Havana (May 2008 ) Members of
the political police harassed an
80 year old opponent in his own
home to prevent him from
blemishing the festivities of
the first of May.
Alfredo Guilleuma Rodriguez has
become a "danger" for the
authorities of the state. So
much so that the State decided
to place to two police officers
and a member of the Committee of
Defense of the Revolution (CDR)
on his doorstep with the
objective to stop him from
leaving his dwelling on May
Day.
Tania Diaz Castro
HAVANA, Cuba, April, - In
1959, after traveling
triumphantly through the island
dressed like a guerrilla,
bearded, with a rosary around
his neck, Fidel Castro was seen
by many as the new Messiah.
In a store where goods are sold
in CUCs (convertible pesos)
located in La Puntilla, on the
corner of First Avenue and Zero
Street, in Miramar, by the
municipal beach, people are lost
in the contemplation of a
special bin of apples from
Virginia, USA. The large, red
apples seem more like wax table
decorations for the center of
table. They beckon deliciously,
but they cost 0.40 CUC.
We welcome
the news that Fidel Castro has
stepped down as Cuban leader.
Forty-nine years as the head of
a dictatorial regime which has
deprived the nation of truly
free elections is hardly an
honorable mark of distinction.
HAVANA, Cuba, January 24, 2008,
Alvaro Yero Felipe, (Free
Association Agency / www,.org )
-The Cuban Minister of Foreign
Relations, Felipe Pérez Roque,
stated in front of some 60
people that the circulation of
the two types of currency on the
island prevents citizens from
acquiring basic necessities.
HAVANA, Cuba The tranquility
that one might sense at the
moment from Cubas political
landscape is hardly synonymous
with calm. The significance of
certain facts, which have been
mostly overlooked, is evidence
of the regimes fear and
insecurity. The stale image of
Fidel Castro that displays his
biographical information in the
massive campaign for his
nomination as a national deputy
has invoked indignation and
laughter.
The Miami
Herald
Minnesota's agriculture
commissioner going to Cuba
Huge migrant tent city planned
for Gitmo
CIA to honor Bay of Pigs vets
at its art gallery
Appeal deals blow to Cuban
father
Media group criticizes acts by
Cuba, Venezuela
Cuba,
Venezuela Increase Economic Ties
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez
and Cuba's interim leader Raul
Castro oversaw the signing
Monday of economic partnerships
in areas ranging from oil
production to tourism as the
nations moved to further
integrate their economies.
Yahoo! News.
Cuba
may be considering a more
market-driven economy
Two
dozen theater workers recently
sat around a sun-splashed garden
cafeteria in the Vedado
neighborhood. They had been
summoned by bosses to discuss
Cuba's economic woes.
Ray
Sánchez, South Florida
Sun-Sentinel.
US
challenges Castro to have
dialogue with people
The
United States on Monday
challenged ailing Cuban
President Fidel Castro to hold
dialogue with his people,
following his much publicized
live media appearance with his
Venezuelan ally Hugo Chavez.
Yahoo! News.
Long-absent Castro speaks live
on TV
Cubans heard their ailing
President Fidel Castro joking
and chattering as he spoke live
for the first time in months on
a television show hosted by his
Venezuelan ally Hugo Chavez.
Yahoo! News.
Chávez destabilizes, and U.S.
pays bill
Chávez is following Cuban
dictator Fidel Castro's script
-- create conflicts with
domestic and foreign ''enemies''
and claim you are defending a
larger-than-life revolution in
order to stay in power forever.
Only difference is, with oil
prices at a record $87 a barrel,
Chávez is doing it with tons of
money.
Andres Oppenheimer, .The Miami
Herald.
Cuba's upcoming elections are
neither free nor fair
People in Need, a Czech human
rights and development NGO,
calls upon the media and policy
makers not to confuse the
elections in Cuba with what are
commonly called elections in
democratic countries.
People in Need.
Parliamentary Elections in
today's Cuba
It is
a well-known that Cuba's current
political system originates from
the Constitution of 1975, which
went into effect in 1976.
René Gómez Manzano.
Municipal elections in Cuba
Elections for delegates of the
municipal assemblies of People's
Power have begun in Cuba. These
elections are of considerable
importance for two reasons.
René Gómez Manzano.
The Miami
Herald
2 used 'church' to violate
Cuba travel ban
Fidel, Cuba pay homage to Che
Plan for post-Castro Cuba
outlined
Canadian firms offer Cuban
healthcare to U.S. Canadian
patients
Bush
calls for release of all Cuba's
political prisoners
President George W. Bush
Wednesday called for the release
of Jose Luis Garcia Paneque and
all other political prisoners
held in Cuba, after meeting the
dissident reporter's family at
the White House.
