Cuba subastará 33 caballos de salto de fina raza

de la caballeriza del comandante de la robo-ilusion guillermo garcia frias.
------------------------ 
www.perlavision.icrt.cu

Raza Real Sangre Holandesa/  www.perlavision.icrt.cu

Cuba subastará 33 caballos de salto de fina raza el 15 de febrero en La Habana, como parte de su oferta turística especializada, informaron este lunes los organizadores.

Se trata del “quinto Remate Élite Internacional de Caballos de Salto”, organizado por la empresa de Protección de Flora y Fauna y la agencia de viajes Ecotur (ambas estatales), a realizarse en el Club Ecuestre del Parque Lenin, cerca de La Habana.

“Se subastarán 33 ejemplares, que incluyen 19 caballos montados y 14 en libertad, de la raza Real Sangre Holandesa, línea de sangre de nivel internacional”, dijo Ecotur en su sitio web.

Cuba trata de diversificar y dar mayor nivel a su oferta turística, que atrae cada año a 2,8 millones de visitantes y recauda unos 2.600 millones de dólares, segunda fuente de ingreso del país tras la venta de servicios médicos.

La isla intenta rescatar la exportación de caballos, que disminuyó en los últimos años, y puso en marcha un programa de fomento en 40 criaderos, que ya suman 17.000 ejemplares de 17 razas, según el semanario Opciones.

Un programa similar está aplicando con la crianza y exportación de aves ornamentales, para lo cual el gobierno autorizó la creación de 17 cooperativas.

Informe revela mas de 200 muertes y desapariciones durante el gobierno de Raúl Castro

Pablo Alfonso/ martinoticias.com

diciembre 27, 2013

El gobierno de Raúl Castro tiene un impresionante historial de más de 200 casos de muertes y desapariciones en Cuba, de ellos 166 documentados, durante los siete años de su mandato, según revela la organización Archivo Cuba en su más reciente informe.

En la lista se destacan 86 fallecimientos en prisión por denegación de asistencia médica en prisión, 46 suicidios de presos y 15 homicidios extrajudiciales. El recuento incluye a los reclusos, muertos en huelga de hambre: Wilman Villar Mendoza, Orlando Zapata Tamayo, Yordanis Ballagas Ramírez y Roberto Antonio Rivalta Junco; y califica las muertes de Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas y Harold Cepero Escalante como presuntas ejecuciones extrajudiciales.

Hay dos casos reportados como desapariciones forzosas. El primero identificado como Alberto Sigas Hechevarría, 32 años, miembro de un grupo de oposición pacífica, que había sido amenazado de muerte por agentes de Seguridad del Estado.
El 15 de enero de 2010, salió de su domicilio para visitar la casa de su mamá y nunca más fue visto. Su esposa lo reportó como desaparecido, la policía le informó tres días después que estaba detenido en Villa Marista, cuartel general de la Seguridad del Estado, pero nunca regresó.

En circunstancias semejantes desapareció el activista político, Roberto Amelio Franco Alfaro, de 62 años, quien salió de su casa por última vez el 20 de mayo de 2009, señala Archivo Cuba.

El informe de 10 páginas abarca desde el 31 de julio de 2006 hasta el 15 de diciembre de 2013 y está disponible en inglés en el sitio web cubaarchive.org.

Archivo Cuba es un programa de Free Society Project (FSP) una organización independiente fundada en el año 2001, en Nueva York, presidida por María Werlau, con el fin de promover el respeto a los derechos humanos y preservar la memoria histórica mediante investigaciones, becas y publicaciones.

La organización tiene una amplia base de datos digital que documenta los crímenes políticos ocurridos en Cuba desde el triunfo de la revolución castrista hace 55 años.

Cuba: Se agotan los negocios por cuenta propia orientados a clientela cubana

Diario de Cuba 

www.mariodcabrera.com

Las bandejas de pizza están guardadas, así como la antigua licuadora que ni funcionaba. Atrás quedó el dulce olor a masa horneada que permeaba el apartamento de Julio César Hidalgo en La Habana, cuando él y su novia tenían su modesto negocio de venta de pizzas, reporta la AP.

Dos años después de comenzar el experimento del Gobierno con limitada autorización del trabajo independiente del Estado, Hidalgo está en la bancarrota, desempleado y sujeto a una posible multa. Pero el hombre de 33 años de edad, conocido por su amplia sonrisa y sentido del humor, dice que la peor pérdida es la más difícil de expresar.

"Me siento frustrado y decepcionado, tuve que cerrar la cafetería porque no me daba la cuenta, como se dice en Cuba", explicó Hidalgo.

La agencia The Associated Press recientemente volvió a buscar a nueve fundadores de empresas incipientes, a los cuales había entrevistado por primera vez en 2011, cuando, ilusionados, crearon sus negocios a la luz del anuncio de Raúl Castro de que se permitiría un nivel limitado de iniciativa privada.

Entre ellos hay dueños de restaurantes y cafeterías, una costurera e instructora de taekwondo, un vendedor de DVD pirateados y una mujer que alquila habitaciones a turistas.

El destino les ha deparado fortunas diversas. De las seis iniciativas que dependían de una clientela cubana, cuatro fracasaron y sus propietarios están económicamente peor que cuando empezaron. Pero las tres que estaban orientadas hacia los extranjeros o hacia sus compatriotas empleados por empresas foráneas, siguen abiertas, y algunas incluso prosperan.

Una clientela empobrecida

Aunque es una muestra un tanto pequeña, el resultado es uno que muchos economistas expertos en Cuba habían notado desde el comienzo: No hay en el país suficiente dinero como para mantener a un sector privado, donde el salario del cubano promedio es de 20 dólares al mes.

"A todo este sector privado se le ha dado una nueva oportunidad, pero evidentemente hay un ambiente macroeconómico que no lo favorece y no favorece la expansión de la demanda que ellos necesitan", dijo Pavel Vidal, execonomista del Banco Central de Cuba.

Vidal desde hace tiempo ha llamado a las autoridades cubanas a implementar un paquete de gasto público a fin de estimular la economía, y a atraer más inversión extranjera.

El especialista, que ahora es profesor en la Universidad Javeriana de Colombia, dice que solo se necesita fijarse en las tendencias desde 2011 para darse cuenta que el sector privado en Cuba está agotado. Tras el entusiasmo inicial, el número de cubanos con empresas propias se ha mantenido creciendo muy paulatinamente los últimos dos años llegando en estos meses a los 444.000, es decir, el 9% de la fuerza laboral.

Incluso en los países desarrollados, donde los negocios tienen acceso a capitales, crédito y una clientela con poder adquisitivo, empezar una empresa es riesgoso. Según la Administración de Empresas Pequeñas de Estados Unidos, aproximadamente la mitad de todos los negocios nuevos en el país cierran al cabo de cinco años, y dos tercios al cabo de una década.

