Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

                                                   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Strip

The Gaza Strip is a strip of land that is on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea that borders Egypt and Israel.   Estimated population in 2011 was 1.7 million people.  The population is predominantly Sunni Muslim.  On this beach a beautiful kite ceremony is being held.  It is hard to believe that conflict happen almost everyday here.

Why has this conflict been going on for all these years?  Who actually occupies The Gaza Strip and why after capturing the Gaza Strip in 1967 from Egypt did Israel withdraw.  There has been many Peace Treaties and Agreements signed.   But, the bombing and killings continue on an almost a daily basis.   Killing innocent people and children.   Who is at fault and why?   The people living in the Gaza Strip  are also divide on who is to blame. 

At this time I beleive Israel controls Gaza Strip's northern borders, as well as its territorial waters and airspace.  Egypt controls the southern boarder, which was an agreement between Isreal and Egypt.

Mass Suicides in Demmin Germany

Mass suicide under fear of power or authoritative figure is what I look to examine within these events. The event I'm about to speak of took place in Germany, and is known as the Demmin Mass Suicides. “The people of Demmin knew that the Red Army would get to their village very soon in the spring of 1945. The city was handed over to the Red Army without a fight.” ( Roadtickle). The basic reasons for a number of these suicides are out of fear of an authoritative power and what people could imagine what their future would be with such murderous and cold powers descended upon them. In this case people of in Demmin were put into a panic by the Soviet Russian Red Army. The Soviet Army was known to be brutal often torturing, raping, looting and burning as they went through towns. “The Soviet soldiers in turn were allowed to loot the town for a period of three days. They committed mass rapes of local women, regardless of age" (Wikipedia).  People feared their fates with the Red Army's arrival; so much the city began committing mass suicides. Whole families and individuals killed themselves in a variety of ways from hanging, to drowning, to poison.  The Red Army did advance into the city where they did rape and execute a number of trapped citizens. “This mass suicide is the greatest mass suicide to be acknowledged and recorded in Germany.” (Wikipedia)

Where we see situation such as this events, we have a city that is under this news and pressure that this murderous force is about to sweep through their city, so those who flee do so, and some lose hope and begin to think and behave in a given up, hopeless manner. With cult suicides, the followers commit the suicides because of what they believe, what their dictating powers are coercing them to believe and participate in, but in this case, people, took their lives out of pure fear of horrible acts, painful death, and a fear of an ever powerful and murderous foreign authority. While the citizens of Demmin did not commit suicide at exactly the same time, the closeness of the suicide acts and the fact they killed themselves for the same reasons.” (Roadtickle) So, unlike cult suicides, these people did not die all in the same minutes, but all committing the same act with the same terrifying thoughts inn mind. “People killed them selves with razor blades, poisons, hanging, gun and drowning. If they had families they killed children and wives first, or all together, for example walking into the river all tied together. Afterward bodies were buried in mass gravesites, and some who survived just buried their families.

Event: The Demmin Mass Suicides

Place: Demmin, Germany

Death tolls: 1,200 to 2,500 people, 1200 suicides

How Deaths Committed: drowning, guns, poison, hanging, blades

Authoritative Power: Fear of Soviet Russian Red Army

Soviet Red Army Cockade Symbol

Citation:  

http://roadtickle.com/most-terrifying-mass-suicides/  June 4^th 2010

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_suicide_in_Demmin  October 19^th 2012

           

Malala Yousafzai VRS Taliban

For months, a team of Taliban sharpshooters studied the daily route that Malala took to school. About a mile outside the city of Mingora on Tuesday October 9th 2012, two men flagged down and boarded the bus, one of them pulling out a gun. “Which one of you is Malala Yousafzai?” he demanded. No one spoke—some out of loyalty, others out of fear.   “That’s the one,” the gunman said, looking the 15-year-old girl in the face and pulling the trigger twice, shooting her in the head and neck. He fired twice more, wounding two other girls, and then both men fled the scene. Over the screams and tears of the girls, a teacher instructed the bus driver to drive to a local hospital a few miles away. Everyone on the bus stared in horror at Malala’s body, bleeding profusely and slumped unconscious in her friend’s lap.  Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head and neck.  

