venezuelans here? (1 Viewer)

Dragon

Senior Member
Apr 24, 2003
27,407
#81
++ [ originally posted by Shenanigans ] ++
international observers such as jimmy carter said the referendum was fair and square...so :LOL: at you calling foul because of a picture of a protest against chavez.
Because of the oil, they know better than us that there was a fraud, but since it all looked normal they decided to stay quiet. If you would have been there you couldhave seen there wasnt a possible way except cheating that made Chavez win
 

Buy on AliExpress.com

Isanie

New Member
Sep 1, 2004
49
#84
++ [ originally posted by fabiana ] ++


Like what? please enlighten me, because Id love to know
well, he "won" right? But nothing will change the fact that he's got a very strong opposition. Do you honestly believe he'll be able to govern like that?

I mean, after 4 years of constant campaign, this is it, he won. What's next? He cannot keep defending himself from his oppositors, the campaign is over, the guy has been officially legitimated so his attitude should change, meaning he'll have to REALLY govern from now on, he'll have to focus on his job. Since we all know that that won't happen, how much more do you think the people can take?

Unless he changes, which we all know is impossible, I don't believe he'll be up there too much time.

Can you imagine the incredibly insane amount of money this man has used to blackmail, bribe and buy people's trust? The fraud, for instance, something as elaborated as that was, how many millions of dollars he spent there?

But we'll get to a point where all those people will start asking for more, and then he'll go and give them more or have them killed, but either way, don't you see that by doing that he would only be weakening? He will have to watch his back more and more.

He won't make it.
 

Dragon

Senior Member
Apr 24, 2003
27,407
#85
Sadly I dont agree with you, call me a pessimist or whatever but I dont think that wont happen

Right now there isnt a concrete answer/solution for us
 

Isanie

New Member
Sep 1, 2004
49
#86
It is okay, in fact, Your reaction is totally understandable. The day after the referendum I felt pretty much the same way, I was angry and hopeless but I've had time to analyse this, y'know? and the more I think about it, the more I believe that everything is not lost. He will pay for everything he's done, you'll see :cool:

As for the rest of us, we have to keep working and trying to improve ourselves in whatever we do and hope for justice to come. It is not like we have any other choice, except for those who can actually leave Venezuela LOL.
 

Dragon

Senior Member
Apr 24, 2003
27,407
#87
++ [ originally posted by Isanie ] ++
It is not like we have any other choice, except for those who can actually leave Venezuela LOL.

True- and most of the people dont have money to leave so were just stuck here


vives en caracas?
 

Isanie

New Member
Sep 1, 2004
49
#88
That's true. We're stuck here.

Si. Se puede hablar español aqui? Es que yo pertenezco a otro forum y alli no nos dejan hablar en otros idiomas :(

Tu tambien vives en Caracas?, por cierto, mi nombre es Isanie :)
 

Dragon

Senior Member
Apr 24, 2003
27,407
#89
En verda no se puede, pero ni pende! antes habia un lugar donde podiamos hablar español pero lo cerraron

Isanie es un nombre dem exotico, es super lindo

Si vivo en Caracas, cuantos años tienes?
 

Isanie

New Member
Sep 1, 2004
49
#90
Que lástima! Así era en el forum donde yo estoy. Los moderadores no sabían de que estaba hablando uno y no podían controlar si la gente empezaba a pelear o algo lol.

Gracias!

Yo tengo 23 :) Estoy muy emocionada porque ya va a comenzar la nueva temporada :cool:
 

Dragon

Senior Member
Apr 24, 2003
27,407
#91
Aca no sabian si hablabamos mal de otra gente! bueno ni pende

en donde estudias? yo tambien estoy full emocionada, pero no voy a poder ver ningun partido :(
 

Hydde

Minimiliano Tristelli
Mar 6, 2003
38,703
#93
Isanie.... biuemnvenida al foro.......... no te conozco pero espro q la pases bien aki..

mi nombre es arturo......... y bueno q lastima q ya no tengamos el foro para hablar mejor jeje

bienvenida!
 

Isanie

New Member
Sep 1, 2004
49
#94
++ [ originally posted by fabiana ] ++
Aca no sabian si hablabamos mal de otra gente! bueno ni pende

en donde estudias? yo tambien estoy full emocionada, pero no voy a poder ver ningun partido :(
Heh.

