The Freedom Cliff

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teamaltman.com

Joseph Klein

With all attention focused on the so-called fiscal cliff, President Obama is moving America ever closer towards tumbling over the freedom cliff. As a writer for Salon Magazine put it, “liberals let Obama get away with unconstitutional actions.” Here are just a few examples.

Freedom of Speech – With the producer of the video “Innocence of Muslims” locked away in jail for a year on pretextual charges of probation violations, the Obama administration continues to keep the president’s promise to the Muslim world to “fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear.” The First Amendment be damned.

The Obama administration’s trampling of the video producer’s First Amendment right of free expression is part of a larger pattern. In 2011, Obama’s State Department worked behind the scenes with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to pass United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution 16/18, a tweaked version of the anti-blasphemy UN resolutions that the OIC has been pushing for years.  Terms like “denigration,” “derogatory stereotyping,” “advocacy of religious hatred,” and “discrimination” replaced “defamation of religions” in the resolution signed off by the U.S, but the end result is the same.  It criminalizes speech which incites a violent response from those whose religious beliefs and icons have, in their eyes, been denigrated.

Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, a devout American Muslim and the founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, noted the duplicity behind the change of wording that brought the Obama administration over to the OIC’s side:

Anyone who believes that Resolution 16’18 is some kind of a breakthrough is sadly being duped by the most obvious Islamist double discourse. The shift from “defamation” to “incitement” does nothing at all to change the basic paradigm where Islamist nations remain in the offense, continuing to put Western, free nations on the defense.

By the way, Dr. Jasser himself has been accused of Islamophobia by the Obama administration’s close allies at the Center For American Progress.

Expect the Obama Justice Department to go after individuals whose “hate” speech the prosecutors claim is discriminatorily targeted at Muslims’ religious sensibilities to the point that it incites their violent response.

Freedom of Religion – Back in 2008, Barack Obama mocked those whom he said “cling” to religion (he also included guns in his rant). As president, Obama has elevated the right to free contraceptives over freedom of religion, even though only the latter is protected by the Constitution.

While indulging Muslims’ feelings, the Obama administration is forcing Catholic charities, hospitals, and colleges as well as private employers to violate their core religious beliefs or face massive fines. The Obamacare mandate issued by the Department of Health and Human Services requires employers, on pain of substantial financial penalties, to provide and pay for an employee health plan that includes no co-pay coverage for contraception, abortifacients, and sterilization. It is a direct affront to the fundamental right to religious liberty of conscientiously objecting employers.

Right To Keep and Bear Arms – Freed from having to worry about re-election, President Obama is preparing for a major fight to cut back on the Second Amendment’s protection of individuals’ right to keep and bear arms. During an appearance on “Meet The Press” this past Sunday, Obama said that he would put his “full weight” behind passing new restrictions on firearms in 2013. “Something fundamental in America has to change,” the president said.

If Obama does not get his way in Congress for more gun control laws to his liking, expect the Obama administration to use an upcoming United Nations conference on the adoption of a global arms trade treaty as a back door means to enact further regulation of small arms and ammunition.

Due Process – Obama made a big issue during his first presidential campaign about President George W. Bush’s alleged unconstitutional use of torture. It turns out that Obama had another idea in mind – his own personal kill lists of American citizens. This goes beyond the president’s exercise of his constitutional powers as commander-in-chief to target specific individuals engaged in armed combat with the United States, whom it is not feasible to capture, even if they are American citizens. For example, we need not lose any sleep over Obama’s decision to take out Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen who went to Yemen, joined with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and used his base in Yemen to plan and help organize terrorist attacks against American civilians. However, Obama trampled on the Fifth Amendment’s protection of individuals against being deprived of life without due process of law when he arrogated to himself unlimited, unaccountable power to draw up secret kill lists of American citizens for summary execution.

Separation of Powers – Under the guise of executive orders, President Obama has put into effect his own version of legislation that he could not get passed through Congress. Call it executive legislating, something the Founding Fathers sought to prevent through separation of powers and checks and balances.

When Obama was unable to push through the Dream Act, for example, he decided to simply issue his own directive to give what amounts to amnesty to young illegal immigrants who meet certain qualifications.

We have a president who does not like the Constitution which he is sworn to behold.  In his words, the Constitution is a “document that reflects some deep flaws in American culture.” It reflects, according to Obama, “the fundamental flaw of this country that continues to this day.”

Five days before his election in 2008, Obama proclaimed that “we are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America.” On Sunday, he said that “Something fundamental in America has to change.”

Obama appears poised to whittle away as much as possible the Constitution that he considers fundamentally flawed and replace it with his own notion of a fundamentally transformed America. He is approaching the edge of the freedom cliff. Unless we are vigilant, we will find in the deep chasm at the bottom of the cliff the freedoms we have long taken for granted.

A Life of Integrity: Vladimir Bukovsky at 70

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Vladimir Bukovsky, 1977
Photo Paul Babeliowsky iisg.nl

Vladimir Kara-Murza

Yesterday, on Sunday, December 30, Vladimir Bukovsky – writer, scientist, human rights campaigner, and one of the founders of the dissident movement in the USSR – celebrated his 70th birthday. IMR Senior Policy Advisor Vladimir Kara-Murza recalls the milestones in Bukovsky’s life – and urges the present-day Russian opposition to heed his advice.

Vladimir Bukovsky does not like to be called a politician, preferring to be known as a neurophysiologist, writer or, at the very least, civic activist. In truth, he never engaged in politics: he merely realized, at an early age, that he could not reconcile himself to live quietly with a criminal and mendacious regime that sought to make millions of people its silent accomplices. Bukovsky’s protest was a moral one. “We did not play politics, we did not draft programs for the ‘people’s liberation,’” he recalls in his memoirs, To Build a Castle (a must-read for anyone interested in Russian history). “Our only weapon was glasnost (openness). Not propaganda, but glasnost, so that no one could say ‘I did not know.’ The rest is a matter for each person’s conscience.”

“I did not know” was a popular answer among members of the older generation when asked by the youngsters of the 1950s about Stalin’s times. The public condemnation of Stalinist crimes at the 1956 Communist Party congress and (almost immediately) the brutal suppression of the Hungarian revolution, which showed that the nature of the regime has not changed, were formative events for Bukovsky. His protest activity began literally during his school days: he joined a clandestine anti-Soviet group and published an underground satirical journal. In response, he was expelled from school, summoned to a dressing-down by the Moscow City Communist Party Committee, and barred from studying at university (he nevertheless won admission to Moscow State University, only to be discovered and expelled a year later.)

