CONTRA EL PINGALISMO CASTRISTA/
"Se que no existe el consuelo
que no existe
la anhelada tierrra de mis suenos
ni la desgarrada vision de nuestros heroes.
Pero
te seguimos buscando, patria,..." - Reinaldo Arenas
Ian Delaney, ex presidente de Sherritt International [2007]
web@radiorebelde.icrt.cu/
HAVANA, Cuba.- Canada is among the main countries with the largest
amount of investments in strategic sectors in Cuba, informed on Tuesday
in this capital Ileana Nuñez, Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and
Investment.
With more than 15 investment projects in the areas of mining, risk oil
prospecting and electricity generation, the northern nation is among
Cuba’s first five trade partners, announced the official during the
third day of Havana’s International Trade Fair.
In the first semester of 2012, commercial exchanges between the two
countries grew by 24 percent with respect to the same period of 2011,
she pointed out.
Likewise, Canada is first on the list of nations sending tourists to
the island, with over one million travelers in 2011, which represented
37 percent of the total.
In terms of cooperation, Nuñez pointed out that Canada has supported
over the last 17 years several prioritized programs in the national
territory, like food security, modernization and sustainable development
of the Cuban economy.
Vancouver,
November 2, 2012. As a prelude to the 5th International Annual Che
Guevara Conference, convened by the organization "Vancouver Communities
in Solidarity with Cuba", a special evening was held in this city for
the release of the five Cuban heroes imprisoned in U.S. jails. The event
was attended by Aleida Guevara, daughter of legendary heroic guerrilla
fighter and Antonio Guerrero Cabrera, son of one of the five
antiterrorists
Verses of Nicolas Guillen, Bob Marley’s songs and
poems of Antonio Guerrero, among other cultural performances, graced the
message of peace and justice sent to the US government by those
present, with the demand of immediate freedom for our Five Heroes.
Prominent
Canadian lawyer, social activist and former City Counsellor, Tom Louis
gave those present a comprehensive and emotional overview of the case of
the Five and unmasked its true political essence to expose an important
group of violations occurred during the legal process.
During the
evening were projected greeting video messages sent from the U.S. by
the leaders of the National and International Committees to Free the
Five in that country, Gloria la Riva and Alicia Jartko, respectively.
Alberto
Prieto, CCPCC’s official, Javier Domokos Ruiz, Consul General of Cuba
in Toronto and Manuel Yepe, journalist and university professor were
present as part of the Cuban delegation.
La Habana, 6 nov (PL) El comercio cubano- canadiense se incrementó en
el primer semestre un 24 por ciento en relación con similar período del
año anterior, se informó hoy en la inauguración del pabellón de ese
país en FIHAV 2012.
En la apertura de ese recinto en la XXX Feria Internacional de La
Habana (FIHAV 2012), la viceministra del Comercio Exterior y la
Inversión Extranjera, Ileana Núñez, también señaló que Canadá está entre
los países con mayor número de inversiones en sectores estratégicos.
Precisó que más de 15 de ellas, están distribuidas en Cuba en ramas
como la minería, la exploración de petróleo a riesgo y la generación de
electricidad.
Canadá además aportó en 2011 más de un millón de
turistas, lo que representó el 37 por ciento del total que llegó a esta
isla en ese año.
Lo anterior permitió a esa nación confirmarse, por amplio margen, como la primera fuente de emisión de viajeros a Cuba.
En materia de cooperación, Núñez apuntó que el país norteño apoya desde
hace 17 años varios programas prioritarios en el territorio nacional
como la seguridad alimentaria, la modernización y desarrollo sostenible
de la economía.
Consideró que esta feria es un contexto propicio
para consolidar y ampliar los vínculos a otras esferas de interés y de
enormes potencialidades como energía renovable, minería, medicamentos y
biotecnología.
El embajador canadiense en Cuba, Matthew Levin, y
el presidente de la Corporación Comercial de Canadá,Marc Whittngham,
exhortaron a los empresarios de su país a estrechar los vínculos con sus
contrapartes cubanas.
Importantes empresas suministradoras de
tecnologías, maquinarias y materias primas para la economía de Cuba,
entre ellas Brado Precision Machin y Tool Co.LTD, presentan sus
productos hasta el sábado, cuando concluye este evento internacional.
Con área expositiva de más de 550 metros cuadrados, el pabellón
canadiense alberga 31 stands que representan a medio centenar de firmas y
organizaciones, 31 de las cuales asisten a FIHAV por primera vez.
no hay consuelo ante la desgracia. descansa en paz neiky. ---------------------------------- North York Mirror/ Andrew Palamarchuk
A North York mother is dead after being struck by two cars outside her home Thursday, Nov. 1.
The accident happened on Lawrence Avenue, east of Dufferin Street, at 6:53 a.m.
Neiky Pardo, 33, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police
said the pedestrian was crossing Lawrence mid-block from the south side
when a westbound gold 2004 Nissan Maxima driven by a 28-year-old man
hit her.
“She was knocked into the eastbound lanes and struck by an eastbound Volvo,” Const. Clint Stibbe said.
The grey 2006 Volvo, driven by a 52-year-old man, was then rear-ended by a Mazda.
