■"Arms Buying By Venezuela Worries U.S.: Planes From Brazil On Shopping List," by Juan Forero, New York Times, 15 February 2005, p. A3.

Chavez is stocking up on arms and aircraft, and New Core Brazil is more than happy to sell them to him. Why?

The New Core naturally wants to prevent the Old Core from too much domination. Bribes, by and large, go downward, not upward. The Old Core tends to bribe the New Core, and the New Core tends to bribe the Gap. When New Core Brazil is bribing Gap Venezuela, itís because the Old Core hasnít done its job on Brazil.

Whine if you want, but rising pillars donít act responsibly until the Old Core gives them responsibility. Absent that, they create their own responsibility, and we typically end up unhappy with their choices.

Meanwhile on Chavez: this is a typical bad sign for a Big Man. In the Core, we buy weapons all the time that we never use or even intend to use, but not so in the Gap. There, in that Hobbesian world, it really is use-em-or-lose-em.