Vladimir Bukovsky is one of the founders of the Soviet dissident movement, which was born in the fall of 1960 on Moscow’s Mayakovsky Square. There, a group of yet-unknown young activists, poets, and actors (including Yuri Galanskov, Eduard Kuznetsov, Vladimir Osipov, Ilya Bokshtein, and Vsevolod Abdulov) held public readings of banned poetry – Akhmatova, Pasternak, Mandelshtam, Tsvetaeva. They also read from their own works and the works of their contemporaries, which would soon be disseminated as samizdat (literally “self-publications,” the clandestine reproduction and distribution of banned literature). Samizdat, too, was born on Mayakovsky Square. The authorities responded in their usual manner: with dispersals of the meetings by bulldozers and snow ploughs; provocations by Komsomol (Young Communist League) operatives; beatings and arrests. Yet the “seditious” meetings continued in the heart of the Soviet capital for almost two years:

“That amazing community, which would later be called a ‘movement’, was being born. It had no leaders or followers…. Each of us, like a nerve cell, participated in this amazing orchestra without a conductor, compelled only by his or her sense of self-respect and personal responsibility for what was happening.” (Vladimir Bukovsky, To Build a Castle)

Vladimir Bukovsky was one of the organizers of the unofficial poetry readings on Moscow’s Mayakovsky Square, the birthplace of the Soviet dissident movement.

The Mayakovsky readings were only the beginning: one can study the history of dissent in the Soviet Union by reading Bukovsky’s biography. He was involved in organizing the December 1965 “Glasnost Rally” on Pushkin Square (Moscow’s first opposition demonstration in four decades); the January 1967 rally against political arrests (also on Pushkin Square;) and, probably his most important endeavor, the public campaign against “punitive psychiatry” used by the KGB against dissenters. After his first arrest in 1963 for “possession of anti-Soviet literature,” Bukovsky (then 20 years old) was brought to the office of Lieutenant-General Mikhail Svetlichny, the head of the Moscow KGB. “Svetlichny said a very simple thing,” Bukovsky recalls in the documentary They Chose Freedom. “‘Here is the arrest warrant. If you honestly tell us everything – where you got this book, who gave it to you, to whom you gave it [to read], I will not sign it, and you will go home. If you refuse, I will sign it, and you will go to jail.’ …  I found such a formulation insulting, and cursed at him. He did not say anything, just shook his head, signed the warrant, and said ‘Take him away.’”

Vladimir Bukovsky paid for his refusal to go along with the regime’s lies with 12 years in prisons, labor camps, and “special psychiatric hospitals.” Not once did he admit his guilt, ask for clemency, disown his words, or betray his friends. “We fought desperately against this regime of scoundrels. We were a handful of unarmed people in the face of a mighty state with the world’s most monstrous machine of repression. And we won. The regime had to retreat. And even in prisons we proved too dangerous for them.” (Vladimir Bukovsky, To Build a Castle) On December 18, 1976, a handcuffed Bukovsky was driven to Chkalovsky military airfield and, accompanied by a convoy from the KGB’s elite Alpha unit (that was its first operation), was flown to Zurich’s international airport. Communist Party Central Committee documents referred to this as “measures relating to the liberation of Comrade L. Corvalan¹.” In the end, the regime was unable to defeat its enemy inside the country.

In the early 1990s, Vladimir Bukovsky and Member of Parliament Galina Starovoitova tried to convince the Russian leadership to conduct a trial of the Communist regime and the KGB in order to help the country comprehend its past and avoid repeating it.

The next time Vladimir Bukovsky came to Russia was at the invitation of Boris Yeltsin in 1991, before the attempted August coup d’état – and again just after the coup, when barricades were still being dismantled near the Moscow White House, and when the empty pedestal from the toppled statue of KGB founder Felix Dzerzhinsky was still hand-painted with a swastika and hammer-and-sickle – with an equal sign between them. “Let us not flatter ourselves – the dragon is not yet dead. He is mortally wounded, his spine is broken, but he still holds human souls in his clinging paws,” Bukovsky said at a rally on Mayakovsky Square in September 1991. “The Lubyanka [KGB] archives, seized by the Russian government, contain secrets of dreadful crimes. Only by making them public, by handing them over to an objective international commission, will we be able to cleanse ourselves from this filth.” Unfortunately, Bukovsky’s call was not heeded. The new Russian authorities, unwilling to “rock the boat,” refrained from fully opening the archives, from officially condemning the Communist Party and the KGB for their crimes, and from introducing lustrations for those who had participated in the crimes. A genuine moral renewal of society never took place. Russia’s young democracy was not protected from a comeback by the ideological successors of Yuri Andropov and Vladimir Kryuchkov. This comeback came just eight years after the democratic victory of August 1991. As Bukovsky had warned, “it is like dealing with a wounded beast – if you do not finish it off, it will attack you.”

Today, Bukovsky is not retiring or leaving public life – and his upcoming 70th birthday will do nothing to change that. His experience in fighting the KGB system is too relevant; his advice too valuable; his standing among the leaders and supporters of the present-day Russian opposition too high. During the frozen (in all senses of the word) winter of 2007, at the height of Putin’s power, Bukovsky was nominated for president by the democratic opposition as a symbol of moral protest. The line of people wishing to sign his nomination papers extended for seven hours; the Sakharov Center could not accommodate everyone, and people had to wait outside in Moscow’s freezing temperatures.

In December 2007, Vladimir Bukovsky (center) was officially nominated for president of Russia by an assembly of voters in Moscow. The Central Electoral Commission headed by Vladimir Churov denied him access to the ballot.

“The opposition needs a candidate for president – strong, uncompromising, decisive, with irreproachable political and, more importantly, moral authority,” read the statement of the Initiative Group that nominated Bukovsky, “Russia needs its own Vaclav Havel, not a new successor from [the KGB].”

¹ Vladimir Bukovsky was exchanged for Chilean Communist Party leader Luis Corvalan, who had been jailed by General Augusto Pinochet.

There are few people like Vladimir Bukovsky in any society – let alone Russian society, which has been wrecked by decades of Soviet dictatorship, and by 13 years of Putin’s cynical authoritarianism. It is likely that the coming years will bring significant changes to Russia. During this critical period, Bukovsky’s words will be very important. This time, they must be heard.

Dramatic crashes: Car jumping competition in Sussex

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Lawmaker: Tweak Constitution to affirm gun rights

WND/ Taylor Rose

Sen. Dianne Feinstein/ metroactive.com

WASHINGTON – A state lawmaker in Montana is proposing amendments to the U.S. Constitution to deal with the suggestion from Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., that would require Americans to register their guns, and critics say, would even lead to their confiscation.

Feinstein’s idea has been labeled “treason” on a White House petition site, and has earned the ire of Rep. Jerry O’Neil, R-Columbia Falls, who told WND he’d like to see some changes made to protect state’s rights and the rights protected by the Second Amendment.

He said he’s starting to push for the state of Montana to press for the adoption of two new constitutional amendments to protect firearm ownership and national sovereignty.

“I am asking for the Montana legislature to request an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, to amend the Commerce Clause,” he said.

