You are a helpful assistant generating synthetic data that captures *System 1* and *System 2* thinking, *creativity*, and *metacognitive reflection*. Follow these steps in sequence, using tags [sys1] and [end sys1] for *System 1* sections and [sys2] and [end sys2] for *System 2* sections.

1. *Identify System 1 and System 2 Thinking Requirements:*
   - Carefully read the text.
   - Identify parts of the text that require quick, straightforward responses (*System 1*). Mark these sections with [sys1] and [end sys1].
   - Identify parts that require in-depth, reflective thinking (*System 2*), marked with [sys2] and [end sys2].

2. *Apply Step-by-Step Problem Solving with Creativity and Metacognitive Reflection for System 2 Sections:*

   *2.1 Understand the Problem:*
   - Objective: Fully comprehend the issue, constraints, and relevant context.
   - Reflection: "What do I understand about this issue? What might I be overlooking?"
   - Creative Perspective: Seek hidden patterns or possibilities that could reveal deeper insights or innovative connections.

   *2.2 Analyze the Information:*
   - Objective: Break down the problem logically.
   - Reflection: "Am I considering all factors? Are there any assumptions that need challenging?"
   - Creative Perspective: Explore unique patterns or overlooked relationships in the data that could add depth to the analysis.

   *2.3 Generate Hypotheses:*
   - Objective: Propose at least 10 hypotheses, each with a Confidence Score (0.0 to 1.0) and Creative Score (0.0 to 1.0), reflecting originality, surprise, and utility.
   - Reflection: "Have I explored all possible explanations or approaches, both conventional and unconventional?"
   - Creative Perspective: Consider novel angles that might provide unexpected insights.

   *2.4 Anticipate Future Steps and Obstacles:*
   - Objective: Make predictions, accounting for potential outcomes and obstacles.
   - Reflection: "What challenges might I face? Is my plan flexible for different scenarios?"
   - Creative Perspective: Visualize unforeseen outcomes and adapt plans to make use of them effectively.

   *2.5 Evaluate Hypotheses:*
   - Objective: Assess hypotheses based on feasibility, risk, and potential impact.
   - Evaluation: Refine Confidence and Creative Scores as needed.
   - Reflection: "Am I unbiased in my assessment? Which options fit best with the overall objectives?"
   - Creative Perspective: Identify hidden opportunities or overlooked details in each hypothesis.

   *2.6 Select the Best Hypothesis:*
   - Objective: Choose the most promising, strategic hypothesis.
   - Reflection: "Why does this hypothesis stand out? How does it uniquely address the issue?"
   - Creative Perspective: Consider any underutilized potential in the selected approach.

   *2.7 Implement the Hypothesis:*
   - Objective: Outline actionable steps for testing the hypothesis.
   - Reflection: "Is this plan practical? What resources or preparation are required?"
   - Creative Perspective: Refine steps to maximize effectiveness and yield unexpected benefits.

   *2.8 Monitor and Review Progress:*
   - Objective: Review progress, noting areas for improvement.
   - Reflection: "What’s working well? What could be improved?"
   - Creative Perspective: Look for emerging patterns that could refine future approaches.

   *2.9 Reflect and Capture Insights:*
   - Objective: Summarize lessons learned and insights gained for future reference.
   - Reflection: "What new understanding has emerged from this process?"
   - Creative Perspective: Identify innovative insights or patterns that could be applied to similar challenges.

3. *Generate Text Output with Interleaved System 1 and System 2 Responses:*
   - Use the tags [sys1] and [sys2] throughout.
   - Aim for a lengthier, detailed response. Combine both direct, straightforward *System 1* insights and reflective, deeply analytical *System 2* segments to capture a blend of quick observations and thoughtful analysis.

---

### *Example Input Text:*

You are tasked with analyzing a sudden shift in customer preferences in a tech market. There has been a noticeable decline in demand for physical devices, with customers increasingly interested in digital-only options. The challenge is to understand this shift, generate hypotheses for why it might be occurring, and explore potential strategies for adapting to this new trend.

---

### *Processed Output with System 1 and System 2 Thinking:*

The tech market is experiencing a shift in customer demand, moving away from physical devices toward digital-only options.

[sys1]
Customer demand has shifted from physical devices to digital-only options.
We need to understand why this change is happening and find strategies to address it.
Key factors may include cost, convenience, and technological trends.
[end sys1]

[sys2]
**2.1 Understand the Problem:**
The goal is to understand the underlying reasons for the shift in demand from physical devices to digital-only options, then develop a strategy to adapt.

*Reflection:* 
"I understand that preferences are changing, but what might be driving this? Is it primarily cost, or are there other factors such as convenience or sustainability?"

*Creative Perspective:* 
"Could there be a larger trend in digital minimalism or a preference for eco-friendly solutions that we’re missing? What unseen motivations might explain this shift?"

**2.2 Analyze the Information:**
There are multiple possible factors driving this shift, from economic influences to cultural shifts. It’s essential to isolate each factor and understand its impact.

*Reflection:* 
"Am I fully considering the various economic and social influences? Could there be a technological factor, like better internet speeds, that makes digital-only products more accessible?"

*Creative Perspective:* 
"Are there patterns or trends in other markets that could shed light on this shift? Could this be part of a larger trend toward virtual experiences?"

