By James Thompson, via People’s World

HOUSTON — The Houston Interfaith Worker Justice Center assembled a group of 30 labor activists to ride the Justice Bus here to bring attention to wage theft. The Houston action was one of 30 taking place around the country as part of Nov. 19 national day of action to stop wage theft. Wage theft is a national crime wave that takes billions of dollars out of the pockets of millions of workers every year.

The group was ethnically diverse, included men and women representing a number of organizations to include HIWJ, SEIU, Justice for Janitors, United Steelworkers, United Auto Workers, Marine Engineers Beneficial Association, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Houston Mennonite Church, CRECEN, and AFL-CIO of Harris County.

The first stop was at Sugar Branch Condominiums in Southwest Houston. HIWJ has been trying since September to recover $2,500 in unpaid wages owed three landscaping workers. They have not been paid since April. The workers were pressured to return to work after they stopped working when they were not paid. They returned to work, but still were not paid and were given repeated promises that they would be paid “tomorrow.” Today a delegation met with the president of the Homeowners’ Association and requested that the workers be paid. She denied responsibility and was very upset and shut the door on the delegation. She told the delegation to contact the association’s attorneys.

It seemed ironic that the people in management at these condominiums would rather pay an attorney than the workers that had provided a needed service, the Justice Bus riders commented. “It would probably be cheaper to pay the workers than the attorneys,” said one activist.

Some people said that when workers are not paid, there is cascading effect on the worker, their family and the community. Unpaid workers go hungry, their self esteem is devastated and their families can become hungry and desperate. When they are unpaid, they are left with limited choices to help their families. Some may resort to crime and their family members may also engage in criminal activity so they do not starve. When businesses do not compensate their employees, they are contributing to the deterioration of the community.

All of the stops had a spirited rally outside the business. Participants had plastic water bottles with some popcorn kernels inside, which became loud noisemakers when shaken. Chants accompanied the percussive sounds of the bottles and included, “No more wage theft. Pay the workers. The workers united will never be defeated,” in English and Spanish.

The second stop was at the Honduras Restaurant in Northwest Houston. Here a female employee was paid $4.55 an hour which was two dollars under the minimum wage. Previous efforts by HIWJ to talk with the owner met with physical intimidation, yelling and threats to call the police and INS. Today HIWJ returned with 30 people, but the owner was not available. However, the owner of the strip center came out and when told the situation said he could not tolerate the bad publicity that this action generated.
The third scheduled stop was canceled because the owner, a minister himself, paid the workers on the previous evening in an effort to stop bad publicity and damage to his reputation among his peers in the faith community.

Over lunch, a male worker, Johnny, cried as he told his story to the group of activists. His boss at Supernova Furniture store allegedly owes him $16,000 in back pay. He talked about how he felt isolated and was glad to have the support of other people. As a result of the action, he said he did not feel he was the only one. Olga, a janitor, also cried as she told how her employer, Pritchard Southwest, made her work an extra hour without pay and when she refused to do this, they threatened to fire her. She is owed $697.50 in unpaid labor.

The fourth stop was at the Supernova Furniture store in South Houston. Johnny and a delegation of supporters met with the owners and they agreed to set a meeting with him and HIWJ to try to negotiate an acceptable agreement.

The fifth stop was at Prichard Southwest in the Heritage Plaza in downtown Houston. There the justice bus was met by about 300 janitors, community leaders and their supporters. Pritchard is the only company in Houston that refuses to negotiate a contract with SEIU Local 1 Justice for Janitors. The group loudly demanded that the company sit down with SEIU and bargain in good faith.
Some participants made cell phone calls to companies across the country that contract with Pritchard asking them to tell Pritchard to negotiate with their workers.

