You know I am no friend of the Carter Center after its action in Venezuela in the 2004 recall vote, but you have to love this press release issued by the Carter Center entitled “Declaration of the Friends of the Inter-American Democratic Charter on the Venezuelan Decision Regrading the Ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights”. The declaration is signed, among many others by Cesar Gaviria, Jorge Castaneda, Andres Pastrana, Sergio Ramirez, Alejandro Toledo and Jimmy Carter. The bold face on the part about the military Courts of Fujimori is mine. Can it be clearer than this?:
“We, the undersigned, regret the announcement of the Venezuelan Supreme Court that it will not be feasible to comply with the decisions of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the case of Leopoldo Lopez vs. Venezuela issued on September 1, 2011. The Inter-American Court together with the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights constitute a human rights system that serves as a model for the world. Based in the American Convention on Human Rights, the system is an achievement of Latin American and Caribbean states (neither Canada nor the United States have ratified) that should be jealously protected by all.
We note with concern that to our knowledge, with the exception of the military courts rulings during the Fujimori regime, this is the only country in the hemisphere where the merits rulings of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights have been rejected by the Supreme Court in expressly declaring them non-binding and unenforceable.
The failure to comply with the findings of the Court by a signatory state under the jurisdiction of the Court, and departing from its international obligations as dictated by the American Convention, threatens not only the Court itself but also the collective defense of human rights in the hemisphere.”
The Devil's Excrement 
October 26, 2011 at 10:01 pm
firepigette (and CharlesC) I hope you both get to read this. “Jimmy Carter spearheads final drive to eradicate guinea worm.” Google Carter and Guinea worm, he has led the drive to eliminate this pestilence, and deserves the credit for it.
And he is a nuclear physicist or something like that. So, he isn’t stupid and he can lead. I’m going to stick with gullible. And with the fact that I regret him having risen to the pinnacle of American leadership.
October 23, 2011 at 7:28 am
I don’t think Carter was gullible.I think he was self centered and slick.
He enjoyed advertising his supposed goodness by saying that he would never tell a lie.He was a politician.
October 23, 2011 at 9:11 pm
It has to be concluded that he was not a good leader.
He seems rather narrow-minded and short-sighted to me.
Prone to getting the big picture totally wrong maybe
because of limited education, really.
October 23, 2011 at 12:47 am
What an enigma Carter is. I’m sorry we unleashed him on the world. And yet, he has done some remarkably great things with his life. Things that have positively impacted millions of the world’s poor.
How can such a wonderful humanitarian be so gullible as to human nature? How can someone so bright be so simple minded? This is Carter.
October 22, 2011 at 8:23 am
Here’s a comment from the Detroit Free Press:
http://www.freep.com/article/20111021/NEWS07/111021030/Moammar-Gadhafi-gone-other-U-S-foes-remain
Moammar Gadhafi is gone, but other U.S. foes remain
“But even with the demise of the Libyan dictator, plus Osama bin Laden, Iraq’s Saddam Hussein and Serbia’s Slobodan Milosevic, there are still autocrats around the world hostile to the U.S., notably in Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea and Iran.”
“Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a left-wing activist and former military officer who came to power in 1999 and instituted radical changes in economic and social policy, including expanding state control of the oil industry. Chavez has accused Washington of plotting to invade Venezuela, called for containment of the U.S., aligned himself with Cuba and signed major arms deals with Russia to build Venezuela into a regional power. The U.S. likes to portray Venezuela as more of an irritant than an adversary, but that could change if Chavez adopts more aggressive policies.”
October 22, 2011 at 10:26 am
It is common knowledge that Iran has relations with N. Korea-ie.buying missiles,
and that Chavez has relations with Iran. Less well know is I heard that
for four years Chavez had been trying to arrange a visit to N. Korea to establish relations (what kind?) -this was a couple of years ago. Has anyone heard anymore about this linking Chavez with N. Korea?
Also, Chavez is very secretive about relations with armed groups in Africa who were also connected to Quadaffi…
October 22, 2011 at 8:07 am
If I’m not mistaken LL has already pledged to run just 1 term because he knows that the changes that will be required will be painful & make it difficult to run a 2nd time.
Listening to his message on TV the other night was inspiring. His message is to the lower classes not the elite (he already has those votes if nominated).
I think we will see the surveys changing in the coming weeks now that he is officially registered.
I’ve also not seen anyone comment on the CNE’s move to publicly announce that he can register & that the code 8 has been removed. If the TSJ has said that he can run & the CNE says he can register to run how can they deny him if he wins??
October 22, 2011 at 2:06 am
Carter and Gaviria will have to work very hard to redeem themselves for the mess they left behind in Venezuela. If nothing else, they are the main culprits for making democrats in this country lose faith in the resolution of political conflicts through democratic means. Way to “wage peace”.
There is a lot of waging left to do and I sure hope they will not limit themselves to this communiqué.
October 21, 2011 at 9:57 pm
Roy HCR is close in age to LL,in fact, LL is older by one year. I believe that in politics you have to seize your moment and go with it. Both HCR and LL have to do it now, who knows what will be happening in Venezuela in 2018. I have not been in the Interior of Venezuela in a while, I think the one of the three (I am including Pablo Perez) who projects himself better in the interior will win. I know more about VP than about HCR or PP, that gives me the feeling that it is LL’s time, except polls dont say that. But the VP network is quite impressive. You have to accept you are going to be unpopular for what’s needed, but you have to believe you will be popular for what you do. What if the first President leads to neo-Chavistas?
They should all go for it!
October 22, 2011 at 10:50 am
in politics you have to seize your moment and go with it.
You’re right, Miguel. And a lot can happen in the next few months.We’ll just have to wait and see how it all plays out.
October 21, 2011 at 9:24 pm
LL is probably still too young to have sufficient perspective, but if he truly wants a long career as Venezuela’s president, he would do better to let HCR take the first shift. The first president after Chavez is going to get blamed for a lot of unpopular and painful changes. The second president can come in, iron out the wrinkles and take credit for the positive results, and serve two full terms… or more, if the Constitution is not amended to prevent that like it should be.
October 21, 2011 at 7:38 pm
One thing I do have to say for LL: his energy on putting pressure on the government’s decision to disqualify him is commendable. He’s networked the hell out of this issue – and that in itself proves a level of gumption that the next president is going to need.
I still think his Messiah complex makes him a risky choice. But man, he works it.
October 21, 2011 at 8:34 pm
agree on all counts. BUT .. can the gumption go beyond the underlying promotion of self? Can the gumption go towards healing the polarization of the country?
There’s no question that LL has a burning ambition. And he probably could well tackle a number of issues, if he were to win. But I’d still prefer that he gain more political experience at a wider level, and lose some of that look-at-me patina.