Big Time Wrestling...

Of course Hugo Chavez is a bad guy wrestler. He blatantly trash talks before the next scheduled bout. He even goes so far as to tell everyone the strategy he will employ for the fight and how he cares nothing for the rules. You have to admit that he plays the part to perfection. This is also true for Lukashenka and Putin. But they have to be bad, don’t they?

The new BEING HAD Times took a while to turn out. Didn't think this would be the case when I started as there was a lot of news about Belarus out there but my day got in the way and so this is why it came out a bit late.

One of the more interesting stories there though concern Hugo Chavez who will presently be showing up in the beautiful and interesting Republic of Belarus. Chavez will also be visiting with some other members of the I hate America club including Vladimir Putin over in Moscow and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad down, down, down in Iran. Te general consensus is that the trip is about buying weapons.

In Belarus, Chavez said, he will put "the final touches" on a plan to buy an air defense system, saying Venezuela's current short-range system was insufficient.

"What do you do today [faced] with the speed of supersonic planes like those of the [U.S.] empire?" he said.

The new system will have an "unlimited capacity" and will be equipped with long-range radars and missiles, he said.

"We don't want to shoot missiles at anybody, [it's] just a defense system. But if somebody comes here, well then, ssssssshhh," he said, imitating the sound of a missile in the air.

The story got covered by a couple of other bloggers. Clint Heine and Friends quipped:

Yet, the silence from Washington is almost deafening. Bush hasn't come out and attacked Chavez or made any statement close to admitting he disliked the country or the people. It's all in Chavez's head, after all, if he cannot rally his people he will not be able to lead them. After all, he is neglecting the people and especially the highest homicide rate in Latin America just so he can keep his little socialist agenda ticking over.

The real question is how long will this last? What would happen if one of his neighbours rejects the socialist agenda and Chavez feels like he needs to intervene? What about the elections in Venezuela? Will he step aside or will he push for longer terms? What about when Castro dies?

But nelson guirado was more to the pont:

North Korea's Kim isn't a loon. If I owned a country, I might have all kinds of babes visit my palace. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad isn't a nut. If I wanted to intimidate the West, I'd develop nuclear weapons too.

Chavez, however, is certifiable. Hey Chavez, develop some nuclear weapons first, then we'll take you seriously. We can just ignore you today.

Way to help the poor with all of those weapons. I'm sure if we did want to invade you, those 24 SU-30 Sukhoi fighter jets would give us a lot of trouble.

In theory the point of making a military and financial collaboration between Venezuela and Russia/Belarus and Iran is to try and establish a base of power from which to combat the west; sort of a re-invigoration of the theoretical stasis which existed during the time of the cold war. The principal behind this is that unchecked western capitalism and greed is bad for the world and therefore it is necessary for socialist thought to be built up to the point that there is a viable alternative, or at least a second side that demands a little respect.

Another way to look at this is that we are looking at some good old fashioned WWF wrestling techniques.

Of course Hugo Chavez is a bad guy wrestler. He blatantly trash talks before the next scheduled bout. He even goes so far as to tell everyone the strategy he will employ for the fight and how he cares nothing for the rules. You have to admit that he plays the part to perfection. This is also true for Lukashenka and Putin. But they have to be bad, don’t they?

The point of that bi-polar argument is that there must be an alternative voice in order to keep checks and balances. This is of course the American system in a nutshell, but the irony is that by vanquishing the communists and making sure that they stayed down for a decade and a half, the USA became the de facto power in the world. And at the same time, though existing in a world where there was nothing opposing their decision making, they demanded (violently, gratuitously and corruptly) that only multi-party democracy should be considered and that any election whose results were not favorable be considered fabricated. Seems mildly hypocritical when you think about it, doesn't it?

Lukashenka is bad because he does not allow for opposition candidates but the US does not allow for elections whose results don't go their way.

Belarus is a pariah for its shoddy human rights record but the Americans can torture their prisoners in secret jails and help maintain chaos in the Middle East.

To me, and this is without taking sides, it is simply about agreeing that what is good for the goose is good for the gander. If what is truly wanted is democracy than this must mean that we are advocating democracy for all people and not just those with the money to buy elections. Poor people need to have the same rights as rich, people who wish to share the wealth need to have the same rights as those who wish to live only for themselves. Advocating freedom therefore should not be simply a flag to carry into battle against an enemy that disagrees with you or has a resource which is wanted, it should mean that the world develops the capacity to both truly communicate and, cough, share the wealth and protect the future of human life on the planet. I think that this last means ecology and sustenance for all rather than generating more millionaires.

And of course a further irony is that when talking about maturity, as in the west demanding that the FSU be considered like children and unable to govern themselves, it is children who think only of themselves; adults understand their responsibilities.

Hugo Chavez does make a really good villain though. The man you love to hate. I'll be tuned in fight-night for sure. Wouldn't miss it for the world. Boom.

More soon…