Urgent Request from the Community of Tyendinaga

Dear Friends,

Venezuela We Are With You Coalition continues to support the Tyendinaga Mohawks in their quest for land and water rights. Below is a request from the community to call the Bay of Quinte Band Council Office to protest their prioritizing of a second police station over meeting the need for safe drinking water.
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TYENDINAGA MOHAWKS BRACE FOR ARRIVAL OF POLICE STATION:
Police Chief Prepared to Use Force

(October 28, 2008) Tensions are running high today on the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory today as residents anticipate the arrival of a highly controversial second police station. Some reports suggest the building could arrive as early as this afternoon. Police Chief Ron Maracle has warned that he is prepared to use force to bring the building into the community.

Residents have expressed concern over Council's apparent prioritizing of a second police station for the small community over issues such as unsafe drinking water throughout community homes and at the reserve school, where the water was declared unfit for human consumption some 19 months ago.The matter of the police building had previously come to the forefront when, in the lead-up to its arrival, an agreement was reached on the implementation of a community consultation process. Council subsequently rescinded the motion calling for such a process and now says the building will go forward without community consultation.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------What You Can Do:
The community has asked that outside supporters contact the Band Council and respectfully express your concerns that community consultation take place, before the police station is brought to Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, against the wishes of community meetings and discussions that have taken place so far.

Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte Band Council Office
TELEPHONE: 613-396-3424
EMAIL: reception@mbq-tmt-org
FAX: 613-396-3627


Suggested Phone Call Script:
I am calling to express my concern at the impending arrival of a new police station in Tyendinaga.

We recognize that this initiative is partially funded by Canada's Ministry of Public Safety, headed by Stockwell Day. However, we have been informed by community members that there is a great deal of community concern over the lack of consultation by Band Council. Please take the time to consult.

Please hold off on the immediate implementation of a $2 million police station, while the community's concerns about clean drinking water and the Culbertson Tract Land Claim remain unresolved. We are asking that you take the time to consult properly.

Chavez: The Ones Crashing Are "the Giants"

Latin America and the financial crisis
Havana. October 6, 2008
Nidia Díaz

The eruption of the global financial crisis, unprecedented since the time of the Great Depression of the 1930s, has occurred in the very heart of the capitalist system, in the center of the U.S. Empire, although its effects are extending to a shocked Europe and other regions and countries that – to a greater or lesser degree –are associates or tributaries of that empire and the world system that it heads.

In relation to Latin America, the neoliberal debacle that had as its starting point the U.S. mortgage crisis, is taking place at a particularly significant moment after a number of years – more than 10, in some cases – in which certain countries have resolutely undertaken new strategies, including social ones, and have begun to detach themselves from what President Hugo Chávez has described as "a perverse international system."

In this context, while the U.S. government is trying to inject billions of dollars with the aim of containing its financial crash, a group of Latin American nations like Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador and Chile – to quote just some – are confident that the work undertaken in their economic sectors, as well as the effective application of strategies in the social sphere, will maintain the sustained economic growth of recent years, while their international reserves have been seen to grow as never before. They have done all of that, moreover, against Washington’s dictates and the prescriptions of the financial and credit agencies under its protection.

Those nations, in one way or another distancing themselves from the disastrous neoliberal road that the powerful neighbour to the North imposed on them, not only are not only cushioning themselves but reducing to the minimum or even, escaping from the world impact generated by the shock being experienced by the U.S. system. At the same time they are demonstrating the need to continue deepening and extending the direction that they have taken on the basis of strength, independence and self-determination, thus raising themselves as an example for some less developed countries in the region and other Third World nations.









Representing the Nations of UNASUR

It is not by chance that what began as initiatives by Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia or Argentina, have been taken up by the vast majority and made concrete in the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), the Bank of the South, the Great National companies in the energy sphere and others that are currently serving as a support to member countries and others that are beginning to analyze the possibilities and convenience of a cooperative road with no political conditions or coercion, and in defense of sovereignty.

Precisely, the current session of the UN General Assembly has served for various heads of state to comment on the exceptional measures that the U.S. government – renouncing the same deregulated and neoliberal policies that it promoted and imposed on the world – is now adopting in terms of state interventionism and the rescue of the banks at the cost of U.S. taxpayers squeezed to the limit.

It has been the Latin American leaders, basically, who have made an impassioned defense of multilateralism in the international order and have warned of the consequences of continued financial speculation. The days when Washington sneezed and Latin America caught pneumonia are over.

