The Real Intentions of the "Partnership of Equals"

Fidel Catro: The Real Intentions of the "Partnership of Equals"
by Fidel Castro — last modified Mar 23, 2011 02:55 PM
— filed under: DEFAULT, FIDEL´S REFLECTION

Yesterday was a long day. I was paying attention to the ups and downs of Obama in Chile since noon, as I had done the day before with his adventures in the city of Rio de Janeiro. That city (...) had defeated Chicago in its aspirations to be the home of the 2016 Olympic Games when the new president of the United States and Nobel Peace Prize laureate was looking like a rival of Martin Luther King.

THE REAL INTENTIONS OF THE “PARTNERSHIP OF EQUALS”

Yesterday was a long day. I was paying attention to the ups and downs of Obama in Chile since noon, as I had done the day before with his adventures in the city of Rio de Janeiro. That city, in a brilliant challenge, had defeated Chicago in its aspirations to be the home of the 2016 Olympic Games when the new president of the United States and Nobel Peace Prize laureate was looking like a rival of Martin Luther King.

Nobody knew when he would arrive to Santiago de Chile and what a president of the United States would do there when one of his predecessors had committed the painful crime of promoting the overthrow and physical death of their heroic president, horrible tortures and the murders of thousands of Chileans.

I for one was trying to follow the news that was coming in about the tragedy in Japan and the brutal war unleashed against Libya while the illustrious visitor was proclaiming the “Partnership of Equals” in the region of the world where wealth is distributed in the worst way.

Among so many things, I lost track a bit and saw nothing of the lavish banquet for hundreds of people being served the delicacies nature offered from the sea. The banquet had been served in a Tokyo restaurant , the city where one can pay up to 300,000 dollars for a fresh blue-fin tuna, they had collected up to 10 million dollars.

That was too much work for a young man of my age. I wrote a brief Reflection and then went to bed for a long sleep.

This morning I was refreshed. My friend wouldn’t be arriving to El Salvador until after mid-day. I requested the cable dispatches, Internet articles and other recently arrived material.

I saw in the first place that, because of my reflections, the cables had given importance to what I had said about my position as First Party Secretary and I shall explain as briefly as possible. Concentrating on Barack Obama’s “Partnership of Equals” , a matter of so much historical importance – I say that seriously – I didn’t even remember that next month the Party Congress would be taking place.

My position on the subject was basically logical. Once I understood the seriousness of my state of health, I did what I thought, in my opinion, wasn’t necessary when I had that painful accident in Santa Clara; after the fall, treatment was tough, but my life was not in danger.

On the other hand, when I wrote the Proclamation on the 31st of July it was clear to me that the state of my health was extremely critical.

I immediately set aside all my public duties, adding to the proclamation some instructions to provide security and tranquility for the population.

It wasn’t necessary to specifically step down from each one of my duties.

For me, my most important duty was that of First Party Secretary. Because of ideology and on principle, in a revolutionary stage, that political position carries the highest authority. The other position I held was that of President of the Council of State and Government, elected by the National Assembly. Both posts had replacements, and not by virtue of some family connection, something I have never considered to be the source of right, but due to experience and merit.

The rank of Commander in Chief had been granted me by the struggle itself, a matter of chance more than because of any personal merit. The Revolution itself, in a subsequent stage, correctly designated headship of all armed institutions to the president, a function that in my opinion, ought to fall to the First Party Secretary. I consider that that’s how a country such as Cuba should be, having had to face an obstacle as considerable as the empire created by the United States.

Almost 14 years went by since the previous Party Congress; it coincided with the disappearance of the USSR, the socialist bloc, the Special Period and my own illness.

When gradually and partially my health was recovered, the idea didn’t even cross my mind about the need to proceed formally in order to expressly resign from any position. At that time, I accepted the honour of being elected as Deputy to the National Assembly, something that did not demand my physical presence and with which I might share my ideas.

Since I have more time than ever now to observe, to inform myself and to lay out certain points of view, I shall modestly fulfil my duty to fight for the ideas I have defended throughout my modest life.

I beg readers to forgive the time I have spent in this explanation that above-mentioned circumstances have forced me to undertake.

The most important matter, which I cannot forget, is that rare partnership between millionaires and starving people as proposed by the illustrious President of the United States.

