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President Hugo Chavez relies on a group of staunch supporters outside the cabinet to help defend his government .

Many hold senior positions within the armed forces, the ruling Fifth Republic Movement (MVR), community organisations and local government.

Several are linked to the so-called Bolivarian Circles, described by the government as civil action groups which give a voice to the poorest sectors of Venezuelan society.

Named after the national hero, Liberator Simon Bolivar, about 70,000 of these community groups - which lobby the government directly for funds - have been set up across the country to fight for the rights of the marginalised and "defend the revolution".

But critics argue that what they refer to as the "Circles of Terror" have become a sort of underground armed militia.

"Commander" Lina Ron

The spread of the "Circles" has led to the emergence of a number of popular leaders. Among them is Lina Ron - emblematic leader of the People's Power Network - who has taken to the streets to defend Mr Chavez.

Ms Ron is famous for having set fire to the US flag in Bolivar Square in Caracas just days after the 11 September attacks in the US, and is known by her supporters as the "Commander".

When she was briefly arrested in November 2002 for confronting an anti-Chavez student demonstration, President Chavez defended her as a political prisoner, describing her as "a soldier who deserves the respect of all Venezuelans".

But when the opposition marched to the National Electoral Council to hand in a petition calling for a non-binding referendum on the president's rule, Lina Ron was blamed by the government for instigating violent protests by government supporters.

President Chavez described Ms Ron as "uncontrollable".

General Raul Baduel

Army General Raul Baduel was one of the officers who rose up against the short-lived Carmona government during the April 2002 attempted coup. At the time, he was chief of the 42nd Airborne Brigade of paratroopers.

Well-known for his new-age beliefs, General Baduel was the first senior officer to declare his opposition to the coup.

He helped organise the operation that rescued Mr Chavez from prison on the Caribbean island of La Orchila.

He was subsequently promoted to Commander of the 4th Armoured Division (Maracay), giving him control of the central-southern area of the country.

Critics say the general is one of three officers "co-governing" Venezuela with the president.

In December 2002, General Baduel told reporters he had received numerous calls from the opposition asking him to rise up against the government, or at least to persuade Mr Chavez to resign.

"Ideas not connected to the constitutional norm," he said, "have no hold inside the armed forces".

His cousin, Army Colonel Jose Ricardo Bozza Baduel, is one of 135 dissident officers who declared themselves in "legitimate disobedience" in October 2002.

The colonel says he does not share General Baduel's "Castro-communist sympathies".

He has called on the nation "not to be fooled by those who have a vested interest in maintaining the current corrupt Chavez government".

Mayor Freddy Bernal, Libertador municipality (Caracas)

Freddy Bernal is the president's most trusted mayor in Caracas. The opposition regard him as an ultrarevolutionary "Taleban".

He was a target of the police raids carried out on 12 April under the short-lived Carmona government.

Before taking up politics, the mayor commanded a notorious Metropolitan Police elite corps known as the Z Group. The opposition now accuse him of both arming and training the "Bolivarian Circles", an allegation he denies.

Mr Bernal was a vocal supporter of the militarisation of Caracas in November, when the National Guard began to patrol the streets of the capital following outbreaks of violence.

National Guard General Luis Felipe Acosta

Described by Mr Chavez as "a patriotic general", this National Guard officer first came into the public eye in August when he was caught on camera forcefully dispersing a group of women protesters in Valencia in Carabobo State.

When asked if his behaviour had been too aggressive, he replied "It doesn't matter. I will apologise later." This attitude provoked heated debate and calls for his resignation from within the armed forces.

However, his first great TV moment came after he had led a raid on two drinks companies, Panamco and Polar, during the recent general strike.

A belch to camera sealed his fate as the president's most extrovert general.

While this act was widely criticised, it has done little to dent his career. He says he will defend the president "at all costs".

href="www.monitor.bbc.co.uk">BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.

www.timesonline.co.uk

Patience Wheatcroft, Business Editor, asks if the energy White Paper will do enough and what will happen to oil prices.

"The Government today set out its long-awaited White Paper on the future of energy.

"Patricia Hewitt wants to cut carbon emissions over the next 50 years via a major expansion of renewable energy.

"Goals include doubling the share of electricity from renewable sources by 2020 from the existing 2010 target of 10 per cent.

