Fracasa provocación contrarrevolucionaria (granma)
En horas de la mañana de ayer un reducido número de elementos mercenarios, intentó realizar una provocación burda y descarada en los alrededores de la Plaza de la Revolución.Entre sus intenciones estaba reclamar la excarcelación de contrarrevolucionarios sancionados por actividades contra nuestro pueblo, y sus posiciones mercenarias y anexionistas, para lo cual convocaron, como siempre, a los medios de la prensa extranjera acreditados en nuestro país, con el fin de que estos difundieran sus acciones provocativas.De inmediato y espontáneamente el incidente fue rechazado por la población, que a esa hora se dirigía a sus centros de trabajo y estudio. Fuerzas femeninas del Ministerio del Interior evacuaron a las provocadoras a sus hogares con el fin de evitar un enfrentamiento con nuestra población.Estos contrarrevolucionarios, días antes, habían obtenido el apoyo de los representantes de la mafia anticubana al recibir una llamada telefónica de la congresista Ileana Ros-Lehtinen quien, con evidente propósito injerencista, estimuló el accionar de estos grupúsculos, como justificación para recibir el financiamiento que otorga el gobierno yanqui. La emisora subversiva anticubana se hizo eco del mencionado contacto, al igual que los realizados en días pasados por esta representante del gobierno norteamericano con el connotado terrorista Luis Posada Carriles.Ni provocaciones, ni patrañas mercenarias, empleando métodos ordenados por sus amos yanquis, mellarán la firmeza y voluntad de las actuales y futuras generaciones cubanas, las que trabajan por construir una sociedad mejor, basada en la tradición independentista y antimperialista con un proyecto socialista, convencidos de que la historia de usurparnos la independencia, alcanzada con tanta sangre, no se repetirá jamás.
Cuba defiende su independencia, a 110 años de un zarpazo http://www.ain.cu/2008/abril/21cvmesa.htm,
Partidos políticos de América Latina por libertad de Los Cinco
(AIN) La Conferencia Permanente de Partidos Políticos de América Latina y el Caribe (Copppal) demandó hoy, en Panamá, la inmediata excarcelación de los cinco luchadores antiterroristas cubanos presos arbitrariamente en Estados Unidos.La reclamación forma parte de la Declaración de Panamá, aprobada el sábado durante la clausura de la XXVII reunión plenaria de la organización, que agrupa a 52 partidos de 29 países, reporta el sitio antiterroristas.cu.El texto denuncia que los cubanos Antonio Guerrero, Gerardo Hernández, René González, Ramón Labañino y Fernando González cumplen injustas sentencias en EE.UU por defender a su país de acciones terroristas.Precisa que el tema de Los Cinco, como se les conoce internacionalmente, formó parte de la agenda de la reunión, inaugurada por el presidente panameño, Martín Torrijos.Durante su análisis, el comandante sandinista Tomás Borge, vicepresidente de la Copppal, denunció las crueles condiciones de prisión a las que son sometidos los antiterroristas cubanos en cárceles norteamericanas.Subrayó que el acoso es tal, que hasta les quieren negar el aire que respiran.Borge exhortó a respaldar la resolución de solidaridad y señaló que "no sólo, por la tremenda injusticia cometida contra esos cubanos, sino por su indoblegable ejemplo de dignidad y coraje".El delegado cubano, Roberto Regalado, del departamento de Relaciones Internacionales del Comité Central del Partido Comunista de Cuba, detalló las arbitrariedades cometidas contra Los Cinco.La Copppal, creada a instancias del Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) de México, el 12 de octubre de 1979 en Oaxaca, por destacados dirigentes latinoamericanos y caribeños, es el foro de agrupaciones políticas más importante de América Latina y el Caribe. En su Declaración de Principios se define como un foro de partidos nacionalistas que otorga prioridad al tema de la soberanía, a la vez que se pronuncia por el establecimiento de un orden internacional más justo y equitativo, concluye la fuente.
