Please sign and circulate this petition widely. It has just been created in the wake of the annual UN vote against the embargo and the devastation left by Hurricane Sandy. Millions of people agree with us. Thousands of signatures should be possible.

Here is the link to the petition: http://www.change.org/petitions/president-obama-end-the-united-states-embargo-of-cuba

Here is the text of the petition in English and Spanish:

The United States embargo against Cuba has been in place for over 50 years. On November 13, 2012, the United Nations General Assembly voted against it for the 21st time. Again, the vote was nearly unanimous. Here in the United States, polls show that the majority of the people want to normalize relations with Cuba.
Furthermore, the embargo adds to the suffering of the Cuban people, making it very difficult to get basics like asthma medicine and mammograms. Hurricane Sandy, which devastated large regions of the country, is just the latest example of how the embargo prevents vital aid and materials for reconstruction from arriving where they are desperately needed.

It’s time, Mr. President. The embargo is pointless and cruel. End it now.

_____________________________

Presidente Obama: Termine el embargo estadounidense de Cuba

El embargo de los Estados Unidos contra Cuba ha estado en lugar durante más de 50 años. El 13 de noviembre de 2012, la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas votó contra el embargo para la veintiuna vez. Y otra vez, el voto era casi unánime. Aquí en los Estados Unidos, las encuestas muestran que la mayoría de la gente quiere normalizar relaciones con Cuba.

Además, el embargo añade al sufrimiento de la gente cubana, haciéndolo muy difícil de conseguir fundamentos como la medicina de asma, y la mamografía. El huracán Sandy, que devastó regiones grandes de Cuba, es sólo el último ejemplo de como el embargo previene ayuda vital y materiales para la reconstrucción de llegar donde ellos son desesperadamente necesarios.

Es el tiempo, Sr. presidente. El embargo es inútil y cruel. Termínelo ahora.

Es el tiempo, Sr. presidente. El embargo es inútil y cruel. Termínelo ahora.

By Glen Ford (about the author) Permalink
OpEdNews Op Eds 11/15/2012 at 05:02:42

Reprinted from the Black Agenda Report

A Black Agenda Radio commentary by Glen Ford

The United States stands virtually alone in its crusade against Cuba, at the United Nations General Assembly and in western hemispheric forums. “Rather than isolating Cuba, the 52 year-long embargo has resulted in the isolation of the United States.”

” On Cuba, as with foreign policy in general, Barack Obama represents the continuity of U.S. imperial policy.”

For the 21 st year in a row, the United Nationals General Assembly has nearly unanimously condemned the U.S. economic embargo against Cuba, now in its 52 nd year. The vote was 188 to 3, with only Israel and the tiny Pacific island of Palau siding with the United States. Two other mini-states in the Pacific, the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia, abstained from the vote. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez noted that President Obama came into office talking about a new beginning in relations Havana, but “the reality of the last four years has been characterized by a persistent tightening of the economic, commercial and financial blockade.” On Cuba, as with foreign policy in general, Barack Obama represents the continuity of U.S. imperial policy, from Eisenhower through George W. Bush. The First Black President is no different than his predecessors when it comes to Cuba, the island nation that refuses to buckle under to Washington.

The Castro brothers, Fidel and Raul, have not only born witness to U.S. decline in the hemisphere and the world, they have contributed mightily to the humbling of the Yankees. Not content simply to survive America’s unremitting hostility over the course of two and a half generations, Cuba has been an icon of resistance to U.S. imperialism around the world. The people’s of southern Africa owe Cuba a huge debt for helping defeat Washington’s allies, the racist South African military, in Angola, in 1988 — a watershed event that hastened the demise of the white regime.

” Washington earned the hatred of vast sectors of Latin American society, while Cuba’s prestige continued to grow.”

The Cuban revolution’s impact on Latin America cannot be overstated. After the 1959 revolution, the United States pushed one country after another into military dictatorships, under which hundreds of thousands were massacred and disappeared. The U.S. and its fascist friends declared war, not just on the Left, but on Latin American civil society itself, in a crusade to prevent another Cuba from happening in the Americas. As a result, Washington earned the hatred of vast sectors of Latin American society, while Cuba’s prestige continued to grow. One by one, the U.S.-backed dictatorships collapsed, allowing Latin American politics to come alive, again. The people of South and Central America had shared the collective nightmare of rule by Washington’s fascist proxies. They also shared a determination to never again be dominated by the superpower to the North. Majorities in every Latin American country knew exactly what the Cubans meant when they spoke of the dangers of U.S. imperialism.

