The day is finally here!

http://alongthemalecon.blogspot.com

I was so excited to see on the news yesterday that Cuba is once more open to us.  My God!  I can remember way back in the dim recesses of my mind when the embargo was placed on Cuba.  I go to the store and find "Made in China", "made in Mexico",  "Made in Taiwan".  I watch the shows on child labor in these countries and hear the atrocities that go on inside these borders and then look at a country 90 miles off our coast that has been ostracized for 50 years and I do not even remember what they did.
I do know that when Sherman was alive he wanted a real Cuban cigar.  Just one before he died.  I do not remember how much that cost on the black market.  Oh, wait.  That is not illegal any more, is it?  And these buses loaded with medical and educationnal materials aren't either, are they?

I do not even remember when this picture was taken.

I see we are releasing 3 prisoners.  There were 5.  The Cuban 5.  I assume that a couple of them could have died.  I will need to look into that.  

But for now, it is enough that we are finally after 53 years doing something.  I am glad Allan Gross is home.  I am glad that the Cuban cigar is now resting in it's place of honor in St. Louis.  I am also very happy that my friends, Amy and Bernardo can now go "home" for a visit.

Peace!!!!!!!!!

Stolen stuff from Max Hale that you should see.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePrlgr55C-c&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Pastors for Peace caravan to Cross US/Mexico border July 19th

Media Advisory
Pastors to Challenge US Blockade of Cuba
Caravan to Cross US/Mexico Border with 100 Tons of Humanitarian Aid to Cuba
When: 10 AMThursday, July 19th
Where: McAllen/Hidalgo International Bridge Border Crossing
Contact: Jennifer Wager 917.499.4882
Tamara Hansen 778.882.5223
Lucia Bruno 347.423-4330/212.926.5757
Organizers of a humanitarian aid caravan that uses civil disobedience to challenge the US blockade and travel ban of Cuba will cross the US/Mexico border with nearly 100 tons of humanitarian aid the morning of July 19th.
Organizers are unsure what to expect from the US border authorities given their experience crossing from Canada into the US on July 1st. US border authorities initially refused to let sporting equipment through, but caravan supporters mounted a 24 hour protest and border officials relented.
“We are determined to get this aid to our brothers and sisters in Cuba. Our struggle must continue until this immoral, cruel and counterproductive US blockade of Cuba is ended,” stated IFCO Co-Director Father Luis Barrios.
IFCO Co-Director Gail Walker added, “The US blockade has cost Cuba $750 billion in medical care, education equipment and food, yet they still provide for their people and set an example for the world. Now is the time to implement a people to people foreign policy that respects Cuba’s sovereignty.”
After the border crossing, scores of caravanistas will travel through Mexico on to Cuba, without asking for a license or permission from the US government. In Cuba caravanistas will visit hospitals, cultural centers, churches and other organizations focused on Cuba’s sustainable development efforts.
As the caravanistas are crossing the border, they will stop to recognize the ongoing inhumane treatment of Gerardo Hernández, one of the Cuban Five anti-terrorist fighters held in US prisons. Hernández, who is in the appeals process of his double-life sentence, is currently being denied consular and legal visitation rights by US authorities.
Mientras las caravanistas cruzan la frontera, reconoceran al tratamiento inhumano de los cinco luchadores antiterroristas injustamente encarcelados en Estados Unidos, el Héroe de la República de Cuba, Gerardo Hernández Nordelo, acaba de ser objeto de una nueva arbitrariedad por parte de las autoridades de ese país, con el propósito de obstruir su proceso legal.
This is the 20th Anniversary Friendshipment Caravan organized by IFCO/Pastors for Peace, which crisscrossed the US and Canada, stopping in nearly 100 cities. Thousands have supported the caravan along the way in support of a foreign policy based on respect and non-aggression with Cuba.
The Pastors for Peace Friendshipment Caravan is a project of the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO.), which has been been working for racial, social, and economic justice since 1967.

Tracey has peeked my interest.

Limited Time: SAVE 57% on Cuisinart Green Gourmet Stainless-Steel Skillet at CHEFS - Shop Now

http://alongthemalecon.blogspot.com/

You got to read that blog today.  Now before you go, I must tell you there is a full frontal nude painting, so cover the kids eyes. 