Self-Defense Urged to Block US Hostility
(Prensa Latina) The need to extend the defense capacity of people faced with current US belligerence was demanded on Sunday by the first International Conference on Security and Defense meeting in Havana.At the event's opening, Malaysian former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad asserted that US military arrogance has made that northern nation the world's most aggressive country, as it is devoting extensive resources to military objectives.The Malaysian ex prime minister insisted that war is not the option to resolve conflicts, and noted that it has become an extremely expensive market due to its economic and human losses, especially civilian lives.However, he urgently supported military training as well as developing all possible defense capacities faced with intimidation by powers such as the United States and its allies.Referring to the supposed danger that Asia represents, he insisted that it should not be a reason for the world to feel unsafe, because the nations of that continent are working for their people's welfare.Mahathir Mohamad considered that the objective must be to fight for stability in the world and to not interfere in other nations' internal affairs.More than 100 delegates from 10 countries are attending the First International Conference on Security and Defense, and they were welcomed by Guillermo Rodriguez del Pozo, president of the Cuban Center for Studies on Defense Information.In his opening speech, he highlighted that the event is intended to forge well-founded proposals and formulae to face the serious problems that threaten the survival of humankind.The meeting is considered a contribution by the Island to the scientific analysis of diverse issues related to security and defense on international, regional, and national levels.
Reflection by Comrade Fidel
Peace and Prosperity
Pope Benedict XVI outsmarted Brown, the British Prime Minister, who replaced Blair, whom I met and spoke with for a few minutes during a recess at the WTO Second Conference in Geneva 10 years ago; it was following his speech and I was expressing my disagreement on the matter of an incorrect sentence he used about the social situation of British children.Brown’s voice, positions and tone at his press conference in the presence of Bush, gave me the impression that he is self-assuming as his predecessor in the leadership of the Labor Party. The activities of the new British Prime Minister, coinciding with the Pope's visit, were just like those of a leader of the government of a banana republic.Benedict XVI paid special attention to April 13th when, 65 years ago, over one thousand prisoners were incinerated in the town of Gardelegen; this became a day remembered in the martyrology suffered by the Jewish people in Nazi Germany, a human tragedy that lasted years.Bush welcomed him at Andrews Air Force Base in the U.S., an unusual gesture. Benedict XVI, as a German bishop was a conservative who disliked changes in social policies and in the internal norms governing his Church. Initially, the U.S. mainstream press was relentless, due to the irregularities committed contrary to the norms guiding the faithful. They even described the Roman Catholic Church as a decadent religion.His visit also coincided with his 81st birthday. Bush, thoughtful and indulgent, sang Happy Birthday to him, right on the 16th.The Pope was, undoubtedly, smart as he started to counterattack from the beginning of his visit. In spite of his 81 years that he would be celebrating a few hours later, he descended from the plane, barely touching the handrails of the steep steps, and by the time he reached the last treads, he was not even doing that.He is a short man who appears to weigh about half of what Bush weighs. He has a light step. He never, for one single minute, abandoned his smile and the sparkle in his eyes, and he immediately set out to follow a schedule that would have exhausted any 18 year-old visitor. Television coverage went wild.The Pope visited universities, a Catholic cultural centre built just for the occasion; he met with representatives from hundreds of Catholic schools and universities across the huge country. The leader of the empire did not dare ask the Vatican State for “a new constitution and free elections” like he has dreamed up for Cuba.As the leader of a Church, at a time when a war has been unleashed by the United States against the Muslims, his message was ecumenical and favorable to peace.He met with representatives of religions whose churches hold influence over billions of people. Jewish leaders received him warmly. Of course, they idealized the capitalist system of the United States.One of the rabbis from Miami said that 90 percent of Jews in Cuba had moved to that city; he should have made it clear that it didn’t happen because we were persecuting them or because they were granted U.S. visas, but because they opted for the right to travel legally as offered by the Revolution and, just like many Cubans from other ethnic groups, they were in search of material advantages which they had not been able to attain in colonial Cuba.Jewish synagogues remained opened and respected here, and their representatives, together with the rest of the churches, have meetings with leaders of the Party and the Revolutionary Government, even at the highest levels.In the United States, the Pope’s visit to a synagogue was greatly praised. It is the third time that a Pope visits those Jewish religious centers. The first time was when John Paul II visited a synagogue in Poland; then, Benedict XVI visited another in Germany; and this one, in New York City, was the first time in this country.It is particularly important to claim for the right to life in the name of freedom of creed. Benedict XVI addressed the United Nations Organization in his capacity as the religious leader of a powerful church deeply rooted among many peoples of the world:“…the desire for peace, the quest for justice, respect for the dignity of the person, humanitarian cooperation and assistance - express the just aspirations of the human spirit...”