LETTERS.Boycott Citgo I READ WITH GREAT INTEREST AND SKEPTIcism the (June 2001) interview that reporter Matthew Estevez had with the newly installed president of Citgo, the subsidiary of Venezuelan state-owned Pdvsa. I say skepticism because while General Oswaldo Contreras says all the right things about improving Citgo's market share and bottom line, here in the world's leading market for crude oil, I can't forget that Pdvsa is now currently managed by handpicked cronies of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. While Contreras talks about the importance of Citgo to Pdvsa, Chavez roams the world disparaging dis·par·age tr.v. dis·par·aged, dis·par·ag·ing, dis·par·ag·es 1. To speak of in a slighting or disrespectful way; belittle. See Synonyms at decry. 2. To reduce in esteem or rank. the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. and our "imperialist" policies. When the political head of Venezuela continues to remind many developing country leaders of his antipathy for us gringos, this makes it very easy for me to buy my gas from Citgo's competition here in the U.S. George R. Stenger Carroliton, Georgia Software Solution ELIZABETH LOVE'S STORY ON SOFTWARE piracy The illegal copying of software for distribution within the organization, or to friends, clubs and other groups, or for duplication and resale. The software industry loses billions of dollars each year to piracy, and although it may seem innocent enough to install an application on a in the June issue ignores the primary cause of this problem. In the U.S.. Microsoft Office Microsoft's primary desktop applications for Windows and Mac. Depending on the package, it includes some combination of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and Outlook along with various Internet and other utilities. costs between US$300 and $350. In Latin America Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. , the same software costs between $700 and $800. In terms of productivity, a U.S. company can recuperate re·cu·per·ate v. To return to health or strength; recover. its investment in a few days. In Latin America, it takes several months. U.S. companies buy computers from companies that sell thousands of computers every year with huge discounts on Microsoft Windows and other programs. In Latin America, we buy computers from companies that are considered big if they sell 100 computers a year. If Microsoft and other software companies want to eliminate piracy, they should provide our countries with accessible prices. Microsoft covers its operating costs with its sales in the U.S. and other developed markets. They should not seek such enormous revenues in our countries. Richard Widman La Paz, Bolivia Missing Indicators I CONGRATULATE YOU ON THE EXCELLENT information your magazine provides but would like to know why your index and indicators section (inflation, interest rate, reserves, dollar value) does not include Honduras and Nicaragua along with the other three Central American countries listed. What's wrong? Nestor Paz Maclas Tegucigalpa, Honduras Editor's Note: The Economic Indicators Economic indicators The key statistics of the economy that reveal the direction the economy is heading in; for example, the unemployment rate and the inflation rate. section includes the 16 largest economics in Latin America in terms of gross domestic product. |
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