More Red Than Cross
During the last week, the official media have greatly emphasized the origin and workings of the Red Cross in Cuba. Around May 8th, the founding date of this humanitarian body, they published several reports about its helping character and neutrality. Prime time news has featured interviews with those who have acted with self-sacrifice to save victims of accidents and conflicts. Undoubtedly, there are stories of personal altruism and philanthropy that have saved a life or prevented injuries. But the reason for these tributes and chronicles is not just to commemorate and recognize the committee founded by Henri Dunant in 1863. National TV is also trying to clean up the lamentable image left by one of those Cuban volunteers during Benedict XVI’s Mass in Santiago de Cuba.
At this point, there are few people on this Island who haven’t seen the video where a man — wearing a Red Cross emblem — hits and beats with a stretcher Andrés Carrión, who had shouted an anti-system slogan. The scene elicits such revulsion, shows so much baseness, that even government supporters express their rejection of such practices. They are moved by the disproportion of power between someone who can’t defend himself, and another who slaps him and attacks him with first aid equipment. The incident led the International Committee of the Red Cross to request an explanation, and even to an unpublished note of apology from its Cuban counterpart. But it hasn’t been enough. What has become clear are not only the wrath of a paramilitary agent disguised as an aid worker, and the ideological rancor that is fomented at every pass with no consideration for the consequences. What has been revealed, also, is that the authorities of our country lack ethical limits when it comes to suppressing a different opinion. If, to camouflage their shock troops, they have to dress them like sports teams, “spontaneous students,” or a medical group, they will do so. They don’t hesitate to take in hand international emblems and even to use the prestige of foreign NGOs for political ends. This has to be known, enough with naivete.
Little Red Riding Hood doesn’t stand a chance: the wolf of intolerance can disguise itself as grandma, the mother who gave her the cakes, or even the woodsman himself who comes to her rescue.
Mayo 28th, 2012 at 13:07
‘Andrés Carrión, who had shouted an anti-system slogan’
What slogan did he shout?
What was ‘anti-system’ about the slogan?
Why did he leave the crowd control barrier and not stay behind as everyone else?
Did he intend to attack the pope physically?
..
‘wrath of a paramilitary agent disguised as an aid worker’
Who identified the ‘aid worker’ as an ‘agent’?
What is the name of the agent?
For what organization does the ‘aid worker’ work for?
Mayo 24th, 2012 at 19:46
Damir… My dear Damir…. I supsect you have serious mental problems regarding your irracional hatred of people that have different ideas than yours.
I don’t know who you are, where you live or what you do as job in life.
Insulting people is a symptom of ignorance regading matters of political ideology…
I will not insult you by advising you to see a a Cuban (?) shrink … but I belive that your are in danger of self destructiong..
I yiu do don’t forget to blame the “nazist gulag usa” as you the USA.
Mayo 18th, 2012 at 18:40
do not normally interact with delusional and brainwashed, but this one is way too good to pass.
Post 62:
“How come Cuba is the only country in the Americas that does not allow the Re3d Cross to visit its prisons ?”
Ignorance, as I always point out is the MAIN characteristic of all brainwashed and delusional losers. Especially the pioneers of the team “yoani” support brigade!!!
Laughable party servants.
red cross in teh nazist gulag usa does NOT have the right, nor authority, nor an option to visit and inspect the nazist gulag’s prisons.
So, Cuba is NOT the ONLY country on AMERICAN CONTINENTS that does not “allow” it the access.
In fact, there are many countries around the AMERICAN CONTINENTS that do not let this pitiful organisation into their prisons. And the list of these countries is who is who among the usanian white backside lickers. Guatemala, Honduras, Chile, Paraguay, Dominican Republic, etc.
Get some knowledge before you write more of your conservative nonsense. All of you, not one particular individual. You are ALL pathetic. Just like your team “yoani” and their pin-up granny traitor.
But, yet again, the reason will NEVER find the way inot their brains.
There are NO brains there. Been burned up by the brainwash and delusions inserted into their skulls instead.
Mayo 18th, 2012 at 18:22
The nazist gulag usa is exactly what we ARE talking about.
Who do else is hellbent on organising all those “dissidents” into a, hopefully never, force of change in Cuban political landscape?
Hell, the nazist gulag even has a governmental section for “promoting democracy in Cuba”!!!Nice job criminals and nazists!!!
The team “yoani” receives money from nazist dictatorship usa through a number of sbumissive embassies in Havana.
It is ALL about the nazist usa dictatorship, who will burn in hell for eternity.
Mayo 17th, 2012 at 15:08
DAMIR DAMUR MININT DI who ever you are you are a DESCARADO Vocero of the DICTATORSHIP that represses the Cuban People. SHAME ON YOU. ANSWER THE QUESTION: Why is the RED CROSS not allowed in CUBAN JAILS? What happens in CUBA is SHAMEFUL and the truth is leaking out thanks to new media and technology.
Blogs like this will change the planet for good. THANK YOU YOANI. The best Cuban BLOG ever and more awards heading your way. God Bless everyone who writes here and promotes this site. The truth is what counts. Cuba will need real history books in the future and not the BULLSHIT stories the regime makes up.
Mayo 16th, 2012 at 08:17
Damir,
We are actually not talking about about the US, but the International Red Cross and Cuba. Typically you are side-stepping the problem and using a tu quoque argument. Just answer the question. How come Cuba is the only country in the Americas that does not allow the Re3d Cross to visit its prisons ? Stop using Fidel’s tactics and blaming the Americans for everything. Truth is that Cuban prisons are a nightmare. I don’t need to hear about the American carceral system, which I know quite a bit about. Try for once to answer the question.