Yahoo! News.
Cuba
may be considering a more
market-driven economy
Two
dozen theater workers recently
sat around a sun-splashed garden
cafeteria in the Vedado
neighborhood. They had been
summoned by bosses to discuss
Cuba's economic woes.
South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Castro 'lucid and at full
capacity'
Fidel
Castro is "lucid" and mentally
is "at full capacity," Honduran
President Manuel Zelaya said on
Thursday following a two-day
visit to Havana.
Yahoo! News.
Cuban-Americans help Ukrainian
children
On
Monday, it was nine Ukrainian
children playing with dolphins
at the Miami Seaquarium while
waiting to be fitted with free
prosthetic limbs.
Yahoo! News.
28
killed in bus, train crash in
Cuba
A bus
collided with a train in eastern
Cuba, killing at least 28 people
and injuring another 73,
including 15 reported to be in
critical condition, state
television said late Saturday.
Yahoo! News.
The Miami
Herald
CIA officer named to
Cuba-Venezuela post
Planning for land claims after
Fidel is gone
Judge: Cuban girl to spend
more time with dad
Cuban diplomat: Mexico
immigration accord needed
U.S.
faults Cuba for visa shortfall
The
United States issued only about
15,000 of the 20,000 emigrant
visas it had agreed to issue to
Cubans during the last fiscal
year, American authorities said
Monday, and they blamed Cuban
officials for the shortfall.
Yahoo! News.
Cuban
dissidents denounce break-up of
protest
Cuban
dissident leaders denounced
Friday the police detention of
47 activists attempting to hold
a street protest in Havana on
behalf of political prisoners.
Yahoo! News.
Cuba
ends controversy over Che
Guevara's body
Cuba has confirmed that the body
found at a grave in Bolivia's
Vallegrande town was that of
Ernesto 'Che' Guevara, thus
ending a controversy over the
authenticity of the body of the
socialist revolutionary who was
slain by Bolivian army in 1967.
Yahoo! News.
US
readies for 'mass exodus' from
Cuba after Castro
The
US government is prepared for a
possible mass exodus of Cubans
after the death of elderly
leader Fidel Castro, US-Cuba
transition coordinator Caleb
McCarry said.
Yahoo! News.
Few
Manitobans become 'medical
tourists' in Cuba
A
Manitoba company offering
"foreign surgery for the middle
classes" is finding most of its
patients come from the Maritimes
and the United States, not its
home province.
Yahoo! News.
Cuban
VP Calls for Greater Efficiency
Cuba
needs to produce higher-quality
goods more efficiently, cut
graft and reduce reliance on
gasoline, a major economic
leader said in remarks published
Sunday.
Yahoo! News.
Cuba
to open new stage in foreign
investment
In
what may be seen as an attempt
to open up its economy, Cuba is
preparing to invite more foreign
investment in a 'new climate' in
the country and to prevent
errors committed in the past,
Foreign Investment Minister
Marta Lomas said.
Yahoo! News.
The
Cubanization of Venezuelan
schools
There
have been plenty of signs that
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez
is poised to take over as the
anti-imperialist leader of the
Americas, a position until now
held unofficially by ailing
Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. It
is now evident that Chavez is no
longer trying to take baby steps
toward an authoritarian regime.
Maria Elena Salinas.
NorthJersey.com.
Catholic church losing strength
in Cuba
On a
January morning nearly 10 years
ago, Archbishop Pedro Meurice
introduced a papal mass here in
the island's second-largest city
by boldly accusing the state of
corrupting the moral traditions
of Cuba.
Ray
Sanchez. Sun-Sentinel.
Cabinet official assesses Cuban
economy
Cuba
needs to produce higher-quality
goods more efficiently, cut
graft and reduce reliance on
gasoline, a major economic
leader said in remarks published
Sunday.
Yahoo! News.
FROM CUBA
The
candy man
I
woke up early today and
accompanied my neighbor Felipe
on his daily route around the
city. He's a 68 year-old retiree
who devotes himself to selling
candies made by his wife. Felipe
is an electrician by trade and
he worked for thirty years.
PINAR DEL RIO, Rafael Ferro
Salas
Cuba
releases 40 dissidents arrested
Thursday: opposition
The
Cuban government has released
around 40 people it had detained
for trying join a small but bold
Havana street protest headed by
a leading dissident, an
opposition human rights group
said Friday.
Yahoo! News.
