The New York Times covers the Cuban Five!

The New York Times has finally let its readers know about the Cuban Five! A major article in Sunday's paper covers almost all aspects of the case - the original trial, the history of the appeals process including the upcoming August 20 appeals hearing, their status as heroes in Cuba, and the denial of visas to Olga Salanueva and Adriana Pérez (the wives of René González and Gerardo Hernández, respectively). It discusses how the release of Posada Carriles has strengthened the contention of the defendants that the U.S. is hypocritical when it talks about its so-called "war on terror," and more. It quotes from the recent BBC interview with Gerardo Hernández, illustrating how every success in breaking the media silence can lead to further breakthroughs. The New York Times is, as most of you know, considered a "national newspaper." Not only does it reach readers across the United States (and the world) directly, but hundreds of newspapers across the country routinely reprint its articles on national and international issues such as this one. As a result, millions of new people are going to learn about the case of the Cuban Five from this important article.

Fate of 5 in U.S. Prisons Weighs on Cubans’ Minds By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/05/world/americas/05cuba.html?_r=2&oref=login&ref=world&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin,

¡Artículo en el New York Times sobre los Cinco!
¡The New York Times al fin ha informado a sus lectores sobre los Cinco Cubanos! Un artículo importante y bastante largo de 1.494 palabras salió hoy, en la edición del domingo. El artículo cubre casi todos los aspectos del caso-el juicio original, la historia del proceso de apelaciones, incluyendo la vista oral que se llevará a cabo el 20 de agosto. También habla del estatus de los Cinco como héroes en Cuba y la negación de las visas a Olga Salanueva y a Adriana Pérez (las esposas de René González y Gerardo Hernández, respetivamente). Menciona que el puesto en libertad de Posada Carriles ha fortalecido el argumento de muchos que dicen que los Estados Unidos asume una posición hipócrita cuando habla sobre su supuesta "guerra contra el terrorismo", y más. El artículo, escrito por James C. McKinley Jr., cita la entrevista recién hecho por la BBC a Gerardo Hernández. Esto enseña que cada éxito que rompe el silencio mediático puede conducir a otros avances en la prensa. The New York Times es conocido como el "periódico nacional". No sólo tiene un alcance a sus lectores através de los Estados Unidos (y mundialmente) directamente, sino que también cientos de diarios por todo los Estados Unidos habitualmente publica los artículos de The New York Times en sus propias páginas. Entonces, millones de personas por la primera vez aprenderán del caso de los Cinco a partir de este importante artículo.

La mala conducta de la FiscalíaPor: Dr. Rodolfo Dávaloshttp://www.juventudrebelde.cu/opinion/2007-08-05/la-mala-conducta-de-la-fiscalia/,


La edad de la chancleta (I)
Diversos factores han provocado en estos años de crisis, indisciplina social y pérdida de valores básicos para la convivencia
Por: Margarita Barrio y Dora Pérezhttp://www.juventudrebelde.cu/cuba/2007-08-05/la-edad-de-la-chancleta-i/,

