Goni Interviewed

Interview with Goni. Interesting look at the gas export plan which caused his downfall. He explains that the gas was intended for export to the US, which would provide a price of reference to the countries other gas customers including Brazil, Argentina, and Chile.

For all the cheap rhetoric about Bolivia's current taxes on gas imports, Goni says that besides the 18% roytalites, there was also a general corporate tax, as well as a tax on financial transactions - for funds sent abroad, and lastly there was a special surtax on profits.

I have actually bothered to look at the laws, and it is all there.

Usted trató de resolver el desafío de los recursos naturales promoviendo la exportación a Estados Unidos a través de puertos chilenos, pero fue imposible. Su sucesor llevó a cabo un referéndum sobre los hidrocarburos y, a pesar de que su planteamiento mixto ganó, le fue imposible llevar a cabo el proyecto y hoy los grupos radicales piden la nacionalización. ¿Qué va a ocurrir?

A mí me acusaron de querer exportar el gas por Chile, pero el plan era mucho más complejo y tenía muchas cosas positivas. En primer lugar, se trataba de exportar a Estados Unidos para poder tener un precio de referencia y así poder negociar los precios de exportación a otros lugares, empezando por los países vecinos, como Brasil, Argentina y Chile, que necesitan nuestros hidrocarburos. En el caso de Brasil hay grandes necesidades de energía. En Argentina, con el control de precios han provocado un aumento del consumo y también necesitan abastecerse, y Chile, que también necesita abastecerse, obtiene sus recursos a través de Argentina, que depende de Bolivia. Por otro lado, mi plan para exportar gas natural líquido a California incluía no sólo regalías de 18%, sino también impuestos sobre las utilidades y remisión al exterior de utilidades, así como un sobreimpuesto (surtax) sobre utilidades extraordinarias. Habríamos incrementado los ingresos fiscales para cerrar el déficit fiscal y de balanza de pagos en pocos años, habríamos podido convertir cientos de miles de hogares y vehículos al gas natural, que abarata el costo de vida, y propuse invertir todo el dinero recaudado de regalías e impuestos de gas en infraestructura, educación y salud.

Brazilians Get Testy

According to the folks at Petroleumworld Brazil's foreign ministry dressed-down Bolivia's new Foreign Minister, Armando Loaiza at the Mercosur conference in Paraguay. In a letter and in person, the Brazilians expressed their extrem concern with Bolivia's unstable oil and gas regulations. The Brazilian gov't is a large shareholder in Petrobas, which is the largest corporation in Bolivia, the Bolivia-Brazil gas deal is of vital importance to Brazilian energy needs, and there are more phases of the project needing completion. Brazil and Bolivian trade was over 1.2 billion dollars last year, with Bolivia actually having a favorable balance.

Coerced Strikers And Mesa Admissions

La Razon has an excellent series of articles looking back at the past crisis.

THREATS AND COERCION TO PROTEST

In this report they show how residents of certain communities in El Alto were pressured to join the mobilizations. Since neighborhood assemblies and committees control the allocation of basic services, their threats to cut-off water or electric services of recalcitrant residents were to be taken serious. Those with municipal jobs were told they would be fired.

De la conversación con varios vecinos se desprende que las amenazas estaban dirigidas a privarles del derecho que tienen a servicios básicos como agua potable, la energía eléctrica o el gas y, en otros, a bloquear la regularización del derecho propietario de las viviendas o quitar los puestos de trabajo a los gremiales, que en esa urbe sobrepasan las 50 mil personas.

Since many residents of different communities started out as squatters, they depend on neighborhood committeemen for their 'registration' documents, i.e. an application to 'formalize' the resident by granting title to the plot. Residents were told if they didn't march that they would have their applications pulled, which in essence would be an eviction.

"Si no salimos a marchar, los dirigentes que tramitan la regularización del derecho propietario de nuestra urbanización nos amenazan con sacarnos de los planos y lo pueden hacer", comenta Fernando, un joven de 21 años que tiene dos hijos, trabaja en La Paz, y que durante las tres semanas del conflicto llegó caminando desde Ventilla.

MESA ON THE BRINK, NEW ADMISSIONS


As, I suspected, Mesa was trying to keep power for himself, and his last resignation was not necesarilly final, as this piece says. He was ready to pull his resignation and govern till December elections, but once Hormando Vaca showed a willingness to actually become president, Mesa balked and instead called for Vaca to give up any pretensions of actually leading.

Another Killer Article on Bolivia

Now its The Nation's turn to come up with a very insightful article, from a left-liberal perspective.

Awesome Article on Bolivia, Smackdown on Granola

What a killer article from this guy on Bolivia, I am going to end up dedicating another post to it later. Seems to be from a guy on the thinking left, sort of like the "In These Times" crowd.


One example about the insight.

The backbone of the protest movement comes less from indigenism, than from syndicalism. It's not really about the sacred nature of natural resources, or harking back to a pre-Colombian patrimony. When such statements are made, it tends to be with an eye to international supporters. The main groups behind the uprising - such as neighbourhood committees in El Alto, the makeshift city on a plateau above La Paz; and the coca-growers of the Chapare region further south - draw on the country's trades union past.

And on the other hand you have that Jim Schultz character, a clever but really biased propagandist. Amazingly enough, this guy gets cited by legit newspapers like the Boston Globe and the NYT. I know some very educated and insightful Bolivians, who should be asked for soundbites, instead of some biased gringo agitator.

Sue Em!!! Evo And Company Could Be Facing Lawsuit,

The La Paz Federation of Private Enterprises ( Federación de Empresarios Privados de La Paz (FEPLP) and Bolivian singer Adrián Barrenechea will be starting legal proceedings against those responsible for the movilizations that paralized La Paz and El Alto for three weeks, and that caused, among other things, the closing of at least 80 businesses.

Bernd Abendroth, quoted in La Razon, named as defendants in this soon to be filed action, Roberto de La Cruz, the El Alto assemblyman, the FEJUVE president Abel Mamani, labor leader, Edgar Patana, and Evo Morales.

The civil charges cited, translate roughly as: unlawful interference with free transit, and commerce, unlawful interference against public transportation, as well as penal code violations such as public instigation to commit crimes and failure to help.

The singer seems pretty peeved because he had an accident while travelling from the airport, and was not allowed by the crowds to continue on to La Paz. He says that he is filing his suit, 'in the name of the children at the Childrens hospital, in the name of the sick at the General Hospital who did not receive oxygen, gas to prepare their food. In the name of pedestrians who were attacked solely for wearing a tie...." and so on and so forth.

All the 'defendants' denied committing any crimes.


This should be interesting. If Goni can be on trial for his alleged actions against the 03 demonstrators, why not Evo and Company for the mess they caused just recently???

Formula Uno............................ Carajo!!!!!

I am so pissed off!!!

This was frickin farce, and I go all the way to Indianapolis for this!!!! Friends of mine flew in from Colombia and Mexico, another buddy had friends fly in from Germany, not to mention some of the people I hung out with who had come from every corner of the U.S. and Canada. And like that, there was a ton of Latin Americans, European, Asians and Africans, who had spent thousands of dollars to watch a round of the World Chammionship.

Most of my group of friends was well plugged in, getting text messages and cell phone calls, so we knew this was possible. The vast majority of fans though, seemed caught cold when the cars pulled in.

Truly a dark day.

Bolivian Economy

Just thought I'd republish a bit of a previous post on this subject.
If you speak Spanish, there is interesting reading on Bolivia's economy here It is Instituto Milenio's report on Bolivia's Economic performance in 2004.
Key indicators of economic performance, show that Bolivia's economy was in fairly decent shape. First it grew last year - albeit at a slower rate than the rest of South America. In addition, the national deficit was reduced, and the external debt has gone down. Government revenues have increased, mainly due to the gas exports. That has also created a favorable trade balance Increased gas exports coupled to the higher prices of gas, have contributed much to this, as has tighter discipline of government spending.

So in other words all the work done over the past 19 years or so, to first of all discipline Bolivia's battered economy in the 1980's, was paying dividends.

Realistically, in the short run, this probably did not mean much to the countries poor. But a trimmed down Bolivian government, with increased gas revenue would be in a much better position to actually invest in basics like infrastructure, nutrition, healthcare, and education for the poorest citizens of the country.

All this could have conceivably happened had the proposed plan to export of gas to the US via Chile gone through. At the very least, the multinationals would have spent well over a billion dollars in Bolivian soil, for the part of the pipeline that went through the national territory. Not only that, increased demand in Argentina, Brasil, and Chile would certainly have meant increased exports and more investment.
After the collective tantrums in the Altiplano - starting in 2002, through last month's, the country has not only suffered immediate monetary losses in the hundreds of millions of dollars, it has also lost an incredible opportunity to generate much needed money, potentially losing out on millions of dollars daily. How the hell can anyone claim this is a good thing??? 20% of a billion is better than 100% of nothing.

Is La Paz Undergoing a "Detroitization"?, The City Suffers, No Juan Gabriel in La Paz

La Razon says that after the disturbances of the past weeks many Businessmen are looking to leave La Paz and El Alto for other regions of the country and abroad. I have heard that there is widespread unease among La Paz' wealthy and middle classes, and that many of them are looking to leave the city as well.