It was raining and dark at the time; police believe those were factors in the collision.
“But any time you have a mid-block crossing, it is dangerous to begin with,” Stibbe said.
Pardo, the mother of a young child, lived on Lawrence, steps from the accident scene.
Police closed Lawrence between Dufferin and Bolingbroke Road for about five hours as they investigated the collision.
“We are appealing for witnesses,” Stibbe said. “We’re asking them to come forward.”
Anyone with information should call police at 416-808-1900.
Finding Fidel: The Journey of Erik Durschmied tells the remarkable
story of Austrian-Canadian journalist Erik Durschmied, who in 1958
journeyed to Cuba's Sierra Maestra mountains to film one of the first
interviews with a little-known rebel leader named Fidel Castro. Shortly
after that meeting, Castro's band of fighters rolled into Havana, and
Durschmied's career as a top war cameraman was launched.
50
years later, Durschmied returns to Castro's rebel camp, still intact
high in the Cuban mountains. He recounts a fascinating personal
narrative and the story of how he produced the interview, with Castro
memorizing his English answers in dozens of takes. Director Bay Weyman
interweaves the rarely-seen 1958 footage of life at the rebel camp with
Durschmied's reflections on the lost promise of Castro's revolución and
on the hinge of fate that determined his own career.
se sabia que Alex Cuba ni canta ni come frutas a pesar del granmy latino por el mejor nuevo album en el 2010, gracias a las influencias que genera nelly furtado. a continuacion sus declaraciones sobre el regimen de los hermanitos kaxtroz [minuto 2.40]:
la especulaciones en torno a la salud del moringuero en jefe quedan solventadas, al conocerse que el Fondo Canadiense para Iniciativas Locales financio con solo 21 mil dolares la creacion del brebaje Maltinga, que obtiene como principal resultado lo que ninguno de los reales y/o supuestos pero siempre bien presupuestados enemigos del moribundo en jefe habian anhelado.
siempre estaran los que point a finger en lo canadienses que financian los proyectos de quien tu sabes [remember sherrit international, la terminal 3 del aeropuerto jose marti, etc, etc,...], en vez de apoyar directa y abiertamente las tan caras libertades del cubano de a pie, empezando por no colaborar con el regimen en la concesion de visas en su consulado en labana.
considerando quien ha sido el autor intelectual y principal impulsor de la facturacion de la pocima con pretensiones de premio nobel, realmente es una gran ingratitud denominarla "maltinga", pues mas apropiado seria "fidinga".
la prensa del regimen de labana suma a sus virtudes serviles una cretinez ridicula. mientras todas las referencias al tag cuba dan cuenta de la embarazosa fuga de jugadores de futbol en canada [segunda que ocurre con el plantel en tierras nordicas], el libelo dominical juventud rebelde se las toma con el infeliz tecnico de la seleccion por la ausencia de goles dando la callada por respuesta a lo que el mundo observa.
El escuadrón antillano jugo sin cuatro de sus estelares, que desertaron el jueves, según informó el portal de internet Café Fuerte.
El
mismo portal, asegura que los desertores son el mediocampista Reisandry
Fernández Cervantes (Ciego de Ávila), nacido el 22 de agosto de 1984 y
con 11 partidos oficiales con las selección cubana; los delanteros Elier
Cordovez González y Maikel Chang Ramírez , ambos de La Habana; y el
portero Odisnel Cooper Despaine (Camagüey), nacido el 31 de marzo de
1992, con tres partidos y cinco goles recibidos.
También abandonó la delegación el sicólogo del equipo, Ignacio Abreu Sánchez [Sintesis de acuerdo con Instituto de Medicina Deportiva de Cuba: Especialista en Psicología del Deporte con 2 años de experiencia laboral
en el Instituto de Medicina Deportiva de Cuba. Trabaja actualmente con
la Preselección Nacional de Futbol. Desarrolla temas de investigación
relacionados con “La concentración y distribución de la atención en el
futbol”.
Even so far as coaching figures go, the man in blue cast a lonely shadow during Canada’s 3-0 win on Friday night.
Already
out of the World Cup, having failed to score a single goal in its first
four games in this round of qualifying, Alexander Gonzalez had brought
his Cuban team to Canada to fulfill its penultimate fixture before
bowing out of the tournament for another four years.
But while they landed in Toronto with a complement of 15 players, by
the time Friday’s game rolled around their numbers had diminished by
four, leaving Gonzalez with just enough players to send a full team onto
the pitch. So much for the idea of a first 11.
Rumours of
defections to the United States swirled, with Twitter reports claiming
that six or seven players had been stopped at the Niagara crossing on
Thursday night “fleeing for their lives.”
The former Cuban
national team player wanted to focus on the game rather that the
whereabouts of the missing players, but when pressed after the defeat
blamed world governing body FIFA for his predicament.
“As with any
Cuban sports team that travels around the world, they’re all chasing
the American dream and for the team to try to keep the team together
it’s difficult,” he said afterwards through a translator. “If FIFA would
allow these players to play in other leagues perhaps this wouldn’t
happen in the future.”
