Pirates in trouble

Some time ago, I blogged about a new book by Tariq Ali, a London-based, left-wing author who has made a very successful living from writing about his deep-seated hatred of most things American.

To each his own.

Titled Pirates of the Caribbean: Axis of Hope, the book is a rather clunky defence of the “winds of change” supposedly sweeping Latin America, led by that great putschist turned socialist, Hugo Chavez.

Naturally, Ali has plenty to say about Fidel Castro and his "heroic" Revolution, as you can see from my review of the book for The Sydney Morning Herald.

Well, the author is currently visiting Australia on a promotional tour.

And much as expected, he has been getting a fairly uncritical response from much of the mainstream media here.

Except for this interview on PM, the flagship radio current affairs program for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Here, presenter Mark Colvin tackles Ali on his continuing support for Chavez at a time when the Venezuelan president is busy closing down “unfriendly” television networks – something Ali would rightly condemn if it happened in say, the US or Britain or Australia.

And Colvin doesn’t let Ali off the hook when it comes to Cuba, either.

Read the transcript here – and enjoy the contortions.