Chicago vs. Hugo Chávez

[sweetm2475]

By Jessica Pupovac, The NewStandard. Posted January 3, 2006.


The Chicago Transit Authority is refusing an opportunity to alleviate commuting costs for hundreds of thousands in the Windy City's low-income neighborhoods. Instead of accepting deeply discounted fuel from the Venezuela-owned Citgo Petroleum Corp., the city is instead raising fares to solve budget shortfalls.

In an October meeting with representatives from the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), the city's Department of Energy and other city officials, Citgo unveiled a plan to provide Chicago with low-cost diesel fuel. The company's stipulation, at the bidding of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, was that the CTA, in turn, pass those savings on to poor residents in the form of free or discounted fare cards.

But two months later, despite claims of a looming budget crisis, the CTA president "has no intent or plan to accept the offer," according to CTA spokesperson Ibis Antongiorgi. She gave no explanation. According to Venezuela's consul general in Chicago, Martin Sanchez, the CTA has yet to inform his office of its decision to decline the discount offer.

http://www.alternet.org/story/30296/

[Fridays Child]

1. Shameful!

What a boon that would have been to the working poor of Chicago. :(

[tatertop]

3. The poor must be made to suffer! They must get nothing!

And they must pay dearly, as well!

How fucked up is this?

[oasis]

2. We're well on our way to becoming a third world nation so why not accept

a helping hand from another in our hemisphere?

[K-W]

4. In a democracy youd think the poor would have a say in this. EOM

[SushiFan]

5. I don't care if Chavez really IS trying to embarrass GWB!

For one, GWB deserves to be embarrassed.

Second, the oil is FREE (or nearly so). Lord knows the selfish GOPigs won't do a damn thing for America's poor. And if free heating oil comes our way, we should go out of our way to ACCEPT it!!!

Even during Katrina, when GWB was telling Brownie about the heckuva job he was doing, which really was a heckuva job doing NOTHING for the NO victims, at least Castro -- no matter how hated he is by the stupid Bushies -- even Castro had compassion for the Katrina victims and offered a very large team of Cuban doctors to help the hurricane victims. Neither Brownie NOR the Bushies offered that, yet they sure told Fidel where to go after his gesture of generosity.

I can't believe at times the UTTER PIGS we have in the WH right now. They sicken me, each one of them, all the way up to Fat Ass Hateful Bitch Babs Bush. :(

[Nutmegger]

6. "She gave no explanation"

Try telling these people that they passed up the offer and are stuck with high oil because the oil industry is raping the hell out of all of us. Sick bastards...:mad: