Record cold in Cuba

Record cold in Cuba
By Stabroek editor
Breaking News | Friday, December 17, 2010

(BBC) An Arctic wave brought record cold weather to Cuba yesterday
forcing residents to bundle up using what they could find in their closets.

The temperature fell to as cold as 35 degrees Fahrenheit (1.9 Celsius)
in some areas.

The cold front came down from a continental cold air mass that has
dumped snow on much of the Midwest and eastern United States.

In Havana, residents wearing layers, coats and hats did their best to
keep warm in the coldest weather recorded in 50 years.

http://www.stabroeknews.com/2010/news/breaking/12/17/record-cold-in-cuba/

Cuba debt cancellation 'unbelievable'

Cuba debt cancellation 'unbelievable'
by Gunnshot
2010-12-17 09:23

Many of the goings on in this country are so unbelievable, that often it
feels as though they cannot be real.

Just recently the ANC government wrote off a R1.1bn debt to Cuba. Why?
Does South Africa have billions to give away? Does the Health Department
have no problems? Are there no mud schools in the country? Does every
South African town have world class service delivery? Does everyone have
access to electricity and water?

One would have to surmise that this country is in brilliant shape
because if it is not, because how else can it give away such vast sums
of money? In this instance, it appears to be because Cuba gave the
President their highest Noddy Badge. They must have been struggling to
not howl with laughter at this lunacy, which I'm sure they did as soon
as "His Excellency" was out of earshot. Where does it end?

It has taken the Mail and Guardian to years to force the ANC government
to release a report made by two judges, sent by Mbeki, to report on the
2002 Zimbabwe Election that Mbeki later described as been free and fair.

It is obvious that this was not what they reported but any level headed
person with more than a G for woodwork in Matric would know this. We
also know that the MDC won the 2008 election by a landslide even though
Malema's hero Mugabe had hundreds of MDC supporters murdered and
thousands tortured in order to try and steal that election. He failed so
he just then blatantly stole it. He has consistently agreed to meet his
obligations in the GPA and then simply ignored them. Now he is preparing
to murder and maim his party's way back into power next year.

Zanu-PF are reportedly giving sanctuary to a Mr Mpiranya who was a
commander in the Rwandan Presidential Guard. He is wanted by the
International Criminal Tribunal for the Rwandan genocide and there is a
$5m reward out for him by the Rewards for Justice Program. He is
implicated in leading the genocide in Rwanda that resulted in over one
million murders.

It is reported that he has businesses in Harare and is involved with
training the notorious Zanu-PF Youth Militias before letting them loose
on the poor Zimbabwean population prior to next year's election. He is
not the first murderous tyrant to find sanctuary with Mugabe. Mengestu,
also wanted for the genocide of millions of his own citizens, has been a
guest of Mugabe's for many years.

In light of all this it seems that South Africa has been accepting and
supporting the Mugabe regime since at least 2002 knowing full well that
his government has not had the mandate of its citizens, whilst ignoring
what Mugabe has done in order to retain power.

We then have to listen to the ramblings of Malema in support of what is
essentially an illegitimate government brought about through terror and
murder against its own people.

If the people of South Africa can accept this, woe and betide their
freedoms to live and choose going into the future. It cannot be real. It
must be a bad dream.

http://www.news24.com/MyNews24/YourStory/Cuba-debt-cancellation-unbelievable-20101217

US cable: Cuban opposition out of touch

Posted on Friday, 12.17.10
US cable: Cuban opposition out of touch
By PAUL HAVEN
Associated Press

HAVANA -- A newly revealed U.S. diplomatic cable describes Cuban
dissidents as old, riven by petty rivalries and hopelessly out of touch,
with leaders so focused on funding their operations they have little
time to mount any serious opposition to the government.

The April 2009 cable, which was marked "confidential" and apparently
written by America's top diplomat on the island, advises Washington to
put more effort into supporting a younger generation of opponents of the
Castro government, including artists, musicians and the blogger Yoani
Sanchez.

That the Cuban opposition is small and isolated is not major news, but
the fact that Washington has so little faith in the dissidents is
surprising. America and Cuba are longtime enemies, and U.S. policy
advocates supporting democratic and political change on the island,
ruled since 1959 by brothers Fidel and Raul Castro.

The cables, which were made available Friday by WikiLeaks, show
Washington is under no illusions that the opposition is ready or able to
accomplish that.

"Without some true epiphany among the opposition leadership and a
lessening in official repression of its activities, the traditional
dissident movement is not likely to supplant the Cuban government,"
reads the April cable, which is signed by Jonathan Farrar, the top
diplomat at the U.S. Interests Section, which Washington maintains
instead of an embassy. "We see very little evidence that the mainline
dissident organizations have much resonance among ordinary Cubans."

Farrar names leading opposition figures like Francisco Chaviano, Rene
Gomez Manzano and Oswaldo Paya, and others whose names are redacted, who
are already in their 50s and 60s, describing them as "comparatively old."

"They have little contact with younger Cubans and, to the extent they
have a message that is getting out, it does not appeal to that segment
of society," the cable says, adding that while the longtime dissidents
were focused on human rights and getting their colleagues out of jail,
most young Cubans are "more concerned about having greater opportunities
to travel freely and live comfortably."

The cable also complains that the dissidents are disorganized and at
each others throats, obsessed with money and with undercutting rivals.

"With seeking resources as a primary concern (of dissident groups), the
next most important pursuit seems to be to limit or marginalize the
activities of erstwhile allies, thus preserving power and access to
scarce resources," the cable complains.

Farrar adds that before the opposition can hope to win support among
Cubans "they must first begin to achieve some level of unity of purpose
as an opposition, or at least stop spending so much energy trying to
undercut one another."

The cable describes one group called the "Agenda for the Transition,"
whose only achievement before disintegrating in a power struggle was to
bestow an award on the graphic designer who designed its logo.

Cuba's government dismisses opponents as American stooges bankrolled by
Washington to undermine the revolution, but the cables' only reference
to financial support depicts dissident groups making unmet requests.

Farrar sounds exasperated in describing a visit he received from leaders
of a group who came to the U.S. Interests Section and "quite openly and
frankly" presented him with a budget for salaries in hopes American
diplomats would pay it.

In the cable, Farrar advises giving more attention to a new generation,
mentioning Yoani Sanchez by name. The young blogger has won
international acclaim for her searing social commentaries, often on
topics that are not overtly political.

But Farrar acknowledges that those young Cubans opposed to the
government have little interest in calling themselves dissidents.

"Younger individuals, including bloggers, musicians, and performing and
plastic artists do not belong to identifiable organizations, though they
are much better at taking 'rebellious' stands with greater popular
appeal," the cable says.

"However, these individuals are still tightly controlled by the GOC
(Government of Cuba), eschew the label of 'dissident'" and do not seem
to aspire to any leadership role.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/12/17/1978380/us-cable-cuban-opposition-out.html#storylink=mirelated

Cuba sought `secret channel' to U.S.

Posted on Friday, 12.17.10
WIKILEAKS
Cuba sought `secret channel' to U.S.
BY JUAN O. TAMAYO
jtamayo@ElNuevoHerald.com

Cuba's Raúl Castro wanted to open secret talks with the White House in
late 2009 as the only way his government could ``make major moves toward
meeting U.S. concerns,'' according to senior Spanish diplomats cited in
new WikiLeaks cables.

Other leaked cables describe Cuba's traditional dissidents as old, with
little popular support and too many rivalries, penetrated by security
agents and too interested in U.S. aid. They suggest in the future U.S.
policy should look more to young bloggers and artists.

Castro has publicly offered to negotiate with Washington several times
since succeeding his brother, Fidel. But the cables indicate he prefers
secrecy for the give-and-take of negotiations with his government's
enemy of half a century.

DECEMBER MEETING

Spain's ambassador in Havana, Manuel Cacho, mentioned Castro's interest
during a Dec. 2 meeting with the top U.S. diplomat in Cuba, Jonathan
Farrar, according to a Dec. 5, 2009, cable signed by Farrar.

