After a 16-year hiatus in the international friendly series between
the two traditional baseball powers, Cuba and the United States weren't
about to let a rain delay of nearly two hours spoil the drama between
the lines.
The USA Baseball Collegiate National Team broke a scoreless tie in
the top of the sixth inning when Michael Conforto (Oregon State)
launched a grand slam and was able to hold off a furious rally late in
the game by Cuba to hold on for a 4-3 win in the first contest of a
five-game series.
"I am very proud of this group and what we accomplished tonight,"
Team USA manager Dave Serrano said. "It was an exciting win for a team
that had to work through some tough circumstances, traveling in the
morning, going through customs and then having a long delay before the
game. They fought through it and stayed together though.
"Being able to have two great ambassadors in the sport of baseball
meet up after such a long layoff was special. I thought tonight's game
showed the world why these two countries should play each other each and
every year."
Despite having to wait out a lengthy pregame delay, pitching in front
of a raucous crowd at Latin American Stadium and facing a Cuban lineup
featuring all of its big-name stars, Jonathon Crawford (Florida) rose to
the challenge out-dueled Yadiel Pedroso to lead the Collegiate National
Team to its first win over Cuba since 1996 and first over the Cubans in
their home country since 1993 in Sancti Spiritus.
Crawford finished with 6.1 strong innings, striking out six, walking
two and allowing just two runs on four hits. He matched Pedroso
pitch-for-pitch in the early goings as both hurlers tossed zeroes up in
the first five frames.
In the top of the sixth though, Team USA finally started to put some
pressure on offensively as Kyle Farmer (Georgia) and Trea Farmer (North
Carolina State) singled and walked, respectively, to put two runners on
base and force Cuba to make a move to the bullpen.
Although Johnny Field (Arizona) greeted Joel Suarez with a long drive
to left, it fell just shy of the wall on the warning track for the
second out of the inning. A heads-up play by Farmer and Turner ensued,
however, as they were both able to tag up and advance 90 feet into
scoring position.
That would turn out to be a big play in Thursday's game as Cuba then
decided to intentionally walk D.J. Peterson (New Mexico) to load the
bases with two outs. That decision immediately proved fruitful for Team
USA as Conforto turned on a 1-1 slider from new relief pitcher Norberto
Gonzalez and deposited it five rows deep into the rightfield stands for a
grand slam.
Holding a 4-0 lead all of a sudden, Crawford continued to keep the
momentum on the U.S. side of the field as he retired the side in the
home half of the frame on just four pitches.
Cuba wasn't going to go down without putting up a fight, however, and
Frederich Cepeda got his team on the scoreboard in the bottom of the
seventh with a two-run homerun that just evaded the glove of a leaping
Austin Cousino (Kentucky) over the 380-foot marker in left-center.
The next batter singled through the right side of the infield to end
Crawford's evening, but Daniel Berg (UCLA) came out of the bullpen to
induce an inning-ending, 5-4-3 double play and keep the damage to the
minimum.
Cuba kept the pressure on in the eighth, taking advantage of a pair
of U.S. miscues in the field and using a two-strike sacrifice bunt to
put two runners in scoring position with just one out.
Yulieski
Gourriel then punched an RBI single back up the middle, but a strong
throw from Cousino in center held Cuba to just one run on the play.
Team USA then turned to Bobby Wahl (Mississippi) to escape the jam
and he struck out both Alfredo Despaigne and Jose Abreu swinging with
the tying run at third and go-ahead run at first to keep the U.S. lead
intact.
The Cubans threatened again in the bottom of the ninth with Cepeda
drawing a leadoff walk but Wahl did his job again, getting Alexei Bell
to fly out to left and Erisbel Arruebarruena to hit into a game-ending,
4-3 double play.
The United States and Cuba will square off again at 8 p.m. on Friday
night at Latin American Stadium with Marco Gonzales (Gonzaga) and
Ordrisamer Despaigne set to battle it out on the mound.
National Turk: U.S. Baseball Team Visits Cuba
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
What Does Ubuntu Mean?
“An anthropologist proposed a game to children in an African tribe. He put a basket full of fruit near a tree and told the children that whoever got there first won the sweet fruits. When he told them to run, they all took each others hands and ran together, then sat together enjoying their treats.
When he asked them why they had run like that when one could have had all the fruits for himself, they said, ‘UBUNTU, how can one of us be happy if all the other ones are sad?’ (‘UBUNTU’ in the Xhosa culture means: ‘I am because we are.)”
Source: http://ipauk.tumblr.com
That, my friend, is what Socialism is.
Cuba Charges Spaniard in Oswaldo Paya's Death
Spanish citizen Angel Francisco Carromero speaks during a press conference via pre-taped video footage that was shown during a press conference organized by Cuba's International Press Center, in Havana, Cuba, Monday, July 30, 2012. Carromero and Swedish citizen Jens Aron Modig, who were traveling with Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya when he died in a car crash, are denying speculation that a second vehicle was involved. Carromero says he braked abruptly after entering an unpaved construction zone and lost control. Photo: Franklin Reyes / AP
Houston Chronicle
PETER ORSI, Associated Press
10:09 a.m., Tuesday, July 31, 2012
HAVANA
(AP) — Cuba has charged a Spanish citizen with the equivalent of
vehicular manslaughter in a car accident that killed prominent dissident
Oswaldo Paya and another government opponent, official media said
Tuesday.
Angel Carromero, who was behind the wheel of the car that was carrying Paya when it crashed July 22, "has been accused of the charge of homicide while driving a vehicle on public roads," Communist Party newspaper Granma said.