Whether that ever happens remains to be
seen. But on Friday night at Toronto’s BMO Field, Gonzalez was left in
the embarrassing position of having to leave his substitutes list blank
when he handed in his team sheet, praying that injuries or ejections
wouldn’t leave his side shorthanded, and closer to the limit of a
seven-player minimum for a match to go ahead. More >>
TORONTO - There's a little game Alex Cuba and his bandmates play when they're on the road.
They listen closely as some poor soul gets
onstage to introduce the Cuban-Canadian musician, inevitably struggling
with how exactly to describe his music, a border-busting melange of
international flavours.
Then, Cuba and company just laugh.
"We laugh all the time — but there is something
cool about it," the 38-year-old Cuba said in an interview this week in
downtown Toronto.
"The truth is, nobody really knows what (my
music) is. And I trust that time will tell — because it's music, it's
gotta fall somewhere at some point.
"But I'm just having a blast seeing what my
music makes people feel and how big of a surprise it keeps being for
people. And especially people who don't speak any Spanish."
Well, don't expect his typically diverse latest
— "Ruido en el sistema" or "Static in the System," which hit stores
this week — to necessarily clarify his musical direction.
Continuing where his self-titled,
genre-smudging breakthrough began in 2009, the new primarily
Spanish-language disc is nominally Latin pop but finds the dexterous
guitarist incorporating Afropop, jazz, funk and rock (especially on the
fizzy confection "Are You").
In the time since his last record came out,
Cuba saw his solo career blossom. The two-time Juno winner brought in a
fourth nomination, he co-wrote six tracks on Nelly Furtado's
Spanish-language debut, "Mi Plan" and finally, he claimed the best new
artist prize at the 2010 Latin Grammys, becoming one of the first two
Canadians ever to win the award (along with Furtado, who also picked up a
Latin Grammy in '10).
Clearly, Cuba was making inroads into the Latin
world — a goal of his for years. But he didn't consciously gear any of
his new material toward potential new fans in that part of the world.
"I want to expand and live in a world without
borders, and music should not be boxed for a specific kind of people,"
said Cuba, who has also been nominated for a "regular" Grammy.
"(This album) is a take on musical freedom.
It's (about) being yourself and not looking at the market, or what the
market's doing now."
And to hear Cuba tell it, living in Canada has been a crucial part of developing that creative freedom.
He first immigrated to Victoria back in 1999,
eventually moving his family — he's married with three kids, aged five
to 15 — much farther north to Smithers, B.C., where his wife is from.
Back home, he had been a bass player playing
primarily jazz or traditional Cuban music. But in Canada, "something
came of me," he says.
"I feel that I was able to put myself together
in this country," he said. "I started creating this music that I believe
in entirely."
Cuba dedicated his new album to Billy Bryans,
the Toronto-based Parachute Club co-founder and influential world music
promoter who died of cancer in April.
Bryans was a close friend of Cuba's and one of
the first Canadians to enthusiastically welcome him to the local music
industry. He was one of the first people Cuba would call when in need of
judicious advice — for instance, when Cuba decided he wanted to record a
Spanish cover of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean," and Bryans told him
candidly that it would either be incredibly successful or "incredibly
embarrassing."
(Cuba has yet to record that cover).
Bryans was also the first to pick up on how
Cuba's point of view on songwriting had shifted since he moved north,
from the dance floor-friendly rhythmic focus of Cuban pop to the song
and melody-oriented approach typically favoured here.
"He told me, 'You're not doing Cuban music
anymore. You're making Canadian music, my boy. You're focusing on the
tune, on the song itself,'" Cuba recalled.
But of course, as much as Cuba likes to give
credit to his adopted homeland, he's insistent that if he does his job,
neither geography nor even language will matter that much.
He hopes "Static in the System" comes through clearly to virtually anyone who listens.
"If I deliver a beautiful melody in my songs, it goes beyond (that)," he said.
"My guitar doesn't speak any language specifically — she speaks all of them."
Some on the Internet like to speculate that OfficeMax(NYSE: OMX) is the “largest property claimant in Cuba,” due to (now merged) Boise Cascade owning Cuban Electric Company
before the utility had its assets seized by Castro. Regardless,
OfficeMax is unlikely to be the tip of the sword when it comes to
settling up with a Free (or at least freer) Cuba.
The future of Cuba does not bode well for foreign companies already established on the island. Like Juan of the Dead (2011), Cuba’s first horror film (and most expensive private
production to date), undead claims will rise and infect the island
until they have devoured all of its nascent vitality. Reviewers note
that in the zom-com, “Hilariously, throughout the film, the
government-controlled radio keeps referring to the flesh eaters as ‘U.S.
funded political dissidents.’” The joke may not be far from the truth.
Just
as islanders fight the zombies with slingshots instead of shotguns,
locals will be out gunned by an invasion of international attorneys in a
likely Pay the Pigs scenario.
Time and time again everyone from Paul Ryan
to Barack Obama have denounced the embargo on Cuba only to reverse
themselves once they got into power and decided the fight wasn’t worth
it. Even prominent Cuban-Americans like former Secretary of
Commerce Carlos Gutierrez signed on to the embargo despite a well-known
and outspoken history against it when he was Kellogg’s
man in Mexico prior to ascending to the company’s CEO position. Al
Gore’s defeat in Florida after taking the opposite side of the Elian
Gonzalez affair has reinforced the perception that the Cuban-American
vote is critical (though Obama carried Florida without it, and it is
notable that Gore also failed to carry his own home state of Tennessee.)
