September 21, 2006
Bush Leaves New York and Misses the Chavez Show
President Bush ended many New Yorkers' gridlock nightmares by leaving the city yesterday, but he - and the rest of the U.S. delgation to the United Nations - missed Venezulan President Hugo Chavez's speech. And what a speech it was: Chavez called Bush "the devil," said it smelled of sulfur (since Bush had stood there), and showed said Americans should be reading Noam Chomsky's Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance instead of "watching Superman and Batman movies." Yeah, a big F-U to Bush and Hollywood! The NY Times reported laughs and gasps during his speech, because the General Assembly is normally a staid crowd. (The NY Times also reported how Chavez's regret was that he never met Chomsky before he died, pointing out that Chomsky is actually alive.) And, to think, people were worried about what Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would say (though Chavez didn't deny the Holocaust happened in his speech.)
Our government wasn't very amused - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Chavez's speech was "not becoming for a head of state" while U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton said that a "junior note-taker" was present for the U.S., because that how the U.S. rolls "when governments like that speak."
Chavez ended his day at Cooper Union, where he called himself a "friend" of the U.S. and, as the Hamilton Spectator reports, he "compared the Bush administration's actions to those of the Nazis and said the U-S president should be brought before an international tribunal."
Photograph of Chavez speaking at the United Nations by Julie Jacobsen/AP
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That's awesome.
Vanessa, do us all a favor and move to Venezuela if you think it's such a swell place.
That dude is a total whackado. While he may have legitimate complaints about the leadership of the U.S. he should remember that he is in fact the leader of a world power and should act like one. I have never heard of a more infantile speak given at such a gathering in my life. I hope the people of Venezuela are embarrassed. The only thing he succeeded in pointing out is that America doesn't have a monopoly on putting dumb asses into power.
Just be Chomsky doesn't like the U.S. government doesn't mean he likes someone like Chavez. What a tool.
Where does Vanessa say Venezuala is a swell place? Don't be a cock, loser.
Paolo,
You don't define what America is, nor does our radically insane president Bush, so please don't tell me that I should leave. I am citizen of this country as much as anyone else, even if I believe that the remarks of the Chavez were hilarious.
Our country is in a disastrous situation. Our freedoms are being taken away from us. Our president is a hateful man and an absolute moron. I chose to stay and try to fix the situation.
Thanks. :)
Vanessa
Vanessa is spot on. I think it was a hoot too, and closer to the truth than we'll ever hear from any of our own bought and paid for politicians (or should I say imps?)
The speech was awesome... idiotically awesome.
My Hero.
the guy is clearly a whackjob, but at least he provides entertainment value. at least he has the balls to say what he thinks, regardless of whether others deem it inappropriate.
however, it's kind of ironic coming from him since i have a friend who is from venezuala and he can never go back because he has been identified as an enemy of the government due to the fact that he protested as a student.
on the other hand, i can't really argue when he says that bush acts "as if he owned the world." it's totally true.
Please Paolo,
If you stand behind this current Presidential administration please do us and the country a favor and go serve in Iraq to search out the Weapons of Mass Distruction that's been talked about so much. I keep hearing they need warm bodies over there right quick.
Please Schadenfreudian,
Where did Paolo say he supports President Bush?
Zing!
adoro a mi presidente, vivas para venezuela, vivas yankees!!!
Silence!
Batman is on TV.
Max,
You just made me laugh out loud.
#13 - Gothamist comment postings are for English speaking American readers only, so please post on the Telemundo forum or something, comprende?!
#16, last time that I checked, the blog was available globally. anyone who cares to post can. stop trying to suppress free speech.
hee hee. people here need to laugh. keep 'em coming.
have a cluckity cluck cluck day!
"at least he has the balls to say what he thinks, regardless of whether others deem it inappropriate."
This is a very overrated quality, especially in a world leader.
I did like how he said where Bush stood smelled like sulfur, though.
My God, the president of Venezuela is EVERY COLLEGE FRESHMAN EVER. People forget his appearance last year, when he couldn't shut up about Ayn Rand.
