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Classifieds in Cuba: Cuba's Craig's List

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Joint Chief of Staff's Operation Northwoods , a 1962 plan to kill US citizens as a pretext for invading Cuba

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Rebellion in Miami '04

US Cuba Sister Cities

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Cuba in the News
Archive: 6/11-6/12

EEUU convoca a violar leyes cubanas, pero no se responsabiliza con las consecuencias  6/30/2012 CubaDebate 

Cuba and the Illinois Farm Bureau - Guajiros for Change!  6/29/2012 Counterpunch: "Tamara Nelsen, the Senior Director of Commodities at the IFB, articulated the goals of the market study trips that the bureau takes regularly. Since we are a grassroots membership organization of farmers, the overall goal of all of our Market Study Tours is to train a cadre of farmer leaders on agricultural trade and marketing issues. This enables us to have a strong voice of volunteer leaders on agricultural, marketing, and trade issues on a local, state, and national level. Our members make their voices heard through support of legislation at those same levels, to facilitate improved agricultural trade and economic development. For Cuba, we expect to meet with government officials and importing companies to help build relationships necessary to further trade between our nations."

Otorgados en Cuba más de 47 000 créditos bancarios a particulares desde diciembre  6/28/2012 CubaDebate 

Cuba: a Society in Motion  6/27/2012 Counterpunch: "“The call to update the economic model opens up a new scenario for… the Cuban economy,” said Vazquez. “Its concrete implementation will dramatically alter the national economic reality, fomenting strategic changes in the social order… and in the sociopolitical renewal of the country."

The CIA Should Declare Bankruptcy  6/26/2012 Havana Times: "For at least two of its three days, I participated in the “Festival Clic.” There I learned that if this event were in fact sponsored by the CIA (an entity that used to make us feel so threatened), then people can now breathe easy. The CIA is flat broke. That’s right. It turns out the tired old American institution is financially on its last leg. The paltry resources that went into the June 21 to 23 sessions demonstrated more than anything else that “the Agency” is no longer a danger to anyone these days."

The Craziness of the Cuban Economic Blockade  6/25/2012 Counterpunch: "But for Cuba there is a new universe of unmolested national advancement theoretically attainable through the UN’s Right to Development. Of course, simply to mention it invites the ridicule reserved for fools and innocents who believed in the Truce of God or the Kellogg-Briand Pact. Nevertheless, to note even the existence of such a concept is to underscore how blockades and other imperial mechanisms are at base the denial of the right to national development and not, as commonly said, a matter of nation building or democracy promotion."

Cuba’s ‘Festival CLIC’ and the Vast Minority  6/25/2012 Havana Times: "They know that Havana Times isn’t backed by the United States government but is produced with the untiring work of a passionate American living in Central America and that the website constitutes a place where the best thinking of youth from the island is gathered."

US Alabama-Cuba Initiative Intends to Be Perpetuated  6/24/2012 CubaNow: "Without ideology or language getting in the way, the head of the US Alabama-Cuba Initiative, Robert Olin, wants to duplicate in time and results the already existing decade of collaboration with Cuban institutions. "

Arriba Cuba a record de visitantes extranjeros de enero a mayo  6/21/2012 CubaDebate: "En los primeros cinco meses del presente año, arribaron a Cuba un millón 437 mil 890 visitantes extranjeros, cifra récord para la etapa y que significa un crecimiento del 5,5 por ciento respecto a igual período precedente.La Oficina Nacional de Estadística e Información (ONEI), en su parte adelantado de este indicador, precisa hoy que desde febrero se percibe el incremento de turistas internacionales."

Cuba denuncia el “otro bloqueo” de Google  6/21/2012 CubaDebate: "Los cibernautas cubanos denuncian el bloqueo del popular servicio de estadísticas Google Analytics. Algunos expertos ven en la medida un intento de EE.UU. para impedir el desarrollo de las comunicaciones electrónicas de la isla Cuando intentan acceder a esta página, los isleños reciben un mensaje que remite al espacio del Departamento del Tesoro, el organismo que vigila el cumplimiento de las sanciones norteamericanas contra el país caribeño vigentes desde 1962."

Google responde: Los cubanos deben abstenerse de usar servicios de Internet si EEUU así lo decide  6/21/2012 CubaDebate 

Caso de Airline Brokers revela complicidad entre FBI y extremistas de Miami  6/20/2012 CubaDebate: "Aseveró que esa institución tiene pleno conocimiento de los grupos anticubanos radicados en esa urbe, asentada en el sur de Florida, porque han trabajado durante décadas para la Agencia Central de Inteligencia y además son protegidos del gobierno estadounidense. “El FBI no impide o es incapaz de impedir sus acciones terroristas; no actúa en contra de ellos y así no los encausa por sus crímenes ante los tribunales de justicia con el rigor que la ley obliga a estas autoridades a hacer”, enfatizó."

La inocenCIA imposible del Festival Clic  6/20/2012 CubaDebate: "No por gusto sitios alentados desde Estados Unidos, como Havana Times, se han adherido con entusiasmo a la convocatoria." [Havana Times es de España, publicado por un Americano que vive en America Central, no tiene que ver con los disidentes.]

The Church in Cuba and the work of Cardinal Ortega  6/20/2012 Progresso 

Escandalosa censura de Google a Cuba: Medios y blogueros de la Isla no pueden acceder a estadísticas  6/19/2012 CubaDebate: "El servicio de Google Analytics amaneció hoy bloqueado para los usuarios de la Isla, según ha comprobado esta mañana Cubadebate. Cuando desde una máquina en Cuba se intenta acceder al servicio, que utiliza la mayoría de los medios digitales y blogueros del país, aparece un mensaje que remite a la página del Departamento del Tesoro que vigila el cumplimiento de las sanciones establecidas por el bloqueo de los Estados Unidos."

Let’s go to the ‘Festival Clic’  6/16/2012 Havana Times: "If you are in Havana from June 21 to 23 of this month, you shouldn’t miss the “Festival Clic” (to be held at 4606 1st Street between 46th and 60th streets in Havana’s Playa neighborhood). This is the first event organized in Cuba having as its theme the use of “New Information Technologies” (NITs) and social networks that doesn’t preclude the right to admission. The unusual feature that distinguishes this event from previous ones on this theme in Cuba is that all of the organizers are members of civil society who are interested in open dialogue with all possible views on the subject. They view it as urgent that the Cuban nation become a part of Web 2.0.*"

Cuba Wants to Exchange Alan Gross for Cuban Five, Bill Richardson Says  6/15/2012 Fox News 

US Treasury Department Fines ING Bank with 619 millions for Violating the Blockade  6/13/2012 Cuba MINREX: "This sanction by the United States Government against a bank for commercing with Cuba is the largest-ever imposed by OFAC."

Documento: Demanda ciudadana por otra Cuba  6/12/2012 Café Fuerte: "El proyecto ciudadano estado de SATS, promovido por Antonio Rodiles y Ailer González Mena, así como por líderes de la disidencia y el movimiento intelectual en Cuba. hizo pública una demanda reclamando al gobierno de Raúl Castro que respete la Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos y los pactos políticos, económicos y sociales suscritos en el 2008."