They also discussed an upcoming meeting between Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton and Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, who
had met with Castro in Cuba five weeks earlier.

Cacho said Moratinos would tell Clinton ``of Cuba's interest, as
reportedly expressed to him by Raul Castro, for a `political channel' to
the U.S. government,'' the cable noted. ``Only via such a `political
channel' would the [Cuban government] be able to make major moves toward
meeting U.S. concerns.''

Moratinos did tell Clinton that Castro wanted ``a secret channel of
communication to the White House'' when they met Dec. 14, 2009, in
Spain, according to a later cable from the U.S. embassy in Madrid.

Both Clinton and Farrar told the Spaniards that if Castro wanted to
talk, he should use ``existing channels,'' according to WikiLeaks cables
first published by Spain's El País newspaper.

IN TOUCH ROUTINELY

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Thursday that U.S. and
Cuban diplomats are in touch routinely, but ``a broader, higher-level
dialogue . . . will only be feasible once we see real change in Cuba. .
. . We have not seen anything approaching fundamental change.''

On the dissidents, a Farrar cable dated April 15, 2009, said they
deserved U.S. support as ``the conscience of Cuba.''

It repeatedly blamed some of their problems on state security
penetrations designed to play on their egos and fuel rivalries. But the
cable also listed a string of shortcomings that Farrar believed made it
unlikely they would play any significant role in Cuba's future.

``Many opposition groups are prone to dominance by individuals with
strong egos who do not work well together,'' he wrote. ``We see very
little evidence that the main-line dissident organizations have much
resonance among ordinary Cubans.''

`VERY VALID' FOCUS

Many leading dissidents are in their 60s and ``have little contact with
younger Cubans and, to the extent they have a message . . . it does not
appeal to that segment of society,'' he added.

Their ``very valid'' focus on human rights does not resonate with Cubans
``who are more concerned about having greater opportunities to travel
freely and live comfortably,'' the dispatch noted.

Farrar added that dissidents also spend too much time trying to obtain
``enough resources to keep the principal organizers and their key
supporters living from day to day.''

And while much of their aid comes from exiles, Farrar wrote, many
dissidents complain the exiles want ``to undercut local opposition
groups so that they can move into power when the Castros leave.''

Instead of the traditional dissidents, he added, ``it is the younger
generation of `nontraditional dissidents'' who are ``likely to have a
greater long term impact on post-Castro Cuba.''

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/12/17/1977391/cuba-sought-secret-channel-to.html

Castro almost died after rejecting operation: cable

Castro almost died after rejecting operation: cable

Cuban leader Fidel Castro nearly died after "capriciously" rejecting a
colostomy when he fell ill, US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks said.

The confidential cable, titled "How believable is a Castro comeback?",
is dated March 16, 2007.

It cites an unnamed "respected, retired Cuban doctor" as its main source
on Mr Castro's health.

It says after a full day of activities on July 26, 2006, Mr Castro fell
ill on a domestic flight to Havana.

There was no doctor aboard his flight, and upon landing, he was
"diagnosed with diverticulitis of the colon," the cable said.

The illness is not necessarily dangerous if properly treated.

Mr Castro "had a perforation in the large intestine and needed to have a
colostomy done."

But Mr Castro "capriciously, did not permit the colostomy," instead
arguing that doctors should splice out the infected part and reattach
the intestine to his colon, the cable said.

His main doctor, Eugenio Selman-Hussein, agreed with El Comandante over
the strong objections of the rest of the medical team.

"With the passage of time, as the colon was infected, the operation
collapsed and the reattached part separated. They had to operate again,
but found a fistula," the file reads.

Having run out of answers, Spanish doctor Jose Luis Garcia Sabrido was
brought over in December 2006.

Dr Garcia said the Cuban team "had done what they could, but the correct
treatment should have been a colostomy".

At that point "they removed Selman from the team, who is now working as
a low-level doctor someplace else," the cable read.

The illness forced Mr Castro to cede power to his brother Raul Castro in
late July 2006. Raul Castro later became Cuba's president.

Details on Mr Castro's health - a state secret in Cuba - are contained
in five cables, one sent from the US embassy in Madrid. All were written
between December 2006 and January 2009.

Another cable mentions Raul Castro's "depression" following the death of
his wife Vilma Espin in June 2007.

In a December 1 opinion article, Mr Castro, 84, described the trove of
classified and secret US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks as a
"colossal scandal" for Washington.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/12/17/3095428.htm

Cuba: pirates with permits

Cuba: pirates with permits

Cuba's new economic reforms bring out the DVD bootleggers.
By Nick Miroff
Published: December 16, 2010 06:08 ET in The Americas

HAVANA, Cuba — It might take years for Raul Castro's economic reforms to
significantly alter Cuba's state-dominated retail and commercial landscape.

But at least one set of small-time entrepreneurs has surfaced on
Havana's streets in recent weeks, freshly licensed to sell their wares
as openly as if they were in Cairo or Kabul: DVD pirates.

A month after the communist government began issuing new legal permits
for 178 forms of self-employment, vendors hawking bootlegged movies and
music have begun setting up outside markets, at bus stops and even along
sidewalks around the city. No longer forced to sell their goods in
secret, they now carry laminated ID cards recognizing them as
authorized, tax-paying professionals.

"I'm making money for my family, and I'm making money for the state,"
said Lupe Gonzalez, who now runs four separate licensed businesses from
her front patio in Havana's Vedado neighborhood, conveniently located
opposite one of the city's biggest fruit-and-vegetable markets.

On one table, she laid out cheap trinkets, household cleaning supplies
and various decorative knickknacks, while on another stand, she
displayed a colorful array of women's shoes, careful to keep each
business separate, as the law requires. A few feet away, another
relative offered eyeglass repair services.

Most prominent of all, though, was the big rack of bootlegged CDs and
DVDs, priced at the equivalent of $1 to $2, with everything from Shakira
and Michael Jackson to Dora the Explorer and the Incredible Hulk.

Gonzalez said she paid 1,100 pesos (about $50) a month in taxes, license
fees and social security contributions. Did she think that was fair?

"Don't ask," she said.

At least she didn't have to worry about copyright laws. The Castro
government isn't likely to crack down any time soon, given that the
Cuban state is arguably the country's biggest pirate of all, filling the
island's airwaves and cinemas with unlicensed American movies and
television shows.

Street-level vendors and government television programmers generally
copy their material from the same sources: illegal hookups to U.S.
satellite providers like Direct TV, or discs brought in from Miami or
elsewhere.

In the Cuban government's view, that's only fair, since U.S. trade
sanctions prevent the country from acquiring such materials legally. And
individual sellers struggling to make ends meet aren't especially
sympathetic to arguments about the intellectual property rights of
foreign media conglomerates.

"There's nothing in the constitution against this," said Hansal Vargas,
who had just lined up his offerings along the sidewalk outside the
Vedado market. Each of his DVDs came loaded with five or six American
movies, organized according to themes like romance, action and baseball.
Pornography and any political materials are taboo, but otherwise, it was
a wide-open marketplace.

"I used to have to hide these," explained Vargas, who pays the
government about $2.50 a month for his license and profits roughly $1 on
every DVD sold, after production costs. "Now I can do this openly, with
more freedom. It's great."

With Cuba in the process of shedding 500,000 state workers, the
government is looking to move employees off the public payrolls and
capture new revenue from the island's large informal sector. By
licensing these off-the-books occupations — like selling DVDs and CDs —
the government can attempt to bring some degree of regulation, even if
it could care less about copyright protections.

What is less visible at this stage of the reform process are private
establishments that resemble small businesses elsewhere in the world.
There's little advertising or signage, and the city remains full of
empty storefronts and other under-utilized state-owned property that
could be more productive in private hands. Further liberalization
measures are likely forthcoming in 2011, when Cuba's Communist Party
will hold its first congress in 14 years.

Government officials say they've issued more than 46,000 new
self-employment licenses, with another 20,000 in the pipeline. The
average processing time for the permits is a mere five days — a
light-speed pace by the standards of Cuban bureaucracy. In recent weeks,
Cuba's state-run newspapers and television programs have devoted
extensive coverage to the permitting process and the new tax structures.

