Via: http://www.humaniteinenglish.com/spip.php?article1990

ORIGINAL FRENCH ARTICLE: C’est ainsi que les Grecs vivent…
by Fabien Perrier

Translated Wednesday 7 March 2012, by Pauline Harrowell and reviewed by Henry Crapo

The Greek people have been subject to endless austerity for two years now: wage and pension cuts, removal of collective labour agreements, VAT increases, destruction of public services… How are the Greeks managing to live? Some ordinary people tell us about their daily lives.

Special correspondent

87-year-old Stelios Sandalakis is queuing at a soup kitchen in the Psiri district with around a hundred others. He used to have a mobile fruit stall. His retirement pension is 600 euros, a derisory amount that is not enough to live on day to day. “I’ve had to come here to eat for the last two years,” he explains, and goes on: “I gave everything I had to my children, but they can’t help me either.”

At Aspropyrgos, in the Athens suburbs, the workers of the Greek steel company Helleniki Halivourgia, have been on strike since 1st November following the loss of 16 jobs on 31st October, 18 more on 1st November, and further losses after that. Dimitris Papadikolao, 29, is one of the strikers. He was fired on 2nd December. Before, he was earning “1200 euros before tax; now I’ll get unemployment benefit for 6 months,” he explains. How much is the benefit? 359 euros under the new arrangements. “I’m a single man without any children. All I can think of to do is to go to Saudi Arabia or Qatar,” he says, sadly.

Andreas Makris is a hospital porter in the Athens public hospital. In October 2009 he was earning 1100 euros per month net, over 12 months, with two bonuses of around 900 euros net. “I could manage OK on my salary, but now I only get 739 euros a month net over twelve months and two bonuses at Christmas and Easter of 380 euros each. Rent in Greece costs at least 300 euros,” he explains. His working week has increased as well. In 2009 and 2010 he was working 7.5 hours a day, 5 days a week. Since 2011 it has gone up to 8 hours a day.

Even senior civil servants are not immune. Barbara, around 40 years old, is one of them. Before the crisis she was earning 3200 euros net. Now she only gets 2000 euros. On top of this, she doesn’t even know if the organisation she works in will still be in existence. What does her future hold? “Unemployment, clearly! I don’t know what I’ll do!” she wonders, and adds, as if to cheer herself up “Because of the crisis I’ve given up my flat and I’m sharing with my best friend.”

Most people in Greece are finding any way they can to make savings. In restaurants which are increasingly empty it’s not unusual to see customers leaving with a little bag containing food they haven’t been able to eat.

Central American Solidarity

By Nuria Barbosa León – Journalist with Granma and Radio Havana

March 7, 2012. (Translated by W. T. Whitney Jr.)

http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=145865&titular=solidaridad-centroamericana–

A young woman with brown skin suggesting Latin American indigenous heritage spoke deliberately and quite softly with a Central American accent. She agreed to participate in a dialogue for readers of Granma

My name is Dalena Cataví Lozano. I study medicine in the third year at the Salvador Allende Hospital in the Cuba Capital.

Shall we speak about your origins?

I come from Guatemala, from the town of Pastores, with around 1000 inhabitants, located in Sacatepequez Department. My area is a tourist zone, much visited because of old architecture there. They call it the territory of eternal spring because its seasons allow for harvest of all kinds of flowers, fruits, and vegetables. I live in the central region, my people remaining relatively near the department capital. There are lots of mountains and also a river called Guacalate, known for its mystique, because they say its waters are holy. It now suffers from environmental contamination.

What about the population there?

My town was founded by Spanish colonizers but many indigenous people identified as Quiché live there. They maintain their culture and tradition. They wear typical, handmade clothing with elaborate embroidery and colors. The colors relate to the nature and history of each locality.

What kind of work do most of the people in your region do?

They are mostly farmers, and like most rural areas, poverty and bad living conditions prevail there.

What does your family do?

My grandparents were farmers. My grandfather grew fruit and vegetables and my grandmother sold them in the market. They worried about an education for their children to the extent of what was possible. We say they had between 13 and 15 children. My father became a teacher. He was able to pursue his career only through much sacrifice as he alternated studies with badly paid work. He now teaches in a primary school. My mother is a housewife. My father helped her finish pre-university studies, but at that academic level she doesn’t obtain employment easily. I have a younger brother.

How did you know about the scholarship for Cuba?

