Kennedy death still very much alive

The recent publication of a book by the former CIA official Brian Latell that contains a somewhat spurious hearsay claim that Fidel Castro may have been responsible for the murder of John F. Kennedy, has reignited an issue that should have been well and truly put to bed years ago. HERE Gabriel Molina of Granma International, gives a Cuban revolutionary's response to the assertion. He is in no doubt. For this Cuban there is no conspiracy theory but a conspiracy fact. BOTH the Kennedy brothers were murdered by forces from within the US establishment. As the 50th anniversaries of the Missile Crisis and the murder of JFK approach, it is high time the veil was lifted on this deeply disturbing period of history - but the CIA will still not release all its files...

Is Obama shifting rightwards on Cuba?

This story in the Miami Herald makes grim reading for those interested in improving US-Cuba relations. Apparently Obama's new point man on Cuba in the State Department is someone who was formerly in hvana at the Interests Section and whom the Cuban dissidents admired greatly.

Meanwhile, Raul's daughter Mariela, continues to make waves on her visit to San Francisco. Today she is the yes, you can believe it, CASTRO district, home of the local Gay community. More later.

Let's get along say academics

1902

Cuban and US academics have unveiled a working paper that proposes ways in which the US and Cuba could start to cooperate in order to improve relations.
The paper entitled "Opportunities for US-Cuba relations" has been released following a seminar at the Brookings Institute in Washington DC on 21 May.

2006

Among its authors were several Cuban academics who have been denied visas to enter the US for the prestigious Latin American Studies Association Congress in San Francisco this week, a fact that has not gone unnoticed and has been suggested as a reason perhaps why they were not allowed to present their suggestions in person to an audience of lawmakers and opinion formers in the US capital.

The paper is the product of a four-year-long project by a group known as the Cuba US Academic Workshop and includes senior academics from the island, the US and other Latin American countries.

Among its recommendations are suggestions for cooperation in the fields of academic and cultural engagement, the freedom to travel, , International commerce and development,terrorism and security,and the environment.

The International Institute for the Study of Cuba  has been given a copy of the paper and the versions in English  and Spanish are accessible on its website HERE.

Cuba's prison record better than the US

Cuba has some 200 fewer prisoners per 100,000 of its population than the United States (rthough more than double the UK's) according to the BBC in a report on its website today HERE.

Mariela makes the news

Meanwhile in this report on ABC news Raúl Casto's daughter Mariela, (pictured), is being 'scorned' by politicians but embraced by the Gay and Lesbian community in the US. I guess you know who your friends are....

Here in San Francisco where I am attending the Latin American Studies Association Congress Mariela's appearance here made the frontpage of the daily San Francisco Examiner. Under the headline "Seeing Red: Castro kin's vist stirs politics", reporter Dan Schreiber describes the fall out.

No speech like free speech ...4

The Washington Post weighs in

"NO ONE IS MUCH surprised when the Cuban government, which lives in mortal fear of the free flow of ideas, denies travel visas to homegrown dissidents. But when the United States bars Cuban scholars from attending a four-day academic conference in California, it lowers itself to the level of the regime in Havana and demeans American values..."

So weighs in the editoral board of the Washington Post this morning on the case of the Cuban academics who have been denied entry to the US (see posts below). Read the whole of what they have to say HERE.

Protest grows..

In response to the denial of the 11 visas for Cubans scheduled to participate in the Latin American Studies Association International Congress in San Francisco, May 23-26, 2012, the leadership of the Section for Scholarly Relations with Cuba has prepared a resolution to be sent to President Obanma protesting at the decision.  Many of the 11 have received visas one or more times in the past several years. The full text of the resolution and how to support it can be found HERE.

... and the shows go on

Meanhwhile...despite the visa denials, in the US capital and in New York, Cuban academics who were among those lucky enough to get visas are taking part in two prestigious events today. A colloquium, on the Cuban economy is taking place from 8.45am today at the Bildner Centre, CUNY. Details HERE. While at the Brookings Institute in DC, from 9.30am there is a discussion on the ways forward in US-Cuba relations. Access info on that one HERE.

No speech like free speech ...3

Obama's visa pleaser?

The Obama administration is accused of bowing to pressure from the Cuban-American right in denying visas to Cuban scholars invited to the LASA Congress in San Francisco next week. According to today's Washington Post HERE, after giving 66 visas including one to Mariela, Raúl Castro's daughter and to leading communist Eusebio Leal, the administration appears to have denied some visas to other prominent Cubans as a pay off.
The Post quotes one of the scholars, Temas magazine editor Rafael Hernández (pictured left) as saying the visa decisions seemed arbitrary. He speculated that the White House was mixing in some denials with the majority that were approved due to political pressure.
“They have denied visas to several of us who frequently travel to the United States,” Hernandez said. “That is the cost, I suppose, that they are paying to bring in the rest. They have to throw a piece of meat to (Cuban American hardline politicians) ... because they gave a visa to Mariela and Eusebio.”

Meanwhile, Mariela Castro (above right) led a march on Thursday in Cienfuegos, central Cuba, marking the international day against homophobia as featured HERE in a video on The Guardian website.

