Re: John Kerry Should Support "Regime Choice" for Cuba - desperate Dan Christensen aka DCPROOF reduced to abuses lies and slander - as always

On 13/05/2011 21:08, CubaFAQ wrote:
On May 13, 1:16 pm, PL<pl.nos...@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

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


Like the full article that shows how callously he is abusing snippets from it.


and Dan Christensen snipped the complete text to tag some insults on to a selected snippet as usual:

Mauricio Claver-Carone
Executive Director, Cuba Democracy Advocates in Washington, D.C.

John Kerry Should Support "Regime Choice" for Cuba
Posted: 05/12/11 12:43 PM ET

The argument du jour for opponents of the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) programs to promote democracy in Cuba is that they violate the island's "sovereignty" by advocating "regime change."

The latest congressional manifestation of this opposition comes from U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, who announced last week that he would unilaterally delay the Obama Administration's disbursement of $20 million appropriated by the U.S. Congress for FY 2010.

Never mind that these programs support the families of Cubans jailed for their support of democracy, their loved ones fired from their jobs and their children expelled from school. The programs also provide cell phones, laptops and other basic items that Cuba's bloggers need to break through the regime's censorship and information monopoly in their efforts to build a civil society; and that they provide books to independent libraries, paper and pencils to labor unions and journalists to allow them to exercise their fundamental human right of free expression.

For opponents of these democracy programs, that's all irrelevant. They want the programs scrapped altogether and replaced with ones pre-approved by Cuba's dictatorship.

According to Kerry, "there is no evidence... that the 'democracy promotion' (quotations are his) programs... are helping the Cuban people. Nor have they achieved much more than provoking the Cuban government to arrest a U.S. government contractor who was distributing satellite communication sets to Cuban contacts."

That U.S. government contractor is 62-year-old Alan Gross, who was helping Cuba's Jewish community connect to the Internet -- a fundamental right protected by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, which states:

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Kerry also announced that he has requested an investigation by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) "into the legal basis and effectiveness of these operations."

Yet these programs are clearly prescribed in the 1996 Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act (LIBERTAD Act). So, is Senator Kerry really responding to complaints raised by the Castro regime? The regime has made it abundantly clear -- most recently to former President Jimmy Carter -- that it considers these programs to be a violation of Cuban "law" (its dictatorial decrees) and views them as a nuisance to its totalitarian rule.

It is hard to imagine that this is the same Senator Kerry who has been a steadfast advocate of "regime change" in Egypt and Libya, and the biggest cheerleader of the Obama Administration's military operation in support of Libya's rebels, which cost $100 million on the first day alone.

Why is Senator Kerry so hostile to the concept of "regime change" in Cuba, but not in North Africa and the Middle East? How can he support financing the violent overthrow of the Gaddafi regime by armed Libyan rebels, but not the distribution of laptops and books for Cuba's opposition movement, which only advocates a peaceful transition to democracy?

As the well-known Washington maxim goes -- "personnel is policy." And in the case of Senator Kerry, the answer can be found in his senior advisor for Latin America, Fulton Armstrong.

Armstrong is a former Central Intelligence Agency analyst with a known history of hindering the execution of U.S. policy towards Cuba. Together with his former colleague at the Defense Intelligence Agency, Ana Belen Montes, Armstrong authored an oft-cited 1998 report that argued that Cuba no longer posed a security threat to the United States. Ironically, just three years later (in 2001), Montes was identified as a Cuban spy, arrested, convicted and is now serving life in a federal prison.

Armstrong's strong opposition to USAID's Cuba democracy programs is widely-known in the halls of Congress and the State Department to be based on his strong personal objection to the concept of "regime change."

Here's a permanent solution to this semantic disagreement:

Let's discard the concept of "regime change" and, instead, coalesce around a new option of "regime choice" for the Cuban people.

Regime choice encapsulates what is surely our shared goal for Cuba -- free and fair multi-party elections. And it is consistent with the LIBERTAD Act, which would consequently consummate (and expire) when Cuba holds free and fair elections.

Free and fair elections are also the only means for the Cuban people to legitimately vest "sovereignty" to Cuba's government; it cannot be inherited or seized by force -- it is only granted to governments by the free choice and will of its people.

