Chavez Stirs Things Up at the U.N.

[cal04]

Venezuelan Leader Wins Cheers With Rant Against U.S.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has taken on the mantle of the bad boy of U.N. summitry, winning plaudits from Third World envoys for bashing the United States, and rattling U.N. officials by questioning the legitimacy of this week's summit of world leaders.

Chavez's appearance on the world stage this week echoed his mentor Fidel Castro's historic 1960 debut address before the General Assembly, complete with a fiery condemnation of American imperialism and side trips scheduled for Saturday to a Harlem church and community groups in the Bronx. Chavez generated the loudest burst of applause for a world leader at the summit with his unbridled attack on what he characterized as American militarism and capitalism. He even offered a proposal to move the United Nations to Jerusalem or a city in the developing world.

Last night, Chavez threatened to disrupt plans by the 191-member General Assembly to formally endorse -- by consensus and without a recorded vote -- a 35-page agreement calling on governments to combat poverty and terrorism and promote human rights and democracy. The pact had been agreed upon in principle by 189 nations on Tuesday, with Venezuela and Cuba registering protests on grounds they were excluded from a group of about 30 nations who crafted the final deal. But after meeting with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, Chavez dropped his threat to force a vote on the declaration, a maneuver that would have allowed governments to abstain or oppose the agreement, undermining its political force.

In his Thursday address, Chavez railed against the Bush administration for failing to protect poor residents of New Orleans who were caught in the flooding that followed Hurricane Katrina. He also accused the United States of abetting "international terrorism" by failing to arrest television evangelist Pat Robertson for saying that the United States should consider assassinating Chavez. "The only place where a person can ask for another head of state to be assassinated is the United States, which is what happened recently with the Reverend Pat Robertson, a very close friend of the White House," Chavez said. "He publicly asked for my assassination and he's still walking the streets."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/16/AR2005091601923.html

[DBoon]

1. Chavez cares more about our citizens than Bush

sad.

[TheStates]

2. Chavez is really going the rounds....

Its amazing when South America is more in tune with Americans than the American president.....

[wtmusic]

4. That holds for just about every country in the world

and welcome to DU, TheStates!


:bounce: :toast: :bounce:

[hwmnbn]

3. He was on Nightline tonight........

I only caught the last few minutes. Grrrr!

Did anybody catch the show?