The Miami
Herald
Cuban dissidents freed after
brief detention
18 Cuban migrants arrive at
gas station
Cuban dad wins ruling but not
custody -- yet
Two dozen dissidents rounded
up in Havana
Cuban archbishop: Religious
freedom slowly spreading on
island
Cuban girl's rights to be next
decision
Cuban official assails Bush
Photo shows heavier-looking
Fidel Castro standing, meeting
with Angolan president
Castro's daughter recalls
homeland for Berks audience
She
describes her father as a tall,
hairy man wreathed in cigar
smoke whose image replaced the
cartoons she watched on
television as a child.
Félix Alfonso Peña. Reading
Eagle.
Legacy of Cuban Singer Honored
Salsa
singer Celia Cruz came from
humble origins in Cuba to become
a larger than life persona known
for her unforgettable
performances.
Ramiro Burr -- San Antonio
Express-News.
Cuba
detains at least 21 dissidents:
activist
Cuba
has cracked down on a bold
demonstration organized by the
leading woman dissident in the
Americas' only communist-ruled
country.
Yahoo! News.
Music, Not Politics, Moves
Chucho Valdes
The
comparsa drums are thundering,
but it's the piano driving the
beat with a furious array of
improvisations that blend raw
Afro-Cuban rhythms with the
toe-tapping, head-bobbing beats
of straight jazz.
Yahoo! News.
Chinese automaker Yutong exports
more buses to Cuba
Chinese automaker Yutong Group
Co. Ltd. has delivered 200 mass
transit buses to Cuba, the first
such China-made vehicles ever
exported, a company spokesman
said.
Yahoo! News.
Bush
urges U.N. to spread freedom
President Bush announced new
sanctions Tuesday against the
military dictatorship in
Myanmar, accusing it of imposing
"a 19-year reign of fear" that
denies basic freedoms of speech,
assembly and worship.
Yahoo! News.
Bush
says Castro rule near end, urges
'free' polls in Cuba
US
President George W. Bush, in a
speech to the UN General
Assembly here Tuesday, called
for "free and competitive
elections" in Cuba, saying the
long rule of ailing President
Fidel Castro "is nearing its
end."
Yahoo! News.
Cubans walk out during Bush UN
speech
Cuba's foreign minister walked
out of the U.N. General Assembly
on Tuesday in protest of
President Bush's speech in which
he said the "long rule of a
cruel dictator is nearing its
end" on the communist island.
Yahoo! News.
Castro mocks rumors of his death
in TV interview
Fidel
Castro's reappearance on state
television has dispelled rumors
of his death, but left open the
question whether the ailing
Cuban leader could emerge from
his long convalescence to take
back the reins of power.
Yahoo! News.
Miami
Cubans skeptical of Castro on TV
Cubans in Miami's Little Havana
neighborhood expressed a mixture
of skepticism and disappointment
Friday at Fidel Castro's first
appearance on Cuban television
in three months.
Yahoo! News.
FROM CUBA
The
unfinished plaza
The
majority of people were excited
when they heard the news. After
many years this city would have
a civic plaza. Every province in
Cuba has one.
PINAR DEL RIO, Rafael Ferro
Salas
The Miami
Herald
'Cuba's future must be
democratic,' U.S. diplomat says
5 Cubans spared death penalty
in attempted hijacking
Cuba's trade prospects
challenging
Arturo Sandoval: On a mission
to elevate jazz
Cuba
Has Better Health Care Than
U.S.?
Communist countries are famous
for hiding the truth. Twenty
years ago, when I reported from
the Soviet Union, officials
insisted there were no poor
people in Russia, but they
refused to let me look for
myself.
John Stossel. Real Politics.
Cuba:
Government, UN Seek to Boost
Impact of Aid
Cuba
and the United Nations have
agreed to concentrate their
cooperation on five areas in the
next few years, in order to
avoid spreading resources too
thinly, and to increase synergy
between projects.
Patricia Grogg, IPS. .
Cubans find fast, illegal path
to U.S.
A
multimillion-dollar
human-smuggling enterprise is
bringing thousands of Cubans to
the United States on speedboats
at a price of up to $10,000 a
head, and the flourishing
business has increased the
number of Cubans illegally
entering the country by
double-digit percentages in each
of the past three years.
Carol J. Williams, The Seattle
Times.
Jailed Cuban writer, extremely
ill, hospitalized; may be freed
Hernandez Gonzalez is one of 59
writers still imprisoned
following a 2003 crackdown on
dissidents. At the time, 75
writers were arrested, tried and
convicted of "endangering the
state's independence or
territorial integrity.''