So, let's move forward and work together to promote "regime choice" for the Cuban people.

Surely, Senator Kerry would agree.

Mauricio Claver-Carone is a director of the U.S.-Cuba Democracy PAC and founding editor of CapitolHillCubans.com in Washington, D.C. He is an attorney who formerly served with the U.S. Department of the Treasury and has served on the full-time faculty of The Catholic University of America's School of Law and adjunct faculty of The George Washington University's National Law Center.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mauricio-clavercarone/john-kerry-should-support_b_861124.html


So, let's move forward and work together to promote "regime choice" for
the Cuban people.
(snip)

What the cowardly apologist, [abuse of privacy by blackmailer / apologist Dan Christensen aka DCPROOF], snipped for obvious reasons
and refused to address AGAIN!:

That's the LAST thing you want,(snip)

Replied to.

That is exactly what I want: free and fair multi-party elections

Regime choice encapsulates what is surely our shared goal for Cuba -- free and fair multi-party elections. And it is consistent with the LIBERTAD Act, which would consequently consummate (and expire) when Cuba holds free and fair elections.

Free and fair elections are also the only means for the Cuban people to legitimately vest "sovereignty" to Cuba's government; it cannot be inherited or seized by force -- it is only granted to governments by the free choice and will of its people.


That is exactly what I want: free and fair multi-party elections


Bullshit.

Nope.
fact idiot of a liar DCPROOF

Under the terms of the Helms-Burton Act, the Cuban people
would not be not be allowed(snip)

to the contrary: what the law asks for is free and fair elections without any totalitarian pressure.

The author says that:

"Regime choice encapsulates what is surely our shared goal for Cuba -- free and fair multi-party elections. And it is consistent with the LIBERTAD Act, which would consequently consummate (and expire) when Cuba holds free and fair elections."


Free and fair elections are also the only means for the Cuban people to
legitimately vest "sovereignty" to Cuba's government; it cannot be
inherited or seized by force -- it is only granted to governments by the
free choice and will of its people.

Unlike the case in the USA,(snip)

Unlike in the USA the regime comtrols all aspects of the elections DCPROOF aka Dan Christensen.

"candidates" are vetted and selected by the regime.

The UN's assessment of the so called elections is correct:
"the electoral process is so tightly controlled that the final phase, the voting itself, could be dispensed with without the final result being substantially affected"

See: E/CN.4/1998/69





For the local elections candidates are nominated in open meetings run by the CDR (Committees to Defend the Revolution) [1] that are closely linked to police and security forces. They report and sanction dissent. Prison terms of 4 years threaten those that openly oppose the regime [2] in that public meeting filled with informants. People not supporting can be threatened with losing their home [3], job, ....

These "candidates" then are to be approved by "electoral committees" stuffed with representatives of the
communists front organizations (see the Cuban electoral law) [4].
For national elections the local "elected candidates" at the local level can "select" candidates from a restricted list drawn up by the communist front organizations [5].


And then for the results result:
PCC 94.39%; seats - PCC 601
http://workmall.com/wfb2001/cuba/cuba_government.html


and even in 2005 for the local elections: 78% of "candidates" member of the communist party:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaVerdad/message/14813


Just a "coincidence" I guess.



[1] On the CDR:

The CDR first line in the totalitarian repression system in Cuba





[2] Repressive laws in Cuba.



1.. Article 144, which defines the crime of desacato, or "disrespect." It

states that anyone who threatens, slanders, defames, insults, harms or in

anyway outrages or offends, verbally or in writing, the dignity or honor of

an authority, public official, or their agents or auxiliaries, in the

exercise of their functions or because of them can be imprisoned for between

three months and one year or fined or both. If the act of disrespect is

directed at the head of state or other senior officials the penalty is a

prison term from one to three years.

2.. Articles 208 and 209, which define the crime of asociación ilícita, or

"illicit association." These articles state that anyone belonging to an

unregistered association can be fined or imprisoned for between one and

three months. The promoters or leaders of such an association can be fined

or imprisoned for between three months and a year. Anyone who participates

in illegal meetings or demonstrations can be fined or imprisoned for between

one and three months. The organizers of illegal meetings or demonstrations

can be fined or imprisoned for between three months and a year.

