CUBA
DEFENDING CUBA
Newsletter #8, July 15, 2021
Compiled by Dick Bennett for a Culture of Peace, Justice, and Ecology
Omnicenter.org/donate/
Links to Earlier Newsletters
#7 https://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2021/07/omni-cuba-newsletter-7-july-3-2021.html
#6 https://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2021/02/omni-cuba-newsletter-6.htmlsee end for more
CONTENTS
Cuban President Diaz-Canel Describes What’s Covered Up by US Corporate
Media
STOP THE US BLOCKADE/EMBARGO/SANCTIONS, NO
ARMED INTERVENTION:
ANSWER
UNAC
IFCO
CODEPINK
Jacobin Magazine
De Los Santos. US Leaders and Mainstream Media Blame Cuba’s
Economic System and Leaders, and Cover Up Its Medical Achievements
Examining the Looting Story.
CUBAN MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Vaccines
Phenomenal Health Care
RELATED
Canada’s Trade with Cuba Despite US Embargo.
US Accusation of Cuban Human Trafficking Called a Lie by Cuba.
LINKS TO PRECEDING 7 NEWSLETTERS
TEXTS
Cuban president Díaz-Canel: Revolutionaries to the streets!
Editor. Mronline.org (7-14-21).
This speech provides crucial context and information being covered up by the corporate media in the United States.
July 13, 2021 | Newswire
TODAY! Online event: Let Cuba Live! End the U.S. Blockade Now! 7-14-21
ANSWER COALITION (ACT NOW TO STOP WAR AND END RACISM).
Trump added 243 new sanctions to tighten the 62-year long US economic blockade of Cuba. Imposed shortages of basic goods have created grave suffering throughout the island. Covid-19 too has severely damaged Cuba's tourism industry. The US wants to topple the Cuban revolution but supporters of the revolution are fighting back.
Join us for an online event TODAY, July 14 (5PM PT, 6PM MT, 7PM CT, 8PM ET) for an in-depth perspective of what's really happening in Cuba and a discussion of how we can build the movement to end the criminal blockade!
Tune into the online event from:
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/AnswerCoalition
Twitter: @answercoalition
YouTube: www.youtube.com/answercoalition
The United Anti-War Coalition/UNAC 7-14-21 click here to view this email in your browser Hands off Cuba! End the Blockade! During his press meeting on Monday, President Biden claimed to support the people of Cuba, some of whom have protested in recent days. But the U.S. maintains a blockade of the country that denies the people food, medicine, fuel and trade with other countries. It is this economic hardship, imposed by U.S. policy which is the reason for the protest. At the same time that Biden and the U.S. government cry crocodile tears for the Cuban people, they are strangling them to death with the blockade. Yet, we did not hear a peep from Biden during the months of protest by the Haitian people demanding that the U.S puppet Jovenel Moise leave office when his term ended, or when the Colombian people flooded their streets demanding their democratic rights from the right-wing, U.S. supported government of Ivan Duque. The following is a statement by UNAC on the situation in Cuba Followed by a statement by the President of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez Statement by UNAC on the Situation in Cuba. U.S. Hands off Cuba! End the Blockade! The United National Antiwar Coalition stands firmly with the Cuban people and their revolutionary government against any US intervention in Cuba’s affairs. We continue our calls to lift the punitive US blockade of Cuba that has caused humanitarian shortages and been tightened during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The recent disruptions inside Cuba have all the hallmarks of a coordinated campaign to lay groundwork for US intervention, following the regime change playbook used by the United States in nearby Venezuela and Nicaragua, as well as in countries like Libya and Syria to disastrous effect. They coincide with a massive social media offensive featuring hundreds of anonymous accounts that attack public figures who defend Cuba, and spread provocative disinformation like recycled footage from protests in other countries. The United States State Department has spent millions of dollars attempting to turn the masses of Cuban people against the revolution for years. Anti-government organizations such as the Cuban Human Rights Observatory and Cuban Institute for the Freedom of Expression and the Press have received millions from known CIA front groups, such as the National Endowment for Democracy and United States Agency for International Development (USAID). [read more] Cuban President Díaz-Canel to the people of Cuba: “The order to fight is given, the revolutionaries to the streets” We have been honest, we have been transparent, we have been clear and at every moment we have been explaining to our people the complexities of the current moments. I remind you that more than a year and a half ago, when the second semester of 2019 began, we had to explain that we were going to a difficult situation. This was taken as part of popular humor and we have remained part of that conjuncture from all the signs that the United States government was giving, led by the Trump administration in relation to Cuba. They began to intensify a series of restrictive measures, a tightening of the blockade, of financial persecution against the energy sector with the aim of suffocating our economy and that this would provoke the desired massive social outbreak, which sows the possibilities for the entire ideological campaign that It has been done, to be able to call for humanitarian intervention that ends in military interventions and interference, and that affects the rights, sovereignty and independence of all peoples. [read more] |