"Los negocios son los negocios"
Las exportaciones de Alemania a Cuba se disparan en sólo dos años al margen de distancias ideológicas JOSÉ COMAS - Berlín - El Pais
Entre dos de los Gobiernos más longevos del mundo, el del alemán Estado Libre de Baviera y el de la dictadura de Cuba, se han incrementado en los últimos años las relaciones comerciales.
No parece que los fuertes antagonismos ideológicos sean un obstáculo para los negocios entre los derechistas de la Unión Socialcristiana (CSU), que gobiernan desde hace 50 años en Baviera, y el régimen castrista, que dura ya 48. Así lo formuló recientemente en Múnich, y de forma tajante, el viceministro de Comercio Exterior cubano, Eduardo Escandell, en unas jornadas dedicadas a Cuba por la Cámara de Industria y Comercio.
Sostuvo Escandell que no hay ningún trasfondo político en las relaciones económicas con Baviera: "Es un asunto de negocios, y los negocios son los negocios". Un portavoz del Ministerio de Economía de Baviera interrogado por este periódico respondió a la pregunta de si las diferencias ideológicas suponían un obstáculo para el comercio: "Las diferentes opiniones sobre el tema de los derechos humanos, por ejemplo, siempre se tratan. Sobre el respeto a los derechos humanos para nosotros tiene validez el mismo principio que aplicábamos a los países del Este: cambio a través de la aproximación. Después de Fidel Castro tiene que haber en Cuba una transición libre de tensiones. También en esto pueden servir los estrechos contactos económicos con Baviera".
Las cifras del volumen de comercio son insignificantes para Baviera, pero tienen importancia para Cuba. Según el Ministerio de Economía bávaro, la suma de exportaciones (37,5 millones de euros) y la de las importaciones (9 millones) supuso un total de 46,5 millones de euros en 2006. Sobre un volumen de 257.000 millones de euros, esto representa para Baviera sólo un 0,02% del total. Las cifras de toda Alemania, que facilita la Oficina Federal de Estadística, resultan más significativas. Las exportaciones alemanas a Cuba crecieron desde 101 millones de euros en 2003 a 113 en 2004, a 259 (un incremento del 259%) en 2005, y a 412 el año pasado. Por el contrario, las exportaciones de Cuba a Alemania apenas aumentan e incluso disminuyen en el mismo periodo: 28 millones en 2003, 36 en 2004, 37 en 2005 y 34 el año pasado.
Lo que llama la atención en los últimos tiempos del comercio con Baviera es la importación de algunos de los productos emblemáticos de la industria alemana. La prensa alemana informó de la compra de 183 automóviles de la marca BMW para los embajadores de Cuba. En la Embajada en Berlín declararon a este periódico: "Son coches para las embajadas". BMW espera venderles este año otros 60 automóviles. No quisieron confirmar en la Embajada berlinesa la información aparecida en Alemania de que Raúl Castro ya utiliza un BMW muy moderno, comparado con el modelo antiguo de Mercedes que usaba su hermano Fidel. Otros ejemplos: las compras a Man, no de camiones, sino de generadores de electricidad y a IHK de antenas.
Consultados por este periódico los portavoces de las empresas bávaras que comercian con los cubanos, todos huyen como el demonio del agua bendita a la pregunta de si no temen sanciones de Estados Unidos como consecuencia de la Ley Helms-Burton, que prohíbe el comercio con la dictadura castrista. El Ministerio de Economía de Baviera tiene una interpretación particular: "Las empresas no norteamericanas tienen que estar atentas en Cuba para no realizar inversiones sobre terrenos expropiados. El comercio normal no se ve afectado por la ley". Alemania tiene un diplomático destinado en México que se encarga del comercio con la isla.
En lo que sí coinciden los empresarios bávaros exportadores, el Ministerio de Economía y la Cámara de Industria y Comercio, es en atestiguar que Cuba es un socio comercial fiable que paga con puntualidad.


CUBANOS FABRICAN CONDÓN PARA NEUTRALIZAR MEDIDA DEL BLOQUEO QUE LE APLICA EEUU
POR CORY LÓPEZ (WORLD DATA SERVICE).- Tras una prohibición expresa del Departamento del Tesoro de Estados Unidos contra envíos a Cuba de condones por parte de una organización no gubernamental norteamericana, los cubanos diseñaron y comenzaron a distribuir un producto de este tipo, cuya marca es Vigor y el cual ha tenido buena acogida en el mercado de la provincia occidental de Matanzas, donde ya está disponible. El periódico Juventud Rebelde anunció hoy que la nueva marca fue diseñada por especialistas en marketing y publicidad cubanos y circula desde este viernes en la ciudad de Matanzas, "donde su imagen y colorido ha tenido buena aceptación desde su presentación en el Proyecto Sombrilla, en la Playa El Tenis de aquí". El comentario expuso que "las personas sexualmente activas se preocuparon en diciembre pasado por la escasez del condón marca VIVES, el cual desapareció definitivamente de nuestro país, luego que el Departamento del Tesoro de Estados Unidos prohibiera a la ONG norteamericana Population Services International (PSI) que continuara con sus proyectos de colaboración con el Centro Nacional de Prevención del SIDA, del Ministerio de Salud Pública de Cuba y ONUSIDA". "La prohibición ocurrió pese a que dichos proyectos estaban encaminados a empeños tan humanos como el mercadeo de condones en la Isla, y a desarrollar las campañas de promoción y divulgación para la prevención del VIH", agregó. El rotativo explicó que ante esta situación "se llevaron a cabo estudios con grupos focales para validar una marca cubana, para lo que se tuvo en cuenta la aceptación de los grupos vulnerables: hombres que tienen sexo con otros hombres, jóvenes menores de 18 años, hasta 24 años de edad, y personas mayores de 30 años; es decir, los grupos que mantienen una vida sexual activa". Entonces "una agencia publicitaria del país creó un producto auténticamente cubano, con el que la gente se identificó rápidamente por sus colores y nombre: Vigor". El doctor Luis Enrique Bueno Marrero, coordinador nacional de la línea condón del Centro Nacional de Prevención ITS/VIH/SIDA, dijo al diario que la acción fundamental es hacer asequible el condón a la población en las cabeceras provinciales y la Isla de la Juventud, y en todos los municipios de Ciudad de La Habana. "Se pretende expandir el proyecto a los municipios más necesitados en el país", anunció.


