The Physics Are Rarely Wrong
With every step I hear people complaining about the heat, whose sticky presence the drought makes even more difficult to bear. We all know what happens to the pressure inside a boiler if heat is applied, so problems and tensions are forecast for the summer. June has started off with the wait for those changes that pass with an exhausting slowness, with a half-heartedness that makes things worse. From the first days of the month some barbers have been permitted to usufruct their workplaces and have gone from being state employees to paying fixed, and quite high, taxes. On the one hand, the newly self-employed gain autonomy, but on the other, the price of a hair cut has soared to nearly double, now that they have to pay their own expenses, repay the treasury, and try to earn a little profit for themselves.
The issue about which everything seems most awkward is the expected release of the political prisoners, as much discussed in the foreign press as it is met with total silence in the national news. It was assumed that these men would already be out of prison, since Silvio Rodriguez himself has acknowledged that the sentences were “too harsh.” The transfer of six of them to prisons closer to their homes has the stench of a stalling tactic, an official joke in the face of so many expectations. It’s not enough to ask for transformations to happen. We have to push for their achievement as soon as possible because, in the peculiar alchemy of our situation, delay could be an explosive element.
To top it off we have a summer without rain, with the fans humming all day and the electric bills eating up our salaries. A perennial hot flash is felt in the long lines for the buses, a suffocation that accompanies us in the laborious search to find food. Fans that only manage to blow the hot air on our faces, baths with just a splash of water from a pitcher and bucket; as soon as you’re done the drops of sweat reappear on your skin. There are days when my friends lose patience and look among the family papers to see if they can find the birth certificate of a Spanish grandparent.* In the eyes of many is the unspoken sentence, “I can’t take any more.” Relax, I tell them, maybe the heat is the catalyst we have been lacking, the push we need for a lethargic population to demand that the promised openings are not delayed another month.
Translator’s notes:
Barber shops and usufruct: Small barbershops and beauty salons have been turned over to the employees in usufruct, meaning they must pay the state to use its property, the establishments themselves.
Spanish grandparent: Spain recently passed a law that allows any Cuban with a Spanish grandparent to claim Spanish citizenship.
Junio 18th, 2010 at 18:59
And the very next post, 81, demonstrates exactly what I was saying. Kick them in the balls and they cry like little girls.
Kick them with the truth and they cry even worse.
Poor losers. But then, what to expect from losers who are hung up on a defeat 60 years old.
Fortunately the terrorists are growing old and not for much longer we’ll have to listen to this garbage from the last century.
Junio 14th, 2010 at 11:05
80Damir
Junio 14th, 2010 at 04:01
Post 76. Apart from insults, the poster had nothing really to say
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Look at this!!!!….. the retarded calling retarded to other people!!!!!!
You are the best example of hard face syndrome…….. you never writes other thing but insults….. then ….. you have no moral to critsize no one……. shut your dirty mouth thug!!!!
Junio 14th, 2010 at 04:01
Post 76. Apart from insults, the poster had nothing really to say. When a micro-sized pecker is larger than a brain, there’s a problem…
When a half of the people on the death row are found to be innocent, that should be SOME indication of teh justice on gets in the process in the usa. ANd JohnTheOne had posted some time ago in another thread some links to some of the laws in force in the usa. One was more rediculous than the other. One was more stupid than the other. Like death penalty for having the cow boots somewhere, in California I think…
Some democracy.
And how about that judge who was sending kids to prison so that his mates could fleece the state? Hundreds of kids!!!
Or, how about the companies that take up teh insurance on employees hoping they would die young, to collect millions of dollars? How is that a “justice”?
And how is that post addressing anyhting here other than giving some freak (siggy or freedom, or humboldt I’m guessing) an opportunity to self-gratify himself.
Junio 12th, 2010 at 23:13
78Barbara Curbelo
Junio 12th, 2010 at 15:13
#76 - People who read what we each of us said will most likely not think that you were crafty in putting a spin on the matter. They’ll think you can’t understand what you read, or that you think them too stupid to know that you are not properly addressing my posting.
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Well silly one…… I think people thinks about you what you wrote above much more times than what they does about the Cuban Mastre of Spin……
By the way Master….. are you master of which Spins?????….. It is maybe castro-spin clan??????…… hahahahaha….. just kidding…..
Junio 12th, 2010 at 15:13
#76 - People who read what we each of us said will most likely not think that you were crafty in putting a spin on the matter. They’ll think you can’t understand what you read, or that you think them too stupid to know that you are not properly addressing my posting. They may even think that you are making a big fool of yourself in thinking that the tactics that work so well in Miami are going to work well elsewhere.
I did not say that all persons arrested in this country are denied due process, although it helps if the arrested aprty has lots of money as compared to someone who has no money.
I am speaking of any person or group receiving money from a foreign government for the purpose of altering our way of life. Such people, or even people who have merely been suspected of that (or people suspected of giving money away to non-profits to that end); have been denied due process as defined in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, without any evidence being proffered by authorities.
Ex-VP Cheney and Ex-Pres. Bush continue to publicly brag and take responsibility for water boarding an individual that died as a result of that torture. They claim it was done to save lives, but have offered no evidence of how that either.
Just the other day Ex-Pres. Bush said that he would not hesitate to do it again, torture that is, which is contrary to the Geneva Convention and other international treaties that the USA has subscribed to.
If any other country’s diplomats did to the US, Britain or Germany, what the clowns at the US Interest Section and their British and German counterparts have done in Havana; they would immediately be escorted to the airport with a one-way ticket, and sanctions against their governments would soon follow. They may even be arrested as spies and denied diplomatic immunity.
Junio 10th, 2010 at 15:49
We are living in interesting times. Some day the people of Cuba will be able to read newspapers from other countries and have access to Internet. Some day Cubans(not just the elite in Government) will be able to travel to other countries and see the world. The future is BRIGHT for the people of Cuba, thank you all who want the Cubans to have a better life.
Junio 10th, 2010 at 15:36
BARBARA you are a dirty low life person. To say people in the USA get thrown in jail with out due process is unfair. The jails in this county are unlike the rat infested jails of CUBA. EXPERIANCE TALKING, the food is real food unlike what jailed CUBAn get. Your a tool of that failed regime and your a dishonest piece of poop with the intention to mislead readers here. The exiled Community of South Florida made up of CUBANS who lived in CUBA know the truth about Cuba. They know the crap that happens there and WHY. The Regime has milked that country for 50 years and the reason it is falling apart. Your Commie buddy Bruno is in France today because of the heat that is forming around the lack of HUMAN RIGHTS found in CUBA.
Junio 10th, 2010 at 15:22
STAN, are you on drugs???? WORKING CLASS in Cuba has POWER??? DID WALTER LIPMAN bang you with his/her PLASTIC PETER?? You are a LOCA. CUBA = DEMOCRATIC????
Junio 10th, 2010 at 15:21
#73 - Thank God! Finally, rationale on this blog! Thank you.
This blog is just a tool to fleece US tax payers of millions of dollars for the anti-Castro industry in Miami and abroad; so they can order crab legs from other countries, travel to Europe each year, etc.
You are right, if any US citizen, resident or visitor receives money from a foreign government for the purpose of altering our way of life, they’d send them to jail without any due process of the law, and they’d throw away the key; while the highest ranking authorities in the land would brag about torturing such individuals.
If any other country’s diplomats did to the US, Britain or Germany, what the clowns at the US Interest Section and their British and German counterparts have done in Havana; they would immediately be escorted to the airport with a one-way ticket, and sanctions would follow. But Cuba is a tiny Caribbean island asserting its right to self-determination, under the shadows of the immoral, illegal, and criminal US blockade in a global economy.
Junio 10th, 2010 at 14:01
I am from vancouver,canada and i wanted to comment on Manfred Nowak not been allowed in Cuba.The cuban gov.don’t need anyone from the United Nations telling them what to do.There are some low life people in Cuba getting money from the USA to make trouble.They deserves to be in prison.If they were in some other countries they would get the firing squad.Cuba is more democratic than canada or the usa.The working class got control of things in Cuba unlike canada and the usa.
Junio 10th, 2010 at 09:06
Darko, kako to da se nismo tamo sreli…? : ) Ja idem tamo zadnjih pet godina. Moja supruga i ja uglavnom bukiramo privatni smjestaj u Vedadu. Izbor starinskih kuca je dobar a i malo je zelenije i tise nego sam centar. Nije dobro stanje, to je fakat. I nije uopce u pitanju tko je kriv za stanje u kojem se nalazi njihova privreda. Fidel i njegova demagogija. Nazivati njegovu viziju kubanskog drustva socijalizmom je i smijeh i uvreda socijalizmu.
Nazalost povijest se ponavlja uzaludno i nitklo ne uci iz pocinjenihg gresaka. Od staljina do Fidela i Raula, kreteni zgrabe vlast ne pustaju kao da im zivot zavisi o vlasti.
