Venezuela Opposition Leaders Boycott Audit

[bemildred]

Time for another tantrum, I guess.

CARACAS, Venezuela Aug. 18, 2004 - Opposition leaders
refused to participate in an audit of Venezuela's failed recall
referendum to oust President Hugo Chavez, dealing a setback
Wednesday to international efforts to dispel allegations of
vote-rigging and prevent more upheaval in the politically
divided country.

Opposition leaders claimed they had unearthed new evidence
of fraud, which they insisted the audit as proposed by former
U.S. President Jimmy Carter and the Organization of
American States would fail to detect.

ABC

[4morewars]

1. They should......

GET OVER IT !!!!!!!!!!

[Tempest]

2. U.S. led oppostion has but one goal in mind

And that is to overthrow Chavez, regardless of the people's wishes.

This is going to end in a civil war, financed by U.S. taxpayers.

Nicaragua anyone?

[Frances]

6. I don't think the U.S. will start a war there in the next few months

Did you notice how the stock market responded positively to the news that Chavez won? It's because a stable Venesuela means that oil prices will be more stable. We all know how unstable Iraq is and Bush can't avoid more volatility in Venesuela oil prices right now.

Of course, Chavez is no dummy. He will exploit Bush's weakness by consolidating his power now. This morning I read that Chavez is planning legal measures to restrain the privately owned media that has opposed him.

Personally, I am pleased that Chavez is helping the poor. I hope he continues to do so. I think he will because he needs to keep his base of power happy.

That said, I never forget what JFK said (he was quoting some famous Greek), Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

[Tempest]

8. U.S. won't start a war

But Bush will continue to fund the anti-Chavez opposition without putting restraints on their activities, even if it means domestic terrorism.


Chavez's actions in regards to the media is to create the equivalent of the FCC to monitor the media and to keep it honest.

Nothing wrong with that, and I applaud him for it.

[D-Notice]

13. "Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely"

It was actually Britain's Lord Acton in 1887

[daleo]

18. It was a Brit

Sir John Acton, Lord Palmerston - a Victorian politician. Just for the record.

On edit - didn't notice someone had already pointed this out.

[Armand04]

25. Third Oil Exporter

The similitude with the early stages of Reagan's terror war in Nigaragua are really worrying indeed. This news are a blatant show of the objetives of the B* backed oposition; take into account that Venezuela is the third oil exporter to the U.S.

[TahitiNut]

3. Is this a dress rehearsal for November 2nd?

This is like one of those "Cry Wolf" innoculation ploys that the right wing has been using.

[daleo]

4. Chavez has Weapons of Mass Fraud

Well prove that he doesn't. This line of argument was good enough for the BFEE, so it is good enough for their Venezuelan branch.

[Zorra]

5. They opposition has lost all credibility. It is obvious now that they

know full well that no fraud has been committed, because they are unwilling to accept factual physical verification.

"If it's true, we don't want it to be proven, we don't want to know, and therefore we can still not accept it, and can continue to make up new arguments to contest the results until we get what we want. Democracy be damned."

They have made a joke out of themselves, and their motives are now fully transparent.

[HuckleB]

7. Sounds quite Bushian to me.

We've got more evidence, but you can't see it! And then it always turns out that there was no evidence.

Hmmmmm.

I think they overplayed their hand here. Now we know who's really behind it all.

:)

[qb]

9. HMMMM... This sounds familiar:

"Rampersad claimed touch-screen voting machines in at least 500 polling sites produced the exact same number of "yes" votes in favor of ousting Chavez, a result he said was statistically impossible. He said the supposed finding indicated the machines were rigged to impose a ceiling on "yes" votes."

Talk about mixed feelings... How does the Bush whore media claim vote fraud against Chavez without making much of the possibility that touch-screen devices were hacked?

[stickdog]

28. So why won't a manual audit uncover this alleged cheating?

Please explain that to me.

If this charge has merit, why aren't they DEMANDING audits?

Could it be that the hack was actually "rounding up"?

[Vladimir]

10. Ass, Door, Way Out, Hit n/t

[geek tragedy]

11. What's Spanish for "Alan Keyes?"

These fuckers fit the bill--scary, loathsome, and a great big joke.

[The Magistrate]

12. These People, Mr. Mildred, Are Begging For A Bullet

It is greatly to Col. Chavez' credit that he shows such forbearance. My own patience would have cracked long ago....

