Dissident will return to resume struggle
Dissident will return to resume struggle
Dissident and former political prisoner Héctor Palacios wants to return to Cuba in July, the Agence France-Presse reported Friday. "Great changes begin with small gestures," he told the French news agency, alluding to the socioeconomic changes instituted by Cuban leader Raúl Castro. Palacios, 66, is one of the 75 dissidents arrested in March 2003 during a major crackdown on the opposition; he was released in December 2006 because of heart problems and spent six months in Spain undergoing medical treatment. In Washington this week, he told the AFP that he believes "the struggle for the people of Cuba must be waged inside and outside [the island], but what's most important is that the changes will occur inside." Asked if he is afraid to return, he answered yes, "but my duty toward my country exceeds [my fear] and gives me the energy needed to return." Palacios told the AFP that he favors dialogue between Washington and Havana and called for the lifting of U.S.-imposed curbs on travel and money remittances. "Without dialogue, there is no peaceful change," he said, adding that Cubans living in the U.S. "should travel to their homeland any time they wish and send to their families as much [money] as they wish to send." For more of the AFP interview (in Spanish), click here.—Renato Pérez Pizarro.
May 30, 2008
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/cuban_colada/2008/05/dissident-will.html
Colo. Business, govt consider trade ties with Cuba
BUSINESS: Colo. Business, govt consider trade ties with CubaMay 31, 2008 2:00 AM (3 hrs ago) By JEFF KASS, AP
HAVANA (Map, News) -The Havana Hilton became Fidel Castro's temporary headquarters more than 40 years ago when he marched victoriously into this capital city. Today, the retro lobby is abuzz with tourists lounging in oversize rattan chairs. Along the wall is a photo of Castro's guerrillas dressed in fatigues and cradling guns.
The hotel, now called the Havana Libre, was the site of yet another incongruous scene this year: a wine-tasting hosted by Basalt, Colo.-based Miller Farms Exports.
About 40 Cuban officials sipped merlot, cabernet and white wines while munching on Wisconsin cheese, recalled Miller Farms President Jack Miller.
Miller Farms, which ships a variety of goods to Cuba, was hoping to promote wine and cheese in a country where ham-and-cheese sandwiches and rum are common bar fare.EXAMINER.COM RELATED ARTICLESBUSINESS: Centennial group ships medical supplies to CubaExcerpts of Recent Editorials in Newspapers in US and AbroadU.S. oil and gas rig count down 1210 states act to stop teacher sex abuseAsk AP: Jet pollution, fraction-of-a-cent coins
Miller is ahead of the curve when it comes to pitching products to Cuba. Some businesses and government officials in Colorado are intrigued by the possibility of boosting exports to Cuba and may try to enlist Gov. Bill Ritter to join a trade delegation to the country. The pitch could occur after the November elections, given the political sensitivity of such a trip.
"In the '60s, I wanted to starve Castro out," said Jim Reis, president of WorldTradeCenter Denver, who expects to be involved in the trade effort. "Now I said, 'Let's kill his policies with kindness.'"
It's premature to discuss a trade mission, said Pam Reichert, international trade director in the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, a state agency. But she said that this summer her office will begin researching Colorado's trade potential with Cuba.
"Cuba's always out there (as an option)," she added, "because there are other states that have gone there."
Tom Lipetzky, markets-division director for the Colorado Department of Agriculture, said his office is "doing our homework" and does not have a timeline for making any pitch to the governor. But he said there's a sense that for Colorado, Cuba "is not a closed door."
"There are some products from Colorado that do line up with what Cuba is importing," he said.
Despite Cuba's socialist government and militant face-off with America, the two countries do conduct some business. In 2007, the U.S. sent $447 million worth of goods to Cuba, mostly agricultural, according to figures from WorldTradeCenter Denver and WISER, the World Institute for Strategic Economic Research. That's up from $347.7 million the year before.
Colorado exports to Cuba have officially been at zero from 2005 to 2007. But items are sometimes tracked by their port of exit, so a Colorado product shipped from Los Angeles may be credited to California.
The state that consistently funnels the most to Cuba is Louisiana – $173 million worth of goods last year, though the figure includes items from other states that are shipped through its ports. Second was Texas, with $57.7 million.
