(I apologize that this will be a terribly inelegant and rough diary; but needs must.)
Ah, yes; starring Miz Picklepuss of Adrienne Arsht/ Atlantic Council: working to secure the future (of some™) western Imperialists.
‘Hillary Clinton and a Venezuelan Murder Mystery: Who Killed Luis Manuel Díaz?’, mark Weisbrot at CEPR.net
Note the angle on the Guardian website on VZ, for instance.
‘Live Updates: Venezuela’s National Assembly Elections’, at telesur english, voting day, Dec. 6
A Telesur tweet identifies a photo as “Part of the delegation of 109 international observers from 28 countries #VenezuelaDecides
UPDATE: 10:41 a.m. – Venezuelan prosecutors confirm that jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez has full right to vote today. Even though Lopez is barred from holding public office, this does not affect his right to vote, authorities said. In Venezuela, not only are ex-prisoners entitled to vote, contrary to many U.S. states, but so too can current prisoners who have not yet been sentenced. Every prison is equipped with ballot boxes.
‘Why Progressives Should Defend Venezuela’s Democratic Elections’by Frederick B. Mills
‘US Corporate Media Seek to Undermine Venezuelan Democracy with Lies and Distortions’, by Eric Draitser (some excerpts after noting that many Venezuelans are arguably frustrated by high inflation, scarcity of basic goods, and high violent crime rates):
“In fact, the opposition has already laid the groundwork for a potential destabilization of the country as a number of key figures have openly stated that should they lose the election, it would be an indication of fraud. Essentially, the opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), which is neither democratic nor unified, has manufactured a win-win scenario wherein a loss in the election proves it was cheated, thereby allowing it to decry the elections as a fraud: a pernicious lie which only would benefit them.
Such tactics are par for the course for an opposition made up of US-backed, right wing neoliberal members of the former ruling class – an opposition that heralds criminals such as Leopoldo Lopez as righteous heroes persecuted by the government. The violence that is likely to break out should the MUD lose is also a standard tactic of everyone from criminal gangs to fascist political formations, both terms aptly describing the Venezuelan opposition.
This narrative of ‘election fraud’ is the same one trotted out by the opposition in every election in the last 15 years, with US media dutifully providing the cover of legitimacy to baseless claims as it repeats the same tired, utterly discredited talking points about ‘dirty elections’. The truth however is that Venezuela’s electoral system is the best, “most transparent in the world,” as former US President and humanitarian Jimmy Carter proclaimed in 2012. Indeed, despite the lies and distortions of the US media, these elections will be free, fair, and reflective of the will of the people.”
At Café Babylon: ‘WikiLeaked Cables Demonstrate Attempts to Overthrow Elected Socialist Governments in Latin America’. I’m so lame at categorizing posts, it’s the only one of many I could score.
‘US Study: Majority Not Enough to Take Over Venezuela Parliament’ Mark Weisbrot with this brief video explaining VZ’s National Assembly electoral voting. Winning a majority in Venezuela’s Dec. 6 parliamentary elections does not guarantee control of the country’s National Assembly, notes a study released Thursday by the Center for Economic and Policy Research. » read more
‘CNN Doesn’t Want You To Know The Truth About Venezuela’s Voting System’ by Eva Golinger, December 4th 2015 at http://venezuelanalysis.com, but there are loads of informative essays there.
I haven’t seen anything about when election results might come, but likely tomorrow. I’ll check as I’m able tommorow.