"Spending on renewable energy will also be increased, rising to £348 million over four years.

"Has the White Paper gone far enough, however?

"Oil prices have pushed ahead recently.

"The drawn-out strike in Venezuela has already taken its toll, with US crude stocks recently falling to 28-year lows.

"Added to that is the prospect of war in Iraq and fears conflict could halt Middle Eastern supplies.

"Hawkish oil traders are predicting a US-led attack will go ahead in the first half of March.

"That could boost prices to $40 a barrel followed by a sharp decline if the war ends quickly.

"Matters are less clear if it drags out, however.

"What then is going to happen to oil prices and what will it mean for consumers?"

www.vheadline.com Posted: Monday, February 24, 2003 By: Paul Volgyesi

Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 13:00:01 +0100 From: Paul Volgyesi sanbasan@interware.hu To: editor@vheadline.com Subject: Bedside manners

Dear Editor: The only two politicians I've really seen acting like humans -- versus programmed lying robots (apart of the clinically mad ones) were French President Jacques Chirac when Zidane shot the winning goal at the World Cup ... that great show of humanity lasted about 30 seconds. The second is Chavez, who does it 24/7.

I have no doubt that he's guilty of not employing a horde of 'Yalie' speechwriters but lets it come right out of his tripes. Wherever he's going, he's not doing his revolution out of some ideological manual, the effects of which we've all seen with "applied socialism" (the one that wasn't scientific at all for not having been tried on rats!).

Oh yes! His language!

It's like homosexuality.  Chavez-like language from politicians used to be heard only when the *******s were ordered by courts to release their tapes.

Chavez only brings "bad manners" out of the closet.

But 120% of his listeners understand EXACTLY what he means, and his voters aren't Vassar undergrads anyway.

Besides, the more politicians talk their "bedside language," the more it costs us taxpayers zillions in Champagne and caviar ... and as far as I'm concerned, it's not worth the price.

Paul Volgyesi sanbasan@interware.hu

 www.nationalpost.com Peter Morton Financial Post Monday, February 24, 2003

WASHINGTON - As they did just before the last Iraq war a decade ago, the world's leading finance ministers have decided to sit on the sidelines while vowing to step in if the global economy takes a turn for the worst after any conflict is over.

Finance ministers from the G7 group of countries, including Canada, wrapped up their weekend meeting in Paris with no co-ordinated plan to steer the economy through the turmoil that may follow a U.S.-led attack against Saddam Hussein.

"We have no hidden plan," said Francis Mer, the French Finance Minister. "We decided that it was useless to go into details on the possible scenarios."

"Each G7 nation must take its own steps -- appropriate to its own respective sets of conditions -- to spur growth," John Snow, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, said at his first meeting of international finance ministers and their central bankers. The G7 countries are Canada, the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France and Italy. Russia was also included.

The final communiqué from the finance ministers, including Canada's John Manley, talked generally about the "geopolitical uncertainties" hanging over the global economy. The ministers avoided any direct reference to an Iraq-U.S. showdown, presumably because of the split between France and the United States over military intervention.

The finance ministers were given a private briefing by Alan Greenspan, the U.S. Federal Reserve chairman, about the impact of sharply higher oil prices -- up 33% to US$37 per barrel in the past three months -- on global economic growth.

World growth is cut by 0.5% for each US$10 per barrel rise in prices.

The good news from Mr. Greenspan was that industrialized countries have cut in half their use of oil relative to the size of their economies over the past decade. As a result, "the ability to adjust [to oil price spikes] is pretty significant," said Mr. Snow, paraphrasing the Fed chairman.

As an example, Mr. Greenspan told the finance ministers oil refineries are able to postpone maintenance schedules, while consumption also falls in response to high prices. "There's flex in the system -- I think the judgment was we'll be able to manage our way through this," Mr. Snow said.

At the same time, it is no longer in the interest of oil-producing countries to keep prices high "because it makes their market more unstable," he said.

Mr. Greenspan did admit to finance ministers that high oil prices, mainly stemming from the labour problems in Venezuela, were having an effect on the United States and other G7 economies. "It's like a tax," said Mr. Snow.

Economists are worried about the impact of high oil prices, especially on the struggling U.S. economy.

