REFLEXIONES DEL COMANDANTE EN JEFE El robo de cerebros Algo mencioné sobre el tema y cité un ejemplo en mi última reflexión, "Bush, la Salud y la Educación", que dediqué a los niños. En esta, dirigida a la primera graduación de la Universidad de las Ciencias Informáticas (UCI), abordaré un poco más a fondo el espinoso asunto (Versiones en: Español, Inglés, Portugués, Francés, Italiano, Alemán, Arabe, Ruso)http://www.granma.cubasi.cu/secciones/reflexiones/esp-033.html,
THE BRAIN DRAINhttp://www.cubamigos.be/nl/node/493,
Cuba says U.S. issuing visas too slowly
By WILL WEISSERT Associated Press Writer © 2007 The Associated Press
HAVANA — Cuba chided the United States on Tuesday for being too slow to issue visas to Cubans wanting off the island.
The Foreign Relations Ministry indicated the dearth of visas for Cubans could be part of what it sees as President Bush's efforts to destabilize the communist government and warned it could lead to a spike in illegal immigration.
Under a 1994 agreement, Washington uses a lottery system to grant up to 20,000 Cubans permission to emigrate to America each fiscal year ending Sept. 30. But Cuba's government said Tuesday that through June 30, only 10,724 Cubans had been granted visas — just 53.6 percent of the annual minimum.
"It is evident a considerable delay exists," the ministry said in a statement published on the front page of the Communist Party newspaper Granma.
"Why would (the United States) want to make the migratory situation worse between both countries?" the statement asked, accusing Bush of wishing Fidel Castro would die and being desperate to "force the 'changes' he wants to impose on Cuba, even when they give rise to a situation of instability that will surely also affect the United States."
Castro, who turns 81 next month, has not been seen in public since announcing that emergency intestinal surgery was forcing him to step down in favor of a provisional government headed by his younger brother Raul. Life on the island, however, has remained little-changed.
The U.S. and Cuba do not have formal diplomatic relations but maintain interests sections — instead of embassies — in each other's territories. A spokesman at the U.S. Interests Section in Havana could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
It is not unusual for U.S. authorities to wait until close to the end of the fiscal year to issue the minimum number of Cuban visas, however, and the State Department has in the past accused Cuba of manipulating the process.
Some Cubans who get U.S. visas are denied exit permits by Havana, which arbitrarily deems them "defectors," the State Department says. Cuba also regularly refuses to allow doctors and other medical professionals to leave even if they have visas.
The U.S. further claims that Cuba collects an estimated $12 million per year in fees for exit permits and medical examinations that some U.S.-bound migrants have difficulty paying.
A U.S. policy that grew out of the 1994 immigration agreement is the so-called "wet foot/dry foot," where by Cubans who are interdicted at sea are generally returned to their homeland, while those who reach U.S. shores are usually allowed to stay.
Cuba says the policy encourages its citizens to seek risky and illegally ways to emigrate. Thousands of Cubans attempt to leave the island on makeshift rafts or people smugglers' speedboats bound for America every year.
The Foreign Ministry went on to "insist" that the United States issue at least 20,000 visas before the deadline, scrap "wet-foot/dry foot" and "cease the manipulation of this topic for political ends." It also demanded that Washington, "end the incessant subversive propaganda and psychological war against Cuba."
Reflexiones sobre los Panamericanos
¿Usted no ve los Panamericanos? -me parece escuchar a muchos cubanos. ¡Claro que sí!, respondo, apenas saco la vista del televisor. A veces olvido la hora de algún alimento o alguna pastilla. Después protesto porque nadie fuera capaz de sacarme de un inning con juego apretado y Mayeta al bate, con dos en base y un out.
Junto a ustedes he vivido las vicisitudes de tales partidos. Puede ser un juego de voleibol femenino entre Cuba y Estados Unidos, en que las nuestras lo hicieron perfecto. ¡Qué asombrosos nuestros equipos de balonmano femenino y masculino! ¡Qué velocidad, qué fuerza!
No me pierdo un evento de los que salen por televisión: pesas, taekwando, remo, ciclismo, voleibol de playa. He mirado las competencias individuales de gimnasia artística femenina. Me doy cuenta de que ese bello deporte ha sido elevado de la categoría infantil a la categoría olímpica. Las atletas más ganadoras son niñas; nadie con más edad y peso les puede ganar.
Mañana viene el día fatídico en muchos deportes: el inicio de las disputas entre importantes equipos colectivos. Téngase en cuenta que esto lo escribo el martes por la tarde. Acabamos de ganar la tercera medalla de oro del día con un atleta lesionado. Fue heroico. Se está desarrollando ahora el último juego de clasificación en balonmano femenino. Las brasileras están duras de roer. Miro el juego, y escribo algunas líneas.
