The Fabulous Bill for a Useless Death
By Osvaldo Rodríguez Martínez 
Desperate to bill and charge for the service, the protagonists of the last chapter of the defamatory campaign against Cuba are rushing to claim the U.S. government to pay them their usual millions.

	Cuban News Agency

The Threatening Dangers

Reflections by comrade Fidel
It is not an ideological issue related to the definitive hope that a better world is, and should be, possible.

The Bolivarian Revolution and the Antilles

Reflections by Fidel Castro
I was fond of History, as much as almost any other kid. And I also liked wars, a sort of culture that society used to sow among boys. All the toys we were given were toy guns.

It Is Urgent to Increase Work Productivity
By Noel Manzanares Blanco

ACN Special Service
It was stimulating to see that, despite the current worldwide economic crisis, the US Government’s economic blockade of the Island and the huge losses caused by three hurricanes in 2008, Cuba concluded 2009 with a growth of 1.4 percent in its Gross Domestic Product.

Convoluted Situation in Honduras
The recent inauguration in Honduras of businessman Porfirio Lobo, elected in the questionable general elections of last November 29th under the harshness of a military coup, is considered by some as the Central American nation’s “return to normality”.

Cooperation Spirit Is Put To The Test In Haiti

Reflections by Comrade Fidel    
The news reported from Haiti describe a great chaos that was to be expected, given the exceptional situation created in the aftermath of the catastrophe.

Haiti’s Lesson

Reflections by Comrade Fidel Castro

Two days ago, close to 6 in the evening Cuba time, already dark in Haiti due to its geographical location, the TV channels started carrying news that a violent earthquake, --of 7.3 intensity in the Richter scale—had severely shaken Port au Prince. The seismic phenomenon had originated at a tectonic fault in the sea only 9.4 miles from the Haitian capital, a city where 80% of the population lives in fragile houses built with clay and adobe.

Reform of the US Health System: Something is better than nothing?
Finally, the US Senate, in a kind of “Christmas gift” for President Barack Obama, has
approved the crowed about reform of the health system boosted by the new Administration.

The World Half A Century Later 

Reflections by comrade Fidel
On the 51st anniversary of the victory of the Revolution two days ago, the memories of that January 1st, 1959 came flooding back to me. None of us ever thought that half a century later, a time that has flown past very fast, we would be remembering it as if it were only yesterday.

The Bolivarian Revolution And Peace

Reflections by comrade Fidel

I know Chavez well, and no one could be more reluctant than him to allow a showdown between the Venezuelan and Colombian peoples leading to bloodshed. These are two fraternal peoples, the same as Cubans living in the east, center and west end of our island. I find no other way to explain the close relationship between Venezuelans and Colombians.

Havana’s Latin American School of Medicine Celebrates 10th Anniversary

HAVANA, Cuba, Nov 14 (acn) The inauguration ten years ago of the Latin American School of
Medicine (ELAM) in Havana was a significant contribution to the Latin American dreams of
integration and a high expression of humanism and solidarity.

A Science Fiction Story
Reflections by comrade Fidel

I very much regret to have to criticize Obama knowing that there are in that country other could-be presidents worse than him. I am aware that that position in the United States is today a major headache. The best example of this is the report in yesterday’s edition of Granma that 237 US members of Congress, or 44%, are millionaires. This does not mean that every one of them is an incorrigible reactionary but it is extremely difficult that they feel like the many million Americans who do not have access to medical care, who are unemployed or who need to work very hard to earn their living.

The Best Tribute To A Hero’s Mother

Reflections by comrade Fidel

Yesterday, Carmen Nordelo Tejera passed away. She was the selfless mother of Gerardo Hernandez Nordelo, a Hero of the Republic of Cuba who is unjustly serving two life-sentences plus 15 years of imprisonment.

Relevant News 

Reflections by comrade Fidel

Significant events have taken place in our country lately.
On October 28, at 7:30 am, the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the physical
disappearance of Camilo Cienfuegos; the sad event occurred one stormy evening as he was
traveling in a light aircraft from Camaguey to the capital, along the north of Cuba.

ALBA: a Relevant Model   

The results of the recently concluded 7th Summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-Peoples’ Trade Agreement (ALBA-TCP) held in Cochabamba, Bolivia, show that it’s possible to work for a new world economic order.

The ALBA and Copenhaguen

Reflections by Comrade Fidel  

The festivities associated to the 7th ALBA Summit, held in the historic Bolivian region of Cochabamba, showed the rich culture of the Latin American peoples and the joy elicited in children, young people and adults in general by the singing, the dancing, the costumes and rich expressions of the human beings of all ethnic groups, colors and shades: aborigine, black, white and mixed people. We could see there thousands of years of human history and precious culture that explain the determination with which the leaders of various Caribbean, Central and South American peoples convened that summit.

A Nobel Prize for Evo

Reflections by comrade Fidel 

If Obama was awarded the Nobel for winning the elections in a racist society despite his being African American, Evo deserves it for winning them in his country despite his being a native and his having delivered on his promises.

Let There Be another Financial Architecture

The growing demand to replace the old financial architecture ruling the Earth in favor of just a few and against the majority did not come by chance.

THE BELLS ARE TOLLING FOR THE DOLLAR

Reflections by comrade Fidel 

The Empire has ruled the world through economy and deceit rather than force. At the end of WWII, it had attained the privilege of minting the convertible hard currency, the monopoly over the nuclear weapon and the possession of most of the gold in the world while it was the only large-scale producer of manufactured equipment, consumer goods, food and services worldwide.