Still, it's not clear how Cuba can possibly generate enough jobs to
absorb the 500,000 workers — one-tenth of the country's labor force —
who are due to be laid off by April. And deeper cuts are soon to follow.

In formal meetings held at Cuban workplaces to discuss the economic
changes in preparation for the congress, employees have consistently
asked for further liberalization measures, while government officials
take great pains to insist the country isn't embracing capitalism, but
"perfecting" socialism.

Ordinary Cubans on the streets say they're looking for more variety and
better services — and the newly licensed entrepreneurs are delivering.

"I'd like to see them legalize more things," said Humberto Davila,
having just purchased a CD of salsa music for 30 Cuban pesos ($1.25).
"This country needs to change a lot."

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/cuba/101214/bootlegged-dvds-cds-piracy

Cuba blames deadly plane crash on weather, human error

Cuba blames deadly plane crash on weather, human error
Published December 16, 2010
EFE

Havana – The Nov. 4 plane crash in the central province of Sancti
Spiritus that killed 68 people was due to an excessive buildup of ice on
the aircraft and mistakes by the crew, Cuba's Civil Aeronautics
Institute said Thursday.

AeroCaribbean Flight 883, en route to Havana from the eastern city of
Santiago de Cuba, went down afternoon shortly after the crew reported an
emergency and contact was lost.

No one survived.

The twin-engine ATR-72-212 was operating normally until extreme weather
conditions caused a "severe" accumulation of ice as the plane was flying
at 20,000 feet, according to the report from the aeronautics institute.

The accident was caused by the icing in combination "with crew errors"
in handling the situation, the report said, citing data from the plane's
black boxes.

The plane was fully airworthy and every member of the crew had a valid
operating license, the institute said.

Killed in the crash were 40 Cubans - seven crew members and 33
passengers - and 28 foreign nationals from 10 different countries.

The travelers from other countries included 10 Argentines, seven
Mexicans, three Dutch citizens, two Germans, two Austrians, a Spaniard,
a French citizen, a Japanese and a Venezuelan.

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2010/12/16/cuba-blames-deadly-plane-crash-weather-human-error/

US doesn't expect Cuba upheaval with Castro death

Posted on Thursday, 12.16.10
US doesn't expect Cuba upheaval with Castro death
By PAUL HAVEN
Associated Press

HAVANA -- Cuban-American exiles in Florida may be eagerly awaiting the
death of Fidel Castro, but U.S. diplomats in Havana don't expect the
revolutionary icon's passing to generate any immediate unrest on the
communist-run island, or even an upsurge in Cubans seeking to leave,
according to a newly released diplomatic cable.

Another cable from late last year reveals that Fidel's brother, Raul,
expressed an interest in opening a direct dialogue with the White House,
but was apparently told any dealings should be conducted through normal
diplomatic channels.

The January 2009 dispatch on Castro's health was sent from the U.S.
Interests Section and classified as "secret." It said Cubans' "generally
conservative nature after 50 years of repression, combined with still
significant admiration for Fidel personally, argue against short term
disturbances."

The cable, which was released Wednesday by WikiLeaks and posted online
by the Spanish newspaper El Pais, was apparently written by Jonathan
Farrar, the top U.S. diplomat on the island. Washington maintains the
Interests Section instead of an embassy because the two Cold War enemies
have no formal diplomatic relations. Farrar is referred to as chief of
mission, not ambassador.

In the cable, Farrar said he expected the Cuban government to carefully
manage the announcement of Fidel Castro's death to make sure islanders
understand that his brother Raul is still in charge. Raul took over the
presidency from an ailing Fidel - first temporarily, then permanently -
in 2006.

The two brothers have led Cuba since they ousted dictator Fulgencio
Batista in 1959, with Raul serving as the head of the armed forces
before taking over the top spot.

"GOC (Government of Cuba) officials would most likely manage the death
announcement and subsequent funeral arrangements, etc., in great detail
with a view toward putting the best face on the situation, both
domestically and to the world," the cable reads. "Utmost care will be
given to ensuring that the Cuban public understands that Raul and the
rest of the GOC remain in firm control."

Farrar speculated Fidel's death could even cause a drop in the number of
Cubans seeking to emigrate, as islanders wait to see what unfolds. A
mass exodus of Cubans attempting a perilous journey by boat across the
Straits of Florida would be a humanitarian disaster, and has always been
one of Washington's main concerns.

Far from dying, the 84-year-old Fidel has had something of a resurgence
since the cable was written - particularly in recent months.

In 2009, Castro weighed in on international issues more than 100 times
in frequent opinion pieces called "Reflections" that were published in
state-media. In July of this year, he emerged from four years of
seclusion, and now makes almost weekly appearances, looking old but
mentally sharp.

Two cables from December 2009 reveal an apparently failed effort by Raul
Castro to open a new channel for dialogue with the U.S. The first,
signed by Farrar on Dec. 5, 2009, after a meeting with the Spanish
ambassador to Cuba, outlines an offer apparently made by Raul Castro
through then Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos to open
direct talks with the White House.

"Only via such a political channel would the GOC be able to make major
moves toward meeting U.S. concerns," the cable said, quoting the Spanish
ambassador.

In response, Farrar wrote that he ran through a list of diplomatic
overtures the U.S. had already made toward Cuba, and suggested that
rather than a backdoor dialogue, Castro "should engage seriously through
the existing channels."

A subsequent cable from last Dec. 18, following Moratinos' meeting with
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the diplomat offered the
services of Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero in
arranging such a dialogue between Raul Castro and the White House.

The cable does not contain Clinton's response. When asked Thursday if
the U.S. government was open to direct talks with Raul Castro, State
Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Washington already communicated
with Cuba on limited issues of mutual interest, like migration, and saw
no reason to expand those contacts.

"A broader, higher-level dialogue will only be feasible once we see real
change in Cuba," he said. "As we've said, we're prepared to respond as
Cuba changes, but we have not seen anything approaching fundamental
change in Cuba at this point."

Several other cables released Wednesday show U.S. diplomats speculating
about the physical and mental health of both Castro brothers.

In a series of dispatches from 2006 and 2007, U.S. diplomats discussed
the unknown health issue that forced Fidel Castro from power, and
guessing how much longer he might live. The cables quoted sources whose
names have been redacted but who are apparently close to Fidel, and say
the Cuban leader nearly died of his illness.

Castro himself has said as much, revealing in an interview earlier this
year that at one point he hoped for death.

In a 2007 dispatch, Farrar's predecessor, Michael Palmry, quoted an
unidentified retired Cuban doctor as saying Fidel had an irreversible
terminal illness, but would not die "immediately."

"Frankly, we don't believe anyone, including Castro himself, can state
... with certainty" how long he will live, Palmry wrote. "However, while
he is still alive, even in a reduced capacity, his presence has a
chilling and retardant effect on Cuban society."

Palmry intimated that Cubans were poised for change following Castro's
death, the exact opposite of the view Farrar expounded in the 2009 cable.

"The high expectations for change are still out there, but are mostly
associated with the idea that the dictator has to die first before
anything substantial will happen," Palmry concluded.

There is a striking change in tone in the cables sent by Palmry and
Farrar, who took over the Interests Section in 2008. Palmry rarely
missed an opportunity to describe the Castro brothers in the harshest
terms, while Farrar offered more detached assessments.

In a 2007 cable on the death of Raul Castro's wife, Vilma Espin, Palmry
speculated the loss might throw the Cuban president into a depression -
even though he said it would have little effect on Fidel.

"Although we doubt Fidel Castro cares very much about the loss of Vilma
Espin, or much else beyond his own personal legacy, we expect that her
death will have a significant impact on Raul Castro," the cable said,
before continuing with what must be one of the greatest backhanded
compliments in recent diplomatic history.

