EL IMPERIO Y LA ISLA INDEPENDIENTE 2 y 3

Segunda parte: La aplicación de la Enmienda Platt y el establecimiento de la Base Naval en Guantánamo como marco de las relaciones entre Cuba y Estados Unidos.

A finales de 1901 se inició el proceso electoral en el cual la candidatura de Tomás Estrada Palma alcanzó el triunfo sin oposición y contando con el apoyo del 47 por ciento del electorado. El Presidente electo en ausencia partió de Estados Unidos rumbo a Cuba el 17 de abril de 1902 y arribó tres días después. El cambio de poderes tuvo lugar el 20 de mayo de 1902 a las 12 del día. Ya se había constituido el Congreso de la República. Leonard Wood embarcó hacia su país en el acorazado "Brooklyn".http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu/secciones/reflexiones/esp-043.html,http://www.cubamigos.be/fr/node/541,

Castro addresses ‘future generations’

AFP - Cuba’s two leading newspapers have published an article attributed to President Fidel Castro on the history of US-Cuban relations, which he dedicates to "future generations" of Cubans.
Castro, who turned 81 on Monday, has not been seen in public since undergoing intestinal surgery in July 2006. Cuban officials have said they treat his illness and recovery as a state secret.
"Cuban history over the past 140 years has been the struggle to preserve national identity and independence," wrote Castro.
The United States, meanwhile, which Castro refers to as "the empire," has a long history of scheming to take over the island.
Castro also writes about what he says are "the horrendous methods that (the United States) uses today to maintain its domination over the world."
The article, published in the government dailies Granma and Juventud Rebelde, was announced earlier as part of a series that will run to the end of the week.
These "reflections," as Castro called his observations, "are especially aimed at the new generations" of Cubans so that they know "about very important and decisive events in the destiny of our country."
Castro turned 81 on Monday, with discreet celebrations held on the island amid rumours that his recovery may have stalled.
Castro "temporarily" ceded the reins of government to his brother and defence chief Raul Castro last year.
Fidel Castro has since appeared in photographs and eight videos, the latest broadcast in June.

Tropical Storm Dean Set to Be First Atlantic Season Hurricane
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/,Continúa intensificándose Tormenta Tropical Dean
El Instituto de Meteorología informa que la Tormenta Tropical Dean ha continuado ganando en organización e intensidad en aguas del Atlántico y ahora sus vientos máximos sostenidos son de 100 kilómetros por hora con rachas superiores, y su presión central ha descendido a 994 hPa.
Dean se mueve con un rumbo próximo al Oeste noroeste, a 35 kilómetros por hora. A las seis de la tarde su región central se estimó en los 13.2 grados de latitud Norte y los 48.2 grados de longitud Oeste, posición que la sitúa a unos 1225 kilómetros al Este de Barbados, grupo sur de las Antillas Menores.
Meteorología pronostica que en las próximas 24 horas, la tormenta tropical Dean continuará ganando en organización e intensidad, para convertirse en huracán durante la noche de este miércoles o la madrugada del jueves, y se desplazará con un rumbo entre el Oeste y el Oeste noroeste.
El próximo Aviso sobre la Tormenta Tropical Dean se emitirá a las seis de la tarde del jueves.


Venezuela's Chavez proposes to remove presidential term limits

AFp - CARACAS: President Hugo Chavez proposed on Wednesday changes to Venezuela's constitution to remove presidential term limits and consolidate his vision of "21st Century Socialism."
Addressing a National Assembly stacked with loyalists, the Leftist leader offered a reform plan that would also end autonomy of the country's central bank and put its international reserves under the president's control.
In addition to an end to term limits, Chavez, who was re-elected to a second six-year term in December, called for the president's time in office to be extended to seven years. His current term ends in 2013.
The opposition has denounced his proposal as a "fascist" plan modeled after Cuba, which is a close ally of Chavez. The president rejected the opposition's demand to create a constitutional assembly to debate amendments.
Chavez defended his constitutional reform plan, denying that he was seeking to "enthrone" himself and saying a president's re-election was ultimately in the hands of Venezuelan voters.
"They accuse me of planning to remain in power eternally or to concentrate power," he said. "We know that is not the case."
Chavez wants to amend 33 of the constitution's 350 articles, which were already rewritten under him in 1999, to make changes in the political, military, economic and social spheres.
Chavez told lawmakers his reform seeks to "complete the death of the old, hegemonic oligarchy and the old, exploitative capitalist system, and complete the birth of the new state."
His proposals will likely sail through the single-chamber legislature, as all 167 seats are held by Chavez loyalists thanks to an election boycott by the opposition in 2005. The reform would then have to be ratified in a referendum.
Chavez, whose country is the world's fifth largest oil exporter, wants to create a new political and economic order that he has also dubbed "oil socialism."
In recent years, he has been a leading voice against the United States, which has accused him of being a destabilizing force in Latin American, and he has strengthened ties with US nemeses such as Cuba and Iran.
Using sweeping powers to legislate by decree that the Assembly granted him in January, Chavez has nationalized key parts of the oil, radio and television and electricity industries.
His proposed constitutional changes include ending the central bank's autonomy.
"The international reserves of the republic will be handled by the central bank, under the direction of the president who is the administrator of the public finances," Chavez said.
The new constitution would also create "federal cities" and federal territories within the country's states, and allow the president to declare "special military regions."
Hundreds of Chavez supporters clad in red shirts and hats gathered outside the National Assembly to back the president.
According to a poll by the firm Hinterlaces out Wednesday, Chavez's popularity was at 45 percent, up 10 points from May, when it slipped after he refused to renew the broadcast license of RCTV television, a popular channel and a leading opposition voice.
His popularity, however, was not yet back to the 54 percent support he enjoyed before his December re-election, according to Hinterlaces.
The poll also showed that 54 percent of the public opposed his constitutional reform plans, compared to 63 percent in July, Hinterlaces said.
A former paratrooper colonel who launched a failed military coup in 1992, Chavez overcame a brief coup attempt in April 2002.
He was first elected to a five-year term in 1998 under a constitution that barred a president from serving consecutive terms. It was rewritten in 1999 to extend terms to six years and allow presidents to serve twice in a row.
Chavez won a new election held in 2000 and the leftist leader was re-elected to his second six-year term in December.
Chávez explica en el Parlamento la propuesta de reforma constitucional http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=54980,