October 10th, 1868: The Beginning of Cuba’s Independence Wars

Cubana Airlines Celebrates 80th Anniversary

Cuba’s flagship airline, ‘Cubana de Aviacion’, celebrates this Thursday, October 8th, its 80th anniversary.

Founded in 1929, Cubana became one of the first airlines of the era of commercial flights and has continuously worked in the improvement of its services.

History cannot be Ignored

Reflections by comrade Fidel 

Last October 1st commemorated the 60th anniversary of the Peoples’ Republic of China.

On that historic day in 1949, Mao Zedong presided over the first parade of the Peoples’ Army and the people of China in Tiananmen Square as leader of the Communist Party of China. The victorious soldiers were carrying the weapons taken in combat from the invaders, oligarchs and traitors to their country.

A Third World Victory

Reflections by comrade Fidel 

Powerful economic powers were contesting for the venue of the Olympic Games of 2016, including the two most industrialized nations of the planet: the United States of America and Japan. However, Rio de Janeiro, a Brazilian city, won the contest.

Moscow Is Confident, But…Double-Checking

Russian President Dimitri Medvedev’s consideration that NATO’s (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) expansionist plans are a threat to his country responds to the most crushing logic.

Pittsburgh and the Margarita Island Summit

Reflections by Comrade Fidel

The final declaration from the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh on Friday, September 25 seems unreal. Let’s have a look at the main points in its contents:

New China: 60 Years of Development under Socialist Principles

Since the foundation of the People’s Republic of China sixty years ago, on October 1st, 1949, the economy of this nation, under the direction Chinese Communist Party, has become a model of prosperity.

A REVOLUTION IN THE MAKING

Reflections by comrade Fidel

Last July 16, I literally said that the coup d’état in Honduras “was conceived and organized by unscrupulous characters on the far-right who were officials in the confidence of George W. Bush and had been promoted by him.”

Israel Trapped in Gaza
The Zionist government seems to be trapped these days after a 574-page report presented before the United Nations, accusing Tel Aviv of serious human rights violations during its most recent attacks against Gaza under Palestinian control.

A SPECIES IN DANGER OF EXTINCTION

Reflections by Fidel Castro

I have been watching for hours now on television the tribute that the entire country is paying to Commander of the Revolution Juan Almeida Bosque. I think that facing death was for him just another duty as so many others he discharged throughout his life. He did not know neither
did we how much sadness the news of his physical absence would bring to us.

Health Care Reforms in the United States: Can it be Done? Or Do They Not Want to?

Over 50 million people in the United States lack health insurance and the rest of its 300 million inhabitants need lots of money in order to pay the services their insurance do not cover.

Almeida Lives Today More than Ever

Reflections by Fidel Castro

I have been watching for hours now on television the tribute that the entire country is paying to Commander of the Revolution Juan Almeida Bosque. I think that facing death was for him just another duty as so many others he discharged throughout his life. He did ...

With a Clear Conscience

Reflections by Comrade Fidel 

I would not have wished to utter any harsh criticism against any of the companies that manufacture medical equipment, whose profits do not derive from the production of weapons to kill, but from the combat of diseases, suffering and death. That is why ...

September: Sad Month for Cuba

Journalists, television outlets, radio and digital sites in the world recall each year the events of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington D.C., with images of people throwing themselves from the Twin Towers due to the agony of the fire.

PHILIPS’ DOUBLE BETRAYAL

Reflections by comrade Fidel

The United States is the biggest patent owner in the world. It has drained brains from all countries - whether developed or developing- doing research in a number of areas, including the production of mass destruction weapons or even medicines and medical equipment. That is why the economic and technological blockade is not something that ...

The End Does Not Justify the Means

Reflections by comrade Fidel

The news coming from the United States are sometimes outrageous and sometimes disgusting.

Lately, a good number of them referred to problems related with the grave international economic crisis and its...

It is the Time of Mobilization, of Marching Together

Reflections by comrade Fidel

This Reflection is not addressed to the governments but to the fraternal peoples of Latin America.

Tomorrow, August 28, the UNASUR Summit will convene in Argentina and its significance cannot be overlooked. There, an analysis should be made of the concession to the American superpower of seven military bases in the Colombian territory. A rigorous secret had been kept on the previous talks of the two governments. The accord should have been presented to the world as a fait accompli.

I Wish I Were Wrong!

Reflections by Comrade Fidel  

I was amazed to read the wire services issued during the weekend about the US domestic policy, evidencing a systematic decline in President Barack Obama’s influence. His surprising electoral victory had not been possible in the absence of the deep political and economic crisis affecting that country. The American...

The Empire and the Robots

Reflections by Fidel Castro  

A short while ago I dealt with the United States’ plans to impose the absolute superiority of its air force as an instrument of domination on the rest of the world. I mentioned the project that by 2020 they would have more than a thousand latest generation bombers and F-22 and F-35 fighter planes in their ...

A JUST CAUSE TO DEFEND AND THE HOPE TO CONTINUE MOVING FORWARD

The Yankee Bases and the Latin American Sovereignty

Seven Daggers at the Heart of the Americas

Reflections by comrade Fidel

I read and reread data and articles written by smart personalities, some better known than others, who publish in various media outlets drawing the information from sources nobody questions.