Mayo 16th, 2012 at 06:30
Post 21, how do you account for the fact that the nazist dictatorship usa does NOT allow foreign observers to oversee their “democratic” election?
The only self-declared “capitalist and democratic country” in the world that expressly forbids and refuses to allow independent observers to monitor the elections.
But it is the most vocal and demanding when it comes to other countries in the world.
What a load of liars and hypocrites.
Mayo 16th, 2012 at 06:25
What a load of delusional nonsense and turd in post 52 (and all other anti_Cuban posts):
“one of the propaganda lines repeated by Marxists over the last 50 years is “Cuba is immune to capitalist economic crises””
I’d love to see one Marxist saying that stu**ty in suggested context.
It is just another falacity delusional conservative aparatchiks are programmed to repeat ad nauseam in a vain hope someone might actually believe it!!!
Some reality check, pioneers: it doesn’t work.
It does reveal your dumbness in all its glory though.
Mayo 15th, 2012 at 14:30
I think its working now
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Mayo 15th, 2012 at 14:18
Of course not
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Mayo 15th, 2012 at 14:02
Also
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Mayo 15th, 2012 at 13:28
Thank you
Mayo 15th, 2012 at 13:21
Love your blog. Really thoughtful
Mayo 14th, 2012 at 14:14
ANOTHER VIOLENT ARREST BY THE CASTROFASIST MAFIA DURING THE POPE’S VISIT!PASS IT ON! IM SENDING IT TO MY LIST OF HUMAN RIGHTS NGO’S, PRESS, THE VATICAN & EMBASSIES IN CUBA & USA!
ENOUGH OF THIS VIOLENCE AGAINST THE CUBAN PEOPLE! BASTA!
YOUTUBE: Jorge Vazquez Chaviano is arrested for trying to reach the papal Mass - Jorge Vazquez Chaviano, Cuban activist member of the Central Opposition Coalition is violently arrested by police when he left his home in Sagua la Grande to go to the Mass of Pope Benedict XVI Havana on March 27, 2012. As of today (May 2012) Chaviano Vazquez remains in jail. His wife and family claim his freedom. Jorge Vázquez Chaviano es arrestado por intentar llegar a misa papal - Jorge Vázquez Chaviano, activista cubano integrante de la Coalición Central Opositora, es arrestado violentamente por agentes policiales cuando salio de su vivienda en Sagua la Grande para dirigirse a la misa del Papa Benedicto XVI en la Habana el 27 de marzo del 2012. Hasta el momento (mayo 2012) Vázquez Chaviano permanece preso. Su esposa y familia reclaman su libertad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....=autoshare
Mayo 14th, 2012 at 13:04
of course cuba is protected and has imunity from the world crisis because it is owned by the banks who calculate what will cuba produce and spend and if the world banks think that there are to many ration to give,it may delete some cubans. The same with other nations where the slaves are not working so why do they complain about the small food ration…? Cuba was just an experiment and now like cuba will be every nation
Mayo 14th, 2012 at 11:55
Interesting Griffin.
Of course, one of the propaganda lines repeated by Marxists over the last 50 years is “Cuba is immune to capitalist economic crises”
They seem to forget their own propaganda a lot. I guess it has something to do with liars always getting their stories mixed up.
Mayo 14th, 2012 at 11:37
Interesting news in Europe today. The markets are taking a beating in reaction to the Greek financial crisis. Greece may soon find itself out of the Euro. From there the trouble spreads to other countries like Spain & Italy. Part of the market reaction is jack up interest rates on Spanish bonds, as many of their banks are insolvent. That’s where the news involves Cuba. Many of the biggest investors in Cuba are Spanish, and of course, the Castro regime have a number of off-shore bank accounts in Spain. Their could be some serious financial trouble for Cuba as a result of the European crisis.
Mayo 14th, 2012 at 08:06
Before I go, I’ll respond to the Castro propaganda machine: “Yoani should compare the event noted here with the violence in the U.S. against those who protest. You are lucky not to be killed by the police in the U.S. or injured by tasers, tear gas, jail or lose your job and business.”
I have compared the two. I was a union member half my life and in many demonstrations.
Like practically every other peaceful demonstrator in the USA, I’ve never been injured by tasers, had tear gas thrown at me, gone to jail, lost my job, or lost my business.
And neither did any of my co-workers, many of whom were communists, socialists, and assorted leftist crackpots who supported the violent overthrow of the US government.
Compare that to Cuba, where a red cross worker will whack you over the head with a stretcher if your say “down with communism”
Mayo 14th, 2012 at 07:56
Cube Libra swore in front of the whole world he was moving to Cuba a few years ago.
What happened?
Is Cuba really so bad that no Marxist can stomach living there?
Mayo 14th, 2012 at 07:53
I never understood Einstein’s theory: only human stupidity is infinite.
But obviously there’s a sucker born every minute.
Suckers who think Cuba doesn’t need elections because Raul is so popular. The same suckers who believe there are over 11 million CIA agents in Cuba. These Marxist suckers aren’t coherent obviously.
They even believe a web site like this that has so many technical problems is funded and run by the CIA.
Obviously the CIA should take some computer lessons from the Cubans, whose internet always works perfectly.
Mayo 14th, 2012 at 01:44
yani wrotte;”more red than cross” and I was going to say is more cross than red because red was the robe of the christ taken from the romans…who became later communist…and have guolt inthrm for nailing christ in the cross where he is allmost naked…and of couse those who build and put christ in their cross are also guilty…butmore for the crusiffing or killing than robing.
today humanity is the christ robed and crussified and sufferimg…who is guilty?
