**** Si bien es cierto que hay un rechazo a la super dominación de Estados Unidos.

James Petras: "Pensar que Latinoamérica está encaminándose hacia la izquierda es una exageración triunfalista poco seria" Marcelo Colussi (Argenpress) James Petras es hoy uno de los más lúcidos analistas de la realidad política mundial. Estadounidense, 71 años, docente e investigador, toda su vida estuvo ligada a la causa de la izquierda. Siempre vinculado a las luchas latinoamericanas, participó en el gobierno de Salvador Allende en Chile, trabajó con el Movimiento de los Sin Tierra en Brasil y con el movimiento de desocupados de Argentina. Igualmente formó parte del Tribunal Bertrand Russell contra la represión en América Latina. Sus aportes académicos se cuentan entre los más profundos de las últimas décadas del siglo XX. Su obra es una obligada referencia para entender la sociedad contemporánea; entre algunos de sus numerosas publicaciones (más de 60 libros y varios miles de artículos traducidos a 30 idiomas) pueden citarse "Gobernantes y gobernados en los Estados Unidos. Imperio: los banqueros, los sionistas y los militantes", "El poder de Israel en los Estados Unidos", "Imperio con imperialismo: la globalización de la dinámica del capitalismo neoliberal", "Movimientos Sociales y Poder estatal: Argentina, Brasil, Bolivia, Ecuador", "La globalización desenmascarada: el imperialismo en el siglo XXI", "La Dinámica de Cambio Social en América Latina", "Imperio o República: Poder Global doméstico o de extinción en los Estados Unidos", "América Latina en los tiempos del cólera: la política electoral, la economía de mercado, y crisis permanente". Desde Nueva York, en Estados Unidos, dialogó con Argenpress por medio de su corresponsal Marcelo Colussi. ___________ Argenpress: Ante las futuras elecciones presidenciales en Estados Unidos, ¿cuáles son los escenarios que se abrirían para Latinoamérica si gana un candidato demócrata, y cuáles otros podríamos tener de ganar el ya nominado candidato republicano? James Petras: En términos generales es más probable que gane un demócrata, particularmente Obama. Hillary Clinton ha ido creando muchos divisionismos en lo interno de su partido, lo cual le ha valido mucho rechazo. Todo indicaría que en las primarias demócratas gane él entonces, y en las elecciones presidenciales seguramente también. La población estadounidense está muy harta de las políticas republicanas de los últimos años. Las guerras, la crisis económica, la recesión, la pérdida de las hipotecas inmobiliarias, etc., etc., todo eso puede hacer que la gente vote más como castigo a los gobernantes actuales que como una gran esperanza por los nuevos que pudieran venir. En cuanto a la política para América Latina es difícil hacer algo peor de lo que existe hoy día. Es decir: el gobierno Bush es tan de derecha, con tantos enemigos y tan pocas palancas que mover en estos momentos que forzosamente, quien lo suceda, tendrá que entrar en negociaciones más racionales para el hemisferio. Por ejemplo con Cuba, o con el presidente Chávez. Washington no puede seguir encerrado con su política de fomentar los separatismos, tanto en Santa Cruz, en Bolivia, como con el Zulia, en Venezuela. Ni tampoco se puede seguir fomentando esa falsa separación en Argentina con el conflicto campo / ciudad, ni seguir agitando a Guayaquil en Ecuador buscando salidas regionalistas. Un nuevo gobierno demócrata debería replantearse todas estas políticas; seguramente, de triunfar en las elecciones, no se verían grandes cambios. Habría, tal vez, cambios en las políticas militaristas buscando una postura más negociadora. Argenpress: Pero los sectores de la industria militar de la sociedad estadounidense, que se benefician con los grandes negocios que le significan políticas belicistas, ¿no seguirán intentando delinear la política exterior de Washington? ¿Qué perspectivas le ves a iniciativas como el Plan Colombia, o el Plan México? James Petras: Sin dudas hay una estrategia de apoyar a Colombia como punta de lanza para las políticas militaristas en la región. Eso va a seguir. Cualquier presidente que gane en Estados Unidos no va a descartar a Uribe ni al Plan Colombia con todo lo que eso significa como política agresiva ya trazada, y que se mantendrá. Pero al mismo tiempo hay que ver que la política de Washington ha perdido muchos mercados en la región por la diversificación comercial que se vive en la actualidad; hay una sensible pérdida de influencia del Fondo Monetario Internacional en toda el área. Si la nueva administración va a continuar con la política de confrontación mantenida hasta ahora, debe partir por reconocer, al mismo tiempo, que no ha logrado grandes avances con la construcción de áreas de libre comercio con América Latina. La clase dirigente de Estados Unidos nunca pudo implementar el proyecto continental del ALCA; sólo consiguió acuerdos bilaterales con algunos pocos países, como Colombia, Perú y Chile. Seguramente Washington va a seguir jugando sus cartas agresivas, pero dentro de un marco de fracasos. El único éxito conseguido por la administración Bush en los últimos tres años es el proceso de Bolivia gracias a la impotencia del gobierno de Evo Morales, y la oportunidad que se ha abierto para las fuerzas separatistas en Santa Cruz. Ese se podría decir que es el único lugar donde las políticas del gobierno norteamericano se han impuesto abiertamente en estos últimos tiempos. Argenpress: El proyecto del ALBA –la Alternativa Bolivariana para América Latina y el Caribe– que se viene gestando en estos momentos, si bien bastante débil todavía, pequeña, ¿consideras que puede ser una perspectiva real de alternativa contra los tratados de libre comercio? James Petras: El libre comercio de hecho ya se está practicando en toda América Latina, en el sentido de que hay pocas barreras para la entrada y salida de productos. Nicaragua no es más que un gobierno liberal en todo sentido; la actual administración sandinista no ha cambiado ninguna de las políticas económicas de los gobiernos anteriores. Creo que la diferencia actual en América Latina no es entre una política liberal y una no liberal. Brasil, por ejemplo, es tan liberal ahora con Lula como anteriormente con Cardoso, o en Argentina cualquiera de los Kirchner practica una política de total apertura liberal. Lo que hay que decir es que hoy, un porcentaje mayor de los ingresos se está acumulando dentro de estos países, por eso tienen excedentes en sus presupuestos. Todo lo cual significa que Latinoamérica también ha diversificado sus mercados, porque sus clases dominantes pueden conseguir mayores ganancias comerciando no sólo con Estados Unidos sino con Asia, o Medio Oriente, u otros países en otras regiones del mundo. Pero creo que no hay una ruptura en lo sustancial con el neoliberalismo en los países latinoamericanos; más bien diría que ese neoliberalismo ha permitido una cierta base de acumulación. Es más: se podría decir que hay una nacionalización del neoliberalismo. Por ejemplo, en Argentina el liberalismo, esa marcada economía abierta que se viene aplicando ahí desde hace un tiempo, sigue siendo igual ahora a como fue años atrás, pero con la diferencia que una importante porción de los ingresos está reciclada dentro del país. Pero igual que en años anteriores, siguen las profundas desigualdades sociales. De todos modos está claro que el eje de la política argentina para nada es anti-neoliberal; es, en todo caso, un neoliberalismo que ayuda a fortalecer a las clases dominantes en su interior. En este sentido la lucha entre la presidenta Kirchner y los agroexportadores no es sino la expresión de cómo repartir las enormes ganancias que se están acumulando en el país. Argenpress: ¿Cómo piensas que va a repercutir, económica y políticamente, en los distintos países latinoamericanos la recesión económica que comienza a manifestarse ahora en Estados Unidos? James Petras: Por supuesto los países más afectados por esta situación de recesión serán aquellos más directamente relacionados con la economía estadounidense. Es decir, al menos en primera instancia: México, Centroamérica y el Caribe. En segundo término, los perjudicados serán los sectores de Estados Unidos más vinculados al ámbito financiero, negocios inmobiliarios, seguros y todo lo que se conoce como servicios, incluida la informática. Por otro lado, quien se va a perjudicar más en esta dinámica, será la industria de la construcción, directamente ligada al negocio de la especulación inmobiliaria. Y con la caída de estos dos sectores: finanzas y construcción, indirectamente será golpeado también el comercio. En otros términos: es una cadena de sectores que se irán perjudicando, todos muy relacionados unos con otros. Creo que es muy prematuro decir que ya hemos tocado fondo. Me parece que no, porque los efectos están extendiéndose ahora mismo desde las finanzas hacia todos los demás sectores de la economía. Argenpress: En estos momentos hay en Latinoamérica unos cuantos procesos que podríamos decir que tienen "carácter popular". Son distintos, muy diversos en algunos casos (además de la Cuba histórica, ahí están Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, quién sabe qué comenzará a suceder en Paraguay, etc.), en todos los casos abriendo la esperanza de caminos alternativos. ¿Se podría pensar que está dándose un viraje hacia la centro-izquierda en términos políticos? ¿Cómo ves estos procesos? James Petras: Pensar que Latinoamérica está encaminándose hacia la izquierda es una exageración triunfalista poco seria. Podríamos decir que el matrimonio Kirchner ha tomado medidas consistentes en restricciones sobre las tarifas, que ha habido un tibio mejoramiento de los términos macroeconómicos; pero las desigualdades sociales en Argentina se mantienen igual o peor que hace años atrás. Creció el producto bruto, en todo caso, pero las desigualdades se mantienen con la misma injusticia de siempre. En Uruguay hay un gobierno ultra liberal, eso es innegable. En Brasil, en concreto el gobierno de Lula no ha hecho nada a favor de los "sin tierra" y, por el contrario, ha favorecido especialmente a los grandes terratenientes agroexportadores. Con todos estos procesos no podemos hablar, para nada, de un viraje hacia la izquierda. Si vemos algunos movimientos hacia la izquierda podríamos decir que están con Chávez en Venezuela, en primer término. O, en segundo lugar, con algunas medidas reformistas que ha tomado el presidente de Ecuador Rafael Correa. Pero más allá de esas medidas tibias no podemos decir que estamos ante una ola de izquierda. El presidente Evo Morales, en Bolivia, ha pactado buenos negocios para un gran número de multinacionales del petróleo y del gas. No se ha hecho ninguna reforma agraria. Veamos que 65 % de los bolivianos continúa viviendo en situación de miseria. Se habla del presidente indio, pero los indios en Bolivia siguen postergados como siempre, salvo algunos cuantos que ocupan puestos en el gobierno de Morales y que son los que han permitido el avance de la derecha, de la oligarquía racista y separatista. Por todo ello hay que ser realista con lo que está sucediendo en términos políticos: es difícil decir que todos estos mandatarios son realmente de izquierda. Si bien es cierto que hay un rechazo a la super dominación de Estados Unidos en el área, también hay que decir que no se está creando una verdadera alternativa popular. La mayor autonomía que buscan todos estos gobiernos no significa forzosamente que a lo interno sean más progresistas. Ser más independiente del Fondo Monetario Internacional no significa que se ha dejado de priorizar la banca privada. Por todo eso no creo que podamos decir que se va hacia un real planteo de izquierda con todos estos procesos. Argenpress: Para justificar sus intervenciones, el gobierno de Estados Unidos fabrica mediáticamente sus acciones inventando los demonios del caso; para ello existe, por ejemplo, el fantasma del "terrorismo islámico". ¿En Latinoamérica podría ser "el narcotráfico" ese nuevo demonio que le permite actuar? ¿Qué opinas de la relación de Washington con el negocio del narco? James Petras: Hace muchos años que el gobierno de Estados Unidos está totalmente metido con los narcotraficantes, y más que nada, en Colombia. Los principales militares de ese país, entrenados en territorio norteamericano, están implicados en el negocio del narcotráfico. Hay pruebas contundentes que muestran que Washington colaboró con diferentes carteles colombianos, por ejemplo: el cartel de Medellín. Tanto la embajada como la CIA y la DEA colaboraron con Pablo Escobar y siguen haciéndolo hoy con el cartel. Aquí, en Estados Unidos, sabemos que los principales beneficiados por el negocio del narcotráfico en Latinoamérica son los bancos de Nueva York y Miami. Eso es un negocio fabuloso que mueve miles de millones de dólares. Casi todos los presidentes colombianos reciben dinero tanto del gobierno estadounidense como de los narcotraficantes. Eso no es ninguna novedad. El dinero del narco va a parar a las campañas presidenciales, y el que llega de la embajada y de otras agencias norteamericanas es para fortalecer los escuadrones de la muerte y el Ejército. 23/5/08