Doduse, nakon par godina diktature i za povjerovati je da bi ih netko smaknuo jednom kad izgube vlast…
To svejedno ne opravdava ovu divljacku kampanju ispunjenu bijesom i prijetnjama emigranata sto ionako zive vec desetljecima vani. Ptsjecaju me na nasu emigraciju i nasilje sto su nam ga donijeli. A nemojmo zaboraviti ni da su ih sankcije osiromasile do kraj, skupa sa nesposobnim diktatorom. Problem je po meni u tome sto su Kubanci u zatvorenom krugu. Kapitalizam znaju sta im sprema, a socijalizam nikada i nisu docekali. Znaju da su gotovi ako dignu revoluciju, da su gotovi, ako i mirno promijene sistem, i da sugotovi ako ostave sve kako je.
I sto im preostaje? Da cekaju da ona dva papka riknu pa da onda poprave situaciju a da ih pritom ne otpusu vjetrovi “slobode i demokracije” kao sto se to desilo nama ostalima. A to nece biti lako. Po meni nisu ni ovi majmuni iz Miami-a problem, nego meksicki i kolombijski trgovci drogom. Bio sam u Kolombiji prije par godina i imao priliku vidjeti arsenal lokalne mafije. Imaju sve: brodove, podmornice, avione (vidio sam jedan, a govori se da imaju desetak miraza), tesku artiljeriju (kacuse i rakete). A govori se da su Meksikanci (narko mafija) spremni zaratiti sa SAD-om oko Kube ako zatreba.
Treba im baza u Karibima,a gdje ces bolju od Kube? Naravno da ce braca Kolombijanci podrzati Meksikance, pa i njima je biznis trgovina drogom. Meksikanci su vec usli u Kubu i pomalo sire trgovacku mreszu. To ti je sigurno poznato ako si toliko godina vec tamo. Sva droga na Kubi dolazi iz Meksika, a zemlja porijekla - Kolombija.
Dugujem ti objasnjenje za Srbiju: to sam cuo ovdje na televiziji (mislim da sam spomenuo da zivim u Italiji) i u novinama prije par tjedana kada su govorili o Grckoj. Od svih zemalja Juge, zatim Bugarska, Madjarska, Rumunija i Grcka (albanija je van svake konkurencije. po siromastvu prednjaci cak i vecini africkih zemalja…), Srbija je prema italijanskim analiticarima najstabilnija i najcvrsca ekonomski i financijski.Zasto?
Paradoksalno, zahvaljujuci dugotrajnoj izolaciji, Srbija nema znacajnije veze sa Evropskim financijskim sredistima pa je kriza nije niti dodirnula. Poanta? Drzi se van medjunarodnih institucija i trzista kapitala. Po svaku cijenu. Bio je vrlo interesantan dokumentarac, o korjenima krize i kamo ide kapitalizam.
I njima je jasno da je kapitalizam otisao. Od Rima pa na jug, nezaposlenost je 35%. Katastrofa nevjerojatnih proporcija. Italiji prijeti bankrot, a ne tako davno je bila, toboze, peta svjetska ekonomska sila…
Junio 10th, 2010 at 02:55
70Barbara Curbelo
Junio 9th, 2010 at 23:30
“”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"
Free societies are able to solve quite more problems than dictatorial and totalitarians regimes……. first those regimes has not a free organ like the press watching out all problems and pointing the gov if it look to the side…… in totalitarians regime the free press is incarcerated, killed and beaten in order to avoid it to do it work so regime can look to the side, up down and back but not the problems …. that’s why we have a country with much worst social problems than Canada which also is falling apart and with all industries in hands of our suposedly enemy when Canada is one of the more developed countires in the world
Junio 9th, 2010 at 23:30
#69 - “a reality that we are acknowledging and TV stations, newspapers, politicians discuss FREELY about it.”
But your society is unwilling to solve all the acknowledged problems. Maybe if people like you were less interested in the problems elsewhere, and determined to solve your own, those disenfranchised in your country could have a more dignified life.
Junio 9th, 2010 at 22:42
Barbara, you are beating around the bush. Although the internet is widely available at resorts it is very slow, actually slower than dial up 10 years ago. This works in the favor of the Cuban Government as they charge 6 CUC for 1 hour of internet. I was able to access a lot of websites except this one. In regards to the fiber optic I believe that you and all the employees of the Minister of Interior need to have some fiber optic insertion in the brain. This might help you understand how your country was hijacked 51 years ago and the Cubans became slaves. You can brag all you want about Canadian being tased to death, and Aboriginal being ostracized. It is a reality that we are acknowledging and TV stations, newspapers, politicians discuss FREELY about it. We are able to visit our MP ( member of the parliament) representative and inquire about this issues FREELY. Moreover I can leave Canada FREELY anytime I want.I can spend more than 11 months anywhere I want without jeopardizing my Canadian citizenship which by the way was acquired and not inherited. To this I have to add that I am also aloud to hold my other citizenship and I can hold both passports.
Get some fiber optics before it is too late Barbara
Junio 9th, 2010 at 22:03
#67 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....re=related
Junio 9th, 2010 at 21:40
66Barbara Curbelo
Junio 9th, 2010 at 18:40
“”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”
In spite yours and castrofascism desires the opposition in Cuba is created by regime’s barbaric crimes and desastrouse economical policy not by any foreign gov…….. USA donates a tiny part of taxpayers money to the cuban nation in order to relief somehow the desperate situation of cuban freedom fighters that are fired of their jobs by the only employer in Cuba (regime)and left without any income source to maintain their families …….. castrofascism trys in such way to kill by hungry all oppositors and their families…. thanks to donations from particulars, organizations and some countries cuban oppositors and their families can survive castrofascism harassment and abuses.
Junio 9th, 2010 at 18:40
#61 -
Maybe now we’ll be able to verify how much dissidents in Cuba will actually get from the $15 million taken from US tax payers and allocated to organizations in Miami, when unemployment is on the rise here at home.
Could you imagine what would happen if an organization here received financing from Saudi Arabia or any other Muslim nation, for the sole purpose of creating an opposition to the US Government from within?
Funds had been frozen because of abuses in spending by Cubans in Miami of previous funding; buying sprees of all sorts, etc., at tax-payer’s expense!
Junio 9th, 2010 at 17:05
Barbara Curbelo
Junio 9th, 2010 at 16:13
Trust me, the last thing you want is for Cubans to have access to this website; because then, you will have no doubt as to how the majority in Cuba do not want the policies you probably support, and how they in their vast majority defend their sovereign right to self-determination.
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haha….. silly thug….. no results that castrofascism is holding the cuban people so they can’t come here and show its support to regime and disaprovation about the denounces against castro crimes we write here!!!!!!!
The best your comment has is not the naive statement but you recognized implicit the responsability of castro regime in Cubans forbiden access to internet,,,,, you can’t even lie with constance.
Junio 9th, 2010 at 17:01
Barbara:
What does the lack of access to the Internet by Cubans has to do with social injustices in Canada.
Is it your opinion that Cubans should not get access to unrestricted information until the entire world is a peacefull and just world.
Or is it that your maternalistic impulses wishes to protect Cubans by preventing them from witnessing injustices from friendly countries.
I assume you enjoyed getting access to that You Tube even thou you do not live in Canada.
Join me in celebrating that the commentary was published for all to see without Canadians trying to supress it.
Why don’t you make Granma, aware of this You Tube; and than ask, how come the Cuban official press or parliament does not issue a condemning proclamention about Canadian lack of justice on this and other issues?
Remeber one society injustice cannot be excuse by another one country misdeeds.
Junio 9th, 2010 at 17:00
54Simba
Junio 9th, 2010 at 16:00
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The foolish brigade will never answer a question that affects castrofascism…. the reality is that each time more and more people like Igor are understanding the real situation of Cubans under 51 years of bloody tyranny and informative isolation.
Junio 9th, 2010 at 16:56
52Barbara Curbelo
Junio 9th, 2010 at 15:36
#50 IGOR - It’s a good thing they didn’t have access to this either, while you vacationed in Cuba:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…..re=related
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In spite we all know this spots are commies propaganda, we can only answer that…..It is the result of socialism….. even soft socialism like canadian
Junio 9th, 2010 at 16:54
51Barbara Curbelo
Junio 9th, 2010 at 15:30
#50 - You’ll have to ask the US deaprtment of the Treasury and the US State Deapartment.
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I asked US dept. of state and the answer was:
In a move to reach out the Cuban people, the White House on Monday announced a series of changes to U.S. policy toward Cuba, including the authorization of greater telecommunications links to the communist country.
“This will increase the means through which Cubans on the island can communicate with each other and with persons outside of Cuba,” the White House said in a statement. “Cuban American connections to family in Cuba are not only a basic right in humanitarian terms, but also our best tool for helping to foster the beginnings of grassroots democracy on the island.”