A Nobel Prize For Mrs. Clinton

The 30th Sandinista Anniversary and the San José Proposal

Reflections by Comrade Fidel

The coup d’état in Honduras, promoted by the far right-wing of the United States –which in Central America was maintaining the structure set up by Bush – and backed by the Department of ...

China-US: Economic and Social Contrasts

The frequent news on General Motors, emblematic US automobile company, is barely a reflection of the current dynamics of the world economic crisis.

What Should Be Demanded From The United States      

Reflections by Comrade Fidel Castro

The meeting in Costa Rica didn’t, nor could it, lead to peace. The people of Honduras are not at war, it’s just the perpetrators of the coup who are using weapons against the people. One should demand that they cease their war against the people. That meeting between Zelaya and the coup was only good for discrediting the constitutional president and wearing away at the energies of the Honduran people.

THE COUP DIES OR CONSTITUTIONS DIE

Reflections by Comrade Fidel Castro

The countries of Latin America were struggling against history’s worst financial crisis within relative institutional order. When US President Barack Obama -- while on a trip to Moscow to discuss vital topics on the subject of nuclear weapons -- was declaring that the only constitutional president of Honduras was Manuel Zelaya, the ultra right-wing ...

A Suicidal Mistake

Reflections by comrade Fidel 

Three days ago, in the evening of Thursday 25th, I wrote in my Reflections: “We do not know what will happen tonight or tomorrow in Honduras, but the courageous behavior adopted by Zelaya will go down in history.” 

Fidel Castro: A gesture that will not be forgotten

I am halting for a moment the work on a historic episode that I have been writing for the last two weeks to express my solidarity with the constitutionally-elected president of Honduras, José Manuel Zelaya.

Unemployment: More than a Financial Blow

Generally, the large powerful western mainstream media center their attention in the financial and commercial aspects of the current world economic crisis.

Unfortunate Violation of US Laws

Maybe it occurred accidentally. Then we must believe that life can, in certain moments and circumstances, arrange the order of events in order to make flaws or virtues more relevant...and in this case it deals with the first.

Havana Adjusts to Economic Crisis

Many place its origin in the bursting of the real estate bubble in the United States; others, in excessive consumerism. Whatever its origin, just like global warming, the economic crisis has expanded worldwide and no one has been able to escape.

OBAMA HAS NO EASY TASK

Reflections by Comrade Fidel  

I remember that, when I visited the People’s Republic of Poland, during Gierek’s government, I was taken to Osviecim, the most notorious of all concentration camps. There I learned about the horrible crimes committed by the Nazis against Jewish children, women and senior citizens, which resulted from the implementation of the ideas contained in the book Mein Kampf written by...

The envy of Goebbels

Reflections by Comrade Fidel  

Yesterday I was listening to the Round Table TV program when it analyzed, among other topics, Operation Peter Pan, one of the most repugnant acts of moral aggression carried out against our country. Patria potestas is an extremely sensitive issue. That was a repugnant low trick. One of the novels by Mikhail Sholokhov that I read some years later included a reference to that kind of slander which had already been used against the Revolution of October, 1917.

Obama's Speech in Cairo

Reflections by Comrade Fidel

On Thursday the 4th of June, at the Islamic University of Al-Azhar in Cairo, Obama gave a speech of special interest to those of us who are closely following his political actions given the enormous might of the superpower he leads. I cite his very own words to indicate what I think are the basic ideas he expressed, thus summarizing his speech to save time. Not only do we have to know that he spoke but also what he said.

Declaration of the Cuban Revolutionary Government

HAVANA, Cuba, June 8 (acn) The Cuban News Agency reproduces a note from the Cuban Revolutionary Government published on Monday by Granma news daily regarding a recent decision by the Organization of Americas States (OAS) to revoke Cuba’s 1962 suspension from this regional organization.

A Ridiculous Response To A Defeat

Reflections by Comrade Fidel  

Yesterday in the afternoon, while thoroughly analyzing the speech delivered by Obama at the Muslim University of Cairo, I received some reports published by the news agencies with the weird information that two retired persons ...

The Trojan Horse

Reflections by Comrade Fidel  

President Rafael Correa of Ecuador, in a visit to Honduras on the eve of the OAS meeting stated: “I think that the OAS has lost its reason to exist; perhaps it never had a reason to exist.” The news carried by ANSA adds that Correa “predicted ‘the death’ of that organization because of the many errors it had committed”.

Applauses and Silences

Reflections by Comrade Fidel

Yesterday on May 31st, an AFP dispatch read: “Cuba has accepted to reopen negotiations with the United States about migration and direct mail service, a new signal of the thaw that is happening just before an Organization of American States (OAS) Summit where the Cuban situation will dominate conversations.

The Indefatigable Educator

Reflections by Comrade Fidel

Chávez is an indefatigable educator. He does not hesitate in describing what capitalism means. One by one he takes apart all its lies. He is relentless. He describes the meaning of each one of the measures brought to the people by socialism.

Ten Years Teaching And Learning  

“Hello President” began broadcasting on May 23, 1999. That day this year, Chávez was in Ecuador celebrating the 187th anniversary of the Battle of Pichincha. Tomorrow the celebration of the tenth anniversary of the program will begin

Cuba Has Also Overcome the Biological Wars

On June 1st 1964, 45 years ago, Commander in Chief Fidel Castro denounced the use of Washington’s biological war against Cuba, a new modality in the long list of aggressions in the US attempt to destroy the Cuban Revolution.