Mayo 13th, 2012 at 23:54
EVEN THE LEFTIST SAN FRANCISCO CROWD CAN TELL ALAN GROSS IS A HOSTAGE IN AN EXTORTION PLOT BY THE CASTROFASCIST GOVERNMENT TO GET THE CUBAN 5 SPIES (who were actually 12 spies)!! THE MANIPULATION WAS VERY OBVIOUS IN THE CNN INTERVIEW OF Josefina Vidal !! I GUESS I HAVE SEEN AN ELEPHANT FLY NOW!!
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE: Free Alan Gross - Sunday, May 13, 2012
After spending two years and five months in Cuban detention on dubious charges of subversion, American Alan Gross recently told CNN that he feels like a “hostage.” The U.S. State Department agrees.
Gross, 63, was arrested in 2009, while he was working as a subcontractor for the U.S. Agency for International Development on a project designed to link Cuba’s Jewish community to the Internet. For the crime of transporting laptops and other telecommunications equipment into Havana, a Cuban court found Gross guilty of “acts against the independence or territorial integrity” and sentenced him to 15 years.
While the Castro government asserts that conditions are not poor, Gross has lost 100 pounds while being held in a military hospital. His 90-year-old mother suffers from lung cancer and cannot travel. Gross has pleaded for Havana at least to allow him to see his mother one last time. He even has offered to return to Cuba afterward.
The Cuban government sent CNN’s Wolf Blitzer a letter offering to hold a dialogue to find a humanitarian solution “on a reciprocal basis.” The State Department takes the gesture as yet another attempt by the regime to swap its release of Gross in exchange for Washington’s release of five Cuban intelligence agents found guilty of trying to infiltrate U.S. military institutions in 2001.
On the plus side, the Castro regime deserves credit for allowing Gross to use his weekly phone call to contact CNN and make his case. On the down side, the news coverage serves to remind the world of the repressive policies of President Raul Castro.
Every country has a right to uphold on its sovereignty. Havana certainly had a right to sanction Gross for misusing a tourist visa to transport laptops and other devices. Even still, Cuba’s use of Gross as a pawn - for the crime of trying to put Cubans onto the Internet - shows how truly vulnerable Castro’s hold on Cuba must be.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/.....1OGRL9.DTL
Mayo 13th, 2012 at 22:47
I LIKE HOW I LOOK IN THE APP VERSION! MUCH YOUNGER AND THINNER!
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Mayo 13th, 2012 at 21:24
Generation Y now available for Android.
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Mayo 13th, 2012 at 21:21
Cuba Liar wrote,
“it had completely illudedme”
Dude, pretty much everything “illudes” you.
Je Je Je Je Je !!!
Mayo 13th, 2012 at 21:17
So Jack spits out the Castrofascist talking points. He even includes the hilarious joke, “the Castros work”…. OMG, that’s a good one! Sure. Yoani is in the pay of the CIA! Why yes, of course, the CIA sees great a potential to overthrow their arch enemies in Havana by funding a writer of short essays on Cuban life. I guess it says something about the paranoia of the regime hacks if they see a threat in somebody writing about unauthorized plastic recycling or street vendors. The Castro clan works at robbing the Cuban nation, fleecing foreign investors and running down the wealth of Cuba. Without a doubt, the Castros are the worst thing ever to happen to Cuba.
Seriously Jack, like they say to cliched stand-up comics, “bring new material”
Your old c@p went stale around 1970.
Mayo 13th, 2012 at 20:46
# 34 Jack Spitz,
Very interesting comments. It is good to see there are other people in here who have open minds and see the truth as it really is. Thank you for opening our eyes on Yoani`s Pay Pal account, it had completely illuded me.
Mayo 13th, 2012 at 18:10
Yoani should compare the event noted here with the violence in the U.S. against those who protest. You are lucky not to be killed by the police in the U.S. or injured by tasers, tear gas, jail or lose your job and business.
Mayo 13th, 2012 at 18:06
Same old supporters of the fascist Yoani; why don’t the person writing about the positions of the Castro’s also write about Yoani’s Pay Pal page wher she is constantly begging for money, while obviously being paid by the U.S. government. The supporters of Yoani will never answer questions about the hugh sources of money available to Yoani or other mysteries such as who is translating her page into English. Why don’t they identify themselves? Would they be U.S. agents who want to hide their true colors? Yoani is an obvious liar and ready to denounce Cuba for money and applause from the imperialist U.S. Supporters want to transfer questions about Yoani into more criticisms of Cuba. The Castros work, while Yoani lives off the state and criticizes it in a totally discredited way. She has a free apartment given to her by the state; she use her ration book to get food, and hides her money in Spanish banks where her handlers transfer money from her Pay Pal account into Yoani’s bank account. Yoani is in favor of transparency except when it comes to her. She is a total fraud and a parrot for the U.S.
Mayo 13th, 2012 at 12:40
The present greece’s demolition was as a sign of the big world collapse to come…and the ancient greks were the ancient people who spread everywhere in east and west to created the different civilizations…which now are totally demolished and corrupted.
Zeus and many gods were like the sun and many forms and colors of the lighted planet in day time…but now is there one color and no different forms all blended into the darkness where the god is the darkness,moon,weak stars and the old sunlight is gone…untill the sun returns,rises again…to bring day again.Cuba is just a grave
Mayo 13th, 2012 at 12:29
yes humberto…the castro dynasty is the same as the other communist dynasties in east and west europe and asia and north and south america…so it is the world communist dynasty which also run the UN…so the world is all red now with its elite and the rest are slaved and mercenaries.The kingdom of the human animal is now established and even blessed by the corrupted world religions priests…in the rebellion against the creator and his temple Earth…demolished totally like Cuba by the human animals,all corrupted and this time is like the Noah’s Time…
Mayo 13th, 2012 at 11:54
THE CASTRO OLIGARCHY CLAN! MUCHO DINERO!!