3.. Article 103, which defines the crime of propaganda enemiga, or "enemy

propaganda." It states that anyone who incites against the social order,

international solidarity or the socialist state by means of verbal, written

or any other kind of propaganda, or who makes, distributes or possesses such

propaganda, can be imprisoned from between one to eight years. Anyone who

spreads false news or malicious predictions likely to cause alarm or

discontent among the population, or public disorder, can be imprisoned from

between one and four years. If the mass media are used, the sentence can be

from seven to fifteen years in prison.

4.. Article 207, which defines the crime of asociación para delinquir, or

"associating with others to commit crimes." It states that if three or more

persons join together in a group to commit crimes, they can be imprisoned

for between one and three years, simply for meeting together. If the only

objective of the group is to provoke disorder or interrupt family or public

parties, spectacles or other community events or to commit other anti-social

acts, the penalty is a fine or a prison sentence of between three months and

one year.

5.. Article 115, which defines the crime of difusión de falsas informaciones

contra la paz internacional, or "dissemination of false information against international peace."

It states that anyone who spreads false news with aim of disturbing international peace or putting

in danger the prestige or credit of the Cuban State or its good relations with another

state can be imprisoned for between one and four years.

6.. Article 143, which defines the crime of resistencia, or "resistance."

On occasion, the crime is referred to as desobediencia, or "disobedience."

It states that anyone who resists an official in the exercise of his duties

can be imprisoned for between three months and a year or fined. If the

official is trying to apprehend a criminal or someone who has escaped from

prison, the penalty is a prison term from two to five years.

7.. Articles 72-90, which define the crime of peligrosidad, or

"dangerousness." These articles come under the heading, "The Dangerous

Status and Security Measures," a section of the Penal Code under which

someone can be sentenced for up to four years in prison on the grounds that

the authorities believe the individual has a "special proclivity" to commit

crimes, even though he or she might not have actually committed a crime.

These articles broadly define "dangerous" people as those who act in a

manner that contradicts "socialist morality" or engage in "anti-social

behavior." Moreover, Article 75 provides for an "official warning" to people

the authorities deem to be in danger of becoming "dangerous," i.e., those

who are not yet "dangerous" but who are regarded as having criminal

tendencies because of their "ties or relations with people who are

potentially dangerous to society, other people, and to the social, economic

and political order of the socialist State."

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) concludes that because

of "their lack of precision and their subjective nature," the legal

definitions of "dangerousness" and such terms as "socialist legality" and

"standards of socialist coexistence,"

constitute a source of juridical insecurity which creates conditions

permitting the Cuban authorities to take arbitrary action.22

In other words, the Penal Code articles which define "dangerousness"

constitute a catch-all mechanism which gives the government the legal

justification for taking any citizen it wants out of circulation. As Human

Rights Watch/Americas stated in October 1995:



Cubans who engage in "anti-social behavior" or violate "socialist

morality" may be held in preventive detention under the "dangerousness"

provisions of the criminal code for as long as four years, even without

being convicted of a crime.23

According to Pax Christi Netherlands and Amnesty International, there are

clear indications that the crime of "dangerousness" is used as a cover to

imprison people for political reasons on the grounds that they are common

delinquents.24



The Penal Code also defines the crime of salida illegal del país, "illegal

exit from country." Under Penal Code Articles 216 and 217, those caught

trying to leave the country without the permission of the government can be

fined or imprisoned for up to three years if they have not used violence and

up to eight years if force or intimidation is used.

http://www.worldpolicy.org/globalrights/carib/1997-cuba.html#penal



[3] Vote for the communist or ...



On February 1, officials held a public meeting in which they criticized Yero

for not voting for Communist candidates and for not participating in the

local CDR; according to press reports, she received an eviction notice the

following day.

http://pcmlp.socleg.ox.ac.uk/transition/issue07/cuba.htm



On February 1, 1999, the police and housing officials called her neighbors

to a public meeting, where it appears, they declared that Mrs. Sara Yero had

not voted for Communist Party candidates and did not belong to the local

Committee for the Defense of the Revolution. The next day, Margarita Sara

Yero received a written eviction notice.