The Perverse Cuban-American Mythology  6/11/2012 Counterpunch: "Events like these, resulting from following a fifty-year policy of embargo, have functioned as the impetus for a small group of people to stand up and exercise our rights to petition our government for a different stance towards Cuba. On April 16 and 17th a group of concerned Cuban-American and American professionals met with members of Congress, the US State Department, and the Cuban Interests Section in Washington in order to lobby for more engagement between the governments and peoples of the United States and Cuba. The Latin American Working Group (LAWG) and Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) graciously facilitated our lobbying effort. Both of these organizations have advocated for a policy of engagement between the two nations and their expertise and hospitality were an invaluable part of our sojourn to Washington."

Presentación de Festival CLIC y EBECuba  6/7/2012 EventoBlog: "Llevamos varios meses trabajando con amigos cubanos para la celebración de un evento dedicado a internet y a las nuevas tecnologías en Cuba. Hoy anunciamos FestivalCLIC (@FestivalCLIC). Se celebrará del 21 al 23 de junio en La Habana y en su primer día albergará #EBECuba."

To the Internet through USB  6/6/2012 Progresso: "With the eventual reductions in price (in the black market, not in the chain stores) and increase in capacity due to miniaturization, memory sticks [flash drives] have become very popular among Cubans. Even waitresses and street vendors carry their own USB sticks. What’s interesting is that most of the people who own them do not own computers. But that doesn’t prevent Cubans from loading their USB sticks with “the latest stuff.” Because of the limited use of Internet here, we Cubans have looked for ways to get around obstacles (some of which make no sense) and are using USB memories in the most sociable way – sharing them. A totally subterranean information market has existed for several years, where a large percentage of Cubans keep informed, away from the official channels."

Florida Telling Hundreds Of Eligible Citizens That They Are Ineligible To Vote  5/27/2012 Think Progress: "Florida Governor Rick Scott (R) has ordered the state to purge all “non-citizens” from the voting rolls prior to November’s election. But that list compiled by the Scott administration is so riddled with errors that, in Miami-Dade County alone, hundreds of U.S. citizens are being told they are ineligible to vote, ThinkProgress has learned exlusively."

The Potential of Cuba’s Search for Oil  5/25/2012 COHA 

China califica al bloqueo contra Cuba como una violación a los derechos humanos  5/25/2012 Cubadebate 

Cuba: aumentará en más de 200 000 cifra de trabajadores por cuenta propia en el 2012  5/25/2012 Cubadebate 

EEUU multa con $1,55 millones a Ericsson por violar el bloqueo contra Cuba  5/25/2012 Cubadebate 

Venden en Nueva York obra de Wifredo Lam por 4 millones de dólares  5/25/2012 Cubadebate 

Rivera painting fails to sell at auction, but Wilfredo Lam makes $4.56M  5/24/2012 Auction News 

THE KENNEDY ASSASSINATION: SOMEONE KNEW IN ADVANCE - A coup d’état  5/24/2012 Granma: "Four days later, on November 27, Fidel analyzed the Oswald as lone gunman theory and his alleged pro-Castro sympathies, which nobody was questioning at that point. He quoted Hubert Hammerer, Olympic shooting champion, who stated that it was highly unlikely that anyone firing with a repeater carbine fitted with a telescopic sight could hit a target three times in the space of five seconds, when firing at a moving target at a distance of 180 meters, traveling at 15mph." On the basis of his own experiences in the Sierra Maestra, with weapons fitted with a telescopic sight like the one Oswald was said to have used, Fidel added, "Once you fire at the target it is lost – due to the effect of the shot – and you have to find it again quickly (…) with this kind of weapon it is really very difficult to fire three consecutive shots. But, above all, difficult to hit the target like that. Almost impossible."

U.S. blocking Cuba’s access to information technology  5/24/2012 Granma: "OBSTACLES preventing access to information technology and communications derived from the U.S. blockade of Cuba were denounced before the World Trade Organization in Geneva on May 16. Washington must be called upon to end its unilateral coercive measures, asserted Carlos Fidel Martín, from the Cuban embassy in Switzerland, during a symposium organized for the 15th anniversary of the Information Technology Agreement."

Alan Gross and the free press  5/23/2012 Progresso Weekly: "Less than 3 years ago, Cuban authorities arrested Alan Gross, who had an almost $600,000 contract with DIA, Inc., to carry out a USAID program in Cuba. At his Havana trial, Gross heard Cuban authorities present his trip reports in which he revealed how he supplied a pre-selected group of mostly Jewish Cubans with sophisticated and illegal technology. Gross smuggled the parts into Cuba “piece by piece, in backpacks and carry-on bags.” These included “laptops, smartphones, hard drives and networking equipment,” wrote Desmond Butler. “The most sensitive item, according to official trip reports, was… a specialized mobile phone chip that experts say is often used by the Pentagon and the CIA to make satellite signals virtually impossible to track."

Cuban prisoners exploited – so what should we say about our own?  5/23/2012 Progresso Weekly 

Academics demand removal of Cuba from terrorist list  5/23/2012 Radio Cadena Agramonte: "U.S. Brigadier General John Adams in March demanded Washington to remove Cuba from the mentioned list and end its counterproductive and hypocritical policy towards the island."

Resolution to Obama - Academics protest at visa denial  5/21/2012 IISC: "In response to the denial of 11 visas for Cubans scheduled to participate in the Latin American Studies Association International Congress in San Francisco, May 23-26, 2012, the leadership of the Section for Scholarly Relations with Cuba has prepared a resolution. Many of the 11 have received visas one or more times in the past several years. You may express your support for the resolution and the ideas it expresses by sending your signature electronically to one of the co-chairs of the Section for Scholarly Relations with Cuba: Jorge Mario Sánchez (jmario@uh.cu) or Sheryl Lutjens (slutjens@csusm.edu). Please include your name and affiliation as you would like them to appear. You must be a member of LASA to sign the resolution but lettersa iof support from others will be welcome."

Gross supporters push for consideration of some Cuban Five demands  5/21/2012 JTA: "Advocates for Alan Gross say talk of a trade with the “Cuban Five” is a non-starter, but acknowledge hopes that the Obama administration will consider lower-level concessions for the five Cuban spies in exchange for Cuban considerations for the jailed American. Insiders say that Gross’ advocates want the U.S. government to consider, among other measures, more family visits for the Cuban Five, agents who were arrested in 1998 and convicted in 2001 on espionage-related charges, and the permanent return home for the one among them who is now out of jail and serving probation."

The refuseniks of Cuba  5/21/2012 WaPo: "The State Department’s form letters to the rejected applicants said that their presence would be “detrimental” to American interests. A spokesperson, without offering any further explanation, fell back on boilerplate legalities which, in an almost Soviet twist, translated as: Rejected Because of the Law. Never mind that the 11 have traveled — quite legally — to the United States before. On several occasions the George W. Bush administration issued blanket denials to dozens of Cuban scholars who tried to attend the conference. That forced the sponsors to shift three straight conferences out of the United States, to Canada and Brazil. That was a disgraceful commentary on America’s tolerance and constitutional protections. Free speech is meant to protect not only the speakers but also those who want to listen to them."

US denies visas to Cuban academics  5/18/2012 IISC: "Though a good number of visas have been granted including that of Mariela Castro (pictured), the daughter of Raúl Castro, many others are still pending and the organisers of the Congress are deeply disturbed. The LASA congress was removed from the United States some years ago in protest at the Government’s denial of visas for Cuban academics to attend. It only returned to the US this year with the assurance that Cuban academics and intellectuals would be granted entry."

