Venezuela steals another foreign investment .Spains third bank siezed in Venezuela

No surprise. That is what socialist/communist governments do which is why no sane foreign investor will touch the place.

Why would Venezuela do that? Must have had a good reason. The U.S. has seized foreign accounts, too.
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Yeah, there's a good reason - Chavez is a douche..

The real demon here is global capitalism. Obviously those who are so supportive of it must not live in the US were the opposite has occured for the last several administrations. Rampant privitization has destoyed our government and economy while corporations and a handful of investors get fat profits. WE should be doing what Venezuela is doing.

Anybody who thinks otherwise doesn't know much about economics or hasn't put the time into fully understanding the global flow of economies of scale for the last 20+ years.

Venezuela has oil resources. And they do not require the foreign investment. If the foreign investment is raping the citizens of Venezuela, then I have to agree with the government stepping in and shutting down those banks. So, the question is why did Chavez shut down the bank...

Wrong. Foriegn investment ALONE developed Venezuela'a oilfields. Chavez is leading Venezuela down Castro's path for Cuba, and the people will be the ones to pay the price..

Probably because he's a commutard and a thief.
Do you need any other reason than the man being a thief?
Most socialists I know are thieves, it's a very common trait for socialists.

Another way of looking at it


Melinda Pillsbury-Foster

Charges against Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez have been leveled for years. These include, “Chavez has won a loyal following among the poor through multibillion-dollar social programs including subsidized food, free university education and cash benefits for single mothers. " Shocking crimes against humanity, right? Almost up to the Abu Ghraib level. And now that nasty Chavez is talking about, gasp, nationalizing the oil leases of Exxon-Mobil. Where will this madman stop? You can almost see Bush getting out his road map and squinting down at it, tracing the route through Mexico. Wrong turn there, Georgie, that is the way to Canada. Think towards your non-extradition hide out in Paraguay.

The quote continued, "Chavez insists he is a democrat and will continue to respect private property - though he has boosted state control over the oil industry and has said he might nationalize utilities.”

As Jon Stewart and other prominent American critics point to Venezuela and the actions of Hugo Chavez, re-elected by an overwhelming majority to the office of President, accusations that Chavez is, gasp, horrors, a socialist, also abound.

Ignorance is so exasperating, especially from those who should know better. Chavez himself makes this mistake, using the dreaded“S” word. How could they all be so wrong? But wrong they are. Chavez is not a socialist, but socialists lurk all across the United States and it is time to expose them.

Let's begin by defining our terms. What is a socialist? Thanks to the Internet, this is a question easily answered.

“An "economic, social and political doctrine which expresses the struggle for the equal distribution of wealth by eliminating private property and the exploitative ruling class. In practice, such a distribution of wealth is achieved by social ownership of the means of production, exchange and diffusion." (7)


The programs provided to poor Venezuelans are funded through income generated through the Venezuela Petroleum Corporation, a corporation owned by that nation. Venezuela nationalized the petroleum industry in the mid 70s, long before Hugo Chavez had anything to say in the matter. The programs he provides pay for education, housing, subsidies on food for the poor, and aid to single mothers. The list may strike you as familiar; America funds similar programs, the difference being that here they are funded through the seizure of private property through taxation. Is America therefore a socialist state? The short answer is yes, we are – though we carefully disguise this fact through rhetorical flights of fancy that employ the images of a free people who are still handling social needs locally. We all actually know that these programs were seized by the Federal Government beginning in the 1920s and then the taxes collected explicitly to fund such programs as Social Security were cheerfully converted to making the State even bigger and more oppressive. The term for this is Bait and Switch. Those who have encountered con men before will understand.

What Chavez is doing in Venezuela is not socialism. He is taking the money generated from something no one earned and using it to improve the condition of those who otherwise would continue to exist in poverty. This is artful use of found money. The oil will not last but the benefits of education and better infrastructure will last, lifting Venezuela out of the condition that has existed since Europeans arrived to begin grabbing and selling off their resources.

The source of the money matters. Today Alaskans receive money from the State of Alaska as a share of the money generated by the Alaskan oil production. Is Alaska a socialist state? No, because it is found money shared out as those in the State agree is best.

The definition of socialism hinges on the source of the wealth. It is not socialism when the property is 'found' and not the product of those who happen to be in possession. Private property is that property that is the creation of an individual using their energy, intelligence, and innovation. Such property is justly earned when it is acquired without deceit, manipulation or violence. Property not justly earned is stolen, by definition. No one who knows the history of the oil industry can have any illusions about how their wealth was acquired. All oil is stolen property, pretty much.