Yo recien me gradué en Comp. en la Simón Bolívar. Y eso por qué? ESPN va a transmitir la Serie A y la Champions League, Meridiano tambien transmite la Champions :)
 

Isanie

New Member
Sep 1, 2004
49
#95
++ [ originally posted by Hydde ] ++
Isanie.... biuemnvenida al foro.......... no te conozco pero espro q la pases bien aki..

mi nombre es arturo......... y bueno q lastima q ya no tengamos el foro para hablar mejor jeje

bienvenida!
Gracias, Arturo. Mucho gusto :)

Veo que Uds. ya tienen tiempo aquí. Yo siempre revisaba este forum pero no me registré sino hasta ahora, es bien agradable aquí :)
 

Dragon

Senior Member
Apr 24, 2003
27,407
#96
++ [ originally posted by Hydde ] ++
Popotes!! :D

hey aca se puede hablar español tambien¿¿ :D

Como estas Popina.... ya ni se de ti jeje
yo tampoco. me voy el 12 pero seguiremos hablando por msn
 

Dragon

Senior Member
Apr 24, 2003
27,407
#97
++ [ originally posted by Isanie ] ++


Heh.

Yo recien me gradué en Comp. en la Simón Bolívar. Y eso por qué? ESPN va a transmitir la Serie A y la Champions League, Meridiano tambien transmite la Champions :)
Me voy a vivir a boston por tres meses desde el domingo... y ahi en estados unidos no deben pasar nada ademas qu no voy a tener cable...

En serio y que tal? yo presente en la simon pero no entre, en verda ni estudie pal examen -me gusta mas la metro
 

Dragon

Senior Member
Apr 24, 2003
27,407
#98
This is quite interesting

from THE WALL STREET JOURNAL Editorial Page
THE AMERICAS
Observers Rush to Judgment
Jimmy Carter gets rolled--first by Fidel Castro, now by Hugo Chávez.

by MARY ANASTASIA O'GRADY

Saturday, August 21, 2004 12:01 a.m. EDT

When Jimmy Carter went to Cuba in 2002, Fidel Castro reveled in the photo-ops with a former U.S. president. Mr. Carter seemed to think he was heroically "engaging" the Cuban despot. But in the documentary "Dissident," celluloid captures something most Americans didn't see: Castro giggling sardonically as Mr. Carter lectures the Cuban politburo on democracy. That foreshadowed what happened when the media splash ended and the former president went home: Dissidents he went to "help" today languish in gulag punishment cells.
I was reminded this week of how Castro so artfully used Mr. Carter when Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez took a page from his Cuban mentor's playbook. On Monday, the Carter Center along with the head of the monumentally meaningless Organization of American States, Cesar Gaviria, endorsed Chávez's claims of victory in the Venezuelan recall referendum, rather too hastily it now seems.
The problem was that the "observers" hadn't actually observed the election results. Messrs. Carter and Gaviria were only allowed to make a "quick count"--that is, look at the tally sheets spat out by a sample of voting machines. They were not allowed to check this against ballots the machines issued to voters as confirmation that their votes were properly registered.
If there was fraud, as many Venezuelans now suspect, it could have been discovered if the ballots didn't match the computer tallies. The tallies alone were meaningless. The problem was clear by Tuesday but it didn't stop the State Department spokesman Adam Ereli from chiming in. "The people of Venezuela have spoken," he proclaimed.

Mr. Carter marveled at the huge turnout on Sunday. Venezuelans, who have been voting 2-to-1 against Chávez in opinion polls, waited in absurdly long lines to cast more meaningful votes on electronic machines. But did the machine really record the vote as registered on the paper ballot?
According to experts, it is relatively simple to tamper with encryption codes in electronic voting machines. American Enterprise Institute resident scholar John Lott says, "You can easily write a program that tells the voting machine to record something different in its memory than what it prints out on the receipt that is to be dropped in the ballot box."
To rely on the tally sheets alone, as Messrs. Carter and Gaviria did, is to abdicate the heavy responsibility an observer accepts when overseeing an election. A Venezuelan who is a former U.N. deputy high commissioner of human rights wrote of his suspicions in Wednesday's International Herald Tribune (right beside a pro-Chávez New York Times editorial, by the way). Enrique ter Horst cited as cause for concern the fact that "the papers the new machines produced . . . were not added up and compared with the final numbers these machines produce at the end of the voting process, as the voting-machine manufacturer had suggested."
An exit poll done by the prominent U.S. polling firm of Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates showed 59% of voters opposed to Chávez and only 41% in favor. (Messrs. Penn and Schoen both worked for Bill Clinton in his 1996 re-election bid.) Raj Kumar, a principal at the polling firm, told me Thursday that the firm has gone back to try to explain the 34-point spread between the PSB poll and the results announced by the government. "While there are certainly biases that can impact any exit poll, we do not see any factor that could account for such a significant difference," he said.