Under the penal code, a person convicted of violating traffic laws or rules resulting in the death of another can be sentenced to one to 10 years in prison.
In videotaped testimony played for journalists Monday, Carromero said he lost control of the car when it suddenly entered an unpaved area of road under construction and he slammed on the brakes, causing it to skid.
An investigation found that Carromero was speeding and failed to heed traffic signs warning of the construction, and Cuban authorities had hinted that charges might be forthcoming. Another dissident, Harold Cepero, also died in the crash.
A spokeswoman for Spain's Foreign Ministry said her ministry had not received any notification of a change in Carromero's status. She spoke on condition of anonymity in line with department policy.
Granma said Carromero and Swedish citizen Jens Aron Modig, who was also riding in the car when it crashed, entered the country July 19 on tourist visas. Both are affiliated with conservative political parties in their home countries and have said they came to Cuba to bring 4,000 euros ($4,900) to Paya and help organize dissident youth wings.
Cuba's government considers the small opposition groups to be subversive, and objects to foreign-based efforts to support them.
Granma said Modig had been allowed to return to Sweden "in spite of the illegal activities he carried out and the violation of his migratory status."
On Tuesday he tweeted: "Have European soil under my feet. So nice!"
Presented to foreign journalists the previous day, Modig apologized for his conduct.
"I understand that these activities are not legal in Cuba and I would like to apologize for having come to this country to realize illicit activities," he said, according to a Spanish translation of his comments.
___
Associated Press writers Andrea Rodriguez and Anne-Marie Garcia in Havana, Ciaran Giles in Madrid and Louise Norstrom in Stockholm contributed to this report.
Angel Carromero, who was behind the wheel of the car that was carrying Paya when it crashed July 22, "has been accused of the charge of homicide while driving a vehicle on public roads," Communist Party newspaper Granma said.
Under the penal code, a person convicted of violating traffic laws or rules resulting in the death of another can be sentenced to one to 10 years in prison.
In videotaped testimony played for journalists Monday, Carromero said he lost control of the car when it suddenly entered an unpaved area of road under construction and he slammed on the brakes, causing it to skid.
An investigation found that Carromero was speeding and failed to heed traffic signs warning of the construction, and Cuban authorities had hinted that charges might be forthcoming. Another dissident, Harold Cepero, also died in the crash.
A spokeswoman for Spain's Foreign Ministry said her ministry had not received any notification of a change in Carromero's status. She spoke on condition of anonymity in line with department policy.
Granma said Carromero and Swedish citizen Jens Aron Modig, who was also riding in the car when it crashed, entered the country July 19 on tourist visas. Both are affiliated with conservative political parties in their home countries and have said they came to Cuba to bring 4,000 euros ($4,900) to Paya and help organize dissident youth wings.
Cuba's government considers the small opposition groups to be subversive, and objects to foreign-based efforts to support them.
Granma said Modig had been allowed to return to Sweden "in spite of the illegal activities he carried out and the violation of his migratory status."
On Tuesday he tweeted: "Have European soil under my feet. So nice!"
Presented to foreign journalists the previous day, Modig apologized for his conduct.
"I understand that these activities are not legal in Cuba and I would like to apologize for having come to this country to realize illicit activities," he said, according to a Spanish translation of his comments.
___
Associated Press writers Andrea Rodriguez and Anne-Marie Garcia in Havana, Ciaran Giles in Madrid and Louise Norstrom in Stockholm contributed to this report.
Monday, July 30, 2012
WAKE UP MOTHERS! Obama and Hillary Abandon Diplomacy and Choose War!
NYT and The Ledger: U.S. Abandons Diplomacy on Syria in Favor of Toppling the Assad Regime
Please help to make sure that the USA
has leaders that promote PEACE, rather than WAR.
Mothers of America: Do you want your
children to become the cannon-fodder for Obama and Hillary's new
unconstitutional war in the Middle East? It will be a war against
either Syria or Iran.
Hillary, Panetta and Romney have
visited Israel. They were lying the ground-work for the new war. The
two capitalist U.S. parties want to star a new war to get the country
out of the current economic depression that it finds itself in.
Mothers of America: these corrupt capitalist politicians WANT
YOU to contribute your children and their blood.
NO MORE VIETNAMS AND NO MORE IRAQS AND
AFGHANISTAN!
Let Obama, Romney, Panetta and Hillary
send their own children to their pet wars.
I did not invent that we are in an
economic depression. So says the 2008 Nobel Prize in economics: Paul Krugman. It took WWII for the U.S. to get out of the Great
Depression. Democratic and Republican Party politicians want to start
this war to get the country out of Great Depression II.
Yanet Bermoy Gives Cuba First Medal in London Olympic Games
July 30 2012, 10 :10 am GMT
Guantanamo's Venceremos Newspaper –- Cuban judoka Janet
Bermoy opened the table of medals for Cuba in the Olympic Games in
London on Sunday by winning the silver medal in the 52-kilogram
category.
Bermoy, World Champion in Egypt in 2005 and silver medalist in Beijing 2008 in the 48-kilogram division, lost to North Korea's Kum Ae An, who improved her performance in Beijing, where she got the silver medal.
The 25-year-old Cuban judoka beat Mongolia's Bundmaa Munkhbaatar by wazari in the first combat.
She also defeated Marie Muller (Luxembourg) by a yuko resulting from two "shidos" for passiveness of her contender, in the second fight.
One Irresponsible Driver and Two Irresponsible Passengers
A Florida printed newspaper reported
the following this past Saturday:
Havana │Cuban
authorities on Friday blamed driver error for the car crash that that
killed [two citizens], saying that the Spanish man behind the wheel
was speeding and braked too quickly upon entering an unpaved
construction zone, causing the vehicle to careen out of control.