Cuba embargo hardliners still exert enormous influence on US foreign affairs. As long-time US-Cuba trade consultant Kirby Jones, President of Alamar Associates, points out:
The policy today is arguably tighter than it was twenty years ago.
Now you’ve got Helms-Burton, Clinton gave away executive prerogatives,
and the embargo now has to be lifted and changed by Congress...We still
have tens of millions of dollars publicly budgeted for regime change,
[the US Office of Foreign Assets Control] is going around fining banks
around the world for doing business in Cuba – Obama’s levied more fines
than Bush did and is fining banks that do business with us…So, yes
there’s travel down there, but the fundamentals haven’t changed.
Since the Cuban operations of big multinationals are relatively small, regulators won’t punish Americans who buy shares, says [Erich Ferrari,
a sanctions compliance attorney]. A Treasury spokesman said that the
department would only get concerned if the company’s primary business
was with Cuba or if an American investor took a controlling interest in
the company.
When contacted
OFAC did not offer any guidance on what would constitute "primary
business" for a company to qualify, nor did it clarify if it would be
illegal for a US citizen to own shares in such a company. However, in
Kirby Jones’ experience it shouldn’t be a problem, “…as long as the
American does not exercise financial or management control, and the
company’s business is not just with Cuba. Over the last fifty years,
that law has not been tested much (if at all) and could be a substantial
loophole.” Tom Herzfeld, manager of the Herzfeld Caribbean Basin Fund(NASDAQ: CUBA), differs in philosophy and experience:
...I thought [investing in Sherritt International(TSX: S)]
violated the spirit of the embargo and would have offended many people
that were investors in our fund...Actually, the US Government is very
strict and does enforce the violations. As part of our compliance
procedures we have to check all investments to see if they are on the
restricted list before purchase.
As a result of its Cuba dealings, Sherritt executives and their
families have been barred in the past from entering the US under the
same laws that designate terrorists, drug dealers, and other
undesirables. The company has spent a pretty loonie dealing with the
fall out of US reprisals, and if any shares with Cuba exposure are
likely to trigger sanctions on a typical American shareholder, it would
most likely be those of Canada’s coal king. (Though it has yet to
happen.) The company’s various subsidiaries and joint ventures produce
10% of the island’s electricity, 43% of its oil, and they have been
among Cuba’s top foreign investors since the demise of the Soviet
Union. Moreover, after tourism, Sherritt’s Moa Bay mining operation is
the largest foreign exchange earner for Cuba and the cash it holds in
Cuban banks are a significant source of (legitimate) liquidity (such as
there is) for the country.
At one point, it was estimated that up to a third of the company’s
shareholders were American nationals, so it would seem that shareholders
have more to fear from the Ghost of Christmas Past (and Christmas Yet
to Come). In fact, the coal in Sherritt’s Canadian stocking may not be
enough to offset potential loses for a company on the naughty list.
Previous claims from those that had their property expropriated, and
future penalties from the US and (all-too-common) Cuban officials’
perfidy are a great risk to investor capital. Nevertheless, when
Sherritt first entered Cuba in the 1990s it was a company on the verge
of collapse and its gambit has paid off for those that invested in the
leadership of (now-Chairman) Ian Delaney – described by Business Week as “Fidel’s favorite capitalist”. The post-Castro era on the other hand is problematic.
In 1996, then-CEO James Moffet (now Chairman) departed from mining major Freeport-McMoRan’s (NYSE: FCX) usual silence (outside the courtroom), when he candidly expressed his views on Sherritt capitalizing on assets that once belonged to Freeport:
People paid nothing for this asset. [The Castro regime] just took it
over…I think Sherritt ought to look at it and say how would they feel
about it (if it happened to them)…Whatever happens here, people need to
be thoughtful, because this is a deal where it may be [Sherritt's] oxen
in the ditch at some point later on…
Freeport is a far more influential force in the world than Sherritt,
especially when its political activities and accomplishments are
compared to the small investments Sherritt has made in domestic think
tankers, a few elected federal politicians, and a handful of lawyers.
While Sherritt’s political maneuvering has (usually) kept it off the
infamous “Specially Designated Nationals” list of the Treasury
Department, its three Moa subsidiaries are listed as SDNs and there has
been no indication that Freeport, let alone, the old, but still kicking,
Cuban emigres have become any less likely to forgo their claims to
property expropriated by Castro. Still over half of Sherritt’s USD 1.3
billion assets in Cuba are directly subject to the 1960 claims, and even
the newer undertakings are likely to be linked in someway by legal
entrepreneurs capitalizing on a highly-politicized atmosphere.