The Kennedy assassination: somebody knew in advance  5/17/2012 Granma: "On February 1, 1962, the president had replaced Cabell as deputy director of the CIA. On April 19, 1961, Cabell had tried to force Kennedy to authorize the use of fighter planes from an aircraft carrier stationed close to Cuba, an action that he stated could change the course of the Bay of Pigs in a matter of minutes. Pentagon chiefs, headed by Lemnitzer and Walker and those of the CIA, especially Dulles and Cabell virtually rebelled and continued trying to provoke direct military intervention in Cuba. For these reasons, the decision of General Cabell’s brother who, as mayor of Dallas, diverted the presidential convoy as it was traveling along Mayor Street toward the center of Dealey Plaza heading for Stemmons Highway, as planned, was highly suspicious. "On Mayor Street, continuing along the open boulevard, shots could not have reached him… at the last minute the President’s route was changed to make it pass where the warehouse is."

U.S. grants visa to Raul Castro’s daughter but denies visit by Cuban academics  5/17/2012 WaPo: “I find it baffling. I wish I knew what their thinking was,” Piccone said. He noted that among the Cubans denied visas was Carlos Alzugaray, a former ambassador to the European Union, who was invited to a meeting at Brookings next week. Another barred figure was Rafael Hernandez, a scholar who has taught at Harvard and Columbia universities."

Terrorism returns to Miami  5/16/2012 Progresso Weekly 

Terrorist attack in South Florida condemned  5/10/2012 Granma: "Organizations of Cuban-Americans in Miami have strongly condemned the terrorist attack committed April 27, in Coral Gables, against Airline Brokers, a travel agency specializing in charter flights to Cuba, and called for an end to U.S. government restrictions on travel to the country. The agency had recently made arrangements for a delegation of 300 people who traveled to Cuba to witness the Pope’s visit to the island."

Andrés Carrión describes his anti-Castro shouts during papal visit in Cuba  4/29/2012 Miami Herald: "Currently unemployed, Carrión has a diploma in social and occupational rehabilitation. His wife is a physician. They have no children. "

The Cuban killer who fooled the CIA  4/28/2012 Miami Herald 

Parliamentary leader of Ghana emphasizes solidarity between Cuba and Africa  4/25/2012 Granma: "The two countries signed agreements for the medical training of 250 African doctors in Cuba to promote bilateral programs of malaria eradication."

Cuba complains that guns in luggage checked in at MIA were not stopped  4/25/2012 Miami Herald 

New Marco Rubio book to detail his family's immigrant past  4/25/2012 Miami Herald: "Not long after arriving in Las Vegas [at age 7 or 8], Marco -- along with his mother and sister, Veronica - began reading the Book of Mormon. Eventually, Marco, his sister Veronica and their mother were baptized as Mormons. Marco converted [from Catholicism] to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with enthusiasm. ... Mario [Rubio's father], who had worked as a bartender for years, couldn't embrace a faith that wouldn't let him drink and smoke. ... Marco attended LDS youth groups and often walked to chapel with his family because his mother could not drive. The cousins idolized the Osmonds …"

US under intense pressure in hemisphere over Cuba policy  4/15/2012 IISC: "Leaders from across the western hemisphere ended the Organisation of American States summit in Cartegena, Colombia, on Sunday 15 April, without a final declaration of agreement because several Latin American governments opposed US President Barack Obama’s insistence on preventing Cuba from attending future meetings. Unprecedented Latin American opposition to the US policy on Cuba left Obama isolated and illustrated Washington’s declining influence in a region that is now being aggressively courted by China."

EE.UU. multa con $1,55 millones a Ericsson por violar el bloqueo contra Cuba  4/14/2012 Jiribilla 

Günter Grass y el antisemitismo  4/14/2012 Jiribilla: "Es una vieja práctica sionista, levantar la acusación de “antisemita”, contra todo aquel que critique la política de Israel, lo cual ha convertido ya en burdo chantaje. A nivel de estado, la ejercen contra Alemania desde que los nazis practicaron su criminal política contra los judíos durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, en el conocido holocausto, que no solo fue contra ellos, sino que incluyó y sacrificó a millones de otras personas: comunistas, gitanos y homosexuales entre ellos."

La NED y el uso de Internet contra la Revolución Cubana  4/14/2012 Jiribilla: "El abastecimiento de equipos de telecomunicaciones sofisticados a miembros de la contrarrevolución interna, tales como BGAN, teléfonos satelitales, celulares de última generación, equipos de filmaciones, PC´s y laptops, programas de encriptación de comunicaciones entre otros recursos, además de los financieros y el asesoramiento a los “disidentes” para que aprendan a utilizar estos equipos, ha sido una constante en los planes de la Administración norteamericana. La utilización exitosa de las redes sociales a través de Internet para promover los procesos de la “Primavera Árabe”, ha incentivado los planes para promover un proceso semejante en Cuba a través de Internet y las TIC´s."

Spy-Catcher Chris Simmons back on the hunt for Castro spies in the U.S.  4/9/2012 Babalu Blog: "Former U.S. military intelligence officer Lt. Col. Chris Simmons is back on the hunt for Castro spies operating in the U.S. After taking some time off to write a book, Col. Simmons is turning his focus back onto the Cuban dictatorship's extensive intelligence apparatus, which seems to operate with impunity in the U.S., and is promising to reveal several major stories this week."

Simon Calder: Fancy a trip to Mexico? The US has the final say  3/30/2012 Independent: "Up to now, there has been a simple way to eliminate the danger of being denied boarding: don't buy a ticket to America. But as The Independent revealed this week, you may now fly to Mexico, Cuba or eastern Canada only if the US authorities agree. The Department of Homeland Security requires airlines to send passengers' full names and dates of birth at least 72 hours ahead of departure. And that plane may leave the gate only when the US says so. A spokeswoman insists: "The US government has the authority to refuse entry into its territory any flight it deems to present a threat to its security."

El Escolta de Castro  3/30/2012 YouTube 

Nominan como Jefe de la Policía en Puerto Rico a persecutor de los Cinco  3/29/2012 CubaDebate: "Otro detalle de su biografía asociada al criminal internacional que organizó el estallido del avión: su hijo, Ed Pesquera, hizo desaparecer el expediente de Posada Carriles mientras se acercaba el juicio del terrorista internacional, de acuerdo con revelaciones del diario Washington Post."

Héctor Pesquera on the loose in Puerto Rico  3/29/2012 Machetera: "Puerto Rico’s governor, Luis Fortuño, has officially named Héctor Pesquera, the former head of the FBI in Miami and the mastermind of a conspiracy that led to the arrest of five Cubans who’d infiltrated terrorist groups in Florida, as the new Superintendent of the Puerto Rican police."

Stewart Nozette, ex-government scientist, gets 13 years in espionage case Stewart Nozette, ex-government scientist, gets 13 years in espionage case  3/21/2012 AP: "A former government space scientist was sentenced Wednesday to 13 years in prison for admitting that he tried to sell classified information to Israel in what turned out to be an FBI sting operation."

Washington pressures Spain's Telefónica over Cuban affiliates  3/21/2012 El Pais 

U.S. reconfirms restrictions on travel to Cuba  3/20/2012 Granma: "The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which functions within this Federal department, threatened to suspend the licenses of travel agencies which publicize trips to Havana with suggested tourist activities. In January 2011, President Barack Obama approved a relative relaxation of restrictions on travel to Cuba, allowing airlines and agencies to organize trips to the island, solely for cultural and educational purposes. The first licenses requested were not granted by OFAC until six months after the White House directive, while at the same time conservative Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen requested more severe anti-Cuban measures during this legislative session."