Under the new policy, U.S. telecommunications providers will be able to establish fiber-optic cable and satellite telecommunications facilities linking the U.S. and Cuba, as well as license to enter into and operate under roaming service agreements with Cuba’s telecommunications providers. Additionally, U.S. satellite radio and satellite television service providers will be able to obtain a license to provide services to customers in Cuba.
Persons under U.S. jurisdiction will be allowed to activate and pay U.S. or third-country service providers for telecommunications, satellite radio, or satellite TV services provided to individuals in Cuba, save for certain senior Communist Party and Cuban government officials. People will also, under a license exception, be able to export to Cuba communications devices such as mobile phone systems, computers, software, and satellite receivers.
The Obama administration’s announcement continues the transition to more open communications between the United States and Cuba set in motion under the Bush administration. President Bush announced in 2008 that Americans could send cell phones to family members in Cuba. He also permitted faith-based organizations and nonprofit groups working with Cuba to provide computers and Internet access to the Cuban people.
Bush’s actions came in response to Cuban President Raul Castro’s decision to lift the ban prohibiting the use of cell phones by ordinary citizens in Cuba.
Junio 9th, 2010 at 16:29
Everyone living and visiting CUBA should rally behind and support LAS DAMAS DE BLANCO. They are all brave women protesting cause their loved ones have been jailed for having opinions different than the CASTRO brothers(la CHINA and the MUMMY). The government is scared that public support for these peace loving women gets out of hand and bring a faster end to the abusive government who has been ruling for the last 50 years. I see Walter a/k/a Barbara C. is busy spinning some more half truths. For “some reason” Cuban citizens are seeking visas to get out, while others build rafts and float out. All this technology has caused a big problem for the ruling few.
Junio 9th, 2010 at 16:26
#56 - Actually IGOR
you can call it INTOLERANCE or TRADITIONAL EXILES in Mimai; they are synonyms
Junio 9th, 2010 at 16:21
#56 - Yes, God bless U.S. tax-payers, desiring or not to pay for this blog.
Junio 9th, 2010 at 16:15
IGOR it’s called INTOLERANCE. Not only Canadians, but more important CUBANS CAN’T. MAS VERDE QUE LAS PALMAS. Thank you IGOR with your post as its important that the WORLD realizes the TRUTH about Cuba. Some who post here are agents of that failed system and it is their duty to spread lies and twist the TRUTH. God bless everyone who makes this BLOG possible.
Junio 9th, 2010 at 16:13
#54 - you know so little of what you support. Find out about how the US owns optic fibers necessary for web access, and has refused to sell it to Cuba. His question was in reference not to his right to travel there as a Canadian, but as to his inability to access the website from Cuba.
Trust me, the last thing you want is for Cubans to have access to this website; because then, you will have no doubt as to how the majority in Cuba do not want the policies you probably support, and how they in their vast majority defend their sovereign right to self-determination.
By now I hope there is a closet nearby where you can chill for awhile, gather your thoughts about you, and isntead of questioning my mental stability, question your ability to understand what you read before responding to it.
Junio 9th, 2010 at 16:00
Simba Sez: Barbara (Walter Lippman) Curbelo; You seem to be suffering from paranoia. Making an attempt to answer a Canadian citizen’s question about traveling in Cuba by telling him he will have to ask the United States Department of the Treasury and the United States State Department leaves grave doubts about your mental stability. Following that with a rant about Canadian policies further accentuates your inability to thoughtfully assess the question, and supply a proper response.
Junio 9th, 2010 at 15:50
IGOR - #50
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....o&NR=1
People with glass houses should not throw stones
Junio 9th, 2010 at 15:36
#50 IGOR - It’s a good thing they didn’t have access to this either, while you vacationed in Cuba:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....re=related
Junio 9th, 2010 at 15:30
#50 - You’ll have to ask the US deaprtment of the Treasury and the US State Deapartment.
Explains this to us:
TORONTO - Amnesty International’s annual report sharply criticizes Canada in a number of areas, including aboriginal rights and the use of security certificates to detain terror suspects.
The report says Canada failed to ensure aboriginal rights when issuing licences for mining, logging and oil and gas exploration.
The annual report accuses Ottawa of continuing to make “baseless claims” that the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples does not apply in Canada.
The two pages spotlighting Canada also note the violence against aboriginal women and the lack of a national plan to address it.
Oil and gas developments in northern Alberta come under sharp criticism as continuing without the consent of the Lubicon Cree who are in poor health and living in poverty.
People detained under security certificates continue to be denied access to the evidence used against them, it states.
The report makes note of the Afghan detainee controversy and that Omar Khadr remains in U.S. custody in Guantanamo Bay despite a Federal Court ruling that Canada should seek his repatriation.
It also takes issue with the use of Tasers by police forces.
Junio 9th, 2010 at 15:13
Just came back from Cuba. I’ve tried to access this website from there. It’s blocked. Explain to me Barbara, why a Canadian citizen is not allowed to access this site as he travels to Cuba ?
Junio 9th, 2010 at 14:18
EL PAIS: Moratinos se reĂşne por sorpresa en ParĂs con el canciller cubano-La UE reanuda el diálogo con La Habana en vĂsperas de revisar su polĂtica -MIGUEL GONZĂLEZ - Madrid - 09/06/2010
El ministro español de Asuntos Exteriores, Miguel Ăngel Moratinos, viajará esta tarde a ParĂs (Francia) para reunirse mañana allĂ con el canciller cubano, Bruno RodrĂguez, en representaciĂłn de la UniĂłn Europea. El encuentro, que ayer aĂşn no habĂa sido anunciado oficialmente, sustituye al que debiĂł haberse celebrado el pasado 6 de abril en Madrid y que se suspendiĂł indefinidamente como consecuencia de la muerte en febrero del disidente cubano Osvaldo Zapata tras 85 dĂas en huelga de hambre.
Fuentes diplomáticas indicaron que se ha elegido la capital fancesa como escenario para la cita debido a “razones logĂsticas”, ya que RodrĂguez hará escala allĂ de regreso de un viaje a Timor Este. Moratinos actuará por delegaciĂłn de la Alta Representante para la PolĂtica Exterior y de Seguridad ComĂşn, Catherine Asthon, que no estará presente.
El encuentro servirá para reanudar el diálogo polĂtico entre la UE y Cuba en un momento decisivo, pues los ministros de Asuntos Exteriores de los Veintisiete someterán a revisiĂłn el prĂłximo lunes su PosiciĂłn ComĂşn sobre la isla, que condiciona las relaciones con La Habana al avance en las reformas democráticas y en el respeto a los derechos humanos.
Moratinos aboga abiertamente por abolir la PosiciĂłn ComĂşn -que data de 1996 y fue promovida por el Gobierno de JosĂ© MarĂa Aznar- para sustituirla por un acuerdo bilateral negociado con La Habana. TambiĂ©n el rĂ©gimen cubano exige su eliminaciĂłn, por considerarla discriminatoria.
Fuentes diplomáticas españolas admiten que es muy improbable que haya consenso para derogar la PosiciĂłn ComĂşn, dado el rechazo de paĂses como Suecia, RepĂşblica Checa o Alemania, que alegan que La Habana no ha dado los pasos necesarios. Ayer se celebrĂł en Bruselas una reuniĂłn de altos funcionarios para preparar el debate.
Moratinos viajará mañana desde ParĂs a Roma (Italia) para unirse a la comitiva del presidente del Gobierno, JosĂ© Luis RodrĂguez Zapatero, quien será recibido en audiencia por el papa Benedicto XVI y se reunirá con el secretario de Estado del Vaticano, Tarcisio Bertone, y con el primer ministro italiano, Silvio Berlusconi.
La situaciĂłn de Cuba será uno de los ejes de la entrevista con Bertone, ya que la iglesia catĂłlica -a travĂ©s del arzobispo de La Habana, el cardenal Jaime Ortega, quien se entrevistĂł en mayo con el presidente cubano, RaĂşl Castro- está jugando un papel clave en el diálogo con el rĂ©gimen. Como consecuencia de la mediaciĂłn de la jerarquĂa eclesiástica ha cesado el hostigamiento a las Damas de Blanco -esposas de presos polĂticos-, y se ha iniciado el traslado de algunos reclusos a cárceles prĂłximas a su domicilio.
A mediados de mes está previsto que visite La Habana un alto representante del Vaticano. Antes, el sábado, debe pasar por Madrid, de regreso de Washington (EE UU), el presidente de la Autoridad Nacional Palestina, Mahmud Abbas, quien será recibido por Zapatero en La Moncloa.
