It is so nice to just sit back, relax and reminisce and remember about the good times when a person was growing up. Care-free and no worries, back then.
Unfortunately for me, I grew up in an era of Cuba that can only be described as a real bad era, politically.
On March 10, 1952, very early in the morning, I was waiting for my school bus. I was eight years old. My family was not wealthy. My father was a mid-level manager who worked for la Compañia Cubana de Teléfonos, which was a subsidiary of International Telephone and Telegraph (ITT), an American-owned company.
A neighbor comes out and sees me. He tells me: "Go back upstairs, there is no school today." When I asked him why, he said: "Tell your dad that Batista staged a coup." I did not know this Batista fellow, but I was very happy. Thanks to him I did not have to go to school that day. Ahh! The innocence of children!
Later on, I do not remember exactly when, we would move a couple of blocks to a new building. It was located on twenty first street, between 24th and 22nd avenue, in el Vedado.
My life revolved around a triangle formed by my home address, my school address, 13th street, between B and C avenues, and my favorite corner of 23rd street and 12th avenue. That was my territory.
Veintitres y Doce was my favorite hangout place. Why? There was this timbiriche where you could buy fritas cubanas. (See: Cook's Corner: Fritas and Fries, A Cuban original). They were soooo gooood! And the best part was that they only cost ten cents each, and came fully loaded with very fine and fluffy french fries. I would buy three, and eat them in less than fifteen minutes.
For desert, I would walk a block north to 21 and 12. There was this Tropicream place, that sold delicious ice-cream cones for only ten cents each. I would have two of them. Barriga llena, corazon contento! (Full stomach, happy heart!)
Just about everything that I needed would cost me ten cents, the fritas, the ice cream. Used comic books were also ten cents each at 23 and 12, sold by a midget cojo. If I wanted a brand new comic book, I would have to pay thirty cents. I was cheap. I would buy used comic books.
A Coke was five cents, lollipops were a penny each. But my favorite was the boniatillo: two sizes, small for two cents and large for four cents.
Ahh! THOSE WERE THE THE GOOD TIMES!
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Ladies for Green $$$ in White Arrive and Leave USIS
SINA is a Spanish acronym for "Seccion de Intereses NorteAmericanos."
USIS is an English acronym for "U.S. Interests Section."
The Yankee imperialists, with their never ending hatred for Cuban Socialism, use their USIS building in Havan's famed Malecon to disburse the Yankee payments to their discredited MERCENARIES inside the island; people like Yoani Sanchez, the Ladies in White ($$$) and other corrupt and treasonous VENDEPATRIAS.
George W. Bush & Barack H. Obama
George W. Bush & Barack H. Obama do
not understand the difference between terrorists and being a nation
of laws.
Terrorists commit murders for the pure
pleasure of engaging in mayhem and destruction. They are truly evil
people. Notice that I do not say that they are devils. Devils are
creations of organized religion. When it comes to religion I am a
follower of Karl Marx: “Religion is the opium of the masses.”
Religionists and the military have committed more crimes than anyone
else. The Crusades, in the name of Jesus, prostituted his teachings.
The military, the Third Reich and the U.S., while trying to “pacify”
South Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan have committed even more
unspeakable crimes.
But in this so-called war on terror,
the United States government is committed to being just another
“monkey-see, monkey do” group of fanatics.
The United States has always prided
itself in calling themselves “A Nation of Laws.” That
description has been practically abolished now. The war on terror is
a huge business in hyper-capitalist USA, just the same way that
religion is also a huge and very profitable business. That business
is for the consumption of the gullible, the sheep-people, the
uneducated and the low intelligence misfits.
The United States had a sovereign right
to seek and apprehend the terrorists of Nine-Eleven for the monstrous
crime that they committed that day. But because the United States
government has become just another group of terrorists, the ways and
methods that Barack H. Obama used to “kill” Osama Bin Laden can
only remind people of Chicago gangsters who follow the work-books
and manuals of an Al Capone or a John Dillinger. An extra judicial
execution that provided the government of the U.S. with pure pleasure
and mayhem. All done in the name of “justice.”
The Jews suffered a lot under Adolph
Hitler, but they proved to the world that, when they went hunting for
Adolph Eichmann, that they were truthfully committed to being a
genuine “Nation of Laws.” They went into Argentina and captured
Eichmann. He was taken to Israel and placed on trial. The laws of the
nation were followed. He was found guilty and a just sentence was
carried out. The Israelites did not engage in the barbarism of an
extra-judicial execution.
Unfortunately, that type of an attitude
does not exist anymore in Israel. They are doing to the Palestinians
the same unspeakable horrors that Hitler carried out against the
Jews.
Today, Barack H. Obama is just another
extra-judicial executioner. We are no longer a Nation of Laws.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Ciego de Avila Tigers Are the New Cuban Baseball Champions
The Blue Lion is Dead!
Long Live the New King of the Jungle!
The Tiger!
NOTES
Love
and Capital
KARL
and JENNY MARX
AND
THE BIRTH OF A REVOLUTION
By
MARY
GABRIEL
Little
Brown and Company
Hachette
Book Group
237
Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017
First
Edition: September 2011
These are Jorge
Gonzalez' excerpted notes about the most important facts in Mary
Gabriel's excellent book about the lives of Karl and Jenny Marx. I
encourage everyone to purchase a copy of this book. It a must-have
book in the book-case of any student of history. It is also available
at many Public Libraries.
In the preface
to her book, Mary Gabriel mentions that when she began the project of
writing about the lives of Karl and Jenny Marx, few questioned the
capitalist system that dominated the globe — capitalism was in the
midst of one of its periodic boom cycles. But as she moved from
research to writing, belief in the infallibility of the system began
to waver until, as a result of the financial crisis that reached its
first peak in the autumn of 2008, academics and economists openly
questioned the merits of free-market capitalism and pondered aloud
what an alternative might look like. Marx's writing, in the wake of
the turmoil, seemed all the more prescient and compelling. At the
dawn of modern capitalism in 1851, he had already begun anticipating
just such an outcome. His analysis of the weakness of capitalism were
eerily fulfilled.
In the opinion
of the publisher/editor of Cuba Journal, Karl Marx is
the most important man that has ever lived, surpassing in importance
the philosophical ideas of Jesus of Nazareth. Christianity became
another big business for capitalism. Marxists must not let the same
thing happen to Marxism.
When you
mention the words Karl Marx, capitalists tremble and cower in fear.
Capitalism is only successful for the super-rich, the banks and Wall
Street. In the U.S., the Democratic and Republican political parties
are faithful servants of the capitalist exploiters and worship on a
daily basis at the altar of Our Lady of Big Capital.
