Abstract
This paper explains that corruption and dissatisfaction with the Venezuela democratic government brought Hugo Chavez to power. The author underscores that, because of Chavez's hostility towards the United States and the dependency of the U.S. on Venezuelan oil, an alternative to the current state of affairs between the US and Venezuela must be developed. The paper explores several possible alternatives to the current state of affairs between Venezuela and the United States, all carry differing costs and benefits the United States. These include using an oil embargo against Venezuela, which would severely affect the popularity of Chavez's government by cutting the funding for several of his popular social programs, developing anti-Chavez, pro-U.S. sentiment in the region of Latin America in an effort to use multilateral cooperation to control Chavez and his foreign policy agendam, and ignoring Chavez's anti-U.S. rhetoric and developing bilateral relations dealing with several issues of mutual concern. The paper concludes that the best alternative is using multilateral support to control Chavez, which has both the greatest benefit and the lowest cost and could help U.S. and Latin American relations in the future.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
History
Development of Alternative Approaches
Cost Benefit Analysis of Alternatives
Recommendation and Justification
Executive Summary

From the Paper
"Costs to developing this alternative are relatively few and would only significantly affect American policy in the Latin American region with relatively little impact on domestic issues. While the turbulent history of U.S.-Latin American relations have led to a large amount of hostility and suspicion on the part of Latin American governments towards any American involvement in the region, such a low opinion of the United States must change in order to develop the regional support necessary to control Chavez."

Tags:dependency oil anti-american rhetoric, multilateral support

Abstract
This paper examines the United States' dependence on oil and how a dependence on foreign sources of oil results in severe political, military, and humanitarian problems like the current crisis in Iraq. The paper explains that the United States currently remains the planet's biggest consumer of petroleum resources and has done little to nothing to reduce its dependence on oil. The paper notes that this in itself creates significant environmental policy problems and practical problems like pollution. The paper looks at how Iraq and its oil reserves provide potential future resources as the world's total supply of petroleum dries up. The paper then discusses the Bush administration and the crisis in Iraq. The writer believes that the United States may have dug itself into a hole - in addition to fomenting more anti-American sentiment throughout the world than existed prior to the invasion, the United States has been responsible for a humanitarian crisis in Iraq that rivals only that of Saddam himself. The writer concludes that invading Iran would obviously prove to be another costly political, economic, and humanitarian error.

From the Paper
"Access to Iraq's oil wells serves a more direct economic function. A member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Iraq is a key to crude oil pricing. Interestingly, OPEC was founded in Baghdad in 1960, proving the centrality of Iraq in the American quest for oil. In the 1970s, OPEC declared an embargo and proceeded to control the production of oil as a means to control its price per barrel. As a result, OPEC has been frankly described as "a cartel with the purpose of maximizing the price of wholesale petroleum to world markets."

Tags:petroleum, Bush, administration, rigged, gold, prices, Iran

Abstract
This paper describes the stalemate America faces in trying to find a solution to being dependent on oil from the Arab world. The author traces the history and background of this problem, and cites the end of the 1973 oil embargo as the reason that no serious research has continued in this field. The paper additionally shows how oil pricing is high and further outlines the causes of Western dependency on oil. Also analyzed is the connection between oil dependency, the increased energy needs of emerging nations and the environment. The author concludes with a call for more research and public awareness of the issue of oil dependency.

Outline:
Introduction and Background
Genesis, Continuation and Increasing of Problem
Attempted Solutions
Evidence for the Problems of High Oil Price
Causes
Effects
Solutions
Conclusion
Table "U.S. Retail Gasoline Prices"

From the Paper
"Solutions to the ongoing and continually-increasing problem of oil dependency could still be reached; if the political will and commitment were to truly exist (and in the opinion of this author, it currently does not). No real solution is viable without that. Oil lobbies would need to lose their grip on Washington politicians, which would even conceivably happen only if a groundswell of citizenry were to threaten to "un-elect" the career politicians supported, politically and sometimes, at least to an extent, personally (trips; favors) by various big oil interests."

Tags:oil, OPEC, United, States, Arab, world, petroleum, dependency, alternative, energy, sources

Abstract
The communist revolution in China crystallized and intensified the hostility between Washington and Peking. This was because the Americans had supported the Nationalist regime of Chiang Kai Shek, who had alienated the Chinese masses. The corruption of Chiang, therefore, had played a big role in fuelling the momentum of the communist revolution, which had no choice but to take on an anti-American disposition. The Korean War, which followed subsequently, solidified the antagonism between Chinese communism and the United States.

Tags:chinese-american, conflict

Abstract
This paper presents a critical review of Paul Roberts book, "The End of Oil". The paper relates that Roberts' book begins with a candid series of observations that while realistic, are also gloomy. The paper summarizes these observations and then discusses another contention made by Roberts regarding the problems with the world's energy economy. The paper also discusses some of the solutions to the world's energy economy that Roberts makes and points out some of the problems with these solutions. Lastly, the paper discusses the Bush administration's energy policies according to Roberts and concludes with a reference to Robert's concern about what will happen in the Middle East if and when the Saudi crown prince dies. He is a close ally of the U.S., but upon his death, there will be a power struggle in Saudi Arabia, and some experts are convinced that a very anti-American power structure could emerge that could cut the U.S. out of oil.