Concluyó VI Cumbre Social Latinoamericana y Caribeña en Caracashttp://www.insurgente.org/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=10646,

Des milliers de Péruviens démunis vont en Bolivie se faire soigner par des médecins cubains

LE MONDE COPACABANA (Bolivie) ENVOYÉE SPÉCIALEUne compresse sur l'oeil gauche, un vieil homme de 80 ans est assis, souriant, dans la rue principale de Copacabana, en Bolivie, à 8 kilomètres de la frontière avec le Pérou. Il attend le bus en direction de Puno, une ville péruvienne à 2 heures 30 de route, de l'autre côté du lac Titicaca. De là, il prendra un autocar pendant huit heures pour rejoindre son Cusco natal. Peu importe la difficulté du voyage, ce Péruvien est enfin soulagé. Il vient d'être opéré d'un pterygium, une forme de conjonctivite aiguë, au centre ophtalmologique situé sur le haut de la ville.Depuis mai 2006, des ophtalmologues cubains de la mission Miracle (mision Milagro) sont installés dans la cité lacustre bolivienne. "Cette mission a été mise en place pour traiter gratuitement les personnes ayant des problèmes de vue", précise Migdalia Fernandez, la directrice du centre de Copacabana constitué de dix-huit médecins et infirmiers cubains.Créée en 2004 par un accord signé entre Cuba et le Venezuela, la mission Miracle s'est étendue au Guatemala, à l'Equateur et à Haïti. Les médecins cubains sont des volontaires envoyés par leur gouvernement, la structure est fournie par le pays d'accueil. "Notre salaire est payé à Cuba et tous nos frais sont pris en charge par l'Etat cubain", souligne Mme Fernandez.La mission Miracle est une des opérations phares de l'Alternative bolivarienne pour l'Amérique latine et les Caraïbes (ALBA), ce projet "d'intégration des peuples d'Amérique latine et des Caraïbes" promu par le président vénézuélien Hugo Chavez, dont font partie le Venezuela, Cuba, la Bolivie et le Nicaragua. C'est avec des initiatives concrètes comme le centre ophtalmologique de Copacabana que l'ALBA tente de contrer, au niveau local, l'influence des Etats-Unis dans la région.Douze centres ophtalmologiques cubains sont aujourd'hui répartis sur le territoire bolivien, offrant consultations et opérations chirurgicales sans frais pour les patients, à qui sont aussi fournis lunettes et médicaments. "Nous n'avons rien eu à payer et on s'est occupé immédiatement de nous", confirme Alberto Yucra, un Péruvien dont la femme s'est fait opérer de la cataracte. A Arequipa, la ville du sud du Pérou où ils habitent, à neuf heures de route de là, l'opération leur aurait coûté 250 euros. Les billets de bus leur revenant à 40 euros pour deux, la réputation d'excellence des médecins cubains a fini par les convaincre de faire le trajet.Selon une étude du Consortium de recherche économique et sociale (CIES) basé à Lima, 65 % des Péruviens n'avaient ni sécurité sociale ni assurance-santé en 2005 et devaient payer, lorsqu'ils étaient malades, consultations, opérations ou médicaments. "Il s'agit plutôt de la population rurale et des travailleurs urbains qui exercent de manière informelle ou dont l'assurance n'est pas payée par l'employeur", précise Margarita Petrera, coordinatrice de l'observatoire de santé du CIES.Plus de 5 700 Péruviens auraient été opérés par les ophtalmologues du centre de Copacabana depuis son ouverture en 2006 et plus de 2 700 depuis le début de l'année. Certains patients, comme Vilma, ont entendu parler de la mission dans les médias. D'autres, comme Alberto, par le bouche-à-oreille. "Il existe aussi au Pérou des coordinateurs et des étudiants en médecine qui font des campagnes de sensibilisation, ajoute Migdalia Fernandez. Ils examinent les patients et si l'opération est nécessaire, ils nous les envoient."Habitant Puno, le Péruvien Marcial Maydana, sympathisant de l'initiative bolivarienne, organise à titre personnel le voyage des malades péruviens qui se font soigner de l'autre côté de la frontière. Il s'est chargé de recruter 130 infirmiers pour qu'ils soient formés par les ophtalmologues cubains et puissent faire passer les examens préliminaires à la population locale.Afin de promouvoir au Pérou, pays non signataire de l'ALBA et dont le gouvernement est peu réceptif aux idées de M. Chavez, des projets humanitaires comme celui de la mission Miracle, ou d'autres, dans le domaine de l'alphabétisation, M. Maydana a créé, en mars, une association qu'il préside avec sept autres sympathisants du mouvement bolivarien, à laquelle il a donné le nom de Maison de l'ALBA.L'initiative, dont le nom même prête à confusion, n'a guère plu aux autorités de Lima. " Il y a une ingérence étrangère dans la politique interne péruvienne qui prétend déstabiliser le pays", déclarait le premier ministre, Jorge del Castillo, le 5 juillet. Faisant référence à la Maison de l'ALBA, il accusait "le mouvement chaviste" d'être à l'origine de cette intrusion : "Il l'a fait auparavant au Nicaragua et prétend, désormais, le faire au Pérou."Face à la polémique, le président vénézuélien, Hugo Chavez, assurait que son gouvernement n'intervenait "dans les affaires internes d'aucun pays, à moins d'avoir une alliance pour le faire" et qu'il n'était pas impliqué dans le projet de Puno, "hautement symbolique pour l'instant".A la fin du mois de juillet, comme pour "contre-attaquer" dans le domaine humanitaire, face aux initiatives "bolivariennes", dans son discours annuel devant le Congrès, le chef de l'Etat péruvien, Alan Garcia, annonçait l'agrandissement de l'hôpital de Puno. Il rappelait aussi qu'une campagne de santé "Voir pour lire" avait été lancée le 19 juin "pour détecter les cataractes et les problèmes de vue des gens qui cherchent à s'alphabétiser". Chrystelle BarbierArticle paru dans l'édition du 05.08.07

