Embargo // Current TV

Iran To Stop Oil Exports To Europe

Iran has threatened to stop oil exports to europe if new sanctions are introduced. 70... more

trut
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7 months ago
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2 comments

Dog Days Of War – Dog Days Of Summer – July 31, 1940 « Past Daily

A heatwave in Washington, even in 1940.

Gordonskene
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10 months ago
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US Targeting Cuba’s Health-Care System !

When your wrong, your just plain wrong! The U.S. government’s half-century... more

kennymotown
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1 year ago
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33 comments

Work set to begin on Venezuela-Cuba undersea cable

CARACAS, Venezuela – A specialized ship has arrived in Venezuela carrying enough fiber-optic cable to connect the South American country to Cuba, and will soon begin laying the cable along the sea floor to establish a link expected to dramatically improve telephone and Internet service for Cubans.
The French-flagged ship Ile de Batz was anchored on the Venezuelan coast and will begin rolling out the cable across the Caribbean Sea in the coming days, said Jose Ignacio Quintero, a manager for Paris-based Alcatel-Lucent SA, which is carrying out the project.
He said in a telephone interview Tuesday that the ship brought the cable from the French port of Calais, and reached Venezuela on Sunday. He said the cable is scheduled to be functional in July, spanning about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) from Camuri in Venezuela to Siboney in eastern Cuba.
Cuba is the only nation in the Western Hemisphere that is not linked to the outside world by optical fiber. Instead, it relies on slow, expensive satellite links because the U.S. government's embargo has prevented most trade between the island and the United States and has made companies in other countries shy away from doing business with Cuba.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a staunch supporter of Cuba's communist government, has said he plans to be there to inaugurate the project, which is one in a growing list of joint efforts by the two countries.
In a speech on Saturday, Chavez called the telecommunications link a step toward greater independence, and he condemned the U.S. government's trade embargo against the island.
Quintero said no U.S. entities or American citizens are participating in Alcatel-Lucent's project so that they would not be "exposed in any way to any type of sanction." While Alcatel-Lucent was formed by a 2006 merger involving Lucent Technologies of the United States, it is incorporated in France.
President Barack Obama's administration loosened some embargo restrictions in 2009, opening possibilities for cooperation with Cuba in telecommunications.
A Florida company called TeleCuba Communications Inc., founded by Cuban-American Luis Coello, wants to lay its own fiber-optic cable from Key West to Cuba. It would stretch about 110 miles (177 kilometers), much shorter and cheaper than the cable from Venezuela.
However, the project is stalled because U.S. regulators have balked at the Cuban government's demand that companies connecting calls to Cuba pay the Cuban phone company 84 cents per minute. The U.S. government has approved a maximum of 60 cents per minute.
That means calls from the U.S. to Cuba have to go through other countries, which relay the calls at the Cuban rate, so U.S. customers end up paying 91 cents or more.
TeleCuba has asked the Federal Communications Commission for permission to pay Cuba 84 cents per minute, saying that would make a direct link possible for the first time in decades, improving call quality and reducing the price.
But the fiber-optic connection from Venezuela looks set to be finished first, driven in part by the strong political alliance between Caracas and Havana. The cable is dubbed "ALBA 1," after the Bolivarian Alternative bloc that includes Venezuela, Cuba and other left-leaning allies.
A China-based subsidiary of the company, Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell, signed the contract to do the work for Telecomunicaciones Gran Caribe, a Cuban-Venezuelan joint venture owned by the countries' state telecommunications companies, Quintero said.
Cuban officials have said the project is expected to cost about $70 million. Quintero declined to comment on the projected cost.
After the cable reaches Cuba, a second segment of about 150 miles (245 kilometers) is to extend from the island to nearby Jamaica.
The cable's takeoff point on Venezuela's coast is at a crossroads for other international telecommunications cables, including one that stretches from Brazil to Florida, Quintero said.
Alcatel-Lucent will lay the optical fiber over varying terrain including an area off the Cuban coast that drops to a depth of about 19,000 feet (5,800 meters), Quintero said.
He said the 460-foot (140-meter) ship is equipped with a remote-controlled submarine robot that allows the crew to keep watch over the work while the cable is laid on the sea bottom.
When finished, the cable will be capable of handling about 80 million simultaneous phone calls, though some of that bandwidth will serve the Internet, Quintero said.
Having the connection will mean that callers to or from Cuba will no longer have to wait for an available line, he said. "Users are going to have a much better experience than they have today."CARACAS, Venezuela – A specialized ship has arrived in Venezuela carrying enough... more

device80
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2 years ago
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The Victorino Noval Foundation

The Victorino Noval Foundation, founded by Victor Noval, aka Victorino Noval Jr, sent an open letter to President Barack Obama today calling for the passage of H.R. 4645, a bill that will end restrictions for Americans wishing to travel to Cuba as well as allowing for the sale of agricultural commodities to Cuba.