Just thought this was a welcome diversion and I am with Tracey wondering just what this is all about.  I will probably never feel the same about orange slices again.

July 12, update for Scot and the Cuban Caravan.

From: kriskross****@****.com
Subj: Caravan, July 12th

Scot called from Clinton, Iowa yesterday.  It had been a good day with 6 Caravanistas now riding the bus.  On Sunday they were in Chicago and attended 2 church services.  Events have been uplifting.  Scot's remarks at one of them were very well received, ( and we all thought he was the quiet type ).  Today they are making the long drive to St. Louis, MO.  Godspeed and good weather!
Kris

Report on the Cuban Caravan and Scot's whereabouts.

In a message dated 7/8/2011 10:28:59 P.M. Mountain Daylight Time, kriskross******.com writes:


Scot is in Milwaukee tonight. Sounds like the bus is behaving with a little help from Scot and assorted others. It is getting filled up with aid and a few caravanistas. Scot also participated in a radio interview about the caravan.

More later!

Update on Scot for July 4, 2011

As promised.

From: kriskross******.com




Dear All,

On Sunday, Scot got to go to church at his "born into" church, Plymouth Congregational in Minneapolis. Today he worked with artists who painted the bus. I hope to get pictures to share. If you happen to be on Facebook, look for IFCO, Pastors for Peace for more info.

Kris

Along the Malecón: Florida lawmaker pressures Hungary on Cuba

Along the Malecón: Florida lawmaker pressures Hungary on Cuba

I know you were expecting something else here today, but I just caught this link and I find it very interesting. I know from reading my stats that there are a lot of you out there interested in cuba. My friend Tracey Eaton writes a very clear view of what goes on in Cuba on a political as well as a personal level. On his sight there is also a link to the daily mini blog in the New York Times.

If you go back to some of his older blogs you can see some of the most beautiful pictures of Cuban life.  That alone is worth the trip across cyberspace.

Check him out and we will get back to World AIDS Day a little later. And tell him Lou said "Hey!"

Cuban Caravan part 2!!

Here is that shot I told you to watch for.  This Google thing is like a whole new world to me.  Just put your mouse on the picture and click!  But in case that does not work, I have done it for you.  The teal shirt says:

Cuba has:

One teacher per 10 primary children.

Vaccinations against preventable diseases.

A lower infant mortality rate then the United States.

No homeless children.

100% literacy.

The red shirt says;

Now is the time to:

Free the Cuban 5.

End the economic blockade.

End travel ban for all.

Take Cuba off "terrorist list."

Hand Guantanamo back to Cuba.

Normalize Diplomatic Relations.

There is the link you are going to need to learn more.  See in my simple mind I can not understand why we are carrying on diplomatic relations with every one in this world, from China, Russia, and Iran clear down to Osama Bin Laden, but we will not deal with Cuba, a struggling nation 90 miles off of our coast.  And this has gone on for at least 40 years.  I just can not see this.  If someone out there, reading this can give me a reason, I am a reasonable person.  I am fair minded, but we have 5 Cubans in prison for doing less than criminals walking the streets here in Pueblo.  Just clue me in cause I am clueless in Pueblo!

http://www.PASTORSFORPEACE.ORG

I missed these Cuba shots and they are so worth looking at!

I want you to take a look at these pictures that I have been looking at for the last how many months and not seeing!  If you think that going to Cuba with a school bus full of anything is a piece of cake, you are sadly mistaken.  These particular pictures were sent to me while they were at one of the crossings.  I probably posted a link, and maybe you actually looked at them.  You should have hollered and said " Hey, dummy, here is the whole thing in a nut

shell!"  See those three little guys there?Pretty soon you will be able to read the back of their shirts!  Now see how big they are?  Probably about the size of most of us and they do not look like heroes to me, but you hang on there!  Now, see these guys at the back of the bus?  They are the crossing guards and they are looking pretty closely at these computers.  The computers look pretty evil to me!  They did in fact have to confiscate a few of them.  All of them contained the same hard drives, so it was not the info.

But look at these guys!  Can you hear the conversations?  I can and I am thinking a few of these guys may have made a few dollars off this little crossing here!

