7:10 AM 3/27/2012 | Puerto Rico’s jobless rate dipped to 15.1 percent in January, reaching a low… Census: PR’s urban population drops over past decade, rural living on rise - via caribbeanbusiness.pr | NPP calls on SEC to investigate, annul PDP primary vote - via Puerto Rico Daily Sun | PORTAZO SUPREMO AL DERECHO CIUDADANO - The Supreme Court's decision reverses the Appeals, calling as "speculation" the arguments of a group of Puerto Ricans who challenges the construction of the pipeline, should be reconsidered - via Opinión - El Nuevo Día on 3/26/12 | En manos del Presidente de CEE decisión sobre denuncias - Decision on complaints is in the hands of the President of EEC - via Opinión – Vocero de Puerto Rico on 3/26/12

 

Mike Nova's starred items - 7:10 AM 3/27/2012

 

Tuesday, March 27th, 2012

via caribbeanbusiness.pr on 3/27/12

Tuesday, March 27th, 2012

Pope arrives in Cuba as ‘pilgrim of charity’

SANTIAGO, Cuba — Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Cuba on Monday in the footsteps of ...

Agencies prep for islandwide tsunami drill

Puerto Rico agencies and municipal governments are gearing up for a tsunami-prep ...

Weight-loss surgery can put diabetes into remission, studies find

New research gives clear proof that weight-loss surgery can reverse and possibly ...

 

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Monday, March 26th, 2012

via caribbeanbusiness.pr on 3/26/12

Monday, March 26th, 2012

PR unemployment rate dips to 15.1%

Puerto Rico’s jobless rate dipped to 15.1 percent in January, reaching a low not ...

PDP picks Cruz to run for SJ mayor

“My name is Carmen Yulín and I am the next mayor of San Juan.” ...

Census: PR’s urban population drops over past decade, rural living on rise

Puerto Rico’s urban population fell over the past decade while the island’s rura ...

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View from abroad: US facing woes, but still No. 1

via caribbeanbusiness.pr on 3/24/12

View from abroad: US facing woes, but still No. 1

NEW YORK — Anyone worried about an erosion of America's global status might ...

 

Pope's arrival in Mexico sparks surprising emotion

LEON, Mexico — There was little excitement in Leon in the hours before the pope ...

 

Jim Kim a surprise pick for World Bank

WASHINGTON — Passing over better-known candidates, President Barack Obama on Fri ...

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Saturday, March 24th, 2012

via caribbeanbusiness.pr on 3/24/12

Saturday, March 24th, 2012

Obama's health care law: A trek, not a sprint

WASHINGTON — It took only a year to set up Medicare. But if President Barack Oba ...

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Monday, March 26, 2012

via Puerto Rico Daily Sun - Timely news about Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and the world on 3/26/12

Monday, March 26, 2012

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(title unknown)

via Puerto Rico Daily Sun - Timely news about Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and the world on 3/26/12

Local News Click here to go to Local News

NPP calls on SEC to investigate, annul PDP primary vote 

By John McPhaulOf the Daily Sun StaffThe New Progressive Party filed a complaint with the State Elections Commission Friday requesting an investigation of alleged irregularities in the Popular Democratic Party vote during the March 18 primary elections, said NPP Elections Commissioner Iván Cabán Sunday.The NPP complaint asks the SEC to nullify the PDP vote.Following the vote, both the NPP and PDP accused each other of inflating the turnout and committing other fraudulent acts in their respective primary elections.In a press conference Sunday, Cabán called on SEC President Héctor Conty to investigate both political parties, a request that did not appear in the complaint against the PDP which... Read More

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PORTAZO SUPREMO AL DERECHO CIUDADANO

via Opinión - El Nuevo Día on 3/26/12

PORTAZO SUPREMO AL DERECHO CIUDADANO

La decisión del Tribunal Supremo que revoca al Apelativo, tildando como “especulaciones” los argumentos de un grupo de puertorriqueños que impugna la construcción del gasoducto, debe ser reconsiderada, por ser un portazo a la confianza ciudadana y un nefasto precedente para el derecho comunitario a reclamar futuras reivindicaciones.

Borrachos y política

ISMAEL TORRESHace unos días me encontré con varios amigos en una fiesta campesina en la que lo más legal que había en materia de bebidas alcohólicas era pitorro en sus más variadas

Ahora, las propuestas

WILDA RODRÍGUEZ

Ahora que pasaron las primarias y que hay cuatro partidos en contienda, se supone que entremos a la consideración de sus propuestas para el país y las separemos del entretenimiento

Ingenioso

Rafael Acevedo

En Puerto Rico parece haber demasiados ingenieros. O muy pocos. Depende de cómo se mire. Ingeniosos hay. Muchos. Algunos están en entrenamiento. Los ingenieros, digo. El origen del

Atentado contra la rehabilitación

La noticia de que la Administración de Corrección y Rehabilitación planifica la construcción de un solo centro para albergar a todos los menores transgresores debe ser recibida con mucha decepción para aquellos que desean la rehabilitación para esta población.

Laboré por cerca de 20 años en la desaparecida Administración de Instituciones Juveniles y existe una tendencia en las organizaciones de sistema de justicia juvenil de que el tratamiento individualizado se logra en centros con la menor capacidad posible. Se recomienda que no sea a un máximo de 150 camas. Así se ha expresado la Asociación Correccional Americana y la Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Agency, ACA y NJDA, por sus siglas respectivamente.

La consolidación de todos los centros en una sola localización atenta contra la clasificación de los jóvenes de acuerdo a su nivel de seguridad y además imposibilita el tratamiento individualizado.

