So I have been reading a lot about Hugo Chavez giving Obama a book as a gift. But it seems there was a much more valuable gift Chavez gave Obama: an island in New Jersey:

(map from the South Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance)

From BBC News:

Petty Island, an uninhabited island some 528 acres (214 ha) in size, is situated in the Delaware River in the state of New Jersey.

It was bought by Venezuela's state-run energy company, PDVS, in 1990...

At the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, President Chavez presented Barack Obama with a gift of a book: The Open Veins of Latin America by Eduardo Galeano.

The book is widely considered the bible of the Latin American left.

But the BBC's Will Grant, in Caracas, says Mr Chavez also gave Mr Obama something much bigger: Petty Island.

The Venezuelan government has used it for fuel storage and refinement since 1990...

Mr Chavez announced that the island would return to the US for environmental conservation projects.
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Hugo Chavez has become one of those controversial figures that brings out strong reactions in many. Personally I have considered him a good thing for Venezuela but have been concerned by his choice of friends, some of his rhetoric, and what could be interpreted as an excessive hunger for power.

First of all, no one has been able to convince me that he is a dictator. Every election in Venezuela under Hugo Chavez has been democratic and fair according to all impartial observers. What ever the controversy over Chavez and his policies, it has all been done within the law and within a democratic system. This alone belies the claims that he is a dictator.

Second, there is no question that Venezuela, like much of South and Central America, needs to address the poverty and sharp economic divisions it suffers. Hugo Chavez is doing that. Needless to say, this pisses off many wealthy people around the world who hate to see poor people get uppity. But many of his programs are simply the right thing to do, the fair thing to do and the smart thing to do for the stability of his nation. Sharp economic divisions and high poverty lead to instability.

Simply put, Hugo Chavez is the democratically elected leader of Venezuela and has been overall good for Venezuela.

But...

As with Ecuador and Bolivia, my overall sympathy for left wing leaders who are helping correct economic disparities is a bit hindered by two things. First, I am not fundamentally a socialist and I know that if the socialist reforms of these leaders go too far, the economies of their nations could be ruined. Second, some of their rhetoric DOES make me wonder if their desire for power could lead to dictatorship. Understand that on this second front I worry about the USA under Bush as well. Excessive concentration of power in the hands of one person is not good.
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I am opening a chat session and I will also be liveblogging Univisión's Presidential Forum. This is going to be incredibly interesting since the forum will be conducted in English.

LIVEBLOGGING
María Elena Salinas' first question seems odd : Is it a political risk to appear in this forum. This is an obvious jab at all the republicans that have refused to appear before a latino audience.

Jorge Ramos asks Kucinich, Dodd and Richardson if they would support making Spanish the second official language of the United States. Richardson used the opportunity for ragging on Univision for not allowing him and the other Spanish-speaking candidates to do so.

Kucinich has gotten the most applause with his answer about ending the war in Iraq.

I can't believe they went there : Salina's has asked why build a wall on the Mexican border and not build one with on the border of Canada?

More than two thousand questions were polled at Univision and about 70% of the questions were about immigration; which is why more than half of the forum is focused on immigration.

Now that last part of the forums is focused on America Latina ---please notice they didn't say 'hispanic' america.

Another incredibly interesting question : Do you believe Hugo Chavez is a dictator?

What do you think is going to happen in a Cuba without Castro and what would you do to aid that transition.
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