John Silva, chief economist at Wachovia Securities, said on Saturday he has cut his assessment of second-quarter growth in the United States to 1% from 3.1% as the impact of soaring gasoline prices -- now averaging US$1.66 per gallon, near the May, 2000, record -- begins to ripple through the economy.

"Higher gasoline prices are clearly taking a toll on already jittery consumers," he said. "We cut equipment spending, lowered inventory gain and increased our estimate of the nation's trade deficit." The U.S. deficit soared to a record US$435-billion last year.

Merrill Lynch & Co. said late last week that Mr. Greenspan's expectations of a 3.5% to 3.75% growth in gross domestic product were optimistic. "It will probably take a 4% annualized growth in the second half of the year to get the 'official' forecast of 3.5% to 3.75% on a fourth quarter to fourth quarter basis."

The U.S. economy, with its growing trade and government deficits, prompted some debate during the two-day meeting.

While Mr. Snow attempted to defend the US$674-billion tax cut plan of George W. Bush, other finance ministers worried about U.S. government spending.

"We have been witnessing a rapid deterioration of the U.S. current account position as well as the U.S. general government deficit, especially over the past two years," said Nikos Christodoulakis, the Greek Finance Minister. Greece is currently head of the European Union.

"Large twin deficits may create sustainability risks, which in case they materialize would have significant ramifications beyond the U.S.," he warned.

But Mr. Manley, with the economy most closely linked to the U.S., disagreed. "For the moment, we accept the view of U.S. authorities that neither deficit is as of yet a problem," he said .

Mr. Manley can afford to be more charitable than his G7 counterparts. Not only did Canada have a trade surplus with the U.S. of US$49-billion last year, it is expected to have a healthy growth rate of 4% this year, well ahead of the 3% expected by Wall Street economists for the U.S. and 1% for the European zone.

The finance ministers, however, did note in their communiqué that the G7 economies "are experiencing slower growth, yet they remain resilient." The ministers expressed confidence in the global economy, just as they did in New York days before the 1991 U.S.-led coalition attack on Iraq.

On an optimistic note, Horst Koehler, head of the International Monetary Fund, said that a short conflict in Iraq could be a positive for the global economy. In addition, most energy economists expect oil prices to drop by at least US$10 per barrel during the second half of this year if an Iraqi war is short.

What worries the ministers the most, however, is what happens in the weeks and months following a war in Iraq. The U.S. and the rest of the world slipped into a recession after the 1991 war. It took nearly two years to recover.

Anxious to avoid a repeat, the ministers attempted to offer reassurances they would take some steps, likely through lower interest rates and increased liquidity.

"We will not hesitate to act," said Wim Duisenberg, president of the European Central Bank. "The high level of uncertainty remains a key concern for growth prospects, and geopolitical concerns play a key role in this perspective."

So far, the pledges are not very reassuring.

pmorton@nationalpost.com

www.northjersey.com Friday, February 14, 2003 By KEVIN G. DeMARRAIS Staff Writer

The price signs tell the story at Wayne Exxon on Alps Road: The average price of unleaded regular in North Jersey, according to The Record's Marketbasket Survey, has increased 13 cents since mid-January, to $1.55. Heating oil prices have increased even more, from $1.45 to $1.78. (CHRIS PEDOTA/THE RECORD)

Blame it on the prospects for an attack on Iraq. Blame the lingering strike in Venezuela. Blame nervous commodities traders. You can even blame Mother Nature.

To people like Gilberto Drada, it really doesn't matter who is responsible.

What matters is that fuel prices have soared, and it costs the Little Ferry man about $50 a week to keep his small delivery truck on the road. He drives for a Paterson soda company, and a year ago the tab was $30 to $35.

"What am I going to do?" Drada said after paying $32.97, at $1.69 per gallon of diesel fuel, to fill up at a Hess station in Paramus this week. "I have to drive. It's my work."

If the increase affected drivers only, that would be bad enough. But higher energy prices could have a significant impact on an already sputtering American economy, said economist Howard Tuckman, dean of the Rutgers University Business School in Newark.

Increases in fuel prices are "the equivalent of a tax, taking money out of a consumer's pocket and putting it into a place where it is not likely to stir the economy," Tuckman said.