ALBA = real fair tradehttp://www.greenleft.org.au/2007/720/37388,

Trade-off in cuba: U.S. could profit, but so could Castro's regime
By BRIAN NEILL - bradenton.com John Parke Wright IV said he believes Cuba and the United States would both have much to gain if the 40-year-old trade embargo were lifted to allow free commerce between the two countries.

A rancher from Naples who has shipped about 1,200 head of cattle to the island country during the past five years, Wright said if the embargo were lifted the United States would see "at least a doubling of business, and more than that from Florida, I'm sure.

"Two-way trade would clearly be good for the farmers in Cuba," Wright said. "It's not fair that they have to buy from us, but they can't sell anything back. I'd love to get the contract to import mangoes for Port Manatee. Cuban coffee for Miami. Cuban cigars. Florida's economy was built on agriculture and tourism. For almost the last 50 years, Cuba was closed down."

The findings of a report recently released by the U.S. International Trade Commission bolster Wright's enthusiasm.

Agricultural exports to Cuba could double - adding up to $350 million in shipped goods a year on top of the $338 million in agricultural goods shipped last year - if the embargo was lifted, the study found.

Additionally, between 554,000 and 1.1 million U.S. residents would travel each year to Cuba if the embargo was lifted, compared to the 170,000 who visited the country last year, according to the study, which was requested by the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance.

While those figures do much to encourage those in the travel industry and American farmers like Wright, the notion of lifting trade restrictions with Cuba angers individuals with roots to the country and an awareness of its repressive regime and dictator Fidel Castro.

"We're staunch anti-communists and we're definitely not for lifting the embargo until (he) dies," said Jose Baserva, owner of Jose's Real Cuban Food on Cortez Road West in Bradenton, whose family fled Cuba in 1959 when he was a year and a half old. "Now would we be in favor of lifting the embargo after he dies? Absolutely because it's going to benefit the Cuban people."