2013 is going
to be a very bad year for world-wide capitalism. The time-bomb of
accumulated debts is about to explode. It has happened in Greece and
Spain. The U.S. is next.
Since this
compendium of future notes are not about Cuba, but
about Mary Gabriel's book, I must first obtain the permission of the
copy-right owner in order to proceed after this point. Come back in
future weeks. But to wet your appetite and curiosity, Love and
Capital has, at least, one participant who was Cuban-born:
Paul Lafargue.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Advantage to Vladimir Garcia on Friday
The Industriales lost two games in a row against Ciego de Avila at the legendary Estadio Latinoamericano in Havana and will face on Friday one who is probably the best pitcher in Cuba today, Vladimir Garcia.
The advantage and the momentum is with the Ciego Tigers, but in baseball anything can happen. May the best team win!
Vladimir is proof that the best Cuban baseball players PLAY IN CUBA.
Peter C. Bjarkman:
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Cuba's first daughter has gone beyond Castro name
FILE - In this Aug. 12, 2011 file photo, daughter of Cuba’s President
Raul Castro, Mariela Castro, and Nicaragua’s late political writer Tomas
Borge, attend a celebration marking the 10th anniversary of the
National Center for Sex Education, CENESEX, in Havana, Cuba. On the eve
of her controversial arrival in the United States to attend a conference
on Latin America Thursday, May 24, 2012, prominent academics say the
49-year-old Cuban first daughter has carved out an important name for
herself that goes beyond her family lineage or famous last name, making
gay rights her life's cause.
(AP Photo/Franklin Reyes, File)
By
Andrea Rodriguez
HAVANA—She has her uncle's penchant for speaking her mind. From her father, she inherited a disciplined tenacity.
But Mariela Castro, a married mother of three and member of Cuba's most powerful family, has paved her own way in making gay rights her life's cause. And now the 49-year-old daughter of President Raul Castro is about to make a controversial visit to the United States for a conference on Latin America.
"She has put herself at the forefront of the struggle for rights for the LGBT community," said Gloria A. Careaga Perez, a professor of psychology from the National Autonomous University of Mexico who will be on Mariela Castro's panel at the San Francisco gathering of the Latin American Studies Association on Thursday. "What she does is praiseworthy because she is a pioneer, an academic and political authority who stands up for human rights."
Requests to interview Castro were not granted ahead of her trip, and four friends and admirers declined to speak on the record, a symptom of Cubans' deep misgivings about openly discussing members of the Castro family.
But while others are shy of giving their name, Castro has not been, particularly when it comes to her signature issue. She has lobbied for years for her father's government to legalize same-sex marriage, something he has not done. Earlier this month, Castro said the president privately shares her views on gay rights, and declined to push him to go public.
While she has no doubt benefited from her surname, Castro says it has always been important to her to have a separate identity.
"I never wanted any part of that, `the daughter of ...'" she said several years ago at a book launch in Havana. "I despise people who get on that kind of carriage, and I love myself very much for not doing so. I never did, and I never will."
But no matter how much Castro desires to set her own course, controversy will follow her on her trip to San Francisco precisely because of her father and uncle, both reviled by many Cuban-Americans and enemies of Washington for more than half a century.
When word came last week that the State Department had issued an entry visa to Castro -- as well as at least 60 other Cuban scholars -- Cuban-American politicians were quick to pounce. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio accused her of bringing a campaign of anti-Americanism to U.S. shores, while New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez said he was "indignant" over her presence.
They and others noted that U.S. rules prohibited Communist Party members and other high-ranking Cuban government officials from entry without special dispensation. While Mariela Castro is not officially part of the government, her personal ties to Cuban leaders are clearly evident.
The State Department has refused to comment on individual visa cases. Castro is due to chair a panel on the politics of sexual diversity in San Francisco and to meet with the local LGBT community. On May 29, she is to participate in a talk at the New York Public Library.
As head of Cuba's National Center for Sex Education, or Cenesex, since 2000, Castro has acquired a much higher profile than her siblings and cousins, becoming a leading advocate for gay rights in Cuba, Latin America and beyond.
Attractive, intelligent and quick to smile, Castro has a flair for dressing elegantly in bright colors. She is commonly seen heading up annual gay pride marches in the capital, flanked by six-foot-tall transvestites. Outspoken and self-confident, she meets regularly with visiting dignitaries, including a delegation of U.S. women last year, and travels the world giving talks about gay rights.
In conversation she looks questioners directly in the eye, is quick to speak and punctuates her words with animated gestures. She is reported to have two children with her husband, a Sicilian-born photographer, and a third child from a previous marriage, though even those basic details are not easily confirmed in Cuba.
And while Castro does not regularly give interviews, she is far from reclusive.
She is the only member of her famous family to really embrace Twitter; Fidel and Raul's accounts are dry and impersonal, apparently managed by underlings. She's also not afraid to mix it up with critics, as she did last year in a very public Twitter spat with dissident blogger Yoani Sanchez.
Grumbling about "despicable parasites" criticizing her just hours after her debut on the social media platform, Castro tweeted: "Were you ordered by your employers to respond to me in unison and with the same predetermined script? Be creative."
It was a rare moment of direct confrontation between a Castro and one of the dissidents, who are officially disparaged as counterrevolutionary sellouts doing the bidding of Washington, and it showed her willingness to depart from the prepared script, even if in defense of the government.
She was born July 27, 1962, to the power couple of the Cuban Revolution: Raul Castro and Vilma Espin, also a prominent guerrilla who later was president of the Federation of Cuban Women, a member of the Communist Party's Central Committee and Fidel's first lady stand-in for years when he had no official partner. Espin died in 2007.
Mariela, who bears a close resemblance to Espin, cites her mother's influence and has called her work a continuation of Espin's labor to advance women's rights in Cuba and Latin America.
"She was very sweet and tender. She passed along her values in educating us," Castro once said. By contrast, Castro sometimes quarreled with her father, though she has said she was always proud of his accomplishments.
It was at college in the late 1970s that Castro had her eyes opened to the gay rights movement, as a student leader who successfully fought off attempts to have gays expelled for their sexual orientation.
That tendency to go against the grain stuck, and four decades later Castro is still speaking her mind.
"It would be very easy for me to repeat what the whole world wants to hear, not contradicting anybody, being sweeter and more accepted. But my work obliges me to present realities that not everyone wants to face," Castro said at the book launch. "I'm not going to stop doing and saying what I believe in. The day I can no longer do that, I might as well spend my time planting lettuce instead."
Source: Boston.com
The Dragon Heads for the International Space Station
Yesterday, May 22, 2012, a private company called SpaceX succesfully launched its Dragon Space Capsule atop a Falcon 9 rocket. Destination: The International Space Station, for possible rendezvous and docking this coming Friday.
