Question

In many foreign countries a person cannot become a judge unless he or she first attended a formal college for judges, has passed a rigid set of exams or has had many years of specialized training. The United States, however, imposes no formal requirements whatsoever on a prospective federal judge; the presidential appointee need only be approved by the Senate. Would the U.S. benefit from emulating the model of other nations or has the U.S. system served the citizenry well?

Answer 1

Such is the state of misrepresentation of Venezuela a reporter can say nearly anything about Chávez or his government and it is unlikely to be challenged, so long as it is unfavorable. Even worse, Rather referred to Chávez as "the dictator"-- a term that few, if any, political scientists acquainted with the nation would countenance.

Here is what Jimmy Carter stated about Venezuela's "dictatorship" a couple of weeks ago: "As a matter of truth, of the 92 elections that we've kept track of, I would say that the election process in Venezuela is the best in the world." However because Washington has actually sought more than a year to delegitimize Venezuela's government, his. remarks went unreported in almost all of the US media.

The opposition will probably lose this election, not because of the government's benefits of incumbency, but because the living requirements of most Venezuelans have actually drastically improved under Chávez , poverty has been cut in half and extreme poverty by 70%. And these steps only money earnings. Millions have access to healthcare for the very first time, and college enrolment has actually doubled, with free tuition for lots of students. Inequality has likewise been significantly lowered. By contrast, the two decades that preceded Chávez amount to among the worst financial failures in Latin America .

In Washington, democracy has an easy meaning: does a federal government do what the state department wants it to do? So it is not just Venezuela that frequently comes under fire from the Washington establishment: all of the left and newly independent governments of South America, including Argentina, Ecuador, and Bolivia remain in the crosshairs (although Brazil is thought about too huge to get the exact same treatment other than the right).

But Venezuela becomes part of a "Latin American spring" that has produced the most democratic, progressive, and independent group of governments that the area has ever had. They interact, and Venezuela has solid assistance among its neighbors. This is the previous president of Brazil, Lula da Silva, last month: "A success for Chávez is not just a victory for individuals of Venezuela however likewise a success for all the people of Latin America ... this success will strike another blow against imperialism."

South America's assistance is Venezuela's best assurance versus continuing efforts by Washington-- which is still spending countless dollars within the nation in addition to unidentified covert funds-- to undermine, delegitimize, and destabilize democracy in Venezuela.