A key reason Colorado has little or no Cuban exports, Reis said, is that elected officials have not undertaken a trade mission. The Cuban government gives preference to businesses in states where the political establishment supports trade.
Reis believes that if Colorado does strengthen its business ties to Cuba, agricultural and maybe some medical exports from the state could reach $5 million to $10 million in two to five years. That compares with about $1.4 billion in state agricultural exports worldwide last year.
Miller Farms has been capturing some of the Cuban market, albeit not with Colorado products, for roughly seven years. About five years ago, it shipped instant ramen noodles from southern California. Each packet sold for about 50 cents.
Last year the company had a Mississippi catfish fry at a Havana restaurant, but sales never took off, in large part because Cubans were starting their own fish farm, Miller said.
The Miller Farms transactions have been varied but not easy. Miller notes that he cannot use American banks, and the Cubans have to pay upfront for the goods, which eliminates options such as buying on credit.
For the California wine-tasting, dates kept changing because the bottles were delayed at Cuban customs – a common occurrence, Miller said. And while he hasn't sold any wine yet, he says the Cubans were impressed with the quality. "They seemed to like the chardonnay."
—
http://www.examiner.com/a-1417201~BUSINESS__Colo__Business__govt_consider_trade_ties_with_Cuba.html
First report of Tomato chlorosis virus in Cuba
First report of Tomato chlorosis virus in Cuba A ProMED-mail postProMED-mail is a program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases
A ProMED-mail post<http://www.promedmail.org>ProMED-mail is a program of theInternational Society for Infectious Diseases <http://www.isid.org>
Date: May 2008Source: The American Phytopathological Society, Plant Disease 2008; 92(5), 836 [edited] <http://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/abs/10.1094/PDIS-92-5-0836C>
[Ref: Y Martinez-Zubiaur et al: First report of _Tomato chlorosis virus_ infecting tomato in single and mixed infections with _Tomato yellow leaf curl virus_ in Cuba.Plant Dis 2008; 92(5), 836; DOI: 10.1094/PDIS-92-5-0836C]
Whitefly-transmitted viruses have caused severe losses in tomato crops in Cuba. In 2006 and 2007, tomato greenhouses across eastern Cuba exhibited high levels of _Bemisia tabaci_ (B biotype) infestation. Some plants showed interveinal chlorosis and a severe yellow mosaic, combined with leaf brittleness. These symptoms were different from those induced by _Tomato yellow leaf curl virus_ (TYLCV-IL(CU)).
Only 12 of 31 symptomatic samples resulted in positive PCR [polymerase chain reaction] assays with TYLCV-specific primers. A reverse transcription (RT)-PCR analysis for _Tomato chlorosis virus_ (ToCV) with generic and specific primers was also carried out. Sequence analysis of the cloned RT-PCR products ['amplicons'] (463 basepairs) confirmed the presence of ToCV in Cuba. The fragment had 97 to 98 percent identity with isolates from Spain, Florida (USA), and Reunion Island (France).
Cloned TYLCV and ToCV amplicons were used as probes to reanalyze the selected 31 samples by a dot-blot hybridization assay [a diagnostic method using labelled nucleotide sequences of the viruses as 'probes' to detect the presence of similar sequences in the samples - Mod.DHA] in search of mixed infections. The assay showed 16 samples to be positive for ToCV, 4 for TYLCV, 8 for both, and 3 samples were negative. To our knowledge, this is the 1st report of ToCV and TYLCV/ToCV mixed infections in Cuba.
–Communicated by:ProMED-mail<promed@promedmail.org>
[ToCV (genus _Crinivirus_) has been reported from Europe and a number of locations in other parts of the world. Besides tomato, it can also affect capsicum and some solanaceous weeds, which may serve as pathogen reservoirs, as well as some ornamental and weed species in other families. Symptoms on tomato leaves include irregular chlorotic mottle, interveinal yellowing, necrotic flecks, and possible distortions. No obvious symptoms develop on fruit and flowers, but fruit size and numbers are reduced due to a loss of photosynthetic area. Significant yield losses occur as a result, but symptom severity varies with host cultivars. Symptoms may be confused with nutritional problems and are also similar to those of the related _Tomato infectious chlorosis virus_ (TICV).