Where does the name Dragon comes from? According to www.space.com SpaceX's billionaire CEO Elon Musk has said that he named his spacecraft "Dragon" after the fictional "Puff the Magic Dragon," from the hit song by music group Peter, Paul and Mary.
What Would Have Happened to Yoani Sánchez in Batista's Cuba?
The United States' favorite ugly duckling MERCENARY in Cuba should say a small prayer every morning when she gets up. Poor creature! She can not add 2 + 2 together.
I was very young during the seven years when General Fulgencio Batista “governed” Cuba with plenty of blessings and support from the Yankee imperialists to the north. But I remember very vividly the tales that would be told very often at my house. And I also remember seeing very vividly the gruesome pictures published in Bohemia during the rare and few instances when the constitutional guarantees were not suspended by the dictator's edict from his sumptuous palace.
Yoani should be thankful that she now lives in an island where its government respects the fundamental dignity of every man an woman. She also should be thankful that the Cuban government has never-ending patience.
You see, in Batista's Cuba Yoani would have been found on a lake or on a secluded beach, with lots of ants around her mouth and nostrils. She would be food for insects and scavenger tiñosas.
But then, she probably does not yet understand why the Cuban Revolution was fought. The leaders of that epic struggle had plenty of “cojones.” Those leaders did not choose to go and live the good life in Miami. They made a solemn pledge to the Cuban people that the tyrant would be gone one day.
Yoani should give thanks for January First, 1959.
I was very young during the seven years when General Fulgencio Batista “governed” Cuba with plenty of blessings and support from the Yankee imperialists to the north. But I remember very vividly the tales that would be told very often at my house. And I also remember seeing very vividly the gruesome pictures published in Bohemia during the rare and few instances when the constitutional guarantees were not suspended by the dictator's edict from his sumptuous palace.
Yoani should be thankful that she now lives in an island where its government respects the fundamental dignity of every man an woman. She also should be thankful that the Cuban government has never-ending patience.
You see, in Batista's Cuba Yoani would have been found on a lake or on a secluded beach, with lots of ants around her mouth and nostrils. She would be food for insects and scavenger tiñosas.
But then, she probably does not yet understand why the Cuban Revolution was fought. The leaders of that epic struggle had plenty of “cojones.” Those leaders did not choose to go and live the good life in Miami. They made a solemn pledge to the Cuban people that the tyrant would be gone one day.
Yoani should give thanks for January First, 1959.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Chicago's Black-clad Storm Troopers
The U.S. was never seen as a liberator in
Iraq or Afghanistan.
Echoes of South Vietnam!
Sunday, May 20, 2012
May 20: A Disastrous Day in Cuban History
May 20, 1902, is a day that free Cubans throught the world, and inside the island, no longer celebrate. On that fateful day, the Yankee imperialists installed on the Cuban "presidency" a U.S. boot-licker called Tomas Estrada Palma. He was a U.S. citizen and served his Yankee master very faithfully. He would not be the last puppet installed by the Ugly Americans. Machado, Grau, Prio and Batista would follow.
Y en eso llego Fidel! He would lead the most important struggle for national independence. Eisenhower would send Batista millions of tax-payers dollars to try to stop Cuba's last liberation war. It was a failure. Right under the noses of the imperialists, Cubans decided to build a socialist state.
The thoroughly corrupt and immoral John F. Kennedy decided he was going to send a "liberation" brigade to bring capitalism back to the island. The Cuban people slapped them on the face in about 66 hours at the Bay of Pigs.
The Yankees never learned their lesson. As recently as 2000 and 2008, two more POTUS would try to peddle their fake "change" garbage. The results were the same.
Liberation Day in Cuba is now celebrated the First of January every year.
Y en eso llego Fidel! He would lead the most important struggle for national independence. Eisenhower would send Batista millions of tax-payers dollars to try to stop Cuba's last liberation war. It was a failure. Right under the noses of the imperialists, Cubans decided to build a socialist state.
The thoroughly corrupt and immoral John F. Kennedy decided he was going to send a "liberation" brigade to bring capitalism back to the island. The Cuban people slapped them on the face in about 66 hours at the Bay of Pigs.
The Yankees never learned their lesson. As recently as 2000 and 2008, two more POTUS would try to peddle their fake "change" garbage. The results were the same.
Liberation Day in Cuba is now celebrated the First of January every year.
Open up to Cuba
I visited Cuba a few weeks ago, and was surprised to find not only a wonderful island, but warm-hearted, happy, resilient, and, most important, just-plain folks working hard to maintain a sense of dignity.
One of our lecturers told us "changes are slow, but they are relentless." You can see those changes everywhere: houses for sale by individual owners; artisans markets (budding entrepreneurs); rooms for rent to tourists (using the Internet to advertise); and so much more.
For Cuban-Americans in Congress to say that Mariela Castro Espin "will spread communist propaganda to promote her father's regime" is absurd ("Castro daughter's U.S. visit stirs backlash," Orlando Sentinel, Friday).
I feel it is time to lift the embargo and let the Cuban people show the world what they can do, if given half a chance.
Danielle T. Abbott, Cocoa, Florida
Letters to the Editor, Orlando Sentinel
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Mariela Castro to Visit USA
Mariela Castro, the daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro and director of CENESEX (AFP/File)
"Yes, they granted it (the visa) and pretty quickly," said the spokesman for the National Center for Sexual Education, which Mariela Castro heads.
The US State Department would neither confirm nor deny that Castro had been given the visa, citing US privacy laws.
Castro, 50, will attend the annual conference of the Latin American Studies Association on May 23-26 in San Francisco, and sources said she would be on a panel tackling the issue of sexual diversity.
As head of the National Center for Sexual Education, Castro is currently leading a national campaign against homophobia in Cuba.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Marco Rubio Wants to Look Over Your Shoulder
Marco Rubio wants to look over your shoulder to find out where you are traveling to during your vacation.
And, of course, he also wants to find out if you are inviting a man into your bedroom, rather than a woman.
The best description for Marco Rubio is: RIGHT WING NUT!
Now that you have read my first three line, please go and read an article re-published in the Seattle Times (?) and written by prominent Miami gusano Juan Tamayo.
And, of course, he also wants to find out if you are inviting a man into your bedroom, rather than a woman.
The best description for Marco Rubio is: RIGHT WING NUT!
Now that you have read my first three line, please go and read an article re-published in the Seattle Times (?) and written by prominent Miami gusano Juan Tamayo.
Why Did a London Man Join the Socialist Party?
Source: Socialist Party (London)
'Socialism: the thinking person's economics!'