La proporción de negocios fracasados según la muestra tomada por la AP es del 44% en menos de dos años, y peor si se consideran solo las que estaban orientadas a una clientela cubana.

"No hay suficiente dinero en circulación en la economía en manos de gente común", expresó Ted Henken, profesor de estudios latinoamericanos en el Baruch College de Nueva York, quien acaba de escribir un libro sobre la empresa privada en Cuba. "Todos los negocios compiten por la misma clientela, que en mayoría son pobres y tienen ingresos limitados".

Algunos economistas han criticado al Gobierno por sus prohibiciones contra actividades que considera ilegales, como los cines de 3D en casas privadas, por introducir impuestos sobre las importaciones de productos traídos eCuban el equipaje de viajeros, y por prohibir la venta de ropa importada.

Pero el sábado, Raúl Castro se pronunció a favor de aumentar las limitaciones, advirtiendo a los observadores.

"No ignoramos que quienes nos apremian a acelerar el paso nos empujan al fracaso", manifestó.

Henken y Vidal dijeron que Cuba debe hallar alguna manera de incrementar los salarios de empleados públicos, ampliar los microcréditos y crear un mercado mayorista viable que pueda suplir a las nuevas empresas. Señalaron además que hay muy pocos puestos de trabajos para profesionales en la lista de casi 200 actividades que fueron legalizadas para ejercer por cuenta propia.

Continuar leyendo en Diario de Cuba >>

Cuba: Sobre la comercialización de productos agropecuarios [Oficial]

How Castro's Repressive Apparatus Works

capitolhillcubans

The case of Andrés Carrión provides a great illustration of how a regular Cuban felt the need to speak the truth and how Castro's repressive apparatus works -- exerting unbearable pressure on Carrión and his family.

From The Miami Herald:

Andrés Carrión says security agents threatened to kill him, fired his wife, forced them out of their home and sent two snitches to get close to him.

Andrés Carrión Alvarez says he knew it would be up to him to shatter the image of peace and order clamped on Cuba by government security agents when then Pope Benedict XVI said Mass last year in Santiago de Cuba.

“I could not allow the international news media there to think everything was OK,” said Carrión, the man seen in a memorable video shouting “Down with communism!” before the Mass and then being pummeled and hauled away by plainclothes agents.

Carrión, 41, and his wife, physician Ariuska Galán, 38, received U.S. refugee visas and arrived Nov. 21 in Chattanooga, Tenn., where they have been filling out papers for work permits, Social Security numbers and medical checkups.

“[I] am breathing freedom, an incredible sense of freedom,” Carrion told El Nuevo Herald in his first interview since leaving Cuba.

That was not what he was breathing in Cuba after his notorious outburst minutes before Benedict began the Mass in Santiago on March 26, 2012, on the first leg of a three-day visit to Cuba, the first papal tour of the communist-ruled nation since John Paul II visited in 1998.

Government officials threatened to kill him, fired his wife from a public clinic and evicted them from their apartment above the clinic. Two State Security infiltrators tried to get close to him. And an Interior Ministry car seemed to try to run him over, he said.

Carrión said he was not active in dissident groups before his outburst. A physical therapist who lived with his wife quietly in Santiago, Cuba’s second-largest city, he had been dismissed from his job as part of a government belt-tightening, and was unemployed.

“I was a normal person, with some political worries, but then little by little came an increase in my political consciousness,” he said in a telephone interview.

He realized he would have the perfect opportunity to attack the government publicly when it was announced that Benedict would say Mass in Santiago — an event sure to be attended by the international news media and Cuba’s ruling elites, but not by dissidents.

Carrión was right. Following past procedures, police detained hundreds of dissidents and blocked their phones during Benedict’s visit to make sure they could not get anywhere near the pope in Santiago and Havana.

“I took advantage of that moment because I was a person unknown in the political world,” he said. “If not, I could not have reached that spot.”

Cuba: Remembering dissident rapper Angel Yunier Remon

capitolhillcubans

During the holidays, let's continue to highlight some of the current political prisoners that the Castro brothers would like the world to forget.

Today, we remember 30-year old dissident rapper, Angel Yunier Remon, who just spent his first Christmas in a political prison.

Yunier Remon, whose stage name is "el Critico del Arte" ('The Art Critic'), was attacked with tear gas and arrested on March 21st, 2013, for his criticism of the Castro regime.

In prison -- where he is being held without charges or trial -- Yunier has been continuously beaten, contracted various diseases, denied family visits and been held naked in a punishment cell.

He has undertaken several hunger strikes to protest his cruel and arbitrary imprisonment.

Demand his freedom.

Cuba, de la sacarocracia a la chulocracia

Ruinas del ingenio "La Caridad de Tartabul", Cienfuegos/ Panoramio - Photo by ceosgol

Noticiero Digital

Antonio Sánchez García 

Los datos aportados por el gran historiador cubano Manuel Moreno Fraginals en su breve y enjundiosa historia de Cuba que redactara en La Florida absolutamente de memoria, ya en el exilio y sin un solo documento o bibliografía a la mano una vez caído en desgracia ante el régimen castrista a pesar de su declarado guevarismo, bajo el título de Cuba-España/España-Cuba, son sencillamente abrumadores. Se reducen a una asombrosa constatación: tan rica y tan poderosa fue la burguesía cubana, enriquecida como ninguna otra de las Américas gracias a la explotación industrial y moderna del azúcar, primer producto de exportación de los siglos XVIII y XIX y por ello la industria más exitosa y productiva de ninguna otra bajo el imperio de la corona española, que resulta inadecuado calificar a Cuba de colonia.

Esa burguesía, bautizada por Moreno Fraginals de sacarocracia, era tanto o más poderosa y rica que la aristocracia española, poseía las mayores influencias políticas y sociales sobre la corona y se pavoneaba no sólo de su asombrosa riqueza sino de la cantidad de títulos nobiliarios con los que se había hecho a punta de dinero: “En La Habana, en 1790, existían 23 títulos nobiliarios y 17 en tramitación, todos ellos criollos. (Manuel Moreno Fraginals, El País, 26 de julio de 1985). De allí el hecho excepcional que tuviera gran repercusión en el comportamiento de Cuba y su alineamiento puro y duro junto a las autoridades hispanas frente al proceso independentista vivido por el continente bajo el sacrificio y la entrega de cientos de miles de vidas venezolanas: “Era una oligarquía enriquecida, de primer orden, con mucha fuerza político-social, y suponía un eje estructural dentro del antiguo régimen, lo que es un caso excepcional en América Latina”.(Ibídem).

En otras palabras: la burguesía cubana pertenecía propiamente a la clase dirigente peninsular y tenía tanto interés en la preservación de la dominación colonial de España, como España misma. La sacarocracia ejerció, como grupo de presión, una influencia directa sobre las autoridades metropolitanas. En 1804 las estadísticas manejadas por Moreno Fraginals indican que el 51,3% de las plantaciones de caña de azúcar estaban en manos de los cubanos.

Las 30 primeras en volumen de producción también eran suyas. Se calcula que en esta época había unos 80 cafetales, ninguno español. Sus dueños no constituían “una oligarquía plantadora absentista que explotara las plantaciones desde la metrópoli, sino que estaba en el mismo lugar de la plantación, donde recibía los beneficios y, obviamente, buscaba un sistema político afín a sus intereses”. Esa sistema político no fue ni podía ser el republicano perseguido a sangre y fuego por Bolívar, Sucre, San Martín u O’Higgins. Razón que llevó a la clase dirigente cubana a jugar todas sus bazas contra el esfuerzo liberador de tierra firme. El independentismo cubano fue marginal, de poca monta y sin ningún efecto político militar. La ruptura del cordón umbilical de la sacarocracia con la corona fue producto del inmenso poder obtenido por los Estados Unidos y la acción de sus cañoneras. Lo demás es epopeya marxista.

En el convulso período pre y post independentista, abierto definitivamente el 19 de abril de 1810 en Caracas, según escribiese Moreno Fraginals en sus obras fundamentales – El Ingenio y Cuba España/España-Cuba -, aquella oligarquía hizo gobierno, arrancando a la metrópoli todas las leyes y reglamentos que necesitaba para estructurar su propio sistema de plantación y de explotación económica, política y social.

¿Qué interés podría haber tenido en separarse de España, si de la corona obtenía cuanto necesitaba para la preservación de su riqueza y su Poder político y social? “Por ejemplo, puede decirse que a partir de 1792, y con motivo del punto fundamental que perseguían para el desarrollo del sistema de plantación -el libre comercio de esclavos-, la oligarquía obtuvo el libre comercio para todo. El libre comercio en la isla de Cuba es un hecho real, factual, independiente de la legislación, desde 1792″ . Aquella gente obtuvo además leyes complementarias sobre la propiedad de la tierra y, hecho curioso, liquidó la producción tabacalera para impedir toda competencia. “En la década última del siglo XVIII los cubanos tuvieron que importar tabaco del norte para poder fumar”. El caso insólito de la ruina tabacalera fue una acción consciente contra el sistema de factoría y contra “el único cultivo fundamental que estaba en manos de los españoles”. De allí que los logros alcanzados por la sacarocracia de libertad absoluta de la trata de esclavos, libre comercio, liquidación de la factoría tabacalera y nuevas leyes sobre la tierra, definen, según Moreno, las coordenadas de un poder efectivo en Cuba.

Las consecuencias fueron definitorias: mientras todas las colonias hispanoamericanas estaban sujetas al férreo yugo colonial, Cuba estuvo liberada de todo lazo colonialista, en el sentido clásico del término; fue una excepción. “Cuba no era una colonia en el sentido exacto de la palabra”. No respondía al modelo inglés.

En Cuba eran los naturales de la isla los que imponían el sistema de plantación. Asimismo, la producción no se enviaba a la metrópoli para ser reprocesada y vendida, y España, siendo poseedora de la que iba a ser primera productora mundial de azúcar (de 1829 a 1950), no disponía siquiera de refinería azucarera. Cuba, como colonia, “no tenía un mercado en su metrópoli y menos aun un mercado preferencial”. Y, finalmente, no se daba otra característica colonial: “La metrópoli impone generalmente a la colonia su sistema monetario, y España en el siglo pasado tenía el más atrasado y degradado sistema monetario de Europa. En Cuba lo normal era la circulación del dólar norteamericano, el peso mexicano y los llamados pesos colombianos”. La interconexión con la economía norteamericana durante la segunda mitad del siglo XIX llegó al extremo de plantearse la venta pura y simple de la isla a una sociedad mercantil norteamericana.

Cuba, “primera productora mundial de azúcar desde 1829 a 1950”, lo que le permitió ser una de las sociedades más prósperas de la región, reafirmó su naturaleza idiosincrática una década después, cuando al fragor del castrismo se convertiría en la primera y única sociedad socialista del hemisferio. Con una consecuencia inevitable, propia de regímenes comunistas: de la mayor prosperidad pasó a la mayor miseria y de la mayor independencia a la mayor dependencia económica: de ser dominada por su sacarocracia en connivencia con España o los Estados Unidos, pasó a serlo por el gobierno soviético, que se convirtió en su sostén material. Hasta la caída del Muro de Berlín y la desaparición de la Unión Soviética. Luego de lo cual, y tras una travesía por el océano de la más espantosa ruindad y miseria vino a aferrarse al gobierno del teniente coronel Hugo Chávez y a mamar y sobrevivir de su última teta: el petróleo venezolano. Para reafirmar así el paso de la sacarocracia que la llevara a las alturas del Poder y la riqueza a la espantosa miseria de la chulocracia castrista.

Como hubiera dicho Chivo Negro: así son las cosas.

Why we find things beautiful

The Economist

Rodolfo Hernandez, Awarded Medal of Honor, Dies at 82

breitbart

Rodolfo Hernandez, who received the Medal of Honor for rushing into heavy fire while wounded and armed with only an inoperable rifle and bayonet and then killing six enemy soldiers during the Korean War, died on Saturday in Fayetteville, N.C. He was 82.

The Congressional Medal of Honor Society announced his death on itswebsite. Mr. Hernandez was an Army corporal trying to hold a hill in May 1951 when his platoon was overwhelmed by attackers accompanied by heavy mortar, artillery and machine gun fire.

Corporal Hernandez had already been struck by grenade fragments and was bleeding heavily from a head wound when his commanding officer ordered his platoon to fall back. He continued firing until his rifle malfunctioned, then threw six grenades and charged at the opposing foxholes.

Read the rest of the story at the New York Times >>

Obama Channeling Pope Francis to Sell Wealth Redistribution

breitbart

By Robert Wilde 

President Obama is using Pope Francis to foster wealth redistribution ideas in his speeches on the importance of reducing the gap between rich and poor.

Now that the President’s message of “Hope and Change” has drastically soured over his last few years in office, Obama is hoping the popular pontiff’s vitality will rub off on him. Michael Peppard, a professor of politics and the papacy at Fordham University, posits, "I think Obama probably wants to tap into some of the energy, and tap into some of it for his own message."

Obama quoted Francis in a recent speech on fiscal policy this month: "How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses 2 points?" Although the President has tangled with the Catholic Church on a variety of issues, most notably the contraceptive provisions in the Affordable Care Act, Obama now sees the Pope as an ally. 

