The person who discovered that energy and its possible use was a peaceful and amiable man who, despite being against violence and war, asked the United States to develop it. The US president back then was Franklin D. Roosevelt, a man who had adopted a well-known anti-fascist stand; he was the leader of a country that was going through a deep crisis and helped to save the nation by adopting strong measures that earned him the hatred of the extreme right of his own class. Today, that State imposes on the world the most brutal and dangerous tyranny ever known to our fragile species.

The news received from the US and its NATO allies refer to their misdeeds and those of their accomplices. The most important cities in the United States and Europe are the theatre of continued pitched battles between demonstrators and a well-trained and well-fed police, equipped with armored cars and helmets, beating and kicking and throwing gases against women and men, twisting the hands and the necks of people, young and old, showing to the world the coward actions that are committed against the rights and the lives of the citizens of their own countries.

How much longer these barbaric acts would last?

I will not expand on this, since these tragedies will continue to be seen, more and more, on television and in the entire press; they will be like the daily bread that is denied to those who have less. I will just quote the news received today from an important western news agency:

But, there are no reasons to worry. Another piece of news dated two days ago, on March 30, could give us some peace of mind. It was published by a really well informed media. I’ll summarize it in just a few words: “If you were a soccer player, an Arab sheik or an executive of a big multinational, what kind of technology would make you sigh?

The offer goes on to advertise cells with stainless steel casings; 1.2 GHz and 8G memory processors; NFC technology to make payments through cell phones and Ferrari camcorders.

Capitalism, compatriots, is a truly wonderful thing! Maybe it is our fault that not every citizen has its own private submarine at the beach.

It was them, not me, who mixed up the Arab sheiks and the executives of the big transnationals with the soccer players. The latter, at least, entertain millions of persons and are not enemies of Cuba; I should state that very clearly.

Fidel Castro Ruz
April 1st, 2012
8:35 p.m.

The post The Wonderful World of Capitalism appeared first on Reflections of Fidel.

Carter did what he could to reduce international tensions and promote the creation of interest sections in Cuba and the United States. His administration was the only one to take a few steps to moderate the criminal blockade imposed on our people.

The circumstances were certainly not propitious in our complex world. The existence of a truly free and sovereign country in our hemisphere could not be reconciled with the ideas of the fascist extreme right wing in the United States, doing everything it could to ensure the failure of his proposals, which made him worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize. Not an honor awarded to him for nothing.

The Revolution always appreciated his valiant gesture. In 2002, I received him warmly. Again I reiterate respect and appreciation for him.

Might the oligarchy which governs that superpower really renounce its insatiable desire to impose its will on the rest of the world? Might a system which generates presidents like Nixon, Reagan and W. Bush, with increasingly more destructive power and less respect for the sovereignty of others, honor such a purpose?

The complexity of the current world situation does not allow much attention to even relatively recent memories. Carter’s departure, today Wednesday, coincided with disturbing news about the nuclear accident caused by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, which continues to arrive and cannot be ignored, not only given its importance, but also for the practical and almost immediate repercussions felt in the world economy.

Today the news agency AP reported from Japan, “The crisis in Japan’s earthquake and tsunami damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex, worsened Wednesday when experts logged the highest radiation yet in nearby seawater.

“In Fukushima, radiation leaking from the plant has seeped into the soil nearby and made its way into produce, raw milk and even tap water as far as Tokyo, 240 kilometers to the south.

“In the meantime, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited a group of evacuees in Tokyo for about an hour.”

Reuters reported from Tokyo, “Japan ordered an immediate safety upgrade at its 55 nuclear power plants on Wednesday in its first acknowledgement that standards were inadequate when an earthquake and tsunami wrecked a facility nearly three weeks ago, sparking the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl in 1986.

“The announcement was made after the government conceded that there was no end in sight for the crisis and a jump in the levels of radioactive iodine in seawater added to the evidence of leaks from the reactors in the area around the complex and beyond.

“The discovery of highly toxic plutonium in soil at Daiichi had raised alarm over the disaster, which has overshadowed the humanitarian calamity triggered by the earthquake and tsunami, which left 27,500 people dead or missing.

“Before the disaster, Japan’s nuclear reactors had provided about 30% of the nation’s electric power. The percentage had been expected to rise to 50% by 2030, among the highest in the world.

“New readings show an increase in radioactive iodine to 3.355 times the legal limit, the country’s nuclear safety agency indicated, although the organization minimized its impact, saying that residents had left the area and fishing had stopped.

“Hundreds of engineers have been toiling for nearly three weeks to cool the plant’s reactors and avert a catastrophic meltdown of fuel rods, although the situation appears to have moved back from that nightmare scenario.

