RANT: Venezuela’s Oil Fantasy?

Saturday, February 14, 2026

https://internationalman.com/articles/venezuelas-oil-fantasy-meets-physical-reality/

Venezuela’s Oil Fantasy Meets Physical Reality
by Chris MacIntosh

My friend Tracy Schuchart makes the point well:

“Canada exports 4.3M bpd to the US. Venezuela’s entire production is 23% of what Canada already ships.

The rebuild timeline is a decade minimum, likely longer. Rice University’s Monaldi says at least 10 years and $100+ billion in investment to get back to 4 million bpd. PDVSA itself says $58 billion just for pipelines that haven’t been updated in 50 years. That’s before you drill a single new well.

Here’s the part markets are missing: Trump doesn’t control the oil. The VP who hates the US is in charge. No stable pro-Western government means no foreign investment. Nobody’s pouring $100 billion into a country run by someone hostile to them. The whole supply increase story requires political stability that doesn’t exist.

Canadian infrastructure is already built and connected. Alberta to US Gulf Coast and Midwest refineries through established pipelines. Those refineries are configured for Canadian heavy crude after decades of optimization.

Even if Venezuela eventually gets production up in the 2030s, it’s the same heavy sour crude Canada produces. More heavy crude globally just validates continued investment in heavy crude refining infrastructure, which benefits Canada.”

# – # – # – # – #

So all this posturing about “Venezuela’s Oil” is decades away from benefitting JoeSixPacK.  So why are we even involved.  

DJT47 is distracted from the real problems of the USA — debt, deficits, fraud, and the deep state.

I remember when James Carville and Bill Clinton papered the White House offices with: “It’s the ECONOMY, stupid”.  And low and behold, with a Republican controlled House and Senate, the economy improved.

Maybe there’s a lesson for DJT47, politicians, and bureaucrats!

“ … … debt, deficits, fraud, and the deep state … … “

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DISCOURAGING: The Trump administration is really like a Monty Python skit

Wednesday, January 7, 2026

https://internationalman.com/articles/dropping-the-facade-propaganda-power-and-the-absurdity-of-empire/

Dropping the Façade: Propaganda, Power, and the Absurdity of Empire

by Chris MacIntosh

*** begin quote ***

It’s like we’re living in a live Monty Python skit. If we are to consider that the Trump administration can end wars started by previous administrations (pretty easy to cut the funding), then the current podium donut of the Deep State in the US has failed spectacularly.

Existing wars: Ukraine and Israel’s war. Can’t really call it a war, but… well, that conflict.

Trump has continued to fund the oligarchs in Ukraine. He’s continued to fund the Zionists’ genocide in Gaza. He’s bombed Iran on behalf of his handlers. He’s bombed Yemen, funded and assisted in the overthrow of Syria and installed the previous head of ISIS (you can’t make this shit up). And he’s now threatening war with both Venezuela and Colombia on the laughable excuse of “drug trafficking.”

It is the most insane inversion of the truth. I understand how history tends to unfold, and reading through the collapse of previous empires I’m quite sure that none were so terribly absurd as this. Curiously, the rest of the world is no longer playing by the empire’s rules.

*** end quote ***

In this article, he uses “words” and phrases that are really quite good.  I particularly like the phrase “podium donuts” to describe pundit and spokespeople who say a lot of words but really say nothing.  There is a “word” “shulbit” which I haven’t heard since I worked on Wall Street.  They used it to describe politely <synonym for excrement from a male cow> accounting. 

The substance of the whole rant is that DJT4547 could stop these conflicts with the stroke of his pen.  What can anyone do to him?  That hasn’t been done already.  Impeachment?  Sure go ahead and try.  He can’t be reelected, so there’s no threat there.  “They” have already tried to kill him twice.

DJT wants to have legacy?  Just cutoff the money supply to ALL foreign and domestic war mongers.

Remember Gandhi?  He stopped Muslim Hindu violence cold with a hunger strike.  

That’s a peace prize that is within his grasp if he just has the stones to do it.

I’d like to think I could, but it would take a heroic level of courage.

Dona Nobis Pacem

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