En la reuniĂłn del lunes, los ministros de Exteriores de la UE debatirán tambiĂ©n una iniciativa para levantar el bloqueo a la franja de Gaza a cambio de ofrecer garantĂas de seguridad a Israel.
http://www.elpais.com/articulo.....nac_19/Tes
Junio 9th, 2010 at 13:48
UN NEWS CENTRE: Cuban visit will not take place, says UN expert on torture as he voices frustration
9 June 2010 – The United Nations independent expert on torture said today he was deeply disappointed that he will not be able to visit Cuba to carry out a fact-finding mission this year because the country’s authorities declined to consent to any of the dates he had proposed for the mission.
“I regret that in spite of its clear invitation, the Government of Cuba has not allowed me to objectively assess the situation of torture and ill-treatment in the country by collecting first-hand evidence from all available sources,” said Manfred Nowak, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture, whose mandate expires on 30 October.
The Cuban Government issued an invitation to the Special Rapporteur in February 2009 to conduct a fact-finding mission to the country before the end of this year. However, despite several attempts by Mr. Nowak to propose mutually acceptable dates, no agreement was reached with the Government.
His visit would have been the first mission to Cuba by an independent expert mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to specifically monitor torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Mr. Nowak serves in that role in an unpaid capacity.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/st.....=&Cr1=
Junio 9th, 2010 at 13:36
REUTERS: - Cuba has told the United Nations special investigator on torture that he cannot visit the island on a fact-finding mission although an invitation was issued to him last year, the official said on Wednesday.
Austrian lawyer Manfred Nowak, known for his frank talking to both developed and developing countries on the issue, said in a statement Havana had told him it could not receive him before his mandate runs out at the end of October this year.
“I regret that, in spite of its clear invitation, the government of Cuba has not allowed me to objectively assess the situation of torture and ill-treatment in the country by collecting first-hand evidence from all available sources,” he declared.
But in a response from its diplomatic mission in Geneva, Cuba said the invitation remained in force, although it needed no assessment of the rights situation in the country.
“There has not been one case of extra-judicial execution or of forced disappearance in Cuba,” a statement said. “Few countries can boast of the results achieved in Cuba in the treatment of people in prison and their full reinsertion into society.”
Nowak said Cuba invited him in February 2009 to make a visit but since then had failed to agree on a date.
Nowak has been six years in his post, formally titled special rapporteur to the U.N.’s Geneva-based Human Rights Council, and has already made clear he will step down when his mandate is over.
Diplomats at the council — now holding a three-week session — said Havana was showing special sensitivity over its jailing of dissidents, one of whom died in prison in February. Cuba says it has no political prisoners and jails only criminals.
Earlier this year, Nowak told reporters he had been frustrated by the lack of cooperation he had received in his investigations from many governments — including some, like communist-ruled Cuba, who are members of the 47-nation council.
Another investigator, Australian lawyer Philip Alston, said last week that the council — where a developing country bloc that shields its members from criticism holds a clear majority — was ignoring killings in countries like Iran and Sri Lanka.
Alston, who reports on extra-judicial executions and has just authored a report strongly critical of U.S. unmanned rocket attacks on suspected terrorists in Pakistan and Afghanistan, said the council had a single-minded focus on Israel.
Nowak, who also angered the former U.S. administration of George W. Bush with criticism of conditions at the Guantanamo detention center on Cuba, has also made no secret of his disillusion with the council itself.
http://www.reuters.com/article.....DD20100609
Junio 9th, 2010 at 11:15
45Darko
Junio 9th, 2010 at 10:34
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Oh, oh…… come on damir…… show us you also are Kroat …… Darko has demonstrate it twice and you remain as if you were mute!!!!!
Don’t delay……. because you will make us think you went out for help!!!!
Junio 9th, 2010 at 11:07
42Damir
Junio 9th, 2010 at 07:38
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The same and the same,…… to call names but no arguments, no proves to back what are you saying is true….. or to denying what I wrote that provoque your empty attack.
Junio 9th, 2010 at 10:34
Damire sva tvoja razmisljanja i promisljanja apsolutno su ok i nemam primjedbi. Ali ako si bio ove godine vidio si i sam da su totalno u banani. Zemlja bez ekonomije bez ideje umorna i od svoje vlasti i od samih sebe. Idem tamo od 2004 i ove godine je stvarno neko dno oÄŤekivanja i vjere u budućnost kod svih ljudi. A zapravo prave ideje promjene niti nema…
Junio 9th, 2010 at 10:17
Democracy is representation of every single member of the society, in political institutions. representative democracy, such as multiparty systems is not really a democracy because the party in government is not representing the people who voted for oposition.
As old as it may be, the greek model is the only real model of democracy because the representatives were chosen to manage in the name of all citizens, including those who did not vote for the winners. The common good was what they had to take care of.
Whether that was always done in practice is another thing. I am concerned with the principle.
DDR was inexed as a medium developed country together with Poland in 1968 ( I think) by the OUN. I read about that when we had a seminar work on economy at university ( I studied in Zagreb, still carry horrible memories of Zagreb’s winters…).
I thought you of all people might get me on Baltic countries as I forgot about them, until I pressed the button. But if you search on these, their success is a wobbly one. They are only doing marginally better than hte rest of the pack, thanks to the lack of the violence largely, in their transition. They are now making the money by selling the citizenship to all interested. 260 K euros and you are a Latvian or Letonian with favourable tax treatment. How long is that going to last in countries with no tourism, no natural resources and 6 months of frozen ports?
Do not get me wrong, I wish them success, but to me it is a short term one.
Yes, capitalism, socialism, these are terms of the past. I too think about democracy as the personal freedom first. Just remember that thre is no absolute freedom in a society. A society is by necessity a compromise to keep all safe and realtively happy. As kant said, “…my freedom stops there where it violates your freedom…” And the opposite is true too. So what i may perceive as my absolute birth right may screw up what you may perceive as your absolute birth right.
To live in peace and respect, we both MUST compromise and give up on some things to be able to live in a relative harmony and peace.
Laws come into play. The laws determine the same and equal boundaries for all. Out goes our personal freedom. As a trade off, we have acces to common property and service, social and other services we help to provide because they are or may be useful to us at some point in our lives. We ineract and procreate, teach and trade with other members of our society. To do that we agree to be bound by common rules - laws of that society. And we agree to work on improvement of these laws where they are detrimental to society as a whole, rather just to us or a small group of unhappy members of the society.
Your example of Switzerland is a very good example of just such arrangement in a socio-political environment of a country.
That points to the fact that the society which aims to be democratic has to evolve and improve in order to provide that protection and equality. And to be just to all, it has to be free from ideologies and religions otherwise it won’t be equal. Example are today muslim countries, where they “respect” all religions, but the laws are muslim laws and non-muslims must obey or else…
Not all countries are that orthodox, Like Malaysia or Indonesia, but remember what was going on just ten years ago in Indonesia, Mass killings of Chinese who were non-muslims, and many were christians, just because they were perceived by the muslim Indonesians as perverts and immoral.In just a year of riots, over 40 000 chinese were killed and about 100 000 left the country fearing for their lives.
I am not ignoring any of these issuesm, but they are not easy to present, as you can see above, and they are not really addressed by this web site either. Include here constant lack of civilised way of disagreeing by the agros in the thread, and the thoughts quickly turn into breifs to make a point between the insults.
Personally, I prefer no parties all-inclusive Greek model to multi0party or one party systems. If I am a green voter, I am not going to vote for the demochristians or social democrats.
That is social polarisation along the party/ideological lines. It creates coalitions and with time the coalitions simply merge into super-parties and lose their original personality in order to achieve political goals. Which are, according to the game theory, ALWAYS guided by the personal goals of so-called “party leaders” and their personal ambition rather than commitmment to the will of the voters.
If you are not familiar with the game theory, search it on the net and you will see what I mean. All governments are anlysing the international situaations consulting the theory. That is because if done well, it can prouce shockingly accurate results. As an IT person, I can concur that. My company uses it for economic predictions for big multinationals when they plan design or launch of new products or services.
An example, not our customer though, Hyundai has produced two cars based on predictions that BMW model (the same as the i35) and VW Passat (the same as the i45) will be of greatest appeal to widest masses, so they simply copied the two designs, through their “cooperative” links with the two german companies. Remember that the largest Hyundai design office is in - Germany.
And that is a short version of my response…
: )
Junio 9th, 2010 at 08:37
Well Damir I think that your theorizing have many weak points. First of all what do you mean by democracy and one party system? Do you mean democracy in this one party? Or no parties as interest political groups? Well that is sheer utopia as history proved and why would the future be different? Cuba now needs economic transfoormation and need it fast not some faith in future utopia like it has actually for 50 years. Tell that to people who haven’t seen milk for 1 year.
I agree absolutely that Nordic countries are what can be called “socialist” or better “social” countries and they should be ideal model for everybody. But they achieved it first of all through their very very succesful economy! They are rich countries who spend their money on social and community issues and that is great. They have their system of values and nobody in Sweden will spend 120 mill euros on some stupid footballer.
