Word: oiling
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...trying again. If approved, his proposal could allow him to stay in power indefinitely and use his state power to annihilate any political dissent. In the last few years, apart from disrespecting contracts with foreign oil companies and eschewing American involvement in the region, Chávez has repeatedly attacked any media outlet that opposes his rule. Most notably, two years ago he refused to renew the broadcasting license of a TV station, RCTV, that he identified with the political opposition. With such dismal track record, the power of unlimited re-election would be tantamount to burying Venezuelan democracy forever...
...Chávez is a very Latin American problem. Like his hero Simón Bolívar, he thinks he is indispensable to Venezuela, an oil-rich country that has terrible internal problems, most notably a lack of durable democratic institutions and entrenched economic inequality. In fact, he was originally an army paratrooper who became famous in 1992 when he attempted to overthrow the constitutional government in a failed coup d’etat. Old habits die hard...
...builder says the latest version of that warplane rolling off Lockheed Martin's assembly line in Fort Worth, Texas, yields "the most advanced multirole fighter available today." In fact, the hottest F-16 now in the skies is flown not by the U.S. Air Force but by the oil-rich United Arab Emirates...
...chemist Joseph Rosefield fixed peanut butter's tendency to separate by adding hydrogenated vegetable oil; he called the thick, creamy result Skippy (probably after a popular comic strip), and a brand was born. Within the decade, Skippy was fighting it out with other established brands like Peter Pan and Heinz. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches invaded children's lunch boxes soon after: by one 2002 estimate, the average American child eats 1,500 PB&J sandwiches before graduating from high school. In the 1990s, nut-allergy fears led some schools to eliminate peanuts from cafeteria menus. Still, peanut butter remains...
...Even oil- and gas-rich states are panicking. In Alaska, for instance, sinking oil prices have some state legislators scrambling to lock in education budgets for the next few years as the state prepares to dip into its savings to cover a shortfall of approximately $1.65 billion this year and up to $3 billion next year. In Montana, which earned big bucks last year from its natural resources, education is funded primarily through property taxes, and many fear that the closing of mines and aluminum plants could trigger a mass exodus and redistribute the tax base. "It doesn't look...