Noval launched the Victorino Noval Foundation, headquartered in Beverly Hills, in the memory of his father to improve relations between Cuba and the United States. He hopes that through lobbying and media attention the government will end the trade and travel embargo against Cuba. H.R. 4645 is the next step in accomplishing this goal.

Last year, President Obama lifted restrictions on Cuban Americans wishing to travel home to Cuba. Noval contends that this is not enough. Within the letter Noval states, “The country of Cuba deserves to be treated with the same diplomatic consideration as other non-democratic or former adversarial countries such as Vietnam, China, Russia and Iran.”

H.R. 4645 would also improve trade relations with Cuba, affording the United States new economic opportunities. The letter explains, “According to the chairman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, an organization that has been energetic and outspoken about the need to remove the embargo, U.S. corporations want the embargo to be lifted. Americans want to trade with Cuba.”

The ever-present need to find new oil reserves is also a reason to pass this important legislation. Noval states, “Cuba’s recent massive oil finds (20 billion barrels), could easily equal today’s U.S. reserve… Lifting the embargo and partnering with Cuba could be like doubling access to oil supplies.” Cuba has given signs that it is interested in such a deal!

On a humanitarian level, Noval urges the government to consider that Cuba has already created countless medicines that U.S. citizens do not have access to. By soliciting the support of President Obama, the Victorino Noval Foundation hopes that H.R. 4645 will pass without incident, paving the way for an end to the Cuban Embargo.

About the Victorino Noval Foundation:

The Victorino Noval Foundation was created in memory of Victorino Noval Sr., who was born in Asturias, Spain, and died Los Angeles, California, May 7, 2010. Victor Noval, aka Victorino Noval Jr., runs the foundation in loving memory of his father and to carry on his father’s dreams and legacy to improve Cuban-American relations.

For more information, and to read Noval’s letter, visit the Victorino Noval Foundation at www.VictorinoNovalFoundation.com.

Source: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/11/prweb4754354.htmThe Victorino Noval Foundation, founded by Victor Noval, aka Victorino Noval Jr, sent... more

victorinonovalfoundation
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2 years ago
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Court Marshalls Embargo Menudo Concert in Puerto Rico and Confiscate Money and Merchandise

September 17, 1994 - Court Ordered Embargo of a Menudo Concert by Puerto Rico Court... more

AmericanNews
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2 years ago
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Greene corrects course, remembers yachting to Cuba, but not the partying

It now appears he wasn't there on any Jewish humanitarian mission.

KendrickMeek
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2 years ago
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Cuban Cowboy Music Video

Have you ever heard of a Cuban Cowboy? Directed by Tomás Hernández... more

tomasito
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3 years ago
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Time to lift the embargo on Cuba - We are hurting innocents in Cuba and ourselves in US

At the very least let both our peoples visit each other while the politicians work... more

Raven6
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3 years ago
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Great Moments in Public Relations: The Avatar Embargo

Maybe you heard the Internet hubbub last Friday when The Hollywood Reporter broke... more

jlichman
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3 years ago
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The UN Cuba vote and Sean Penn's scoop

Big day in Cuba news today. The United Nations will, as it does every year, vote to... more

afitzgerald
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3 years ago
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Incomplete Culture: Writer Confronts Raul Castro

[Translated from Spanish by UrbanGypsy]

"Without a direct and lively debate which includes all the parties that constitute it, without dialogue, and by dialogue, I mean inside and outside Cuba, our culture is incomplete" said Cuban writer and winner of the 2003 National Prize for Literature Reinaldo González in the inauguration of the Havana Book Fair in front of an audience that included Raúl Castro and the Russian Chancellor Sergei Lavrov.