FOREIGN POLICY MAGAZINE:
During the past few years family members of both Fidel and Raúl Castro have come to occupy important positions in Cuba’s government. This Castro clan represents in addition to the military, the security apparatus and the Communist Party, a significant force in Cuba’s political and economic structures.
Fidel Castro Diaz-Balart- Relationship: Fidel Castro’s son
Position: Advisor, Ministry of Basic Industry
Col. Alejandro Raúl Castro Espin - Position: Raúl Castro’s sonPosition: Chief, Intelligence Information Services, Ministry of the Interior; Coordinator, Intelligence Exchange with China
Ramón Castro Ruz- Position: Fidel and Raúl’s oldest brother
Position: Advisor, Ministry of Sugar
Dr. Antonio Castro Soto - Position: Fidel Castro’s son
Position: Investment Chief, Frank Pais Hospital. Doctor for Cuba’s baseball team
Major Raúl Alejandro Rodríguez Castro - Position: Raúl Castro’s grandson
Position: Raúl Castro’s military guard in charge of his personal security
Deborah Castro Espin - Position: Raúl Castro’s daughter
Position: Advisor, Ministry of Education
Mariela Castro Espin - Position: Raúl Castro’s daughter
Position: Head, Center for Sexual Education
Marcos Portal León - Position: Married to Raúl Castro’s niece
Position: In charge of nickel industry, member of the Central Committee of Cuba’s Communist Party
Col. Luís Alberto Rodríguez López-Calleja, Raúl Castro’s son-in-law
Chief Executive Officer of Grupo GAESA (Grupo de Administración de Empresas, S.A.) which supervises military enterprises
Alfonsito Fraga, Related to Raúl Castro
Ministry of Foreign Relations
http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/.....playground
Mayo 13th, 2012 at 11:49
C.L.! A LITTLE FLICK FOR YOU!
YOUTUBE: The True Cuba — what Political Prisoners have to tell - Even after the visit of the Pope in spring 2012, in Cuba there are still several hundred political prisoners in jail. However, most people, especially Cuba tourists, know nothing about it because of the strict censorship. Those dissidents in jail suffer even more then political prisoners in other dictatorships, for instance the former prisoners in East Germany before 1989. Their families are not allowed to work, they often are sick, the International Red Cross or Human Rights Organisations like the International Society for human rights of Frankfurt-Germany cannot visit them.
There exist almost no television or newspaper reports about their sad fate.
Very rarely a few dissidents are released from jail - but immediately they are sent into exile without their families. For the first time since years dissidents in this video tell the free world how badly they have suffered in the jails of Cuba.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Aiar3W_BIY
Mayo 13th, 2012 at 08:42
And write that letter to Castro demanding free elections. A great way to prove how popular he is.
Gee, I wonder why Castro never that of that before?
Mayo 13th, 2012 at 08:40
Hey Cube Libra, take your own advice and stop whining about Canada. That’s all you ever do, whine, whine, whine. Do something for your own country for once.
How about giving some of your Canadian tourist dollars to small Canadian bnb’s instead of giving them to Castro’s military. Or give your money to Canadian charities. That would help your fellow Canadians. Think of your glass “half full” instead of “half empty”
Mayo 13th, 2012 at 08:22
You are right Miss Sanchez, Little Red Riding Hood doesn`t stand a chance. The hero you refer to as the Big Bad Wolf will go down in history forever for the accomplishmenta he has achieved. He will be remembered always for having stood his ground facing the greatest super power in the world.
You refer to Cuba as “little Red Riding Hood”, I prefer to compare them with “David and Goliath”. Fidel Castro was able to fight off the US and defend his island paradise with barely only sling shots, persevering, and beliefs. His revolution has been able to hold its ground for over 53 years now, an achievement no other country has managed.
Instead of constantly criticizing your government Miss Sanchez, you should be on your knees thanking it for making you who you are today. Instead of whinig and complaining you should be thankful you are able to eat every day, and your children are allowed free education and healthcare.
I suggest you change your way of seeing things. Example instead of saying my glass is half empty, think of it as half full. Instead of thinking I still have half the distance to get to my destination, say I am already half way there.
But the best advice I can give to you Miss Sanchez, is take the advice of a famous American president who once said “don`t ask yourself what your country can do for you, but ask yourself what you can do for your country.”
Mayo 13th, 2012 at 08:02
Cube Libra, did you write Castro a letter yet asking for elections?
You say Cubans support him, so get some elections going to prove your point.
Mayo 13th, 2012 at 07:56
For everyone`s information in here the International Committee of the Red Cross does not only support human rights, it also supports “cultural diversity.” And for everyone`s information they agree with the points of views of Iran, Pakistan, and yes even Cuba. But don`t take it from me, read it for yourselves.
http://www.unwatch.org/site/ap.....mp;notoc=1
Mayo 12th, 2012 at 21:14
ALAN GROSS NEEDS TO SEE HIS MOTHER.
CASTRO’S DO NOT CARE. SAME REASON CUBA IS BROKEN TODAY AND HAS TO DEPEND ON OTHERS.
FROM EXPERIANCE SOCIALISM SUCKS AND MISLEADS.
