Chavez silence causes concern

Abraham Lincoln may or may have not have been responsible for the famous quote “better to remain silent and thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt” Whatever the provenance of the quote it is a proverb that most of us should heed.

One person who has never heard of the golden nature of silence is Hugo Chavez, a person with an almost preternatural talent for talking nonsense and at great length.

However, According to the Guardian, Chavez has fallen silent as he recovers from emergency hip surgery in Cuba. This is out if character for a man who has reportedly interrupted normal television programming 2,135 times to address his nation since taking power in 1999. The strange quietness has fuelled a flurry of speculation and criticism back home.

Since being admitted to hospital in Cuba on 10 June, Chávez has made just two public appearances, showing up last Friday in four photographs alongside the Cuban president Raul Castro and a telephone interview with the Venezuelan Telesur television network. Meanwhile 1.6 million followers have been starved for tweets from the Venezuelan president since 4 June.

His lack of comment on a serious outbreak of prison violenc a growing power crisis have prompted criticism from the opposition parties and a spate of online rumours.

"Such poor, scarce and ambiguous medical updates inevitably trigger rumours that go from liposuction to improve his figure to a back problem that will hinder his ability to campaign, or even a more serious illness," wrote Luis Vicente León, a columnist for the opposition El Universal, on Sunday.

"It is absurd that the president can sign documents from Cuba," said Robert Bottome, from the Caracas-based consultancy VenEconomy, warning that Chávez's absence could trigger a messy scramble for power in Venezuela. "By disrespecting the constitution we are leaving the door open to serious turmoil," he said.

Such a long silence from Chavez is certainly strange. It does have one major benefit – that he has not been spouting his usual rubbish. Perhaps silence will improve his standing on the world stage elevating him form cretin to fool…

Not so red planet Mars

The lack of life on Mars, let alone any civilisations was due (at least in part) to its lower gravity (and thus the leeching of its atmosphere into space). However there is one far more rational reason a mere simpleton like myself would never have considered – and that is CAPITALISM.

Well according to deal old Hugo Chavez. “I have always said, heard, that it would not be strange that on Mars there had been civilisation, but then probably capitalism arrived, imperialism arrived, and did for this planet,” he said at an event on Tuesday to mark World Water Day.

Well there you have it I’m convinced!…. To be fair Chavez did make more sensible comments but he seems to have a knack of sounding like a dolt.

Chavez angered by slurs about “Little Hugo”

Venezuela and Little Hugo

The Telegraph (and many other sources) report that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has ordered a private television station to stop showing a Colombian soap opera featuring a troublesome dog called Little Hugo owned by a girl called Venezuela who feels better off without him.

The country's National Telecommunications Commission condemned the programme for it's "degrading treatment of Venezuela" and asked Televen to immediately stop broadcasting it.

The show is called Chepe Fortuna which features two girls: the wayward Venezuela and a better behaved sister called Colombia. Venezuela has a dog called Little Hugo.

In one episode, Venezuela is shown searching for her dog after he goes missing, calling out: "Little Hugo? Baby? Baby? Cutie?" Later Venezuela is seen crying as she talks to someone over the phone and asks: "What will become of Venezuela without Little Hugo?" A man replies: "Venezuela will be free. Lately Little Hugo was defecating everywhere."

Speaking on Saturday President Chavez (above) said: "What disrespect for Venezuela! It is a disgraceful slur on the real “Little Hugo” who is rather large and has satisfied over a thousand ladies. That soap is so horrible. “

All a bit of a cock up if you ask me…

Chavez fetes Lukashenko win

Lukashenko to be the Lucky Pierre in this threesome?

Following his unsurprising landslide victory in last week’s elections in Belarus (the only strange thing being that he did not claim that 2,377.48% of the electorate had cast votes in his favour) , it did not take long for one of the truest friends of freedom (ha!) to send his heartiest and most hyperbole-filed congratulations

Hugo Chavez, made this statement in the wake of Stalin’s, sorry Lukashenko’s victory: “It was an extraordinary day for democracy, which resulted in the re-election of the great European leader. Lukashenko knows how to lead the glorious motherland to independence, putting the sacred interests of his people ahead of the narrow- minded intentions of the world powers.”