It's amazing how Chavez speaks about American dictatorship when Chazez himself amended Venezuela's constitution for his own political gain: The BBC says that Chavez "has made no secret of the fact that he is in favor of amending the constitution so that he can run again for president in 2012. In spite of a presidential term limit of 12 years, according to The Economist, Chávez often suggests that he will remain in power for 25 years.
Chavez is a god-damned hypocrite and although Bush may be a bad US president, Chavez is in no place making "dictatorship" comments.
"This is a very overrated quality, especially in a world leader."
Maybe in America, but in other countries, people value directness and honesty. Of course, in America, all you get is the phoney: "Hiii!!! How arrreeeee yoooouuuu!!" There is an over-emphasis here on being fake polite, but not really caring about those around you.
I don't agree with his remarks, but I don't think standing up for your beliefs is "overrated." Of course, he is just as much of a swaggering bully as Bush, but at least he doesn't just roll over for this administration either.
Viva Chavez!
Dude, Is there an Official Language in the US?
Chavez And GW are both Politicians pandering to their Audience. Me, I thought it was funny.
Hey FT,
That's a crock... Americans are as "fake polite" as anyone else. Who's culturally "up front"? The British? The French? Latin Americans? Noone has lock on duplicitiousness or honesty. It reminds of the time a European woman felt compelled to dominate a dinner with a discussion of how obnoxious Americans were, completing disregarding how obnoxious it is to disparage people based on their nationality.
All cultures value politeness and decorum in certain circumstances. Sometimes, for example, politeness on blog comments can be considered a virtue.
Didn't Manuel Noriega use to say a lot of things like this? Unbelievably Noriega was more eloquent! In any case, for a while he was a cause celebre to the left and those opposed to US imperialism. Haven't heard much of him lately.
At some point Chavez, like Noriega, may actually cross the line from tough talk to provocation. If that time comes, all of those Russian aircraft that he's been buying will serve as target practice. The US may not be good at occupation (back in the 20th century it was) but no one can deny that it can still kick ass when invading.
rude american:
well, for one, the scandinavians manage to be honest without being rude.
i didn't suggest that people should be rude, i just said that it is not a virtue to be polite, if it is fake.
i don't really get how you made the leap to think not being fake polite meant being out and out rude. there is a huge area in between. if you still don't get it, there is no way i can explain it to you.
I'm afraid I don't get it. I don't get how anyone can generalize about a quality like honesty across an entire nationality. I can hardly believe there are no lying Swedes or deceptive Danes.
I don't really get how you made the leap that "Americans are fake polite." Perhaps its like saying that Italians are mobsters. Or Albanians are criminals. Or Chinese are cheap. Or Japanese are sneaky. Or French are rude. Or the British are boring. Or Mexicans are lazy. Or Arabs are terrorists.
If you don't get it, it's called stereotyping, or profiling, or prejudice.
Thank you ft:
I don't appreciate Chavez coming to this country running his mouth at a formal meeting about the leader of the USA. Does he have no negotiating skills. Has he no political savy. I look forward to sanctions placed on his country. Then we will see who is the "evil doer."
He needs to make sure that he is not exploiting his own people. When is the last time any global nation wanted to follow Venezuela's lead on anything. You are correct is you thought, NONE in past several centuries.
....Stop talking Chavez until you can show the world your military strength, your technological strength, and your economic pull and influence on the rest of the global world. It is not Bush who is running the free world, it is the characteristic of mighty mighty power and wealth. Other nations respond to power and wealth, not the man. Get real!!!!!
"said it smelled of sulfur (since Bush had stood there)"
It's called a FART.
And "the one who smell't it, dealt it."
the real chavez:
http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/opedcolumnists/hugos_big_lies_opedcolumnists_thor_halvorssen.htm
Thanks ha ha ha. I thought "Fart" too. I didn't think of hell and the devil.
Way to go Chavez, you called out bush. whoop de doo. Funny, a little crude.
Ironically, Your country's economy (oil, and nothing else) would be devestated were it not for those very policies that Bush supports/attempts to propagate. You should thank him, god knows Venezuela won't be at the forefront of any new technological breakthroughs for the conceivable future, energy or otherwise.
