Coining A New Phrase

Wikipedia defines the term 'Mexican standoff' as: "a slang term defined as a stalemate or impasse, a confrontation that neither side can win". I'd like to propose a new term to describe the current situation in the United Nations. (T)Hugo Chavez has failed to buy enough votes to secure the UN Security Council seat he covets. So he is now holding the entire General Assembly hostage to his failure. So let's term this a 'Venezuelan standoff': one side has lost but can't let go of it.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The stalemate between Guatemala and Venezuela persisted on Tuesday in the battle for an open Latin American seat on the U.N. Security Council with diplomats hoping another foreign ministers meeting would break the impasse.

Guatemala led Venezuela by between 25 and 30 votes in five days and 47 rounds of balloting that began on October 16 but was unable to muster the required two-thirds majority in the 192-member U.N. General Assembly to secure the seat.

The voting will resume on Wednesday afternoon. In the 47th round, Guatemala led Venezuela, which sees its candidacy as a struggle against the United States, 101 to 78; with one vote each for Barbados, Ecuador and Uruguay. The others abstained.

One hopes that Chavez's political opposition is getting some serious mileage out of this ongoing humiliation and repudiation of the Chavez model of political stupidity.