Acts of Civil Protest Increase in Cuba

according to the Miami-based Cuban Democratic Directorate, acts of civil protest inside Cuba nearly doubled from 2004 to 2005.

some highlights of the findings:

• The 3,322 acts logged in 2005 -- including 2,613 vigils -- represent an 85 percent increase over the 1,805 acts of civil disobedience in 2004.

• The central province of Villa Clara appears to be a hotbed of political opposition, logging far more protests than any other province. Even though nearly all of the island's internationally known dissident activists live in Havana, only 11 percent of last year's civil disobedience took place there.

• 25 hunger strikes were held by prisoners.

• The Ladies in White, the group of female relatives of the 75 political prisoners picked up in the 2003 sweep, held 182 different protests.

source

Build Your Tractor -- And it Will Be Confiscated

which goes to show you that in Cubaland, any sort of initiative is quickly crushed by the powers that be. the original article is in Spanish:


Santa Clara, Cuba,
November 28, 2006
By Benito Key (Cubanacan Press / www.cubanet.org)

Ricardo Betancourt Rodriguez, a farmer, had his tractor confiscated this past November 22.

Betancourt was stopped and searched as he drove home by the National Revolutionary Police auxiliary officer Raul Gonzalo.

Bernardo Arevalo Padron, an independent journalist, reported that the tractor was taken to the local police station. That same day, while in custody, Betancourt was informed that his vehicle would be permanently confiscated, as it had been assembled by Betancourt from parts salvaged from non-working tractors. Thus, he was told, he did not have title to the vehicle, in addition to which, tractor sales to individuals are not permitted in Cuba.


typical of Cubaland b.s. -- the government can't provide tractors to those who need it, and won't let individuals provide for themselves.

Cuba's Economy Grows -- Of Course

Cuba reports that its economy grew at 12.5% for 2006 (though most neutral observers believe the figure is closer to 9%).

let's put this in perspective: when the Soviet Union dive-bombed itself into oblivion, Cuba's GDP fell 35%, and it still has not recovered.

so... what is the secret of Cuba's recent success? you can sum up Cuba's strategy in five words:

find a new sugar daddy.

yep... after the Russians said "do svidanya" and took their billions in aid with them, Cuba's artificially built social services crumbed: no medicine, no pencils, no housing, oh my.

the collapse indicated just how dependent on Soviet aid Cuba had become: a junkie slapping its veins and asking for more.

enter the most honorable Kingdom of the Middle Lands (sound of gong). Chinese subsidies to Cuba have increased steadily over the last few years, not to mention soft trade and development credits. regular trade between the two nations is also growing exponentially, and it should reach almost $3 billion by next year.

oh, and let's not forget the New Marxist Oil Caudillo, Venezuela's Chavez, who is literally pumping free gas for Cuba in exchange for mostly symbolic medical aid and other services.

find a new sugar daddy.

that's all the Communist regime knows how to do. the only way it can keep itself (and its domination over the people) going is through an artificially supported "revolution" that is now 47 years old and still can't support itself.

hey, if Cuba were a son or daughter, it'd probably would have gotten kicked out of its parents garage apartment a long time ago and told to go make its own way in the world.

find a new sugar daddy ...

Transfer of Power Well Underway

the (postponed) celebrations for King Fidel's 80th birthday will start this Thursday, ending with a military parade that King Fidel may (or may not) attend.

really, the point is moot. King Fidel, as last month's video shows, will not be in any shape to lead the country for a long time to come ... if he ever does again.

and that point is also moot ... it is clear that Prince Regent Raul has moved into power, put his people in key places, and set out to imprint Cubaland's governance with his own style: low key, behind the scenes, but absolutely ruthless if he needs to be (his recent round of firings of leading officials is a clear reminder of that).

so ... as several news sources have pointed out, Raul is in charge, and he is taking charge.

whether Fidel shows up on Sunday is just window dressing. there can only be one dictator in a dictatorship, and that man is Raul ... while I firmly believe that Raul would hand power back to Fidel should Fidel be in a position to ask for it, every day that Raul spends in charge of Cubaland lessens the possibility that Raul will think his brother is in a position to ask for his power back.

ah, the fate of dictators...