A cousin living at a distance from me informed me about the possibility of going to Cuba to study. I decided to work toward the scholarship and that took four years of my life. It was all quite difficult because I didn’t have resources to organize the paperwork. Also my school doesn’t give out a bachelor’s diploma. And no one would accept my certificate without a countersignature. I didn’t have the money to pay a university in my country for it to be involved with my achieving the purpose of studying in Cuba. In those four years I had to immerse myself in work because I could not start at a University. On that account I really value being able to be here, and I am striving quite hard to finish the course.

Why did you decide to study medicine?

Where I live there is only one facility that a nurse attends who works only two hours a day, between ten and twelve in the morning. I worked in a primary school and I knew many children who were sick and did not receive medical attention. My children had a lot of needs. There was one student ten years old that affected me a lot. She was dealing with her mother who was sick and caring for her four brothers. Of course, she was absent a lot and didn’t succeed in going beyond the second grade in spite of being a good learner. I remember her sad face when she told me about her mother having died. Five children were alone and abandoned. That has to change in my country.

Why did you come to Cuba?

It was the first and the only door that opened up to my aspirations to study. In my town they know about the quality of [Cuban] doctors. In Cuba there is no hiding the solidarity and honesty of their work. The patient is a sick person, not merchandise. I witnessed also the aftereffects of a hurricane and got to know the Cuban doctors who didn’t skimp on efforts to help the people. They didn’t set hours nor did they rest, as they attended so hard to what people needed. I learned about the way Cuban doctors were working. In solidarity, they helped everyone.

What did you know about Cuba before coming?

The name and country I knew from classes. Cuba was mentioned in the news, and I never heard anything good. . I have the criterion that each country has its virtues and failings just like people do. Nevertheless in spite all the negative news there was always a phrase about recognizing the educational level in Cuba and preparation of its doctors.

How many years have you been in Cuba?

Over three years.

What is Cuba worth now, in your opinion?

It’s not as bad as they made me think. I’ve gotten to know many people. These days we are going among the population to detect cases of dengue. We knock at the door and they take us in with affection, asking about our country. They chat and want to know about my culture. I adapt easily to everything. I didn’t suffer for not having tortillas every day. I don’t need anything, because the Cubans gave us a uniform, book, a place to stay, food, and supplies, all free. My professors and instructors were friendly and affectionate. It was very pretty, the experience of taking the airplane and coming to Cuba.

In Cuba do you maintain your culture and beliefs?

They’ve never kept us from going to church. In fact we participate in all the church activities. I am Catholic and ever since our arrival we are close to the church.

How have relations been with other Latin American students?

Something very gratifying and interesting. To know people from other countries, to live together with them every day like family is a unique and emotional experience, one in which you appreciate the way someone walks, how she talks, what she says. It all makes an impression.

In Cuba what activities do you participate in?

I really like the cultural events at the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM). (*) I participate in the culinary part as we show off typical dishes. Other guys dance or sing. That activity marks the identity of each country.

What will your future be when you graduate?

I am coming to want to be an obstetrical doctor, but I realize that in the profession there are many other specialties attractive to me. I have the mentality of whatever the specialty I am studying I have to bring it back to my town. I would like to work in an outpatient facility and perhaps found a hospital. Also, I want to travel and involve myself with other cultures, to know the “boo-boos” of each country and help out. I know there are places under the rocks (as they say in my country). I would enjoy going there and offering my efforts.

What would you say to the Cuban people?

I want to thank them for their solidarity

(*) The Latin American School of Medicine is a university located in Havana. It was founded on March 1, 1999 through the initiative of Cuban President Fidel Castro and constitutes part of the integrated health program developed after October, 1998 owing to natural disasters caused by Hurricanes Mitch and George. Doctors graduate from that university in basic general medicine with an orientation toward primary health care. Tuition and student residence are absolutely free through a Cuban system of scholarships. At the university they offer services assuring the general development of students, like incorporation of cultural events according to country, sports, elective courses, educational literature etc. Every year some 1500 scholarship students matriculate, according to spaces made available to various countries. Presently there are more than 10,000 foreign students associated with this project, from 55 countries, and they represent 104 indigenous communities in Latin America.

Furthermore, in Cuba there are 11,000 scholarship students studying in Cuba through the ALBA Project, which is the integration agreement of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America formed by Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador among other countries.

