-------------------------------------------------------- http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=46294 Latest Published: Sunday, October 09, 2005 Bylined to: Bob Chapman Bob Chapman: The Bush administration has a long history of being untruthful THE INTERNATIONAL FORECASTER editor Bob Chapman writes: Venezuelan oil minister Rafael Ramirez says PDVSA will buy an Argentine oil refinery for US$100 million. Argentine President Nestor Kirchner and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias have approved the deal. PDVSA will expand its operations in South America to increase business with Repsol YPF. The refinery is in Compana (near Buenos Aires) and will use 6,000 bpd plus 3,500 barrels of refined products. Repsol will give PDVSA up to 10% of its business in Argentina. PDVSA will start building a $100 million natural gas pipeline in June 2006. The gas will come from onshore and offshore. We find it strange that the Bush administration, which is scrambling to find enough troops for the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, would be sending troops to Paraguay on a humanitarian mission. That is 500 heavily armed troops with air support. Why would these emissaries of good will be parked at an airbase in the middle of a jungle only 200 km from the Bolivian border? Human rights' groups are concerned and they should be. The Bush administration has a long history of being untruthful ... the White House would have us believe there is a threat of terrorism in the region ... how dumb do they think we are? The base just happens to be where the countries of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina meet and Bolivia is just a stone's throw away. Now let's see how many humanitarian soldiers they send in beyond the initial 500 and what units and specialties are involved. That intelligence will reveal a great deal regarding US intentions. If they have sent in or do send in Special Forces, Rangers, or the 82nd or 101st Airborne Divisions you know there is nothing humanitarian in their mission. When we exposed this mission a few months ago we mentioned that the Guarani Aquifer ... the World's largest reserve of water just happens to be in the region as does Bolivian natural gas deposits, which are only 250 km away. Could it be that George and the neocons want these deposits for American consumption? Could it be that if Bolivians do not vote in tune with the neocon version of democracy that the US would implement it via occupation? We have seen this US ruse over and over again. What is very interesting as well is that the White House has demanded and received total immunity for US troops from national and international criminal court jurisdiction. Why do US troops need such immunity? What do they have planned for the people in the region? Could it be torture, abuse and rape such as we have seen them use in the so-called war on terror. Putting all the foolishness aside, we all know George and the neocons want to control the Guarani reservoir, Bolivia's natural gas and to use Paraguay, Columbia, Bolivia, and Ecuador as jumping off points for the invasion of Venezuela. There are absolutely no reasons to believe that any terrorists are operating in the region. If the US expects us to believe that terrorist groups get funding from there, they are stupid. We believe some Paraguayans said it all when Donald Rumsfeld landed in Paraguay in August. The crowd shouted, Rumsfeld, you fascist, you are the terrorist. Meanwhile, the Venezuelan central bank has confirmed that the bank transferred its foreign currency reserves, some $20 billion of its $30 billion, from the US to the Bank for International Settlements, the bankers' bank. Sixty percent of foreign reserves are in euros and 40% in dollars. The move was prompted by further threats by the US government ... which Mr. Chavez would not elaborate on. Some have said Venezuela will lose several hundred million dollars in interest each year due to the switch. We say you never chase a yield, because currencies have higher yields because of higher risk. We wished they had moved 5% to 10% to gold following Argentina's lead. THE INTERNATIONAL FORECASTER P. O. Box 510518, Punta Gorda, FL 33951, USA Bob Chapman •••@••.••• -- http://cyberjournal.org "Apocalypse Now and the Brave New World" http://www.cyberjournal.org/cj/rkm/Apocalypse_and_NWO.html List archives: http://cyberjournal.org/cj/show_archives/?lists=newslog Subscribe to low-traffic list: •••@••.•••
