Odds and ends
- A great project: Jazz at Lincoln Center bassist Carlos
Henriquez organized a wind instrument donation for Cuban music students and went
to Havana with $250,000 worth of instruments.
He was joined by four string instrument repairmen. (AP,
Granma)
- Mauricio Vicent, the long-serving Havana correspondent for
El Pais, is often accused (unfairly, I think) of bias in favor of the Cuban
government. That government had a
different idea (unfairly, I think) and yanked his press credential, allowing
him to remain in Cuba but not to write (AP). El Pais slams
the decision in an editorial, as does the Committee
to Protect Journalists.
- AFP:
There are more than 300 private gyms operating in Havana, officials told state
media. I describe two here and here.
- This article in
Granma points out the value of cooperatives, which have operated in Cuban
agriculture for 50 years. A sub-headline
singles out food service as a sector that could benefit most from from the
application of the cooperative model.
But before we start seeing neighborhood cafeterias and restaurants
converted into cooperatives, there’s an obstacle. The article points out that Cuba’s
constitution limits cooperatives to the farm sector.
- The Damas de Blanco, founded as a group of women protesting
on behalf of jailed family members, will now become a political organization
standing up for human rights and democratic change, leader Laura Pollan told Radio
Marti. Meanwhile, AP’s
Andrea Rodriguez assesses the “crossroads” at which the Damas and other
dissidents stand, and their challenges in connecting with the public.
- Juventud
Rebelde explains how smart phone payments can make cash, coin, and credit
card obsolete.
No comments:
Post a Comment