The net effect could be the equivalent of the 'white flight' seen in several US cities in the 60's. In Detroit for example, businesses and city residents fled to the suburbs after rioting by African-Americans in the City. As in Bolivia, a lot of the rage against the white establishment was justified by the overt racism of authorities and the local elites. But, whatever the motives, in the end the result was a disaster for the City and all of its residents. A reduced tax base and a loss of business can only serve to further impoverish the area.

Turning to the topic of more immediate damages, the Chamber of Commerce has estimated that losses due to the recent disturbances at 100 million dollars, losses in the trucking sector alone are reputed to be about $10 million U.S. The paper also says that around 80 businesses ini La Paz/El Alto closed shop leaving 2,400 people unemployed.

Brasil, Argentina, Chile y Perú, meanwhile have decided to negotiate alternatives to Bolivian gas, with Peru acting as the supplier. What the article doesn't say is that speculation is that Peru might end up selling its own smaller production and buying cheaper Bolivian gas for its internal consumption and for resale.

In the City itself, City Hall is stuck with a big tab for all the windows and parks trashed by the crowds, including windows at the Palace of Culture. La Paz was also stripped of the venue for the 2006 South American games, which would have brought some welcome revenue to the City and the local merchants.

And, Juan Gabriel, the Mexican singer-songwriter, known as "El Divo de Juarez", has just cancelled his upcoming appearance in La Paz, to the sorrow of middle aged hausfraus from La Paz' wealthier neighborhoods.

Found On An Arrested Miner In La Paz.

I got done talking to a very good source in Bolivia. In the middle of protest/rioting, some miner was arrested and the cops found $5,000.00 U.S. dollars on him. He might have been one of the 'movements' paymasters, keeping the 'troops' paid. That is a hell of a lot of cash in such a poor country. Looks like someone is spreading lots of money around these so-called spontaneous protests.


Memo to Miner: Next time you use some of that 5K to bribe the cops so YOU DON'T END UP IN JAIL, YOU DUMBASS!!!!!!

Bolivia: Sendero Luminoso Groupies In El Alto, and Quispe Admits 'Guerrillas'?

Bolivia has a long history of militant college students. The Universidad Publica De El Alto (UPEA), has become the focus of current militance, its student groups have become some of the most radical and unyielding supporters of the current revolt. Student groups, ogether with the neighborhood councils and local labor were the instigators behind the current "Popular Assembly" that has declared itself an independent body.

Well, these kids have been keeping up with their Marxist-Leninism, and there is a very active Maoist group with pro-Sendero Luminoso leanings, as this piece in La Prensa shows.

Its called FRP-MLM (Frente Revolucionario del Pueblo Marxista Leninista Maoísta), and it has adopted Sendero's own motto as its own: "Die Standing, Never on Your Knees" o “morir de pie, nunca de rodillas”, You can buy Senderista literature on campus, including CD-ROM's. I remember Maoists -all four of them - infiltrating all sorts of student groups in college, where they often provided comic relief, lambasting garden variety campus radicals. The Bolivian version isn't quite as funny, especially with a message already tailored to an Andean public, and a rudderless populist movement.

QUISPE ADMITS ....In the same article he criticizes some of the campus activists for being all revolutionary first and then 'selling out' when they graduate.....

“No sigo a los estudiantes de la UPEA sino que preparo mi ejército guerrillero en el campo. Los universitarios son súper revolucionarios e indigenistas en un comienzo, pero al egresar y al usar corbatas se olvidan de la guerra. Eso pasó con el Partido Obrero Revolucionario de Guillermo Lora, donde los trotskistas ahora son de derecha. Por eso trabajo en los institutos normales superiores y en los ayllus”, aclara el “Mallku”.

He says
"I don't follow the students of UPEA, instead I prepare my guerilla army in the country."

Hmmmmm. That is interesting...

Bolivia......Where We At???

Interesting articles about the University militants in El Alto/La Paz as well as their counterparts in Santa Cruz and Tarija. They are both among the most uncompromising and militant advocates of each sides position: nationalization and autonomy. Of course, they are on different sides, but the proto-fascist behavior is the same. Big surprise that we end up with mobs of Marxists and Fascists; Bolivian Universities are stuck in 19th Century Positivism and early Marxism.

Is This The Hugo Chavez to Evo Money Connection??

On 6/2 I had posted gossip about Evo getting lots of money from suddenly cash-rich Bolivian Produce Wholesalers in Argentina. My speculation on the origin of the money, was definitively off, as Venezuela-insider points out, in his response which is a really, really, interesting read.

How about the press picking up on this one??? Or the left, which is bitching about the US's 'role'.

What happens in Buenos Aires is this: Hugo Chavez is financing Evo Morales through Argentina.

Under the guiding hand of Freddy Balzán, for a while Venezuela's
ambassador to Argentina, a group
of Bolivian Evo Morales supporters were instructed to set up wholesale produce coops. These are all-cash businesses. The proceeds from these businesses, millions of dollars, are mingled with the Freddy Balzán supplied funds (Chavez's money), and sent to Evo Morales to fuel the takeover in Bolivia.

Summing it up, it is basically the Chavez regime's way of laundering money through an all cash business. And make it appear as though Evo Morales gets his support from Bolivians in Argentina rather than directly from the Venezuelan strongman.

This makes complete sense, what better way to launder Chavez crooked money??? In Bolivia even modest sums can go a long way.

Chavez IS dangerous. My greatest fear would be him funneling guns to Evo's cohorts, for what could be a civil war.

Habemus Presidente

Well, Eduardo Rodriguez Veltze is the new president of Bolivia. He is the head of the Supreme Court, and was also Chief Counsel to the Foreign Relations Ministry. He apparently has an MPA from the Kennedy School at Harvard.

So, Hormando V. has decided not to take power, as has Cossio. They were both in line for succession after Mesa.


Self Help, El Alto style. Well, talks of Autonomy in Santa Cruz, have been trumped by El Alto, or could it be the first Bolivian "Soviet".
El Alto radicals have decided to convene a 'popular assembly' and will have their own government, that will seek to 'nationalize' the gas. La Razon says that Abel Mamani a well-known Alto activist, and Jaime Solares from the COB labor Union, are the ones doing this whole thing. Solares was the one calling for a Chavez style military leader early on.

Whats Really Up!!

Finally, someone calls it as it is. Clinton Taylor at The American Spectator calls out Evo:

"rubber-faced Marxist thug named Evo Morales, who got his start rabble-rousing among Bolivia' coca-growers. Coca-growing is legal in one part of Bolivia; but Evo represented the Chapare, the part where it's not. Since then he's become a lightning rod for the politics of grievance; anyone with an anti-U.S., pro-(illegal)-coca, statist, socialist, anti-liberal, nationalist, isolationist, or racialist axe to grind joined Evo to swing it at the fragile roots of Bolivian democracy. The last time he brought down a president, 56 people died in the riots.

Dang!! Harsh but true. I am so Effin sick of Evo-mania among the Granola leftie crowd.

He calls out their hypocrisy, and is right on point.

It's ironic, though, when you consider he has just led a putsch designed to (a): nationalize Bolivia's considerable natural gas reserves, and (b): put himself in charge of the country. Here we have a losing politician deposing a democratic government and angling to usurp a nation's petroleum reserves -- but a genuine oil-for-blood coup is fine by the lefties if the instigator's ideology checks out.

The articles conclusion is sadly right: "This is mob rule, fueled by resentment and ideology. This is anarchy."

Mind you, I am not crazy about the Spectator, specially after their B.S. articles against President Bill. But someone needed to step up and call out the lunacy going on in Bolivia.


And for something completely different
For comic relief, Norwegians protesting Rumsfeld's visit had a peace goat, notice the hot chick with said goat. I am no fan of Rumsfeld, and I dig both hot Norwegian chicks and goats (not in that way you sick fucks) so this is very appropo.

MABB has a pretty good summary of whats going on today. BBC has an item, where Mesa says that the country might be heading towards civil war.

Other news with links, include La Razon's report that leftists do not want Vaca to take the reins


Barrioflores, talks about the US reaction, which puts part of the blame on Mr. Chavez. Personally, I think Chavez' rhetoric and money, adds a lot of fuel to the fire, but Bolivians hardly need encouragement. Evo, has his own 'special' buddies with hard cash.
The granola leftie crowd, do have their grubby little paws all over this mess. They have been indoctrinating the locals, with their globaloney talk for a while.

Miners and Cops clash, as La Razon reports, five hours of tear gas on one side, and dinamite on the other. Some miner blew his hand off, Oops!

Now here is another ugly side to this whole protest 'movement' that the third world groupies don't mention. La Razon reports that there is little food in La Paz and whatever is there is high priced.


Meanwhile in the East, La Razon reports that MAS affiliated peasants took over 7 gas and oil wells in Santa Cruz


La Razon says that Cruce~o 'militants' or 'para-militaries' depending on your point of view, had a smackdown with MAS-affiliated peasants/native people's, blocking Santa Cruz routes. First of all, there are many 'colonists' in the area, namely highland residents whom previous governments encouraged to move to the region decades ago, there are also native Guarani Indians. Evo and MAS have a following there, and these are mainly the folks blocking roads out there.

