Hugo FY's early demise might not be the best thing for our situation. For example, it seems that his government has a reputation for generally paying out arbitration awards - his successor may not be so generaous.

Consider that by now there are interests in vennieland that benefit only by keeping Chavez, or his cronies in power. If he goes in the next few months, the country might see a civil war, or a Libyan-type uprising. Regardless of the outcome, such upheavals are always followed by a long period of uncertainty, while the next governors get themselves installed. That instability can be

One might hope that if a relatively normal, non-Chavista type takes over, a new direction might be taken as far as the development of Vennie's resources is concerned. The problem with that for us is that there are several sectors that would benefit from a U-turn in policy - oil being the first - before our little "not yet a hole in the ground" gets any attention. Further, a more normal leader in Vennie might move to reduce Chinese influence in the country - again, perhaps not the best outcome for us.

As the Chinese proverb goes, "May you live in interesting times".

By the way, I was reminded today of a joke I heard a couple of decades ago - little Johnnie sends away 6 weeks' worth of his allowance to buy the Joe Weider Muscle Building Course. 8 weeks later, little Johnny writes to Mr. Weider: "I have completed your muscle-building course. Please send me my muscles."