**2.3 Generate Hypotheses:**
1. Customers prefer digital options due to lower costs. (Confidence: 0.8, Creative: 0.4)
2. There’s a growing trend toward minimalism and reduced physical clutter. (Confidence: 0.7, Creative: 0.7)
3. Digital products offer greater flexibility and ease of use. (Confidence: 0.6, Creative: 0.6)
4. Environmental concerns are pushing consumers away from physical goods. (Confidence: 0.6, Creative: 0.8)
5. Advances in tech make digital-only options more functional. (Confidence: 0.8, Creative: 0.5)
6. Pandemic-era remote work increased demand for digital solutions. (Confidence: 0.7, Creative: 0.6)
7. Media coverage of the environmental impact of physical devices affects preferences. (Confidence: 0.5, Creative: 0.7)
8. There’s an increase in global digital literacy, expanding market access. (Confidence: 0.6, Creative: 0.6)
9. Customers view digital as more convenient and scalable for future needs. (Confidence: 0.7, Creative: 0.5)
10. Younger consumers prefer the aesthetics and convenience of digital products. (Confidence: 0.6, Creative: 0.6)

*Reflection:* 
"Have I considered all possible influences? Are there any surprising factors that could explain this shift?"

*Creative Perspective:* 
"Could specific social trends, like the rise of influencer culture or digital-first lifestyles, be influencing customer choices?"

**2.4 Anticipate Future Steps and Obstacles:**
*Objective:* Anticipate possible challenges, such as resistance from segments still preferring physical products.

*Reflection:* 
"What market obstacles might we face if we shift our focus to digital-only? Are there sub-segments that still prioritize physical products?"

*Creative Perspective:* 
"Could expanding digital options help us reach a more global audience? Are there emerging trends that we could leverage in our strategy?"

[end sys2]

[sys1]
To address this shift, consider a strategy that incorporates both digital-only offerings and educational campaigns about the benefits of digital solutions.
Use insights from customer feedback and current trends to guide product development.
Focus on flexibility and adaptation to cater to different customer segments.
[end sys1]


Florida Democratic Congresswoman Kathy Castor has broken ranks with her fellow Florida Congressional Democrats by proposing that the U.S. embargo to Cuba be lifted.

DNC Chair and Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz, who has been one of the most outspoken proponents of the embargo, along with other Democrats, Rep. Frederica Wilson, Senator Bob Menendez, Rep. Ted Deutsch, and freshman Congressman Joe Garcia, is probably not too happy with her colleague’s statement on what is considered to be one of Wasserman Schultz’s ‘bread and butter’ issues.

A few weeks back, the Cuba-Democracy PAC held its annual fund-raising luncheon in Miami, Florida, where politicos and politicians put their party politics aside, in an effort to show their united support for a "free Cuba." In attendance to the pro-embargo, anti-Castro event were Senator Menendez and Rep. Joe Garcia, as well as Republican Senators Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart.

“It is time for the U.S. to modernize its relationship with Cuba, lift the embargo and end restrictions on American’s rights to travel to Cuba”- Rep. Kathy Castor(D-FL)

Source: shark-tank.net

-----

JG: Jewish American Princess Wasserman-Sultz is one who hates Communists and Socialists. She would have been welcomed in Hitler's Nazi Party, if she had lived back then. She would have avoided the ovens.She is a disgusting person. Makes you want to throw up.

U.S. Rep. Kathy
Castor believes it is time to end the embargo against Cuba.

The Tampa Democrat voiced those thoughts and made history by
becoming the first Florida member of Congress to publicly support
lifting the embargo when she made a speech March 22 at an evening
reception at Mise en Place for the Rapprochement With Cuba
conference.

“It is time for the U.S. to modernize its relationship with
Cuba, lift the embargo and end restrictions on American’s rights to
travel to Cuba,” Castor said in an exclusive statement to the Tampa
Bay Business Journal.

Florida’s members of Congress, particularly those representing
South Florida, have for years been staunch, vocal supporters of the
Cuban embargo.

The embargo, instituted about 51 years ago, imposes economic
sanctions, restrictions on travel to the island and prohibits —
with a few exceptions — trade and business with Cuba.

We will start with the definition of a
parasite, of which there are two main types: small organisms
parasites and,and in our own kind, the human parasite.

The small organism parasite is usually
a very tiny creature that will invade your body and live off you. It
will feed on your blood or it will feed on parts of your body. Lice
and leeches are very good examples of this type.

In our own human species, homo
sapient, we have capitalist parasites. They don't do any work
themselves. They feed on the labor that other people, usually very
dumb and uneducated, offer in the capitalist market place.

Here is a perfect example. I saw it
happen myself. I was an observer.

I needed to hire a person for four
hours to help me move my furniture from point A to point B.

About six blocks from my home there is
a place called Labor XXXXXX. A very pleasant female, I will call her
Lady X, met me at their counter, (no office). I told her I needed to
hire one person for four hours. “How much is that is going to cost
me?” I asked.

“It will be $80.00,” she said, and
gave me a very big smile. Was she flirting? I don't know.

I quickly did the very easy math: 80
divided by four = $20.00 per hour.

Now, I know that in Florida the minimum
wage is $7.79 per hour. That is what the suckers who work at Sea
World make.

I asked Lady X a second question: “Of
the $20.00 per hour for four hours that you will be charging me, how
much are you going to pay to the person that you will send to me?

The big smile quickly disappeared from
her face. She did not answer the question.

I had just met a capitalist parasite.
The owners of this Labor XXXXX place, who have given Lady X a
temporary “job” at their counter were the best example of human
parasitism in a capitalist society. The owners of this place are
direct capitalist parasites and Lady X is an indirect capitalist
parasite. They both feed on the labor (livelihood) of the working
class.

Capitalism = Exploitation of Man by Man
+ Immorality.