http://www.visionesalternativas.com/Article.asp?ID={FC805367-5070-46C2-B494-A29DFD2D
9525}&language=ES

**** Nasa sponsors course on how to talk to aliens

By Tom Leonard in New York

Last Updated: 6:40PM BST 19/05/2008

English students at the University of Wyoming are being encouraged to consider the possibility that humanity might one day make contact with aliens and then not know what to say.

"Interstellar Message Composition", a creative writing class, is believed to be the first of its kind to engage writers in a potential cosmic conversation, say its founders.

"We’ve thought a lot about how we might communicate with other worlds, but we haven’t thought much about what we’d actually say," Prof Jeffrey Lockwood, the course leader, told ABC News.

The course, currently being taken by 11 students, is partly financed by Nasa’s Wyoming Space Grant Consortium, which sponsors educational and research projects in the state that support the agency’s missions.

Among questions tackled in Prof Lockwood’s class is how aliens might communicate, whether they would be able to translate human language, and whether they would be able to see or hear.

One student, Dixie Thoman, created a poem about menstruation with syllables arranged in a mathematically harmonious order, known as the Fibonacci sequence.

Recordings of the Brandenburg Concerto and Johnny B Goode are among those that have been beamed into space over the years in an attempt to provoke an extraterrestrial response.

The course is being advised by Douglas Vakoch, director of interstellar message composition for the Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute in California.

"It could be tomorrow that we’ll need to be ready to decide if we reply [to aliens]," he said. "It’s really critical to have people start thinking about it and it makes sense to start with writers. These are people who are really trying to express the human condition."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/
1989062/Nasa-sponsors-course-on-how-to-talk-to-aliens.html

Tupamaros advierten ruptura con Alianza Patriótica

escrito por Mawampy Bonillo/DLA Mérida

viernes, 23 de mayo de 2008

"Si las cosas siguen estando así, Tupamaro va a inclinarse de manera independiente, con nuestra tarjeta y nuestros colores, a apoyar al Mayor Marcos Díaz", previno Irán Brito Hasta hoy. El movimiento Tupamaro en la ciudad de Mérida, puso fecha límite para recibir un mejor trato, libre de exclusión, de parte sus camaradas revolucionarios, los pesuvistas. El líder municipal de esa organización, Irán Brito Matute, quien además aspira a la Alcaldía de  Libertador, denunció ayer que las autoridades regionales del PSUV no lo ha tomado en cuenta como precandidato chavista.  "El PSUV no me presenta dentro de su lista (de precandidatos), no me hace las invitaciones para las reuniones de los precandidatos. Estamos viendo que hay un sectarismo, un secuestro nuevamente, de esta institución política (...) Denunciamos, por qué teme este cogollo del PSUV (...) que un Tupamaro se lance como precandidato a la Alcaldía". En tal sentido, Brito señaló que hasta hoy, los Tupamaros estarán analizando la situación en los otros estados del país, donde miembros de ese movimiento políticos, se han postulado también a cargos de Alcalde y hasta de Gobernador.  "Si esto está pasando a nivel nacional, vamos (...) a ver qué pasa definitivamente con esos listados, hacer las denuncias a través de los canales regulares, y si no es así, vamos a tener que entonces (...) salir de la unidad que está llamando el PSUV, porque evidentemente, la voz irreverente de los Tupamaro, no está siento tomada en cuenta", alertó. Ovaciones para Marcos Díaz Sin titubeo alguno, el movimiento revolucionario Tupamaro abrió su corazón electoral para brindar su apoyo irrestricto al precandidato a la Gobernación del estado, Marcos Díaz Orellana. Ante lo cual acotaron: "y creo que si las cosas siguen estando así, Tupamaro va a inclinarse de manera independiente con nuestra tarjeta y nuestros colores, a apoyar al Mayor Marcos Díaz". (MB)

http://diariodelosandes.com/content/view/39751/105694/

***** Los Gobiernos de los presidentes venezolano, Hugo Chávez, y boliviano, Evo Morales, firmaron hoy en Caracas un acuerdo de cooperación militar que entrará en vigor de forma inmediata.