In that context, Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva stated that he was observing "with sadness, how very important banks which passed opinions, telling us what we should do or not do, measuring the risk to the country, advising investors whether Brazil was trustworthy or not, are going bankrupt, are calling in their creditors."
Those banks, "what they determined… was not the free circulation of capital, generating employment and wealth, but speculation… they transformed some sectors of the financial system into a casino, lost at roulette and we didn’t want Brazil to be the victim of the game," he added. The South American giant has international reserves calculated at $200 billion, which will enable it to confront the possibility of a liquidity problem. Brazil, said Lula, "has found its own way" and will continue growing.

For his part, the Bolivarian leader, Hugo Chávez, took advantage of the occasion to recall how firms like the Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch put out negative reports on Venezuela and now the ones crashing are "the giants. How strange that is. Now it’s the United States that cannot be invested in."

Venezuela confirmed that its hard-currency reserves are safe and that just 1% of these, which amount to more than $39 billion, is located in U.S. territory.

In similar vein Argentine President Cristina Fernández added her voice to the criticisms made by her Venezuelan counterpart against Lehman Brothers, for having predicted "calamities" for her country, when, as she said, "We are seeing how that first world once portrayed as the goal that we had to reach is bursting like a bubble."

She continued, "South America was told that the market solves everything, but now we have the strongest state intervention since the point when the U.S. told us that the state was not necessary."

In his speech to the General Assembly, Evo Morales described capitalism as "the worst enemy of humanity," while expressing his firm conviction that "one cannot have peace under capitalism."

For his part, addressing Congress with the request of $700 billion for that unprecedented rescue operation, the chairman of the US Federal Reserve warned that if financial conditions do not improve over a prolonged period, the consequences for the economy in general could be very adverse, the labor market and income are entering a slump, inflation is growing and consumption diminishing.

Without excluding the possibility of some kind of consequence for the Latin American economies, the recent meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank in Miami confirmed the current capacity of the sub-continent’s economies, in a general sense, to absorb the most disastrous consequences of the U.S. financial crisis, while making an exception of the Central American countries and Mexico, which could be the most compromised given their close economic links with the United States, including their free trade agreements.Never before has Latin America had in its power the political weapons with which to protect itself. The national liberation movement that is gaining ground on the continent, or simply the pragmatism of some countries in breaking loose from the powerful neighbor to the North, has resulted in the opportune antidote to prevent our region being dragged more deeply into the U.S. financial debacle. It is a lesson from which we all should learn.

www.granma.cu/INGLES/2008/octubre/lun6/40crisisal-ing.html

Venezuela's Budget for 2009

National Budget Bill for 2009 aims 48% to social projects

Caracas, Oct 21. ABN.- The Minister of People's Power for Economy and Finances, Alí Rodríguez Araque, confirmed on Tuesday during his presentation of the National Budget Bill for 2009 before the National Assembly, that 48% of it (Bs.F 78.6 billion; US$ 36.56 billion) will be aimed to finance social projects.

That number represents an increase of three points compared to 2008's budget, for which were approved BsF 64.7 billions (US$ 30.09 billions).

These resources will enable to keep boosting comprehensive policies to attend people's basic needs, such as health and education, as well as strengthening the governmental mission Robinson, Sucre, Barrio Adentro, Piar, Che Guevara, Identidad, Milagro, Negra Hipólita, Madres del Barrio, and Guaicaipuro, among others.

In this sense, Rodriguez said that these missions will receive about 12.5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), that is, about Bs.F 21 billion (US$ 9.77 billion).

He explained that according to the Budget Bill for 2009, a total of Bs.F 42.5 billion (US$ 19.77; 18.2% of the GDP), which is about 25% of the global budget, and four points over the amount invested in 2008 in the same area.

Furthermore, Venezuelan Government will invest Bs.F 12.02 billion in the health area www.abn.info.ve/go_news5.php?articulo=154351&lee=17

Organize To Break Through the Media's Intense Campaign of Lies

Message from Mirna Quero de Pena -- Consulate General of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Toronto,

On Oct. 9 we participated in a public meeting entitled, Defending People's Democracy in Bolivia and Venezuela. It was sponsored among other organizations by Venezuela We Are With You Coalition; by Barrio Nuevo who has brought over a half a dozen young Venezuelans to tour Canada; and Toronto Bolivia Solidarity who is helping to organize meetings for Cynthia Cisneros, an activist in the MAS in Bolivia.

Members of the staff of the Venezuelan General Consulate in Toronto read the following greetings, (in Spanish and English) which address many central issues of Latin American struggle today.
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Dear Friends and Bolivarian Compatriots,

First of all we would like to extend a warm greeting to the Venezuelan Delegation who is visiting Canada because of the efforts of our Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as the Coordinators of Proyect Frente Norman Bethune, who promotes our Bolivarian culture.