Naturally, as a life-long Republican and Libertarian I am opposed to socialism, but this is not socialism. It looks like spending the money on one good, services for poor Venezuelans, instead of other potential goods, for instance secreting the money in a Swiss bank account or buying their own private islands. Hugo Chavez was duly elected as CEO of this country; it is difficult to see why it is any concern to anyone else; the people of other nations do not owe us an explanation of what they do with their own resources.

Additionally Chavez reportedly is investing significant R & D money to ensure that an alternative to the use of oil becomes available to Venezuelans so they will not be caught up short. Hard to argue with this kind of forward thinking.

The oil was under that chunk of real estate before anyone now living was there; before they were never HUMAN. But as individuals who live on specific pieces of land we all understand that living someplace may bring hazards or rewards for which we are not responsible. Naturally occurring events are defined by insurance companies as, “Acts of God.” Living in Pompeii in A. D. 79 turned out to be hazardous. Living in an area that experiences subsidence due to the extraction of the underlying reservoir of oil may also prove to be hazardous but a human element of causality has been introduced. We know that oil is a naturally occurring substance. Extracting it from the layers of the Earth in which it is found may have a long term impact not now understood and subsidence of the land covering it is always a possibility. Its extraction is cheap; selling it turned small bands of Arabs without two camels to rub together into an international power, all through the accident of location. However, location, occupying the land where the oil is being extracted, does make those living there vulnerable to the potential problems of subsidence, toxic spills, and potential incineration, for instance if the oil blows up, which has been known to happen.

Curiously enough, those living there, for instance in Venezuela before that industry was confiscated by the government, benefited least from the presence of the potentially harmful oil being extracted. As a matter of tradition we observe the practice of ceding control of resources to those with a valid claim on the land where those resources are located or, at their option, to the government who orders the business of the people who entrust them with governing. The oil therefore seems to belong to all of the people who live in Venezuela although for a good long time only a small percentage of those people were allowed to profit from its presence. Should those who got the lion's share for so long make restitution? Probably. But that is up to those involved. Perhaps other residents of Saudi Arabia should take note of this curious oversight.

If someone is going to assert a right to profit from pumping oil, which arguably belongs to everyone occupying the land under which the oil sits, then you would think that those individuals would recognize an obligation to ensure that those who do not profit would not pay the costs of potential liabilities, such as having their children incinerated by faulty piping necessitated by the transport of such oil, as in the case of Koch Industries. But in fact those who are most likely to profit from pumping out oil are likely to demand that those in power, for instance Congress, cancel any potential liability if damage is done. In America, oil companies often pay those in Congress to zero out their potential liabilities, for instance in the case of the Liquid Natural Gas they are so eager to import.

Responsible capitalism and private property means accepting full liability for costs extracted from those who do not directly benefit from profits. Alabama recently received a 3.5 billion dollar judgment against Mobil-Exxon for diddling on royalty payments. Presumably, if a corporation can be held liable for cheating in its bookkeeping it should be liable for other damages even to the full extent of the damages done.

Hugo Chavez thinks he is a socialist. He is wrong. But the case can be made that BushCo and their core constituents are a new species of socialist as yet unidentified. Is it socialism when you are stealing all the marbles and using rhetoric to disguise the fact? Perhaps what we need to a simplification of the language that ignores the rhetoric employed and only notices the actions and outcomes.

Transfer of wealth from the many into the pockets of the few using any existing rhetoric = Criminal Class

BushCo funds programs through the confiscation of private wealth; they use legislation to dictate their own 'social agenda,' and they have been working on wresting away control of the means for real production for generations. Eliminating the use of words like, 'socialist' makes this clearer to all of us. Remember, they pretend to do the right thing for us to amass the goods. Words lie; Actions speak truth. Or as the Bible says, “By their fruits shall you know them.”

Right now BushCo would just love to invade Venezuela. It is close, they have no expertise in military arts, unlike Iraq; and all that lovely oil is there for the taking. Perhaps Hugo Chavez should contact Lloyd's of London about Invasion Insurance. If I were him I would have already called.

[link to howtheneoconsstolefreedom.blogspot.com]

Heaven forbid that oil revenues go into the pockets of the Venezualan people and Venezualan companies.