Ravi Patel, West London Socialist Party
My seven-year-old saw me reading the pamphlet 1917 - The Year that Changed the World, by Peter Taafe and Hannah Sell.
"What's that?" he demanded. "What's it about?"I resorted to that phrase well known to fathers everywhere. "Umm... Errr... Hmm... Errmm..."
"What is it about?" So what the hell, I figured. I've explained why Doctor Who's Tardis is smaller on the outside and big on the inside, and what the acronym T-A-R-D-I-S stands for (Time and Relative Dimension in Space). I can try and explain the Russian Revolution and Karl Marx. "It's about somebody named Karl Marx," I said. "It's about why he was right."
"Right about what?"
"About not liking capitalism. He didn't like capitalism."
Blank stare.
"Do you know what capitalism is?" I asked. "No."
"Okay, you know how everybody buys and sells everything?"
"Yeah?"
"That's capitalism. And Marx didn't like it." He had an expression halfway between incredulity and boredom. "Why didn't he like it?"
"Well, with the system where everybody buys and sells and tries to make as much money as they can, you end up with some people who have a lot of money who own the factories, and then some people have only a little money and work in the factories. And Marx thought that was unfair. He said that the people who work in the factories should own the factories."
"Oh." Pause for thought. "That makes sense." "Yes," I said. "But some people really don't like that idea."
Then his eyes lit up. "The factory owners don't like it, I bet!"
So there you have it. Socialist ideas are intuitive enough that even a seven-year old can understand them.
But in 2001 I was an approved candidate for the Conservative Party to stand in the local elections. For most of my life I had been a Tory supporter. I thought that if the leftists got into government, democracy and freedom would be rejected in favour of a Stalinist totalitarian regime with bread queues extending for miles.
I believed the capitalist propaganda, after all with the fall of the Berlin Wall, which led to the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union, things were not looking awfully good for socialism in general.
In November 2005 I went to Dubai and started consultant work in the booming real estate sector. I turned a blind eye to the slave labour conditions that existed to build these magnificent palaces on artificial islands in the sea, and tried to justify to myself that it was part of life which I had no control over.
In August 2007 my mother fell over while disembarking from a bus en route to Southall, west London. She suffered severe head injuries, and as a consequence her Parkinson's disease was made worse. Being the only son, I left my job in Dubai and became a full time carer looking after my mother 24 hours a day.
Ealing council, hampered by budget cuts, failed to provide my mother with an adequate service in terms of regular respite care and all the necessary apparatus.
At this point in time I started to question my belief in capitalism, I felt ashamed that during my good times I was happy being a capitalist, and now during the bad times, I was dancing to a different tune.
The financial crisis kicked off in late 2008, the banks were failing, and national governments were bailing out the entire banking system with bailout after bailout with no end in sight. I felt totally disgusted with crony capitalism, bailouts for the rich and cuts for the poor.
The UK government spent £117 billion buying shares in banks and lending directly to financial institutions, the National Audit Office calculated. That represented a liability of £5,530 for every one of the 21.1 million families in Britain. So it's socialism for the rich and austerity for the working class, how can this be fair?
So it hit me: socialism is the thinking man's economics.
The choice should be rather obvious to you. You can believe that New Labour and the Con-Dems have the working class person's best interests at heart. Or, if not, if you have to hesitate and think about that for even a couple of seconds, then maybe you're just a 'closet socialist' and too scared to admit it!
'Socialism: the thinking person's economics!'
Ravi Patel, West London Socialist Party
My seven-year-old saw me reading the pamphlet 1917 - The Year that Changed the World, by Peter Taafe and Hannah Sell.
"What's that?" he demanded. "What's it about?"I resorted to that phrase well known to fathers everywhere. "Umm... Errr... Hmm... Errmm..."
"What is it about?" So what the hell, I figured. I've explained why Doctor Who's Tardis is smaller on the outside and big on the inside, and what the acronym T-A-R-D-I-S stands for (Time and Relative Dimension in Space). I can try and explain the Russian Revolution and Karl Marx. "It's about somebody named Karl Marx," I said. "It's about why he was right."
"Right about what?"
"About not liking capitalism. He didn't like capitalism."
Blank stare.
"Do you know what capitalism is?" I asked. "No."
"Okay, you know how everybody buys and sells everything?"
"Yeah?"
"That's capitalism. And Marx didn't like it." He had an expression halfway between incredulity and boredom. "Why didn't he like it?"
"Well, with the system where everybody buys and sells and tries to make as much money as they can, you end up with some people who have a lot of money who own the factories, and then some people have only a little money and work in the factories. And Marx thought that was unfair. He said that the people who work in the factories should own the factories."
"Oh." Pause for thought. "That makes sense." "Yes," I said. "But some people really don't like that idea."
Then his eyes lit up. "The factory owners don't like it, I bet!"
So there you have it. Socialist ideas are intuitive enough that even a seven-year old can understand them.
But in 2001 I was an approved candidate for the Conservative Party to stand in the local elections. For most of my life I had been a Tory supporter. I thought that if the leftists got into government, democracy and freedom would be rejected in favour of a Stalinist totalitarian regime with bread queues extending for miles.
I believed the capitalist propaganda, after all with the fall of the Berlin Wall, which led to the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union, things were not looking awfully good for socialism in general.
In November 2005 I went to Dubai and started consultant work in the booming real estate sector. I turned a blind eye to the slave labour conditions that existed to build these magnificent palaces on artificial islands in the sea, and tried to justify to myself that it was part of life which I had no control over.
In August 2007 my mother fell over while disembarking from a bus en route to Southall, west London. She suffered severe head injuries, and as a consequence her Parkinson's disease was made worse. Being the only son, I left my job in Dubai and became a full time carer looking after my mother 24 hours a day.
Ealing council, hampered by budget cuts, failed to provide my mother with an adequate service in terms of regular respite care and all the necessary apparatus.
At this point in time I started to question my belief in capitalism, I felt ashamed that during my good times I was happy being a capitalist, and now during the bad times, I was dancing to a different tune.
The financial crisis kicked off in late 2008, the banks were failing, and national governments were bailing out the entire banking system with bailout after bailout with no end in sight. I felt totally disgusted with crony capitalism, bailouts for the rich and cuts for the poor.
The UK government spent £117 billion buying shares in banks and lending directly to financial institutions, the National Audit Office calculated. That represented a liability of £5,530 for every one of the 21.1 million families in Britain. So it's socialism for the rich and austerity for the working class, how can this be fair?
So it hit me: socialism is the thinking man's economics.
The choice should be rather obvious to you. You can believe that New Labour and the Con-Dems have the working class person's best interests at heart. Or, if not, if you have to hesitate and think about that for even a couple of seconds, then maybe you're just a 'closet socialist' and too scared to admit it!
