Odds and ends

• Cardinal George of Chicago, head of the U.S. Catholic bishops’ conference, made a short visit to eastern Cuba only, visiting Santiago and environs. CNS story here, a note at Palabra Nueva here.

• AP: Cuba continues its program of distribution of idle state lands to private farmers, with 110,000 individual recipients and 1,715 cooperatives receiving nearly 2.5 million acres.

• Diario de Cuba catches a Cuban television discussion that broaches the idea of lowering the convertible peso exchange rate in order to stimulate tourism. The idea is prompted by the dollar’s recent appreciation against the Euro, which makes Cuba more expensive for Europeans since the CUC is pegged to the dollar. It doesn’t seem to have been prompted by the relatively high prices in Cuba’s tourism sector, regardless of the stronger dollar.

• The Cuban Economy, a new blog by Carleton University professor Archibald Ritter.