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19890029

Raja Pervez Ashraf, the prime minister, ordered a military helicopter to be sent to move her from Mingora, to an intensive care ward in Peshawar.

Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Nuclear Energy

http://allenergyallthetime.blogspot.com/2011/10/necessary-good-that-is-nuclear-power.html

When discussing about clean energy the topic of nuclear power is always brought up. However, due to past events, people are often skeptic of this power source. If one would look at the nuclear power plant disasters and their long term damage, it is easy to say why. In many people’s eyes, there is much more to lose than to gain with nuclear energy. Take Chernobyl for example. It is said it won’t be habitable for the next 300 years. With events such as these, it is easy to be convinced of this negative effect it has.

However, In my opinion I believe these were mistakes that were made in the learning stages of nuclear energy. Nowadays, with technologies for advanced and the lessons from the mistakes, people are more aware and preventative of the dangers. Ways of properly disposing nuclear waste are being created and the lessons we learned from the past are being studied and applied. The end result, a clean, reliable and long-lasting, independent way of powering a nation is a benefit well worth believing in. I truly believe, that just like in the picture of the link, nuclear energy can coexist with our natural environment, leading us away from the oil dependent habits.

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

http://www.southernresources.com/blog/bid/139524/Charlotte-Recycling-Do-Your-Part-And-Make-Some-Money

In my opinion, the most basic initiative that would affect the entire planet over time is the task of recycling. I was drawn to the picture of the plant and the lettering, reduce, reuse and recycle. What if everybody town in the world and every authority would take the initiative to motivate the community to recycle in a bigger scale. It is interesting to think about the results of this if the consciousness of recycling was installed in the culture of every people on earth.

            People would certainly reduce their usage on everyday materials, even energy. The everyday plastic bottle that someone buys for one dollar at the store. What if that was re-used again and then recycled. What if instead of trash barrels everywhere, there were more recycling barrels than trash barrels. Not as something that was forced to do but because the people would like to recycle more rather than waste. It would make a big impact on the economy of nations. People would be saving more of their own energy, money, natural resources and such, only because they chose to reduce, reuse and recyscle.

Green Vehicles

http://automotive.lilithezine.com/Hydrogen-Power.html

When it comes to the world effect a global clean energy initiative has, I think of Hydrogen vehicles, take the above link, as an example of how common and normal these cars would be. Though I will use the hydrogen car as an example. I would like to refer to all alternative fuel options out there. Many wars and disputes are fueled by oil and its demand. The world being mostly a gasoline user, demands this energy source everyday and we heavily rely on for our everyday needs. But imagine a time where 90% of all cars, buses, airplanes, boats and such run on a non-gasoline, non-carbon emitting fuel source. It would certainly change the scope of the world, as we know it today.

First, the earth as a natural environment would benefit. The harmful Carbon gases would not be released so much and we would certainly be able to breathe much cleaner. Then, a lot of these conflicts between nation and the financial burden of many oil dependent nations wouldn’t exist if every nation would invest in their own clean energy source. There would be more and more alternatives for use with these alternative fuel sources. People would get creative in the usage of these fuel sources and everyone would benefit. For example, here in America, there is almost no options expect a gasoline running vehicle. However, in countries like Brazil, where there are alcohol-fueled cars, natural gas-fueled cars, the options are there but still not well developed yet, but still, available. 

In  October 2002 Chechen terrorists invaded a theater in Moscow and  made  hostage about  700  people  inside.  Their  demand was  for  the  Russian government to withdrawal the Russian military forces from Chechnya territory immediately . The  hostages crisis  ended 3 days later  with many  fatalities..included  all  the Chechen  terrorists.
I  believe  that the  Russian  government should had  to  stop the  fight  for  the  Chechnya  territory long time  before  this  tragedy  and  many  other  that  followed . The  Russian  ambition for  economic power (oleo especially)  claimed  many  Innocent lives for more  than a  centurie.
The  link  below is  a narrative of  the Hostage crisis in the Moscow theater .

Klovis Rebelatto


Chechen Terrorist attach-Moscow teather

Chechnya Conflict!