Less that 12 months for the 2013 World Baseball Classic
The 2013 World Baseball Classic will be an international baseball
competition. It will be the first WBC to include a qualification round
that expands participation in the tournament from 16 to 28 teams.
Japan won the first two World Baseball Classics, in 2006 and 2009.
Source: Wikipedia
Japan won the first two World Baseball Classics, in 2006 and 2009.
Source: Wikipedia
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
The Industriales Blue Lion is Getting Ready to Roar!
One More Win
and the Industriales
Advance to the Finals
of the 51st Series
Shit-Heads @ The Heritage Fundation
What can you expect from fanatical right-wingers?
Nothing but shit and more shit!
One of the blogs published by the scum who work at the Heritage Foundation are all pissed-off because the U.S. State Department may or will grant a visa to Mariela Castro Espin, the daughter of Raul Castro, who plans to visit San Francisco for a meeting of the Latin America Studies Association.
The shit which they publish calls Fidel and Raul Castro dictators.
What is a dictator for a Yankee imperialist? One that does not kiss the ass of Uncle Sam on a daily basis!
Go back to your sand box, you Yankee scum!
Nothing but shit and more shit!
One of the blogs published by the scum who work at the Heritage Foundation are all pissed-off because the U.S. State Department may or will grant a visa to Mariela Castro Espin, the daughter of Raul Castro, who plans to visit San Francisco for a meeting of the Latin America Studies Association.
The shit which they publish calls Fidel and Raul Castro dictators.
What is a dictator for a Yankee imperialist? One that does not kiss the ass of Uncle Sam on a daily basis!
Go back to your sand box, you Yankee scum!
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Mariela Castro to Barack Obama: GIVE ME FIVE NOW!
Pro gay rights ... Mariela Castro, daughter of Cuba's President Raul Castro. Photo: AP
Friday, May 11, 2012
For those Cuba Journal readers who can read English and Spanish
I get quite a lot of visits from Miami GUSANOS. They make me laugh a lot.
They hide behind anonymity because they do not have the necessary COJONES to act like a man.
Fidel Castro had what it takes on July 26, 1953, and he even had bigger huevos when he landed from the Granma on December 2, 1956. The rest is history.
The Miami GUSANOS think that by putting a bomb in a business or by leaving silly messages @ Cuba Journal they are accomplishing something. What fools!
Now go the CJ post, see the comments, and laugh with me:
They hide behind anonymity because they do not have the necessary COJONES to act like a man.
Fidel Castro had what it takes on July 26, 1953, and he even had bigger huevos when he landed from the Granma on December 2, 1956. The rest is history.
The Miami GUSANOS think that by putting a bomb in a business or by leaving silly messages @ Cuba Journal they are accomplishing something. What fools!
Now go the CJ post, see the comments, and laugh with me:
CONVOCATORIA AL PRIMER ENCUENTRO NACIONAL DE CIUDADANOS CUBANOS RESIDENTES EN EE.UU.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Cuba offshore drilling may hit oil reservoir soon
By William E. Gibson, Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — A Spanish company drilling an exploratory well north of Havana is within a week of reaching its target: an oil reservoir believed to lie under Cuban waters roughly 60 miles from Florida.
That’s the word from energy and environmental experts who met in Washington on Thursday to discuss plans to prevent or respond to a potential oil spill and protect South Florida’s delicate coastline.
The experts, who are in touch with Cuban officials and the Spanish company Repsol, say the drilling has been done in a slow and safe manner. But they warned that plans to respond to a potential oil spill are still hampered by the U.S. embargo of Cuba, which restricts the equipment and personnel that can be sent to prepare in case of a blowout.
“In every way, I think the Cuban approach to this is responsible and appropriate to the risk they are undertaking,” said William K Reilly, former administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under former President George H.W. Bush.
But the U.S. government, he said, “has not interpreted its sanctions policy in a way that would clearly make available in advance the kind of technologies that would be required.”
That includes capping equipment needed to stop a major leak, he said. “That includes even the spare parts to a blowout preventer.”
He and several oil industry and environmental experts urged President Barack Obama to grant a general license for American companies to rush into Cuban waters without restriction to help stop a spill at its source.
The staging area for needed equipment should be in Cuba for a fast response, they said, but instead it is being assembled by Helix Energy Systems near Tampa. Some equipment will also be housed in South Florida.
The Coast Guard cannot enter Cuban-controlled waters without permission from the Cuban government. But Coast Guard officials say they are increasingly confident that the Cubans would allow them to help cap and contain a spill at the source.
The initial drilling is within a week of reaching the depth needed to tap an expected reservoir beneath Cuban waters, said Lee Hunt, past president of the International Association of Drilling Contractors.
“The desirability for a command center in a Cuban port for spill-response staging is very high,” Hunt said. “The likelihood of it happening? Nil.”
WASHINGTON — A Spanish company drilling an exploratory well north of Havana is within a week of reaching its target: an oil reservoir believed to lie under Cuban waters roughly 60 miles from Florida.
That’s the word from energy and environmental experts who met in Washington on Thursday to discuss plans to prevent or respond to a potential oil spill and protect South Florida’s delicate coastline.
The experts, who are in touch with Cuban officials and the Spanish company Repsol, say the drilling has been done in a slow and safe manner. But they warned that plans to respond to a potential oil spill are still hampered by the U.S. embargo of Cuba, which restricts the equipment and personnel that can be sent to prepare in case of a blowout.
“In every way, I think the Cuban approach to this is responsible and appropriate to the risk they are undertaking,” said William K Reilly, former administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under former President George H.W. Bush.
But the U.S. government, he said, “has not interpreted its sanctions policy in a way that would clearly make available in advance the kind of technologies that would be required.”
That includes capping equipment needed to stop a major leak, he said. “That includes even the spare parts to a blowout preventer.”
He and several oil industry and environmental experts urged President Barack Obama to grant a general license for American companies to rush into Cuban waters without restriction to help stop a spill at its source.
The staging area for needed equipment should be in Cuba for a fast response, they said, but instead it is being assembled by Helix Energy Systems near Tampa. Some equipment will also be housed in South Florida.
The Coast Guard cannot enter Cuban-controlled waters without permission from the Cuban government. But Coast Guard officials say they are increasingly confident that the Cubans would allow them to help cap and contain a spill at the source.
The initial drilling is within a week of reaching the depth needed to tap an expected reservoir beneath Cuban waters, said Lee Hunt, past president of the International Association of Drilling Contractors.
“The desirability for a command center in a Cuban port for spill-response staging is very high,” Hunt said. “The likelihood of it happening? Nil.”