On September 11th, 2008 a coup plan was discovered in Venezuela, organized with the support of senior military officers, whose main objective was the murder of our President Hugo Chavez by shooting down his plane. A few days before, in Bolivia, armed fascist groups organized by the Bolivian oligarchy, assassinated and tortured tens of farmers who support Evo Morales in the northern Region of Pando.The protagonists of these fascist actions in Venezuela and Bolivia are exactly the same imperialism and the capitalists who have been the most privileged people ever. The victims are also the same: unionists, farmers who are trying to organize themselves to vindicate their rights; militants on the left; or leaders who represent the masses' great aspirations for change.

It is not a secret for the whole world that Venezuela is the spearhead of change and revolution in the Latin American region. We endorse the sovereign decision of our President Hugo Chavez to review diplomatic relations with the government of the United States, beginning with the expulsion of the Ambassador of that country in Venezuela.

We have learned in the last years that international solidarity is the most effective way to consolidate a Revolution, and with the ALBA (Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas) we consolidated the thought and legacy of great leaders such as Bolivar, Martí, Sandino, and Che Guevara, whom we remember today on the 41th anniversary of his murder, Che is a world-wide symbol in battling for the cause of justice. He is a model of Bolivarian Revolution.We would like to thank the organizers of this event, and let you all know that our Consulate General of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Toronto is always open to support all actions and activities in defense of the Latin American revolution. We call on you to stand and not be dismayed, we call on you to intensify solidarity with the revolution in Venezuela, Bolivia and the others Latin America countries.

We have to organize ourselves to break through the media's encirclement as well as its intense campaign of lies, to spread the Bolivarian message to all levels such as: neighborhoods, schools, universities, colleges, factories, etc.

We have to explain what is really happening in our countries, and report frankly that Latin America is still in a struggle: Latin America is in revolution.

Consulate General of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Toronto, Canada, Mirna Quero de Peña.
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Estimados amigos, amigas, compatriotas Bolivarianos,
Antes que nada queremos destacar la delegación de nuestros Compatriotas Venezolanos quienes nos visitan gracias al esfuerzo de nuestra Cancillería, así como también a los coordinadores del Frente Norman Bethune para dar a conocer nuestra cultura bolivariana.

La tarde del jueves 11 de septiembre se descubrió un plan golpista en Venezuela, con la implicación de altos mandos militares, cuyo objetivo inmediato era el asesinato nuestro presidente Hugo Chávez mediante el derribo del avión presidencial. Pocos días antes, en Bolivia, bandas fascistas armadas y organizadas por la oligarquía boliviana, asesinaban y torturaban salvajemente a decenas de campesinos partidarios de Evo Morales en el departamento de Pando.Los protagonistas de estas acciones golpistas y fascistas en Venezuela y Bolivia son exactamente los mismos: el imperialismo, los capitalistas, los privilegiados de siempre. Las víctimas también son las mismas: sindicalistas, campesinos que tratan de organizarse para reivindicar sus derechos, militantes de la izquierda o dirigentes que simbolizan las profundas aspiraciones de cambio de las masas.
No es un secreto para el mundo que Venezuela es la punta de lanza del cambio y la revolución que se están gestando en la región. Respaldamos la decisión soberana del presidente Hugo Chávez de revisar las relaciones diplomáticas con el gobierno de los Estados Unidos, empezando por la expulsión al embajador de ese país en Venezuela.
Los últimos años hemos aprendido que la solidaridad internacional es la forma mas efectiva de consolidar una Revolución y con el ALBA (Alternativa Bolivariana para las Américas) consolidamos el pensamiento y legado de grandes Lideres como Bolívar, Martí, Sandino y entre otros el Che a quien hoy recordamos en el 41 aniversario de su Asesinato; “CHE” quien es un símbolo mundial en el batallar por las causas justas, quien además es ejemplo y pensamiento de la Revolución Bolivariana.
Agradecemos a los organizadores de este evento y recordamos que el Consulado de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela en Toronto está siempre abierto para apoyar todas las acciones que se adelanten en defensa de la Revolución Latinoamericana y los exhortamos a no desmayar y a redoblar la solidaridad con la revolución en Venezuela, Bolivia y los demás países América Latina.

Hay que organizarse para romper el cerco mediático así como a la intensa campaña de mentiras de los medios de comunicación y llegar a todos los niveles, tales como: barrios, institutos técnicos, escuelas, Universidades, fábricas entre otros para explicar lo que está ocurriendo y declarar abiertamente que Latinoamérica está en pie de lucha, en Revolución.
Consulado General de La República Bolivariana de Venezuela, Toronto, Canadá, Mirna Quero de Peña.