Quebec politics amid strife: Charest, undead, lives on?!

Riddle me this: if, as a majority of Quebecers believe, the Quebec government’s special law regarding protests goes to far; and if, as the same Léger Marketing poll suggests, an overwhelming majority of Quebecers believe that the government should lay off the obstinacy and return to the bargaining table with the students; and if the recent 100,000-strong protest in the streets of Montreal was less about tuition fees than almighty rage against the Charest government, then why, pray tell, is the Parti Québécois still only neck and neck with with the big, bad Liberals, at 32 per cent a piece?

And why, despite having wholeheartedly embraced the student movement’s position to the point of wearing its red square on her lapel everyday, is Pauline Marois only just as popular as Jean Charest? The numbers speak for themselves: when Léger asked, “In the context of the ongoing conflict, do you have a good or a bad impression of the following people?”, Jean Charest ranked at 30 per cent good, 59 per cent bad. Marois, meanwhile, scored an equally paltry 31 per cent good, and only a mildly better 54 per cent bad. In short, despite having radically different and conflicting takes on the student movement, Jean Charest and Pauline Marois are basically within the margin of error with each other. This, after more than three months of headline-grabbing stalemate between the students and the government. What gives?

Jean Charest - Premier of Quebec

The answer, if not quite blowing in the wind, at least lies in the between Montreal and the rest of the province. For instance, 47 per cent of Montrealers are for Bill 78; In Quebec City, meanwhile, 54 percent of residents say they are for it. And while 75 per cent of Montrealers are for the City of Montreal’s ban on masks, the support is even higher in Quebec City and what is quaintly referred to as les régions: 80 per cent in both. (These numbers are from the detailed Léger that I can’t seem to find online.)

The numbers are even more stark when you consider how a large western chunk of the island of Montreal has always been staunchly Liberal. As Léger V-P Christian Bourque told me, “Provincially speaking, the west of Montreal is still very Liberal red.” Discount these Liberal red-or-die types (and they include French and English), and you have a real difference between Montreal and the rest of the province. ”We’re seeing how opinions in Montreal and the rest of Quebec is getting and further apart. Montreal is more left and open, while the rest of the province is more conservative.”

The split between Montreal and the rest of the (Quebec) world is nothing new. As long ago as 2006, the Bloc Québécois commissioned a report on the phenomenon after a light electoral spanking in the Quebec City region at the hands of The Conservatives. The ensuing “Alarie Report” noted the following: “The Bloc, its leader [Gilles Duceppe], its organization, its program, the colour and scent it puts off is too Montreal.” One anonymous Bloc candidate, quoted anonymously in the report, was quite succinct. “Our platform was too lefty, too Montreal.”

For the PQ, there is an odd disconnect in this. By tilting her party to the right of the Bloc’s traditional lefty perch—and by the virtue of largely not being implicated in the plethora of scandals wafting around the Liberals—Pauline Marois has made inroads within the province, and rightly so—though, it must be said, she was only briefly ahead of Charest in the polls even before the current brouhaha. The caveat: this support has come mostly from les regions—where antagonism against the student movement is at its highest. ”The PQ is ahead in the regions where the support for the government and tuition hikes is higher,” Bourque says. “By wearing the red square, the party has painted itself into a corner a little bit.” If the current protest had taken place in Quebec City rather than Montreal, Bourque says, “It would have been over a long time ago, and people would have been cheering the police.”

Quebec student rebellion by euronews-en

Certainly, the Charest government remains in crisis mode. Today, the Premier brought back Dan Gagnier as his chief of staff. He was Charest’s C-o-S in 2007, and managed to steady the Premier’s nosedive in the polls before resigning in 2009. Charest says Gagnier’s return has nothing to to with the student strike, which I believe about as much as his line about not paying attention to polls. And anything can happen in the coming days, weeks, and (oof) months with people and police frequently clashing in the street. And Charest will have to call an election before December 2013, when the collective memory of tear gas, strife and ugly laws (and alleged party finance skullduggery, and construction industry misery, and more mafia ties) will in all likelihood be stuck in Quebec’s collective memory.

But as dark as things are for the Premier, he can take comfort in this: his opponents aren’t fairing much better than him.

A message from Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

JohnsHopkins

How Canadians researchers waste taxpayer money: Who hates cilantro? - Study

...The study is a first step in determining how widespread a dislike for cilantro is, at least in a sample of young Canadians. It's unclear whether older Canadians feel similarly or how much the herb is despised by people in other countries.

