Editorial: ¿Qué significa "ritmo cubano"?

Cuba: un pueblo noble que tendrá que luchar como David

Por: Blas Anaya, www.CubaenVivo.com | 28 de Julio del 2010

Este Editorial será bastante corto... La cosa es bien sencilla: todas estas fotos que ustedes ven ahí son de Juventud Rebelde*, y son de este mes. Al parecer esto es a lo que se refiere el ritmo cubano, la última explicación que el castrismo tiene para los muchos que interrogan desde afuera... y desde adentro también, y ellos lo saben.

Cuba busca soluciones a la economía pero sin prisas

El Gobierno de Cuba continúa buscando soluciones a sus problemas económicos pero las reformas serán introducidas en sus propios términos y sin prisa dijo el lunes el vicepresidente José Ramón Machado Ventura. (Reuters via Yahoo! España Noticias)

Cuba tomará decisiones a su ritmo y sin improvisaciones dice vicepresidente

Santa Clara (Cuba) 26 jul (EFE).- El vicepresidente primero de Cuba José Ramón Machado Ventura afirmó hoy que el Gobierno de la isla continuará tomando decisiones para superar las "deficiencias" del país pero lo hará a su ritmo y sin "improvisaciones".(EFE via Yahoo! España Noticias - 26 jul 16:40)

Cuba festeja con expectativas por Fidel y reformas de Raúl aunque sin Chávez

Cuba celebra este lunes la mayor fiesta de la revolución con expectativas por anuncios de apertura económica del presidente Raúl Castro y una reaparición de Fidel Castro pero sin su aliado el gobernante venezolano Hugo Chávez que canceló su viaje a la isla por la crisis con Colombia.(AFP via Yahoo! España Noticias - 26 jul 09:13)

Cuba y Venezuela celebran reunión ministerial para incrementar sus relaciones

La Habana 25 jul (EFE).- Cuba y Venezuela iniciaron hoy en la isla una reunión a nivel ministerial en las áreas económica comercial y financiera para dar una "nueva dimensión" a las relaciones bilaterales informaron medios oficiales. (EFE via Yahoo! España Noticias - 25 jul 22:23)

______________

* Excepto por una, que es del reportero independiente Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo quien tiene los suficientes pantalones para tomar fotos en cualquier parte de Cuba a donde se pueda meter y luego las publica en la internet en el blog de Yoani.

Castro: el fantasma real de la tragedia cubana

Castro sigue vivo y jodiendo y nadie sabe cómo ni porqué

Por Blas Anaya, CubaenVivo.com | 25 de julio del 2010

Castro reaparece de nuevo en Artemisa a más de medio centenar de kilómetros de su casa

Con el consabido abrigo blindado y climatizado de todos los tiempos pero sin charreteras ni emblema alguno y rodeado de cuatro perros que la historia cubana va a recordar menos que a Cujo, reapareció este sábado por la mañana el tirano a más de medio centenar de kilómetros de su casa, en Artemisa.

La noticia de Rebelde dice, siempre después de mencionar a otros ancianos del Asilo Revolucionario Santovenia (ASR), que estaba acompañado de Ramón Pez Ferro y Gelasio Fernández, asaltantes artemiseños del Cuartel Moncada; lo que no dice el tabloide propagandístico del castrismo es que los demás combatientes artemiseños que brillaban por su ausencia -y que los artemiseños eran el grupo más grande de los del 26 y le salvaron el pellejo a Castro en medio del asalto- han ido quedando en el camino, defenestrados la mayoría por el sátrapa o se mudaron a vivir a lugares más seguros para ellos que Cuba.

Y pa' que contarles. Sigue el viejito con la peonía esa de la guerra final que destruirá a toda la raza humana. Según mi cuenta, este loco está buscando por cualquier medio que se desate una guerra nuclear, sin importarle los suyos propios ni la madre que los parió. No son buenos tiempos para la carrera política de los descendientes de Fidel Castro. Con este abuelito les va ha ser duro conquistar los votos de sus ciudadanos en la democracia que se avecina al galope en Cuba.