He said in Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution the word “among” would be replaced with “between” so that it reads, “Congress shall have power …to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and interstate commerce between the several states, and with the Indian tribes…”

“States have the right to do what they wish inside their own borders,” he said.

And referring to firearms, he said, “It gives the states the right to make whatever guns they want so long as they [firearms] stay inside the own borders.”

Are you interested in self-defense? Check out all these DVDs and books in WND’s Superstore.

Additionally, O’Neil said, in reference to national sovereignty and more specifically the Small Arms Treaty, he wants Article 2, Section 2 of the Constitution to be amended, with the insertion of “subject to this Constitution” to therefore state “The president…shall have the power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, subject to this Constitution, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur…”

O’Neil said the insertion is essential thanks to the growing power of international treaties and due to the fact that too often, in his opinion, international treaties are implemented and used to override the U.S. Constitution.

O’Neil said that with these changes, the government “cannot amend the Constitution via fiat.”

Under Article 5 of the U.S. Constitution, state legislatures can submit proposals for amendments to the Constitution and it is O’Neil’s hope that the Montana legislature will take up his ideas.

Feinstein’s move was a reaction to the school shooting in Connecticut in which 20 children and six adults were victims. O’Neil said, “The Connecticut shooting came at an opportune time for her.”

He added, “Sen. Feinstein has been working on an assault weapons ban for at least eight years.”

Keep your gun rights: Sign new petition

“It will not make a significant dent in the murder rate of the United States,” he said.

O’Neil attributes this move to restrict firearm ownership to an ever-increasing control-oriented state, saying, “It appears the people who want more control over their citizens, want to limit their access to weapons.”

In fact, politicians in New York already have started discussing gun restrictions, registration and confiscation.

O’Neil has been in public service in Montana since 2001, where he served as a state senator until 2009, when he switched over and became a representative in the Montana House.

He is widely known for his ardent defense of civil liberties, limited government and constitutionalism. He has become known more recently for his request to be paid in gold and silver coins to guard himself against a potential collapse of the U.S. dollar.

The pushback from the state was just one headwind Feinstein was facing as a result of her precipitous decision to attack the Second Amendment.

Another front was on the White House website forum for citizen petitions.

There, it took only hours for thousands of Americans to sign onto the request to “try Sen. Dianne Feinstein in a federal court for treason to the Constitution.”

It explained, “The Constitution was written to restrain the government. No amendment is more important for this purpose than the 2nd Amendment. The 2nd Amendment was written so the power could be kept with the citizenry in the face of a tyrannical government. It was well understood the Constitution acknowledged certain rights that could not be limited by government.”

The petition continued, “Sen. Dianne Feinstein has made it clear she does not believe in the Constitution or the inalienable rights of Americans to keep and bear arms. She is actively working to destroy the 2nd Amendment with her 2013 assault weapons ban. For this reason we the people of the United States petition for her to be tried in federal court for treason to the Constitution.”

Feinstein’s actual proposal would “ban the sale, the transfer, the transportation and the possession” of certain weapons, the California senator said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “Not retroactively, but prospectively. And it will ban the same for big clips, drums or strips of more than 10 bullets.”

It would ban scores of firearms, including military-style “assault” weapons and high-capacity ammunition feeding devices. It also calls for the creation of a federal register that would require millions of gun owners to be fingerprinted and photographed.

The following is a summary of the legislation posted on Feinstein’s official senatorial website:

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2012/12/lawmaker-tweak-constitution-to-affirm-gun-rights/#FJykTw0yjd8DXmXJ.99

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El doctor Marquina da detalles sobre salud de Chávez

lapatilla

El Cimeq, donde Chávez ha
sido operado 4 veces
(Foto Afp)

El doctor José Rafael Marquina escribió en su cuenta de Twitter que el presidente de Cuba, Raúl Castro, pasó la noche en el Cimeq.

Anoche fue una noche difícil Raúl Castro pasó gran parte de la noche en el CIMEQ

— Jose Rafael Marquina (@marquina04) diciembre 31, 2012

Minutos más tarde, Marquina se refirió a estado de salud del Presidente. Estos son sus tuits:

  Jose Rafael Marquina @marquina04

Una gran cadena de errores y la familia esta muy molesta con pobre cuidado médico en Cuba

31 dic 12

  Jose Rafael Marquina @marquina04

Una gran cadena de errores y la familia esta muy molesta con pobre cuidado médico en Cuba

31 dic 12

Jose Rafael Marquina @marquina04

Hace meses le advertí a @chavezcandanga q su mejor opción era atenderse en el MD Anderson en Houston, USA

31 dic 12

Jose Rafael Marquina @marquina04

Tratarse un cáncer tan raro y complicado en Cuba fue un grave error

31 dic 12

Jose Rafael Marquina @marquina04

Muy difícil la situación q vive el país por culpa de la ambición personal y aspirar la presidencia con cáncer terminal

31 dic 12

Bocaranda: Preparan al país ante la gravedad de Chavez

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Esta es la nota publicada por el periodista Nelson Bocaranda en su portal runrun.es.

Las palabras que a continuación extraigo del mensaje que el Vicepresidente Nicolás Maduro Moros dirigió en cadena a la nación son claves para conocer la realidad que enfrenta la  salud del Presidente Hugo Rafael Chavez Frías en una sala de cuidados intensivos del CIMEQ en La Habana:

“A diecinueve días de la compleja cirugía, el estado de salud del Presidente Chávez continúa siendo delicado, presentando complicaciones que están siendo atendidas, en un proceso no exento de riesgos. Gracias a su fortaleza física y espiritual, el Comandante Chávez está enfrentando esta difícil situación. Igualmente, informamos que hemos decidido permanecer las próximas horas en La Habana, acompañando al Comandante y a su familia, muy atentos al proceso de evolución de su situación actual”.

Con esta alocución el encargado de la presidencia de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela  está preparando al pueblo venezolano para cualquier mala noticia que pueda haber respecto a la vida del mandatario reelecto que padece por mas de dos años -desde que una pesquisa médica en 2010 lo alertó de esa posibilidad- un cáncer que comenzó en la región pélvica y se fue extendiendo a huesos, páncreas y un riñón en el lapso de año y medio desde su primera operación de la enfermedad en junio de 2011.

A costa de su salud y a pesar de las advertencias de los médicos tratantes y de sus familiares en torno a los peligros de hacer una campaña electoral significaban para su deteriorado estado físico, el presidente -que por primera vez fue electo en 1998- decidió lanzarse con éxito a su reelección por un período que habría de comenzar el próximo 10 de Enero de 2013 hasta esa misma fecha en 2019.