But it looks like that hasn't worked out too well, since only one road remains blocked. I wonder Sta. Cruz' idea of 'self help' will escalate to full-blown paramilitaries.

Oh Crap!!! Its On!

Well Mesa has finally given it up. As Burgoa from AFP says the president has officially resigned. Evo, greedily staring the prize right in the eye, sounded kinda skeptical.

Socialist opposition leader Evo Morales, who heads the country's coca growers' union and was behind the current anti-government protests, said Mesa's resignation was "only half believable since at no time did he mention it was irrevocable."

So, it might be another gambit from Prez Mesa?? Take it to the brink.

Evo of course, dared everyone else to quit so he could be elected.

"To make us believe," Morales added, the presidents of both houses of Congress, Vaca Diaz and Cossio, should also resign "and the Supreme Court president should assume the presidency and call for presidential elections before the end of the year".

The lefties are going nuts, can't wait to get their man into office. So much for 'popular power'!!!

Underlying this whole mess is the feeling of the Aymara nationalists. Will they be happy enough with keeping control of El Alto and La Paz?? The protests and hell-raising are supposedly about the gas, but that is physically (and realistically) pretty far away. They will get denied by the autonomists, who don't want to be run by Evo and Quispe. But is that really the point???

However 'significant' this movement is, I can't avoid feeling that part of it is a 'get whitey' feeling by this marginalized population. They have reportedly been beating up workers who have the misfortune of wearing ties that day. That reeks of Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge picking up people wearing glasses as 'intellectuals.' The Aymaras have endured exploitation and a caste/race marginalization by Bolivia's 'mestizo' population. That difference is more based on dress than anything, because La Paz' purported 'white elite' is largely indistinguishable from its Aymara cousins, the only difference seems to be dress.


It takes a Venezuelan to figure out the mess Bolivians are in.

Discussing Bolivia is extremely complex. Suffice to say for now that the Bolivian "altiplano" long suffering and long exploited natives want now to benefit from the oil and gas of the Santa Cruz province, the newcomer and the booming area of Bolivia. There was a time where Bolivia fought for the Chaco in a bloody XX war. Paraguay won but no oil was found in the Chaco. Had Bolivia been more patient it would have realized that the oil was already at home. Meanwhile Santa Cruz grew in the recent decades to become the granary of Bolivia and the pole of industrial pole.

The locals do not want to have orders come from La Paz for which there is not even a real good road to connect with. Santa Cruz looks to Brazil and Mercosur. La Paz looks at its navel. Santa Cruz thinks local initiative (even if only for the local oligarchy), decentralization. La Paz is afraid to fall into the hands of radical leaders that exploit the justified resentment of their followers. Whoever wins in La Paz will only try to control Santa Cruz and get as much money as possible from there to buy off peace from El Alto.

PT Holds Off Dinger

Screw this Political BS for now.

I was in Milwaukee for the Champ Car race and we had a blast!!!! Best race I've seen at the mile in a couple of years. PT's outside pass of Jimmy V. rocked, and Dinger almost got PT at the end. Oriol ran a hell of a race, I hope Paul Newman and Carl keep him in that seat.

Tasty Rumor -- Where Evo Gets His $$$

Dudes at Petroleumworld have a really biting section, En Voz Baja, where they post rumors and cocktail party gossip. Since they are gas and oil insiders they do have fairly good sources.

This gem, has people in Argentina abuzz about some of Evo's allies. Seems like associations linked to him money-wise- have been very active in Buenos Aires' wholesale produce market recently. At a recent cocktail party for the out-going Venezuelan ambassador, some invitees expressed their astonishment at the sums of money these guys are flashing around quite openly. Bolivian wholesalers dominate the produce markets in BA, but Evo's buddies have recently began forming cooperatives south of Buenos Aires, in ever increasing numbers.

The produce market is known for being a cash and carry market. Seems like they can

clean up

, more than the market, if you know what I mean. Then Evo with a straight face can say his support comes from Bolivian businessmen abroad. yeah right......

Brinkmanship In Bolivia

The game is on!!


President Mesa with little institutional support seems to be trying to ride out the storm.

To some extent the opposition is helping him. The 'popular' movement is split. Evo Morales and the MAS leadership are in a strange position. He had no hand in the new gas and oil law, which was drafted by the 'traditional' opposition to Mesa (i.e. the vaguely leftish and center right parties). MAS' own proposal, called for an increase in royalties from 18 to 50 percent, and was not really discussed by the legislature, possibly by Evo's being out of the country. It seemed to be Evo's own form of 'compromise legislation', vis a vis the Aymara nationalists and labor unions who want nationalization.

My personal opinion is that he was trying to adopt a more 'conciliatory' line, in order to sell himself both as a traditional Bolivian power broker to the old school 'politicos' and as a statesman in eyes of foreign investors and governments. That puts him squarely in the traditional Bolivian 'caudillo' mold; guys with the street smarts and gut instinct of Chicago alderman, and who can turn on a dime. Paz Estensorro, Juan Lechin, and Jaime Paz Zamora, were all considered very radical at some point or another, but ended up going quite mainstream in the end.

But Evo may have overplayed his hand. His clout in large part comes from being able to mobilize the Altiplano peasantry, the miners, unions, (in other words a good chunk of what passes for the Aymara nationalists) as well as assorted Pace~os. These are the guys out in the street right now. And they are ticked off at Evo, because he hasn't come out 100 percent for nationalization. How does Evo get control of the movement again? At this point his feeble attempts at getting the legislature in session to grab some headlines is being undercut by the president.

Paradoxically, this disconnect between Evo from the protesters, can also kill the popular sectors momentum. They have no realistic objectives to attain, and no real agenda, they are turning into a general 'screw all politicians' movement. Mesa knows Bolivian history and he may be counting on that happening. Aymara nationalism in the past has involved big blowups which dissipate soon after - as the revolts at the end of the 19th century show. But still the president is playing it right to the limit, the Santa Cruz autonomy movement, is another factor to consider, which threatens to cut off the country.

The plot thickens -- La Paz

All hell is breaking loose, as Jean Fridsky in her story shows

It was the longest day yet. For almost twelve hours--from 9:30 am until almost 9:30pm--the Plaza San Francisco and the area surrounding it were filled with people. A reported 100,000 protesters occupied the streets and squares of La Paz today, paralyzing the city.

The protests have morphed, and there has been clashes with the police.

Partly as a reaction to this protest, is congress trying to get some discussion going on a couple of bills, one to discuss Sta. Cruz' call for a referendum, and the other one from the Andes provinces, calling to what amounts to a constitutional convention. The lefties around Evo are desperate to get anything done, so the protesters get off their case. But, the president, the speaker of the house, among others were not there, so they failed to get a quorom.


And partially in response to this, Campesinos announced further blocked roads. Transport Unions have declared a two day strike The Chamber of Commerce has called for Mesa's Head.

Evo, meanwhile is all heated up, because its his base that is running around raising hell in La Paz, and there is already a rift. The firsthand account from Narconews is pretty interesting.

to the worried expression on the face of the MAS congressman with whom Luis and I had coffee; watching Evo and other Parliamentarians chat on the floor of Congress waiting for the session to be convened while their constituencies were being repelled by rubber bullets blocks away;

The president is counting on these to blow over, and split the left.

Historical Reality and 'Autonomies' in Bolivia

There is just too much babble, and too little substance about Santa Cruz' 'autonomy' movement. Since the 'Civic Committee' is run by businessmen, some see it merely as a push by the'oligarchy' to get around the popular movement for nationalization of gas. There is some truth to that, but the reality is much more complicated.

First of all, there is a 'super-consensus' in the Andean region (namely La Paz and El Alto), for changing the way the State has done business with the Oil and Gas Companies the last ten years or so. The 'newer' law was actually drafted by a committe of mainstream politicians from the Center Right to the Center Left, and was passed through inaction of both Mesa and the radicals. It specifically tags on an extra 32% to current royalties, but does not constitute the flat-out nationalization of oil and gas fields and expulsion of multi-nationals that the miners, Aymara nationalists, and some urban residents want. It can actually be viewed as a compromise bill by the centrist parties.

The bottom line is that it is political suicide to defend the 'old' tax structure and contracts with multi-nationals, since it is intimately tied to ex-President Goni. Good number of Bolivian politicians of all stripes, are falling all over eachother, clamoring loudly against Goni and hailing the new 'soveirgnity over 'strategic resources'. President Mesa wanted to publically come out and oppose the new law, but politically he could not do so, or risk the wrath of La Paz' population, and whatever narrow base he has. Essentially, no one stepped up to the plate and made the case for the current contracts from a sensible point of view.

A lot of folks in Santa Cruz do not want this law, including private sector gas and oil workers. They feel it was imposed on them by the Altiplano. There is historical precedent for this too. When popular discontent and elite opinion in La Paz caused General Ovando to nationalize Gulf Oil's holdings some 36 years ago, many Santa Cruz residents were outraged, since many residents off all classes were directly affected by Gulf's pullout, in what was a much smaller city back then.

