Re: Cuban farmers seek fewer government regulations

On 20/05/2010 9:20, Dan Christensen wrote:
On May 20, 2:33 pm, PL<pl.nos...@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

[snipping portions of PL's cowardly posting already debunked here, or
just too lame to bother with]

What desperate Dan Snipped as he doesn't dare to address it:

I expose liars like you

What desperate Dan snipped:

there are very few countries that need less regulation than Cuba.
The independent farmers produce 70% of food on 40% of the land.

Cuba's Agricultural Funnel
May 6, 2010
Fernando Ravsberg

HAVANA TIMES, May 6 — Agriculture bureaucrats responsible for allowing
much of Cuba's farmland to be invaded by the marabu bush weed are losing
ground in the countryside, while campesino families are beginning to
take control over their own properties. Land in Cuba is changing hands
and the effect is immediate: food production is increasing.

There are no more tools than those that existed previously, fencing
remains scarce and fertilizers have to be bought on the black market,
just like pesticides. Yet despite everything, farmers are assuring me
that production is increasing.

In a cooperative in Punta Bravo they tell me that in the first year,
crop yields have doubled. The secrets were the turning over of fallow
land to start-up farmers, paying better prices and giving more freedom
to producers to decide what to plant and where.

In El Cotorro I went to a "state farm" that reversed its low
productivity thanks to these efforts at redistributing land. The "giant
with feet of clay" was divided into smaller farms, transforming its
agricultural workers into small farmers who multiplied the output of
crops and revenues.

Juan Reyes told me: "The land doesn't cease being state-owned, but now
we feel like it's ours. Previously we earned US$250 a month, but in six
months since I was assigned the property, I've already paid back the
loan they gave me and I've cleared $7,000 USD."

His profit depends on how he uses the earth and in this sense he's
strict. "The tractor is rented to us by the company, but we use it the
least amount possible in order to economize." Juan has three different
crops planted on the plot of land. "Where there's room for a plant it
must be planted," he told me.

He lacks fertilizers but he breeds worms to produce humus that he uses
to improve the quality of his land. His whole family works the field as
a team, and while they're planting they're also building their house.
The decisions are made by those who do the work and the results are visible.

"I'm not saying that these local agricultural authorities are bad, it's
just that they don't know anything," commented a friend of mine who
works with another cooperative. Recently in a meeting, officials
directed the farmers to economize by using smaller saplings for fence
posts. The campesinos looked at each other and smiled without saying
word. "You have to be a little familiar with the country to know that
bigger saplings are planted because otherwise the cows will eat the buds
and the posts will rot," a farmer explained to me.

It will take more than just land

Land reform in Cuba is transferring property tenure from the hands of
the state to those of the campesinos, which— while a positive action—
will not be enough. They also need to untie the hands of those who work
the earth and stop issuing them absurd orders.

Local leaders would be much more useful if, instead of occupying
themselves with reducing the length of fence posts by 8 inches (20 cm),
they would dedicate themselves to looking for seeds, fertilizers,
insecticides, tools and wire; and especially if they would guarantee a
good system of marketing and distribution.

Because what's certain is that the growth of agricultural production
evidences the inefficiency of the current marketing and distribution
mechanisms, which result in crops rotting on the side of the road or the
loss of food after carrying out eleven transfers between the farmer and
the consumer.

Speaking with an agricultural official, I asked him about crops that are
lost due to the lack of transportation. His response was, "We're
informing the farmers and assuring them that they'll get paid in any case."

Those are the solutions of bureaucrats, but not the ones needed by the
country. The public needs farmers to produce more; they need all of the
crops to be harvested and that these are marketed quickly, shortening
the distance between the producer and the consumer.

The authorities have taken a first step toward transforming land tenure,
but they also need to change the distribution and commercialization
system. Otherwise, all the efforts of farmers in the field will never
be reflected on Cuban tables.

An authorized translation by Havana Times (from the Spanish original)
published by BBC Mundo.

http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=23736

also see:
Cuba's food woes worsen
By: The Economist
29/03/2010 1:00 AM

Two years ago last month, Raul Castro formally took over as Cuba's
president from his convalescent elder brother, Fidel. The switch raised
hopes of reforms, especially of the communist country's long
dysfunctional agriculture. But change has been glacial.