La advertencia de Maduro fue la primera de otras que disimuladamente se han venido dando para dejar colar un inminente desenlace en las próximas horas o días en torno a la salud presidencial. Ellas han sido un programa especial del ministro de Información Ernesto Villegas por VTV hablando de la obra realizada por Chávez, la suspensión del concierto navideño de la Alcaldía Libertador en la Plaza Bolívar para recibir el Año Nuevo en Caracas y el despegue de muchos vuelos de aviones oficiales desde el aeropuerto de La Carlota con destino a La Habana. De la misma forma los múltiples mensajes cruzados entre los funcionarios venezolanos en Cuba y sus mas cercanos colaboradores en Caracas.

La madrugada de hoy 31 de diciembre ha sido intensa en esas comunicaciones. Ya los más altos funcionarios han sido informados por el Presidente encargado de la República de la gravedad del mandatario nacido en Sabaneta, estado Barinas en 1954 y quien ha estado en la presidencia venezolana desde Febrero de 1999 tras haber sido electo por primera vez en 1998 y reelecto en dos oportunidades hasta el pasado 7 de Octubre.

La presidenta de Argentina,Cristina Kirchner, quien lo visitó en forma secreta en La Habana este diciembre y pudo hablar con él antes de su avanzado deterioro,ha estado en contacto permanente las últimas horas con los familiares del presidente y con el vicepresidente Maduro. A ella Chávez le confesó la verdadera situación de su salud y lo difícil que veía su recuperación. La señora Kirchner ha estado en vigilia con sus hijos y sus más allegados colaboradores las últimas horas para estar al tanto del desenvolvimiento de la salud de quien ha sido el mejor amigo de ella y de su fallecido esposo Néstor Kirchner.

El día de hoy será clave en La Habana.

El suplicio civil de Rosa María Payá

cubaencuentro

Haroldo Dilla Alfonso

La reciente reforma migratoria promulgada, tras un largo año de pujar, por el Gobierno cubano fue saludada con alborozo por intelectuales, gobiernos extranjeros y organismos internacionales. Unos lo hicieron por pragmatismo diplomático, otros por ignorancia, y otros por esa razón difusa donde la lealtad política se mezcla con la complicidad. El punto fuerte de los saludos fue la eliminación de los permisos de salida, pues, sigo la lógica seguida por los cheerleaders de las reformas de Raúl Castro, ya los cubanos no iban a tener que pedir autorización para viajar al extranjero.

Aunque los decretos no están aún vigentes, invito a los dueños de los vítores que presten atención un instante al caso de Rosa María Payá (RMP).

Se trata de la hija de Oswaldo Payá, el recientemente fallecido dirigente del Movimiento Cristiano de Liberación. Y se trata de una joven que aún no alcanza su primer cuarto de siglo, recién graduada de una licenciatura en física y que fue invitada por la universidad chilena Miguel de Cervantes a cursar un diplomado sobre políticas públicas. Le fue negado el permiso de salida y ni siquiera le fue informada la razón de la negativa.

Observando el articulado del decreto que resume las motivaciones oficiales para decidir quién viaja y quien no, no encuentro como ubicar a RMP. Descontando razones técnicas —aunque es graduada universitaria, la UH rechazó su vinculación laboral alegando cuestiones procedimentales—, no me imagino que esta joven pueda entrar en esas categorías tenebrosas de “interés público”, que atente contra los “fundamentos del Estado Cubano” o que sea un peligro para la “seguridad nacional”. Pues finalmente RMP es una joven y su breve trayectoria de vida no le permite ser una líder siquiera dentro de los espacios acogotados de la oposición. Tampoco es invitada a un país hostil, ni por una organización de militancia opositora, sino por una universidad reconocida y vinculada a una corriente política nada simpática con el régimen cubano, pero opuesta al bloqueo/embargo y a la violencia.

Desde la óptica oficial cubana RMP es punible porque ha asumido una actitud políticamente beligerante frente al régimen, lo cual es todo su derecho, y porque al parecer intenta retomar un liderazgo dramáticamente abandonado por su padre, a lo cual, huelga anotar, que también tiene pleno derecho. Y el Gobierno cubano —duro y frágil como el hielo en que mantiene incrustada a la sociedad cubana— teme patológicamente estos retos cívicos. RMP no es en sentido alguno una amenaza para la seguridad nacional cubana, ni un peligro para el interés público de su sociedad. Pero puede llegar a ser una molesta piedra en el zapato totalitario.

Por eso el Gobierno cubano ha decidido reprimirla visiblemente impidiéndole viajar al extranjero. Ha decidido usar contra RMP la infame pedagogía del suplicio, entendido este último como la imposición de un castigo ejemplarizante a una persona con conducta desviada de las normas consagradas. Es decir que a través de RMP el Gobierno cubano estaría enviando un mensaje a los miles de jóvenes cubanos que pudieran eventualmente opinar libremente, aspirar a elegir directamente a sus gobernantes entre diversas opciones y pretender organizarse de las maneras que consideren oportuno. Incluso si finalmente le permitieran viajar —siempre hay que reconocerle un límite a la estulticia política— el mensaje es claro: viajar no es un derecho sino una concesión.

Creo que sería interesante escuchar los puntos de vista que sobre este caso puedan proveer todos los entusiastas aclamadores de la reforma migratoria y del dudoso cambio sustancial que esta encierra. No importa que hayan vitoreado desde el balcón de la prudencia, del miedo, de la lealtad o de la complicidad. Solo les pregunto, como compatriota, si la decencia política nos permite dejar sola a Rosa María Payá. 

Obama Supports Feinstein's Roll Back of The 2nd Amendment

AlexJones

President Obama went on Meet the Press Sunday and said he will put his "full weight" behind passing new restrictions on the Second Amendment in 2013.

"I'm going to be putting forward a package and I'm going to be putting my full weight behind it," he said. "I'm going to be making an argument to the American people about why this is important and why we have to do everything we can to make sure that something like what happened at Sandy Hook Elementary does not happen again."

No fiscal deal Sunday; Senate to return New Year's Eve

By Michael O'Brien, NBC News

After a day of talks that were expected to yield some sort of compromise on the so-called fiscal cliff, Senate leaders called off any further votes until Monday morning, just hours before the deadline that will trigger across-the-board tax increases and dramatic cuts in military and domestic spending. 

The Senate will meet again on New Year's Eve, the last full day before the "cliff" takes effect on Jan. 1. Negotiations were expected to continue in the meanwhile.

A day of wrangling in the Senate came and went without an accord to avoid the fiscal cliff, leaving lawmakers just a matter of hours to sort through thorny issues of taxes and spending that have beguiled Congress for the better part of the past two years. 

Significant distance remains between the two sides and negotiations continue, although the clock continues to tick. Even a simple deal appears far from certain.

