A statement from Amnesty International reminds us that the Guantanamo prison is marking a birthday in January 2012. It was exactly a decade ago that the first prisoners of the “war on terror” were sent there.
Read MoreIf there is something that needs to be recognized about Cuba’s leaders, particularly Fidel Castro, it’s their unparalleled talent to retain power, whether by adding, subtracting, multiplying or dividing.
Read MoreThe sources that originate these rumors are close enough to Fidel Castro to give them credibility but sufficiently diffuse to never allow verification. These come from “high-ranking military leaders,” “family members of Cuban leaders” and “members of their medical staffs.”
Read MoreThis issue will be particularly difficult to solve for Cuba’s leaders. Moreover, the disparity between spokespeople themselves, crying out for changes that never come, could indicate internal contradictions within the elite. The fact is that if Cubans could travel without asking permission, be free to decide the dates of their coming and going, and travel without having to pay for expensive consular services the Cuban government currently demands, this would be taking an important step in dismantling the authoritarian political system.
Read MoreEver since his arrest in December 2009, the US State Department, and even president Obama, have been telling Cuba that it should release Gross. At first they tried to say he was innocent but when that became obviously false they went the humanitarian route.
Read MoreIt would not be the same to confront and expropriate a bureaucratic state, ready and willing to share economic power with foreign capital, as it would be to take on people who own the means of production and control their destiny.
Read MoreIn Cuba, the trend toward vegetarian diets is becoming more popular. Though it has been fueled by the mass media and health food advocates, it still hasn’t been easy to motivate most people in this regard. Cuban dining culture has historically been sustained by the consumption of meat, fish and carbohydrates (with this latter having been the basis of the diet since the advent of the Special Period crisis starting the early 1990s).
Read MoreA few days ago I read an article in Cubadebate that caught my attention. The article deals with the production of toothbrushes in what is apparently the only factory that produces them in Cuba – and which is, of course, state-run.
Read MoreIt’s good that the president recognizes that not all Cubans are represented by the Communist Party of Cuba or identify with its concept of what is and should be the revolution. Part of the Cuban people, perhaps just a minority as was stated (or several minorities), disagrees with the system.
Read MoreThe Raul Castro government ends the year with kept promises and outstanding debts. The “opening” of the housing and automotive markets was well received by Cubans, but many continue to await immigration reform and modifications to the Family Code.
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