As if Venezuela couldn’t get any crazier with Chavez engaging in battles of insults with the King of Spain and President of Colombia, everyone’s favorite buffoon-president is now signing oil production agreements with Belarus of all places (showing once again that birds of a feather flock together). Belarus and several Latin American countries are also teaming up to create a competitor to the IMF. And fresh from his constitutional referendum to become eligible for president for like, Chavez has created Venezuela’s own time zone, which is full of more potential wisecracks than I care to imagine:

Venezuela creates its own unique time zone on Sunday, putting the clock back half-an-hour on a permanent basis. President Hugo Chavez says that an earlier dawn means the performance of the country will improve, as more people will wake up in daylight. “I don’t care if they call me crazy, the new time will go ahead,” he said. But critics say the move is unnecessary and the president simply wants to be in a different time zone from his arch-rival, the United States. The new time puts Venezuela four-and-a-half hours behind Greenwich Mean Time, and out of step with all its neighbours.

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