Intacta la Política Hostil de Estados Unidos Contra Cuba
La Habana, 10 may (Prensa Latina) A casi cuatro años de la asunción del presidente
estadounidense, Barak Obama, las expectativas de un cambio de actitud de
su gobierno respecto a Cuba están muy lejos de cumplirse, consideró
aquí una diplomática de alto rango.
Si bien Obama adoptó algunas medidas de carácter positivo para la relación entre ambos países, los aspectos fundamentales que caracterizan la política hacia la isla no han sido modificados, afirmó la directora de América del Norte de la Cancillería cubana, Josefina Vidal.
En una entrevista concedida a la cadena televisiva CNN en español, difundida aquí, la funcionaria subrayó que las sanciones económicas como el bloqueo, cuyas pérdidas al país son estimadas en 975 mil millones de dólares, siguen intactas.
"Tampoco han sido revisados los llamados programas para promover cambios en Cuba, que son programas ilegales en nuestro país, en tanto tratan de buscar un cambio que solo a nuestro pueblo le compete adoptar o decidir", comentó.
Vidal expresó, además, que continúan las transmisiones radiales y televisivas diseñadas contra la isla; y la permanencia del país en las listas negras del Departamento de Estado que tratan de deslegitimar a la nación caribeña.
Asimismo, reiteró la disposición cubana a sostener un diálogo político, abarcador de todos los problemas, para identificar áreas de interés común e impulsar la cooperación bilateral.
Respecto al caso del estadounidense Alan Gross, encarcelado aquí por actos contra la independencia nacional, la funcionaria señaló que los medios tratan de equiparar su proceso con el de René González, antiterrorista cubano que cumplió una sentencia de 13 años en Estados Unidos y se encuentra bajo libertad supervisada.
Al ser interrogada sobre una petición de Gross de visitar a su madre enferma, Vidal aclaró que los casos son distintos, pues el norteamericano se encuentra al inicio de su condena, y como ocurre en otros países, en tales condiciones no está permitido que las personas salgan del territorio donde cumplen su sanción.
Recordó que Gerardo Hernández, otro de los cinco cubanos apresados junto a René González en 1998 por informar de acciones terroristas perpetradas en el sur de la Florida contra la isla, perdió a su madre mientras cumplía su pena de cárcel y no se le permitió viajar para visitarla.
------
JG: I again choose to sound like a broken record. There is no difference between George W. Bush policies toward Cuba and those of Barack Obama.
The U.S. imperialists want to destroy Cuba.
All I can do is vote against both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. The two capitalist parties are giving me TWO PIECES OF GARBAGE!
Si bien Obama adoptó algunas medidas de carácter positivo para la relación entre ambos países, los aspectos fundamentales que caracterizan la política hacia la isla no han sido modificados, afirmó la directora de América del Norte de la Cancillería cubana, Josefina Vidal.
En una entrevista concedida a la cadena televisiva CNN en español, difundida aquí, la funcionaria subrayó que las sanciones económicas como el bloqueo, cuyas pérdidas al país son estimadas en 975 mil millones de dólares, siguen intactas.
"Tampoco han sido revisados los llamados programas para promover cambios en Cuba, que son programas ilegales en nuestro país, en tanto tratan de buscar un cambio que solo a nuestro pueblo le compete adoptar o decidir", comentó.
Vidal expresó, además, que continúan las transmisiones radiales y televisivas diseñadas contra la isla; y la permanencia del país en las listas negras del Departamento de Estado que tratan de deslegitimar a la nación caribeña.
Asimismo, reiteró la disposición cubana a sostener un diálogo político, abarcador de todos los problemas, para identificar áreas de interés común e impulsar la cooperación bilateral.
Respecto al caso del estadounidense Alan Gross, encarcelado aquí por actos contra la independencia nacional, la funcionaria señaló que los medios tratan de equiparar su proceso con el de René González, antiterrorista cubano que cumplió una sentencia de 13 años en Estados Unidos y se encuentra bajo libertad supervisada.
Al ser interrogada sobre una petición de Gross de visitar a su madre enferma, Vidal aclaró que los casos son distintos, pues el norteamericano se encuentra al inicio de su condena, y como ocurre en otros países, en tales condiciones no está permitido que las personas salgan del territorio donde cumplen su sanción.
Recordó que Gerardo Hernández, otro de los cinco cubanos apresados junto a René González en 1998 por informar de acciones terroristas perpetradas en el sur de la Florida contra la isla, perdió a su madre mientras cumplía su pena de cárcel y no se le permitió viajar para visitarla.
------
JG: I again choose to sound like a broken record. There is no difference between George W. Bush policies toward Cuba and those of Barack Obama.
The U.S. imperialists want to destroy Cuba.
All I can do is vote against both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. The two capitalist parties are giving me TWO PIECES OF GARBAGE!
Wednesday, May 09, 2012
Solidarity Forever!
- When the union's inspiration through the workers' blood shall run,
- There can be no power greater anywhere beneath the sun;
- Yet what force on earth is weaker than the feeble strength of one,
- But the union makes us strong.
- CHORUS:
- Solidarity forever,
- Solidarity forever,
- Solidarity forever,
- For the union makes us strong.
- Is there aught we hold in common with the greedy parasite,
- Who would lash us into serfdom and would crush us with his might?
- Is there anything left to us but to organize and fight?
- For the union makes us strong.
- Chorus
- It is we who plowed the prairies; built the cities where they trade;
- Dug the mines and built the workshops, endless miles of railroad laid;
- Now we stand outcast and starving midst the wonders we have made;
- But the union makes us strong.
- Chorus
- All the world that's owned by idle drones is ours and ours alone.
- We have laid the wide foundations; built it skyward stone by stone.
- It is ours, not to slave in, but to master and to own.
- While the union makes us strong.
- Chorus
- They have taken untold millions that they never toiled to earn,
- But without our brain and muscle not a single wheel can turn.
- We can break their haughty power, gain our freedom when we learn
- That the union makes us strong.
- Chorus
- In our hands is placed a power greater than their hoarded gold,
- Greater than the might of armies, magnified a thousand-fold.
- We can bring to birth a new world from the ashes of the old
- For the union makes us strong.
Letter of Cuban Interests Section Chief to CNN's Wolf Blitzer
Monday, May 07, 2012
Beware When the U.S. Government Disseminates Two Words: Dissident & Transition
You do not have to be an expert in
politics or ideology to realize that the U.S. government is an
imperialist government.
You will probably turn around and ask
me: what is imperialism?