OK, I can not get the picture I want to load on here.  So I am going to continue on another post which will be called Cuba Shots part 2.  You have got to read these guys shirts.  It explains why myself and a lot of others are adamant about the Cuban Caravan.

Final update for the Cuban Caravan

 Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2010 02:02:03 +0000
 To: friends@ifconews.org
 Subject: 21st Pastors for Peace Friendshipment Successfully Returns from Cuba

From: info@ifconews.org

IFCO / Pastors for Peace

 MEDIA ADVISORY

 August 3, 2010 -- for immediate release

 CONTACT: IFCO/Pastors for Peace:

On the road: Ellen Bernstein 646/319-5902, Alison Bodine 303/638-9799

in New York: Lucia Bruno 212/926-5757; 347/423-4330

21st PASTORS FOR PEACE FRIENDSHIPMENT

SUCCESSFULLY RETURNS FROM CUBA
 REV. LUCIUS WALKER CHALLENGING BLOCKADE ON HIS 80TH BIRTHDAY

This afternoon the 21st US/Cuba Friendshipment Caravan organized by
IFCO/Pastors for Peace successfully crossed back into the US, after a nine-day
educational visit to Cuba. "This was a perfect way to celebrate the birthday of
our founder and leader, Rev. Lucius Walker, Jr.," said Rev. Luis Barrios, member
of the board of directors of IFCO/Pastors for Peace. "Really he is not just a
leader; he is also a prophet in this struggle for peace with justice."

The caravan, made up of 85 caravanistas from the US, Canada, Europe and Mexico,
traveled to Cuba without a US Treasury Department license, in a direct challenge
of the US trade and travel blockade against Cuba.

In visits to 120 communities across the US and Canada, the caravan collected
more than 100 tons of humanitarian aid for delivery to Cuba, including 9 school
buses that will be used by Cuban churches, hospitals, and schools.

"With this caravan, we broke the blockade one more time. But the blockade still
 persists in full force -- and as long as it exists, we must continue to
challenge it," stated Rev. Lucius Walker, Jr., executive director of
IFCO/Pastors for Peace. “This cruel and immoral blockade still prevents
lifesaving medicines from reaching Cuban children. It blocks US citizens from
being able to be good neighbors to our Cuban brothers and sisters. We call on
President Obama and the Congress to do everything possible to end this cruelty
against our neighbors."

Members of the caravan celebrate today's news that Gerardo Hernandez, one of
the Cuban Five who have been unjustly imprisoned in the US for more than 12
years, has been released from solitary confinement as of this morning.

Caravanistas are returning to their home communities committed to share what
they learned in their time in Cuba, and to continue building support for an end
to the blockade. The caravanistas leave this year's caravan with the resolve to
continue organizing and committing civil disobedience until:

 ◍ the blockade is lifted
 ◍ the Cuban Five are freed
 ◍ the ban on travel to Cuba is lifted
 ◍ Cuba is taken off the US State Department's ‘terrorist list'
 ◍ US/Cuba relations are normalized.
 Pastors for Peace is a project of the Interreligious Foundation for Community
 Organization (IFCO), a national ecumenical agency which has been working for
 racial, social, and economic justice since 1967. Photos, video, blog, and more
 information are available at www.pastorsforpeace.org [1].
 #30#

 If this message has been forwarded to you and you would like to subscribe to

 the IFCO / Pastors for Peace mailing list, please visit www.ifconews.org and

 follow the instructions provided, or send a blank message to

friends-subscribe@ifconews.org



 http://www.pastorsforpeace.org/

Cuba Caravan Update and Prayers are needed on this date!

 Date: Mon, 2 Aug 2010 22:03:28 +0000

 To: nycandemergency@ifconews.org

 Subject: Alert - Cuba Caravan Challenges Travel Ban Tues. Aug 3rd

 From: info@ifconews.org



 IFCO / Pastors for Peace


 August 2, 2010


 Dear Friends and Supporters,


 The IFCO/Pastors for Peace Caravan will challenge the US ban on travel to Cuba

tomorrow, August 3rd when we return from Cuba after delivering more than 100

 tons of medicine, medical and school supplies.


 We are asking you to be on alert just in case we encounter difficulties when we

 re-enter the US from Mexico. As you know, the caravan met with opposition from

 US border officials during the border crossing on July 21st, when US customs

 agents seized five computers donated by residents of Vancouver, Canada.