TYLCV (genus _Begomovirus_) originates from the Middle East and is one of the most damaging viruses of tomato worldwide. It can also affect a number of other solanaceous and leguminous hosts. Infection of tomato causes plants to be stunted with small chlorotic puckered leaves. Yield losses of up to 80 percent have been reported, andfield cropping of tomatoes has been abandoned in some areas due to TYLCV.
Both viruses are transmitted by the whitefly vector _Bemisia tabaci_ (ToCV also by 2 other whitefly species), and outbreaks are usually associated with high vector populations. Disease management of whitefly transmitted viruses is difficult and includes vector control, removal of reservoirs of both virus and vectors, use of crop varieties with increased pathogen tolerance, and clean planting material. Both ToCV and TYLCV, as well as their vector _B. tabaci_are included on the quarantine alert list of the European Plant Protection Organisation (EPPO). For more information on ToCV and TYLCV see previous ProMED-mail posts listed below.
Whiteflies have been reported to transmit over 100 virus species. _B. tabaci_ is believed to be a species complex with a number of recognised biotypes varying in their distribution and vector activities. Whiteflies are a common problem in glasshouse grown crops, and multiple infections with viruses sharing this vector are not unusual. Co-infecting viruses may interact with a symbiotic enhancement of symptoms (synergism), as appears to be the case here.
MapsCuba:<http://www.caribnationtv.com/images/maps/cuba.jpg> and<http://healthmap.org/promed?v=21.6,-79,5>Worldwide distribution of ToCV (September 2006):<http://www.eppo.org/QUARANTINE/virus/Tomato_chlorosis_virus/TOCV00_map.htm>TYLCV worldwide distribution (September 2006):<http://www.eppo.org/QUARANTINE/virus/TYLC_virus/TYLCV00_map.htm>
PicturesToCV symptoms on tomato leaf:<http://www.apsnet.org/online/feature/whitefly/view.asp?ID=411>TYLCV symptoms on tomato plants:<http://www2.dpi.qld.gov.au/images/13644.jpg> and<http://www.eppo.org/QUARANTINE/virus/TYLC_virus/TYLCV0_images.htm>_B. tabaci_ picture gallery:<http://www.eppo.org/QUARANTINE/insects/Bemisia_tabaci/BEMITA_images.htm>
Airport gets Cuba connection; Sun-seeking Saultites can board weekly flights starting in December
Airport gets Cuba connection; Sun-seeking Saultites can board weekly flights starting in DecemberPosted By Elaine Della-MattiaPosted 23 mins ago
Sault Ste. Marie Airport will get busier soon.
Sunwing Charter Airline will fly a weekly charter direct from Sault Ste. Marie to Cuba from Dec. 19 to Feb. 27, 2009.
It will utilize a Boeing 737-800 which seats 189 passengers and will make the trip to Varadero, Cuba once a week for 11 weeks.
Michael Wozny, executive director of the Economic Development Corp., said he would expect the flights to continue during the same period the following year, if the first season proves successful.
Sunwing, a 20-year-old Canadian owned company, is listed by Profit Magazine as one of the fastest growing companies in Canada over the past two years.
"This is very exciting for our city and will assist us in attracting other charters and new regular scheduled airlines to Sault Ste. Marie," said James Caicco, air services committee chair.
Sunwing Vacations offers all inclusive vacation packages, leisure flights, group travel, hotel and car rental deals.
It also offers vacations to Mexico, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Jamaica and Florida as well as flights within Canada.
Wozny said Sunwing may consider adding more destinations in the future.
Airport manager Terry Bos said the addition of Sunwing will increase traffic through the Sault Ste. Marie Airport and offer area residents more affordable travel.
The airport can accommodate the addition this year and it already has customs facilities, a necessity for flights arriving from out-of-country, Bos said.
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Meanwhile, The Sault Ste. Marie Airport Development Corp. also announced Air Canada Jazz will add an extra flight to its Sunday through Friday schedule, bringing the number to seven.
Air Canada Jazz operates 46 flights a week in Sault Ste. Marie and Bearskin operates 41.
Bos said the demand for flights to Toronto has been great and he hopes the extra flight will free up lower-cost seats for the occasional-traveller.
Ian McMillan, director of tourism at the Economic Development Corp., said the additional flight from Air Canada is good news for the Sault.
McMillan, who just returned from a conference focusing on European travel, said the more flights into the Sault from Toronto, allows the city to explore oversees markets more.