Las instituciones en las cuales se encuentran los menores son relativamente modernas, la mayoría con apenas 15 años de construida.

La reducción consistente en la matrícula hace innecesario la inversión de cerca de $100,000,000, según ha trascendido, y se inutilizarían seis instituciones que le han costado al erario aproximadamente la misma cantidad, para un ahorro ínfimo de un $1,000,000 anual.

Si realmente desean implementar un tratamiento efectivo lo pueden hacer con las facilidades existentes.

Lcdo. Benjamín Hernández López

Moca

tREMENDO FIASCO

Así resultó ser el recogido de reciclaje anunciado para comenzar el 14 de marzo de 2012 para las áreas de Barrio Obrero, Las Palmas y Monteflores.

Durante dos días llamé al Departamento de Protección Ambiental y al Programa de Reciclaje y me informaron que irían al otro día, lo que nunca sucedió. Cómo es posible que después de tanta circular que Barrio Obrero quiere ser verde, exigencias de bolsas transparentes y de hacer que las personas interesadas en reciclar nos tomáramos el trabajo de sortear el material reciclable, según sus instrucciones, y sacarlo a las aceras la noche antes, nos dejaran vestidos y alborotados pues jamás aparecieron.

Tremenda falta de consideración y respeto para los vecinos de estas áreas, que también tenemos derecho a que nos recojan el reciclaje, ya que el área de Hato Rey (Acuaexpreso) donde se llevaba el reciclaje ya no existe por trabajos de construcción.

Mal comienzo, Municipio de San Juan.

Abigaíl Rivera

¡Auxilio!

En octubre de 2011, obtuve un permiso del Departamento de Recursos Naturales para cortar un árbol de mango ubicado en mi residencia en Flamingo Terrace, en Bayamón. Este árbol ha levantado losas, abierto grietas en las paredes y las raíces han roto la verja de cemento que separa la casa de la de mi vecino, más ha dañado parte de su propiedad.

A pesar del tiempo transcurrido desde que obtuve el permiso, nada ha ocurrido. Me he comunicado con la Oficina de Manejo de Emergencias del Municipio de Bayamón, pero no he obtenido ningún resultado.

Alcalde, Director de la Oficina de Manejo de Emergencias, por favor, ¿qué más debo hacer para que me ayuden?

Nívea Rodríguez

Bayamón

Corrupción en el gobierno

Felicito a El Nuevo Día por su trabajo investigativo con relación a la corrupción en las diferentes agencias de gobierno y la labor de fiscalización a la legislatura por los contratos otorgados a familiares y amigos de los incumbentes.

Mientras la mayoría de los puertorriqueños nos hemos visto afectados por los despidos ocasionados por la Ley 7, un grupo de personas con privilegios en el gobierno se reparten el presupuesto de las agencias como si fuera un bizcocho de cumpleaños. Cuando no pueden favorecer a un familiar con un buen puesto, lo hacen por medio de la otorgación de contratos por servicios que, en la mayoría de los casos no tienen justificación alguna.

Conozco de muchos empleados que perdieron su empleo por los despidos de la Ley 7 que no han podido reemplearse, a pesar de sus múltiples gestiones en el gobierno y la empresa privada. Este el caso de mi hijo, quien luego de casi nueve años trabando para Comunidades Especiales, fue dejado cesante y no ha podido conseguir un empleo donde pueda ganarse el sustento para él y su familia.

Tal parece que los que trabajaron para esa agencia llevan una marca especial que los inhabilita para regresar a ocupar algún puesto en el gobierno.

Dios permita que el guiso para esos privilegiados les dure mucho, mientras los más desaventajados viven de la asistencia pública y de la ayuda de familiares.

Miguel A. Santiago

Toa Baja

Dígalo Así

Distinga maya (tribu india) de malla (tejido de la red).

Lunes 26 de marzo de 2012

¿Qué esperas de Justicia ante las denuncias de ingenieros fatulos?

Una investigación seria y expedita

Un proceso para cumplir con los formalismos

Una recopilación adecuada de evidencia

Un soberano toallazo a políticos y familiares involucrados

Tu planilla PR

via Opinión - El Nuevo Día on 3/26/12

• Tu planilla PR

• Tu planilla PR

Criminalidad, juventud y educación

William Rosado Ocasio (Bachillerato en Artes con concentración en Historia de las Américas y Literatura Comparada, UPR - Río Piedras)

Puerto Rico sufre muchos males en los últimos años. La criminalidad incrementa mientras que el sentido común disminuye en las esferas políticas del País. Cuando un individuo opta

El gobierno tiene un deber con sus jóvenes

Alfredo de León (Estudiante de 10mo. Grado de The Palmas Academy)

El gobierno de Puerto Rico debe proveerles un futuro mejor a sus jóvenes. Las escuelas deben ser lo mejor posible. El gobierno debe asegurarse que todas las escuelas ofrezcan la m

 

1 abril 2012

via Puerto Rico News - El Nuevo Día on 3/25/12

• 1 abril 2012

Domingo 25 de marzo de 2012

Como en Miss Universo

Los sueños de Guillermo Somoza

Benjamín Torres Gotay

Espontaneidad

Mayra Montero

¿Cómo calificas el estado de la seguridad infantil en las escuelas públicas del País?

Muy buena

Buena

Regular

Un desastre

 

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Tu planilla PR

via Puerto Rico News - El Nuevo Día on 3/26/12

• Tu planilla PR

• Tu planilla PR

Much expectation precedes Pope’s visit

26 de marzo de 2012 00:00 a.m.