La revolución que se nos ha venido encima silenciosamente

Hugo Chávez presenta a Gramsci ante cientos de miles de personas; un artículo de Antonio Maira(1)http://www.insurgente.org/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=10721,




On U.S.-Cuba Relations,

Chris Dodd Demonstrates What an "Adult Foreign Policy" Would Look Likehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-clemons/on-uscuba-relations-c_b_60641.html,

Here are today's headlines from the Kansas congressional delegation:

Rep. Jerry Moran (R) (The Hill) Dem leaders struggle for votes to change Cuba policies: When Democrats gained control of Congress, hopes were high that Cuba travel and trade restrictions would be eased by a party historically opposed to a so-called hard line on Cuba. So far, however, the Democratic-led House has been tougher on Cuba than when Republicans controlled the lower chamber. Sixty-six House Democrats - including 20 members of the freshman class - recently voted against a farm bill amendment offered by Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) that would have made it easier for U.S. farmers to sell agricultural goods to Cuba. ... Both supporters and opponents of the Cuba embargo said they were surprised by the vote. "If we can't prevail on an issue of agriculture trade, it says it will be very difficult to prevail on other issues," said Rep. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), a longtime supporter of trading with Cuba.http://thehill.com/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=68024,

US Hiding the Truth about The Five

(Prensa Latina) National Assembly of the People's Power of Cuba President Ricardo Alarcon said on Wednesday that Washington is hiding the truth about the trial against The Five Cuban anti-terrorist fighters held in US prisons.
Speaking at the presentation of a magazine of the Organization of Solidarity with the Peoples of Africa, Asia and Latin America (OSPAAAL) devoted to these men, Alarcon added that the White House commitment to Florida-based terrorist groups has been proven.
Although we have managed to partly break the wall of silence regarding irregularities surrounding the case, we are far from fully revealing what really happened.
He said the recent development of another two judicial proceedings is evidence of the US government's political manipulation and hatred of Cuba.
Cuba's top legislator called on the public not to expect anything from the hearing to be held August 20, when the defense and the prosecution teams will have only 30 minutes each to speak and no ruling on the case will be made by the panel of judges.
Other evidence of the official US protection of terrorism that he mentioned is the decision to prevent the five Cubans, once they serve their sentences, including two for life, from even going near the places where these terrorist groups operate.
One day the truth will have to come to light. Meanwhile, we must carry on with the fight for it to be known, he concluded.


Travelocity fined for Cuba trips
DAN CATERINICCHIA Associated Press
WASHINGTON — In a first for an online travel company, Travelocity.com has been fined by federal regulators for booking trips between the U.S. and Cuba in violation of a 45-year-old embargo.
Travelocity.com earlier this month paid $182,750 to settle a complaint brought by the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which said the company violated the prohibition nearly 1,500 times between January 1998 and April 2004.
Treasury's complaint said Travelocity “provided travel-related services in which Cuba or Cuban nationals had an interest by arranging air travel and hotel reservations to, from, with or within Cuba without an OFAC license.”
Dozens of travel service providers have been granted licenses by OFAC for approved trips to and from Cuba for everything from academic, religious and journalistic activities to humanitarian projects and visits to immediate family.Travelocity spokesman Joel Frey on Wednesday said the company had not applied for a license and did not intend to.
“The trips to Cuba were unintentionally permitted to be booked by consumers online because of some technical failures several years ago and it's just now being finally settled with OFAC,” Frey wrote in an e-mail. “In no way did the company intend to allow bookings for trips to Cuba and the company has fully co-operated with OFAC and implemented corrective measures.”
Treasury spokeswoman Molly Millerwise said any individual or business that violates the Cuban sanctions can face civil or criminal penalties. She declined to say if the Travelocity investigation had been closed.
Travelocity did not voluntarily disclose the alleged violations, but did co-operate with OFAC's investigation, according to the agency's enforcement action.
Southlake, Texas-based Travelocity is owned by Sabre Holdings Corp., which was taken private earlier this year by affiliates of Silver Lake Partners and Texas Pacific Group. Its major competitors include Orbitz Worldwide Inc. and Expedia Inc., which owns Expedia.com, hotels.com and Hotwire.
None of those companies are included on OFAC's approved list of travel service providers for Cuba.
A Mexican subsidiary of American Express Travel Related Services Co. Inc. also agreed to pay $16,625 to settle OFAC allegations of Cuba-related violations. In December 2002 and October 2003, the Mexican company made sales of group travel packages to Cuba, according to the government.
American Express voluntarily disclosed the information to OFAC, according to the enforcement action.
Elsewhere, OFAC fined one unnamed individual $999.45 and another person $510 for buying Cuban cigars for sale on the Internet.