"The majority of our travel from North America predominantly drives here but if we can get more flights from the hub, then there is a chance to expand our overseas travel market, which relies on air to get here," he said.
McMillan said the Sunwing charter service, to be operated during the busy sunny destination travel season, indicates economic growth in the community and people are using disposable income to travel.
"It also raises our profile as a regional centre," he said.
The Airport Development Corp. and the EDC are continuing discussions with Porter Airlines.
They hope the carrier will expand its services into the Sault.
"We're continuing very diligently with Porter and they plan on expanding again later this year," Wozny said.
Bos said he hopes the Sault will be considered for flights by new aircraft Porter will receive late this year, which could mean service from Porter could begin in December.
Sault Ste. Marie Airport sees about 140,000 travellers annually.Article ID# 1052466
Cubans shun government’s low-paying jobs
CUBACubans shun government's low-paying jobsIn light of low salaries, many Cubans do not bother to work, preferring to make their money on the street.Posted on Sat, May. 31, 2008BY MIAMI HERALD STAFFcuba@MiamiHerald.com
CARDENAS, Cuba –Loraicys is 27 years old and has never held a job. She is not alone.
As Raúl Castro embarks on an ambitious plan to kick-start the communist nation's economy, he faces a daunting challenge: Many Cubans simply do not work.
Decades of measly salaries and vast government subsidies have kept many young people off the labor rolls because it's more lucrative to hustle on the street. Others live comfortably enough off money sent from Miami and elsewhere.
Loraicys turns down neighborhood janitor positions in hopes of higher-paying work at nearby resort hotels, where she also could earn tips in dollars.
''I am not going to tell you something different. There are jobs here in Cárdenas where I live. Doing what? Cleaning hospitals for 150 pesos [$7] a month,'' said Loraicys, a single mother. “For 150 pesos, I would rather stay home with my kid. I am willing to work really hard — but not for nothing in return.''
While Cuba struggles to increase productivity, it must also find a way to entice hundreds of thousands of people to get a job. The dilemma is one of the profound systemic difficulties Castro faces as he tries to create a so-called modern socialist economy.
GOVERNMENT JOBS
The government says there are plenty of jobs — just low-paying ones Cubans won't take. Even educated professionals would rather work in the tourist industry as waiters or taxi drivers, which earns them far more money than state jobs that usually offer about $10 a month.
Loraicys said she has blanketed all the state agencies that run tourist resorts near her home with résumés, but she lacks the high school diploma required for even menial work. So she spends most days hanging out in front of her house, watching horse-drawn buggies go by in this colonial city east of Havana known as Ciudad Bandera, because it is where the national flag was first raised on May 19, 1850.
''If Raúl Castro wants to crack down on people who do not work, then he should offer real jobs,'' Loraicys said. “Don't you think people would prefer to have independence, to have something they can be proud of?''
Officially, Cuban government figures show its unemployment rate is just 1.9 percent, the lowest in Latin America. At the same time, government statistics show just 4.8 million of the 6.7 million working-age people are ''economically active.'' And a survey conducted by the state-run Juventud Rebelde newspaper showed that just in Guantánamo province, on the eastern tip of the island, there were 18 times more unemployed people than official figures reflected.
The National Bureau of the Young Communists League said 90 percent of unemployed youths would like to go to school or work if they found “acceptable options.''
LABOR STATISTICS
According to Granma, the communist party newspaper:
• 20 percent of the working-age population in Havana is unemployed.
• Nearly half of them turn down jobs when they are offered.
• 17 percent of the more than 17,000 recent technical school graduates did not show up for the jobs they were offered. Another 200 of them stopped coming in after a few months.
''Unfortunately there is not an inconsiderable segment of our society that wants to live without working and considers that through the black market, it will have everything by living off of others,'' Granma editor Lázaro Barredo wrote in a recent editorial.
When Raúl Castro took office on Feb. 24, he announced an increase in state pensions and wages. In April, economic commentator Ariel Terrero said on state television that the government would lift caps on wages, an important shift that defied the socialist ideology that long dictated policy here.
''For the first time, it is clearly and precisely stated that a salary does not have a limit, that the roof of a salary depends on productivity,'' Terrero said, according to The Associated Press.