By contrast Ahmadinejad was rather muted saying, if Press TV is to be believed (a big if) that the recent presidential election in Belarus was another "golden page in the honorable history" of the Belarusian people.

What can I say but repeat my assertion that Chavez is an utter wanker. I suppose I could rant on about the man but I just cant be bothered…

A New world order based on humanity and justice? Pah!

The more I see of Hugo Chavez and his international grandstanding, the more I loathe him. Now, according to a Washington Post report he and Ahmadinejad are united in efforts to establish a "new world order" that will eliminate Western dominance over global affairs.

Iran's state TV quoted Ahmadinejad as saying "Iran and Venezuela are united to establish a new world order based on humanity and justice,"

Much as I despise many of the actions Western nations have perpetrated and continue to perpetrate across the world, there is nothing that the vermin leading Iran have to offer to the world in terms of justice and humanity.

Clearly Chavez is far too blinkered in his hatred of the West to care that he cosies up with some of the most repressive scum around. Perhaps Venezuela would be better off without a fool like him.

Chavez is an arsehole - part 27,694

Reuters reports that Hugo Chavez's government has accused the United of fomenting violence to undermine the Iranian administration.

"The government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela categorically rejects the attempts at destabilization promoted by the U.S. government against the people and government of Iran," Venezuela's foreign ministry said in a statement.

"The Bolivarian government is surprised that a group of governments, led by the U.S. empire, are echoing a campaign to divide and spread violence among Iranians, in contravention of elemental norms of peace, non-interference and respect for sovereignty," it added.

Chavez is an idiot who chooses to side with anyone as long as they are anti American, a lazy posture that is typical of far too many fellow leftists and which takes no account of how repressive the “anti-Americans” may be.

Chavez’s response comes as no surprise, given that he and Ahmadinejad are joined at the hip. Still it shows his contempt for the people of Iran and a love of brutal despots. How long before he becomes one himself?

As far as I am concerned Chavez can fuck off and die

Hugo Chavez talks crap, part 2465

Whatever he good may or may not do in Venezuela itself, Hugo Chavez consistently shows himself to be an imbecile when it comes to world affairs.

In a televised speech socialist politicians from various countries , Chavez managed to support Carlos the Jackal, reiterate his friendship for Mugabe and Ahmadinejad and even consider that Amin was not such a bad fellow after all...

The Venezuelan president praised Carlos — aka Ilich Sanchez Ramirez, a poor little rich kid Venezuelan who was generally who took up terrorism as something to do – as a useless as a freedom fighter — "revolutionary fighter" who supported the cause of the Palestinians. (not that his acts really did much to help the Palestinian cause much. "They accuse him of being a terrorist, but Carlos really was a revolutionary fighter,"

Chavez also sought to defend other leaders he said are wrongly labelled "bad boys" internationally, including Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe and Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Chavez called both of them brothers and said he now wonders whether Ugandan dictator Idi Amin was truly as brutal as he was reputed to be.

"We thought he was a cannibal," Chavez said, referring to Amin, whose regime was notorious for torturing and killing suspected opponents in the 1970s. "I have doubts. ... I don't know, maybe he was a great nationalist, a patriot."
Carlos the Jackal was hardly a principled fighter dedicated to the Palestinian cause. He was clearly in it for the money and, presumably, the violence. What does Chavez have to say about Carlos being hired by the Securitate to kill Romanian dissidents,. not that he was successful...

As for Mugabe and Ahmadinejad, Chavez once again spits in the face of those who want a better Zimbabwe and Iran but, hey Mugabe and Ahmadinejad are anti American so it’s all okay...

And Amin, where do you start?

The more Chavez opens his mouth the more of a twat he sounds. Perhaps he would be better sticking to Venezuela and not making an idiot of him

Chavez continues to spit in the face of Iranian protestors

According to a Press TV report Hugo Chavez has stated that says that the world must respect Iran and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's eelctoral "triumph".