And we always forget Switzerland which has a very particular type of democracy - with lot of elemnts of direct democracy (not representative) - on various important issues people make their decision through referendums.
And all your points on capitalism are absolutely correct. That is why I always try to think in terms of democracy, I mean terms capitalism or socialism or communism are anachronisms of past. Are for example countries which has 2 parties instead of 1 party real democracies in this real idealistic ways? I’m not sure. Mayve just slaves of other centers of power (banks, coorporations and so on).
And talking about countries in transition - you forgot Baltic countries which are very succesful, and I don’t quite get it what did you mean with Serbia? Serbia is small Russia with mafia rulling on all levels of society.
And I cannot agree that DDR reached the level of middle developed country. That is simply numbers game which is far away from the real quality of living.
And last you totaly ignore for me equally if not more important issue - personal freedom and freedom of choice! Well this things after living in one party system are irreplacable.
Junio 9th, 2010 at 07:38
But posts 27 and 28 are just hillariously nazist. That nazism includes enormous ignorance and arrogance to display that ignorance.
As if the poster actually has something of substance to say and is some kind of a moral force in the universum that doesn’t really exist.
If it weren’t retarded, it would have been funny.
Self-declared “I am the king and you are all here to ogey what I order.”
Much like Fidel, right?
The term castronazist suddenly makes a lot of sense. With fraud carrying the flag.
Junio 9th, 2010 at 07:30
Trudeau, post 9, I told you we can agree on something. If you read the whole book, it puts many things in perspective aaway from local party lines and whatever the ideology one poison him/her self with.
The one point I would disagree with you on is your remark that Marx’ weakness was to undermine the adaptability of capitalism. I think he actually picked up on that quite good. More than that Marx did also point out many weaknesses of socialism too.
An illustration on both points is in Marx, and let us remember that socialism and communism are not ideologies, they are just socio-economic analysis and scientific theories based on the principle of evolution it is Stalin who turned the scientific theory into an awful and perverse form of dictatorial ideology, theorising about the ways the capitalism will turn into socialism. He identified two possible scenarios: peaceful through natural evolution of economic forces and not so peaceful through the armed uprise of disadvantaged classes of society.
Marx clearly favoured the peaceful solution, however in his time he was pesimistic that a peaceful transformation can be achieved.
And his description of the point of no return - the tranisitional point where capitalism will cease to exist in its’ orthodox form and start moving towards the socialism amounts to a prophecy. It is a hyperrealistic portrait of the financial crisis in the usa that has started in 2007 and culminated in September 2008, resulting in a shift of proportions that are yet to be understood by all those who think that capitalism is a good thing.
Those who live in capitalist countries that have defaulted, already know what good is capitalism. Just look Ireland, the “tiger of Europe”. More like a mouse, balancing on the edge of total collapse. Or Greece which has effectively collapsed financially but no one wants to admit because bigger and richer countries are on teh verge of collapse too and admitting that Greece, only a couple of years back a rich country, could tip England and Spain into the crapper (and Portugal, but Portugal was always a poor country).
But my favourites are the ex socialist/communist countries.
Contrary to popular belief, many european ex-socialist countries did not really suffer from the economic strifes such as those in just about every Latin American countries, or Portugal, Greece and Ireland in Europe. Poland and DDR were already medium developed countries at the end of 1960’s and in late 70’s were closing the gap between them and the “developed” world. Jugoslavia was the fastest growing socialist country of all and it would have been the first developed socialist country by 1996.
The problem for the eastern block, to which Jugoslavia did not belong, was the political, just like in Cuba. The self-proclamed leaders of revolution have somehow forgotten the essential element of socialism: democracy.
Just add that to socialism and you have the next evolutionary step in development of humanity. Sweden is a perfect example, although Norway and Finland are almost there too, of a capitalist society in full transition.
So, and in perfect accordance with the scientific theories made by Marx and Engels, a capitalist society can and will melt into socialism when the critical mass of educated people intellectually capable of making the transition, reaches the tipping point.
But only when the essential element is present: democracy.
I think that even the most agressive moron here will agree with that point. When the democracy is the building block of the society, then the progress is a good thing.
Explaining this to agros here is the same as explaining it to Fidel or Raul. Futile.
So what Cuba needs is a peaceful tranistion into democracy. Not into capitalism.
Changing the economic and political system in such a manner will only bring the same problems and the same failures as in the ex socialist countries. Thre is not one that is actually doing well. Poland somewhat, Slovenia and Serbia somewhat. Pitiful and laughable somewhat. The rest are plain and clear failures.
And it is disturbing to see the ignorants and manic-depressive people with obvious violent histories to root for just the change that would send Cuba into another abyss of misery, destruction and quite possibly of another civil war. Preserving the good and changing the bad to suit them and only them, Cuban people should determine their own destiny on their own terms.
I am glad to have met so many people over the past five years and hear what they really think. I know that they think in a similar fashion.
I can only hope they will remain determined and change their country for the better, not for worse. Many seem to understand that capitalism is not the “better” but the “worse”.
And the today’s apitalist world clearly shows they are right. Only an idiot with on brain can think that Cuba was once a “successfull” nation. The book in that link I posted, writen by an usanian, analytically destroys that nazist myth and blows it into the space.
Junio 9th, 2010 at 02:33
Cuba is an excellent example of how a very successful nation in the western hemisphere was destroyed by socialism in the 20th century. There are so few positive things to say about communist dictatorships like Cuba, that leftists everywhere have no choice but to point out flaws in other countries to keep some of their self-respect.
Junio 8th, 2010 at 23:52
# 35 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....re=related
Junio 8th, 2010 at 23:14
Simba sez: Siggy, In 1962 the United States became aware the USSR was in the act of building missile launchers in Cuba. The United States decided that USSR offensive missiles that could hit most US major cities was indefensible, and thus must be denied. After the USSR and the US did some feinting, an agreement was reached. The USSR agreed to remove all missiles and all bombers from Cuba. In return the US agreed to remove all offensive missiles from European countries that were capable of hitting the USSR. As a secondary item the US also agreed never to attack Cuba. This was merely a face-saver for the USSR. It was a concession that appeared to give the USSR a partial win, so they could say they had protected Cuba, but in reality both the USSR and the US knew that the US never had any intentions of attacking Cuba. The entire fiasco was between the USSR and the US, and Cuba was merely a little pawn in the international game. Fidel knew this and was very upset, and I believe he never got over his being left out of negotiations.
Junio 8th, 2010 at 23:03
#29 Kerry in Canada
Businesses may not pay high taxes, but individuals do. An individual (not a business) making $100,000 in a year will be in the 50 - 52% tax bracket. That’s half… and it’s not particularly good. As for cutting edge health care. People die in Emergency wards across this nation every day. It’s not all roses.
Junio 8th, 2010 at 21:12
Concubino! You are upping me on the “nombretes”! I LOVE THAT ONE! Now the hard one is to think a “nombrete” for Darko! Put your thinking caps on!
Junio 8th, 2010 at 20:45
A Declaration of Loyalty to America
I AM AN AMERICAN OF CUBAN DESCENT, AND DAMNED PROUD OF IT!
While I detest the terms “Latino” and “Hispanic”, I hadn’t covered this subject before for fear of opening up a great big can of worms. However, I now feel I have to clarify a few things regarding the recent protests by “Latinos” or “Hispanics” throughout the US .
First, there is no such thing as a “Latino” race. There is no such thing as a “Hispanic” race. Both terms are contrived and used solely for census purposes. There is no such country as “latinolandia” and Hispaniola is technically half of an island in the Caribbean .
Second, I am not, nor will I ever be, part of “La Raza.” Nor do I agree or support their current protests. Some of you may, and that is fine, but I do not.
Third, and most importantly: I have never and will never, despite having many issues with the government of the United States throughout the years, burn a flag of the United States of America. I am Cuban by birth, American by the grace of God, and a darned proud, dignified, thankful and respectful American.
Fourth, while I certainly sympathize with the Mexican people for their country’s economic and social troubles, I refuse to be lumped together as a class or a race simply because we speak a similar language. If Mexicans and Mexican-Americans had wanted my support, then they should have supported the cause of a free and democratic Cuba , instead of the majority and at times the Mexican government having sided with and legitimizing the government of Fidel Castro.
Fifth, there is a difference between a Cuban living in the United States and a Mexican living in the United States . One is a political refugee and the other is an immigrant, respectively. When Mexicans are being oppressed and have their basic human rights trampled on by their government as Cubans do, then perhaps my opinion will change; until then, the aforementioned difference stands.
Mexicans and Mexican-Americans may very well have legitimate gripes with the government of the US , but as La Raza, the flags they are burning and flying up side down below the Mexican flag do not speak for me.
I am not Mexican; I am not Latino; I am not Hispanic.
I am an American of Cuban descent, and damned proud of it.