Larry Snyder, President of Catholic Charities, is distrustful of Obama embedding Francis’s words into his political speeches. "The danger I see in it is that the pope is not a politician," he cautioned. "When the pope speaks, there's a consistent teaching. And the danger would be other people pick and choose, 'I like this, but I don't like that.'”

Obama has employed a “pick and choose approach” when it comes to the teachings of the Catholic Church. Expressing values antithetical to the teachings of the Catholic Church, the President has announced his approval for gay marriage and is an advocate of abortion. However, Obama views Pope Francis as like-minded when it comes to social issues of immigration or increasing funding for welfare programs. In December, Obama told MSNBC that Francis was an "extraordinarily thoughtful and soulful messenger of peace and justice."

Arguing that their religious freedom is being violated, U.S. Bishops have criticized the President and Obamacare for mandating that Catholic institutions include a contraceptive provision in the healthcare plans that they offer to their employees. This point of contention is a serious problem in improving the White House’s relationship with the Church.

President Obama's Top 10 Constitutional Violations of 2013

By Ilya Shapiro
One of Barack Obama’s chief accomplishments has been to return the Constitution to a central place in our public discourse. Unfortunately, the president fomented this upswing in civic interest not by talking up the constitutional aspects of his policy agenda, but by blatantly violating the strictures of our founding document. Read at cato >>

Cuba: Detalles de la detención y golpiza de activistas de Derechos Humanos en Guantánamo

PalenqueVision

El 24 de diciembre de 2013, los activistas Yordis García Fournier (Mov. Jóvenes por la Democracia) Y Yobel Sevila Martínez (Alianza Democrática Oriental, ADO) fueron detenidos y golpeados en Guantánamo por agentes policiales, en presencia de altos cargos de la llamada Seguridad del Estado (Policía Política).

EstadodeSats: Prensa y nuevos medios en el I Encuentro Internacional sobre derechos humanos y Pactos ONU

EstadodeSats

Panel Prensa y nuevos medios en el I Encuentro Internacional sobre derechos humanos y Pactos ONU realizado bajo fuerte represion y cerco policial el 10 de diciembre 2013 en la sede del proyecto independiente Estado de Sats en Miramar, La Habana, Cuba.

Chinese automaker Geely planning assembly in Cuba

Cuba Standard

Geely stand at the International Havana Fair (FIHAV)

CUBA STANDARD — As the Cuban government is gradually freeing new-car sales for individuals, Chinese automaker Geely, already the No. 1 auto seller on the island, is positioning itself for growth in Cuba and the wider region.

The company is planning to establish a semi-knock down (SKD) assembly plant in Cuba, Shanghai Geely International Corporation, Geely’s international arm, announced in a press release republished by Global Times. The company didn’t provide any specifics.

In an ambitious global expansion plan, Geely set a target of opening 15 assembly plants overseas by 2015, according to an article by Automotive Logistics magazine.

In semi-knock down assembly, a manufacturer typically exports a kit with complete car body, usually coated or already painted, to then add engine and transmission, tires, wheels, seats, headlights, glass, batteries, interior plastics, or other components in final assembly, some of them locally sourced.

“At the request of several ministries in Cuba, including the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Investment, the Ministry of Communications, and the Ministry of Metallurgy Industry, Geely International is now preparing to launch the SKD project in a local place,” the company said in the press release.

The announcement comes as the Cuban government is seeking manufacturers to open shop at its new Mariel Special Development Zone, an export-oriented zone around a deepwater port 30 miles west of Havana.

Cuba is the company’s largest market in the Caribbean, Central America and northern part of South America. Geely sold at least 3,200 vehicles to Cuba in 2013, in two batches; the Geely CK has held the spot of most-sold new car model in Cuba since 2009. The company is also selling vehicles in Costa Rica, Colombia and Venezuela.

In 2012, the company opened a contract assembly plant in Uruguay in a joint venture with a local partner, making it Geely’s first in the Western hemisphere. The plant, with a capacity of 20,000 cars per year, is supplying primarily Mercosur markets Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, as well as Chile. Forty percent of the components in Uruguay are locally sourced, with a goal of reaching 60 percent by the third year.

All Geely vehicles sold to Cuba in 2013 were made at the Uruguayan plant.

“Geely International actively takes measures in relevant areas and has achieved essential progress,” the company said in a  recent statement about the Cuban market.

On Dec. 19, official media announced that for the first time since 1959, individuals will be allowed to purchase new cars without a permit. The state will retain its monopoly over new-car sales.

“Geely is continuously improving the storage structure of its bonded warehouse and is adopting multi-channel supply methods” for spare parts, the company said. Geely’s warehouse in Cuba now is at 80 percent of capacity, up from 34 percent last year.  The company has also signed agreements with SASA, a local auto service provider operated by the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, to jointly open standard service stations and spare-part sales stores.

Nearly 10,000 Geely-brand cars and trucks are already circulating on Cuban roads, the company said. Government agencies, such as the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Ministry of Tourism, have been the only buyers of new cars until now. Geely’s CK models are used as senior government officials’ cars; most police cars in Havana are Geely CK models as well.  At present, 80 percent of rental cars in Cuba are Geely CK, EC7 and EC8 models; all rental agencies are state-owned.

Santa Obama Gives Pay Raise to Federal Workers

By Ben Shapiro

Just in time for Christmas, President Obama signed an executive order on Monday giving a 1 percent pay raise for federal employees. The raise follows a four year hiatus from salary increases for federal workers, although most federal employees have apparently seen their pay increase via promotion or performance. The first increased paycheck will kick in on January 1.

Read more on Breitbart >>

Feds stole my $33M bitcoins booty: Silk Road ‘pirate’

New York Post

By Rich Calder

Photo: Google+

Ross Ulbricht says the government seized $33.6 million in bitcoins from him. 

The Internet “pirate” accused of running the notorious illegal-drug-peddling Web site Silk Road claims that the feds are the real buccaneers — robbing him to the tune of $33.6 million worth of the encrypted, virtual currency bitcoin.

Ross Ulbricht — who was arrested in October for allegedly masterminding the mysterious “deep Web” site — recently filed legal papers in Manhattan federal court admitting he “has an interest as owner” of the more than 173,000 bitcoins the government seized through forfeiture from Silk Road.

Valued at $33.6 million, these bitcoins are assets the government claims were used to facilitate money laundering in support of a host of crimes, including six failed murder-for-hire plots and the sale of cocaine, heroin and other illicit drugs over the Internet.

Ulbricht — who allegedly used the workplace alias “Dread Pirate Roberts,” a reference to a character in the 1987 cult film “The Princess Bride” — said in a notarized Dec. 11 statement that he believes the virtual currency should be returned to him because bitcoins are “not subject to seizure” by federal law.

Ulbricht, 29, now admits the bitcoin fortune is his — even though he’s previously denied any wrongdoing regarding Silk Road and claimed through his lawyer that the feds arrested the wrong guy.

