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Trump administration officials have made thinly veiled calls for a military coup that would topple the Venezuelan dictatorship and pave the way for democracy. But some well-respected academics are warning that a military coup would more likely produce a Russia or China-backed anti-American dictatorship. Evan Ellis, a Latin America expert with the U.S. Army War College’s Strategic Studies Institute, and Brian Fonseca, a professor at Florida International University who has written extensively about the Venezuelan military, are among those who believe that a military coup in Venezuela would probably lead to a pro-Russian or pro-China regime, rather than to a...

• "We have to realize that perhaps China isn't as strong as when we at first think. China is still figuring out also how to deal with this trade situation, how to ensure the stability of its domestic economy," said Curtis Chin, an Asia fellow at the Milken Institute. • Speaking to CNBC's "Squawk Box," Chin also "totally" disagreed with the view that U.S. President Donald Trump's policies are backfiring. China's power may have been overrated and the U.S. economy is staying strong, meaning that U.S. President Donald Trump has an advantage in the trade war, according to one expert....

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — A chief strategist of Venezuela's government-backed cryptocurrency is a former U.S. congressional intern who once organized protests against the same socialist administration he's now helping to circumvent U.S. financial sanctions.Gabriel Jimenez, 27, was catapulted to something of tech stardom in Venezuela last month when he stood alongside President Nicolas Maduro and two Russian businessmen on national TV signing a contract to position the petro, as the fledgling currency is known, among international investors."It's a company founded and led by young Venezuelan geniuses, boys and girls of Venezuela, who have one of the most technologically advanced blockchain...

Venezuela will remove five zeroes from the bolivar currency rather than the three zeroes originally planned, President Nicolas Maduro said on Wednesday, in an effort to keep up with inflation projected to reach 1 million percent this year. The OPEC nation’s economy has been steadily collapsing since the 2014 crash of oil prices left it unable to maintain its socialist economic system that for years provided lavish subsidies while enforcing strict price controls. Annual inflation in June topped 46,000 percent, according to the opposition-run Congress. The IMF said this week it could hit seven digits this year, putting it on...

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Gustavo Petro, a former insurgent turned rabble-rousing mayor, is fighting to become Colombia's first leftist president, turning his humble beginnings and revolutionary past into a rallying cry for millions of the nation's youth and poor. The 58-year-old economist is about 20 points behind right-wing candidate Ivan Duque to replace President Juan Manuel Santos, but his presence in the second round has worried many in the traditionally conservative nation, where the right has kept a vice-like grip on power. Proposals from Petro to change the nation's economic model by piling taxes on unproductive landowners and abandoning oil and...

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro looked to the world of digital currency to circumvent U.S.-led financial sanctions, announcing on Sunday the launch of the "petro" backed by oil reserves to shore up a collapsed economy. The leftist leader offered few specifics about the currency launch or how the struggling OPEC member would pull off such a feat, but he declared to cheers that "the 21st century has arrived!" "Venezuela will create a cryptocurrency," backed by oil, gas, gold and diamond reserves, Maduro said in his regular Sunday televised broadcast, a five-hour showcase of Christmas songs and dancing. The petro, he...

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro looked to the world of digital currency to circumvent U.S.-led financial sanctions, announcing on Sunday the launch of the “petro” backed by oil reserves to shore up a collapsed economy.The leftist leader offered few specifics about the currency launch or how the struggling OPEC member would pull off such a feat, but he declared to cheers that “the 21st century has arrived!”

Former CIA Director Returns for an Update on Iran and Petrostates Jim Woolsey gives his take on the Middle East and what it means for US energy producers and our allies.

Mr. Pena advises United LNG, the company with the largest contracts for LNG exports in line for licensing at the Department of Energy. He explains the benefits of exporting natural gas in the form of LNG (liquefied natural gas). LNG exports are expected to create 100,000 jobs and new investment in natural gas production. Mr. Pena explains why consumer prices for electricity can remain high even with a glut of natural gas, and why keeping the resource in the U.S. does not solve this problem. The world is demanding U.S. participation in the natural gas market.

I so hope this comes to pass. Oil might not be as abundant as sea water, but there’s enough to last for hundreds of years, if only governments would get out of the way.