Human Rights Watch/Americas, op. cit., World Report 2000, p. 28.

http://www.cidh.oas.org/annualrep/99eng/Chapter4.htm



In a few cases, the government used housing regulations to harass independent reporters.

In January 1999, housing authorities in Santiago notified Margarita Sara Yero, the director

of the Turquino Correspondence of the Independent Press Agency of Cuba

(Agencia de Prensa Independiente de Cuba), that she would be evicted from her home, where

she had resided for thirty-five years. The officials claimed that she had abandoned her home,

but several neighbors confirmed her residency.

On February 1, 1999, police and housing officials called her neighbors to a public meeting,

where they reportedly stated that Yero had not cast votes for Communist Party candidates

and did not belong to the local Committee for the Defense of the Revolution

(Comité para la Defensa de la Revolución).

The next day, according to press reports, Yero received a written eviction notice.

http://www.hrw.org/wr2k/americas-04.htm



Eviction
Eviction is another less common method of repression used by the authorities to suppress dissidence.

Victims are ordered to leave their homes and reportedly sometimes transferred to crowded shelters for

the homeless. Amnesty International is concerned that incidents in which eviction is threatened or

carried out allegedly for political motives or as a means of suppressing freedom of expression,

association and assembly undermine respect for the principles articulated in article 12 of the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

This article states that ''no one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family,

home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation,'' and other related rights.



For example, in August 1999, as well as being temporarily detained, opposition activist

Ramón Humberto Colás Castillo, was evicted from his home in Las Tunas province, along with his wife,

Berta Mexidor Vázquez, and their two children.

Ramón Colás and Berta Mexidor, who were both founders of the first independent library in Cuba, had

lived in their home for 13 years before being told they were illegal occupants. According to Berta Mexidor,

the authorities removed all their belongings into lorries in spite of their protests and told them they were

been moved to another area, some 60 kilometres from their home.

They were later taken to a military camp where some 300 people were reportedly housed.

According to reports, the family are currently staying with relatives.

In January 1999 Margarita Sara Yero, an independent journalist working for Cuba Press in Santiago

de Cuba province, was reportedly informed that she had to vacate the home where she had lived for

some 35 years.

The reason given by the authorities was reportedly that she ''had abandoned her home and was

the owner of another''. Margarita Yero's lawyer then wrote to the Dirección Municipal de Vivienda,

Municipal Housing Office, with signatures from neighbours confirming that she had never abandoned her home.

However, on 2 February 1999 she reportedly received a reply to the letter stating that she would be evicted

on 4 February 1999. Due to help from various local organizations and a statement by an old friend who confirmed

that she had been living in that place since 1963, the eviction was not carried out.
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR250042000?open&of=ENG-CUB



[4] Cuban "electoral law"



Cuba: Ley Electoral de 1992

Artículo 30.- Las Comisiones electorales de Circunscripción tienen las

funciones siguientes:



1.. establecer en su territorio, las áreas de nominación de candidatos a

delegados a la Asamblea Municipal del Poder Popular, conforme a las reglas

dictadas por la Comisión Nacional Electoral y someterlas a la aprobación de

la respectiva Comisión Electoral Municipal;

2.. organizar, dirigir y presidir las asambleas de nominación de

candidatos a Delegados a las Asambleas Municipales del Poder Popular;

3.. elaborar la lista de los candidatos de su circunscripción electoral a

Delegados a la Asamblea Municipal del Poder Popular y verificar que éstos

reúnen los requisitos establecidos;

4.. circular y exponer en murales, en lugares públicos, las fotografías y

biografías de los candidatos;

5.. participar en la elaboración de la lista de electores por cada Colegio

Electoral con la cooperación de la Comisión Electoral Municipal y de las

organizaciones de masas;

6.. hacer pública la lista de electores de cada Colegio;

7.. resolver las exclusiones e inclusiones de cualquier persona en el

registro de electores, según proceda, luego de consultar con la Comisión

Electoral Municipal; y subsanar los errores que se adviertan en las

anotaciones;