At 3:00 on Monday morning two members of the National Electoral Council who are politically opposed to Chávez announced that they had been shut out of the audit process and warned the public that the established protocol had been violated. Some 50 minutes later pro-Chávez Electoral Council member Francisco Carrasquero emerged alone to proclaim Chávez the winner.
There is much to question. Mr. ter Horst cites one example: "In the town of Valle de la Pascua, where papers were counted at the initiative of those manning the voting center, the "yes" vote had been cut by more than 75%, and the entire voting material was seized by the national guard shortly after the difference was established." "Yes" was a vote to remove Chávez.
There is also a reasonable accusation that the number of "yes" votes at some polling stations was "capped" by software tampering. The charge is supported by the discovery, in some locations, of two or three machines recording the exact same number of "yes" votes and substantially more "no" votes. The opposition is claiming that it has proof that this occurred at 500 polling stations. Again, if Mr. Carter and the OAS observers had demanded an open auditing process instead of blindly endorsing government claims, cheating would have been uncovered. But Chávez refused open audits and the observers went along with him.
In the desperate attempt to divert attention from observer negligence, few have been as ardent as Mr. Gaviria, who is flailing about in the waters he helped muddy. He has no idea whether there was fraud because he never conducted an audit. So now he floats the idea that the whole problem is that the PSB exit poll was flawed. Yeah, right.

The Electoral Council is now engaged in a minimal audit with Mr. Carter and the OAS. But the opposition has wisely refused to participate on the grounds that the ballot boxes and the machines have been in Chávez control since Sunday and based on what is already known, further tampering can't be ruled out. As of yet there has not been an agreement on how to conduct a fair audit.
Chávez has already said that his "victory" cannot be reversed. To underscore that point on Tuesday, a pro-Chávez gang opened fire on a group protesting that the referendum had been rigged, killing one woman and injuring others.
There is some speculation that Messrs. Carter and Gaviria threw a veil over a gross deception on the grounds that it will prevent further violence. But Americans have a right to expect a sterner approach from the administration of George W. Bush. State's endorsement of this referendum without a fair audit is a sorry betrayal of not only the Venezuelan people but American ideals. It is tantamount to yielding to terrorism. Observing Washington's supine reaction, Chávez will not hesitate to escalate his efforts to restore authoritarianism on the South American continent.
Ms. O'Grady edits the Americas column, which appears in The Wall Street Journal Fridays.



from THE WALL STREET JOURNAL Editorial Page
READER RESPONSES TO:
Observers Rush to Judgment
by MARY ANASTASIA O'GRADY

as of Wednesday, August 25, 2004 08:01 p.m. EDT



Outrageous!
Will Allison - Louisville, Ky.
This is getting outrageous. Not two weeks ago, the OpinionJournal page posted a stinging op-ed praising the virtues of electronic voting, and accusing anyone of suspecting the quality of these machines as merely trying to incite the Democratic base before, and of course, after, the election. Now it posts this piece that states that the Venezuelan election can't be trusted, because it was determined through electronic voting! "According to experts, it is relatively simple to tamper with encryption codes in electronic voting machines. American Enterprise Institute resident scholar John Lott says, 'You can easily write a program that tells the voting machine to record something different in its memory than what it prints out on the receipt that is to be dropped in the ballot box.' " Oh, really? What are must these crazy leftists from the American Enterprise Institute be smoking?!
Consistency, people. Make your position, clear, and stop leveling totally unsubstantiated accusations at those of us who merely would like to prevent a repeat of Florida 2000. Surely, all of us can agree on that!

House of Cards?
Mike Donley - La Junta, Colo.
Yet another marvelous tale about America and God's own self-appointed diplomat sans portfolio. Another reminder, following a failed administration, that Mr. Carter and indeed too many from the left side of the ideological spectrum are champions of idealistic incompetence. Not only are they ultimately spineless but they pave the road to slavery with their efforts. Venezuela, like North Korea and Palestine, stand in shameful testimony. As someone once famously remarked--"I can't wait for all of those Habitat for Humanity houses to finally collapse, then Jimmy Carter's legacy will be complete.¡±

Watch Those Flunkies
R.J. Williams - Pembroke Pines, Fla.
Gee whiz! Wait till George W. Bush wins and the flunkies that are coming to observe our election, unlike Mr. Carter et al., go apoplectic.

