What the hell are you doing letting Hannah Baldock publish her nonsence in your paper?

"The Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, looked to be losing his grip on power last night as exit polls showed him to be trailing the opposition by almost a million votes."

Exit polls were banned (as were publishing results before the polls closed.

"The mid-morning results showed that the opposition, already boasting an enormous 1,758,000 votes to Chavez's 798,000, is well on its way to reaching the target of 3.76 million votes it needs to oust the authoritarian, left-wing President."

There were no midmorning results and they would not have provided the figures she claimed as unlike the e-voting system, they could only ever provide percentage estimates unless all polling stations had exist polls (which they didn't as they were banned).

"The figures were early indications that, for the first time in the country's history, the President may have his term in office cut short by a referendum."

Hmmm. this really establishes her agenda, after refering to Chavez as authoritarian (like all governments by definition) and a 'firebrand', she fails to mention that the referendum and the constitution that made it possible, were both introduced by Chavez since being democratically elected - so of course he is the only president in the country's history to face having his tem cut short by a referendum of the people rather than a military or media coup.

Independent? ha, of what?