Now we've got Livingstone and the Guardian praising him. *bashes head*
It's not that I think he's the next Evil Dictator, but I do feel that the left is a little rash in rushing to his defence. Everyone is so desperate for a leftist alternative to "neo-liberal hegemony" that they're willing to overlook or minimise his sins. Even the Guardian's profile says he's been criticised by AI and HRW, but then goes on to say "but neither organisation singles out Venezuela as having a particularly bad record globally". Ah right, I see, we've got to go to North Korean or Burmese levels before we give a shit!
(Livingstone's an ass anyway; we know this. I still can't believe he defended what he said about the Rueben brothers. Even if they were Iranian [they're Indian-born Iraqi Jews] it's still incredibly crass to tell ANY immigrant to go back where they came from! I don't know or care if he meant to be anti-Semitic; it was rude full stop.)
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