An
Interior Ministry statement aired on the afternoon news said the two
passengers, Harold Cepero and Oswaldo Paya, were not wearing
seat-belts and were on the back of the car, which sustained the brunt
of the impact when it hit a tree at high velocity.
ABC News also reported it.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Sorry, Raul! Obama is too ARROGANT to talk to Cuba as EQUALS
Thu Jul 26, 2012 12:43pm EDT
* Raul Castro Offers to talk with United States as equals* Hostile U.S.-Cuban rhetoric heats up
By Marc Frank
HAVANA, July 26 (Reuters) - Cuban President Raul Castro accused the United States on Thursday of seeking an overthrow of the Cuban government similar to Arab Spring countries, while reiterating his government's willingness to negotiate with its decades old foe.
"“The day they want (to talk) the table is served," Castro said in a nationally televised address on one of the biggest days in Cuba's political calendar.
“"I have already informed them through diplomatic channels. If they want to talk, we will talk ... but as equals ... We are going to talk about the same themes (democracy and human rights) in the United States," he said.
Cuba: London 2012
La delegación cubana que intervendrá en los XXX Juegos Olímpicos,
izo esta mañana, día de la Rebeldía Nacional, su bandera en la Villa
Olímpica de la ciudad londinense, en Inglaterra, el 26 de julio de 2012.
AIN FOTO/Marcelino VAZQUEZ HERNANDEZ/
@Cubadebate
U.S. Venues For 2013 World Baseball Classic Announced
MLB Press Release
07/25/2012 2:30 PM EST
U.S. Venues For 2013 World Baseball Classic Announced
San Francisco’s AT&T Park Will Host Semi-Finals and Final;Marlins Park to Welcome Second Round Pool;
First Round Games to Be Held at D-backs’ Homes Chase Field,
Salt River Fields at Talking Stick
World Baseball Classic, Inc. today announced the United States venues for the 2013 World Baseball Classic, which will be played at sites throughout the world in March.
The Semi-Finals and Final of the 2013 World Baseball Classic will be staged at San Francisco’s AT&T Park and hosted by the San Francisco Giants.
Second-round games will be held at Marlins Park, which is currently in its inaugural season, and hosted by the Miami Marlins. First round competition will be played at both Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona and Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale and hosted by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
San Francisco will make its debut as a host city for the World Baseball Classic, succeeding San Diego’s PETCO Park (2006) and Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles (2009) as the host of the Semi-Finals and Final. AT&T Park, which is currently in its 13th season as the home of the Giants, has hosted Major League Baseball’s 2007 All-Star Game and the World Series in 2002 and 2010.
Miami will be a second round host venue for the second straight World Baseball Classic, having also done so in 2009 at Dolphin Stadium. Marlins Park is a state-of-the-art retractable roof ballpark in the heart of Miami, renewing the legacy of the Orange Bowl in Little Havana.
The homes of the D-backs, Chase Field and Salt River Fields, will serve as host venues for the first round. This is the second time that World Baseball Classic contests will be played at Chase Field, which hosted in 2006, when Scottsdale Stadium also welcomed first round games. Chase Field hosted the 2001 World Series and the 2011 Midsummer Classic.
“We are very pleased to partner with three franchises that will prove to be outstanding hosts of the 2013 World Baseball Classic,” said Paul Archey, President of World Baseball Classic, Inc. “The Giants, the Marlins and the D-backs share our commitment to continuing the game’s remarkable global growth, and their world-class cities and ballparks will welcome the unique brand of enthusiasm inspired by the World Baseball Classic.”
“Miami, Phoenix and San Francisco are three culturally diverse, baseball-loving cities,” said Timothy Slavin, a member of the WBCI Board of Directors. “We’re confident each of these communities and venues will provide an unforgettable experience for players and fans from around the world.”
International venues that will host 2013 World Baseball Classic games, pool composition and game dates will be announced in the weeks ahead along with information regarding ticket availability.
Venues hosting games during the World Baseball Classic Qualifiers were announced previously, and include Armin-Wolf-Baseball-Arena in Regensburg, Germany; Rod Carew Stadium in Panama City, Panama; XinZuang Stadium in Taipei, Taiwan; and Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
U.S.A Reaffirms Blockade Policy Against Cuba
Jul 13th, 2012
The U.S. government reaffirmed its blockade policy against Cuba by
imposing a fine on a company in this country for doing business with the
Caribbean island.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Treasury Department
(OFAC) forced the company Great Western Malting Co. to pay 1 347 750
USD for allowing the sale of barley malt to Cuba between August 2006
and March 2009.
According to OFAC, the company made several transactions of this product with the government of Cuba through a foreign subsidiary.
The communique says that the corporation did not have an adequate mechanism for detecting the violation of the regulations imposed against the Caribbean nation.
Recently, the Treasury Department punished the Dutch bank ING with a fine of 619 million USD for facilitating transactions with Cuba.
This year the OFAC and the Department of Commerce has fined three U.S. and foreign companies, in compliance with the regulations of the blockade against Cuba, which has cost the island over 975 billion USD.
According to OFAC, the company made several transactions of this product with the government of Cuba through a foreign subsidiary.
The communique says that the corporation did not have an adequate mechanism for detecting the violation of the regulations imposed against the Caribbean nation.
Recently, the Treasury Department punished the Dutch bank ING with a fine of 619 million USD for facilitating transactions with Cuba.
This year the OFAC and the Department of Commerce has fined three U.S. and foreign companies, in compliance with the regulations of the blockade against Cuba, which has cost the island over 975 billion USD.