Empresas de EE.UU. sufren castigo por leyes de bloqueo a Cuba WASHINGTON, Las manos largas del bloqueo contra Cuba se sumergen en busca de víctimas en la red de internet, en cuyo hiberespacio el Departamento del Tesoro encontró culpable a una conocida agencia de viajes norteamericana, a la que castigó por violar las sanciones de la Ley Helms-Burton.
El gobierno de Estados Unidos multó con casi 183 000 dólares a Travelocity, agencia de viajes por internet, cuyo delito fue reservar vuelos hacia Cuba, confirmó el Departamento del Tesoro, que dispone de todo un ejército y coordina a más de un centenar de agencias y dependencias para perseguir cualquier transacción o vínculo con la Isla.
Travelocity, que tiene su sede en Texas, es propiedad de Sabre Holdings TSG.N y es un popular sitio de viajes en Estados Unidos.
American Express Travel Related Services también debió afrontar una multa de 16 625 dólares después de que una subsidiaria en México vendió paquetes turísticos a Cuba, un destino popular en el Caribe, dijo OFAC en su comunicado.
Y aunque la administración Bush ha recrudecido la aplicación del cerco a la mayor de las Antillas, con especial ensañamiento contra su industria turística, el bloqueo se extiende incluso a los medicamentos y tecnologías de la salud, lo que constituye un ensañamiento criminal contra el pueblo de la Isla.

Incluyen hospital cubano en proyecto ecológico de la ONU

La decisión se corresponde con la consecuente actuación de Cuba para reducir las sustancias agotadoras del ozonoCorreo: digital@jrebelde.cip.cuEl Programa de Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD) incluyó al hospital general Guillermo Domínguez, de la provincia de Las Tunas, en un proyecto dirigido a reducir las sustancias agotadoras del ozono (SAO).
Tal decisión se corresponde con la consecuente actuación de Cuba en el cumplimiento del Protocolo de Montreal y otras normas internacionales, referidas a la necesidad de disminuir la importación y consumo de clorofluorocarbonos (CFC), los cuales dañan la atmósfera y toda forma de vida terrestre.
La colaboración consiste en sustituir las máquinas centrífugas que enfrían el agua de los sistemas centrales de aire acondicionado por tecnologías más ecológicas, que no utilizan gases portadores de CFC, ahorran electricidad, y de esa forma ayudan a quemar menos combustibles fósiles.
Junto al PNUD, en el proyecto participan la Agencia de Medio Ambiente de Canadá y varias firmas de ese país, incluida Smart, productora de equipos de refrigeración, mientras la Oficina Técnica del Ozono actúa por la parte cubana.
Cándido Medina, especialista de Medio Ambiente en Las Tunas, dijo a la AIN que la provincia tiene una sólida labor en la protección de la ozonosfera, y citó como ejemplo el sistemático programa ejecutado desde los años 90 para eliminar el uso del nocivo gas freón en los refrigeradores.
Las sustancias agotadoras del ozono son causantes de que los rayos ultravioletas del sol pasen directamente a la biosfera y puedan ocasionar cáncer de piel y otras graves dolencias a los seres humanos, además de alterar los ciclos vegetativos y mermar el rendimiento de las plantas.
Ubicado en Puerto Padre, a unos 700 kilómetros al este de La Habana, el hospital general Guillermo Domínguez es la primera institución de Las Tunas incluida en el referido proyecto ecológico de la Organización de Naciones Unidas.



PRESS RELEASE

The 2007 Icograda Foundation lecture will be delivered by Cuba's Dr. Eusebio Leal Spengler. An internationally recognised figure, Dr. Leal has been invited to share his personal experiences as La Habana's City Historian and UN Goodwill Ambassador, with a particular focus on the preservation of Habana Vieja and its contribution to protecting cultural diversity. The lecture will take place on 25 October 2007, the first evening of the Icograda General Assembly 22, at Cuba's Museo Nacional Bellas Artes. http://www.icograda.org/web/news-display.shtml?pfl=www/news-single-recent.param&op2.rf1=667,

Una herramienta de la enciclopedia 'online' descubre que la CIA cambió la biografía de Ahmadineyad y el Vaticano la de Gerry Adams'Actos vandálicos' de la CIA en Wikipedia ( de El Pais)http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=54982,