In Das Kapital, Karl Marx
considered imperialism to be part of the prehistory of the
capitalist mode of production. Conversely, Lenin defined imperialism
as "the highest stage of capitalism", the era in which
monopoly finance capital becomes dominant, forcing nations and
corporations to compete for control over resources and markets all
over the world. Lenin's theory of imperialism has since been adopted
by a majority of Marxists. (Source: Wikipedia)
The U.S. government is an imperialist
government. Of that there is no doubt. Its history is very clear: it
seeks to subjugate the lands of other peoples. It seeks, legally or
illegally, to advance the interests of its huge capitalist
corporations. It never defends the interests of the working class.
Both George W. Bush and Barack H. Obama are imperialists.
Both Dubbya & El Negrito have
always tried to advance and promote “dissidents” and
“transitions.”
They must think that the peoples of the
world are stupid.
In the case of a nation that is
closest, geographically, to the United States – Cuba – they have
used those two words ad nauseum.
What they really mean is: we seek to
take over your country (using mercenary dissidents, like Yoani
Sanchez, Coco Fariñas,
the Ladies in White and others) and transition your nation back to capitalism.
Or like Sherlock Holmes would have
said: “Elementary, my dear Watson!”
The Four Semi-Finalists in Cuba's 51st National Baseball Series
Western Region: Industriales vs Matanzas
Eastern Region: Ciego de Ávila vs Granma
JG: I am putting my money on the Industriales Blue Lions.
Eastern Region: Ciego de Ávila vs Granma
JG: I am putting my money on the Industriales Blue Lions.
Sunday, May 06, 2012
SOCIALISTS WIN IN FRANCE!
Yippee! The French have given Sarkozy the boot. He is French toast now! Is Obama next?
5/7/2012 update: Wall Street Journal: François Hollande has pledged to shift the economic hardship on to the rich and soften austerity measures.
JG: There are more of us, proletarians, than there are rich capitalist millionaires and billionaires. UNITE!
5/7/2012 update: Wall Street Journal: François Hollande has pledged to shift the economic hardship on to the rich and soften austerity measures.
JG: There are more of us, proletarians, than there are rich capitalist millionaires and billionaires. UNITE!
Friday, May 04, 2012
For a Socialist Victory in France on Sunday
Arise children of the fatherland
The day of glory has arrived
The day of glory has arrived
To arms citizens!
Form your battalions!
Lets March, lets march!
So that the impure blood
Waters our fields!
Lets March, lets march!
So that the impure blood
Waters our fields!
Fidel Castro is a friend of ours
The Florida Courier
Written by Fcadmin | 03 May 2012
Miami Marlins baseball manager Ozzie Guillen got in trouble recently for comments he made about Fidel Castro, and the Cuban-Americans in Miami-Dade County got extremely upset. No one said Guillen lied, but the Venezuelan-American former baseball player was suspended for offending Miami's Cuban community.
Not too long ago, Fidel Castro announced his retirement from his position as Cuba’s leader. Cuban-Americans express mixed reviews of the sudden announcement, which came on the heels of an extended illness. Many Florida politicians were quick to disparage Castro, calling him "a dictator" and other less-than-amorous names.
Different to us
To many African-Americans and people of African descent throughout the world, Castro regime has a much different connotation.
Blacks see Castro as a friend and a freedom fighter, mainly due to his role in sending Cuban troops to Africa to fight alongside the Africans fighting for their lives against apartheid and other colonialist powers. Castro even offered to help distressed Blacks in New Orleans with medical and other support, but the U.S. government refused that offer.
When the world’s superpowers turned their heads and allowed racism and colonialism to flourish in Africa, Castro sent troops and equipment to the continent that was essential in turning Africa’s political tides.
South Africa’s Nelson Mandela has spoken highly about Castro and Cuba’s contributions to African freedom. For showing his love for Castro and Cuba, Mandela was routinely booed by Cuban-Americans whenever he visited America.
Revolutionary history
Cuba has a history of many revolutionaries and freedom fighters of African descent. Today, Cuba has a very diverse government compared to governments in Western countries. Blacks that hold very high governmental positions there right now.
Though many of the United States’ most vocal critics of modern-day Cuba are not of African descent, Black Cubans living in America oftentimes are not as hostile. Many Blacks remember when Cuba was a playground for organized crime families. When casinos where thriving and money was flowing into the island, American Jews were a prevalent part of the Cuban community. In fact, a rudimentary investigation will reveal that many Cuban-American politicians, businessmen and professionals in the United States practice Judaism right now.
Let Cubans decide
The people of Cuba should decide what government they want and also which government leaders that they want, just as we are deciding who we want as America’s governmental leaders right now.
How long will Americans try to influence or decide who runs the governments and countries around the world? Interference in the affairs of Cuba is no different than interfering in Iraq, Pakistan, Iran, Lebanon, Grenada, Palestine, Libya, Egypt or anywhere else.
I can understand why some Cuban Americans seek to have a distinguishable change in Cuban politics and/or its government. They certainly have a right to disagree with the status quo.
However, as far as Fidel Castro goes, I ain’t mad at him.
May the best political philosophy win this battle of ideologies!
Contact Lucius at www.allworldconsultants.net.
"Like" The Gantt Report page on Facebook.
Last Updated ( Thursday, 03 May 2012 13:21 )
------
JG: Very well said Lucius. What the imperialists don't like is that Fidel doesn't kiss their asses, like Batista did.
Written by Fcadmin | 03 May 2012
Miami Marlins baseball manager Ozzie Guillen got in trouble recently for comments he made about Fidel Castro, and the Cuban-Americans in Miami-Dade County got extremely upset. No one said Guillen lied, but the Venezuelan-American former baseball player was suspended for offending Miami's Cuban community.
Not too long ago, Fidel Castro announced his retirement from his position as Cuba’s leader. Cuban-Americans express mixed reviews of the sudden announcement, which came on the heels of an extended illness. Many Florida politicians were quick to disparage Castro, calling him "a dictator" and other less-than-amorous names.
Different to us
To many African-Americans and people of African descent throughout the world, Castro regime has a much different connotation.
Blacks see Castro as a friend and a freedom fighter, mainly due to his role in sending Cuban troops to Africa to fight alongside the Africans fighting for their lives against apartheid and other colonialist powers. Castro even offered to help distressed Blacks in New Orleans with medical and other support, but the U.S. government refused that offer.
When the world’s superpowers turned their heads and allowed racism and colonialism to flourish in Africa, Castro sent troops and equipment to the continent that was essential in turning Africa’s political tides.
South Africa’s Nelson Mandela has spoken highly about Castro and Cuba’s contributions to African freedom. For showing his love for Castro and Cuba, Mandela was routinely booed by Cuban-Americans whenever he visited America.
Revolutionary history
Cuba has a history of many revolutionaries and freedom fighters of African descent. Today, Cuba has a very diverse government compared to governments in Western countries. Blacks that hold very high governmental positions there right now.