He added that he did not view this as a violation of socialism, but rather “from each according to his work to each according to his ability.''
Many Cubans told The Miami Herald they did not work because it just was not worth it. The dual currency system, which pays state salaries in nearly worthless pesos and sells most consumer goods in a dollar-based tender called the CUC, means average salaries don't cover the cost of basic goods such as shoes, which can cost three times as much as a $10 monthly wage.
CASH FOR FLORIDA
Eduardo, 30, a stagehand who got his first job four years ago, said most of his friends worked for the first time when they were in their late 20s — after emigrating to Florida.
''Why was I going to work? The money they would pay me was not going to meet my needs,'' he said. “My mother in Orlando sent me $100 a month, and with that I was set.''
Experts say Castro needs to overhaul the pay scheme to give Cubans the incentive to work.
'In their work life, Cubans have two approaches to labor. In the state sector, for many, their attitude is: `They pretend to pay us, we pretend to work,' '' said Archibald Ritter, who teaches about the Cuban economy at Carleton University in Canada. “Yet they will even pay to get jobs where it's possible to get bribes or steal. Lots of Cubans work hard. They work very hard at quasi-legal, unofficial activities.''
Ritter said the government has to create opportunities for more people to run private businesses and have clear incentives to produce and earn more coveted CUCs.
''For decades, Cuba tried to create the new socialist man, and what they created instead was a nation of entrepreneurs,'' he said.
Even as wages increase, laws on the books are intended to stimulate productivity. As interim president, Raúl Castro mandated efficiency at the workplace and instituted penalties for people who were late or did not stay their full shift.
The Miami Herald withheld the name of the correspondent who wrote this report and the surnames of some people quoted because the reporter did not have the journalist visa required by the Cuban government to report from the island.
El tirano en el olvido
Publicado el sábado 31 de mayo del 2008
El tirano en el olvido
¿Se lo tragó el Triángulo de las Bermudas? ¿Se ha ido a combatir a otros pueblos del mundo como su ''compañero Ernesto''? ¿Se ha convertido en un vegetal? ¿O simplemente estiró la pata y se lo están ocultando al pueblo? Nadie sabe, la dictadura cubana siempre actuó y continúa actuando con mentiras, medias verdades, discursos demagógicos. Lo más trágico: convencieron al mundo de que en Cuba nunca pasa nada, a pesar de los miles de fusilados tras juicios fuera de las normas legales reconocidas internacionalmente, de las decenas de miles de presos políticos que han tenido que soportar hambre, humillaciones y torturas, y de los miles de cubanos que han desafiado a los tiburones del estrecho de la Florida.
Así ha pasado casi medio siglo y ahora después de tanto sufrimiento, parece que parte del mundo ha comenzado a escuchar el eco de los lamentos del pueblo cubano. Más vale tarde que nunca, y ya que a nosotros nadie nos quiso escuchar, por lo menos que a las nuevas generaciones se les escuche y atienda, para ver si al fin Cuba recupera su libertad. El camino no va a ser fácil. No menciono al incógnito para ver si acaba de desaparecer.
Leonel Pérez
Tampa
http://www.elnuevoherald.com/opinion/cartas/story/217802.html
Brasil invertirá en cultivos de soja en la isla
Publicado el viernes 30 de mayo del 2008
Brasil invertirá en cultivos de soja en la islaServicios de El Nuevo HeraldLA HABANA
Cuba abrió la puerta a la inversión en su sector agrícola a la Empresa Brasileña de Pesquisa Agropecuaria (Embrapa) con un proyecto para el cultivo de alrededor de 40,000 hectáreas de soja que aún está en fase de estudio.
En la primera jornada de una visita oficial de dos días a Cuba, el canciller brasileño, Celso Amorim, firmó con su homólogo cubano Felipe Pérez Roque un acuerdo "para la implementación del proyecto de asistencia técnica para la producción de soja en Cuba''.
Pérez Roque subrayó que este acuerdo permitirá a Cuba "acceder a la experiencia, a la asesoría del Embrapa y de otras instituciones brasileñas en el cultivo de la soja, en un momento especialmente decisivo para la producción de alimentos en nuestro país y en el mundo''.
El acuerdo se suscribe apenas semanas después que Cuba anunciara el comienzo de la producción de soja en unas 5,000 hectáreas anteriormente dedicadas al cultivo de la caña de azúcar.