A report on wage theft by the Houston Interfaith Worker Justice Center concludes that worker abuse is widespread in the greater Houston metropolitan area and nationally. One thousand nineteen workers have reported to the Workers Center here and appealed for help in resolving their grievances. The report also notes that wage theft is encouraged by the lack of government enforcement by agencies whose mandate is to protect and defend workers. The report calls for more enforcement of the laws against wage theft by government agencies and the formation of special task forces to address these wrongs.

By Arthur Shaw

QUESTION: And also, in Venezuela. Venezuela and Russia – there is this thing that they want to buy and the Russians apparently want to sell them about $5 billion worth of weapons. Have you anything on this? Do you consider this a threat? Do you know which kind of weapons?

MR. CROWLEY: Well, what relationships governments have is up to them. What they do in those relationships is, again, a matter of a bilateral issue between Venezuela and Russia. We don’t care. On the other hand, to the extent that Venezuela is purchasing military equipment, we’re hard-pressed to see what legitimate defense needs Venezuela has for this equipment. Our primary concern is not – if Venezuela wants to acquire these – this equipment, we can probably think of better things that could be invested on behalf of the Venezuelan people. But our primary concern is that – that if Venezuela is going to increase its military hardware, we certainly don’t want to see this hardware migrate into other parts of the hemisphere. And we would simply remind Venezuela that through a number of accords has responsibility for transparency in its acquisitions and must make clear about the purpose of acquiring these materials.

Two days later, April 7, Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez described the concerns of the bourgeois and imperialist regime in Washington, over arms deals between Venezuela and Russia, as cynical. Chavez pointed out that the imperialist regime under Obama is fueling the military build-up in Latin America and the Caribbean.

“They are so cynical that they criticize us just because we are trying to strengthen our defense,” Chavez said.

US imperialists spend more on arms than all of the other countries of the world combined. They have over 800 military bases scattered all over the globe which threaten all peoples of the world, including Venezuelans. The runaway military spending of the imperialist US regime has helped to bankrupt the regime, plunging the desperate regime into trillions and trillions of dollars of debt. The ongoing aggressions and occupations by the armed forces of the imperialist regime in DC are exterminating human beings at monstrous rate … 2,000,000 war-related fatalities in seven years so far in Iraq demonstrated by a series of scientific mortality studies, an estimated 5,000,000 war-related fatalities in Afghanistan in nine years, and the fatalities in Pakistan are approaching the magnitude of the Iraqi and Afghan numbers, 30,000 occupation-related fatalities in the two year occupation of Haiti between 2004-2006 that was supervised by the Bush regime. As pretexts for its aggressions against other countries, the imperialist regime resorts to lies, facts, and everything between lies and facts. The imperialist regime in the USA deploys huge non-combat private armies of US mercenaries … 110,000 mercenaries in Iraq … which conduct genocide or mass extermination operations against civilians of countries occupied by US imperialists. The savage regime of US imperialists operates a international network of 70 concentration camps that holds over 500,000 political prisoners, often kidnapped or “rendered” and often tortured or subjected to “enhanced interrogation” before many of them are murdered or “executed or neutralized extra judicially.”

Most of these atrocities or these massive violations of human rights, the US imperialists openly boast about and they argue that their regime has to do these terrible things in order to win the so-called war on terrorism. This is the same argument that Hitler and Pol Pot made.

Like Hitler and Pol Pot, the imperialist regime in Washington is itself the main terrorist.

With this rogue regime in Washington on the loose in the world, the rogue says “We’re hard-pressed to see what legitimate defense needs Venezuela has for this equipment” which Venezuela buys from Russia to defend itself. Clearly, the Obama regime believes that the needs of a country to defend itself from US imperialist aggression, occupation, and genocide is not legitimate.

“We are threatened by the empire,” Hugo Chavez said on April 7.