Put Carter Out to Pasture
Ed Moros - St. Louis
Chávez was too confident going into the election he so strongly had opposed. He must have some assurance of the outcome. If he managed to control the final results of the elections, it sets a sad and dangerous precedent for the future of democracy in the Americas.
Chávez is a serpent and Mr. Carter is no snake charmer.
It is also sad that U.S. ex-president has so naively accepted the election results without a proper audit. It is time for Mr. Carter to realize that he has been to many times a failure in international diplomacy. He should come home and truly retire. He may regret when the patience of the people of Venezuela is further abused.

May He Disappear
Greg Cass - Nashville, Tenn.
Mr. Carter was, no doubt, the worst president of my lifetime. Our current situation in the Middle East is directly attributable to Mr. Carter. Mr. Carter professes his Christianity but during his administration most of is decisions were diametrically opposed to his "beliefs.¡± Hopefully, Mr. Carter will quietly disappear.

The Most Deep
Elena Grassi - Takoma Park, Md.
Thanks Ms. O'Grady. This is the most deep and informative article I've read in the international press so far. Thanks for bringing up all this points!

Enough of Carter
Carl Stone - Mesa, Ariz.
The article is unfortunately spot on. Why unfortunate? Because Jimmy Carter, the worst U.S. president in my lifetime, gave the election his blessing. Mr. Carter¡¯s mistakes are monumental, and directly responsible for human suffering. I've personally had quite enough of Jimmy Carter's lousy ideas, and he does not speak for this country in the minds of many.

Shaking Hands With the Devil
Lee W. Dodson - Los Angeles
Yet another example of doddering old fools mixing in where they don't belong. His days, as well as those of Messrs. Kennedy, Byrd, Hollings, Harkin and Gore, are long past. His and their world views are sepia-tone flat in a complex, three-dimensional and dangerous diorama. Mr. Carter, et al., must be laughed off the world stage before they lead the unknowing off a cliff of ignorance.
Evil must first be recognized and identified before it can be defeated. Shaking hands with the devil doesn't make him better, proximity endangers us.




from THE WALL STREET JOURNAL Editorial Page
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Venezuela's Voters Have Spoken
Hugo Chávez won fair and square.

BY JIMMY CARTER

Tuesday, August 24, 2004 12:01 a.m. EDT

I would like to respond to Mary O'Grady's recent column about the Carter Center's role in the Venezuela recall referendum.
The Carter Center has monitored more than 50 troubled democratic elections, all of them either highly contentious or a nation's first experience with democracy. We are familiar with potential fraudulent techniques and how to obtain a close approximation to the actual results to assure accuracy.
One of our prerequisites for involvement is to be invited by all major political parties and by the central election commission, so it is necessary for us to remain absolutely neutral. These criteria obviously apply to Venezuela.

In 1998, Hugo Chávez was elected president of Venezuela. There was a subsequent referendum to approve a new constitution, and in 2000, another nationwide election for local, state and national offices, with Mr. Chávez prevailing by close to 60% in both presidential elections. Accuracy of results was accepted, but the opposition remained determined to remove him from office.
A military coup against Mr. Chávez was successful in April 2002, but an aroused Venezuelan public and condemnation of the coup by Latin American governments resulted in Mr. Chávez being restored to office after two days in custody. The next attempt to depose him was a series of nationwide strikes that shut down oil production and almost destroyed the nation's economy. The government survived, but the political confrontation continued.
In January 2003, I proposed that a provision in the new constitution be implemented, providing for a referendum on whether Mr. Chávez should leave office or complete his term. Both sides agreed to this proposal, and the Organization of American States joined our Center in monitoring the gathering of necessary petitions and observing a recall referendum. An organization known as Súmate served as the opposition's driving force in encouraging signatures to depose Mr. Chávez and providing technical advice for their campaign efforts.
The Aug. 15 vote was the culmination of this process, and extra care was taken to ensure secrecy and accuracy. An electronic system was developed by a Venezuelan-American consortium led by SmartMatic that permitted touch-screen voting, with each choice backed up by a paper ballot. International machines were tested in advance, and we observed the entire voting process without limitation or restraint.