Those who are well-informed, those who know for example, the history of this hemisphere, its battles, or even the history of the Cuban people defending their Revolution against the empire that, as Obama himself acknowledges, “now lasted for longer than I’ve been alive”, will surely be amazed by his proposal.

It is well-known that the current president is a good wordsmith, circumstances that, together with the economical crisis, growing unemployment, losses of homes, and deaths of American soldiers in the stupid wars of Bush, helped him to obtain his victory.

After observing him well, I wouldn’t be surprised that he was the author of the ridiculous name with which the massacre in Libya was baptized – “Odyssey Dawn” – that unsettled the dust of the mortal remains of Homer and those who contributed to the forging of the legend in the famous Greek poems, even though I admit, perhaps, the name was created by the military chiefs who are managing the thousands of nuclear weapons with which a mere command from the Nobel Peace Prize laureate can determine the end of our species.

His speech to whites, blacks, native peoples, mestizos and non-mestizos, religious or non-religious peoples of the Americas delivered in the Palacio de la Moneda Cultural Centre was distributed in a true copy by United States embassies everywhere, and it was translated and spread by Chile TV, CNN, and other broadcasting stations in other languages as I would imagine.

It was in the style of the speech he gave in the first year of his term in Cairo, the capital of his friend and ally Hosni Mubarak, whose tens of billions of dollars taken from the people were supposedly known to a president of the United States.

“…Chile shows that we need not be divided by race […] or ethnic conflict”, he assures us, and thus the American problem was erased from the map.

He obsessively insists almost immediately that “…our marvelous surroundings today, just steps from where Chile lost its democracy decades ago, …” Everything other than saying coup d’état, the murder of the honourable General Schneider, or the glorious name of Salvador Allende, as if the government of the United States had absolutely nothing to do with it.

The great poet Pablo Neruda, whose death was prompted by the treacherous coup, was quoted more than once, in this case to affirm our beautifully poetic “guiding stars” which are “struggle” and “hope”. Has Obama forgotten that Neruda was a Communist, a friend of the Cuban Revolution, a great admirer of Simon Bolivar who is reborn every hundred years, and inspiration for the Heroic Guerrilla Ernesto Guevara?

I was admiring Barack Obama’s profound knowledge of history almost from the very beginning of his message. Some irresponsible advisor forgot to explain to him that Neruda was a member of the Chilean Communist Party. After a few other insignificant paragraphs, he recognizes that “Now, I know I’m not the first president from the United States to pledge a new spirit of partnership with our Latin American neighbors. Words are easy, and I know that there have been times where perhaps the United States took this region for granted.”

“…Latin America is not the old stereotype of a region - in perpetual conflict or trapped in endless cycles of poverty.”

“In Colombia, great sacrifices by citizens and security forces have restored a level of security not seen in decades.” Over there, there was never any drug trafficking, paramilitary or secret cemeteries.

In his speech, the working class does not exist, nor do landless peasants, or the illiterate, or infant and maternal mortality, people becoming blind, or victims of parasites such as Chaga or bacterial diseases such as cholera.

“From Guadalajara to Santiago to Sao Paolo, a new MIDDLE CLASS is demanding more of themselves and more of their governments”, he states.

“When a coup in Honduras threatened democratic progress, the nations of the hemisphere unanimously invoked the Inter-American Democratic Charter, helping to lay the foundation for the return to the rule of law.”

The real reason for Obama’s marvellous speech is explained in inarguable fashion in the middle of his message and in his own words: “Latin America is only going to become more important to the United States, especially to our economy […] We buy more of your products, more of your goods than any other country, and we invest more in this region than any other country. […] we export more than three times as much to Latin America as we do to China. Our exports to this region -- which are growing faster than our exports to the rest of the world -- …”. One can perhaps assume from this that “when Latin America is more prosperous, the United States is more prosperous.”

Further on, he dedicates insipid words to real facts:

“But if we’re honest, we’ll also admit that […] progress in the Americas has not come fast enough. Not for the millions who endure the injustice of extreme poverty. Not for the children in shantytowns and the favelas who just want the same chance as everybody else.”

“…political and economic power that is too often concentrated in the hands of the few, instead of serving the many”, he said verbatim.

“...we are not the first generation to face these challenges. Fifty years ago this month, President John F. Kennedy proposed an ambitious Alliance for Progress.”

“President Kennedy’s challenge endures – ‘to build a hemisphere where all people can hope for a sustainable, suitable standard of living, and all can live out their lives in dignity and in freedom.”