Spoiled brats like Vanessa and Jason would be locked up for speaking their minds in Venezuela. But the ugly face of American liberalism keeps the Democrats out of power, so keep up the good work.
Chavez received a standing ovation at Cooper Union?!!
I guess they don't teach current affairs at Cooper. Human rights under Chavez' regime have gone down the toilet.
Didn't Chavez provide heating oil last winter for a bunch of people in Massachusetts and The Bronx?
http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=1736
A lot of people don't like Bush's policies, but don't fool yourself. Chavez is an idiot too.
And he doesn't deserve praise just for criticizing Bush and sending a few barrels of oil to the Bronx.
But that's what dictators are good at--manipulating the masses.
LOL!!!! "Chavez received a standing ovation at Cooper Union?!! "
Who was in the audience Vanessa and Jason?
It was more than a few barrels, and I don't see any politicians here giving the poor heating oil.
And I guess you can say bad things about someone no matter if they do a good thing, and good things about someone even if they do bad things. I can't think of one good thing to say about GWB though.
ViVa Chavez !I agree with the coment Bush Is A devil gone astray !Can the American Public not control him ?Democracy is in Danger!Phones being tapped ?Bodies being searched ? What else You want America Are You all Cowards ? America is run by the Dictator devil Bush !Get him to Court !
VIVA
CHAVEZ!!!!
Where's these white people who are pissed at chavez at?
I don't see them in Harlem? do you?
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
el diablo, classic. Looks like no matter what culture, the white man is the DEVIL.
Leftist or rightist, you all make me want to vomit. You think your own personal ideology is the only way.
How about some of you boneheads realize that we're all Americans and all on the same boat. Sometimes I think Republicans hate Democrats more than terrorists. Contrary to popular belief, not all Republicans are evil, and not all Democrats are clueless. But one thing's for sure: you're all selfish and can't see past the end of your noses.
Things will only progress when both sides figure out how to make amends and come up with a compromise on all issues.
VIVA CHAVEZ !!!
At least he's not invading other countries on false pretenses, legalizing torture, creating clandestine jails worldwide, bombing innocent woman and children or driving the US economy into the ground like the Devil ..er..I mean Bush is doing.
Since President Chávez took power in 1998, corruption and crime are rampant as well as failing infrastructure and public hospitals. In late March 2005, the Chávez government passed a series of media regulations that criminalized broadcasted libel and slander directed against public officials; prison sentences of up to 40 months for serious instances of character defamation launched against Chávez and other officials were enacted.
Sure Bush sucks, but Chávez ain't the guy for me either. Just because I don't like Bush, it doesn't mean I support Chávez. They are both idiots.
robin g. - GWB has done plenty of things that should please left wing dolts like you. And Chavez wasn't giving anything that belonged to him. He took a natural resource that should be benefitting the citizens of his very poor country and gave it to the citizens of our very rich country. Dictators love gullible saps like you.
Sava - Get off the boss' computer and get back to scrubbing the floors.
Sava: Go home.
Ben Dover: He (Chavez) can't afford the invasions economically, cry baby. Don't be daft man. If they were in power, they would dictate whomever they could. Please, "...he that controls the spice controls the life..." Why don't you go with Sava.
Wow, all the hateful Republicans logged on while I was off feeding people at the homeless shelter.
Aside from Chavez deplorable human rights stance, there is also Venezuela's terrible living conditions: "infant death rate is about eight times as high as Sweden. Child malnutrition (for children under age five) stands at about 17 percent of the population classified as stunted or wasted (which are the official United Nations categories for malnutrition). There are approximately 5,000,000 people in Venezuela living without access to safe drinking water, resulting in a percentage of population ranking of Venezuela among the poorest in South America." etc. etc.
Venezuela is an oil-rich country, but many--if not most--of its citizens live in substandard conditions.
Get real.
What's with the Sweden analogies?
It ain't paradise there, either. I should know. I married a Swede and he hates the Swedes in NYC and wants nothing to do with them. He goes home to Sweden every year. Whereas I travel there less often.