"The necessity for an effort to erase these differences has won force in many of us, for the good of a culture that beats with the art and works of all Cubans" said the writer, in defense of finding concordance. "If that dialogue were to occur, without doubt, just as naturally as fragments of metal gravitate towards their magnet, we would need to bring down the obstacles that block it; real or imagined. This would not be the first time that the nation insists of the union of both of its separate parts."

But the signal of resistance to this was given by none other than General Raúl Castro. Earlier before González had come historian María del Carmen Barcia who was also honored during the book fair and of whom Castro had mentioned of their common Galician ancestry that "We can say we might even be family" after which he lauded the historian with praise. However, González was greeted with indifference before being gestured to go up to speak.

"Even though the official news sources on the island have since silenced or changed the meaning of the words of what Reinaldo González actually said, the writer publically challenged and addressed Cuban society, and in particular, its leadership which under the guise of state sovereignty has in the last 50 years not shown any regret in instilling fear in the soul of every Cuban to the point of dependency, if not to the point of paralysis or paranoia. If we were to look at the recent news coming out of the Unión de Jóvenes Comunistas (Union of Young Communists) we would be quick to ask ourselves what has happened to the Cuban youth, who's apathy, cynicism with the government and who's sense of culture has been eroded." said a sociologist who over the last 50 years has dedicated himself to the study of generational comparison.

Perhaps the answer to those questions comes from Reinaldo González himself: "In difficult times, those in the center, up top and in the periphery are all tested. It is our job to maintain our intellectual and artistic honesty and independence without having to resort to useless slogans or without having to hide behind a fake mask of indifference. Perhaps this is the real meaning behind the word 'dedication' [to art and literary work]. Dedication really means facing risk and actively participating in art as citizens, both [risk and participation] combined with the honest observation of rigorous questioning and criticism and followed with the same conviction with which we must follow our right to be heard."

"But if the conviction of erasing barriers and differences [with Cuban exiles] has indeed won a following among intellectuals in Cuba, the conservatism and resistance to change by those who have held the reigns of the country for more than half a century, even if with different clothes, remains as reluctant to the idea as when they first rejected some of the previous writers and artists who came with these ideas since the beginning. There is little point in talking if you are not going to be heard" said a young writer who is presenting his first ever book in the Havana Book Fair.

That his words were paid little or no attention in the state controlled national media in Cuba is of no surprise. Known are the relations between subjects and masters, but in this case, what was not mentioned is more important than what they did say about him.

If artists from Cuba are able to come to the United States to stage concerts and win prizes, then why prohibit Cuban writers and artists living in the US from going to Cuba to bring their art to the island? Why? Because the regime is afraid to confront different ideas. That is why they manipulate and censor.
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Should Cuban artists in the US be allowed to go to Cuba to show their art just as Cuban artists from Cuba sometimes come to the United States?[Translated from Spanish by UrbanGypsy] "Without a direct and lively debate... more

UrbanGypsy
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3 years ago
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17 comments

Where Was America Before The Earthquake When Haitian Kids Were Slaves & Eating Mudcakes To Survive ?

This is one of the very first post that I ever did on Current a couple of years ago. I... more

keithponder
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3 years ago
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72 comments

Text and Subtext in Eastwood's "Invictus"

So. Variety's Todd McCarthy and Newsweek's David Ansen have gone ahead and... more

jlichman
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3 years ago
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0 comments

President Obama’s Responses to Yoani Sanchez’s Questions

[President Obama responds to 7 questions posed to him by Yoani Sanchez from her blog in Cuba]
http://www.desdecuba.com/generationy/?p=1179

Thank you for this opportunity to exchange views with you and your readers in Cuba and around the world and congratulations on receiving the Maria Moore Cabot Prize award from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism for coverage of Latin America that furthers inter-American understanding. You richly deserve the award. I was disappointed you were denied the ability to travel to receive the award in person.

Your blog provides the world a unique window into the realities of daily life in Cuba. It is telling that the Internet has provided you and other courageous Cuban bloggers with an outlet to express yourself so freely, and I applaud your collective efforts to empower fellow Cubans to express themselves through the use of technology. The government and people of the United States join all of you in looking forward to the day all Cubans can freely express themselves in public without fear and without reprisals.

QUESTION #1. FOR YEARS, CUBA HAS BEEN A U.S. FOREIGN POLICY ISSUE AS WELL AS A DOMESTIC ONE, IN PARTICULAR BECAUSE OF THE LARGE CUBAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY. FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE, IN WHICH OF THE TWO CATEGORIES SHOULD THE CUBAN ISSUE FIT?