Ulbricht’s attempt at forcing the government to return the bitcoins marks the first time the courts have been asked to determine whether the controversial virtual currency is an asset that falls under forfeiture laws, legal experts told The Post.

Daniel Wenner, a white-collar lawyer and former Brooklyn assistant US attorney, called Ulbricht’s argument “very creative and cutting edge,” but said he’d be “stunned” if a judge sided with the alleged Silk Road operator.

“I think one would be hard-pressed to convince a court that something you can use to purchase goods, like bitcoins, isn’t property,” he said.

Attorney Jeffrey Alberts, who used to specialize in asset-forfeiture actions as a federal prosecutor for Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara, agreed. He said Ulbricht should have “a difficult time” proving his argument because typically “anything of value” can be seized in money-laundering cases.

“Artwork, horses and even intellectual property, such as domain names, have qualified, so there’s no reason to think bitcoins wouldn’t,” he said.

Both Bharara, whose office is handling the Silk Road case, and Ulbricht’s lawyer, Joshua Dratel, declined comment.

Bharara’s asset seizure from Silk Road was the largest-ever by the feds that involved bitcoins.

Lo peor esta por venir

atrancalimpia

Por Andrés Pascual

El filibusterismo oficial y comprobable que ha resultado en la ejecución socio-político-económica del país por la tenaza diseñada por los “interesados” para Obama, es el precedente que está sentando lo peor: Estados Unidos frente el bombardeo futuro de gente como este tipo, a partir de su falsa y engañosa política mesiánica, camouflage del “anticristo del siglo XXI", no más incapaces, no más mentirosos, no más antiamericanos, que sería imposible, sino iguales y se dice todo.

Resulta que no llega por ningún lado el refuerzo de la decencia, la moral y los principios conservadores y la impresion de que este tipo de ciudadano desapareció o lo tienen en túneles bajo tierra a ver qué hacen con él ES UNA REALIDAD DEMOLEDORA.

Los datos sobre la “comunidá” que arribó este año reflejan que la continuación de la la vista gorda define la importancia del castrismo para Obama: por cada elemento que agarran "mojado", permiten que lleguen 200 "con los pies secos". Sin embargo, la noticia será 8 que capturaron en el mar y deportarán para “partir corazones”.

Este detalle no fuera preocupante si la mayoría no se constituyera en parte de la 5ta columna castro-obamista, a partir del apoyo al resquebrajamiento moral del partido demócrata, siempre consecuente con cualquier actitud que golpee a la Unión.

Para la “la comunidá” solo hay una posición política: la que apoye su condición de “emigrantes económicos” sin exigencias de compromiso patriótico, que no les interesa, válido a través del decreto que los autorice a viajar (único objetivo visible), a disfrutar el intercambio, a enviar lo que tengan sin importarles que el salidero económico sin regulaciones empobrece a la ciudad y al país...

Como cualquier ilegal, no tienen en cuenta la realidad económica americana para correr el riesgo de "lanzarse"; ni les interesa si hay o no trabajo, tampoco traen en la agenda aprender ingles, a fin de cuentas “esto es Carraguao” o el Fanguito o Tepito y a “joder la pava y a los pavitos, que vivir del welfare, del fraude y otros "demases" no exige mucho esfuerzo.

Definitivamete, las frases más antiamericanas de la historia son “este es un país de emigrantes” y “el sueño americano”; la primera, sin ninguna razón lógica ni realista para convertirla en significación ética hoy, fue un estandarte de americanos patriotas que, en su momento, no se percataron de que le servirían el arma soberbia al enemigo público 1 de este país: la emigración ilegal, que ha logrado espacios tan significativos por el asalto al poder de comunistas encubiertos como mantener en jaque la política americana con la oficialización de exigencias de reforma migratoria.

La situación no se le escapó de las manos a “los americanos”, sino la dejaron escapar antipatriotas, la “azoraron” los peores engendros de nadie sabe quiénes jamás nacidos aquí...

Sencillamente, la estimulan con objetivo político electoral como primer paso “compañeros” en la lucha contra el capitalismo representado por Estados Unidos.

La conspiración nace en el partido demócrata americano con apoyo de los seculares del Diablo en ultramar.

La situación se ha tornado hiperpeligrosa una vez que lograron imponerle el sello contribuyente para “lo que se avecina” al Vaticano, que eligió, para contentar y reforzar un poder no tan secreto, a un PAPA de la categoría comunista envuelto en papel liberal o reformador.

En ese orden de cosas, hasta la palabra “ilegales” han prohibido en los medios por gestiones de otra “luchadora por esos delincuentes”, jueza en la Corte Suprema, sustituyéndola “indocumentados”; a fin de imponer, como si fuera un derecho, a quienes entraron sin autorización, les falta una firma y a imponer el relajo “como Pedro por su casa”, que es en lo que buscan convertir el “paso de la frontera”.

Con el 90 % del andamiaje mediático en control de los comunistas encubiertos que favorecen todas las medidas contribuyentes a destruir el poder de Estados Unidos, con el Partido Republicano contra la pared, rehén de la circunstancia “ilegales, homosexuales, negros...”, nadie sabe cuánto de malo le espera por las concesiones oportunistas de pusilánimes y traidores.

Razones suficientes para fruncir el ceño cada vez que alguien le desee “felices fiestas...”, porque hasta “christmas” es un delito decir, y un ¿próspero? AÑO NUEVO.

Iranian Lawmakers Introduce Bill To Allow Production Of Weapons Uranium

Pat Dollard

Excerpted from The Jerusalem Post: Iran’s hardline lawmakers are seeking to increase uranium enrichment under the country’s nuclear program to a level that can produce bomb-grade material, a state-run website said on Wednesday.

The bill could bring Tehran into direct conflict with the major powers that reached an interim agreement with Iran in Geneva last month, requiring Tehran to suspend its enrichment of higher grade uranium.

However, Iran’s most powerful authority Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has so far backed the accord.

The hardliners, irked by the foreign policy shift since moderate President Hasan Rouhani was elected in June, oppose the Geneva deal.

The bill introduced on Wednesday, “if approved, will oblige the government to … enrich uranium to 60 percent level in order to provide fuel for submarine engines if the sanctions are tightened and Iran’s nuclear rights are ignored (by major powers),” said hardline lawmaker Mehdi Mousavinejad, according to the English language Press TV website.

It was not immediately clear whether or when the parliament might discuss the bill but the official IRNA news agency said it was introduced by some 100 lawmakers and had been tagged with a “double urgency” status, meaning it could be discussed in parliament within a week.

“The bill is aimed at giving an upper hand to our government and the negotiating team … It will allow the government to continue our nuclear program if the Geneva deal fails,” IRNA quoted Hossein Taghavi Hosseini, spokesman for parliament’s National Security and Foreign Affairs committee, as saying.