Fotos: Prensa Presidencial

Venezuela y Bolivia firmaron un acuerdo de “cooperación militar”

11:59 pm | 22 May 2008 | 41 comentarios | 2,413 views

Los Gobiernos de los presidentes venezolano, Hugo Chávez, y boliviano, Evo Morales, firmaron hoy en Caracas un acuerdo de cooperación militar que entrará en vigor de forma inmediata.

Fotos: Prensa Presidencial

El “Memorando de Entendimiento en materia de Seguridad y Defensa” fue firmado esta noche por los ministros de Defensa boliviano, Walter Sanmiguel, y venezolano, Gustavo Rangel Briceño, en una reunión encabezada por Chávez y Morales en el palacio presidencial de Miraflores.

“Hay una infinidad de materias que están contenidas en este memorando“, una de ellas que “Bolivia tenga una Escuela Naval”, declaró Chávez tras la firma del documento, transmitida parcialmente por la estatal Venezolana de Televisión (VTV).

Por su parte, el presidente Morales resaltó la importancia del “acuerdo de cooperación militar” con Venezuela, ya que Bolivia decidió “tener su propia doctrina militar” y sus Fuerzas Armadas “necesitan espacios para la preparación intelectual y técnica”.

El documento bilateral fue suscrito en el marco de una visita oficial de pocas de Morales a Caracas, previa a la Cumbre de la Unión de Naciones Suramericanas (Unasur), que se celebrará mañana en Brasilia.

Al culminar la reunión oficial en el palacio de Miraflores, Chávez y Morales partieron hacia Brasilia, a fin de participar mañana en la cita de alto nivel que fue calificada por ambos como “histórica”.

Al recibir a su colega boliviano horas antes, Chávez dijo que la reunión que sostendrían esta noche sería preparatoria de la Cumbre de Unasur, y también serviría para evaluar el avance de las relaciones entre Caracas y La Paz, y de los procesos de integración regional.

Algunos detalles del acuerdo militar que han sido divulgados:

La cooperación en el área de aviación militar comprende el intercambio de pilotos a partir del primer semestre de 2009, la ejecución de misiones administrativas (transporte de personal y misiones de apoyo) y asesoramiento técnico al Sistema Aéreo Boliviano.

En capacitación, intercambiarán oficiales para participar en los cursos de Estado Mayor y como participantes y observadores en las maniobras militares. Además de brindar asesoramiento técnico para preparar, planificar y elaborar programas de juegos de guerra computarizados, crear y organizar liceos militares, y una escuela de idiomas en Bolivia.

A su vez organizarán de manera conjunta cursos de inteligencia y operaciones psicológicas e intercambiarán información sobre el funcionamiento del sistema de mantenimiento de armas y equipos. Además, intercambiarán cursos de operaciones especiales, paracaidistas y Estado Mayor. Oficiales de la Fuerza Aérea Boliviana recibirán entrenamiento en la operación de aviones Hércules C-130 por parte de la Aviación Militar venezolana. Intercambiarán información en lo relativo a la estructura organizacional de la Fuerza Armada y sobre la participación de profesionales civiles en la misma.

En asuntos marítimos, intercambiarán pasantes en las campañas hidrográficas y de cartografía. La Fuerza Armada de Venezuela coordinará pasantías de hasta tres participantes de la Fuerza Naval Boliviana en Administración Portuaria y Astilleros. Intercambiarán personal militar en Astilleros Navales.

Así mismo, profesionales del Comando de Ingeniería del Ejército Boliviano y personal de la Fuerza Naval Boliviana participarán en las operaciones de ayuda humanitaria que realice la Brigada Internacional de Ayuda Humanitaria Simón Bolívar. Cadetes de la Escuela Naval Boliviana participarán en instrucción y navegación en el Buque Escuela Simón Bolívar y en buques de la Armada venezolana.

Este memorando de entendimiento entrará en vigencia a partir de ahora y durará un año, prorrogable automáticamente por períodos iguales.

Vía Efe y Prensa Presidencial

***** Violence in South Africa spreads

to Cape Town

• Lee Glendinning and agencies
• guardian.co.uk,
• Friday May 23 2008

The wave of violence against foreigners in South Africa, which began 12 days ago in Johannesburg, has spread to Cape Town where Somalis and Zimbabweans have been attacked by mobs who have looted their homes and shops overnight, according to police.

Hundreds of African migrants were evacuated yesterday from a squatter camp near Cape Town as Somali-owned shops were looted in the resort town of Knysna, on the south-western coast.

More attacks were expected over the weekend, authorities have warned, adding that additional assistance from the military would be sought if necessary.

"We don't know the exact number of shops looted and burnt, but it's a lot," said Billy Jones, senior superintendent with the Western Cape provincial police.

One Somali died overnight, he added, but it was unclear whether the death was linked to the attacks.

President Thabo Mbeki earlier sought army intervention in an attempt to quell the unrest as violence began to spread quickly with African immigrants accused of increasing crime and taking jobs.

Rapidly escalating food and fuel prices increased the tension between poor South Africans and immigrants. However the ruling party, the African National Congress, has criticised police for reacting too slowly to the attacks.

"The delay encouraged people in similar environments to wage similar attacks against people who came from our sister countries on the continent," Kgalema Motlanthe, the ANC's deputy leader told an international media industry conference in Johannesburg. "We are confronted by one of the ugliest incidents in the post-apartheid era".

Several people have been burned to death in the violence and their homes and businesses looted and set fire to.

Officials said yesterday that more than 10,000 Mozambicans have fled South Africa to escape the attacks which have killed at least 42 people. More than 500 people have been arrested.

Millions of African immigrants have been attracted to South Africa by the flourishing economy and the prospect of a liberal immigration policy.

Despite the turbulent political situation and food shortages, Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe's opposition leader, has said transportation would be made available to Zimbabweans willing to return home.

He said officials in his Movement for Democratic Change would help arrange transportation for refugees who wanted to go home to Zimbabwe.

Bishop Paul Verryn of the Central Methodist Church in Johannesburg, where many Zimbabweans have fled, told the South African Broadcasting Corp that many refugees still feared further attacks.

"One senses a profound anxiety and fear," he said.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/may/23/zimbabwe

*******

**** AZANIA: Riots in South Afrikan townships target foreign workers

It's simply amazing how pro-capitalist stooges like social-
democrat governments the world over can so quickly alienate their working-class support bases, and drive these people to the Right -- into the waiting arms of openly imperialist assets. If it's happened once, it's happened a zillion times. Italy would be a recent example of this pathology at work. But do we learn from this?? No, we do not. And millions more have died on that account.

