Opinion

Juanes Cuba Concert Stirs Miami Pot

Upon Juanes’ return to Miami, the weight of tradition began to bear down on the artist. The Colombian-born singer was immediately accused of acting in complicity with the socialist regime and “changing his black shirt for a red one” – obviously another over-the-top allegation. In addition, he was threatened with a boycott and the destruction of his discography, an experience that others who have dared to cross the circle of ashes have suffered.

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Cuba’s Dual Purpose Newspapers

Every few months toilet paper becomes scarce in the Cuban capital, where people are accustomed to cutting up old newspapers to fill the gap. This deficit can last for weeks, until the centralized importation mechanism manages to make another purchase and the inflexible distribution chain supplies it to the stores.

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Cleaning House in Cuba

President Raul Castro sounded the alarm when he took office in February 2008, when he made it known that tolerance of misuse of state resources was on the out. Since then, little guys scraping to get by, on up to several of the country’s top ministers and political figures in much larger illicit operations, have fallen from grace after being accused of theft or corruption.

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Water & the Singing Frog

The water, which flows down from Canta Rana and is distributed by gravity to the entire community, is in such short supply that it barely reaches some families due to the lack of pressure. The rest of the population receives the precious liquid in water trucks about every seven days;

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On Fidel

His enemies don’t say that despite all the grief, despite the aggressions from abroad and the inconsistencies from within, that this suffering but insistently persevering island has generated the least unjust society in Latin American.

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Honduras Coup Tests Democracies

The maneuver was exceedingly clumsy and poorly executed – as evidenced by the fake letter of resignation, imitated Venezuelan style – that didn’t convince even their own supporters. They are like the Bourbons: they neither forget nor learn.

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Coup d’Etat or Coup de Grace?

Was it or was it not a coup d’etat? On Sunday, June 28 hundreds of soldiers surrounded the presidential residence, stormed in, ordered President Manuel Zelaya out of bed at gunpoint and herded him onto an air force plane that flew him to Costa Rica, still in his pajamas.

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Obama-Africa-Cuba Connection

Barack Obama is making his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa as president on Friday, touching down in Ghana after attending the G-8 meeting in Italy. He has much catch up work to do to change the global “uncaring” image of the United States.

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Cristina Fernandez on Honduras Coup

“I am not naïve, and I believe the attack is not only against you, President Zelaya, or against the Republic of Honduras. Perhaps there is a strategy that is finer, deeper, one that not only involves those in your country who may want to continue with the model of the non-redistribution of income, etc, etc. I believe that it is also an attempt to frustrate a different policy for the whole of America, of all countries that make up the Americas.”

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Honduras Showdown on July 4 Weekend

If Micheletti and the Honduran military hold firm in the face of severe economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation, the ball will be in the court of the OAS, the UN and other regional bodies like the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas to up the ante or let the coup succeed by default.

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