“Jesper Koll, director of equity research at JPMorgan Securities in Tokyo, said a drawn-out battle to bring the plant under control and manage the radioactivity being released would perpetuate the uncertainty and act as a drag on the economy.

“The worst-case scenario is that this drags on not one month or two months or six months, but for two years, or indefinitely,” he said.

“A byproduct of atomic reactions which can be used in nuclear bombs, plutonium is highly carcinogenic and one of the most dangerous substances on earth, experts indicated.”

A third agency, DPA, from Tokyo, “Japanese technicians are still unable to control the nuclear crisis three weeks after the accidents at the Fukushima power plant. The Japanese government has begun to consider extraordinary measures to contain the release of radiation.

“The idea is to cover the reactors with a kind of fabric. The recent high readings of iodine 131 in the ocean are an indication of the increasing radiation. The environmental organization Greenpeace has also warned of serious danger to the health of residents after making its own studies.

“Experts believe that the process required to definitively eliminate the possibility of a meltdown could take months. TEPCO has promised to improve the working conditions of technicians who are growing more concerned and exhausted all the time.”

While these events are taking place in Japan, the Bolivarian President of Venezuela has visited Argentina, Uruguay and is headed for Bolivia, promoting economic accords and strengthening ties with countries in our hemisphere determined to be independent.

At the University of La Plata, where the dictatorship supported by the United States eliminated, among thousands of Argentines, more than 700 students – 40 in the school of journalism – Chávez was awarded the Rodolfo Walsh Prize, in honor of one of the heroic revolutionary journalists assassinated.

Now, it is not Cuba alone, there are many peoples prepared to struggle, to sacrifice their lives for their homeland.

Fidel Castro Ruz
March 30, 2011
6:51 p.m.

The post The disaster in Japan and a friend’s visit appeared first on Reflections of Fidel.

Sophisticated mass media has been saturating our minds with the news of civil wars, arms trade associated with drugs that in just five years have killed more than 35,000 people in Mexico, climatic changes in various countries, asphyxiating heat waves, mountains of ice melting at the poles, torrential rains, shortages and growing prices for foods. We really need some consolation and this has just reached us via that life-saving angel of our species, the United Nations Security Council and its colossal invention: good conduct certificates.

Of course we already know, through the Europa Press Agency, that the number of persons who died as a result of the earthquake and the tsunami were 6,539, and 10,259 were missing, “according to the latest toll”.

Although we still do not know “the exact whereabouts of thousands of people”, the governor of a prefecture has suggested that the survivors ought to move to another part of Japan.

“Damaged airports, ports and highways are being gradually repaired”, a Japanese news agency states.

The British agency Reuters was less optimistic when it stated that “a ‘Chernobyl solution’ could be the last resort” but authorities say that “it is still too soon to talk about long-range measures and that first we have to try to cool the plant’s six reactors and the fuel-storage pools.”

Professor Murray Jennex at San Diego State University in California said: “They (reactors) are kind of like a coffee maker. If you leave it on the heat, they boil dry and then they crack, ‘”

“Putting concrete on that wouldn’t help keep your coffee maker safe. But eventually, yes, you could build a concrete shield and be done with it.”

Another dispatch from the European agency stated:

“We launched a ‘race against the clock’ to cool down the reactors, declared General Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency Yukiya Amano.”

“‘We are dealing with a very serious accident’, said Amano after meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, in reference to the Fukushima nuclear plant.”

Without a doubt, the world had been jolted by the unexpected accident in Japan, that moved even the foundations of the planet’s energy development; 442 nuclear plants were functioning, great need for repairs; the Chernobyl accident in 1986 had paralyzed construction programmes of new facilities which were about to resume and be extended.

Wouldn’t our concerns over NATO’s war actions in northern Africa to occupy the rich Libyan fields of light oil and ensure the enormous energy resources in the Middle East after the revolutionary eruption in Arab nations be exaggerated?

Serious threats of a new economic crisis were upsetting economists.

Bad news on the political front keeps on coming.

AFP states that thousands of Shiite demonstrators were shouting anti-government slogans near Manama after Friday prayers, even though Bahraini authorities have prohibited crowds from gathering.

“Repression ['] this week caused at least eight deaths: four demonstrators and four police.”

“‘We are ready to sacrifice our blood and our souls for Bahrain’, shouted the demonstrators.”

“Bahraini authorities decreed the exclusion state this week ['] within this small kingdom where the US has a base for its Fifth Fleet.”

AFP, March18, 2011

“More than 30 died and around a hundred were injured on Friday after demonstrators were shot at as they demanded the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdallah Saleh in Sanah, according to a new toll reported by medical sources.”

“‘Most of those injured were hit by bullets to the head, neck and chest area’, a doctor told AFP.”

This is a close United States ally that also has the support of Saudi forces.