By Maritza Díaz Alcaide / Special correspondent

Santiago de Cuba - “What will the Pope talk about? On the eve of his arrival in Cuba, that was the question that many posed in Santiago-- the first stop of Pope Benedict XVI’s visit at the largest of...

• 03/26/12  00:00 a.m.

  Much expectation precedes Pope’s visit

¿Qué esperas de Justicia ante las denuncias de ingenieros fatulos?

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Lunes

via Puerto Rico News - El Nuevo Día on 3/26/12

Lunes 26 de marzo de 2012

¿Qué esperas de Justicia ante las denuncias de ingenieros fatulos con contratos con el Gobierno?

Una investigación seria y expedita

Un proceso para cumplir con los formalismos

Una recopilación adecuada de evidencia

Un soberano toallazo a políticos y familiares involucrados

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Slam SUPREME LAW TO CITIZEN
via Review - The New Day on 3/26/12
Slam SUPREME LAW TO CITIZEN
The Supreme Court's decision reverses the Appeals, calling as "speculation" the arguments of a group of Puerto Ricans who challenges the construction of the pipeline, should be reconsidered, as a door on public trust and a dangerous precedent for Community law claim future claims.

Drunk and political
ISMAEL TORRESHace few days I met several friends at a party in which peasant legal as he had on alcoholic beverages was spout in its varied
Now, the proposed
Wilda RODRIGUEZ
Now that passed the primary and there are four parties in the race, is supposed to enter the consideration of proposals to split up the country and entertainment
Ingenious
Rafael Acevedo
In Puerto Rico seems to have too many engineers. Or very few. Depends on how you look. There are ingenious. Many. Some are in training. The engineers say. The origin of
Attack on rehabilitation
The news that the Administration of Corrections and Rehabilitation plans to build a single center to house all the minor offenders must be received with great disappointment for those who want rehabilitation for this population.
I worked for about 20 years in the former Juvenile Institutions Administration and the trend in organizations juvenile justice system that individualized treatment is done in centers with the least capacity. It is recommended that either a maximum of 150 beds. This expressed the American Correctional Association and the Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Agency, ACA and NJDA for short respectively.
The consolidation of all sites in a single location violates the classification of young people according to their level of security and individualized treatment also impossible.
Institutions in which juveniles are relatively modern, most with just 15 years built.
The consistent reduction in enrollment means that no extra investment of about $ 100,000,000, as has been learned, and hobble six institutions that have cost the treasury about the same amount, for a paltry savings of $ 1,000,000 annually.
If you really want to implement an effective treatment can do with existing facilities.
Atty. Benjamin Hernandez Lopez
Mocha
TREMENDOUS FIASCO
This turned out to be collected from recycling announced to begin March 14, 2012 for the areas of Barrio Obrero, Las Palmas and Monteflores.
For two days I called the Department of Environmental Protection and Recycling Program and informed me that they would go the next day, which never happened. How is it that after so much circular Barrio Obrero wants to be green, demands clear bags and get people interested in recycling we took the job to sort recyclables, according to his instructions, and out to the sidewalks the night before , let us dressed and rowdy as ever appeared.
Tremendous lack of consideration and respect for the residents of these areas, we also have the right to collect our recycling, since the area of ​​Hato Rey (Acuaexpreso) where recycling was no longer there due to construction work.
Bad start, Municipality of San Juan.
Abigail Rivera
Help!
In October 2011, I obtained a permit from the Department of Natural Resources to cut a mango tree at my residence located in Flamingo Terrace in Bayamón. This tree has lifted slabs, cracks in the walls and the roots have broken concrete fence that separates the house from my neighbor has damaged most of his property.
Despite the time since I got the permit, nothing has happened. I have contacted the Office of Emergency Management of the Municipality of Bayamon, but I did not get any results.
Mayor, Director of the Office of Emergency Management, please, what else can I get help?
Nivea Rodriguez
Bayamón
Corruption in government
Congratulations to the New Day for their investigative work in relation to corruption in various government agencies and control efforts to the legislature for contracts awarded to relatives and friends of the incumbent.
While most Puerto Ricans we have been affected by redundancies resulting from the Law 7, a group of privileged people in the government share the budget agency like a birthday cake. When they can not favor one family with a good job, they do so through the granting of contracts for services that, in most cases have no justification.
I know of many employees who lost their jobs through layoffs of Law 7 reemplearse who could not, despite their many efforts in government and private enterprise. This is the case of my son, who after nearly nine years locking for Special Communities was laid off and could not get a job where I can earn a living for himself and his family.
It seems that those who worked for the agency are identified specially the disabled to return to occupy any position in government.
God let them stew for those privileged last long, while the most disadvantaged living on public assistance and help from relatives.
Miguel A. Santiago
Toa Baja
Say So
Distinguish maya (Indian tribe) mesh (fabric of the network).
Monday March 26, 2012
What do you expect of Justice to allegations of engineers fatulos?
A serious and expeditious
A process to comply with procedure
A proper collection of evidence
A sovereign toallazo politicians and family involved

Your form PR
via Review - The New Day on 3/26/12
Your form PR
Your form PR
Crime, youth and education
Rosado William Ocasio (Bachelor of Arts in History of the Americas and Comparative Literature, UPR - Rio Piedras)
Puerto Rico suffers many ills in recent years. Crime increases as decreases common sense in political circles of the country. When an individual chooses
The government has a duty to their young
Alfredo de Leon (10th student. Grade The Palmas Academy)
The government of Puerto Rico must provide a better future for their young. Schools should be your best. The government must ensure that all schools offer the m

April 1, 2012
via Puerto Rico News - The New Day on 3/25/12
April 1, 2012
Sunday March 25, 2012
As Miss Universe
Dreams of William Somoza
Benjamin Torres Gotay
Spontaneity
Mayra Montero
How do you rate the state of child safety in public schools in the country?
Very good
Good
Regular
A disaster

Your form PR
via Puerto Rico News - The New Day on 3/26/12
Your form PR
Your form PR
Much expectation Pope's visit precedes
March 26, 2012 00:00 am
By Maritza Diaz Alcaide / Special correspondent
Santiago de Cuba - "What the Pope will talk about? On the eve of His arrival in Cuba, That Was the question That Many Posed in Santiago - the first stop of Pope Benedict XVI's visit at the largest of ...
03/26/12 00:00 AM
Much expectation Pope's visit precedes
What do you expect of Justice to allegations of engineers fatulos?

