Will the real thugs please stand up ?

Recently, Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan president made some comments at the UN General Assembly referring to George Bush as a racist, imperialist "devil" who has devoted six years in office to military aggression and the oppression of the world's poorest people. Bush administration officials dismissed Chavez's remarks as the ravings of a reckless political leader. Here is the article

"I'm not going to dignify a comment by the Venezuelan president towards the United States," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said. "I think it's not becoming for a head of state."

"Hugo Chavez fancies himself a modern day Simon Bolivar but all he is an everyday thug," House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said at a news conference, referring to Chavez' comments in a U.N. General Assembly speech on Wednesday.

To determine who the real thugs (and reckless political leaders) are, consider the following acts on both sides and make your own judgment.

Nancy Pelosi & Unites states policy
Here are the positions of Nancy Pelosi which are more interesting because she is known as a "liberal".

• Supported a Republican-sponsored resolution calling for increasing military aid to Israel (supporting Tom Delay, a confirmed thug)
• Signed a letter that says that there should be no pressure on Israel to conform to International Law 
• Spoke to American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, a right-wing lobbying group with close ties to the Sharon government (praising the Israeli government and condemning the Palestinians)
• In the past, she has opposed all congressional efforts to set any date for the withdraw of troops from Iraq, and has repeatedly supported full funding for the continuing occupation. She voted against a modest proposal offered by Congresswoman Woolsey that would eventually remove the U.S. military from Iraq. Only after public pressure did Pelosi finally endorse Murtha's withdrawal resolution (Murtha's resolution has it's own set of problems though).
• Pelosi Defends Assassination as a Political Tool 
• Pelosi is a major player in a completely spineless, clueless Democratic party.
• Is Pelosi democratically elected ? In the context of the finance driven, corrupt, 2 party election system in the Unites States, the answer is a resounding no! This applies to most other "elected" leaders.

Hugo Chavez & Venezuela policy

• Hugo Chavez is the democratically elected head of state (a real democratic election in this case). 
• Chavez uses multi-billion-dollar oil revenues to fund social projects that help the poor. These programs include literacy, health care, job training, land reform, subsidized food, small loans etc. 
• Chavez subsidizes cheaper oil for his cash-strapped Latin neighbors.
• In 1998, Chavez stood on a platform of sharing the nation's oil wealth with the poorest
• According to government figures, unemployment has dropped by 7% since the start of Chávez's presidency 
• During the winter of 2005, various officials in the Northeastern United States signed an agreement with Venezuela to provide discounted heating oil to low income families.
• Chávez worked closely with other Latin American leaders following the 1997 Summit of the Americas in many areas—especially energy integration—and championed a decision to adopt the Anti-Corruption Convention 
• Chavez is pushing full speed ahead with land reform
• Chavez signed an agreement to build a two-way gas pipeline to provide discounted natural gas to Colombia, and created unique barter arrangements that exchange Venezuelan petroleum for cash-strapped Argentina's meat and dairy products

Now I'm sure it's not all rosy in Venezuela and Chavez has his fair set of criticisms such as corruption and crime, but Chavez's social democratic approach is certainly changing the face of Latin America in a very positive way. And Nancy Pelosi is not all spineless either in that she has finally taken an anti-war stand and has urged the White House to stop using Social Security Administration as Propaganda Tool

However, anti-Chavez sentiment is so rabid that several American public figures have even gone so far as to call for the assassination of Chávez, most notably US Conservative Christian televangelist Pat Robertson.

So will the real thugs please stand up ?