AP, March 18, 2011

“King Abdullah (of Saudi Arabia) spoke after Muslim prayers on Friday. He thanked residents and security forces for being ‘the hands’ of national stability.”

“Islamabad, March 18, (AFP) – thousands demonstrated on Friday in the streets of several Pakistani cities to protest against the American unmanned plane attack that killed 35 people this week and the liberation of a CIA employee who was being held for murder.” He had been set free after two million dollars had been paid to the relatives of the two men he killed in a Lahore street.

Why do we have the Security Council, the veto, the anti-veto, the majority, the minority, abstention, speeches, demagoguery and the solemn declarations of Ban Ki-moon?

Above all, why do we have NATO, its 5.5 million soldiers (according to highly qualified specialists) and its 19,845 tanks, 57,938 armoured vehicles, 6,492 fighter jets, 2,482 helicopters, 19 aircraft carriers, 156 submarines, 303 surface vessels, 5,728 nuclear missiles, tens of thousands of atomic bombs with the destructive power equivalent to hundreds of thousand times the capacity of those dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

There is more than enough of such stupid power, it wouldn’t be used, nor can it be used; we would need dozens of planet such as Earth. Its only purpose is to demonstrate the waste and the chaos generated by capitalism.

We can dedicate our time to other things, less sinister and more ludicrous.

For example, the DPA agency informs us:

“Port-au-Prince, March 18, 2011. The arrival of Jean-Bertrand Aristide in Port-au-Prince this Friday cannot have taken anyone by surprise.”

“January 19: From South Africa, Aristide published an ‘open letter’ where he says he is ‘ready’ to return to Haiti’ at any time to ‘contribute as a simple citizen in the field of education’…”

“January 20: The American State Department is opposed to the return of Aristide before at least the end of the electoral process…”.

The State Department has gotten mixed up even in this: it was the US that gave birth to Papa Doc, and it had overthrown and expelled President Aristide to Africa 7 years ago.

A Notimex dispatch, dated in Panama today, March 18th, informed that WikiLeaks revealed the entry of US warships to Panama:

“The covenant was signed on April 15, 2009 so that military vessels could enter Panamanian waters between May 3rd and the end of Torrijos’ term on June 30th this year, when the president was succeeded by the right-wing Ricardo Martinelli.

“‘Until now, the Panamanian government has always refused to do this requirement arguing that operations with the United States Army were a sensitive matter for Panamanians””

Another interesting tale about the trickery of US foreign policy is told today by AP:

“Chile and the United States signed a nuclear energy treaty on Friday, despite the fears of the spread of radiation in Japan”.

“The fear arises after a devastating earthquake and subsequent tidal wave severely affected the nuclear reactors in a plant on the north-eastern coast of Japan”.

“The treaty was signed on Friday morning by US Ambassador Alejandro Wolff and Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs Alfredo Moreno.”

“‘White House officials were not able to confirm the highly awaited signing which one supposes would be a notable event during the visit to Chile on Monday of President Barack Obama.”

But no matter, appearances can always be life-saving and public opinion can be manipulated by appearances; White House officials emphasized “that the treaty focuses on training nuclear engineers and not on the construction of reactors.”

Since Japanese nuclear technology is basically Yankee, their technicians surely would acquire more experience studying what happened in that beleaguered country whose population was victim of a cruel and unscrupulous predecessor of the current president of the United States.

Who are Obama, NATO and Ban Ki-moon going to fool with good conduct certificates?

Fidel Castro Ruz
March 18, 2011
8:54 p.m.

The post Good Conduct Certificate appeared first on Reflections of Fidel.

Just a few centuries ago in the long history of humanity, no one knew what happened on the other side of the globe. Today we can find out instantaneously and, sometimes, they are events of great importance which affect all of the world’s peoples.

With no further introduction, I will limit myself to the most important news of the last two days.

“Volcanic eruption in Japan cause for alarm.” (Telesur, March13, 2011)

“The Japanese Meteorological Agency reported that the Shimoedake volcano, located on the island of Kyushu, southeast of Japan, erupted this Sunday, sending ashes and rocks to an altitude of 4,000 meters, after two weeks of relative calm and two days after the devastating earthquake and tsunami which ravaged the country…

“[… the volcano] became active last January for the first time in 52 years.

“According to a BBC report, buildings located within four kilometers were damaged and hundreds of panic-stricken people fled the surrounding area.

“The 8.9 Richter scale earthquake has already had an effect on other volcanoes, according to the Japanese Meteorological Agency.”

“Japan overwhelmed by earthquake, tsunami and explosions in nuclear power plants.” (AFP)

“SENDAI, Japan, March 14, 2011—A double explosion within the Fukushima 1 nuclear power plant’s reactor number 3 on Monday contributed to the fear of a nuclear disaster in Japan, a country overwhelmed by an earthquake and tsunami which may have left 10,000 dead.

“Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO), operator of the Fukushima 1 facility (250km northeast of Tokyo), admitted that the fuel in reactor 2 may have entered into a meltdown as a result of damage to the cooling system. The government, for its part, minimized the possibility that a serious explosion could occur in that reactor.

“Rescue teams discovered close to 2,000 bodies on the coast of Miyagi prefecture (northeast), while millions of Japanese are trying to survive without water, electricity, fuel or sufficient food and hundreds have had to seek refuge in emergency shelters since the tsunami destroyed their homes.

“Relief workers from around the world arrived to the island country to collaborate with more than 100,000 soldiers trying to provide assistance in a country still experiencing after-shocks and continuously frightened by false tsunami alarms.

“Fear of a nuclear catastrophe has added to the anguish caused by the devastation. The earthquake, the tsunami and the explosions in nuclear power plants have dealt the country its most serious crisis since WWII,’ said Prime Minister Naoto Kan.”

“An explosion occurred Saturday in reactor number 1, killing one technician and wounding 11.

“The meltdown is produced as a result of overheating of the fuel rods which begin to melt like candles.

“Authorities decreed a state of emergency in a second nuclear plant, in Onagawa (northeast)…”

“Another plant in Tokai suffered damage to its cooling system…

“A 8.9 Richter scale earthquake and subsequent 10-meter high tsunami hit the northeast coast of Japan on Friday.

“More than 10,000 people may have lost their lives in the coastal prefecture of Miyagi (in northeastern Japan)…

“At least 5.6 million homes without electricity…

“Factbox – What is happening inside Japan’s nuclear reactors?

March 14 (Reuters)—A second blast on Monday rocked the quake-stricken nuclear plant in Japan where authorities have been working desperately to avert a meltdown.

• The core of a nuclear reactor consists of a series of zirconium metal pipes or rods containing pellets of uranium fuel bundled into what engineers call fuel assemblies.
• Water is pumped between the pipes to keep them cool and create steam to drive an electricity-generating turbine.
• Back-up cooling has struggled at various times over the past three days at reactor units 1, 2 and 3 at the Fukushima plant […]
• However the natural decay of the radioactive materials in the reactor core continues to produce heat, called decay heat, which falls to a quarter of its original level in the first hour, and then disappears more slowly.
• Normally that heat is removed by coolant pumps whose back-up power supply was knocked out by the earthquake, tsunami or both at the Fukushima plant [...]
• It is hydrogen gas which has caused the two explosions at the Fukushima plant, at unit 1 on Saturday and reactor unit 3 on Monday, experts and authorities say [...]
• If an inner reactor vessel were breached that would raise radiation levels. But there is no longer enough heat to blow these apart, experts say.
• The worst remaining risk is that the core melts, which would make it much more difficult and perhaps impossible to remove the fuel, which is what happened at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania in 1979. The site would have to be sealed permanently.”

“EFE 14-03

“U.S. moves ships away from Japan’s coastline after radiation exposure is detected in 17 soldiers (EFE March 14)

“The Pentagon reported today that 17 soldiers participating in relief efforts in Japan showed positive signs of ‘basic levels’ of exposure to radioactivity and ordered the temporary repositioning of 7th Fleet ships, based in the Japanese city of Yokosuka.”

“The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan was located 160 kilometers northeast of the power plant when the leak occurred as a result of the tsunami which followed the 9.0 Richter scale earthquake which shook Japan.

“Workers struggle to cool Fukushima reactors 2 and 3, while number of dead grows

“International News, Mar 14 (EFE)—Those responsible for the Japanese Fukushima power plant’s reactor number 2 are attempting to cool it, after a possible partial meltdown due to overheating, as they cooled reactor number 3 where there was an explosion which did not produce a radioactive leak.

“While authorities are desperately trying to control the threat of a nuclear catastrophe, the number of victims of the earthquake continues to grow, causing worse tragedy in Japan since WWII.

“The quake was felt strongly in Tokyo, the biggest city in the world with more than 30 million inhabitants, where the atmosphere is one of sadness and citizens are resorting to alternate means of transportation such as bicycles given                             electrical power cuts.

“The Japanese Meteorological Agency has warned the population of the possibility of week-long aftershocks, with a 70% probability of a 7.0 Richter scale earthquake occurring in Japan on Wednesday.

“Germany postpones nuclear expansion plans for three months (DPA)

“Berlin, Mar 14 (DPA)—The accident which occurred this weekend with Japan’s

Fukushima power plant as a result of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami which devastated the country on Friday has completely changed the world situation,” Merkel said.