Monday
via Puerto Rico News - The New Day on 3/26/12
Monday March 26, 2012
What do you expect of Justice to allegations fatulos engineering contracts with the government?
A serious and expeditious
A process to comply with procedure
A proper collection of evidence
A sovereign toallazo politicians and family involved

*

Martes 27.03.2012

via Opinión – Vocero de Puerto Rico on 3/26/12

Martes 27.03.2012

En manos del Presidente de CEE decisión sobre denuncias 

In the hands of the President of EEC decision on complaints

Discrepa manera que escogieron a Carmen Yulín

Carlos Díaz vaticinó que Carmen Yulín no ganará las elecciones

Listo Santini pa’ quien sea

Sentenciarán el jueves a ‘Piculín’

Raphy Pina dice no ser víctima de un engaño

“La vida es una escuela”, dijo Pina a su salida del Tribunal Federal.

 

Bloqueo este fin de semana

Piratas dejan fuera a Williams y Davis

Canóvanas Basket gana campeonato ‘8 under’

Campeones ACB

Muerte de hinchas suscita temores de violencia en Brasil

Arranca campaña

Renuncia Hilary Hattler

Hilary Hattler renunció a la presidencia y gerencia general de Telemundo Puerto Rico, efectivo este viernes, 30 de marzo.

Madonna estrena nuevo disco

Ejercítate mientras viajas

Boca Ratón un destino para “Spring Break”

Conoce Boca Ratón, un destino cálido y cercano en donde puedes disfrutar en grande con la familia las vacaciones de primavera.

‘Salud, Alegría, Seguridad…Calidad de Vida en la Edad de Oro’

Hombre se desnuda en Iglesia e insulta a los feligreses

Húngaro cruza el Atlántico en canoa, de Europa al Caribe

Gabor Rakonczay se convirtió en la primera persona en remar a lo largo del Océano Atlántico de Europa al Caribe.

Cancelan búsqueda de huevos de Pascua por frenesí de padres

Nokia y Microsoft invierten 24 millones en aplicaciones móviles

Bolsa de NY abre al alza tras la peor semana de este año

NUEVA YORK — La bolsa de valores neoyorquina abrió el lunes en alza tras su peor semana en lo que va de año. El promedio industrial del Dow Jones subía 98 puntos a 13.178 en los primeros minutos de contratación. El índice Standard & Poor’s 500 avanzaba 11 puntos a 1.408. Y el índice compuesto [...]

Perjudicial para la industria partida de American Eagle

Papa Benedicto XVI llega a Cuba

Cuba comunista recibe a un Papa por 2da vez

En las inmediaciones de la catedral y las zonas céntricas se observaban algunos carteles dándole la bienvenida al Sumo Pontífice.

Policíacas en Dominicana

Characters: Nueva opción de actuación para cine

DETROIT es la línea

La llegada de Prince Fielder le da poder adicional a los Tigres, que buscan volver a la Serie Mundial

La Educación Democrática como alternativa

Characters: Nueva opción de actuación para cine

Surge un nuevo taller con miras a mejorar la calidad actoral puertorriqueñ...

DETROIT es la línea

La llegada de Prince Fielder le da poder adicional a los Tigres, que buscan...

La Educación Democrática como alternativa

Otra manera de educar es posible

 

 

Discrepa manera que escogieron a Carmen Yulín

Carlos Díaz vaticinó que Carmen Yulín no ganará las elecciones

Santini viene con campaña madura

Alcalde capitalino destacará sus obras

 

Hallan persona muerta, atada de pies y manos

En el interior de una alcantarilla de Las Piedras encuentran persona muerta...

 

Tiger Woods vuelve a ser el favorito

 

Ricky Martin dedica premio a víctima de homofobia

El chileno Daniel Zamudio se mantiene en estado crítico tras ser agredido ...

*

Fed doubts big US jobless falls will last

via Financial Times - World on 3/26/12

Rapid fall in unemployment may not be sustainable unless the economy starts to grow faster, the Fed chairman says, suggesting monetary policy will stay easy

Supreme Court weighs healthcare reform

via Financial Times - World on 3/26/12

The case that will determine the fate of Obama’s healthcare reform opened with the first of three days of arguments over a law that has opened a bitter divide

Latest iPad struggles in China

via FT.com - Technology on 3/23/12

Unauthorised resellers in Beijing and Shanghai have cut prices by nearly 30 per cent over the past week since the tablet first went on sale

Spotify seeks funds using $4bn valuation

via FT.com - Technology on 3/23/12

If the company hits its target, it would mark the strongest validation yet that investors believe digital streaming can top the music industry’s traditional models

Yahoo fails to appease with new directors

via FT.com - Technology on 3/25/12

The naming of new independent directors has failed to head off threats by Daniel Loeb, the dissident investor, to launch a battle for control

Spanish crisis calls for a fiscal union

via Financial Times - Opinion on 3/26/12

Major deficit reduction in the wake of economic collapse is near enough impossible, particularly when protests start, writes Stephen King

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Census: PR’s urban population drops over past decade, rural living on rise. Read...

via CARIBBEAN BUSINESS's Facebook Wall by CARIBBEAN BUSINESS on 3/26/12

Census: PR’s urban population drops over past decade, rural living on rise. Read more http://ow.ly/9SNd0 http://ow.ly/i/wVHQ

 

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"Once again we are confronting the actions of a Catholic hierarchy in Miami -- represented by Archbishop Thomas Wenski -- intent on serving as a travel agent and catalyst of the false projection ...

