Villages Refuse Hugo's Free Oil

ANCHORAGE, Alaska

In Alaska's native villages, the punishing winter cold is already coming through the walls of the lightly insulated plywood homes, many of the villagers are desperately poor, and heating-oil prices are among the highest in the nation.

And yet a few villages are refusing free heating oil from Venezuela, on the patriotic principle that no foreigner has the right to call their president "the devil."

The heating oil is being offered by the petroleum company controlled by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, President Bush's nemesis. While scores of Alaska's Eskimo and Indian villages say they have no choice but to accept, others would rather suffer.

Villages Refuse Hugo's Free Oil

Good for those people though I would hope that our government would try to help them in some way. Its hard for me to say what I would do in that position. I would want what what was in the interest of my family. If some guy from South America wants to give me free oil then so be it. Doesn't mean I am entitled to do anything for him.

I think Hugo is trying to embarrass the US by giving free oil to our poor as if to say 'the US is all about money and greed and is unwilling to help our own poor.' Which is completely false. I say let him give all of his country's oil to the US for free. "A fool and his money are soon parted."

All these third world dictators end up the same.
Thousands Rally Against Hugo Chavez

I think they'd be fools not to accept it if they are poor. They will never get such a thing from American companies who have been raping their land for ages now. The American companies could care less if they had heat or not.

Wow, I admire thier principles.

I , for one, would gladly donate to these, and any others who would refuse this freebie.

There is much honor in Alaska!

Not like some posters on this board.

Roper

It's only one politician insulting another. Did he insult their family? Did he insult their country? No... He insulted their elected representative politician who many people in the country are insulting anyway.

Take the oil if your freezing...

Originally posted by TheBandit795
It's only one politician insulting another. Did he insult their family? Did he insult their country? No... He insulted their elected representative politician who many people in the country are insulting anyway.

Take the oil if your freezing...

you just dont get it do you? ....

They would rather freeze their asses off than take oil from a guy who thinks your country is scum and insults the leader of your country!

its called LOYALTY, PATRIOTISM and HONOR! a concept which a few of the yuppy types in this country scoff at. Of course do they really care?

one of the things you discover about those americans that are in hardship is that many would gladly be cold and proud than warm and shamed.

I for one wouldn't give a damn what others think about me or my president. I don't care if they think I should be ashamed. Someone's offering me free oil to keep myself warm. To avoid having cold related illnesses, frostbite and possible death I would take the oil.

Screw anything else.... I'm not going to win a Darwin award...

I really wonder who it was exactly that refused this donated oil...

The people or the politicians.
I'd be willing to place a perty damned firm bet that the people who are freezing because of ecconomic harships caused by failures in the capitalist system would gladly take a handout from Chavez... but that the political types involved are the ones waving the "Honor" and "Patriotism" flags while sitting in their nicely heated homes and offices.

great point, bitraiser.

and to all you people who think bush is your country...
wanna buy some land and a really great bridge?

chavez offers to save lives that america is ignoring, and you criticise chavez.
chavez calls bush the devil(his opinion), and you think that it's okay for the people up north to freeze to death to 'spite' chavez.

it's a mad, mad, mad, mad world.

you have no compassion for your countrymen. if bush was such a great guy, chavez would not have even been able to make his magnanimous, expensive, potentially live-saving, good samaritan offer.

Originally posted by BitRaiser
I really wonder who it was exactly that refused this donated oil...

Thats a good question. It seems the responsibility was left to the Elders or Leaders of each village. Some of them accepted the generous gift, since some people are paying about 7.50 a gallon for heting oil. Its pretty disgusting seeing as Alaska is an oil producing state.


If it is a ploy by Chavez to make the Presidente look bad, well he's doing a good job. I doubt he or his father would ever do such a thing even tho they are Oilmen with contacts in Saudi Arabia and Texas. If it really bothered him so much he would make an attempt to counter this guys offer, instead they get cut-backs.

