RE: Chavez says Israel's action in Lebanon "worse" than Hitler

Sometimes I think Chavez is just mad that he missed out on the Cold War. Last month he was in Belarus, stirring up the tired old Soviet Lukashenko. At the moment, no one really takes him seriously, which is a good thing. He's kind of the Howard Dean of international politics: most people know he's just venting to hear the lovely sound of his own voice. That makes him a useful idiot for the world socialists.

The guy may not be taken seriously enough. He has the potential to become a very powerful international figure and has the potential oil wealth to get him a lot closer to that goal. He's a close neighbor of ours, and I think we should all be a little more concerned about (and aware of) the state of Venezuela.