Eventually, the Toronto scientists hope to pinpoint the genetic basis for why cilantro is an herb some people love to hate.  More >>

#Cuba - Disminuye 26% matricula universitaria

Qué.es/

El informe indica que en el actual periodo de 2011-2012 las universidades cubanas tienen un total de 351.116 plazas, casi 123.000 menos que las 473.309 contabilizadas en el curso anterior.  Mas >>

An Agent of Influence in the "Mayami's" Academy

a brainwasher that omits many things in his presentation and intentionally manipulated the academy. we know already his preconceived conclusions. an agent of influence in the "mayami's" academy.

By wenceslaocruzblanco

Shaquille O'Neal Earns Doctorate Degree in Education

Los Cubarauis

Leer >>

The Five Spies & Propaganda at The York University in England

[r] Antonio’s mother, Mirta & Choco

these guys were spies and no one of them is an artist but pure breed propaganda from a more than 53 years of dictatorship. see what these leftist idiots say  Painting Liberty in Cuba >>

Arcadia University established a Study Abroad Program in Cuba wih University of Havana

for american students of course not for cubans to study in philadelphia.

------------------------------------------- 
Arcadia University Bulletin/

 Arcadia University announces the establishment of the Arcadia in Cuba study abroad program, as well as the first Global Faculty Development Workshop in academic collaboration with the prestigious University of Havana.

This new relationship has enabled The College of Global Studies at Arcadia University and Arcadia’s Office of International Affairs to launch new study abroad, faculty development and applied research programs in Cuba.

“The strong academic relationship now in place between Arcadia University and the University of Havana opens a pathway for many great learning opportunities for U.S. students and faculty. We thank our trustees, faculty, staff and alumni who have visited Cuba and worked with professors, business and government leaders over several years to build what we know will be a strong and enduring bridge to greater knowledge and a more global perspective for our learning communities,” says President Carl (Tobey) Oxholm III.  More >>

Neokaxtrizmo - "A estudiar por cuenta propia"

Leer >>

Respuesta a una invitacion de la St. Thomas University de viajar a Cuba

Tomado de Nuevo Acción

Por buenos y diligentes amigos me llega la noticia que renueva las esperanzas y eleva el patriotismo y el orgullo de ser cubano genuino a niveles estratoféricos. Una ex, o alumna de la Universidad de St. Thomas, recibió una invitación para que participara en la excursión a Cuba, que con motivo de la visita del Papa, organiza la Archidiócesis de Miami. La joven "cubanita" ha contestado a la invitación con una carta antológica y ejemplar.

 

Nuevo Acción se enorgullece de publicar la traducción de la invitación y la digna respuesta: ¡DISFRÚTENLA!:

 

Carta enviada a los alumnos de la Universidad de St. Thomas:

Estimados alumnos,

La Universidad de St. Thomas (foto) ofrece un viaje religioso y educativo a Cuba del 19 al 26 de mayo.

Podemos aceptar las primeras 40 personas que reserven espacio y envíen su depósito.

Haga clic aquí para ver el itinerario de viaje de Cuba

El precio del tour  es de $ 1.939 USD, por persona (ocupación doble.) Un gasto extra único es $549.00 USD

La tarifa aérea de ida y vuelta Miami-Habana a través de American Airlines es $459.00 USD por persona.

Un depósito $500.00 por persona debe de ser pagado antes del 28 de febrero de 2012.

El pago final deberá ser abonado para el 2 de de abril de 2012 o antes.

Por favor: cheque pagadero a: MK Cuba Travel- Atención José Cachaldora, MK Cuba Travel- 999 Ponce De León Boulevard 40- Coral Gables, Florida 33134- 305 648 7115

También puede pagar mediante tarjeta de crédito y enviar su información a José en jcachaldoramktravel.com.

Si quieres hablar conmigo mi información de contacto es: Beverly S. Bachrach-bbachracstu.edu- 305 623 2355

Para los interesados, esta es una oportunidad maravillosa.

Gracias por su consideración.

Atentamente,

Beverly S. Bachrach-Vicepresidente- Comunicación y Marketing de adelanto de la Universidad.