However, speculation and interest in Freeport’s Cuba claims may be
misplaced. Afterall, it wasn’t resource interests, but the farm lobby
that successfully outmaneuvered congressional hardliners to create the
first substantial cracks in the embargo. Moreover, at the time of its
nationalization, Freeport’s activities in nickel mining were just as
substantial as its extraction of the island’s ammonium sulfate
(fertilizer). In 1994, the sulfur and fertilizer business was spun off
and eventually became part of American fertilizer giant Mosaic (NYSE: MOS).
According to OFAC, since at least 2005 Mosaic has been licensed to
conduct activities in Cuba – though sanctions (and Sherritt’s
operations) likely prevent them from engaging in the kind of activities
Freeport conducted in the 1950s. Still, when Freeport dumped its less
profitable fertilizer business in the ‘90s, it was unclear if their Cuba
claims went with it. (Neither Freeport nor Mosaic would comment
officially on any Cuba-related questions.)
Letter to Elizabeth May, leader of theGreen PartyofCanada:
Honorable Mrs. Elizabeth May,
As a Cuban-Canadian who for 48 years suffered the most brutal
dictatorship in the Western Hemisphere and as a strong supporter of the
Canadian values is very unpleasant to hear your vision about the Castro brothers dictatorship who
violently suppressing freedom of speech and assembly to remain in power
for nearly 54 years.
Thousands of Cubanswere shot to dead. Hundredsof thousands havebeen imprisonedfor crimes of conscience.20% ofthe Cuban populationhad toemigratedespiterepressionto prevent it.
lo informa prensa latina. el conocido agitador y propagandista norteamericano Stansfield Smithquien pretendia ingresar a canada para participar en el show mediatico, propagadistico y manipulador que constituye el "tribunal" en favor de los cinco espias cubanos, que es organizado por los servicios de inteligengia cubanos y en el que participan "bien-vividos" e idiotas de este mundo, le fue prohibida su entrada al pais nordico con accion vetante por ano y medio.
similar proceder debe ser extendido a todos los agentes y colaboradores de la dictadura cubana que pretendan amparados en la libertad de expresion prohibida en cuba, realizar actividades de propaganda y manipulacion de la opinion publica. agentes: go home!!!
The Cuban News Agency (ACN) and Prensa Latina (PRELA) have reported that Adriana Perez and Elizabeth Palmeiro, wives of Gerardo Hernandez and Ramon Labañino,
participated in last weekend’s People’s Tribunal & Assembly in
Toronto. According to ACN, the two women denounced the US for
incarcerating their spy-husbands and “thanked participants and
organizers for their solidarity.”
Cuban media failed to mention that, following the arrests of 10 members of the Wasp Network, Adriana Pérez O’Connor
was identified as a Cuban intelligence agent. Her mission was to
courier messages and material between Havana and Miami. Still in
training as a Directorate of Intelligence (DI) asset when the spy ring
was beheaded in September 1998, she and her children were deported and
permanently banned re-entry visas.
One cannot help but laugh at the hypocrisy of the Canadian Comedy Club, also known as the “Peoples’ Tribunal & Assembly | Justice for the Five.” The following extractfrom theirwebsite (http://canadiannetworkoncuba.ca/tribunal/index.html) demanded comment:
“How will the Tribunal be run?
The tribunal will take place on September 22nd.
During the proceedings lawyers from Canada, Cuba and the US will
provide details of the areas where there was the greatest miscarriage of
justice in the courts of south Florida. The Tribunal will hear from
impact witnesses and also experts from Europe, Canada, the US and Cuba.
The families of the Cuban Five will bear testimony to their hardships
concerning the barriers to prisoner rights and denial of visits imposed
on them. [Emphasis added by Cuba Confidential]”
Webster’s dictionary defines tribunal as “a court or forum of
justice.” However, yesterday’s tribunal offered neither an open forum
nor justice. As noted above, the tribunal only heard evidence AGAINST
the United States. This unjust panel featured a de facto prosecuting
team, but made no allowance for a defense team or even an unbiased
fact-checker. Based on the arbitrary and prejudicial standards
emplaced, it is safe to say that this tribunal, given the chance, would
have convicted a squirrel of stealing acorns.
The People’s Tribunal was not only blatantly biased, but it also made
for very poor propaganda, as evidenced by the lack of media coverage.