With rumors of Castro's failing health and impending death, many Cuban-Americans say the United States should wait out the dictator before revising policies toward Cuba.

A recent rejection by the U.S. House of an amendment to ease restrictions of agricultural products to Cuba tacked onto a farm bill illustrates the division between those who see potential prosperity for both countries and those who feel Castro's regime will only be extended longer by lifting the embargo.

The amendment, introduced by Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., would have allowed Cuban officials to visit the United States to inspect export facilities and products. It also would have allowed the Cuban government to pay for products after they were shipped rather than before as current law requires.

Rick Viera, a local resident who left Cuba at the age of 9, said freeing trade with Cuba will only allow Castro to stay in power longer.

He doesn't buy the argument advanced by some proponents of free trade with Cuba that the citizens of the communist country would benefit from lifting the embargo. Viera said Castro would intercept farmer dollars and goods from the United States and divert them to his cronies.

"All we're doing (if the embargo is lifted) is extending the life of the regime," Viera said. "The regime is not going to do anything to allow freedom. My thought about the Cuban working man is, yes, he needs all the help we can give him. But it's a totalitarian government."

Kirby Jones, president of the Orlando-based U.S.-Cuba Trade Association, disagrees with Viera.

In the roughly six years since the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act was passed allowing agricultural exports to Cuba, food items from the United States have been sold to the country's 12 million inhabitants, said Jones, a frequent visitor of the country.

"What we're talking about is sales of grains and rice and soy beans and corn and tens of thousands of tons of chicken," Jones said. "It's not putting anything in Castro's pocket. In fact, they are buying these products from U.S. companies. It's a stupid argument and I'm tired of hearing it.

"This trade has been going on for almost six years. Tell me what Castro is going to do with 4,000 metric tons of chicken on a boat? The same people who are criticizing it, their relatives are eating American rice and American chicken."

The International Trade Commission's study also cited Cuba's numerous tourist draws, from its 300 beaches and 3,570 miles of coastline, to its colonial architecture and fishing lakes.

Increased tourism would result in Cuba needing more agricultural goods from the United States to feed an increased number of visitors, the study found.

Currently, the U.S. Department of State allows only journalists, certain students and professionals, and some religious groups to travel to Cuba, which the agency classifies as a totalitarian police state.

But Pieter Hahn, manager of Fantasy Travel in Bradenton, knows there are many champing at the bit to get into the country.

"They're lined up, waiting for Cuba to open," Hahn said. "I know a lot of cruise lines, they're waiting to put them on their list."

To many travelers, Cuba represents the new frontier, Hahn said.

"People are tired of the regular eastern Caribbean Islands - St. Thomas or St. Martin and Cozumel and Grand Cayman. They love those islands, but they're looking for new adventures. It's (Cuba) going to be a South Beach. It's going to be a hot spot destination, there's no question."

Jones is not overly optimistic the embargo will be lifted any time soon, however.

"Certainly, with the Bush Administration, he (the president) will veto any Cuban bill that gets to his desk for the particular reason that he has a very close connection with the politically right (Cuban) community in Miami," Jones said.

Like Jones, Wright doesn't understand what the United States is waiting for.

"I don't see anything that can happen to make it any worse," Wright said. "The Cubans have shown that they want to have open relations. Waiting for Fidel is like waiting for Godot. What are we waiting for? We're not politicians, we just want to be good agricultural friends."
Local experts weigh in on resuming business with Cuba



First Cuban Infant Cochlear Implant

.- Cuba has carried out its first cochlear implant in a child under a year, making it one of the few countries in the world to effect such surgery.
Eight-month-old Dianelys Perez suffered meningitis that endangered her life and left her deaf, and the surgical implant should recover her hearing
A multidisciplinary group of experienced Cuban medical professionals and prominent surgeon Angel Fields, professor of the University of Las Palmas, Spain, conducted the four-hour operation.
The Spanish physician highlighted the Cuban attention and priority, treatment and solution given the curable illness, and the towering professionalism of the surgical team with which he worked.
Israel Perez, the girl's father, emphasized that the operation is the result of the Cuban Revolution's advanced national program of health. (PL)

Universal healthcare By Fatima Bhutto - thenews.com.pk ( pakistan)I spent last Sunday night at a hospital. While leaving our house a family friend slipped on some stairs and hurt her leg. The fall was a simple one, the pain was not. Neither was the ensuing battle to receive treatment for our friend. One of the many ills plaguing our country is the pitiful state of healthcare. Mind you, I'm speaking as someone fortunate enough to afford medical treatment. As you read the next few lines, full of bureaucratic hiccups, imagine the way this story would have gone if I was one of the many millions of Pakistanis who are systematically disenfranchised and left without any medical recourse due to the basic fact that it is financially beyond their reach.