It's supposed to go to the WTO, doncha know. Which means into Cheney's pocket.

but goat is the biggest douche. LOL

tsk tsk! How dare they!! They should have done it in the fine tradition of American style capitalism. i.e. Theft called War. You know--that's where ya invade a country, plunder its assets, and then drum up another phony excuse to invade another country you have sold weapons to, and the whole thing starts anew. After all, capitalism is only healthy when it's expanding.

Look at your own banking system goat. Then start thinking instead of regurgitating all that old anti-pinko commie propaganda from your youth.

The US embargo had quite a lot to do with it.

Not really, a douche has some useful attributes.

It could be me, but I don't see Venezuela seizing the assets of a country they hope will protect them from the idealogy of a free market enterprise.

That just strikes me as an incredibly stupid thing to do.
Spain was a major power hundreds of years ago, but they're not famous for their military might in modern times.

If you're going to nationalise an asset, you should only seize what you know you can hold and what won't get taken from you in a rather unpleasant, relatively short time.

Good for them. Screw Spain and Juan Carlos

oil rich venezuela from foreign investors exon mobile Brittish Petrolium and MObile oil who developed the oil facilities were robbed of thier inestments Venezuela ziezed oil production facilities causing the investors of each company to lose thier funds ., He just added to his long laundry list of corporate theft the third Bank in Venezuela owned by Spain.. inv estors of Spain banks might get tiny token but usually chevaz pays nothing after he steals the foriegn owned investments ..foriegn investors helped built up venezuela to be later robbed from the now oil rich venezeula..... from stealing oil production facilities that had ((((paid venezuela handsomely ))))).steel and cement operations international Nestle mild products company all were siezed .many companies however are now completely non operational .since the siezures ..,huh ..

chavez is BUYING this bank of venezuela

(CNN) -- President Hugo Chavez on Thursday ordered the nationalization of the Banco de Venezuela "to put it at the service of Venezuela" after denying approval for its sale.
President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela says the banks owners aren't interested in selling but he's buying anyway.

President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela says the banks owners aren't interested in selling but he's buying anyway.

The leftist president said in a televised address to the nation that he heard "a few months ago" that the bank's Spanish owner -- Grupo de Santander -- was planning to sell the bank, which was privatized a few years ago, to a Venezuelan banker.

The banker had asked the Venezuelan government for permission needed to complete the deal, Chavez said.

"I sent a message to the Spaniards: No. And to the Venezuelan banker: No," Chavez said. "Now the government wants to buy the bank, wants to recover it, because it's called the Bank of Venezuela, to put it at the service of Venezuela."


Chavez said he was told Wednesday that the owners now were no longer interested in selling.

"So now I am telling them I am interested in buying. We are going to nationalize the Banco de Venezuela."

In a written statement issued Friday, Banco de Santander said it had planned to sell the bank to a Venezuelan private investors group, but "found afterward that the Venezuelan government was interested in [acquiring] Banco de Venezuela, and conversations are under way to that effect.

[link to edition.cnn.com]

It's not the theft of "foreign owned assets" (500 billion, what demomination?), since the "assets" are of Venezuelans, not the banks. Since when do banks "own" your money?

It is a change of management only.

Duh!

obama reminds me of chavez when he was running for president....and look what he turned into...

Wrong. You know nothing.

a different Management style is called theft by no nothings....

While complementing the private management for achieving a “high level of efficiency” in the bank, the (Chavez) made clear that his administration plans to shift the bank’s priorities from profits to social investments. “The profit will not be of one group, but to invest in socialist development,” he said.

hugo chavaz who now is a known international thief of foreign investment funds, tries to intice Russia to spend thier hundreds of billions of dollars, building a nice new state of art military facility in Venezuela .. ...would hugo dare sieze it too ..,.

Im no fan of hugo chavez but this man is doing way more FOR HIS PEOPLE than grizzled goats satanic bush/rumsfeld/lizzyrice/cheyney/pearl/kissenger club do for the people of USA.

TRAITORS!

The US Government just bought some banks with tax payers money. Wonder if the tax payers(investors) will see any profits.

The US people need to "Steal" the assets of the Federal Reserve.

You people are idiots...

Keep paying your "federal" reserve interest money to fat cat Jews so they can milk you dry for nothing morons.

What Chavez is trying to do is take his people out of the system of fiat debt to foreigners in his own country.

You must really love the scam to see anything wrong with that.

Have fun getting raped by the Rothschilds!

yep, stupids are getting raped and they scream: more, more....

Then you, Sir - are NO douche..

:&ardo:

Tell me how I'm wrong then dickhead. I won't hold my breath..