Bronx teacher admits: I'm an ex-hookerBy KEVIN FASICK and YOAV GONEN Last Updated: 6:48 AM, September 27, 2010 Meet Melissa Petro -- the teacher who gives a new twist to "sex ed." The tattooed former hooker and stripper has been teaching art in a Bronx elementary school for three years, The Post has learned. Calling herself a "for mer sex worker," the well-liked teacher has been shockingly up front about her past -- posting online accounts of her sexcapades in Mexico and Lon don. But in her boldest move, the 30-year-old posted an essay this month claiming she also had...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration on Monday again asked Congress to allow oil and natural gas drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, saying $7 billion could be raised in leasing fees from energy companies. In its proposed budget for the 2009 spending year, which begins on October 1, the White House said it assumed the initial tracts in the refuge could be leased during 2010. The government would share half the $7 billion in leasing revenue with the state of Alaska. However, the Democratic-controlled Congress is against opening the area to drilling and the two leading Democratic candidates...

Occidental Petroleum Corp.'s chairman and chief executive took in more than $400 million in compensation last year, the company said in a filing, one of the biggest single-year payouts in US corporate history. The largest part of Ray Irani's 2006 payout was $270.2 million from the exercise of options awarded from 1997 to 2006, representing more than 7.1 million shares, according to the company's annual proxy statement, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in March. Irani also received $93.3 million in stock and dividends from a deferred stock program when the company closed the plan in October...

29 March 2007 Air powered car provides cost savings A car with an air-compressed engine will be able to drive around 124 miles or eight hours for just under $2. The OneCAT, created by Moteur Development International (MDI) Founder Guy Nègre, can reach a speed of 68 mph and can cover about 124 miles, or eight hours of travel, which is more than double the road coverage of an electric car. When recharging the tank, the car needs to connect to an outlet for three to four hours or attach to an air pump at a gas station for two minutes....

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The favored candidate to take Rep. Bob Ney's spot on the ticket can legally do so under Ohio law, the state attorney general said Thursday. Secretary of State Ken Blackwell had sought the opinion from Attorney General Jim Petro as Republicans considered how to replace Ney, who announced this week he would not seek re-election. State Sen. Joy Padgett is the leading candidate, and would be eligible to enter a special primary or replace Ney on the November ballot, the attorney general said. Ney, a six-term GOP lawmaker, has come under scrutiny for his ties to Jack...

While Americans complain about $3-per-gallon gas, drivers in Britain and much of continental Europe wish they had it so good, according to a story in the Washington Post. The average gasoline price in Britain has risen 19 percent since January 2005 to a national average of $6.48 a gallon. And many stations are charging well above that, with at least one in London's chic Chelsea neighborhood charging nearly $8 a gallon last weekend. What's more, drivers in 11 European countries are now paying an average of more than $6 a gallon for gasoline, according to Britain's AA Motoring Trust. The...

I just did canvassing for Blackwell among Republicans this week, again, in a key precinct of a key county (Montgomery). Out of the people I contacted---who are registered Republicans---I found perhaps 15% anti-Blackwell (didn't bother to see if they were anti-Petro, too), about 25% strong pro-Blackwell, and all the rest, as you might expect, hadn't even thought about the primary, but of those who were voting, I got "good vibes" (Yeah, I'll think about voting for him) from more than 75% of those remaining. Why is my little mini-experiment suggestive?1) Remember that, as Jay Cost showed us, OHIO IS REPUBLICAN....

Leaders of both political parties are expressing concern about the high price of gasoline. President George Bush announced yesterday that he was suspending deliveries to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in order to make more oil available to consumers as well as putting on hold the traditional regulations requiring additives to make fuel burn cleaner during the summer driving season. Meanwhile, Democratic leaders have had their own response to rising gas prices. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid has announced his support for the Menendez Amendment, which would "provide more than $6 billion in relief directly to the American people by eliminating...

April 25, 2006--Our latest survey of the race for Ohio governor shows the likely Democratic nominee, Congressman Ted Strickland, maintaining hefty and growing leads over two potential Republican opponents. Strickland leads Republican frontrunner Ken Blackwell, 52% to 35%. In March he led Secretary of State Blackwell 50% to 40%. Strickland now leads Republican Attorney General Jim Petro 51% to 31%. Last month his lead was 47% to 34%. The state's Senate race is much more competitive (see crosstabs for both Senate and Governor). Whether matched against Blackwell or Petro, Strickland is currently able to attract 25% support from GOP voters....

Ohio governor Petro's steady hand and sober approach to government would be far preferable to Blackwell's bluster and gimmickry Sunday, April 16, 2006 Rarely have this state's Re publican voters been con fronted with a more stark choice than the one they will make in the May 2 primary for governor. Attorney General Jim Petro and Secretary of State Ken Blackwell are both popular officeholders well known to Ohio voters. But of the two, Petro has the superior body of public work. He would make the better governor. If the goal of this race were to produce provocative ideas, creative...