During the voting day, opposition leaders claimed to have exit-poll data showing the government losing by 20 percentage points, and this erroneous information was distributed widely. Results from each of the 20,000 machines were certified by poll workers and party observers and transmitted to central election headquarters in Caracas. As in all previous elections, paper ballots were retained under military guard. As predicted by most opinion polls and confirmed by our quick count, Mr. Chávez prevailed by a 59% to 41% margin.
Subsequently an audit was conducted to assure compatibility between manual ballots and electronically transmitted data, but opposition leaders insisted that their exit polls were accurate and that all other data were fraudulent. We met the following morning with Súmate, and they reported their own quick count showing a 10% government victory. Since their only remaining question was the accuracy of the audit, we developed the procedure for a second audit. Súmate and election commission members (government and opposition) agreed with our proposal. The second audit revealed no significant disparities.
Our responsibilities do not end when votes are counted. We seek acceptance of the results by all sides, and reconciliation if distrust or disharmony is deep. We have already begun efforts to establish a dialogue between the Venezuelan government and the still-antagonistic opposition leaders.
When local citizens or foreigners disapprove of a political decision made in free and fair elections, the only legitimate recourse is to honor the decision, cooperate whenever possible, and promote future leadership changes through democratic means.

Mr. Carter is founder and chairman of the Carter Center at Emory University.



from THE WALL STREET JOURNAL Editorial Page
READER RESPONSES TO:
Venezuela's Voters Have Spoken
JIMMY CARTER

as of Wednesday, August 25, 2004 08:01 p.m. EDT



A Little Too Trusting
Ron Norman - San Francisco
If Mr. Carter hadn't set up the inspections for the North Korean nuclear inspections we would all feel better, he has a proven track record of believing dictators. He seems a little to fast in his voter inspections, a little to trusting of the SmartMatic Machines of which one of Mr. Chavez's henchmen owned a part. After watching what occurred in Florida during a contended election with the continual counting of chads we know what goes into a real inspection for a possible voter fraud. Mr. Carter seems just a little to hasty, a little to trusting when it comes to dictators, if there is a next time for Venezuela, Mr. Gore and his legion of attorneys should do the counting.

Why Not Build a Home in Venezuela?
Barbara Harrell - Wildwood, Mo.
A suggestion for the homebuilder Carter: Go to Venzuela and build habitats for humanity there. After all, Chavez won fair and square. It's such a paradise, Carter should seriously consider living there.

And Saddam's Election Results?
Charles LeBlanc - Metairie, La.
Mr. Carter, did you have any hand in confirming the out come of the last Iraqi election where Sadaam received 100% of the ballots?

Sad That Carter Was Once President
Tim Sousley - Columbia, Tenn.
As the self-designated conscience of America, Jimmy Carter may persuade himself that his view of international relations matter. But--in light of the fact he has taken the side of the U.S. and democracy's enemies on such disparate issues as North Korea, the Palestinian Authority, Cuba and now Venezuela--why should we see him an anything more than a flack for anti-American sentiment. It is both hard to realize--and sad to remember--that this man was once a U.S. president.

Dead On
Nate Smith - Melbourne Beach, Fla.
I guess it was fair and square aim too, when Chavez "brown shirts" opened up with guns killing at least two demonstrators. Democracy in action!

Let's Back Chavez
Michael McCarthy - Jefferson, Ga.
I usually don't agree with Mr. Carter on anything. But in this case, I believe, the evidence speaks for itself: Mr. Chavez won the election fair and square. We have a long history of meddling in Latin America. Not only should we recognize the election results we should be more vocal in our support of the duly elected Mr. Chavez. I don't like Mr. Chavez but he won the election. If the opposition would hear a clear voice from America defending the results the opposition might stop acting like cry babies. It would certainly help stop the world wide spiraling oil prices.

