This blog originally appeared onOpera Mundi

French magnate Bernard Arnaud's desire to acquire Belgian nationality has reignited the debate over tax exile and the refusal of similar large estates to fulfill their fiscal responsibilities. There is, however, a simple and effective solution to end legal tax avoidance.

Bernard...

This post originally appeared on Opera Mundi

Despite the election of socialist François Hollande to the presidency of the Republic, France, far from breaking with the neoliberal model that has led much of Europe toward disaster, has chosen the path of austerity.

The austerity policies advocated by the...

Austerity versus public interest: a plan destined for failure

The socialist government of François Hollande has adopted, through French parliamentary procedure, the European Budgetary Pact, also known as the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Growth (TSCG). This measure, in addition to establishing a policy of ongoing austerity, will affect adversely...

This post originally appeared on Opera Mundi.

Greece is emblematic of today's general crisis of national indebtedness. Since 2010, the country has been subjected to nine different austerity plans, each one of an extreme severity. The Greek people have responded by calling fourteen general strikes. Yet, a...

How Private Banks are getting Rich off the Backs of the Citizens.

This post originally appeared on Opera Mundi.

All European countries find themselves confronted with debt problems that impact sustainable public finances. The crisis has not spared France, the world's fifth largest economic power, something that makes...

An interview with Ricardo Alarcon, President of the Cuban Parliament

President of the Cuban Parliament since 1992, and member of the Political Bureau of the Cuban Communist Party, Ricardo Alarcon de Quesada is, after President Raul Castro and First Vice-President Antonio Machado Ventura, third in line in the Cuban government....

An interview with Ricardo Alarcon, President of the Cuban Parliament

President of the Cuban Parliament since 1992, and member of the Political Bureau of the Cuban Communist Party, Ricardo Alarcon de Quesada is, after President Raul Castro and First Vice-President Antonio Machado Ventura, third in line in the Cuban government....

An interview with Ricardo Alarcon, President of the Cuban Parliament

President of the Cuban Parliament since 1992, and member of the Political Bureau of the Cuban Communist Party, Ricardo Alarcon de Quesada is, after President Raul Castro and First Vice President Antonio Machado Ventura, third in line in the Cuban...

An interview with Ricardo Alarcon, President of the Cuban Parliament

President of the Cuban Parliament since 1992, and member of the Political Bureau of the Cuban Communist Party, Ricardo Alarcon de Quesada is, after President Raul Castro and First Vice President Antonio Machado Ventura,...

An Interview With Ricardo Alarcon, President of the Cuban Parliament

President of the Cuban Parliament since 1992, and member of the Political Bureau of the Cuban Communist Party, Ricardo Alarcon de Quesada is, after President Raul Castro and First Vice-President Antonio Machado Ventura, third in line in the Cuban government....

With contributions from Wayne S. Smith

The way may be opening for increased U.S.-Cuban ties. The United States has removed all restrictions on Cuban-American travel from the U.S. to Cuba and all limitations on Cuban-American remittances to families on the island. Coming at a time when the Cuban...

On February 23, 2010, Cuban inmate Orlando Zapata Tamayo died after 83 days on hunger strike. He was 42. This is the first such incident since inmate Pedro Luis Boitel died in 1972 under similar conditions. The corporate media put the tragic incident on the front page and emphasized the...

On October 21, 2010, the European Parliament announced the recipient of the 2010 Sakharov Prize "for freedom of thought," and awarded it to the Cuban dissident Guillermo Fariñas Hernández. According to the European organization, Fariñas joins "a long line of dissidents and defenders of human rights and freedom of thought."...

On October 25, 2010, the EU decided to maintain the Common Position on Cuba, imposed in 1996 by former Spanish President Jose Maria Aznar, which severely limits political and diplomatic relations between Brussels and Havana. In exchange for the suspension of Title III, which affects European companies, of the Helms-Burton...

According to Amnesty International (AI), grave violations of human rights persist in France. In that regard, "ill-treatment and excessive use of force by police were alleged, including in at least one fatal incident". Ali Ziri, a 69-year-old Algerian, "died following his arrest in Argenteuil on 9 June" after a routine...

The question of the number of "political prisoners" in Cuba is subject to controversy. According to the Cuban government, there are no political prisoners in Cuba, rather they are people convicted of crimes listed in the penal code, particularly the act of receiving funding from a foreign power. In its...

The dialogue with Cuban authorities initiated by the Catholic Church and Spain has been successful. Indeed, after releasing prisoner Ariel Sigler in June 2010, who, for health reasons, chose to emigrate to the U.S., Havana has agreed to release, in the next four months, 52 of the 55 so-called "political"...

An initial finding

In the West, the name Cuba is inevitably associated with the issue of human rights. European and U.S. media stigmatize the largest island in the Caribbean repeatedly on this matter. No other country in the Americas is so singled out as is the homeland of José...