But then again, perhaps that was the greatest justice of all……
• Family members of the "Cuban Five" • Livio Di
Celmo, Victim of Terror, Montréal, Québec • Danny Glover, Actor U.S.A. •
Saul Landau, Award Winning Film Maker and Author • Gloria La Riva, Free
The Five, National Committee - U.S.A. • Cindy Sheehan, Anti–War
activist- U.S.A. • Tony Woodley, UNITE the UNION, UK • José Pertierra,
Lawyer, Washington, D.C. • Denis Lemelin, National President, Canadian
Union of Postal Workers • Isaac Saney, Professor, Dalhousie University,
Halifax • Arnold August, Writer, Montréal, Québec • Raymundo Navarro,
Central de Trabajadores de Cuba (CTC) • Julian Rivas, Journalist,
Venezuela • Wes Elliott, Grand River Territory • Keith Bolender,
Freelance Journalist and Author Based in Toronto • Richard Klugh, Lawyer
for the Cuban Five, USA • Ken Neumann, National Director for Canada,
United Steelworkers • Stephen Kimber, Professor of Journalism,
University of Kings College, Halifax • Alicia Jrapko, International
Committee to Free the Cuban Five, U.S.A. • William Sloan, Civil Rights
Lawyer, Montréal, Québec • Naveen Mehta, Labour Lawyer, United Food and
Commercial Workers • Marie Clarke Walker, Coalition of Black Trade
Unionists • Lee Maracle, First Nations Writer, Poet and Performing
Artist • Reverend Chris Levan, Minister, United Church of Canada • Abelardo Paisan Reyes, National Union of Education Workers (SNTECD), Cuba • Miguel Barnet, Writer and Novelist, Cuba
Sponsors:
• United Food and Commercial Workers • United
Steelworkers, Canada • Canadian Union of Postal Workers • Canadian
Network on Cuba • International Council of Latin American and
Caribbean Women - LATIN@S • The Worker to Worker, Canada-Cuba Labour
Solidarity Network • Carranza LLP • Canadian Cuban Friendship
Association - Toronto • Latin American and Caribbean Solidarity Network •
Canadian Union of Public Employees • Tim Louis, Tim Louis & Co,
Vancouver Lawyer and Vancouver City Councillor 1999 - 2005 • Canadian
Union of Public Employees, Local 4400 •
Ontario Federation of Labour
Endorsers:
• International Committee for the Freedom of the
Cuban Five, USA • National Network on Cuba, U.S.A. • Toronto Forum on
Cuba • Communist League/Ligue communiste • International Festival of
Poetry of Resistance • Canadian-Cuban Friendship Association of Kingston
• Dr. James Cockcroft, Montréal, Québec • Vancouver Communities in
Solidarity with Cuba • Canadian Cuban Friendship Association -
Vancouver • Free the Cuban 5 Committee Vancouver • La Asociación de
Cubanos Juan Gualberto Gómez • Socialist Action • The United Jewish
People's Order • Association United Ukranian Canadians Toronto Branch •
Manitoba-Cuba Solidarity Committee • Don Currie, Chair of Canada for
Peace and Socialism and associate member of the Canadian Peace Congress •
Brian Gordon Sinclair, Hemingway On Stage • The North Simcoe and
Muskoka Labour Council • NDP Socialist Caucus • Associazione Nazionale
di Amicizia Italia-Cuba • Jim Neill, Deputy Mayor, City of Kingston,
Ontario • Northstar Compass • Libby Davies, NDP-MP, Vancouver East • The
Norwegian Union of Municipal and General Employees (NUMGE) • Toronto
Haiti Action Committee • Toronto and York Region Labour Council • Barrio
Nuevo • "DISCUSSION" Wednesday evening public affairs program,
Vancouver Co-Op Radio, 102.7 FM (100.5 FM September 10th) • The Young
Communist League of Canada • UNITE the UNION, United Kingdom (U.K.) •
Latin American Trade Unionist Coalition (LATUC) • Communist Party of
Canada • Walter Lippmann, Editor, CubaNews newsgroup • Chicago Committee
to free the Cuban Five • Law Union of Ontario • Toronto
Bolivia Solidarity • Krittibas Literary Group of Toronto • Solidarity
with Iran - SI • House of Latin America (HOLA) • Common Frontiers •
International Socialists • Hamilton Friendship Association with Cuba •
Canadian Lawyers' Committee in Support of the Anti-Terrorist Cuban Five •
Ryerson Students' Union Local 24 – Canadian Federation of Students •
Sea of Red Open Collective [SoR(..)C]
Thank you for your email of September 21st 2012, regarding your concerns about the Cuban Five at City Hall.I feel it is important to listen and understand the issues most important to you. I will be sure to share your thoughts with my policy team during the upcoming months of deliberation and discussion.
I will continue to work on behalf of the taxpayers to make sure you get the respect you deserve.
Thank
you again for taking the time to write me and taking an active role in
transforming our city for the better because we're all in this together.
Please feel free to contact my office again at any time.
As a faithful follower of you and as a Cuban-Canadian who suffered for 48 years the cruel dictatorship of the Castro brothers, I am very upset by the realization of Peoples' Court and Assembly seeks justice for the Cuban Five in the hall of our city.
It clear that the Cuban Five were Castro spies who confessed their crimes and were punished in accordance of U.S. laws. Also be clear that the organizers of the event are agents and agitators linked to Cuban secret services. These opportunists take advantage of freedom of expression in our society that it is punishable by long prison in Cuba, to make propaganda and agitation in favor of a 54 years brutal dictatorship.
This weekend, the Toronto City Hall is hosting an International Peoples' Tribunal and Assembly, which supporters claim will be "a public gathering aimed at raising awareness of the case and initiating an international call for justice." However, with a logo in which the Cuban flag, a gold star, and number 5 are superimposed on the scales of justice, it’s hard to imagine that this self-proclaimed “People’s Tribunal” has justice on its mind. Or maybe it’s their slogan: “People’s Tribunal & Assembly – Breaking the Silence – Justice for the Five.” Call me a cynic, but I’m thinking their minds are already made up.