.

Mi Cuba, Part III

here is the third part of my on-going clips on Cuba ... this one is set to the music of Trio Matamoros "El que Siembra su Maiz"

the young women featured towards the middle are Cuban minors (around 15 years old) who are engaging in prostitution with tourists in order to make ends meet.

Even My Local Newspaper Calls for End to Embargo

the (Jacksonville) Florida Times-Union has called for an end to the embargo. what's next? will they be endorsing Hillary Clinton for president? hardly (i'd vote for her).

anway, when even a conservative newspaper like the Times-Union is calling for an end to the embargo, maybe President Bush should listen (certainly the next president should listen).

here's the Times-Union editorial (this almost makes me want to get a subscription .... almost):


CUBA: Let bygones be bygones

The Bush administration is interested in ending a decades-old trade embargo on Cuba.

But the condition - that Cuba adopt democratic reforms - isn't practical.

Fidel Castro is ill - The Associated Press quotes sources as speculating that he likely will die of inoperable stomach cancer sometime next year - and the new ruler, Raul Castro, appears to be approachable.

At this moment, however, Cuba's impoverished people need the economic benefits of trade more urgently than they need free elections.

Why not drop the embargo unconditionally?

Not only would that help the people, it might more effectively promote long-term U.S. interests than the current policy, which risks antagonizing Raul Castro in the early days of his rule.

At one time, the embargo may have made sense. That is long past.

In 1959, when Fidel Castro seized power, foreigners controlled 75 percent of the land, according to global exchange.org.

Castro, finding that intolerable, began nationalizing U.S. property. America responded with the embargo. Since then, the goals of the embargo have been to force Cuba to return property, to punish it for its alliance with the Soviets, or to force democratic reforms.

But, China still was Marxist, and it had a worse human rights record. Anyone remember Tiananmen Square? There was no trade embargo against China.

Vietnam was Marxist, and America had fought the longest war in its history. Yet, we trade with Vietnam.

U.S. interests would be served by forging coalitions, not twisting the arms of adversaries past.

Source

Mi Cuba, Part II

this is a video of me reminiscing of the town in which I was born -- Caibarien, Cuba.

the video is part of a very short movie i am putting together about Cuba and coming to the U.S.

the first part, a sort of introduction in images, can be found here.

Ideological Distractions: An Essay from Cuba

this is a translation from the Spanish of Shelyn Rojas's essay. She is an independent journalist, and lives in Cuba, where she wrote this essay. She could face jail for so doing.


IDEOLOGICAL DISTRACTIONS
by Shelyn Rojas

LA HABANA, Cuba - Noviembre (www.cubanet.org) - I was born in 1967. In school, I was a Pioneer [a mandatory student organization organized and run by the Communist Party].
I hasten to add that has been my only participation in this government. Aside from liking the Russians, all other habits were catalogued as ideological distractions.

In school, the language I had to study to advance in grade was Russian. Part of the history we were taught had the Soviet Union for a protagonist. I have always enjoyed reading, but out of spite, I went to the movies rather than reading my assigned books.

One night in the Charles Chaplin movie theater I was watching the Russian movie The Great War for the Motherland. It was the third part of the movie, after more than three hours of watching, and I looked around -- our group of less than ten students was the only one left. We had to watch the movie to the end. We were going to be tested on it.

I remember when Russian slippers were in fashion, and the matriushkas. Food came in cans from that far-away land. TVs were also Russian, labeled "Kpbim." When the reception got bad, you could fix them by hitting them.

My grandmother, who was 77 years old, used to complain: "The subtitles on the few American movies they show are so small you can barely read them. But for these Russian movies, I don't need to put on my glasses. No one can stand to watch them."