These reptiles have doubtless in some degree succumbed to belief in their own propagandas, and genuinely imagine the mood of the people of Venezuela is the same as that in their own hot-house circle of beleagured privilege. The result of the vote must have come as a tremendous shock, but elections, like war, are a leading method of injecting a needed dose of reality into political systems.

The continuing reforms pressed by Col. Chavez in the next several years may be relied upon to draw the remaining fangs of these snakes....

"LET'S GO GET THOSE BUSH BASTARDS!"

[bemildred]

21. Well, yes.

I tend to prefer watching them squirm, a bit sadistic of me I suppose.

In any case, it is much the better strategy to let them destroy
their own credibility. One might compare the effect of Mr. Chavez'
patience here with the effects of Bremer/Negroponte's impatience in
dealing with al Sadr in Iraq. There is much to be said for a proper
degree of humility and patience in politics, and much to be said
against arrogance and the tendency to shoot from the hip.

Edit grammar.

[The Magistrate]

24. Indeed, Sir

The cry, "Don't just do something, stand there!" ought to be raised a good deal more often than it is....

"LET'S GO GET THOSE BUSH BASTARDS!"

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

14. MEMO TO VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION

[TahitiNut]

16. Shorthand ...

Hint: It's a river in Crimea. :silly:

[bemildred]

19. I always did like rebus puzzles ... nt

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

20. CRY ME A RIVER!!!!!

woo hoo

Brilliant!!!

:bounce:

[Larkspur]

15. These guys obviously went to the same school as Bush & Cheney

At least the majority of Venezuelans see the opposition as the petulant jerks they are. Now only if our leaders, in both major parties, could see it.

[yellowcanine]

17. Nah!Nah!Nah!Nah! (with fingers stuck in ears) If I can't hear you say it

it isn't true.

[Jack Rabbit]

22. They didn't get there way and they're going to hold their breath

. . . until they turn blue.

¡Abajo de Bush y los criminales neoconservatistas!
¡Viva el Presidente Chávez y los pueblos venezolanos!

[genius]

23. These guys never give up. CHavez should expect Bush to come in shooting

next.

[silverweb]

26. What?!?

"Opposition leaders claimed they had unearthed new evidence of fraud, which they insisted the audit as proposed by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and the Organization of
American States would fail to detect."

Do they realize that this statement makes no sense whatsoever?

Do they understand just how stupid it is?

"We have evidence but an audit will not find it...."

HUH?

:silly:

[stickdog]

27. Right. I predicted as much. They know they lost even though they cheated.

So they don't want a manual audit.

Random manual audits are necessary to make sure Fraud-o-Matic e-voting is on the up and up.

But the RW knows it lost big in Venezuela, so they don't want any audits. They just want to cast aspersions on a fair election in which they were defeated in a landslide.

[daleo]

29. They are saying "Chavez has Weapons of Mass Fraud"

"And you can't prove he doesn't."

This worked in the Iraq fiasco (as far as instigating an invasion), so they are hoping that it will work here. It would require Bush winning in November (which in my opinion would constitute prime facie evidence of fraud) and the unslakable American thirst for oil for it to work, though.

[TankLV]

30. But he's a DICTATOR! He's not supposed to agree to all our demands!

No matter how baseless they are!

First he refuses to stop elections, then he doesn't arrest and kill the coup plotters for their treasonous act, then the recall, then he now agrees to an independant audit!

How can that "dictator" do such things!

Where's the outrage!?!?!

[struggle4progress]

31. Venezuela Starts Recall Audit as Opposition Boycotts (Update3)

Aug. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuela began auditing returns from Sunday's recall vote won by President Hugo Chavez, as the country's opposition refused to join observers monitoring the count.

The results of the audit of 150 voting districts may be known as soon as today, Carter Center representative Jennifer McCoy said in a news conference. The National Electoral Council is conducting the audit in coordination with observers from the Carter Center, the Organization of American States and the government.

``The information we will have after this audit will help us in making a complete evaluation of the system,'' McCoy said. Council official Tbisay Lucena said in a televised press conference that 15 percent of the districts being audited were completed as of 4 p.m. New York time.

The Carter Center and the OAS requested the audit after the country's Democratic Coordinator, representing 44 parties and civic groups including the First Justice party, the Confederation of Venezuelan Works and the Venezuelan Chambers of Commerce and Industry charged there were irregularities in the vote.
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http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000086&sid=a14ndtsJSa6c&refer=latin_america