The past 36 hours should have been a moment of unbridled celebration for cheerleaders of American capitalism, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average had two successive record-breaking closes, and Hugo Chávez died after a two-year illness.
Chavez cut off diplomatic relations with Colombia last week over claims by outgoing President Alvaro Uribe that Venezuela harbors Colombian rebels. Chavez says the U.S. is behind the allegations.
Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, a master at dominating the news with his controversial views, is a new adopter to Twitter, but has caught on fast. He's bypassing the press to go directly to the people -- at least his 271,000 followers.
