"CASE closed — forget about that!"
affirmed Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada, president of the National Assembly of People’s Power, referring to the unjust ruling of a panel of judges in Atlanta to uphold a decision to not review the appeals of Gerardo Hernández and René González. http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2008/octubre/vier17/alarcon.html,

Familiares de antiterroristas cubanos abren espacios en Europa
http://www.radiohc.cu/espanol/noticias/oct08/17oct/mccinco.htm,

Sobre los Cinco
En silencio ha tenido que ser
http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=74551,

Youth Organization Elections Being Held in Cuban Schools
More than 1.4 million members of the José Martí Pioneers Organization will be involved in the electoral process hold to choose student leaders at the classroom and school levelBy: Margarita BarrioToday will be a special day in each primary and secondary school in Cuba because students are called on to choose the best and more capable among them. Those students selected will represent the rest within the José Martí Pioneers Organization (OPJM) at school and classroom level.More than 1,400,000 members of the OPJM will be involved on the Pioneer elections. Students from the fourth to the sixth grade will hold public and direct elections, while those in secondary schools will select their leaders secretly and directly.Students from first to third grade will be assigned some activities in their classrooms; and those from third grade will also be observers to the electoral process as part of their preparation for holding pioneer elections next academic year.After the elections are concluded, students will hold artistic galas to celebrate the Day of Cuban Culture.In primary schools, 140,000 students of fourth grade will also enter the Pioneer Scout Movement, while 130,000 students of firth grade will become children scouts.

No hurricane can sweep us off our course
• 50th anniversary of Che’s arrival in central Cuba
http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2008/octubre/vier17/hurricane.html,

Cuba Libre: Cuba Says It Has More Oil Than the U.S.
by Keith Johnson - wall street journal
Cuba says it is sitting on more than 20 billion barrels of offshore oil in the Gulf of Mexico. That’s more than double what the U.S. figures Cuba has, and would represent more oil than the U.S. has in reserve, according to the BBC. If true—and if the reserves can be recovered—that would turn Cuba from a big oil importer into one of the world’s 20 biggest exporters. It wouldn’t much help presidential candidates’ plans to reduce U.S. dependence on Mid-East oil, though. Due to the existing embargo, U.S. firms will be shut out of any Cuban oil exploration projects, and any future exports. In the meantime, Spain’s Repsol and Brazil’s Petrobras are leading the charge to tap the deep-water finds.Cuba’s state oil company says it came up with the number by extrapolating from U.S. surveys of existing Gulf of Mexico fields, and adding Cuba’s insider knowledge of its own waters. Cubapetroleo says exploratory wells should be drilled by the middle of 2009, and production could come on line within three years.Irony of ironies—in a communist economy accustomed to chronic shortages of everything from meat to electric power, Cuba’s running up against another, market-driven shortage this time: There aren’t enough deep-water rigs available to start serious oil production any sooner.
-Comment by Walter Lippmann : Too bad that US law denies US companies the right to invest US money in Cuba. Yes, Cuba nationalized US businesses half a century ago, but today Cuba would welcome US investment. It already receives private investments from dozens of other countries. All of the others negotiated settlements with the Cubans long ago, and do business with them in a normal way now. What did they know that we refused to learn?Today we’re seeing Washington virtually nationalize US banks in what the President of the United States has said was the only way to defend US national interests, perhaps we could even understand why Cuba might have wanted to nationalize industry back in 1960, to protect it’s own national interests? Something to think about…

Cuba ejemplo de cooperación internacional, afirma la FAO
http://www.ain.cu/2008/octubre/17asfao.htm,

Priorizan producción de alimentos
Lázaro de Jesús
Alrededor de 3 000 toneladas de yogurt de soya y 500 toneladas de productos cárnicos por encima del programa anual producirá la industria alimentaria cubana este año, como parte de un programa especial de alimentos que comenzó a implementarse desde el primero de octubre y continuará, en principio, hasta marzo próximo. http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu/2008/10/18/nacional/artic09.html,

Crecimiento vertiginoso del software educativo en Cuba
http://www.radiorebelde.com.cu/noticias/educacion/educacion1-171008.html,