All foreign policy issues involve domestic components, especially issues concerning neighbors like Cuba from which the United States has a large immigrant population and with which we have a long history of relations. Our commitment to protect and support free speech, human rights, and democratic governance at home and around the world also cuts across the foreign policy/domestic policy divide. Also, many of the challenges shared by our two countries, including migration, drug trafficking, and economic issues, involve traditional domestic and foreign policy concerns. Thus, U.S. relations with Cuba are rightly seen in both a foreign and domestic policy context.

QUESTION 2: SHOULD YOUR ADMINISTRATION BE WILLING TO PUT AN END TO THIS DISPUTE, WOULD IT RECOGNIZE THE LEGITIMACY OF THE RAUL CASTRO GOVERNMENT AS THE ONLY VALID INTERLOCUTOR IN THE EVENTUAL TALKS?

As I have said before, I am prepared to have my administration engage with the Cuban government on a range of issues of mutual interest as we have already done in the migration and direct mail talks. It is also my intent to facilitate greater contact with the Cuban people, especially among divided Cuban families, which I have done by removing U.S. restrictions on family visits and remittances.

We seek to engage with Cubans outside of government as we do elsewhere around the world, as the government, of course, is not the only voice that matters in Cuba. We take every opportunity to interact with the full range of Cuban society and look forward to the day when the government reflects the freely expressed will of the Cuban people.

QUESTION 3: HAS THE U.S. GOVERNMENT RENOUNCED THE USE OF MILITARY FORCE AS THE WAY TO END THE DISPUTE?

The United States has no intention of using military force in Cuba. The United States supports increased respect for human rights and for political and economic freedoms in Cuba, and hopes that the Cuban government will respond to the desire of the Cuban people to enjoy the benefits of democracy and be able to freely determine Cuba’s future. Only the Cuban people can bring about positive change in Cuba and it is our hope that they will soon be able to exercise their full potential.

[rest of questions provided below][President Obama responds to 7 questions posed to him by Yoani Sanchez from her blog... more

UrbanGypsy
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3 years ago
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What Poland left to Cuba

[By award winning blogger Yoani Sánchez ] Generation Y Blogger, written on location from Cuba.

I was only fourteen and everything was happening too fast around me. The material shortages were severe and in the shops of my city it was already difficult to find the magazines with many colors but few truths that came from the USSR. We had seen the television show of General Ochoa’s trial*, and my parents lost the illusion watching how the law folded before the olive green uniforms.

News of what happened in Poland came in those same days. We didn’t understand anything, because until then the European socialist block seemed to us something designed for eternity. A distant cousin told us of her apprehensions after a short stay in Moscow, but we still believed that the COMECON, the Warsaw Pact and the Robotron typewriters would survive us all.

The word Solidarity had suddenly become fashionable and several schools in my city were still named People’s Republic of Poland. Although my Marxism-Leninism teacher was making an effort to idealize the East, something inside him snapped when he learned what was happening on the streets of Warsaw. If the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 had been difficult for our leaders to justify, the rebellion of the “Polish working class” left more than one without answers.

I grew up, had a son and he also came to repeat the slogan, “Pioneers for communism, we will be like Che.” Today he is the same age I was in that tumultuous 1989, when my doubts began, when I knew that everything they’d drilled into me might not be true.

*Translator’s note*

General Arnaldo Ochoa, a member of Fidel Castro’s 26th of July Movement, a prominent general in the Cuban army and a “Hero of the Revolution”, was arrested on June 12, 1989 and charged with corruption, drug trafficking (in alliance with Pablo Escobar) and treason. His trial was broadcast on Cuban TV (the films, subtitled in English, are available on line). Ochoa was executed on July 12, 1989.[By award winning blogger Yoani Sánchez ] Generation Y Blogger, written on... more

UrbanGypsy
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3 years ago
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6 comments

Cuba rejects OAS membership

HAVANA, Cuba (CNN) -- Cuba will not rejoin the Organization of American States, even... more

UrbanGypsy
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3 years ago
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2 comments

Despite embargo, Cuba imports daiquiris from US

Jugs of daiquiri mix. Gourmet nuts. Rolls of newsprint. Not exactly humanitarian aid,... more

TravG73
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4 years ago
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4 comments

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