Human Rights

The United States is the world’s major violator of human rights

The United States is the world’s major violator of human rights
“The United States is the world’s major violator of human rights,” stated Jorge Valero, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela’s ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Walkiria Juanes Sánchez september 3, 2020 11:09:44

“The United States is the world’s major violator of human rights,” stated Jorge Valero, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela’s ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

As part of a series of conferences on global governance and development, entitled “The challenges and common problems of humanity at the current

time,” the diplomat recalled that amidst the worsening pandemic, the United States announced its withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO).

“It is ironic that the imperialist government made this decision just when the strengthening of this organization was most needed,” he noted.

In terms of security and disarmament, he denounced the U.S. decision to renounce its commitment to the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, and emphasized, “Trump has also stated that the Reduction of Strategic Arms Treaty (Start) will not be extended,” the only agreement on nuclear weapons currently in effect.

Valero insisted that multi-lateralism is the path to peace and emphasized that this is the focus promoted by the “Bolivarian, Chavista government, looking to construct an international structure that unites states in brotherhood and foments shared responsibility in international affairs.”

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, in his comments during the leaders meeting on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Sao Paulo Forum condemned the illegal U.S. blockade that has systematically violated the human rights of Cubans for over 60 years.

He sharply criticized the imperialists’ outrageous treatment of migrant families, “particularly boys and girls, mistreated, abused in a kind of cage, depriving human beings of dignity and their most elemental rights.”

Before the UN General Assembly, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla denounced the United States as the world’s principal violator of human rights, a pattern repeated systematically, massively and flagrantly.

During a meeting held November 1, 2019, to present the proposed UN resolution entitled: “The necessity of putting an end to the U.S. economic, commercial, and financial blockade against Cuba,” Rodríguez recalled that there were 2.3 million persons incarcerated in the United States, where 10.5 arrests a year are made, and that prisoners continue to be held illicitly and indefinitely at the illegal U.S. Naval Base in Guantánamo.

“More than a million of their citizens sleep in the street; 28.5 lack medical insurance; women earn approximately 85% of what men do; and accusations of sexual harassment are common.”

On a global level, Rodríguez noted, the U.S. government has signed only 30% instruments of international law and does not recognize the right to peace or development, not even the rights of boys and girls.

Modern Propaganda

Big Data and the science of manipulating the masses

Big Data and the science of manipulating the masses
At the beginning of the 20th century, Edward L. Bernays, publicist, journalist, and inventor of the theory of public relations, considered the father of modern propaganda and the engineering of consensus in the United States, stated in one of his texts, “The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society.

Author: Raúl Antonio Capote | informacion@granmai.cu
september 17, 2020 10:09:56

At the beginning of the 20th century, Edward L. Bernays, publicist, journalist, and inventor of the theory of public relations, considered the father of modern propaganda and the engineering of consensus in the United States, stated in one of his texts, “The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.”

Born in Austria and the nephew of Sigmund Freud, he applied many of his uncle’s theories and discoveries to “the science of manipulating the masses.” Now an art form for members of the “invisible government,” this science is one of the most important tools used to construct the image and symbols of U.S. capitalism.

With the advance of communications technology, the information society and internet, this knowledge has become so sophisticated that its impact is difficult to estimate.

Analysts can construct models capable of predicting a variety of attributes of unknown persons, among these, political preferences, sexual orientation, how much you trust people with whom you interact, how solid these relations are, all thanks to the information that users themselves post on the web.

Our e-mails, tweets, online presentations, Facebook likes… supply the volume of data that is generated online every day. There are more cell phones on the planet than humans. And as the use of these devices continues to grow, the amount of information available will grow exponentially.

Data on human behavior is recorded, stored and processed. Applications we use leave footprints, thousands of footprints used by Big Data corporations.

Big Data offers socio-demographic information that can be used in an electoral or political campaign and in subversive efforts directed toward an adversary. This allows forces to be mobilized to get out the vote, and above all, win over the undecided.

During Mauricio Macri’s campaign for the presidency of Argentina, his team cross-checked socio-economic data on a large scale, and with this information implemented a strategy based on micro-segmentation of voters, sending messages that reflected very specifically the concerns of every neighborhood, every family and every person.

Barack Obama, Francois Hollande, Donald Trump, Jair Bolsonaro… all used Big Data. The coup plotters in Bolivia and the strategists of subversion against Venezuela and Cuba use Big Data in their destabilization campaigns.

We know about the scandal involving Cambridge Analytica, the company that designed the Brexit ‘Leave’ campaign, Donald Trump’s electoral campaign and those of several European government leaders.

Cambridge Analytica was denounced for the theft of data from Facebook users, but it is not the only company that employs these practices. There are corporations that gather information on more than 500 million citizens around the world and sell it as aggregated data.

In accordance with directives outlined by Donald Trump in his Presidential Memorandum of June 16, 2017, the State Department’s Cuba Internet Task Force was established, also known as the internet subversive operations group, a program created by the U.S. government to undermine the internal order here.

Scholarships and trips for young journalists with deceptive purposes, detailed strategies for work on social media, and generous pay for cyber-mercenaries to constantly harass anyone who defends the Revolution online, have all been part of implementing this tactic, financed by Washington and third country proxies.

Every undercover action plan against Cuba, crafted by every U.S. administration in office for the last 60 years, has included well-paid media operations, that now have Big Data to help out.