And, to make his family more angry, We have two kids and they be mixed bra. Tough titties, we just diluted your viking bloodline.
If your aim is to defend the US (by the way, thinking Chavez is funny is not a direct attack on the USofA or a declaration of love for the politics Venezuela, but ok...) you may want to choose a topic other than infant mortality rate to prove that the United States is such a superior country.
The infant mortality rate in CUBA is lower than the in the United States.
Just because Chavez said what a large percentage of our own citizens are thinking doesn't make him Einstein, but it does show a certain amount of chutzpah.
GWB is a total zero, a complete fuckup, and history will judge him in the harshest light - in spite of the lengths to which you mentally challenged warmongers will go to convince yourselves that he has done anything positive for this country.
Actually the infant mortality rate in Cuba is NOT lower than in the US and this is because of the way the statistics are compiled.
the United States has the most intensive system of emergency intervention to keep low birth weight and premature infants alive in the world. The US is one of only a handful countries that keeps detailed statistics on early fetal mortality--the survival rate of infants who are born as early as the 20th week of gestation.
How does this skew the statistics? Because in the United States if an infant is born weighing only 400 grams and not breathing, a doctor will likely spend lot of time and money trying to revive that infant. If the infant does not survive--and the mortality rate for such infants is in excess of 50 percent--that sequence of events will be recorded as a live birth and then a death.
In many countries (including many European countries) such severe medical intervention would not be attempted and, moreover, regardless of whether or not it was, this would be recorded as a fetal death rather than a live birth. That unfortunate infant would never show up in infant mortality statistics.
This is clearly what is happening in Cuba. In the United States about 1.3 percent of all live births are very low birth weight--less than 1,500 grams. In Cuba, on the other hand, only about 0.4 percent of all births are less than 1,500 grams. This is despite the fact that the United States and Cuba have very similar low birth rates (births where the infant weighs less than 2500g). The United States actually has a much better low birth rate than Cuba if you control for multiple births --i.e. the growing number of multiple births in the United States due to technological interventions has resulted in a marked increase in the number of births under 2,500g.
I'd just like to clarify that although this speech may have taken place at Cooper Union the audience was hardly representative of the university. I am a Cooper student, and was denied entry by the Venezeulan security personnel manning the doors. My friends met the same resistance. I do not know of a single student who was actually allowed in the building. The only info I have is from one of the students who had to set up the technical equipment and he described the audience as made up entriely of Venezeulan nationals who were provided with tickets by the Chavez government.
Don't disparage the student body of the College over the crowd reaction at this event. In fact, we were never even informed that he would be appearing. I only found out when I saw the massive security presence forming around the Foundation Building that night.
Vomitus said: "you're all selfish and can't see past the end of your noses."
I understand that, according to Republicans, selfishness is the fundamental driving force of humanity. I don't think a conservative would find being accused of selfishness as offensive.
just saying,
i understand what you are saying, but i'm not sure that i agree with your definition of infant and death (to me, if a baby dies, that is infant mortality, whether or not their was an attempt to save the child). i appreciate the education and clarification (for real).
people should read Chomsky's response to Chavez on the NY Times website:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/22/nyregion/22chomsky.html?hp&ex=1158984000&en=616ca21d7087cc26&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Amusing results of the Speech: Chavez sends Chomsky book sales soaring
vanessa - it's not *my* definition. It's the definition the statisticians used for compiling the statistics.
peter cooper - that's even more amazing than Chavez' looney speech at the UN. It sounds like a blatant misuse of the college's facilities. Who was the wackadoo in the administration who sanctioned that?
Good comments made by Chavez, the only man with courage to speak out against Bush. His speech was against Bush and not against Americans at all. We all know what is happening in world due to the adventures of Bush Administration. Are we making the world peaceful for living or we are making it like hell? Hundred of people are killing due to the Bush's personal agendas. It is crystal clear that two wrongs cannot make on right. And Chavez is also not good. We have to think about people, about Americans and their lives. Chomsky is a good writer and renowned all over the world.
See this link
http://www.loosechange911.com/index_main.html