For years, Alaska natives have accused the state and federal governments of sending too little money to their tiny, far-flung communities, where fuel and grocery prices are bloated by the high costs of delivery by plane and barge.

An editorial last month in the Anchorage Daily News bashed the Legislature's rejection in March of an $8.8 million state supplement to a federal program that helps poor Alaskans with home heating costs.

"It's embarrassing that residents in a state with so much oil wealth should be looking to a foreign nation for help," the newspaper said. "It's hard to blame villagers for accepting the gift."

An even worse thought just occured to me...

What if this is just a way for certain interests to steal the donated oil?

Pay off a few politicals to take a stand against the donation in the name of "Patriotism", then put that oil in their own tanks in order to sell what was given.

That theory stinks just enough for me to believe it's perfectly possible.
Often when analizing world events, the best tactic is to look for the lowest form of greed possible, then go from there.

I remember last year when Chavez first started this programme, he called for the US government and the big oil corps to join him in providing cheap oil to those poorer communities. Needless to say, the big US corps and GWB ignored the offer.
Now that just gives an indication of how little these people's own leader thinks about them.

Anyone got his phone number??

I would gladly take free oil i live in a village along the canadian border where the temp drops to -40 F on occasion in the winter and in a good cold month i spend $600.00 plus on oil, And thats with a brand new heating system that happens to be one of the most effiecent boilers out.

At one time I know Bush actually cut the funding for fuel assistance programs to help the poor so that of course the rich could get their tax cut.

Chavez is giving the poor in this country free oil and Bush is cutting funding for fuel assistance for the same people and only Chavez is calling Bush the devil?

www.liheap.org...

By Carol Clements
National Fuel Funds Networks
March 2005

The old saying goes, “It’s an ill wind that blows no man good.” But if Congress approves a proposed reduction in energy assistance for FY 2006, that saying could be changed to, “It’s a chill wind that blows no man good.”

Amid steadily increasing home energy costs and increased demand for federal energy assistance, any move to reduce funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) would be like turning a cold shoulder to thousands of Americans.

The President’s FY 2006 budget proposes $1.8 billion in funding for the regular LIHEAP program and $200 million in contingency funds. This is a 4.3 percent decrease in regular program funding from the $1.88 billion LIHEAP received in current fiscal year. The $200 million proposed for contingencies represents a 32.8 percent reduction from the FY 2005 total of $297.6 million in emergency funds.

[edit on 10-10-2006 by goose]

Yeah, I read this in the paper this morning and thought to myself "what a bunch of morons!" Nobody gives a rat's arse about these people having honor and patriotism, especially nobody living where it's fifteen below outside.

Think about your families idiots, take the oil!

Peace

its called LOYALTY, PATRIOTISM and HONOR! a concept which a few of the yuppy types in this country scoff at. Of course do they really care?
one of the things you discover about those americans that are in hardship is that many would gladly be cold and proud than warm and shamed.

Nice post XphilesPhan!

Originally posted by XphilesPhan
one of the things you discover about those americans that are in hardship is that many would gladly be cold and proud than warm and shamed.

I missed this little diddy the first time.

I, thank God, don't know anything about hardship, but after reading what you wrote I can tell you have even less of a clue than I do. I think those experiencing hardship would ask you to feel free to not presume what they would prefer.

Peace

Originally posted by super70
I think Hugo is trying to embarrass the US by giving free oil to our poor as if to say 'the US is all about money and greed and is unwilling to help our own poor.'

So charity is a bad thing when poor people get cheap stuff from people who the USA have decided on declaring their enemies? Interesting...

Which is completely false. I say let him give all of his country's oil to the US for free. "A fool and his money are soon parted."

The US government probably has more means to make every citizen life a good life than any other country on the planet yet we don't see the American government doing that for it's citizens.

All these third world dictators end up the same.
Thousands Rally Against Hugo Chavez

Hugo was democratically elected TWICE as far as i know despite the best efforts of the CIA and rich foreign backers to malign his name in the local press. There is thus more media freedom in Venezuela than there is in the USA.

Stellar