Posts Tagged castro

Jobless in Cuba? Communism faces the unthinkable

Posted by Jack Sinclair in News, Opinion on 16/Jul/2010 17:15

“Here, nearly everyone works for the state and official unemployment is minuscule, but pay is so low that Cubans like to joke that “the state pretends to pay us and we pretend to work.”

In his nationally televised speech in April, Castro … had harsh words for those who do little to deserve their salaries.

“Without people feeling the need to work to make a living, sheltered by state regulations that are excessively paternalistic and irrational, we will never stimulate a love for work,” he said.

… low pay means low productivity. On Obispo street, a state-run cafeteria sells heavily subsidized soft ice cream and pork sandwiches for the equivalent of a few American pennies — meaning wages and tips are so tiny that the staff is completely indifferent toward customers.

The state employs 95 percent of the official work force. Unemployment last year was 1.7 percent and hasn’t risen above 3 percent in eight years — but that ignores thousands of Cubans who aren’t looking for jobs that pay monthly salaries worth only $20 a month on average.”

http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2010/07/16/4692062-jobless-in-cuba-communism-faces-the-unthinkable

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Dan Plesch: “They are gearing up totally for the destruction of Iran,” Fidel Castro warns of immenent war

Posted by Jack Sinclair in News on 11/Jul/2010 16:25

US defence department image of the launch of a Tomahawk missile against Iraq from the USS Bunker Hill. Photograph: Richard Moore, Getty

“They are gearing up totally for the destruction of Iran,” according to Dan Plesch, director of the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy at the University of London.

“US bombers and long range missiles are ready today to destroy 10,000 targets in Iran in a few hours,” he said. “The firepower of US forces has quadrupled since 2003,” accelerating under Obama.

The Arab press reports that an American fleet (with an Israeli vessel) passed through the Suez Canal on the way to the Persian Gulf, where its task is “to implement the sanctions against Iran and supervise the ships going to and from Iran.” British and Israeli media report that Saudi Arabia is providing a corridor for Israeli bombing of Iran (denied by Saudi Arabia).

The Obama administration has been rapidly expanding its offensive capacity in the African island of Diego Garcia, claimed by Britain, which had expelled the population so that the US could build the massive base it uses for attacking the Middle East and Central Asia.

The Navy reports sending a submarine tender to the island to service nuclear-powered guided-missile submarines with Tomahawk missiles, which can carry nuclear warheads. Each submarine is reported to have the striking power of a typical carrier battle group.

According to a US Navy cargo manifest obtained by the Sunday Herald (Glasgow), the substantial military equipment Obama has dispatched includes 387 “bunker busters” used for blasting hardened underground structures. Planning for these “massive ordnance penetrators,” the most powerful bombs in the arsenal short of nuclear weapons, was initiated in the Bush administration, but languished. On taking office, Obama immediately accelerated the plans, and they are to be deployed several years ahead of schedule, aiming specifically at Iran.

Fidel Castro is warning of an imminent war in the Persian Gulf. Released yesterday, this document reveals that Iran, Cuba, Chavez and their Axis are truly scared that the political war will soon be over and Iran will soon face punishment for their defiance.”

http://www.nowpublic.com/world/allied-forces-preparing-attack-iran-castro-blowing-whistle

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