[Cincinatus' Wife]

Can oil and democracy mix?*** WASHINGTON -- Call it the curse of crude. The 11 countries that comprise the OPEC cartel amassed nearly $180 billion in oil revenues last year. None is a thriving democracy. Coincidence? Oil wealth hinders development of a tax-paying middle class, the very segment of society most likely to agitate for a voice in government, political economists say. Bountiful crude reserves also discourage the kind of diversification needed for a successful capitalistic economy.***

[Cincinatus' Wife]

You know things are really bad in Venezuela when...***"The decision not to send Miss Venezuela to this prestigious international contest came after we exhausted all our efforts to send our usual and always distinguished representative," the organization said in a statement on its Web site. "But the serious political and economic crisis Venezuela is going through has posed an obstacle insurmountable for the moment."***