Chechnya had  fight for independency from Russia sinze the  late 1700's.Many of  the  confrontations resulted in  Russia victory .Russia  had  always an anti semit felling  about chechens. In  recent history of  the conflict  Russian  president  Putin took  "advantage" of  the  attachs of  september  11  in USA  characterizing the  chechen separatists as  Islamists terrorists (large percentage  of  the  chechenya population are   Islamists) and Putin was determined to trach them down. AS  a  revanche for  this  accusations chechen terrorists seized a Moscow teather, takin over 800 Hostages.
Klovis Rebelatto.



Chechnya -Overview

Chechnya
	Overview Chechnya is located in the mountainous Caucasus region between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea, a land-locked area bordered by the Russian republics of Dagestan and Georgia. Formerly a part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), Chechen separatists have waged a war for independence since the break-up of the Soviet Union, although the Chechen struggle against the Russians dates back to the late 1700’s. The current war has similarities to Russia’s misadventures in Afghanistan, including near total destruction, conflicts between local factions, the rise of Islamist terrorism and corresponding state terror by Russia, with deadly and continuing consequences for all parties. Chechnya holds a strategic geographic position linking Russia by pipeline and rail to the rich Caspian Sea oilfields Between 1824 and 1859, Russians and Chechen Muslims fought a protracted war that ultimately resulted in Russian victory. Following the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, Stalin’s policies provoked a new uprising in the 1930’s that was put down with characteristic Russian firmness as thousands of Chechens were executed or imprisoned.  During World War II, some Chechens once again saw an opportunity to throw off the yoke of Russian domination and sided with the Germans. In 1944 Stalin’s forces emulating Nazi ideas of ethnic cleansing, herded-up virtually the entire Chechen population and shipped them by train to Siberia. In 1957, during Russian Premier Khrushchev’s de-Stalinization program, those Chechens that hadn’t perished during their harsh 13-year exile were permitted back to their homeland, with a renewed hatred of their Russian oppressors who now dominated the republic of Chechnya. With the break-up of the USSR, the Chechen Assembly adopted a resolution of sovereignty and elected Jokhar Dudayev president in October 1991 and Dudayev declared Chechnya’s independence. In response Russia imposed an economic blockade and threatened further action. As Dudayev consolidated personal, criminal elements surfaced, and local clans fought for power. Russia attempted to de-stabilize the Dudayev regime by supporting armed rebels. Chechnya languished in discord and dissention until 1994, when Russia proposed autonomy agreements with the breakaway republics of Chechnya and Tatarstan. The latter agreed, but Dudayev maintained his claim of independence and in December, Yeltsin ordered Russian troops to invade Chechnya. In the ensuing war, the Russian air force and artillery destroyed the Chechen cities, including the capital of Grozny, (as they did in Afghanistan), while various, often competing rebel forces retreated to mountain sanctuaries resorting to guerrilla warfare and terrorism attacks. Using tactics similar to those developed in Afghanistan the mujadideen, rebels wore down the Russian troops with guns, alcohol, drugs and terror. As Russian casualties mounted, public opinion turned against the war and Russia agreed to a ceasefire in 1995, but without settlement of political issues violence soon resumed. After Dudayev was killed a new ceasefire agreement was agreed to in 1996, calling for withdrawal of Russian forces and a political resolution in 2001. In 1997, Aslan Maskhadov, a moderate, was elected president of the Chechen republic. Former rebel leaders turned against him and took control of large portions of the country. Chechen guerrillas began incursions into neighboring Dagestan, seeking to unify Dagestan and Chechnya as an Islamic state and provoking intervention by Russian troops. Terrorist bombings in Moscow and other Russian cities were blamed on Chechen rebels. Russia escalated their response, once again invading Chechnya and launching massive and indiscriminate air strikes, forcing as many as 400,000 to flee to refuge. President Maskhadov fled Grozny in 1999 and after a prolonged and bitter resistance, the Russians finally recaptured Grozny in early 2000. As Russian troops moved attempted to expand the areas under their control, guerrillas continued their own deadly assaults and Moscow again became mired in an Afghan-style quagmire, while international condemnation mounted.  In June 2001, Russian President Putin installed a new Chechen administration answering to Moscow and led by a Muslim cleric, Akhmed Kadyrov. This choice pleased neither the separatists, nor Russian loyalists. After the September 11 attacks in the U.S., Putin eagerly jumped on President Bush’s war on terror bandwagon, characterizing the Chechen separatists as Islamist terrorists and vowing to track them down. However, the Chechen terrorist campaign again reappeared on Moscow’s doorstep. In October 2002, Chechen terrorists seized a Moscow theater, taking over 800 hostages. Russian Special Forces stormed the theater killing all 41 terrorists and 129 hostages in the rescue attempt. Moscow’s goals are to defeat and disarm the Chechen guerrillas, create a new semi-autonomous government that remains part of the Russian Federation and begin reconstruction of the devastated republic. The separatist Muslim rebels cling to faint hopes of establishing an independent Islamic state in the midst of Russia. Amid the death and destruction that has ravaged this lawless region, criminal gangs have emerged that engage in lucrative trade in people, weapons, oil and drugs. These criminal elements add an additional layer of complexity to an already difficult and deadly situation.  Caught between intractable foes, Chechen civilians have paid the greatest costs in the decade-old conflict, suffering severe human rights abuses from all sides, being forced to flee their homes for relative safety, watching their country be destroyed and, of course, dying.

US Home Front WWII: Working Women

This is Rosie The Riveter, a cultural U.S. icon for working women in the United States during WWII. Women worked in factories that produced war supplies. This image came from Flickr Creative Commons.




The Riveter is a symbol of women's economic power during WWII in the United States. Rosie The Riveter inspired a social movement where the number of working women in the United States increased from 12 million to 20 million by 1944. Rosie The Riveter portrays that women are capable of doing a 'mans job' just as good as men.

Geraldine Hoff Doyle was the inspiration for Rosie The Riveter. At the age of 17, Geraldine was photographed working in a metal factory. J Howard Miller is the artist behind Rosie The Riveter when released in a poster.

2 years ago, the great inspiration for Rosie, Geraldine Doyle died at the age of 86. What is interesting is that Geraldine had no idea she was the inspiration of this national icon until 1982. An article below explains that she died, and also a quote from Geraldine's daughter about Geraldine.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/30/rosie-riveter-dead-geraldine-hoff-doyle_n_802772.html

What is ironic, however, was that this icon only worked in the factory for a week, then married a dentist and raised a family.

South Ossetia War still a concern

The Georgian-Russian conflict once occupied the headlines for the United States and caused a stir in the scene of international politics back in 2008, but now it seems that the world has forgotten about the Russian invasion of Georgia, even while 10,000 Russian troops still occupy the provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. It seems that Russia intends to keep the territory it took during the short conflict between these two countries, even though it is in direct violation of the treaties and agreements that have been in effect since the actual conflict ended years ago. (http://blog.heritage.org/2012/05/31/georgia-and-russia-the-occupation-too-many-have-forgotten/)

Malala Yousafzai VRS Taliban

Malala was born on July 12, 1997 in Mingora in the Swat valley, and has two younger brothers. Malala was only 11 years old when she first came to public attention in 2009. She spoke out through an anonymous diary on BBC Urdu's website under a pen name Gul Makai, and later was featured in two New York Times documentaries.  Her blogs described life under Taliban rule from her hometown of Mingora; located in the northwest region of Pakistan she affectionately calls "My Swat".  Malala received support and encouragement in her activism from her parents.  
So why do the Taliban fear Malala, who is named after a legendary Pashtun warrior? Because the young girl, who belongs to Pakistan's Swat valley, spoke for the right of children, of girls, in a part of the world where many believe that women must neither be seen nor heard.  When the Taliban became rulers of Pakistan's Swat region between 2003 and 2009, they ordered schools to close as part of a decree banning girls' education.  

http://www.nytimes.com/video/2009/10/10/world/1247465107008/a-schoolgirl-s-odyssey.html

The Mexican Revolution

 
http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/2824-the-mexican-revolution-1910

I chose this article because it did an excellent job at summarizing the Mexican Revolution. It is great for those who do not know much about the Mexican Revolution and those who would love to know more. I learned a lot from this article and truly enjoyed it. The way the author, Gaceta Consular summarizes and manages to get all of the important information in this article the way they did it amazing in itself. I enjoyed how many of the main and most important leaders and people involved in the Mexican Revolution were involved and you really get a solid understand of what went on, and who did what. Overall, the author made it interesting and made me want to learn more! I would definitely recommend this.