An expedition sponsored by the National Geographic Society

Bahamas' 'blue holes' hold wonders and weird science

By Dan Vergano, USA TODAY | Wenesday, July 21, 2010 | Picture: CubaenVivo.com, from GoogleEarth

Coastal regions of the Caribbean, such as Florida, Cuba and the Yucatán, and other regions worldwide contain limestone permeated with caves,

At the center of the Bermudas Triangle: a sink hole in a submarine canyon on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean (The common name is "The Sink Hole")

Scientist Kenny Broad fights to the surface in a sinkhole on Abaco. The caves can contain dangerous whirlpools.

What lies below the Bahamas in the Caribbean? A veiled world of fossils, blind creatures and scientific riddles.

In next month's issue of National Geographic magazine, an international team of cave divers led by anthropologist Kenny Broad of the University of Miami reveals the mysteries hidden from vacationers' view.

The two-month expedition, paid for by the National Geographic Society, was merely a small slice of time in a years-long effort to uncover the secrets of this realm, which has been plumbed by researchers for at least three decades.

Only a few miles inland from the Bahamas' sparkling coral reefs, the islands' limestone boasts dozens of submerged caves, "blue holes," some of them hidden in what look like island swimming holes linked to the ocean.

But swimming holes they are not. The inland caves on five islands sport freshwater caps covering heavier saltwater layers, sometimes filled with clouds of poisonous hydrogen sulfide released by salt-eating microbes, acting to preserve whatever falls within. Others contain whirlpools powered by the tides.

"Cave diving is really about knowing your limits," Broad says. "But it provides one of the most amazing experiences in life, and the scientific opportunities are tremendous."

Says cave diver and geologist Patricia Beddows of Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., who was not part of the expedition: "Each one of these cave diving expeditions, without fail, provides an enormous amount of information. Cave diving is an extraordinarily powerful tool to allow us to get into the heart of karst (cave) systems worldwide."

In submerged caves such as Stargate on Andros island in the Bahamas, the expedition team reports:

• Specialized "chemosynthetic" bacteria that live without oxygen and feast on chemical reactions possible only in the caves.

• Stalactite curtains, or "speleothems," that contain a record of past sea level and climate conditions locked in their structures.

• Fossils of Lucayan tribe members who lived on the islands until the 1500s.

"We've brought scientists from many disciplines together so our results inform each other's work," Broad says. "The initial exploration is just a proof of concept. We still have lots of work ahead."

Coastal regions of the Caribbean, such as Florida, Cuba and the Yucatán, and other regions worldwide contain limestone permeated with caves, Beddows notes, leading to such blue holes. In addition to their scientific value, they often serve as freshwater resources for increasing numbers of people in those regions, which makes investigation of them essential for public health.

Sea level about 20,000 years ago, during the height of an Ice Age, was hundreds of feet lower in the Bahamas. The transition has left its mark on the speleothems and geology of the caves, Broad says, making each one a laboratory for measuring the effects of past changes in climate.

Each cave diving expedition requires years of preparation, and the results will affect scientific conclusions for years afterward.

"It's possible to make a direct comparison between what we do and exploring outer space," Beddows says. Years of training for short investigations in a hostile environment are the hallmarks of cave diving science, which she describes as a "select" discipline, slowly growing in numbers but now increasingly established.

Alongside the danger, the blue holes of the Bahamas have offered little allure for divers who in some cases could instead walk to beaches with access to some of the world's most beautiful coral reefs.

"Why dive into a muddy-looking hole when you can head for the beach?" Broad says. "But (the holes) are really fascinating places once you start looking."

Read more

USA: 89% households can watch five or more local sation over the air

You Don't Have to Pay for Cable TV

By Dan Schointuch, Yahoo! Peersonal Finance | Tuesday, July 20, 2010

While streaming video to your computer sounds great, most people want to watch television on their television. Fortunately, there are tons of options to get your favorite shows on your big screen.

Cubans are under siege, obligated to watch the only government owned television by obsolete transmission means.(Caricaturist: Martirena, Cuba)

Almost a year ago I moved into a new apartment and did something revolutionary: I didn't set up cable or satellite TV. I was frustrated by the lack of choice (only one provider), lengthy contracts, and inexplicably high price. As someone who watches a lot of television, this seemed like a truly difficult problem, but I resolved to find a way to see my favorite shows without paying a cable or satellite bill. Fortunately, it was much easier than I thought.

You might not know it, but you can watch HDTV with an antenna.