Cuba Journal Says:
In November:
No Bama and No Mittens
VOTE SOCIALIST!
Cuban GDP grew 2.1 pct in 1st-half 2012
HAVANA, July 23 |
Tue Jul 24, 2012 1:17am IST
(Reuters) - Cuba's gross domestic product
grew 2.1 percent in the first half of the year compared with the
same period in 2011 and the communist-ruled country has
continued to post a positive trade balance, Economy Minister
Adel Yzquierdo said on Monday.The official Prensa Latina News Agency, reporting on a closed-door meeting of the Cuban National Assembly, said the overall results were considered positive.
Government officials have said the goal is to achieve 3 percent GDP growth in 2012.
The economy grew 2.7 percent in 2011 despite tough austerity measures imposed by President Raul Castro beginning in 2009.
Yzquierdo said trade continued to perform positively, without giving any details. Cuba reported a $4 billion trade surplus in 2011.
Cuba's Parliament Approves New Tax Law
Havana, July 24 — The Cuban parliament has approved a new tax law designed to cope with the country's growing private sector.
The Tax System Act, which stipulates 25 categories of taxes, will come into force in January 2013 and put an end to Cuba's current tax regime established in 1994, reported Xinhua.
Unlike its predecessor, the new tax law include articles on private-sector profits and employment, ownership of agricultural lands, land transactions, as well as personal income.
However, Cuban Finance Minister Lina Pedraza said the tax on personal incomes and housing ownership would not be implemented soon since "conditions are not yet mature".
Pedraza said the new tax law, the result of extensive consultations lasting for seven months among lawmakers, academics, and officials, was "more flexible" and would be applied "gradually" so as to ensure the national income and promote sectors conducive to socio-economic development of the country.
Cuba's private sector has witnessed rapid growth since the authorities loosened control in a bid to revitalize the country's stagnant economy.
Latest figures showed Cuba's private-sector workforce grew to 390,000 at the end of June, up nearly 3,000 from the previous month.
Source: NY Daily News
See also: Aprobada nueva Ley Tributaria por el Parlamento Cubano
The Tax System Act, which stipulates 25 categories of taxes, will come into force in January 2013 and put an end to Cuba's current tax regime established in 1994, reported Xinhua.
Unlike its predecessor, the new tax law include articles on private-sector profits and employment, ownership of agricultural lands, land transactions, as well as personal income.
However, Cuban Finance Minister Lina Pedraza said the tax on personal incomes and housing ownership would not be implemented soon since "conditions are not yet mature".
Pedraza said the new tax law, the result of extensive consultations lasting for seven months among lawmakers, academics, and officials, was "more flexible" and would be applied "gradually" so as to ensure the national income and promote sectors conducive to socio-economic development of the country.
Cuba's private sector has witnessed rapid growth since the authorities loosened control in a bid to revitalize the country's stagnant economy.
Latest figures showed Cuba's private-sector workforce grew to 390,000 at the end of June, up nearly 3,000 from the previous month.
Source: NY Daily News
See also: Aprobada nueva Ley Tributaria por el Parlamento Cubano
Monday, July 23, 2012
Monday Morning Update on 2012 Honkbal Week
Team Cuba had to fight hard at the
right time because their backs were against the wall. It did fight
convincingly at the end, and it went undefeated for four straight
games. First it had to play the always very strong and dangerous
Dutch team and it beat them 4-0. And then it had to deal with the
much improved Puerto Rican team. It was sweet revenge time after the
criollos ignominious loss in the first game of the tournament.
This is what we, Cuban baseball fans,
hope and expect next year at the 2013 World Baseball Classic. It
promises to be the biggest brawl since the Thrila in Manila.
Do not underestimate the team from the island that gave the world a
Roberto Clemente.
Cuba's hitting was a little weak in the beginning, but a new generation of Cuban pitchers, proud successors
to Pedro Luis Lazo and Norge Luis Vera, rose to the occasion. The win
in the semifinals against USA, has to be
called a “Win by Committee.” Cuba sent seven pitchers to the
mound and the last three were rookies to “big time” international
competition. This was their time to shine, and they came through and
delivered a great performance of relief pitching. The Dutch were
stunned.
To me, the most exciting game was the
win against Japan. They were the champions of WBC 2006 and WBC 2009.
Cuba walloped them 12-1. Their version of Murderers
Row (Gourriel,
Cepeda, Despaigne and Abreu) came through with a
.467 average in that key game. Bravo!
A big round of applause for Victor
Mesa. He proved that he is a great manager. Look at his superb
performance this year with the Matanzas Cocodrilos in Cuba's
51st National Series. And big congratulations to Yulieski Gourriel for being selected the MVP of this year's Honkbal Week.
Last but not least, there is one page
where you click and look at all the box-scores of this year's
tournament and all the detailed play-by-play. Click here to go to the Wikepedia page for the 2012 Honkbal
Week.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Cuba is the new Champion of Honkbal Week 2012
It defeated Puerto Rico 4-2 a few minutes ago. More on Monday.
See the following post titled "Monday Morning Update."
See the following post titled "Monday Morning Update."
Friday, July 20, 2012
A Great Post at Havana Journal
Rob Sequin has given us a great post with a beautiful old map of Cuba at his always popular Havana Journal blog. Don't miss it. Click on the link.
Annual Pastors for Peace Aid Caravan en Route to Cuba
Tamara
Hansen, left, and Gail Walker carry a Cuban flag as they cross from
Hidalgo to Reynosa as part of the Pastors for Peace organization
Thursday July 19, 2012 at the Hidalgo International Bridge in Hidalgo.
