auntie, with all due respect, I very much doubt the Vice President's resignation and the President's comments have anything to do with Las Cristinas, mining or the environment in general. While this new development may bode well for us, and I certainly hope it does, I'm pretty certain that our plight and the VP and his wife/wildebeast leaving the scene are completely unrelated. There is enough corruption going 'round down there to choke a horse... they are probably part of it, or are running away from it (and Chavez). I'd certainly be heading for the hills right now if I was in their shoes... wouldn't you?