Iran, Venezuela start drilling joint oil well

[NVMojo]

TEHRAN – Iranian and Venezuelan oil companies jointly started drilling of the first oil well in a field in Venezuela slated to be developed by the two countries.

Iran’s Petropars Oil Company and Venezuela’s Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) started the drilling operation on Venezuela’s Ayacucho oilfield, the operation was attended by the Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad and the South American nation’s President Hugo Chavez, a report said here on Tuesday.

The message conveyed by the development of the major project is that the through unity, the independent and revolutionary nations would be able to conquer the peaks of progress, noted the Iranian President.

Iran and Venezuela proved that they are able to work and progress regardless of the big powers’ domain, he asserted.

more...

http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=9/20/2006&Cat=9&Num=016

[bamacrat]

1. I have a feeling its about to get bad

[NVMojo]

2. yeah, with * not letting the Iran Prez come to the UN thingy and the drop

in oil prices today ...hmmmmmm

[qwertyMike]

3. Yeah we should find an excuse to attck Venezeula

Let me see:
Musim? No - Aw shit
Brown skin - won't work
I GOT IT - Communists about to launch an "imminent" attack.
And the have BLT's or whatever!

Donald, Condi, Cheney - CALL ME!!! (You remember me - the Prez)

[oblivious]

4. Further proof that Rove/Cheney and the neocons are the dumbest people ever

[VegasWolf]

5. Bye, bye Miss American Pie! All that is left is to divide up the carcas

just like at the end of the Roman Empire.

[davidinalameda]

6. so Chavez is allying himself with one of the biggest human rights abusers

in the world

I have yet to understand how anyone who calls himself a progressive/liberal/leftist would ally himself and his country with Iran

[VegasWolf]

7. Maybe because both nations are under the threat of attack by the

Imperialistic Army of George W Bush?

[NVMojo]

8. yep

[davidinalameda]

9. so you're willing to make a deal with the devil?

might as well as hook up with the Bushies as the Iranians

just goes to show that Chavez isn't the great leader his fans claim he is

[1932]

12. Venezuela has a long long way to go before it can take that crown from US

and, perhaps, the reason Venezuela is entering into oil contracts with Iran has something to do with the US's long history of supporting brutal anti-democratic dictatorships around the world and especially in Latin America.

Working on an oil deal with a fellow OPEC nation pales in comparison to some fo the bullshit the US has pulled south of the border.

[davidinalameda]

16. it's not just a "fellow" OPEC nation

it's a nation with which he's trying to tweak the nose of the Bushies

he could find much better allies if he was going to do that

this undermines any credibility he may have with people, or at least it should

[1932]

23. sometimes a banana is just a banana

[electricray]

13. It is all connected. We buy Iranian oil. Are we "hooked up" with

Ahmadinejad? Chavez may have a little explaining to do, if for no other reason than the sheer lack of judgement that it takes to poke a crazed lunatic like Bush by joining up with the most recent US punching bag, but otherwise I see nothing wrong with making an oil deal with another oil country. The global petrol business transcends nation-state vs. nation-state based political squabbles.

Ahmadinejad is not Iran. He may be the squeakiest wheel in the country right now but he is unpopular and pretty much bound by what the mullahs want. He may have no say in what happens with Iranian oil companies. Chavez is right though. Joint ventures open doors to communication. How funny would it be if Chavez brought Iran to the table when the US couldn't or, rather, wouldn't?

[killbotfactory]

10. They were allies before Chavez became president

[davidinalameda]

11. so he's carrying on the tradition of the previous regime

weren't they bad guys?

what does that say about him

[killbotfactory]

14. It says they are both OPEC nations with a mutually beneficial relationship

and a common enemy.

[davidinalameda]

17. so it's okay for him to hook up with a theocratic dictatorship

which funds terrorists as long as they have a "common enemy"

[killbotfactory]

20. Welcome to international politics

And I don't think everyone outside the US would agree with the theocratic dicatorship, and funding terrorist parts of your question.

[davidinalameda]

24. who wouldn't agree that Iran is at least a theocracy?

hello, Islamic law

[killbotfactory]

29. Along with every other country in the region

[Name removed]

22. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ronnie624]

15. Are you not even slightly uncomfortable

with such a hypocritical position?

Iran may or may not be "one of the biggest human rights abusers in the world", but in no manner can that country be compared to the U.S. in terms of severity of human rights violations. The United States is without doubt "one of the worst". When was the last time you posted a strident message decrying the business dealings between the U.S. and other countries because they were making a "deal with the devil"?

Venezuela and Iran are sovereign nations who must look after their own national interests, and they have every right to conduct business agreements without interference from outsiders. I can think of no logical reason to oppose such agreements.

[davidinalameda]

25. so I can't condemn Iran unless I condemn the US

I condemn the US government

does that make you feel better

[ronnie624]

26. My "feelings"

are in no way influenced by the content of your ramblings.