Citizens cross the US border into Mexico on route to Cuba to deliver 100
tons of humanitarian aid to Cuba and defy the US trade and travel
blockade. The aid includes computers, pencils, hammers, plumbing pipes,
solar panels, medications.
Gabe Hernandez | gabrielh@themonitor.com
July 19, 2012 11:03 PM
This year’s aid journey began last week, when caravanistas departing from Canada decided to challenge the U.S. policy and bring the aid through the United States instead of sending it from Canada, which has no embargo on Cuba.
“We chose to collect that aid and send it with the Pastors for Peace caravan to Cuba through the United States as an act of civil disobedience,” said Tamara Hansen, coordinator of Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba.
The embargo “is stopping educational supply, medicines and sports equipment from arriving to the hands of Cuban people,” she said.
The U.S. State Department declined to comment for this story, referring to an online outline of U.S. policy toward Cuba.
“I encourage people to get involved next year in the 2013 caravan to Cuba because we are going to be doing this every year until the U.S. ends this inhuman and criminal policy,” Hansen said.
The caravanistas experienced difficulties at the British Columbia-Washington border. But verbal persuasion from Pastors for Peace lawyers and the group’s co-director, Gail Walker, convinced border agents that the majority of their cargo was humanitarian aid, rather than commercial goods. And as for the rest of the cargo — the sports equipment — agents relented and let it pass after a 24-hour protest by the caravanistas at the border.
On Monday the group gathered in the First Christian Church in McAllen while they worked with Mexican customs to cross into Mexico.
GEOPOLITICS
In October, the United Nations General Assembly condemned the decades-old U.S. embargo on Cuba, with Canada and 185 other countries in opposition.
Only the U.S. and Israel backed “this inhuman and immoral” embargo, Hansen said. “So we are standing together not only as a group of caravanistas and our supporters in Texas, but as a worldwide movement demanding to end this cruel policy against Cuba.
The Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization, the parent company of the project of Pastors for Peace, was expecting more progress from the Obama administration on ending the embargo.
“We were hopeful; that has not happened,” Walker said. “We continue to push and hope in the near future in can happen.”
But the group has no expectation of seeing the embargo lifted should presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney beat President Barack Obama on Election Day, Walker said.
“I suspect (Romney) will hold the line of his predecessors on the Republican ticket,” Walker said. “I don’t see him actually making things easier.”
The group opposes the licensing policy to travel to Cuba that has been eased for Cuban-Americans.
Because people must apply for a license and get the permission of the government, “that means they can dictate who can go, when they go, what they take,” Walker said. “Our position is licensing is never appropriate because you can’t license love. You can’t license solidarity with people.
“That is why we maintain this very strict policy against licensing,” Walker said.
EMBARGO SUPPORT
Mario Jorge, 49, a Rio Grande Valley engineer who left Cuba when he was 8, thinks the embargo “probably outlived its usefulness” but understands the reason the U.S. had to establish it.
“The Cuban government is very oppressive,” Jorge said. “There is no freedom of religion, there is no political freedom.”
There is not financial freedom, either, Jorge said.
The European companies that are doing business in Cuba pay the government for the labor, and then “the Cuban government subcontracts the labor and they pay them measly wages,” Jorge said.
“I suppose the U.S. position is not allowing U.S. companies to go and use the Cuban people as slaves,” Jorge said.
The embargo isn’t very effective anymore because European companies and other countries do business with Cuba, Jorge said. The policy is “an excuse for the Cuban government to blame their own inadequacies on” the U.S.
But “from a philosophical stand point, I support the U.S. position,” Jorge said. “We don’t want to be part of that oppression of the Cuban people,”
The caravanistas were welcomed in the Mexican side of the bridge by members of the Communist Youth of Mexico and the Communist Party, which is not registered as a political party with Mexico’s Federal Electoral Institute.
ROAD RISKS
En route to the coastal city of Tampico, Tamps., the group must pass by San Fernando, the area some 90 miles south of McAllen where the bodies of 72 migrants were found in the summer of 2010. In the spring of 2011, more than 190 more bodies were found there in shallow graves. The Zetas were blamed.
But “we are not afraid because we are going to be with our Mexican brothers,” Manolo de los Santos, national coordinator of the caravan, said in Spanish.
--
Martha L. Hernández covers health, business and general assignments for The Monitor and El Nuevo Heraldo. She can be reached at mlhernandez@themonitor.com and (956) 683-4846.
Joe Torre to manage Team USA in 2013 World Baseball Classic
MLB Press Release
06/14/2012 12:05 PM ESTDURHAM, N.C. -- USA Baseball announced Thursday that Joe Torre has been named manager of Team USA for the 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC).
Currently Major League Baseball’s Executive Vice President for Baseball Operations, Torre will be making his debut in red, white and blue next March for the third installment of the WBC. Dates and locations are to be announced, but first-ever qualifiers are set to be held in September and November of 2012 across four international venues.
Read the complete story
Cuba To Hike Tax on Foreign Goods
July 17th, 2012
HAVANA - Cuba will soon implement a new tax on imported goods.
On July 17th the national radio station of Cuba, Radio Rebelde, revealed that the government plans to introduce a new import tax on goods brought into the country.
From September 2012 all Cuban nationals who leave the country more than once a year will be required to pay an import tax of at least 10 Cuban Pesos (CUP) per kilogram of imported goods. Tourists to Cuba will also be liable to pay the tax on commercial goods, which will be imposed upon their first arrival.
Currently, the import taxes on goods brought into the country are set at 0.50 CUP per kilogram, with pre-set duties for selected items, such as kitchenware and televisions.
