A couple tidbits on the Paraguana explosion and fire. First, this document popped up on the internet yesterday. Who knows if it was a final draft, or had been fact-checked, or what. You can see that the paper was crumpled — did someone rescue this from the trash? And if so, who? Anyway, I ran it through OCR so you can cut & paste the text, translate it, etc. (All yours for no extra fee, but that “Donate” button is right there on the right side of the screen if you can’t handle getting such a valuable service for free.)
Second, you know that Paraguana was big news by this: Venezuela had its most important civic event last night, the annual election of Miss Venezuela. But today, she isn’t the top story on ElUniversal.com! Look:
(updating) Third: People associated with but not members of the Chávez administration keep putting out the line that the explosion was an opposition plot. Here’s a great example.
I’m absolutely convinced that this was an act of sabotage… There is a group of Venezuelans around the candidate Capriles that has become pawns in the service of transnational interests…
Setty's notebook 
Thanks–the report is fascinating indeed, including the maximum risk section that might not have taken into account what happened there.
Regarding the possibility of sabotage–and being aware of the capabilities of US Special Forces and the proclivity of the USG to deploy them against real or perceived enemies (think Chavez), the possibility isn’t that much of a stretch. It’s what they (60,000 of them) do daily in many countries around the world–whether abetted by the opposition or not. Economic/psychological warfare topples governments more easily than military conflicts do, and at far less cost in terms of money and (wo)manpower. And wasn’t Chavez listed as part of the “Axis of Evil”?
Lastly, come to think of it–and relating back to your previous Ottotrans post–there might be yet another mentor with cause to be proud of his student–Barnum–PT that is…
Despite the article headline, I found no juicy details/photos of Miss Venezuela….damn! (Got me again….aarrgghh!)
Awesome tease, dude!
locoto
Of course it would be foolish to rule out any possibility. And sabotage is a possibility. But a person needs blinders in order to look at PDVSA and say, “there’s no way something that big could go wrong without sabotage.” Rather, the surprise is that such things don’t go wrong more often.
Chavez part of the axis of evil. Really? For someone so paranoid about the US you seem to know nothing about it, Iran, Iraq and North Korea were the ones Bush listed. The KGB (or whatever it is called today) is really big, maybe they did it so Russia could force better deals out of Chavez?
@NorskeDiv,,,
For once you are correct, and I’ve got to admit it.
Venezuela and Chavez were not officially claimed to be part of the axis of evil–they were merely characterized/scapegoated as being of the same ilk by Bush’s sycophants–like Otto Reich, John Bolton, Condi Rice, Rumsfeld and other neocons.
I accidentally overstated the case–my bad, and my regret.
I’ll try harder to make certain I don’t do it again.
locoto
@locojhon,
“For once…”? Show where this is true: “Venezuela and Chavez were not officially claimed to be part of the axis of evil–they were merely characterized/scapegoated as being of the same ilk”. For the record, I am NOT a neocon, nor a Republicant, but I do take offense to your implication here.
Hiya Cat,,,
What’s the problem?
Are you suggesting that our government leaders didn’t do as I suggested?
Would you have preferred the term “demonized” or “castigated” instead?
Have you read the wikileaks documents relating to our government getting rid of Chavez?
Funny thing isn’t it–almost all the references that I can remember, from press conferences, articles, speeches, interviews etc. from the above-listed ‘usual suspects’–including USG ‘retired’ talking heads–as duly reported by their msm megaphones–refer to Chavez as being a dictator, or euphemistically a ‘strongman’ or the like, disregarding his multiple successful internationally-scrutinized elections. popular mandate and social successes.
(There are many references–go look them up. Here are a few to get you started: overall– http://www.globalexchange.org/sites/default/files/USVZrelations1.pdf
and at the SD level: http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_63320.shtml ) and http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27077.htm
How would you more-accurately characterize the criticisms leveled against him? Let me guess–“fair and balanced”?
;-)
locoto
“…and being aware of the capabilities of US Special Forces and the proclivity of the USG to deploy them against real or perceived enemies (think Chavez), the possibility isn’t that much of a stretch.”
Oh my. So, like, the US Special Forces may have been behind the explosians at Amuay? Really? That’s not a stretch? Why would they do that? Who gave them those orders? Obama? Hillary?
STOP NOW. You are not going to convince one another. The end.
I think it is malicious to insinuate that Obama, the Nobel Peace Prize, could have ordered or supported a possible act of sabotage resulting in the death of so many innocent civilians
The best reply is” “Read the report.”