"Yes, both Fidel and Raul Castro are mass murderers and cruel leaders,"
Palmry wrote. "But Raul always has had a parallel reputation as a family
man."
Associated Press writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this
report.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/12/16/v-fullstory/1975782/us-doesnt-expect-cuba-upheaval.html

Cuba refuses dissident exit visa

Cuba refuses dissident exit visa

Farinas: Government "is behaving in an arrogant manner"
The Cuban authorities have refused an exit visa for a leading Cuban
dissident to travel to France to receive the EU's Sakharov Prize for
Freedom of Thought.

Guillermo Farinas launched a prolonged hunger strike earlier this year,
protesting against the plight of Cuba's political prisoners.

He called the Cuban authorities arrogant for not granting him permission
to travel.

He said it revealed their disregard for individual liberty.

Mr Farinas was near to death earlier this year, on a drip feed in
hospital, when President Raul Castro authorised the release of 52 of the
island's most prominent prisoners of conscience.

It was an unprecedented breakthrough brokered by the Roman Catholic Church.

The 48-year-old political activist had hoped to attend Wednesday's award
ceremony at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

Empty chair

The Sakharov prize for Freedom of Thought is the EU's top annual human
rights award and the winner receives about $70,000 (£44,400).

Earlier this week the president of the European Parliament made a
last-minute plea to the Cuban authorities on Guillermo Farinas' behalf
but to no avail.

Instead the Cuban dissident will be represented by an empty chair.

It will be the second time in a week there will be an empty chair at an
international human rights award ceremony, after imprisoned Chinese
activist Liu Xiaobo was unable to attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony
in Oslo.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/caribbean/news/story/2010/12/101215_cuba_dissident.shtml

Reforms feed new private restaurants in Raul's Cuba

Reforms feed new private restaurants in Raul's Cuba

Once almost suffocated by regulation and ideological taboos, Cuba's
small private restaurants are now mushrooming in a more market-friendly
atmosphere spurred by President Raul Castro's economic reforms.

New restaurants, cafeterias and fast-food stands are opening in porches,
terraces and living rooms across the island as Cubans, looking to make
more money, begin changing the communist-led nation's urban landscape.

The government has said 35,000 licenses for self employment were
approved in the first month since the reforms kicked in, with about 20
percent of those for food-related businesses.

Most will be small enterprises aimed at a Cuban clientele, but the
number of more expensive "paladares" that cater to foreigners with hard
currency is expected to rise, too.

Small restaurants were first allowed during a short-lived experiment in
the 1990s but excessive regulation and ideological stigma — they were
seen as too capitalist — squeezed most of them out of business.

Only about 100 out of an estimated 1,500 survived.

That could change now that the government has taken steps to encourage
private business, recognizing its importance in the new economic scheme.

Castro expects the private sector to absorb many of the workers who will
be laid off as the state, looking to reduce its costs, moves ahead with
plans to slash 500,000 jobs in the next few months.

After cooking in state-run restaurants for decades, chef Justo Perez
opened his own place last week at an elegant house that stands out in
otherwise dilapidated central Havana.

"There were a lot of people waiting for this opportunity. This is only
the beginning. I am sure we are going to see a lot of interesting
proposals," said Perez, 68.

The walls of his restaurant, La Comercial Cubana, are covered in
black-and-white pictures of Nat King Cole, Carmen Miranda and Celia
Cruz, evoking the glamour of Havana in the 1940s and 1950s. Patrons can
dine on dishes such as roasted pork criollo style for US$7.56 and creole
shrimp, which costs US$19.44 or roughly an average Cuban's monthly salary.

Perez said he had long considered opening a restaurant, but finally
jumped in when the government issued new regulations that made the
prospects for success more likely.

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/international/americas/2010/12/15/283731/Reforms-feed.htm

Cuban dissident calls on EU not to soften stance on Castro regime

Cuban dissident calls on EU not to soften stance on Castro regime
Posted : Wed, 15 Dec 2010 17:20:23 GMT

Strasbourg, France - A Cuban dissident honoured Wednesday with a
prestigious human rights award called on the European Union not to
soften its stance against the Castro regime.

Guillermo Farinas made his appeal via a recorded speech, as he was not
allowed to travel to Strasbourg to collect the European Parliament's
Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

During the ceremony, his chair was left empty, with the Cuban flag
draped over it.

"The fact that I cannot leave and return voluntarily to the island where
I was born is, in itself, the most irrefutable witness to the fact that
unfortunately, nothing has changed in the autocratic system ruling my
country," Farinas said, according to a parliament statement.

Farinas, a 49-year-old psychologist who has undertaken several hunger
strikes to defend human rights and protest against Communist repression,
was named the 2010 Sakharov Prize winner in October.

He said the EU should unfreeze relations with Cuba only after the
release of all political prisoners, the legalisation of opposition
parties and a review of laws which contravene human rights.

Dozens of political dissidents have been freed this year following
mediation by Spain and the Catholic Church, leading the Madrid
government to urge the EU to recognize the move by thawing its stance
towards Cuba.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is expected to report on the
options for political dialogue with the country in January. On
Wednesday, she congratulated Farinas and gave assurances that human
rights would continue to top her agenda.

The ceremony in the parliament's chamber was reminiscent of the one held
last week by the Nobel Prize committee, where an empty chair was left
for Liu Xiaobo, the Peace Prize laureate who was unable to attend
because he has been jailed by Chinese authorities.

But it is not the first time that Sakharov winners were not able to
collect the prize in person. Past examples include Hu Jia, another
jailed Chinese human rights activist, the Cuban association Ladies in
White and Burma opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/358356,soften-stance-castro-regime.html

Dissident: Cuba won't let me accept rights prize

Dissident: Cuba won't let me accept rights prize

'I'm going to continue in my battle for democracy,' winner of EU award says

HAVANA — A Cuban dissident said he would not attend a ceremony in France
to accept the European Parliament's top human rights prize because Cuban
authorities had not given him permission to make the trip.

Guillermo Farinas, whose long hunger strike helped pressure Havana into
releasing political prisoners this year, told Reuters he had not
received the exit visa that he needed to leave Cuba for the Wednesday event.

"Nobody communicated with me. Now this is impossible," he said by
telephone from his home in Santa Clara, 170 miles east of Havana.

The ceremony, to be held in Strasbourg, was scheduled for Wednesday.

The European Parliament said it would transmit a message from Farinas
and have an empty chair to represent him.

"I'm going to continue in my battle for democracy in Cuba, whether they
let me leave or don't let me leave," Farinas said.

The Communist Cuban government, which views dissidents as mercenaries
working for its ideological enemy, the United States, has said nothing
about Farinas.

Farinas, a 48-year-old psychologist, went on a 135-day hunger strike
this year to demand that Cuba release political prisoners.

He called it off in July when it was announced that 52 prisoners jailed
since a 2003 crackdown would be released in a deal struck by the
Catholic Church with President Raul Castro.

So far, 41 of the prisoners have been freed, with all but one agreeing
to go to Spain. Cuban Catholic leader Cardinal Jaime Ortega has said the
government has promised to release the remaining prisoners soon.

'Nothing has changed in Cuba'

The 27-nation European Union, along with the United States, has long
pressed Cuba to release political prisoners, improve human rights and
move toward democracy.

It has recently taken steps toward improving ties with Cuba, which also
seeks a normalization of relations but only if the EU drops its common
position calling for democratic change in Cuba.

Joseph Daul, a member of the European parliament from France, said
Farinas' absence "means that nothing has changed in Cuba."

The EU awarded Farinas the Sakharov Prize, named for late Soviet
dissident Andrei Sakharov, in October.

The prize, which has been given out since 1988, includes 50,000 euros
($66,000).

It was awarded twice previously to Cubans — in 2002 to dissident Oswaldo
Paya and in 2005 to the opposition group Ladies in White.

Paya was permitted by the Cuban government to go accept the prize, but
the Ladies in White were not.

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded last week to Chinese dissident Liu
Xiaobo , who is imprisoned in China and could not attend. An empty chair
also represented him at the ceremony.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40672819/ns/world_news-americas/

Petitions urge Gross' release

Petitions urge Gross' release
12/15/2010 11:00:00 AM

Rabbi David Shneyer, two petitions in hand urging Cuba to release a
Jewish American prisoner, led a handful of congregants to the Cuban
Interests Section on Friday, but was unable to drop off the petitions.

