Preval or BURN

In the impoverished capital of Haiti . . .

[Preval] supporters claimed electoral officials were tampering with results to prevent him from getting the majority he needs to avoid a runoff.

* * *

"If they don't give us the final results,we're going to burn this country down!" a [Preval supporter] screamed.

This is not America, 2004. These people know damn well who they voted for and they'd rather see their country burn than have another dictator "democratically" appointed over them.

Already, two protestors are dead.

Associated Press journalists saw the body of a man on a street, blood soaking Preval's image emblazoned on his T-shirt. Dozens of witnesses said Jordanian U.N. peacekeepers in a jeep opened fire, killing two people and wounding four. The body of the second victim was not seen.

"We were peacefully protesting when the U.N. started shooting," said Walrick Michel, 22.

U.N. spokesman David Wimhurst first denied that peacekeepers fired any rounds, then later said they had fired in the air.

But, the Bush administration seems to think that their statement will help calm nerves.

The Bush administration urged Haitians to refrain from violence and to respect the results of the election.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said that once results are announced, all parties should "come together and work together" for the betterment of the country. [sound familiar?]

Haitians must be acutely receptive to this message, coming from an administration that supported the bloody ousting of their popularly elected president, Aristide, in 2004.

Haiti is a tinder box, folks; much like the rest of the world these days, thanks to Bush.

And the timing couldn't be worse.