“’The accidents in Japan show that what we thought was impossible is possible and that risks considered unlikely, are not that unlikely,’” she continued emphasizing…

AFP. Yemen: Three protesters dead, including 12-year-old boy”

12/03/11

“SANA (AFP)—Three protesters died, among them a 12-year-old boy, and hundreds were injured on Saturday in Yemen, where rebels accused the police of having used poison gas to disperse them.”

“One protester died and close to 300 were injured or poisoned by gases…”

“According to the UN, 37 protesters and at least six police have died since the beginning of the disturbances in Yemen.”

“ABU DHABI, Mar 14 (Reuters)

“A jump in oil prices and the fast recent drawdown in global stocks of cereals could herald a supply crisis, FAO Director General Jacques Diouf told Reuters…”

“The high prices raise concern and we’ve been quickly drawing down stocks…”

LONDON (AP) — British-based defense contractor BAE Systems PLC bribed Saudi officials in return for lucrative arms deals in Saudi Arabia, according to a newly released secret U.S. diplomatic cable on the WikiLeaks website.

“…BAE, Europe’s largest defense contractor, paid more than 70 million pounds ($113 million) to a Saudi prince…”

“EFE. Ashton not discounting possibility of imposing flight exclusion zone over Libya”

“Catherine Ashton, high representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs, did not discount the possibility of imposing a flight exclusion zone over Libya after meeting in Cairo today with Amr Moussa, secretary general of the Arab League.”

“TRIPOLI, 14 (ANSA)—Muammar Gaddafi’s forces today attacked Ajdabiya, in eastern Libya, and the locality of Zuwarah in the northeast, while the opposition National Council assured that it would recover positions and said that it has an international commitment to establish a flight exclusion zone.”

“The Council confirmed today that it has won a commitment from the United States, Britain and France to prepare a flight exclusion zone.”

“General Abdul Fattah Younis, member of the rebel military council, affirmed that they will recover positions in the coastal areas and eastern region of the country…”

“’We shall retake control of those cities and soon they will feel our army advancing on Sirte and Tripoli.’”

“100,000 VOLUNTEERS JOIN GADDAFI’S FORCES

“TRIPOLI, 14 (ANSA)—Around 100,000 volunteers have joined the Libyan armed forces since the start of fighting between troops backing Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups, government sources said today.”

“Bahrain: opposition condemns “occupation” after arrival of Saudi soldiers.”

“MANAMA, Mar 14 2011 (AFP)

“’The people of Bahrain are facing a real danger: that of war on Bahraini citizens without a declaration of war,’ the seven members of the opposition, including the Shiite Wefaq group highlighted in a communiqué.

“’We consider the entry of any soldier, any military vehicle into the land, air of maritime space of the kingdom of Bahrain as a flagrant occupation, a conspiracy against the unarmed Bahraini people, and a violation of international agreements,’ the opposition added.”

“MORE PROTESTS YEMEN, BAHRAIN AND MOROCCO

“MANAMA AND ADEN, 13 (ANSA)—Protest demonstrations continued today in Yemen, where three people died, Bahrain and Morocco, in actions against the governments of those countries, local sources reported today.”

“…in Saudi Arabia, dozens of people gathered today in the vicinity of the Ministry of the Interior in Riyadh calling for the release of a group of activists detained by the police.”

“MANAMA (AP)—Tens of thousands of Bahraini protesters encircled one of the royal family’s palaces Saturday, shouting calls for political freedom and the king’s ouster a day after a similar march triggered a violent response from security forces.”

“The protests in Bahrain are modeled on the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.”

“Bahrain holds particular importance to Washington as the host of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet…”

“United Arab Emirates to send troops to Bahrain”

“DUBAI, Mar 14 2011 (AFP)—The United Arab Emirates announced Monday that they are going to send troops to Bahrain to contribute to ‘preserving order and stability’ in that neighboring country, where Saudi military personnel have already arrived for the same end.”

“MANAMA, 14 Mar 2011 (AFP)—In reaction to the arrival of Saudi troops in the kingdom, the Bahraini opposition affirmed Monday that ‘any foreign military presence will be considered as an occupation.’”

More than 1,000 Saudi soldiers, part of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Peninsula Shield Troops, have arrived in Bahrain, shaken by a wave of protests, a Saudi official told AFP.”

“MEXICO (AFP)—The so called Operation Fast and Furious in the United States, which presumably permitted the deliberate entry into Mexico of close to 2,000 weapons, has placed relations between the two countries in a delicate moment, according to experts, and has prompted unanimous anger on the part of Mexican legislators.”

“If the United States acted without including any Mexican authority, this is a totally unacceptable interference and a clear demonstration of Washington’s lack of confidence in the Mexican police forces,’ Jorge Montaño, former Mexican ambassador in the United States, commented to AFP.”

