Lee B

For a lot of reasons, Oil Companies are not expressing excitement over building up infrastructure in Venezuela... the cost being one big reason, and the big giant elephant in the room being hostility and violence and terrorism being directed at them in an unstable country...

so...


Business Insider: Trump says the US could pay American oil companies for work in Venezuela

• Trump said the US may reimburse oil firms for expanding operations in Venezuela.

• Venezuela's oil output is low due to sanctions, corruption, and damaged infrastructure.

• More Venezuelan oil could lower prices and disincentivize US players like Exxon and Chevron.

You have to spend money to make money, I guess... right?

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It is, but i will miss NOVA. Been watching for at least 50 years.

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NOVA is still there... PBS and NPR are still there... The Corporation for Public Broadcasting was just a government-funded agency that channeled some funding to PBS, NPR, and their member stations around the country, as well as helping to fund some shows.

WIthout it, some small NPR or PBS stations around the country who did not get much fnding from anyplace else might have had to shut down, or cut costs, but most will just work to replace that CPB funding in some other way.

WGBH in Boston, which produces NOVA, is very well-funded by the state of Massachusetts and by tons of Corporate funding and grants from big trusts and charitable organizations. NOVA itself is very well-funded, and also has dedicated channels on YouTube for older episodes, and on streaming services like Amazon Prime. If WGBH had to shut down (incredibly unlikely) NOVA by itself would live on through web streaming. The sdame is true of all the other big PBS shows (Sesame Street started airing its episodes other places a few days they hit PBS a while ago, which gives them more money... I think it was HBO, and it might've recently moved to Apple+TV).

Every single PBS and NPR station or state-wide network around that country is like that... funding comes from several different sources, and from viewers who pledge money to keep things going.

Ironically, by killing the CPB, Trump has freed NPR and PBS from Federal Government interference... it doesn't matter what he thinks, anymore, he's done all he can to them by defunding the only part that was funded by the Federal Government.

Speaking of which, since any files relating to January 6 are being erased from official government places, NPR has set up an archive to preserve all of it.

https://apps.npr.org/jan-6-archive/

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Trillions wasted and why I don't trust any candidate whose primary financial backing is Silicon Valley

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So no JD Vance for you?

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I’d rather see several billion go to Israel than to line the pockets of Dems in Minn., NYC, Phillis or LA.

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Dumb

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The fact that Maduro got drug out of his bed in pajamas and Kim is still the Supreme Leader of NK says otherwise

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That makes North Korea a First World country?

A military Superpower has the ability of global force projection, not just a nuclear arsenal. After the collapse of the U.S.S.R., that only left the U.S., and the coalition of NATO. China was never at that level... Russia, alone, was not, either.

So they both embarked on a campaign to convince the U.S. that we should not be, either. Social media came along and made it easy.

And to be clear, the first people they convinced of that, and easily, was the Left... even over to old Centrists like Biden, and then they started on the RIght once they were similarly disillusioned with W. Bush's military adventurism. The Right can't resist but be excited by military adventurism, as long as it's someone smaller who is no match and doesn't inflict casualties and there's no tedious and costly occupation attached, apparently.

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Except we have already threatened Columbia and Iran

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Colombia has an election coming up in May and their current President is term-limited out. That would be an extra-stupid move.

Threatening Iran at this point is kind of pathetic, not tough...

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Interesting that Russia's air defenses surrounding Madura were 100% ineffective

Have to wonder if they were even operational or if the operators were told to stand down.

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Interesting... who knows?

hromadske: ‘Russia Wanted Ukraine in Exchange for Venezuela’ – Diplomat Fiona Hill testimony to Congress 2019

"The Russians [...] were signaling very strongly that they wanted to somehow make some very strange swap arrangement between Venezuela and Ukraine: [...] You want us out of your backyard [...]We have our own version of this. You're in our backyard in Ukraine. And we were getting that sent to us, kind of informally through channels. It was in the Russian press, various commentators,” says Fiona Hill at the U.S. Congress.

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the Walkman is completely obsolete

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I think they're making them again... my daughter asked for one.

They make "video walkmen." I think they had a special cassette edition.

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There's been a crisis in Venezuela since they elected Hugo Chavez.

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Why do you think they elected Hugo Chavez?

The country solely depends on oil revenue... the majority of the population was extremely poor. There was unrest and violence, eventually the oil industry was nationalized (in the mid-70s) and lots of money was spent on social programs. But oil is a constantly up and down thing, and when oil prices fell, there was trouble... and tons of corruption was exposed in the government.

Chávez was a political outsider, not a member of either of the two political parties, a populist... he ran on draining the swamp...

History Hit: Why Did Venezuelans Elect Hugo Chavez President?