Someone shoved a piece of paper under my door. A sheet cut in half with instructions about how to evacuate in the case of a hurricane or an invasion. One phrase struck me like the refrain of a bad song: "Sew a tag to the clothes of minor children with the identity of their parents (in wartime)." I imagined myself putting stitches into my son's shirt, so that in the middle of the chaos someone would know that his mother was named Yoani and his father Reinaldo.
The "War of the Whole People" -- currently undergoing a practice run in the military exercise called Bastion 2009 -- has an assigned job for each of us. It doesn't matter that they make us fear weapons, or if we have never believed in confrontation as a path to solutions, or if we have no confidence in the leaders who will head up our squad. Those who sit at a table covered with tiny plastic tanks and planes, playing at conflagration, want to hide that we citizens have dug the deepest trench to protect ourselves from them.
The news is full of soldiers with their weapons, but the martial maneuvers fail to hide that our real "enemies" are the restrictions and control imposed by the powers that be. War as a distraction no longer works. The threat of parachutes landing and bombs echoing as an antidote to the desire for change has ceased to be effective. I think more and more people are pointing a finger at the true origin of our problems and, though it comes as a surprise to the champions of the battle, their fingers do not appear to be pointing abroad.
Yoani's blog, Generation Y, can be read here in English translation.
Follow Yoani Sanchez on Twitter: www.twitter.com/yoanigeny
A group of prominent black Americans has for the first time publicly condemned Cuba’s rights record, demanding Havana stop its “callous disregard” for black Cubans and declaring that “racism in Cuba . . . must be confronted.”
http://www.miamiherald.com/581/
Having poweful foreign enemies to blame everything on is an old trick, roman and greek political writers comment on this as does Machiaveli. Bush and the Neo-conmen showed the USA first hand Jefferson's quote that
"Those who would give up their freedom for some security deserve neither"
The similarity of the Neo-Con (GOP) use of foreign policy to stiffle dissent to the old Soviet (and current Cuban, Venezuelan) practice is quite frightening...
like something out of 1984...
See http://thehavananote.com/2009/11/_president_obama_was_very_1.html
Today we are seeing the last cry of a government whose leadership is old and losing its power. They will try to use force and fear when the people are now informed and tired of the story they are selling.
I will say it. As of 01-01-10 drop all the regulations against Cuba. Show them for what they are..a government that needs the harshness from the USA to survive. Open Cuba to investment and growth and in ten years the Florida Cubans will have to decide if they are Americans or want a be Cubans.
middleamerican2010
Casey
Today the cuban nation is one with 2 governments. 20% of this nation lives in USA and almost 40% of the cuban nation in the island depends economically of the nation in exile. That's means USA has control over 60% of cubans, 20% by direct control and 40% by economical control.
It is too much people as to be affected by a political change in Cuba. Despite what happens in Cuba nothing will change in Miami. The most Cubans here will stay as and where they are because the Cuban emigration is not like other emigrations..... we have not the right to go back to Cuba once we left, then, we have became people without country and have to adopt USA as our home. Mexicans, for example, does not do that because they have the option to get back to their country.
Same happened in XIX century when a lot of Cubans relocated in Tampa, NY and Key West when they escaped the independence war. Once the war finished they stayed here. Now it going to be the same..... so....... prepare to hold!!!!!!....... hahahaha
One only has to look at who these people are and their past actions. The exiles are terrorists in the main and only want a return to the bad old days when they had their own dictatorship and ran wild with corruption and crime. They have NO respect for freedom, other than to get rich off the backs of others.
The US has invaded many times and installed their own dictators for the benefit of US interests. One only has to recall what the US did in the Dominican Republic when a coup overthrew the only democratically elected President Juan Bosch. When a counter coup was going to restore him to power, the US INVADED. to PREVENT the legitimate President from taking back his office. The US then allowed rigged elections to take place after making sure that the opposition was killed off.
The manuevers are not to impress anybody, but are needed to work out the rough spots in communications, logistics, and to give commanders real experience moving men and equipment around.. Any military force to be effective needs to do this kind of thing more often.
They cannot fight themselves, but only make more victims.