Data are taken from the Cubadebate website

(http://www.cubadebate.cu/noticias/2010/03/16/matricula-de-la-escuela-latinoamericana-de-medicina-en-cuba-llega-a-los-10-000-estudiantes/)
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Solidaridad centroamericana

Nuria Barbosa Leon. (periodista de Granma y Radio Habana Cuba) 07-03-2012

http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=145865&titular=solidaridad-centroamericana–

Una joven de piel morena, rasgos de indígena latinoamericana, hablar pausado y muy bajo, con acento de la zona centroamericana,
accedió a ofrecer un diálogo a los lectores de Granma.

Mi nombre es Dalena Cataví Lozano, tengo 25 años, estudio medicina en el tercer año en la facultad Salvador Allende de la capital cubana.

Hablemos de su procedencia

Vengo de Guatemala, del poblado Pastores, con unos mil habitantes y ubicado en el departamento de Sacatepequez. Mi zona es turística, muy visitada por la arquitectura antigua que guarda. Se le nombra como el territorio de la eterna primavera porque sus estaciones permiten la cosecha de todo tipo de flores, frutos y verduras. Vivo en la región central, mi pueblo queda relativamente cerca de la capital del departamento, cuenta con muchas montañas, un río nombrado Guacalate, conocido por su mística porque se decía que sus aguas eran benditas. En estos tiempos sufre de la contaminación ambiental.

¿Cómo es la población del lugar?

Mi poblado fue fundado por colonizadores españoles pero en él viven muchos indígenas de la etnia quiché que mantienen su cultura y tradición. Visten trajes típicos confeccionados a mano con muchos bordados y colores. Es un traje muy valorado porque su confección demora meses y años. Los colores están atribuidos a la naturaleza y a la historia de cada localidad.

¿En qué laboran la mayoría de los pobladores de su región?

Se dedican a la agricultura y como toda zona rural abunda la pobreza y las malas condiciones de vida.

¿Su familia a qué se dedica?

Mis abuelos vivieron de la agricultura. Mi abuelo cultivaba frutas y verduras y mi abuela, los vendía en el mercado. En la medida de sus posibilidades se preocuparon por una educación a sus hijos. Hablamos que ellos tuvieron entre 12 y 15 hijos. Mi papá se hizo maestro, pudo sacar su carrera con mucho sacrificio alternando el estudio con algún trabajo mal pagado. Ahora es maestro en una escuela primaria. Mi mamá es ama de casa. Mi papá la ayudó a terminar el grado de bachiller pero con ese nivel académico no se consigue empleo fácilmente. Tengo un hermano menor.

¿Cómo sabes de la beca a Cuba?

Una prima que vive alejado de mi casa me informó de la posibilidad de venir a estudiar a Cuba, me propuse luchar por la beca y eso me llevó cuatro años de mi vida. Todo se dificultó porque no había recursos para poner en orden la papelería. También el colegió no emitía un título de bachiller y no me aceptaban una certificación sin ser avalada. Yo no tenía recursos para pagar una universidad en mi país por lo que me aferré a lograr mi propósito de estudiar en Cuba. En esos cuatro años tuve que incorporarme a trabajar porque no pude matricular en una universidad. Por eso yo valoro mucho el poder estar acá y me esfuerzo demasiado para concluir la carrera.

¿Por qué decides estudiar medicina?

En el lugar donde vivo sólo existe un ambulatorio atendido por una enfermera que labora sólo dos horas al día, entre las diez y las doce de la mañana. Yo laboré en una escuela primaria y conocí a muchos niños enfermos sin recibir asistencia médica. Mis niños tenían muchas necesidades. Incluso tuve una alumna que me conmovió, con 10 años enfrentaba la enfermedad de la madre y el cuidado de sus cuatro hermanos. Por supuesto se ausentaba con mucha frecuencia y no lograba rebasar el segundo grado a pesar de estar apta en el aprendizaje. Recuerdo su cara triste al comunicarme de la muerte de su madre. Cinco niños quedaron solos y desamparados. Eso debe cambiar en mi país.

¿Por qué venir a Cuba?