Here is the article, the link is also posted above:

The Mexican Revolution 1910 Gaceta Consular Email Email Print Print The Mexican Revolution was brought on by, among other factors, tremendous disagreement among the Mexican people over the dictatorship of President Porfirio Díaz, who, all told, stayed in office for thirty one years. During that span, power was concentrated in the hands of a select few; the people had no power to express their opinions or select their public officials. Wealth was likewise concentrated in the hands of the few, and injustice was everywhere, in the cities and the countryside alike. Early in the 20th Century, a new generation of young leaders arose who wanted to participate in the political life of their country, but they were denied the opportunity by the officials who were already entrenched in power and who were not about to give it up. This group of young leaders believed that they could assume their proper role in Mexican politics once President Díaz announced publicly that Mexico was ready for democracy. Although the Mexican Constitution called for public election and other institutions of democracy, Díaz and his supporters used their political and economic resources to stay in power indefinitely. Francisco I. Madero was one of the strongest believers that President Díaz should renounce his power and not seek re-election. Together with other young reformers, Madero created the ''Anti-reeleccionista'' Party, which he represented in subsequent presidential elections. Between elections, Madero travelled throughout the country, campaigning for his ideas. Francisco I. Madero was a firm supporter of democracy and of making government subject to the strict limits of the law, and the success of Madero's movement made him a threat in the eyes of President Díaz. Shortly before the elections of 1910, Madero was apprehended in Monterrey and imprisoned in San Luis Potosí. Learning of Díaz's re-election, Madero fled to the United States in October of 1910. In exile, he issued the ''Plan of San Luis,'' a manifesto which declared that the elections had been a fraud and that he would not recognize Porfirio Díaz as the legitimate President of the Republic. Instead, Madero make the daring move of declaring himself President Pro-Temp until new elections could be held. Madero promised to return all land which had been confiscated from the peasants, and he called for universal voting rights and for a limit of one term for the president. Madero's call for an uprising on November 20th, 1910, marked the beginning of the Mexican Revolution. On November 14th, in Cuchillo Parado in the state of Chihuahua, Toribio Ortega and a small group of followers took up arms. On the 18th in Puebla, Diaz's authorities uncovered preparations for an uprising in the home of the brothers Maximo and Aquiles Serdán, who where made to pay with their lives. Back in Chihuahua, Madero was able to persuade Pascual Orozco and Francisco ("Pancho") Villa to join the revolution. Though they had no military experience, Orozco and Villa proved to be excellent strategists, and they earned the allegiance of the people of northern Mexico, who were particularly unhappy about the abusive ranchers and landlords who ran the North. In March of 1911, Emiliano Zapata led the uprising of the peasants of Morelos to claim their rights over local land and water. At the same time, armed revolt began in many other parts of the country. The "Maderista" troops, and the national anger which inspired them, defeated the army of Diaz within six months. The decisive victory of the Mexican Revolution was the capture of Ciudad Juarez, just across the river from El Paso, by Orozco and Villa. Porfirio Diaz then resigned as President and fled to exile in France, where he died in 1915. With the collapse of the Díaz regime, the Mexican Congress elected Francisco León de la Barra as President Pro-Temp and called for national popular elections, which resulted in the victory of Francisco I. Madero as President and José María Pino Suárez as Vice-President. This article is reproduced with the kind permission of the Consul General in Austin Texas. It first appeared in their: November 1996 - Austin, Texas - Year IV, Number 25

The Mexican Revolution

Above is a photograph of Emiliano Zapata. He was one of the major leaders in the Mexican Revolution. He had great power and control over much of Mexico and he is remembered till this very day for his rights that he believed so deeply about. Zapata was born south of Mexico City and was born and raised on a farm, as his father was a farmer. Zapata grew up to also work on a farm and he had great compassion for what he did. Zapata once said, " One of the happiest days of my life was when i made five or six pesos from a crop of watermelons i raised all on my own". This kind of gives you an idea of what Zapata was like and how compassionate he was for everything in his life, and the Mexican Revolution is no exception. Below is a letter that Emiliano Zapata wrote to the President of the United States of America during the time of the Mexican Revolution. I found this letter very interesting and you can really get the feeling that his farm and property was all  he had and he didn't want that to change at all. In the end, Zapata was assassinated from his association with the Mexican Revolution.