Cuban Pharmaceutical

Soberana 01, Cuba’s vaccine against COVID-19 in clinical trials

Second group of volunteers join Soberana clinical trials
Twenty more Cubans joined the short history of Soberana 01, the country’s first candidate vaccine against COVID-19, on September 2, according to reports from Naturaleza Secreta.

Granmaseptember 10, 2020 10:09:54

Twenty more Cubans joined the short history of Soberana 01, the country’s first candidate vaccine against COVID-19, on September 2, according to reports from Naturaleza Secreta.

This group, composed of volunteers between 60 and 80 years of age, is the second to receive the first dose of the much awaited vaccine, that could make a significant contribution in the battle to contain the virus that is taking lives every day.

This step in the clinical trials took place after several other processes were completed, all carefully organized as part of the clinical trials that Cubans are following closely, hoping for the success that will allow for the entire population to be vaccinated against the new coronavirus.

Prior to the launching of the trials, in accordance with established protocols, all possible volunteers interested in participating where provided a full explanation of the process and signed an informed consent agreement.

A clinical trial is a study, an investigation conducted with volunteers, that on this occasion includes two phases. In the first, two groups were incorporated, one composed of volunteers between the ages of 19 and 59, and another including those aged 60 to 80. Each of these groups were randomly divided into three sub-groups given different doses of the vaccine under investigation or the vaccine VA-MENGOC-BC, as the control group, explained by Dr. Sonia Pérez Rodríguez.

She added that the candidate vaccine Soberana 01 is administered in two doses: the first on what is designated “day zero,” and a second dose 28 days later. The study ends 28 days after the administration of the second dose, thus giving the investigation a duration of 59 days.

The purpose of this phase is to determine if the vaccine is safe, to then be able to extend the study to a larger group of volunteers, and subsequently the population.

“It is a preventative vaccine, and this first phase has but one protocol, to allow us to evaluate the security of the product. This means that we record everything that occurs with the volunteers. If the vaccine is shown to be safe, we will continue the investigation. By evaluating two doses of the product, as the study advances, the most effective and safest dose will be identified, and that will be the one we use in subsequent stages of the clinical trials,” Dr. Pérez added.

Soberana 01 is the world’s 30th candidate vaccine against COVID-19, and the first in Latin America and the Caribbean to receive authorization for clinical trials. The first phase of the study began on August 24, when the proposed vaccine was administered to 20 volunteers between the ages of 19 and 59.

Finlay Institute informs PAHO/WHO of progress on Cuban candidate vaccine

A productive online exchange on progress being made in developing a Cuban vaccine against COVID-19 took place recently between lead researchers at the Finlay Institute, representatives from the Pan American and World Health Organizations (PAHO/WHO), and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI).

Carlos Fidel Martín Rodríguez, director of the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Trade and Investment’s International Economic Organizations department, reported the discussion on his Twitter account.

During the exchange, Vicente Vérez Bencomo, general director of the Finlay Institute, reported that trials of the candidate vaccine Soberana are revealing limited risks, raising few questions, and providing promising results in the pre-clinical phase currently underway, which began August 24 with administration of the vaccine to 20 persons between 19 and 59 years of age, and a week later, another 20 volunteers between the ages of 60 and 80.

All participants in the study, as a basic requirement, signed an informed consent agreement, and are in good health. Individuals with well-controlled chronic diseases were also included.

The second phase of the study is scheduled to begin October 30, with the incorporation of more volunteers to reach a total of 676 participants. Findings from the study are expected to be available in January of 2021, making certification of the Cuban candidate vaccine Soberana a process that will require several months.

Cuba Vietnam

Raúl, Díaz-Canel & Manuel Marrero congratulate Vietnam on country’s Independence Day

Raúl, Díaz-Canel & Manuel Marrero congratulate Vietnam on the sister country’s Independence Day
Army General Raúl Castro commented, ““The occasion is an opportune moment to reiterate our commitment to continue strengthening the unbreakable ties of friendship and cooperation that characterize the relations between our two countries.”

Author: Granma | internet@granma.cu
september 10, 2020 10:09:04

Photo: Internet
September 2, 1945, Ho Chi Minh read Vietnam’s Declaration of Independence in the capital city’s Ba Dinh Square, confirming the defeat of French colonialism.

On the 75th anniversary of this transcendental event, the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) Central Committee, Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, and President of the Republic Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez sent their Vietnamese counterparts messages of congratulations.

In his note to Nguyen Phu Trong, secretary general of the Communist Party and President of Vietnam, Raúl expressed “cordial congratulations” in the name of the PCC and the Cuban people.

“The occasion is an opportune moment to reiterate our commitment to continue strengthening the unbreakable ties of friendship and cooperation that characterize the relations between our two countries,” he wrote, according to Prensa Latina.

President Díaz-Canel, for his part, conveyed to Phu Trong, and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, the “most sincere congratulations in the name of the Cuban people and government,” and reconfirmed “the firm intention to continue strengthening the relations of friendship and cooperation between our nations.”

The President likewise expressed the pride felt by all Cubans in the “historic ties and solidarity forged by our two peoples in the common struggle for freedom, independence, and development.”

Also in the name of the Cuban people and government, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero extended to his Vietnamese counterpart “the warmest congratulations,” and reiterated the will to continue promoting bilateral cooperation in all spheres, as well as the longstanding friendship shared by the two countries.

The sisterhood of our peoples is based on the Marxist principles of our parties and the legacies of our historic leaders Fidel Castro and Ho Chi Minh.