Why are US imperialists “hard-pressed” to see what are Venezuela’s “legitimate defend needs” given the imperial threat aimed at Venezuela? The only way US imperialists could be “hard-pressed” to see Venezuela’s legitimate defense needs is the imperialists close their eyes to Venezuela’s legitimate defense needs. When one closes one’s eyes, one is “hard-pressed” to see anything. Using its quislings in Venezuela, US imperialism in April 2002 tried to overthrow democracy in Venezuela and set up a brutal bourgeois dictatorship that was friendly to US imperialists. No doubt, the US imperialists are “hard-pressed” to see anything wrong in this 2002 aggression against the Venezuelan people. In 2009, the US imperialists announced they were increasing the number of US military bases in Colombia, a country that borders Venezuela on the west, from three to ten and expanding the size and capabilities of all 10 US military bases in Colombia. No doubt, these US imperialists are “hard-pressed” to see that their military expansionism poses a threat to Venezuela and all of Latin America.

Naturally, US imperialists deny that they were behind the 2002 attempt to overthrow the democratic government of Venezuela. But US imperialists always lie when they are asked to admit their culpability in these things. So, their denials should never be believed, unless confirmed by independent sources. No such sources have so far confirmed the imperial denial.

Among the main threats to Venezuela mentioned by Chavez are US military bases in Colombia, Panama and the Netherlands Antilles, as well as the reactivation of the 4th US Fleet in the Caribbean.

Compared to the huge US imperial military presence in the Caribbean, Russia’s recent arm sales to Venezuela are miniscule.

Russia has sold to Venezuela MI Helicopters, Sukhoi aircrafts and AKM rifles, and Venezuela is expecting the arrival of anti-aircraft tanks and shoulder-fired SAM missiles that utilize cutting-edge technology.

By the way, what “legitimate defense needs” do the US imperialists have for their current huge military presence in the Caribbean?

I am “hard-pressed” to see any legitimate defense needs of the imperialist regime in Washington that are served by its 13 US military bases in Latin America and the Caribbean.

We know that about one third of the US people … the reactionaries or the conservatives … are delighted by the imperial bestiality exhibited by two Bush regimes and the Clinton and Obama regimes. Most of the highly-paid US mercenaries who are skilled in genocide come out of this reactionary sector of the US people. These animals are eager to do genocide on the Venezuelan people or any other people, including their own people in the USA.

Another third of the US people … so-called independents who occupy ideological and political space between the reactionaries and liberals … are more or less disposed against the adventures of US imperialists, but they are not disposed very strongly. The idea of another US imperialist attack on Venezuela appals them, but they are not prepared to fight to prevent another US imperialist attack on Venezuela.

The remaining third of the US people … the liberals … are disposed against the adventures of US imperialist predators against other countries, including Venezuela, and are fighting to prevent such attacks. So, the basic issue is whether the liberal or the reactionaries will win over the independents.

The de-composition that is the imperialist sector of the US bourgeoisie says it speaks for the US people, but in reality they speak only for the reactionary sector of the US people, a mass of animals.

The majority of the US people opposes the adventures of US imperialists and this majority is rather consistent in expressing their opposition when they vote or otherwise express themselves.

The problem is the US imperialists pay little or no attention to the majority of the US people.

By John Bachtell, via People’s World

In a potentially important development, exiled members of the former People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan are returning to the country to re-found the organization. They plan to hold a Congress in Kabul later this year and rename the organization the Democratic Party of Afghanistan.

The PDPA was the ruling party that led the country on a path of socialism before being ousted from power in 1992 by the U.S. government-backed Taliban. Thousands of PDPA members were slaughtered or driven into exile where they have functioned over the years as scattered groups.

Exiled members met recently in Germany to unite their ranks and agree on an approach to reestablishing a legal political party on Afghanistan soil.

“The main goal is to return to Afghanistan and bring a situation of peace and stability in the region,” said Dr. Zalmay Gulzad, professor of Social Sciences at Harold Washington Community College in Chicago. Gulzad was born in Afghanistan and came to the U.S. as a student in 1971 and stayed. “Once peace is achieved the movement will evolve into different stages.”