Nothing Can Be Improvised In Haiti 

Five days ago I read a press report stating that Ban Ki-moon would appoint Bill Clinton as his special envoy for Haiti.

US Illegal Broadcasts to Cuba: So Much Money for Such Small Audiences

The Mexican news agency Notimex reported that the US plans a slight reduction in funding for Radio and TV Marti that broadcast illegal transmissions to Cuba and are hardly watched or heard by anyone in Cuba.

As Reported By Science Magazine

Reflections by comrade Fidel  

Earlier, when I wrote the Reflection published today in Cubadebate and the National TV News, I had not read a report issued in Mexico by Mark Stevenson and David Koop and ran by AP, the main U.S. cable press agency.

News That Shook the World

Reflections by Comrade Fidel

What occurred to me

Reflections by Comrade Fidel

Today, the presence of the Flu A (H1N1) virus was announced in Cuba. The carrier is a young Mexican citizen who is studying medicine in our country. The only thing that can be confirmed now is that it was not the CIA that introduced it. It came from Mexico.

The struggle has barely begun 

Governments can change but the instruments they used to turn us into a colony are still the same.

For one president in the United States with a sense of ethics, in the last 28 years we have had three who committed genocides and a fourth who...

ONCE AGAIN, THE ROTTEN OAS

Yesterday the German cable service DPA revealed that the ICHR of the OAS approved a report pointing out that Cuba “continued to transgress” on fundamental rights by keeping “restrictions” on the population’s political...

A Question with no Answer

Our world is not only threatened by the cyclical economic crises which are ever more serious and frequent. Unemployment, bankruptcy, and the huge losses in goods and wealth are inseparable companions of the blind market laws which govern the world economy today. Neo-liberalism proscribes any interference by the ...

Giving one’s all  

On May Day, still under the impression of the parade, the colors of our national flag -which is today a symbol of solidarity before the eyes of the whole world-, the young, intelligent and enthusiastic faces of our students, which closed the parade of that overflowing...

Cuba: A Terrorist Country?  

Thursday, April 30 was unlucky for the United States. On that day it occurred to them to include Cuba yet again on the list of terrorist countries. Committed as they are to their own crimes and lies, perhaps even Obama himself was unable to untangle himself from that mess. A man whose talent nobody denies ...

The Day for the Poor of the World

Tomorrow is International Workers’ Day.

Karl Marx called to unity: “Workers of the world unite”, although many of the poor were not workers. Lenin, who was even more far-reaching, made a call to the peasants and the colonized peoples ...

Speech by Cuban Foreign Minister at NAM Ministerial Meeting

Speech by his Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba, at the Opening Session of the Meeting of Senior Officials at the Ministerial Meeting of the NAM Coordinating Bureau Havana, April 27, 2009.

Pontius Pilate Washed his Hands

Pressure against the U.S. blockade of Cuba was so great that on the day Raúl categorically declared that our country would not join the OAS, the secretary of the discredited institution began to prepare the terrain for Cuba’s participation in an eventual future Summit of the Americas. His recipe is to abolish the resolution which decided the expulsion of the Island for ideological reasons. Such an argument is truly laughable when important countries such as China and Vietnam, which the world today cannot do without, are being lead by Communist parties that were created on the same ideological foundations.

The Summit and the Lie 

Some of the things Daniel told me would be difficult to believe if they weren’t being told by him and if they weren’t happening at a Summit of the Americas.

Obama and the Blockade

Yesterday I referred to what was funny about the “Declaration of Commitment of Port of Spain”.

Today I could refer to what is tragic about it. I hope our friends do not take any offence in this. There were some differences between the draft that we received, which was going to be submitted by the hosts of the Summit, and the document that was finally published. In all that last-minute haste, there was hardly any time for anything. Some items had been discussed at long meetings held some weeks previous to the Summit. At the very last moment, proposals such as the one submitted by Bolivia, complicated even more the whole picture. 

Feverish Dreams

Reflections by Comrade Fidel

I could find no explanation for the euphoria expressed by some of the participants at the Port of Spain Summit.

The Secret Summit  

Reflections by comrade Fidel

Neither represented nor excommunicated, only today could I learn what was discussed at the Summit of Port of Spain. They led us all to entertain hopes that the meeting would not be secret, but those running the show deprived us of such an interesting intellectual exercise. We shall get to know the substance but not the tone of voice, the look in the eyes or the facial look that can be a reflection of a person’s ideas, ethic and character. A Secret Summit is worse than a silent movie. For a few minutes the television showed some images. There was a gentleman on...

Soldiers with Correct Opinions

Reflections by Comrade Fidel

It is not known how many people in the United States write to Obama and how many different topics are presented to him. It’s clear that he cannot read all the letters and deal with everything because he wouldn’t be able to fit it into a 24-hour day or a 365-day year. What is certain is that his advisors, backed up by their computers, electronic equipment and cell, answer all the letters. Their contents are recorded and there are pre-written answers supported by the multiple declarations of the new president during his campaign to be nominated and elected.

No rest for the world

Reflections by Comrade Fidel 

Anyone would think that after the Summit of the Americas, just 13 days after the G-20 meeting and on the heels of the exhausting tour of France, Germany, Prague and Turkey by President Obama, the world would have the right to rest for a few days.