Mayo 12th, 2012 at 16:20
liberal and conservative are both destructive which destroy the nations…and they may be both left and right or a mix of the two of them. They both mess and create problems,crisis,than is a solution as opposite process…and so on the same process continues forever and the masses are fooled again every generation.Europe and North America are now both in crisis…and a big radical change will come with extremism
Mayo 12th, 2012 at 16:07
see here shown how che and castros came in power…as dictators of left,right or mix..
you can see this now in europe where many castros will be in power in the demolished countries by the banks and politicians,corrupted who will be replaced by new castros…who will be nationalists and extremists put and paid by the same bankers. Look greece now;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4AXJx3IzdY
so banks finance both and profit from both systems…liberal and conservative one
Mayo 12th, 2012 at 15:33
Dear Mr. :
Your message denouncing the behaviour of a member of the Cuban Red Cross during the recent Papal visit has come to my attention. This has been a very reprehensible and embarrassing incident that has caused strong condemnation from members of the Red Cross. Reactions like yours have been received from many places. I am pleased to inform you that the Cuban Red Cross took immediate action and expelled the individual from its volunteer ranks. I thank you for your openness in expressing your views to us.
Best regards,
Jose Garcia-Lozano
Director, Strategic Partnerships
International Operations
Canadian Red Cross | Croix-Rouge canadienne
National Office
170 Metcalfe St, Suite 300 | Ottawa | Ontario | CA | K2P 2P2
Jose.Garcia-Lozano@redcross.ca
T 613-740-1945 | 613-286-7272 | F 613-740-1911
http://www.redcross.ca | http://www.croixrouge.ca
Mayo 12th, 2012 at 15:31
Yes Humberto, I got more response from Red Cross
Dear Mr. ______:
Your message denouncing the behaviour of a member of the Cuban Red Cross during the recent Papal visit has come to my attention. This has been a very reprehensible and embarrassing incident that has caused strong condemnation from members of the Red Cross. Reactions like yours have been received from many places. I am pleased to inform you that the Cuban Red Cross took immediate action and expelled the individual from its volunteer ranks. I thank you for your openness in expressing your views to us.
Best regards,
Jose Garcia-Lozano
Director, Strategic Partnerships
International Operations
Canadian Red Cross | Croix-Rouge canadienne
National Office
170 Metcalfe St, Suite 300 | Ottawa | Ontario | CA | K2P 2P2
Jose.Garcia-Lozano@redcross.ca
T 613-740-1945 | 613-286-7272 | F 613-740-1911
http://www.redcross.ca | http://www.croixrouge.ca
Mayo 12th, 2012 at 13:39
IRONIC JUXTAPOSITION OF THESE MURAL PAINTINGS ON THE DECAYING WALLS OF HAVANA! I THINK PEOPLE NEED MORE THAN ART TO LIVE, LIKE FOOD AND FREEDOM! ITS GREAT FOR ALL THESE TOURIST TO COME, GET CHEAP GREAT ART AND FEEL LIKE THEY ARE HELPING THE PEOPLE OF CUBA BUT THE REALITY IS THAT THEY ARE ONLY HELPING THE ELITE ARTIST COMMUNITY AND THE CASTROFASCIST OLIGARCHY!! MAYBE A FEW CRUMBS OF CUC’S TO THE EVERYDAY CUBAN BUT THAT’S IT!
THE GLOBE & MAIL: In photos: Artists’ murals help mark Havana Biennial
http://www.theglobeandmail.com.....nt=2428849
Mayo 12th, 2012 at 13:04
United Nations Commission on Human Rights Commission- Cuba Report- 11 January 1995Report on the situation of human rights in Cuba, prepared by the Special Rapporteur, Mr. Carl-Johan Groth, in accordance with Commission resolution 1994/71
5. On 10 August 1994, pursuant to his mandate, the Special Rapporteur addressed a letter to the Permanent Representative of Cuba to the United Nations Office at Geneva requesting the collaboration of the Cuban Government in accomplishing his mandate and an opportunity to visit the country. To date, there has been no answer to this letter.
9. As far as the Special Rapporteur has been able to ascertain, the authorities do not provide figures on the number of persons serving sentences for politically related crimes. A partial list prepared by non-governmental groups in the country in November 1994 and sent to the Special Rapporteur contains 1,195 names. With a few exceptions, this list does not include the names of persons sentenced for antisocial behaviour or because they attempted to leave the country illegally. The authorities have also continued the practice of releasing some of these persons before they have served their full time, on the condition that they leave the country. These are persons on whose behalf foreign Governments or institutions interceded as mediators with the Cuban Government. Some of them rejected the offer and are still in prison.
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/c.....y51/52.htm
Mayo 12th, 2012 at 13:03
EXCELLENT AND LONG ARTICLE BUT WORTH THE READ!!
FOREIGN POLICY MAGAZINE: Getting Ready for Life after Castro - Managing the transition to a democratic Cuba: A user’s guide. - BY JAIME SUCHLICKI | MAY 11, 2012
In the early 1990s, many people expected the communist regime in Cuba to collapse. Those of us who followed the situation closely knew better, and subsequent events have borne out our caution. The post-Castro transition will indeed come one day, but when it does, it promises to be a long and complicated process.
The challenges are many. First, there will be the tremendous task of economic reconstruction. For nearly four decades, Cuba’s extreme dependence on the Soviet bloc for trade, and the distorting effects of huge subsidies from Moscow, created an artificial economy. Most of Cuba’s exports are in decline, and poverty is correspondingly growing. The internal market is weak, as domestic consumption is controlled by a strict and severe rationing system. Many transactions take place in the illegal black market, which operates in American dollars and with merchandise stolen from state enterprises or received from abroad. The Cuban peso has depreciated and its purchasing power has waned considerably. Huge and persistent government deficits, and the absence of virtually any stabilizing fiscal and monetary policies, have accelerated the downward spiraling of the economy.