Official figures show that in the first two months of this year,
deliveries to the capital's food markets were a third less than
forecast. Nobody starves, but hard-currency supermarkets go for weeks
without basics such as milk and bread.

What has gone wrong? Cuba's state-owned farms are massively inefficient
and rarely provide more than 20 per cent of the country's food needs.
Three hurricanes in 2008 made matters worse.

Raul Castro has acknowledged the problem and introduced some changes.
Idle state land has been leased to private farmers. The government has
raised the guaranteed prices it pays for produce. Farmers can now
legally buy their own basic equipment such as shovels and boots without
having to wait for government handouts.

But farmers say the reforms have been too piecemeal to be effective. In
meetings across the country they have called for more. They want to buy
their own fertilizers and pesticides, and to control distribution.

The government still supplies almost everything and does it badly. Much
of last year's bumper crop of tomatoes rotted because government trucks
failed to collect them on time.

Significantly, the state-owned media have reported the farmers'
complaints in some detail. They have also announced that 100 of the most
inefficient government farms will be closed.

Officials are launching a pilot plan to set up market gardens close to
cities. And reports from eastern Cuba suggest that food shortages there
are less acute than in the capital.

But Raul continues to move very cautiously. So Cuba will buy much of its
food from foreign suppliers. Foreign exchange, never abundant -- partly
because of the American economic embargo -- is again in short supply.
The world recession cut Cuba's earnings from nickel and tourism last
year. Imports fell last year by almost 40 per cent.

A foreign businessman in Havana says there have been signs of a further
squeeze this year. Transfers abroad by foreign businesses have been
blocked, or delayed, for months.

The Spanish owner of Vima, a food importer that supplied many hotels and
state-run restaurants, made the mistake of publicly criticizing delays
in getting paid. His contracts were promptly revoked.

Foreign companies have been warned the government may stop selling them
staples, such as meat and rice, for their staff canteens.

"They told us bluntly that their priority is feeding the general
population, that the situation is very serious, and that we should make
our own arrangements," says a manager of one joint venture.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 29, 2010 A10

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/westview/cubas-food-woes-worsen-89379387.html

Cuba bureaucrats told not to interfere with private farms
Zimbabwe Star
Wednesday 19th May, 2010

In a country where farmers have had to purchase supplies from the state, the government is now hoping to help farmers boost food production by allowing them to purchase privately.

In Cuba, there are 350,000 family farmers and members of private cooperatives.

Farming is the largest private sector in Cuba, accounting for 70% of the food produced while using just 41% of the land.

This year, farmers have been attending meetings throughout the country, in an attempt to persuade the government to let them privately sell their produce and buy supplies, apart from the regulations that have guaranteed the state's near monopoly of the agricultural system.

Up to now, there has been a long-standing practice of the state taking 75% of farmers' production in return for fuel, pesticides and fertilizer.

http://story.zimbabwestar.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/3a8a80d6f705f8cc/id/636727/cs/1/



Note that Article 2c of the UN Genocide Convention

(snip)

The 1948 Geneva Convention on Genocide article 2 is quoted in a very
misleading way by serial liar Dan Christensen:.
The text: (1)
In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts
committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national,
ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life
calculated
to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

And this is precisely what your political masters have set out to do
(snip)

Nope.
That you have proved by failing to post even ONE quote from a reputable international organization referring to the trade sanctions as "genocide".