The tax changes were first revealed in the Gaceta Oficial de Cuba, and were dated July 2nd.
On July 17th the national radio station of Cuba, Radio Rebelde, revealed that the government plans to introduce a new import tax on goods brought into the country.
From September 2012 all Cuban nationals who leave the country more than once a year will be required to pay an import tax of at least 10 Cuban Pesos (CUP) per kilogram of imported goods. Tourists to Cuba will also be liable to pay the tax on commercial goods, which will be imposed upon their first arrival.
Currently, the import taxes on goods brought into the country are set at 0.50 CUP per kilogram, with pre-set duties for selected items, such as kitchenware and televisions.
The tax changes were first revealed in the Gaceta Oficial de Cuba, and were dated July 2nd.
I'm Back in the Saddle Again!
I'm back in the saddle again
Out where a friend is a friend
Where the longhorn cattle feed
On the lowly gypsum weed
Back in the saddle again
Out where a friend is a friend
Where the longhorn cattle feed
On the lowly gypsum weed
Back in the saddle again
Monday, July 09, 2012
Cuba Journal Ceases Publishing
Thank You to all
the faithful readers in many, many countries. Many will wonder why we are doing this.
It is simple: POLITICS SUCKS!
Friday, July 06, 2012
Thursday, July 05, 2012
Ernest Hemingway's Favorite Havana Hangout For Mojitos, La Bodeguita Del Medio, Celebrates Its 70th Birthday
The Havana Reporter
By Martha Andrés,
Photos: Vladimir Molina
Havana – In the center of Havana’s
colonial district, tucked between tall buildings
on each side, the Bodeguita del
Medio restaurant and bar beckons to passers-by
with its unusual sign, advertising what
continues to be a unique spot in Cuba.
Locals and visitors drop in to taste
one of the delicious Cuban dishes prepared
here; sip a delicious, world-famous
mojito cocktail, listen to traditional Cuban
music and enjoy warm, friendly service.
Songs like “Guantanamera,” “Chan Chan”
and “Hasta siempre, comandante” are
staples for the ever-present musicians as
diners enjoy roast pork, exquisite
black beans, rice and other favorites.
Graffiti on the walls, doors, and
columns testify to the celebrities from all over the
world who were won over by the bohemian
atmosphere of La Bodeguita. Their
signatures blend in with thousands of
others.
According to Alejo Carpentier, the
eminent Cuban novelist, as Paris’s
Montparnasse became decadent, that it
was when La Bodeguita sprang up, and
like any meeting ground for bohemians,
it has been the venue ever since for love
affairs, romance, happiness, dreams and
more.
***
Cuba Journal is pleased and happy that with this post we have reached an important milestone: 8,100 posts. It is Mojito Time for me. I will drink one this afternoon to remember Papa Hemingway.
Cuba's Radio Reloj Celebrates Its 65th Birthday
Radio Reloj is one of Cuba's superb radio stations. It always keeps you well informed and you never have to put up with commercial advertising garbage.
Democracy Is On The March?
WOW! Democracy is blooming in Mexico. I
was so happy that I decided to buy my local newspaper yesterday, Fourth
of July, to read the good news. Here is what I found:
Mexico City – Thousands of people
rushed to stores Tuesday to redeem pre-paid gift cards they said were
given to them previously by the party that won Mexico's
presidency, inflaming accusations that the week-end
election was marred by widespread vote-buying. At least a few
cardholders were angry, complaining that they didn't get as much as
promised or that their cards weren't working.
***
JG: LOL! “Gimme, gimme,
something free.” Unconfirmed reports claim that both Obama and
Romney have contacted Visa and Mastercard with inquiries about
discounts on a million gift cards.
Have no fear, democracy is blooming
everywhere, cleverly marketed. Marx who?
Mike Farrell Writes to Obama
July 5, 2012
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500-0004
Dear President Obama:
Though I fear your staff protects you
from letters such as this, I write in the hope that one of our voices
leaks through. I am one of thousands of people around the world who
ask that you make a humanitarian gesture that is also a meaningful
step to reduce international tensions: grant Executive Clemency and
cause the release of the Cuban 5, who have been wrongly held in our
prisons for nearly 14 years.
Together with a number of colleagues in
the arts who speak as Actors and Artists United for the Freedom of
the Cuban Five, I ask for the release of these five men: Gerardo
Hernández Nordelo, Ramón
Labañino Salazar, Rene
González Sehwerert,
Antonio Guerrero Rodríguez
and Fernando González
Llort.
Release them because they are sons,
husbands, brothers, poets, pilots, college graduates and artists who
have committed no crime against the United States.
Release them because they came to this
country unarmed and never posed a threat of any kind to US National
Security.
Release them because they came here
only to monitor the activities of violent Cuban exiles, who operating
from bases in Miami of which our government is well aware, were
planning violent actions against innocent people in Cuba.
Release them because they were trying
to prevent more brutal acts against against their country and save
innocent lives.
As you are aware, Mr. President,
yesterday was our Independence Day, a day many politicians use to
celebrate our nation's laws, its history, and its people. For many of
these same politicians, supporting the so-called “war on terror”
is used as a way to demonstrate their patriotism.
That being so, it is an act of profound
hypocrisy for our government to continue the incarceration of these
heroic men who put themselves at risk to stop the very terrorism we
claim to find so abhorrent.
Therefore, I respectfully ask that you
reverse this mockery of justice and use the powers conferred on you
by our Constitution to do the right thing and allow the Cuban 5 to
return home to their loved ones.
Sincerely,
Mike Farrell
Is Fidel's New Book (Argentina Edition) Made With Pages Made Out of GOLD?