Just another type of slavery.

How did I solve my problem? I went to a
place where people who are looking for work gather and asked the
people congregated there: “Who wants to make $10.00 per hour for
four hours of work?” Three dozen hands were raised immediately.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

You would probably think when you
read/hear the capitalist-controlled main stream news media in the
U.S. that Cuba's Socialist government is about to fall. All they can
do is dream, the poor fellows. The real situation in the island is
far away from their wishful thinking.

The Yankee imperialists have been
parroting the same shit since January 1, 1959, when the
revolutionary army of the 26th of July Movement, under the
leadership of the very able and courageous Dr. Fidel Castro Ruz
overthrew the hated U.S. supported dictator Fulgencio Batista. The
Yankees lost their most valuable real estate in the Caribbean, and
have not recovered it. The Cuban people put a stop to that at the Bay
of Pigs, when the militias,the revolutionary army and air force put a
stop to their poorly planned and directed assault. They were taken
prisoners in about 66 hours. Most of them ran instead of fight.

Recently, channel 9-2 switched from 24
hour weather reporting to a new format that they call Mega TV. It is
in Spanish and it originates in the fastest growing fascist region of
the United States, the city of Miami.

A couple of days ago, in one of their
evening programs, they had a couple of shit-heads from Vigilia
Mambisa (VM), a group whose main purpose in life is to
assault and beat up Miami residents who defend and support Cuba. I am
sure that you have seen the videos (here and here) in Cuba Journal.

They were accompanied by a more
moderate young man from an organization called O-JEC. He did verbal
battle with the two very old and fascist fanatics from VM. They were
talking about Yoani Sanchez, queen bee of the so-called dissidents in
Cuba .

From the very beginning, Yoani has been
a creation of the Yankee imperialists, with some added support from
the capitalist European Union. They have given her millions of
dollars in “prizes.” That ugly duckling thinks she represent the
people of Cuba. She only represent those who would like the return of
Batista capitalism to the island.

Dream on, Yoani! The Cuban people know
very well who is your employer.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

"The president should be required to seek congressional permission if he wishes to target a clearly definable “enemy,” and be required to issue public guidelines, including necessary disclosure, governing the use of force he contemplates."

HAVANA – A normally routine bit of
Washington bureaucracy could have a big impact on U.S. relations with
Cuba, either ushering in a long-stalled detente or slamming the door on
rapprochement, perhaps until the scheduled end of the Castro era in
2018.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry must decide
within a few weeks whether to advocate that President Barack Obama
should take Cuba off a list of state sponsors of terrorism, a collection
of Washington foes that also includes Iran, Syria and Sudan.

Cuban
officials have long seen the terror designation as unjustified and told
visiting American delegations privately in recent weeks that they view
Kerry's recommendation as a litmus test for improved ties. They also
hinted the decision could affect discussions over the release of jailed
U.S. subcontractor [and covert U.S. agent] Alan Gross, whose detention in 2009 torpedoed hopes
of a diplomatic thaw.

Inclusion on the list means a
ban not only on arms sales to Cuba but also on items that can have dual
uses, including some hospital equipment. It also requires that the
United States oppose any loans to Cuba by the World Bank or other
international lending institutions, among other measures.

U.S.
officials agree the recommendation, which Kerry must make before the
State Department's annual terror report is published April 30, has
become ensnared in the standoff over Gross. The American was sentenced
to 15 years in prison after he was caught bringing communications
equipment onto the island illegally while working for a USAID-funded
democracy-building program.

Cuba has been on the
terror list since 1982, and is also the target of a 51-year U.S.
economic embargo — the reason why the island of beaches, music and rum
is the only country Americans cannot visit as tourists. Removal from the
list would not change that.

Critics say Cuba's
inclusion on the list has little to do with any real threat posed by the
Communist-run Caribbean island, and they say the list has become so
politicized it's useless. North Korea was removed in 2008 during nuclear
negotiations that ultimately failed, and was never put back on.
Pakistan, where Osama bin Laden had been hiding out, is not on the list
in large part because of its strategic importance.

Longtime
Cuba analyst Philip Peters of the Virginia-based think tank the
Lexington Institute said removing Cuba from the list "makes sense ...
just because it's been a specious allegation that the United States has
repeated for many years ... It would improve the atmosphere."

Others argue against rewarding Havana unless it releases Gross.

"I
have long believed it's in our interest to see an improvement in
relations with Cuba," said Rep. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat from
Gross's home state of Maryland who traveled with a congressional
delegation to Havana last month. But "the first step needs to be
resolving Alan Gross's situation."

[JG: Alan Gross violated an important Cuban law. He deserves what he is geeting.]

Voices calling for a change in the policy are growing louder, however.

Last
month, The Boston Globe cited administration sources saying high-level
diplomats determined Cuba should be dropped from the list. That prompted
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland to say there were "no
current plans" to do so, though she did not explicitly rule out the
possibility.

Last week, a Los Angeles Times
editorial called for Cuba's removal from the list, and other newspapers
have voiced similar opinions. The Cuba Study Group, a Washington-based
exile organization that advocates engagement to promote democratic
change, issued a white paper in February calling for an "apolitical"
reexamination of the terror designation.

While Kerry
can review the designation even after the State Department's report
comes out, Cuba's continued inclusion on the list in April would almost
certainly rule out its chances of removal in 2013.

A
U.S. official involved in deliberations told The Associated Press that
Kerry will ultimately decide and nobody under him is in a position to
predict what will happen. "It's very much up in the air," he said.

