Hugo

I'm not a huge fan of Hugo Chavez, although, technically, that would depend upon which Hugo Chavez we're talking about - the Chavez of the 90s or the Chavez of the new century. There's a pretty good series of short video essays currently running on alJazeera's website about the "fiery" Venezuelan president and his passing under the "In Video" section. "Fiery" - ok. But people need to stop using the term "anti-American" to label the man. The man was never anti-American. He was always anti-American-government-policies and neoliberalism as he (rightly) saw them as detrimental to the entire globe. He was never anti-American. (Don't forget that when the US government was allowing energy companies to screw old people to death, Chavez sent winter aid to northern US cities.) Calling him anti-American is like calling those of us who object strongly to Israel's policies toward Palestinians anti-Semite. Wrong.