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Census: PR’s urban population drops over past decade, rural living on rise. Read...

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Puerto Rico's #1 news and information website in English

For long-unemployed, hiring bias rears its head. Read more: http://ow.ly/9QbIv h...

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For long-unemployed, hiring bias rears its head. Read more: http://ow.ly/9QbIv http://ow.ly/i/wDQX

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Census: PR’s urban population drops over past decade, rural living on rise. Read...

Census: PR’s urban population drops over past decade, rural living on rise. Read...
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This Time, Miami's Cubans Are (Mostly) Supportive Of The Pope's Island Visit

via Latino Voices on HuffingtonPost.com by Carlos Harrison on 3/26/12

Things have changed in Miami.

In 1998, when Pope John Paul II made his historic visit to Cuba, thousands of protesting exiles took to the streets in Miami, forcing the Roman Catholic Archdiocese to cancel plans to send a cruise ship with 800 pilgrims to Havana.

Carlos Saladrigas was one of the protest organizers then. Today, as a group of 320 Catholics head to Cuba for Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the island, he's traveling with them.

"When I actually saw what happened" during the previous papal visit, Saladrigas told The Huffington Post, "when I actually saw the innocence of the pope in Cuba, when I saw the Cuban people en masse out on the streets for the first time ever, not required to go by the government but there because of their faith, and when I heard the things that were said, that made a difference ... that was the genesis of my transformation."

This time, as the pope visits Cuba on a trip coinciding with the 400th anniversary of Cuba's patron saint -- the Virgin of Charity (la Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre), a statue of the Virgin Mary found floating in the sea off Cuba -- there are no protests in Miami. The public reactions have been relatively mild, largely confined to a few denunciations on Spanish-language radio and letters to the archdiocese.

"I get more than that if I show up late for a confirmation," Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski told Reuters.

At least for some, the emotions remain raw, as evidenced in a letter from Sylvia Iriondo, president of Mothers & Women Against Repression (M.A.R. por Cuba), that was published in the Miami Herald:

"Once again we are confronting the actions of a Catholic hierarchy in Miami -- represented by Archbishop Thomas Wenski -- intent on serving as a travel agent and catalyst of the false projection of normalcy in a country where nothing is normal, where nothing essential has changed and where power arbitrarily remains in the hands of an illegitimate communist regime that continues to violate each and every one of its citizens' human rights."

But the muted reaction in Miami is evidence that times and strategies have changed, said Jaime Suchlicki, director of the University of Miami's Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies.

"One, because they're getting old, and two, because they don't think that demonstrations and burning tires on Eighth Street is going to do anything," Suchlicki said. "The tactics are different. The tactics are work with the dissidents in Cuba, talk quietly, get organized. Not necessarily demonstrating in the streets."

Cuba, however, has seen protests, which the government has been quick to quash. Police swooped in to detain dozens of members of the Ladies in White when they marched through Havana last week. And Cuban Cardinal Jaime Ortega angered Miami exiles when he recently asked police to remove 13 dissidents who had occupied a downtown Havana church to demand political reforms.

"In Miami it may be a little calmer, but in Cuba there's a lot of effervescence with the visit," Suchlicki said. The exiles' reaction, he added, is "not as vociferous, but there is a nasty mood underneath the surface here."

In a pilgrimage organized by the archdiocese, more than 800 pilgrims, including an untold number of Cuban exiles, are going to the island for the papal visit. Wenski is leading more than 300 of them on a flight from Miami early Monday. Close to 500 more are expected to travel on separate charter flights.

Plans include the celebration of mass officiated by the pope in Santiago, Cuba, later Monday afternoon. Wenski will officiate at a mass in Havana's historic cathedral on Tuesday. And Wednesday, thousands are expected to be on hand in Havana as the pope conducts mass in the Plaza de la Revolucion.

"The Pope is traveling to Cuba to honor Cuba's patron saint, Our Lady of Charity, during the jubilee year of the 400th anniversary of her presence on the island nation," Wenski wrote in a statement announcing the trip in January. "We travel in solidarity with the Church in Cuba -- and in response to their invitation to share with them this historic event."

"The Pope travels to Cuba as a pilgrim of charity," Wenski continued. "We go to Cuba in the same spirit."

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) has decried the pilgrimage. "It's a trip that gives legitimacy to the dictatorship," she said.

In a statement in Congress last week, Ros-Lehtinen called on the pope to use his visit to bring attention to conditions on the island. "It is my hope that Pope Benedict will meet with these brave dissidents and shine a light on the struggles of the Cuban people who are living under the rule of the oppressive Castro brothers," she said.

Among the pilgrims are some who oppose travel to Cuba under any other circumstances, such as Republican lawyer Luis Andre Gazitua, but who have high hopes for the trip's impact.