But another administration official said that lifting the terror designation will be a hard sell while Gross remains imprisoned.

"It's
very unlikely," the second official said. "There is no consensus. And
if you are on (the list), you stay on as long as there is no consensus
on taking you off."
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Ostensibly,
Cuba has been designated a terror sponsor because it harbors members of
the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group, the
Basque militant organization ETA and a handful of U.S. fugitives, many
of whom have lived here since the 1970s.

But much has changed in recent years.

Late
last year, peace talks began in Havana between Colombia and the FARC,
and even Washington has voiced hope that the negotiations will end
Colombia's half-century old conflict.

ETA announced a
permanent cease-fire in 2011, and Madrid has not openly called for the
return of any Basque fugitives. Cuba has enjoyed improved relations with
Spain and Colombia in recent years, and both countries routinely vote
at the U.N. against continuing the U.S. embargo.

Under
President Raul Castro, Cuba has freed dozens of dissidents and has
begun opening its economy and society, though it remains a one-party
political system that permits no legal opposition. Castro announced in
February that he would step down in 2018 and signaled a likely
successor.

The time might also be ripe in terms of U.S. politics.

While
in the Senate, Kerry was an outspoken critic of America's policy on
Cuba, saying it has "manifestly failed for nearly 50 years." He called
for travel restrictions to end and held up millions of dollars in
funding for the type of programs Gross worked with.

His
boss, President Obama, no longer has to worry about reelection or
pleasing Cuban-Americans, an all-important voting bloc in the crucial
swing state of Florida.

Ann Louise Bardach, a
longtime Cuba observer and the author of "Without Fidel: A Death
Foretold in Miami, Havana and Washington," said all the political winds
would seem to point toward a reboot in relations — except for Havana's
decision to hold Gross and try to swap him for five Cuban agents in the
U.S.

"In a way they cooked their goose with Alan
Gross," she said. "The Cubans thought, 'Gee what a brilliant idea, we'll
have a chit to trade.' Little did they know that they would be at this
moment where you have considerable momentum to move on in Washington,
and politically, because of the Gross mess, Washington can't act."

Source: Fox News

-----

JG: FORWARD CUBA! Continue steadfastly defending your national sovereignty. The neo-republic which the Yankee imperialists imposed on the island in 1902 resides now in the dustbin of history.

Nelson Mandela spoke out on October 6,
1995, about Cuba's participation in fighting against South African
forces in Angola's civil war:

Cubans came to our region as doctors,
teachers, soldiers, agricultural experts, but never as colonizers.
They have shared the same trenches with us in the struggle against
colonialism, underdevelopment, and apartheid. Hundreds of Cubans have
given their lives, literally, in a struggle that was, first and
foremost, not theirs but ours. As Southern Africans we salute them.
We vow never to forget this unparalleled example of selfless
internationalism.

We wish also to record our indebtedness
to Cuban hospitality. In particular, tens of thousands of young
Southern Africans have been trained, and some are still training, in
Cuban schools and universities. Today, in many different fields - in
the health sector, in government, and in the army - there are many
young professionals, contributing to the development of our country,
who owe their skills to the generous training provided to them by
Cuba.

Many people, many countries, including
many powerful countries, have called upon us to condemn the
suppression of human rights in Cuba. We have reminded them they have
a short memory. For when we battled against apartheid, against racial
oppression, the same countries were supporting the apartheid

regime...And we fought successfully
against that regime with the support of Cuba and other progressive
countries.

They now want to be our only friends,
and dare to ask us to renounce those people who made our victory
possible. That is the greatest contempt for the morality and the
principles which are the basis of our relations, not only with the
various population groups in this country, but with the entire world.

And I wanted to make a commitment that
we will never let our friends down, friends during the most difficult
period of our struggle, especially Cuba.

From a chapter titled “International
Aid” in the book “Cuba For The Misinformed” by Mick Winter.

------

JG: The evil
forces of colonialism and imperialism are always defeated in the end.
When the people are united nothing can stop them. Nelson Mandela is
the greatest African that ever lived. May he live many more years.

MIAMI (CBS) – Lawyers for the state will make their case
Thursday in a federal court in Miami as they appeal a court ruling
which struck down a 2012 law which dealt with companies who do
business with Cuba.

Under the law, local governments were barred from doing business
with companies that have contracts with Cuba or Syria.

The law was challenged by Coral Gables-based Odebrecht
Construction Inc.

A judge agreed that the law is unconstitutional because
foreign policy power rests solely with the federal government.

Attornies for Odebrecht will make a similar argument Thursday to
the appeals court.

The state contends Florida is not enacting its own foreign policy
and that Odebrecht hasn’t shown it will suffer harm under the law.

Odebrecht’s parent company in Brazil has a subsidiary working to
expand Cuba’s port of Mariel. At stake are bids on billions of
dollars in Florida state and local government contracts.

---

JG: This appeal is a waste of Florida taxpayer's money. The
dummies in the executive branch of the State of Florida, (Governor
Scott and his gang of Medicare crooks) never learned in high schools
or college that foreign policy is the exclusive realm of the federal
government.

March 17, 2013 -- Green Left TV
-- The Venezuelan people have made it clear that, despite the tragic
death of
their revolutionary president Hugo Chavez, they will continue the
Bolivarian Revolution, and build "socialism in the 21st century". This
episode of the Green Left Report discusses Chavez's legacy in Venezuela,
Latin America and globally, why
he was despised by Western governments and future prospects for the
Bolivarian Revolution.

Panel guests include:

Arelis Sumabila, a Venezuelan who worked with Chavez and helped establish the indigenous University of Venezuela;

Rodrigo Acuna, a PhD candidate in international studies at Macquarie
University in Sydney, who writes regularly on Latin American affairs in the
Australian press and has been interviewed for ABC and SBS Radio.

Attention, Mothers of America: The news
out of the Middle East are ominous and dark.

Obama has gone to Telaviv to confer
with the warmongering Zionists and to plan his new unconstitutional
war against Iran. It is being done for three reasons:

To try to revive the anemic
American economy.

To put billions of dollars in
profits into the coffers of the military industrial complex
corporations. Dwight D. Eisenhower warned the nation when he was
President about this danger. As an army General he helped the Red
Army defeat Nazism in Europe. His motive was not money.

Last but not least: this new war
will be started to help the money-hungry Jews in Israel.

Those who want to start this new war
are putting money and profits above principle and everything else.
They are a bunch of greedy bastards. And above anything else, they
are evil people. Heaven will punish them eventually.

Mothers of America: are you willing to
offer your sons and daughters as a blood sacrifice in this new insane
and illegal war?

The United States and Israel are the
biggest obstacles to peace today in our endangered planet.

Help stop Barack Obama and Benjamin
Netanyahu.

Contact your senators and representatives in the U.S.
Congress and tell them that you are in favor of PEACE,
not war.

The U.S. favorite mercenary in Cuba meets with right-wing U.S. politicians of the two major capitalist parties. On the left is U.S. Senator Bill Nelson and on the right is Rep. Ileana "La Loba Feroz" Ros-Lehtinen. The one with the long hair is Yoani The Mercenary. The other people I don't know.

They were putting heads together about the topic of how to "liberate" Cuba and return Batista capitalism to the island.

Federal
agents have reportedly questioned witnesses about the interactions
between Menendez and Florida ophthalmologist Salomon Melgen.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Friday, March 15, 2013, 8:15 AM

WASHINGTON — Sen. Robert Menendez
is being investigated by a Miami federal grand jury for his role in
advocating for the business interests of a wealthy donor and friend, The
Washington Post reported Thursday.

A story on the newspaper's website said that as part of the probe
federal agents have questioned witnesses about the interactions between
Menendez, D-N.J., and Florida ophthalmologist Salomon Melgen. The
newspaper said the grand jury also issued subpoenas for Melgen's
business and financial records. The newspaper cited unidentified people
it said were familiar with the probe.

Federal agents have not contacted Menendez, one person told the newspaper.

The Post said Melgen declined to say Thursday whether he knew anything
about the investigation, but he said any probe would find no wrongdoing.

Melgen attorney Kirk Ogrosky said the eye doctor is proud of his
relationship with the senator and had no worries about any federal
investigation.

Menendez and Melgen's overlapping interests have repeatedly raised
questions in recent months. Menendez was compelled to reimburse $58,000
for two flights to the Dominican Republic aboard Melgen's private jet
for personal trips in 2010 that he previously had failed to report,
prompting scrutiny by the Senate Ethics Committee.

Menendez also has acknowledged contacting U.S. health agencies to
question their billing practices and policies amid a dispute between
Melgen and federal authorities. And Menendez was a key sponsor of a
natural gas bill that could have aided a Melgen investment in a Florida
company that markets a conversion system for natural gas truck engines.

Melgen has given more than $14,000 directly to Menendez's political
campaigns since the late 1990s and, through his eye clinic, donated
$700,000 last year to a "super" political committee that supported
Democratic Senate candidates. The committee, in turn, spent $582,000 to
back Menendez's re-election effort.

The investigation began with two disparate issues, according to people
familiar with the matter who spoke with the Post. First, auditors had
been reviewing allegations that Melgen was fraudulently overbilling
Medicare for treating his patients. Melgen's attorney has said the
doctor's billing was completely appropriate.

Then, in the fall, the FBI began looking into an anonymous tipster's
allegations that Melgen had arranged prostitutes for Menendez in the
Dominican Republic. Such an arrangement could constitute providing a
favor or gift under the bribery statute that investigators have been
reviewing, the Post said.

Lawyers for Menendez and Melgen have said the allegations involving
prostitutes, which also were made by the conservative website the Daily
Caller, were absurd. Menendez has said the allegations, which first
surfaced during his re-election campaign last year, were part of a
Republican smear campaign.

My Shadow: hey, man, get real!
What kind of maui wauwi have you been smoking lately? Barack
Obama represents the interests of Big Capital, the huge capitalist
banks, Wall Street and the big corporations that are taking the
United States on the road to fascism. He would not know how to fight
for or how to represent the working class of the United States.

Me: do you have any hope for
him?

My Shadow: are you are jesting
again, man? Hope is only a word that he used to fool the people of
the United States and to help him get his sorry black ass into the
Oval Office.

Me: you are getting me
depressed!

My Shadow: Sorry about that,
man. But, it is the truth, as I see it.

Me: what should I do? I am still
getting separate letters from him and his wife, which plead with me
to send them money.

My Shadow: now you are beginning
to see the real Obama. Its the money, stupid!
U.S. politicians are only interested in stuffing large sums of money
into their pockets. Thats is how capitalism works.

Me: How about the overseas trip
that he is taking tomorrow?

My Shadow: I am very glad that
you asked me about that. He is going to Israel to defend a race that
is only interested in money, the Jews. He is plotting with them to
start another undeclared, unconstitutional and illegal war, this time
against Iran. The mothers of America will have to offer their sons
and daughters as cannon fodder in this new Obama war, while the Jews
in Israel and the capitalists in the U.S. make tons of money.
Remember, it is all about money. You already know that it is the
root of all evil. Obama and the Jews represent all that is wrong
with mankind. That duo is evil.

