Freshly stoked by his appearance at Castro's recent frat party for all the coolest dictators and totalitarian loons - also known as the Non-Aligned Movement - Hugo Chavez appeared at the UN this week as the highlight of their annual ranting dictators week.
Eclipsing the bizarre messianic ranting of his new blood-brother Mamoud Ahmadinejad the day before, Chavez launched into a rich exploration of the kind of disjointed paranoid rambling which only a fledgling dictator can truly express. His speech started out with an endorsement for his new bible, Hegemony of Survival: The Imperialist Strategy of the United States, the latest opus from delusional socialist blowhard, Noam Chomsky. He then proceeded to an in-depth critique of President Bush's speech from the day before which mostly focused on his conviction that Bush is "imperialist, fascist, assassin, genocidal" and apparently the devil in human form, tainting the UN with the stench of sulfur. This is not my characterization of the speech, but actually what Chavez said, several times.
Then he got to the meat of his speech, and it came as a surprise. Chavez wants to reform the United Nations! He said:
But we, the assembly, have been turned into a merely deliberative organ. We have no power, no power to make any impact on the terrible situation in the world. And that is why Venezuela once again proposes, here, today, 20 September, that we re-establish the United Nations.
Well, that sounds like a good idea. That's something many in the United States have been talking about for years now. But then Chavez offered his Swiftian "modest proposals" (yes, he actually used that term), which apparently consisted of including more dictatorships on the Security Council, getting rid of the veto power and strengthening the Secretary General's powers - presumably so that Kofi Annan can engage in even more graft and corruption. But then he got to his main point. What's wrong with the UN is apparently that Venezuela doesn't have a seat on the Security Council and their headquarters is in the wrong place - it ought to be in Venezuela. 
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Patrick Binder
I know blogs are just opinions, but I wish writers of blogs would inform themselves before writting. This is no more than a speil of uninformed commentary. I would list them with correction but there are so many... I wish readers would please go inform them selves of the facts in this world after reading this and compare them to this misinformation.
2 - JustOneMan
Binder...whats yer point?
3 - YA
Why is Chavez crazy? Is name calling your only argument? Let's see what he said: he called Bush the Devil. Ok, how is that different from Bush calling countries an "Axis of Evil"? He said the US is harboring a known terrorist (the guy who blew up a Cuban civilian plane); well, that's true. He says the US govt may have a hand in 9/11. Well, there is something very fishy with the official "explanation" of 9/11. So, what do you have apart from "crazy"? I am not a big fan of Chavez either, but if all you have is name calling, you might want to save yourself the time. Maybe you could take up reading for instance; Chomsky wrote a great book called Hegemony or Survival. It's well argued, well documented, and does not contain any name calling. You could learn a lot...
4 - Buffalo Alice
Excellent article - very entertaining commentary! Keep up the great, witty, blogging!
5 - Rick Donaldson
Apprarently the author IS informed here, and apparently the previous poster, Mr. Binder is uninformed and ignorant of real life.
Any speaker who starts his speach with a leftist, anti-American, pro-communist book, or anything by Noam Chomsky obviously is one of the ignorant and misinformed.
Trans Asian Axis
6 - Bilnatlanta
I don't think Bush is the devil, the devil's smarter than Bush.
7 - Jamba
Chavez just insulted the devil.
8 - Steve
In your quote below you equate the questioning of U.S policy with "hatred of their own country"
"The second is the culpability of the extreme left in America and people like Noam Comsky for providing encouragment and an appearance of legitimacy to Chavez. As long as he has their hatred of their own country to bolster his position there will be continue to be people who take him seriously no matter what craziness he spews.
This love it or leave it stuff is so oldschool..
It ain't that simple cowboy.
and i know the "gatekeeper" is too insecure to put this up on your website...i tried at least
9 - MOH
What's really funny about this is that the blog writer seems so cock-sure of himself. The guy doesn't even know that the world's largest democracy, yes you read it right WORLD's LARGEST is also a member of NAM. And with so many personal attacks in the blog this line just before the feedback column says:
Personal attacks are not allowed. Please read our comment policy.
Truly, truly funny. keep it up and you just might enter the loony heaven.
10 - JustOneMan
Yes...the test are conclusive...the left has gone so insane that they are actually embracing those who spend every waking minute thinking of ways to kill us or destry our way of life all because their side is incapable of running a competent candidate for president...
Sad but true...
11 - SumDude
Hey, if you live in the USA it seems no amount of name-calling (axis of evil) or blatant lying (Iraq has WMDs) can be held against you. For the rest of the world, this doesn't seem to count.
12 - Jimmy D
Please give me one verifiable example where Chomsky is being "ignorant" or has been "misinformed" in this book. Or in any other actually. But be warned... you'll have to actually read him.
13 - JustOneMan
SumDude....
Does the rest of the worl matter when assholes are trying to kill us???