 

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Keep reading >>

Hillary Clinton hospitalized with blood clot

WP/ By Karen DeYoung 

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was hospitalized in New York on Sunday after doctors monitoring her recovery from a concussion discovered a blood clot, according to a statement from her office.
The statement said that “in the course of a follow-up exam, Secretary Clinton’s doctors discovered a blood clot had formed, stemming from the concussion she sustained several weeks ago. She is being treated with anti-coagulants and is at New York-Presbyterian Hospital so that they can monitor the medication over the next 48 hours.

“Her doctors will continue to assess her condition, including other issues associated with her concussion. They will determine if any further action is required.”

Clinton aide Philippe Reines, who issued the statement, declined to provide further details.

Reines said on Thursday that Clinton’s recuperation was continuing and that she was expected to resume her office schedule this week.

Clinton, 65, has not been seen in public since the first week in December, when she reportedly contracted a stomach virus during a trip to Europe. On Dec. 15, the State Department said that she had fainted at her home two days earlier, as a result of dehydration from the virus, and had sustained a concussion. The State Department said that her doctors had advised further rest.

During her absence, Clinton canceled an overseas trip and her scheduled testimony before Congress about the Sept. 11 attack on a U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya. She also did not appear at the White House on Dec. 21, when President Obama introduced Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) as his nominee to succeed Clinton.

Republicans have said that they are likely to hold up Kerry’s nomination hearing until Clinton testifies about the Benghazi attack, but the impact of this new disclosure was unclear.

Clinton said this summer that she would not stay in her job in a second Obama term.

Before the announcement about Clinton’s hospitalization, Obama appeared Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” and reaffirmed an earlier decision by Clinton to carry out all 29 recommendations made by a State Department review panel that examined the circumstances surrounding the attacks in Benghazi that killed U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans on Sept. 11. “My message to the State Department has been very simple, and that is we’re going to solve this,” he said. “We’re not going to be defensive about it; we’re not going to pretend that this was not a problem — this was a huge problem.”

Obama said one major finding — that the State Department relied too heavily on untested local Libyan militias to safeguard the compound in Benghazi — reflected “internal reviews” by the government. “It confirms what we had already seen based on some of our internal reviews; there was just some sloppiness, not intentional, in terms of how we secure embassies in areas where you essentially don’t have governments that have a lot of capacity to protect those embassies,” he said.

Maduro: "La salud de Chavez se complica"

La salud de Hugo Chávez va a peor, lo ha reconocido el Gobierno venezolano. El vicepresidente Nicolás Maduro se ha dirigido al país en una intervención por televisión y radio desde La Habana para hablar sobre el estado del presidente. Y su mensaje no ha sido muy esperanzador. "Su estado de salud sigue siendo delicado" tras haber sufrido varias complicaciones de última hora, ha dicho.

Mas >>

La isla pavorosa y la tormenta de cagaleras del Gobierno español

Juan Abreu

blog.cooliflower.com

La dictadura cubana ha entregado a Carromero, aquel que estuvo en el asesinato de Oswaldo Payá y Harold Cepero, al Gobierno español. El Gobierno español se ha comportado de una manera vil y cobarde como siempre los gobiernos españoles ante los asesinos que gobiernan la isla. Nada nuevo.

Ahora Carromero, que no hay que olvidar que es un hombre del partido (del Partido Popular) acatará el acuerdo entre el gobierno de España y los Castro. ¿Y que acuerdo puede ser ese? El acuerdo de que Carromero se calle la boca y suelte la versión oficial del “accidente”. Y a la calle, y de vuelta al seno acogedor del Partido.

Y encima de ese montón de mierda, tengo que soportar además a un tal González desde la isla pavorosa. Cuando no es un González es un Vicent pero los corresponsales españoles en Cuba son primero papagayos de los Castro y después y sólo después, periodistas. Pragmatismo en la tormenta, titula El Mundo: será la tormenta de cagaleras del Gobierno español.

Acaba el año y en lo que concierne a la isla pavorosa, el racismo la cobardía el cinismo y la complicidad con el crimen de gran parte del mundo, se mantiene inalterable.

“Tax The Rich” Thrown Out In Socialist France – “It’s Unfair”

NoisyRoom

presstv.com

By: AJ

Will Smith Stunned At Proposed French Tax Rate After Praising Taxes

France’s Socialist President, Francois Hollande, had his hat handed to him when France’s highest court revoked his 75% tax on the rich, saying that “it’s unfair.” The court took issue with the way it discriminated between households of one versus two earners.

France’s budget deficit is approximately 85 billion euro and the tax would have brought in only about 200 million euro… a tiny drop in a very large bucket. But as we know, bloated Socialist governments know no bounds when it comes to satisfying their insatiable greed and intense desire to enslave the people.

Unemployment in France has risen for 19 straight months and embattled President Hollande’s popularity continues its downward spiral. Why? The people are feeling the effects of his Socialist policies.

France’s continuous rise in unemployment was predictable; the laws of economics are well-known.

Socialist thinkers, however, do not have the mental ability to understand economics. They are takers and all they understand is greed and power. Take from those who have until they have no more. That’s it.

With Socialism, the goal is always to impoverish the people and place all the wealth in the hands of the rulers – the government – the elites. Destruction of the “middle class” is essential for Socialism to flourish.

Isn’t it ironic that Hollande’s “tax the rich” campaign platform was enough to get him elected, but now the people are feeling the effects and they are unhappy. France, like America, obviously doesn’t teach economics in public/government schools.

But it’s more than that… so many people inexplicably think that taxing the rich means more money for them or more money for the poor. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Just as France’s “tax the rich” scheme has caused sustained job losses among the people, the same has played out in other Socialist countries like Italy, Greece and Britain.

While more people are plunged into poverty, the bloated, life-sucking thieves in government live in the lap of luxury and enrich themselves and their pals by taking more and more from the people.

This is playing out in America as well.

Taking from the “rich” enables governments to slide the scale downward. Today, $250,000 is considered rich (try living in New York or California on that) and tomorrow, $150,000 will be. The scale will continue downward until YOU are considered rich.

That’s right… they’re coming after YOU, as all Socialist governments do. After all, you didn’t build that. It belongs to the government and their objective is to take it from you.

Meanwhile, the people who inexplicably and mistakenly think that taxing the rich gives more to ‘the people,’ refuse to actually look at the increased poverty it brings. As they regurgitate the catchy phrases the media and politicians feed them about ‘leveling the playing field’ and ‘fairness,’ they won’t even look at where people’s hard-earned money is really going. Instead, like mindless minions, they want more taken from them – the people – to feed the government Leviathan.

The government itself and everything they spend money on comes from us, the 53% of Americans who pay taxes. The mindless minions who regurgitate the “tax the rich” mantra need to explain how items such as these benefit the people:

• 16,500 more IRS agents needed to enforce Obamacare (about $10 billion according to the CBO) [Note: Obama supporters/Factcheck disagrees because they call them government ‘employees,’ not agents]
• Billions in Bloat Uncovered in Beltway ($200 billion per year on redundant government agencies)
• The Obama Green Energy Scam You May Have Missed (about $40 billion per year)
• CBO: Obamacare Would Cost Over $2 Trillion (about $250-$260 billion per year in the first 10 years)

You can find your own examples of outrageous government spending that does nothing to help us, the people. There are plenty to choose from.

For the four items delineated above, there’s about half a trillion dollars alone. How do any of these things help the people? Since Obamacare is included, some readers might be stuck on that one. Let’s explain.

One may think Obamacare helps the people, but they fail to understand that it will hurt everyone; especially low-income families and seniors.

If the complaint before Obamacare was the high cost of healthcare, the cost has now increased tremendously, so how does that help anyone? Have your premiums increased? Is your old plan no longer available?

Did you know that low-income families used to receive free medical care at any hospital they chose to go to? As mandated by the government long ago, no one could be turned away. Now these families will be pursued by government and required to pay for health coverage. What do you think all the extra IRS employees are for?

As for seniors, ‘take a pill’ as Obama famously said. $1.1 trillion is being stolen from Medicare – which all taxpayers pay into – to feed the Obamacare government beast. Even a fifth grader can figure out that this will greatly diminish care for our seniors. Why else do they need the ‘end of life’ counseling every year and why is there now a committee of 15 unelected government bureaucrats who decide what care people will and won’t receive?

Educate yourself on the “Complete Lives” system. It’s all there.

Don’t forget, Obamacare merely mandates that everyone purchase health coverage. It is health coverage, not care, for all. The transformation of America’s free-market healthcare system into a government-controlled socialized healthcare system will severely degrade health care, just as it has in other countries.

Why do you think foreign leaders and people with financial means have come to America for serious treatment? In a few short years, there will be no where for them, or us, to go.

Again, the objective of Socialism is to take from the people to redistribute to themselves and increase their power over the people. Taking over our healthcare system increases the number of people they can take from and have power over; it was never about giving “healthcare for all.” It’s about forcing everyone but themselves to pony up for coverage. But I digress…

Greed and power are must-haves among Socialist rulers/elites. France’s President Hollande is one example among many.

Regarding the mindless “tax the rich” minions, they clearly have not thought it through, they have not educated themselves, they know little about history and they cast their votes for these oppressors. All the while, they unwittingly call for these elites to be further enriched off the backs of the people.

Will these mindless minions think it through before it’s at their doorstep and they are added to the ranks of the poor? Doubt it.

Cuba 2012: 12 solavayas!!!

diariodecuba

¡Pasen, pasen y vean lo más esperpéntico del año!

¡12 casos clínicos que quitan el hipo!

¡12 indecencias que no deben ver los niños!

¡12 seres venidos de otro planeta!

¡Las peores pesadillas del año que se esfuma! ¡Los mayores descaros!

---

Ozzie Guillén

Hay amores que... El venezolano Ozzie Guillén, mánager de los Marlins de Miami, confesó en abril a la revista Time su amor por Fidel Castro. "I love Castro", soltó ante un periodista. Al parecer, la razón de ese enamoramiento era el mucho tiempo que llevaba Castro en el poder. El mánager valoraba tan larga dictadura como si se tratara de una corona sostenida durante años por un equipo en las Grandes Ligas. Luego se desdijo y, al no poder echarle la culpa al entrevistador, lo achacó a estar pensando en español y hablando en inglés. Del amor pasó al odio generalizado: "A Castro lo odia todo el mundo", dijo. Y, por venezolano y para que no cupiera duda, alargó la repartición hasta Chávez: "Prefiero estar muerto que votar por Chávez". Pidió perdón públicamente, fue suspendido por cinco partidos y, luego de un pobre desempeño en la temporada, fue despedido en octubre. Hay quienes dicen que todavía está a tiempo de obedecer a la admiración que demostrara. Silvio Rodríguez, ese filósofo, ha sostenido que los amores cobardes no llegan a amores, ni a historias, se quedan así. Pero, ¿así, cómo?

Crescencio Marino Rivero

¿Por qué no puede ser uno teniente coronel del Ministerio del Interior (MININT) y decidir, un buen día, ir a probar los pastelitos de guayaba que tan famosa hacen a Miami? Crescencio Marino Rivero y su esposa ("Capitana Juana Ferrer, mucho gusto") debieron hacerse esta pregunta con suficiente empuje como para jurar en falso y silenciar durante todo el papeleo migratorio sus grados y sus militancias. Pero quien dice pastelitos, dice Ley de Ajuste Cubano, así que el matrimonio se instaló en vida floridana con todas las ventajas que, dada su edad, les ofrecían. Fueron descubiertos, sin embargo, y desde Cuba varios disidentes dieron testimonio de la violencia del teniente coronel. Crescencio Marino Rivero se hizo entonces esta otra pregunta decisiva: ¿por qué no puede uno vivir en Miami, haber sido teniente coronel del MININT, y no arrepentirse de ello? Ningún beneficio de la Ley de Ajuste le impediría defender su situación con argumentos de Mesa Redonda. A quienes desde Cuba lo acusaban de represión y de tortura, los tildó de mentirosos. En carta dirigida a  El Nuevo Herald, abundó en las bondades del sistema carcelario cubano en el tratamiento de las huelgas de hambre, y acusó a los "llamados disidentes" de vivir de los contribuyentes norteamericanos. Sostuvo que la policía política que rodea a las Damas de Blanco lo que procura siempre es protegerlas. Crescencio y Juana eran ya dos patas de la Mesa Redonda sembradas en Miami. Poco tiempo después, a finales de noviembre, Marino Rivero fue visto en Santa Clara, en una bodega, haciendo alguna compra. Allá estará, haciendo tiempo hasta que las cosas se calmen por Miami.

Abel Prieto

 Manos que cobran el aspecto de garras de hombre lobo, dientes y colmillos que quieren salirse de las encías: el antiguo ministro de Cultura y ahora asesor de Raúl Castro no es, normalmente, así. En la imagen parece lidiar con un severo contratiempo. Quizás acaban de informarle que, en algún lugar no muy remoto de la Isla, alguien ha hecho un chiste contrarrevolucionario. "En los cubanos no hay un solo chiste que aluda a la Revolución, ni a delaciones ni a presos de conciencia, ni a personajes escindidos", se mostró convencido él, en una tertulia literaria celebrada en septiembre. Y agregó que, cuando apuntan a las carencias padecidas por el cubano, los chistes de éste son benevolentes, perdonadores, sin hiel. No había más que comparar el humor político cubano con el de los antiguos países comunistas europeos. En los de la Isla no existía la oscura carga de resentimiento ni la bilis encontrable en aquellos lejanos países. Toda esta teoría, esbozo de tipología de los pueblos, para hacerse creer a sí mismo que él, su jefe y toda la camarilla gubernamental no son objeto de burla.

Cardenal Jaime Ortega Alamino

El Forum John F. Kennedy Jr. de la Universidad de Harvard fue el lugar escogido, en abril, por Su Eminencia para tratar de "delincuentes" a un grupo de opositores que habían ocupado un templo en La Habana. Y aprovechó que monseñor Agustín Román acababa de morir y no podía desmentirlo ya, para contar que éste le había pedido que no mencionara la palabra "reconciliación" en sus homilías de Miami. "Es terrible que un obispo", dijo de Román, "que nosotros, tengamos que callar esa palabra". Preguntado acerca de quienes habían ocupado una iglesia habanera y fueron sacados por la fuerza, respondió: "Ellos eran un grupo, me apena mucho, todos eran... antiguos delincuentes". Se acarició la cabeza: "Había toda una gente, allí, eh, sin nivel cultural..." Al explicar el cortés operativo policial para sacar a los ocupantes del templo, sonrió ampliamente recordando cómo habían tomado del brazo a uno que quiso esconderse en el baño. Tuvo en sus manos los informes policiales, pudo consultarlos. "Pero yo quisiera que ustedes vieran el informe de esa gente", dijo a los reunidos en la universidad estadounidense. "Era lamentable". Reconciliación, había dicho defender. Su sonrisa al hablar de un sujeto con antecedentes de exhibicionista no era, precisamente, la de un pastor, sino la de alguien que se siente tremendamente por encima de las flaquezas humanas.

Juan Formell

Cada dedo de su mano abierta representa a un espía por el cual hacer campaña. A inicios de diciembre, un encuentro celebrado en la Unión de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba (UNEAC) reunió a familiares de los "Cinco Héroes" con conocidos artistas. Y allí el músico se alzó con su propuesta de guerrilla en Miami. Los artistas cubanos que viajen a Estados Unidos, estimó, deben hacer campaña por la liberación de esos cinco hombres. "Debemos ser portadores de esa idea cuando nos hagan una entrevista, o salga de nosotros mismos pedirle públicamente al presidente estadounidense, Barack Obama, a nombre de la música cubana, que libere a los Cinco". Alicia Alonso, en un mensaje grabado, propuso presionar sobre la gente sencilla estadounidense. Otra ballerina, Aurora Bosch, recomendó llegar a Michelle Obama. Luis Carbonell, llamado El Acuarelista de la Poesía Antillana, recitó un poema de uno de los llamados Cinco Héroes. Gente sencilla, contactos con la Primera Dama, pero ninguno de los reunidos propuso lanzarse a hacer campaña en los medios. Salvo Formell. ¿Será tomada en serio su propuesta por artistas y escritores que viajen a Estados Unidos? ¿Y qué excusa van a dejar entonces para quienes dicen que ellos llegaron allí por su música y no para hablar de política? Como hizo en los inicios de su carrera con el songo, Juan Formell quiere mezclar Batalla de Ideas con Intercambio Cultural Cuba-EE UU. Pero puede ser que esta otra música no le salga tan bailable.

Bruno Rodríguez

La advertencia está clara cuando va acompañada de un rostro como el de la foto: "Aquí no estamos para menudito". "Calderilla no", escribió en una pancarta el canciller cuando le hablaron de inversión en Cuba de cubanos del exilio. Y preguntó, más bien para sí mismo: "Yo no sé a cuántos cubanos ustedes conocen que podrían invertir en Cuba 200, 300, 500, 1.000 millones de dólares, que es la inversión que demanda". La consulta daba para tema de congreso de ufólogos y astrofísicos: "¿Existe vida económica en grande más allá de la Isla?". La cuestión tomaba ribetes de subasta y Bruno era el martillo. Cuarenticuatro años después de la Gran Ofensiva Revolucionaria, el obstáculo, compañeros, no era más que númerico. La rebatiña castrista se había encargado en 1968 de arrasar hasta del tenderete más chiquito. Por principios, porque la economía no podía estar en manos de cualquiera. Y ahora, que parecía no haber impedimento ya para recibir inversión cubana del exilio, sucedía que los posibles inversionistas no le llegaban a las expectativas del país ni a la cintura. Y así, con tanta diferencia de estatura, no podrían noviar. Quienes pedían la mano no tenían fondos para una alianza como esa. Tendrían, pues, que irse lejos para merecerla, recorrer el mundo, labrarse una gran fortuna y regresar para ser tenidos en cuenta. Para entonces, por millonarios que sean, Bruno Rodríguez y sus amos habrán inventado ya una nueva imposibilidad, algún otro obstáculo.

Continuar leyendo en diariodecuba >>

Cuba: La Contraloría califica de 'deficiente o mal' al 72% de las empresas auditadas

"Camisa de once Varadero"/ Guama

larga y reciclante esta historia del control economico de las empresas en el feudo biranico. antes y despues que rodrigo garcia se metiera un tiro por no garantizar la mision del contador en jefe cuando se le ocurrio lo de la contabilidad confiable. base de la corrrupcion natural y problema endemico al modelo de gestion economica de los kaxtroz, solo encuentra solucion fuera de los marcos de ese sistema, porque todos los tainos tienen que luchar su yuca, desde el ministro y general, hasta el panadero y el cuentapropista. se critica y se sanciona pero se tolera, porque si no, se cae el feudo.

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CIEGO DE ÁVILA.— Gladys María Bejerano Portela, Contralora General de la República de Cuba, ratificó en esta ciudad que la prevención y la fiscalización son las claves en el combate contra las ilegalidades y las indisciplinas en el sector estatal de la Isla.
Según la AIN, durante las conclusiones de la VII Comprobación Nacional al Control Interno en la provincia de Ciego de Ávila, la también vicepresidenta del Consejo de Estado puntualizó que resulta vital preparar a los directivos para que organicen y planifiquen su trabajo.
Recordó que un verdadero revolucionario custodia los recursos del Estado y los administra como es debido, en función de la sociedad. A la comunidad y a los trabajadores les toca chequear para eliminar la corrupción en todos los niveles, porque se pone en juego la continuidad de la Revolución, concluyó.
La comprobación realizada estuvo dirigida esta vez a la marcha de los procesos recogidos en los Lineamientos de la Política Económica y Social del Partido y la Revolución, específicamente los relacionados con los programas de impacto directo en el pueblo, como son la venta de materiales de la construcción, de implementos agrícolas, iniciativa de desarrollo local, colaboración y productos exportables. Los controles se centraron también en las cuentas por cobrar y por pagar, los inventarios y la contratación, entre otros aspectos.

El 72 % de las unidades evaluadas recibió la calificación de deficiente o mal, pues faltó integralidad en los sistemas de control, fue insuficiente el empleo de los instrumentos diseñados para contrarrestar el desorden, y hubo incumplimientos de planes de ventas y producción, expresó Inés Cecilia González Domínguez, en el territorio avileño. Se constató, además, que la contratación económica no responde a los objetivos de las partes, carecen de eficiencia y monitoreo las actividades que se realizan.

Continuar leyendo en el  Granma >>

Gobierno boliviano nacionaliza empresas espanolas de electricidad

Mediante decreto supremo, Evo Morales establecio la nacionalización de las distribuidoras de electricidad Electropaz de esta capital y Elfeo del occidental departamento de Oruro. La medida significa la nacionalizacion de la totalidad de las acciones de las empresas espanolas IberBolivia SA de las Empresa de Electricidad de La Paz SA; Empresa Luz y Fuerza de Oruro SA; Compañía Administradora de Empresas de Bolivia SA; y Empresa de Servicios Edeser SA las que serán transferidas a favor el Estado bajó la titularidad de la Empresa Nacional de Electricidad, señala el artículo dos del decreto supremo firmado por el jefe de Estado.

Mas en Juventud Rebelde >>

Obama's agenda on fiscal cliff, second term

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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UFC 155: Velasquez, dos Santos Post-Fight Interviews

UFC 155 Highlights

Potential heir to $300 million Clark copper fortune found dead, homeless under bridge

By Bill Dedman
Investigative Reporter, NBC News

Huguette Clark

A long-lost relative of the reclusive heiress Huguette Clark, who could have inherited $19 million of her $300 million fortune, has been found dead under a Union Pacific Railroad overpass in Wyoming.

Children sledding found the body of Timothy Henry Gray, 60, Thursday afternoon in Evanston, a small mining town in southwestern Wyoming near the Utah border. The coroner said it appeared he died of hypothermia. The low temperature that day was 10 degrees, and had hit zero in the previous week. Lt. Bill Jeffers of the Evanston Police Department said there was no evidence of foul play, and Gray was wearing a light jacket. Gray's siblings said they hadn't heard from him since their mother's funeral in 1990, when he disappeared without a word.  It wasn't clear whether Gray was living under the overpass, where transients have been known to camp.

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Cubanología: ciencia ficción social y crítica

 

eichikawa

Arnaldo M. Fernández

Quizás el síntoma más ilustrativo del declive intelectual de la cubanología en el exterior sea la simulación de reuniones del Buró Político (BP) en el Instituto de Estudios Cubanos y Cubano-Americanos (ICCAS) de Miami. Aquí afloran desde idioteces sobre la política de cuadros hasta desvaríos sobre la historia de Cuba, a veces tan agudos que impiden discernir entre ejercicio académico fallido y relajo colosal. Sin embargo, el objeto mismo de estudio —las peripecias de ese fenómeno histórico denominado nación cubana— parece incitar a tales enfoques teatrales o farandulescos, porque antes de fundarse el ICCAS el profesor Jorge Ignacio Domínguez (Universidad de Harvard) tuvo ya la ocurrencia de urdir an imaginary document para el volumen Grenade and Soviet/Cuban Policy (Westview Press, 1986) con ánimo de exponer las claves cubanas en la invasión yanqui a Granada (1983).

Domínguez se transfiguró en special task force para largar su análisis como informe al BP y llegó a la apoteosis del kitsch ensartando tres eslóganes castristas para el cierre: convertir el revés en victoria, nada podrá detener la marcha de la historia y patria o muerte, venceremos. Así y todo, este ejercicio de ciencia ficción social (Grenadian Party Paper) sirvió de algo al reproducirse en Caribbean Review (Volumen XV, Número 2, Primavera de 1986) y propiciar el ejercicio del criterio (Report Redux) del profesor Nelson Valdés (Universidad de Nuevo México), quien se atuvo a la forma urdida por Domínguez, pero ahondó en el contenido.

• Domínguez sacó de la invasión yanqui a Granada, como «lección obvia», que EE. UU. podía aplastar una revolución si movilizaba los recursos políticos y militares necesarios. Valdés replicó —a su favor constaría, por ejemplo, el fiasco de EE. UU. en Vietnam— que semejante determinismo pasaba por alto la resistencia inquebrantable de los procesos revolucionarios en los cuales se conjugan el pueblo armado y la vanguardia unida en estrecha relación con las masas.
• Domínguez soltó que la invasión a Granada sobrevino porque a la Casa Blanca no le gustaba el régimen revolucionario del Movimiento New Jewel. Valdés repuso que, aunque estaba contemplada en plan de contigencia, la invasión nada tenía que ver con la estética, sino con la oportunidad, que se aprovechó al romperse la unidad de la vanguardia (por el golpe de Estado del vice Bernard Coard contra el premier Maurice Bishop), bastardear la relación de los líderes con las masas y proceder el ejército regular a desarmar a las milicias populares.
• Domínguez abundó hasta en incidentes como la suspensión por CUBALSE de los servicios de electricidad y teléfono a la embajada granadina en La Habana [para recomendar que tales cortes debían hacerse ya sólo con la «autorización explícita» de Fidel Castro], en tanto Valdés advirtió no sólo el despiste de la inteligencia cubana sobre la situación política, sino que la inteligencia soviética y de otros países socialistas pudieron tener mejor conocimiento y prefirieron no compartirlo. También subrayó la irresponsabilidad punible de quienes desinformaron sobre los combates de los cubanos contra los marines.

Y así por el estilo, pero sobre todo Valdés mostró que Cuba había dado ejemplo de política exterior basaba en principios. Luego de que Bishop fuera despuesto y arrestado (octubre 12), Castro comunicó (octubre 15) al nuevo liderazgo que se guardaba de ingerencias en los asuntos internos, pero llamaba a la unidad para resolver la preocupante situación política. Al caer asesinados Bishop y otros (octubre 19), Castro tachó los crímenes de injustificables y precisó que investigarlos y juzgar a los culpables era lo único que podría preservar el proceso revolucionario. Ante la inminente invasión yanqui, Castro informó (octubre 22) al gobierno de Coard que las tropas cubanas no acudirían a defenderlo por «razones objetivas» de índole militar y «consideraciones políticas», que se derivaban lógicamente de los crímenes perpetrados y del divorcio entre los nuevos gobernantes y el pueblo. Castro reiteró esta posición en mensaje (octubre 23) a su embajada, pero subrayó que los misioneros internacionalistas cubanos no abandonarían a los granadinos y junto a ellos enfrentarían a los invasores.

Habría que discutir por qué este esfuerzo —tan inútil como enviar tropas regulares— se torna meritorio en situación de crisis provocada por los propios granadinos, pero acaso la ciencia social estriba precisamente en dar pie a la discusión más o menos razonable. Aquí pueden consultarse [en inglés] los ejercicios de ciencia ficción social [páginas 16-20] y del criterio [páginas 21-23] de los profesores Domínguez y Valdés, respectivamente.

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-Ilustración: Sue Coe, U.S. Military Successfully Bomb a Mental Hospital in Grenada (1984) © Grenada Arts Council