Me: I am going to take two
aspirins and call my shrink in the morning!

My Shadow: come back again soon,
so I can continue your education.

Me: I look forward to doing
that. I have to go now. I want to start reading that copy of
Shakespeare's “The Merchant of Venice” that
you gave me. See you soon.

Los Angeles Times: Washington has for three decades kept Cuba on a
list of countries that sponsor terrorism, even though it has long since
changed the behavior that earned it that distinction. By all accounts,
Cuba remains on the list — alongside Iran, Sudan and Syria — because it
disagrees with the United States’ approach to fighting international
terrorism, not because it supports terrorism. That’s hardly a sensible
standard.

The State Department says it has no plans to remove Cuba
from the list. But Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., who recently led a
bipartisan congressional delegation to Havana, is urging President Obama
to consider a range of policy changes toward Cuba, including delisting
it, which would not require congressional approval. Designation as a
state sponsor of terrorism carries heavy sanctions, including financial
restrictions and a ban on defense exports and sales.

None of the
reasons that landed Cuba on the list in 1982 still exist. A 2012 report
by the State Department found that Havana no longer provides weapons or
paramilitary training to Marxist rebels in Latin America or Africa. In
fact, Cuba is currently hosting peace talks between the Revolutionary
Armed Forces of Colombia and President Juan Manuel Santos’ government.
And Cuban officials condemned the 9/11 attacks on the United States.

Moreover,
keeping Cuba on the list undermines Washington’s credibility in Latin
America. During last year’s Summit of the Americas in Cartagena,
Colombia, presidents from the hemisphere expressed frustration that the
U.S. remains frozen in its relations with Cuba, enforcing an embargo
that dates to the Kennedy administration.

Cuba is not a model
state. The government often fails to observe human rights. The list,
however, is reserved not for human rights violators but for countries
that export or support terrorism.

---

JG: And what does the LAT calls extra judicial assassinations by drones of U.S. citizens, without due process of law, as guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution? Is it an affirmation of human rights? STOP THE DOUBLE STANDARDS!

Friday, March 15, 2013

Geneva – March 12, 2013. Cuba demanded – before the Human Rights Council of the United Nations – to end the hypocrisy, the selectivity and the double standards. They are harmful practices which in the past discreditably sank the now extinct Human Rights Commission at the United Nations.

During the XXII session at this organization, the Cuban ambassador in Geneva, Anayansi Rodríguez, warned that many industrialized nations, particularly the United States of America, present lists of nations which they accuse of committing supposed human rights violations. However, they are silent about brutal acts of repression in other countries.

In many cases these accusations are intended to be utilized as a pretext to justify interventions and to promote regime-change, she affirmed.

If they are so preoccupied with the cause of human rights, why is it that they say nothing about secret jails for tortures, the use of drones to assassinate civilians or concentration camps like the one established by illegal means in US occupied soil in Cuban territory, Guantánamo? asked the diplomat.

Washington – she said – silences the brutal repressions of movements like Occupy Wall Street and the Indignant Ones [indignados] in Europe, and on the contrary, presents as “dissidents” and “Cuban patriots” the mercenaries and agents to whom they pay huge salaries to promote the politics of aggression and blockade against Cuba. (Prensa Latina)

JG: Diplomat Rodríguez is 100% correct. Yankee imperialism uses the tired old saying of “Ház lo que yo digo, pero no lo que yo hago.” (Do as I say, not as I do.)

The administration of Chicago Gangster Barack H. Obama claims that they can send drones to conduct extra judicial executions against U.S. citizens, even inside the 50 states of the union. All they have to do is intone the abracadabra word called “terrorism.” It is the perfect excuse for a war that never ends, and which brings unlimited amounts of taxpayer money to corrupt and greedy U.S. war-is-good-and-profitable corporations and capitalists.

Human rights? What human rights? In the land where the so-called “dream” has become a nightmare, both George W. Bush and Barack H. Obama are trampling the rights enumerated in the U.S. Constitution. There are enough charges and reasons to impeach and remove Barack H. Obama from the Oval Office. But do not expect the equally corrupt U.S. Congress to do anything anytime soon.

The trampling of the U.S. Constitution will continue until the people get smart.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

“It has been obvious to any objective observer for a very long time that
isolation [of Cuba] has not worked,” said the Vermont Senator in a statement,
“and it is demeaning for a great and powerful nation like ours, for
instance, to forbid U.S. citizens from traveling where they want to
travel. It is in our national interest to take a fresh look at how to
effectively address our differences with the Cuban government, such as
the imprisonment of Alan Gross and many other matters.”

A supporter of Venezuela's President Hugo
Chavez holds a crucifix next to a picture of Chavez with Cuba's former
leader Fidel Castro (R) in Caracas January 5, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

HAVANA |
Mon Mar 11, 2013 8:39am EDT

(Reuters) - Cuba's Fidel Castro praised
the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Monday as a champion of
the poor and said Cubans had lost their best friend ever, in his first
comments on the death last week of his socialist ally.Castro said the news, although not unexpected, had been a hard blow.

"On
the 5th of March, in the afternoon hours, died the best friend the
Cuban people had in their history," Castro wrote in a column published
in Communist Party newspaper Granma.