Our first step was to get our friend an ambulance. It was like a game of tag. First we asked a nearby hospital to send one, but they didn't have any on hand. They put the call out on the wire and ordered one. As we sat on the gravel of our driveway we heard the ambulance some fifteen minutes later, but it didn't stop at our gates. It carried on to the hospital that called it. It was another ten minutes before it rolled into our house, after a cursory and completely unnecessary detour. The drivers were, however, remarkable. They piled us in and sped off to a nearby private hospital. I'll save you the drama of the ride, but suffice it to say, I've never been in a faster car in my life.

As we rolled our friend into the hospital on a stretcher she was given a once over by the ER doctor who ordered an X-ray. But first we had to pay. I was given a slip and told to fork the money over (Rs. 850) before any care would be administered. After a receipt had been provided and the X-ray results had come back, the doctor -- again, a very kind man working into the late hours of the night -- told me that our friend would need a cast for her leg injury. He then handed me another sheet of paper. It was a list: three bandages, four cases of plaster of Paris, one painkiller, and one syringe. What a thorough hospital I thought! No, it was another payment request. I was marched off to the pharmacy to buy the material to make the cast and sedate our friend (total Rs.760). When I returned with the goods the cast was put on and I was summoned over to an admin desk. Before discharging our friend I was made to fill out a form with her details and then I was given another payment slip. It was here that I wished I was imagining it all. We were charged for the use of a stretcher for one hour (Rs. 100) and the rental of the X-ray slab which our friend's foot rested upon (Rs. 200).

What would have happened, nice doctors and all, had we been unable to pay? I'll tell you. We would have been marched out of the friendly hospital and put out on the streets. Healthcare in Pakistan is only for those who can afford it – the rich. It is a luxury item, like designer shoes or sunglasses, not a universal right. Government hospitals are in no better state; they are overcrowded, understaffed and under equipped to deal with the masses of people who require their care. There is no free access to medicine and no decent medical awareness programs. Essentially, if you're an ordinary Pakistani faced with a medical emergency, you're as good as dead (I should add here that our ambulance ride set us back another Rs. 500).

If we were Cuban, however, the story would be entirely different. The Cuban government operates a national healthcare system that assumes all financial and administrative responsibility for its people. There are no private clinics, there don't need to be. The country runs close to three hundred hospitals, thirteen medical research centres, 450 twenty four hour clinics, and has approximately 14,000 working family doctors. The Cuban healthcare system, said to have been founded by Che Guevara, a doctor by profession, works -- and brilliantly so -- on one founding principle: no matter what happens in the country, no matter how sadistic the embargo, cuts from the nation's medical budget are categorically forbidden. In 2003 a government official told the World Press organization "You want to know where the billions of dollars we receive from foreign tourists go? You think they go towards uniforms or weaponry? Take a look at our hospitals, clinics and rehabilitation centres and you will find the answer there. Exactly half the currency earned in our country goes towards the health care system and it is our policy to spare no expense for that purpose".

The facts are proof of Cuba's radical healthcare provisions. According to the World Health Organization Cuba provides a doctor for every 170 residents, the second highest doctor to patient ratio in the world, after Italy. There are 350,000 medical personnel serving a population of approximately 11 million. Cuba has the lowest infant mortality rate in the Americas and one of the highest life expectancies in Latin America. It also has one of the lowest HIV rates in the world, partly owing to its stellar educational system (100% literacy, beat that USA). On average, Cubans who do pay for additional medical care -- and the need is negligible -- pay $251 per annum. Compare that with the $5,711 spent per year on health care by the average American whose country's healthcare system rivals Pakistan's in its utter stinginess and lack of human care.