Universidad St. Thomas

 

 Digna respuesta a la invitación:

Beverly,

Como una alumna, católico y la hija de refugiados del régimen  comunista, ateo y represivo de Cuba, me siento ofendida y consternada de que La Universidad de St. Thomas participe en la misma falsa promoción del turismo a Cuba--turismo que llena las arcas del régimen y le permite continuar con su política de abortos sancionada por el Estado, de la persecución religiosa, de la detención indiscriminada, tortura y de la negación de todos los derechos humanos fundamentales dados por nuestro Creador.

Tras un examen superficial del itinerario, me veo obligada a preguntar si la gira de El Morro cubrirá una visita a las paredes manchadas de sangre, con los orificios de bala por la ejecución por los matones del régimen, de decenas de inocentes cubanos amantes de la libertad cuyo último grito fue: ¡Viva Cristo Rey!

Le pregunto, si el tour por la Habana incluye una visita a la notoria prisión de Combinado del Este donde se tortura y se mata de  hambre a los presos de conciencia. ¿Quizás podrá visitar la prisión Kilo 8 en Pinar del Río? ¿En El Cobre, se reunirá con los cubanos que quisieron oír las palabras inspiradoras del entonces obispo Maurice pero fueron rodeados por la seguridad del estado cubano a la salida  de la misa? ¿Se reunirán con las Damas de Blanco que repetidamente son golpeadas y detenidas después de asistir a misa, simplemente por alertar a la conciencia pública sobre la situación de sus seres queridos y la nación cubana? ¿ Se reunirán con disidentes pacíficos de Cuba o ex presos políticos?

Hasta hoy, estaba orgulloso de ser asociado de STU. Ahora me avergüenzo.

Esté segura, sin embargo, que yo haré una prioridad  informar a todos los que se preocupan por la libertad, la democracia y los derechos humanos y que se niegan a dar el régimen cubano un salvavidas económico para perpetuar el sufrimiento del pueblo cubano.

Le pediría a STU que reconsideren este enfoque equivocado.

Sin embargo, si STU continúa con este viaje, por favor no contactarme nunca más y quíteme de todas sus listas.

Con profundo pesar,

Stetson international business students head to Cuba

Daytona Beach News-Journal/

A group of Stetson University students from the international business department left Saturday to go to Cuba over Spring Break.

Bill Andrews, chairman of the management and international business department at the DeLand university, and another professor took nine students for a week from the junior seminar "Business and Culture in Cuba" to experience the country firsthand.

The group plans to spend five days in Havana and two days in the historic Cienfuegos area. They will meet with a number of government and business leaders from Cuba; officials from the U.S. government and students from the University of Havana. Historical and cultural sites are on the agenda, too.

In preparation, the class studied Cuba's history, politics and other areas. Andrews has traveled to Cuba twice before, in 2003 and with Stetson graduate students in 2004. But travel restrictions were tightened shortly thereafter.

Andrews said students will be learning in person the relationship between Cuba and the U.S., the changing economic situation and the concept of social justice.

"It makes for a natural laboratory," he said about the trip.

Students will get "on the ground experience," he said, by talking with Cubans and listening to various government briefings.

The students when they return plan to share what they learned with others on campus.

Alisa Ring, 22, of Lake City, a business management senior, said this is her second trip to Cuba after going with a church group in 2009. But she didn't know as much as she does now and did not get to spend time in the city of Havana.

"It's an awesome opportunity to be able to go as students," she said on Friday before leaving. "I'm excited to get to see all the places we've talked about and be able to connect the stories that we've learned and heard of through our readings."

[Another one] University of New York & Baruch launches Cuban Arts and Cultures Program

Graphic by Jaina Teeluck

The Ticke/ 

By Kimberley Goonie

Baruch, along with CUNY, recently implemented a study abroad program to Cuba.

The City University of New York (CUNY) along with Baruch College recently spearheaded an effort in order to allow students to participate in a study abroad program in Cuba.

Dr. Richard Mitten, the director of Baruch's study abroad program, Katrin Hansing, a professor of Black and Hispanic Studies at Baruch, who, as an anthropologist, has studied Cuba for more than 15 years, and Dean and Vice Provost for Global Strategies Jeffrey Peck made this program possible.

From this program, students were able to gain three credits and also knowledge about Cuba's lifestyle and culture.

"I think Americans in particular are fascinated by Cuba because it is the only country in the world they are legally not allowed to travel to," said Hansing in an article on Baruch College's website.

However, the U.S. government recently lifted these restrictions, and now students enrolled in a formal course will be able to travel to Cuba.