Jeremy Gerard. Bloomberg.
Cubans wonder where their Web
access went
At a
government-run Internet cafe
inside a Havana post office, the
1,942 Cubans signed up to use
the computers were left with a
question this summer: Why had
the government abruptly cut
their Internet access, leaving
them only with e-mail on a state
account?
Michael Martinez, Chicago
Tribune.
Closing arguments in Cuban
custody case
A
Cuban farmer fighting for
custody of his 5-year-old
daughter made virtually no
effort to be a parent when the
girl left the island nation with
her mother, state child welfare
attorneys said in closing
arguments Wednesday.
Yahoo! News.
Angolan president to visit Cuba
Angola's veteran President Jose
Eduardo dos Santos is to embark
on a three-day official visit to
long-time ally Cuba on
Wednesday, state media reported.
Yahoo! News.
Cuba:
US Embargo Has Cost Over $89B
Washington's 45-year-old embargo
has cost Cuba more than $89
billion to date, wreaking havoc
on everything from primary
education to pest control and
nearly all other facets of
island life, the foreign
minister said
Yahoo! News.
Nebraska Planning Cuba Trade
Trip
A
Nebraska delegation this fall
will be making another trade
trip to Cuba. Governor Dave
Heineman said he's going to lead
the agriculture-based group to
the island nation in November.
Yahoo! News.
Thompson Discusses Cuba During
Visit To Miami
Republican presidential
candidate Fred Thompson blamed
Democratic rival Hillary Rodham
Clinton on Friday for the
publicity surrounding his remark
suggesting Cuban immigrants are
bringing suitcase bombs to the
United States.
NBC6.
Behind Che Guevara's mask, the
cold executioner
A
revisionist biography has
highlighted Guevara's
involvement in countless
executions of "traitors" and
counter-revolutionary "worms",
offering a fresh glimpse of the
dark side of the celebrated
guerrilla fighter who helped
Fidel Castro to seize power in
Cuba.
Matthew Campbell. Times Online.
The Miami
Herald
Cuban dad asked in court about
sex life
Cuban dad breaks down in
custody case
Cuban girl's mother is
pressed: Why the lies?
For Dad's neighbors, dispute
not complicated
Senate restores aid to Cuban
opposition
Democrat Chris Dodd would end
Cuba embargo if elected
president
Americans Break Law to Visit
Cuba
Thousands of U.S. tourists
already travel to Cuba behind
Washington's back, and many say
being sneaky is part of the fun.
Yahoo! News.
Castro accuses US of 9/11
conspiracy
An
article attributed to Cuban
leader Fidel Castro on Tuesday
accused the US government of
deceiving the world about the
September 11 terror attacks in
the United States.
Yahoo! News.
The Miami
Herald
Cuban girl's mom: Dad knew she
had problems
Mom says she sent pictures to
Cuba after all
Fidel warns of coming global
recession
Ché Guevara's relics go up for
auction
Rumors of Castro's death
persist, except in Cuba
Doubts cast on report of Raul
Castro Italy trip
Fidel not in danger as he
convalesces: minister
Girl's custody battle
continues in Miami
Lawyer who kissed Castro back
in the spotlight again
South
Africa: SA, Cuba agree to train
unemployed youth
South
Africa and Cuba have signed a
co-operation agreement that will
benefit many unemployed young
people, by training them n the
field of social development.
allafrica.com.
Packing up home 'easy' in needy
Cuba
Packing up after having his
press accreditation withdrawn,
BBC correspondent Stephen Gibbs
reflects on whether the Cuban
authorities really need to go to
the lengths they do to control
information.
Stephen Gibbs, BBC.
Cuba
upgrading its weapons in case of
U.S. invasion
Cuba
has been upgrading its military
arsenal since President Fidel
Castro fell ill 13 months ago,
to defend itself against a
possible U.S. invasion, senior
officers told Trabajadores
weekly on August 27.
Defense News.
Cuban
dancers crazy for democracy
Cuban
dance ranks alongside rum and
cigars as one of the island's
most famous exports. It seems
curious, then, that a
UK-inspired dance initiative is
causing such a stir in Havana.
Michael Voss. BBC News.
The
secret love of Cubans: the
imperialist refrigerator
Before he disappeared from
public life, an ailing Fidel
Castro enlisted the prowess of
Chinese industry last year to
get rid of some of the most
resilient totems of American
imperialism: Frigidaire,
Kelvinator and Westinghouse
refrigerators from the 1950s.
Simon Romero, International
Herald Tribune.
Cuba
News: