Diaries

I Support Federalization (For Cuba As Well)

That whole business of “partisans of federalization” is a politically correct phrase used by Russia’s official media to refer to activists (some of whom have formed armed contingents) currently fighting the Kiev government in eastern Ukraine.

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Cuba’s New Labor Code: The Laments and the Feast

Last week, three declarations in Cuba made news almost simultaneously: the statements by singer-songwriter Silvio Rodriguez, Cuban Vice-President Diaz Canel and the mastermind behind the country’s economic reforms, Marino Murillo. The three made mention of the conditions that the majority of Cubans live and work under.

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Distorted News About Cuba

To my surprise, I came across a piece of news in Havana Times that was originally published by DPA, an article dealing with the murder of four men at a farm near Baracoa beach, in the Cuban province of Artemisa. The facts presented are completely distorted…

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Things to Do in Bayamo, Cuba

All the people I told I would be visiting Bayamo, Granma agreed I would like the city. Bayamo’s main boulevard has many charms, boasting an enviable cleanliness, and the place is home to a broad variety of commercial and cultural establishments. (11 photos)

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Gifts from Heaven: Cuba Needs Wheelchairs

Who doesn’t enjoy getting a gift? I don’t think that’s a difficult question. If that gift is something that changes your life, it is far more welcome. Things become complicated when one is responsible for distributing limited donations to a group of desperate people in need.

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Walking Between the Past and Future in Havana

On Father’s Day – Sunday, June 15 – I decided to pay Cuba’s Cinematheque a visit. I hate Sundays, have many misgivings about the traditional family and its pathetic festivities, try to avoid public transportation on weekends and loathe the scorching sun of our summer afternoons more than a vampire would. (16 photos)

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Cuba and the Ability to Face Up to Adversity

If there is something we can reproach progress for is having weakened human beings in terms of self-control. The virtuosity of machines, our high-tech prodigies are useless if humanity does not come to terms with those things it cannot change: attachment, suffering, mortality.

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