Chavez Buffoonery Masks Failures

Hugo Chavez, the president of Venezuela, is busting his buttons today after a series of Bush-Bashing events over the last few days. What can make a Marxist thug prouder than to successfully distract the world from his own shortcomings by unleashing a tirade of venom against the leader of the most powerful nation on Earth, and to do so on that nation’s own soil? Wow! What a man!

But not everyone is enamored of Senor Chavez’ comments, and not everyone is distracted by them. Yours truly belongs to both groups. I have already condemned his comments as the low-class drivel that they were, so now let’s take a look at what he doesn’t want to talk about and hopes no one will notice.

Venezuela is a very troubled country. It’s mildly democratic character has been weakened over the last two decades, and sources familiar with the conditions in the country report that political polarization, a politicized military, drug-related violence along the Colombian border, increasing internal drug consumption, overdependence on the petroleum industry with its price fluctuations, and irresponsible mining operations that are endangering the rain forest and indigenous peoples are all subjects of concern.

The country also has substantial health and sanitization problems. The United Nations reports that 32 percent of the population is without adequate sanitation, and that a majority of people in many rural areas lack this basic commodity. There are approximately 5 million of Venezuela’s 25.7 million people living without access to safe drinking water, resulting in Venezuela ranking among the poorest nations in South America.

Visitors are advised to obtain vaccinations for a variety of diseases including typhoid, yellow fever, cholera, hepatitis A, hepatitis B and hepatitis D before going to Venezuela, and are advised to drink only bottled water, due to the prevalence of cross contamination of drinking water with untreated sewage.

In 1999 it was estimated that 110,000 people in Venezuela were living with HIV/AIDS, and the country recorded an estimated 4,100 HIV/AIDS deaths in 2003.

The economy has shown similar difficulties. Venezuela continues to be highly dependent on the petroleum sector, accounting for roughly one-third of GDP, around 80% of export earnings, and over half of government operating revenues. Government revenue also has been bolstered by increased tax collection, which has surpassed its 2005 collection goal by almost 50%. Tax revenue is the primary source of non-oil revenue, which accounts for 53% of the 2006 budget. Heavy taxation and a volatile major industry do not for economic security make.

Venezuela’s public debt runs about 32 percent of GDP, and a two-month national oil strike in late 2002 and early 2003 temporarily halted economic activity. The economy dropped 8.9 percent in 2002 and remained in depression in 2003, dropping by 9.2 percent. Senor Chavez and Venezuela have benefited from the hike in oil prices and strong consumption growth in 2004-2005, and the recent price hikes, but both inflation and unemployment remain fundamental problems. Approximately 12% of the population was unemployed in 2005, and nearly half (47%) of the population is below poverty line, according to a 1998 estimate.

Venezuela is a small-scale illicit producer of opium and coca for the processing of opiates and coca derivatives. However, large quantities of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana transit the country from Colombia bound for US and Europe and significant narcotics-related money-laundering activity, especially along the border with Colombia and on Margarita Island exist, and there are increasing signs of drug-related activities by Colombian insurgents on the border.

Ecologically, sewage, oil and urban industrial pollution, deforestation and soil degradation, and a threat to the rainforest ecosystem from irresponsible mining operations are all on the long list of things that make Senor Chavez prefer the comfortable confines of New York City to the nation he heads.

Senor Chavez is considered a big, brave man by leaders of the other failed naions in the United Nations for his graceless remarks, and is considered a champion of the poor by those who would rather blame someone than do something. Clearly, Senor Chavez has plenty of poor people suffering under his misleadership to keep him busy. But he is too busy admiring himself in the mirror and doing hat tricks at the U.N. to notice. Maybe he will be the Time Person of the Year.

Technorati Tags: Arrogance, Venezuela, Thugs, Diplomacy, Hugo Chavez, United States, United Nations

How Stupid Are We?

It’s bad enough that miscreants like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hugo Chavez have to set foot in the United States in order to appear at the United Nations, but what in the world were we thinking when we allowed the tin horn Marxist Hugo Chavez to roam around New York City bribing the locals with shallow sentiments and appealing goodies?

Not only that, but during one public appearance Senor Chavez slipped in the subtle comment that he had been told that he might be killed because of his juvenile rant against George Bush before the General Assembly.

Appearing Thursday at a Harlem Church for an oil-for-poor event, Senor Chavez repeated his reference to President Bush as “the devil” originally made during a speech at the U. N. and told the audience packed into the Mount Olive Baptist Church in Harlem, "They told me that I should be careful after I called him the devil — and I think he is the devil — because he might kill me,” as if W. was going to come after him with a gun. Senor Chavez was introduced at the podium by that great American Danny Glover, the actor-turned-traitor who was visiting the church as part of ceremonies to announce the sale of discounted home heating oil to qualified low-income families. "But, I place myself in the hands of God," the tin horn said. Somehow, I doubt that Senor Chavez will be headed in that direction when he gets his just desserts.

What a perfect jackass.

Yeah, I know nobody’s perfect, but Chavez is close. A perfect ass, that is, but he’s not too smart. Yeah, I know, he’s smarter than the doofus that allowed him free reign in NYC, but that’s still not very smart.

No doubt he feels really special because the nincompoops in the General Assembly laughed at his inanities and applauded his insults of the President of the United States. But Senor Chavez didn’t think this through in advance, and he probably still hasn’t figured out that he has revealed himself to be a second- or third-rate dope before the whole world.

You can tell that someone has really screwed the pooch when prominent Democrats object to criticisms of George Bush. "I just want to make it abundantly clear to Hugo Chavez or any other president - don't come to the United States and think because we have problems with our president that any foreigner can come to our country and … offend our Chief of State," Representative Charles Rangel (D-NY) said. “George Bush is the president of the United States and represents the entire country,” declared Mr. Rangel. “Any demeaning or public attacks against him are viewed by Republicans, Democrats, and all Americans as an attack on all of us.” Good on you, Charlie!

Even House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D- Cal.), a constant critic of Mr. Bush, criticized Senor Chavez. "The manner in which he characterized the president demeaned himself and demeaned Venezuela. He fancies himself a modern day Simone Bolivar [the Venezuelan statesman known as "the Liberator" for leading his country’s revolt against Spain in the early 19th century] ... But he is an everyday thug," said Ms. Pelosi. Calling a spade, a spade.

Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa also called Chavez's statements "incendiary and unworthy of a nation’s leader."

Wow!

Having established that Hugo Chavez is a third-rate tinhorn ass, the question then arises whether the United Nations ought to be allowed to remain headquartered on U.S. soil. An agency so feckless, so incompetent, so corrupt, so clawless, so clueless does the United States a disservice by its very presence within our borders. But perhaps it’s better to have the U.N. here, where we can keep an eye on it, than somewhere else, like Venezuela or Iran, for example.

That’s a subject for another day.

Technorati Tags: Arrogance, Thugs, Diplomacy, Hugo Chavez, United States, United Nations