In an interview with the People’s World, Gulzad said the new DPA would join the growing democratic movement in Afghanistan that includes a strong women’s movement, intellectuals, students and even some members of the Parliament.

Media reports have noted nostalgia for the PDPA governing years. Many people say times were better then; there was more stability and security. The government built a lot of schools, provided education and health care, according to Gulzad. Many feel “that period was better than during the repression of the Mujahideen and today’s American bombs.”

“It’s a different situation,” he continued. “The conditions are good for unity to bring peace to Afghanistan. Even before Sept. 11, 2001, members of the PDPA returned and became members of Parliament and they’ve been working within the function of government.”

Gulzad termed the Karzai government a corrupt “puppet regime” and said U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry is really running the country.

Gulzad said the main threat to the stability of the Afghan government comes from a resurgent Taliban. While the people don’t want U.S. troops in the country, they fear a return of the Taliban to power, he said.

“The people will not accept a puppet regime. They will work with the Karzai government because of the situation with the Taliban. Once peace comes, people will bring a genuine people’s government,” he said.

The Taliban have their roots in the U.S. drive to destabilize the Soviet Union during the Carter administration. Known then as “freedom fighters” (Mujahideen) they were religious extremists assembled by the CIA to overthrow the government and kill Communists, democrats and Soviet “infidels.” They were recruited from predominantly Muslim countries when they couldn’t be found in Afghanistan.

Because they were trained in Pakistan, they were renamed Taliban, which means “religious students.” These same elements, trained by the CIA, were responsible for the attacks on the World Trade Center in September 11, 2001, including Osama Bin Laden.

After the attacks, said Gulzad, they were suddenly renamed “terrorists.” Instead of going into Saudi Arabia where most were from, or Pakistan where they were trained, the Bush administration invaded Afghanistan. Gulzad says the reason is the strategic geopolitical importance of Afghanistan, its proximity to energy resources and Iran, Russian, China and the Persian Gulf.

“If the Taliban retook power they would be a very regressive force. The Afghan people wouldn’t accept it. Remember there was a civil war – north versus south and within the south they were fighting the Taliban. And the region’s countries would get involved in arming various factions – Pakistan, Iran, Russia and China.”

The main source of support for the Taliban is still the military in Pakistan. Gulzad said this is related to Pakistan’s desire for additional territory in its fight against India and for gaining hold of Kashmir. They want a weak government in Afghanistan and to rid it of Indian influence, which has invested heavily in Afghani infrastructure, education and hospitals.

Gulzad said during the arming of the “freedom fighters” against the Soviet Union everyone denied Pakistan was helping. And today everyone knows the Pakistani military and Inter-Service Intelligence are supporting and arming the Taliban, but it’s still denied.

Today, there are now two separate Taliban, one in Afghanistan and one in Pakistan. The Pakistan Taliban is threatening to overthrow the Pakistani secular state. Gulzad said most of the recent terrorist attacks in other parts of the world have emanated from Pakistan including the deadly attack on Mumbai.

All the Obama administration needs to do is put pressure on Pakistan to stop arming the Afghani Taliban and protecting their sanctuaries from which they are launching attacks into Afghanistan, and the problem would be solved, said Gulzad.

“We are losing many Afghan and U.S. troops right now for no reason,” he said. “Pakistan could arrest Osama Bin Laden and other al-Qaeda and terrorist leaders if it wanted to. Many believe the U.S. and Pakistan want to keep it going for their own purposes.”

“The problem reflects the split in (U.S.) ruling circles, in the U.S. military and the Obama administration. Sections of the military and intelligence community see the importance of a long-term presence in Afghanistan for access to energy resources and geo-political purposes,” he said.

Recently, Defense Secretary Gates, Secretary of State Clinton and General McCrytsal let it be known they oppose President Obama’s suggestion of negotiation with the Taliban, who have suffered military defeats recently.