"I wouldn't go unless I was going under the banner with the pope, with the Vatican," Gazitua said. But he added, "If there could be a healing of the spirit of those people or an energizing just by being around us, us being around them, I think it's worth the trip. This trip really could lead to a spiritual, cultural and -- I don't want to say political -- but a political renaissance in Cuba."

In Miami, Saladrigas already sees one.

"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that after 53 years of a failed policy, you ought to try something different," he said. "People in Miami are beginning to realize that for way too long we have allowed our passion to drive our thinking and that it is time to allow our brain to drive our strategies."

Perhaps some of their prayers for Cuba have already been answered. On a flight from Rome to Mexico on Friday, Pope Benedict told reporters that communism no longer works and the church wants to help the island make a "peaceful transition."

"Today it is evident that Marxist ideology, in the way it was conceived, no longer corresponds to reality," the pope said. "We want to help in a spirit of dialogue to avoid traumas and to help move forward a society which is fraternal and just, which is what we desire for the whole world."

Cuban Catholics Await Pope

via Latino Voices on HuffingtonPost.com by AP on 3/26/12

SANTIAGO, Cuba — This sun-scorched city is accustomed to playing second fiddle to Havana at the other end of Cuba. On Monday, though, Santiago comes first as Pope Benedict XVI arrives and brings the world's gaze with him.

Authorities have raised huge steel arches in the shape of a papal miter above a blue-and-white altar where Benedict will celebrate Mass on Monday and urge residents of this communist-run country to seek salvation in faith.

Roman Catholic youth held a prayer vigil Sunday night to celebrate the pontiff's arrival, and workers buzzed about Revolution Square putting final touches on the stage, testing power cables and setting out chairs under the direction of priests. Some people hung welcome posters for the pope in their windows.

"As a Santiagan, I am very proud to be able to receive him with joy," said 35-year-old Luzmilka Barza. Although she described herself as only "a little bit Catholic," she said that "it will be something that moves us all for a person such as him to visit."

Cuba's second city has been overshadowed by the more-storied Havana ever since the Spaniards moved the colonial capital there, even though Santiago is considered the cradle of the revolution and was an intellectual and artistic center long before Fidel and Raul Castro were born.

Fidel Castro proclaimed the triumph of his 1959 revolution from the balcony of Santiago's city hall on Jan. 1, 1959, but promptly set out for the capital to claim power. Havana now dominates Cuban industry and politics and occupies a singular space in the imaginations of people around the world, even those who have never strolled its famed seafront.

Pope John Paul II visited Santiago 14 years ago, but he began and ended his Cuban journey in Havana.

While Cuba is Latin America's least Roman Catholic country, the faithful in Santiago have eagerly awaited the arrival of the city's most prominent visitor since that last papal trip.

"I hope that after this visit the Cuban people have more faith," said an emotional Mayra Corona, 63, who along with a dozen other people worked for weeks readying the ornaments, vestments and sacred utensils to be used by priests during the Mass.

Benedict will bring "peace, tranquility, forgiveness," she said.

The pope chose Santiago as his first stop because of the nearby sanctuary of the Virgin of Charity of El Cobre, dedicated to Cuba's patron saint. Benedict has cited the 400th anniversary of the icon's discovery as the main reason for his trip to the island.

Cuban authorities have given the sanctuary a $236,000 makeover of everything from its drainage system to the stained glass. Workers even built a humble but air-conditioned house where the pope will spend the night. It is made with reinforced concrete designed to withstand a magnitude-8 earthquake.

But most of the action ahead of the pope's visit has centered on Revolution Square, which Catholic Church officials say can hold as many as 100,000 people.

The pope's backdrop there will be a a 50-foot (16-meter) statue of independence hero Antonio Maceo on horseback, arm outstretched as if beckoning his countrymen to follow him to battle. Twenty-three rust-colored machetes spike into the air commemorating the 23rd of March, 1878, an important date in Cuba's struggle to break free from Spanish colonial rule.

Havana at the western end of Cuba has also been busy sprucing up to host Benedict after he leaves Santiago.

A huge altar on the capital's own Revolution Square is finished, and workers have been making 11th-hour touchups to deteriorating streets. Prominent avenues were resurfaced, and potholes filled. Workers repainted faded curbs, and many streets got fresh striping over the weekend.

Authorities put on a show of lights, music and slides projected onto the facade of the cathedral in colonial Old Havana on Sunday evening. They also took down the scaffolding that for months shrouded a Christ statue overlooking the bay.

Officials say 797 journalists for 295 media outlets in 33 countries have been granted visas to cover the visit.

"It is a great privilege to have the pope visit us," said Graciela Hernandez, a 59-year-old retiree in the capital. "For me, as a Catholic, it's something that moves me, and the most important thing is that the pope comes with a message of love, peace and brotherhood."

___

Associated Press writer Anne-Marie Garcia in Havana contributed to this report.

___

Andrea Rodriguez on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ARodriguezAP

Yoani Sanchez: The Pope in Cuba: The Wind, the Sheep and the Shepherd

via Latino Voices on HuffingtonPost.com by Yoani Sanchez on 3/26/12

In that January of 1998, at the end of John Paul II's Mass in the Plaza of the Revolution, a fresh wind swept over the vast esplanade. My son was sitting on the shoulders of his father and the breeze swirled his hair. The Pope had already ended his homily, but still, he picked up the microphone again and dedicated several words in Latin to that naughty streak that ruffled all of us. "Spiritus spirat ubi vult et vult Cubam*," he said. We came home a while later, squeezed among thousands of people dressed in white and yellow. Since then, I have the feeling that the gale has not stopped beating on us, that this gust has blown across the island, shaking all our lives.