The 1948 Geneva Convention on Genocide article 2 is quoted in a very
misleading way by serial liar Dan Christensen:.
The text: (1)
In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts
committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national,
ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life
calculated
to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
The text requires that the acts listed under a-e have been committed
with "intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical,
racial or religious group".
In the case of the US trade sanctions this is clearly not the case.
The USA is Cuba's 5th trading partner (2) and largest food supplier
(3).
Cuba depends on food imports for 80% of total food consumption and
for
84% of the food distributed in the rationing system in place since
1962 (4).
These food imports total between 2 and 2.5 billion US dollars (5).
The
US provided in 2008 about a third of imported food in Cuba: over 700
million dollars and the US has soled over 4.4 billion dollars of food
since 2001 (6).
That means the US provided about 27% (80/3) of Cuba's food
consumption
in 2008 while the national agriculture only provided 20%.
Now: would a nation that wanted to destroy another nations' people
provide it with 27% of its food?
No.
As far as the sale of medical products: Cuba purchased only 1.2
million
dollars in 2008, but in fact deals for a total of 143 million were
duly
licensed by the US government. Cuba did not go through with 99% of
the
fully licensed deals. An expert stated that these were deliberate
political and economic decisions not to buy as Cuba prefers to get
the
goods for free(7).
Indeed: Cuba is in fact unable to pay for the imports its people
needs.
It has defaulted on various loans for years now (from way before the
financial crisis) and currently has not paid suppliers for over a
year
with debts standing at $ 1 billion. It has had to cut purchases of
food
from the US by 32% for 2009 (8).
The accusation of "genocide"is also rather hypocrite as the genocide
watchdog "Genocide Watch" has the Castro regime on its list of
genocidal
regimes for its abuses against the people based on the same article 2
of
the convention (9).
(1) Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of
Genocide
Genocide, Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of
-
- Prevent Genocide International
http://www.preventgenocide.org/law/convention/text.htm
(2) Cuba's declining trade betrays depth of its crisis
"The United States, which is Cuba's fifth trading partner despite its
47-year-old trade embargo against the island, said sales to Cuba
totaled
$383.8 million through August, down 23 percent."
Cuba's declining trade betrays depth of its crisis | Reuters (20
October
2009)
http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-Cuba/idUSTRE59J5A620091020?sp=true
http://cubadata.blogspot.com/2009/10/cubas-declining-trade-betrays-depth-of..html
(3)Reuteman: The Cuba question: To trade or not to trade?
"In 2005, the United States became the island's biggest food
supplier."
Reuteman: The Cuba question: To trade or not to trade?
January 14, 2006
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/business_columnists/article/0,1299,DRMN_82_4387989,00.html

http://cubadata.blogspot.com/2006/01/cuba-question-to-trade-or-not-to-trade..html

Cuba Pins Hopes On New Farms Run for Profit
Program Part of 'New Socialist Model'
"The United States, which has maintained a diplomatic deep freeze and
a
punishing economic blockade against the island for almost 50 years,
is
the island nation's largest supplier of food and agricultural
products,
selling it an average of $350 million worth of beans, rice and frozen
chickens each year since 2001, when Congress created exceptions to
the
trade ban."
Cuba Pins Hopes on New For-Profit Farms - washingtonpost.com (28
September 2009)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/27/AR2009092703316.html
http://cubadata.blogspot.com/2009/09/cuba-pins-hopes-on-new-farms-run-for.html