What I've Seen in Venezuela
Peter J. Paola - Vernon Hills, Ill.
Mr. President, I have no doubt that what you saw and what you monitored gave you the data to write this article and make your judgement.
Having spent a number of months in Venezuela over a two-year period and working with manufacturing people on the shop floor and also with both Chavez and anti Chavez supporters at the grass roots in a non political way, I obtained a much different impression.
The sale of cheap oil to Cuba with the reciprocal "trade" of personnel both medical and educational together with Cubans being inserted into the government sector under the auspices of "assistance," Chavez is orchestrating a fundamental change in the society akin to a Castro format. Most of the previously disenfranchised and terribly poor people are unaware of this program.
Secondly, the oil production and the strict control of the dollar has freed millions of dollars which, I am told by more than one source, are being used to "pay" for supporters. He has built a huge organization paid for by these dollars which are not available to the opposition.
He may have won "fair and square" by looking at the results but I believe the problem is far more insidious than this.
I hope that your center is able to overcome the official stance and dig deeper and report on this. Chavez has gained control of every arm of government and as a result is now a dictator in the South American tradition but one with an agenda to socialize and "Cubanize" Venezuela.
In the two years since I have been on business there the people I have been working with have sunk deeper and deeper into poverty. I have witnessed this first hand. Secondly, this country is so rich in terms of oil that there is no reason why it has sunk so low except for the explanation of what the Chavez policy is resulting in. The poor people are supporting him because of his promise to change the known corruption of the past which both sides admit and abhor. However, he has not followed through on his promise to them.
Are you aware of this?

Carter's Interest
Tim Keane - Chalfont, Pa.
Jimmy Carter says he has already tried to begin dialogue between the Venezuelan government and the still-antagonistic opposition leaders. Jimmy if tough to have dialogue when the government is machine gunning opposition. Maybe that is why they are antagonistic. By the way, Jimmy we really appreciate your support for this criminal government. When you were president you were responsible for record interest rates of 18% ( I still remember) maybe you can be the first person to be responsible for interest rates of 18% twice when you destroy the Venezuelan oil industry.

Exactly Wrong
Mike Borgert - Reston, Va.
"When local citizens or foreigners disapprove of a political decision made in free and fair elections, the only legitimate recourse is to honor the decision, cooperate whenever possible, and promote future leadership changes through democratic means." Really, Jimmy?
Does that count in Florida as well? I don't recall you decrying the Democrat whining following the 2000 election.
Jimmy Carter represents the antithesis of wisdom and common sense and has done so since I voted for him in 1976. One can consistently make a correct decision by simply doing exactly the opposite of what Jimmy would do.

Is the Left Paying Attention?
Charlotte Lewis - London, Canada
"When local citizens or foreigners disapprove of a political decision made in free and fair elections, the only legitimate recourse is to honor the decision, cooperate whenever possible, and promote future leadership changes through democratic means."
You hear that Mr. Moore, MoveOn.org etc.?

As If . . .
Allen ODonnell - Wayne, Neb.
It is comical; as if Jimmy would know the difference!

Why Did Chavez's Thugs Shoot the People?
Noah Campbell - Mt. Vernon, Ky.
If it was so honest. Why were people shot in the street after the election?

Doesn't Rise to the Level of Relevance
Greg Cass - Nashville, Tenn.
As the worst president in my lifetime, anything Mr. Carter has to say is irrelevant.

This Is How the Reds Got the Better of Him
Randy Freeburg - Occoquan, Va.
That was a pretty lame response to Ms. O'Grady's column. He gave very little detail about the audits and ridiculed a legitimate polling firms exit-poll data. I'm beginning to understand how communism spread during the Carter years.

Go Away
Charles Arney - Los Altos Hills, Calif.
Mr. Carter, it is time for you to retire forever in full disgrace. Please ago away.



Dictators Can Count on Jimmy Carter
Sharon M Robinson - Fountain Hills, Ariz.
I find Mr. Carter's explanation of Venezuela's "free" election to be lacking. He dismissed the exit poll claims of the opposition so quickly it causes anyone with common sense to wince as a red flare goes up. Dictators like Chavez have an uncanny ability to hold onto power often with the help of the Jimmy Carters of the world. Besides, I feel Mr. Carter ultimately has a track record of siding with world dictators willingly or unwillingly.

Better to Wait
Richard Van Coevering - Buffalo, N.Y.
It would have been far better to wait until a independent verification of the results than to give the imprimatur of the Carter Center to a government controlled and counted vote. That the Carter Center did not take this step shows that at best it is not competent, and at worst, a shill for the Castro-esque regime of Mr. Chavez.
Would the Carter Center also certify the result of a Castro run, or Saddam run election?

Florida Didn't Bolster Carter's Credibility
Ken Burns - Acworth, Ga.
I sure hope President Carter is telling the truth about the election in Venezuela. It is hard for me to take him seriously since he stands with all of the "stolen election" whiners from 2000. It seems that the Carter Center should be able to find the hundreds of disenfranchised Florida voters. He could also have come out and said what the Gore sponsored recounters was doing to the Floridian military absentee ballets was wrong, but I do not remember hearing from him on that either.