Days that Cannot be Forgotten

Reflections by Comrade Fidel  

Forty eight years ago mercenary troops in the service of a foreign power invaded their own homeland, escorted by a United States squadron, including an aircraft carrier and dozens of fighter planes. That date cannot be forgotten. The great power to the North can apply the same recipe to any Latin American country. It has already happened many times throughout our hemisphere’s history. Is there any declaration guaranteeing that such an action will never repeat again, either directly or through the very armies of other countries, as it occurred in the Dominican Republic, Panama, Guatemala, Chile, Argentina, Venezuela and others?

Not a Word about the Blockade

Reflections by comrade Fidel

The U.S. administration announced through CNN that Obama would be visiting Mexico this week, in the first part of a trip that will take him to Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, where he will be within four days taking part in the Summit of the Americas. He has announced the relief of some hateful restrictions imposed by Bush to Cubans living in the United States regarding their visits to relatives ...

Evo's inevitable victory

Reflections by Comrade Fidel

Evo entered today his fourth day of rigorous hunger strike. He spoke yesterday evening and today at noon. His words were calm, persuasive and categorical. He offered a “biometric electoral register” that was still better than the one in force during the electoral processes held in his country, which had already been described by international institutions as reliable and of high quality.

News about Chavez and Evo

Reflections by Comrade Fidel

Yesterday, Thursday 9, our attention was focused on the tense situation in Bolivia.

Today, Friday, there is one more event of great interest: after a successful trip to China, Hugo Chavez arrives in Cuba. If in Bolivia the oligarchy has clashed with a serious and strong leader like Evo Morales, in Venezuela the adversaries of the Bolivarian Revolution, who were pinning all their hopes on the blow that the international economic crisis would deal that country, will understand that Chavez’ struggle for socialism is capable of surmounting any obstacle. He promised that all the achievements and the significant social progress attained so far will be maintained, that the industrialization of the country will keep up with its pace, and that Venezuela will become a model industrialized country, with social justice, which will be an inspiration and an example to the Third World.

News From Bolivia

Reflections by Comrade Fidel  

Fresh news about Bolivia was arriving this morning, Thursday April 9, on the Bolivian television channel, reflecting tension in the country.

Contradictions in U.S. Foreign Policy

Reflections by Comrade Fidel  

After the G-20 Summit that took up the world’s attention, news continued to arrive through the press agencies about the feverish activity of the man who had been the star in London, Barack Obama, the new president of the United States; he has embarked on the first 100 days of his administration, under the scrutiny of those who closely follow international politics.

The Meeting with Barbara Lee and other Members of the Black Caucus

Reflections by Comrade Fidel

The morning was stormy, damp and cold. Strong winds were blowing and the sky was dark. This was no spring day, not warm.

The Seven Members OF Congress Who are Visiting Us

Reflections by Comrade Fidel

An important US political delegation is visiting us right now. Its members belong to the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) which, in practice, has worked as the most progressive wing within the Democrat Party.

Walking on Solid Ground

Reflections by Comrade Fidel  

On April 2nd, while the G-20 Summit Meeting was beginning and ending in London, the well-known journalist of the influential Washington Post, Karen De Young, wrote: “Senator Richard G.Lugar called on President Obama to appoint a special envoy to initiate direct talks with the island's communist government.

Obama’s Song

The Start  of the Summit

Reflections by Comrade Fidel

Today the G-20 Summit began. The experts in economic matters have made an enormous effort. Some, with experience in important international positions; others, as learned researchers. The subject is a complex one, the language is new and demands that we be familiar with the terms, the economic facts, the international agencies and the political leaders who have the greatest weight on the international scene. Therefore, our desire to simplify and to explain intelligibly what is happening in London, just as I see it.

Another great problem in today’s world

Reflections by Comrade Fidel  

The financial crisis is not the only problem; there is another that is worse because it deals not with the production and distribution methods but with existence itself. I am referring to climate change. Both are present and will be discussed at the same time.

Early on Tuesday March 31st, I read a Notimex news cable dated the 30th; it stated, verbatim:

The Prelude

Reflections by Comrade Fidel  

The baseball and football classics fill the stadiums and amuse the masses all over the world.  Obviously we all consider ourselves experts on the subject –myself included- and get involved in heated arguments with anybody. 

China on the international cable news

Reflections by Comrade Fidel  

Most of the international cable news referred only to my criticisms of Biden's statements in Viña del Mar contained in my Reflection aired by CubaDebate and published by our press on Monday 30 under the title: “China, the future great economic power”. Only EFE included a few lines at the end of its news report that referred to the main topic covered by the article. To recognize the increasing role played by China in the world’s economy is like a rough patch for the West.

China, the future great economic power

Reflections by Comrade Fidel

These days, many news cables are talking about China’s economic potential.

Yesterday, March 28th, it was the main U.S. news agency which was acknowledging that “China is the only major economy still growing at a fast clip…

Lies at the Service of the Empire

Reflections by Comrade Fidel  

Yesterday Reuters headed the list of the international news agencies that mention Pedro Miret and Osmany Cienfuegos as two historical figures who have been dismissed from their posts by Raúl Castro.

Events have proven me right

Reflections by Comrade Fidel

On Tuesday March 17th I wrote: “The Classic was organized by those who administer the exploitation of sports in the United States…” I immediately added: “The three best teams in the Classic and the Olympics, Japan, Korea and Cuba, were placed in the same group so that they might eliminate each other. Last time, they placed us in the Latin American group; this time in the Asian group.

Glory to the good!

Reflections by Comrade Fidel

Our delegation was received early this morning with the recognition and the honors it deserves. Esteban Lazo and Frederich Cepeda spoke. There was Raúl, who had made them standard-bearers during the ceremony at the Palace of the Revolution.

