Stories about Cuba from August, 2006
Cuba: Raúl Castro's first appointment
Raúl Castro appears to have made his first official appointment, writes Luis M. Garcia: “analysts and Cuban watchers will have a field day over the next few hours with these latest news from Havana. Does it mean Raul is really in charge?“
Cuba: Between the lines
The Cuban news daily Granma reports that a Syrian ministerial delegation has been received in Cuba by Raul Castro — and Luis M. Garcia (and, presumably, other watchers of the Castro regime) try to figure out what it means: “We are a sad, pathetic bunch, I know … A bit...
Cuba: Sex tourism
Luis M. Garcia reports briefly on the Cuban government's irate response to “a Spanish academic who says as many as 200,000 Spaniards travel to Cuba every year to engage in what he politely termed turismo sexual.“
Cuba, Bahamas, USA: Moral authority
Rick Lowe takes issue with the Cuban ambassador to the Bahamas's declaration that the US lacks the moral authority to criticise Cuba.
Cuba: Alicia Alonso on Fidel
Luis M. Garcia is highly skeptical of comments made by Cuban ballet star Alicia Alonso about Fidel Castro.
Cuba: It's not the US economy
The real problem with the Cuban economy, says Luis M. Garcia, is not the US embargo. . . .
Cuba, Puerto Rico: Who's better off?
La Ventanita asks: “Who's better off since 1959, Cubans or Puerto Ricans?“
Cuba: The American's Guide to Cuban Diseases
Babalu Blog publishes “The American's Guide to Cuban Diseases”. Among the afflictions listed are “Ovarian Induced Dementia” and “Twisted Bonnet”.
Cuba: Sweet 15
Robin Thom had the good fortune to be on the right balcony at the right time in order to capture this lovely scene on the Paseo de Prado in Havana, Cuba. “I had always assumed this was a wedding,” writes Robin on his Flickr page, “but it was pointed out...
Venezuela: Politics, Philosphy, and Gastronomy
Two more translated op-eds from Venezuela. Miguel Octavio has translated “Escape from Ramo Verde” by Teodoro Petkoff while Guillermo Parra has Héctor Silva Michelena's “The Postmodern Philosopher and the Human Vultures.” For those who believe Friday's aren't meant for politics and philosophy, Caracas Cafe says this is a good weekend...
Ahmadinejad's blog and Fidel Castro
According to the BBC, the launch of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s blog was reported on state TV, which urged users to send in messages to the president. Several magazines and newspapers around the world have already talked about Ahmadinejad’s blog. In his first, and so far only, post, Ahmadinejad talks...
Cuba, Paraguay: Stroessner & Castro
On the occasion of the death of Paraguayan dictator General Alfredo Stroessner, Luis M. Garcia draws parallels between the career of the General and that of Fidel Castro: “. . . here is an assessment of Stroessner (pictured), by a former US ambassador to Paraguay, George Landau: “He believed, as...
Cuba: On Castro's latest message
Divergent views on the most recent message from Fidel Castro, published in Granma this past Tuesday: Pastor Batista, from Las Tunas Cuba, said (ES) it “made millions of Cubans and people in other latitiudes VERY HAPPY,” while Luis M. Garcia questions Castro's referring to himself in the message as “Comandante...
Cuba: US trade embargo
Val Prieto invites readers to offer their views on the US trade embargo against Cuba (92 comments so far. . . .)
Caribbean: Languages spoken here
Island Tips posts a list — by island — of the languages spoken in the Caribbean.
Cuba: Havana women
Robin Thom has a lovely Flickr photoset called “HavanaWomen” — the title is self-explanatory.
Cuba, Costa Rica: Arias calls for a democratic Cuba
Mora at Babalu Blog applauds Costa Rican president Oscar Arias's call for the democratisation of Cuba.
Cuba: Fidel's Adidas jogging suit
Riffing off the Adidas jacket in which Fidel Castro was photographed this weekend, Luis M. Garcia mentions a friend who e-mailed to remind him that “when she was a teenager in Cuba – such capitalist attire was strictly forbidden at school. Wearing an Adidas t-shirt, let alone a jogging suit,...
Czech Republic: Fidel Castro's Diploma
Lemuel of Deleted by Tomorrow writes about Fidel Castro's honorary doctorate from a Czech university.
Fauxtographic evidence?: Bloggers on Castro's birthday photos
As the dog in the 1993 New Yorker cartoon once said: “On the internet, nobody knows if you're a dog.” But on the internet people do know if you've photoshopped your images — or at least they'll try their best to prove you have. The manipulation of photographs to influence...
Cuba: El Capitolio
Daniel Mauermann has a Flickr photoset of Cuba's capitol building in Havana, which is modeled after the one in Washington D.C.