Earlier this year, at a summit meeting of hemispheric leaders, the United States found itself totally isolated on the question of Cuba. Even the president of Colombia, Washington’s closest ally in the region, declared there could not be another summit without Cuba’s presence . Rather than isolating Cuba, the 52 year-long embargo has resulted in the isolation of the United States, in the western hemisphere and at the United Nations General Assembly. Maybe that’s what the future will look like: the U.S., despite all its weapons, one day all alone except for pariah states like Israel, while the rest of the world gets on with the business of living.

For Black Agenda Radio, I’m Glen Ford. On the web, go to www.BlackAgendaReport.com.

BAR executive editor Glen Ford can be contacted at mailto:Glen.Ford%40BlackAgendaReport.com.

On October 27, 2012, at its convention in Manitowoc, AFT Wisconsin
endorsed Congressman John Conyers’ bill, HR 676, a national single payer
health care program that would implement Expanded and Improved Medicare
for All.

“AFT-W will … mobilize our members and our community at the grassroots to
encourage other members of the House to sign on as co-sponsors of HR 676
when introduced in the next Congress and to encourage Senators to
introduce a companion bill in the Senate,” the resolution states.
The passage of this resolution was reported by Buzz Davis, AFT Wisconsin
Retiree Council Executive Board Member, who stated that “the membership
understands that single payer health care is the way to go and that
insurance companies should be removed from the equation.”

Davis, a retired state planner, said that taking the Medicare program and
expanding it to everyone is the way to achieve quality health care for
everyone at the best price.

He said that the union also stands strongly against any cuts to Social
Security, Medicare, or Medicaid. “Debt during a recession is not a
problem. Public spending is what needs to be done in order to put people
to work,” he said. He called the current panic over the deficit “a
drummed up crisis.”

He added that the union is fighting hard to rebuild in the wake of
Governor Walker’s attacks on all of Wisconsin’s unions.

AFT Wisconsin, founded in 1931, is a chapter of the American Federation of
Teachers. The union represents 17,000 employees working in public
schools, vocational colleges, universities, and for the state.

HR 676 would institute a single payer health care system by expanding a
greatly improved Medicare to everyone residing in the U. S.

HR 676 would cover every person for all necessary medical care including
prescription drugs, hospital, surgical, outpatient services, primary and
preventive care, emergency services, dental (including oral surgery,
periodontics, endodontics), mental health, home health, physical therapy,
rehabilitation (including for substance abuse), vision care and
correction, hearing services including hearing aids, chiropractic, durable
medical equipment, palliative care, podiatric care, and long term care.

HR 676 ends deductibles and co-payments. HR 676 would save hundreds of
billions annually by eliminating the high overhead and profits of the
private health insurance industry and HMOs.

In the current Congress, HR 676 has 76 co-sponsors in addition to Conyers.

HR 676 has been endorsed by 597 union organizations including 144 Central
Labor Councils/Area Labor Federations and 40 state AFL-CIO’s (KY, PA, CT,
OH, DE, ND, WA, SC, WY, VT, FL, WI, WV, SD, NC, MO, MN, ME, AR, MD-DC, TX,
IA, AZ, TN, OR, GA, OK, KS, CO, IN, AL, CA, AK, MI, MT, NE, NJ, NY, NV &
MA).

For further information, a list of union endorsers, or a sample
endorsement resolution, contact:

Kay Tillow
All Unions Committee for Single Payer Health Care–HR 676
c/o Nurses Professional Organization (NPO)
1169 Eastern Parkway, Suite 2218
Louisville, KY 40217
(502) 636 1551
Email: nursenpo@aol.com
http://unionsforsinglepayer.org
11/12/2012

ALL OUT IN THE STREET ON NOVEMBER 14:

AGAINST THE POLICY OF AUSTERITY AND
FOR INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY

A General Strike has been called for November 14 in Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Cyprus and Malta, against the policies of austerity, for work and solidarity. Moreover, in all the countries of the European Union important demonstrations will take place. On this day the workers will express their desires for a joint international response to those policies.