It is incredible that he now comes up with such an awkward story, an insult to human intelligence.

He has nothing left other than to mention, among the great calamities, a problem that originates in the colossal US market of lethal weapons: “Criminal gangs and narco-traffickers are not only a threat to the security of our citizens. They’re a threat to development, because they scare away investment that economies need to prosper. And they are a direct threat to democracy, because they fuel the corruption that rots institutions from within.”

Further on he reluctantly adds: “But we’ll never break the grip of the cartels and the gangs unless we also address the social and economic forces that fuel criminality. We need to reach at-risk youth before they turn to drugs and crime.”

“...as President I’ve made it clear that the United States shares and accepts our share of responsibility for drug violence. After all, the demand for drugs, including in the United States, drives this crisis. And that’s why we’ve developed a new drug control strategy that focused on reducing the demand for drugs through education and prevention and treatment.”

What he doesn’t say is that in Honduras 76 per every 100,000 inhabitants are dying as a result of violence, 19 times higher than in Cuba where practically, despite proximity to the United States, that problem hardly exists.

After a bunch of similar bits of foolishness, about weapons headed for Mexico that are being seized, a Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Inter-American Development bank, with which he says they are increasing the Microfinance Growth Fund for the Americas and promises to create new “Pathways to Prosperity” and other highfalutin terms that he pronounces in English and Spanish, he returns to his outlandish promises of hemispheric unity and he tries to impress his audience with the dangers of climatic changes.

Obama adds: “And if anybody doubts the urgency of climate change, they look -- they should look no further than the Americas -- from the stronger storms in the Caribbean, to glacier melt in the Andes, to the loss of forests and farmland across the region.” Without the guts to acknowledge that his country is the one most responsible for that tragedy.

He explains that he is proud to announce that “…the United States will work with partners in this region, including the private sector, to increase the number of U.S. students studying in Latin America to 100,000, and the number of Latin America students studying in the United States to 100,000.” We already know how much it costs to study medicine or any other profession in that country, and the shameless brain drain being practiced in the United States.

All his empty words ends with praise for the OAS that Roa described as the Ministry of Yankee Colonies when our Homeland unforgettably made an accusation in the United Nations, informing that the government of the United States had attacked our territory on April 15th of 1961 with B-26s painted with Cuban flags; a shameless event that in 23 days will be 50 years old.

Thus he believed that everything was completely ready to proclaim the right to subvert law and order in our country.

He openly confesses that they are “allowing Americans to send remittances that bring some economic hope for people across Cuba, as well as more independence from Cuban authorities.”

“…we’ll continue to seek ways to increase the independence of the Cuban people, who I believe are entitled to the same freedom and liberty as everyone else in this hemisphere.”

Later he recognizes that the blockade is damaging Cuba, depriving the economy of resources. Why does he not recognize the intentions of Eisenhower, and the declared United States aim when he applied it was bringing the Cuban people to their knees by hunger?

Why is it still in place? How many billions of dollars does the compensation the US must pay our country come to? Why are they keeping the 5 Cuban anti-terrorist heroes imprisoned? Why aren’t they applying the Adjustment Law to all Latin Americans instead of allowing thousands of them to die or get injured on the border imposed on that country after having stolen more than half of its territory?

I ask the President of the United States to pardon my frankness.

I harbour no hard feelings against him or his people.

I fulfill the duty of laying out all that I think about his “Partnership of Equals”.

The United States will get nothing from creating and stimulating the mercenary profession. I can assure him that the best and most well-educated young people in our country, graduates from the University of Informatics Sciences, know much more about the Internet and computer science than the Nobel laureate and President of the United States.



Fidel Castro Ruz

March 22, 2011

9:17 p.m.

Save The LA Murals

Save The LA Murals

THE CURRENT PLIGHT OF LOS ANGELES MURALS BY JUDY BACA

We have lost 60% of the murals of los Angeles to tagging by a new generation of street kids who have no mural programs nor a relationship to the murals via having had an opportunity to work on one or knowing someone who worked on one. We have 10 million being spent to abate graffiti in the city and 30 million from the County of LA annually to remove the growing proliferation of graffiti. Incarceration of a single youth has been estimated at 250,000 annually and criminalization of our youth is no longer a feared outcome but a documented fact in ever increasing numbers. It is possible for example to go to prison for life with three strikes on graffiti violations that are felonies (those causing over 500.00 of damage). At a recent panel we held for graffiti artists we learned of youth being named "urban terrorists" by the sentencing judge.