(4) WFP:
In Cuba, which imports 80 percent of its food, iron-deficiency
anaemia
is the commonest nutritional disorder: recent studies by the
Institute
of Nutrition and Food Hygiene show that anaemia prevalence in the
eastern region is 56.7 percent among children under 2 and 20.1
percent
in children aged 2-5.
Support for the National Plan on Prevention and Control of Anaemia in
the Five Eastern Provinces of Cuba | WFP | United Nations World Food
Programme - Fighting Hunger Worldwide
http://www.wfp.org/content/support-national-plan-prevention-and-control-anaemia-five-eastern-provinces-cuba
Cuba, with a population of a little over 11 million people, imports
about 80% of its domestic food requirements.
Cuba | WFP | United Nations World Food Programme - Fighting Hunger
Worldwide
http://www.wfp.org/countries/cuba
"Tengamos en cuenta que Cuba practicamente importa el 80 por ciento
de los alimentos que consume, para lo cual invirtioio pasado mas de
2000 millones de dolares."
Volveremos a los años '90?
Por Magaly Zamora Morejon (AIN)
Martes, 30 de Junio de 2009 14:18
http://www.invasor.cu/index.php/es/sociedad/325-ivolveremos-a-los-anos-90
"Asi en esta ciudad Magalys Calvo, viceministra de
Economia y Planificacion, durante una sesion de la Asamblea Provincial
del
Poder Popular.
El paiss importa anualmente el 84% de los alimentos destinados a la
canasta basica, por lo cual eroga unos mil millones de dolares, y
es
junto al petroleo el desembolso fundamental."
Necesita ia cubana aumentar produccion de alimentos
http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu/2007/02/26/nacional/artic02.html
(5) Food imports
2 billion:
Cuba importa más de 80% de los alimentos que consume. La cuenta
ascenderá este año a $2.000 millones.
http://www.eluniversal.com/2008/05/28/int_art_raul-castro-exige-ma_880690.shtml
"Collective farm productivity is so bad, Cuba has been
forced to import over $2 billion a year in agricultural products."
ESR | October 12, 2009 | Cuba: Discovering personal independence (12
October 2009)
http://www.enterstageright.com/archive/articles/1009/1009cubapersind.htm
Ronald R. Cooke is the proprietor of The Cultural Economist. This is
his
first contribution to Enter Stage Right.
2.5 billion:
"Food imports cost 2.5 billion dollars in 2008, an amount the
government
wants to reduce."
Balancing Cuba's Lopsided Budget
October 16, 2009
By Patricia Grogg
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=15083
Cuba importa el 80 por ciento de la comida que distribuye a la
población
a precios altamente subsidiados mediante la libreta. La factura de
alimentos llegó a 2.500 millones de dólares en el 2008.
Cuba recorta libreta de racionamiento - Yahoo! Noticias (6 November
2009)
http://espanol.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/091105/latinoamerica/latinoamerica_alimentos_cuba_1
http://cubadata.blogspot.com/2009/11/cuba-recorta-libreta-de-racionamiento.html
(6) 2008 imports from the USA
"In 2008, Cuba imported from the USA US$ 710 million of food and
agricultural products"
President Obama should take the lead on lifting embargo against Cuba
|
Amnesty International (9 November 2009)
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/president-obama-should-take-lead-lifting-embargo-against-cuba-20090902
Invertia.com - Cuba importó alimentos de EE.UU. por 4.400 millones de
dólares desde 2001 (9 August 2009)
http://www.invertia.com/noticias/noticia.asp?subclasid=&clasid=&idNoticia=2194204
http://cubadata.blogspot.com/2009/08/cuba-importo-alimentos-de-eeuu-por-4400.html
(7) Medical exports
"The U.S. says it approved $142 million in commercial and donated
medical exports to the communist island in 2008. So why did less than
1
percent of it get there?"
"It's not the embargo," said John Kavulich, a senior policy adviser
at
the New York-based U.S.-Cuba Economic Trade Council, which provides
nonpartisan commercial and economic information about Cuba. "These
are
economic and political decisions not to buy."
Cuba often waits for allies to donate what it needs, Kavulich said.
"They'd rather get things for free than pay for them."
It's unclear why U.S. medical exports aren't reaching Cuba | News for
Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Headline | International News
(5
December 2009)
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/world/stories/DN-embargo_05int.ART.State.Edition1.4bbb4d0.html
(8)Cuba' financial problems and reduction of food purchases.
Atrapados en el «corralito» cubano (1 December 2009)
http://www.lne.es/opinion/2009/12/01/atrapados-corralito-cubano-br/841805.html
Los gobiernos extranjeros interceden para que los bancos cubanos
paguen
sus deudas con las empresas privadas
LA HABANA, 19 Nov. (Reuters/EP) -
http://www.europapress.es/latam/cuba/noticia-cuba-gobiernos-extranjeros-interceden-bancos-cubanos-paguen-deudas-empresas-privadas-20091119214214.html