I wouldn't be the least surprised to find out that these
seething masses in the Azanian townships have been
'purposely manipulated to target non-citizens' -- as opposed
to their REAL enemy: the south afrikan capitalist class and
their ANC stooges -- by imperialist agents using tried-and-
true MI5/6/CIA divide-to-rule methods. In fact, I wouldn't
be surprised at all to find out that this would have been an
object lesson meted out to the ANC régime by the Imperium, to pointedly make them pay for facilitating the delivery of
that boatload of arms to the equally-targetted Mugabe Régime in Zimbabwe. 

And so in the meantime: the working-class of Afrika is being
divided against itself yet one more time, mostly on account
of a complete lack of leadership and direction. But then,
it's hard for good leaders anywhere in the world to avoid
being murdered by the agents of imperialism, on account of
the Left's patent inability to organize with a clear
understanding of just who our enemy is, and how they
operate. And so we're left with a stinking residue of self-
serving asses -- such as those who now control the ANC
government. And the government of Britain, for that matter,
for instance. Ad nauseam.

More on the anti-immigrant riots in the Azanian townships.
And I'm STILL wondering who got those armed gangs going... 

Again: their anger is being 'purposely' directed against
convenient scapegoats -- and not against the south african
bourgeoisie and its ANC stooges as it should be.

Someone somewhere is smirking, and drinking a toast of
scotch whiskey. 

"Workers of the world unite!"? Sure.
Against the ANC government and their capitalist masters.
Let COSATU call openly for that. Azania has LONG been ready
for a real, socialist revolution.

I wonder if they'd take back all Nelson Mandela's
international awards, then.

- -- grok.

The historical background, see literature below:

Books

 

Year	Title	Description
1973	SOUTH AFRICA ON THE EVE OF SOCIAL CHANGE Concerning Marxism & National Liberation	Translated by Willfred F. Feuser; Original Title: Südafrika vor der Revolution? Copyright: Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH, Frankfurt am Main, 1973. ISBN 3436 016446 English Version Published by Pandemonium Electronic Publications, Mérida, Venezuela, 2001.	B1.
1976	South Africa: At the Eve of Social Change	Ethiope, Benin City, Nigeria 1976; (See: Franz J.T. Lee, Südafrika am Vorabend der Revolution, p. 230).	B2.
1983	HISTORICAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC ROOTS OF „RACISM“: SOUTH AFRICA AND GUYANA	Written in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, February, 1983. Published in Occasional Paper Series No. 3, 1984, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria; Republished by PANDEMONIUM ELECTRONIC PUBLICATIONS, Merida, Venezuela, 2001.

 

1966	The Anatomy of Apartheid in Southern Africa Four Essays.	Alexander Defense Committee Publication, New York, 1966. Republished by Pandemonium Electronic Publications, Mérida, Venezuela, 2000.	Bl10.
1982	Alienation and Disalienation	University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, 1982; Republished by Pandemonium Electronic Publications, Mérida, Venezuela, 2003.	Bl11.
1983	International Proletarianism: With Reference to the South African Revolution	Paper presented at the Marx Centenary Conference „Marx and Africa“ at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria, 1983; Republished by Pandemonium Electronic Publications, Mérida, Venezuela, 2001.	Bl12.
1983	Philosophical Essays on Materialism and Marxism	University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, 1983; Republished by Pandemonium Electronic Publications, Mérida, Venezuela, 2001.

Bücher

 

Jahr	Titel	Beschreibung
1966	Südafrika vor der Revolution	Erschienen in 3 Bänden, in Unity Movement-Publikationen, Lusaka, Zambia, Afrika 1966; (Abgedruckt sind hier lediglich die Beiträge Franz Lee’s); Wiederveröffentlicht von Pandemonium Electronic Publications, Mérida, Venezuela, 1999.	B1.
1972	Afrika im Westdeutschen Fernsehen Ideologie und Wirklichkeit	Rezensionen, Essays und Dokumente, Reihe dritte Welt 1., Seminar-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, 1972. Wiederveröffentlicht von Pandemonium Electronic Publications, Mérida, Venezuela, 1999.	B2.
1973	Technische Intelligenz und Klassenkampf Einführung für Studenten, Angestellte, Facharbeiter und Ingenieure	Reihe Fischer, F 47, ISBN 3100425014, S. Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, 1973. Wiederveröffentlicht von Pandemonium Electronic Publications, Mérida, Venezuela, 1999.	B3.
1973	Südafrika am Vorabend der Revolution	1. Auflage, Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, Januar 1973; 2. erweiterte Auflage, ISP-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, August 1976; ISBN 3436016446. Wiederveröffentlicht von Pandemonium Electronic Publications, Mérida, Venezuela, 1999.	B4.

 

http://www.franzlee.org/publist.html

***** Lina Ron denunció operación Barbarazo creada por infiltrados en el Gobierno
ABN 21/05/2008

Caracas, Distrito Capital
Caracas, 21 May ABN.- La creación de la llamada Operación Barbarazo para desestabilizar la gestión del presidente Hugo Chávez, por parte de sectores infiltrados en el Gobierno Nacional, denunció este miércoles el partido Unidad Popular Venezolana (UPV).

La vocera de UPV, Lina Ron, indicó en rueda de prensa que dicho plan será accionado el 04 de diciembre próximo.

“Denuncio el tufito de traición, la deslealtad contra mi comandante en jefe Hugo Chávez, al chavismo sin Chávez. Una vez expliqué como hay gente procediendo en nombre de la revolución, aprovechándose, abusando, fastidiando y montando una operación llamada Barbarazo para el 04 de diciembre”, dijo la dirigente.

Ron detalló que tal operación consiste en utilizar la imagen de Santa Bárbara y, el día de su celebración, ejecutar los supuestos planes de la contrarevolución que pretende tomar las gobernaciones y alcaldías del país para remover de su cargo al mandatario nacional.

“Aquellos venezolanos seguidores de Santa Bárbara no pueden dejarse llevar con esta gente que pretende usar a Santa Bárbara que es un ícono en Venezuela para montar una operación psicológica de celebración de la salida de Hugo Chávez el 04 de diciembre. Pretenden con la infiltración que se está haciendo a nivel de todo lo que es chavismo light, tomar las gobernaciones y alcaldías el 23 de noviembre con la complicidad de los puentes de plata hecho por el chavismo sin Chávez”, sostuvo Ron.

Asimismo, manifestó que todos los planes que se llevarían a cabo pretenden postular “a candidatos muy malos en algunos sitios para que gane la contrarevolución y luego decir que Hugo Chávez no tiene legalidad ni legitimidad y sacarlo del gobierno, diciendo y argumentando que el gobierno de Hugo Chávez debe irse porque el pueblo venezolano no lo quiere”.

De igual modo, consideró que para estar con el Gobierno Nacional se deben poseer determinadas características: 'Ser puro en las palabras, limpio en toda acción, amante con el débil, valiente frente al mal, amigo de los buenos y siempre servicial. Nosotros los chavistas radicales ni le aceptamos este plan, ni ninguno a esta gente”.

A la vez enalteció la labor que vienen emprendiendo Diosdado Cabello, Cilia Flores y Alí Rodríguez Araque en el ámbito público.
http://www.abn.info.ve/go_news5.php?articulo=133788&lee=18

BREAKING NEWS: "Internal" coup d'etat

under preparation in Venezuela to

remove President Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias from office "within

the next days"

VHeadline intelligence sources: Persistent 'chatter' monitored by intelligence services claim that an "internal" coup d'etat is under preparation in Venezuela seeking to remove President Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias from office "within the next days" or by the end of June at the very latest.
May 20, 2008 - [02 17:12 p.m.]

Confidential and thoroughly credible sources say that what is initially projected as a 'bloodless' coup may inded turn extremely nasty with US mercenaries infiltrated cross-border from Colombia who are said to be aligned with traitors inside Chavez Frias' own administration.