“Mexico is confronting an unprecedented spiral of violence which has left close to 35,000 dead since December of 2006 in confrontations between drug traffickers and anti-drug operatives, as well as 100 victims caught in crossfire.”

“The Mexican Senate described Fast and Furious as ‘an aggressive and unilateral operation and an attack on Mexico’s sovereignty.’”

(IPS) March 14, 15:04

“It was reported tonight that Fukushima 1 reactor number one was melting after two emergency cooling efforts failed, aggravating fears of radioactive contamination. Explosions took place on Saturday and Monday in reactors number one and three.

“Reactor number two functions with a fuel called MOX, an oxide mix, which contains plutonium, a substance especially dangerous to health.”

“ROME, March 14 (ANSA) – A total of 442 active nuclear reactors exist around the world, concentrated in 29 countries and constructed by no more than 10 companies.

“Europe [...] where governments today began to review their nuclear policies has 148 reactors in 16 countries.

“To this group of plants in operation, 65 under construction can be added…

“The highest number of nuclear reactors worldwide exist in the United States, with 104, followed by France (58), Japan (54)…

Breaking news which just arrived in Cuba indicates that there was a third explosion in Fukushima:

(EFE) 15-03 20:13

“Radioactive leak feared as result of melting in the core of Fukushima reactor

“Tokyo – The company operating the Fukushima nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan admitted today that it fears a radioactive leak as a result of a possible meltdown within the core of its reactor number 2, within which an explosion occurred this morning.”

“Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) admitted that radiation could have been released after the reactor number 2 containment structure was damaged, while levels of radioactivity in the surrounding area reached 8.217 microsievert an hour, compared to the 500 allowed.”

One can see the complex situation reigning in the Arab world, where a revolutionary wave has been unleashed.

The Saudi king is backing the NATO war in Libya, while, in Bahrain, NATO is backing the Saudi invasion. The blood of the Arab peoples will be shed to the benefit of the large U.S. transnationals, while oil prices will rise to unpredictable levels as wars are unleashed in the regions of highest production, and Japan’s nuclear disasters are multiplying the resistance of peoples to a proliferation of nuclear power plants.

Squandering and the capitalist consumer societies in their neoliberal and imperialist phase are taking the world down a one-way street, where climate change and the growing cost of food are leading billions of people to the worst levels of poverty.

Fidel Castro Ruz
March 14, 2011
9:35 p.m.

The post The disasters threatening the world appeared first on Reflections of Fidel.

The earthquake originated at a depth of 24.4 kilometres and 100 kilometres from the coast. Had it happened at a lesser depth and distance, the consequences would have been more serious.

There was a shift in the earth’s axis. It was the third phenomenon of great intensity occurring in less than two years: Haiti, Chile and Japan. Man cannot be blamed for such tragedies. Every country, surely, will do everything it can to help the hard-working people who were the first to suffer an unnecessary and inhuman nuclear attack.

According to Spain’s Official College of Geologists, the energy released by the earthquake is equivalent to 200 million tons of dynamite.

The most recent information, from AFP, states that the Japanese electric Company, Tokyo Electric Power, informed that according to government instructions, they had released some of the vapour containing radioactive substances…

“We are following the situation. Until the present there is no problem…”

“They also indicated that there were breakdowns related to the cooling of three reactors in a second nearby plant, Fukushima 2.

“The government ordered the evacuation of surrounding areas for a radius of 10 km in the case of the first plant and 3 km in the case of the second one.”

Another earthquake, a political one and potentially more serious, is the one taking place around Libya, and it affects every country, one way or the other.

The drama that country is living through is in full swing and its outcome is still uncertain.

A great hubbub broke out yesterday in the US Senate when James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, stated before the Armed Services Committee that he didn’t believe Gaddafi had any intention of leaving; because of evidence at their disposal, it seems that he is “in this for the long haul”.

He added that Gaddafi has two brigades that “are very loyal”.

He pointed out that the air attacks carried out by the army loyal to Gaddafi “mainly” caused damages on buildings and infrastructure rather than civilian casualties.

Lt. Gen. Ronald Burgess, Director of the Defence Intelligence Agency, at the same hearing before the Senate, said that it seemed Gaddafi had staying power unless some other dynamic changes at this time.

“The opportunity the rebels had at the start of the popular uprising has ‘begun to change’, he assured.

I have no doubt whatsoever that Gaddafi and the Libyan leaders committed an error in trusting Bush and NATO, as can be inferred from what I wrote in my Reflection on the 9th.

Nor do I doubt the intentions of the United States and NATO to intervene militarily in Libya and abort the revolutionary wave shaking the Arab world.

Countries that are opposing NATO intervention and defending the idea of a political solution without foreign intervention harbour the conviction that the Libyan patriots shall defend their Homeland until their dying breath.

Fidel Castro Ruz
March 11, 2011
10:12 p.m.