THE CUBAN ECONOMY IN A WORLD OF UNCERTAINTY - Miscelaneas de Cuba
http://www.miscelaneasdecuba.net/web/article.asp?artID=22961
Cuba Moves to Decentralize Imports
July 21, 2009
HAVANA TIMES, July 20 - The Cuban government has decided to
decentralize
expenditures in hard currency for imports, which will now be managed
by the individual ministries instead of a single centralized super
account,
reported Mexico's La Jornada newspaper on Monday.
Nevertheless, the daily points out that the new measure does not
state
the fate of outstanding accounts that have not been paid to foreign
suppliers over the last seven months, estimated at around one billion
USD
Cuba Moves to Decentralize Imports - Havana Times.org (21 July 2009)
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=12010
Los exportadores valencianos llevan un año sin cobrar sus ventas a
Cuba
- Valencia_Valencia - Valencia - ABC.es (15 July 2009)
http://www.abc.es/20090715/valencia-valencia/exportadores-valencianos-llevan-cobrar-20090715.html
http://cubafacts.blogspot.com/2009/07/los-exportadores-valencianos-ll...
Cuba tells creditors debt grew by $1.1 billion
Fri Sep 5, 2008 6:12pm EDT
By Marc Frank
http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN0519102820080905?sp=true
Cuba can't pay debt to Russian bank
September 04, 2008
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/cuban_colada/2008/09/cuba-cant-pay-d.html
http://cubafacts.blogspot.com/2008/09/cuba-cant-pay-debt-to-russian-b...
South Africa waives Cuban debt
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5i9qVm5DSX4lG_HOpc3fZ4oLSO59g
http://cubafacts.blogspot.com/2008/04/south-africa-waives-cuban-debt.html
Ambassador says Mexico will re-negotiate Cuban debt to improve
relations
The Associated Press
Published: November 28, 2007
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/11/29/news/CB-GEN-Cuba-Mexico.php
http://cubafacts.blogspot.com/2007/11/ambassador-says-mexico-will-re....
India agrees to waive $62 million in Cuban debt
http://www.thehindu.com/2007/04/13/stories/2007041303361200.htm
http://cubafacts.blogspot.com/2007/04/india-agrees-to-waive-62-million-in.html
"Cuban purchases of food from the United States will fall by at least
a
third this year as the island slashes imports to stabilise an ever-
weak
economy further hammered by the global economic crisis, a top trade
official said Monday."
Jamaica Gleaner News - Cuba to buy less US food - Business -
Wednesday
|
November 18, 2009 (18 November 2009)
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20091118/business/business6.html
(9) Genocide Watch is the Coordinator of the International Campaign
to
End Genocide
http://www.genocidewatch.org/aboutus/missionstatement.html
Listing of the Castro regime:
http://www.genocidewatch.org/images/Genocide_08_Genocides_and_Politicides_since_1945_with_stages_in_2008.pdf

THE STANDARD REPLY TO DAN'S LIES AND PERSONAL INSULTS.

again Dan Christensen shows what a hypocrite liar he is.
He is the one doing the "attacking" with his lies and slander.
As all can see I only post this piece that exposes his lies when he
has started his slanderous attacks.
That by the way is in general within a couple of exchanges on the
facts of the case involved as by then he is so stuck that he has to
resort to lies and insults.

Please note that lies combined with personal attacks only destroy
your credibility, Dan.

Dan Christensen knows I am not a lobbyist and that it is all just a
slander campaign.
As a good follower of Goebbels he keeps repeating his lies in the hope
that something will stick and that he maybe can mislead some people
that
don't know what he is all about.
Desperate Dan Is doing his bit in the slander campaign of the "rat
pack"
he is associated with. The contribution of his pals at the Centre
Ernesto Che Guevara in this group recently just shows what Dan and his
cronies are all about: lies, insults, slander and intimidation.

Actually: given your actions in the past Dan you fit the lobbyist
profile a lot closer.

You contact people in support of the Cuban regime and with the aim to
have them change the content of their website or change public
statements. You even pose as a "journalist" or "researcher" while
doing so.
The fact that you have been utterly unsuccessful at it and that only
your website suffered the removal of pages just shows what a bad
lobbyist you are.

Your Club Med, lobbying, CIA lies are exposed again


Links to the threads Dan produces his "lobbyist" misquotes from and
the exposure of his lies by others:

For those that want to see the full thread and the complete messages
in their context (which Dan Christensen desperately hopes nobody will
as it will expose his lies), here is a link to the threads concerned.
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.cuba/browse_thread/thread/5fb621a1396ecc6c/2602f5eb5bd1c2ed?hl=3D3Den=3DE0=3DA8=3DAAf5eb5bd1c2ed
http://groups.google.ca/group/soc.culture.cuba/browse_thread/thread/56e1a7b9ca6c61e3/9cfde811fd6c7414?#9cfde811fd6c7414

To Dan Christensen's great frustration his lies by now have been
exposed by various other people in other threads like:
http://groups.google.be/group/soc.culture.cuba/msg/ac34bd501ab58b97?dmode=3D3Dsource
http://groups.google.be/group/soc.culture.cuba/msg/848321c82da3bbda