The heads of governments of the EU have imposed a whole series of neoliberal measures, such as the “Fiscal Pact,” that have placed the burden of the crisis on the backs of the workers and peoples of Europe. Now, faced with a new recession, they are demanding: wages reductions, an increase in the hours of work, greater flexibility, cuts to pensions and social services, increases in taxes, new privatizations, dismantling of labor contracts and increased suppression of the labor, social and political rights of the workers. All this will lead to massive layoffs in order to obtain maximum profits for the financial oligarchy.

This day will be an important moment to make the struggles converge and to develop the international solidarity of the workers and peoples struck by the same policy at the exclusive service of the capitalist monopolies.

On November 14 we will go out to the street to reject this attack, to defend our interests with struggle and unity. We call on the workers, toilers, unemployed, young people, migrants and women of the popular strata to participate and be active agents in the General Strike of November 14 and demonstrations, to build the unity of the working class and the popular unity with all the victims of these policies.
Let us unite in a great front of struggle against the capitalist offensive, political reaction and threats of imperialist war, in opposition to the looting of our natural resources, for a revolutionary rupture with neoliberalism and social-liberalism; with the system that generates the crisis.
We denounce the governments and institutions of monopoly capital and affirm the right of the peoples to leave the EU of the monopolies, of reaction and war, as well as to leave NATO, the armed wing of imperialism.

From all the countries where we struggle, we communists express our combative solidarity with the workers and peoples of Europe, with the revolutionaries and communists who are fighting tirelessly against capital and imperialism.

November 14 is a first step from which will follow other more important ones.

Long live the struggle of the working class and the international solidarity
of the workers and peoples!

International Conference of Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organizations

Communist Party of BENIN
Revolutionary Communist Party – BRAZIL
Revolutionary Communist Party of Volta, BURKINA FASO
Communist Party of the Workers of DENMARK
Communist Party of Labor of the DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Marxist-Leninist Communist Party of ECUADOR
Communist Party of the Workers of FRANCE
Organization for the Construction of the Communist Party of GERMANY
Communist Platform of ITALY
Revolutionary Communist Party of IVORY COAST
Communist Party of MEXICO (Marxist-Leninist)
Annahji ADimocrati (Democratic Way) of MOROCCO
Organization Revolution of NORWAY
Communist Party of SPAIN (Marxist-Leninist)
Party of the Workers of TUNISIA
Revolutionary Communist Party of TURKEY
Marxist-Leninist Communist Party of VENEZUELA

November of 2012

http://www.pcp.pt/en/bolivarian-revolution

Via Portugese Communist Party

Segunda 22 de Outubro de 2012

Translated “Avante!” article by Luis Carapinha, Member of the International Department

Suddenly, Venezuela has disappeared from the dominant media network. Instead, if Capriles had won the suffrage in October 7th, all would have been otherwise. But on the contrary. Chavez was re-elected with more than eight million votes and 11 points in advance, in elections in which eight out of ten Venezuelan eligible voters, voted. Within the right-wing candidate supporters, tears are still being wiped off. The Bolivarian victory, as figured out to be predictable for any minimally advised observer, the truth is the campaign, monitored from the conspiracy centres overcame all marks in order to pass on the idea of the “technical draw”. The false perspective helped the self-mistake within and outside Venezuela. But the popular triumph evidence disappointed those who planned to de-legitimise the results and de-stabilize the country. An infamous torrent will certainly be back shortly.

Upon 14 years of an intensive class struggle, the Venezuelan process carries on giving lessons of an exemplary democratic participation and popular unity, that nobody can deny. Pacific but not unarmed, the Bolivarian revolution proceeds the emancipation march rhythm without wearing out, within the “representative democracy” framework, to which its bound, particularly hurting the bourgeoisie and imperialism.
President Chavez’s constitutional mandate renewal, till 2019, is an open window to carry on accumulating strength along the transforming path based on national independence and the proceeding of the change consolidation work claimed by the great masses. A transcendental victory for Latin America, the South peoples and the revolutionary and progressive forces’ liberating movement throughout the world, at this disturbed time, with plenty of treats, together with the capitalism structural crisis.