8.. someter a la aprobación de la Comisión Electoral Municipal la

ubicación de los Colegios Electorales en la circunscripción;

9.. garantizar que los Colegios Electorales estén oportunamente ubicados y

acondicionados, y divulgar su localización;

10.. designar a los miembros de las Mesas de los Colegios Electorales de

su circunscripción, cuidando que éstos sean electores de la misma;

11.. expedir las credenciales correspondientes a los Presidentes y demás

miembros de las Mesas designados en los Colegios Electorales de su

circunscripción;

12.. garantizar la ejecución de los escrutinios en los Colegios

Electorales, de acuerdo con lo dispuesto en esta Ley;

13.. realizar el cómputo final de la votación cuando exista más de un

Colegio Electoral en la circunscripción;

14.. hacer público el resultado de la votación;

15.. informar a la Comisión Electoral Municipal cuanto se solicite sobre

el proceso electoral;

16.. rendir informe final del desenvolvimiento del proceso electoral

celebrado en su circunscripción a la Comisión Electoral Municipal

correspondiente dentro de los tres ( 3 ) días siguientes a su terminación;

17.. cualquier otra que les sean atribuidas por la Comisión Electoral

Municipal o la Asamblea Municipal del Poder Popular correspondiente de

acuerdo con las disposiciones de esta Ley y de la Comisión Electoral

Nacional.

Artículo 68.- Las Comisiones de Candidaturas se integran por representantes

de la Central de Trabajadores de Cuba, de los Comités de Defensa de la

Revolución, de la Federación de Mujeres Cubanas, de la Asociación Nacional

de Agricultores Pequeños, de la Federación Estudiantil Universitaria y de la

Federación de Estudiantes de la Enseñanza Media, designados por las

direcciones nacionales, provinciales y municipales respectivas, a solicitud

de las Comisiones Electorales Nacional, Provinciales y Municipales.

En el caso que una de las organizaciones de masas carezca de representación

en algún municipio se designará un representante por la dirección provincial

correspondiente.



Artículo 69.- Las Comisiones de Candidaturas son presididas por un

representante de la Central de Trabajadores de Cuba.



http://www.georgetown.edu/pdba/Electoral/Cuba/cuba.html



[5] Communist front organizations only can "nominate" national "candidates"



From the website of a Canadian admirer of workers'"democracy" under Stalin and an

apologist of the Stalinist regime:

The various mass organizations - unions, students' and women's federations,

etc. - play an active role in the nomination of candidates. In each

municipality, they will conduct a candidate search and present their

recommendations to the Municipal Assembly who may accept or reject any or

all of them by a secret vote.

http://members.allstream.net/~dchris/CubaFAQ003.html (now moved)


Cuba's justice minister, Roberto Díaz Sotolongo, the National Assembly also

has the authority to accept or reject any prospective candidates for public

office.56 Given the heavy hand of the government in the electoral process,

and the absence of any choice, the constitutional provision that the

National Assembly "represents and expresses the sovereign will of the

people" rings hollow. (from: Human Rights Watch interview with Justice

Minister Roberto Díaz Sotolongo, New York, June 11, 1998.

http://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/cuba/Cuba996-03.htm

http://www.cubaverdad.net/elections_in_cuba.htm

There is no "genocidal" embargo dan Christensen as you yourself have
shown by failing to pots even one quote from a reputable organbization
referring to the trade sanctions as such.

Still in denial,(snip)
Nope.
Still stating facts.
You can't produce even one quote has you have shwon again DCPROOF aka Dan Christensen

"
"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", Dallas Morning News, 5 December 2009.
Enlace alternativo: Cubaverdad Blog

Quien es John Kavulich: Archivo Cubaverdad John Kavulich
Sue es el "U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council": Archivo Cubaverdad U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council
Sitio: http://www.cubatrade.org/";

http://saludcuba.blogspot.com/p/bloqueo.html



Your favorite dictator is on the list of Genocide Watch

No one takes that silly little table(snip)

Nobody takes you series Dan Christensen. Not even as "DCPROOF"
http://www.genocidewatch.org

Repeating your old and utterly lies just shows it is Dan Christensen posting.