US Alabama-Cuba Initiative Intends to Be Perpetuated  3/19/2012 Cuba Now: "Thanks to this Initiative, 33 students and professors from the University of Havana (UH), the center with which it began to cooperate in 2002, have visited Alabama, which responded by sending 213 professors and 75 students to Cuba. “Thinking about 2002 I see some people present here who have already done some research, discovered ways to defend life, or worked together to create a piece of art,” he commented."

Los Camajanes  3/18/2012 Kaos en la ReD: publicado 4/10 - "La dependencia del 'exilio' cubano con los subsidios federales para el Muro de las Lamentaciones de Miami."

Conozca a los "ocupantes" de una iglesia en Cuba  3/17/2012 Kaos en la ReD: "Hasta las banderas y dirigentes son de EE.UU."

The Kennedy assassination: Did Castro know in advance?  3/17/2012 Miami Herald: "But now his assignment had abruptly been changed, at least for the day. “The leadership wants you to stop your CIA work, all your CIA work,” his boss said. Instead, the officer was told he had a new target: Texas, “any little detail small detail from Texas.” And about three hours later, shortly after mid-day on Nov. 22, 1963, the shocked intelligence officer had something to report that was much more than a small detail: the assassination in Dallas of President John F. Kennedy."

Santos arrives in Cuba  3/7/2012 NTN24: video - "Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos arrives to Cuba to visit Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez after his cancer surgery. Santos also said he would speak to Cuban Leader Raul Castro over Cuba's exclusion from the America's Summit."

Cuba debates its socialist future  2/26/2012 Green Left, Australia: by Marce Cameron - "Two decades after the demise of Soviet bureaucratic “socialism” and the onset of its “Special Period” crisis, Cuba is immersed in an ongoing debate on the future of its socialist project. When Raul Castro became interim president in August 2007, he called for free and frank debate. He launched a series of nationwide consultations in the lead-up to the Sixth Congress of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) in April last year. Intersecting with these organised debates is a wider discussion in Cuba’s revolutionary press, academic journals and other institutional spaces. Numerous mass consultations involving millions of citizens in local workplace and neighbourhood meetings have been held in Cuba. What is different about this debate is its depth, scope and detail ? and the candour with which different viewpoints are expressed in a climate of growing respect for differences."

Responses to “Cuba debates its socialist future, Marce Cameron”  2/26/2012 Norman Girvan: James Early, Marce Cameron

¿Está el Caribe más lejos de Cuba de lo que Cuba está del Caribe?  2/25/2012 Jiribilla: de Norman Girvan

Cuba and China strengthen economic relations  2/23/2012 Granma 

Why Cuba must produce the food it needs  2/23/2012 Granma 

Frei Betto: the Cuban Revolution is an evangelical work  2/16/2012 Granma: "What does the evangelism of Jesus mean? It means giving food to the hungry, health to the sick, shelter to the homeless, occupation to the unemployed. This is in the words of the Gospel. That is why I say it is a transcendental work."

Philip Horowitz, René González’ lawyer: "Prison was bad but supervised liberty is insulting"  2/16/2012 Granma: "The new motion is not based solely on these aspects and René’s good behavior. Fears for the Cuban hero’s personal safety, given that he is forced to reside in an area where the terrorist groups that the Five were monitoring move about freely, remains a fundamental argument. According to Horowitz there is a lot of fear for René’s safety when a person in a high-ranking position in the U.S. House of Representatives – Ileana Ross Lethinen, who accused René of serious charges on her official website, falsely declares that he has American blood on his hands. "

Zuleica Romay: the greatest contradiction of our era  2/16/2012 Granma 

Investigación de agencia AP ofrece nuevas pruebas de acciones ilegales de Alan Gross en Cuba  2/12/2012 Aporrea 

Candulia celebrated her 127th birthday  2/8/2012 Cuba Now: The oldest living person in Cuba, Juana Bautista de la Candelaria Rodríguez, said she is in “good” health and “happy” to celebrate her 127th birthday.

10 Cuban dissidents at US Guantanamo base: blogger  2/6/2012 Breitbart 

The Marketing of Yoani Sánchez: Translation as invention  2/5/2012 Machetera: "So who really dug into the archives for the Rousseff photo and prompted the conflation of Cuba’s immigration office and Brazil’s military dictatorship, through a translation designed to sharpen that conflation and render Sánchez’s plight even more poignant and tragic? Marketing has always recognized the ancient law of contiguity as an essential concept: as human beings we have the tendency to associate ideas or images with the ideas or images that immediately precede them, and therefore the martyrdom evoked by the characterization of a blindfolded Dilma Rousseff harassed by vociferous Brazilian military men is not accidental, but a deliberate selection to create the effect for the reader that Yoani Sánchez is the new martyr for our time."

Ex Charanga Habanera fue trasladado a la carceleta del PJ  2/1/2012 Generaccion, Peru: "El intérprete de Lola fue detenido el pasado 27 de enero en La Victoria y se le encontró 35 envoltorios de PBC y 14 de cocaína. El excantante podría permanecer en prisión 25 años."

Narcoterrorista Matamoros, cómplice de Posada: ¡Welcome in the United States!  1/31/2012 TeleSur: Por: Jean-Guy Allard - "Durante el acto celebrado en el Teatro “Manuel Artime” de Miami, convocado por Unidad Cubana, federación de grupos extremistas tolerada sino auspiciada por el FBI, Matamoros -ya con más de 75 años de edad- se apareció entre los “héroes” de la conspiración mafiosa de Panamá, impulsada y promovida por la llamada Fundación Nacional Cubano Americana (FNCA). Condenado por la justicia Panameña a siete años de cárcel, una sentencia complaciente cuando se considera que el atentado hubiera provocado cientos de muertos, Matamoros recuperó su libertad por el indulto de la presidenta Mireya Moscoso, cuya ilegalidad acaba de ser pronunciada."

¿Quién es Yoani Sánchez?  1/30/2012 CubaDebate: "Además de las fotografías y videos que ha documentado la prensa cubana, Wikileaks publicó varios cables que registran, desde el 2008, reuniones de YS con funcionarios de la SINA en La Habana. En al menos 11 cables no censurados y emitidos desde la Oficina de Washington en Cuba, hay referencias a reuniones con la bloguera e intercambio de información de ella con diplomáticos de esa embajada."

Michel Maza, el ex cantante de La Charanga Habanera involucrado en drogas y secuestro  1/28/2012 El Commercio, Peru: "Y es que su situación es grave: “América Noticias” informó que hace 15 años está de ilegal, y que por los cargos que se le han levantado, el show en el “Tumbao” pudo haber sido su último gran espectáculo, pues podría ir a la cárcel por 25 años."

Michel Maza es denunciado por supuesto robo a joven taxista  1/27/2012 RPP, Peru: "El ex vocalista de la agrupación cubana La Charanga Habanera, Michel Maza, ha sido denunciado por un joven taxista, quien asegura haber sido víctima de robo a mano armada, la madrugada del último domingo."

Newt Gingrich prepared to bomb Cuba  1/27/2012 The Australian News: "If the US planes bombed Libya, should they do the same with Cuba? "If there was a genuine, legitimate uprising, we would, of course, be on the side of the people," Mr Gingrich told Spanish-language network Univision. "In that sense, I don't see why Cuba should be sacrosanct, and we should say, 'Oh, don't do anything to hurt' - you know, we're very prepared to back people in Libya. We may end up backing people in Syria. But now Cuba? Hands off Cuba. That's baloney."