The 'Civico's' represent this long-held discontent, which has boiled over now that Santa Cruz residents feel -with some justification- that they are the economic capital of the country. The Altiplano - the traditional parties, the urban middle classes, and the new protest movements- in their view dominates the political life, and wields too much power over their economic destiny.
They are also frightened by the 'nationalization' talk and the potential rise of either MAS and/or the Aymara nationalists. Thats why it has not been hard to enlist the other departments, including gas-rich Tarija in their game. They feel that threatening to secede is their only card in the game. To some extent they are right, Evo who in the end is no more than another shrewd Bolivian caudillo will cut a deal if his back is against the wall. They are probably counting on the Aymara nationalization drive - to die out - or in the worst case go on a rampage in La Paz and then settle down as five centuries of Aymara revolts show. But the wild-card as always is in the military, but I would not be surprised if the 'Civicos' throw some major bucks to the Generals to keep them in control.

Silly Lefties Talking Bolivia

Silly lefty lady, finally gets it right here.
After encouraging the same kind of noisy tactics, like striking and blocking roads she says:

Strong tactics will not deliver a satisfying victory if they are not a part of a directed strategy with clear goals because the target always needs to know exactly what it is you desire. In this case, without some semblance of unity among the protesters—at best an agreed upon proposal of demands that includes formula for implementation and at worst a semantic alignment in what these mobilizations are aiming to achieve—they leave themselves open to self defeat.


But without agreement among groups on those what those demands are, the Gas War is in danger of being prolonged again or worse: those with the drive to change their nation’s course could end up feeling angry, disempowered and unwilling to wage this battle again.

The 'movement' is disjointed. They want Mesa out, and the gas nationalized, but beyond that there is no 'real' plan. They are bound to be discontent by whatever ends up happening.

Tuesday in Bolivia....

Well

Bloomberg says Repsol investors want out of Argentina and Bolivia. Don't blame 'em at all. These guys threw a lot of money Bolivia's way, and all the sudden Bolivia changes the rules on them, and even threatens to nationalize.

This article in CNN.com is pretty good at describing the 'Native' roots of the conflict.


Some lefty feels 'disapointed' by the deflation of activity on Friday.

, I couldn't help but feel fraudulent. Aren't we in the middle of a "war?" In the past week I have witnessed the most beautiful of acts: whole communities rising up - in the face of difficulty and physical repression - for what they feel is just. And now, everyone is shopping. It is hard to get used to the wave-like feeling to the current crisis. In such an unfamiliar space, I don't know whether this ebb and flow is normal or a sign that the energy is waning. I am encouraged by the planning meetings of dirgentes (leaders) that are taking place, by the rumored preparations for massive blockades and by the new phase that will accompany the return of the politicians. But I can't help but feel slightly deflated by the exodus of the cocaleros and the miners, by the continued distance between the most powerful players, and by the dissolution of the paro civico (strike) in El Alto.

What 'beauty', if this lady had an Effin clue, she'd know that Pace~o mobs have been doing this for centuries, raising hell and then going back to work as if nothing happened.

Links @ Stuff on Bolivian Crisis

Quispe is quoted as saying that "we peasants think we should separate from Bolivia. We are an Aymara Nation, like the Quechua or Guarani, and this nation has to independitize...with its own president, army, police, its own laws, and its wiphala.

The hardliners step up.....Miners, Peasants, Labor and El Alto neighborhood councils are marching on Congress in La Paz today to demand nationalization. But as La Razon notes, the council of El Alto's Micro-enterprises and small businessmen, who employ around 17,000 people, petitioned the local councils to stop the roadblocks, stating that they are forcing small business closures and putting people out of work.
Meanwhile the police says it will use force if it has to. The government is calling for the arrest of two Colonels, the labor leader, and the assemblyman for incititing a military coup

Bolivia -- Momentary Calm - On Surface

But....all hell continues to break loose.

The so-called 'truce' is a product of Mother's Day and Corpus Christi. but its just momentary. Argentina is looking to evacuate its citizens, Koffee Annan has called for peace, some legislators are looking to impeach Mesa and Castro's Granma talks joyously about the 'nationalization' of hydrocarbons.

Aymara Hip Hop

This is pretty wild.

Whats next?

A Tribe Called Quechua....

Young Bolivians Adopt Urban U.S. Pose, Hip-Hop and All




By JUAN FORERO
Published: May 26, 2005

EL ALTO, Bolivia, May 24 - This sprawling city on Bolivia's windswept high plains, home to nearly 800,000 Indians, is a tradition-bound place where the language is Aymara, the women wear derby hats and layer-cake skirts and families relax to centuries-old Andean music, which is heavy on pipes but devoid of lyrics.


In other words, not exactly the place you would expect to find a thriving, politically charged rap culture.

But El Alto - a flash point for protest and the capital of indigenous Bolivia - is seething, and a growing number of young Aymara are expressing their anger in a hard-driving rap, complete with rapid-fire lyrics excoriating Bolivia's leaders and venting about the dire social conditions of the country's Indian majority.

The Rest Here

Lula, Mesa, and a Lot of Gas

AccReuters says everything is out of control in La Paz, while the Lefties seem to suggest that things seem calmed down, amid coup rumors of course. But then again, that seems like old times in Bolivia, SNAFU.

Lula has sent a special 'envoy' Marco Aurelio Garcia to give him some sense of WTF is going on in Bolivia - and probably to cut some deals for Petrobas. Bolivia's Oil Minister sounds like he is trying to stall for time, as well as paying lip service to complying with the 'new' laws'.

This older article shows Mesa's earlier statements opposing the new law, but by not arguing forcefully against the project, Mesa let it pass by inertia, and probably saved himself some political grief. With his lack of institutional support he seems to not have many alternatives. His public statements indicating he will finish out his term, might be his way of setting the stage for a Yeltsin-like confrontation with just about everyone mobilized against him.

Some of those include the more extremist Aymara's seem to be on war footing, concentrating on La Paz arguing against the autonomy demands of Santa Cruz, which this Reuters, article says are heating things up further.

Bolivia Part ...........

Protests by miners and workers are paralyzing La Paz and blocking roads everywhere else, President Mesa publically calls for 'dialogue', and says he intends to finish out his term in 2007 in 2007, while a couple of colonels on TV warn ominously that "President Mesa should step down" and demand the nationalization of the natural gas industry.

Nasty rumors state that the Prez already has an exile set out for him in Spain, while coup rumours abound.

Bolivia and Brazil, Pipeline and Investment

This article Natural Gas Pipelines In The Southern Cone, By David Mares, from the Program on Energy and Sustainable Development at Stanford, shows what a pain in the neck it was for Bolivia's government to get Brazil and Petrobas onboard for the construction of the pipeline, and for the contracts to sell the gas. Also worth note it shows how Brazilian investment stimulated an increase in exploration and investment in Bolivia's Natural Gas resources:

Construction of the giant GASBOL pipeline began in 1997 and was completed in 1999. The Petrobrás-guaranteed market for Bolivian natural gas (along with the
privatization of the sector) encouraged massive investments in exploration and pipeline construction in Bolivia, which in turn produced certified (proven and probable) natural gas reserves that increased from a level around 170 bcm before 1997 to 1,481 bcm by January 2001 (IEA 2003). Since natural gas and petroleum are often found together, petroleum reserves also increased dramatically from 200 million barrels in 1997 to 892 million barrels by January 2001. During the construction of the GASBOL project, new reserves were discovered by a number of companies, such as Chaco, a subsidiary of BP Amoco (UK), Perez Companc (recently purchased by Petrobrás), Pluspetrol and Andina (both Argentina), Maxus, a subsidiary of YPF (now controlled by Repsol of Spain), Petrobrás, Total (France), Mobil Oil and Tesoro (both US). Bolivia now has the second gas largestreserves in Latin America after Venezuela and the most non-associated gas (ESMAP 2003;Andersen and Faris 2002; IEA 2003). Bolivia’s proven reserves now make it possible to exceed the volumes that can be shipped via the GASBOL pipeline.

Bolivia's Military and the New Gas Law

Looks like the New Oil and Gas Law will increase the tax burden on the multi-national gas producers by 240 million
One thing I am really curious about is the fact that two of the biggest companies involved in exploration, and production of natural gas in Bolivia are Petrobas and Repsol, as well as British Petroleum. Here is a 'scholarly' view of the development of this sector, this paper details the Brazilian/Petrobas side of things. So we have Spanish and Brazilian owned companies P.O.d at Bolivia. Will their governments bitch about this??? Are they already bitching. According to one estimate, foreign companies invested around 3.7 Billion dollars according to this CSM article

Nationalization is just crazy at this point. It means going back to the old days of State control, which wasn't that bad when there was talented people running it. But, corruption is inevitable no matter who runs it. Worse yet, you can end up with a situation like Venezuela's where the government has either over-estimated production, or hundreds of millions of dollars are disapearing like magic. Or you can end up like Mexico where the lack of new investment is keeping Pemex hopelessly antiquated.

