex-sporting weirdo Antanus Mockus (no really, click the link, watch the video, it will be one of the best hours you spend in front of a screen this year) is now the front-runner for presidency of … Continue reading

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OK, worry if you like

A few posts ago, I upset a Venezuelan reader by suggesting that we probably don’t have to worry about massive electricity outages in 2010, what with rain arriving and Guri Dam’s water level starting to rise. Since then, nationwide power … Continue reading

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The refinery outage frenzy

PDVSA’s refineries are having problems. This is good news for companies that still have operating refineries, as profits rise when there is less competition, but bad news for consumers of diesel and gasoline. Not to mention bad news for PDVSA, … Continue reading

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Mmm arepas

I finally took a friend up on her long-standing offer to take me out for a socialist arepa. (Pictures and hot dogs below the jump.)

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Run and hide! Operations are “normal”!

When PDVSA says refinery operations are normal, get out your gas mask: April 24 2010: Contingency Plan Activated Paraguaná Refining Center maintains operations in total normalcy Paraguaná.- Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA) informs that at 1:25 p.m. on Saturday, April … Continue reading

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Aw rats, another $1 billion debt

These things just keep turning up. From Correo del Caroní‘s generally reliable Natalie Garcia. Workforce now to be cut from 2,000 at beginning of year to 1,200: More firings announced in third bridge project The Brazilian construction company Norberto Odebrecht, … Continue reading

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Help Stop PDVSA-Iran-Cuba Secret Nuke Missile Genocide Plot

Someone asked me to comment on this e-mail. The note itself, with its conspiracist, telling-you-what-the-MSM-doesn’t-want-you-to-know tone, its plentiful supply of capital letters, and its leaps of logic don’t deserve as much time as I gave it. I’m posting this because … Continue reading

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