Now We Know Chavez Lost
Andrew E. Malone - New Milford, Conn.
Jimmy Carter validates Chavez's plebiscite. There is now no doubt that the vote was fraudulent. Mr. Carter has never been correct about anything in all his years of servicing the public and now he is now too old to change his abysmal record. Mean, pathetic and always wrong. It's a leftist thing.

Either That or Go Pound Sand
Michael Justice - Taipei, Free Taiwan
I find it difficult to believe that Venezuelans voted in favor of a tyrant who has managed to reduce per-capita GDP by somewhere around 25% since he took office, and whose thugs--sorry, "supporters"--have opened fire on unarmed demonstrators who opposed the tyrant's rule.
As Jimmy Carter didn't bother to do a real recount, I also find it hard to believe that he knows the election was audited in a "free and fair" manner.
But no doubt he feels that, like the Ayatollah Khomeini, Chavez is a man of the people whom he can deal with--or could, if he were still president, anyway. Keep pounding nails, Jimmy.




So Bush Did Win
Gil Potter - Columbia, S.C.
Based on the last paragraph of your article: Florida 2000--Bush won! Honor the decision and cooperate.

No Despot Left Behind
Matt Gail - Fredericksburg, Va.
It is nice to see that Mr. Carter is rising to the defense of his position in life in that, no despot shall go unaided by him. If the citizens voted in an exit poll, two-to-one, against Chavez, how could he have won? Hmmm. Sounds like Team Chavez was using a few Democrat tactics such as "opening the graveyards" and "buying" a few votes ala Irving Slosberg, here and there. In closing, it would have been nice had Mr. Carter shown so much zeal in getting those 52 American heroes freed from an Iranian prison instead of letting them languish for 444 days. Sir, please, just go away so we can get busy forgetting you and your joke of a legacy.

Has Carter Ever Gotten It Right?
Nick Olson - Havertown, Pa.
Does this guy ever get tired of being wrong all the time? There is not a single foreign policy issue in the last 30 years that he's gotten right. He allowed us to be pushed around by Iran (back when we really did have lower standing in the world) during his feeble presidency. Ten years ago, he bragged that we had a peace agreement with North Korea, only to find out later that oops, they lied, and oops, now they have nukes. If you can't trust a Communist dictator, who can you trust? This guy needs to be barred from interacting with foreign heads of state, particularly dictators, because he's just too damn gullible. I don't know if it's old age, but I suspect he's always been that way.

Didn't Work Out so Well in North Korea
Paul Burich - Milpitas, Calif.
Well, Jimmy, I guess as long as you had an "Agreed Framework" in Venezuela for auditing the vote results we can't think (Kim Jong) Il of you. Whoops, there goes another rob-a-vote plant.

Carter's Record
David Govett - Davis, Calif.
Mr. Carter's legacy: No foreign tyrant unsupported. No American patriot supported. His toothy grin barely masks his antidemocratic animus. Oh, how I long for respectable American ex-presidents who refrained from making foreign policy pronouncements.

Stop Messing Up Other Democracies
D.S. Moody - Jacksonville, Fla.
Mr. Carter, please come home. Another countries' bid for democracy has gone done the drain with your blessing. Enough of America's future has gone deep into the six foot earth.



The Carter Center Rubber Stamp
William Byrd - Headland, Ala.
I do not see why you waste trees, ink and electrons on former President Carter's musings on elections. He has never encountered a two-bit tin horn dictator or despot that he does not like. It is amazing how he can countenance exit polls showing Chavez losing by about the same margin that he supposedly later won by, and still conclude that a fair election took place.
All you have to do if you want to run a crooked election is call the Carter Center and for the right amount of money, they will be there the next day with poll watchers guaranteeing any outcome you desire. It also helps if you are despot and a communist or socialist.

Maybe Bush Should Act Like a Despot
Ken Shotwell - Crownpoint, N.M.
Jimmy Carter never met a despot he wouldn't suck up to. Khomeini, Ortega, Kim, Castro, Chavez--literally anybody but Bush.

Keep Director Your Efforts Overseas
Ron Beal - Lenexa, Kan.
More than 50, and you still do not know what you're doing. Glad Carter
is "assisting" other countries instead of the U.S.A.
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 0, Guests: 1)