We have a new city policy that has made it against the law to put up a street mural, an effective program proven to divert youth from vandalism to constructive art making and civic engagement. The confusion between "Mural/ signs" has been used as a ploy for corporations to demand equal rights under the First amendment. The city of Los Angeles fears making a distinction between "art" and "advertising" as it is seen as a violation of advertising giants rights to freedom of expression based on a lawsuit against the tiny mural program of the city of Portland Oregon by Clear Channel. The ordinance that makes it illegal to put up a "mural sign" without a permit has created a moratorium on any new murals for over 3 years because of a fear that the city will be sued for making that distinction. Yet advertising is proliferating at an alarming rate with 800 new digital billboards among giant super graphics that now dominate our downtown. Advertising giants simply pay the fines and continue illegal signage. Murals are replaced daily by advertising in every square inch of our eye space.

We must act now to stop this insanity. Doesn’t Barbara Black have first amendment rights which are being violated by the citation? Why can’t she put up art on her own walls and why must she destroy the work of her neighbors?

Why do advertising giants have the rights of individuals to freedom of expression when they can hide under corporate cover at their convenience not taking individual responsibility for actions they take that harm the public? Why can’t we decide as the public what kind of a city we want to live in and control advertising and allow art to proliferate?

Here are the larger questions art supporters: When is enough enough?

1. What are the legal implications of freedom of expression on private property?
As a property owner can you not decorate your fence as you choose? Is it a problem only when youth use spraycan do so?
2. Why is the city of Los Angeles, once the MURAL CAPITAL OF THE WORLD, unable to simply make the distinction between signage and art? It is not so hard is it? It is essentially the intention of the work. If the intention is to sell you something, it is advertising. If the intention is to beautify, enlighten, inspire or cause reflection: it is art.

“Energy autonomy – the 4th revolution”

Energy autonomy – watch out for the 4th revolution!
Posted on 07/03/2010 by Florian

Energy entirely from renewable sources, accessible to everyone, affordable and clean. Utopia? Not quite, as Carl A. Fechner’s documentary “Energy autonomy – the 4th revolution” shows. A visionary film, arguing that through energy autonomy we can positively influence the balance of power and distribute capital more equitably -we need only do it. This is not a distant dream anymore, but rapidly becoming reality, as Fechner demonstrates presenting practical examples, exemplary projects and the daily work of “green” champions around the globe. Get to know the world’s most energy-efficient office building in Germany, for example. A building that produces more energy than it consumes. Learn how renewable energies secure the existence of families in Mali and Bangladesh or how alternative energy concepts have already started to revolutionize the car industry and encourage new ways of mobility.

After the agricultural, industrial and information revolutions, here it comes, the fourth, the energy revolution.

It took four years to produce this documentary, with features celebrities, top managers, African mothers, bankers and ambitious activists around the world. “The current energy system is on the ropes”, says Hermann Scheer, chairman of the World Renewable Energy Forum, winner of the Alternative Nobel Prize, and member of German parliament. “A new system of energy autonomy is just about to break through. It will make energy independent”. High time for the economy to get prepared, Scheer warns, as the world is “facing the greatest structural changes in the economy since the beginning of the industrial age”. After the agricultural, industrial and information revolutions, here it comes, the fourth, the energy revolution.

now for a brief history of the united states :)

Empire or Humanity?

Empire or Humanity?
What the Classroom Didn't Teach Me about the American Empire
by Howard Zinn
Narrated by Viggo Mortensen
Art by Mike Konopacki
Video editing by Eric Wold

To read more from Howard Zinn visit www.TomDispatch.com.

Veterans Demand Peace: 113 are Arrested at White House!

Veterans Demand Peace: 113 are Arrested at White House!