Cavez is reported to have said on his his weekly radio and television address"We call on the world to respect Iran because there are attempts to undermine the strength of the Iranian revolution. Ahmadinejad's triumph was a triumph all the way. They are trying to stain Ahmadinejad's triumph and through that weaken the government and the Islamic revolution. I know they will not succeed,"

At one point I would ahve given Chavez the benefit of the doubt, later I thought he was a prating idiot. Now he can f*&k off and die for all I care.

I promise to respect you in the morning

Chavez and Ahmadinejad look longingly into each other's eyes. Surely it was the start of something beautiful!

Hugo Chavez also sneers at Iranian protestors

I must thank Bob of Bob From Brockley for this link.

Sadly but unsurprisingly Hugo Chavez has stood by Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, regardless of the protests that have taken place over the last week.

A Venezuelan foreign ministry statement, "in the name of the people," hailed the "extraordinary democratic development" that resulted in Ahmadinejad's victory.
"The Bolivarian government of Venezuela expresses its firm rejection of the ferocious and unfounded campaign to discredit, from abroad, that has been unleashed against Iran, with the objective of muddying the political climate of this brother country," said the statement issued June 16. "We demand the immediate end to maneuvers to intimidate and destabilize the Islamic Revolution."”

This sort of tripe makes me sick to be a leftist. For the likes of Chavez, Milne, Galloway and far too many others it does not matter what sort of scumbag someone is so long as they are anti American

Aren’t we meant to be better than this?

Bob has collated an excellent series of posts on Iran from around the blogosphere... oh and drivel from some tit called Jams O'Donnell!

Conflict edging closer in South America

Following the death of Raul Reyes at the hand of Colombian forces Ecuador has followed Venezuela in stationing troops on its border with Colombia. There is an escalating military standoff between the three countries. Hugo Chávez, the Venezuelan President, called for the country’s armed forces to be placed on a war footing after Colombia killed a top Marxist guerrilla on Saturday just inside Ecuadorean territory. “If you think of doing this in Venezuela, we are going to send you some Sukhoi [fighter jets]," Mr Chávez said. “We don't want war, but we aren't going to allow the US empire, which is the master [of Colombia] ... to come and divide us.”

Ecuador, ruled by Rafael Correa, a Chávez ally, initially reacted calmly to news of Colombia's military operation that killed top FARC commander Raúl Reyesand at least 16 other rebel fighters. But he sharply stepped up his rhetoric after consultations with Mr Chávez, who blasted his Colombian counterpart as a "criminal" and a puppet of the US Government.

Ecuador has now expelled the Colombian ambassador in Quito, with the President calling the operation “an unacceptable aggression”.

Colombia has claimed that the Ecuadorean Government was developing links to the FARC rebels, who are classified as a terrorist group by the US and European Union. Colombian authorities displayed a document they said had come from a laptop seized from FARC rebels in the operation. The letter, which detailed a meeting between Reyes and the Ecuadorean security minister, Gustavo Larrea, showed that “Ecuador was interested in making official its relations with the FARC”, a Colombian official said.

Despite the rising tempers in the region, many analysts believe that an outright war is not imminent. Some believe that Mr Chávez is using the incident to distract from his problems at home and to rally wavering supporters to his side. “Chávez is facing an extremely difficult situation inside his own country,” said Carlos Malamud, Latin America analyst at the Madrid-based Royal Elcano Institute. “His popularity has dropped considerably and his greatest concern is the lack of basic products on the shelves. So he wants to try to rally his supporters and Venezuelans in general behind nationalist and anti-imperialist slogans.”

However, analysts worry that a misstep by any one of the three sides in the conflict could spark fighting along what has traditionally been a volatile border. “When you play with fire, you could get burnt,” Mr Malamud said. “Someone on either side could make a mistake that ends up blowing up into conflict.”

Colombian president, Álvaro Uribe, had previously ended an effort by Mr Chávez to negotiate an exchange of 40 political hostages held by FARC for hundreds of guerrillas in Colombian jails. Mr Uribe accused Venezuela’s leftist president of backing the Marxist rebels in its four-decade quest to overthrow the Colombian Government. Chávez has dropped any semblance of even-handedness in the conflict, calling Colombia’s operation “a cowardly murder” and lauding the dead FARC commander as “a true revolutionary”.