The reason: He didn't have an appointment.

The petitions -- one signed by about 200 people, most of them local; the
other signed by about 40 members of Rabbis for Human Rights -- seek the
release of Potomac resident Alan Gross.

Gross, 61, was arrested a year ago, with Cuba calling him a spy. Charges
have never been filed. Both his family and the State Department say he
was in the country on a U.S. Agency for International Development
contract to help the Cuban Jewish community with Internet access to
communicate with other Jewish communities.

Shneyer, rabbi of Kehila Chadasha and Am Kolel Jewish Renewal Center,
where Gross is a member, said he had repeatedly sought a meeting with
Carlos Barros Olivera, the Cuban Interests Section deputy chief of
mission. It was to Barros that he hoped to deliver the petitions.

The local petition, addressed to the Cuban government, states: "We hope
you will let Alan free as a humanitarian act, for the sake of his family
and for the sake of creating good will between our peoples."

The petition signed by the rabbis -- including Charles Feinberg of Adas
Israel in D.C., Alana Suskind of Shaare Torah in Gaithersburg and Sid
Schwarz of Rockville -- is directed to Cuban President Raul Castro. "The
equipment he brought was intended for humanitarian purpose, not for the
dissident community. Your government has not charged him with any
crime," it says. "We urge you to release Alan Gross immediately."

A letter to Castro signed by Shneyer noted that Friday marked the
anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Rights. "The
Cuban Revolution was a struggle for these basic human rights. Article 9
reads 'No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or
exile.' His captivity without charge for more than a year is both
arbitrary and cruel," he wrote.

Shneyer had met with Barros in February, a meeting he said took several
months to arrange. "At that time, he said there was an ongoing
investigation," the rabbi said, adding he will continue his efforts to
arrange a meeting and deliver the letters. He also said an online
petition is in the works.

Cuba, Shneyer complained, "has never said officially what they want from
the United States to release Alan."

A spokesperson for the interests section had no comment on Gross, saying
the investigation is ongoing. -- WJW staff

http://washingtonjewishweek.com/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=4&ArticleID=14009

Russian Cruise Ship to Begin Circumnavigation Tour around Cuba

Russian Cruise Ship to Begin Circumnavigation Tour around Cuba

HAVANA, Cuba, Dec 15 (acn) The Russian cruise ship Adriana, of the
Tropicana Cruises LTD company, will soon begin a regular
circumnavigation tour around Cuba under the name "Knowing Cuba from the
Sea".
Cuban News Agency

The director of International Sales Development of the Cubatur travel
agency, Juan Carlos Escalona, said the circuit will begin on December 25
and it will be similar to the first circumnavigation around the
Caribbean island in 1509 by Spanish Sebastian de Ocampo.

Escalona referred to an increasing interest of many tour operators in
this product that is already being promoted abroad and that will result
in an increase of foreign visitors.

He also predicted a significant growth in the sales of excursions in the
five national ports in which the cruise ship will stop. There, tourists
will enjoy and learn about the local nature, history, culture, cuisine,
music and traditions through visits to museums and other places and they
will also carry out other activities such as diving, sight-seeing, etc.

The eight-day journey will begin in Havana and it will include stops in
the Isle of Youth; in Trinidad, in the central province of Sancti
Spiritus; in Ocho Rios, in Jamaica; in Santiago de Cuba; and in Cayo
Saetia, in Holguin province.
The Adriana cruise ship, headed by Captain Vasily Borovsky, has a
capacity for 305 passengers. It has 150 cabins as well as a restaurant,
a bar, a swimming pool, a beauty parlor, a show hall, a sauna, a massage
room, an internet club, a laundry and several shops.

http://www.ain.cubaweb.cu/idioma/ingles/2010/1215russian-cruise-ship-begin-circumnavigation-tour-around-cuba.htm

Cuba parliament meets ahead of big party gathering

Posted on Wednesday, 12.15.10
Cuba parliament meets ahead of big party gathering
By PAUL HAVEN
Associated Press

HAVANA -- Cuba's parliament convened Wednesday to discuss the
government's make-or-break plans to retool the island's economy, the
first - and likely last - time legislators will get a chance to discuss
the changes ahead of a major Communist Party congress next year.

Cuba's 611-member National Assembly meets in full session just twice a
year, and then only briefly, to approve laws and discuss national
issues. The next session is due to take place next summer.

President Raul Castro was expected to address the lawmakers in one of
his few yearly speeches, though it was unclear whether his remarks would
come Wednesday or at the close of the session. Foreign journalists are
usually granted access to the opening of the assembly, but were not
invited this year, and the session was not broadcast live on state-run
television.

Castro has announced plans to lay off half a million state workers, and
the government is already issuing licenses for a limited number of small
businesses in an effort to open the state-dominated economy to more
private enterprise.

Castro has slashed some food subsidies, raised state-controlled oil and
utility prices and eliminated free lunches from many government
workplaces. He says the cash-strapped state simply cannot afford them
any more.

Cubans make just $20 a month, but in return get free health care and
education, and nearly free housing, utilities and transportation. Even
so, making ends meet is extremely difficult for most people on the island.

The government has said increased productivity is the key to improving
living conditions, a refrain repeated often in recent decades. Many
workers in turn blame the government for the low productivity, saying
many factories barely function due to bureaucracy, crippling
inefficiency and a lack of spare parts.

The government has begun distributing a 32-page list of guidelines for
next year's Communist Party Congress - the first such gathering since
1997. The guidelines are being discussed by Cubans in thousands of
meetings at workplaces and neighborhoods around the country.

In addition to allowing more private enterprise, the government has said
it wants to pay down the island's billions of dollars of foreign debt
and eventually scrap an unusual dual currency system.

Parliament chief Ricardo Alarcon said Friday that this week's assembly
session will allow legislators a chance to weigh in on the changes.

"We're going to talk about the economic plans. The main focus is going
to be to allow the delegates to debate the guidelines," he said.

Cuba's government bristles at suggestions the national parliament serves
as little more than a rubber stamp, noting that its members are elected
by the island's citizens, though campaigning is prohibited and
opposition candidates almost never run - let alone win seats.

The parliament, in turn, decides who will serve on the Council of State,
Cuba's supreme governing body.

The country has been run by Raul Castro and his brother Fidel since 1959.

Parliament is also likely to receive a year-end report from the economy
minister. Cuba's economy grew by just 1.4 percent in 2009, and the
results this year are likely to be similarly discouraging.

Cuba has slashed imports due to lack of funds, and has already announced
that harvests of key crops like sugar and rice were among the worst in
decades. Tourism revenue has been a bright spot, holding steady despite
the global economic slowdown.

Cuban economists have been warning that there are more hard times to come.

Joaquin Infanta, one of the island's main economists, told state-run
Juventud Rebelde newspaper on Sunday that Cubans should prepare to
tighten their belts because the economic overhaul will take time to bear
fruit.

"It will have an impact in 2011 and 2012," he said. "The benefits of the
changes won't be seen until 2013."

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/12/15/1974802/cuba-parliament-meets-ahead-of.html

EU human rights laureate calls for change in Cuba

Posted on Wednesday, 12.15.10
EU human rights laureate calls for change in Cuba
By RAF CASERT
Associated Press

BRUSSELS -- A Cuban dissident used a video address at Wednesday's award
of the EU's main human rights prize to call for the release of political
prisoners in his homeland and for the government to end attacks on the
opposition.

Guillermo Farinas was not allowed by Cuba to travel to receive the
Sakharov human rights prize in Strasbourg, France.

Farinas, a 48-year-old psychologist and freelance journalist, said the
travel ban was "irrefutable testimony to the fact that unfortunately
nothing has changed (in Cuba)."

An empty chair - set out for him - sat in the middle of the legislature
with a Cuban flag draped over it. EU Parliament President Jerzy Buzek
said it signified a "sad day" on the annual occasion when the bloc wants
to laud a stirring example of bravery in the face of human rights
oppression.