Fue la primera y única puerta que se abrió ante mis aspiraciones de estudiar. En mi pueblo se conoce de la calidad de los médicos, no se puede ocultar la solidaridad y la honestidad con que se trabaja en Cuba, donde el paciente no es una mercancía sino un enfermo. Fui testigo, también, de las consecuencias de un ciclón y conocía a médicos cubanos que no escatimaron esfuerzos para socorrer a la población. No tenían horarios, ni descanso por tal de atender a los necesitados. Yo aprendí de la forma en que trabajaban los médicos cubanos. Ellos solidariamente ayudaron a todos.

¿Qué conocías de Cuba antes de venir?

El nombre y el país lo conocí en clases. En las noticias se mencionaba a Cuba y nunca escuché nada bueno. Soy del criterio que cada país tiene sus virtudes y defectos al igual que las personas. Sin embargo a pesar de todo lo negativo en las noticias siempre hubo una frase para reconocer el nivel educacional de Cuba y la preparación de sus médicos.

¿Cuántos años llevas en Cuba?

Más de tres.

¿Qué opinión le merece Cuba en estos momentos?

No es tan mala como me la hicieron imaginar. He conocido a muchas personas, en estos días realizamos pesquizajes en la población para detectar casos de dengue. Tocamos a la puerta y nos reciben con cariño, preguntan de nuestro país, platican y quieren saber de mi cultura. Yo me adapto fácilmente a todo, no sufrí por no tener la tortilla de maíz como plato en las comidas, tampoco veo las carencias porque los cubanos nos dieron uniforme, libros, alojamiento, comida y avituallamiento, todo de gratis. Mis profesores e instructores fueron amables y cariñosos. Fue muy linda la experiencia de tomar el avión y venir a Cuba.

¿Mantienes su cultura y creencias en Cuba?

Nunca nos han prohibido ir a la iglesia, de hecho participamos en todas las actividades de la iglesia. Soy católica y desde que llegamos nos acercamos a la iglesia.

¿Cómo ha sido la relación con otros estudiantes latinoamericanos?

lgo muy agradable e interesante. Conocer a personas de otros países, convivir con ellos diariamente como familias es una experiencia única y emocionante, uno se fijas en la forma en que camina, en cómo habla, en qué cuenta. Todo causa impresión.

¿En qué actividades has participado en Cuba?

Me gustan mucho las galas culturales de la ELAM (Escuela Latinoamericana de Medicina) (*) Yo participé en la parte culinaria para exhibir platos típicos. Otros muchachos bailaban o cantaba. Esa actividad marcaba la identidad de cada país.

¿Cuál será tu futuro al graduarte?

Vine queriendo ser médico obstetra pero me doy cuenta que en la profesión hay otras especialidades que me atraen. Tengo la mentalidad de sea cual sea la especialidad que estudie debo volver a mi pueblo. Quisiera laborar en un consultorio o quizás fundar un hospital. También quiero viajar y vincularme a otras culturas, conocer las llaguitas de cada país y ayudar. Se que hay lugares que están bajo la piedra (como dicen en mi país) Me gustaría llegar allí y brindar mi esfuerzo.

¿Qué les dirías a los cubanos?

Les quiero agradecer por su solidaridad

(*) Escuela Latinoamericana de Medicina: universidad situada en La Habana ( Cuba ). Se fundó el 1 de marzo de 1999 por iniciativa del presidente cubano Fidel Castro y constituye parte del Programa Integral de Salud que se desarrolla desde octubre de 1998 debido a los desastres naturales causados por los huracanes Mitch y George . En esta universidad se gradúan médicos generales básicos que trabajarán orientados a la atención primaria de salud. La colegiatura y la residencia estudiantil son absolutamente gratuitas según el sistema de becas de Cuba. En la universidad se brindan servicios que garantizan la formación general de los estudiantes como: la incorporación a manifestaciones culturales por países, la práctica del deporte, cursos electivos, literatura docente, etc. Todos los años matriculan aproximadamente 1500 becarios, según las plazas que se conceden por países. Actualmente hay más de 10 000 estudiantes extranjero vinculados a este proyecto, de 55 países y están representadas 104 comunidades originarias de América Latina.
En Cuba hay además 11.000 becarios del proyecto ALBA, el acuerdo de integración del Acuerdo Bolivariano de las Américas formado por Venezuela, Bolivia y Ecuador entre otros.