The post Two Earthquakes appeared first on Reflections of Fidel.

The summit meeting of leaders of the eight most highly industrialized powers on the planet took place July 7-9 at a mountain retreat on the banks of the Toyako, a lake formed inside a volcanic crater located in the north of the island of Hokkaido, in the northern reaches of the Japanese archipelago. It would be hard to choose a site more removed and distant from the madding crowd than this.

At approximately 98 miles from there, 21,000 Japanese police agents, equipped with impressive shields and helmets, were guarding the urban center of Sapporo, ready to neutralize any protests. Yet, another 20,000 were patrolling the streets of Tokyo itself, the capital of Japan.

In alphabetical order, the G-8 members are: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. The leaders of these nations live beset by problems which include those inherited from the past and the growing tendency of the United States towards political, economic, technological and military hegemony. All of them are becoming weighed down by a bevy of pressing national and international problems, all requiring urgent solutions.

They invited the so-called G-5 to their meeting in Toyako: Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa, to listen to them over breakfast.

Also invited to exchange ideas for an hour were another three countries with emerging economies: Australia, South Korea and Indonesia.

The world’s population, according to estimates, reached 6,709 million inhabitants on July 11, 2008 and over 65% of this number lives in the above-mentioned developing nations.

During the three days, there were all kinds of multilateral and bilateral meetings. The developing countries who had been invited to the meeting held parallel meetings in Hokkaido where they spoke frankly and with no reservations.

In the Summit’s final declaration, the industrialized powers of the G-8 proclaimed that a great concession had been obtained: the United States, and with it all the rest of the group’s powers, had pledged to reduce the greenhouse-gas emissions being called for by the year 2050; in 42 years! In other words: when hell freezes over. None of the other critical problems that had given rise to such an odd summit had been resolved.

“…they failed to reach an agreement with emerging countries about how to respond to climate change.”

“The 16 largest economies pledged to carry out massive cut-backs in greenhouse-gas emissions even though emerging countries reiterated their demands for funds and technology from the most powerful countries.”

“President Hu Jintao denied accusations that the food crisis was due to the economic growth of some of the developing countries.”

“Lula suggested that FAO attributed the global rise in food prices to speculative maneuvers with raw materials.”

“The World Fund for Nature described the behavior of the wealthy G-8 nations as pathetic; it accused them of dodging their responsibilities in the fight on climate change.”

“Agricultural subsidies were today the main point of friction during the G-8 and G-5 meeting.”

“European Central Bank officials stated that they continued to be concerned about inflation in spite of the rise in interest rates.”

“‘It is a complete failure, they have not advanced and they have avoided adopting clear objectives for reductions of medium-range greenhouse-gas emissions,’ indicated Greenpeace, an important international organization committed to the defense of the environment.“

“‘Russia is extremely annoyed over Washington and Prague signing an agreement on Tuesday for a space shield,’ said President Medvedev in Japan.”

“Russian military experts reacted with indignation to the signing of an agreement between the United States and Prague for the installation of an anti-missile shield and they demanded tough reprisal measures.”

On July 10, complaints about the consequences of the current chaos continued to reach Cuba, whether directly or indirectly tied in with the Summit in Japan.

“Coral is also suffering stress due to factors such as climate change and pollution; these have resulted in one-third of these reef constructors to be in danger of extinction. Coral reefs, whose construction requires millions of years, are the habitat for more than 25% of all marine species.”

That same day, unrelated to the other news, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released the following news item: “Temperature variations due to climate change will have a strong impact on fishing and aquaculture, with important consequences for the food security of some populations. It was explained that aquatic foods have a higher nutritional value and contribute to 20 percent or more of the average per capita consumption of animal protein for 2,800 million people, fundamentally in developing countries.”

On that day, severe criticisms also emanated from the African continent:

“The European immigration pact is beginning to arouse indignation in Africa; Senegal asserted that a response is due, in the face of what some describe as a ‘wall’ being built by Europe to keep off the desperate peoples of the South”, declared the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of that nation at the close of a reunion of experts in Dakar.

And Le Pays newspaper from Burkina Fasso, published:

“In order to hold back the horde of desperate people who generally arrive from the South to besiege its borders, Europe has found nothing better than to raise a wall.”

“The building of new walls is an anachronism in this era of globalization…”

The rush of complaints goes on. While Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain was still in Japan, a study made by the BBC network informed of low morale in the British Armed Forces.

“According to a study conducted by the Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom, almost one-half of this country’s military personnel are ready to leave the Armed Forces.”

“Forty seven percent of those surveyed in the Royal Army and Royal Navy and 44% of those in the Royal Air Force said that they felt like retiring from the Armed Forces.”

“Among some of the concerns expressed…are the frequent deployments abroad, the pay and the living conditions.”