Everything was Russian. We called our Soviet comrades "bolos." Faced with so much from bolo-land, most young Cubans grew up listening to rock and roll and dreaming of emigrating northward.

When communism fell, we stopped studying Russian. The new t.v.'s were called Pandas, and were discussed at length by neighbors at Committee for the Defense of the Revolution meetings. "Kpbim" TVs became obsolete. Not even hitting them could fix them.

As far as shoes, clothes, food, and movies -- nothing. We Cubans had to improvise to survive and become what we are today: bad negotiators triyng to do business with Latin America and China; the stepchildren of Chavez and godparents to Evo Morales.

The habit of not watching much t.v. remains with me. I prefer to listen to music and read. Lately, the only two times I've sat in front of a t.v. screen, I have seen the beginning of a Chinese movie.

My experience have been traumatic and unforgetabble. I pity this generation. I can see them now, studing Chinese, with Chinese fads, clothes, and canned food. It starts with cooking ware and t.v.'s.

If we don't find a quick solution, I am not sure what will become of this generation. I understand them, and feel for them

Shelyn2005@hotmail.com

UN Hypocrisy towards Cuba

recently, the UN voted to have the US end its economic embargo of Cuba (they've voted the same thing for the past, what, twenty years?)

Australia then turned around and proposed that the UN call for Cuba to respect human rights and free all political prisoners.

sounds like a great idea to me, right? surely the UN can get behind a vote like that?

think again.

the proposal lost by a vote of 126-51

what do you call that?

both I and the Miami Herald call it what it is: UN hypocrisy.

Independent Library Shut Down

again demonstrating its atavistic fear of ideas it can not control, the Cuban authorities shut down an independent (i.e. non-government controlled) library in Aguada de Pasajeros, Cuba.

here's a complete translation of the report, in Spanish:

Independent Library is Shut Down
Ciego de Avila, November 13

by Tania Maceda Guerra

The independent library Adam Smith was completely shut down by officials from State Security and the National Police, who confiscated over 300 books.

The events took place on the early morning of October 25, 2006. The independent library's director, Ivan Alberto de la Nuez Ramirez, stated by phone to the Cuban Foundation for Human Rights that he was detained from three a.m. until late in the afternoon, during which time his house was searched.

He stated that this is part of on-going repression against him, as he was recently fired from his job by state security.

Cuba Has Failed to Build Democratic Society and an Effective Economy

this from a Russian observer, familiar with the aftermaths of glasnost and perestroika.

some excellent insights:

[T]he 1959 revolution has failed to [] bring genuine democracy to the Freedom Island.

In this respect, Havana has every reason for despair. Cuba has indisputable achievements in education and medicine but it has obviously failed to build a free and democratic society, and an effective economy, which would ensure a decent life for its population. Rank-and-file Cubans have remained poor despite the government's versatile social support.

...

To sum up, at the dusk of Castro's era Cuba has largely given up its socialist principles in the economy (at least in their Soviet version). Ideologically, it is drifting back to Jose Marti's principles, and to the traditional Latin American Bolivarian ideas of fighting for independence.

It is hard to say which part of this policy is purposeful, and which was forced by the circumstances, but today's Cuba is moving in the direction of those countries that are placing their bets not so much on the socialist economy as on the socially oriented capitalist model. Brazil, Venezuela (for all the radical rhetoric of the extravagant Hugo Chavez), Bolivia, and now Nicaragua (after Daniel Ortega's victory) are following this road.

See Full Article

Interesting indeed... particularly if one considers that Raul Castro has long been an admirer of the Chinese model, and suddenly, he finds himself in charge.

Lagrimas Negras

a while back, I mentioned the Trio Matamoros and their song "Son de la Loma."

recently, i found a recording of their song "Lagrimas Negras" probably dating back to the 1940's. i went ahead and set it to pictures of Cuba, which i hope show some of the Cuban realities today.

"Lagrimas Negras" means "Black Tears," and it is a song of lost love and regret.

how very fitting for Cuba today, i thought.