The MAS and the Aymara nationalists seem split over what they want, Evo and MAS seem to be asking for 50 percent of the take, Quispe and the miners 'nationalization'. For even more fun, looks like the military wants in!!! Coup time in La Paz???
Santa Cruz and Tarija want 'autonomy', which means "screw La Paz" & "Screw the Indians" (Aymaras) who live in La Paz. The military ominously warns about threats to the nation's 'unity'. The military, - with its sizeable Aymara contingent-, has these quasi-Prussian views of itself as the guardian of the country's territorial 'integrity'. The question is where and against whom would they act? Against Santa Cruz??? Or against the mainly Indian and Mestizo folks in El Alto? Either way they would have to kick out the president first, and suspend the Congress/Senate.


L.A.

The New Irish, is how this Newsweek writer describes the role of Mexican-Americans. I would venture to say he is right, but I would also include the Puerto Rican-Mexican alliance in Chicago, who have done a masterful job of influencing City Hall. Congressman Louie's district is mostly Mexican at this point, but his machine is so well run that he beat back the well-financed challenge from Marty Castro, a very savvy Mexican-American lawyer.

Bolivia's Continuing Saga

Juan Forrero at the New York Times takes a look at the current crisis in this article. On the other hand, talking about lost opportunities Trinidad & Tobaggo is looking to capitalize on Bush's recent push to switch to natural gas.

Bolivia's Economy and Current Mess.

A little background on the present crisis. For Spanish speaking wonks, here you can find 'Instituto Milenio's report on Bolivia's Economic performance in 2004, the Institute is tied in to the MNR party. Basically, the report lays out the fact that Bolivia's economy has been growing - albeit at a slower rate than the rest of South America, and the fact that the trade balance is favorable and the government's deficit is down. That is partially explained by increases in gas prices and increased gas exports.
But, the new oil and gas law, which on its face sets an additional 32 per cent tax on gas revenues, has already had a negative effect. Foreign investment has nearly halved, and will continue to drop as companies will refuse to invest the kind of money needed for expanded production and additional exploration. Further consequences can include an emphasis on the biggest gas fields, to the detriment of the smaller ones dispersed in different areas, as well as lost market opportunities.
So in other words all the work done over the past 19 years or so, to first of all discipline Bolivia's battered economy in the 1980's, and to set the stage for the efficient use of her natural gas resources, has gone to naught. Goni's failed legislation to export gas via Chile to the U.S. was the culmination of a lot of work that different people of other parties, and the Gas and Oil Sector in Bolivia had done for decades. The people who ran YPFB might have been political appointees but they usually were drawn from the private sector, and truly were among the 'best and the brightest' in Bolivia. They had drawn up the plans to attract more foreign companies in joint ventures to explore for oil and gas, and to build a framework for these conditions to be met. Inefficient parts of the company were sold off, and foreign investment increased. All this investment paid off in more exploration, which found more natural gas.
A Bolivian financial expert, I talked to a couple of weeks ago, was despondent at how 'suicidal' the whole thing was. Talked about 'just giving up' on the country he loves so much.

Thats F'd up.

On Bolivia and L.A.

Folks are basking about Villairaigosa in L.A. Its a good step forward; a national platform showing Latino political muscle, as well as the ability to cross between racial lines.

On the other side of the Latino-Latin American political reality, Bolivia, is clearly in a mess. Yesterdays Congressional session got out of hand. One congressman made remarks that offended some of the 'native' contingent", and he was assaulted by a female colleaugue in full native regalia, bowler hat and all. El Deber on the other hand takes a look at the challenges facing Mesa, who has his back against the wall. But by letting the new gas law pass Congress, through inaction, the burden also falls on everyone else who supported all variations of the project from higher taxes to all-out nationalization. Maybe Andres Oppenheimer is right, maybe a Parlamentarian system is better.

La Eleccion En Los Angeles

So we've got a new Latino mayor in L.A. I am more than a little interested. My parents met in L.A., where my Dad was going to school, I was born in Ventura, my first sports game was watching Wooden's Bruins beat the snot out of someone in Pauley Pavillion. I spent one to two months each year at grandma's crib in Hollywood, a welcome respite from Central America, I could indulge my passion for American TV and boast of watching "Empire" at Grumman's Chinese Theater to my little buddies. Those trips, simply reinforced my attachment to L.A., in the middle of crazy moves, I still am a Lakers and Dodgers fan, and I'm still P.O.d' about the Rams. Oh well. After college I spent some time mucking around Westwood - had a blast too.

Oh well, thats me. But what does this election mean for LA.? Latinalista seems pretty geeked about it, particularly since it was not a straight 'ethnic' vote that won it. I do agree, particularly since Villaraigosa had to get African-American votes, and even siphon off some of the Anglo vote from his opponent. I would not be surprised to see some of the young Mexican-American and Latino activists I met years ago in LA, around the mayor's campaign. Mostly native Angelinos, educated and poised, they were well hooked up with the Latino Dem organization. At this point, they are probably doing what earnest young people everywhere have done upon gaining power - hooking their buddies up with gigs.
Tell you what, I still think the Latinos in Chicago's Democratic party are still more influential and organized. It probably has a lot to do with Chicago's compact nature versus L.A.'s sprawl as well as the very set Latino politician's in Chicago have to be extremely adaptive, and have learned how to deal with just about everyone. It might have been Ray Frias who I saw on TV being greeted warmly with an hola amigo" by an elderly Polish couple.

Allende, Nazi's and Chile's Military

Well, seems like this whole "Allende" myth is going the tubes, with these news stories about Allende's 'past', also in this article.

Allende's early flirtation with Nazi ideology during the 30's and 40's, was not uncommon for intellectuals in that time in Latin America. What really makes it stand out is how as a Cabinet minister he tried to pass legislation that was full of Nazi nonsense, at a time when people everywhere had no illusions about Nazism. Not surprisingly the regime he served had fascist backing

But then again, Allende's pro-Nazi attitudes were also widely shared in the military that ended up overthrowing him. Victor Frias' prior work showed how pervasive Nazi influence was in Chile, a country with a large German community. Military links between both countries, went back to the 1880's. ) Several German officers, had experience in Chile before WWI, and returned after the war.

Well before 1933, some of these officers in Chile had become ardent Nazi's. So strong was their influence on the Chilean military, that a Chilean General founded a "Nacional Socialist Party" - recognized by the Nazi party - in 1932. The German 'ex-pats' had there own party as well, and Chilean officers routinely wrote articles - in German- for it.

The Nazi propaganda machine, published Spanish-language military and medical (Doktor Allende) magazines, which were widely distributed in Latin America. Some of the editors of the military magazine were German officers who had served in Chile, and Chilean officers and diplomats in Germany often pitched in to correct grammar and spelling before publication.

With the depression affecting the US and France, and Spain in turmoil, these were about the only foreign publications available, besides the translation of the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" that Henry Ford spread around the Continent.

Ten years of direct Nazi presence and propaganda, superimposed over long-held Prussian military influence, led to a 'Nazified' military. This pattern also repeated itself in countries like Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia. When your officer corps read Wehrmacht magazines religiously, its no surprise the 1980 Constitution the Armed Forces reads that the Armed Forces "exist for the defense of the fatherland, are essential for national security, and guarantee the institutional order of the Republic" (Article 90).

Little wonder that the Pinochet regime was really, really, creepy. These guys were monsters, the stuff they did took military brutality in Latin America to new levels. It shocked the hell out of many Latin Americans, especially given Chile's reputation as a democratic country.

The U.S. looked really bad after the coup. Allende's messy and chaotic government, was 'Constitutionally Elected' after all. The US looked dumb supporting the overthrow of the 'legal' government, and replacing it with Pinochet's brutal gorillas. The State Department should have known better about what Pinochet and Co. were capable of, and at least tried to rein him in.

Yikes!!!

Dang, got to get with the program here!!! No updating this thing in more than a month.

Well Sea-Bass won the Champ Car championship, smoking Bruno in Mexico City. Well, I will be back with more material.

Random Thoughts on Champ Car Australia Broadcast.

Watched CCWS on Brasilian rede tv. Geez they do a heck of a good job. Bigtime Bruno boosters of course. But it was a joy hearing them generate excitement over lap time differences. i am not being facetious, that is how you really cover road racing.

Rede TV Site


Watching Spike re-transmission, damn what a difference. To begin with the audio plain sucked, you couldn't hear what the broadcasters were saying. . I thought I was going crazy till I saw other people online complaining.

The feed itself - from Ozzie TV- was good. Much better camera work and production than some, if not all the domestic races.

But beyond that, how about the editing of the broadcast itself?. You have an hour and 45 minutes broadcast on a race that lasted how long? about 1 hour and 30 minutes? How about cutting out some of the crap like FCY, and filling it in with the podium ceremonies and post-race interviews at the end. Or for that matter, can't they when they cut out for commercials for the re-broadcast? Someone with TIVO could have done it better. , even with time for edits. And I don't GAF about Bronte and Kangaroos!!! Stop wasting time!

A lot of folks get their imression of the series by what they watch and hear on TV. If you can't hear the broadcast crew - who aren't that stellar to begin with, you think you are watching crap. Fix it people, put some money into this, or else you won't make money.


Something else that has annoyed me for a while too.

That Champ Car Spike commercial with RHR and the kid. The kid is supposed to be playing a racing game, and the sound effect sounds like he's playing a Space Invaders straight out of 1979.
But what a crappy editing. Too much time spent on yellows, missing stuff on commercial breaks. Someone with TIVO could have done better.



Dave Phillips Saturday Notes

Dave Phillips Saturday Notes

Dave Phillips Race Story



The JPM victory was great, I kept on waiting for something to get effed up, but nothing did. Awesome lap times

Cancun Updated

I am slowly beginning to think this may be for real.

From Autosport:

Mexico to join F1 calendar
New race track in Cancun to be added to grand prix schedule for 2006

Mexico last hosted a Formula 1 grand prix in 1992

Mexico is set to win a return to the Formula 1 schedule in 2006 following the successful conclusion of talks with sport supremo Bernie Ecclestone for an event in Cancun. Official confirmation of the news, which was exclusively predicted by Autosport last year, is expected on Monday.

Talks between Mexican representatives and Ecclestone have taken place for more than 12 months but it now appears that agreement has been reached for the event to be handed an official slot on the calendar – a factor that will likely put further pressure on the British Grand Prix to justify its position.

From ITV, and they say Bernie might be there. If he shows up in Mexico City on Monday I will be more convinced.

Mexico could rejoin the F1 calendar in 2006, according to officials.

Mexico City already boasts a track, which hosted a number of grands prix up until 1992, but the plan is to build a new facility near Cancun.

The track, which would be near the international airport, would be funded almost entirely by local businessmen.

Artemio Santos, tourism minster for Quintana Roo state, said: "This benefits us in every way and gives Cancun an endless number of extra attractions.”

[B]Bernie Ecclestone is expected to fly north from Interlagos following this weekend's Brazilian GP to meet with the officials.[/B]

http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?PO_ID=31420

Video: "How To Be a Success In The IRL'

Click here for video

The CCWS Schedule According to Anonymous

This is a good post by one of my buddies , taken with his permission. It is a good summary, based on press accounts of what the schedule is shaping up to be. With the 2005 schedule release within a week, here's a little round-up of what I've managed to squeeze out of various press reports. When will it be released? - Several previous reports have today (21st) as the release date. Still possible. - According to Marcie, San Jose has scheduled a press release event on Tuesday the 26th, indicating a announcement at that time. - And third, the 28th has also been mentioned, as it is the deadline for the Molson races to sort themselves out. Bob Singleton's quote about the Edmonton/Calgary debate: "...And we know we still have until the 28th so we're not rushing it." Also, the TV announcement is supposed to be on the 28th. What's on it? Confirmed Dates & Races: April 10, Long Beach (Confirmed by LBGP Site) August 14, Denver (Confirmed by SPEED Rally schedule) Sept 24, Las Vegas (Confirmed by CCWS/CTS schedule) Confirmed races w/o dates Portland (Confirmed by 2004 CCWS contract) Jimmy the Greek's Locks of the Week Mexico City Toronto Surfer's Severe stuff would have to happen to get rid of these Cleveland Milwaukee Monterrey Mex Montreal Vancouver The rest Road America Laguna Seca The Major Proposals Edmonton/Calgary San Jose Brazil Buenos Aires Welcome to the Rumordome Poland Manchester China Dubai (wheee! I own a web site and can say anything!) South Korea (see above) Silverstone (see above above) AR1 claims to have seen a "first draft" schedule with these dates: March 20 April 10 (Long Beach) May 1 May 22 June 4 June 19 June 26 July 10 July 24 July 31 Aug. 14 (Denver) Aug. 28 Sept. 4 Sept. 18 Sept. 24 (Las Vegas) Oct. 16 Oct. 23 Nov. 6

Is Defender Starting To Lose The Faith

Is desperation starting to creep up on of EARL's biggest internet shills?


http://www.mikescomputersllc.com/fo...der=asc&start=0


Wow, is he actually revising his revisionist views?

Quote:

In a nutshell, c^rt was trying to control the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and they were largely ignoring Anton. Anton took offense. Instead of acting like adults, c^rt further self immolated themselves over and over again and the sport into oblivion. Meanwhile, Anton, being a fairly narcissistic and mostly clueless and inexperienced 'executive' ratcheted up his network of good 'ol boys and turned Indy racing into a small private club while NASCAR blossomed into something that rivals the NFL as 'America's sport.'

Some more repressed anger at Anton!!

Quote:

I've stated many times the buck stops on Anton's big ass desk. I've also stated what he needs to do to improve the areas of deficiency. I am, as a matter of fact, preparing a fresh laundry list for him. Will it have any effect? Probably not. He listens, then he keeps on doing whatever he wants. Personally, I don't see how a series with sub-1.0 television ratings can cut it. If he doesn't get those numbers up, I'm all for having the league sold, or having Anton hire someone like Eddie Gossage, who CAN get the important numbers up, to run the show.

__________________

Recent Goings On

Well, some juicy tidbits


EARL ran there race at Texas, Helio won, yeay!!! WGAF No more EARL carnage for the rest of the year.

Mexico there is all sorts of noise that Cancun will have a GP for 2006. I will believe it when Bernie shows up for that press conference.

Seven EARL races to be on ABC, wow! Big advantage there. Same as CCWS.

Carpentier, no deal with Cheever, left to Australia with nothing in his pocket. Hope the powers that be at CCWS cut a deal with him over there.

This weekend, Surfers is going to rock, and the Brazilian Grand Prix. Should be cool doubleheader.

Oh well, I will update with some cool links, maybe tomorrow.

A new and mysterious 'rumors' page has appeared on the web, many juicy tidbits from the IRL.


link to new rumors page

Dario Break Bone In Leg At Texas IRL Race

Well, even before the wreckage begins at the IRL race in Texas, someone has already had a bad wreck. Dario breaks a bone in his foot.

Franchitti’s No. 27 Andretti Green Racing Honda-Powered Dallara spun and hit the SAFER barrier in turn two during the Saturday morning practice session. He sustained a fractuire of the fifth metatarsal bone in his left foot, IRL medical officials said, but he has been cleared to drive in Sunday’s Chevy 500k. However, Franchitti and AGR officials said they weren’t sure if he would compete in the race.

Speed Story

Autoweek On TV Deal & Schedule

Unlike the Reuters article they say only six races instead of seven. Nothing new in the schedule department, its all 'maybe's' However, as far as TV is concerned, the article does say it all is really close to completion. Still no confirmation of whether it will be Speed TV or not for the remaining races, but there is this item:

Champ Car's pending domestic television package includes six time-buy broadcasts on CBS, with an option to increase the number during subsequent seasons. Remaining races in 2005 will be televised on a CBS/Viacom cable affiliate like USA or Spike, or on former cable partner Speed.
<>


Autoweek Article

CBS Deal Details Come Out

Seven races a year, on CBS for next couple of years. The creative part of the deal is that Ford gets an incentive to buy commercials during Champ Car broadcasts, by cheaper rates for NFL on CBS. Look at the ratings that NFL on CBS gets, clearly that is a huge incentive.

Link to Reuters Story

In exchange, Champ Car will get to sell advertising time. Leading Champ Car sponsor Ford Motor Co. will likely shoulder much of the costs, but not without collecting an added perk: discounted advertising time inside CBS' expensive NFL coverage.

Now for the NFL ratings.

RANK PROGRAM NAME NETWORK DAY RATING AUDIENCE
1 NFL MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL ABC Mon 13.0 14,268,000
2 CBS NFL NATIONAL CBS Sun 10.6 11,589,000
3 FOX NFL SUNDAY-SINGLE FOX Sun 9.5 10,459,000
4 CBS NFL REGIONAL CBS Sun 6.5 7,156,000

Schedule and TV News

Finally some 'semi-official' news about the TV Package, and schedule, it simply confirms what many of us knew for some time. CBS for six races, the rest on SPEED.

Link To ESPN Story.

CBS time-buy agreement
A source familiar with the negotiations revealed to ESPN.com that Champ Car management has reached a basic time-buy agreement with CBS that will see at least six races televised live on the network in 2005, growing to as many as thirteen races in 2007. The Long Beach Grand Prix may be added as a seventh network race if logistical differences can be ironed out. Scheduled on the final day of The Masters (a CBS institution), the Long Beach start could be moved up to as early as 11 a.m. to facilitate live coverage. The event could be shown on a tape-delay basis or shifted to Champ Car's cable partner, which is expected to be SPEED Channel. Champ Car's 2005 race schedule is slated for release on Oct. 21 while an announcement of the TV package is being planned for Nov. 1 in New York.

Lola's Aborted Entry Into The IRL

Indycoolest on a Trackforum thread gives a pretty good history, with quotes, of how Lola got screwed out of entering the IRL as a chassis builder. He is smacking down Jim Wilke in the process which is always good.

link


The fact that CART was exploring the concept of a "common" normally-aspirated engine formula at the time in an effort to facilitate a merger with the IRL has no bearing on the chassis formula. It would be a relatively simple matter to adapt any such engine to existing Champcar chassis; there was no need (or sense) in using IRL chassis. So, this "reason" for the IRL turning down Penske and Lola's application doesn't wash.

