Not to deviate too much from local and national politics we thought it was still important to mention that interesting things are happening on the international front as well.
Specifically, those darn Russkies just keep pulling one prank after another; generally in the form of egging on useful idiots in other countries to cause problems.
Of course when you use the term international idiot one cannot help but think of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Recently this round mound of rebound has found increasingly perilous economic waters as the falling price of oil has dried up nearly the only revenue stream this modern-day banana republic has been able to churn out.
Immediately after the nationalization of the oil companies in Venezuela it was thought their profitability target had to be above $65 a barrel and now thanks to increasingly bad management and running off all of the international workers that were manning the plants, it's thought that number may be closer to $90 per barrel.
Hugo has just made this year a large purchase of military hardware from the Russian Federation and it's unclear if he has completed payment- which may have something to do with his recent nationalization of the country's gold mines. All this makes him even more ripe to dance at the end of Mr. Putin's string.
Additionally, and perhaps even more troubling is that Putin has invited Cuba's leadership to visit with him in Moscow. It seems doubtful that such a meeting will be to discuss how to make life in the United States more enjoyable.
It could be that we could expect trouble again on the Cuba front in addition to what's going on in Iran. The issue would certainly not be something as confrontational as the Cuban missile crisis but more likely just larger series of military exercises and perhaps an expansion of the presence of the Russian fleet in Cuba.
We should remember that the Russians have taken a large financial hit recently as well with much less structure to support them; their revenue streams are highly dependent on natural resource prices- particularly oil.
There is nothing like a little international turmoil in general and the threat of a disruption near the Straits of Hormuz by our goofy little friends in Iran to raise the price of oil even in the face of growing world supply.
We're just saying -- keep your eye on that old devil bear.
