Chavez and Castro are closely linked. I won't say Chavez is as unpopular as Castro in Miami of course but he's definitely in the next tier. It wouldn't have surprised me if a moment of silence turned into a moment of booing and cursing. This was probably the best move from a practical perspective.

Not being from the area I didn't know he was anywhere near as unpopular in the area. If there was a danger of the fans showing 'ugly American' to the world then it probably was best not to do a moment of silence (I hate to imagine how ugly it would be if done for Castro whenever he finally goes). Still, keeping the flag at 1/2 mast wouldn't hurt anyone and should've been left that way for the day and probably should be at half mast for all games that Venezuela plays.

Sean Penn, Danny Glover, and Jimmy Carter admired him. A lot. All you need to know.

Maybe the Marlins couldn't recognize him from those recent photographs. :-)

Hugo Chávez's presidency (1999-2013) was characterized by a dramatic concentration of power and open disregard for basic human rights guarantees.

After enacting a new constitution with ample human rights protections in 1999 – and surviving a short-lived coup d'état in 2002 – Chávez and his followers moved to concentrate power. They seized control of the Supreme Court and undercut the ability of journalists, human rights defenders, and other Venezuelans to exercise fundamental rights.

By his second full term in office, the concentration of power and erosion of human rights protections had given the government free rein to intimidate, censor, and prosecute Venezuelans who criticized the president or thwarted his political agenda.

And BTW, how would you have felt about a similar moment of silence for Pinochet, given his human rights record?

I wonder [EDIT: meh, not really] what the Chavez apologistas would have said about a moment of silence or lowering of the flag at a public event for Pinochet out of respect "for the country, not the man."

I wonder [EDIT: meh, not really] what the Chavez apologistas would have said about a moment of silence or lowering of the flag at a public event for Pinochet out of respect "for the country, not the man."

The 89-year-old Pinochet found he had to fight a judicial rearguard action following the July 2004 revelations by a U.S. congressional committee that the former dictator had up to $8 million in personal funds stashed in secret accounts in the Riggs Bank of Washington, D.C. The very fact of the accounts' existence appeared to finally cause Chilean conservatives-and even the head of the Chilean army-to distance themselves from Pinochet. His legal situation also worsened in August, when the Supreme Court ruled that Pinochet was not immune from prosecution for his role in mass murders carried out by Operation Condor, a secret framework for mutual cooperation against dissidents between six South American military dictatorships in the 1970s.

In June 2005, a court stripped Pinochet of his legal protections in a case involving more than $13 million in funds he and his family allegedly laundered out of the country. While Pinochet assumed "all responsibility" for the secret accounts, which by mid-2005 were revealed to total some $31 million, retired military figures called on Pinochet to take responsibility for human rights crimes for which dozens of his subordinates are currently imprisoned or facing prosecution.

this is a pretty weak "both sides do it." Chavez was a thug, but mass murder of political opponents is noticeably missing from that HRW snippit you posted

Chavez was the right wing's "Hitler of the Week" several times. Shame on you hippies for not lustily cheering his death and dancing in the streets. I think we know what side you're on,

Here's an excerpt from a page on Chile from Freedom House, one of the most scrupulously non-partisan political websites around. You're likely aware of this yourself, but just for the record:

That's chump change compared to Suha Arafat's money market account

(Reuters) - Iran declared a day of national mourning on Wednesday after the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who shared the Islamic Republic's loathing for U.S. "imperialism".

More importantly, Jason, what happens now? Are they going to be able to avoid a civil war or "purges"? Chavez didn't leave much appetite for cooperation, I imagine.

Unlike in the past, Venezuela will not be saved by a windfall of oil revenues, because production is greatly diminished and oversubscribed. Contrary to official numbers, actual production is 2.4 million barrels per day, far below a peak of 3.3 million before Chávez. And sweetheart deals with China, Russia, and Iran as well as giveaways to Cuba and other client states in the Caribbean and Central America are bleeding Venezuela dry. Although China loaned about $28 billion to Chávez in the last 18 months, Beijing has closed its checkbook because of the questionable legality of the interim regime and the simple fact that Venezuela has no crude oil left to sell. As a result of this mess, there are reports that Venezuela is actually importing gasoline to satisfy domestic demand. In short, Chávez politicized the state-run oil company and treated its revenue as his petty cash fund – now the company is ruined and the till is empty.

There are no enemies to the left.

Nothing bigoted here, from none other than Steven Boyd's stunt double, nah.

That said, I'm with posts 2-4 (and 3 is the reason I wouldn't have done a moment of silence) - showing respect would be for the country, not the man.