Among the predictable collection of Castro apologists schedule to “testify” at the tribunal are filmmaker Saul Landau; Keith Bolender, author of Voices from the Other Side: An Oral History of Terrorism Against Cuba; and Stephen Kimber, author of What Lies Across the Water. As many readers may recall, Kimber squandered his academic credibility with his implausible statement “there was no credible evidence to connect the Five to the …shooting down of the Brothers to the Rescue planes.”
According to the announcement by University of Toronto graduate student Jeannine M. Pitas: “For Kimber, the issue of the Five is separate from that of solidarity with Cuba. "You can disagree with the actions of the Cuban government in shooting down the Brothers to the Rescue planes -- I do -- and still believe that the case against the Five is a travesty of justice," he states.
As for those who would seek to point to human rights abuses within Cuba itself, Kimber firmly believes that this issue must be viewed on its own terms. "But it's too easy to use that as an excuse to ignore what is clearly also a human rights abuse in the case of the Five."
Kimber's goal for the Tribunal? "I really hope we can reach beyond the converted," he says. "This is a story that needs to get out there. I believe if people understood the case better, they would see this as a cause worth fighting for."
Yadier Perez Leon wants his son to join him in Canada.
While many Canadians' image of Cuba includes sandy beaches and
tropical drinks, one St. John's resident paints a very different
picture.
Yadier Perez Leon arrived two years ago after escaping his native
Cuba by boat. It was a harrowing journey, during which the craft ran out
of gas, leaving them stranded on an island for two weeks.
They eventually landed in Florida, after being discovered by the US
Coast Guard. After months of bureaucratic processing, Canadian officials
approved him as a refugee in February.
Now Leon wants his 5 year-old son to join him.
As a refugee, he has one year to bring relatives to Canada. But Cuban
officials are making it tough. Despite repeated dealings with the
consul in Montreal, the government there won't allow the boy to leave.
Leon says their resistance stems from a long-standing grudge.
During the communist revolution led by Fidel Castro in 1959, people
had their property taken away. Leon's grandfather owned a large farm and
a lot of livestock, all of which was seized. His family continued to
express disagreement about this over the years.
According to Leon, the Cuban government can make life difficult for those who show dissent.
Several years ago, the island nation was struck by a hurricane. While
other residents received government assistance to rebuild, his mother
did not. Leon was incapacitated at the time, following a bad motorcycle
accident, and was unable to help.
Discouraged and bedridden, it was then that he made the decision to leave.
"I say, 'Okay, Yadier, you need to get out (of) the bed, make
yourself strong,'" said Leon, who is now learning to speak English in
St. John's. "You need (to) go outside this country because you don't
have too much time in the life. In this country, you don't have any
opportunity."
Now Leon wants the same opportunity for his son.
"This boy, my little son need me, the only father he have," said
Leon, whose wife died only two days after giving birth to their child.
"And I need him."
He hopes getting the word out will help resolve the situation.
"Please, call everyone in the world, everyone in this country," said
Leon. "Everyone hear this situation, help me for my son stay with me as
soon as possible."
¨Saturno jugando con sus hijos¨/ Pedro Pablo Oliva
Seguidores
Carta desde la carcel de Fidel Castro Ruz
“…después de todo, para mí la cárcel es un buen descanso, que sólo tiene de malo el que es obligatorio. Leo mucho y estudio mucho. Parece increíble, las horas pasan como si fuesen minutos y yo, que soy de temperamento intranquilo, me paso el día leyendo, apenas sin moverme para nada. La correspondencia llega normalmente…”
“…Como soy cocinero, de vez en cuando me entretengo preparando algún pisto. Hace poco me mandó mi hermana desde Oriente un pequeño jamón y preparé un bisté con jalea de guayaba. También preparo spaghettis de vez en cuando, de distintas formas, inventadas todas por mí; o bien tortilla de queso. ¡Ah! ¡Qué bien me quedan! por supuesto, que el repertorio no se queda ahí. Cuelo también café que me queda muy sabroso”. “…En cuanto a fumar, en estos días pasados he estado rico: una caja de tabacos H. Upman del doctor Miró Cardona, dos cajas muy buenas de mi hermano Ramón….”. “Me voy a cenar: spaghettis con calamares, bombones italianos de postre, café acabadito de colar y después un H. Upman #4. ¿No me envidias?”. “…Me cuidan, me cuidan un poquito entre todos. No le hacen caso a uno, siempre estoy peleando para que no me manden nada. Cuando cojo el sol por la mañana en shorts y siento el aire de mar, me parece que estoy en una playa… ¡Me van a hacer creer que estoy de vacaciones! ¿Qué diría Carlos Marx de semejantes revolucionarios?”.