A senior at Baruch, Maisha Hall, who participated in the study abroad program said, "The program provided for us a unique and intense immersion into Cuban culture. Everyday we attended a topical lecture, which was then complemented by a cultural activity that included everything from visits to houses of worship to observing youth culture through nightlife."

In order to facilitate the best experience possible, they were given the opportunity to live with Cuban families in private homes.

Hall added that, since our account of Cuban history is virtually one-sided, the trip was a great way to actually experience the lifestyle in Cuba.

"We developed strong bonds with the Cuban students at the Ludwig Foundation – a vibrant group of educated and ambitious people who both humbled and humanized our experience," said Hall. "I think we all faced an altered sense of reality while there."

Hansing was very pleased with the outcome of the trip even though it was the first time that they were testing out this new program.

"Personally, I have to say that it was truly a joy to see the students explore and learn about this very different culture and reality and watch them develop and grow as human beings," said Hansing. "This was a pilot program and so much could have gone wrong…but no, it was a real success on all levels: academic, social, cultural and human."

Hall was very pleased with her experience and maintains that it taught her a lot.

"It gave us an opportunity to become acquainted with a country that has such a complex history with the United States and has put issues like race, poverty, immigration and politics at the forefront of our experiences," she said.

Hansing hopes that this program will continue on in the future so more students will be able to participate in it.

"This is why studying abroad is so important; it not only helps students broaden their horizons and sharpen their critical thinking skills but also opens their hearts to new peoples and places," she said.

Hall is grateful to have been a part of this program, which changed her perspective on Cuba.

"This program caused me to think critically about my role and duties as an American citizen and as a human being."

 Dr. Mitten did not respond in time for the publication of this article.

Propaganda & manipulation: Study Abroad in Cuba with Northwestern IPD

The day Fidel Castro passes away, most Cubans will be very sad and we will have a funeral ... but it will not create a major problem."-Carlos Alzugaray

Carlos Alzugaray, who spent 40 years representing the Cuban government around the world, wishes NBC newsman Brian Williams had asked a different question during the recent Republican presidential debate in Jacksonville, Fla.

Williams asked the GOP hopefuls what they would do if they received a 3 a.m. phone call telling them that Fidel Castro had died and half a million Cubans were making their way to the United States aboard rickety boats.

Among the major candidates, only Ron Paul's response drew applause. Paul said he would immediately work to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba and resume trade with the island nation, ending a U.S. embargo that has existed for more than 60 years.

Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum each vowed to continue the hard line against Cuba that has been in place with only slight, temporary let ups since 1961.

During a visit to Indiana State University last week (Jan. 29-31), Alzugaray suggested what he called "a more realistic question" about what the men would do if told Cuba had made a major oil and gas discovery and was offering to sell petroleum to the United States at a good price.

"That is actually a more likely scenario. The day Fidel Castro passes away, most Cubans will be very sad and we will have a funeral ... but it will not create a major problem."

Alzugaray - a professor at the University of Havana's Center for Hemispheric and United States Studies and a former Cuban Foreign Ministry official - provided students a rare opportunity to hear the Cuban perspective of an international dispute that has persisted through 10 U.S. presidential administrations. He visited political science, history and Spanish classes and met with faculty, who are interested in exploring opportunities for educational exchanges, and delivered a public lecture at Cunningham Memorial Library.  More >>

Get it: Thirteen Tufts students will study in Cuba for six weeks

Tufts Daily 

Thirteen Tufts students will have the opportunity to study abroad in Cuba this summer through Norfolk State University's (NSU) six-week program.

The program will award two course credits to Tufts students and is offered in Havana at Casa de las Américas in the Academic Unit of the Schools of Letters and Art History at the University of Havana. Both undergraduate and graduate students can enroll.

"[Casa de las Américas is] one of the biggest intellectual centers historically in Cuba," Nina Gerassi-Navarro, an associate professor of Latin American literature and culture and director of the Latin American studies program, said. 

Professor emeritus Claudia Kaiser-Lenoir, a former associate professor in the Department of Romance Languages and coordinator of the trip, suggested that Tufts students be invited on NSU's program after a recent regulation change allowed universities to include students from other universities on their Cuba programs.

Kaiser-Lenoir taught classes in Cuba last summer when NSU first brought students to Cuba in a ten-week program.

