The VZ takeovers are not doing well. How's that oil production doing? Keeps going down year after year. They just don't get it...or do they? Now they can get their Chinese partner to build expensive infrastructure, railways, mines, and again hand them money. They've just replaced their western expertise with eastern expertise to make them money. I think they'll find a way to screw that up eventually, too....but that's another story.

But the important thing is that because of the decline in revenue from the oil industry, and the billions they've committed to spend on weapons from Russia, they've got to help the Chinese make it happen, in spite of themselves. Chavez is a 'wild card' but I just don't believe he is stupid with a capital 'S'. If, for no other reason, he'd love to show up the west. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you...isn't the U.S. his largest trading partner , LOL