GOD BLESS AMERICA !!
SaludosClemente
Junio 8th, 2010 at 20:33
If anything ,Cuba is the one who wants the annexation of Guantanamo Base, an American terrutory for more than 100 years. The plans are to rename it in honor of all Al Queada prisoners. The new province will be called “Damir Al Culero”.
Junio 8th, 2010 at 20:32
WELL PANFILO IS BACK! HE IS SOBER FOR SEVERAL MONTHS NOW, WORKING AS A PAINTER BUT HE SAYS HE AND OTHERS IN CUBA STILL NEED “JAMA”!!!!
El ultimo video de PANFILO En Cuba, Nuevo Junio 7 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v....._embedded#!
THANKS TO JOEL GARCIA OF THE BLOG “UN CUBANO EN CANARIAS”
http://uncubanoencanarias.blogspot.com/
Junio 8th, 2010 at 20:28
I am not sure but I believe I saw a retarded thug talking about numeric inferiority of anticastrofascism commenter in this blog, something about Humbert and me were outnumbered…… ?????……… huuuummmm…… it maybe was my imagination.
Junio 8th, 2010 at 20:06
Simba wrote:
“If the present government of Cuba agrees to allow foreign ownership of land, thus allowing the building of 19 golf courses with associated housing and marinas, what is to stop them from confiscating those very same properties at any time in the future.”
Nothing can prevent the Cuban Goverment to change the rules of the game, as you perceptively noted above. However, never underestimate the “greed factor”
The shamefull part of this scheme is the amount of resources, infraestructure and maintenance these luxury hotels/condos/timeshare properties require. Considering the capital investment needed before you open any of these facilities, I seriously doubt the’ll find serious investors.
If I were born in 1959 and still were hopeful of decent housing in 2010, my blood will boil in my veins looking at the splendor of these facilities built for foreigners and a priviledge few.
Junio 8th, 2010 at 19:59
post 29
_________________________
Barbara “forgot” to say that in Cuba people pay taxes too: 12.5% Social Security, 25% Labor Force, so this 37.5% of the salary goes to the Government. But this is not the whole story, on top of that, people have to pay: CDR, MTT, Syndicate, “Dia de Haber”, Contribution to program maternity-infantile, 5% “Perfeccionamiento Empresarial” . So as you can see, it is a big part of our income. Don’t you think Barbara?
Junio 8th, 2010 at 18:13
#5 Barbara
In capitalism Businesses don’t have to pay really really high taxes.
Here in Canada, we collect 5% tax on everything we sell, and give it to the government.
We pay tax on our profit at the end of the year, and that would be around 17 to 20% of the profit. So if we have a profit of $100,000 at the end of the year, we’ll pay around 20% of it to the government, and keep the rest.
That is not ‘really high”. Considering the amount we give to our government, we have free health care. And it’s cutting edge health care, not the decrepit first generation health care that communist Cuba has.
Junio 8th, 2010 at 17:45
11Darko
Junio 8th, 2010 at 09:38
Actually any person who thinks that Cuba should not be new state of USA is castrofascist by their standards. At least should be under USA dominion like Puerto Rico.
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You are “mistaken” with the dummy one because the stupid way you writes lies…. that’s it………. bring up an example of this lie you wrote about people here wanteing Cuba a dominion of USA….. there you have 3 years of archives….. if you can bring one example, a single one you loses automatically the cathegory of castrofascist.
Junio 8th, 2010 at 17:33
23Normand
Junio 8th, 2010 at 14:22
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Good question Norman and the answer is…. USA had never in mind to attack Cuba ….. the prove of this fact is a recently declassify document got by US intelligence of communications between high officials of USSR right after Missiles Crisis where the soviets left clear they will not take any action if USA decided to invade Cuba…… so….. since the very begining of castrofascism USA knew they could attack Cuba without risking war with USSR…… but they didn’t it….. because the situation in Cuba was and is more profitable for USA with castrofascism than without castrofascism………. of course castro regime knew this situation and has acted all this time as a “friendly enemy”…… like chavez is doing now…… barking a lot but slicking the boot of the “enemy” when needed.
Junio 8th, 2010 at 16:57
Simba sez: #25 If the present government of Cuba agrees to allow foreign ownership of land, thus allowing the building of 19 golf courses with associated housing and marinas, what is to stop them from confiscating those very same properties at any time in the future. With the Castro brothers past record in mind, a foreigner that had little sense enough to invest in Cuba, under the present leadership, should have his head examined by Sigmund (the resident psychiatrist). Besides, isn’t that the dreaded capitalism?
Junio 8th, 2010 at 14:48
THIS IS PRETTY HYPOCRITICAL!THE CUBAN PEOPL CANT BUY OR OWN PROPERTY BUT FOREIGNERS CAN? “LA CHINA” & “THE MUMMY” ARE SELLING OFF ASSETS AS THE SHIP IS SINKING!
Cuba Standard Exclusive: New Cuban Real Estate Law Could Open Floodgates for Construction
TAMPA, Fla., June 8 /PRNewswire/ — A new law allowing foreigners to buy and sell properties in Cuba could be published by the government before the end of June, opening the floodgates for residential construction of up to 19 golf course and marina projects.
Observers believe the new regulations could spawn an unprecedented construction boom of as many as 7,000 condominium units in 13 golf course communities, and another 4,000 units around up to six marina developments.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news.....49209.html
Junio 8th, 2010 at 14:22
HELLOW BOYS AND GIRLS! “MILITATY RATS”! ALL THE “CULEROS” AND “DAMIERDAS”!!
MIAMI HERALD: What does Cuba really want? OUR OPINION: Another round of harassment of dissidents
Once again Cuba’s 51-year-old regime gives with one hand and takes away with another — even as the European Union is poised to discuss the potential for strengthening economic ties with the communist island.
After the Cuban dictatorship, under international pressure, seemed to be considering moving 26 sick political prisoners to hospitals a couple of weeks ago, officials cracked down again. Last week, they detained 37 dissidents for several hours to prevent them from attending meetings to discuss Cuba’s political and economic crisis.
Despite the harassment, dozens of dissidents managed to attend the meetings and voted in solidarity with the Ladies in White, the Cuban women who peacefully march in Havana to call attention to their loved ones’ imprisonment. They also discussed the international attention that the February death of hunger-striking dissident Orlando Zapata Tamayo sparked.
Prisoners are ailing
Leaders of Cuba’s Catholic Church have been in talks with RaĂşl Castro in an effort to help the 26 ailing prisoners, among 75 who were swept up in 2003 in another crackdown in which the regime accused the dissidents of being U.S. “mercenaries.” Back then, there appeared to be another opening on the horizon, too, as Fidel Castro put on his “charm” offensive in an effort to sway Republicans in farm-belt states to press the Bush administration to drop the U.S. embargo of Cuba.
Which raises the perennial question: Do the Castros really want trade and diplomatic relations to improve with the United States and the European Union?
It sure doesn’t seem like it.
Even as the regime has moved a few dissidents to prisons closer to their homes, it has continued to harass, detain or arrest others. Meantime, another dissident, Guillermo Fariñas, has caught the world’s attention with a hunger strike.
Cuba undercuts progress
Spain, under Prime Minister JosĂ© Luis RodrĂguez Zapatero’s socialist government, has been pressing the European Union to embrace the Cuban regime without using human rights as a condition for more-favorable trade agreements. But with the recent harassment of — and regime-backed mob violence directed at — the Ladies in White, the detention of dissidents and Cuba’s snail’s-pace response to treating the ailing political prisoners, that’s unlikely.
The EU’s “common position,” established 14 years ago by Spain’s then-Prime Minister JosĂ© MarĂa Aznar, sought more direct contact with dissidents to nudge Cuba toward democracy. That is seen as a “unilateral” strategy by the Zapatero government, which has proposed more talks with Cuba in a “bilateral” stance.
Problem is, Cuba’s government has shown through its actions that it does not give any consideration to human rights, even when it claims to be in agreement with the United Nations’ universal declaration on human rights. That’s why it’s welcome that the U.S. State Department is poised to release $15 million to international human-rights groups working in Cuba.
The EU, urged by Spain two years ago, lifted sanctions it imposed after Cuba’s 2003 crackdown. Now it’s Cuba’s turn to act, but so far its actions speak loudly of the same old intransigence.
http://www.miamiherald.com/201.....-want.html
Junio 8th, 2010 at 14:22
Can anyone explain to me why the US would be interested in an impoverished nation with no desirable goods that can’t be had elsewhere, where the nation is poor and can’t pay its debts, where the people are poor and where the people have been taught to hate them?
Cuba has regularly scheduled preparedness military days in case the US invades them. Why would the US invade Cuba? For what reason?
All this talk about ideology… and very little talk about the hopelessness, the poverty, the suffering, the inability to speak openly.