Dear Esteemed Sir:

I have seen in the press statements you made regarding the agrarian revolution which for four years has been developing in this Republic, and with great surprise I became aware that in spite of the distance you have accurately understood the causes and aims of the revolution which has increased especially in the South of Mexico, a region which has had to suffer the most from acts of dispossession and extortion by the large landholders.

That conviction that you sympathize with, the agrarian emancipation movement, leads me to explain to you regarding the facts and background of the press in Mexico City, which being dedicated to serving the interests of the rich and powerful, has always worked to deface with infamous calumnies before the rest of America and the world in order that the deep significance of this great proletarian movement would never become known.

I'll start by pointing out to you the causes of the revolution that I lead.

Mexico is still today is a country in full feudal epoch, or so it was at the outbreak of the 1910 revolution.

A few hundred landowners have monopolized all the arable land of the Republic, from year to year they have been increasing their domains, which in order to accomplish they have had to strip the people of their ejidos or communal fields, and their modest parcels of individual inheritance.  There are cities in the State of Morelos, for example Cuautla, which are lacking even land needed to dispose of their garbage, land which is rightly required for the development of the population.

Add caption

So it is that the landowners, by dispossession upon dispossession, today with this pretext, tomorrow with another, have been absorbing all properties that rightfully belong to and from time immemorial have belonged to the Indigenous Peoples, lands from whose livelihood and culture the Indigenous Peoples have drawn sustenance for themselves and their families.

To realize this extortion, the land barons have used legislation which has been elaborated under their influence that has allowed them to take over vast tracts of land, with the pretext that these lands are idle, or not protected by legally correct titles.

In this manner, aided by the complicity of the courts and even worse acts of the sort, such as false imprisonment or forced consignment into the military, the small landholders are robbed, and the great land barons have become sole owners of the entire country.  The Indigenous Peoples now disposed of their lands, have been forced to work on plantations for low wages and are forced to endure the extreme mistreatment of the landowners and their stewards or overseers, many of whom, being Spanish or the children of Spanish parents, consider that they are entitled to conduct themselves as if they live at the time of Hernán Cortés, in other words as if they were still the conquerors and masters, and that we the "peons" were mere slaves, subject to the brutal law of conquest.

The landowner's position regarding the “peons” is exactly equal to that held by the feudal lord, the earl or baron of the Middle Ages, in regards to their servants and vassals.

The Hacendado (Squire) in Mexico has at his will the complete person of “his peon".  He may reduce him to prison if he likes, he may forbid the “peon” to leave the ranch with the pretext that there is debt that can never be repaid, being so ordered by judges whom the hacendado bribes, and then there are the prefects or "political bosses" who are always their allies.  The landlord is truly the complete Lord of Life and Property without doubt, within their vast domains.

This unbearable situation is from whence originated the Revolution of 1910 and which as primary principle and direction has intention to destroy the feudal regime and fight against the monopoly of land in the hands of a few.

But unfortunately, Francisco I. Madero who coming from a wealthy and powerful family which owns large tracts of land in the north of the Republic, Madero naturally quickly joined with other landowners, and invoking the power of legislation (laws for the rich and favoring the rich) as an excuse, chose not to fulfill the promises he had made to restore the stolen lands to their rightful owners and destroy the overwhelming monopoly of the landowners, through the expropriation of these lands in the name of public interest and with corresponding compensation, if possession was legitimate.

Madero failed in his promises and the revolution continued, mainly in the regions that had seen the greatest abuses and assaults by the hacendados, such as in the states of Morelos, Guerrero, Michoacan, Puebla, Durango, Chihuahua, Zacatecas, etc., etc.