EX CANTANTE DE LA CHARANGA HABANERA ES ACUSADO DE ASALTAR A UN TAXISTA  1/27/2012 YouTube: Michel Maza accused of assaulting a taxi driver in Peru.

Ron Paul calls for diplomatic relations with Cuba  1/26/2012 LA Times 

Cuba's Ladies in White  1/22/2012 Al Jazeera: "An undercover reporter finds out what it is like to live in a culture of fear and surveillance."

500 Cuban health workers to relieve understaffed hospitals in Jamaica  1/19/2012 AP: "Jamaica’s government says that about 500 Cuban health workers will work on the island for the next two years to bolster understaffed clinics and hospitals. Health Minister Fenton Ferguson said Thursday that 117 doctors and nurses are expected to arrive in February."

400 Cuban health professionals coming  1/17/2012 Jamaica Observer 

¿Y si Posada Carriles no fuera cubano?  1/15/2012 Isla Desconocida: "Pero no ha pasado de ahí; vuelvo a repetirlo, porque Cuba no secuestra, porque Cuba no ejecuta a personas fuera de la ley, aunque tenga el derecho moral de hacerlo. Así es Cuba. Así es la Revolución. Así es Fidel y así es Raúl."

Viva la gaffe... Mercedes-Benz apologises for using image of Che Guevara to promote 'revolutionary' car sharing programme  1/13/2012 Daily Mail: "During the pitch, the famous Alberto Korda photo of Guevara was proximately displayed – but on his beret was the logo of the luxury car brand, msnbc.com reports."

China, Cuba and the espionage alliance against the U.S.  1/10/2012 Canada Free Press: "The base at Bejucal, however, is still operating. While the Cubans technically run it, some 50-100 Chinese intelligence officers are at Bejucal gathering and interpreting information, according to Simmons. In sharp contrast to Moscow, there is no political cost to China. “It took us years to find out they [the Communist Chinese] were operating there. We found out through émigrés, defectors, and travelers to Cuba,” Simmons told INA Today. Unlike the Soviets, China has not constructed a facility and only with the greatest of difficulty can the Chinese be connected with Cuban electronic spy base activities. In this way, China can plausibly deny both the use of the base and the transference of information from its Havana embassy to Beijing, Simmons informed INA Today."

Cuba: Miriam Celaya, A Dissident By Nature  1/10/2012 Havana Times: "Between 1975 and 1980, she was a convinced member and activist with the Young Communist League… "In 1980, I had a child and had to leave school – I couldn’t find anyone to take care of my baby. Consequently, I was kicked out of the organization as a deserter, as if motherhood was grounds for punishment. I appealed, and during the period of that appeal, I continued participating in my branch and its activities. The first thing they subjected me to was a “repudiation meeting.” I had already seen a few of them. I denied the charges and said that what they were doing was fascistic, so I was expelled from the organization."

Ros-Lehtinen Says Cuban Regime Big Winner in New Travel Spree; Says Obama Administration Policies to Blame for Increased Travel Revenue to Dictatorship  1/10/2012 US House: “Travel advertisements are springing up throughout the United States seeking to entice American tourists to take a trip to the island. The New York Times recently joined the Cuba travel bandwagon, ranking Havana as number 10 of ‘The 45 Places to Go in 2012.’ But the Times’ assist to the propaganda machine of repressive regimes was not just limited to Cuba. It also touted Burma, under the rule of the brutal military junta, as a must see, ranking it as number 3. National Geographic Expeditions is also on board, organizing a 10-day trip to Cuba, and the Smithsonian Institution is sponsoring four so-called ‘cultural exchange’ trips to the island through Smithsonian Journeys."

Travel to Cuba: People-to-People Cultural Exchange  1/4/2012 Smithsonian: "Smithsonian will offer multiple departures of a new People-to-People Cultural Exchange Program to Cuba in 2012. Thanks to a special license issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Smithsonian Institution invites you to participate in this meaningful Cultural Exchange program with the Cuban people who are involved in the arts, cultural traditions, agriculture, natural history and education. •Travel Dates are: May 4 - 13; May 11 - 20; November 9 - 18; November 30 - December 9, 2012*. (*pending license renewal)"

Ros-Lehtinen says Smithsonian trips to Cuba a cash gift to Castro  1/4/2012 The Hill: "Ros-Lehtinen stopped short of saying she would move to block the Smithsonian trips but said the visits would do nothing to help Americans to see the brutality of the Cuban regime. "Instead, these tourists will experience a false depiction of Cuba through a biased and censored ‘tour’ of the island," she said. "The Smithsonian's 10-day trips to Cuba will amount to little more than a tropical vacation," she said. "Americans participating in these trips will not see the brutal reality of the Castro dictatorship."

Ros-Lehtinen accused Smithsonian of "supporting Cuba and terrorism"  1/4/2012 Walter Lippman: by Jean-Guy Allard - "Hysterical, Ros-Lehtinen accused prestigious institute of "supporting Cuba and Terrorism"

Congresswoman objects to Smithsonian tours to Cuba  1/4/2012 WaPo: "In a blistering press release, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) said the Smithsonian was helping what she called “the deplorable Havana tyranny” by sponsoring trips to Cuba."

Cuba Babalao Predictions for 2012  1/3/2012 Havana Times: "The osorbo is marked by the ruling sign, the Baba Irete Meyi (the shadow of children with short lives) and the main deity Oya (the “Orisha” or saint of storms and cemeteries). This is accompanied by Oggun, the patron of blacksmiths and the military."

Ros-Lehtinen Concerned about Smithsonian-Sponsored Trips to Cuba  1/3/2012 US House: "“The nature of the Smithsonian’s upcoming trips to Cuba becomes clear merely by looking at the ad promoting it. The ad fails to mention that Cuba is a state-sponsor of terrorism or that Castro’s thugs repeatedly and routinely beat and harass the innocent Ladies in White while they peacefully march down a street. It does not mention that an American citizen is being held hostage by the regime simply for seeking to lift the veil of censorship that the dictatorship imposes on the Cuban people."

¿Una Cuba con petróleo?  1/1/2012 El Economista de Cuba: "La compañía estatal petrolífera cubana dice que las reserva pueden ser cuatro o cinco veces mayores. Cuba va a empezar a extraer petróleo en el Golfo de México. Si encuentra lo que está buscando, la abundancia de petróleo podría arrebatar a Cuba del agarrón de los Estados Unidos antes de que Obama deje la Casa Blanca. Esta posibilidad ha traído el equipo de ataque al congreso de Miami liderado por la fanática congresista Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Republicana por Florida, R-FL), quien básicamente quiere que se criminalicen las extracciones en la sección cubana del Golfo."

Repression still the rule, but Cuba sees year of change  12/31/2011 Miami Herald: "Now you can get a loan, buy a house and — maybe soon — travel abroad more easily."

The Unity of the Majority of Cubans  12/29/2011 Havana Times: by Yusimi Rodriguez - "The question is: Will this minority at some point have the legal right to organize its members, or unite with other minorities or with/in other parties? Another question: Will the Communist Party of Cuba at some point cease to be “The” party to simply become a political party; one of many that people can join as they wish?"

2011: Cuba recibe un 7,6% más de turistas  12/26/2011 Cubahora 

Amplían facilidades de arrendamiento a particulares (+ Gaceta)  12/26/2011 Cubahora: "A partir del primero de enero del 2012, y de forma gradual durante ese año, trabajadores de las empresas provinciales de Servicios Personales, Técnicos y del Hogar podrán arrendar locales y áreas como trabajadores por cuenta propia, de acuerdo con una nota publicada hoy por el diario Granma."