“…development goals, reduction of local and global inequalities, protection of the environment, of resources and of the climate, require all international leaders to act jointly and to show a readiness to work in good faith, respecting the law, and promoting solidarity with the weakest regions of the planet…”“Here our thoughts turn also to the way the results of scientific research and technological advances have sometimes been applied.”“[these rights] are based on the natural law inscribed on human hearts and present in different cultures and civilizations.”“…the saying: Do not do to others what you would not want done to you ‘cannot in any way vary according to the different understandings that have arisen in the world’…”“My presence at this Assembly is a sign of esteem for the United Nations, and it is intended to express the hope that the Organization will increasingly serve as a sign of unity between States and an instrument of service to the entire human family.”When he concluded, he exclaimed in English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese and Russian: “Peace and prosperity with God’s help!”Even though it is not easy to decipher the Vatican’s thinking on the thorny issues that are being dealt with in a world where the President of the United States and his rich and developed allies have imposed a bloody war against the culture and religion of more than a billion persons in the name of the fight against terrorism, and where torture, pillage and conquest by force of hydrocarbons and raw materials reigns supreme, what the Pope stated is the antithesis of the policy of brutality and force applied by the singer of Happy Birthday.In the next few days, the peoples of Latin America shall be on the verge of confronting two tragedies: that of Paraguay and that of Bolivia. One of them, through the elections that are being held today, on Sunday April 20, where a former Catholic bishop carries an overwhelming majority of popular support, according to serious surveys, and the rejection of electoral fraud is certain; the other, through the threat of real disintegration of its territory which shall lead to fratricidal struggles in the long-suffering country.Today, Benedict XIV returns to Rome. The lovely, impressive hymns have ceased in the temples. Now we shall continue to hear the odious and never-ending explosions of weapons.
Fidel Castro Ruz - April 20, 2008
Cuba: Will Washington's Blindness Continue to Prevent It From Registering the Fundamental Changes Now Taking Place in Havana?
Chris McGillion and Morris MorleySenior research fellows Council on Hemispheric Affairs
http://www.worldpress.org/Americas/3124.cfm,
"En Cuba no hay periodistas presos, hay mercenarios presos"
Lázaro Barredo es director de nuestro diario. En esta entrevista, realizada por cuestionario, por Carlos Salas, director de Metro España, Barredo explica el papel de la prensa en Cuba, el estado de la libertad de expresión y comenta el impacto de las medidas recientes.http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu/2008/04/21/nacional/artic20.html,
Cuba gastará más de USD 1.900 millones en alimentos en 2008
LA HABANA AFP
La factura cubana de importación de alimentos superará este año los 1.900 millones de dólares, un 20% más que en 2007, debido al alza de las cotizaciones internacionales y los fletes, afirmó este lunes el presidente de la empresa Alimport, Pedro Álvarez."En lo fundamental el aumento está en el alza del precio de los alimentos y de los fletes, que casi se han triplicado", señaló Álvarez, al destacar que las compras de alimentos cubanas "superarán este año los 1.900 millones de dólares". "Se crece, pero no en volumen físico de mercancías", apuntó.El ejecutivo de la estatal Alimport, que ostenta el monopolio sobre esas compras, ofreció una conferencia de prensa conjunta con el Comisionado de Agricultura de Nueva York, Patrick Hooker, quien visita Cuba por primera vez en misión de exploración."El objetivo de esta visita es abrir las puertas del comercio entre Nueva York y Cuba y hacer que Alimport conozca los productos que tenemos (leche, frutas y madera)", comentó Hooker, tras subrayar que la isla "es un mercado potencial" para ese Estado norteamericano.Según Álvarez, Cuba importó alimentos por 1.600 millones de dólares en 2007, de los cuales 600 millones fueron compras a empresas de Estados Unidos, y en lo que va de año ha adquirido en ese país "300 millones de dólares".Pero el comercio bilateral "no debe crecer en volumen" este año y "más bien podría decrecer", "en medio del recrudecimiento" del embargo que Washington aplica contra la isla desde 1962, añadió el ejecutivo, al señalar que esas medidas obligaron a su país "a desviar (las compras de) algunas mercancías a otros países", como Canadá y Brasil.El Congreso de Estados Unidos aprobó en 2000 las ventas de alimentos y medicinas a Cuba condicionadas al pago al contado y la transportación en barcos no cubanos y, en diciembre de 2001, comenzaron las transacciones alimentarias.Álvarez destacó que desde esa fecha Cuba compró a compañías de 35 Estados norteamericanos 3.073 millones de dólares (unos 9,6 millones de toneladas de alimentos), incluyendo los fletes.
