PREVIEW: The Curious Horsemen of the Modern Apocalypse

UPDATE: (CARACAS) 15 Nov 2009 16:15:11 - Reuters - [Hugo Chavez] Government criticized for poor planning in drought
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez says he will join a team of Cuban scientists on flights to "bomb clouds" to create rain amid a severe drought that has aroused public anger due to water and electricity rationing. ...Chavez provides Cuba with subsidized oil and is a close friend of the communist island's former leader Fidel Castro. ... Chavez said Castro was in excellent health and invited the Cuban to participate in a trade conference he is hosting next month in Havana.

Scholars do not agree on what each horseman described by the Book of Revelation represents. The four ancient horsemen are often referred to as Pestilence, War, Famine, and Death.

Some may now be seeing the ancient horsemens' modern apocalyptic counterparts (Radical Mosques, Drought, Nuclear, Energy). Scholars would still disagree, however:

Manhattan, NEW YORK - Nov 13 The Washington Post - Prosecutors tie Iran, U.S. assets
FORFEITURE ACTIONS BEGIN

Prosecutors described an intricate web of ties allegedly connecting the properties to an Iranian bank that has been identified as a key financier of Tehran's nuclear [energy] and ballistic missile programs and possibly acts of terrorism.

None of the properties has been formally seized. Rather, prosecutors are formally starting the process of forfeiture, which a court must recognize.

Havana, CUBA Nov 11 Reuters - Cuba orders extreme measures to cut energy use -

The energy situation we face is critical and if we do not adopt extreme measures we will have to revert to planned blackouts affecting the population," said a recently circulated message from the Council of Ministers.

Cuba is the third country in as many weeks in the region to implement electricity rationing. Venezuela and Ecuador have both been facing shortages due to severe drought.

Caracas, VENEZUELA November 12 The Tehran Times - Venezuela’s new hydropower plant won’t be finished soon -

But the $4.3 billion Manuel Piar, or Tocoma plant, partly financed by the Inter American Development Bank, is still five years from completion, even though earlier plans called for a 2010 finish.

Hugo Chavez promotes what he calls 21st-Century socialism, nationalized electricity production in 2007. In 2008 Chavez had announced he was importing 21 small electricity plants from a close political ally, Cuba! Chavez has also told people to stop taking long showers, which could allow more water to flow to the hydropower plants. Chavez's government has ordered state bodies to cut energy use by 20%, and is restricting imports of electrical equipment that aren’t energy efficient.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, however, prefers to blame excesses of unfeeling, inhuman capitalism. He asks, What will the rich fill their swimming pools with? With the water that is denied inhabitants in the poor neighborhoods. source

Reykjavik, ICELAND Nov 12 - RÚV - Extensive Water Export Planned in East Iceland

The water would be exported to Mediterranean countries [sorry, Hugo -ed.], which lack water for agricultural and industrial purposes.

Reports show that it is a growing problem in the world; water is talked of as the ‘blue gold’ and everything indicates that many opportunities are involved in water export, Gudmundsson said.

The plan is to pump water from the Nykurhylur pool in the river Fossá in Berufjördur and transport it with pipelines to 80,000-ton tankers, RÚV (video) reports.