Florida Governor Rick Scott signed a bill on Tuesday that prohibits state and local governments from contracting with companies that have business ties to Cuba and Syria.
“The governments of Cuba and Syria are two of the only four countries that the United States designates as state sponsors of terrorism and the money of Florida taxpayers should not in any way contribute to support them,” Scott said upon signing the bill.
The controversial law has received strong criticism from the Florida Chamber of Commerce and from Florida’s top two trading partners, Brazil and Canada, who have warned the measure could discourage investment from foreign firms.
The piece of legislation goes into effect on July 1 and it affects future state and local government contracts worth at least $1 million.
Half a million workers celebrate May Day in Havana, united and resolved to defend and improve socialism in Cuba
Half a million workers celebrate May Day in Havana, united and resolved to defend and improve socialism in Cuba
First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, President of the Councils of State and Ministers, Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, presided during Cuba's national May Day march celebrating International Workers' Day, culminating in Havana's José Martí Plaza de la Revolución.
There are many superlatives which could be used to describe the massive march with which hundreds of thousands of workers and residents of the capital celebrated May Day, but perhaps what was most impressive was the level of organization among so many men, women and children which allowed the participants to parade through the Plaza in record time, one hour, ten minutes.
Thousands of flags, banners, posters and all manner of creative displays reflecting popular ingenuity filled the Plaza esplanade, carried by more than 500,000 Cuban men and women, organized into 23 blocks, who, led by health care workers, marched to display their enthusiasm and combativity, reaffirming their commitment to preserve and improve socialism.
The march began at 7:30 am with a speech by Salvador Valdés Mesa, member of the Party's Political Bureau and Secretary General of the Cuban Workers Federation (CTC).
Leaders of the Party, government, the Union of Young Communists, student organizations, the Revolutionary Armed Forces, the Ministry of the Interior, along with participants in the Moncada assault and the Granma expedition, families of the Cuban Five and other special guests shared the Tribunal witnessing the Cuban workers' celebration with more than 1,900 representatives from trade unions, social justice organizations and solidarity groups from 117 countries.
At 8:50 am, to the sound of the Internationale, the march's final block representing Cuba's youth, concluded the massive celebration. .
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Text: Granma International. Pix:
Jorge Luis González
Members of Cuban American for Engagement (CAFE) demanded relations between Washington and Havana to be more flexible.
Members of C.A.F.E with Rep Jim McGovern
Members of the group of emigres held meetings in both the State Department and the Congress’ offices, where they declared themselves to be in favor of policies favoring more exchanges with Cuba, including the removal of the travel ban, so all US citizens can travel to the Caribbean island.
The CAFE delegation reaffirmed that that community of emigres in the US doesn’t feel represented by the stances of the Cuban-Americans currently holding positions as senators and congresspersons at the Capitol in Washington.
According to the communiqué issued by the group, during the meetings with officials of the US diplomacy and Congress, the members of CAFE recalled that, as shown by recent surveys, there’s majority rejection with respect to any reversion of the measure that makes family trips and people-to-people contacts more flexible, adopted by the Barack Obama administration.
During the meeting at the State Department, CAFE reaffirmed its opposition to any policy of the Helms-Burton Law, something in which it asserted to coincide with the view of the majority of Cubans on the island and in the Diaspora, and championed the maintenance of cultural exchanges between the two nations. The Cuban emigres also met with officials of the Cuban Interests Section in the United States.
The CAFE group is made up by Cuban emigres living in the states of Florida, Illinois, Colorado, Massachusetts, New York, Virginia and Kentucky, and has the support of the Latin American Working Group (LAWG) and of the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA).
A report submitted to the US Congress by the US Department of the Treasury on the assets confiscated to states and organizations labelled as terrorist by Washington, reveals the seizure of 254 million dollars to Cuba in 2011. .
The figure stands for 61 percent of the total sum frozen by Washington under this concept. The 30-page report reads that US authorities have seized six properties in New York and Washington, which belong to Cuba. .
The United States had confiscated Cuba 223.7 million dollars in 2009 and 248.1 millions in 2010.
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Numerous personalities in the U.S. have criticized the blacklisting of Cuba as a terrorism-sponsor state by Washington. .
For 20 years in a row, the international community has condemned the over-50-year US economic, commercial and financial blockade of Cuba. (RHC)
Free Download of Fidel’s recent book 'Our Duty Is to Struggle', recently launched in several capitals around the world.
. The book is a revised and expanded transcription of Fidel Castro’s dialogue with intellectuals from the Americas, Europe, and Africa, which took place in February in Havana on the occasion of the annual International Book Fair held in the Cuban capital. . The volume is a reflection on the dangers currently faced by our planet and by humanity. ..
Before returning to his country March 7, after an official visit to Cuba, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said that no consensus had been reached on Cuba’s presence at the coming Summit of the Americas, indicating that for that reason, "It is very difficult to extend an invitation." . Speaking to the press at the airport, where Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla bid him farewell, Santos said, "We discussed in detail the issue of Cuba’s participation in the Summit of the Americas scheduled to take place in Cartagena, Colombia, this coming month but, as we said from the beginning, this is an issue which requires consensus, which unfortunately we were unable to reach." . He nevertheless expressed his appreciation for the hospitality and generosity with which his counterpart Raúl Castro Ruz received him during his working visit to the island. . Santos, who travelled to Cuba to meet with President Raúl Castro and visit Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez Frías, reported that he had a number of fruitful meetings concerning international, regional and bilateral issues. . Moreover, he expressed his desire that this "uncomfortable situation" which has persisted unresolved for many years, not be repeated during the next Summit, to be held in Panama.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navenethem Pillay
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navenethem Pillay, met with Adriana Perez, wife of Gerardo Hernández, in Geneva on Monday. . At the meeting, Adriana referred to the damage to health and the suffering of the five anti-terrorist fighters and their families caused by their 14 years unjust imprisonment. . Gerardo Hernendez, Ramón Labañino, Fernando González, Antonio Guerrero, and René González were condemned to long sentences in a rigged and arbitrary trial for warning their country of terrorist acts planned by the Miami mafia. . In the case of Geraldo, who is serving two life sentences plus 15 years, the US government also prevents him from seeing his wife. . Adriana Perez told the UN High Commissioner of the need for that body to directly interfere in favour of the motion requested by the defense lawyer of Rene Gonzalez, so that he be allowed to travel to Cuba to visit his brother, who is seriously ill. . Rene Gonzalez was released on October 7, 2011, under supervision and he is banned from leaving US territory for 3 years. . Adriana Perez also expressed the wish for reunification on behalf of the elderly mothers of the five Cuban antiterrorist fighters.
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