That's why "irony alert."

I'm having a little trouble Googling what I want (confirmation of my recollection that Jimmy Carter has said we do not meet international elections standards).

This is the best I can do without spending all day:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52800-2004Sep26.html

There's no way to tell whether there's any "news " there (since the government's propaganda arm would refer to anything in the Caribbean as "near Venezuelan waters&quot ... but one nugget of truth spilled through at the end.

Polls suggest that the Opposition should win at least a majority of the seats, despite government gerrymandering, as well as the jailing, disqualification and murder of opposition leaders.

if Maduro makes good on his promise to lead a civilian-military putsch if the people vote for a non-Chavista government.

It will be a big mistake to attempt anything of the sort. You might start a war, but you won't win it.

I do find the image of the Venezuelan government leading a putsch against itself amusing. Or who would the civilian and military be leading a putsch against?

Maduro is threatening it.

to Venezuela, not me.

there is a reasonable explanation for why a naval presence is being detailed to be in the area of Venezuela during these elections (as opposed to the hysteria of the Venezuelan Ministry of Defense).

I remember being in the middle of a civil war in the jungle before, the citizens can take their chances. There are plenty of other places far worse off if the aircraft carrier's true purpose is to help the needy, but I don't think that is really what aircraft carriers are used for.

that task force (although the carrier has a fairly large marine detachment which can be tasked for that).

A genuine aircraft carrier group is sort of a step up.

They might be caught in the fighting, but I expect the government (either one) would want them safe.

And Maduro or Cabello isn't going to do a coup. There will be no military putsch.

Everyone's playing out their fantasy but it'll go as can expected. Venezuela might even have a weekend where the murder rate isn't a Paris-style death march.

The carrier group is just stopping by in case the worst fantasies happen. It was already en route to VA. It's not going to do anything. It's just better safe than sorry since the passage is coinciding (though some of the top analysts maybe pegged it passing Venezuela on 6D many months ago).

There are only like 15 people in the embassy. Worst case scenario something bad happens and a hostage situation occurs. Then you send in the marines.

Big deal. No invasion, none of that silliness.

Although though I don't doubt there will be political funny business, "there is too much at stake!".

So if the PSUV lose bands of colectivos don't try any funny business and make an embarrassment of his administration.

"Oh, um, hello Obama, we just let some armed colectivos take over the US embassy and they're holding everyone hostage. Sorry about that."

Laughable.

The most prominent was that one of the CNE (National Electoral Center) directors, Sandra Oblitas, declared that the polls should remain open one more hour (until 7pm Venezuela time), even if there aren't any voters in line, and then after that, a different CNE director, Luis Rondon, said live on national television that this declaration was illegal, that the law has always established that polls should close at 6pm as long as there aren't voters lined up. What's funny is that only a few seconds after Rondon declared this (thankfully he just released the full recording of his declaration here:https://twitter.com/RondonCNE/status/673664218164559872), those who were transmitting the signal decided to switch to a random poll on the street to draw away attention from him. Many social media reports have shown pictures of different polls still open even though there are no line-ups, and it was already past even 7pm. Maduro and his lackeys are trying to salvage this as much as possible and are trying their damn hardest to keep a national media blackout to hide their intentions to commit fraud. And they're not even ashamed to admit that the CNE for the most part answers to their orders.

And Jorge Quiroga, ex-president of Bolivia who was invited as an observer by the opposition, had his credentials removed for saying something in favor of the opposition, while there were many polls that had pro-chavista kiosks nearby promoting to vote for the PSUV, which is of course illegal, but do you think the CNE is gonna care about those reports? Nope, just the ones that cripple the opposition.

This was said by several international observers who met with Maduro himself. But so far all reports say that they were never given the chance to do so. Another big fat lie from the Chavista regime.

All of them near polls that haven't closed yet, and very close to Chavista red stations (which are not allowed to be near polls to begin with.) In case you're wondering, the cédula is the official government-issued ID document used by Venezuelans, and it is what they use when they vote. The reports say they were printing new ones to give to people to use in still-open polls that should've closed at 6pm to begin with to boost numbers for chavismo. They're really fucking desperate. Wonder if the UNASUR mission will pronounce itself at all about these blatant abuses.