Junio 8th, 2010 at 12:48
culero it’s about time you too appeared with your annexation fantasy …. hahahaha, how predictable. One parrot follows the other with the same story. Who are these evil annexationist exiles plotting to subdue the cuban nation? Who are these capitalist boggeymen waiting to spring on the unsuspectting proletariat? The hole keeps getting deeper and deeper…
Junio 8th, 2010 at 12:36
#7, #8
Damir,
The real thugs in this blog will try to drown EXCELLENT!!!!
posts likes yours with nonsensical back and forth postings
Unfettered capitalism is destroying this country, because by its very nature it comes down to the survival of the fittest, and in a global economy there is little room for concerns about geographical boundaries of loyalties. What matters is which of the few get the most from everywhere.
It is serfdom attained by fear; of Muslims, Hispanics, a Black President, “the last bastion of communism in the hemisphere”, the collapse of Wall Street, banks, and special corporate friends; an environment falling apart…anything the media can use to strike the hearts with enough fear, so that people will gladly surrender their individual rights. The West was won by fear of “savages” while the real savages did all the stripping.
For some apparent reason (maybe because the bloodshed will be so great) certain interests here want to give the appearance of a noble giant trying to deliver Cuba into the arms of freedom, and away from the very misery they have created with a criminal and illegal embargo. A handful of “Exiles” driven by ambition, hatred, vengeance, and a deeply rooted inclination toward annexation (too incompetent and too lazy to forge any society); simply want their cut, and to be allowed to remain above the law. Oh! Those days of old!
Yoani found life a bit hard in Switzerland, according to her own declarations, so when Carlos Alberto Montaner and others approached her with dollars falling out of their pockets (tax payer’s dollars of-course) she returned to Cuba as a heroine with more accolades that Nelson Mandela or Mahatma Gandhi. Even Time magazine proclaimed her as one of the most “influential” people of the year. To beef up the images of a people in need of a hero from the north, they are sending money to relatives of common criminals- since turned “dissidents”. Even personnel from the US Interest Section, and their counterparts from the German and British Embassies in Havana, have joined their ridiculous marches, only to be confronted by irate Cubans in favor of their Revolution.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5oTmgtkaXE
Sounds like it’s not the Cuban Government that is desperate. Let’s see how soon before this new rising star turns out to be another shooting star.
Junio 8th, 2010 at 11:49
You really need medical assistance my friend. Sorry…
And I won’t comment your posts anymore, don’t worry…
And I didn’t know I’m part of some group or clandestine organization. Maybe you know better.
Junio 8th, 2010 at 11:35
Listen Darko, you haven’t got the foggiest notion of what you are reading. You simply don’t comprehend or choose to selectively interpret. This will be the last comment I direct at you because you are not worth the effort. The paranoia is in the unsubstantaited claims of annexation by you and the rest your group. I have not changed my story one iota. What I have written in the last few posts about my desires for a future Cuba I’ve stated here many times before. There is no lack of consistency in my position. People like you choose to cite what suits your arguement of the day because you have no plausible, consistent or justifiable arguement to substantiate your claims. In regards to silvio rodriguez don’t flatter yourself that in some way I am putting you in league with him, you are simply repeating/parrotting the same annexations horsehit that he has been talking about, just like dumir, culero, granma, juventud rebelde and all the other sources of lies and misinformation coming from habana. If you want to be taken seriously read a little bit more carefully what is written by others before posting and come up with your own ideas instead of parrotting the tired and dishonest mantras pouted by others.
Junio 8th, 2010 at 11:04
Aren’t you a little bit paranoid - I mean me and Silvio Rodriguez - come on. Maybe we both work for Cuban intelligence service?
I am absolutely not treatining anybody in any way as children. I’m just talking through my experience of: living in one party system, living in democracy, traveling and getting to know Cuba and meeting and talking to a lot of Cubans…
And I ALWAYS say to them: democracy is the only solution.
Now you’ve changed your story a little bit - should I go through your past posts?
It is not necessary…
Junio 8th, 2010 at 10:47
I have no idea what your last statement meant. In post #14 you wrote: “And about annexation - that is what Cubans on Cuba are actually afraid of, at least those that I talked to.” This is not the same as accusing those that oppose your position of being for annexation, which you and your buddies have asserted on several ocassions, interestingly enough at the same time as silvio rodriguez and other regime voiceboxes have been doing the same. This is simply the most recent ludicrous propaganda pushed by the regime to distract and disinform. Most people in cuba who have had their brains washed with anti-american rhetoric for over 50 years would of course want nothing to do with this notion. And on the other side of the arguement those of us who are for regime change and a transition to a democratic system acknowledge that one of Cuba’s biggest problems has been it’s parasitic reliance on one country or another for the greater part of it’s history. That cycle must be broken. While hoping that Cuba some day adapts many of the same democratic ideals, principles and form of government that have been successful in the western world this does not equate to wanting to see Cuba annexed by anyone. I’m sure the Cuban people are tired of being treated like children. It’s time to mature as a people and move past the need for caudillos and dependencies on foreign powers.
Junio 8th, 2010 at 10:34
I see no reason for annexation. Cuba has nothing that the US wants. The demand for sugar is on the decrease and today, the US buys sugar from other Caribbean countries. To suddenly buy it from Cuba would destabilize the entire region and this is good for no one.
I just got back from Havana - 4th trip in 10 years. Cubans always ask me the same question - what is the minimum hourly wage in Canada. Unfortunately, the answer is misleading because a one-bedroom flat in Montreal is easily $500 a month, unheated, for a semi-basement.
I’ve never seen Havana in such dire straits. The family I help financially who live on the 3rd floor of an apartment building no longer have water in the flat. They must haul it up 3 floors. As much as they are skeptical of the US, the country most likely to fix the water problems is the US.
Prisoners and barbershops… good news but Cuba has to move faster. They can start by releasing political prisoners.
Junio 8th, 2010 at 10:18
Beside that really a person without half brain can think that somebody who’ve been living in that kind of system (socialist, communist as you like i call it one party system) for many many years can actually be apologetic to it and advocate )
Junio 8th, 2010 at 10:09
In my first post I very clearly argumented my opinion, MY opinion on current situation.
And you were the first who started insulting not because of Cuba but because of defending the postion of USA.
Actually Trudeau said the same as I did.
And about annexation - that is what Cubans on Cuba are actually afraid of, at least those that I talked to.
Junio 8th, 2010 at 09:56
darko
The reason some in here insist that you are dumir is because you spew the same propaganda and utter nonsense that he does. Case-in-point, in your last post you reference the same cannard that dumir, culero and other voiceboxes and defenders of the castro regime have taken on as their new pet project: annexation. I haven’t seen a single person in this blog nor any public figure of any significant political weight, in Cuba or the US, say they want Cuba to be annexed by the US. This is simply the latest propaganda inspired project coming out of Havana to misdirect and distract the gullible public from the true problem which is them of course. You parrots all subscribe to the same theory that you learned from the walking colostomy bag and that is if you repeat a lie enough times it becomes the truth.
Junio 8th, 2010 at 09:45
Trudeau
Great analysis of the current situation in Cuba. I don’t share your assessment of the great accomplihments in education and healthcare, that is more myth, propagandizing and publishing of phoney statistics than anything else. The current conditions in both of those fields for the common citizen are appalling and a pretty good representation of how it’s been for a good part of the last half century. In any case I concur with your clear and concise overview of the economic realities in Cuba. We have seen the numerous failings of the marxist economic model all over the world and it’s imposition on Cuba has resulted in the same sad result. Nevertheless be prepared for the hairbrained defenders of marx and his crowd to take you to task for your “capitalist” views.
Junio 8th, 2010 at 09:38
Actually any person who thinks that Cuba should not be new state of USA is castrofascist by their standards. At least should be under USA dominion like Puerto Rico.
Junio 8th, 2010 at 09:30
Great post by Trudeau!
Well I was trying to tell similar things and immediatly accused of being castrofascist. And they still think I am actually Damir.
I don’t know if these kind of argument and rational analyzing can be of any meaning on this blog…
Junio 8th, 2010 at 08:28
Damir,
The piece you posted by Reese Erlich is first-rate — it poses a lot of the central questions about what will happen with post-communist Cuba. (”Sui generis is not a legal term — it is simply a latin phrase meaning “of its own kind.) Yes, capitalism is in crisis. The thing is, it always seems to adapt. This was one of Marx’s great weaknesses — his failure to see the adaptive nature of capitalism (Think Sweden, think the US — same system, huge differences.) Meanwhile, in Cuba nothing changes. The same family running things, entropy everywhere, any meaningful dialogue suppressed. You say you worked there, so you must have some idea of the massive inefficiencies and inertia of the system, as well as the pervasive corruption. On the planetary scale of things, it is far from being the worst country in the world, even in terms of corruption. What is frustrating to me is to see a society that has an enormous amount of potential not fulfilling itself, although everyone has to acknowledge the achievement of education and health services. Note, though, that Costa Rica provides comparable serrvices without the attendant repression. It is this repression in Cuba that makes the country so vulnerable. There is no tradition of civil society, no process that allows the competition of ideas, no history of independent thinking. Nothing but the party and slogans, and the demonizing of foreigners. At one point Cuba will have a normal relation with the rest of the world and I hope it doesn’t resemble what happened in the former USSR. MOst Cubans I know want to hang on to their achievements, but they are so tired by the stasis in which the country is held.