DISSUADING FURTHER SANCTIONS

The November 24 accord is meant to give the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain, Germany and Iran a period of six months to negotiate a final settlement of the decade-old standoff, easing worries over a new war in the Middle East.

“Iran’s parliament lacks power and particularly after Rouhani’s election win, the hardline lawmakers do not have the upper hand,” a senior western diplomat in Tehran said.

“Iran’s Supreme Leader backs the deal and ultimately, lawmakers have to follow his path.”

The Iranian government would have no choice but to obey such a bill if passed by parliament. But diplomats and analysts believe Iran could be using parliament as a bargaining tool in the talks.

“This draft bill has been prepared in reaction to America’s hostile measures,” Mousavinejad told the official IRNA news agency on Tuesday.

Despite opposition by President Barack Obama’s administration, 26 US senators introduced legislation on Thursday to impose new sanctions on Iran if the country breaks the Geneva interim deal.

The proposed legislation would require reductions in Iran’s petroleum production and apply new penalties to Iran’s engineering, mining and construction industries if Iran violated the interim agreement or if negotiators failed to reach a final comprehensive deal.

Washington earlier this month also blacklisted 19 more Iranian companies and individuals under sanctions aimed at Iran’s nuclear program.

Keep reading >>

Justin BIEBER: 'I'm Officially Retiring'

Business Insider

Aly Weisman

Jutsin Bieber dropped a bombshell on Christmas Eve.

The 19-year-old singer announced to his nearly 50 million Twitter followers that he is retiring -- with little explanation.

My beloved beliebers I'm officially retiring
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) December 25, 2013

The media talks a lot about me.They make a up a lot of lies and want me to fail but I'm never leaving you, being a belieber is a lifestyle.
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) December 25, 2013

Be kind loving to each other, forgive each other as god forgave us through Christ Merry Christmas IM HERE FOREVER
— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) December 25, 2013

The singer pulled a similar stunt last week, joking in a radio interview that he would call it quits after the release of his "Complete My Journals " album on Monday.

Bieber’s new documentary movie "Believe" opens Christmas Day.

Despite tonight's announcement, we have a feeling Bieber will come out of retirement and get back into the studio very soon.

Las mulas y la economía oculta en Cuba

Diario las Americas

Ivan Garcia

www.elmundo.es

En un cuaderno, Romelio anota detalladamente los encargos que varios clientes le han hecho para su próximo viaje. Desde teléfonos inteligentes, tabletas, laptops, televisores de pantalla plana y videojuegos hasta ropa exclusiva.

Ya de antemano ha acordado el precio y la marca. A la semana, Romelio regresa con el encargo. En el domicilio de un usuario del municipio Diez de Octubre, acaba de entregar un televisor de 42 pulgadas, comprada por 267 dólares en un mercado cercano al Canal de Panamá. A su cliente habanero se lo vende en 550 pesos convertibles (CUC), poco más de 600 dólares.

“En cada viaje traigo tres televisores, igual número de videojuegos y hasta diez móviles inteligentes. Trabajo en una firma y suelo viajar dos veces al mes. Existen disposiciones aduanales sobre la importación de televisores, cocinas y lavadoras. Pero por debajo del tapete, cuando usted le pasa un billete de cien dólares al aduanero, el hombre mira hacia otro lado”, cuenta el negociante.

Según su relato, en un contenedor dispone de un metro cuadrado para traer cosas. Por ese espacio paga 250 pesos, 10 cuc, una vez al año.

“Importo de acuerdo a las necesidades de mis clientes: electrodomésticos, luces LED, pisos de cerámica. Hacer de ‘mula’ me reporta en cada viaje, descontando los pagos aduanales y sobornos, dos mil cuc limpios de polvo y paja”, cuenta Romelio.

No solo decenas de cubanoamericanos residentes en la Florida se dedican a trasegar con pacotilla textil o industrial. Empresarios, compradores, intelectuales, médicos, pilotos y azafatas, entre otros ciudadanos cubanos, se dedican de manera ilegal a la importación de artículos por encargos.

A pesar de pagar elevados gravámenes aduanales, el negocio deja beneficios suculentos. Yanelis, aeromoza, además de servir tragos y emparedados a los pasajeros de Cubana de Aviación, desde hace seis años se dedica a importar electrodomésticos, ropa y cosméticos de calidad.

“Con el dinero que he ganado monté una paladar, me compré un piso en el Vedado y pude arreglarle la casa a mi madre y mis hermanos”, expresa la aeromoza.

A ninguna de estas dos ‘mulas’, les preocupa las nuevas prohibiciones a los trabajadores particulares que venden prendas de vestir y artículos de ferretería, y que obligarán a cerrar cientos de pequeños negocios el próximo 31 de diciembre. Mientras el Estado mantenga precios exagerados en sus mercancías siempre habrá terreno fértil para el negocio.

Pablo, economista, opina que debido a la habitual escasez y sobre todo los altísimos impuestos de circulación -entre 240 y 400%- con los cuales el gobierno grava las mercancías ofertadas en moneda dura, siempre habrá importación de contrabando.

“Calculo que las ‘mulas’ de la isla, los cubanos que viven en Estados Unidos, Europa o América Latina, y los cooperantes que laboran en el extranjero, mueven de tres a cuatro mil millones de dólares anuales en mercancías. Las ‘mulas’ son una especie de ratones, constantes y laboriosos, que van desarticulando el embargo y los abusos comerciales que practican las autoridades cubanas”, argumenta el economista.

Osniel, dueño de un negocio de dulces, le compró a Romelio un televisor de pantalla plana para regalarle a su esposa. Según Osniel, “muchos dueños de cafeterías, bares y paladares adquirimos luces LED, televisores y bebidas mediante las ‘mulas’, ya sean de Miami o cubanos que trabajan en empresas. El precio entre unas ‘mulas’ y otras no varía demasiado. Y por supuesto, siempre es más barato que el Estado”.

Luego de dejar el televisor en casa de Osniel, Romelio revisa su cuaderno. Mira el reloj: “Aún debo hacer siete entregas más. Dos televisores, un videojuego y cuatro Samsung Galaxy. Para salir de la rutina, iré una semana a Varadero con mi familia”.

En Cuba, al igual que las monedas, desde hace 55 años cohabitan dos economías: la estatal, improductiva y mal remunerada, y la sumergida, donde usted por catálogo puede adquirir artículos Made in USA.

Liván Hernández pone en subasta sus trofeos

xfinity.comcast.net

Alex Rivero / Martinoticias

El ex estelar pelotero cubano de Grandes ligas, Liván Hernández, ha puesto en subasta varios de sus premios, trofeos, anillos y pelotas, obtenidos como jugador en la Gran Carpa, por un monto cercano a los 40 mil dólares, según publica el sitio digital Lelands.com.