Dan Christensen lied when he claimed I had stated that I had been at
Club Med in Varadero - a hotel he tried to depict as a sleazy sex
resort - to "lobby" people.
Just one example:
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.cuba/msg/4b7720708da65ee0?dmode=3D3Dsource
Dan Christensen even suggested the whole trip was paid for by the CIA
thereby accusing Belgian officials of not only sexual impropriety, but
also of active corruption.
You see: Dan Christensen just doesn't know when to stop lying and gets
caught up in his "cloak and dagger" childish fantasies.
His lies are so over the top that it all become a big joke that people
can easily see though.
Here is one example of how serial liar Dan Christensen was exposed.
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.cuba/msg/848321c82da3bbda?dmode=3D3Dsource

The lies of Dan Christensen about me that were exposed:
- his lie about me playing golf to "lobby": exposed. Dan Christensen
had to admit there were no quotes to support any of that.
- his lie about singles resorts and schmoozing: exposed as various
people stated that it is merely a family resort that even had a circus
school for children
- his lie about me being in Varadero: exposed as Dan Christensen had
to admit I never said I was there
- his lie that it were all "CIA junkets" exposed as Dan Christensen
ran like hell when he realized that this lie could expose him to legal
sanctions
- his lie that I had "self-confessed" anything: exposed by people that
put the snippets Dan Christensen abusively posts in context (as shown
in this message)
All Dan Christensen's lies have been exposed by various people.

as I said comrade
Dan: whenever you post your lies about me I post the truth about you.
Your record of lies, innuendo, insults and support of human rights
abuses discredits you.
All shame you brought on yourself by your attitude and actions.

The exposure of the "lobbyist" lie in further detail.

Dan Christensen's abuse of misquotes has been exposed over and over
again. He just aped the lie of another apologist that dropped that
specific lie very quickly. The guy is indeed smarter than stupid Dan.
When Dan Christensen tried to come up with his own "new and
improved" version of the lie he fell flat on his face.
He claimed I had been "lobbying" people In Geneva while his Rat Pack
pal "cuba libre" that stalked me then showed from an IP address from
which I had posted something that I was in Santiago de Cuba at the
time. One Rat Pack member exposing another's lies with the result of
his cyber stalking. Ironic.

Dan's other exposed false claim:
"Taking a little break from arm-twisting in Geneva, Mr. Lobbyist?"
Link:
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.cuba/msg/b6375f9783e47aee?q=3D3Dg:thl174670614d&dq=3D3D&hl=3D3Den&lr=3D3D&ie=3D3DUTF-8

Again it is clear what a pathetic loser Dan Christensen is.

Below you will find what is behind Dan Christensen's slanderous
campaign: facts he can't deny.

- Frustration

I exposed Dan Christensen as a fraud in this group years ago when I
blew his "cover". In SCC he tried to portray himself as an
"independent
interested party" with no political agenda.
When I came across a blatantly different reply to a similar question
in a Stalinist e-group to which I had been invited I posted it to show
his lying hypocrisy.
Since then he has been pissed as hell as it undermined his lying
propaganda effort to mislead "those in the background" (his own words,
those that didn't have "local knowledge". He himself admitted in the
same e-group that propagandist like him can never "convince" those
with "local knowledge". In frequent exchanges he got some mad he often
forgot to keep up the pretense and made him show his hand and true
nature:

Quote:
"In my opinion the advances made by the Revolution are morally well
worth fighting for and justify the use of these extraordinary
measures. In this case, the ends do indeed justify the means.
...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
These measures, however, would NOT be morally justified in propping
less worthy regimes in the region -- the USA and its vassal states in
the
Caribbean and Latin America come immediately to mind."

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=3D3Den&lr=3D3D&ie=3D3DUTF-8&selm=3D3DtirG3.176162%245r2.278940%40tor-nn1.netcom.ca

"It is wrong to think that a particular end justifies EVERY means. At
this time, for example, it would be wrong of the Cuban government to
send death squads after their opponents as happens in Mexico and
Colombia. Again, the actions of the Cuban government in detaining
these so-called dissidents seem quite mild in comparison and are
morally justified under the circumstances."

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=3D3Den&lr=3D3D&ie=3D3DUTF-8&selm=3D3DtxMG3.176443%245r2.284921%40tor-nn1.netcom.ca

That meant he was exposed a the hypocrite liar he is. It showed that
the false claims he made about others (support of genocide, torture,
abuses, ..) in fact only applied to him.