Over 99% of U.S. TV households can receive at least one local sation over the air, while 89% can watch five or more. The picture is perfectly clear thanks to the switch to digital TV completed on June 12, 2009. You'll either see a crisp, beautiful image or no image at all (static is a thing of the past). And the best part? All your favorite programming will still be in HD.

HDTV is more expensive for local stations to produce, so it's common to see a station broadcast in regular standard definition during the day, but switch their signal to high definition for prime time. So while the local news may not be in HD, your favorite shows like Glee, America's Got Talent, and The Bachelorette will be.

Of course, you will need an antenna to make this work, but your HDTV will also have to have an "HDTV tuner" built in. This is sometimes referred to as "integrated HDTV". If not, you'll need to buy a separate HDTV tuner that connects your existing HDTV to an antenna. To check, you may have to consult your HDTV's manual, do a search online, or contact the manufacturer.

AntennaWeb, a site provided by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), will show you exactly where to point your antenna for the best reception at your address. It will also let you see which stations are broadcasting over the air in your area. There may be more than you think.

What about shows that aren't on broadcast channels?

Two of my favorite shows, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, air on Comedy Central, which isn't a channel you can receive with an antenna. Fortunately, Internet to the rescue! If you've got a computer and internet access (there's no way I'd be able to live without paying for Internet), both shows can be watched in their entirety on their respective websites for free. (Full episodes of The Daily Show and full episodes of The Colbert Report). Like most online shows, you'll have to sit through a few commercials, but less than you would see watching the same show on television and without having to pay for the privilege.

The popular website Hulu has hundreds of shows available to watch online, all free, commercial-supported, but it's not the only option. Netflix is a great way to watch past seasons of favorite shows, which can be streamed instantly to almost 100 devices like your computer, Xbox, PlayStation, Wii, iPhone (soon), etc. You can watch as much as you want for only $9 a month; compared to the cost of a cable or satellite subscription with premium movie channels, a pittance. Plus, they've got almost every movie you've ever heard of, offer a 2 week free trial, and let you cancel whenever you want.

Where do you watch live sports online?

If you're getting your Internet from one of these providers, you can access ESPN3, a "broadband network for live sports programming". The site is currently in beta and not every game on TV is available online, but you can watch thousands of games and events (even World Cup soccer) live with chat, stats, scoreboards, and picture-in-picture. According to them:

Each year ESPN3 delivers thousands of live games and events like College Football and Basketball, NBA, MLB, UEFA Champions League Soccer, The Masters and US Open Golf, all 4 Grand Slam tennis tournaments, and more. Plus you get a fully interactive experience with real time in-game stats and scoreboards and live chat. Other sites to watch sports? MLB.tv has an $80/year membership that will let you stream every regular season baseball game (with a few exceptions) right to your computer/PS3/etc, live or on-demand, and in HD when available. Given the success of these ventures, look for even more games and events to be broadcast online through sites like ESPN3 and MLB.tv. The interactive nature of the web allows for an engaging, social experience and ultimately, more enjoyable spectating.

But what about "premium" shows, like the ones on HBO, Cinemax and Starz?

Some shows can be purchased individually from sites like Amazon.com or Apple's iTunes Store a day or two after they air. If you do the math, you'll find that purchasing your favorite show is likely to be cheaper than paying for the channel it airs on month after month.

For everything else, you'll have to be a little patient and wait for the inevitable DVD release of last season. The typical DVD set for one season of a television series costs between $25 and $35, so you could buy several sets each month and still save over the cost of cable or satellite. However, if it comes out on DVD, chances are it'll show up on Netflix where that $9 a month subscription is now looking really good.

How does all this internet video get on my TV?

While streaming video to your computer sounds great, most people want to watch television on their television. Fortunately, there are tons of options to get your favorite shows on your big screen. First, check your computer for an output designed to work with either an external monitor or TV. If you've got one, you may be able to buy a cable and adapter that will plug your computer directly into your television. Doing so is a bit like putting together a puzzle; you want to find pieces that connect to each other. This can be a little tricky, especially with all the different possible connections on the market. So if you're not tech savvy, you may want to get a little help from someone who is or check out this video from Howcast called "How To Connect Your Laptop To Your Television".

