Odds and ends

• AP reviews the year’s economic changes by taking a close look at the Cubans involved in them.

• In this Herald op-ed, a U.S. Coast Guard captain gives the best explanation I have seen of how sanctions against Cuba block the collaborative disaster prevention and response measures that we should be taking as Cuba prepares to drill for oil in its Gulf waters.

• Saxophone/clarinet virtuoso Paquito D’Rivera, who left Cuba in 1968, complains about cultural exchanges in both directions in Jazz Times.

• Globe and Mail: An obit for a Cuban immigrant and an appreciation of what immigrants bring to Canada.

• Granma: Cuba’s consul in Shanghai told a local audience about the advantages of investing in Cuba: highly qualified workforce, social and political stability, extensive research and development in new technologies, and full integration in Latin America and the Caribbean.