No speech like free speech...2

I have just learned that among the Cuban academics to have been denied visas to attend the LASA conference (see post below) are Professor Carlos Alzugaray (pictured) and Dr. Rafael Hernandez, both of whom have spent considerable time in the United States. They were both guests recently in the UK where they contributed to two conferences. Another Cuban denied a visa is Dra. Milagros Martinez who, along with Professor Alzugaray, serves on the LASA Cuba Section board. The denial of their visas will be seen as a deliberate provocation.

Rum goings on

The long-running  battle over the brand name Havana Club is distilling into a sticky mess. The Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued this statement on the US Supreme Court's decision to uphold the right of the Bacardi Company (a Bermudan rather than US entity) to market a rum called Havana Club in the US. The message seems fairly clear that the Cuban government us not going to let the matter rest:

"If the U.S. government does not act, it will bear prime responsibility for the theft of the Havana Club trademark from its rightful owner, the Cubaexport company, and the negative consequences which could result from its actions in terms of reciprocal protection of industrial property."

No speech like free speech?

As scholars make preparations for next week’s prestigious Latin American Studies Association Congress 2012 in San Francisco, there has been the very disturbing news that seven visas for Cuban academics have been denied in the past few days, two were denied on Tuesday, five on Wednesday; it is likely that at least three others will be denied as meetings have been scheduled for Friday and Monday.
Though a good number of visas have been granted including that of Mariela Castro (pictured), the daughter of Raúl Castro, many others are still pending and the organisers of the Congress are deeply disturbed.   The LASA congress was removed from the United States some years ago in protest at the Government's denial of visas for Cuban academics to attend. It only returned to the US this year with the assurance that Cuban academics and intellectuals would be granted entry. The Washington Post contains a story on this HERE. It concludes:
"The secrecy of the visa process and the apparent contradictions in how applicants are judged make the system vulnerable to charges of political ma­nipu­la­tion. Some critics suggested Thursday that the criteria for granting Cubans visas may have more to do with the shifting mood in Washington or Havana than with an applicant’s merit."

The fire this time 3

Cuban journalist Jesús Arboleya Cervera has published THIS ARTICLE on the Progreso Weekly website which he argues that the return of terrorism to Miami is due to the culture of impunity in that city that he says is a direct consequence of government policies. It is a sign that the mood could turn ugly if such attacks continue.

The gravy train stops here...

When it comes to spending US taxpayers' money the myriad organisations receiving funds from USAID to supposedly promote promote democracy in Cuba take some beating. They are also pretty good at hiding what they actually spend the money on as Tracy Eaton reports on his blog Along the Malecon HERE.

The fire this time 2...

When is arson not worth investigating?

John Guy Allard reports in the Cuban newspaper Granma that two weeks after the arson attack on an charter company in Miami (see 14 May below), the the local FBI has not interrogated a single suspect.

Too much of a good thing for some

Meanwhile on another front, the opponents of Cuba travel in the US have successfully managed to pressure the Obama administration to tighten the regulations on people to people exchanges. Apparantly US citizens meeting Cubans and dancing with them is not an activity that is considered wholesome.

Travel broadens the mind 1

What does this college Professor see that Washington does not?

Vermont College professor Saleem Ali (left) has just been to Cuba on one of those educational tours that are currently more easily arranged now that President Obama has loosened the licensing restrictions. He tells Vermont Public Service Radio about his findings and explains exactly why US policy towards Cuba does not make sense. It is well worth reading (or listening to) for its concise and exact explanation. Of course, I am sure that Professor Ali did not need to GO to Cuba to discover this, but the fact is that he was able to and to see for  himself why the place does not deserve the treatment it gets. It is highly likely that US citizens returning from a trip to Cuba will share his views - no doubt a contributory factor in what seems to be an escalating campaign to roll back the travel reforms, which has turned very nasty in Miami as yesterday's post (below) demonstrates.  

The fire this time...

A fire in a Miami travel agency was arson - A sign of worse to come?

A blaze last month that destroyed the offices of a Cuba travel agency in Miami was deliberately started, according to fire investigators and reported in the Miami Herald on 13 May.

The Coral Gables Fire Department report says that investigators found a disposable lighter, the remains of a green bottle, and a piece of asphalt after the fire at the Airline Brokers Co. that took place on 27 April. The items indicate the "potential use of a projectile to breach the building window, and the use of a liquid accelerant incendiary device in this fire," adds the report.

The blaze severely damaged the offices of the company, which arranged the flights and travel for hundreds of Cuban-Americans and others to the island for Pope Benedict XVI's visit in March

The worrying thing about this is the fact that in the 1970s and 80s, bombings of businesses and Cuba travel companies were commonplace in Miami. Violence returned in the summer of 1996, when Marazul Charters, a company that arranges legal flights to the island, had two of its offices bombed. A second travel business, Maira and Family Services, had a bomb thrown inside its offices within the same month.

Now the fires have returned just as  travel to the island has grown since President Barack Obama removed a cap that limited family visits. Last year, the Cuban government said it was expecting 500,000 U.S. visitors annually, most of them Cuban-Americans, many of whom still have strong ties and family on the island.

It is clear that extremist elements within the Miami Cuban community cannot bear the thought of this leading to a rapprochement between Havana and Washington and will stop at nothing in trying to prevent it.