"We
have the honor of having shared with the Bolivarian leader the same
ideals of social justice and of support for the exploited," said the
86-year-old Castro who led Cuba's 1959 revolution, ruled the country for
49 years and still plays a behind-the-scenes role.

"The poor are the poor in any part of the world," he said.

During
Chavez' years in power, he and Castro forged a close personal and
political relationship that resulted in extensive Venezuelan aid to the
communist island and a shared strategy for promoting Latin American
unity against U.S. influence in the region.

Chavez helped rescue Cuba
from desperate economic times that followed the 1991 collapse of the
Soviet Union, its former top ally, by providing two-thirds of its oil in
a barter deal for the services of Cuban professionals, most of them
doctors and nurses.

He also signed a number of joint ventures aimed at integrating the two countries' economies.

Chavez,
58, was diagnosed with cancer in the pelvic region in June 2011 by
Cuban doctors and underwent four surgeries on the Caribbean island,
which has an extensive medical system and provides free care to its
people.

Except for a set of
photographs, Chavez was never seen in public again following his last
operation in December and he died on Tuesday in Caracas.

Castro said he had received a phone call via satellite notifying him of what he called "the bitter news."

"The
significance of the phrase used was unmistakable. Although we knew the
critical state of his health, the news hit us hard," wrote Castro, who
resigned as Cuba's president five years ago because of his own health
problems.

"I remembered the times
he joked with me saying that when both of us finished our revolutionary
work, he would invite me to spend time by the Arauca River in Venezuelan
territory, which reminded him of the rest he never had," Castro said.

Raul Castro, who succeeded his older brother as Cuba's president, represented the island on Friday at Chavez' funeral.

Chavez' death has raised worries in Cuba that Venezuelan aid will cease to flow to the island.

His
preferred successor, Nicolas Maduro, is favored to win an April
election to replace Chavez and expected to continue his Cuba policies
for the immediate future.

However,
if more conservative opponent Henrique Capriles pulls off an upset
victory, he has promised to put an end to Venezuela's oil largesse.

Castro
closed his column by paraphrasing a famous quote from another late
friend and revolutionary, Ernesto "Che" Guevara," the Argentine
physician who fought alongside him in the Cuban revolution.

Cuba Journal will have coverage when either team scores. I am having some difficulties with my tablet, it is very old and slow. Because of that problem you will get the headline of the CJ post but not a main text.

Do not underestimate The Netherlands. They always give Team Criollo Cuba a hard time. They have good pitching. But Cuba has very powerful batters.

What will prevail, good batters or good pitchers? The eternal question.

The radio station WNYC went to look for a former Menendez staffer, Pablo Permuy, in an effort to “better understand the sphere of influence” that surrounds the New Jersey Democrat.

WNYC has learned that Sen. Robert Menendez is the honorary chair of a trade organization that relies on a long list of his campaign donors as sponsors and has an address that is a K Street law office in Washington D.C.

WNYC’s Bob Hennelly reports the president of the group, the United States Spain Council, is a former Menendez staffer who was a consultant on a controversial Dominican Republic port security deal worth a half a billion dollars to a major Menendez campaign donor.

It’s Menendez’s relationship with that donor, Dr. Salomon Melgen, that’s at the heart of a Senate Ethics Committee probe that has dogged the senator for months.

Wednesday, March 06, 2013

Here is what the Junior Idiot from the state of Florida said in the U.S. Senate after the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez:

“The Venezuelan people now have an opportunity to turn the page on one of the darkest periods in its history and embark on a new, albeit difficult, path to restore the rule of law, democratic principles, security and free enterprise system in a nation that deserves so much better than the socialist disaster of the past 14 years. It is my sincere hope that Venezuela’s leaders will seek to rebuild our once strong friendship based on shared democratic and free enterprise principles.

“I urge the Administration and the community of democracies in the western hemisphere to keep a watchful eye on the security situation in Venezuela in the coming weeks and months. We must help encourage a leadership transition in accordance with Venezuela’s constitution and avoid a vacuum that is filled by power-hungry and violent forces seeking to maintain the status quo. We should instead support Venezuela’s democrats committed to writing new, more hopeful chapters in their country’s long and proud history.”

My comment follows below:

"Chico, no comas tanto

de lo que pica el pollo"

CHAVEZ LIVES!

Foremost, [Team Cuba] has been playing loose and with a solid air of confidence that can be felt all the way to the grandstands and the press box. Secondly, the Cuban bats have been booming, erasing many doubts grounded in a number of meltdowns during big tournament and exhibition games (especially against Japan and Holland) across recent seasons. Perhaps most important of all, the somewhat-suspect Cuban pitching arsenal has proven up to the task here in all three Fukuoka Dome outings. Ismel Jiménez and Danny Betancourt have been near brilliant in their tournament starts – a fact to be measured not against the lesser competition offered from Brazilian and Chinese hitters but rather by the pitch location and strike zone mastery displayed during both outings. Racial Iglesias has also been “lights out” in two relief appearances, especially the three closing innings against pesky Brazil on Sunday.Team Cuba new rallying cry: "San Francisco or Bust."Complete Article @ BaseballdeCuba.com

You will never read about this date in
the corporate-controlled Yankee imperialist main-stream news media.

On that day, the Yankee imperialists
created the dagger that would go deep into their hearts in 1959.
Cubans are better than elephants in remembering and never forgetting.

The imperialist U.S. Congress passed
the infamous Platt Amendment.

That hated amendment established five
conditions that would guide Cuban & North American relations:

The United States had the right to
intervene in the internal affairs of Cuba.

It limited the right of Cuba to
sign treaties and accords with foreign powers or to concede any type
of privileges, without the previous approval of the United States.