Then came the Coup of the Citadel, that is the effort made by the ancient Porfiristas and conservative elements of all shades to seize power again, for they feared that Madero would be forced one day to have to keep his promises.  At that juncture, the campesino population became justly alarmed and revolutionary ferment spread with more force than ever, since the coup, followed the assassination of Madero, was a challenge - a true threat to the revolution of 1910.

At this point the revolution encompassed the full extent of the Republic, and chastened by past experience, and I chose not to await final victory but instead began the distribution of land and the expropriation of the large estates.  Thus as has happened in Morelos, Guerrero, Michoacan, Puebla, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Chihuahua, Sonora, Durango, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosi: in such a way that it can be said that the people have done justice for themselves, as the legislative process does not favor justice and given that the current Constitution is a hindrance rather than a defense or security for working peoples, and especially for the campesino communities.

It was at this point that the Campesino Pueblos realized the need to break the old patterns of legislation, and seeing in the Plan de Ayala the articulation of their desires and the expression of the principles that should underpin the new legislative process, began to implement such a plan, as required by the supremacy of law and justice, and this is how revolutionaries throughout the Republic have restored the lands of the dispossessed peoples.  They have divided up the monstrous estates and punished the eternal enemies of the people, the feudal lords, with confiscation of their estates, along with the caciques and chief accomplices of the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz as well as the perpetrators and accomplices of the Coup of the Citadel.

It is to be ensured, therefore, that there will be no peace in Mexico until the Plan de Ayala is raised to the rank of law or constitutional provision, and fulfilled across the entire country.
 
This position is reference not only in terms of social issues, or the need for land redistribution, but also with regard to the political question, or the manner of appointing the interim president who must issue the call for elections and has to start the process of implementing land reform.

The country is tired of impositions, Mexico no longer tolerates imposed masters or leaders, our desire is to take part in the appointment of our governors, and since the interim government should emanate from the revolution and in order to assure this, is logical and fair that these be true representatives of the Revolution, or the heads of the armed movement, who should carry out the appointment of Interim President.  This is guaranteed by article twelve of the Plan de Ayala, in spite of the wishes of D. Venustiano Carranza and his circle of ambitious politicians, who propose that the Carranza step into the position of President by surprise, or rather, by a bold stroke of audacity and imposition.

The only way to wisely choose the Acting President is through the collective conviction of the revolutionary leaders across the country.  Only so can be presented a man who by his record and his ideas provide absolute guarantees, while with Carranza as an owner or shareholder owning large properties in the Border States, his imposition is a threat to the campesinos of the country, as he would opt for the same policies as Madero.  His ideas are clearly identified, with the only difference that Madero was weak, while Carranza is man capable of exercising a most tremendous dictatorship, which would again provoke a formidable revolution, perhaps bloodier than those before.

Therefore you will see, being that the Revolution of the South is a revolution of ideals, not of revenge or retaliation, that this revolution has committed before the country and before the civilized world, to a formal contract to provide full guarantees for the lives and interests of nationals and foreigners, before and after our victory, and I am happy to make you aware of this fact.

This long exposé should confirm to you in your well-illuminated mind regarding our movement of Southern Mexico, and convince you that the vile, banal, and corrupt press of Mexico City has maligned my personality and that of my compatriots.

May these notes better illustrate, along with the information which Messrs. Dr. Charles Jenkinson and Thomas W. Reilly will share with you, and who as kind visitors of this State, we have had the pleasure to offer our modest but gracious hospitality, and via whose kind conduct I send these lines.

For my part I can say to you that I understand and appreciate the noble and uplifting policy that you are carrying forward, within the limits of respect for the sovereignty of each state in this beautiful and not always happy Continent of the Americas.

I would have you believe that, as long as this policy respects the autonomy of the Mexican people in pursuit for their own ideals [and] as they understand them, I will be one of many of your sympathizers from this sister Republic and hopefully not the least useful of your servants, which I reiterate now with my particular appreciation.

General Emiliano Zapata

Mexico

           The Mexican Revolution