Though many of the United States’ most vocal critics of modern-day Cuba are not of African descent, Black Cubans living in America oftentimes are not as hostile. Many Blacks remember when Cuba was a playground for organized crime families. When casinos where thriving and money was flowing into the island, American Jews were a prevalent part of the Cuban community. In fact, a rudimentary investigation will reveal that many Cuban-American politicians, businessmen and professionals in the United States practice Judaism right now.
Let Cubans decide
The people of Cuba should decide what government they want and also which government leaders that they want, just as we are deciding who we want as America’s governmental leaders right now.
How long will Americans try to influence or decide who runs the governments and countries around the world? Interference in the affairs of Cuba is no different than interfering in Iraq, Pakistan, Iran, Lebanon, Grenada, Palestine, Libya, Egypt or anywhere else.
I can understand why some Cuban Americans seek to have a distinguishable change in Cuban politics and/or its government. They certainly have a right to disagree with the status quo.
However, as far as Fidel Castro goes, I ain’t mad at him.
May the best political philosophy win this battle of ideologies!
Contact Lucius at www.allworldconsultants.net.
"Like" The Gantt Report page on Facebook.
Last Updated ( Thursday, 03 May 2012 13:21 )
------
JG: Very well said Lucius. What the imperialists don't like is that Fidel doesn't kiss their asses, like Batista did.
Emilio Milian Was a Victim of the Miami Terrorists
I used to listen to Emilio Milian on the radio when I lived in west Dade County. He had guts. From his inimitable Radio Fe he would denounce the Miami terrorists. His "Tribuna Abierta" was open to all callers, not only the right wingers, like El Triple Feo does in Radio Mambi.
Emilio paid the price. His two legs were blown up by a bomb of the Miami terrorists.
This is the type of "democracy" that they want to take to Cuba?
Miami: Still America's Bomb Capital
From January 1, 1959 Till Today
Wednesday, May 02, 2012
Cuba's May Day Parade: "To Capitalism We Will Never Return"
Reuters – Tue, May 1, 2012 10:25 AM EDT
By Jeff Franks
With President Raul Castro looking on from beneath a giant statue of Cuban independence hero Jose Marti, hundreds of thousands of workers wearing red shirts and waving red flags filed through the vast plaza where Cuba holds its biggest political rallies.
The theme for this year's parade was signaled early when the first row of marchers carried a sign that said "Preserve and Perfect Socialism," which has become the mantra of Cuba's aging leaders.
Raul Castro, 80, has launched a series of reforms encouraging more private initiative and reducing state dominance of the fragile Soviet-style economy put in place after Cuba's 1959 revolution.
He has said his goal is not to replace communism but to take steps to strengthen it for the future.
Lest the message was not clear, the national television broadcast of the parade focused on a sign that read "To Capitalism We Will Never Return."
In the heavily orchestrated event, workers carried pictures of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, his revolutionary comrade Ernesto "Che" Guevara and Marxist heroes such as Vladimir Lenin and Frederick Engels.
The words "Unity and Victory" and "Long Live the Socialist Revolution" were flashed across the television screen.
Fidel Castro, who is 85 and led the country for 49 years before stepping down in 2008, did not attend the parade for the sixth straight year. The president's older brother has said he cannot endure long periods under the tropical island's intense sun.
President Castro, who wore a straw hat against the sun, waved and smiled at the marchers but did not speak, leaving that to Communist Party official and labor leader Salvador Valdes Mesa.
He talked of the need for greater productivity from Cuban workers and the importance of the economic reforms to communism's future.
"The revolution and socialism are fused," Valdes said. "Unity will be the key to preserve and consolidate the nation and the economic and social conquests (of the revolution)."
The reforms include plans to slash a million jobs from the government's bloated payrolls and, in a break from the past, to encourage people to start their own small businesses.
The country of 11 million people now has more than 371,000 people working for themselves, according to government figures.
As they did last year, some of the self-employed, or "cuenta propistas" as they are known in Cuba, marched in Monday's parade alongside the state workers who make up most of the island's labor force.
Cuba's May Day celebration always brings in labor leaders from around the world, including 1,800 from more than 100 countries this year, the master of ceremonies for the parade said.
One of them, Leonardo Lagarde of Uruguay, explained the attraction.
"This is the Mecca. We dream of coming on May 1 to celebrate with the Cubans, who are the light in the road for the rest of Latin America," he said before joining the parading masses.
A Cuban doctor, Angel Felipe, agreed.
"To be here today is an honor. It's a pride and a commitment that we should all have," he said.
(Additional reporting by Rosa Tania Valdes; Editing by Tom Brown and Bill Trott)
Florida Governor Rick Scott wants to have his cake and eat it too
The governor has no guts. He just signed an anti-Cuba bill, and an hour later he backpedaled.
Here are some excerpts from an article at the Canadian Business News:
MIAMI (AP) — Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill on Tuesday banning the state and local governments from hiring companies that do business in Cuba. But in a surprise turn an hour later, Scott wrote that the bill would not be implemented.
Florida International University Political Science Professor Dario Moreno said the law could still go into effect, but if the governor chooses not to enforce it, it's essentially invalid.
------
JG: Only the United States Congress can pass laws which regulate trade between the U.S. and other nations. The Florida law is basically unconstitutional and the courts will hold it invalid.
Here are some excerpts from an article at the Canadian Business News:
MIAMI (AP) — Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill on Tuesday banning the state and local governments from hiring companies that do business in Cuba. But in a surprise turn an hour later, Scott wrote that the bill would not be implemented.
Florida International University Political Science Professor Dario Moreno said the law could still go into effect, but if the governor chooses not to enforce it, it's essentially invalid.
------
JG: Only the United States Congress can pass laws which regulate trade between the U.S. and other nations. The Florida law is basically unconstitutional and the courts will hold it invalid.
Tuesday, May 01, 2012
I hope that the Cuban Goverment ends the $170.00 extortion and SCAM "fee"
Most people do not know this, but if you were born in Cuba, and you left the island between January First, 1959 and the last day of December of 1970, and you now live outside the island and you want to visit your family, the Cuban government requires that you hand over to them $170.00.
In my opinion, this is an extortion and a SCAM.
I was recently scammed by an unscrupulous capitalist businessman in Tampa, who passes himself as a "progressive" Cuban. So, buyer beware!
Read the Fox News article titled "After 50 years Cubans hope to travel freely."
In my opinion, this is an extortion and a SCAM.
I was recently scammed by an unscrupulous capitalist businessman in Tampa, who passes himself as a "progressive" Cuban. So, buyer beware!
Read the Fox News article titled "After 50 years Cubans hope to travel freely."
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