One of the Benefits of Low Oil Prices

As I was scooping cat food out this morning to the complaints of a demanding chorus of kitties, it occurred to me that one of the benefits of low oil prices is that Hugo Chavez has pretty much shut the frak up.

So I was a little surprised to see this when I started reading around the Internets:

It is a telling sign of how deeply the global economic crisis has cut: President Hugo Chávez, who initially reveled in describing the crash as proof of capitalism's flaws, is now quietly courting Western oil companies once again.

However, he might not have a lot of luck:

"An agreement on a piece of paper means nothing in Venezuela because of the way Chávez abruptly changes the rules of the game," said a Venezuelan oil executive who has had dealings with oil companies from China, Russia and other countries.