We are the ones to blame

Reflections of Comrade Fidel

In the game that finished today at almost 3 in the morning between the teams from Japan and Cuba, we were unquestionably defeated.

The Moral Importance Of The Baseball Classics 

Reflections by Comrade Fidel

In the early days of the Revolution, the Olympics were an event for amateurs.

When the concepts of developed capitalism managed to infiltrate the Olympics, sports stopped being a health and education issue, which had been its main goals throughout history.

More news about the agonies of capitalism

Reflections by Comrade Fidel  

Today I read the cables from March 11th. They were continuing to rain information about the international economic crisis.

The anguish of developed capitalism

Reflections by Comrade Fidel  

Last Monday the 9th, like all the rest, was a marvellous day of contradictions for developed capitalism in the midst of its incurable crisis.

A Fair And Constructive Criticism   

Reflections by comrade Fidel

I try to follow the details about the Baseball Classic through our national television.

What I said about Pichirilo 

Reflections by Comrade Fidel

I promised to answer the journalist Daily right away.

In her letter that I mentioned yesterday, she said:

“Commander:

“My name is Daily Sánchez Lemus; I graduated from Journalism in 2006 and I have been working for the Cuban Television Information System ever since.

My Meeting with Zelaya

Reflections by comrade Fidel

Some have asked what happened to the meeting with Zelaya that the Commander mentioned in yesterday's reflection on Wednesday, March 4th.

USA: Human Rights Bush Style

There are doubts in a number of countries, embassies and mass media worldwide:  Who drafted, revised and approved the recent report of the US State Department on the "human rights situation in the world", under the new US administration?

Latin America and the Caribbean More United than Ever

HAVANA, Cuba, Feb 25 (acn) Many news agencies have highlighted the visits of Latin American and Caribbean leaders to Cuba during the last month and a half. The most recent working visit was made by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. 

Oh! Ah! Chavez is not going!

The reasons for the expression above are obvious - the majority of the Venezuelan people support Chavez! And not just him but also their socialist revolution - they understand that the deep transformations of the country's social, economic, cultural, civil and political systems will take several decades to attain and consolidate, and that this requires a committed and capable head of state. In the last ten years Chavez has proved himself to be both.

The Heights of the Ridiculous

Reflections by Comrade Fidel

Oh, I’m so scared!  I just about died when I read the statements made by the U.D.I (Independent Democratic Union). 

Chavez' Article

Reflections by Comrade Fidel

It was 2006. I was really very ill but very much aware of what was happening. During those days around the middle of September, the XIV NAM Summit where Cuba was elected to the Presidency was ending. I could barely sit up and take my place at a table. That’s how I received some important heads of state or government. The Prime Minister of India was among them. The highest ranking visitor I received in that emergency room in the Presidential Palace was the Ghanaian Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations, who a few days later would be ending his mandate.

The Chilean oligarchs tore their cloths at the visit of President Michelle Bachelet to Cuba.

A Meeting with Michelle Bachelet, the President of Chile

REFLECTIONS BY COMRADE FIDEL

It doesn’t matter what I say about the friendly meeting, some news agencies and papers will take the information and will print that the old man, convalescing after a serious illness or some other descriptor directed towards reducing the modest value of whatever I expressed to my prestigious interlocutor.

Venezuela Faces New Democratic Process 

The government headed by President Hugo Chavez is embarking upon a new effort beginning on Sunday to make the South American nation more democratic, open and participatory. 

Reflections by comrade Fidel: Rahm Emanuel

What a strange name! It is easy to pronounce and it sounds as if it were Spanish but it is not. Among tens of thousands of names I have read of students and compatriots and people I have met in my life, I have never heard that name before. 

A quick response

Reflections by comrade Fidel

The response came hardly a few hours later in the voice of the White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. It doesn’t matter if he chose not to mention my modest Reflection. It’s the response that counts.

Contradictions Between Obama's Politics and Ethics

Reflections by comrade Fidel

A few days ago I referred to some of Obama’s ideas which point to his role in a system that denies every principle of justice.

Deciphering the thoughts of the new President of the United States

Reflections by Fidel Castro: The 11th President of The United States

This past Tuesday January 20, 2009, Barack Obama took on the leadership of the empire as the 11th President of the United States since the victory of the Cuban Revolution on January 1959...

Bush Lamenting his Defeat Over Cuba

As he leaves office, George W. Bush regretted his defeat in the administration's objectives in destroying the Cuban Revolution, according to his own confessions during a radio interview directed at the minority right wing community in Miami.

TLAXCALA Translates into Anti-Imperialist Activism

HAVANA, Cuba (acn) Members of the renowned international translators and authors´ network TLAXCALA recently visited Cuba and spoke with ACN about their work to raise anti-imperialist awareness and support of Third World nations.

A Time for Celebrations

For all the Cuban people, with the joy and enthusiasm that characterizes them, it's a time for celebrations.  It has to be so, because the Cuban people, combative and firm are proud of having fought for the consolidation of their dreams and hopes, achieved in maintaining high the banner of their social project, resisting and repelling the battering of the all powerful enemy in order to see their Revolution strengthen.

The Unjustifiable Destruction of the Environment

Reflections by Comrade Fidel

Can the capitalist society avoid it? News about this issue are far from encouraging. The project to be submitted for approval on December next year in Copenhagen, where the new Convention that will replace Kyoto’s will be discussed and approved, is being currently analyzed at Poznan.

