Another Rigged Election

From Wayne Madsen, the results so far of UN ballotting on the choice between Venezuela and Guatemala for a seat on the Security Council:

22nd round ballot (restricted )

Total # of ballots cast -- 191
Abstensions -- 12
Required two-thirds majority -- 120

Votes obtained:

Guatemala -- 102
Venezuela -- 77

Venezuela got as high as 85 votes, but appears to be slipping. John Bolton's job is pretty easy -- he carries his little black book of debts and favors around to all the little countries too weak to resist until he has his number. Just the way Bush constructed his "coalition of the willing".

Still, you'd think a large, diverse and resource-rich country like Venezuela would be a more useful member of the Security Council than little Guatemala. But one's a US client and the other isn't. And that's what counts.