Cuba: A History, by Sergio Guerra Viaboy & Oscar Loyola Vega

A book that does exactly what it says on the tin, or at least the front cover, 'Cuba: A History' is a slim volume that sets out the what, where, when and who of Cuban history from 1492-2008.

Five hundred years are packed into just over 100 pages of clear and concise narrative on the pivotal events and people that shaped the island.

North London CSC film screening of 'Sons of Cuba'

North London CSC group are screening 'Sons of Cuba' tonight (31st Jan), 7.30pm at:

Calthorpe Arms, 252 Grays Inn Rd, London, WC1X 8JR (Nearest tube: Kings Cross, Russell Square).

Cuba Condemns Security Council Attitude towards Israel

Cuba condemned at the United Nations the passivity and the silence of the Security Council in view of Israel’s aggressive actions.

The Cuban permanent representative to the UN, Pedro Nuñez, talked about the construction of settlements in Palestinian territories and the blockade in the Gaza Strip during a debate on the situation in the Middle East, reports Prensa Latina news agency.

Venezuela, Cuba outfox U.S. with fiber optic cable

HAVANA (Reuters) - Venezuela will connect Cuba to a high-speed fiber optic cable next month undermining U.S. sanctions prohibiting Cuba's access to nearby underwater lines, the head of the project said on Tuesday.

A French ship will begin laying the 995-mile submarine cable on Saturday and it is expected to reach eastern Cuba by February 8, Wilfredo Morales, president of Telecomunicaciones Gran Caribe, the Venezuelan-Cuban joint venture that owns the line, said.

"This is a project that we consider of high strategic importance in the region ... It will be operated by technicians from our countries and we are not going to be dependent on any economic or other interest of another state or the empire," Morales said in an interview with state-run Radio Rebelde.

Cuba and the number of 'political prisoners'

The question of the number of "political prisoners" in Cuba is subject to controversy. According to the Cuban government, there are no political prisoners in Cuba, rather they are people convicted of crimes listed in the penal code, particularly the act of receiving funding from a foreign power.

In its 2010 report, Amnesty International (AI) describes "55 prisoners of conscience", of whom 20 were released in July 2010, followed by another six on August 15, 2010 after mediation by the Catholic Church and Spain, and later another two. Thus, according to AI, there are currently 27 "political prisoners" in Cuba. [Since this article was written this number has fallen to 13, with the remainder due for release by 8 November.] Finally, the Cuban opposition and, more precisely, Elizardo Sánchez of the Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CDHRN) put the number at 147 political prisoners, minus the 6 recently freed, in other words, 141. The Western media favour this latter list.

Cuba's Energy Revolution

A new revolution is sweeping the island of Cuba, which is making massive progress on energy efficiency and renewable generation, writes Laurie Guevara-Stone.

Just a few years ago Cuba's energy situation was bleak. The country had 11 large, and quite inefficient, thermoelectric plants generating electricity for the entire island. Most of the plants were 25 years old and only functioning 60% of the time. There were frequent blackouts, especially during peak demand periods. There was also a high percentage of transmission losses along the electrical distribution grid. To add to the energy crisis, most Cuban households had inefficient appliances, 75% of the population was cooking with kerosene, and the residential electricity charges did not encourage conservation. In 2004 the eastern side of Cuba was hit by two hurricanes in a short period of time, affecting transmission lines and leaving 1 million people without electricity for 10 days. All of this in the face of the overarching drivers of peak oil and climate change, made Cubans realise they had to make energy more of a priority. Thus, in 2006, began what Cubans call la revolución energética – the energy revolution.

Daughter of Cuba

Irma Gonzalez, daughter of Miami 5 anti-terrorist fighter, Rene Gonzalez, found time during her recent tour to speak to CubaSí editor Natasha Hickman about growing up in Miami, the campaign to free her father and her reception in Britain.

Until six, Irma Gonzalez led the life of an ordinary Cuban child. She lived with her parents and spent weekends with grandparents in Havana.

Suddenly, in December 1990, everything changed: “I woke up one morning and my dad wasn’t there. I was used to him being away for one or two nights, but this time he just didn’t come back.”