How about a link verifying Dome's submission of an application to supply a 2003-2005 spec chassis to the IRL?

The IRL wasn't concerned about Penske's ability to service and support its chassis -- Barnhart specifically said it -- so why was this a concern with regard to Lola? Both the Elan Group (aka Panoz G Force) and Dallara supplied chassis to other racing series in 2002, so why wasn't this a concern for them as well?

Barnhart stated that: "Factors the league is considering in applicants [to supply chassis] include experience with the Indy Racing League, financial stability, production capacity, technical support ability and plans for use of the chassis in other racing formats."

In turning down Penske's and Lola's applications, not one of these factors was cited. The league chose instead the untried start-up company, MK Racing, which had NO experience in supplying anything to the Indy Racing League (Ken Anderson had no more experience in this regard than dozens of other designers, including several at Penske and Lola), shaky financial stability (it went bankrupt), NO production capacity (it never delivered a Falcon capable of running under its own power), ZERO technical support ability (Falcon's first employees were mostly family and friends), BUT it had no stated intention of supplying chassis to CART.

The importance of the last factor was made apparent in the league's acceptance announcement of MK Racing: "Now, MK Racing has made the same commitment that Dallara and G Force did in 1996, and our competitors and fans will benefit from the competition of these three manufacturers." Exactly what was that commitment? Certainly not supplying chassis to other series. Dallara supplied chassis to Formula 3 and the Nissan World Series among other open wheel series in 2002 and Panoz is the self-proclaimed "largest manufacturer of racing cars in the world." Perhaps it was only the commitment NOT to supply CART?

In turning down Penske's application, Barnhart stated: "The league acknowledges the high level of product and excellent customer service that Penske Cars has provided in other series, but we have decided we will not consider its application further."

You say, once again: "Lola took that [i.e. question about supplying other series] to mean choose one or the other and withdrew their application to the IRL." Link please. Lola no more withdrew its application than Penske did. Reynard filed for bankruptcy on March 29, 2002. The IRL rejected Penske's application on April 23, 2002. But Lola thought it was still in the running until the IRL announcement of approved chassis manufacturers on May 25, 2002.

Lola issued a statement in response to the IRL rejection on May 31, 2002: "Lola was unable to come to a mutually acceptable agreement with the Indy Racing League regarding 2003-2005 chassis construction within their time deadline. As you might expect, we had gone a long way toward construction, committing nearly $1 million in design and development and were on the road to producing another Lola oval winner.

"Ben Bowlby and his design team produced an excellent car, one which had superb figures in wind tunnel testing. Based on that, Lola had verbal commitments in hand from several teams for our new Indy Racing chassis.

Given the likely implications of this loss of business...."

In other words, Lola was still negotiating when "their [IRL] time deadline" expired, it cost them $1 million, and it resulted in an unanticipated "loss of business." None of these are indicative of a company which withdrew its application, as you insist on repeating.

Additionally, the "several [IRL] teams" who verbally committed to buy the Lola chassis weren't questioning if Lola would "not follow through with needed support? No updates, no spares or tech folks at the track because everybody was at a CART race?"

All of which still begs the question of why the IRL chose to reject Lola's genuine application in favor of a vaporware enterprise cobbled together at the last minute?

I've talked with Lola representatives at races who indicate that they believe it was because, as you say, "Lola took [the IRL] to mean choose one [series] or the other." Why can't they state definitively, one way or the other, what the IRL's intentions were? Because nobody but the IRL knows for certain what they were. Penske, for example, was told: "The Indy Racing League is moving forward in its selection of approved chassis suppliers [without Penske] based upon what it believes is in the best interests of the league and its participants," Barnhart said.

Sports Illustrated "10 Dumbest Moments in Sports" #7 is.

SI's Top 10 Dumbest Moments in Sports, Number 7


Sports Illustrated Just came out with “Ten Dumbest Moments in Sports” (subtitled “it’s true someone has to win and someone has to lose, but nobody has to make these kinds of colossal blunders”)…

EDIT This is the Real Number 7 …

MEMORIAL DAY Lest's see - The Indianapolis 500 is a beloved institution run damn near every Memorial Day since 1911. So in 1996, open-wheel racing splits into two factions, CART and IRL. As a result the best drivers leave for a race no one cares about, and the race people care about is left with no drivers. Gentlemen, start your angina. For no good reason you've ceded motor-racing supremacy in this country to NASCAR. True, CART and IRL appear to have patched things up, but that's a bit like Hall patching things up with Oates. Will anyone still care?

Not as drastic as initially suggested. The worst part was the 'patching up' angle, not true at all. But the rest of the article clearly shows the split as being dumb for everyone concerned.

It was one of the biggest sports blunders ever. The fact that not many people talk about it as such, is simply due to how irrelevant the whole thing has become for it to even be considered a topic for discussion.

It was a stupid, stupid, mistake. The timing of it could not have been any worse: when the series was still thriving and Indy still was the biggest thing in town.
Lets thing about how big a blunder it was with the benefit of some hindsight.


Did it protect the Indy 500?: No, the 500 is not even the biggest race at that track, much less natioaally.

Did the league promote American short track drivers to get to Indy: No, the Yeley's, Kahne's, and Walkers are going elsewhere. Part of the reason had to do with the fact that equipment wasn't really all that affordable.

Did it contain costs? No, costs gradually rose to the point where they are roughly comparable to pre-split CART.


Did it promote oval racing? No, since both the series as well as CART have been forced to cut back from many domestic ovals for economic considerations. It now embraces road and street courses.


The PPG Indycar World Series operated well enough with Indy at its center. Without having to deal with the dilution of the sport and the fans, that the IRL's creation caused, a single series would have been better off with all resources in one boat.

Not to say it would be bigger than NASCAR today - which it probably wouldn't. But we would be in much better shape.



CART screwed up afterwards, because it still had re-unification fever, and put off too many crucial decisions thinking some deal could be sruck with George. But regardless the series continues to this day, and seems to be on a proper track.
Now Tony could have fixed this blunder by agreeing to some sort of re-unification when he had the chance all the way up to 2001. Seems like time ran out on him though.

Where Some Trackforum Exiles Are Now.

Howard Dolan from Trackforum, who I would refer to as a Paleo-Lemming, i.e. on e of the original oval-centric, IRL apologists from back in the day, has had his racing page for a while. Together, with Racewriter, he one of the first ones to figure out where Tony's vision was leading. Seems the Trackforumites left, consider them "Doom and Gloomers' now that they aren't so high on the current 'vision'. It does seem that Racewriter at some points does appear to be trolling over there, but then again I also remind myself of all the times that Indycool and Wilke would do the same, so screw 'em.
Now him and the other 'Paleos' like Carl S., who also tired of the George regime a while, post at this site more actively. Valid critiques of the current vision, which the Trackforum crowd, who at this point are simply a Tony George cult, cannot stomach. Also there is some real reporting on whatever short track races they go to, which is actually interesting to read, since I secretly dig the stuff. Good way to keep up with future Cup stars I guess.

Its worth a bookmark, and definitively a weekly look. Defender and Racewriter do go at it quite a bit, which is always entertaining. Its Trackforum without the restraints.

Link To Dolan's Web Site

WHAT THE VISION WAS -TONY GEORGE 2001 INTERVIEW IN AUTOMOBILE MAGAZINE

I Got this beauty from #2 at the Speed OW Board which has become a free fire zone. Gomers getting smacked down on a daily basis. Guess the Kool Aid wore off on the sensible ones, and all thats left is the bizarro cultists like Wilke and Defender.


Anyway, FTG apologists everywhere are quick to cite the old manifesto that said that road courses were a possibility in the future. But there was a heck of a lot of quotes, in which the vision was clearly in promoting an oval-centric series, where American drivers could go from the short tracks to Indy.

So from the April 2001 issue of Automobile Magazine, entitled “One Brick at a Time,” and subtitled “Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony George and Indy 500 winner Eddie Cheever discuss the state of racing in the United States.”

EC: Michael Andretti is uniquely talented. But no matter how long he tested with McLaren [before his abortive F1 season in 1993], there were certain things he didn’t know—that he couldn’t know. It’s like racing on ovals. A road racer turns up at an oval and sees it as four different corners, which is the wrong way to look at it. Kids in midgets and Silver Crown cars race on ovals 200 times a year. They’re always turning left. It becomes a habit. They get used to starts and passing and running in traffic. They can develop a driving style without spending exorbitant amounts of money.

TG: That’s one of the problems with guys who come up from driving schools or road racing: They’ve learned how to drive, but they haven’t learned how to race, because the cars tend to get strung out. The guys who come out of midgets and spring cars are used to eight-lap heat races and fifteen-lap semis and thirty-lap features, where positions—and the racetrack—change all the time. This really teaches you to change your style, your line, the way you attack the track. And, all the while, you have to stay aggressive.