New York agricultural secretary uses food, baseball bat to promote products in Cuba
The Associated Press - Int Herald Tribune
HAVANA: New York Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker came to Cuba on Monday armed with steaks, wine, cheesecake and a feast of other products from his state, as one of America's top food producers looks to crack the communist-run island's food-import market.But in case all that food doesn't whet Cuba's appetite, New York is betting baseball might.Hooker, leading the state's first official trade mission to Cuba, also brought an engraved wooden Rawlings Sporting Goods Co. bat and presented it to Pedro Alvarez, chairman of Cuba's food import company, Alimport."I think it's only fitting that you see here and now one of the great forest products that we make," Hooker told Alvarez at a news conference, adding that the pair spent part of the afternoon chatting about the New York Yankees.Baseball-crazy Cuba is also a major international food importer.The island spent about US$300 million (€189 million) to import U.S. food and farm products through March and by the end of this year expects to buy a bit more than the US$600 million (€377 million) in American agricultural products it purchased in 2007, Alvarez said. Those tallies include expenditures for shipping, banking and transportation costs.Because of soaring international prices, Cuba expects to spend US$1.9 billion (€1.2 billion) on food imports in 2008 — about 20 percent more than last year, Alvarez said.Washington's nearly 50-year-old trade embargo prevents U.S. tourists from visiting Cuba and prohibits nearly all trade between the countries. But since 2000, the Cuban government has been allowed to buy U.S. food and agricultural products with direct cash payments.Cuba at first balked at the measure but reversed course after a hurricane ravaged parts of the island in November 2001. Since then, it has spent more than US$3 billion (€1.9 billion) on U.S. farm products and related transaction expenses, Alvarez said.Cuba buys roughly 1,600 U.S. agricultural products from 35 states. But almost none are from New York.Hooker arrived in Havana with 20 officials, including growers and experts specializing in dairy products, vegetables, apples, wine and forestry goods."Are we a bit late? Perhaps we are," Hooker said of New York taking nearly eight years after direct U.S. agricultural exports to Cuba became legal to organize an official trade mission.Hooker said he "has no expectation" of meeting new President Raul Castro.He would not speculate on how much the Cuban market could be worth to New York, though state officials have estimated the annual value at as high as US$350 million (€220 million).Rather than signing contracts, however, Hooker said his four-day visit will focus on laying the groundwork for future deals.