Read the UNAC Blog
https://unac.notowar.net/
[VFP-all] IFCO STANDS WITH CUBA
| 1:41 PM (7 hours ago) |
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From: Gail Walker <ifco@ifconews.ccsend.com> on behalf of Gail Walker <ifco@ifconews.org>
Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2021, 11:25 AM
To: gerrycondon@veteransforpeace.org
Subject: IFCO STANDS WITH CUBA
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Lift The Embargo On Cuba Webinar Sent from Marcy, CODEPINK: info@codepink.org
Dear Friend, You Are Invited To Join Tuesday CODEPINK CONGRESS Calling Parties To Mobilize Peace Legislation! Chat with Peacemakers and Experts on Tuesday, July 13th at 5:00 PM (PT) - 8:00 PM (ET) Join CODEPINK Congress for talk and action to lift the US embargo on Cuba and express solidarity with the pink tide sweeping Latin America. We will take a look at the left in Bolivia, Peru, Chile, Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador. Featuring Special guest co-host Michelle Ellner, a CODEPINK Latin America campaign coordinator. Guests: Angelica Salazar, steering committee member, Alliance for Cuba Engagement and Respect; organizer with Cuba Nobel Campaign to award Cuba's Henry Reeve Brigade the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize. Leonardo Flores, CODEPINK's Latin America campaign coordinator who recently returned from Venezuela for the Bicentennial Congress of the Peoples, a global summit of movement organizers. Dr. Steve Ellner, a retired professor who taught history at Universidad de Oriente, Venezuela, and author of the books Latin America Extractivism and Populism in Latin America. Take Action! Contact your senators and ask them to co-sponsor S.1694, the Freedom to Export to Cuba Act. Plus, sign our petition to President Biden telling him to get with the times and lift the blockade on Cuba! Google Group & Local Leaders Join our CODEPINK Congress Google Group, a space for sharing events and actions. Request to be added here! Become a CODEPINK Congress liaison in your district to mobilize support for demilitarization and progressive foreign policy! Sign up here as a volunteer organizer. Finally, if you missed last week's meeting, you can view it here on YouTube. View the entire CODEPINK Congress archives here. Onward Toward Peace and Justice, |
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CUBAN MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Vijay Prashad. Mronline.org (7-3-21).
In 1869, at the age of fifteen, José Martí and his young friends published a magazine in Cuba called La Patria Libre (‘The Free Homeland’), which adopted a strong position against Spanish imperialism. The first and only issue of the magazine carried Martí’s poem, ‘Abdala’.
July 2, 2021 | Newswire. 
Cuban Health Care: The Ongoing Revolutionby Don Fitz. Monthly Review P, 2020.
Quiet as it’s kept inside the United States, the Cuban revolution has achieved some phenomenal goals, reclaiming Cuba’s agriculture, advancing its literacy rate to nearly 100 percent—and remaking its medical system. Cuba has transformed its health care to the extent that this “third-world” country has been able to maintain a first-world medical system, whose health indicators surpass those of the United States at a fraction of the cost. Don Fitz combines his broad knowledge of Cuban history with his decades of on-the-ground experience in Cuba to bring us the story of how Cuba’s health care system evolved and how Cuba is tackling the daunting challenges to its revolution in this century.
Fitz weaves together complex themes in Cuban history, moving the reader from one fascinating story to another. He describes how Cuba was able to create a unified system of clinics, and evolved the family doctor-nurse teams that became a model for poor countries throughout the world. How, in the 1980s and ‘90s, Cuba survived the encroachment of AIDS and increasing suffering that came with the collapse of the Soviet Union, and then went on to establish the Latin American School of Medicine, which still brings thousands of international students to the island. Deeply researched, recounted with compassion, Cuban Health Care tells a story you won’t find anywhere else, of how, in terms of caring for everyday people, Cuba’s revolution continues.
