the big lie?

[Hugo] Chávez wants his people to believe that he was “cured” months ago and that recent visits to Cuba have been to confirm his miraculous recovery. In fact, his physical deterioration is advancing faster than doctors had expected.

- Interamerican Security Watch

quote of the day

Putting [OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel] Insulza in charge of safeguarding democracy in the Americas is like asking a fox to safeguard a henhouse.

-  Thor Halvorssen, president of the Human Rights Foundation

HRF: Insulza represents a 'serious vacuum of integrity'

New York, United States. The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) called Tuesday for the resignation of Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Jose Miguel Insulza.

The request is made the same day that the HRF published a report which describes how the Secretary General made numerous errors in the implementation of the Inter-American Democratic Charter, and gravely affected the credibility of the OAS as an international organization that has as its purpose defending democracy.

The paper argues that the OAS actions prior to the events of June 28 contributed to aggravating the crisis in Honduras, and that actions taken afterward were not designed to restore democratic order in the country.

"After a period as Secretary General, Mr. Insulza has shown his willingness to undermine the OAS Charter, the Democratic Charter, and the OAS mission. He should resign. If re-elected, the OAS will continue to suffer serious vacuum of integrity," said Thor Halvorssen, HRF's president.

Translated from El Heraldo

It's blatantly obvious Insulza is a Hugo Chavez stooge who does and says whatever Hugo Chavez pays him to do and say.  He's absolute leftist trash who doesn't give a rat's ass about protecting democracy in the Americas. His misguided actions during last year's political crisis in Honduras are despicable.

Latin America swinging to the right?

The deeply embarrassing (for them) defeat of the Castro/Chavez/Lula socialist project in Honduras and now the victory of the right-of-center Sebastian Piñera in Chile seem to indicate that the political pendulum in Latin America has begun an inexorable swing to the right.

If Castro's Cuba (with its restrictions on freedom and economic stagnation) and Chavez's Venezuela (with its economic chaos) represent "the best" the left can offer, the region can certainly use less of this failed approach to government.

scared sh_tless

Chavez makes a speech in front of a huge anti-American sign.

Caracas, Venezuela. Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez reiterated on Friday his attacks on Colombian President Álvaro Uribe, whose government he called a "lackey" and "sellout" while he called again on the Venezuelan military to defend the country.

"It's not Colombia that is threatening Venezuela, neither do we say that Colombia is a threat to Venezuela. (...) The American empire is the threat to Venezuela and is using Colombian territory that has been facilitated for this task by the submissive and lackey government of Uribe," said Chavez.

Translated from El Heraldo

Hugo Chavez is a paranoid coward. He's obviously scared sh_tless by the base-sharing treaty Colombia just signed with the U.S.  One of the reasons he is trying so hard to make his puppet, Manuel Zelaya, president for life in Honduras is to get rid of the American airbase here.  Now the thing he fears most -- the mighty American military -- is moving next door to him.  (The Law of Attraction at work.)

Chavez pushed the Americans too far, now they are pushing back. It's fascinating to watch the removal of this hysterical yet dangerous little tyrant unfold. It must be terribly unnerving for him to know he's in the gun-sights of the world's most powerful military.  Every little twig that snaps must make Hugo jump four feet in the air.

A Western Hemisphere free of Hugo Chavez will certainly be a great thing. Every Honduran patriot who has experienced the ordeal Chavez put our country through these past several months can vouch for that. He doesn't have to be killed (I want to clarify that I'm not suggesting that), but Hugo Chavez has to go.