Our friend Aleksander Boyd, of the excellent Vcrisis website writes today in the Times of London of the meeting between leftist emerging dictator Hugo Chavez and leftist Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone.

WHICH INTERNATIONAL leader publicly threatens to blow up his country's oilfields, supports Iran's nuclear programme, says that the Falklands belong to Argentina and believes that Robert Mugabe is a 'true freedom—fighter'?

The answer is none other than Hugo Chávez, the President of Venezuela, who readily antagonises and hurls insults at the leaders of other nations, including Tony Blair, whom he called an 'ally of Hitler'. Next week London will have the dubious honour of a visit by Señor Chávez, hosted by none other than its mayor, Ken Livingstone. [....]

His cheerleaders claim that Señor Chávez is a 'social democrat', while conveniently brushing aside that he supports and aligns himself with some of the world's worst dictators and human rights abusers. This 'democrat' is hell—bent on inducing war in a country that hasn't seen armed conflicts in more than a century. This 'democrat' uses the State as an apparatus of persecution against his political opponents. This ' democrat' does not allow free and transparent elections. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International report that the rights of Venezuelans are under chronic and systematic abuse.

It saddens me that some British public figures applaud a visit by President Chávez. Less than a year ago, London was struck by terrorist bombings — yet its mayor is welcoming a man who befriends and supports terrorists.