This is the best written and most accurate work published in years about the history and recent achievements of Cuban health care. The book gives inspiration for people around the world concerned about the future of health care and health itself. —Howard Waitzkin, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of New Mexico; coordinator, Health Care Under the Knife: Moving Beyond Capitalism for Our Health
An extraordinary book about an extraordinary health care system. —Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, Distinguished Professor of Public Health, City University of New York; co-founder, Physicians for a National Health Program
This book offers an outstanding overview of many aspects of Cuba’s multifaceted approach to healthcare, at home and abroad. Well researched and insightful, with solid data and extensive research, this is essential reading for any seeking to understand how this small country has such an enviable record at home (better in many aspects than the US system, and at a fraction of the cost), while leading the world in medical internationalism. —John M. Kirk, Professor of Latin American Studies at Dalhousie University, Canada
I have never visited Cuba, but I learned so much by serving as the medical reviewer for Don Fitz’s book! Since 1959, Cuba has done a remarkable job rebuilding and improving their health care system. Cuba now deploys a just system of primary care down to the neighborhood level across the entire island. American and Cuban medical leaders could learn from each other, if they spent the time to speak and truly listen to each other. Don Fitz has written a well-referenced book, and his words deserve a broad audience! —Gary M. Gaddis, MD, PhD; Fellow of the International Federation for Emergency Medicine; Professor of Emergency Medicine, Washington University, Saint Louis School of Medicine
This text offers a thorough examination of the history of Cuba’s public health system. It is an important read for anyone interested in understanding how and why Cuba built a world renown health care system based on preventative care. Fitz puts Cuba’s commitment to medical internationalism into context by outlining the history of the small island nation where poverty and disease were once rampant and telling the story of how, against all odds, it built a world class health care system and made it available to some of the poorest nations of the world. —Gail Walker, Executive Director, IFCO/Pastors for Peace
How can a small island nation, subjected to six decades of US antagonism, provide universal health care, fund a world-class biotech industry, educate thousands of doctors from around the world, and collaborate in global staffing, disaster relief and epidemic control? For the curious (and dubious), Cuban Health Care answers that question. In today’s context, where climate change, pandemics, and rampant chronic disease threaten human and planetary health, Don Fitz’s new book serves as a road map for how to shift the paradigm towards a more equitable, humanistic health care approach. Based on extensive interviews and exhaustive, evidence-based research, this should be required reading for anyone interested in building a healthier future for all. If Cuba can do it, other countries can, too. —Conner Gorry, Senior Editor, MEDICC Review; founder, Cuba Libro
Underscored by the disastrous American medical and political response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Cuban Health Care: The Ongoing Revolution should receive as wide a readership as possible. Expertly written, effectively organized, and thoroughly ‘reader friendly’ in presentation, Cuban Health Care is extraordinarily informative, thoughtful and thought-provoking. —Midwest Book Review
Cuban Health Care examines the transformation of Cuba’s medical system following the 1959 revolution. Fitz posits that the change in medical education and the creation of a new health-care system centered on expanding care beyond the most privileged sectors of Cuban society illustrate innovative solutions to poverty and disease. Among the book’s most important themes are the development and evolution of a system of policlinics across the island; the role of Cuban medical personnel in delivering anti-imperialist military and humanitarian aid to other developing countries, particularly in Africa and Latin America; and a critical comparison between Cuba’s more egalitarian approach to medicine and the more corporatized US model. Fitz certainly makes a strong case for the material and moral triumphs of Cuba’s medical revolution, but he does not shy away from critiquing its shortcomings, e.g., when he points out how homophobia negatively impacted patient care during the AIDS crisis. This well-written study of Cuban health care is a timely and important read for students, faculty, and practitioners in a wide range of fields, from medicine and medical humanities to history, sociology, political science, and even business.
—B. A. Lucero, University of Houston-Downtown, CHOICE
Don Fitz is a member of the editorial board of Green Social Thought and newsletter editor for the Green Party of St. Louis. He contributes frequently to Monthly Review magazine.
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RELATED
Cuba thanks Canadian entrepreneurs´ trust despite U.S. blockade
Prensa Latina. Mronline.org (7-8-21)
Cuba thanked Canadian entrepreneurs who do business with the country despite the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States on Cuba, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment (MINCEX) reported.
July 7, 2021 | Newswire
Washington’s accusation in its report that Cuba engages in people trafficking is a lie
Editor. Mronline.org (7-8-21)
Declaration by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
July 7, 2021 | Newswire
LINKS to Earlier Newsletters
#7 https://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2021/07/omni-cuba-newsletter-7-july-3-2021.html
#6 https://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2021/02/omni-cuba-newsletter-6.html
#5 https://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2020/03/omni-cuba-newsletter-5-march-8-2020.html
#4 http://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2015/01/cuba-newsletter-4.html
#3 http://jamesrichardbennett.blogspot.com/2014/11/cuba-newsletter-3.html
#2 Oct. 21, 2012
#1 Feb. 4, 2011
DEFENDING THE CUBAN REVOLUTION
END CUBA NEWSLETTER #8, JULY 15, 2021