How, when and where the coup will take place remains a closely guarded secret and sources within the loyal security services in Venezuela are hoping that a greater public awareness of the plot will help to defuse a situation where the blue touch-paper has already been ignited aimed at the physical removal of the President.

It is understood that in the event of a successful coup, vice president Ramon Carrizales would immediately become the titular head of government but it is not yet known who or how many of the current government line-up would be axed or otherwise eliminated.

Security tactitians say the coup is seen as "necessary" by elements within the Chavez administration to defuse the threat of military invasion of all or part of Venezuela by United States forces in their relentless quest to secure oil supplies to North America.

Venezuela's economic cabinet has been in a state of alert over the last couple of weeks following credible claims that separationists are prepared to surrender to the United States allowing major US oil corporations access to Venezuelan crude reserves in Lake Maracaibo and elsewhere in western Venezuela.

http://vheadlinevenezuelanews.blogspot.com/2008/05/br
eaking-news-internal-coup-detat-under.html

Martes, 20 de Mayo de 2008

Última hora: ¿olpe "interno" en preparación para remover al presidente Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías de su cargo 'dentro de los próximos días'?

CONFIDENTIAL SOURCES

From: Red de Inf. Simón Bolívar <martinguedez@gmail.com>
To: "General News Desk" <vheadline@googlemail.com>
Subject: Re: Última hora: golpe "interno" en preparación pa
ra remover al presidente Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías de s
u cargo 'dentro de los próximos días'

Hermanos...¿cuál es la fuente de esto?

Date: Wed, 21 May 2008 13:27:14 +0100
To: Red de Inf. Simón Bolívar <martinguedez@gmail.com>
From: "Roy S. Carson" <vheadline@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Última hora: golpe "interno" en preparación pa ra remover al presidente Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías de s u cargo 'dentro de los próximos días'

Very reliable sources which must remain confidential!  Fuentes de inteligencia de VHeadline.

Anthony Charles Lynton
Blair due on trial in the Hague

David Halpin*

May 16, 2008 David Halpin looks at the litany of crimes for which former British Prime Minister Tony Blair will have to account sooner or later. On the same day the BBC reported that former Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz was to go on trial after five years in prison over the deaths of a group of Baghdad merchants in 1992, it was rumoured the former prime minister of Britain will be indicted for crimes against humanity. The list of charges is long and not confined to the many alleged crimes in Iraq. Mr Blair's whereabouts are uncertain; he has been sighted occasionally in occupied East Jerusalem where he is acting as "peace" envoy for the "Quartet". Most recently, he has been facilitating industrial zones for the employment of Palestinians and for the removal of a few of the over 500 Israeli Occupation Force roadblocks. The charge list includes: Examination of this picture shows Ali Abbas was subjected to radiated heat Breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention from the time he became prime minister in 1997 until March 2003 during whichtime draconian sanctions were being applied to the civilian population of Iraq. These sanctions prompted the resignation of Denis Halliday and Hans von Sponeck who served as assistant secretaries-general of the UN. The former stated that the effect of those sanctions was genocidal. It was established that there was an excess mortality of babies and children of at least 500,000 between 1992 and 2003. This had to do with foul water, poor nutrition and deteriorating medical services, all of which were satisfactory before the sanctions took hold. Conspiracy to join with another power in aggressive war, the supreme international war crime, contrary to the Nuremberg Rules and the provisions of the Charter of the United Nation. This was first made public when he joined Mr George Bush, President of the United States of America, and Britain for bloodied steaks over a barbecue at Crawford Ranch in April 2002. High treason (betrayal of one's country, sovereign or government) in manufacturing a case for war, the central one of which was the alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction by Iraq. This in itself gave no grounds because the possession of such was no basis for a military assault on a sovereign country. Three aggressive nations, the US, UK and Israel, have held weapons of mass destruction for decades; no attempt has been made to disarm them. The grounds for UK military action against Iraq changed as the unlawful operation proceeded under the guise of liberation of the people and Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. The part played by the "sofa cabinet", three of whom were unelected, in promulgating a war fought on behalf of Her Majesty is being minutely examined by law officers. One such cabinet member, Mr Charles Powell, recently stated on BBC TV that the aim of the war was the removal of Saddam Hussein from power. He would know that was an illegal aim. Ann Clywd MP was appointed Mr Blair's human rights envoy in Iraq. She has continuously claimed a virtuous aim ... [but the fact is that] at least a million Iraqis have been killed, about 40 per cent of whom will have been children. Using a conservative ratio, at least two million will have been maimed. Ali Abbas's trunk, hands and forearms were incinerated Mr Blair is charged with a litany of war crimes that followed the invasion, one of which is the failure of the "coalition of the willing" to halt the further deterioration in the quality and quantity of medical services in Iraq which had already worsened during the 12 years of sanctions. Another obligation of an occupier is to maintain security for the populace. The very opposite happened. Disbanding the Iraqi army and other Baathist structures was central to the violent chaos which followed the invasion. Protecting the heritage of a country is another obligation of an occupier in international law. Mr Blair failed as leader to meet these and he is so charged. The general charges in this indictment are followed by an annex which details names in which there has been death or extreme injury. The charges also include collusion in a military and political coalition which has used banned weapons. The use of white phosphorus at Fallujah by the US was admitted. Armour-penetrating tank and cannon shells, as well as "bunker busting" bombs and missiles, have used depleted uranium. Uranium U238 is dispersed widely as a very fine dust; it has been detected as far away as the UK. Iraqi doctors claim that there have been dramatic rises in grotesque deformities in babies born prematurely, in leukaemia and in other malignancies. The list of charges includes the case of Ali Abbas, then 12 years of age and formerly of the village of Zafaraniya, which is 30 miles from Baghdad, and his deceased family: his mother who was six months pregnant, his father, brother and at least 10 other relatives. It has been reported that, just after midnight on 30 March 2003 and 10 days into "Operation Iraqi Freedom", a weapon or two weapons exploded. We had all gone to bed and there was this loud noise and smoke. I felt very scared and I was in much pain. I kept shouting for my mother. I did not know at the time what had happened to her. A photograph taken in hospital in Baghdad shows that Ali was burned across his trunk and that his hands and forearms were incinerated. His head, neck, abdomen and legs were unblemished. Examination of this photograph shows this boy was subjected to the most intense radiated heat – not contact heat. Ali Abbas survived but his entire family were burnt by the Americans It seems likely that his head and lower half were screened from the source of this radiation by a window aperture or similar, given the rectangular pattern of the thermal injuries. The weapon that caused such rapid incineration is unknown. It certainly was not a thermobaric weapon as used currently in Iraq and Gaza. Uranium weapons give rise to a fireball as the dust ignites. This can melt steel but there are no photographs of human victims of such attacks which match the incineration of the arms of Ali Abbas, although these weapons have been used frequently – both in the Gulf War and in the ongoing Iraq War. The clandestine use of a small tactical nuclear weapon cannot not be ruled out. The authorities will require that Ali Abbas comes to the Hague to give evidence. However, he has not been able to leave Baghdad since last summer. He has of course required someone else to attend to his every toilet need and to his dressing. An uncle provided that for him whilst he grew from boy to man at the private boys school in London and where he excelled scholastically. Another uncle took over last summer but a visa has not been forthcoming from the UK. The US named Tariq Aziz the Eight of Spades, thus coming 43rd in the United States' set of 55 playing cards. His trial for involvement in the hanging of 40 alleged racketeers started on 29 April under a Kurdish judge and a military occupation. The central charge against Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is that he has caused the death of thousands upon thousands of Iraqi civilians, the maiming of many more and the displacement of over four million people. Unlike the treatment of those humans, his hearing will be fair. It is understood that he will be able to receive a Catholic priest in the cell which was formerly occupied by Slobodan Milosevic. The prison chaplain will encourage further study of "faith", which with globalization were the topics of Mr Blair's address in Westminster Cathedral. The commander-in-chief of the USA spoke of the "sanctity of life" when he was receiving the Pontiff in Washington recently. This principle will be applied to Anthony Charles Lynton Blair but probably not to the deputy prime minister of Iraq. *David Halpin FRCS is a trauma and orthopaedic surgeon. He founded the Dove and the Dolphin charity, one of whose aims is to promote the health and welfare of Palestinian children.