Here is the information I got by visiting this website:
US$ 112.50
And here is some additional information from this website:
Buenos Aires, 18 jun (PL) La edición
argentina del libro "Fidel Castro Ruz,
Guerrillero del Tiempo", de la
periodista y escritora cubana Katiuska
Blanco, será presentada hoy en esta
capital, confirmaron fuentes del Partido
Comunista (PCA).
Primera impresa en Latinoamérica y el
mundo, después de La Habana, la
publicación de la obra corrió a cargo de
Cartago Ediciones S.A. y su lanzamiento
tendrá lugar en la Casa Patria Grande
Néstor Kirchner, precisó a Prensa Latina
el secretario adjunto de la organización
partidista, Víctor Kot.
JG: So, my question is: are communists in Argentina and Cuba trying to become millionaires very quickly?
Sorry, Fidel, but I will not pay that much for your book, but I will continue denouncing the Yankee imperialist's blockade/embargo of Cuba.
Tuesday, July 03, 2012
Caravana por la Paz a Cuba cruzó frontera Canadá-EE.UU.
Autoridades aduanales estadounidenses intentaron impedir el paso de la ayuda humanitaria desde Columbia Británica hasta el estado de Washington.
JG: A big applause for PASTORS FOR PEACE!
Cuba May Choose Among 77 Players For Their National Team to the 2013 World Baseball Classic
Receptores (Catchers): Lednier Ricardo (CMG), Fran C. Morejón (IND), Yosvani Alarcón (LTU), Yenier Bello (SSP), Ariel Pestano (VCL), Yulexis La Rosa (VCL), Ángel Tamayo (HOL), Luis Castro (IJV), Danger Guerrero (MAY).
Jugadores de cuadro (Infielders). 1B: José D. Abreu (CFG), Yordanis Samón (GRA), Joan C. Pedroso (LTU), Alexander Malleta (IND) y Yoenni Southeran (GTM). 2B: Héctor Olivera (STG), Dayán García (ART), Juan C. Torriente (IND), Yoilán Cerce (GTM) y José M. Fernández (MTZ). 3B: Luis Y. La O (STG), Raúl González (CAV), Rudy Reyes (IND), Yurisbel Gracial (MTZ), Yulieski Gourriel (SSP) y Míchel Enríquez (IJV). SS: Yordan Manduley (HOL), Roberto C. Ramírez (MET), Erisbel Arruebarruena (CFG), Alexander Guerrero (LTU), Aledmis Díaz (VCL) y Yorbis Borroto (CAV).
Jardineros (Outfielders). CF: Rusney Castillo (CAV), Guillermo Heredia (MTZ) y Roel Santos (GRA). LF: Edilse Silva (STG), Alfredo Despaigne (GRA), Frederich Cepeda (SSP), Yasmani Tomás (IND) y Yuniet Flores (VCL). RF: William Luis Campillo (CMG), Alexei Bell (STG), Yadiel Hernández (MTZ), Urmaris Guerra (GRA), Irait Chirino (IND) y Serguey Pérez (IND).
Lanzadores (Pitchers). Yadier Pedroso (ART), Miguel Lahera (ART), Vladimir García (CAV), Yander Guevara (CAV), *Norberto González (CFG), Noelvis Entenza (CFG), Vicyohandri Odelín (CMG), *Leandro Martínez (GRA), Dalier Hinojosa (GTM), Pablo Millán Fernández (HOL), Danni Aguilera (IJV), Odrisamer Despaigne (IND), Yoelkis Cruz (LTU), Jorge A. Martínez (MTZ), Joel Suárez (MTZ), Yoanni Yera (MTZ), Erlis Casanova (PRI), Danny Betancourt (STG), Ismel Jiménez (SSP), Freddy A. Álvarez (VCL), *Yasmani Hernández (VCL), Alain Sánchez (VCL), Antonio Romero (IND), *Darién Núñez (LTU), *Robelio Carrillo (VCL), Alexander Rodríguez (GTM), Alberto Soto (GRA), Lenier Rodríguez (MAY), Frank Madan (CMG), Yohan Hernández (MTZ) y Carlos Juan Viera (LTU).
*Lanzadores zurdos. (Lefties)
Source: Cubadebate
Editan Guerrillero del Tiempo en República Dominicana
SANTO DOMINGO, 1 de julio.— La librería Cuesta pone a la venta desde este lunes un título que aviva el apetito del lector por acercarse al ser humano que es el líder de la Revolución cubana. Esta edición dominicana de Fidel Castro Ruz: Guerrillero del Tiempo, de la escritora y periodista Katiuska Blanco, fue realizada en la Editora Búho de Santo Domingo, informó Prensa Latina.
El libro recoge en dos volúmenes conversaciones con Fidel, donde relata y analiza el periodo histórico que antecede a la lucha armada contra el dictador Fulgencio Batista hasta la entrada triunfante de las tropas rebeldes a La Habana.
La particularidad de esta edición está en la selección de citas de personalidades como el coronel Francisco Caamaño Deñó, el expresidente Juan Bosch, el poeta Pedro Mir, y fragmentos de una carta de José Martí a Máximo Gómez.
La venta precede la visita de la autora a la República Dominicana, donde hará la presentación de este título en Santo Domingo, así como en Santiago de los Caballeros y Baní, ciudad donde naciera el Generalísimo Máximo Gómez. La edición dominicana está brevemente presentada por Hamlet Hermann, autor y exguerrillero a las órdenes de Francisco Caamaño en la década de 1970, quien destaca del libro la enorme devoción con que el líder de la Revolución cubana consideró siempre la solidaridad y el internacionalismo, sobre todo con Dominicana.