It's not just at home that the Cuban healthcare system serves the people, but abroad too. Cuba has 25,000 of its doctors working outside the country, mostly with the dispossessed across the developing world. Since the nuclear explosion at Chernobyl in 1986, more than 20,000 children from Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine have been treated in Cuba free of cost. They didn't pay a single penny. Nearly 2,000 Cuban doctors are stationed in Africa and thousands more travelled to South East Asia after the Tsunami and to Pakistan after the 2005 earthquake. The Cuban doctors who came to care for the earthquake victims were the last of the international healthcare workers to leave Pakistan and only after they had treated close to two million of our people. At the embarrassing donor conference held in Islamabad one month after the earthquake where the Presi-General and the PM held court like auctioneers demanding millions of dollars for the President's Relief Fund, the Cuban envoy stood up and spoke with the full weight of his country behind him. "We are not a rich country and we cannot afford to offer you millions like those of the Western world can" he said, then held up his hands "but we have these. And we will send you our doctors and we will treat the victims of the earthquake for as long as you need us". And they did.

If you think I'm biased – some of you have hinted that I tend to rave about unpopular countries– then have a look at what some of Cuba's usual detractors have to say. Kofi Annan, traditionally not one to stray from the US line of thought, said in 2000 that "Cuba demonstrates how much nations can do with the resources they have if they focus on the right priorities - health, education, and literacy". The purveyors or economic evil the world over were no less generous in their praise. Former president of the World Bank, James Wolfensohn, commended Cuba in 2001 for having done a "great job" on education and health. Even the head of the US Interests Section in Havana applauded Cubans for their "incredible dedication to healthcare".

The Cuban healthcare system is an example for the world. It is one country where basic human rights are met, where healthcare and education are not for the wealthy alone but for rich and poor alike. Further proof, in my humble opinion, that our rat race to compete with neo liberal economies is a meaningless one. Let's not forget that for all the bridges and fountains and restaurants and inflow of foreign capital that Karachi has seen in the last five years, this is a city in which MidEast Hospital was demolished to make way for a shopping mall.


La política y el deporte

Fidel aborda el tema de los dos boxeadores cubanos que desertaron en Río de Janeiro y que fueron detenidos por las autoridades brasileñas en una playa cerca de la ciudad, los cuales declararon haber cometido un error y estar arrepentidos. Precisa Fidel que a estos ciudadanos no los esperan en Cuba arrestos de ningún tipo y que se les ofrecerán tareas decorosas y en favor del deporte de acuerdo con sus conocimientos y experiencia.

Esto lo escribo rápido y un poco tarde. Debo hacerlo debido al fuerte acento con que analicé el tema.

La noticia además no es desalentadora. Los cables anunciaron que los dos boxeadores que desertaron en Río de Janeiro habían sido localizados y detenidos por las autoridades en una playa cercana a esa ciudad. Recuerden que se les daba por desaparecidos. Carecían de documentación.

No fueron trasladados a una prisión. Permanecieron en el mismo hotel donde se alojaban bajo control de la Policía Federal. Los boxeadores le comunicaron que habían cometido un error y estaban arrepentidos. Se negaron a recibir a un ciudadano alemán, que de inmediato se interesó por ellos, cumpliendo instrucciones de la empresa mafiosa. Esto lo supimos después.

Las autoridades nos solicitaron la documentación, y la representación consular de Cuba, siguiendo instrucciones de nuestro Embajador, procedió a realizar los trámites pertinentes.

La noticia de que los boxeadores se encontraban en Turquía mientras les gestionaban la inmigración, fue evidentemente lanzada por la mafia como maniobra de engaño. Hasta un miembro del parlamento alemán trató de batear jonrón con la pelota de trapo. La empresa que había invertido más de dos millones de dólares en el grotesco negocio, hablaba de los “derechos humanos” de los familiares de los atletas. ¿Qué dirán las Naciones Unidas de esta desleal competencia?

Aquí es donde el deporte y la política se mezclan, en busca de soluciones correctas y de principios, por encima de aficiones y amarguras.

A estos ciudadanos no los esperan arrestos de ningún tipo ni mucho menos métodos como los que usa el Gobierno de Estados Unidos en Abu Ghraib y Guantánamo, jamás utilizados en nuestro país. Se les trasladará provisionalmente a una casa de visita y se les brindará acceso a sus familiares. La prensa también podrá contactarlos si ellos desean hacerlo.

Les ofrecerán tareas decorosas y en favor del deporte de acuerdo con sus conocimientos y experiencia.

Las autoridades brasileñas pueden estar tranquilas frente a las inevitables campañas de los adversarios. Cuba sabe comportarse a la altura de las circunstancias. Yo, por mi parte, dormiré bien.