Cuba's Rank in the Human Development Index

the United Nations has released its Human Development Index for 2006, and Cuba lists 50th in the world (out of 177 countries ranked).

not too bad. however, Cuba could do better.

how so?

let's look at nations in the New World that are ahead of Cuba. they are:

31. Barbados
36. Argentina
38. Chile
48. Costa Rica

and right behind Cuba, at number 50,

51. St. Kitts and Nevis
52. Bahamas
53. Mexico
57. Trinidad and Tobago
58. Panama; and
59. Antigua and Barbuda

now, you will see that every other country listed, except Cuba, has a free market economy and has a currently functioning democracy. all but two of those countries managed development on par with Cuba without destroying civil society and engaging in repressive policing of its people (the exceptions are Argentina and Chile, whose 1970's and 1980's civil rights records are appalling; Mexico and Panama, while offenders also, never rose to those levels).

so what is my point? Cuba is not alone (as far as the New World goes) in that development range (say from 30 to 60). Cuba IS alone in that it continues to cling to communism and an outdated dictatorship. what a great price to pay to do just "average" in your region.

Cuba has achieved what it has not because of communism and dictatorship but rather in SPITE of communism and dictatorship.

free of both, Cuba could easily have been in the top 20 in the world, assuming the development of the 1950's had not been interrupted by the communist regime.

let me just give you two small example. back in 1959, the Cuban literacy rate was fourth in the region. King Castro has made a hullabaloo about improving literacy, and Cuba has, in fact, become first in the region.

but consider where Castro started form (fourth). Going from fourth to first is not that big a leap. Castro didn't have that far to go because the Cuba he hijacked was already a local leader in education.

second, consider the sugar cane harvest. in 1958, under Batista's regime and in the middle of a guerrilla war, Cuba's sugar harvest was 5.8 million tons. consider also the tobacco crop: in 1959, it was over 50,000 metric tons.

last year (2005), 47 years later, Cuba's sugar harvest is only 1 million tons. despite enormous efforts, tobacco production averages just above 40,000 metric tons. that's after 47 years of "progress."

what's going on here? hard earned success or squandered and wasted resources?

i believe Castro has squandered the lead Cuba enjoyed over its neighbors in 1959. rather than forge ahead, sadly, Cuba's revolution has been falling back while the rest of the New World catches up to it and surpasses it.

Cuba would have done better without King Fidel.

you know this in your gut when you see the decrepit buildings in Havana that the government can't manage to fix, and the disrupted lives of free men and women languishing in jail for daring to speak their minds.

communism and dictatorship haven't propelled Cuba forward. they are battleship chains around its neck as it struggles to move to the future.

Cuba Gets Slammed for Internet Repression .... Again

as if we needed any reminders, Reporters Without Borders has issued their list of worst offenders when it comes to online political and religious oppression.

Cuba came in at number six. the top ten:

1. Myanmar
2. China
3. Belarus
4. Iran
5. Tunisia
6. Cuba
7. Egypt
8. Saudi Arabia
9. Turkmenistan
10. Vietnam

a who's who of repressive regimes, if i ever saw one.

not too long ago a French watchdog organization also took Cuba to task for its continued denial to its citizens of the information available online.

Independent Journalist Convicted for Reporting on Denge Epidemic

Cuban Journalist Guillermo Espinosa Rodríguez was convicted by a court in the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba on the uniquely Cuban charge of “social dangerousness.” He was sentenced to two years house arrest.

Espinosa Rodríguez had been covering an outbreak of dengue fever in Santiago de Cuba since July. Authorities suppressed news of the outbreak which was not reported in the official press. He had been detained for a few hours at least three times during the last three months, and warned that he would go to jail if he did not stop writing “lies,” his cousin Diosmel Rodríguez told CPJ.

Espinosa Rodríguez was fired by the government from his job as a nurse three months ago because of his writing, CPJ sources said.