“The institutions of U.S. imperialism are highly developed. Pres. Obama can’t change it alone. He has very good intentions but the people around him – e.g. the Pentagon, CIA, they are not really allowing him to move from that policy,” said Gulzad

The American people have to demand a change in foreign policy to end U.S. involvement and close down the foreign military bases. he said.

“So long as the imperialist mentality exists – hostility to Iran, China, etc. the U.S. is in a good spot,” he said. Which helps explain why they are rejecting offers from Russia and China to help, he said.

“Russia wanted to help Afghanistan, but were denied by the US. Russia has a long history with Afghanistan. Most of the highways and infrastructure were built by the Soviets. They have all the blueprints.”

Gulzad said international help could come by training and educating personal to rebuild the country. They could be sent to Tajikistan and Iran, which both speak the same language and have the same culture as many Afghanis.

“It would require the U.S. to step back and allow the Afghan government to have its own sovereign relations. The American people have a big responsibility. Look, our government is broke and people are suffering. Yet the US has military bases all over the world and it costs a lot to maintain this. The mentality of imperialism is finished. People around the world don’t accept it any longer,” said Gulzad.

With neither provocation nor justification, the Europe Parliament viciously bit Cuba … Thursday, March 11, it adopted a resolution that condemns the alleged “avoidable and cruel” death of Cuban “political prisoner” Orlando Zapata and the resolution voices concern at the “alarming state” of another “political prisoner,” Guillermo Farias. The resolution also repeats a call to the Cuban Government for the “immediate and unconditional” release of all political prisoners and urges the EU to begin a “structured dialogue” with Cuban “civil society.”

The EU approved the resolution by 509 votes to 30 with 14 abstentions.

Statements by Reina Tamayo, the mother of Orlando Zapata, and statements of the Cuban doctors who treated Orlando Zapata refute the lies of the EU about the “avoidable and cruel” death of Cuban “political prisoner” Orlando Zapata.

Senora Tamayo was a constant visitor at the National Hospital for Inmates, at Havana’s Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital and at Amalia Simone Hospital in Camaguey where her son was treated during various stages during his voluntary 80-day hunger strike which began of December 8, 2009 and ended in death on February 23, 2010.

“Well, thank you very much � we have full confidence � we can see your concern and that everything that is being done to save him.” Reina Tamayo said in clip filmed weeks before his son’s death and aired on Cuban TV after his death.

“They came to get us late to take us to the meeting with the masters (master’s degree holders) who came to analyze Zapata’s health, and they explained to us that it was very critical, critical; that they were doing everything possible to save Zapata, but every day, something else in his body became worse; that they even had a kidney ready in case his failed, that they were going to fight to the end, but the situation is critical, critical,” Reina Tamayo, the mother, told Cuban radio before here son’s death, as renal complications set in.

“I was able to see the doctors who were there before I went in, and there were doctors from CIMEQ (Center for Medical Surgical Research), the best doctors, trying to save his life�,” Reina Tamayo judges the quality of the medical services received by her son as the condition of her son deteriorated near the end.

The mother of Orlando Zapata was at her son’s side during his hunger strike and during the efforts of Cuban doctors to save her son from the complications that set in during his hunger strike. The EU wasn’t there. The mother has no political and ideological motive, unlike the EU which commonly grovels before US imperialists, to misrepresent the circumstances of Orlando Zapata’s death.

Statements of members of the Cuban medical team that worked to save Orlando Zapata’s life corroborate the statements of Orlando’ mother and refute the lies contained in the resolution passed by the EU.

“The patient suffered a series of complications inherent to prolonged inanition, of being so long without ingesting any food,” said Dr. Gimel Sosa Martin of the National Hospital for Inmates.