Amorim había destacado con anterioridad, durante un encuentro con empresarios de ambos países, la colaboración brasileña en la producción de la oleaginosa y dijo que "será un nuevo momento del desarrollo de Cuba''.
El ministro cubano de Comercio Exterior, Raúl de la Nuez, indicó tras ese encuentro empresarial que se trata de "un proyecto muy incipiente'', aún en la fase de estudio, pero confirmó que en el pasado "no hay'' experiencias de este tipo de inversiones extranjeras en el sector.
"No, no hay. Tuvimos cierta colaboración con empresas extranjeras en la producción citrícola (…), creo que es el único caso que recuerdo'', dijo De la Nuez, en referencia a la participación de una empresa israelí en la producción de esa planta en los años 90.
"Los técnicos de Embrapa vinieron a Cuba, han recogido la información y están evaluando las características de los terrenos para ver qué semillas son las más adecuadas'', explicó el ministro.
Agregó que "inicialmente se está hablando de unas 30,000 o 40,000 hectáreas, pero con posibilidades de irlo extendiendo'', aunque puntualizó que la ampliación de esa superficie habrá que hacerla "poco a poco porque no es algo que se cultive en Cuba''.
De la Nuez señaló que las plantaciones de soja serían ubicadas en provincias como Ciego de Avila (centro) y Matanzas (occidente), aunque insistió en que "por el momento la colaboración se está concretando en hacer un análisis de factibilidad técnica y económica del proyecto''.
Durante años Cuba valoró la posibilidad de cultivar la soja con la colaboración de especialistas de Canadá y América del Sur.
La soja figura entre los cinco productos más comprados por la isla en el mercado estadounidense desde que el Congreso levantó las restricciones para las ventas de productos agrícolas por motivos humanitarios en el 2000.
Sólo en el 2007 las compras de soja por parte de la empresa estatal Alimport a firmas de EEUU superaron los $40 millones, además de otros $50 millones en aceite de soja.
http://www.elnuevoherald.com/noticias/america_latina/cuba/story/217744.html
En Cuba estamos en un apartheid político
"En Cuba estamos en un apartheid político"Por Elizabeth Garrido (Infobae.com)
Jorge Luis García Pérez "Antúnez" estuvo 17 años preso por manifestarse como opositor al régimen. Con pocos recursos, intenta contar lo que vive un pueblo que se atreve a pensar un país libre. El informe especial de Infobae.com
Cuba – conflictoMientras Hilda Morejón, madre de Hilda Molina, llegaba a la Argentina luego de varios años de suplicar permiso para salir de Cuba, en la propia isla Jorge Luis García Pérez "Antúnez" y un grupo de opositores a la dictadura eran reprimidos severamente por decenas de policías que intentaban aplacar el grito de ayuda internacional.
"Nosotros somos un grupo de opositores pacíficos que en ese momento estábamos homenajeando a Pedro Luis Boitel (ver en puntos importantes). Cuando regresamos a mi hogar para hacer una pequeña reunión, vimos que había sido rodeado por la Policía para que nos aterrorizáramos", relata "Antúnez" en diálogo con Infobae.com desde su hogar en el interior de Cuba.
Según el opositor, los efectivos cubanos reprimieron con golpes, insultos, arrojando excremento a los manifestantes, como lo han hecho en varias oportunidades. "Fuimos embestidos por la Policía, varias personas resultaron con heridas graves en el cráneo, por los palazos que nos dieron. Pero eso no nos va a callar en nuestro reclamo de una Cuba libre y de la liberación de los hermanos que están detenidos por pensar distinto del Gobierno".
Días atrás, un informe realizado por Andrea Sambucetti para C5N e Infobae.com en la intimidad cruda del pueblo cubano, había reflejado testimonios similares a los de Antúnez, como pocas veces se animan a decir los isleños en público.
Lejos del paraíso"Los cubanos estamos en un apartheid político (…) el cubano tiene que violar la ley para sobrevivir. La pobreza es extrema y no se pueden afrontar las necesidades", señala el opositor cubano que destaca que "el propio pueblo no puede acceder a todas las bellezas que se le muestran a los turistas, desde los hoteles hasta las playas".