Junio 8th, 2010 at 03:31
Vultures already having plans in place. Just a matter of time before Cuba is cut into pieces and divided between the hyenas:
http://romanticpoet.wordpress......m-to-cuba/
Junio 8th, 2010 at 02:54
AS always excellent observations from Barbara, in post 5.
My favourite: “Wait! She told Salim Lamrani she wanted “sui generis” capitalism for Cuba. What happened? Did she think that corporate bail-outs are capitalism? No, no, no, that is socialism saving capitalism, like when China bailed us out.”
Yoani believes she knows what a capitalism is. She names it with a (legal…?) term sui generis. But, and barbara points that out brilliantly, yoani desn’t really understand neither “sui generis” nor the capitalism.
There is no such thing as “sui generis” capitalism. The process is simple: you beocme the member of the IMF, the World Bank and the free trade agreements with the number of countries. Chances are that there will be many countries richer than Cuba, with people richer than any Cuban, including those in exile.
In the spirit of the “free democratic capitalism” who has more, gets more.
“sui generis” is wiped out in a flash. There’s no chance that Cubans would be as lucky as Chileans to have the money and power to prevent foreigners from buying out everything, as they did try but did not succeed.
In fact Cubans would stand no chance what so ever. The “sui generis” capitalsim would have to be highly protective and that is never a good move when capitalist vultures are at the door, waiting for your one wrong move.
It takes a naive person, like Yoani, to believe in that nonsense notion that capitalism is good.
If it is, why then Island and Greece have bancrupted? Why are now Hungary, Spain, Italy, Ireland and Portugal on the verge of collapsing too? Why is Germany, the supposed powerhouse of the world, saving 80 billion of euros in the next 4 years as an urgency measure? And England introducing austerity measures that will make even Stalin and Ceausescu look like a bunch of apprentices?
Because the capitalism isn’t working any more. It has come to the end of the road. China saved the usa the first time around. But the subprime market is in the full swing again, as if no one really paid any attention.
And Yoani, do you have any idea what are the tax rates in capitalism? How about the average 40% in the usa, if you are just a worker? The 30% flat rate is a farce because it only applies in a small number of cases and it is hard to actually get yourself into that category if you are working for someone else. Or how about the 48% in Australia? Or how about max 78% in Italy?
Of course some taxes are just for rich, like flat 15% in Australia if you are rich and have a good accountant who will create a protective trust shell around your finances. Again, if you are just working for someone else, you will have a hard time climbing up the ladder to be able to afford a good accountant that will make you save the money.
Which you will then spend on his fees, of course. But it’s teh principle that matters…
When renting from the state, everyone has to pay high taxes, whether in Cuba or in usa. Mining industries anywhere are luck to get 49% of gross profit, which is then still taxed as a net.
Not everything is a pink-coloured paradise on the other side of the fence either.
But how would Yoani know that from her location in Havana? And a lack of knowledge reeks through her every post. ANd instead of making a point she makes herself look rather naive and either genuinely uninformed or intentionally writing things to make a point with no substance and base in reality.
Junio 8th, 2010 at 02:26
Silvio, with his concerts and sale of his music outside Cuba, has become a rich man. He own properties outside and inside Cuba and own a recording company in the island. But these privileges are only granted to him and a few others like him. The rest of the Cubans aren’t allowed those privileges. Many talented Cubans, because they don’t kowtow to the Castro brothers military regime, aren’t allow to travel abroad, nor are they allow to profit from their talents.
As far as it is known, during Silvio many years as Deputy of the National Assembly of the Popular Power, never has raised his voice to condemn the despicable actions of the regime. Nor has him spoke in favor of those musicians and intellectuals that are not allow to freely travel outside Cuba or publish their work inside the island. Those who can speak against violations of human rights, and dare not to do so, are collaborators of a regime that denies those basic rights to their people. Silvio, if he really want change, he must pursuit it without fear of the consequences, like many of his compatriots have done it.
Junio 8th, 2010 at 02:11
“…problems and tensions are forecast for the summer“
Not a good year for Al Gore, first the news about the divorce, and now Yoani’s extended forecast (that it will be hot in Cuba this summer) which might strip him of his Nobel Peace Prize (for his contribution for globally heightening the awareness on climate change), since never before have so many been so eager to bestow somebody who was a nobody with so many awards.
“…some barbers… have gone from being state employees to paying fixed, and quite high, taxes. On the one hand, the newly self-employed gain autonomy, but on the other, the price of a hair cut has soared to nearly double, now that they have to pay their own expenses, repay the treasury, and try to earn a little profit for themselves.”
Wait! She told Salim Lamrani she wanted “sui generis” capitalism for Cuba. What happened? Did she think that corporate bail-outs are capitalism? No, no, no, that is socialism saving capitalism, like when China bailed us out.
In capitalism you have to pay really, really high taxes, unless you are in the top 10% that do not pay taxes at all, or Fanjul non-resident sugar barons who mess up the Florida Everglades, but don’t feel like paying for the clean up, so you run a campaign on Miami’s TV and radio; and the majority of voters gleefully want a tax hike to clean your mess for you.
Welcome to capitalism, Yoani! Aren’t you glad?
“The issue about which everything seems most awkward is the expected release of the political prisoners, as much discussed in the foreign press as it is met with total silence in the national news.”
Bummer, here too, the media refuses to cover the story of 5 Cuban political prisoners in US Federal prisons for infiltrating terrorist groups in Miami, and reporting findings of terrorist plans to the FBI. Like you, the media here thinks their case is of no interest, even though this nation is embroiled in a global war against terrorism costing tax payers trillions of dollars, taking countless lives; all to prevent terror. Which is what René, Antonio, Gerardo, Ramón and Fernando did.
“…since Silvio Rodriguez himself has acknowledged that the sentences were “too harsh.”
What Yoani fails to mention is that in New York Silvio RodrĂguez dedicated a song (originally composed to honor Ernesto “Che” Guevara) to the five Cubans in US prisons, as he explained that the 5 are heroes to Cubans (on the island), and that in his opinion they have unjustly spent more than 10 years in prison.
“I tell them, maybe the heat is the catalyst we have been lacking, the push we need for a lethargic population to demand that the promised openings are not delayed another month“.
Here once again Yoani raises her voice to “push” for the annexationist agenda, as verified readily in declassified CIA documents: weary the people with hunger, let them go at each other, the US steps in through the Helms Burton Law (much like Teddy and his Rough Riders did) to establish a temporary government they deem democratic. After that, they continue to monitor Cuba forever, and ever, and ever…
Junio 8th, 2010 at 00:17
Yoani wrote:
“The transfer of six of them to prisons closer to their homes has the stench of a stalling tactic, an official joke in the face of so many expectations.”
It sure looks the same to me. In a country where the entire armed forces can be summoned to combat alert in 24 hours, moving six prisoners close to home should not be a problem if the offer to do so was sincere.
On the other hand, the prison close to home may be a worst place or family visits more restrictive.
These men lives are ruined under the present goverment, so why not send them home. I am sure the CDR’s will make them harmless unless of course they want to control their voices.
Junio 7th, 2010 at 23:41
post 2
_________________________
You stated a good point. For the Government is an embarrassment that so many Cubans are fleeing, because that destroys the image they have been trying to sell to the rest of the world, all their lies about the “best society ever created” with free Education and Health Care. Also, recently Fidel Castro wrote on one of his “reflections”, that Spain and EU are “stealing professionals” from Cuba, hence the Cuban Government is furious about this massive exodus to Spain. The reality, as yoani says, “Cubans can’t take any more.”
Junio 7th, 2010 at 22:53
Simba sez: If a Cuban finds that Spanish ancestor, then what? Does claiming a Spanish right to citizenship allow a Cuban citizen the automatic right to leave Cuba? From the Cuban government point of view, are they better off with or without a person wanting to reside in Spain? Is that person one less necessary to provide food for, or is that person one less worker to provide the government people a larger slave income?
Junio 7th, 2010 at 22:31
I can only imagine the heat. Until recently I lived in Santiago de Cuba, my hometown, and the heat there is unbearable. My house had a ceiling of Zinc roof tiles that at 1 pm the temperature in our house reached 36 to 40 Celsius degrees. We didn’t have an air conditioner, only fans which were useless under such high temperatures. That’s one of the most torturing things I remember in Cuba.