Datos tomados del sitio web Cubadebate

(http://www.cubadebate.cu/noticias/2010/03/16/matricula-de-la-escuela-latinoamericana-de-medicina-en-cuba-llega-a-los-10-000-estudiantes/)

Check out this link from PAME:

http://www.pamehellas.gr/fullstory.php?lang=2&wid=2313

via  http://zzs-blg.blogspot.com/

Suppose your favorite basketball team leads by twenty points at half-time, with more rebounds and steals and far fewer turnovers than its opponent. The athletic director rushes into the locker room and announces to the coach and players that unless they radically change the game plan, they will suffer a devastating defeat. Your first thought would likely be that the athletic director has taken leave of his senses. Or that he or she has been bought off by the rival.

Yet this is exactly like the advice that The World Bank and the Development Research Center urged upon The Peoples’ Republic of China on Monday, February 27. In a report entitled “China 2030,” the two entities—one a notorious cheerleader for free markets, privatization and meager social spending and the other an arm of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China—concede that the PRC has enjoyed 30 years of an average of nearly 10% annual growth. Besides this stunning achievement, the PRC negotiated the treacherous shoals of the world-wide economic crisis far better than any other large economy.

One would think that the study would probe the basis for this remarkable achievement and urge its continuance. Perhaps The World Bank would even suggest a similar approach for other countries. But instead, the authors of the report issue dire warnings of rough times ahead and prescribe urgent changes.

They warn that the average growth rate for the next 19 years will only be 6.6%. Assuming that the projection has some theoretical justification (World Bank predictions have fallen on hard times), the PRC economy would, at this rate, double in GDP every 11 years. Indeed, the report notes that it would become the world’s largest economy before 2030. Apparently, the authors of China 2030 are not impressed.

This warning is even more puzzling when we remember that most mainstream developmental economists project a declining growth rate as economies mature. Following W. W. Rostow’s heralded theory, high growth rates are only a feature of economies experiencing a “take-off.” Necessarily, growth slows, they agree, after the initial rapid expansion. Such a theory justifies the relatively low growth rates of the most advanced capitalist nations.

The PRC’s “friends” evade these questions by raising the dangers posed by the “middle-income trap,” a theoretical construct first suggested by economists in 2007. Noting the difficulties that many emerging market economies had in the 60’s and 70’s, they offer a muddled explanation of their failings, ignoring their political turmoil, dependencies, resource deficiencies, etc. Of the rare thirteen proclaimed “successes”—countries that elevated to the high-income category – four are now spiraling into the low-income ghetto. Greece, Portugal, Ireland, and Spain dutifully followed the prior prescriptions of The World Bank and The International Monetary Fund and are now choking on the Kool-Aid. The authors of China 2030 see no irony in this.

The report comes at a particularly opportune time, a week before the PRC’s annual meeting of the National People’s Congress. Media reports signal a heightening of tension between political leaders who wish to press forward with privatization and market de-regulation and those who want to preserve or even expand the socialist elements still extant in the economy and social life. A recent article in The Wall Street Journal (Fate of Two Chiefs Gives Clues on China, 3-3/4-12) embodies this struggle in the views of two rising leaders, Bo Xilai and Wang Yang. Clearly, China 2030 is ammunition for the rightists typified by Wang Yang.

While the Western media anticipated a lambasting of the state-owned sector, a boost for privatization, reduced government intervention and more doors open to Western corporations (see New Push for Reform in China, WSJ, 2-23-12 for a lengthy discussion), the report complied in somewhat veiled, measured econ-speak. Its primary recommendation was to implement structural reforms to:

…strengthen the foundations for a market based economy by redefining the role of government, reforming and restructuring state enterprises and banks, developing the private sector, promoting competition, and deepening reforms in the land, labor, and financial markets. As an economy approaches the technology frontier and exhausts the potential for acquiring and applying technology from abroad, the role of the government and its relationship to markets and the private sector need to change fundamentally. While providing relatively fewer “tangible” public goods and services directly, the government will need to provide more intangible public goods and services like systems, rules, and policies, which increase production efficiency, promote competition, facilitate specialization, enhance the efficiency of resource allocation…

In case the point was not made emphatically enough, the report goes on:

In the enterprise sector, the focus will need to be further reforms of state enterprises (including measures to recalibrate the role of public resources, introduce modern corporate governance practices including separating ownership from management, and implement gradual ownership diversification where necessary), private sector development and fewer barriers to entry and exit, and increased competition in all sectors, including in strategic and pillar industries. In the financial sector, it would require commercializing the banking system, gradually allowing interest rates to be set by market forces, deepening the capital market, and developing the legal and supervisory infrastructure to ensure financial stability and build the credible foundations for the internationalization of China’s financial sector.

