The unheard of

ON Sunday, October 12, the Eurozone countries agreed an anti-crisis plan at the initiative of French President Sarkozy.

On Monday 13th came the announcement of multimillion funds that the European countries are to inject into the financial market to avoid a collapse. Shares rose with the surprising news. Full text>>

The truth in battle and Martin Blandino’s book
 Part III and final

AS the dramatic combats developed in Cangamba we could see that the enemy’s intentions were going far beyond one isolated action. First, we had to save the Cuban internationalists and the men of the 32nd FAPLA Brigade.
On August 7, in a handwritten letter that I sent to those besieged, we promised they would be rescued at all costs. Full text>>

The White House ghost

THREE days ago, on Friday October 10, the world was shocked by the impact of the Wall Street financial crisis. There is no way to count the millions of dollars in paper money injected by the Federal Reserve into the world’s finances to keep up banking operations and to prevent depositors from losing their money. Full text>>

The truth in battle and Martin Blandino’s book
 Part II

THE intensity of the actions by the small group of MiG-21 pilots was related by the author as follows:
"Despite the confidentiality demanded from members of the General Staff and the personnel at the command posts, it is impossible to prevent any leak concerning a war action lasting more than eight days and which has kept hundred of men and women on both sides of the ocean in maximum tension. Full text>>

THE LAW OF THE JUNGLE

Trade, within a society and among countries, is the exchange of goods and services produced by human beings. The owners of the means of production appropriate the profits. As a class, they are the leaders of the capitalist state and they boast of fostering development and social well-being through the market. This they worship as an infallible God. Full text>>

The truth in battle and Martin Blandino’s book
Part I
 

THE international press is only reporting on the economic hurricane that is lashing the world. Many articles are presenting it as a new phenomenon. For us, it is not new; it was anticipated. Today, I’d rather deal with another current issue that is also of great interest to our people. Full text>>

WE ARE AND WE SHOULD BE SOCIALISTS
 

LAST October 2nd we discussed the international price of the fuels that we are consuming. I am under the impression that its significance attracted the attention of many leaders and cadres.

There is a general debate about the percentage of the population with access to electricity and other common services of modern life. Full text>>

A subject to reflect on
 

UNDER normal circumstances, Cuba is a country where electricity is provided to 98% of the population. There is one single energy production and supply system. The use of power generators ensures supply to crucial centers under any circumstances. And this will again be the case as soon as the power grids are restored. Full text>>

KANGAMBA
 

KANGAMBA is one of the most serious and dramatic films I have ever seen. I watched it on a small television screen but perhaps my judgment is influenced by cherished memories. Hundreds of thousands of Cuban compatriots will have the privilege of watching it on the big screen of movie theaters. Full text>>

Democratic socialism

I did not want to write a third consecutive reflection, but I can not leave this until Monday.

There is one accurate response to Bush’s "democratic capitalism:" Chavez’ democratic socialism.  There couldn’t be a more accurate way to express the great contradiction that exists between North and South in our hemisphere, between the ideas of Bolívar and those of Monroe. Full text>>

Bush’s self-criticism
 

IN a brief 15-minute speech, the President of the United States made certain assertions that, had they come from the mouths of any of his adversaries, would have been described as atrocious and cynical slanders against the economic system of his country which he called "democratic capitalism".
After dramatically appealing to Congress to allocate an additional 700 billion dollars to cope with the crisis, he cited, among others, the following reasons: – This is an extraordinary period for America’s economy. Full text>>

The goal that cannot be renounced
Translated by ESTI

AROUND 35,000 Cuban health specialists are providing free or paid services in the world.  Furthermore, some young doctors from countries such as Haiti and others among the poorest of the Third World are working in their homelands thanks to the assistance provided by Cuba.  In Latin America, our main contribution has been the ophthalmologic surgeries that will help to preserve the eyesight of millions of people.  Full text>>

The financial Ike

• TODAY’S afternoon news wastes nothing:  

"Bush cancelled all his activities.  He intended to travel to Alabama and Florida to participate in campaign fundraising events."