Dr. Jesus Barreto Penie at Havana’s Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital said: “In that case, one can maintain the person more or less well-nourished by implementing artificial feeding techniques, which may include parenteral techniques, but that is not sufficient to guarantee long-term survival, when the digestive tube or digestive tract is not used — essentially the small and large intestines, which have a series of vital functions that precisely guarantee contact with the food ingested. If a person does not receive that stimulus for days or weeks, the intestine begins to lose its functions, and one of the most important is the immunological one. The intestine is the most important immunological organ, and what maintains that immuno competence is precisely contact with the foods that one receives; hence, atrophy of the intestinal mucous may occur; the intestine becomes thinner; in fact, it is described as becoming almost like transparent paper. That’s where complications come in, such as digestive haemorrhages, intestinal perforations, and what is the most dangerous and most serious — which is what ends the life of many of these patients — is when they begin to pass along the bacteria that normally co-exist in the small intestine, and above all in the large one, into the blood, and multiple infections occur, which are what kills the patient.”

“The patient did not wish to eat, by his own desire. When one decides not to eat, the body begins to self-cannibalize; in other words, this is a person who begins to consume him or herself because his or her own body is looking for away to sustain itself in face of that insufficiency of food intake orally. That was what happened to Orlando; he began to exhaust his proteins, to exhaust his carbohydrates, to exhaust his fats, and after 47 or 48 days without ingesting food, he was a patient (for whom) it is very difficult to recover via the oral channel,” said Dr. Mariano Izquierdo.

Doctor Daile Burgos said: “At this center, we continued providing the medical attention to Zapata, which he received at the Amalia Simone Hospital in Camaguey. This patient was in the open wards for some time, and later was transferred to a progressive care and intensive therapy unit, because of his state of debilitation produced by the inanition resulting from his voluntary fast, and for artificial, parenteral nutrition; that is, feeding through a vein, due to the patient’s refusal to ingest food. Here, there was very close follow-up by this hospital in Camaguey, including with support from a psychological standpoint to warn him about all the deadly consequences that this prolonged fast could bring. And I do think that he was closely followed and treated, including with cutting-edge products, with respect to alimentation and very close follow-up by the therapy units at that center.”

In other words, the consensus of the doctors, an opinion with which the patient’s mother concurs, is Zapata’s death is neither “unavoidable” nor “cruel.” The consensus of the doctors is Orlando Zapata died from (1) inanition… this is, an exhausted condition that results from lack of food and (2) a set of complications including infection, renal, and immunological conditions produced or aggravated by inanition. The Cuban Doctors tried to force food into Zapata’s body through his veins and this procedure relieved somewhat the problems associated with (1), the inanition, but not the problems associated with (2), the set of complications that largely arose from inanition.

Why would the EU pass a resolution against Cuba that is glaringly contrary to the evidence of the most credible witnesses … namely, Zapata’s family, and glaringly contrary to the most competent witnesses, the Cuban doctors who treated Zapata?

Credibility and competence are pearls that should never be cast before swine, especially in the EU parliament … they can’t distinguish between pearls and the mixture of mud, filth, and slop they love.

Stop the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan!

Bring All the Troops Home Now!

Money for Jobs, Housing and Healthcare!

Join the National Day of Protest on the 7th Anniversary of the Invasion of Iraq

Saturday, March 20, 2 pm
Rally at Mason Park
S. 75th St. and Tipps St., Houston

Organized by the Progressive Workers Organizing Committee, Harris County Green Party, Proyecto Latinoamericana, International Socialist Organization, Latin American Organization for Immigrant Rights, International Action Center, and CPUSA Houston.

By Arther Shaw via VHeadline

There is no rational reason for these “fears of confrontation” if the cattle ranchers and landholders mind their own business and if the cattle ranchers and landholders stop sending death squads and mercenaries to murder peasants and to evict peasants from land that the peasants or the State own. On the other hand, if the cattle ranchers and landholders continue to send their death squads and mercenaries to murder peasants, the ranchers and landholders should have “fears of confrontation.”

These cattle ranchers and landholders don’t feel any “fears of confrontation” from the US imperialist military build-up in Colombia, next door to Venezuela. These cattle ranchers and landholders seem discriminatory about what developments they allow to excite their “fears of confrontation.”