Las palabras de "Antúnez" advierten que "ser cubano en Cuba es muy difícil" y más aún si el ciudadano intenta criticar o cuestionar el sistema. Muchos habitantes de la Isla deben vivir con una doble moral para sobrevivir, ya que saben que el hecho de expresar opiniones contrarias al sistema imperante podría significar la cárcel.
El mismo destino que tuvo Jorge Luis García Pérez cuando decidió exponer sus ideas opositoras al por entonces gobierno de Fidel Castro. "Yo estuve preso 17 años por presentar mis ideas públicamente en una plaza central. Cuando fui arrestado, no sólo me golpearon y me torturaron, sino que la sentencia ya estaba desde antes de comenzar el juicio". Los vejámenes nunca se extinguieron durante ese período de encierro, pero tampoco las ansias por luchar contra un régimen dictatorial.
Hoy "Antúnez" no tiene trabajo y, según sus palabras, es discriminado por sus ideas opositoras. "No puedo siquiera tener una línea telefónica, ahora cuento con un celular dado por personas que se solidarizan con nuestra causa. Ni siquiera es posible tener comunicación por vía postal porque siempre es revisada por efectivos del gobierno".
"Vivimos un asedio constante. Somos hostigados por la represión policial y todo el tiempo quieren llevarnos a prisión. Los medios de comunicación quieren denigrarnos -afirma Antúnez- la realidad de Cuba es crítica, estamos en un estado de indefensión total".
La esperanzaCon un clima desolador, la noticia sobre el permiso para viajar dado a Hilda Morejon pareció en su momento una posibilidad de apertura política ante un sistema que restringe la libertad de sus propios ciudadanos.
"Antúnez" habla del caso como "cambios cosméticos" realizados "dentro de un sistema que, todos los cubanos saben, no va a cambiar porque es fiel a su propio sistema dictatorial".
"Nosotros estamos convencidos de que no hay una mínima posibilidad de tener una Cuba libre", sentencia el líder opositor aunque destaca que "el pueblo se está despertando y es justamente desde allí desde donde se verán los cambios".
"Nuestro pueblo necesita medidas radicales para garantizar los derechos humanos y que se abra el sistema para las elecciones. Sabemos que el cambio va a venir desde 'abajo'". Y así concluye "Antúnez" la breve comunicación telefónica dejando un gran marco de esperanza pero también de dudas de saber si se podrá volver a escuchar su pedido de libertad.
http://www.infobae.com/contenidos/383249-100897-0-En-Cuba-estamos-un-apartheid-pol%C3%ADtico
Cristianos en Cuba ¿Que pasa?
Cristianos en Cuba ¿Que pasa??2008-5-31Por José Montoya.www.laverdadalpunto.net
Los corruptos que destruyen y desmiembran los sistemas, cuales quiera que fuera, pero lo peor de todo es ¿Hasta donde llega la corrupción hablando de niveles de gobierno? ¿Será permitida la corrupción, el abuso, el amiguismo, el tape y el abuso de poder incluso por los más altos niveles de gobierno? Analicemos este asunto en Cuba.
Hasta ahora no ha existido en cuba un problema de índole religioso internacional, los corruptos y esos que tapan las cosas para que Raúl Castro en este caso no lo sepa, pueden desatar un problema internacional que de seguro el presidente de cuba no se los va ha permitir, ni aunque el corrupto esté a dos pasos de su buró, ¡recuerden corruptos!, que esa iglesia, la Cristiana, no es la santería que aunque es mayoría del pueblo no tiene apoyo internacional porque no representa a grandes intereses, incluso hasta controla el respeto de los gobernantes en Estados Unidos. Respeten los derechos de quienes lo pueden poner derecho, corruptos.
Son varias las preguntas que nos hacemos, también nos preguntamos, bueno, y como vamos a resolver esto, pues si protestamos pues posiblemente lleguemos frente a uno de esos corruptos o tapadores, ¿Pero si llegamos un poco más arriba también será corrupto? Esa es la disyuntiva del pueblo, del humilde, de aquél que no tiene los medios de incluso que sea escuchado, precisamente porque existen odios sordos corruptos, una ventaja de poder erradicar los oídos sordos y frenar la corrupción es el medio de prensa que cuando no es corrupto es respetado, pero existen sitios donde la prensa es de oídos sordos y vista escasa a casi nada, entonces así la cosa está fea.