Benedict still has yet to arrive Cuba and already part of this whirlwind is agitating us. Among the Catholic faithful, joy is seen for the papal visit, and expectations that this will contribute to widening the role of the Church in our society. For those who had to keep their crucifixes hidden for decades for fear of radical atheism, the gradual elimination of religious intolerance comes as a relief. That Masses have already been broadcast on official television, and processions through the streets carrying the image of the Virgin of Charity are permitted, to many seem sufficient ground gained. However, for every minute in the mass media achieved by the Church hierarchy and every word exchanged with the government at the negotiating table, there has been a corresponding share of loss and defeat. Because, let's not fool ourselves, the clandestine nature of the catacombs is more consistent with the discourse of Christ than is the comfortable proximity to the throne.

Less than 24 hours before the Pope arrives in Cuba, the script of his stay among us is already written, and not precisely by the delegation from the Vatican. Raul's government has undertaken an "ideological cleansing" to prevent activists, dissidents, opponents, independent journalists, alternative bloggers and other malcontents from even reaching the plazas where His Holiness will speak. Threats to not leave their homes, disproportionate operations, arrests, cut telephone lines, people deported from the east of the country to prevent their being in Antonio Maceo Plaza this coming Monday. A roundup of intransigence that recalls those times of ripped scapulars and cassocks spit upon by the fanatic sons of a Revolution that declared itself materialistic and dialectic. It is true they no longer chase after rosaries, but they continue to relentlessly pursue opinions. Now, having a picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus will not cost anyone their job, but to believe that a free Cuba is possible is to be made to suffer the stigmatization and the Calvary. We can now pray out loud, but to criticize the government is still a sin, blasphemy.

It now remains in the hands and voice of Benedict XVI whether to allow his visit to be hijacked by the intentions of a Party that remains committed to the Marxist-Leninist doctrine. In his eyes is the ability to notice that among the faithful gathered in the plazas, numerous sheep of the Cuban herd have been prevented from reaching even the vicinity of his staff. In his ears is the decision to hear other voices beyond the official or the strictly pastoral. With that ancient wisdom that the Church calls on before every obstacle, the Pope should know that on this visit a part of the presence and influence of the Catholic faith in the national future is decided. In his hands, in his voice, in his ears, it is left, then, to confirm to us that he understands the transcendence of this moment.

It may happen that a playful wind escapes control, mocks the political police and blows over the multitude. A free breeze in a gagged country that brings even the papal eardrums themselves its vibrations, the phrases that we can only whisper.

*Translator's note:
At the end of his homily Pope John Paul II added some extemporaneous words: This wind today is very significant because wind symbolizes the Holy Spirit. "Spiritus spirat ubi vult; Spiritus vult spirare in Cuba". My last words are in Latin, because Cuba also has a Latin tradition: Latin America, Latin Cuba, Latin language! "Spiritus spirat ubi vult et vult Cubam"! Goodbye.
The Latin, roughly, means: The spirit spreads wherever it wants; it wants to spread in Cuba... The spirit spreads wherever it wants and to Cuba.

Yoani's blog, Generation Y, can be read here in English translation.
Translating Cuba is a compilation blog with Yoani and other Cuban bloggers in English.
Yoani's new book in English, Havana Real, can be ordered here.

Exiles And Their Children Head Back To Cuba For Pope Benedict XVI

via Latino Voices on HuffingtonPost.com by AP on 3/26/12

MIAMI -- Natalia Martinez speaks with a clinical distance when discussing her family's decision to leave Cuba two decades ago. But the graduate student's cool demeanor falls away when she speaks of returning to her homeland for the first time this week during Pope Benedict XVI's historic visit.

"I am excited. I am nervous, and I'm anticipating confusion," Martinez, 25, said with an anxious laugh.

She could be speaking for many of the more than 300 Cuban-Americans who will form a delegation to Cuba led by Miami's Roman Catholic Archbishop Thomas Wenski. Some of those making the pilgrimage Monday fled the island half a century ago. Some grew up with only the stories their exile parents told them of the island 90 miles (145 kilometers) across the Florida Straits.

What unites these pilgrims is the attachment they feel to the country their families left years ago, even those who have long opposed Fidel and Raul Castro and the communist government they ushered in 53 years ago.

Travel to Cuba is always controversial among Cuban-Americans and the half-century-old U.S. embargo of the island severely limits trips there. In the 1970s, those who visited were often blacklisted in South Florida. A few faced violence upon their return. These days, newer Cuban immigrants often visit relatives on the island. But the issue is still a requisite topic for politicians campaigning in Florida.

It has only been magnified in the run up to the pope's visit.

At least half a dozen older exiles who are returning for the first time to the island declined to be interviewed by The Associated Press because of concerns about the reaction their words might cause in Miami or in Havana.

Many exiles who fled during the early days of the revolution see little reason to return. Cubans are the only group of immigrants who are almost always granted what amounts to political asylum when they reach U.S. soil. Older exiles say travel to the island cheapens legitimate claims for asylum, and they complain that delegations such as Wenski's prop up the Cuban government, which has a stake in all of the country's hotels and tourism services.

Those traveling to Cuba argue more interaction can only help open up the island. Businessman Carlos Saladrigas, 61, is among this group. But it took him years to reach that conclusion.

Saladrigas came to Miami at the age of 12 on the so-called Pedro Pan flights that the Church organized in the early 1960s to bring Cuban children to the U.S. His parents reunited with him a year later. An outspoken critic of the Castro government, Saladrigas helped lead a successful effort to stop a similar archdiocese pilgrimage from going to Cuba during Pope John Paul II's trip there in 1998. That visit was the first by a pope since the Cuban Revolution.