 We will be updating our website throughout the day.


 As always, we thank you for your continued love and support.

Up date Cuban Caravan

Just got a message from Scot. His bus made it through Mexican customs with nothing taken off. He was waiting for the other busses to pass through. Then on to Reynosa.


Kris

Read more here:
http://www.ifconews.org/

Cuban Caravan Border Crossing.

Friends,


I just got off the phone with Scot, about 8:10 Mountain Time. He gave me a very quick update from the international zone. The U.S. officials took 5 CPUs from our bus. These were the ones from Vancouver. Just as he was telling me this, I heard his radio telling everyone it was time to proceed into Mexico!

More updates as they come!

Kris



I will post pictures as soon as I can figure that one out...Lou

Up date from the Cuban Caravan!!

Friends of the Cuba Caravan,

Tomorrow the Caravanistas will cross the border into Mexico. With their load of humanitarian aid goes our wishes and prayers for safe passage and success.



The bus from Colorado has already been designated for a rehabilitation hospital. This bus is equipped with a wheelchair lift and some special seats for infants. Decorated with art by Antonio Guerrero, the bus is also dedicated to him with the hope that he will be freed from his unjust imprisonment.



As soon as I get any updates, I will pass them along.



Kris

The human side of the Cuban Caravan, my new best friends!

Here is the first person off the bus!! It is Kathryn Hall-Trujillo from Albuquerque, New Mexico.  She had already called me on her cell phone when they left Colorado Springs, so I knew she was there. She is a happy little thing and was just a plethora  of information on the Cuban Five as well as the Medical School down there.  Apparently if you want an education there, it is free.

The next one off the bus was Gary Erb.  I understand that this is not Gary's first rodeo!  It takes dedicated people like these 2 here to make any project a success.  As I write, the bus is wending it's way toward

 Dallas, Texas.

Ok, now you see me and my 2 new best friends.  We are setting at the picnic table at Christ Congregational Church in Belmont, discussing very important  things, like where is the best place to get coffee and where is the best place to get coffee if you have a really long bus you need to park to get the said coffee.  I was all for skipping the whole idea cause I have coffee at home, but David Bemis was all for Solar Roast because it is maybe the best coffee in the whole world.  Just maybe.

So here we set.  Know that the bus will pick up more passengers along the way and  more cargo will be added.. After it leaves Dallas it will go to Austin, Texas.  It will arrive in McAllen, Texas on Sunday.  The plan is to cross the border on the July 21.  From there it is a little shadowy as to what happens and where.  I do know the bus will be loaded on a Freight Ship at Tampico and will be headed for Cuba.  The human cargo on the bus will fly via a charter flight to Cuba.

Upon arrival they will be whisked to the graduation ceremony.  What they will eat and where remains a mystery to me.  I am sure they will not starve and somebody will let them sleep somewhere.  If I get any more info I will be for giving you an update.  I trust Kris Allen will keep me posted as her friend Scott barrels for the border in his big yellow school bus.

Run for the Border, Scott!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pastors for Peace Cuban Bus Caravan right here in Pueblo, Colorado!!

Ok, here we go!  This is the bus that Pastors for Peace is sending to Cuba.  Every year this organization buys a bus, decorates it, fills it with humanitarian aid and ships it off to Cuba.  When I was a member at Christ Congregational Church, I first learned of this endeavor. At that time our link with Pastors for Peace was through Max and Maureen Hale who were both ministers through the United Church of Christ.  I think that was about 4 years ago. At that time we collected medical supplies, eye glasses, durable medical supplies.  But the first thing that has to happen is, you gotta' buy a bus!

This is Kris Allen and Scott MacGregor.  Kris does the painting thing and generally keeps us informed as to the whereabouts of the bus on any given day.  Scott is the driver, mechanic, and general roustabout.  If the border crossing does not go well, Scott will be the one calling for bail money!

 Now here is the interesting part about this particular bus.  The  bus was located at  the Harrison School in Colorado Springs.  Our group offered to buy it for $3,000.00 which was initially accepted.  Then they got to thinking that if they took bids on it, they would probably get more money.  To make a long story short, the bus was purchased for $2,510.00.  No other bidders!! This was a savings of $490.00 so that was good for us, but not the school district. 