At the same time, there exists a conscience that the revolution, with its own fragilities and contradictions, is far from being an irreversible achievement. The 6,5 million votes added by Capriles, and even deducting a campaign demagogic balance during which he presented himself as a “democratic left-wing” champion, proves the right-wing holds an important electoral basis of popular issue. The deep capacity of self-criticism, identification and mistakes and faults correction are essential elements in a revolutionary process. But, as Oscar Figuera, the VCP’s Secretary-General states, the Venezuelan process advances “are unquestionable and surmount any errors” ( in Correo del Orinoco, 12.10.14).

Concerning the electoral level, the battle carries on for now, with the December elections, for governors and regional councils, belonging to the 23 Venezuelan states. At the strategic level, attention lies on the approval, in January, of the II socialist management plan for 2013-19, which assumes itself as a socialist transition programme and the deepening of the participative democracy.

In its introduction, one can read: “ the socio-economic model that, nevertheless, prevails within Venezuela, has a capitalist and renter nature. Socialism, has certainly but begun to implant its own internal dynamism(…).” Precisely, this is a programme to ensure and deepen it, focused on a radical suppression of the capital logic, which ought to be accomplished, step by step, but never retarding the advance towards socialism”.

The theoretical and practical challenges placed before the Venezuelan revolution are huge. Popular conscience progression is an encouraging factor amid this historical dimension process. The VCP insists in the basic need of building unity and strengthening instruments amid collective leadership spaces, in order to safeguard the revolution. The imperialist treat cannot be underestimated, at the precise moment when the IMF ‘s leader states in Tokyo, that the core economies [ capitalist] public debt mid -platform, being 110% of the GDP, is reaching the war times’ level…

Solidarity towards the Bolivarian Venezuela is, more than ever, a current imperative.

Check out this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmcIkS5MedY&feature=em-uploademail-new

As this year’s election comes to a close, True the Vote, a Texas Tea Party group, has begun attacking the NAACP Houston Branch and our volunteer poll monitors for handing out water to voters at Early Vote locations and for assisting Disabled and Elderly voters by standing in line for them or asking younger people in line to let the elderly and disabled go ahead of them in the line to vote.

Carroll G. Robinson, Chairman of the NAACP Houston Branch Political Affairs Committee said, “It is a shame that the NAACP Houston Branch and its volunteers are being attacked by a right wing extremist group for being “Good Samaritans”. The NAACP will continue to help elderly and disabled voters, as well as all other voters, exercise their right to vote.”

The NAACP Houston Branch has worked with the NAACP Texas State Conference and Region VI Offices this year to register thousands of new voters and to conduct a major voter turnout effort that included 180,000 auto calls, the distribution of approximately 900,000 emails, 10,000 pieces of literature to African-American churches and over two hours of radio time focused on informing people about their right to vote and encouraging them to vote.

According to Rev. Reginald Lillie, President of the NAACP Houston Branch, “True the Vote’s attacks on the NAACP Houston Branch are validation of the effectiveness of the Branch’s efforts. The attacks are a badge of honor. They motivate us to keep pressing on.”

Chairman Robinson further stated, “The NAACP is not afraid of being attacked by an extremist Tea Party group for doing our job – helping to protect the right to vote and ensuring that when people show up at the polls, they get to vote.”

“Where was True the Vote, the King Street Patriots and the Texas Tea Party when a Conservative candidate in Fort Bend County was voting both in Texas and Pennsylvania?” asks Rev. Lillie.

True the Vote attacking the NAACP for handing out water and assisting the elderly and disabled while ignoring voter fraud should tell you all you need to know about their TRUE motivation.

NAACP Houston Branch Contact information: Yolanda Smith, Executive Director

713-526-3389 – office

713-545-9696 – cell

Kindest Regards,

Yolanda

Yolanda Smith, Executive Director

NAACP Houston Branch

2002 Wheeler Avenue

Houston, TX 77004

(713) 526.3389 – office

(713) 630.2699 – fax

(713) 545.9696 – cell

“The time is always right to do what is right” Martin Luther King Jr.