Cuba to release 2,900 prisoners  12/24/2011 CNN: "Among those who might be freed are prisoners over the age of 60, along with those who are sick, female or young with no previous criminal record. With some exceptions, prisoners convicted of spying, terrorism, murder and drug trafficking will not be released. Those who will be freed have already served a "important" part of their sentences and exhibited good behavior, according to an official statement published on the state-run website Cubadebate. The jailed American, Gross, will not be among those pardoned, the Cuban Interests Section in Washington said."

Anuncian rebaja de precios de materiales de la construcción  12/23/2011 Cubahora 

Inter-American Dialogue consults the IISC - Predicting the future: What will happen over Cuba in 2012?  12/20/2011 IISC: Washington-based forecasting.

Entra en vigor mañana política crediticia cubana y otros servicios bancarios  12/19/2011 Cubahora: "A partir de mañana entrarán en vigor el Decreto-Ley 289, tres resoluciones complementarias del Banco Central de Cuba (BCC) y una instrucción del Ministerio de Economía y Planificación, con el objetivo de ampliar la política crediticia cubanay otros servicios bancarios."

X Alfonso y las venturas o desventuras de un click  12/17/2011 Cuba Profunda: "Primero, una “flotilla buscapleitos” procedente de la Florida pretendió armar todo un espectáculo de fuegos artificiales ante el Malecón habanero, en ocasión de la celebración del Día de los Derechos Humanos. Pero fuera de algunos disidentes –famosos por sus poco veraces informes- y de algunos colegas de la prensa extranjera, nadie los vio. Y mucho menos X y sus seguidores que estaban a diez cuadras del mar muy ocupados en hacer y regalar música cubana, a pesar de la lluvia. Al músico no le gustó mucho la idea de que lo relacionaran con el intento provocador. “El concierto –aseguró a la prensa- lo teníamos previsto con Unicef para ese día desde mucho tiempo atrás”. Luego, la “maquinaria mediático-cibernética” que acosa a la isla pretendió robarle el show a X Alfonso y anunció en la red de redes que apoyaría la mascarada de fuegos artificiales, combinando acciones desde la blogósfera mercenaria y sus espacios en Twitter, Facebook o similares."

Los Díaz-Balart y “Mel” Martínez lograron callar a político preso  12/17/2011 Granma: "El exsenador puertorriqueño Jorge de Castro Font, ahora preso, renunció a su derecho a una vista preliminar en un caso pendiente de fraude, bajo el pretexto de que la prueba del Ministerio Público estaba "contaminada". Al utilizar este escape que le permite la ley, De Castro Font evita "mojar" públicamente a los excongresistas cubano-americanos Lincoln Díaz-Balart y Melquíades "Mel" Martínez que dimitieron sorpresivamente hace unos meses."

Díaz-Balart contra la familia cubana  12/14/2011 Cuba Profunda: "Según las agencias de noticias, el proyecto que discute ahora el Congreso propone limitar a 1.200 dólares el dinero que los cubanos residentes en EEUU pueden enviar anualmente a sus familias en Cuba y solo les permitiría realizar un viaje a la Isla cada tres años. Con razón, la propuesta ha causado irritación e inquietud a ambos lados del Estrecho de la Florida."

Díaz-Balart contra la familia cubana  12/14/2011 Cuba Profunda: "El representante republicano lucha en el Congreso de EEUU para restringir envíos de remesas y viajes a Cuba. Entretanto, La Habana da pasos para acercar a ambas naciones e invita a músicos y público de EEUU para que participen en el Festival Jazz Plaza. ¿Quién vencerá? ¿La politiquería o la cultura?"

Díaz-Balart contra la familia cubana  12/14/2011 Cubaprofunda: "El representante republicano lucha en el Congreso de EEUU para restringir envíos de remesas y viajes a Cuba. Entretanto, La Habana da pasos para acercar a ambas naciones e invita a músicos y público de EEUU para que participen en el Festival Jazz Plaza. ¿Quién vencerá? ¿La politiquería o la cultura?"

Detenidos intelectuales y activistas del Foro “Raza y Cubanidad”  11/25/2011 Cuba Encuentro: "Las autoridades cubanas detuvieron este viernes a al menos once activistas e intelectuales que participan en el Foro “Raza y Cubanidad. Cuba presente, pasado y futuro”, que comenzó ayer en La Habana organizado por el independiente Comité Ciudadanos por la Integración Racial (CIR), y cuyas sesiones están previstas hasta el sábado…. El activista citó el caso del historiador Manuel Cuesta Morúa, colaborador de CUBAENCUENTRO, y de Omar Laffita, quienes han sido trasladados a la unidad policial de Aguilera, en el municipio 10 de Octubre; el doctor Darsi Ferrer, también colaborador de este portal, y su esposa, Yusnaimi Jorge Soca; el también historiador Leonardo Calvo Cárdenas, además de Guillermo Lizama, Fernando Palacio Mogal, del Partido Liberal Nacional Cubano, y el grafitero David Maldonado, más conocido por El Sexto."

Luis Posada Carriles' U.S. Asylum Application Re-Opens JFK Unsolved Assassination  11/12/2011 John-F-Kennedy.Neet 

32 Years of Assata Shakur and The Prison Industrial Complex  11/2/2011 Black Youth Project: Assata - “Never in our history has critical resistance to the status quo been more important. The growth of the Prison-Industrial complex has been appallingly rapid and the escalating repression that has accompanied it is totally alarming. What future lies ahead of us? What are the implications for our children?”

Hip-Hop N' Politics: The Anniversary Of Black Panther Assata Shakur Escaping Prison And Fleeing To Cuba - Video & Text  11/2/2011 Hip Hop Wired 

Cuban Blockade : Cruel & Unusual  11/1/2011 Cuba Absolutely 

Organización “anticastrista” de Miami detrás de principal testimonio contra Gerardo Hernández  10/28/2011 CubaDebate: "El principal testigo de la Fiscalía federal contra el cubano Gerardo Hernández era primer oficial de un crucero norteamericano cuyos dueños contribuyeron nada menos que 25 000 dólares para la creación de la Fundación Nacional Cubano-Americana (FNCA), organización cuyo comité paramilitar impulsó, organizó e financió actividades terroristas contra Cuba. Hernández, uno de los cinco antiterroristas arrestados por el FBI mientras infiltraban grupos terroristas cubanoamericanos, fue condenado a dos cadenas perpetuas más quince años de prisión en relación con el derribo de dos avionetas de una organización contrarrevolucionaria de Miami que sobrevolaban ilegalmente el territorio cubano el 24 de febrero de 1996 a pesar de las advertencias."

Sticky fingers at “Ladies in White” in Cuba  10/28/2011 Machetera: "Sources close to the “Ladies in White” [Damas de Blanco] reveal that upon taking charge of the mini-group and reviewing its finances, Berta Soler had the disagreeable surprise of learning that some $20,000 was missing from the organization which is openly funded by the United States."

Ros-Lehtinen: says the presence of Cuban children in the United States is “a danger to national security”  10/22/2011 Cuba Soidarity: "The presence of the 22 children of Cuban children’s theater group La Colmenita (The Beehive) is part of a policy that “undermines U.S. foreign policy priorities and interests of national security,” said Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Chair of of Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives. Ros-Lehtinen is famous for her links with terrorist circles of Cuban Miami."