Dear President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva: 

Distinguished Presidents of the member countries and associates of MERCOSUR: 

Distinguished Presidents: 

Distinguished guests: 

The Great Crisis of the 1930s

Although it may sound simple, it is a very difficult subject to explain. The U.S. Federal Reserve system, resulting from a fully developing capitalism, was established in 1913. Salvador Allende, a man we remember as someone of our times, was already 15 years old.

By Marcos Alfonso

DIMITRI A. MEDVEDEV

Reflections by comrade Fidel

In the past few weeks, I had watched him in numerous functions as President of the Russian Federation, following the aggravation of the financial crisis battering the world. The Russian Federation is one of the most powerful States in the international community despite de dismemberment of the USSR.

ABSOLUTE TRANSPARENCY

Reflections by comrade Fidel

Who can doubt it? Observers from all parts and varying shades have attended the elections in Venezuela on November 23, 2007. They have reported with absolute freedom. The oligarchy cried out like mad to the world the coarse slander that the extension of the voting hours at the polling stations, giving the citizens the possibility to cast their vote, was intended to commit fraud, even though the National Election Council had previously decided to do so and had announced it.

The G20, The G21 and the G192

Reflections by comrade Fidel

As if there were not enough reasons to go mad, the proliferation of acronyms related to the crisis is such that one can hardly understand them. The first was the G20, a selected group meeting in Washington that pretended to represent all. The second was the also selective APEC group which met in Lima. There was the richest country, the United States; this is number one, with a per capita GDP of 45 thousand dollars a year. But there was also the number 100 country, the People’s Republic of China, with a per capita GDP of 2,483 dollars; this is also the number one investor in US Treasure bonds.

Cuba's Birth Rate Increased in 2008 

The sustained increase of the live-birth indicator reported in Cuba from January through October of 2008, compared to last year, is good news and it could turn the demographic course of the country. 

Eulalio Negrin: Victim of the Empire and its Henchmen 

He was born in Sabanilla del Encomendador, currently Juan Gualberto Gomez in the province of Matanzas, and at 21 years of age migrated to the United States attracted by the imperialist propaganda against Cuba.

Meeting Hu Jintao

Reflections by comrade Fidel  

I didn’t want to speak much, but he forced me to elaborate. I asked a few questions but I mostly listened to him.

The Birth of the Mount

Reflections by comrade Fidel  

Bush seemed happy to have Lula sitting to his right during dinner on Friday. On the other hand, Hu Jintao, whom he respects for the enormous market in his country, the capacity to produce consumer goods at low cost and the volume of his reserves in US dollars and bonds was sitting to his left.

The Washington Meeting, Reflections by comrade Fidel

According to recent statements, some supportive governments do not cease to say they want to facilitate transition in Cuba. What kind of transition? Transition to capitalism, the only system they have absolute faith in. They do not say a word about the merits of our people, which for almost half a century of harsh economic sanctions and aggressions, has defended a ...

Bush Giving Away Millions

In events unprecedented in the history of capitalism, the George W. Bush administration, after plunging the country, his developed partners and the rest of the world into the worst economic and financial crisis, is bidding farewell giving money away.

Continue Working Non Stop with Faith in Victory

Hurricane Paloma, with sustained winds of some 200 kilometres per hour, heavy rain and sea surges, is the third of its type that has directly affected Cuba in the current hurricane season, this time hitting the provinces of Camaguey and Las Tunas.

THE THIRD HURRICANE

Reflections by comrade Fidel

It could loose strength but it is already raining in most of the country. It’s raining on farming areas absolutely drenched by the recent rainfalls. The water reservoirs filled up to almost full capacity due to hurricanes Gustav and Ike will be releasing water on cultivated fields and valleys. This already happened at the end of August and early September. This hurricane has been given the misleading name of Paloma.

Top Iranian Official Says Iran, Cuba Will Increase Cooperation

HAVANA, Cuba, Nov 6 (acn) Iran's Deputy Minister for Americas Affairs, Alireza Salari spoke on Thursday about the necessity of increasing the economic and commercial exchange between Cuba and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

USA: The Change?

Barack Obama, the African American Democratic candidate is now the US president-elect and he has left behind him speeches, promises, surveys, rallies and uncertainties.

Barack Obama: The Challenges Ahead

Barack Obama unquestionably won the presidential elections in the  United States. However, beyond his successful, well-organized and  coherent electoral campaign, his overwhelming victory still leaves  space for different interpretations.

The November 4th Elections

Reflections by comrade Fidel

Tomorrow will be a significant day. The world public will be following the United States elections there. It is the most powerful nation on Earth. Actually, with less than 5% of the world population it swallows every year great amounts of oil and gas, minerals, raw materials, consumer goods and sophisticated products brought from overseas. Many of these, particularly the fuels and those extracted from mines, are non renewable.

Washington and the Local Oligarchy: Bolivia’s Main Enemies

Maybe the men to the north, those of Anglo-Saxon blood and arrogance, do not understand the serenity, patience and hidden ability in the ageless of the children of South America, the direct descendents of a civilization that has nothing to envy of the Roman Empire and much less the surprising Asia.

Reflections by comrade Fidel: Meeting Lula 

It’s not the money injection per se to the developing countries that I criticized in my reflection yesterday, as some press dispatches chose to interpret.

The Worst Choice

Reflection by comrade Fidel

Today, I read that the US Federal Reserve had opened a new line of credit for the Central Banks of Mexico, Brazil, South Korea and Singapore.