From the Paper
"Meanwhile, Roberts' book begins with a candid series of observations that while realistic, are also gloomy. In his Prologue, Roberts points out that the Middle East countries are engaged in a "perpetual state of political instability, ethnic conflict, and virulent nationalism" - and oil is at the center of this chaos. The war that the U.S. launched in 2003 in Iraq - ostensibly to remove Saddam Hussein from power - was, Roberts insists, whether "openly acknowledged or not...clearly meant to restore Middle Eastern stability and maintain Western access to a steady supply of oil." The suspicion by Roberts and many others that the current executive branch had a secret oil agenda is given credibility by the fact that the vice president, Dick Cheney, was recently the CEO of Halliburton, an oil service giant, a company in fact that was given billions in no-bid contracts to work in Iraq following the toppling of Saddam."

Tags:hidden, resource, alternative, energy, sources, nuclear, Gas-fired, plants

Abstract
In this article, the writer discusses that the driving philosophy of Tyack's book, "The One Best System: A History of American Urban Education", is that, although American rhetoric has proclaimed liberty, equality, and justice for all, when it comes to education, this is not the case. The racial makeup of a district, geography, and social background of residents can conspire to create vast discrepancies within the educational system for students. The writer looks at Tyack's book and notes that one of the reasons for the discrepancy between whites and blacks' education, rich and poor, urban and rural, is that the modern school system took shape around the time of the industrial revolution, when slavery was still an extant institution within America, when immigration was at its height and when there was a flood of people to the nation's cities. The writer presents Tyack's belief that American education seems to exist in a tension between standardization and America's love of corporate efficiency and an American belief in the individual.

From the Paper
"According to one view of the American failure to provide the same education for all students, regardless of race and class, the discrepancies in the quality of education of African-Americans and other historically socially disadvantaged groups versus white Americans is idiosyncratic, rather than systemic. In other words, there are good schools and there are bad schools. The greater rates of illiteracy, the drop-out rate, and other problems which blacks and other groups face to a greater extent than whites are due to the fact that certain schools are poorer and have inferior teachers, not systemic racism or other failures of the school system. Illiteracy is caused by a failure of schools to adhere to the 'one best' system, not endemic of flaws in the educational bureaucracy."

Tags:illiteracy, equality, teachers, public, students

Abstract
The paper researches the potential effects on the American economy of high crude oil prices in 2004. The paper discusses the dependence on oil for energy purposes and describes the energy problems in the U.S. and the world at large, including crude oil prices. The paper illustrates the effect on the American economy.

From the Paper
"High crude oil prices and in turn high prices for refined products, are the source of worries about the economy in the fall of 2004. The world's dependence on energy sources, most of which are not located in areas where they are consumed, causes the locations of world energy reserves to be as crucial a concern as are the energy surplus and deficit characteristics of the various international regions."

Tags:Crude, oil, prices, Macroeconomic, effects

Abstract
The paper explains why oil shortages and price hikes in oil result in recessions or depressions in the American economy and why, as the U.S. continues its dependence on oil, she becomes more in debt, weaker in the global market and more susceptible to rising oil prices. The paper therefore contends that the U.S. is contributing to its own demise by encouraging economic instability and a growing trade deficit that is threatening its security. The paper discusses in detail the green solution to energy and how it will not only stabilize the economy and boost it with future jobs, but will also protect the nation's security.

From the Paper
"To understand the real dependency on oil for each American, Americans need to understand how the financial welfare and the national security of the United States is dependent on oil and oil prices. Although Americans could consider the current crisis in climate change as a reason to cut down on their consumption of oil, the most prominent reason to rid themselves from their dependency on oil has to do with the economic stability and the national security of the United States. Because of their dependency on oil, Americans will continue to experience inflation at an accelerating rate, an increase in their trade deficit, and an a weakening in the value of the dollar. The fact that oil is a finite resource derived in the dangerous region of the Middle East that continues to raise the price of gasoline, heating, and other energy commodities, makes that Americans will need to change their life styles permanently."

Tags:recessions, depressions, trade, deficit, debt, fuel-efficiency, Apollo, Project

Abstract
This paper discusses the world's increasing reliance on oil even while the supply of oil is diminishing. The paper discusses the many ways that nations depend on oil and how closely tied world economies are to the production of oil. In particular, the paper focuses on the U.S. reliance and consumption of oil and how the country will be affected by an oil shortage crisis, claiming that the effects would be severe but that the U.S. would, nevertheless, overcome the crisis and adapt as necessary.

From the Paper
"We are a part of a generation that is about to witness the next great world crisis. This crisis will be an energy resource crisis. Today, oil companies are pumping more oil than they are replacing. With the majority of the worlds large oil deposits believed to be discovered the peak of growth within the oil industry has apparently been reached. This slowing of oil production is coming at the same time as population and dependency of oil are growing. Similar to the 1970's oil crisis, this unbalanced supply and demand will cause the price of oil to skyrocket. Unlike the 1970's temporary lag in oil production, the upcoming lag threatens to become a steady and constant downturn in production. This shortage will have drastic consequences on the everyday lives of nearly every person on the planet. The effects of the impending and seemingly imminent oil crisis will be broad."

Tags:global, industry, yearly, output, reserves, exploit, expensive, conoco, philips, royal, dutch/shell

Abstract
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), a federation of autonomous labor unions in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, and U.S. dependencies, was formed in 1955 by the merger of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). This paper traces the history of the AFL-CIO, including the events that led up to the 1955 merger. It also discusses the organization's political leanings, operations, and presidents.

From the Paper
"From the start of Kirkland's term, the AFL-CIO was forced to adapt to a number of adverse economic trends. Union membership dropped from 33% of all U.S. workers in 1960 to 14% in the late 1990s. To shore up organized labor's declining influence, the AFL-CIO concentrated on organizing service workers and public employees and improving labor unity. In 1981 the UAW rejoined the union; the Teamsters (1988) and United Mine Workers (1989) later followed."

Tags:UAW, social, welfare, Knights, of, Labor