Lodging will be in the Casa de las Americas dormitories, and the program will have an estimated twenty-four participants in total, Director of International Programs at NSU William Alexander told the Daily. 

Courses, including Kaiser-Lenoir's "Special Topics in Cuban Culture and Society Since the 1959 Revolution," will give students access to local experts. 

"I taught a similarly organized course at Tufts, but we didn't have any Cuban experts, just experts on Cuba," Kaiser-Lenoir explained. "Cuba attracts people from all over the world that flock there to see how things are put together. It's not that everything works well, but there are some things that work intriguingly effectively, so it's an interesting laboratory… [Cuba has] very impressive records in many key areas that are of central importance to people like health, education, and the environment."

Grado de conocimiento

Uploaded by Auer12345 

El comediante Mark Schiff investiga el grado de conocimiento sobre el Oriente Medio. entre los estudiantes de la Universidad de California en Los Angeles.

La ac[k]ademia: ser y tiempo

 

En el sitio de Ichikawa

Arnaldo M. Fernández

Toda disciplina académica suele generar su gremio, esto es: la comunidad de practicantes con prerrogativa casi absoluta de conceder ingreso y promover o expulsar. La difusión del conocimiento teórico pasa por la «revisión de los pares» antes que por el tamiz de las salidas prácticas. De este modo el gremio preserva su autoridad para certificar conocimientos por la experiencia misma que el tinglado académico propicia en virtud de su propio diseño gremial. Fuera del gremio, nadie estaría calificado para valorar lo que se produce allá adentro y así, la función sistémico-estructural no sería tanto producir conocimientos, sino más bien reproducir el gremio que monopoliza la gestión del conocimiento y de sus productores.

Dentro del gremio, el académico más débil tiene ventaja decisiva frente a quien se engolfa en la misma disciplina desde fuera: aquí la reputación se gana ya sólo con trabajo propio, mientras que aquel académico tiene de antemano credibilidad por aparecer en el directorio telefónico de alguna institución. De ahí que la gente pague buen precio en dinero y tiempo para agarrar el solapín de acceso a tal o cual gremio. El Consejo Nacional de Investigación publicó A Data-Based Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs in the United States (2010), que revela cómo la mitad de los doctorantes en algunas disciplinas humanísticas —v.g.: lengua y literatura inglesas—cuelga los guantes y sólo la mitad de quienes no lo hacen pasa a trabajar en su especialidad, que a menudo no da para otra cosa que profesor universitario. Así, la primera lección del doctorado en ciencias sociales o humanísticas consiste en que se trata de una lotería, incluso para lengua y literatura españolas, adonde vienen a coger mangos bajitos los inmigrantes hispanos que se gradúan en colegios estadounidenses.  Mas >>

Trabas kubishes de la I-D en Cuba

En el Granma >>

Taxpayer-Sponsored Cuba Trips: Smithsonian People-to-People Cultural Exchange Program to Cuba

Capitol Hill Cubans/

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, made the following statement on the Smithsonian Institution’s, a taxpayer-funded entity, upcoming trips to Cuba under a so-called People-to-People Cultural Exchange Program:

“The Smithsonian's 10-day trips to Cuba will amount to little more than a tropical vacation. Americans participating in these trips will not see the brutal reality of the Castro dictatorship. They will not be visiting run down hospitals where sick Cubans have to bring their own bed sheets and medications, nor will they have the opportunity to sit in a court room where peaceful pro-democracy advocates are sentenced because due process and a real judicial system are non-existent.

The nature of the Smithsonian's upcoming trips to Cuba becomes clear merely by looking at the ad promoting it. The ad fails to mention that Cuba is a state-sponsor of terrorism or that Castro's thugs repeatedly and routinely beat and harass the innocent Ladies in White while they peacefully march down a street. It does not mention that an American citizen is being held hostage by the regime simply for seeking to lift the veil of censorship that the dictatorship imposes on the Cuban people.

Americans will not be able to interact with a typical Cuban family as they conduct their daily desperate search for food, stop by a dormant newspaper's office that no longer operates because there is no freedom of the press, or visit the ever-growing prisons where countless political prisoners languish in their cells for exercising freedom of expression. These are the real cultural experiences in Cuba. Instead, these tourists will experience a false depiction of Cuba through a biased and censored 'tour' of the island. More  Capitol Hill Cubans >>

Also  Travel To Cuba with Smithsonian >>

smithsonianjourneys.org