Hernández expone su anillo de campeón de 1997 con los Marlins de Florida por 7,320.50 dólares, así como la primera bola lanzada por los Nacionales de Washington en su nueva época a 5 mil. Otros trofeos más están a subasta, y aunque su límite es el 10 de enero, ya presenta contendientes que están ofreciendo cifras muy superiores a las que se han impuesto como salida.

Liván había informado un tiempo atrás que intentaba colocarse como empleado de grandes ligas como funcionario de esa organización. Hernández escapó de la isla en un viaje de entrenamiento a México, en 1996, y un año más tarde hacía ganar a los Marlins la corona en la Serie Mundial y se agenció el título de Jugador más valioso.

El trofeo como Jugador más Valioso (MVP) de la serie de 1997 está en venta por un valor de 5, 500 dólares.

Cuba: Remembering Lady in White Sonia Garro

capitolhillcubans

During the holidays, let's highlight some of the current political prisoners that the Castro brothers would like the world to forget.

Today, we remember Sonia Garro, who is currently spending her second Christmas in a political prison.

Sonia Garro, a member of The Ladies in White pro-democracy movement, has been imprisoned by the Castro regime -- without trial or charges -- since March 18th, 2012.

In the wave of repression leading up to Pope Benedict XVI's trip to Cuba, Castro's secret police raider her home, shot her with rubber bullets and imprisoned her.

She has been repeatedly abused and beaten in the infamous Manto Negro women's prison.

Garro's husband, Ramón Muñoz González, was also imprisoned on that day.

He is being held -- without trial or charges -- in the Combinado del Este Prison.

Demand their freedom now.

The Top 5 Imploded Leftist Myths of 2013

breitbart

By Ben Shapiro*

www.sodahead.com

2013 was a year of myths falling apart. The myth of President Obama – a myth in which Obama was a messianic figure descending to bequeath health care, equality, and brotherhood on mankind – imploded. The myth of an America embracing the leftist social agenda collapsed. And the greatest myth of all – the myth that America is ready to become Europe – crumbled to ash.

Here, then, are the top five imploded myths of the last year:

The 2012 election gave President Obama a mandate to cram through his signature program. In the aftermath of President Obama’s re-election, members of both the administration and the media trumpeted that Obama had received his long-sought mandate. Obamacare, Americans were told, was the law of the land. It could not be changed; it could not be stopped. Obamacare would be implemented, the country would rejoice, and Republicans would mourn the day they ever opposed the anointed one.

Then the Obamacare rollout proceeded to run off the rails in catastrophic fashion. With Obama’s re-election won, the media no longer felt the obligation to cover up Obamacare’s disastrous crippling of the health care system. Suddenly, Obama’s statements about keeping your health insurance plan became the “lie of the year” rather than a mere “half-truth.” Suddenly, Obama’s brilliant team of implementers, headed by the Chief Implementer himself, became a group of half-wits stumbling around attempting to put back together millions of lines of broken code.

That didn’t mean that the media started covering Obamacare in fair fashion. The media turned Senator Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) plan to fund the entire government except for Obamacare into obstructionism, while Obama’s bullheaded insistence on pushing forward a failing rollout was hailed as strength. World War II veterans barred from their memorials by President Obama out of pure vindictiveness were portrayed by Jon Stewart as buffoons.

Nonetheless, the overall impression of the Obama mandate is that it no longer exists, if it ever did.

Americans hate social conservatism. The 2012 election, we were told, was a referendum on the Republican “war on women.” If Republicans had avoided the stumbling blocks of same-sex marriage and abortion, they would have put Mitt Romney in the White House.

2013 proved how wrong that notion was.

The left attempted to turn late-term abortion advocate Wendy Davis into a national hero; instead, her quixotic quest to become governor of Texas is stumbling badly. When the left attempted to turn Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson into a homophobic bully, Americans finally fought back and let the left know that citing the Bible isn’t homophobia or bullying. Conservatives can learn from 2012, and they have: abortion should be discussed in terms of the extremism of the left, and same-sex marriage must be discussed in the context of religious freedom.

Racial divisions have been palliated thanks to President Obama. President Obama’s media supporters suggested that his lack of support in 2012 was due in large part to a rising tide of racism. In the aftermath of his re-election, Americans were once again treated to the idea that America’s changing demographics and its black president meant that the emerging American minorities-majority would usher in an era of racial tolerance.

With the controversy over the “knockout game,” the media’s disgusting perversion of the Trayvon Martin case, and the consistent drumbeat from the left that all opposition to the leftist agenda was race-based, it’s now clear that racial friction in the political sphere is increasing, not decreasing. That’s how the left wants it.

New models will save the leftist media. When the Huffington Post was sold to AOL for $315 million, the media announced a new age of ventures that would bring the old media into a gleamingly profitable world. When Jeff Bezos of Amazon bought the Washington Post, we were told the same thing. When John Henry of the Boston Red Sox bought the Boston Globe, we were told the same thing.

These ventures have all changed hands, but none have stumbled on a true formula for success in the non-print world.

Meanwhile, in television, MSNBC grew to surpass CNN, but is now struggling to find a new audience; CNN is withering; Fox News continues to dominate.

The reality for the left media is that they have two problems to solve: first, a problem of content; second, a problem of profit model. They can’t solve the second without the first. Unfortunately, they continue to look at business strategies rather than coverage strategies. And that’s a formula for continued failure.

Americans are ready to become Europe. President Obama’s biggest advocates believe that Americans are ready to embrace his vision for the United States: a less muscular America on the world stage, an America with a more controlling executive branch and less conflict in the legislative branch, an America in which the government takes care of us, be we Pajama Boys or Julias.

In 2013, that vision for America was put to bed. President Obama’s Iran deal, the greatest sign of his vision for a scaled-down America, is wildly unpopular. His incessant attempts to rewrite his own healthcare law have contributed to his plummeting popularity. And as for the notion that Americans want government to take care of us, it’s becoming increasingly clear that we would prefer the government to leave us the hell alone.

That doesn’t mean that Republicans are in the ascendance or that conservatism’s glory days are just around the corner. It does mean, however, that the cherished leftist visions of January 2009 are fading fast. And that’s good news for Americans who still believe in American freedoms and values.

---------------------


*Ben Shapiro is Editor-At-Large of Breitbart News and author of the New York Times bestseller “Bullies: How the Left’s Culture of Fear and Intimidation Silences America” (Threshold Editions, January 8, 2013). He is also Editor-in-Chief of TruthRevolt.org. Follow Ben Shapiro on Twitter @benshapiro.

Can Afghan Republic Survive After U.S. Withdrawal?

breitbart

By AWR Hawkins 

As the Obama administration gets closer to pulling all U.S. troops out of Afghanistan, questions still exist about what kind of country we will leave behind and whether the Afghan republic will be able to survive once we are gone. 

