Solo la unidad y la integración conducirán a la victoria
Afirmó Esteban Lazo durante la celebración por el aniversario 29 de la Revolución Sandinista
MANAGUA.— Solo la unidad, la paz y la integración de los pueblos conducirán a la victoria frente a la compleja y difícil situación que afecta a todo el mundo, expresó Esteban Lazo, vicepresidente del Consejo de Estado, durante la conmemoración del aniversario 29 de la Revolución Popular Sandinista este 19 de julio. http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu/2008/07/21/interna/artic03.html,
Reflections by comrade Fidel
EDUCATION IN CUBA
It would seem our country has the most educational problems in the world. All of the cables that reach us report on the many and difficult challenges we face: a deficit of over 8,000 teachers, disrespectful and ill-mannered students, lack of training, in short: problems of all sorts.I don't believe, to being with, that we're in such bad shape. Not one developed country shares our schooling indices and the educational possibilities open to all citizens in this field, which we maintain in spite of the unjust blockade and the shameless plundering of arms, muscles and brains Cuba endures. The United States and other wealthy countries cannot even compare themselves to us. They do have many more automobiles, use more fuel, consume more drugs, buy more cosmetics and benefit from pillaging our countries, as they have done for centuries. Imperialism seeks to return Cuban women to the condition of merchandise, pleasure objects and servants for the rich. They do not forgive countries for their struggle for liberation. It yearns to return to the time when black Cubans were barred from using recreational centres. Then, many citizens lacked employment, social security and medical services.To Martí, freedom was very dear and one had to pay the price for it or resign oneself to a life without it. That is the question all Cubans must ask themselves each day. How feasible are the aspirations of our enemies? Only we have the answer, in each of us. In terms of education, should we not ask ourselves if our educational system employs a bureaucratic method which teaches science without conscience? I don't believe we have regressed so much. In any event, each one of us must ask these questions to avoid having our dignity spat on. We should expect no mercy from our enemies. There are tens of thousands of people who think, speak, act and make decisions. The measures that are adopted every day are in their hands. Let us keep a watchful eye on our enemies and let us do exactly the opposite of what they want from us to continue being who we are. This is an appeal to our consciences. The Revolution justifiably demands from us that we work more, that is to say, that we work! We have held our ground for 50 years. The new generations are much better prepared to face the challenges than we are; we have the right to demand from them much more. Let us not become discouraged by the news spread by our enemies, which distort the meaning of our words and paint our self-criticisms as tragedies. The wellspring of our revolutionary ethics is inexhaustible.
Fidel Castro Ruz - July 19, 2008
MESSAGE TO NELSON MANDELA ON HIS 90TH ANNIVERSARY
Glory to you, Nelson, who defended human dignity in the 25 years of solitary imprisonment you endured! Neither slander nor hatred could break your iron will. You held your ground and, unwittingly and unintentionally, you became a symbol of what is noblest in human nature. You shall live on in the memory of future generations, as will the Cubans who fell in defense of the freedom of their brothers in other lands of the world.
Fidel Castro Ruz - July 18, 2008
New York Times re Cuban farmland
When the Cuban Revolution triumphed on January 1, 1959, foreigners owned 75 percent of the arable land. In the New York Times article below, Marc Lacey writes, "Cuba seized land from most large-scale farmers after the 1959 revolution." Does he think "large-scale farmers" adequately describes United Fruit?United Fruit owned at least 270,000 acres--probably closer to 300,000 acres--of eastern Cuba. This is what Lacey calls "pre-revolution private enterprise." As I noted in "Cuba and the United States: A Chronological History," on January 1, 1960, Cuba expropriated a mere 35,000 acres of pasture and forests owned by United Fruit in Oriente province. But by confronting United Fruit (later United Brands and Chiquita Brands), Cuba was antagonizing a powerful organization that played a major role in the 1954 overthrow of the elected Arbenz government in Guatemala. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles had been both a stockholder and a longtime legal adviser for the company, including preparation of contracts in 1930 and 1936 with the Ubico dictatorship in Guatemala; his brother Allen W. Dulles, director of the CIA, was once president of the company; UN Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge had been a member of its board of directors; Walter Bedell Smith, head of the CIA before Dulles, became president of United Fruit after the overthrow of Arbenz.Would it be too much to ask that a New York Times reporter understand the actual state of land ownership in Cuba that was one of the main causes of the revolution launched against the Batista dictatorship on July 26, 1953?
Jane Franklin
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/19/world/americas/19cuba.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin,
Pharmaceuticals No. 2 on Cuba's export list
(EFE Ingles Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Havana, Jul 20 (EFE).- Cuba's pharmaceutical industry generated $350 million in exports in 2007, ranking second in foreign sales behind nickel and coming in ahead of traditional products such as tobacco, rum and sugar, the official press reported."According to figures from the Basic Industry Ministry's pharmaceutical group, Cuba earned some $350 million in 2007 from the sale abroad of some 180 medicines," including both generic and biotechnology products, Bohemia magazine said in its online edition.Cuba's pharmaceuticals line-up includes vaccines for type B meningococcal meningitis, hepatitis B and influenza, as well as Heberprot P for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers and interferon.Bohemia noted "the close linkages in innovation, development and production between the extensive network of research centers and the medicine plants" in Cuba, adding that "unlike traditional exports," the production of medicines and medical equipment is "a particularly strong option" for the domestic economy.Cuba's pharmaceutical industry plans to open three new plants this year for the production of ampules, syringes and freon-free aerosols.In 2006, Cuba's biotechnology industry, according to official figures, exported 38 medicines to 40 countries, generating sales of more than $50 million.Currently, the island has joint ventures with South Africa, India and China, as well as technology transfer agreements with Brazil and Iran, and joint development deals with several countries, among them Venezuela, Vietnam and China. EFE
Boarding soon: Cuba flights from Windsor
New service may entice more Detroiters despite federal trip restrictions.
Nathan Hurst / The Detroit News
WINDSOR -- A new jet service taking off in December from Windsor Airport will bring the allure of a forbidden Cuban vacation within minutes of downtown Detroit. http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080721/BIZ/807210375,
¿Estamos construyendo el socialismo?
La dirección actual pudiera estarse acercando ya a un efectivo abordaje del problema fundamental: qué tipo de socialismo queremos.
Pedro Campos
http://www.kaosenlared.net/noticia/estamos-construyendo-socialismo,
¿Por qué Cuba celebra el 26 de Julio?
El 26 de Julio de 1953 resultó la continuidad de la Guerra Necesaria concebida por José Martí y motor encendido por Fidel Castro devenido victoria del 1ro de Enero de 1959.
Noel Manzanares Blanco
http://www.kaosenlared.net/noticia/por-que-cuba-celebra-26-julio,
Russian combat aircraft could return to Cuba - paper
MOSCOW, July 21 (RIA Novosti) - Russian combat aircraft could return to Cuba in a bid to counter U.S. plans to deploy a missile shield in Central Europe, a Russian daily reported on Monday.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080721/114500746.html,
Discurso sobre Guevara como mito
Francisco Fernández Buey
http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=70547,
Un rally de coches históricos conmemora el asalto al Cuartel Moncada http://es.noticias.yahoo.com/afp/20080721/r_t_afp_en_soc/ten-cuba-castro-auto-5823964_1.html?printer=1,
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