Fidel, dice Hermann, sintió el deber ineludible de reciprocar lo que habían hecho por la independencia de Cuba el Teniente General Modesto Díaz, los generales Luis, Francisco y Félix Marcano, así como el Generalísimo Máximo Gómez.
Source: Granma
Link to Librería Cuesta
El libro recoge en dos volúmenes conversaciones con Fidel, donde relata y analiza el periodo histórico que antecede a la lucha armada contra el dictador Fulgencio Batista hasta la entrada triunfante de las tropas rebeldes a La Habana.
La particularidad de esta edición está en la selección de citas de personalidades como el coronel Francisco Caamaño Deñó, el expresidente Juan Bosch, el poeta Pedro Mir, y fragmentos de una carta de José Martí a Máximo Gómez.
La venta precede la visita de la autora a la República Dominicana, donde hará la presentación de este título en Santo Domingo, así como en Santiago de los Caballeros y Baní, ciudad donde naciera el Generalísimo Máximo Gómez. La edición dominicana está brevemente presentada por Hamlet Hermann, autor y exguerrillero a las órdenes de Francisco Caamaño en la década de 1970, quien destaca del libro la enorme devoción con que el líder de la Revolución cubana consideró siempre la solidaridad y el internacionalismo, sobre todo con Dominicana.
Fidel, dice Hermann, sintió el deber ineludible de reciprocar lo que habían hecho por la independencia de Cuba el Teniente General Modesto Díaz, los generales Luis, Francisco y Félix Marcano, así como el Generalísimo Máximo Gómez.
Source: Granma
Link to Librería Cuesta
Overpriced Croquettes? I pass!
The Miami gusanos and Goya will not see any of my money at their new and beautiful Marlins Park. The only thing that city offers is Cuba hate. I will not join them.
I pass!
Marlins Park review by Mop-Up Duty.
Your Attention Please
Effectively immediately, Cuba Journal
will no longer accept or publish comments from people who do not
identify themselves with their first name and surname.
Invented names will also not be able to
post comments to Cuba Journal.
Cuba Journal will be the final and only
judge. It is my blog and I make the rules.
Jorge R. Gonzalez
Publisher/Editor/Benevolent Dictator &
Emperor For Life
Cuba Journal
Monday, July 02, 2012
¡Viva España Coño! Campeón del Euro 2012
Tremenda pateadura. Spain demolished Italy 4-0 yesterday.
El pobre negrito de Italia estaba llorando.
One Man's Opinion
So you think that because your
capitalist CEO decides to give you a 10% commission on the income
that you bring in to his corporation, because of your capacity to
labor for a living, he is doing you a “big favor”?
What a fool you are! Your boss is not
taking any risks. He goes to a capitalist bank and borrows
other-people's money so he can exploit you.
Here it is in the simplest of terms:
You labor for 30 days, or maybe even a year. You bring to your
capitalist boss' corporation the sum of $1 million dollars in
profits. The sales that you bring in are normally a multiple
of that profit.
Now, your boss gives you the promised
10%. Your take is $100,000.00. Uncle Sam and all the myriads of
governments that he creates (state, county, city, miscellaneous
“districts” like schools, etc.) take from you a big chunk of
that. You are lucky if if you are left with $50,000.000.
Your boss, because of the tax cuts that
Bush, Obama, and the U.S. Congress give to capitalist millionaires
and billionaires, only pays a tax-rate of 15% on his income. Your
boss and USA capitalism screw you every day of the week. I say pass the
following law: (don't hold your breath), give the workers 50% of the
profits that they bring in to the place where they
labor.
It will never happen, unless there is a
violent Revolution. Capitalists will continue screwing you 24/7/365.
The people in Czarist Russia, China,
Vietnam, Cuba were smart. The Revolution was successful. The workers
took control of the means of production.
What a genius Karl Marx was in explaining how capitalism works!
I, Amateur Philosopher
There is nothing hidden or unrevealed
about the meaning of our existence. We are born, we live, we die.
There is no unseen higher power that
governs our lives. We are the masters and helmsmen of our own
destiny. No one traces it for us. We become what we want to become.
Matter is the only thing that is
present everywhere and can be seen everyday. I can touch it,
therefore matter exists. You can't touch "spirits" or so called Gods. There is no absolute proof of their existence.
Applause for Karl Marx: "Religion is the opium of the masses."
We need only three things in the
material world: shelter, clothing, food. They keep you alive.
Visual arts and reading superb books nourish our
intellect and our brains. They are the extra gravy in our lives.
The search for truth and knowledge
should be the only endeavors that we pursue without tiring.
Science is the only activity that
should guide and govern our lives. Charlatans are the scourge of
mankind. Avoid them.
Money corrupts people. Politicians, of
the capitalist kind, suck.
Fortune and fame are illusions, not
solutions.
Every species eventually becomes
extinct. Every planet eventually becomes barren and desolate.
Is Homo Sapiens really using his
brain when he wages war against his own species, or should it be renamed Homo Stupidus?
Live life to the fullest and enjoy it.
We are here only for a short period of time. If we are lucky, have
the right genes, and live a healthy lifestyle, we may break 100
years. But don't bet or count on it. The only thing that you need in
order to die is to be alive.
There is nothing guaranteed in our
lives. We all have to help to build the world that we want to have.
There will be great joys and great
miseries along the way. If you fall down, get up as fast as you
possibly can. Don't dwell on past errors and mistakes.
If it sounds too good to be true, it is
not worth considering. Reason is the only golden rule. THINK.
Do not help destroy our world. Make it
better than it was before you arrived.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)