Al fin gana el equipo de Brasil, 32 a 28, a las 4 y 25 p.m. Pasarán ambos equipos a las finales: se discutirá el oro, la plata o el bronce.
Acabo de ver a las 4 y 50 p.m. la transmisión de las dos medallas de oro en remo. Veo una parte de las competencias individuales de la gimnasia, rama masculina; en general los atletas son muy jóvenes, pero no niños.
A esta hora, 5 y 45 de la tarde no tengo nada más que añadir.
Fidel Castro Ruz
17 de julio del 2007 http://www.granma.cubasi.cu/secciones/reflexiones/esp-032.html,
ALBA Bank Defines Chronogram for Constitution
Francisco G. Navarro
Caracas, (Prensa Latina) The work group in charge of financial matters at the first meeting of the ALBA bank technical commissions decided on the start-up schedule of that integration Project, said Eudomar Tovar, group coordinator.
The Venezuelan financial specialist declared to Prensa Latina that the working calendar announces a meeting next July 30 to discuss the bases of the constitution of the Bank of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA).
That venue will promote other meetings in order to produce a final document in 30 working days, pointed Tovar, who recently held the post of Vice Minister of Finance of this South American country.
The document will be submitted to the consideration of the highest authorities of Bolivia, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, in order to introduce the necessary observations and validate the charter, he said.
Once approved at this level, the constitutional charter will go on to the construction of the banking entity, explained the expert.
In principle, the four nations that are currently members of the Project to unite and integrate Latin American peoples will also be members of the ALBA Bank, while leaving the door open to new applications, he said.
As for the method used to form the Bank, Tovar indicated it will be readied in the next meetings, when specialists began to consider what will be the creational charter and further functions of the institution.
The mission of the ALBA Bank, while patronizer of the 12 "grand-national" projects of the integration scheme will be to impact on poverty and eliminate exclusion in the region, said Tovar.
US Govt tries to Hinder Solidarity with Cuba
Washington (Prensa Latina) Agents of Homeland Security of the US detained today members of the 18th Solidarity Caravan to Cuba on the border with Mexico.
Federal officers checked the vehicles of the caravan members and confiscated several computers, part of the shipment of donations destined to the Cuban people.
In the face of the action of US authorities, about 150 US citizens and civil activists of half a dozen countries reaffirmed their will to challenge the US economic blockade against the Caribbean nation.
This is a battle of David against Goliath and Goliath knows he is losing, commented reverend Luis Barrios, member of the religious foundation Pastors for Peace, group that described the siege on Cuba as immoral.
They try to intimidate us with that completely symbolic confiscation, but we all know that the power of reason will prevail, added Barrios in a press release to which Prensa Latina had access.
The mission of Pastors for Peace is formed by a dozen vehicles, about 150 activists and around 90 tons of donations, mainly medical articles which they expect to carry to the island by the end of this week.
Two weeks ago, the administration of president George W. Bush also detained in the Canadian border a lot of medical help for Cuba collected in the cities of Vancouver, Toronto and Winnipeg.
We are going to protest the decision of Homeland Security and they will have to revise their resolution to strip us from our computers, stressed Reverend Lucius Walker, Executive Director of Pastors for Peace and leader of a wide-reaching movement of solidarity with Cuba.
Pastors for Peace is a society attached to the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO) which has worked for social justice in the United States since 1967 and supports the Cuban people since 1990.
US Filching Migratory Accord, Cuba
(Prensa Latina) Cuba accused United States Tuesday of obstructing emigration between both countries and encouraging illegal exits, and demanded an end to manipulation of this issue.
A note from the Cuban Foreign Affairs Ministry published by "Granma" newspaper today states that less than three months before the end of the fiscal year, the US government has only delivered 53 percent of an agreement of 20,000 visas.
"If this trend remains, the United States will be breaking the 1994 Migratory Accord," states the text.
The document adds that would be a gift to please the bitterest enemies: the Cuban-American Mafia and its representatives in the US Congress.
The Cuban Ministry warned that to fail the accord will fuel illegal emigration, historically encouraged by the Cuban Adjustment Act and the "dry feet-wet feet" policy.
That rule dictates that any Cuban who arrives on US soil receives residence immediately, while those intercepted at open sea are returned to the country.
In the same declaration, Cuba urges the US Interest Section in Havana to grant rigorously a minimum of 20,000 visas per year, allowing Cubans emigrate safely.
