Mick Hartley

After Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973, Tom Lehrer famously remarked that satire was dead. What, I wonder, would he make of this:

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Friday announced the creation of peace prize in honor of late socialist leader Hugo Chavez, and said he was awarding it to Russian President Vladimir Putin….

"I've decided to create the Hugo Chavez prize for peace and the sovereignty," Maduro said during a televised broadcast to unveil a statue of Chavez designed by a Russian artist.

"I think President Vladimir Putin deserves this Hugo Chavez award," he said, describing Putin as a "fighter for peace."

Maduro said winners of the prize will receive a miniature replica of the statue.