BLOQUEO NORTEAMERICANO: UN FÉRREO CERCO ELÉCTRÓNICO CONTRA CUBA.
http://rreloj.wordpress.com/2008/10/18/bloqueo-norteamericano-un-cerco-electronico-contra-cuba/,

Nadie apoya la política estadounidense de bloqueo a Cuba
Conferencia de prensa del canciller Felipe Pérez Roque en la embajada de la isla en París. Destaca unión latinoamericana y fiasco de Washington http://www.ain.cu/secciones/internacionales.htm#Nadie%20apoya%20la%20política%20estadounidense%20de%20bloqueo%20a%20Cuba,

Cuban FM, LatAm Union vs. US Fiasco
Paris, Oct 17 (Prensa Latina) Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said on Friday that Latin America lives a new political time which shows the resounding failure of the US consensus politics. http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID={97315713-8D65-4E11-8257-57B6D67A24BF})&language=EN,

Afirma eurodiputado que Cuba merece respeto y solidaridad
http://www.prensalatina.com.mx/article.asp?ID=%7B7DB6F9E6-DD28-4178-8A7E-46C4B45DE7F3%7D),

La Habana vuelve a contar para la UE
España confía en que la cooperación crezca. La próxima semana una delegación comunitaria viaja a Cuba http://www.publico.es/internacional/165917/habana/vuelve/contar/ue,

UE-Cuba: cruce de reclamos
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/latin_america/newsid_7677000/7677025.stm,

Destacan en ONU principales sectores afectados por bloqueo a Cuba
http://www.prensalatina.com.mx/Article.asp?ID=%7BC655A89E-644E-41CF-B9D1-E738DC0FF43F%7D&language=ES,

ESO ES IMPORTANTE !!!
McCain prometió presionar a Cuba para que libere a su pueblo- Miami.- El candidato republicano a la presidencia de Estados Unidos, John McCain, prometió hoy durante una reunión en Miami, que de resultar ganador en las elecciones del 4 de noviembre, presionará "al gobierno cubano para que libere a su pueblo". "Si soy electo presidente, no me reuniré sin condiciones previas con los hermanos Fidel y Raúl Castro, quienes mantienen a presos políticos en la cárcel, coartan la libertad de prensa e impiden elecciones libres", dijo. Agregó que "cuando sea presidente, vamos a presionar al gobierno cubano para que libere a su pueblo", reseñó AFP. Ante una multitud de varios cientos de personas, entre ellas varias de origen cubano, su declaración fue acogida por una prolongada ovación. "El día llegará en que Cuba será libre", añadió. (ja ja )

Agent Ménard resigns from RSF
Jean-Guy Allard
WHILE his organization Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF) finds itself under the looking glass of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in Washington for being one of the principal beneficiaries of the Center for a Free Cuba, currently implicated in a massive embezzlement case, Robert Ménard has announced in Paris that he is leaving his post as general secretary because he "wants to do something else." http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2008/octubre/vier17/41menard-ing.html,

Night Vision
By: Luis Sexto
Would it sound pointless to admit that we are in an eminently political time? – and also in one of ethics? Given the situation of Cuba, hit by ruin and ruptures, both new and old, today we need politics and ethics of a special type. Live goes on as usual, , but sometimes some elements, at least the fundamental ones, gain in importance and re-shape influence on the society. This too is evident. http://www.juventudrebelde.co.cu/columnists/2008-10-17/night-vision/,

Michelle Bachelet y Evo Morales ponen en marcha Parlamento de Unasur
http://www.juventudrebelde.cu/internacionales/2008-10-18/michelle-bachelet-y-evo-morales-ponen-en-marcha-parlamento-de-unasur/,

Declaración de Caracas
No hay solución capitalista a la actual crisis capitalista
Caracas, 17 Oct. ABN.- Intelectuales y pensadores del mundo ratificaron este viernes que la actual crisis capitalista no puede tener una solución capitalista, pues significaría trasladar los costos y sembrar nuevos sufrimientos en los países y pueblos del Sur y en los sectores más vulnerables del Norte. http://www.abn.info.ve/noticia.php?articulo=153815&lee=1,

Jean Guy Allard
Afamada investigadora denuncia alianza de McCain con terroristas
http://www.larepublica.es/spip.php?article12952,

The McCain campaign has its own questionable connections to bombers and assassins.
http://www.slate.com/id/2202183/,