Moreover, sugar production, Cuba’s mainstay export, has dropped to Great Depression levels. With low prices, a decline in sugar consumption worldwide, an increase in the number of competitive sugar producers, and widespread use of artificial sweeteners, sugar is a losing commodity with dire prospects for the future. Thus tourism, nickel exports, and even exile remittances have replaced sugar as the mainstay of the economy. Oil exploration in Cuba’s northwestern waters seems promising, but profits must be shared with foreign partners, and costs are extremely high.
CLICK LINK FOR ENTIRE ARTICLE
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/a.....ter_castro
Mayo 12th, 2012 at 12:39
DAMIR AND CUBA LIBRE,
How do you account for the fact that the Cuban government does not allow the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit Cuban prisons — the only country in the Americas to do so ?
Mayo 12th, 2012 at 11:02
Finally someone should tell why is there always a connection of red cross,cuba,south america,canada,communism,globalism,church and rockefellers ? Why are they in the same team ? Who are their enemies ? Are they the People,nations that dont like big controll but freedom…and protect land,private property and business?
Are they against private property and wealth of other people which they dont like ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKtnz3z57hM and
http://romanticpoet.wordpress......s-and-cuba
Mayo 12th, 2012 at 10:58
Finally someone should tell why is there always a connection of red cross,cuba,south america,canada,communism,globalism,church and rockefellers ? Why are they in the same team ? Who is their enemies ? Are they the People,nations that dont like big controll but freedom…and protect land,private property and business?
Are they against private property and wealth of other people which they dont like ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKtnz3z57hM and
http://romanticpoet.wordpress......s-and-cuba
Mayo 12th, 2012 at 08:03
Hey, Cube Libre and Dumbir, you should write Castro a letter asking for free elections.
Then if the Cuban people vote for Castro you can come here and post “I told you so”
Wouldn’t that be great?
So get out your pen and paper and write Castro asking for elections so the world can see how popular he is. It will be a great victory for your side.
But excuse me if I believe free elections is the last thing you want, ain’t I right?
Mayo 12th, 2012 at 07:51
Another one of team Yoani`s conspiracy theories. Why can`t people accept the fact that there was only one man amongst tens of thousands assisting the Papal mass that cried out his disapproval of the revolutionary government? Why can`t people accept the fact that the Red Cross employee hit Andrés Carrión over the head with his stretcher simply to show that this was neither the place nor the time to protest about Cuban politics? Why is it always the government that is blamed for every little incident that goes against the values and beliefs of the few dissidents in Cuba? Next thing you know, Miss Sancehz`s next post in here wil be “It`s raining today, the revolutionary government spoiled my day by making the rain come down.”
Mayo 12th, 2012 at 07:24
Post #8. Damir, what a piece of work you are. You complain about being insulted and in the same post you talk about people’s back holes and turds in another. You are a very confused person and add nothing to the intelligent posts from other people about Cuba.
Mayo 12th, 2012 at 02:25
Post nine compares rotten apples with rotten capitalism.
If any of you cared to learn a thing or two you may have learned the following - i do not expect the ignorants to understand, let it be said - socialism is RADICALLY DIFFERENT to capitalism so the ROLE of syndicates, known in capitalism as “unions”, is comparatively RADICALLY DIFFERENT.
You turds compare the two as if they were the same or similar thing.
In socialism, workers are the owners of their own factories. When you own a factory, to strike against yourself, as an owner, is a rediculous concept.
When did you EVER hear or see board members staging a demonstrative action against their own board!!!!????
Cr**s…
As I always say: you mentals just keep talking about things you know shift about as if you are the top world’s authority on a subject!!!
Makes the world laugh this arrogant ingorance and oblivion.
Keep them coming. Not that the world needs more proof of your ineptness, but a laugh or two are always welcome.
Mayo 11th, 2012 at 23:58
SEEN PART OF THIS COLLECTION AT MOLAA IN LONG BEACH, THANKS TO RICHARD TOWNSEND THE THEN PRESIDENT! AWESOME ABSTRACT ART EXHIBIT!
FOX NEWS LATINO: Miami Collector Makes Debut at Havana’s Biennial- By Rebekah Sager
This year, for the first time, selected works from the Ella Fontanals-Cisneros contemporary art collection left its home in Miami, and traveled out of the United States and into Cuba. For many, it is the most eagerly anticipated display of Havana’s 11th Biennial—opening Friday.
“I was traveling to Cuba to buy art. I met with people at the museum there and they asked if I would consider exhibiting my collection, or parts of it, in Havana. After a lot of discussion, about hurricanes and the general safety of the work, we came to the conclusion that this year’s Biennial would be the perfect time,” Cisneros says.
The collection being delivered to Cuba is a small example of the many works owned by the Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation aka CIFO—a non-profit organization designed to provide grants and arrange commissions for Latin American artists, started by Cisneros with her family in 2002.
Furthering her cause of celebrating Latin artists’ work, in 2003, Cisneros opened the Miami Art Central (MAC). It’s a 20,000-square-foot space located on the campus of the University of Miami. Although lacking a permanent collection, it quickly became known for bringing impressive contemporary shows to the city – MAC was recently named Best Art Museum by the Miami New Times.