You might also want to look at "media streaming" boxes. Like the cable box you'll be ditching, these connect to your TV and allow you to watch programming you wouldn't otherwise be able to see. The big difference? You can watch free and paid internet content. Depending on the box, you'll be able to stream video from Netflix, Amazon, MLB.tv, Hulu, and YouTube, audio from internet radio stations, Pandora, and Last.fm, and watch movies or look at photos that have been stored your home PC. Think of media streaming boxes as mini-computers for your TV.

The Roku Digital Video Player is $80 ($100 for the HD version), but you can get $20 off if you're a new Netflix subscriber. It'll stream dozens of "channels" from the web right to your TV for less than the price of one month of cable or satellite. Plus, it's an open platform so developers are adding new channels all the time.

The Boxee Box by D-Link wont be available for purchase until later this year, but you can install their free software on your home computer right now. It'll turn your Mac or PC into a full fledged media player, with an interface specifically designed to look great on TV. It's much easier to navigate with a remote and provides easy access to your personal collection of movies and music, as well as every video website under the Sun.

Google will soon enter the market to pair TV and the Internet with Google TV, a software package they developed to be built in to TVs, Blu-Ray players and set-top boxes. It's sort of a super-TiVo that will let you watch and record broadcast programming while seamlessly switching to internet streaming when what you want to watch isn't on a channel you receive. In essence, Google created the perfect companion for anyone who wants to ditch cable or satellite without sacrificing their favorite shows. Upcoming devices with Google TV built in have been announced by Sony, Logitech and Intel, but wont be available until later this year.

Apple TV is like an iPod for your TV. It'll let you stream videos and audio from your iTunes collection, but only if they're in the right format, and nothing from Hulu, Netflix, etc. Of course, anything you purchase from iTunes will play perfectly, so this may be a great option for some. However, at $230 with seemingly limited capabilities, your best bet might be to wait for the Apple TV 2 (if such a thing is coming).

So there are plenty of inexpensive options. You don't need a new computer for every TV in your house, though with the money saved by cutting out cable or satellite, you could afford several.

How much does all of this cost?

While the average cable bill is $75 a month or $900 a year, I was paying closer to $150 a month or $1800 a year to see everything I wanted. Now I pay $9 a month for my Netflix subscription and watch everything else for free online or over-the-air broadcast. I don't need a TiVo (since you can just hit pause on a website), and I use an old, cheap computer running Boxee hooked up to my TV as my "media center". My $1800 a year expense is now only $108 and I can watch just about everything I want, whenever I want.

Update: Hulu Plus

Just one day after writing this story, Hulu announced their new premium membership called Hulu Plus. For $9.99 a month, it promises full and current seasons of shows like The Office, Friday Night Lights, Dancing with the Stars and Lie to Me. Shows can be watched on your computer, through an iPhone/iPad app, or on a compatible television, blu-ray player or gaming system. While you are paying money for a premium service, Hulu has said that programming will still be advertising supported, so be aware. Currently, the full Hulu Plus catalog is only open to those who request an invitation, but look for wider availability soon. Personally, I can't wait to try it out into a 1-1 tie in the 53rd.

BREAKING NEWS!   |   Congress on Thursday passed financial bill

Wall Street crackdown, consumer guards, on the way

By Jim Kuhnhenn, Associated Press Writer | Thursday, July 15, 5:00pm EST

From storefront payday lenders to the biggest banking and investment houses on Wall Street, few players in the financial world are immune to the bill's reach.

There is no money to get rid of Castro

WASHINGTON – Congress on Thursday passed the stiffest restrictions on banks and Wall Street since the Great Depression, clamping down on lending practices and expanding consumer protections to prevent a repeat of the 2008 meltdown that knocked the economy to its knees.

A year in the making and 22 months after the collapse of Lehman Brothers triggered a worldwide panic in credit and other markets, the bill cleared its final hurdle with a 60-39 Senate vote. It now goes to the White House for President Barack Obama's signature, expected as early as Wednesday.

The law will give the government new powers to break up companies that threaten the economy, create a new agency to guard consumers in their financial transactions and shine a light into shadow financial markets that escaped the oversight of regulators.

Large, failing financial institutions would be liquidated and the costs assessed on their surviving peers. The Federal Reserve is getting new powers while falling under greater congressional scrutiny.