“The regular army already suffers from a deficit of some five thousand soldiers while there is the concern that experienced young officers and non-commissioned officers are deserting in unprecedented numbers.”

“As for the morale in the different branches, 59 percent of those interviewed in the Army said that the level was ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’: 64 percent of the Royal Navy, 38 percent of the Royal Marines and 72 percent of the Royal Air Force.”

Something which offends personal sensitivity, in any social system, is the lack of respect for privacy. In the past, for example, there were laws protecting correspondence. Later this protection was extended to telephone communications, a more rapid and instantaneous form of communication. The United States law banned telephone surveillance without legal warrants. Violation of this would result in lawsuits which, in that country, totaled substantial amounts of money.

Last July 9, while Bush was meeting with his G-8 colleagues and the United States government –despite its genocides– wanted to be considered a champion of human rights, the United States Senate passed, 68 in favor to 28 against, “a law that modernizes the U.S. Spy Bill and grants immunity to tele-communications companies collaborating with the government…”

The fight against terror is the ubiquitous excuse, and phone surveillance had been going on for years without any sort of permission.

“Now it is easier to protect U.S. citizens”, declared Bush, speaking from the White House Rose Garden.

“The initiative authorizes eavesdropping without a warrant within United States telephone networks, whether of U.S. citizens or foreigners.”

The previous 1978 law “did not include new communications technology such as cell phones, the Internet and e-mail.”

Since the vast majority of communications are picked up by the U.S., “the measure approved protects communications companies from multi-million-dollar lawsuits by persons alleging violation of the right to privacy.”

The law is being applied retroactively. “The American Civil Liberties Union described the law as ‘unconstitutional’ and as ‘an attack on civil liberties and the right to privacy’.”

News coming from Sweden reported:

“The center-right alliance of Prime Minister Frederick Reinfeldt has rejected the proposal by the Social Democratic Party to review the law allowing the Defense Radio Department (FRA) to access all telephone conversations and the flow of information by cable both from and to the country.”

“What is being called the FRA Law, also baptized the Orwell Law after the novel 1984 by that British author, has been strongly criticized by big business in an open letter published in the Dagens Nyheter, Sweden’s main newspaper.”

“The government justified passage of the law, approved last June 19, to improve the fight on terrorist threats.”

Another Swedish paper, the Svenska Dagbladet, yesterday reported that

“one of the main reasons for the law is, of course, the control of information coming from Russia and to use it in the negotiations of exchanges with other countries, since already about 80 percent of Russian foreign communication flow by cable goes through Sweden.”

“The regulation will enter into effect on January 1, 2009. Thousands of people demonstrated a few days ago in Stockholm and Malmö against the FRA Law and there are already plans for similar mobilizations throughout the country in the next few weeks, according to several ‘blogs’ and Facebook social network groups.”

Complaints are pouring in everywhere. For example, a cable states:

“The Germans are more pessimistic about their economic outlook than at any other time since reunification in 1990, due to the rise in prices, according to a poll.”

Others report:

• “Unemployment rate in Canada rose 6.2 percent in June.”
• “Russian government rejects the proposal presented by Condoleezza Rice for international mediation to resolve the conflicts in the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, resulting in growing tension between Moscow and Georgia.”
• “Two NATO soldiers died and another was wounded on Thursday in a bombing attack in eastern Afghanistan, announced the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).”
• “Russia states that Iranian testing of a new long-range missile confirms that Moscow is right to describe the emplacement of the U.S. anti-missile shield in Europe as unnecessary.”
• “The Israeli Army offers assurances that accusations of alleged Israeli fighter jets training in Iraq for a possible attack on Iranian nuclear facilities are unsubstantiated.”
• “Britain expressed disappointment in the veto imposed by Russia and China in the UN Security Council to the Draft Resolution intended to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe.”
• “Sudan today summoned the ambassadors of the five Permanent Member countries of the UN Security Council to demand an explanation about a possible warrant for the arrest of President Al Bachir.”
• “A new ‘special bomb’ is the main threat for American soldiers in Iraq, according to U.S. General Jeffery Hammons.”
• “The bodies of two American soldiers who disappeared in Iraq more than a year ago have been found.”

These are all dated July 11. In these lines one could add dozens of similar news items printed on the same day. On Saturdays, reports decline; Sundays, there is hardly any news, journalists are resting. Today is Monday.

In our world of today, every day there are new and ever-more thorny problems arising which exhaust the abilities of heads of state and governments who are called upon to deal with them.

This is not a criticism: it is an observation. It cannot be expected of human beings to have supernatural abilities.

Optimism will always be the best option. There is no other alternative. That’s the reason why I once spoke about a species in danger of becoming extinct.

Fidel Castro Ruz
July 14, 2008

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