As reported in the Wall Street Journal, Osbel Suárez will curate the Biennial exposition in Havana, and it will be presented at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. It will feature such international artists as Ai Weiwei (Forever Bicycles, 2003), Olafu Eliasson (Blue Double Kaleidoscope, 2005), and Barbara Kruger (Untitled) and (We Are Objects of Your Suave Entrapments, 1984), Cuban-born performance artist Ana Mendieta (Rock Heart with Blood, 1975), and performance artist Marina Abramovic is slated to deliver a lecture at the museum as well.
The first Havana Biennial, which took place in 1984, was dedicated to artists from Latin America and the Caribbean. By the second in 1986, artists from Africa, Asia and the Middle East took part. This tradition has remained, turning Havana into an important venue for the gathering and exhibition of ‘non-Western’ art—exactly the kind of work Fonatanals-Cisneros has become known for.
Born in Cuba, but raised in Venezuela, she began collecting art in the 1970s.
“For 50 years, since the start of the Biennial here in Cuba, nothing like this has been presented. Bringing this to the Cuban people is so exciting for me. The choices of which pieces to include wasn’t easy. Suarez (the curator) has assembled what we’re calling an “overview” of the whole collection and a perspective from different countries and their modern art from around the globe,” Cisneros says.
Cisneros has reported that the Cuban government has been nothing but supportive—no works of art were censored.
“This is a chance to open a window into Cuba and for artists to reach out. We’re making history here. There’s a willingness from the government to allow art and culture to come from the outside the country and be seen by this community. I’m very hopeful for my homeland. If I didn’t believe in that, I wouldn’t be here.”
http://latino.foxnews.com/lati.....-biennial/
Mayo 11th, 2012 at 22:25
John Two, the recent Pope’s visit was a replay of the first one. All public transportation was shut down and streets blocked so that normal worshipers couldn’t attend, but buses brought in communists who were ordered to attend and instructed to “politely applaud the Pope but don’t show too much enthusiasm”
The crowd was packed with military in plainclothes ready to jump on any Cuban shouting “down with communism”
There has not been one legal independent gathering of people in Cuba in 53 years. That’s why they call it totalitarianism.
If you look on the internet for some of those big Fidel peasant rallies in the early 1960s, you’ll see some friends of mine who were in the army at the time. They were bused into Fidel’s rallies dressed as peasants and ordered to cheer wildly.
It wasn’t like today when shouting “down with communism” will get you a beating and a few months of dungeon time. In those days just being suspected of not supporting Fidel could get you killed. My friends cheered so they wouldn’t be suspected, but every single one of them hated Fidel Castro.
Mayo 11th, 2012 at 22:04
John Two, the nasty business in Cuba is not the only time the Red Cross has been so abused. In Gaza, Hamas fighters have been filmed using Red Crescent ambulances to transport armed fighters abou the territory and even rockets. The organization can be co-opted & corrupted by local powers.
Mayo 11th, 2012 at 21:43
Poor poor Damir. What a miserable little twerp.
Mayo 11th, 2012 at 21:22
Damir DEAR! ITS NOT US SPEAKING POORLY ABOUT LABOR & LABOR UNIONS IN CUBA, OR THE LACK OF THEM! GET IT COMPARÑERO??
INTERNATIONAL CONFEDERATION OF FREE TRADE UNIONS (ICFTU) CUBA REPORT 2006:
There still is no freedom of association, no genuine collective bargaining and the right to strike is still not recognised in law. Six of the seven independent trade union leaders sentenced to lengthy terms in 2003 remained in prison. An independent trade union leader was arrested at the beginning of the year.
TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN LAW
A single union
The Cuban authorities only recognise a single national trade union centre, the Central de Trabajadores Cubanos (CTC). The Labour Code, which was published in 1985, does not provide for any genuine freedom of association. The government explicitly prohibits independent trade unions, though it claims there is no legal requirement for workers to join the CTC.
The government has told the ILO that it is undergoing a comprehensive revision of its Labour Code. A new code is unlikely to guarantee genuine freedom of association, as the government maintains that existing laws already do so. According to the Cuban authorities “Freedom of association, protected in Convention 87, does not translate into the false concept of ‘trade union pluralism’ imposed by the main centres of capitalist and imperial power.”
CLICK LINK FOR ENTIRE REPORT!
The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), was set up in 1949 and has 241 affiliated organisations in 156 countries and territories on all five continents, with a membership of 155 million, 40% of who are women.
http://www.icftu.org/displaydo.....anguage=EN
Mayo 11th, 2012 at 20:59
Insulting me in a vain attempt to come out as a winner only proves me right.
In the meantime, yes, I was just then in Cuba, during the Labour Day and I saw parade.
And there were NO BUSED people. No coercion, no intimidation.
Same happened during the students’ demonstrations against domestic traitors such as the team “yoani”.
So all you foreigners who are democratically PROHIBITED to go to Cuba, please shut your lower back holes. You do not know ANYTHING that you talk about. You have NEVER been in Cuba yet you criticise it as if you have some Marx-given right to do so.
Suck it up and suffer for Cuba is getting stronger and is recovering from 60 years of blockade and sanctions. I can’t wait for both Castros to die, they are actually your own human rubbish type of people in my eyes, for you to see how little you have achieved in converting Cuba into a capitalist dictatorship.
So, go on. Do not stop making deranged fools of yourselves. Do continue. Huge surprise is awaiting you yet, once the two brothers, your true idols, are dead.
Mayo 11th, 2012 at 20:08
John Two !! I THINK IT WAS SOMEONE ON THIS BLOG THAT POSTED THIS! PLEASE FORGIVE ME IF I FORGOT WHO IT WAS! PLEASE TAKE A BOW!! GRACIAS HERMANO/NA!