On Saturday, March 19, 2011, Veterans for Peace led a rally and then a march on the White House. Organizers report 113 were arrested in an action of nonviolent public civil resistance. To learn more about this spirited event and the exact charges filed, go to: http://www.stopthesewars.org/

BP to start drilling off Libyan coast

BP to start drilling off Libyan coast

Oil giant's shock revelation is the latest twist in a tale of politics, pollution, terrorism – and violent death

Hugo Chavez calls off Venezuela's nuclear energy plans

Hugo Chavez calls off Venezuela's nuclear energy plans

Nina Simone at the William Grant Still Arts Center

Please join us for two events
April 2, 2-4 pm
Panel discussing the life and career of Nina Simone. Panelists are Carrol Waymon (Nina's Brother), Barbara Morrison and Tootie Heath, moderated by Nailah Porter

April 6, 6:30 - 8 pm
"Tales of Nina" a community open dialogue with musicians, friends and fans of Nina Simone. Join in with your story along with Greg Middleton, Ernie Fields, Jimmy Bond, Foster Corder, Nawili Gray, Maiya Sykes and more

at the William Grant Still Arts Center
2520 S. Westview St.
Los Angeles, Ca. 90016
323-734-1165
email ami.motevalli@lacity.org
3 blocks east of La Brea, just north of Adams
line 37 bus on Adams

The William Grant Still Arts Center is a facility of the city of Los Angeles, Department of Cultural Affairs

Rally Against Hate and Nazi Rally March 19, 2011 - Claremont, Ca

We gathered in Claremont March 19, 2011 on awkward circumstances. Today is the 8th anniversary of the Iraq War and the day the Nazis came to Claremont, California. The announcement that they were coming evoked a series of emotions and reactions from friends, neighbors, coworkers and colleagues ranging from shock to anger to hurt to ambivalence and more. The Nazis have a knack for unifying us as they hate pretty much everybody. You have probably all looked at their website stating the requirements for membership, "those of pure White blood...not homosexual or Jew." Though the NSM is against so-called "homosexuals" and have targeted gay pride, a gay church, and gay marraige in Ohio, Iowa and North Carolina, we really have a different issue here in Southern California. And I say "different" knowing that no aspect of human identity is removed or separate from the others. For example, one can be both queer and a migrant. The NSM have stated that they chose to come to Claremont because the Claremont Colleges are pro-migrant. This is a compliment to many, as the colleges house scholar activists who encourage the humanization of migrants through their writing and by fostering student community engagement. And there is a DREAMer presence that cannot be forgotten as one Claremont College student presented at the 'Perspectives on Queer Undocumented Identity' forum in Rialto today. Today people from the immigrant's rights movement, the anti-sexist movement, the anti-war movement, queer, feminist, animal liberation, anti-racist, religious, environmental movements....were all represented. We are all affected by fascism and we are all affected by anti-immigrant sentiment and laws.

How do you know race is there? And is White really a race? Critical race theorists have drawn up maps of how race can be perceived, performed, represented and embodied. Though general consensus among racial theorists is that race is not biologically meaningful as a category, they have determined that social meanings are projected on race that are undeniably fraught with real-life consequences. Michael Omi and Howard Winant historically traced racial formation and racism in the US, arguing that race is cultural and historical, not biological. They problematize the immigrant assimilation narrative, pointing out that it requires white skin. They say that people of color cannot fully assimilate to hegemonic Americanness as Americanness is equated with Whiteness.

Sentiment about race and immigration fluctuate radically in popular opinion and culture in the US, usually based on economic factors, demographic changes, and media representation. Certain trends have emerged as to why outbreaks of anti-immigrant sentiment occur, the most prominent being a national crisis. The US is facing a huge economic crisis. Pair that with the fear of terrorism since 9-11 and the rhetorical conflation of immigrants with terrorists in politics, the news media, and popular culture, and what we end up with is a slippage in prioritizing the rights of immigrants.

According to law professor Kevin R. Johnson, "discrimination against immigrants often is legally acceptable." "The law" he said, "must police governmental conduct based on immigration status to ensure that it does not serve as a proxy for race." Since today's immigrants are overwhelmingly people of color, when immigrants are targeted, it is impossible to ignore the racial implications.

The first half of the video was the peaceful rally organized by Claremont College students intendedt to serve as a peaceful alternative to a confrontation with the NSM. The second half was the "protest" and "counter-protest," Nazis against people from various communities and movements. As you can see from the video, there was a lot of anger and shouting and the Nazis were clearly outnumbered. Though this is a good thing, it was also obvious that the scary ones were not the (approx 25) Nazis but the police, and this ended up dividing many activists between those that trusted the police to protect them and those that found the police to be worse than the Nazis because they had more power and criticized them for protecting the Nazis.