The standard reply to Dan's Genocide lie:
>
> [snipping [privacy violation by Dan Christensen aka DCPROOF]
same old Nazi-style lies and rationalizations]

You are the anzi supporting extra-judicial killings Dan Christensen.
You just confirmed it again


The standard reply to Dan's Genocide lie:

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

Here are some pictures of children whose murder Dan Christensen supported:

http://www.cubaverdad.net/13_de_marzo.htm

The names of the children whose killing Dan Christensen supports:

Angel René ABREU Ruiz, 3
Giselle (or Lisette) BORGES Alvarez, 4
José Carlos NIKEL Anaya, 3
Marjolís MENDEZ Tacoronte, 17
Yousel Eugenio PEREZ Tacoronte, 11
Caridad LEYVA Tacoronte, 4
Yasse (or Yasser) PERODIN Almanza, 11


The testimony of a child that survived the killings Dan Christensen supports:

Posted on Wed, Jun. 01, 2005
ESCAPE FROM CUBA
`Our only luggage was hope'
BY SERGIO PERODIN JR.
sergioperodin@xxxxxxx

Sergio Perodín Jr., a survivor of the 13 de Marzo tugboat massacre, is graduating from Coral Gables Senior High today.

Original link:
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/11783845.htm
Permanent link:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaVerdad/message/15952


The facts on Cuba's agriculture:

again Dan Christensen is trying to put words in other people's mouth
based on misquotes snipped the facts and the quote from Castro
confirming that Dan is no more than a desperate liar.
Another misquote to end the series.

all experts agree, Dan, that Cuba needs to reform its agriculture
before any increase in production is possible.
Even Raul Castro has admitted that.

"This is an effort to revitalize an agriculture sector hampered by
decades of government mismanagement" said Raul Castro.
http://www.meattradenewsdaily.co.uk/news/280810/cuba___more_land_for_small_farmers_.aspx
(Yep even your political masters expose you - again - as the liar you
are)

The problem is: for dogmatic reasons his market reforms are falling
far short of what is needed to revitalize food production even for the
local people.
Cuba, before Castro, was a net food exporter and can be that again
given structural reform as even your expert stated. No change in
regulation, no realization of potential.

"``The Cuban climate is very good, has good resources, and an
agricultural system with potential,'' Messina said. ``But the truth is
that we don't see big trends toward its development in terms of
regulation.''"

http://www.miamiherald.com/2009/09/29/1258504/cubas-agriculture-shows-promise.html

a fact all experts agree on.
Land is not used or has a very low productivity.
The solution id to free the sector and allow for foreign investment, a
point Messina also made.

"La agricultura cubana requiere cambios urgentes
Oscar Espinosa Chepe
http://www.cubanet.org/CNews/year2010/agosto2010/12_C_5.html";
http://cubafaq.wordpress.com/2010/08/12/la-agricultura-cubana-requiere-cambios-urgentes/

Currently Castro's "reforms"have only succeeded in reducing output.

"Cuban food output down despite agriculture reforms
Reuters
By Marc Frank Marc Frank Tue Aug 3, 2:43 pm ET
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100803/wl_nm/us_cuba_food";
http://cubafaq.wordpress.com/2010/08/04/cuban-food-output-down-despite-agriculture-reforms/


LA ENTREGA DE TIERRAS, OTRO FRACASO ANUNCIADO DE LA POLITICA DE
REFORMAS DE RAUL CASTRO
21-08-2010.
Elias Amor Bravo
Economista ULC
http://www.miscelaneasdecuba.net/web/article.asp?artID=29484";
http://cubafaq.wordpress.com/2010/08/22/la-entrega-de-tierras-otro-fracaso-anunciado-de-la-politica-de-reformas-de-raul-castro/


See:
"Cuba: reduced imports, declining local production."
http://cubafood.blogspot.com/p/food-in-cuba-today.html
and the news at:
http://cubafood.blogspot.com/


> PS: As an antidote to PL's venomous personal attacks on me

You are the one posting "venomous personal attacks", Dan, as anyone can see.
What a hypocrite liar you are.

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
.

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