Saladrigas says that experience was a turning point.

"I saw for the Cuban people how it became a great image for change and hope," he said. "And it quickly dawned on me that an isolated Cuba is the most counterproductive thing we can do."

Saladrigas is now co-chairman of the business-led Cuba Study Group. The nonprofit organization advocates for political and economic change on the island but also encourages more exchanges. He returned for the first time last year as part of his work with the Catholic charitable order known as the Knights of Malta.

"But I think this will feel different. I think this is going to be an historic moment," he said.

He is passionate about celebrating not only the pope's visit but also the 400th anniversary of the appearance of the Virgin of Charity of Cobre, Cuba's patron. The statue is housed in a church in an old copper mining town on the southeastern coast of Cuba, where Benedict will pray.

"More than a religious symbol, she is a patriotic symbol that brings Cubans together like nothing else can," he said.

John De Leon, president of the Greater Miami chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, says the historic and religious significance of the pope's trip moved him to go too.

"I am totally in solidarity with Catholics here and Catholics on the island, so I think anything that can foster that solidarity on both sides of the ocean is important," he added.

De Leon grew up in Miami and traveled for the first time to Cuba in 1993 as part of an academic mission, prompting his staunchly anti-Castro exile parents not to speak to him for months. He has returned on several occasions since then, but the last time was nearly a decade ago.

"There was a certain excitement when I went the first time" he said, "but then that sort of faded during the Bush years. There was a clamping down on any meaningful exchange."

President George W. Bush limited cultural and academic trips and prohibited Cuban-Americans from visiting the island more than once every three years. The Obama administration has since relaxed those limitations.

Now De Leon said he is interested in seeing the effects of recent economic changes instituted by Raul Castro, who took over from his ailing brother in 2006.

De Leon said his decision to go was unaffected by the Cuban government's crackdown on dissidents in advance of the pope's arrival. Cuban officials recently removed 13 people from a local church at the behest of Havana Cardinal Jaime Ortega. The group had demanded the pope air a list of their grievances during his trip. Meanwhile, dozens of activists who march weekly in Havana following Sunday masses were detained last weekend and told there would be no more public protests ahead of or during the pope's visit. The opposition group Ladies in White was able to hold its weekly peaceful protest Sunday.

"Obviously it's of concern when there is oppression anywhere of individuals' civil rights," he said. But De Leon said he was not surprised about the stepped-up tensions.

"I think that's what dissidents should be doing, highlighting the problems and their cause, and the best time to do that is when the international spotlight is on the island. And I believe the pope's visit is bringing some kind of hope and expectation," he said.

For Martinez, the visit is less about religion and history than it is about rediscovering her own story.

Her family left when she was 6, while her father was working in Mexico. And her memories from the island are mere snapshots: growing a lima bean shoot in elementary school, her grandmother sneaking a cigarette on the patio of her parents' home, the difficulty some days of finding eggs at the store.

For years she followed her physicist father's creed of always looking forward, never back. But she has long felt something was missing and yearns for a glimpse of her childhood home.

She will be traveling with friends from the nonprofit Roots of Hope, which seeks to connect Cuban youth in the U.S. with those on the island.

"I have wanted to go for a while," she said. "I think I was waiting for the right time and the right group of people."

____

Alex Aldana: Queer and Undocumented: I Am Walking From San Francisco To Washington D.C. For The DREAM Act

via Latino Voices on HuffingtonPost.com by Alex Aldana on 3/26/12

Sometimes, I feel excluded even within the LGBTQ community. I remember the gay clubs in West Hollywood that would deny my friends and I entrance because of our Mexican matriculation. And I remember the faces they would give me, one of confusion and then of disgust that seemed to be thinking: "Mexican, Illegal, Fake."

How are we fighting for acceptance in the LGBTQ community when many do not accept their queer brothers and sisters who are also oppressed as undocumented immigrants? It was a night like this when I decided to go to the one club in downtown Los Angeles where queer, undocumented, heterosexuals, drag queens and artists are welcome: Mustache Mondays. That night changed my life completely because I met Nicolas Gonzales.

It was a week after my birthday when we finally went out for lunch. He pulled a plastic bag from his backpack with 4 hard shell tacos and condiments, homemade Serrano spicy sauce, sour cream and Oaxacan cheese. He had already conquered my heart.

But what happens when two undocumented queers fall in love with each other?

What followed was not only a new kind of empowerment for myself, but a new commitment to my community.

I decided to come out of the shadows on January 24th, 2012 by taking part in an act of civil disobedience in protest of anti-immigrant laws in San Bernardino County. I was arrested and taken to a detention center. I was asked to confirm if I was a homosexual and was segregated from the other arrested protesters on the assumption that I had AIDS. Being in detention for only a few hours reinforced my decision to continue working for immigrant's rights. I have never felt so moved to stand up for something that I had always been proud about: Being undocumented.

I joined the Campaign for an American DREAM as a guest walker to bring a message of hope and inclusively to LGBTQ members within the immigrant rights movement. Currently, my partner Nicolas and I are walking from San Francisco to Washington D.C. in order to raise awareness and urgency for passage of the federal DREAM Act.

My struggle and voice as an undocumented Latino gay man hopes to bring together not only my LGBTQ community of color but to show how crucial it is for both movements to accept the fact that LGBTQ issues are irrefutable immigrant rights issues. Alone, we're vulnerable. Together, we are stronger. To ostracize one from another is something we can no longer afford to do.

I decided to leave everything behind to support the person I am in love with. Just like my mother and father had the courage to bring me to this country. Thanks to my partner, I saved myself from living in the shadows.

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