The note also states that between October 1, 2006 and June 30, 2007, the US legation has granted 10,724 visas, representing 53 percent of the accord.
Estados Unidos culpa a Cuba de no poder cumplir la cuota anual de 20.000 visados para ciudadanos cubanos
Europa Press - (EP/AP) - La Sección de Intereses Estadounidenses en La Habana afirmó el martes en un comunicado que no podrá alcanzar la cifra anual de 20.000 visados para ciudadanos cubanos y criticó que Cuba haya "establecido restricciones inaceptables" a los diplomáticos estadounidenses presentes en Cuba. Según Estados Unidos, "el Gobierno de Cuba ha fracasado a la hora de autorizar los recursos personales y materiales que necesita la Sección de Intereses Estadounidenses para funcionar eficazmente".
Horas antes, el Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores cubano había reprendido a Washington por expedir los visados a un ritmo demasiado lento, sugiriendo que el retraso era un intento deliberado de desestabilizar al Gobierno de la isla.
EEUU acusó a Cuba de denegar los visados al personal de la Sección de Intereses y, de esta manera, no contratar a los 47 empleados necesarios. Además, criticó el bloqueo por parte de Cuba de la importación de material y provisiones.
U.S. says Cuban government interferes with its visa work
Winston-Salem JournalHAVANA — The United States said yesterday that it will not be able to meet the quota of 20,000 visas that it distributes to Cubans each year, complaining that Havana has “placed unreasonable constraints” on American diplomats on the island.
The announcement came several hours after Cuba’s Foreign Ministry chided Washington for issuing visas too slowly.
“The government of Cuba has failed to authorize the necessary personnel and materials the U.S. Interests Section needs to function effectively,” the U.S. Interests Section in Havana said in a statement e-mailed to journalists. It accused Cuba of denying visas to Interest Section personnel, failing to approve hirings to fill 47 staff vacancies and blocking supplies.
Castro among the family jewels
Basil Ince http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_opinion?id=161177494,
Bush waives Cuba lawsuits another six months
WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President George W. Bush has extended for another six months a measure banning lawsuits by Americans whose property in Cuba was taken by Fidel Castro's government, the White House said yesterday.
Bush told key lawmakers in a letter dated Monday that his action "is necessary to the national interests of the United States and will expedite a transition to democracy in Cuba," according to a letter released by the White House.
Under a 1996 law, Americans may sue any individual, investor or business using property seized on or after January 1, 1959, though it also gives US presidents the power to block all such lawsuits for six-month periods.
Parlatino debate en Cuba sobre problemas de los pueblos indígenas
(EFE).- El Parlamento Latinoamericano (Parlatino) comenzó hoy en La Habana la VI reunión de su Comisión de Pueblos Indígenas y Etnias con el propósito de impulsar normas que solucionen algunos de los problemas de las poblaciones indígenas de la región.El presidente de la Comisión de Pueblos Indígenas y Etnias del Parlatino, Ramsés Torres, indicó a la agencia estatal Prensa Latina que la reunión, a la que no fue convocada la prensa internacional, trata de crear conciencia sobre la necesidad de posibilitar el desarrollo de estas sociedades originarias.
El diputado ecuatoriano señaló que existe el compromiso del organismo parlamentario de trasladar sus conclusiones a los países de la región para su aplicación y posibilitar reformas constitucionales.
En la primera jornada los diputados de los ocho países que participan en la reunión debatieron cuestiones relacionadas con los derechos y la legislación relacionada con los pueblos originarios, en lo referente a la seguridad territorial y promoción de políticas públicas dirigidas a estas poblaciones.
Torres subrayó la importancia de esta reunión, que durará hasta mañana, y su trabajo de análisis y proposición de acciones que posibiliten el acceso a los servicios básicos de todos los grupos de población.
Por su parte, el presidente del Parlamento cubano, Ricardo Alarcón, llamó a crear sociedades "incluyentes" en América Latina en las que se puedan integrar los pueblos originarios.
"Para eso hay que hacer muchos cambios, trabajar mucho y aportar desde el punto de vista teórico y normativo", dijo Alarcón, al destacar la importancia que tiene el Parlatino en la consecución de estos objetivos.
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Giuliani in Cuban-American enclave, seeks Latin American focusBy LAURA WIDES-MUNOZ AP Hispanic Affairs Writer http://cgi.jacksonville.com/cgi-bin/printit_ap.cgi?story=ZZNOSTORYZZ,
Una experiencia alucinanteCurso de verano FAES 2007: el nacional-socialismo del siglo XXIhttp://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=53757,
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