http://uruknet.info/?p=m44102&hd=&size=1&l=e

Trabajadores de Toyota se negaron a trabajar por presuntas condiciones inseguras en la planta Por: José Antonio García (Coordinador UNT – CTR) Fecha de publicación: 17/05/08

(Cumaná, 16 de Mayo). La mañana de este viernes varios cientos de trabajadores de la empresa Toyota de Venezuela no prestaron sus servicios ante presuntos riesgos en sus condiciones de trabajo. Hace apenas diez (10) días los directivos del Sindicato SINTRATOYOTA anunciaron en rueda de prensa al país que dentro de las instalaciones de la planta de Toyota hay un creciente número de trabajadores con enfermedades profesionales que asciende a mas de 200 hasta ahora causadas por el incumplimiento de las medidas de seguridad e higiene en el trabajo así lo informaron Alfredo Lunar, Cruz Rodríguez y Antonio Hernández directivos del Sindicato. Indicaron que en su anuncio y luego de ser aprobado en asamblea dieron un lapso de siete (7) días a la empresa para que buscara las soluciones a estos y otros planteamientos. Manifestaron que la mañana de este viernes y luego de 10 días de su anuncio la empresa no había tomado la iniciativa ni la voluntad de solventar la situación lo que causó que todos de los trabajadores afectados por estas enfermedades y otros en condiciones que a su juicio son proclives a enfermedades y otros peligros no prestaran sus labores. Los trabajadores se apegaron al articulo 53 de la de la Ley Orgánica de Prevención, Condiciones y Medio Ambiente de Trabajo para no hacer sus labores por lo que a su juicio son condiciones inseguras para su salud reflejada en los cientos de enfermos actuales, esperan que el comité de higiene evalué las instalaciones como establece la Ley para el arranque o no de las actividades. Los directivos sindicales expresaron que “Nuestra lucha hoy día no es por dinero ni reivindicaciones en metálico, sino por el derecho que tenemos a un trabajo seguro para estar sanos, es la lucha por nuestra salud (.....)” Hicieron una llamado al Ministros del Trabajo “! Roberto, hermano! ayúdanos nos estamos enfermando y deteriorando” Anunciaron que esperan las evaluaciones del comité de seguridad e higiene quien determinará las condiciones y la reanudación o no a faenas a estos trabajadores. Por último agradecieron el apoyo de los demás sindicatos de la ciudad, y de la Federación de Trabajadores UNT Sucre; pidieron la ayuda a la UNETE Nacional en lo que denominaron “Batalla por un trabajo seguro libre de enfermedades”.

http://www.aporrea.org/trabajadores/n114256.html

v
**** Venezuela denuncia que tropas colombianas incursionaron en el estado Apure
03:46 pm | 17 May 2008 | 148 comentarios | 9,625 views

apu17.jpg
El Gobierno de Venezuela ha denunciado hoy que, se ha producido una incursión de tropas del Ejército de Colombia en territorio de Venezuela, en concreto en el estado Apure. La unidad, compuesta por unos 60 hombres, fue detectada y obligadas a retirarse. El Gobierno de califica el hecho como una provocación.

Este es el Comunicado que ha hecho pública la Cancillería de Venezuela:

    República Bolivariana de Venezuela
    Ministerio del Poder Popular para Relaciones Exteriores
    NOTA DE PROTESTA

    Caracas, 17 de mayo de 2008.-

    El Ministerio del Poder Popular para Relaciones Exteriores de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela saluda al Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de la República de Colombia, en ocasión de formular su más enérgica protesta por la incursión ilegal de tropas del Ejército colombiano en territorio venezolano, ocurrida el día 16 de mayo en el sector Los Bancos del Municipio Páez del Estado Apure.

    La Comisión de 60 hombres del Ejército colombiano, al mando de quien se identificó como el Subteniente del Ejército Colombiano, Jhonny Ocampo Jurado adscrito al Batallón Especial Energético y Vial No 1 Gral. Juan José Negro Velasco, con sede en la Base Militar Cubará, departamento de Arauca, Colombia, fue interceptada en las coordenadas N - 07o 02” 12,5′ - W - 072o 02” 6,4′ a 800 (ochocientos) metros de la línea fronteriza en territorio venezolano y fue obligada a abandonarlo inmediatamente.

    El Ministerio del Poder Popular para Relaciones Exteriores de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela, a nombre del Gobierno venezolano, hace propicia la ocasión para exigir al Gobierno colombiano que vele por el cese inmediato de estas violaciones del Derecho Internacional, de la soberanía y de la integridad territorial de Venezuela, y aplique las sanciones correspondientes a los responsables de las mismas.

    El Ministerio del Poder Popular para Relaciones Exteriores de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela ve con preocupación que este acto de provocación se produzca en momentos en que nuestro Gobierno ha denunciado la política belicista del Gobierno colombiano que busca deliberadamente la desestabilización de la Región.
  

 http://www.noticias24.com/actualidad/?p=14308

**** Avior se retira del Alberto Carnevali

***** The Hugo Chavez International Foundation for Peace, Friendship and Solidarity

HCI-FPFS

Public Statement:
         15 May, 2008.
_______________________________________________________________
« I also belonged to an organization. But the glories of that
organisation are the glories of Cuba, the glories of its people, the
glories of all. And one day, I ceased to belong to that organization.
What day was it? It was the day when we'd made a revolution greater
than our organization…And on the march through towns and cities I saw
many men and many women; hundreds, thousands of men and women in their
black and red uniforms of the July 26th Movement; but many thousands
more had uniforms that were not black and red, but the shirts of
workers, and campesinos, and humble men of the town. And since that
day, frankly, in the depths of my heart, I went, from that movement
that we cherished, under whose flags we fought as companions. I went
to the people; I belonged to the people, to the revolution, because
really, we'd created something higher than ourselves."  BY FIDEL
CASTRO-THE GREAT REVOLUTIONARY LEADER OF THE CENTURY.
_______________________________________________________________
Statement:

Subject: "New US Agenda of destabilisation in the Americas".

The Hugo Chavez International Foundation for Peace, Friendship and
Solidarity (HCI-FPFS) is worried with grave concern about the unending
efforts by the United States Government and its doomed lackeys to
dehumanise the people of Latin, Central and Southern America through
plotting coups, funding insurgencies, criminal wars and illegal,
unjust and subversive referendums.

First, we would like to respond to the US Government's repeated
attempts to mislead international opinion about the role of Venezuela
in helping bring peace to its neighbours and particularly, President
Hugo Chavez's Peace Formula for Colombia, including the release of
hostages caught in the world's longest civil war in history;
negotiated peace settlement between the Government of President Alvaro
Uribe and Para-military groups opposed to the Government in Bogotá;
the disarmament of all armed groups and return of lasting peace and
political stability in Colombia.

Many a time, President Hugo Chavez has continued to assure the people
of Colombia his country's goodwill, sincerity and willingness to see
peace restored to its neighbours and Colombia joining the morally
civilised world with dignity and pride.

