I want to tell you a story. It is a story I wish I didn’t have to tell, given its sordid nature, and it is one that reflects badly on my own judgment. Sometimes the world really is too much with us. As some will know, we just returned from a week in Cu…
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Politics and its Discontents: Some Downtime
We are heading off for an inexpensive week in Cuba. It really pays to travel before high season kicks in. I’ll be back at the computer in about a week. See you then.Recommend this Post
Continue readingThings Are Good: Cuba Shows Off Its Biotech Industry
Cuba has an amazing farming system which is impressive from farm to fork. The way they grow crops to how they ensure that food distribution is effective is impressive to say the least. The island nation was hit hard with the collapse of the USSR and the embargo from the
Continue readingThings Are Good: White House Planning to Close Guantanamo Bay’s Infamous Torture Centre
Guantanamo Bay on the beautiful island of Cuba sounds like a great place if you don’t know anything about it. We do know what happens there and it’s immoral and likely illegal (probably even worthy of investigation by the International Criminal Court which the USA hasn’t ratified). The USA has
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Change Is Coming To Cuba, Not All Of It Necessarily Good
Readers of this blog will know that I have a special affection for Cuba, having visited it many times and gotten to know, to some extent, the ‘real’ Cuba. Yet it would be wrong for me or any other non-Cuban to pontificate about what is best for the country, given
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Cuba And Private Enterprise
Since we first visited the island in 2010, my wife and I have developed a deep respect and affection for Cuba and its people. As I have indicated in previous posts, those feelings were formed not just in the vacations spots we have enjoyed, but also by getting to know
Continue readingThings Are Good: Cuba Creates Great Doctors
Cuba is a beautiful country filled with nice people. Many of those people are educated doctors who go around the world saving lives for free, and they do the same at home. Al Jazeera has a nice long piece looking into the quality and motivations behind these great Cuban doctors.
Continue readingThings Are Good: Cuba Gets New Art Installation: WiFi
Cuba has really poor internet connectivity and it costs a lot of money to connect to the web. The thawing relationship between the USA and Cuba is bound to make it easier to develop the country’s telecommunications infrastructure (cheaper to run a cable from Florida than elsewhere). This is one
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: On Hiatus
Time to head back to our favourite island before it is infiltrated by the Americans. See you in about a week. Recommend this Post
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Assata Shakur: “I am a 20th century escaped slave”
Cuba-based black revolutionary Assata Shakur says she fled “from the political repression, racism and violence that dominate the US government’s policy towards people of color.” The post Assata Shakur: “I am a 20th century escaped slave” appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Does Cuba Get an MLB Team Now?
So, there have been 181 Major League Baseball players from Cuba [population 11 million], 230 from Puerto Rico [population 3.5 million] [which is kind of like America, despite its second class political status], and 557 from the Dominican Republic [population 9.5 million]. My friend, who cares not about baseball, asked
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: Remembrances Of Things Past
It was with some surprise that Canadians finally saw something positive emerge from the always suspicious and hateful Harper regime: its facilitation of talks between the U.S. and Cuba to begin the process of normalizing relations. This echo of a time when Canada was looked upon as the world’s honest
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Speech by Cuban President Raul Castro on normalization of U.S.-Cuba relations
In speech, Cuban President Raul Castro thanks Canada for facilitating the high-level dialogue which resulted in the normalization of U.S.-Cuba relations, maintains that Cuba will not not renounce socialism. The post Speech by Cuban President Raul Castro on normalization of U.S.-Cuba relations appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.
Continue readingAlberta Diary: A look back to 2010: Cuba loves Chevrolets and GM needs sales – what’s wrong with this picture?
An ancient Jeep, probably with a transplanted Lada engine, drops passengers at Revolution Square four years ago in Havana. With Uber starting up, we finally have the same service here in Edmonton! The sign says: “51 years of struggle and victories.” Below: an old Chevrolet still in service on a
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Is Raul Castro’s Cuba the First Big Winner in Cold War II?
Now that Washington and Havana appear to be on the road to kissing and making up, it’s worth considering whether the timing is really that spontaneous? Cuba was always the Soviet’s toe hold in the Americas. It was over Soviet designs in Cuba that the world was brought to the
Continue readingBravo to Baird and Harper on the Cuba file
The United States has finally come to its senses and is normalizing relations with Cuba. It’s taken over half a century but—to borrow the old cliché—better late than never. And to our credit, Canada played a key role. By hosting meetings of officials from the two countries, we obviated the
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Che’s daughter Aleida Guevara talks about her father… the Cuban embargo… and more
Upper right: A much younger Aleida with Fidel and Che Aleida Guevara, daughter of Cuban revolutionary leader Che Guevara, was in Moscow recently where she gave an interview to RT. She is a medical doctor based in Havana where she works out of the William Soler Children’s Hospital. In addition
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: It’s That Time Of Year
We’ll be away for a week due to our Vitamin D-deprived lives. Cuba beckoned. The price was right. See you soon. Recommend this Post
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Why Denmark fears militarization of Arctic islands means Canada could soon control almost all of Hudson’s Bay, and other tall tales
If we just listened to Stephen Harper and the BBC, what a wonderful world this would be! Below: Catherine the Great, USAF Gen. Philip Breedlove. Last Wednesday, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported in shocked tones on its online news site that “NATO’s top military commander, Gen. Philip Breedlove, has warned
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Cuban medics on the front lines of the Ebola fight: lack of decent public healthcare at root of the Ebola crisis
Top: Cuban medical team leaving for West AfricaBeneath: Arrival in Sierra Leone The magnificent Cuban response to the Ebola crisis is in a class of its own. While Western nations pledge funds to fight the disease there is a reluctance to step up and send needed medical personnel. Cuba by
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