Farinas won the Sakharov prize in October after his 134-day hunger
strike helped draw attention to the plight of activists, opposition
leaders and social critics in Cuban jails.

He had been kept alive through periodic intravenous feedings at a
hospital in his hometown Santa Clara, but began accepting food and water
a day after an agreement between the government and Cuba's Roman
Catholic Church to release 52 political prisoners.

Farinas has spent more than 11 years in prison for a variety of
offenses, though he was not behind bars during the hunger strike. He has
said he decided to launch his protest after the death of a jailed
political prisoner following a long hunger strike.

Cuba's government considers him a common criminal paid for by Cuba's
enemies in Washington, and notes that some of his legal troubles include
an assault on a co-worker and other violent behavior. Farinas says all
the charges are linked to his activism.

Previous winners of the prize include Aung San Suu Kyi and Nelson
Mandela. It was awarded twice before to Cubans: in 2002 to pro-democracy
activist Oswaldo Paya and in 2005 to a dissident group, Ladies in White.

On the eve of the ceremony Farinas said in a telephone interview with
the Associated Press from his home in Cuba that authorities denied him
permission to travel because the government never received a formal
request from the European Union. Cubans hoping to leave the island must
request a "tarjeta blanca" or "white card," from the government.

In his video address, transmitted to solemn silence at the legislature,
he compared it to a card the slaves had to carry in colonial times.

"I had everything ready, my passport, a visa for France and my tickets,"
Farinas told the AP. "The only thing missing was the political will of
the Cuban government."

He welcomed the prize. "This prize for me represents first and foremost
a reason to increase my commitment to keep up the fight so that we will
one day have true democracy in Cuba," he said.

He called for the release of political prisoners, respect for peaceful
opposition, the abolition of laws contravening human rights, rights for
a free media and trade unions and a call to allow the Cuban diaspora to
become involved in political life.

Associated Press writer Anne-Marie Garcia contributed from Havana

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/12/15/1974510/eu-human-rights-laureate-calls.html

LIKE NOBEL CEREMONY, SAKHAROV PRIZE CEREMONY TO HAVE EMPTY CHAIR

LIKE NOBEL CEREMONY, SAKHAROV PRIZE CEREMONY TO HAVE EMPTY CHAIR
15-12-2010.
Reporters without borders

(www.miscelaneasdecuba.net).- Five days after the Nobel Peace Prize
ceremony was held in Oslo in laureate Liu Xiaobo's absence
(http://en.rsf.org/china-nobel-peace-prize-universal-10-12-2010,39012.html),
the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought will be
presented tomorrow in Strasbourg in the absence of its Cuban recipient,
Guillermo "El Coco" Fariñas Hernández, because he has not been allowed
to leave Cuba.

Cuba's Ladies in White – the mothers, sisters and daughters of the
island's political prisoners – were already prevented from travelling to
Strasbourg when they were awarded the prize jointly with Reporters
Without Borders and Nigerian human rights lawyer Hauwa Ibrahim in 2005.
This latest travel ban has again highlighted the extremely limited scope
of the Castro government's concessions to its opponents.

"The European Parliament's official invitation to attend the Sakharov
Prize presentation should have been forwarded to me within a week by the
Cuban consular authorities in France," Fariñas has told Reporters
Without Borders, which awarded him its Cyber-Freedom Prize in 2006. "But
a month has gone by and I still have not received it. At this point, the
document must now be lost."

The founder of Cubanacán Press, a small independent news agency based in
the central city of Santa Clara, Fariñas said he was recovering slowly
from the "serious muscular after-effects" of his many hunger strikes. He
was not angry about not being able to go to Strasbourg because, he said,
the most important thing was to avoid being prevented from returning to
Cuba afterwards.

"The authorities would no doubt have allowed me to leave but without
being able to return, and there was no question of my agreeing to that,"
he said. "I am a Cuban and I will stay with the Cuban people. For me the
only acceptable arrangement would have been a provisional exit permit."

The words "Definitive Exit" were stamped in the passports of all of the
18 journalists – including former Reporters Without Borders Cuba
correspondent Ricardo González Alfonso – who have been released from
prison since July on condition that they take a one-way trip into exile.
Most of these journalists, who had been detained since the March 2003
"Black Spring" crackdown, are now living in Spain
(http://en.rsf.org/cuba-journalists-talk-about-their-02-09-2010,38247.html).

Three other "Black Spring" journalists remain in prison because they
refuse to leave Cuba: Pedro Argüelles Morán, Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez and
Iván Hernández Carrillo
(http://en.rsf.org/cuba-government-breaks-promise-by-08-11-2010,38773.html).
Reporters Without Borders reiterates its insistence that they have an
unconditional right to live freely in their own country.

This is the message that Fariñas said he wanted to send for the
ceremony: "A message of reconciliation. Without rancour or hatred. Let
us love our enemies. There is no civil war in Cuba. Just a peaceful
rebellion and the promise of deep-seated social change. I am a very
small part of this rebellion and I receive the Sakharov Prize in the
Cuban people's name. The prize encourages me to pursue this collective
movement towards the best of prizes, total democracy in Cuba and human
rights for all, even for those who today are our oppressors."

Reporters Without Borders adopts Fariñas' message as its own. Cuban
society will one day have to be reconciled with all of its components.
The international community, especially Europe and Latin America, must
continue diplomatic attempts to promote respect for basic rights and
freedoms in Cuba.

This is why Reporters Without Borders supports the European Union's
"common position" on Cuba, under which the normalization of EU relations
is conditioned on Cuba's effective recognition of these rights and
freedoms. The Cuban government signed two UN conventions on civil and
political rights in 2008 but has not ratified them.

At the same time, Reporters Without Borders reiterates its call for the
lifting of the US embargo on Cuba, which has been in place since 1962.
It penalizes Cuba's population while giving the government a pretext for
making no changes. The page must be turned on repression and Cubans must
be able to decide their future.

http://www.miscelaneasdecuba.net/web/article.asp?artID=30767

Why the world is heading to Miami to buy Cuban art

Why the world is heading to Miami to buy Cuban art
December 13, 2010|By Laura Allsop for CNN

One of the few Cuban commodities you can buy in the United States is art
-- and the place to get it is Miami.

For years a hub for Hispanic communities in the United States, Miami is
now an important gateway for the new art of Cuba -- and Latin America
more generally.

Now in its ninth year, Art Basel Miami Beach, is the city's premier art
fair and each year it invites galleries from all over the world to
exhibit and sell modern and contemporary art.

A short plane ride away from, say, Brazil, with its rising economy, the
fair is increasingly drawing Latin American galleries showcasing
exciting new work, as well as international galleries wooing the
continent's wealthy elite in the hope of a sale.

"At a time when the economies of Western Europe and North America are
pretty shaky, and Brazil is just booming, galleries need new collectors
to keep things moving," said Marc Spiegler, co-director of Art Basel.

He added that Art Basel Miami Beach, the North American sister fair of
the esteemed Swiss art fair, was chosen for its proximity to Latin America.

It has taken a while for the art market there to grow, he said, but the
current economic situation in Latin America is helping to speed things up.

Indeed, sales at the fair, which ran over four days at the beginning of
December, indicate that global interest in both modern and contemporary
Cuban art is growing.

Cernuda Arte, a Coral Gables, Florida gallery specializing in art from
Cuba exhibiting at the fair for the first time this year, made a record
sale of a 1944 painting by Cuban artist Wilfredo Lam for $3 million --
to a Cuban-American collector.

Unlike other commodities, art is exempt from the U.S. trade embargo on
Cuba, and can move comparatively freely between the two nations.

Brazilian artist Beatriz Milhazes, who presented a floor-based ceramic
work for the booth of the Swiss Beyeler Foundation, was also a talking
point at the fair.

Milhazes, whose paintings are bright explorations of the flora and fauna
of her home country, set a record in 2008 for a Brazilian artist with a
painting that sold at Sotheby's auction house in New York for over $1
million.

She said that when she first started painting in the early 1990s there
was little in the way of an art scene in Brazil. Now, with its
flourishing economy, all that is changing.

