Hugo Chávez knows how to piss people off. He gets his kicks out of winding up Bush administration, implementing policies contrary to US interests and crossing himself in front of the UN General Assembly after calling Bush the Devil. It’s all rather humorous, and generally I’ve admired his courage for introducing many policies. Anti-yank sentiment can be a big vote winner, but it’s one for trapeze artists: most Latin American countries have a difficult job untangling themselves from Uncle Sam’s sticky – and less than altruistic – fingers.
But, as they say, it’s all fun and games till someone loses a broadcast licence.
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Paul Wolfowitz is a good man who is passionate about the plight of poor people in the world.

So said White House Spokesman Tony Fratto.
It’s quite true. Wolfowitz was clearly very concerned about his poor girlfriend’s miserable 130k salary.

Things got a little out of hand at one of my occasional haunts over the long weekend. Police and drunk, bored kids generally make a recipe for trouble, and trouble it was: the news has been filled with great (by which I mean “highly newsworthy”) pictures of flaming piles of rubbish and cops charging around in fluorescent jackets. Thankfully I’m telling this second-hand. I was busy dodging my students at a club in another part of the city and stayed well away from the action. Read the rest of this article »