Liberation theology is a Christian theology in which the salvation brought by Jesus Christ is understood in terms of a liberation from unjust political, economic, or social conditions. Infuenced by Marxist social theory, its theologians consider "structural sin" to be a root cause of poverty and oppression, and consider the primary responsibility of the Church to be its "option for the poor". Although liberation theology has grown into an international and inter-denominational movement, it began as a movement within the Roman Catholic church in Latin America of the 1950s - 1970s. It arose principally as a moral reaction to widespread poverty caused by social injustice in that region. It had a widespread influence in Latin America, although its influence diminished after liberation theologians using Marxist concepts were admonished by the Catholic church's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1984 and 1986.

--Courtesy of the Catholic Encyclopedia--

“A labor force in significant economic distress:” In January 2001, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) sent a letter to members of the United States Congress reporting on the stark realities facing agricultural workers. Entitled The Agricultural Labor Market - Status and Recommendations, the letter described farmworkers as “a labor force in significant economic distress.” The report cited farmworkers’ “low wages, sub-poverty annual earnings, (and) significant periods of un- and underemployment” to support its conclusions.


Facts and Figures on Florida Farmworkers
--Coalition of Immokalee Workers--

Blackwater in Colombia

14.12.2009 Source: english.pravda.ru
Blackwater in Colombia

By: Eva Golinger

In early 2008, the U.S. Army Missile Command and Space Defense awarded contracts in the amount of 15 billion dollars to a group of private contractors, including Blackwater. The contract, which includes intelligence operations, espionage and reconnaissance, among other things, faces two countries in Latin America, Mexico and Colombia.

Not surprisingly, came the revelation in Ecuador of Washington's role in the illegal invasion of Ecuadorian territory in March 2008. The participation of military and U.S. intelligence agents, then located at the military base of Manta, was initially suspected in the operation that killed persons in a FARC camp. Now an official report from Ecuador confirms this fact. It reaffirms further that where there are military bases used by the U.S. military, action be carried out by Washington - no matter what the rules, laws and regulations of the host country.

The controversial military agreement between Colombia and the United States, signed on Oct. 30, means the largest military expansion in Latin America by Washington. The agreement allows the presence of private contractors to service the needs of Washington agencies in Colombia, with all the same immunity granted to U.S. officials and military. This is not new. Under the agreement of Plan Colombia, Washington used by over 30 contractors for 10 years to perform military and intelligence work and espionage in Colombia. Some of them are the most powerful companies of the military industrial complex, such as DynCorp, Bechtel, Lockheed Martin, the Rendon Group, and Raytheon, among others.

Within the new military agreement, the amount of contractors - or mercenaries of war - will increase. The privatization of war and the use of private companies to perform security operations, defense and intelligence, is now the modus operandi of Washington. The Blackwater company is certainly more controversial, now known as Xe Services. During the past eight years, Blackwater has earned over 1.4 billion dollars in contracts from the State Department and Pentagon. Since 2005, Blackwater has also gotten semi-secret contracts with the Department of Homeland Security in the U.S. for security and defense operations within the country, which have been seen as the beginning of the creation of a privatized state police to suppress and control a population that each day is in a more desperate economic situation.

In early 2008, the U.S. Army Missile Command and Space Defense awarded contracts in the amount of 15 billion dollars to a group of private contractors, including Blackwater. The contract, which includes intelligence operations, espionage and reconnaissance, among other things, involves two countries in Latin America, Mexico and Colombia. The contract specifically details the "air training provision" to the Colombian armed forces and "strategic PR support" to the Colombian government (read: psychological operations). In the case of Mexico, Blackwater is responsible for supporting the missions against drug trafficking.

Days ago, it was revealed that Blackwater was hired by the CIA to kill suspected insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan. Blackwater mercenaries were involved in some of the most sensitive and clandestine CIA operations, including transport of prisoners to secret CIA prisons. Former Blackwater mercenaries have indicated that their role in those clandestine operations was so routine that the division between the CIA, Pentagon and Blackwater no longer existed.

Now, this CIA front company and the Pentagon operate freely in Colombia. In the U.S., there are dozens of lawsuits and legal cases against Blackwater for violations of laws, arbitrary killings and human rights violations. However, Álvaro Uribe's government has opened the door for the presence of this dangerous enterprise in South America, which represents a great threat to peace and regional security.

The countries of ALBA and UNASUR members collectively should prohibit the presence of contractors - mercenaries of war in Latin America. But, there will be more death, conflicts, violations of sovereignty, and we expect there will ultimately be a war.

Translated from the Portuguese version by:

Lisa KARPOVA

PRAVDA.Ru

The Dungan Revolt was a religious war in 19th-century China. It is also known as the Hui Minorities' War and the Muslim Rebellion. The term is sometimes used to refer to the Panthay Rebellion in Yunnan as well. It was an uprising by members of the Hui and other Muslim ethnic groups in China's Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia provinces, as well as in Xinjiang, between 1862 and 1877.

The purpose of this uprising was to develop a Muslim country on the western bank of the Yellow River (Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia (excluding the Xinjiang province)). A common misconception is that it was directed against the Qing Dynasty, but there is no evidence at all showing that they intended to attack the capital of Beijing. The uprising was actively encouraged by the leaders of the Taiping Rebellion. When the rebellion failed, mass-immigration of the Dungan people into Imperial Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan ensued.

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