I have also frequently exposed his lies about facts and people in SCC.

Dan Christensen once claimed:
"It is clear from Smith's article here (and his website, CIP Online)
that he does, in fact, support an immediate and unconditional lifting
of your beloved embargo."
http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.cuba/msg/3f1fe3a55c12d7d7?dmode=3D3Dsource&hl=3D3Den


Mr. Smith's own words:

'We should reduce tensions, not aggravate it, making it clear to the
Cuban government that we do not have hostile intentions toward them,''
Smith
said during a 40-minute speech at a conference titled Cuba and the
United States: Relations in Permanent Conflict, Causes, Effects and
Solutions.
''I did not say lift the embargo without conditions,'' he said.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/world/cuba/12157593.htm
You can enter after a free registration.
Permanent copy in the Cubaverdad archive:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaVerdad/message/16823

Then there is the issue of his lying website: acting with a third
person I had pages removed (for violations of law, slander, ...), I
have shamed him in to changing it on
various occasions (adding links that would then expose his lies,
remove lying caption from pictures, ...) and I have in general exposed
the lies on it (on Amnesty International for example)

What Dan claimed on his website (the misquote):
"Today, for the first time, Amnesty International has explicitly
denounced the US embargo on Cuba in humanitarian terms, and made clear
its support for the immediate and unconditional lifting of these cruel
sanctions"
http://members.allstream.net/~dchris/CubaFAQ215.html
now moved to:
http://www3.sympatico.ca/danchristienses/CubaFAQ215.html

Link to the "report": (the one Dan didn't give until I shamed him in
to it)
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR250172003?open&of=3D3DENG-CUB

where the only thing Amnesty international asks for "immediately and
unconditionally" is the release of political prisoners.

Quote:

"in 1.
"On the basis of the available information, therefore, Amnesty
International considers the 75 dissidents to be prisoners of
conscience
(2) and calls for their immediate and unconditional release."

In 8.1
" to immediately and unconditionally release the 15 prisoners
previously named by Amnesty International as prisoners of conscience.

" to immediately and unconditionally release anyone else who is
detained or imprisoned solely for having peacefully exercised their
rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly."
end of quote

- Dogmatic hatred.

Dan Christensen is a hard-line Stalinist. His first steps in SCC were
to defend Stalin and in other forums he has praised "workers
democracy" under Stalin.
He has admitted that he is ready to fight to the last Cuban (from his
comfortable armchair in Canada) for his cause.
By posting the reports from the international press, human rights
organizations and Cuban independent journalists I have exposed his
propaganda as a lie. That makes the man wild with rage.
As he like to see himself as the "victim" (he once claimed he was
being censored in SCC) he therefore lashes out at people claiming that
those that contradict him are "CIA" agents (as if the CIA would care
about a third rate liar as Dan) and professional "lobbyists" probably
to make himself feel that he is "important" and to explain away his
complete propaganda failure (portraying himself as "overcome by
unsurmountable institutional odds").

- Personal hate and the "rat pack"

Dan has suffered the trauma of having part of his website remove
after a long battle over the personal attacks and falsifications he
had posted there.
The frequent exposures of his lies and hypocrisy only fueled the
personal hatred.
Dan ganged up with various other propagandists that people that have
been attacked by them refer to as the "rat pack". I have been the
target of the lies and slanderous insults of this "rat pack".
They specialize in online slander (from posting private information,
attacking their business or businesses they are associated with,
inciting others to harass people, over accusing people of being "CIA
agents" or "lobbyists" to the worst things one can imagine) and direct
harassment (phone calls, letters, letters with razor blade or white
powder, loitering in front of people's houses,.. up to death threats
in France).
All they succeeded in doing was to dramatically increase traffic to a
website I participate in ( www.cubaverdad.net ) and to suffer the
consequences of their slander.
Dan Christensen had part of his website removed. The Centre Che in
France had their complete website removed and their "secretary" known
here as "cubalibre" real name François Valy was sentenced to 6 months
in
jail for a whole series of abuses (including racism). A Spanish
"subsidiary" of the rat pack still has a surprise coming.
All because of their lies were exposed.