From storefront payday lenders to the biggest banking and investment houses on Wall Street, few players in the financial world are immune to the bill's reach. Consumer and investor transactions, whether simple debit card swipes or the most complex securities trades, face new safeguards or restrictions.

"When this earthquake hit, there wasn't nearly enough oversight, transparency or accountability to shield us from the fallout," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said. "This law will strengthen all three."

Republicans said it is a vast federal overreach that will drive financial-sector jobs overseas. Before the final vote was even cast, House Republican Leader John Boehner called for its repeal.

At an eye-glazing 390,000 words — half the size of the King James Bible — the legislation doesn't offer a quick remedy, however. Rather, it lays down prescriptions for regulators to act. In many cases, the real impact won't be felt for years.

One of the top regulators who will be charged with implementing the law, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, said the Senate vote represents a "far-reaching step toward preventing a replay of the recent financial crisis."

The Senate's final passage of the bill, two weeks after the House approved it, is a welcome achievement for a president and congressional Democrats, both increasingly unpopular with voters four months from midterm elections that threaten to put Republicans in charge of Congress. Only three Republicans voted for it — Maine Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, and Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown. Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, who has said the bill is not tough enough, voted with most Republicans against it.

The law has been a priority for Obama, ranking just behind his health care overhaul enacted in March. In its final form, the package hews closely to the plan unwrapped a year ago by the White House and in some ways is even tougher. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs promptly cast the vote in political terms.

"This will be a vote that Democrats will talk about through November as a way of highlighting the choice that people will get to make in 2010," he said.

The political benefits, however, stand to be overshadowed by lingering high unemployment. And Republicans were betting that public antipathy toward big government and worries over jobs would trump their anger at Wall Street.

"We're going to be driving jobs and business overseas with this massive piece of legislation," said Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.

Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., who worked with Democratic Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut on certain aspects of the bill, denounced it as a "legislative monster."

Named after Dodd and Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank, the Democratic committee chairmen who steered it to passage, the legislation ends a trend toward looser regulations that peaked in 1999 with the elimination of Depression-era walls separating commercial banking from riskier investment banking.

And though it calls for the biggest changes in generations, it does not approach the scope of the New Deal banking rules enacted under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. That era saw the creation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., to protect consumer deposits, and the Securities and Exchange Commission to oversee the markets.

The Dodd-Frank law will create a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau empowered to write and enforce regulations covering mortgages, credit cards, and other financial products. Lenders face new restrictions on the type of mortgages they write and could not be rewarded for steering borrowers to higher cost loans.

Borrowers are to be protected from hidden fees and abusive terms, but also will have to provide evidence that they can repay their loans, thus halting the no-document loans that had flooded the markets.

The vote Thursday capped a year of partisan struggles and cross-party courtship. Any remaining uncertainty about the bill's fate vanished earlier this week when it became clear three Republican senators would vote for it, thus assuring 60 votes to overcome procedural obstacles.

Industry lobbyists fought against a number of restrictions in the bill, ultimately winning some concessions. In the end, the final bill was tougher than they wanted but not as restrictive as they feared.

"The result will be over 5,000 pages of new regulations on traditional banks and years of uncertainty as to what the massive new rules will mean," said Edward Yingling, president and CEO of the American Bankers' Association.

Republican opponents also criticized the bill for not addressing mortgage financing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, whose questionable lending helped start a collapse in the housing market.

Some supporters of the bill also voiced reservations, claiming the bill did not give regulators specific direction on how to implement and enforce new rules.

"Congress largely has decided instead to punt decisions to the regulators, saddling them with a mountain of rule-makings and studies," said Sen. Ted Kaufman, D-Del.

For all its ambition and reach, the legislation is dotted with exceptions.

Community banks won't have to be examined by the new consumer bureau and would get a break on higher insurance premiums. Despite calls to end proprietary trading by large banks, the law will let them put up to 3 percent of their capital in hedge funds or private equity funds. Auto dealers won't be covered by the rules of the consumer bureau.

"It is not a perfect bill, I will be the first to admit that," Dodd said. "It will take the next economic crisis, as certainly it will come, to determine whether or not the provisions of this bill will actually provide this generation or the next generation of regulators with the tools necessary to minimize the effects of that crisis."