Quotes
¨La patria es dicha de todos, y dolor de todos, y cielo para todos, y no feudo ni capellanía de nadie¨ - Marti
"No temas ni a la prision, ni a la pobreza, ni a la muerte. Teme al miedo" - Giacomo Leopardi
¨Por eso es muy importante, Vicky, hijo mío, que recuerdes siempre para qué sirve la cabeza: para atravesar paredes¨– Halvar de Flake[El vikingo]
"Como no me he preocupado de nacer, no me preocupo de morir"- Lorca
"Al final, no os preguntarán qué habéis sabido, sino qué habéis hecho" - Jean de Gerson
"Si queremos que todo siga como está, es necesario que todo cambie" - Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
"Todo hombre paga su grandeza con muchas pequeñeces, su victoria con muchas derrotas, su riqueza con múltiples quiebras" - Giovanni Papini
"Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans" - John Lennon
"Habla bajo, lleva siempre un gran palo y llegarás lejos" - Proverbio Africano
"No hay medicina para el miedo"-Proverbio escoces "El supremo arte de la guerra es doblegar al enemigo sin luchar" -Sun Tzu
"You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother" - Albert Einstein
"It is inaccurate to say I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for public office" - H. L. Menken
"I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented" -Elie Wiesel
"Stay hungry, stay foolish" - Steve Jobs
"If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert , in five years ther'ed be a shortage of sand" - Milton Friedman
"The tragedy of modern man is not that he knows less and less about the meaning of his own life, but that it bothers him less and less" - Vaclav Havel
"No se puede controlar el resultado, pero si lo que uno haga para alcanzarlo" - Vitor Belfort [MMA Fighter]
Liborio
A la puerta de la gloria está San Pedro sentado y ve llegar a su lado a un hombre de cierta historia. No consigue hacer memoria y le pregunta con celo: ¿Quién eras allá en el suelo? Era Liborio mi nombre. Has sufrido mucho, hombre, entra, te has ganado el cielo.
Para Raul Castro
Cuba ocupa el penultimo lugar en el mundo en libertad economica solo superada por Corea del Norte.
Cuba ocupa el lugar 147 entre 153 paises evaluados en "Democracia, Mercado y Transparencia 2007"
Cuando vinieron a buscar a los comunistas, Callé: yo no soy comunista. Cuando vinieron a buscar a los sindicalistas, Callé: yo no soy sindicalista. Cuando vinieron a buscar a los judíos, Callé: yo no soy judío. Cuando vinieron a buscar a los católicos, Callé: yo no soy “tan católico”. Cuando vinieron a buscarme a mí, Callé: no había quien me escuchara.
Un sitio donde los hechos y sus huellas nos conmueven o cautivan
CUBA LLORA Y EL MUNDO Y NOSOTROS NO ESCUCHAMOS
Donde esta el Mundo, donde los Democratas, donde los Liberales? El pueblo de Cuba llora y nadie escucha. Donde estan los Green, los Socialdemocratas, los Ricos y los Pobres, los Con Voz y Sin Voz? Cuba llora y nadie escucha. Donde estan el Jet Set, los Reyes y Principes, Patricios y Plebeyos? Cuba desesperada clama por solidaridad. Donde Bob Dylan, donde Martin Luther King, donde Hollywood y sus estrellas? Donde la Middle Class democrata y conservadora, o acaso tambien liberal a ratos? Y Gandhi? Y el Dios de Todos? Donde los Santos y Virgenes; los Dioses de Cristianos, Protestantes, Musulmanes, Budistas, Testigos de Jehova y Adventistas del Septimo Dia. Donde estan Ochun y todas las deidades del Panteon Yoruba que no acuden a nuestro llanto? Donde Juan Pablo II que no exige mas que Cuba se abra al Mundo y que el Mundo se abra a Cuba? Que hacen ahora mismo Alberto de Monaco y el Principe Felipe que no los escuchamos? Donde Madonna, donde Angelina Jolie y sus adoptados around de world; o nos hara falta un Brando erguido en un Oscar por Cuba? Donde Sean Penn? Donde esta la Aristocracia Obrera y los Obreros menos Aristocraticos, donde los Working Class que no estan junto a un pueblo que lanquidece, sufre y llora por la ignominia? Que hacen ahora mismo Zapatero y Rajoy que no los escuchamos, y Harper y Dion, e Hillary y Obama; donde McCain que no los escuchamos? Y los muertos? Y los que estan muriendo? Y los que van a morir? Y los que se lanzan desesperados al mar? Donde estan el minero cantabrico o el pescador de percebes gijonese? Los Canarios donde estan? A los africanos no los oimos, y a los australianos con su acento de hombres duros tampoco. Y aquellos chinos milenarios de Canton que fundaron raices eternas en la Isla? Y que de la Queen Elizabeth y los Lords y Gentlemen? Que hace ahora mismo el combativo Principe Harry que no lo escuchamos? Donde los Rockefellers? Donde los Duponts? Donde Kate Moss? Donde el Presidente de la ONU? Y Solana donde esta? Y los Generales y Doctores? Y los Lam y los Fabelo, y los Sivio y los Fito Paez? Y que de Canseco y Miñoso? Y de los veteranos de Bahia de Cochinos y de los balseros y de los recien llegados? Y Carlos Otero y Susana Perez? Y el Bola, y Pancho Cespedes? Y YO y TU? Y todos nosotros que estamos aqui y alla rumiando frustaciones y resquemores, envidias y sinsabores; autoelogios y nostalgias, en tanto Louis Michel comulga con Perez Roque mientras Biscet y una NACION lanquidecen? Donde Maceo, donde Marti; donde aquel Villena con su carga para matar bribones? Cuba llora y clama y el Mundo NO ESCUCHA!!!