As for her auction success, she said: "It's a big achievement for
everybody in my country."

http://articles.cnn.com/2010-12-13/us/miami.latin.american.art_1_cuban-art-cernuda-arte-wilfredo-lam?_s=PM:US

Empty chair to represent Cuban dissident at EU parliament ceremony

Empty chair to represent Cuban dissident at EU parliament ceremony
Posted : Tue, 14 Dec 2010 13:04:18 GMT
Europe World News | Home

Strasbourg, France - A Cuban dissident prevented from collecting a
European Parliament prize in person will be represented by an empty
chair when the ceremony takes place Wednesday, officials announced on
Tuesday.

Guillermo Farinas was named the winner of the 2010 Sakharov Prize for
Freedom of Thought in October. But Cuban authorities prevented him from
traveling to the EU parliament's seat in Strasbourg, France, to collect
the award.

In a statement, the European Parliament said he would be "represented by
an empty chair tomorrow at the prize award ceremony as he has not
received the necessary permission to leave the country."

Farinas, a 49-year-old psychologist who has undertaken several hunger
strikes to defend human rights in Cuba, is expected to address lawmakers
through a recorded speech, the statement added.

The Parliament's move is reminiscent of the Nobel Prize committee's
decision last week to leave an empty chair during an award ceremony for
Liu Xiaobo, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate who was unable to attend
because he has been jailed by Chinese authorities.

But it is not the first time that Sakharov winners cannot collect the
prize in person. Past examples include Hu Jia, another jailed Chinese
human rights activist, the Cuban association Ladies in White and Burma
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/358114,dissident-eu-parliament-ceremony.html

Cuba launches online encyclopaedia similar to Wikipedia

Cuba launches online encyclopaedia similar to Wikipedia
14 December 2010 Last updated at 09:55 GMT

The Cuban government is launching its own online encyclopaedia, similar
to Wikipedia, with the goal of presenting its view of the world and history.

The new Spanish language website will be officially launched later on
Tuesday but it is already up and running with nearly 20,000 entries on
ecured.cu

The site says the aim is to spread knowledge without a profit motive.

Updates will apparently be allowed with the administrators' approval but
it is not clear who actually runs the site.

Founded in 2001 in Cuba's long-time ideological enemy, the United
States, Wikipedia is a multilingual, free-content encyclopaedia.

It encourages editorial changes from everybody who comes to the site,
although restrictions exist on about 2,000 controversial articles.

Wikipedia has more than 3.5 million entries in English and 682,000 in
Spanish, and some attracts 78 million visitors a month.
'Beautiful fruit'

According to Ecured, it was developed "to create and disseminate the
knowledge of all and for all, from Cuba and with the world".

"Its philosophy is the accumulation and development of knowledge, with a
democratising, not profitable, objective, from a decolonizer point of view."

The entry on the United States, for example, describes it as the "empire
of our time, which has historically taken by force territory and natural
resources from other nations, to put at the service of its businesses
and monopolies".

"It consumes 25% of the energy produced on the planet and in spite of
its wealth, more than a third of its population does not have assured
medical attention," the article says.

The BBC's Michael Voss in Havana says relations between these two former
Cold War foes have marginally improved under US President Barack Obama,
but the decades-long trade embargo remains firmly in place.

Ecured claims that the US has always wanted to take over the Caribbean
island. The entry says US leaders have looked upon Cuba "like those who
admire a beautiful fruit that will end up falling in their hands".

Fidel Castro, who was succeeded as Cuban president by his brother Raul
in 2008, "writes and participates in the struggle of ideas at a global
level" and "influences important and strategic decisions of the Revolution".

Raul Castro is meanwhile described as a "revolutionary combatant,
political leader, statesman and military chief".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11989296

Cuba to import in 2011 twice the rice it produces

Cuba to import in 2011 twice the rice it produces
Published December 13, 2010
EFE

Havana – The Cuban government will have to import in 2011 double the
amount of rice it produces in order to meet domestic demand, the
official weekly Trabajadores said Monday, citing the island's deputy
minister of agriculture.

"Again in 2011 the country will have to import almost double the rice
produced here," Juan Perez Lamas said at a meeting with growers,
according to the publication of Cuba's only legal trade union, the CTC.

Cuba needs "more people growing rice and selling it though various
channels, but with discipline," Perez Lamas said.

For its part, Trabajadores slammed the fact that a lack of resources,
general disorganization, and apathy toward such options as cutting by
hand, have caused "regrettable losses" in the rice fields.

"We're left with the impression that rice production goes at a faster
pace than the development of a national infrastructure to sustain it,"
the weekly said.

In that sense, the publication said that there are problems with
machinery like tractors, mills and dryers, and a "poorly maintained
network of canals between reservoirs and plantations" that loses half
the water meant for crops.

"Cuba now spends on producing the grain seven times more than Vietnam,"
Trabajadores said, while stressing the importance of "better planning."

It also said that in the new context of economic adjustments being
planned by the Raul Castro government, "it would be healthy to explain
to the grower just how much the government can promise him."

"It's absurd and anti-economic that we can't come up with the $250 that
it costs to produce a ton of rice here when it's needed, but we can find
the $500 it costs to bring it from Asia," the weekly publication said.

In 2009, the Agriculture Ministry's Rice Program launched a state plan
aimed at substituting 29 percent of imports that year and to reach 56
percent by 2013.

According to the state corporation Alimport, Cuba spent in 2009 more
than $2 billion on rice imports to guarantee supplies for the population.

According to official figures, the 11.2 million Cubans consume an
average of 11 pounds of rice per month, for an annual consumption of
more than 600,000 tons.

State-issued rationing cards guarantee each Cuban citizen 7 pounds of
rice per month at subsidized prices.

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/money/2010/12/13/cuba-import-twice-rice-produces/

EU decries no-show of Farinas for rights prize

EU decries no-show of Farinas for rights prize
The Associated Press

BRUSSELS -- The European Union parliament has criticized Cuba for not
allowing a dissident protester to travel to collect its biggest human
rights award.

EU Parliament President Jerzy Buzek said Tuesday that Guillermo Farinas,
whose 134-day hunger strike helped draw attention to the plight of Cuban
political dissidents, would be represented by an empty chair at the
midweek ceremony to award the Sakharov Prize for the Freedom of Thought.

Joseph Daul, a member of the European parliament from France, says his
absence "means that nothing has changed in Cuba."

Previous winners of the prize include Aung San Suu Kyi and Nelson
Mandela. It was awarded twice before to Cubans: in 2002 to pro-democracy
activist Oswaldo Paya and in 2005 to a dissident group, Ladies in White.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/12/14/1972586/eu-decries-no-show-of-farinas.html

Cuba bows to pressure to reform its economy

Cuba bows to pressure to reform its economy
By Marc Frank in Havana
Published: December 13 2010 17:32

Rising debt charges are forcing Cuba to reshape its Soviet-style
economy, with leading creditor China among those cheering on the changes.

A Cuban Communist party congress, scheduled for April, will discuss and
likely ratify policies that are already starting to be implemented.
These include cutting 20 per cent of state workers, cutting social
benefits, eliminating state subsidies, improving Cuba's trade balance
and liberalising rules for small business and foreign investment.

ChartCuba, which is the subject of a strict US embargo and is excluded
from most international lending organisations, depends on China as a
creditor of last resort. Its proposed reforms are remarkably similar to
those typically required under International Monetary Fund bail-outs –
although privatisation of state assets is not on the agenda.

In a recent closed-door meeting of 500 senior officials chaired by Raúl
Castro, president, Cuba's economy minister, Marino Murillo, reportedly
stated that mounting debt and the need for fresh credit had left the
government no choice but to put its economic house in order.

A video of the November meeting, called to discuss plans for next year's
congress, is making the rounds of Havana's elite. Cuba faces rising
principal and service charges over the next five years and simply does
not have the money to meet them, Mr Murillo, reportedly said on the video.