You posted a message, expressing opposition to a joint oil drilling venture between Iran and Venezuela because Iran is "one of the biggest human rights abusers in the world". I responded with my belief that such opposition is illogical, and by pointing out the fact that the U.S. record of human rights violations is far worse than Iran's.

I did not demand that you condemn the U.S., only that you recognize the hypocrisy in your position.

[davidinalameda]

28. I have yet to see any hypocrisy on my part

Iran should be isolated by any country that values freedoms

by doing business with their government, which controls their oil industry, he's giving approval for their policies

He's quick to condemn other countries in which he doesn't have an economic interest but I have yet to hear him say squat about Iran's treatment of its citizens

[ronnie624]

30. While it is generally accepted

that we in the U.S. enjoy a high degree of freedom, we have routinely, and for many years, denied freedom to millions throughout the world. Not only do we support many dictatorships, we have literally destroyed democracies, and installed brutal despots in their place, Iran being a perfect example.

Although I do not recall you stating such, I assume that your position is, that the United States should not be isolated by anyone who values freedoms. If so, therein lies the hypocrisy - the belief that Americans deserve freedom, but our victims do not.

But it doesn't end there. The U.S. has, on a number of occasions, traveled half way around the world to invade another country, slaughter its inhabitants, and impose our will on their nation - something Iran has never done. I can't imagine a rational individual believing Iran's transgressions are worse than this, but again I must make an assumption, as you have implied just that. This too, marks you as a hypocrite.

And your belief that Chavez should "say squat" about the Iranian government's treatment of its citizens makes no sense to anyone who respects the sovereignty of all nations. Obviously Chavez understands that the decision to make changes to the Iranian government, belongs exclusively to the Iranian people, not to some foreigner on the other side of the world, who knows nothing about their country or their culture.

Do not enable U.S. corporate imperialism. Educate yourself.

[oblivious]

18. Ahmadinejad's crazy.He's vowed to put Iran's oil wealth on people's tables

And he's vowed to fight corruption, even attacking the priviliges of the ruling clerical elite.

That madman just doesn't get it. That oil wealth is for the corrupt few, to be shared with American/British oil companies. That's the way the oil world has worked for the last century.

It just makes me sick to think that all Iranians are going to benefit from it.

And that Chavez fellow is cut from the same cloth. Using oil profits for health and education! Just another crazy. What's the world coming to when world leaders start thinking like this! It's enough to make a conservative despair.

[Judi Lynn]

19. It would be great if they DID despair, but ohhh, nooooo! They come here

and chew the scenery over it! They just can't be satisfied with gibbering about it with their fellow anal idiots: they just have to drag their cyber hulks over here, where they can throw roadblocks in the conversations Democrats are trying to develope.

As for Chavez's lack of civic mindedness, it IS a travesty that he doesn't grasp the concept that well-being is only for the well-to-do. All the profits from Venezuela's oil should to the European-descended elite, and certainly NOT to the riff-raff.

If they weren't meant to use up all the profits, fate would not have allowed their ancestors to take Latin America prisoner so long ago, and enslave the people.

[oblivious]

21. Yes it's difficult to go anywhere when half the discussion is name-calling

He's a madman, insane, nutcase, batshit crazy, whacko, blah blah.

It would be nice to be able to discuss the countries and issues with some seriousness.

[bushisanidiot]

27. AWOL Bush and Cheney are probably pissed that Iran wouldn't deal

with them and their associated big oil buddies.

Here's an interesting story from Foxnews.com:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,134836,00.html

"Cheney Pushed for More Trade With Iran
Saturday, October 09, 2004

E-MAIL STORY PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION
WASHINGTON — Vice President Dick Cheney (search), who has called Iran "the world's leading exporter of terror," pushed to lift U.S. trade sanctions against Tehran while chairman of Halliburton (search) Co. in the 1990s. And his company's offshore subsidiaries also expanded business in Iran."

...

"While he headed the Houston-based oil services and construction company, Cheney strongly criticized sanctions against countries like Iran and Libya. President Clinton cut off all U.S. trade with Iran in 1995 because of Tehran's support for terrorism.

Cheney argued then that sanctions did not work and punished American companies. The former defense secretary complained in a 1998 speech that U.S. companies were "cut out of the action" in Iran because of the sanctions.

At an energy industry conference in 1996, Cheney said sanctions were the greatest threat to Halliburton and other American oil-related companies trying to expand overseas.

"We seem to be sanction-happy as a government," Cheney said. "The problem is that the good Lord didn't see fit to always put oil and gas resources where there are democratic governments.""

seems that Dick changes his mind about terror whenever the wind blows.. or, whenever it benefits him financially.

[Ferret Annica]

31. Join the BUYcott, use Citgo

Looking for an easy way to protest Bush foreign policy week after week? And an easy way to help alleviate global poverty? Buy your gasoline at Citgo stations.