Why these “reforms” are necessary and how they will improve prospects is never fully explained, except through blatant appeals to the neo-liberal manifesto. Since the state-owned industries represent 45% of non-agricultural GDP and they almost tripled their contribution to gross industrial output from 1998 to 2009, something beyond dogma is wanted.

The West and its accomplices in the PRC have their eyes on key state monopolies in petroleum, chemicals, electricity, and telecommunications as well as the state-dominated banking system. Under the guise of stimulating competition, the report argues for “breaking up state monopolies or oligarchies in key industries,” the first steps towards privatization. Undoubtedly, foreign capitalist monopoly corporations are lusting after these assets.

As I argued several months ago (The Chinese Puzzle, ZZ’s Blog, 12-14-11), the future of the PRC remains a mystery, with the leadership walking the thin, risky line between emerging capitalism and the remaining socialist institutions. But, clearly, The World Bank and its Chinese allies are determined to influence that direction. And there should be no doubt which direction China 2030 is intended to push those leaders.

Zoltan Zigedy

zoltanzigedy@gmail.com

by W. T. Whitney Jr.

The U. S. government continues its pattern of abusing the Cuban Five political prisoners. Authorities have been silent on Rene Gonzalez’ request that he be allowed to visit his sick brother in Cuba for two weeks. Gonzalez, who finished a 13 year jail term on October 7, 2011, is serving parole in Florida. Brother Roberto, a lawyer involved in Rene’s case, is terminally ill with not long to live.

The FBI arrested Rene Gonzalez in September, 1998 along with Antonio Guerrero, Gerardo Hernandez, Fernando Gonzalez, and Ramon Labañino. Cuba’s government had sent the so-called Cuban Five to southern Florida to monitor and report on preparations by violent extremists for attacks against Cuba. Labañino and Guerrero, each with life sentences, ended up on appeal with terms of 30 and 22 years respectively. Gerardo Hernandez is serving two life sentences; Fernando Gonzalez, 19 years.

Rene Gonzalez’ lawyer Phil Horowitz petitioned the Miami Federal District Court in February to allow his client to bid farewell to his brother. The petition stated that, “Over the past nearly five months since his release from incarceration, the defendant has faithfully complied with each and every condition of his supervised release.” Horowitz later assured solidarity activists that “The motion that is being filed is not unusual; it is common for a defendant to seek court permission on an emergency basis, to travel internationally for health concerns of a family member.” Gonzalez, a citizen of both Cuba and the United States, is subject to U.S parole rules.

Gonzalez has had other humanitarian requests denied. U.S. officials never budged over 12 years from preventing Olga Salanueva, his wife, from traveling to the United States to visit him in prison. That’s the situation faced also by Adriana Perez who for 13 years has been unable to visit husband Gerardo Hernandez. International observers, human rights groups included, have roundly condemned the U. S. ban on spousal visits.

And despite widespread condemnation, U.S. judicial authorities denied Gonzalez’ request to return to Cuba directly after serving his jail term. His lawyer, joined by solidarity activists, argued on humanitarian grounds that Gonzalez be allowed to reconnect with family and homeland. Fear has emerged too for his safety in Florida where on parole Gonzalez lives amongst the practitioners of anti-Cuban violence he had been monitoring, and thereby inviting potential retribution.

For his protection, Gonzalez’ location in Florida has not been disclosed. In remarks taken as provocative, influential Miami area Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, commenting on Gonzalez’ release from prison, called him a “villain,” someone “who has American blood on his hands.” Lawyer Horowitz will soon be submitting a request that Gonzalez’ parole period be shortened.

As February closed, U. S. solidarity groups asked Cuban Five supporters to call the offices of President Obama (telephone number 202-456-1111) and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder (telephone number 202-353-1555), to urge that Rene Gonzalez’ petition be granted and that he be allowed to see his brother.