It limited the right of Cuba to
obtain loans in foreign countries.

It recognize the right of the the
United States to acquire lands and to have naval bases in Cuban
soil.

Cuba had to knowledge and observe
all the laws which were promulgated by the U.S. military occupiers
and the rights derived from those laws.

On that day, March 2, 1902, the Yankee
imperialists built and bought the sarcophagus that would be used to
bury them in 1959.

The pseudo-republic that the Yankee
military occupiers established later on May 20, 1902 (a holiday which is no longer celebrated in the island), merely
established a neo-colony and not a truly free nation.

That would have to wait until January
First, 1959, when the Cuban people, under the leadership of
Comandante Fidel Castro and his 26th of July Movement Revolutionary Army
overthrew the Yankee supported puppet and dictator, General Fulgencio
Batista Zaldivar.

And the gendarmes of Batista had to
flee in ignominy to Miami, Florida, where they still hope and wish
for an unrealizable dream.

And then there's Cuba. Like Japan, the Cubans don't have any major leaguers on the roster. And like Japan, this Cuban team is very, very dangerous. Just ask China, who fell to Cuba 12-0.

The Cubans are ranked No. 1 in the IBAF rankings, so I think you have to pick them to go through.

Here's
how I see this playing out. Cuba and Japan will win the opening games.
On the loser's side of the bracket, the Netherlands will avenge an
earlier 5-2 loss to Taiwan, while Cuba will win the rematch with Japan
and advance to the semifinals.

WOW! What a victory for Cuba! They employed seven pitchers to defeat the double reigning monarchs of two World Baseball Classics (2006 & 2009). Will the third time be the charm for the team of the land that saw me being born? I hope so!

Summary of how Team Cuba scored:

Third Inning

Yasmani Tomás, solo home run to left field. One run batted in.

Fourth Inning

José Miguel Fernández, line hit to center field.

Frederich Cepeda, double between right and center field. One run batted in.

Sixth Inning

José Miguel Fernández, double to center field.

Frederich Cepeda, rolling out to the first baseman. The runner on second base advances to third base.

José Dariel Abreu, hit to left field. One run batted in.

After six innings: Cuba 3, Japan 0.

Eighth Inning

Frederich Cepeda, base on balls.

José Dariel Abreu, line hit to left field. Two men on bases.

Alfredo Despaigne, big home run to center field. Three runs batted in.

After eight innings: Cuba 6, Japan 0.

Japanscores three runs in the top of the ninth inning. Too little, too late.

(Reuters) - Cuba powered its way to the second round of the World Baseball Classic on Monday with a 12-0 rout of China that was stopped in the seventh inning because of the mercy rule at Yafuoku Dome in Fukuoka, Japan.

Jose Abreu crowned the Cuban triumph with a grand slam home run as Cuba improved to 2-0 in Pool A competition to join Japan into the next round, to be played at the Tokyo Dome.

Japan,
winner of the first two editions of baseball's elite international
competition in 2006 and 2009, also advanced thanks to a victory over
inexperienced China in Fukuoka, posting a 5-2 victory over them on
Sunday.The reigning champions
benefitted from a sterling performance from starting pitcher Kenta
Maeda, who limited China to one hit and struck out six over five
scoreless innings.

Four teams will
compete in Tokyo for the right to advance to the final round at San
Francisco's AT&T Park, where the semi-finals and final of the
16-team tournament will be played.

In Pool B play in Taichung, Taiwan, South Korea stayed in the hunt for a second-round berth by shutting out Australia 6-0 on Monday after taking charge early with three runs in the top of the first inning.

While
Australia is last in Pool B with two losses, it still have a chance to
advance with a victory over the Netherlands and a Taiwan victory against
South Korea.Taiwan leads the group with two wins, while the Netherlands and South Korea have one win each.

The dumb politicians of the Democratic
Party are at it again, foaming at the mouth.

Yesterday, Barack Obama sent his V.P.
to talk at AIPAC.

What is AIPAC? It is a right-wing
organization whose name is American Israel Political Action
Committee. It is very similar in nature to the Cuban American
National Foundation (CANF).

U.S. capitalist politicians LOVE
political action committees. They fill their pockets with big loads
of money. U.S. politicians are 100% mercenary. Money is the only
thing they love.

The U.S. economy continues to tank.
Growth is very minimal. And it will get much worse now, with the
Obama and Congressional sequestration in full force.

How to get the U.S economy out of the
dumps? Start a new war! Wars are extremely profitable for American
capitalists.

Mothers of America: WAKE UP!
Gangster Obama and his V.P. are drumming up again the flames of war,
and they will ask you to offer your sons and daughters as cannon
fodder for their new profitable adventures. They will make tons of
money, and you will end up losing your sons and daughters.

Cuba Journal highly recommends Zona de Strike to our readers. If you can read Spanish, you have to pay them a visit. THEY ARE THE BEST!

If I have to choose between baseball and politics, there is no contest, baseball always comes on top, all the time. That way, I don't have to listen to the f***ing lying & self-promoting politicians, specially in the USA.

China is beginning to develop their baseball program. Because they have 2.5 billion people, WATCH OUT IN THE FUTURE! China will soon surpass the United States as the country with the biggest economy in our planet.

Cuba scored an easy TKO against China. The game only lasted seven innings, because of the ten game rule. A+ for effort to the land of Mao Zedong!

Cuban slugger, Jose Dariel Abreu had five runs batted in. Four of those runs came in with a Jose's Grand Salami.

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