But then in the end this is what it boils down to: those that don't
have rational arguments find themselves exposed as the liars they are.
When that happens all they have left are the old
slander tactics: they attack the people that expose their lies in the
hope that they can intimidate them.
If Dan Christensen felt he had any chance to convince people directly
he would try to do so by posting facts and arguing facts.
He is reduced to snipping, posting the same snippets over and over
again, lies and slander.
As long as he and the rest of the "rat pack" (and their hangers on)
are reduced to that they expose" their own failure as Dan Christensen
does here every time.
Fine by me.

PL

"The Cuban government is based on lies and cheap propaganda. That is
why it is afraid of words and the truth."
Raul Rivero, April 2006, University of Sevilla
.

Relevant Pages

  • According to Dan Christensen Import Dependency of Cuba on imported food is at an historical low, he
    ... In the mean time Cuba's agriculture has declined and exports have risen again; ... In Cuba, which imports 80 percent of its food, iron-deficiency anaemia is the commonest nutritional disorder: recent studies by the Institute of Nutrition and Food Hygiene show that anaemia prevalence in the eastern region is 56.7 percent among children under 2 and 20.1 percent in children aged 2–5. ... Support for the National Plan on Prevention and Control of Anaemia in the Five Eastern Provinces of Cuba | WFP | United Nations World Food Programme - Fighting Hunger Worldwide ... it now imports approximately 80-85% of its ...
    (soc.culture.cuba)
  • Another lie of Dan Christensen exposed
    ... In the mean time Cuba's agriculture has declined and exports have risen again; ... In Cuba, which imports 80 percent of its food, iron-deficiency anaemia is the commonest nutritional disorder: recent studies by the Institute of Nutrition and Food Hygiene show that anaemia prevalence in the eastern region is 56.7 percent among children under 2 and 20.1 percent in children aged 2–5. ... Support for the National Plan on Prevention and Control of Anaemia in the Five Eastern Provinces of Cuba | WFP | United Nations World Food Programme - Fighting Hunger Worldwide ... it now imports approximately 80-85% of its ...
    (soc.culture.cuba)
  • Dan Christensen claims that Cuba only imports 33% of its food. That would be a 30 year low. Why cant
    ... In the mean time Cuba's agriculture has declined and exports have risen again; ... In Cuba, which imports 80 percent of its food, iron-deficiency anaemia is the commonest nutritional disorder: recent studies by the Institute of Nutrition and Food Hygiene show that anaemia prevalence in the eastern region is 56.7 percent among children under 2 and 20.1 percent in children aged 2–5. ... Support for the National Plan on Prevention and Control of Anaemia in the Five Eastern Provinces of Cuba | WFP | United Nations World Food Programme - Fighting Hunger Worldwide ... it now imports approximately 80-85% of its ...
    (soc.culture.cuba)
  • Re: Dan Christensen claims the WFP, the Canadian Government, Greenleft, the Guardian, the Economist,
    ... In the mean time Cuba's agriculture has declined and exports have risen again; ... In Cuba, which imports 80 percent of its food, iron-deficiency anaemia is the commonest nutritional disorder: recent studies by the Institute of Nutrition and Food Hygiene show that anaemia prevalence in the eastern region is 56.7 percent among children under 2 and 20.1 percent in children aged 2–5. ... Support for the National Plan on Prevention and Control of Anaemia in the Five Eastern Provinces of Cuba | WFP | United Nations World Food Programme - Fighting Hunger Worldwide ... it now imports approximately 80-85% of its ...
    (soc.culture.cuba)
  • Re: According to Dan Christensen Import Dependency of Cuba on imported food is at an historical low,
    ... In the mean time Cuba's agriculture has declined and exports have risen again; ... In Cuba, which imports 80 percent of its food, iron-deficiency anaemia is the commonest nutritional disorder: recent studies by the Institute of Nutrition and Food Hygiene show that anaemia prevalence in the eastern region is 56.7 percent among children under 2 and 20.1 percent in children aged 2–5. ... Support for the National Plan on Prevention and Control of Anaemia in the Five Eastern Provinces of Cuba | WFP | United Nations World Food Programme - Fighting Hunger Worldwide ... it now imports approximately 80-85% of its ...
    (soc.culture.cuba)