Greenspan´s Mistakes

Allan Greenspan, former President of the US Federal Reserve Bank was not even able to pull out his own hair: he is bald.

El Salvador: Ibero-American Summit in Danger

HAVANA, Cuba, Oct 28 (acn) Salvadoran Minister of Public Safety and Justice Rene Figueroa, in charge of guaranteeing the physical safety of the heads of state at the XVII Ibero-American Summit (Oct. 29-31), for more than a year has refused to arrest Francisco Chavez Abarca, the main accomplice of Luis Posada Carriles in his terrorist campaign against Cuba in 1997.

ECONOMIC ILLITERACY

Reflections by comrade Fidel

In Zulia, Chavez made reference to “comrade Sarkozy”. This remark carried some irony but he meant no offense. On the contrary, he was rather recognizing the sincerity of the President when he spoke in Beijing in his capacity as chairman of the European Community.

The Russian Orthodox Church

Reflections by comrade Fidel

It is a spiritual force. It played a major role at critical times in the history of Russia. At the onset of the Great Russian War, after the treacherous Nazi attack, Stalin turned to her for support to the workers and peasants that the October Revolution had changed into the owners of factories and the land.

IT’S AMAZING

Reflections by comrade Fidel

Following an initiative from Sarkozy, President of France, on Sunday October 12th, the countries of the Euro zone agreed on an anti-crisis scheme.

On Monday 13th, an announcement is made that the European countries will inject multimillion amounts of money in the financial market to prevent a collapse. The stocks have risen after the amazing news.

The Battle of the Truth and Martin Blandino’s Book

Part III and final

Reflections by comrade Fidel

As the dramatic combats developed in Cangamba we could see that the enemy intended more than an isolated action. First, we had to save the Cuban internationalists and the men of the 32nd Brigade FAPLA.

The White House Ghost

Reflections by comrade Fidel

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 finances to keep up banking operations and to prevent savers from loosing their money.

THE LAW OF THE JUNGLE

Reflections by comrade Fidel  

Trade, within a society and between 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 wellbeing through market. This they worship as an infallible God.

The Battle of the Truth and Martin Blandino's Book (Part I )

Reflections by comrade Fidel

The international press only reports on the economic hurricane beating the world. Many present it as a new phenomenon. For us it is not new; it was forseeable. Today, I’d rather deal with another current issue of great interest to our people, too.

The Destructive Claws of Bolivia's Right

The Bolivian oligarchy, that expresses itself through the local governors of Santa Cruz, Tarija, Trinidad and Chuquisaca, sat at the negotiating table with the government of President Evo Morales because they had damaged their claws.

Playing with Fire

Be careful.  Not too long ago an analyst said that with the recent episodes in South Ossetia, Russia had shown to what extent the territorial limits of NATO are permissible.

Bush Plan and Paulson: Biggest Rip-off and Blackmail in History 

The 2008 Emergency and Economic Stability Law which the US Congress has just approved to purchase worthless assets from banks and financial entities, is the biggest state intervention since the Great Depression and represents the rejection and collapse of neo-liberalism.

WE ARE AND WE SHOULD BE SOCIALISTS

Reflections by comrade Fidel

Last October 2nd we discussed the international price of our fuel consumption. I am under the impression that its significance attracted the attention of many leaders and cadres.

KANGAMBA

Reflections by comrade Fidel

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.

The Democratic Socialism

Reflections by Comrade Fidel  

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

There is one accurate response to Bush’s “democratic capitalism”: Chavez’s democratic socialism. There wouldn’t be a more accurate way to express the big contradiction that exists between North and South in our hemisphere, between the ideas of Bolivar and those of Monroe.

Day of Quds: International Support of Palestinian Resistance

The resistance of the Palestinian people against the Israeli occupation of their territory is the only viable and standing tool to fight against Zionism and aggression, said the ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Cuba Mostafa Alaei, during a ceremony on Friday, in Havana, to mark International “Day of Quds.”

BUSH’S SELF-CRITICISM

In a brief 15-minute speech, the President of the United States made some assertions that, had they come from the mouths of any of his adversaries, they would have been described as atrocious and cynical slanders against the economic system of his country which he named “democratic capitalism”.

USA: Once Again the Great Offender 

It will happen, of course, some day, when in the US the interests of a group of right wing elements in Miami will stop exercising decisive pressure over the behaviour of a power which is currently politically castrated.

What is true and what is false

Reflections by Comrade Fidel  

The news agencies are reporting that Chávez will visit Cuba tomorrow on his way to China, Russia, Belarus, France and Portugal.

VICES AND VIRTUES

Reflections by Comrade Fidel  

Yesterday we were talking about the Financial Ike that is driving the empire mad. America can't find a way of reconciling consumerism with unjust wars, defence spending and the massive investments in the arms industry, which kill peoples, rather than feeding them or otherwise satisfying their most basic needs.

Reading the cables will suffice. 

In the reflection I wrote the day before yesterday I expressed that Cuba would not accept any donation from the government that imposes a blockade against it, and that in the Note Verbale sent to the Interest Section of the United States we had requested authorization so that the US companies could sell to us construction material.  Said Note did not make any reference whatsoever to foodstuffs.  There was an additional request for the trade in those materials to take place under normal conditions, with credits included, something that is only logical considering that for eight years our country has been paying in cash for the few commodities that the US companies are authorized to export to Cuba.