TG: Now that the league is established, we have to focus on developing drivers. The support systems in Europe and Brazil create ladders to help drivers advance. They also get sponsorship very early on. We’re not just looking at driver development programs; we’re looking at driver development series/ And we want to find a sponsor who’ll help support it. People forget that, for a while, NASCAR struggled with where its stars of tomorrow were going to come from. Then Bill Davis picked up Jeff Gordon and opened everybody’s eyes to the pool of racing talent in USAC. At the time, given the road-racing orientation of CART, a lot of those USAC drivers had soured on CART. That’s one of the reasons we formed the Indy Racing League—to fill that vacuum and create opportunities for American drivers.

TG: Right now, we’re seeing young drivers capitalizing on the opportunities available to them in NASCAR. But, eventually, we hope once again to get open-wheel drivers who aspire to Indianapolis to consider the Indy Racing League a destination. I think we’re going to see the Indy Racing League and CART continue to move in different directions. We’re very narrowly focused on ovals, and we’ve developed a formula specifically for that purpose. CART tries to be all things to all people. We’ve had discussions with them about a common formula, but we’re not interested in compromising our engines or chassis.

EC: IRL should do ovals. CART should do road racing. There’s a market for both.

TG: Back in 1994, when we announced that we were going to start running a new series in January 1996, we were committed to developing a product that would be entertaining both on television and in person. Ovals make it easy for the fans. They can see most of the action from their seats. It also makes for easier, more productive coverage on television. And, obviously, there is a much greater opportunity for close side-by-side racing.

Time To Get Busy Here!!

All right kids, its time to get busy with this space. I figured out that since I write so much garbage anyway, the best thing to do was to save anything worthwile and put it here. Call it my collected ramblings. The first attempt was lame, this one will be good.

IRL at Fontana, .1 Rating, No One At Track!!!

Here is the big news, EARL race at Fontucky gets hardly 15,000 people at the track. Guess what? Championship can be decided then and there. Yet not only do they get 15,000 at the track, they get a .1 rating on ESPN!! So here's some thread I started at the Speed Boards OW section. How on earth does the EARL get a .1 rating for a race in Fontana??? Wow. Its easy, they don't have any fans left.

http://insider.speedtv.com/viewtopic.php?t=55891

What .1 And 15,000 At The Track Mean..

Its over for a lot of fans.


You know, at some point the IRL had some actual fans, who were into the whole 'vision' thing. at least for a while. They actually bought into the idea that the cheap, hideous formula cars, with the underpowered and foul-sounding engines, were the beginning of something new and cool for the Indianapolis 500 and oval racing in general.

There was some real hero's to look up to finally!!!! Man, if you heard the IRL fans at the time, you'd think that Buddy Lazier, Greg Ray, Scott Sharp, were what the U.S. public had been clamoring for since Tex, Gordo, and Lone Star JR retired. Of course many of us on the other side of the fence, had the good sense to know that these guys couldn't hold a candle to the likes of Alex Zanardi, Michael Andretti, and Greg Moore. There was one true superstar in the IRL, who could keep up with just about anyone in the country, but he was destined to leave.

But hey, whose to worry, there were still lots of new hero's at Indy!! How about the unoficial 'dean' of IRL drivers, the one and only, Eddie Cheever, "Bubble-Boy", Billy Boat, Robbie Buhl, Jeff Ward,Davey Hamilton, Mark Dismore, Robbie McGehee. How about another Lazier, and then to top it all off, the female phenom hersel!! And even the 'furiners' seemed pretty American, specially when you are under the influence of the Kool Aid. Heck, Kenny, Goodyear, and Arie look pretty American to me Isn't Roberto just another way of saying 'Bob' ? Hey, 'Salad Bar' lives in Miami right? And the 'Shigster' has to be from Hawaii.

But no matter where these hero's were from, they all took their Formula 3 knockoffs, racin' Indy-Style at all sorts of places. And the faithfull, watched on television as their hero's went wheel to wheel at tracks across the nation. And this was all a big prelude to the magical Indy 500, where even more of the All American boys would put on their show in front of 200,000 plus spectators.

Hey, all was well in EARL land, the fans had their drivers, and the kind of racing they lilked. And those big bad CART days were over. This was American hero's who lived to race on ovals and to win the big prize, the Indy 500. When you have that, who cares just how good those CART guys are!!! Seriously, Long Beach doesn't seem like Indy? Plus who wants to follow a series, whose champion is named "Alessandro" and who cares about some foreigner like Gil, Adrian, or Juan Pablo ? Heck, they had Buddy, Scott, Greg, Eddie, Billy and Sarah!!! And guess what, each fan had favorite drivers!! You could tell from nicknames at message boards that there were Cheever fans, Lazier fans, Sarah Fans. And they actually debated the merits of their favorite drivers, wore T-Shirts with their names, and sent them get well cards to the hospital when they were doing their inevitable sheet time.

We all know how the rest of the story ends. Lets just say that starting in 2000 and 2001, teams and drivers from CART start filtering back to the Speedway. Of course they trounced the IRL regulars at the 500, but that could be explained away somehow or another. But more worrying was Penske coming back. And before you knew it, Ganassi, Andretti-Green, Fernandez and Rahal - the cornerstones of the hated CART- were part of the IRL. And they came in with the backing of Honda and Toyota. And these manufacturs wanted these teams to bring their drivers from CART with them, since they had proven themselves in the other series.

Suddenly, we find out that those small teams that gave many of these 'hero's a break, became uncompetetive when the big boys showed up. Front-runners became backmarkers almost overnight. If you are a fan of a Buddy Lazier it must not have been good to see him being lapped. Other drivers simply couldn't get the sponsorship and were dropped .

All the while the flashy kids from CART with the big teams and powerful engines, imposed a new order in the series. Last year it was the Toyota and Honda year. This year, it has been a Honda year.

So who is watching??? Nobody. Did CART Fans follow these teams over to the IRL or the drivers? Absolutely not. Did many of the old school IRL types suddenly develop a new appreciation for Tony Kanaan? Not quite, some guy who was a Buddy Lazier fan since 1996 wants to see Buddy out here, and could care less about Kanaan. Same goes for the Fisher fans.

The larger point is that four years ago, a core-IRL fan was motivated to follow the Championship because his favorite driver was there in his favorite series. Now, his favorite driver is no longer in the series, due to cost increases brought about by teams that came over from a series he dislikes. And when these teams bring over their drivers, he has less of an incentive to root for any of them. To make matters worse for him, the championships have simply become battles between these same multi-driver teams and their drivers. Had they given a race seat to HIS driver he would've followed them. Since they brought their foreign driver from CART over, he resents. that. This guy might not even watch the race, and maybe he is no longer even an IRL fan.

That is one big reason why the championship deciding race at Fontana got 15,000 people in the stands, and a .1 rating. The IRL fans have left the ship already. Go take a look at Trackforum, there were more fans discussing Sarah Fisher's performance in an obscure Busch race, than there were discussing the championship battle. They have no one left to root for, and many of them simply don't care anymore. This is what happens when the Kool Aid wears off.

Bitching About Tony George, Part 10

For all the problems CART had with its management by committee, it did do a lot for
Open Wheel racing, as TG himself pointed out. It brought back OW racing in the US during the 80's when F1 withdrew, USAC imploded, and SCCA screwed up every series it touched. In the 90's it made the Indy Car World Series a formidable stand-alone racing series, with great crowds in Long Beach, Cleveland, Phoenix, Surfers, and Toronto, and world wide attention, as well as domestic sucess" Long Beach delivered a 3.0 rating in 1995.

Was NASCAR coming?? You betcha it was, and that steamroller was inevitable. Was the fall of Open Wheel racing, created by Tony George alone? No, nothing happens in a vacuum. But does Tony George bear any responsibility for what happened next. He bears the majority of the blame.

He publically decided to start a spin-off series, leveraging it with the Indianapolis 500 which was the crown jewel at the center of CART.
Remember, though, that this was the Indycar World Series, George started the Indy Racing League. So in effect, when Open Wheel racing was on solid footing, George started something that immediately diluted the very name "Indycar". Not only that, he also locked out the best teams, by his stupid 25/8 rule, and the effect of the attention that got, was akin to the bad publicity suffered by MLB during the 94 strike.

A lot of fans were ticked off, and more damaging the casual fans, knew that Tony was putting on a sham. And the ratings showed, TWO WHOLE RATING POINTS, THEY HAVE NEVER RECOVERED. At that point it was game over for the Indy 500, those who turned of, did not return.

As for CART, its decline was linked to both losing out on Indy, as well as the very dilution of its name as a race series, since it was no longer Indycar. But then again the IRL has suffered through that same problem, with the resulting confusion the last couple of years reducing both series to a niche in the United States.
The damage is done. And NASCAR not only filled the void, it capitalized. Had things been different OW Indy Style racing, could be united and healthy -- as much as it can be in this economy. Now its split and the future is uncertain.

--And in the final analysis, Tony George is responsible, because his actions directly caused the dilution of the value of both series that have been associated with his track, in a period of time where Open Wheel needed to be united. And in the long run that has probably mortally wounded his own signature race, which is the second most seen race at his own track. And after this disaster, who the #### wants this fool in control of all Open Wheel racing. Not me.