What Comes With the Cell Phone
http://www.juventudrebelde.co.cu/columnists/2008-04-21/what-comes-with-the-cell-phone/,
ENTREVISTA: Elecciones en Paraguay
FERNANDO LUGO Presidente electo de Paraguay "Es una victoria de la nueva izquierda latinoamericana"http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/victoria/nueva/izquierda/latinoamericana/elpepuint/20080422elpepiint_3/Tes,
Evo Morales insta a "erradicar el capitalismo" para salvar el planeta
El presidente de Bolivia apela en la ONU a una "revolución" para combatir el grave impacto del calentamiento global sobre las comunidades indígenas
EFE / ELPAÍS.com - Nueva York / Madrid - 22/04/2008
El presidente de Bolivia, Evo Morales, ha instado hoy a la comunidad internacional a que "erradique el capitalismo" y lo sustituya por un "socialismo comunitario" si se quiere salvar al planeta de peligros como el cambio climático.Morales ha inaugurado con este mensaje la séptima sesión del Foro Permanente para Asuntos Indígenas de la ONU, el primero que se celebra desde la aprobación en 2007 de la Declaración de Derechos de los Pueblos Indígenas.El presidente boliviano, el primer indígena de su país en llegar al poder y el primer mandatario en intervenir ante el Foro Indígena, fue recibido con aplausos y vítores por los representantes de los cerca de 3.000 delegados que participarán en la sesión del organismo que se extenderá hasta el 2 de mayo.Una "revolución" contra el calentamiento globalMorales ha asegurado en su intervención que se necesita una "revolución" para combatir el grave impacto que el calentamiento global tiene en las comunidades indígenas, tema central de la presente sesión del Foro Indígena."Para el movimiento indígena la tierra es nuestra madre y no puede ser que el modelo capitalista la convierta en una mercancía", ha sostenido el presidente boliviano. "Es el Norte quien debe pagar la deuda ecológica y no el Sur la deuda externa", ha apuntado Morales.El presidente boliviano ha abogado por afrontar los efectos del cambio climático con una transformación de modelo económico, la eliminación de las guerras, el fin del colonialismo, así como el reconocimiento del agua como un bien común y el desarrollo de energías limpias.También ha reiterado su rotunda oposición al uso de suelo agrícola para generar biocombustible, en contra de lo defendido por con su homólogo brasileño, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. En ese sentido, ha afirmado que por primera vez está de acuerdo con un diagnóstico del Banco Mundial (BM), que recientemente ha identificaod a los biocombustibles como uno de los factores causantes del alza de los precios de los cereales. "Tenemos este problema en Bolivia. No es un problema interno, sino externo", ha destacado.Declaración de los Derechos de los Pueblos IndígenasJunto al cambio climático, los asistentes al Foro invertirán buena parte de las dos semanas de la sesión a los esfuerzos por implementar la Declaración de los Derechos de los Pueblos IndígenasEl documento recibió el pasado septiembre el respaldo casi unánime de la Asamblea General de la ONU, que lo adoptó tras dos décadas de negociaciones. La declaración, de 46 artículos, establece los estándares mínimos de respeto a los derechos de los pueblos indígenas del mundo, que incluyen la propiedad de sus tierras, acceso a los recursos naturales de sus territorios, la preservación de sus conocimientos tradicionales y la autodeterminación.
Rota la inercia, hace falta un plan
Romper la inercia ha sido un triunfo revolucionario. Ojo con el liberalismo burgués. Ahora es necesario no paralizar la marcha, garantizar que no haya reversa y definir “el plan”.
Pedro Campos http://www.kaosenlared.net/noticia/rota-inercia-hace-falta-plan,
El negocio de la contrarrevolución se va a pique
Miami trata de desviar la atención de los cubanos sobre el proceso que tiene lugar a lo interno de la Revolución en Cuba.
Pedro Campos http://www.kaosenlared.net/noticia/negocio-contrarrevolucion-va-pique,
Law Professor Lawrence Lessig on Net Neutrality, the Rise of Google and His “Change Congress” Project to Take on Corruption in WashingtonRenowned Stanford law professor Lawrence Lessig is one of the world’s leading figures in the field of cyberlaw. He joins us for a conversation about today’s FCC hearing on net neutrality; Creative Commons; the rise of Google and its efforts to influence public policy; and Change Congress, his most recent project to take on corruption in Washington. [includes rush transcript]http://www.democracynow.org/2008/4/17/law_professor_lawrence_lessig_on_net,
Últimas fotos de los camellos en La Habana
http://www.juventudrebelde.cu/cuba/2008-04-22/ultimas-fotos-de-los-camellos-en-la-habana/,
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