This bus is dedicated to Antonio Guerreo, one of the Cuban Five.  He is currently , and has been for over 12 years incarcerated in Florence, Colorado. That is about 30 miles from my house.  Antonio is an artist and his work is copied on this bus.

              

This is the plague that explains about the bus and that it is dedicated to Antonio.  Can you imagine being sent to jail for wanting to protect your country?  I can not seem to lay my hands on the pictures of the quotes on both sides of the bus, but I wrote them down.  Both are by Martin Luther King, Jr.  The first says, "El tiempo es siempre derecho a hacer lo correcto."  Loosely translated that says, "The time is always right to do what is right."   The second side says, "En el centro de la no violencia este el principio de amo."  Translated that means, "The center of non violence is the principal of love."  

Now see this little sign here?  This says Friends Beyond Borders.  That should be fairly easy to understand.  This bus has a lift so it will be given to a hospital when it arrives on the island of Cuba.  Immediately upon the crews arrival in Cuba they will be whisked off to a graduation ceremony at the Medical School, where 14 students will receive their diplomas. Sounds good, huh? Now what would you think if I told you that their training was completely free and paid for by the Cuban Government?  Bet it would really flip you out to know that these 14 students were American citizens, wouldn't it!  Swear to God, every word of this is true.  So can Cuba be all that bad?

In our country of plenty there are many homeless and a lot of them are children.  Fidel Castro has often bragged that of the thousands of children sleeping on the streets at night, not a damn one of them is in Cuba!

There were a lot of boxes to load out of the shed at Christ Congregational Church into the bus.  Being a lazy woman, I set and watched the muscle at work.  The  muscle consisted of Scott, Gary and David Bemis.  I always enjoy that sight!  There were several computers, durable medical equipment and Lord only knows what else.  Did notice that Scott done shucked out of his shirt.  Bear in mind that these people are headed for hot country!

Now, this is getting long so I am going to continue it tomorrow.  I want you to know, I met some very nice people on this bus.  I will introduce you to them tomorrow.  Just know that these people must pay to do this and I think that costs about $3000.00. Then they are expected to work at all the stops, sleep on the floor, hope they get a shower some where, eat what ever is given to them and smile about it.  These are two of the nicest people I have met so far and they are my new best friends!!  I always try to ferret out the good hearted people and leave the rif raf alone.

So to my new best friends, Kathryn  Hall-Trujillo of Albuquerque and Gary Erb of,( sorry I missed that!) I am going to put you on here tomorrow.  While you are bouncing along in a dusty old bus, I will be picnicking in the mountains, but I will be thinking of you!

The bus left the parking lot at almost 10:00 AM.  They were going to grab coffee and head to Santa Fe, New Mexico. So Santa Fe last night and then head off to Dallas, Texas this morning.

Let me give you those links again.http://www.ifconews.org

http://www.FreeTheFive.org

Here is your assignment for tomorrow for the Cuban Caravan...

I have started writing about the Pastors for Peace Cuban Caravan, but you are going to need to do your homework. See, there is a lot of stuff I am going to be mentioning and if you do not read up on this you are going to be lost!

First is the Pastors for Peace.  This is a group who does just what you think a group with a name like that would do http://www.ifconews.org/  This will take you right to the heart of the matter.  There is just all kinds of stuff on here that you need to keep up with this stuff and I do not have time nor space to feed it to you.  I first became involved with this group through the auspices of Max and Maureen Hale.  They are a married couple in Colordo Springs who are very active in the Pastors for Peace group.  I love these people to death as well as the Reverend Faye Gallegos who brought them to Pueblo to work on this project.  These are some of the hardest working people you will ever meet in the United Church of Christ.

Then the next place you need to go is http://www.freethefive.org/  If you do nothing else on this site, you need to play and listen to the video from CBS news that presents the Cuban 5 story.  Than make up your own mind. While I do not want to incite a riot here, I would like you to be familiar with  a practice that may be not quite what it appeared to be.

This bus is covered with art that has been painted by Antonio Guerreo.  Antonio is currently in lock up in Florence, Colorado.  He has been there for 12 years.  He is one of the Cuban Five that you will read about above.  See you in a bit with the human side of the Cuban Caravan.