Firma contratada para agresión mediática contra Cuba bajo sospecha de espionaje en EEUU  10/19/2011 CubaDebate: "Shlomo Shamir, el presidente del Consejo de administración de la firma israelí RRsat Global Communications que Washington contrató para difundir una programación contra Cuba, dirigió durante años una empresa que el FBI y la Agencia de Seguridad Nacional (NSA), de EEUU, habían incluido en una lista de sospechosos de pertenecer a la Unidad 8200 de la inteligencia israelí. De acuerdo con James Bamford, autor del libro “La Fabrica en la Sombra: la ultrasecreta NSA, desde el 9/11 hasta las escuchas a escondidas contra Estados Unidos” (”The Shadow Factory: The Ultra-Secret NSA from 9/11 to the Eavesdropping on America“), Shamir perteneció durante 24 años a las fuerzas armadas de Israel y se jubiló con rango de brigadier."

The Cuban Communist Party's Anti-Castro Activities  10/1/2011 Campello: published in 1987

The new Cuban entrepreneur: Boris Reyes  10/1/2011 Cuba Absolutely 

Americas Media Initiative and the new documentary: “Freddy Ilanga: Che’s Swahili Translator” dir. by Katrin Hansing  9/28/2011 EthnoCuba 

Technology is WAY Ahead of the Elections Department. By Geniusofdespair  9/15/2011 Eye on Miami: "I can get anyone's signature online - it is easy. If I were a loathsome person trying to steal absentee ballots and forge signatures on them, it wouldn't be too hard. But then, I don't think you have to worry too much about copying the signature. The Elections Department thinks that sending it to your address is good enough security. In their attempt to make every vote count, Elections leans over backwards for absentee ballots. If I go to vote on election day, I have to sign AND bring I.D. For absentees you have to get close to the signature...or maybe not even that. There is no way for anyone to check how close you have to be without a court order - you aren't allowed to see the signatures in the database, even your OWN signature. Isn't that odd that I can view anyone's signature online but I can't look at it on the Election's database? That is a recent law passed by our Republican legislators."

A Hostage to Fraudulent Elections - The Dismal Future of America  9/14/2011 Counterpunch: "Clinton surely knew that America’s future, in a city like Miami, was also hostage to unreliable elections that could be determined by absentee ballot fraud. And as a student of ward politics, he surely knew, as did then US Senator Bob Graham, that election fraud in Miami Dade was rampant. (A top Graham top aide, Lula Rodriguez– and White House official during the first Clinton term–, personally signed 14 fraudulent ballots during the 1993 campaign of Hialeah mayor Raul Martinez.) As the blog Eyeonmiami reported yesterday, absentee ballot fraud is alive and well in Miami-Dade. In light turn-out and closely contested elections, the results of fraud can be determinant. This is especially harmful in state legislative races that in Miami are glorified popularity contests. The toxicity out of absentee ballot fraud cannot be rinsed out; it is based on political cronyism and sanctioned illegal activities that endure like the symptoms of a tick bite."

Yoani Sánchez’s faked Obama interview  9/9/2011 Machetera: "Yet, according to the latest leaked cables from Wikileaks, that is exactly how the Interests Section handled a list of seven questions it claimed to have received from the Grupo Prisa blogger. USIS supplied the President of the United States (POTUS) an English translation of the questions, and then, it supplied his answers. When the “interview” finally appeared in the Huffington Post and other outlets, Obama’s answers bore little difference from the ones created by USIS."

For the Love of Israel: Congresswoman’s Misguided War on the UN  9/8/2011 Dissident Voice: "The benefactor of a controversial Jewish development in eastern Jerusalem is a major donor to U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen,” reported the Jewish Telegraph Agency on January 11, shortly after the congresswoman claimed her new post. Moskowitz, the well-known American Jewish millionaire, made his fortunes as a ‘casino magnate’. A high proportion of the revenue he made from the gambling industry has been used to demolish Palestinian homes, raze ancient olive trees and fund Jewish settlements. It has also been used to finance Ros-Lehtinen’s campaigns."

'Cuban Five' should be swapped to free U.S. man  9/7/2011 News Leader: By DeWayne Wickham

Cuba Woman’s Small Business Secret  9/5/2011 Havana Times: by Yusimi Rodriguez

“A Space within the Revolution” - Religious Cubans and the Secular State  9/1/2011 Florida University Press: Chapter from "The Changing Dynamic of Cuban Civil Society "

To Cuba, With Baggage, and Love  7/19/2011 Counterpunch: "What a stinker headline for Miami Herald editor Juan O. Tamayo's article, "Wikileaks: Cable Says Peace Group's Leader Threatened Student." The punctuation of that headline in an otherwise 'balanced' article was strategically distracting. At least the article explained how the Cuban program provided an estimated 10,000 medical students--mainly from Latin America and Africa-- with free education and training plus free room and board. But Mr. Tamayo, appointed to the position of Associate Professor in the University of Miami's Cuba Institute in 2009, certainly knows more."

Danny Glover y Saul Landau cuentan su nueva visita a cubano Gerardo Hernández en cárcel de California  7/17/2011 Contrainjerencia 

The Cuban Revolution: A Critical Perspective  7/15/2011 IWW: see Chapter 5, Anarchism in Cuba, for a review of strikes by dockworkers, tobacco workers, and others. How much of this involved the Ababua?

Obama advierte que vetará proyectos que limiten viajes y remesas a Cuba  7/15/2011 Nuevo Herald, Miami: "La administración del presidente Barack Obama anunció enfáticamente que vetará cualquier proyecto de ley o enmienda que limite los viajes y remesas a Cuba. La declaración de la Casa Blanca se incluye en un memorando de cinco páginas preparado por la Oficina de Administración y Presupuesto. El documento, fechado el miércoles, contiene varias observaciones a una serie de lineamientos para promover su nuevo plan de reducción del déficit "

El cuentapropismo con voz de mujer  7/8/2011 IPS: "¡Café! ¡Las jabas, aquí las jabas! (bolsas) ¡Queso crema del bueno...! Las voces, todas femeninas, se confunden entre el ruido y las ofertas habituales en cualquier mercado cubano. Elisa, de 64 años, estuvo entre estas mujeres hasta que fue multada por comercio ilegal. "Lo pagué caro", dice."

Mensaje a mis lectores y amigos  7/7/2011 Esteban Morales Domínguez: "Deseo informarles que en el transcurso de la semana pasada, se me convocó a una reunión por parte de la Comisión de Apelaciones del Comité Central de Partido. En dicha reunión se me comunicó la decisión de dejar sin efecto la sanción de separación, tomada por el Comité Municipal del Partido del Municipio Playa el pasado año y reintegrarme el carnet del partido y con él la militancia plena."

Don't  "wait and see": Fight to keep Cuban American travel, for all our sakes  7/6/2011 Common Ground Travel 

All the Info You Need to Clobber Your Uncle in a Debate about Health Care in Cuba vs. US: Stephen Lendman Has the 411  7/6/2011 HCV Analysis 

Cuba Travel Restrictions in the Spotlight in Brooklyn and Beyond  7/5/2011 Americas Quarterly: "Opponents of ending travel restrictions to Cuba have long relied on the ambivalence of everyday voters for whom—under the decades-long policy of isolation—visiting the island has never been a practical possibility. For much of the past five decades, most Americans have never questioned the rationale for restricting travel. But, as academic and cultural ties grow, thousands more are bound to ponder that very question. Diaz-Balart and others will find it increasingly difficult to come up with convincing answers—and that might be the reason for all the fuss."