Fidel Castro Ruz - Agosto 4 del 2007

Cuban boxers head home, deny defecting
BY JACK CHANG - Miami HeraldTwo Cuban boxers who had abandoned their delegation to the Pan American Games last month were headed back to Cuba on Saturday night, leaving behind a mystery as to whether they had intended to defect to Germany to become professional boxers or were drugged, kidnapped and held in Brazil against their will, a story they told police.Two-time Olympic gold medal winner Guillermo Rigondeaux, 25, and Erislandy Lara, 24, were arrested Thursday by Brazilian police as they were walking along a resort beach, police said. They departed a federal police station in Niteroi on Saturday night accompanied by heavily armed police and what appeared to be Cuban consular officials.

They were heading to Rio's international airport, where they would board a charter flight home, said federal police investigator Felicio Laterca.

''They're leaving tonight. They're going back to Cuba,'' he said.

The two boxers refused to comment after being approached by a McClatchy reporter Saturday outside the police station. Laterca said the boxers claimed they were returning of their own free will because ``they are beloved and famous in their country.''

The pair had not requested political asylum in Brazil, Laterca said.

How and why the boxers deserted their delegation remains a mystery.

The boxers told police that two German citizens, including one of Cuban descent, had approached them July 20 in the Pan American Games' athletes village in Rio de Janeiro and given them a drugged energy drink. One of the Germans had entered the guarded village with an official press credential, Laterca said.

The boxers said they were taken to an apartment in Rio's Copacabana neighborhood in a drugged state, which caused them to miss their scheduled matches the next day, Laterca said.

Police believe the Germans were representatives of German boxing promoters Arena, which announced last month that the Cubans had signed five-year contracts with the company. Brazilian prosecutors are investigating the Germans, identified only as Michel and Alex, on the allegations of kidnapping the boxers and inducing them to emigrate, both federal offenses.

Police investigators had stopped the two Germans at Rio's international airport Wednesday and questioned them before they boarded a flight back to Germany, Laterca said. The pair were not arrested for lack of evidence against them.

PROMOTER SPEAKS OUT

In an interview with the Brazilian newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo published Saturday, Arena representative Ahmet Oner said the company had not forced the boxers to defect. He also said the boxers had changed their mind about going to Germany for fear of their family's safety in Cuba.

''They wanted to come,'' Oner said. ``They signed the contract, and we were already looking for housing for them.''

Laterca said the boxers had talked to their wives in Cuba before being found by police Thursday afternoon. In a written statement, Cuban leader Fidel Castro said the boxers had been ``knocked down with a blow straight to the chin, paid up with U.S. bills.''

Jens Wagner, a spokesman for the German embassy in Brazil, said his country's government knew the boxing promoters had organized a deal for the two boxers including new careers for both in Germany. Wagner said he ''had no information'' about any attempted kidnapping or other criminal activity. The boxers had not filed a request for political asylum in Germany with the embassy.

TAKEN FROM THE CITY

The boxers told police they were taken from the Copacabana apartment to a nearby hotel and then to a guesthouse in the neighboring city of Niteroi. The guesthouse's manager, who asked not to be identified, told McClatchy that the boxers showed up there July 26 with three other men. One spoke Spanish and another spoke what sounded like German, the manager said. They were accompanied by a translator.

The boxers then went Monday to a second guesthouse in the beachside town of Araruama about a 90-minute drive up the coast of Rio de Janeiro state. The guesthouse's owners, Reynaldo Safortes and Luzia Campos, said the boxers showed up Monday afternoon with only a taxi driver and a translator.

The boxers stayed mostly in their rooms but went for short walks, Safortes said. The translator told him they were Colombian athletes. A neighbor of the guesthouse, Paulo Quintanilha dos Santos, said one of the boxers had approached him Thursday around noon and asked him where they were.

The boxer then asked dos Santos to take his cellphone and repeat the information to a woman on the line.

''She wasn't Brazilian,'' dos Santos said. ``She spoke Spanish, and I assumed she was from where they came from.''

Police, acting on information from the Germans questioned at the airport, found the boxers a few hours later Thursday walking along a beach near the guesthouse, Laterca said. Police took them back to Niteroi.

Two other Cuban members of the delegation have also defected. One, handball player Rafael Capote, has requested political asylum in Brazil, Laterca said.