Humberto, this one is the result of your request:
Dear Mr. ___,
Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. We would like to assure you that the required follow up is being undertaken.
The conduct displayed in the video does not support the fundamental principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement which are independence, impartiality and humanity.
The Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has contacted the Cuban Red Cross Headquarters. An investigation into the matter has been initiated.
Yours sincerely,
Jacquelyn Hoult
Senior Communications Manager
Public Affairs
Canadian Red Cross | Croix-Rouge canadienne
National Office
170 Metcalfe St, Suite 300 | Ottawa | ON | | K2P 2P2
Mayo 11th, 2012 at 19:23
I had not previously been aware of this shocking incident. The video does not lie. What a disgusting abuse of the good name of the Red Cross.
As a regular donor to the Canadian Red Cross, I will demand that they seek from the International Red Cross the steps that will be taken to make sure the strict neutrality of those wearing the red cross symbol is never again abused in this way.
Mayo 11th, 2012 at 17:02
SAY NO TO EXTORTION BY THE CASTROFASCIST GOVERNMENT OF CUBA! ALAN GROSS IS INNOCENT AND IS BEING HELD HOSTAGE, THAT IS THE REASON HE WAS ARRESTED! THE CASTRO BROTHERS ARE JUST A MAFIA RUNNED BY THE SAME FAMILY FOR OVER 53+ YEARS!!
TREND NEWS AGENCY: US won’t negotiate with Cuba over imprisoned subcontractor Gross
The US State Department staunchly refused Friday to engage in any negotiations with Cuba over the case of a US social worker and development professional, Alan Gross, who is being held in prison in Cuba, DPA reported.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland was responding to the suggestion on Thursday by a top Cuban foreign ministry official that release of the Cuban Five, who are serving jail sentences for espionage in the US, should be part of the negotiations.
“We are not contemplating any release of the Cuban Five, and we are not contemplating any trade,” Nuland said in her daily press briefing.
“There is no equivalence between these situations. On the one hand you have convicted spies in the United States and on the other hand you have an assistance worker who should never have been locked up in the first place,” she stressed.
Gross, a US citizen, was arrested three years ago and has been sentenced to 15 years in a Cuban jail. Nuland called his situation “deplorable.”
On Thursday, Josefina Vidal, director for North America at the Cuban Foreign Ministry, told the US television network CNN that the communist country wanted negotiations with Washington on the issue.
“We have made clear to the US government that we are ready to have a negotiation in order to try to find a humanitarian solution to Mr Gross’s case on reciprocal terms,” Vidal said.
She accused the US government of having a “direct responsibility” in the subcontractor’s case.
“We’re not advancing a specific formula, it has to be discussed among us. But definitely Cuba has a legitimate humanitarian concern related to the situation of the Cuban Five,” Vidal said.
http://en.trend.az/regions/world/usa/2024922.html
Mayo 11th, 2012 at 15:49
No Parade no pay, some regime leaders were given boots just to attend. Alan Gross needs to visit his sick mother. How little decency Cuba government displays. When Cuba needs something they Bitch to everyone and end up getting what they want. Now Mr. Gross has an ailing mother and Cuba does not permit him to see his mother who is gravely ill. What happens in Cuba is shameful. Cuban youth demanding Change and evident in the music today. VIVA REAL 70 , viva OMNI Zona Franca, viva Gorki and PPR Viva the Cuban SNOOP DOGG Raudel Collazo Escuadron Patriota. Please buy their music through i-tunes or myspace and support CHANGE.
Mayo 11th, 2012 at 13:24
that will happen in every country and union,continent which will be part of the world corporation and socialism for the poor…where every world citizen will be a slave or on welfare,beaten and treated like shit…but still there will be institutions of the religion,government,police,armies and mercenaries of all kind of colored cross…red,blue,green,yellow and pink…so mobs will control,fight the mobs to get a bigger ration of food…and those who protest,rebele will get no food,but tortured…b
What do you call that system? Maybe the hell on Earth…created by the humans
Mayo 11th, 2012 at 09:45
Dumber, if you’ve ever been to one of those rallies, you’d know every Cuban attending is bused in. And the front rows are packed with soldiers dressed as civilians. They are also all armed and ready to take care of any Cuban who shouts what he really feels about Fidel.
The only ones who go there to party are dumb Marxist tourists like yourself.
If you weren’t so dumb, you’d also know that an estimated half a million US tourists visit Cuban every year, and that nothing ever happens to us for “breaking” an “embargo” that doesn’t exist.
Mayo 11th, 2012 at 09:26
And certainly not those who have never been in Cuba, like the poster of the previous post.
S/he would end up in prison (Guantanamo, most likely) for breaking the “law” that PROHIBITS usanian citizens to travel to Cuba.
I note that in recent pro-governmental celebrations almost 300 000 people came out to party.
Some huge army Cuba has, following illogic of ideologically brainwashed pioneers.
It is called the PEOPLE.
Now, THAT hurts, doesn’t it?
Mayo 11th, 2012 at 09:08
Very good post Yoani.
Not many people realize how deep this stuff runs in Cuba.
In over half a century there has not been one spontaneous demonstration in support of the Cuban government.
Soldiers dressed as civilians taking part in “mass demonstrations” started as soon as Castro took power in 1959.
I know soldiers who were at the “mass” rallies in the early 1960s - they were dressed as peasants to show the world the “people” loved Fidel. They were ordered to shout slogans and cheer, and most couldn’t stand Fidel.
Nobody went to those rallies out of their free will, not even die-hard communists enjoyed listening to Fidel for 5 hours under a 100 degree sun.