Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Sep 06/05 - On a miserly OPEC member: mixing charity with politics and falling way short!

PMBComment: Mr. Chavez’s advisors - on how to jerk around with the US - thought they had come up with a dazzling PR stunt when they offered assistance to the "empire" after Hurricane Katrina. As it turns out, in the rush to piss off the Bush Administration, the Chavez rat pack failed to assess what would be a worthy contribution given such things as: the country relative wealth, the level of exchange with the US, and the level of investment in the affected area (i.e. CITGO, Chalmette). As it turns out, the hasty offer looks miserly by comparison to a lot of things…among others those of its OPEC brethren.

So far, 94 countries and international organizations have offered aid, according to a State Department spokesman. Here is its partial list of OPEC nations from which the United States has received support:

  • Venezuela: Up to $1 million to Red Cross from CITGO Petroleum
  • Bahrain: $5 million ..(not a Member of OPEC but acts as if it were)
  • Kuwait: $400 million in oil, $100 million cash
  • Qatar: $100 million cash
  • Saudi Arabia: $255 million from Aramco
  • United Arab Emirates: $100 million cash

Nothing more shameful than playing politics when people need anything but politics. PMB

Source: CNN reporting on State Department info.

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