These big cattlemen and wealthy landowners are key elements of the bourgeois-led opposition in Venezuela. The capitalist press will go to any lengths and tell any lie to disassociate the rural bourgeoisie from their death squads and mercenaries who mercilessly and murderously prey on peasants.

“Faced with the onslaught against peasants through an escalation of aggressions, sabotage and hired killings by the most reactionary forces of our society, the duty of the state … is to protect the poor farmers,” Hugo Chavez wrote in his newspaper column, February 21.

Chavez is right. It is the duty of the State to protect poor farmers because the State in Venezuela is a democracy which exercises power in accordance with the rule of law. These “aggressions, sabotage and hired killings by the most reactionary forces of our society” are not the rule of law, but rather these actions are an attempt by the opposition to rule illegally through the use of violence. These actions are an attempt by the opposition to overthrow the rule of law. The law must suppress violence or the violence will suppress the law. What is being seen, here, is not only opposition-sponsored violence against supporters of the revolution and others, but also an opposition-sponsored “escalation” of violence.

A law … against violence that is not effectively enforced … ceases to be law that rules.

The rural proletariat of Venezuela possesses the right stuff to bring an end to the escalating opposition’s violence in the countryside and to deal with US imperialist savages and mercenaries should they cross the border from Colombia.

The AP wrote “Chavez … has repeatedly warned that the US military could invade Venezuela to seize control of its immense oil reserves. US officials deny that any such plan exists.” The denials of US imperialists are worthless because US imperialist are confirmed and habitual liars. They lied about their non-involvement in the 2-day overthrow of Venezuelan democracy in 2002. They lied about the reasons for their 7-year aggression, occupation, and genocide against the Iraqi people beginning 2003. They lied about their involvement and the reasons for their involvement in the 2-year overthrow of Haitian democracy beginning in 2004. They lied about their involvement in the ongoing overthrow of Honduran democracy in 2009. If “US officials deny that any such plan exists,” that only proves irrefutably that such plans exist and are in some stage of implementation. The bourgeois media report the denials of US officials as if the denials were plausible because the bourgeois media are as worthless and as mendacious as the imperialist regime in Washington.

“The [Venezuelan] government claims that more than 300 peasants have been killed — purportedly by mercenaries for wealthy landholders — since authorities launched a sweeping land reform initiative in 2001,” the AP wrote. The AP and the rest of the bourgeois media are trying to be slick and sly when they talk about mere “claims” and about what “purportedly” happened. The AP thereby denies the occurrence of the massacre of peasants and the complicity of the opposition for the massacres.

Do you know why the AP denies the occurrence of the massacre of 300 peasants since 2001? The AP helped to cover-up the massacres.

Do you know why the AP denies the complicity of the opposition for the massacres? The AP is part of the opposition.

Since 2001, every time the toe of a Venezuelan bourgeois was stepped on, the AP wrote a lot of stories about “repression.” But, when a peasant had his head blown off, the AP said nothing over a nine year period, even though the humanity of the poorest peasant is ten times more worthy than that of the richest bourgeois … the latter a corrupt land thief.

One of the favorite propaganda lines of the bourgeois media, especially the AP, is “The security forces that already exist should provide security for all of those in the countryside.” This is precisely what the security forces are doing. The term “all of those in the countryside” includes the peasants, the vast majority of the people in the countryside.

The bourgeois media argues that the peasant militia does not “already exist.”

So, the bourgeois media says the peasant militia should not provide security! If what already exists has proven unable to provide security for “all those in the countryside,” why should the security forces be limited to what already exists?

When the bourgeois media and opposition say they want to limit the security forces in the countryside to those that already exist and that are unable, so far, to provide security, this shows that bourgeois media and the opposition don’t want to provide security for “all those in the countryside.”

The bourgeoisie doesn’t want the peasants to be secure. Well, tough luck … the peasants want to be secure.