http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/cuba-news/ en-us Fri, 1 Jan 2010 03:38:54 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418781/posts (CNN) -- The brief detention in Havana, Cuba, last week of a Portland, Oregon, church group comes on the heels of the detention of an American contractor and could indicate an increasingly chilly reception for some American visitors, according to the church travelers. The December 26 trip for 14 members of the First Unitarian Church of Portland is a reminder of the entrenched tensions between Cuba and the United States despite the Obama administration's loosening of previous restrictions. cnn http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418781/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 03:38:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417308/posts Security: Two of the four leaders allegedly behind the attempted destruction of Flight 253 were released from Guantanamo two years ago. The case for indefinite detention has been made once again, and not in Illinois. Sometimes America's chickens do come home to roost. In a statement released Monday, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, which counts among its leadership two former Guantanamo detainees, claimed responsibility for the attempted destruction of Northwest Airlines Flight 253. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the crotch bomber, told FBI agents he was trained for his Christmas Day mission in Yemen by top leaders of the group who provided... Investors.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417308/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 00:44:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407605/posts Justice: A leaked memo exposes the hypocrisy of those who opposed indefinite detention of terrorists without trial at Guantanamo. For the right price, they're willing to hold detainees without trial indefinitely in America's heartland. The plan to ship as many as 100 unidentified terrorist detainees from Guantanamo Bay to a little used prison in Thomson, Ill., a sleepy town of 450 people near the Mississippi River about 150 miles west of Chicago, is well under way, according to a Justice Department memo unearthed by Andrew Breitbart and biggovernment.com. The memo allegedly from Eric Holder's Department of Justice to Defense Secretary... Investors.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407605/posts#comment Tue, 15 Dec 2009 02:08:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2389528/posts War On Terror: Sen. Dick Durbin calls a plan to transfer 100 Guantanamo detainees to northwest Illinois "a dream come true." It would paint a bull's-eye on America's heartland in time for the 2012 Iowa caucuses. It seems the question of where to put the Guantanamo detainees is being settled as we speak, with liberal Democrats in the very blue state of Illinois welcoming them with open arms and outstretched hands for the federal dollars that will come with them. Federal officials last Friday inspected the Thomson Correctional Center in Thomson, Ill., a town of 500 on the Iowa border,... Investors.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2389528/posts#comment Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:48:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414950/posts President Barack Obama has nominated Mari Carmen Aponte to become the next ambassador of El Salvador, a decade after she was forced to withdrawal her name from consideration for a similar post following concerns about alleged ties to Cuba, Newsmax.com reports. A former FBI official told Fox News that Aponte’s 1998 nomination by president Clinton began receiving attention after the foreign relations panel questioned her about a past relationship with Roberto Tamayo, who was alleged to have "possible ties to the Cuban government" and made "repeated trips there." Current White House spokesman Tommy Vietor responded, "as has been previously reported,... Personal Liberty Digest http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414950/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 15:13:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412686/posts Note: The following text is a quote: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASES Sunday, December 20, 2009 United States Transfers 12 Guantanamo Bay Detainees to Afghanistan, Yemen and the Somaliland Region Twelve detainees have been transferred from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to Afghanistan, Yemen and the Somaliland region. As directed by the President’s Jan. 22, 2009 Executive Order, the interagency Guantanamo Review Task Force conducted a comprehensive review of each of these cases. As a result of that review, which examined a number of factors, including potential threat, mitigation measures and the likelihood of success in habeas litigation, the detainees were... US DOJ.gov - Justice.gov/opa - Press Release http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412686/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 02:25:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410955/posts Veteran Cuban leader Fidel Castro on Friday dismissed US President Barack Obama's trip to UN climate change talks in Copenhagen as a "show," and complained that the world's poor will shoulder the burden of any summit agreement. Castro's opinion article, titled "The Moment of Truth," also criticizes the "fascist methods" used by Danish police to put down protesting environmental activists. "It is already evident that a great catastrophe threatens our species," wrote Castro, 82. Perhaps the worst part of the summit "is blind selfishness of a rich and privileged minority that intents to impose the bulk of the necessary sacrifices... Breitbart http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2410955/posts#comment Sat, 19 Dec 2009 04:13:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409486/posts A U.S. government subcontractor was put in a high-security Cuban prison instead of a common jail after his arrest in Havana as he was about to take a flight home, U.S. congressional officials said Monday. The type of prison signaled that Cuban authorities are taking seriously the case of the U.S. citizen, reportedly detained for handing out laptops, cellphones and other communications equipment as part of a U.S. government program to support democracy in Cuba. Cuba has long regarded U.S. pro-democracy activities on the island as an effort to subvert its government, and in 2003 sentenced 75 dissidents to long... Miami Herald http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409486/posts#comment Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:05:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409467/posts It's too soon for Americans to plan a Cuban vacation of beach, mambo and mojitos, but the U.S. travel industry is gearing up for a return to its largest Caribbean destination before Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution. Tour operators held a video conference with Cuban tourism officials in Havana on Wednesday and asked them if they are ready for the "rush" of Americans if the U.S. travel ban is lifted as proposed by legislation now under consideration in the U.S. Congress. "Americans really want to see Cuba," said Robert Whitely, president of the U.S. Tour Operators, which together with the National... Yahoo UK http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2409467/posts#comment Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:45:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406272/posts The Cuban government has arrested an American citizen, and U.S. diplomats in Havana are trying to learn more about the case, the State Department said Saturday. The American was detained on Dec. 5, State Department spokeswoman Megan Mattson said. She would not release any more details, including the American's identity, because of federal privacy law. The American was working as a subcontractor for the Maryland-based economic development organization, Development Alternatives, Inc. Jim Boomgard, DAI's president and chief executive, said the person arrested is part of a new USAID program intended to "strengthen civil society in support of just and democratic... AP via Breitbart http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406272/posts#comment Sat, 12 Dec 2009 21:25:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405873/posts Another scoop for Breitbart, but with a caveat. The One’s team insists that the memo’s only a draft, even if it does just so happen to jibe with news reports from last month. “This is a draft, predecisional document that lawyers at various agencies were drafting in preparation for a potential future announcement about where to house GTMO detainees,” the administration official said. “Drafts of official documents are often prepared for any and all possibilities, regardless of whether a decision has been made about the policy or if the document will be used.”… The leaked memo was met with approval... Hot Air http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405873/posts#comment Sat, 12 Dec 2009 01:51:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405415/posts Documentary peeks at Fidel Castro's human side Dec 10 05:12 PM US/Eastern By WILL WEISSERTAssociated Press Writer HAVANA (AP) - The Rev. Jesse Jackson took him to church for the first time in 27 years. Home run legend Hank Aaron asked him for autographed baseballs. Literary great Gabriel Garcia Marquez gave him a copy of "Dracula" that kept him up all night reading and smuggled ingredients into the country so he could make baklava. An international cast of luminaries who traveled to Cuba and met with Fidel Castro, as well as top members of his government and military, talk... Breitbart.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405415/posts#comment Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:42:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405212/posts A few days ago, President Barack Obama made it clear ``to every man, woman and child who lives under the dark cloud of tyranny, that America will speak out on behalf of their human rights.'' Speaking out against tyrants, international resolutions and sanctions are often used as diplomacy tools. Sanctions are not uncommon when dealing with tyrants, as we have seen in the discussions weighing what to do about North Korea and Iran. The United States levied sanctions against Libya after its terrorists downed a PAM AM flight over Scotland in 1996; the world imposed sanctions on the white supremacist... Miami Herald http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405212/posts#comment Fri, 11 Dec 2009 08:22:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2401687/posts HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuban musicians are returning to perform in the United States after a long freeze on such visits, seizing the opportunity of friendlier overtures toward Havana from U.S. President Barack Obama. Well-known Cuban musicians are being granted visas to perform at U.S. venues in a sign that Obama's administration is quietly promoting cultural contacts as part of a strategy of warmer "people to people" ties with the Communist-run island. The more relaxed atmosphere between the Cold War era enemies is perhaps most evident in the arts, which in the past has provided a bridge between the two neighbors... ABC News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2401687/posts#comment Sun, 6 Dec 2009 22:30:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2399969/posts HAVANA, Cuba (AP) -- Cuba hit back Thursday at 60 prominent U.S. black leaders who challenged its race record, with island writers, artists and official journalists calling the criticism an attack on their country's national identity. The five-page signed statement, distributed by Cuban government press officials in an e-mail, defended Cuba's progress in providing social and personal opportunities for blacks and people of mixed race. But it focused more on Cuba's past than the racial inequalities of contemporary Cuban society that came under criticism from Americans such as Princeton University professor Cornel West; Jeremiah Wright, former pastor of President Barack... AP via SFGate http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2399969/posts#comment Fri, 4 Dec 2009 05:34:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2396740/posts Cuba began its biggest military maneuvers in five years on Thursday, saying they were needed to prepare for a possible invasion by the United States. Despite a thaw in U.S.-Cuba relations and assurances last week by President Barack Obama that the United States has no intention of invading the island 90 miles from Florida, Cuba's state-run press quoted military leaders as saying there "exists a real possibility of a military aggression against Cuba." The war games, which are being called "Bastion 2009," also will get the military ready to deal with social unrest the United States may try to foment... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2396740/posts#comment Mon, 30 Nov 2009 10:54:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2396035/posts World powers united in condemnation of Iran's nuclear activities yesterday in a rare show of international consensus on the threat posed by Tehran's continued nuclear defiance. China and Russia joined the United States, Britain, France and Germany in backing an International Atomic Energy Agency resolution censuring Iran and ordering it to halt construction of a secret uranium enrichment plant. The resolution, the first since February 2006, passed with 25 votes and six abstentions. Only Malaysia, Venezuela and Cuba supported Iran. ...China, which has shared Moscow's reluctance to take a hard line with Tehran, was reportedly persuaded to support the resolution... Times of London http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2396035/posts#comment Sat, 28 Nov 2009 22:34:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2395349/posts Cuban nationals land at Florida nuclear plant: NRC Fri Nov 27, 2009 8:38am EST NEW YORK (Reuters) - A group of Cuban nationals who fled their country by boat landed in the cooling canal of a nuclear power plant along Florida's coast on Thanksgiving Day, according to a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission event report issued Friday. The plant's operations were not disrupted by the incident, according to the report. The Turkey Point nuclear power plant control room received a call from an individual stating that he was a member of a group of 33 Cuban nationals that had landed in... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2395349/posts#comment Fri, 27 Nov 2009 14:08:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2393283/posts No one should be surprised at reports that at least some captured Taliban fighters have been tortured in Afghanistan. This is, after all, a country that barely is functioning. Was every single detainee handed over by Canadian soldiers to Afghan authorities in 2006-07 tortured, as alleged by former diplomat Richard Colvin? We'll never know. Even a public inquiry, as demanded by the Liberals and the NDP, wouldn't be able to ascertain how every captured Taliban insurgent was treated by either Afghan prison officials or that country's infamous National Directorate of Security. It's great that Corrections Canada officials regularly monitor prisons... Edmonton Sun http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2393283/posts#comment Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:22:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2392229/posts Nearly 50 years after a botched US-directed invasion of Cuba, the communist nation said Saturday it is holding a military exercise next week to boost preparedness against any future US attack. "It is a necessity of the first order given the political-military situation that now defines relations between Cuba and the empire," Major General Leonardo Andollo warned, referring to the United States. He told the official Granma newspaper that the "Bastion-2009" exercises will "raise the deterrent capacity to prevent a military confrontation, under the principle that there is no better way to win a war than by avoiding it." AFP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2392229/posts#comment Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:57:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2391173/posts "Venezuela's Central Bank announced on Tuesday that the country's economy fell into a recession in the third quarter, with the gross domestic product (GDP) tumbling 4.5% from the same period last year. But not to worry. Venezuela's genius dictator, Lieut. Col. Hugo Chávez Frías, got the country out of the recession in just one day!..." The Ral Cuba http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2391173/posts#comment Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:44:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2387158/posts Americans shouldn’t worry. Although, the economy is diminishing, jobs are dwindling, soldiers are dying, and a new health care plan might just restructure the nation and cost the taxpayers billions of dollars, our Commander-in-Chief is looking out for us. In fact, he’s in China right now—improving our relations and receiving a hero’s welcome. But, does he deserve it? After a rocky rating month, President Obama’s presidential approval rating has stabilized, states Rasmussen Reports. 28% of American voters strongly approve of his performance, and 38% strongly disapprove. However, 48%, the highest number this year, give Obama poor rankings in the way... The Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2387158/posts#comment Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:24:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2384541/posts Out of work and willing to relocate? McDonald's is advertising for an assistant manager for its sole franchise in Cuba — serving up burgers and fries that sometimes feed detainees at the prison camps at Guantanamo Bay. The help wanted ad popped up recently at the McVirginia.com careers Web site featuring the Golden Arches, a headline "Find a Career @ McDonald's" and this enticement: "Enjoy the perks." It didn't specify salary but said, "Candidates must have restaurant management experience, possess a valid United States passport and be willing to relocate to Cuba." Other incentives include half your rent paid and,... McClatchy Newspapers http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2384541/posts#comment Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:57:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2381845/posts The Russian and Cuban governments have signed four agreements for oil exploration and production on the Caribbean island, official media reported. Under the accords, Russian state energy firm Zarubezhneft has been given permission to operate for 25 years in blocks located in the Cuban provinces of Matanzas, Sancti Spiritus, Villa Clara and Ciego de Avila, Cuban state television said. Cuban Basic Industry Minister Yadira Garcia and Russian Deputy Trade and Industry Minister Ivan Materov attended the signing ceremony, which took place at Russia’s pavilion at the International Trade Fair in Havana, which got underway on Monday. The deal represents the... Oil Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2381845/posts#comment Mon, 9 Nov 2009 02:01:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2381385/posts <p>HAVANA - Secret police agents abducted and beat award-winning blogger Yoani Sanchez, whose online reports chronicle the dark side of everyday life in communist Cuba, on her way to a march for non-violence, she said Saturday.</p> <p>Three agents in street clothes snatched her and friend Orlando Luis Pardo off the street in the Havana district of Vedado.</p> AFP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2381385/posts#comment Sun, 8 Nov 2009 08:11:30 GMT