Hiding behind the façade of the perceived war on terror, imperialism
promotes a milieu of insecurity, fear and intimidation as weapons to
control and dominate others. Suffice it to reiterate our concerned
that, Venezuela has in recent times been attacked and threatened with
violent political, diplomatic and military terrorism by the North
American empire using precisely fascist rogues like Colombian
President Uribe and local settlers' oligarchies for these purposes.
Rude statements, false allegations, lies, deceptions and slander,
supported by the corporate media are being tailored and fit to mislead
the international community and to create the impression that
Venezuela condone acts of terrorism in neighbouring Colombia and
therefore should be listed as state sponsor of terrorism.

This imperialist madness, which has the support of only descendants of
Adolf Hitler and Fascist murderers, has been heightened further with
the CIA invention of a special laptop computer purportedly claimed to
have been found during Colombia's invasion and aggression of Ecuador
on 1st March, 2008. In this laptop, it is said it contains documents
that suggest Venezuela is funding one of Colombia's Para-military
groups, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). It was also
claimed that the documents retrieved from the laptop suggest Venezuela
may have handed the sum of three hundred million United States dollars
to the FARC. We are also made to understand from the same documents
that FARC has acquired fifty (50) kilogram of Uranium to commence
nuclear weapons program in Colombia.

Since then neither the Colombia security, which are the main tools in
the anti-Venezuela campaign nor representatives of the US Central
Intelligence Agency
(CIA) operating in that region, i.e. the National Endowment for
Democracy (NED) and US Agency for International Development (USAID)
have responded to growing public demand for thorough explanation on
how the said computer was discovered, how it happened, whether through
air, land or sea invasion of Ecuador; and sources of the uranium the
US-Colombian neo-cons believe has been acquired by RARC.

Those familiar with US international dirty politics and thirsts for
individual world domination through degradation and dehumanisation of
whole nations, whole peoples and whole regions understand President
Bush new strategy of finding scapegoats to utilise in an attempt to
justify the invasion and occupation of countries like Iraq,
Afghanistan or Somalia. There re growing protests around the world
against imperialist wars and continue to demands an immediate end to
the holocaust terror unleashing on the population in Iraq,
Afghanistan, Palestine, Lebanon and Somalia.

Our views with regards to the much wide publicised assumption in the
corrupt media about the so-called Venezuela's support for the FARC,
which we believe are the views of the wider international community
have been made crystal clear from the word go. The assumed laptop
computer is a manipulation by the Bush Administration and its
Colombian "dogs of rogues".

It is a complete fabrication and bunch of malicious lies designed to
slander and undermine the dignity and integrity of the Bolivarian
Republic. Only mentally sick people and perverted minds would get
associated with these ill-thought-out policies of imperialism and
damned nasty lies against Venezuela.

The truth of the whole matter is that, the people of Colombia have
known no peace for over fifty years now. Venezuela has no territorial
ambition beyond its international borders and has no intention to make
such claims today or in the future. Venezuela has never posed any
threat to any of its neighbours nor attempted to impose on them.

What President Hugo Chavez has been doing, and which is expected of
any responsible leadership is to help those in need. The people of
Colombia are in need of peace and President Chavez is only responding
to the urgent need of the people of Colombia for peace, and this the
Bolivarian leader is championing on humanitarian basis. Nothing more
than this!

For the US Government to bend on concealing, distorting and defaming
Venezuela's humanitarian assistance to the people of Colombia is
criminal to say the least. We see nothing wrong for the Government of
Venezuela to embark on comprehensive program designed to protect and
defend the interests, and uplift the status and living standards of
its people.

We see nothing wrong if the Government of Venezuela extends its
humanitarian gestures to war-ravaged Colombia. This is because peace
is Colombia means stability for the whole of the Americas.

Time and again, President Hugo Chavez has made his opposition to
terrorism unequivocal and known. He has repeatedly condemned terror
and terrorism and those who condone the evil act. He condemns the
terror unleashed on innocent lives, which today has resulted to deaths
of millions of people in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Palestine,
Somalia and elsewhere.

The Venezuelan leader stands high above others as the leader who is so
honest, bold, courageous and practical to say to the FARC disarm for
the sake of peace and good of the people of Colombia, and the entire
Central, Latin and Southern American region. He made this statement
with the warning that member-states of the Organisation of the
American States (OAS) would no longer tolerate the continuation of the
conflict in Colombia and that all sides must be ready and prepared for
negotiated peaces settlement.

We wish to warn the Bush-Uribe alliance to give peace a chance and
hands off Venezuela. Any attempt to destabilise Venezuela, we want to
assure the US Government and its criminal allies that would be equally
meted with the most formidable and coordinated resistance world wide.
Venezuela will not become another Iraq….and Caracas not another
Baghdad.

No to Alvaro Nazist conspiracy! No to Alvaro manufactured lies and
deceptions! No to Alvaro subversive policies! No to Alvaro narco
state! No to Alvaro murderous acts! No to Alvaro fascist terrorism! No
to Alvaro international militarism!


The second concerns the increase in the imperialist offence against
countries and progressive Governments that conduct independent
policies of their own without bowing down before the threat of
history's illusion of subjugating humankind to its evil desires. The
new destabilisation plan invented by the Northern American Empire is
to employ the system of "settlers' apartheid" to salvage the
oppressive, exploitative and criminal oligarchies in the Americas by
recruiting, training and funding the so-called autonomy movement.

This has already begun to manifest itself with the holding on May 4,
2008 in the Bolivian eastern province of Santa Cruz what supposed to
be a national referendum, but in actual fact it was nothing but an
illegal, unconstitutional, unjust and vicious attempt to destabilise
the peace, unity and democratic culture of Bolivia, under President
Evo Morales. It was a well planned conspiracy by the US Government and
its allies that bent on fanning the embers of instability and
genocide.

We support the unity of Bolivia as a free, independent, sovereign
nation and the indigenous Government of President Evo Morales. We
reiterate our solidarity with the Bolivian people to free themselves
of the remaining clutches shackles and virus of 500 years of
"settlers' colonialism, racist apartheid, fascism, oppression,
exploitation, degradation and dehumanisation". We encourage also the
Bolivian people to resist all attempts by the enemies of mankind to
carve a "Kosovo" out of their national independence, sovereignty and
territorial integrity.

The centrepiece of the Bush-CIA agenda is to have control over
regional governments in Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Guatemala
and more in the Americas. The next move as has been drawn on the board
for clinical execution is to target the natural rich regions of
Venezuela and Ecuador. The US Government is planning to import
Photostat copies of the illegal, unjust, unconstitutional Bolivian
Santa Cruz event into Venezuela's west and southwest regions along the
borders with Colombia and to the province of Guayas in Ecuador.

Charity first starts at home, according to the wise adage. We believe
for the Bush Administration to push for autonomy drive in the Americas
and elsewhere, and for its success, it must first be allowed to be
take place in places like Texas and Alaska that may not want to share
their oil wealth with the rest of the United States of America. We
should not shy to tell the neo-cons in Washington and their doomed
allies that to pursue the path of common sense and understand that
what is not good for the people of America and their Western European
counterparts is not good also for any race, country or nation on
earth.

The issue of US designed autonomy movement to germinate elsewhere and
not in mainland America is rubbish and waste. The Bolivian indigenous
people are poised to confront their enemies who are bent on robbing
their future.

The real objectives of U.S. imperialism in inventing the autonomy
movement in the Americas are profoundly self-serving. One important
objective is to destroy the Bolivarian socialist revolution and strive
to dismantle the unity of sovereignties, replacing them with strings
of small, highly unstable mini-states which it can dominate
economically, politically and militarily. US imperialism has also a
special interest in entrenching itself in the Central, Latin and
Southern American regions.
Imperialism, especially its "military-industrial complex," is also
using its so called war on terror to ignite a new and incredibly
wasteful round of the arms race in the new global era of war and
occupation.