"He said on Thursday that he was worried about the financial markets and the U.S. economy…"  Full text>>

The same lie twice over

READING the cables will suffice.
In the reflection I wrote the day before yesterday I stated that Cuba would not accept any donation from the government that is blockading us and that, in the Verbal Note handed over to the U.S. Interests Section, we had requested authorization so that U.S. companies could sell us construction materials; that same Note made no reference whatsoever to foodstuffs. Full text>>

The good-guy role, at whose expense?

WHEN the U.S. government hypocritically offered $100,000 as aid in the face of the disaster brought about by Hurricane Gustav, subject to an on-site inspection to confirm the damage, the response was that Cuba is unable to accept any donations from the country that is blockading us; that the damage had already been calculated and that what we were calling for was that it not prevent the export of essential materials and credits associated with commercial operations. Full text>>

Letter from Fidel to Randy Alonso, director of the “Roundtable” program

DEAR Randy,

Yesterday’s “Roundtable” program was particularly interesting and the information provided was extremely valuable. It is a pity that at that time the whole island was without electricity, from Punta de Maisí to Cabo de San Antonio. Just a few family homes in the Camilo Cienfuegos district that were able to resist the fierce winds had power. An underground cable connected to the generator at the Luis Díaz Soto Hospital reached that area. Full text>>

Besieged by hurricanes 

WE had hardly recovered from the emotional impact and material damage caused by the unexpectedly strong winds of Hurricane Gustav on the Isle of Youth and Pinar del Rio, when news were received of sea floods caused by Hanna. Then, the worst news of all: that the very intense Hurricane Ike, turning southwest under pressure from a strong anti-cyclone located north of its course, would strike over more than 1,000 kilometers throughout the national territory. Full text>>

NUCLEAR STRIKE

IT is not an overstatement. This is the general expression of many compatriots. It was the impression of the Revolutionary Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Alvaro Lopez Miera, an experienced soldier, when he saw the twisted steel towers, the shattered houses and the devastation everywhere in the Isle of Youth. Full text>>

The hurricane

IN my last reflection of Tuesday afternoon, August 29, when Hurricane Gustav unexpectedly formed and started to threaten our country on the same day when our Olympic delegation returned, I wrote: "We are lucky to have a Revolution! It is a fact that nobody will be neglected…Our strong, forceful and farsighted Civil Defense protects our people…The growing frequency and intensity of these natural phenomena show that the climate is changing due to the actions of human beings. Full text>>

What went unsaid about Cuba

I have carefully followed the Western media’s reaction to my Sunday reflections on the Olympic Games in China. Actually, rather sensitive events were overlooked while others were highlighted ad libitum by the advocates of world plunder and exploitation. Full text>>

A gold medal for honor

 IF one were to statistically work out the number of facilities, sport fields and sophisticated pieces of equipment we just saw in the recently concluded Olympic Games, accessible to every one million of the world's inhabitants; the number of swimming pools for diving and polo, artificial underfoot for track and field competitions or field hockey, basketball and volleyball courts, rapids for kayak races, cycle tracks for speed-bike races, firing ranges, and so on and so forth, one could conclude that they are beyond the reach of 80 percent of the countries that were represented in Beijing, which is equivalent to billions of people around the planet. Full text>>

Cannon fodder for the market

PERHAPS some governments are unaware of the concrete facts, and so for that reason Raúl’s message setting Cuba’s position seemed to us to be very timely. I shall be generous in the aspects that cannot be dealt with in a brief and precise official statement. Full text>>

The Olympic baseball team

THE indignation of the fans at Sunday’s serious setback thundered. That says it all: fan-at-ics!

But people forget the fact that they [the players] are now in South Korea, a country where we do not even have an embassy and where our athletes are continuing their training.Full text>>

Mr. Barack Obama will receive nominations as the Democratic candidate for the Presidential elections in the USA. His view on  ethanol is it “ultimately helps our national security, because right now we’re sending billions of dollars to some of the most hostile nations on earth.” America’s oil dependence, he says, “makes it more difficult for us to shape a foreign policy that is intelligent and is creating security for the long term.”

Here is what Cuba’s Fidel Castro thinks of him. Full text>>