Cuba last reported its foreign debt at $17.8bn in 2007. Most analysts
agree it now exceeds $21bn, or close to 50 per cent of gross domestic
product and 30 per cent more than annual foreign exchange revenues. Many
creditors have tired of Cuba's debt reschedulings. China is a relatively
new member of Cuba's creditor club, having provided billions in loans
over recent years. But it is now Havana's biggest creditor and second
largest trading partner, after Venezuela.

According to a number of people familiar with the video, Mr Murillo
specifically talks about the need to repay China on time. Plans to
develop oil refineries, ports, railways, the nickel industry and power
generation will require billions in fresh credit.

Mr Castro's point man for economic reform reportedly argues in the video
that state-run companies should be freed from government administration
and defends plans to shift hundreds of thousands of workers to
"non-state" jobs such as small businesses, farms and co-operatives.

"Mixed-capital companies, co-operatives, farmers with the right to use
idle land, rented property landlords, self-employed workers and other
forms that contribute to raise the efficiency of social labour must be
recognised and encouraged," adds a 32-page discussion document prepared
for the congress, which will set out Cuba's social and economic policies
through 2015.

Cuba is counting on China and Venezuela to provide fresh development
credit. Some of its debts to Beijing will be backed by Venezuelan oil as
collateral. A diplomatic cable, released by WikiLeaks last week,
describes a US diplomat's breakfast meeting with the commercial attachés
from Cuba's biggest trade partners. "Even China admitted to having
problems with getting paid on time," the cable reported. "[Officials
from] France and Canada responded with 'welcome to the club'."

According to Asian diplomats in Havana, Chinese and even Vietnamese
officials have repeatedly "suggested" Cuba modernise and offered their
assistance. Discussion documents for next year's congress, the Murillo
video and government statements all indicate that Havana may finally be
heeding their advice.

Fidel Castro, former president, recently praised China's
"rectifications" and told university students: "China is worth studying."

"Cuba is prepared to take advantage of China's experience in developing
reform and opening up," Ricardo Alarcón, a long-time politburo member,
added while visiting China last month. Such words will surely be
welcomed in Beijing as it ponders further loosening its purse strings.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e6fc6374-06d9-11e0-8c29-00144feabdc0.html?ftcamp=rss#axzz181tugnOw

Artists address the chronic racism in Cuba

Artists address the chronic racism in Cuba
By Kurt Shaw, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, December 12, 2010

Racism always has been a hotbed issue in this country. It's also an
important issue all over the world, especially in Cuba, where people of
African descent have experienced significant barriers in regard to
employment.

An exhibit on display at the Mattress Factory titled "Queloides"
addresses these barriers, and other barriers that have resulted from the
racism that has persisted there, particularly since the 1990s, when the
collapse of the Soviet Union had a severe and negative impact on the
Cuban economy.

Organized by Cuban artist Elio Rodriguez Valdes and Alejandro de la
Fuente, professor of history and Latin American studies at the
University of Pittsburgh, the exhibit contains the work of 13 Cuban
artists who came to Pittsburgh to produce the works.

De la Fuente says the title of the exhibit not only refers to its
English equivalent, "keloids," but also to two earlier exhibits in Cuba
of the same title and subject. He says, even here, the title is just as
relevant.

"Keloids is a medical term for pathological scars that develop in the
site of a skin injury produced by surgical incisions or traumatic
wounds. Although any injury might result in keloids, many people believe
that the black skin is particularly susceptible to develop these scars,"
De la Fuente says. "Thus the title evokes the persistence of racial
stereotypes -- i.e. the black skin is 'different' or 'worse' -- and the
traumatic process of dealing with racism, discrimination and centuries
of cultural conflict."

De la Fuente says that, with the economic crisis that followed the
collapse of the Soviet Union, competition for jobs, particularly in
tourism and other activities where it was possible to earn hard currency
increased significantly.

"Racist stereotypes and images were used to eliminate black candidates
for these jobs and to justify their exclusion as well," De la Fuente
says. "It is frequently argued in the island, for instance, that because
blacks lack a 'good appearance' or because they are 'unreliable' or
'lazy,' they should not be given the best jobs."

All of the artists included in the exhibit came of age professionally in
the early 1990s, precisely at the time when the Cuban socialist state
began to crumble and racism (and other social ills, such as
prostitution) were growing drastically in the island.

"These artists had grown up in post-revolutionary Cuba, in a social
environment that was fairly egalitarian and racially integrated," De la
Fuente says. "They have used their work to denounce the growing racism
and racial inequality that has come to characterize Cuban society since
the early 1990s."

The exhibit begins outside of the museum, in the parking lot. That's
where an antique Plymouth sedan is rather inconspicuously parked. But
look closely, and you will see roughly a dozen pairs of ceramic legs of
Afro-Cubans holding it up.

The piece is by Armando Marino and is titled "The Raft." It immediately
sets the tone for the exhibit, calling to mind the many Cubans who fled
their country, only to come to ours and be confronted with racism of its
own kind.

Racism always has been a taboo issue in Cuba. So, these artists' works
have been confrontational and critical. Some of the artists mock racist
stereotypes, such as Manuel Arenas, whose room-size installation
"Artificial Breathing" contains the phrase "Am I not a man and a
brother?" in frozen letters hung on one wall. Covered in ice crystals,
thanks to a freezer unit housed behind the wall, it's a cold commentary
on the cold shoulder many young Afro-Cubans receive on a daily basis.

In similar fashion, Alexis Esquivel addresses the persistent exclusion
of blacks from the structures of power through a series of portraits
that looks closely at the fragilities and vulnerabilities of historical
figures, such as Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara (1928-67) and Cuban
revolutionary Camilo Cienfuegos (1932-59), both of whom were executed.

Other works proclaim blacks' humanity, as in Rene Pena's rather personal
photographs of Afro-Cuban men in repose, either after or during the
simple act of taking a bath. And then there are those that question a
Western culture that transforms blacks into "others," such as the
subjects of scientific study and folklore presented in the sarcastically
humorous oil paintings of Armando Marino. And in the museum's basement a
shrine-like installation, "Ave Maria," by Jose Toirac and Meira Marrero
contains several dozen small religious figurines that delve into the
African religious influences that sustain Cuban culture.

De la Fuente says not all of these artists identify themselves as
blacks. "Most of them do, but several of these artists are considered --
and consider themselves -- white in Cuba."

In other words, Queloides is not a "black project" or a project "for
blacks," but a cultural project by a multiracial group of artists who
share similar beliefs and concerns about racial justice and equality.

"Bear in mind that when they began to discuss issues of race and racism
in their art work in the 1990s, they did something that was unthinkable
in a place like Cuba: they denounced racism in Cuban society, something
that the government had always claimed did not exist in Cuba," De la
Fuentes says.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/ae/museums/s_713203.html

Cuba must let dissident pick up EU prize: parliament chief

Cuba must let dissident pick up EU prize: parliament chief
(AFP) Posted Monday December 13, 2010 –9:49am

European Parliament president Jerzy Buzek made a last-minute plea Monday
for Cuban authorities to let dissident Guillermo Farinas leave the
island to pick up the top EU rights prize.

"Regretfully, Mr. Farinas was not allowed to come and collect the prize
in person on Wednesday even though I have personally asked this in a
letter to the President of Cuba, Mr. Raul Castro," Buzek said.

"If Mr. Farinas could leave (in) the following hours, he would still be
able to join us on Wednesday," he said at the start of a parliament
session in Strasbourg, France.

The European Parliament decided in October to award its prestigious
Sakharov human rights prize to Farinas, who put his own health at risk
by carrying out 23 hunger strikes to protest Havana's policies.

Buzek called on EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton to take Cuba's
refusal to allow the dissident to leave into consideration when
reviewing the EU's relations with the communist regime.

The 48-year-old Farinas, who heads the outlawed online agency Cubanacan
Press, held a 135-day hunger strike earlier this year that left him near
death but helped to compel the Cuban government to release 52 political
prisoners.

He is the third Cuban to win the Sakharov prize. The 2005 laureate, the
Ladies in White opposition movement, have not been able to come to
Strasbourg to collect their prize either.

http://67.59.172.92/article/World_News/World_News/Cuba_must_let_dissident_pick_up_EU_prize_parliament_chief/73248