Committee to Protect Journalists



mayor of london ken livingstone

Mr. Mayor, is this the kind of thing you were talking about when you heaped praise on Cuba's government not so long ago?

Your model for "freedom of the press," as it were?

no?

perhaps you should go back and rethink your position?

First He Was, Now He Isn't?

King Fidel's birthday celebration was postponed to December 2 after his sudden illness in August.

the thought was to combine King Fidel's (belated) birthday with the Army's parade in honor of the 50th anniversary of the landing of the yacth Granma, Fidel on board, in eastern Cuba -- an episode that launched the guerrilla war against Batista.

well ...

after strong hints that King Fidel would make an appearance, now officials in charge of his birthday celebration are back-pedaling.

his latest video, intended to show his progress, instead highlighted his continued weakness. his voice, barely audible, struggles to complete a simple sentence:

Castro Video

so ... realistically, i don't think anyone can expect Castro to be strong enough by December 2 to take part in the celebrations

someone captured the mood perfectly:

Fidel Castro Returns, 2006

Livingstone Duped by Cubaland

Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, has been on a visit to Cuba recently. he had the following to say:

Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, has launched a tirade against President George Bush and the "evil" war in Iraq.

The Mayor of London also accused President Bush of being elected in a " judicial coup d'état"

see full story

blah blah blah, he's entitled to his opinions. but then he spouts the lies Cubaland blends so well with fact until they seem true:

[Livingstone] attacked the White House for pursuing " economic war" against the Communist state of Cuba.

that's the big excuse for Cuba's economic nightmare. but it's false. the true reasons for Cuba's disastrous economy are a crippling state-run communist system, mismanagement of resources, and Cuba's waste of human capital in internationalist ventures.

as far as "economic war" goes, let's all remember that Cuba can purchase all the food it wants from the US. why doesn't it purchase more, and properly feed its citizens, instead of pilfering its hard currency helping Third World countries? (the reason, of course, is that the later builds Cubaland political capital which it can cash in when it needs to squash dissent internally)

and then, the next two great lies are trotted out:

[Livinstone] also paid tribute to the health services and education provided by the Cuban President, Fidel Castro.

clearly, Ken Livingstone doesn't read this blog. if he did, he would know that while you can GET an education in Cuba, should you CHOSE to use it to criticize the regime, to jail you go.

likewise, the much-touted medical services are a joke, and most of Cuban doctors are abroad, in Castro's campaign to buy support from Third World countries.

and let's not forget the many calls by international bodies for Cuba to honor the human rights of its people, all of which, of course, go unheeded, whether by the OAS or by the UN.

which Cuba did you visit, Mr. Livingstone? the official one, carefully constructed so that you never saw anything beyond the showcase schools, the hospitals that tend to the party elites, the carefully selected crowds of party supporters?

did you venture into the real Cuba, where people are beaten for trying to open a library?

out to the country with the highest suicide rate in the Western Hemisphere?

out away from the tourist beaches to where the infrastructure is crumbling?

no?

perhaps you should go back and rethink your position.

Prince Regent Raul Inspects Troops

the official Cuban press has reported that Prince Regent Raul has inspected key military units that will take part in the December 2, 2006 military parade to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Fidel Castro's landing in Cuba by boat (the Granma), which led to the Castro brothers coming to power a few years later.

of interest is that King Fidel is supposed to make an appearance at the military parade.

we will see whether it's a one-time appearance, or whether King Fidel is resuming his total control over Cubaland

OAS Condemns Cuba's Human Rights Record

The human rights branch of the Organization of American States on Wednesday condemned Cuba for jailing 75 dissidents and swiftly trying and executing three hijackers during a 2003 crackdown on dissent.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights recommended that Cuba free the prisoners, compensate the victims and their families and modify its laws to ensure the independence of the judiciary and the rights of its citizens.

See Full Story


And here is the List of Shame of those dissidents, including independent journalists, who have been jailed by Cuba for no other crime than for daring to disagree with the regime.