¿Que hacemos entonces? Pues buscar el punto débil del asunto y utilizar estrategias que al final de la jornada le va a dar problemas al corrupto, simple, utiliza la misma fuerza de otro poderoso, cuando un poderoso sabe que puede ser perjudicado precisamente por un basurilla de eso primarios en todas la corrupciones, el poder se encarga de resolver el problema, no por usted, siempre por sus intereses, nadie se cambia por nadie y es la ley del más fuerte y la sobre vivencia ¿Cree usted que allá en cuba existan corruptos que desmiembran cualquier cosa productiva o social? ¿Cree usted que no exista corrupto que tapen los desmanes y violaciones de derechos de los ciudadanos? ¿Lo sabrán las más altas esferas cubanas de gobierno, ejemplo Raúl Castro? ¿Hasta donde llega el caso? ¿Se quedará a dos pasos de quienes si lo pueden resolver o a mitad de camino?
Uno de los peores problemas que existen en cuba es precisamente la corrupción y el abuso de poder que existe desde las esferas de gobierno baja hasta posiblemente la más alta esfera sin llegar a la máxima esfera, ¿Entonces como hacemos para que esa máxima esfera sepa lo que le tapan? Y le perjudica, pues hoy día como están las cosas en las comunicaciones es muy fácil, también como están las cosas en materia de política internacional, nótelo si no es así, usted está leyendo mi escrito ¿Cuántos lo podrán leer en cuba? Pero supongamos que apliquen la teoría de que al enemigo no se le hace caso, pues simple, ¿Dónde van a tomar agua los animales de la selva, pues al río o al lago, entonces te veré allí frente a todos en el río o el lago, no existe país hoy día que resista lo que ayer resistía, las cosas han cambiado, en el caso de cuba también, aunque Fidel esté presente y sea considerado por sus meritos y demás, no quiere decir que no gobierne a Raúl, porque Raúl nunca lo quiso gobernar a él, entonces hoy día Fidel tiene que respetar las decisiones de Raúl y los nuevos cuadros junto a los veteranos, olvídese, de todas formas tienen que llegar al río ha tomar agua, ese es el río internacional.
Las presiones de USA por décadas nunca funcionó, pero ahora ni es necesaria, cuba necesita del mundo y ya ni los aliados le pueden tirar la toalla, y lo de Chávez es simplemente fortalecer los pilares de cuba hasta que se desplome Chávez, por lo menos quedó fortalecida, pero ¿Quién aguanta el engranaje ya establecido con la bonanza? Hooo, solamente aquellos que juntos van al río.
Pues es simple poder hacer que Raúl y los más altos dirigentes cubanos sepan quienes son los tapadores y corruptos que destruyen la imagen de cuba y los logros ¿Cuál es la forma? Formar un escándalo internacional religioso, esa son las vías, cuando Raúl ve que existe un escándalo que perjudica su agenda de trabajo y planes, pues le pasa de seguro la cuenta a masantín el torero.
Para finalizar.
Este es un consejo muy sano a los corruptos y tapadores en cuba de delitos y abusos de poder, pues si algo le pasa o pasa algo malo con algún cristiano por allá en cuba y comienza un fenómeno que le llamen los Cristianos de Blanco, la cosa es diferente, en este caso no existe pretexto de que son mercenarios, serían los siervos de Dios perseguidos, vejados y violados sus derechos religiosos, ¿Cree usted corrupto que los gobernantes en el mundo permitirían eso? Incluso hasta los aliaos de Cuba, Nooo, eso es una muy mala imagen para ellos con sus pastores, esos gobernantes no son Chávez, que reza y honra a Dios moliéndole los huesos a las ovejas de su rebaño.
Piénselo bien corruptos, no baya a ser que estén tapando asuntos que los pueda perjudicar con el presidente de Cuba, recuerden que a los traidores de la revolución y aquellos que pongan en peligro los logros de la misma y falten a la confianza del partido, el pueblo y su máximo líder, en Cuba puede terminar según la gravedad del asunto, expulsado, preso, o fusilado. "Toco madera" Tun, Tun.
Sigo repitiendo la frase de la Comay de puerto Rico. He mencionado corrupto Yooooo.
Amen.Nota de Cuba Nuestra: Respetamos la ortografía del autor
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