And Now, A Word From Our Friendly Despot To The South, Mourning Ghaddafi's 'Martyrdom'

The chaotic images, with glimpses of the bloodied and dazed old man, sensing that he has run through his last ally, in the hands of those who despise him, and with just minutes to live, have flashed across the screens of the world repeatedly. It was a real-world re-enactment of the final minutes of Richard the Third, with the defeated king pleading for a horse to escape the inevitable: 'A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!' As if, by that point, he had a kingdom to grant.

Not everyone, naturally, welcomes such news. The Russians bleated a protest about the illegality of it all. They were stone silent in 1988 when Mohamar sent his agent to blow up a PanAm flight with hundreds of innocents aboard, but OS digresses...

On a hunch, OS looked up references in the Venuezuelan press to the week's events, and he was not disappointed. Chavez, Ghaddafi's home-boy, issued a vigorous condemnation of his buddy's demise, translated below by Google.

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez said on Thursday, counter to the majority of opinions around the world, Muammar Gaddafi's death was an "outrage" to life and said the ousted leader will be remembered as a Libyan "martyr. "

Gaddafi was killed by Libyan fighters he called "rats" for injuries suffered, some apparently after his capture at the Battle of Sirte, his hometown and last bastion of support.

Chavez, who on Thursday claimed to have overcome cancer that was detected four months ago, maintained a friendly relationship with the Libyan leader characterized by his military background, leftist economic ideas, antagonistic relations with the United States and membership in OPEC.

"A Gaddafi was murdered, is an outrage is more to life (...) remember him as a fighter, a revolutionary and good, as a martyr," Chavez said in the western state of Tachira, where he went to thank a picture of Christ for his speedy recovery.

"This story is just beginning in Libya because there's a village, no dignity, rule yankee (United States) can not dominate this world," said the president.

Gaddafi was overthrown by rebel forces on 23 August, a week before the 42 th anniversary of the coup that brought him to power in 1969.

Gaddafi's death itself became perhaps the most dramatic since the riots of spring that have toppled Arab rulers in neighboring Tunisia and Egypt and threatening to the leaders of Syria and Yemen.

One has to wonder how well Hugo is sleeping these days, as he contemplates these images. He can keep the Gulfstream fueled, but there are fewer places to land with his buddy Muammar no longer available.