The Bono-Diaz Balart connection: a free Cuba, Dr. Biscet  6/30/2011 Miami Herald: "Bono has been personally lobbied on the Biscet's cause by Miami Rep. Mario Diaz Balart, who met with the rock star last week and last year to raise awareness of human-rights issues, Biscet and Orlando Zapata, another jailed activist who died in 2010 after staging a hunger strike on the island."

The Salting of Florida - And Not a Drop to Drink  6/28/2011 Counterpunch: "Think of Florida's water supply and demand as an elastic band, with the competition for water resources being stretched tighter and tighter by serial assaults on the supply by Big Sugar and developers insisting that the primary purpose of water managers is to deliver as much water as they need, whenever they need it. These are the politics-- backed by unlimited campaign contributions-- a rain of toxic cash-- that forced environmentalists and civic activists to the fringe over the past 40 years, in no small part because the mainstream media refused-- and still refuses-- to give weight to the ethical lapses that will ultimately determine whether we can afford to live in South Florida." [Big Sugar, Domino Sugar, is owned by the Fanjules, a pillar of the Plantocracy who made their fortune in Slavery, did their best to destroy Cuba, and are now destroying Florida.]

Matanzas Can Do Better  6/25/2011 Granma Daily: ""The western province of Matanzas can definitively do more for the development of the region and the country," concluded the participants at the Provincial Assembly of the Communist Party. In line with the country’s necessity to increase food production, the delegates also agreed to increase efficiency in this sector."

US Congressman Diaz-Balart Seeks to Punish Cuban-Americans  6/24/2011 Havana Times: "Puerto Rican legislator Rep. Serrano warned that we should not be trying to define what constitutes “family” because the scope varies among different ethnic groups and Virginia Democrat Rep. Moran decried the amendment as un-American and “totalitarian”… Florida Rep. Diaz-Balart said that remittances have become a huge cash windfall for the Cuban government, ignoring the fact that the money is helping the Cuban people to become less economically dependent on the government and that much of it has gone toward starting up small businesses."

United States Cuba Policy: Cuba Travel? You Are Not Serious  6/24/2011 United States Cuba Policy & Business Blog: "Now here is the good news. There are more of us than there are of them. It is time to prove it in votes and money. What happened in the House Appropriations committee can and will likely be stopped. Only if you choose to finally get serious on this issue, follow all the rules of the political game, and play to win."

House Appropriation Committee Approves Restriction of Travel to Cuba through the Power of the Purse Strings  6/23/2011 Common Ground Education and Travel: "Diaz-Balart (R-FL) The amendment tightens regulations on family travel and remittances to Cuba, returning these policies to those that were in place during the Bush Administration… Flake (R-AZ) The amendment inserts report language regarding the Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), related to Cuban Asset Control regulations. The amendment directs the office to provide a report on pending license applications related to education exchanges."

USAID Identifies Its “Prey” in Annual Program to Destabilize Cuba: LGBT, Journalists and Others  6/23/2011 HCV Analysis 

Family travel to Cuba reverts to cruel Bush-era regs  6/23/2011 LAWG: "Today the House Appropriations Committee voted in favor of an amendment, put forth by Representative Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida (R-FL 21st), to the FY 2012 Financial Services Appropriations bill. This amendment, which passed by voice vote, rescinds changes that President Obama made in 2009 to Cuban-American family travel and remittances regulations. If this amendment were to become law, Cuban Americans would only be permitted to visit their families in Cuba once every three years, with a limited definition of what constitutes family, and with no humanitarian exceptions. Cuban Americans would also be limited in what they could send in remittances to Cuba."

Starting My Own Business in Cuba  6/22/2011 Havana Times 

Cuba’s High-Flying Corruption  6/16/2011 Havana Times: "Some of my colleagues are complaining that the scalpel isn’t cutting everything as deep as it should, but for me what’s particularly interesting is that the government has in fact decided to apply surgical techniques to the problem, and they’re doing it publically. It seems that corrupt politicians will no longer be dealt with as “miscalculating comrades” who always deserve a second chance. Now such individuals are running the risk of being tried and convicted as common criminals."

EEUU crea sistemas invisibles de acceso a Internet para apoyar “disidentes”, afirma The New York Times  6/12/2011 CubaDebate 

Freedom House gives back Cuba funds  6/10/2011 Miami Herald 

Miami Police Chief Defends Record, While More Horrific Footage Surfaces  6/9/2011 Color Lines 

History and the guest of stone  6/7/2011 Progreso Weekly: "Look at the fundamental data: Buyer: Nipe Bay Company, a subsidiary of the United Fruit Company. Area: 3,713 caballerias or more than 49,000 hectares. Total sale price: $100! ...We would have to laugh at the sale price: the ridiculous generates laughter among the spectators. But it was a tragic act. And Don Rafael Diaz-Balart, a lawyer for United in the Banes Division and ex-mayor of that town, defended those same fraudulent buyers on Aug. 9, 1940, in a memo requested by Mr. E.S. Walker, United Fruit Company administrator."

Myopic policies hurts local economy  6/6/2011 AfroCubaWeb 

Why is the US Waging Perpetual War on Cuba's Health Care System?  6/6/2011 Counterpunch 

Parsing the Memorial Day shooting in South Beach  6/5/2011 Beached Miami: "They do not report where they found the gun — on the “floorboard behind driver’s seat,” according to David Smiley, the Herald reporter covering the story — until Saturday afternoon. The delay here is odd since a lot of people immediately speculated that the police had fired more than 100 rounds at an unarmed black man, and this speculation reportedly worried the Head Honcho. In one of his articles, Smiley said Miami Beach Police Chief Carlos Noriega was “concerned about the publicity surrounding the shooting” and that he “called the gun’s discovery ‘great news.’”

US Targeting Cuba’s Health-Care System  6/4/2011 Common Dreams: "The United States also bans the sale to Cuba of vital medical drugs and devices, such as the inhalant agent Sevoflurane which has become the pharmaceutical of excellence for applying general anesthesia to children; and the pharmaceutical Dexmetomidine, of particular usefulness in elderly patients who often must be subjected to extended surgical procedures. Both of these are produced by the U.S. firm Abbot Laboratories. "Cuban children suffering from lymphoblastic leukemia cannot use Erwinia L-asparaginasa, a medicine commercially known as Elspar, since the U.S. pharmaceutical company Merck and Co. refuses to sell this product to Cuba. Washington has also prohibited the U.S.-based Pastors for Peace Caravan from donating three Ford ambulances to Cuba."

US Remains Stuck in the Past - Cuba Changes  6/3/2011 Counterpunch: "Few U.S. media reports listed the vast increases of religious visits to and from abroad. Havana now permits public religious processions and religious blogs. The state has made scarce resources available to refurbish churches and in the last two years permitted the building of new churches and seminaries. Cuban leaders regularly show up at religious activities and allow churches to provide services to people in prison. The Catholic Church now has radio time and its high officials have become interlocutors on matters involving prisoners, dissidents and even in foreign policy. The number of Protestant churches opening in Cuba has dramatically increased. The State no longer promotes Atheism. But these facts remain unreported as “significant change.” Indeed, every religious institution has called for an end to the U.S. embargo and the normalization of relations. The U.S. government appears to have grown deaf to the needs of religious people of the island."


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