Venezuela banking on 12.5-cent coin for economic turnaround

Nothing provides me more amusement than the absurdities of totalitarian autocrats. Take Hugo Chavez, for example, the man who changed the direction in which the horse on the coat of arms was facing, now plans a financial makeover based on a 12.5-cent coin and renaming their currency, from bolivar to strong bolivar.

I could see the press conference right now:

Somewhat-ballsy foreign reporter: "President Chavez, a considerable number of economists have said that the bolivar is on a downward slope due to inflation, how does your government plan to counter that growing inflation?"
Hugo Chavez: "Are you insinuating that the bolivar is weak? Because it says right in the name that it is not. It is the strong Bolivar, like the Venezuelan people and our libertador. But just to cover my ass in the future, in case it becomes impossible to deny that the strong bolivar is, in fact, weak, it's doubtlessly due to American imperialist intervention in Venezuela."

Briefly: Venezuela to seize foreign oil projects

CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez ordered by decree on Monday the takeover of oil projects run by foreign oil companies in Venezuela's Orinoco River region.

Chavez had previously announced the government's intention to take a majority stake by May 1 in four heavy oil-upgrading projects run by British Petroleum PLC, Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips Co., Total SA and Statoil ASA.

He said Monday that has decreed a law to proceed with the nationalizations that will see state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, taking at least a 60 percent stake in the projects.

"The privatization of oil in Venezuela has come to an end," he said on his weekday radio show, "Hello, President." "This marks the true nationalization of oil in Venezuela."

By May 1, "we will occupy these fields" and have the national flag flying on them, he said.

Here's the rest.