The most important goal of US imperialism is however to use Venezuela
as a turning point to consolidate its global role as the only
superpower and to send a menacing signal to all states and all peoples
that its dictates will be ruthlessly enforced through terrorism,
blatant lies, deceptions and blackmail, and even by military means, if
necessary. To this end, U.S. imperialism is prepared to gut all
international law protecting the territorial integrity of states and
the sovereignty of nations. Part of this imperialist strategy is the
complete sidelining of the role of the United Nations and its Security
Council, in favour of a return to the "law of the jungle" in which US
domination prevails. This is perhaps the most significant and
terrifying objective of US imperialism at the present time.


By this public statement, we wish to reaffirm that US policies against
Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and others confirmed that the empire has
been an aggressor nation since the Second World War. During the war,
historians told us that fathers and forefathers were fighting to
defeat a madman called Adolf Hitler. Now, the American military
machine wants to rule the world. Colombia's Alvaro supports for US
destabilisation efforts in Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia is support for
the kind of thinking that is directing the American military machine,
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**** Death toll hits 78,000 in Burma as pressure mounts for international intervention
By Deepal Jayasekera

17 May 2008

Two weeks have passed since Cyclone Nargis struck the Irrawaddy delta region of Burma. Yesterday, the state media sharply revised the official death toll upward to 78,000 dead and 55,917 missing. The number of injured has risen from 1,403 to 19,359. Previous estimates from the UN and International Red Cross put the number of dead at 100,000 or more.

Limited media reports from the stricken area continue to show scenes of devastation. Large numbers of survivors face a desperate situation without adequate food, drinking water, basic sanitary facilities and medicine. The UN estimates that between 1.6 million and 2.5 million survivors are in urgent need of relief supplies and only 500,000 people have some form of temporary shelter.

Aid agencies are reporting widespread cases of diarrhea, dysentery and skin infections among refugees crammed into monasteries, schools and other temporary shelter. However, World Health Organisation (WHO) official Maureen Birmingham told the media: “We don’t have an explosion of cholera.” While the danger of an epidemic certainly remains, the number of reported cases of the potentially deadly disease is no higher than usual for this time of year.

Tropical downpours yesterday compounded the misery and further hampered relief efforts. Much of the infrastructure in the low-lying delta was badly damaged or swept away by storm surges whipped up by the cyclone. Aid organisations have warned of widespread deaths from disease and starvation if greater supplies of aid as well as medical teams do not reach the survivors.

In the town of Laputta, tens of thousands of people from surrounding villages are crowded into 58 refugee camps. Julio Sosa Calo, head of mission in the town for the German relief group, Malteser International, told the media: “I’ve had long experience of emergencies and I’ve never seen anything like this. . . What we’re doing now is too little compared to the need.” One quarter of new patients in the local hospital have diarrhea, which can be fatal, particularly in children, if not treated properly.

The issue of aid has been deeply politicised, however, amid a mounting international campaign to intervene directly in the country. The Burmese military is certainly guilty of callous indifference toward the plight of hundreds of thousands of cyclone victims. Its aid efforts have been limited, even given the obvious logistical problems. Like the 92.4 percent support for its bogus constitutional changes at the referendum last Saturday, the regime’s claims that the situation is in hand are simply not credible.

The junta’s overriding motive has been to ensure its political survival. The state media continues to feature footage of soldiers distributing relief supplies and senior officers handing aid to victims. The regime insists on full control over aid operations because it is deeply fearful at the potential for anger and frustration to erupt into widespread anti-government protests, as took place last September.

Reuters noted yesterday: “Two weeks after the storm, ordinary people in Myanmar were taking matters into their own hands, sending trucks into the delta with clothes, biscuits, dried noodles and rice provided by private companies and individuals.” Other reports indicate growing discontent among survivors over the lack of basic supplies and rumours that those in government-run camps have received limited food and been subject to forced labour.

At the same time, demands by the major powers that the junta open its doors to international aid workers and foreign militaries are driven by an agenda that has nothing to do with concern for the Burmese people. France, in particular, has been at the forefront of the campaign for a UN Security Council meeting to legitimise an international intervention—with or without the approval of the Burmese junta.

A heated exchange took place yesterday at the UN General Assembly between the French and Burmese ambassadors. After the Burmese envoy accused France of sending a warship to Burma, the French ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert shot back that the junta’s refusal to accept aid “could lead to a true crime against humanity”. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner suggested last week that the UN Security Council should invoke its “responsibility to protect” power to allow a unilateral aid intervention.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown told a press conference on Thursday that the US and Britain have backed the push for an emergency UN Security Council meeting. “We will stop at nothing in trying to pressure the regime into doing what any regime should have done long ago,” he said. In the US, 41 congressmen have written to President Bush calling on him to consider a humanitarian “intervention” in Burma and to “immediately and urgently” consult with France, Britain, Germany and Denmark over possible action.

To date, no UN Security Council meeting has been called. China has opposed such a move, declaring it would politicise the disaster. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has, however, announced the convening of a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on May 19 and a conference of donor countries on May 24-25 to discuss the emergency.

Ban told the UN General Assembly yesterday that the situation had reached a critical point. “Unless more aid gets into the country quickly we face the risk of an outbreak of infectious diseases that could dramatically worsen today’s crisis. I want to emphasise that this is not the time for politics.” UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, John Holmes, has been dispatched to Burma to speak directly to the junta and deliver a third appeal from Ban for greater cooperation.

However, the issue of international aid is intimately bound up with politics. The targetting of the Burmese junta over cyclone relief is a continuation of the ongoing effort of the US and its allies to undermine and replace the regime with one more sympathetic to Western interests. As well as opening up the country to foreign investment, the US is particularly concerned at Burma’s close ties with China, which Washington regards as a rising economic and strategic rival.

A comment in the British-based Times on Monday entitled “A test of the UN’s moral authority” highlighted the push for what would be effectively a military invasion of Burma. Referring to the French foreign minister, it concluded: “Britain, Australia and the US should go where he leads and plan to move in directly, if all else fails. Better that than impotently counting rice sacks in Thai warehouses. If the generals get the message that ‘no’ will not be taken for an answer, they may decide to join what they can’t beat. And if not? Imposing aid is a messy business. Dying for lack of it is messier by far.”

Facing concerted pressure, the Burmese junta has eased restrictions on international aid, including from the US. Four US military C-130 cargo planes landed in Rangoon on Friday on top of 13 previous flights. US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack noted that two of the shipments had been handed directly to non-government organisations for distribution. He indicated that a further four or five flights were scheduled each day for Saturday and Sunday.

While acknowledging that the junta had allowed aid flights, Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell made clear that the US was demanding more direct involvement. “Our government has been working with other governments in the region to try to persuade the Burmese military, the leadership of that nation, to put their pride aside and let our troops come in with the aid that their people so desperately need,” he said.

Stars and Stripes reported on May 16 that the Pentagon was preparing “plans for large-scale relief operations to aid cyclone-stricken Myanmar”. One US official told the military newspaper there may be “unrest or even widespread riots” in the cyclone-hit areas of Burma. “I think what we’re going to start seeing is people will rise up,” he said.

Clearly, a debate is underway in ruling circles in the US and Europe over whether to exploit the cyclone catastrophe to justify a military intervention to effect regime change in Burma. It would not be the first time that a humanitarian disaster has been used for such purposes. If it were to take place, the outcome for the Burmese people will be no more positive than it has been for the populations of East Timor or the Balkans following the interventions led by Australia and NATO in 1999.

See Also:
The tsunami in Sri Lanka: A case study in US humanitarian missions
[14 May 2008]
Why the propaganda campaign for international intervention in Burma?
[10 May 2008]
A new Asian disaster: Cyclone kills tens of thousands in Burma
[7 May 2008]
Bush administration moves to exploit Burma cyclone disaster
[7 May 2008]