Fools....
14 - zingzing
chavez wants to kill us? the mighty venezuela? oh dear god. can we blow them up now?
wait, wait, he actually tried to kill us? damn. i didn't even hear the bullet. must have been going really fast.
you worry too much. just relax.
15 - JustOneMan
Zing you almost had me their...It would have been interesting headlines to read about both the Iranian and Venezuela scum bags being shot in a hold up at either an adult bookstore or bathhouse during their visit to NYC!
16 - zingzing
what? don't get it.
17 - Brian aka Guppusmaximus
"..blatant lying (Iraq has WMDs)..."
SumeDude - I think this article covers the fact that the UN is rather worthless,so, what makes you think that their inspectors are educated enough to find such weapons?
" didn't even hear the bullet. must have been going really fast."
Well, you know what they say... It's the ones that you don't hear that kill you. Or maybe you don't... Did you serve for your country, Zing?
18 - Brian aka Guppusmaximus
Dave,
Right on!! Hugo Chavez is a crazy f*ck and if he hated the US so much why does he try to emulate our country so much? Oh wait, that's because Castro whispers BS into his ear...
19 - Adam Ash
Chavez is not a dictator. He was elected president of Venezuela by a clear majority, which is more than you can say for our president.
As for him calling Bush the devil, many Americans agree with Chavez. What do you call a man who goes and bombs another country and kills over a 100,000 of its citizens for no discernible good reason at all?
Terrorist? War-monger? Asshole? I think devil is just fine.
If you compare the speeches of Bush and Chavez, Bush comes across as a moron with a tin ear for his audience, while Chavez is witty and incisive, and got a massive ovation, unlike the polite applause for Bush.
And Chavez actually reads intellectual books, while our president is a dunderhead.
Venezuel is lucky to have Chavez as prez. We are most unfortunate in ours. We were deranged to have voted for him.
20 - zingzing
guppy: "Did you serve for your country, Zing?"
nope, we haven't had a real, honest war since i've been of age. have not had the opportunity, nor the desire. i briefly entertained thoughts of joining up in 2004, but figured that under current management, i would probably get stuck listening to staind all day... enough to drive a man crazy.
21 - marthe raymond
This commentary must have been written by someone who doesn't read other peoples' commentaries--or keep up with any news, only propaganda.
Chavez, as usual, was RIGHT ON--as we used to say in the 60s. Especially in regard to the needed UN reforms. And the blogger would have to eat his words if VERIFIABLE ELECTIONS were a requirement for membership--that would exclude the USA, as well as the country where I live, Mexico. It would not exclude Venezuela, whose elections have been verified by the Carter Center, the OEA and the European Union since 1998.
Try getting out more--leave the computer keys to someone who does.
22 - G A Anderson
The devil, if he ran things, would suspend elections as has happened in Chavezland. This is so no world body would see how corrupt things are there.
Hugo, the purpose of the United Nations is to promote peace not to foster hatred. At least the stupid axis of evil comment was made at a state of the union address. If Chavez wishes to condemn us in his back yard that's one thing. His comments shows disrespect not only to Bush but to the world body.
23 - RedTard
"Chavez is not a dictator. He was elected president of Venezuela by a clear majority,"
So what? The same thing could be said of Hitler. Changing the constitution to extend his term and issuing decrees extending his power to take over economic sectors and private property is disturbing to most people.
If Bush did the same thing you'd go apeshit and everyone knows it. You have no principle or morals other than pushing blind, stupid propaganda. When someone on the left does it it's OK though, anything is OK as long as your political philosphy wins.
24 - Dave Nalle
This commentary must have been written by someone who doesn't read other peoples' commentaries--or keep up with any news, only propaganda.
Or by someone who wrote it primarily working from the craziness in Hugo Chavez's speech and the other material in the links cited in the article, plus established and verified facts about the current situation in Venezuela. You might want to read a newspaper sometime.
Chavez, as usual, was RIGHT ON--as we used to say in the 60s. Especially in regard to the needed UN reforms. And the blogger would have to eat his words if VERIFIABLE ELECTIONS were a requirement for membership--that would exclude the USA, as well as the country where I live, Mexico. It would not exclude Venezuela, whose elections have been verified by the Carter Center, the OEA and the European Union since 1998.
The OEA is a US government group - part of the Federal Election Commission. You think they don't oversee US elections too? US elections include monitoring by both political parties and by independent observers and there have been very few instances of proven fraud despite lots of ridiculous allegations.
In the article I also stipulated the Rule of Law, which means an independent judiciary - one of the things Chavez has done away with in Venezuela, along with a free press and the leadership of opposition parties.
Dave
25 - Dave Nalle
Binder...whats yer point?
His point is that he can't actually dispute anything int he article with facts, so he's going to whine on for a pointless paragraph and then run away.
Dave