"In hotel corridors where oilmen in business suits once hatched deals over glasses of whiskey, delegates in Birkenstocks and guayaberas discussed Marx and Antonio Gramsci, the leftist Italian writer. Such meetings have become a staple of life in Caracas, with Mr. Chávez’s government flush, at least for now, with petrodollars that can be used to attract sympathetic members of the chattering classes the world over." The NYT would rather that petrodollars be spent on conferences on Ibn Baz and Ibn Taymiyyah sponsored by House of Saud. (thanks Aida)