I've done some research on the internet from time to time looking at Hugo Chavez. Other than that, I know very little about the region and its history. I have yet to find any convincing articles by his critics. There are, however, many articles from the pro-Chavez side that are convincing. Here is the latest from
counterpunch
Update: Right after posting the above article, I checked out their other article of the day. Read it
here if care to. Here is a sample:
This won't harm Nader much. Indeed, it may liberate him. Free of the Green Party's encyclopedic platform, Nader can now distill the themes of his campaign to the most potent elements (war, jobs, corruption and the environment) and, unburdened by the concern of party building, Nader can, if he chooses (and he should), focus his efforts only on the battleground states, where Kerry must either confront Nader's issues or lose the election. It's as simple as that.
The fatal damage in Milwaukee was done to the Green Party itself, where Cobb and his cohort sabotaged the aspirations of thousands of Greens who had labored for more than a decade to build their party into a national political force, capable of winning a few seats here and there and, even more importantly, defeating Democrats who behave like Republicans (cf: Al Gore). The fruits of all that intense grassroots organizing were destroyed in an instant.
But behold: the rebuffed Nader continues to poll nearly 6 percent without the Green Party behind him. Yet, you can't discern Cobb's numbers with an electron microscope. Of course, the pungent irony is that's precisely the way Cobb and his backers want it.
So, the Greens have succeeded in doing what seemed impossible only months ago: they've made the quixotic campaign of Dennis Kucinich, which still chugs along claiming micro-victory after micro-victory long after the close of the primaries (indeed there have been more victories after the polls closed than before), seem like a credible political endeavor. Of course, Cobb and Kucinich share the same objective function: to lure progressives away from Nader and back into the plantation house of the Democratic Party.
I picked up a book by the editors of counterpunch recently. These two back to back articles are a pretty good representation of my frustration with them. One chapter will be a well researched, thoughtful article on a subject that deserves much more attention than it gets. The next moment they will launch into an insane, self-destructive damn-anyone-that-disagrees-with-me diatribe filled with unsubstantiated charges and no consideration or counter-arguments to the well know arguments against their position.
As with your daily newspaper, read it with a critical eye.