Rene Gonzalez’ letter of February 24 to his brother Roberto has circulated. It reads in part:

“Under ordinary circumstances, these things ought to be said personally…It’s not enough that you have to struggle against a terrible sickness, but they’ve added more: You have to deal with a much more deadly kind of human grief, which is hate…hate that keeps me away as our nephews and nieces grow up… hate that doesn’t allow me even to embrace my brother. What do we do with so much hate? I suppose we do what we’ve always done: love life and fight for it… Although you can’t see me, you know I am there, together with your people, who are mine too. You know that this brother, from his strange exile and in pain from forced separation, [and who shares with you] the worthy condition of being a Cuban patriot, is and always will be with you.”

The worldwide battle against U.S. intransigence in refusing to free the remaining four Cuban Five prisoners goes on. A ringing call for their release came recently from the Buenos Aires Federation of University Students, representing 330,000 students

Addressing “Fellow university and college students from the US,” its statement referred to “prisoners being held in both moral unfairness and illegality.” And, “It’s about time the US government takes responsibility… regarding political relations with Cuba [in particular] establish ordinary relations with Cuban authorities, on grounds of mutual, unbiased respect, and send the Cuban Five back home.”

by James Thompson

The lunacy of US electoral politics has been taken to a new low by back-to-back assaults on race and sex by GOP political hacks. Rush Limbaugh, the grotesque spokesperson for the right wing in the USA, may have opened Pandora’s box by his blatantly sexist remarks. During a radio broadcast, he mounted a vicious attack on a Georgetown University law student, Sandra Fluke. Ms. Fluke advocates making contraception available to all women without charge.

Mr. Limbaugh, twisted her position into a form which fits his perverse worldview. He called Ms. Fluke a “Feminazi” and a “slut” and a “prostitute” claiming that she is advocating for women to be paid to have sex because she advocates that contraception be universally available without charge. In a perverse twist to perversity, Mr. Limbaugh demanded that women receiving free contraception should be forced to make videos of their sexual activities which should be posted on YouTube for all to view. His position is that “if we’re going to pay for something, we should receive something in return.”

Although Mr. Limbaugh’s remarks will likely receive a lot of media attention and much debate over what should be done, the first responders are calling for a boycott of all advertising sponsors of Mr. Limbaugh’s show. Not a bad response, but is this enough?

The upside of Mr. Limbaugh’s remarks is that he has brought the issue of free speech into sharp focus.

The sewer of ideology in the USA, of which Mr. Limbaugh’s remarks are symptomatic, produced further sewage in the form of remarks from a Montana judge. Judge Richard Cebull of Billings, Montana has admitted to forwarding a scurrilous e-mail about President Obama, alleging that The President is the product of a sexual encounter between his mother and a dog. Although the Caucasian judge denied that he is a racist, his action has been recognized by most sensible people as being undeniably racist.

Why would the right wing employ these extremist tactics?

Racism and sexism, epitomized by these two political hacks of the right-wing, have been the age-old tools of the upper-class. By upper-class, this paper is referring to what is popularly termed the 1%. The 1% is made up of the ultra-wealthy who own and control all industrial activity in this country. The upper-class are the true capitalists who oppress, exploit and seek to humiliate and subjugate all working people in order to maximize their own profits. They oppress, exploit and humiliate working people in order to reduce their wages and benefits. Reducing the wages and benefits of working people is the only way capitalists can increase their profits. Marx scientifically proved that capitalists can survive only if they increase their profits. History has taught us that capitalists will go to extraordinary lengths to increase profits. Lenin showed us that when economic crises occur in capitalist systems, the capitalists rush to war. The most recent example of this is the multiple wars in the Middle East. Racism and sexism are also very effective tools used by the ultra-wealthy to demonize segments of the population so that the exploitation, oppression and humiliation of these groups may seem justified. However, most sensible working people recognize that the subjugation of women and various racial groups only serves to reduce wages and benefits in this affects all of us.

What should be the response of working people to such outrageous assaults?

Boycotting the sponsors of all programs which engage in hate speech in all its forms could be a start, but is it sufficient? It is long overdue for this country to outlaw hate speech in all its forms. People who advocate racism, sexism, anti-communism, and religious persecution as well as the exploitation, oppression and humiliation of working people should be subject to criminal prosecution. If found guilty, such individuals should be sentenced to severe penalties such as long-term imprisonment. Working people, in a united way, should advocate for legislation which would stop hate speech in its tracks.

The right to free speech, inherent in a democracy, does not include the right to advocate for the exploitation, oppression and humiliation of any sectors of society. Until such tactics of the right wing are criminalized, can we really say we are a democratic society?

PHill1917@comcast.net