A number of factors that would individually push prices higher have, combined, created the recent surge.

Much is due to market concerns about disruptions of crude oil supplies from the Middle East if the United States goes to war in Iraq. If hostilities are brief and successful, oil prices could drop quickly, as they did after the Persian Gulf war 12 years ago, officials said.

At the same time, petroleum imports from Venezuela have been cut sharply by a 2½-month general strike, helping shrink the U.S. oil supply to its lowest level since 1975. Before the strike, Venezuela was the world's fifth-largest oil exporter, shipping 2.4 million barrels a day, half to the United States.

With the supply chain disrupted, some companies have taken refineries off line for early maintenance, much as a Nascar driver takes advantage of a yellow caution flag to hit the pits early, said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for the Oil Price Information Service in Lakewood.

Wallets under assault

At 269.8 million barrels, crude oil stocks are now just below the lower end of an inventory range needed to assure enough oil is available for efficient refinery operation, the Energy Department said Wednesday.

The combination pushed the price of crude over $36 a barrel Thursday, about $10 more than in November, and higher prices for gasoline and oil deliveries flow directly from that, Kloza said. "It's definitely not price gouging."

Even as supplies drop and rates rise, the number of "degree days" - a common measure of the amount of energy needed for heating - is running 40 percent higher than a year ago, creating a one-two assault on consumers' wallets.

Each of these factors has contributed to what some critics say is an overreaction by commodities traders on the New York Mercantile Exchange. "It all starts at the Merc," said Eric DeGesero, executive vice president of the Fuel Merchants Association of New Jersey in Springfield. "It is a buying momentum that feeds on itself."

The same "irrational exuberance" that Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan spoke of at the height of the stock market bubble "is permeating the energy commodity market," DeGesero said.

The unpredictability was seen Thursday when heating oil futures rose 2.2 percent in response to colder-than-normal weather in the Northeast, but natural gas futures went down for the third time this week because traders see warmer weather ahead.

That's what makes it difficult to predict where prices are going, Kloza said. "Most people think we're at elevated numbers that can't be sustained . . . but we're in the grip of irrational things happening and you don't fight emotions."

The cold-weather factor has probably peaked and refineries should be coming back on line, Kloza said. But uncertainty about Iraq and Venezuela remain, and the result is higher prices at the pumps.

In The Record's Marketbasket Survey of more than 60 North Jersey gas stations, unleaded regular has gone from $1.42 in mid-January to $1.55 this week. That is almost 36 percent higher than last year's average of $1.14, although the 2002 price was low because a post-9/11 glut forced suppliers to slash their prices.

Heating that house

Home heating oil prices have risen even more, soaring from $1.45 in January to $1.78 this week in the Marketbasket Survey. A year ago, those prices averaged $1.14.

Many increases are passed directly to customers, as with gasoline and heating oil, or through fuel surcharges, which were common among airlines and trucking companies three years ago.

But market conditions sometimes prevent businesses from passing along higher prices, however, and that can be a problem, Tuckman said. "Firms in extremely competitive markets may have to swallow the increase."

If the company is on the edge financially, the inability to pass along higher costs to customers could be enough to push it out of business or into bankruptcy, he said.

Many of the nation's airlines are at that point now, so a significant and sustained run-up in fuel prices "could definitely tip them over into bankruptcy by early summer," Tuckman said.

In a similar way, higher heating bills will put state agencies and universities under increased financial pressures, and "will magnify the budget cuts by the governor," he said.

About the only people and companies not paying higher prices are those that hedged by locking in prices last year.

That includes heating oil customers who signed up for a guaranteed price last summer and gas heat customers, who benefit from Public Service Electric and Gas Co.'s advance purchase of 80 percent of its natural gas at a preset price.

But the additional 20 percent has to be purchased on the open market - where gas prices have more than doubled in the past year - so customers face higher charges down the road.

Some airlines also have locked in prices for some of their jet fuel - which is similar to home heating oil and diesel - but that may not be enough.

"We're hedged through the first quarter," said Julie King, a spokeswoman for Houston-based Continental Airlines. "It's always an item that we watch carefully, and can definitely have an impact on our business."

In the past, airlines have imposed fuel surcharges. Under federal rules, the carriers are prohibited from announcing them in advance.