Conservative talk show host David Webb and former Navy SEAL Team Six assault team leader Chuck Pfarrer traveled to Afghanistan last week to get a firsthand look at what we are doing there now, as well as indications of what it might be like once we leave. 

Speaking with Webb on Fox News, Pfarrer said there is not much to teach the Afghans about light infantry because "they are masters of the world at that." However, he stressed that they must have an air force that can support the infantry in missions "that are going to be necessary... to continue to prosecute a counterinsurgency war." 

Webb agreed and speculated that in "our history we've seen military aviation become the development of commercial aviation" and help to spread more and more "commercialism, capitalism, and dare I say it, the growth of a nation."

His point was clear. If we leave Afghanistan too soon or if we leave them without the right skills and equipment in place, then we may be contributing to the collapse of a nation instead of the advance of one. 

Pfarrer said this is exactly what needs to be stressed and that it forms the work General John E. Michel is doing in Afghanistan right now, explaining, "[Michel] is not only manufacturing Afghan aviators, he is helping to put forth a new breed of Afghan citizens... [Persons] connected to the world, [persons] not burdened down by religious prejudices; these are the kind of young leaders -- men and women aviators -- that General Michel is working with [and] that are really going to be the future of Afghanistan."

Bolivian President Endorses Child Labor to Build 'Social Conscience'

breitbart

By Frances Martel 

aeronoticias.com.pe

President Evo Morales of Bolivia has taken a firm stand against a bill proposing to ban child labor under the age of 14. Citing his own life experience as a child laborer, he argued that such work builds "social conscience" and has a place in his country.

"We should not ban child labor, but we should not exploit children, either," he announced this week after meeting with pro-labor youth groups lobbying the President to prevent the bill from passing. The groups, according to Argentina's Infobae, defend the rights of children who have lost their parents or otherwise fallen into severe economic distress, arguing that without an avenue to work, the children would not have the ability to eat. Morales did not propose any government safety net or program that would prevent children from having to make the choice between starvation and labor, a choice which often eliminates education as an option.

"I agree with the children [who visited] this morning," Morales told the press after the meeting. "When one works from a young age, one has a greater social conscience." He reminded the audience that as a child he worked at a bakery and as a brick maker. Also, at a very young age, he helped his father in the sugar fields. As an adult, he sent his own children into the workforce to shepherd llamas in the Bolivian countryside.

Official Bolivian state statistics suggest that the nation is home to about 850,000 child laborers, which violates the policies promoted by the International Labor Organization. The current bill facing Bolivia would put the country in line with that group's provisions, which ban labor for those 14 years old and younger. Interior statistics also show that, of those 850,000, about 87% are working in risky or dangerous jobs.

Morales has faced some heavy international backlash for his remarks. The President of the Socialist Party of Chile (and former Labor Secretary under former President and current President-Elect Michelle Bachelet), Osvaldo Andrade, called his comments "stupidity" and argued that "no one who calls himself socialist can support child labor." 

Morales considers himself a far-left socialist and strong ally of fellow socialist Bolivarian Republics Venezuela, Argentina, and Ecuador. This has been a troublesome year for relations between the Morales administration and both the United States and the greater international community, as he ejected USAID from his country over remarks by Secretary of State John Kerry. He also threatened to expel the United States Ambassador to La Paz after the United States forced the Bolivian president to land under suspicions that he was housing NSA whistleblower/international fugitive Edward Snowden in his airplane. Morales also lost an American prisoner this month at the hands of an unexpected Sean Penn rescue and announced a crackdown this week on the activities of foreign NGOs he believes are "conspiring against the government."

----------------

NTN24 

Kim Jong-Un Reportedly Drunk When Ordering Execution of Aides

breitbart

By Robert Wilde 

The ruthless dictator of North Korea, Kim Jong-Un, was reportedly “very drunk” when he gave the execution order to kill two close aides of his uncle, Jang Song-Thaek. Kim was “upset” that the two aides questioned his decision to turn over a business to the military and said that they should check with “Director Jang” first. 

Shortly after the aides' execution, Kim’s Uncle Jang was removed from his high ranking leadership position and executed for “anti-state” crimes. He played a crucial role in transferring power from the father, Kim Jong-Il, to Kim Jong-Un following the former dictator's death.

Jang was accused at a military tribunal of having his own political interests and that he had engaged in drug activity, womanizing, and gambling. Subsequently, a South Korean online media outlet reported that many of Jang’s family and friends had been arrested as a result of “guilt by association.”

Jang’s aides, Ri Ryong-Ha and Jang Su-Gil, were among the first well known North Korean figures to be killed in a high profile house cleaning detail by Kim. The Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun reported, "Those who were close [to the two aides] were surprised by their execution, and made phone calls to their friends living abroad, and the South Korean government [spy agency] wiretapped their phone conversations.”

One researcher in Seoul, South Korea told the Washington Post on Wednesday that Jang Song-Thaek being put to death “means Kim Jong-un punishes his political rivals more severely than Kim Jong-il.” The fact that Kim Jong-Un executes those who were previously close to him should come as no surprise to anyone. In August, the North Korean supreme leader reportedly ordered the execution of his ex-girlfriend by firing squad.

Meanwhile, South Korean President Park Geun-Hye characterized the recent events that have taken place in North Korea as a "grave and unpredictable situation."

Poll: More Than Two Thirds of Voters Say 'Drill Here, Drill Now'

breitbart

By AWR Hawkins 

A Harris Interactive poll conducted for the American Petroleum Institute shows that 67 percent of registered voters support more offshore drilling for oil and 77 percent support more domestic production, period. 

Moreover, out of 1,002 respondents, 89 percent said that expanded on and offshore oil and gas natural gas production "could help strengthen America's energy security" while 87 percent believe increased production "could lower energy costs for consumers."

For these reasons, nearly 90 percent of Americans said more oil and natural gas production would help our economy. And 84 percent said more oil production production could "benefit federal and state budgets" through "lease payments" and "royalty fees." 

But while the American people support expanded oil and natural gas production by such large majorities, President Obama maintains a posture opposed to it. According to the American Thinker, by May 2013 production on federal lands had declined 40 percent under Obama.

Moreover, the Canadian Free Press (CFP) says Obama's production-crushing policies in the Gulf of Mexico, following the 2010 BP oil spill, so hindered oil and gas exploration that 2010 levels of production will not be seen again until "at least" the end of 2014.

All the while 92 percent of voters believe increased oil and natural gas production could do one thing Americans have not seen Obama do--create more jobs in the U.S.

Retirement: It's Not Forever

TIME

Adorable Compilation of Kids Reacting to Opening Christmas Presents

TIME

Noti-Katungo. Negra que besa a Fidel, con su trasero paga