Presumably the hallmark of a true revolutionary is to be part of a group that makes money though extortion kidnapping and facilitating the cocaine trade. Perhaps Chavez will extend the same praise to the Mafia. Amidst the presidential dick swinging there is a real risk that a minor incident could be the trigger for a pointless war. Here’s hoping the people of Venezuela, Ecuador and Colombia do not have the stomach for conflict.

More Chavez stupidity

Ahmadinejad - guaranteed never to be called fascist by Chavez

It seems that the spat between King Juan Carlos and Hugo Chavez is not quite going away. On Saturday Chavez called the former Spanish prime minister, Jose Maria Aznar, a fascist, adding "fascists are not human. A snake is more human." His successor Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero reminded Chavez that "Aznar was democratically elected by the Spanish people and was a legitimate representative of the Spanish people."

Mr Chavez repeatedly tried to interrupt, despite his microphone being turned off and it was then that the king leaned forward and said: "Why don't you shut up?" The king then stormed out as Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega stepped in to back Mr Chavez

The king’s actions have been praised in Spain (For example, El Pais said Mr Chavez's outburst was "intolerable"). Yesterday, however, Chavez said the king was "imprudent" and asked if he knew in advance of the brief coup against him. As he left the Ibero-American Summit in Chile's capital, Santiago, Mr Chavez questioned whether Spain's ambassador had appeared with Venezuelan interim president Pedro Carmona during the two-day coup in 2002 with the monarch's blessing.

On Sunday, Mr Chavez said he hoped the spat would not damage relations. "But I think it's imprudent for a king to shout at a president to shut up. Mr King, we are not going to shut up."

The more I see of Chavez’s antics, the more I think he is a fool. His outburst against Aznar was childish and stupid. Of all those present Zapatero may have been most offended by the misuse of the word fascist – his grandfather was executed by francoists during the Spanish civil war. Anyway, perhaps it's a little strange that Chavez would probably never describe Ahmadinejad in the same terms.....

Heard the one about the President and the supermodel?

According to a Caracas newspaper, Naomi Campbell was wearing a "revolutionary and exquisite white dress from the prestigious Fendi fashion house" when she to met Hugo Chavez at the Miraflores palace in Caracas on Tuesday. President Chavez wore a baggy red shirt.

Better known for her tantrums than her political stance Campbell allied herself with Mr Chávez during a trip to Brazil. At an appearance before local business leaders in Sao Paulo she reportedly said: "I hate Bush." It is not clear, however, whether this statement related to the President of the USA or her views on waxing. Nevertheless, an invitation to Venezuela was secured shortly afterwards.

If Chávez was expecting a leftist firebrand he will have been disappointed by the model's comments to reporters on arriving at the presidential palace. "I'm not here to be political," she said, before revealing that this was not her first visit to Venezuela. It was, it emerged, her second. "You have a huge country," she purred, "very beautiful, with big waterfalls."

Perhaps President Chavez has seen the downside of allying himself with the likes of Mugabe and Ahmadinejad and has gone for some more media friendly choices. Next month Kate Moss and Heidi Klum will join him on his weekly “Hello President” programme for a discussion on accessorising and a rousing performance of the Internationale.

Singalongachavez

Perhaps this is an indication that Hugo Chavez is now considering options for his future career: presidential sources have stated that he has just released a CD of traditional folk music/ Titled Canciones de Siempre ( which roughly translates as Songs For All Time), the CD includes tunes that Chavez has sung during his regular Sunday programme Hello, President . At the close of each broadcast, Chavez regularly sings folk songs along with guest musicians and dancers.The CD will be available free in Venezuela.

Sadly I can only find one short clip of him singing. On the basis of this performance perhaps the CD is be intended as an alternative to custodial sentences for minor offenders.

Sources close to the President have also stated that Chavez has plans to follow this release with a collection of duets with world leaders. Although the track listing is yet to be confirmed it is believed that it will feature the following songs

People will say we’re in love - with Fidel Castro

Sometimes when we touch – with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Up where we belong with – with Robert Mugabe; and

With you I’m born again – with George W Bush

Reasonable choices but I would pay good money to hear Chavez and Ahmadinejad sing this one: