Mexico, Mar 31 (Prensa Latina) Minimally-invasive surgery has great prospects in the field of medicine, due to its comparative advantages not only for patient but also for society, two Cuban specialists said here on Sunday.
Doctor Julian Ruiz Torres, founder and director of the National Center for Minimally-Invasive Surgery in Cuba (CNCMA), and the center’s deputy director, Rafael Torres Peña, are in Mexico to comply with a program on this issue that includes meetings with more than 150 Mexican physicians trained in Cuba who perform this surgical procedure.
The two doctors told Prensa Latina that they take advantage of this visit to explain to their Mexican colleagues the great progress Cuba has made with this technique, especially the Center they represent, which is a reference in the Central American and Caribbean region.
The CNCMA, which brings together a group of doctors in different medical specialties, was created in 1993 at the Calixto Garcia Hospital to comprehensively face endoscopic surgery, therapeutic endoscopy and high-quality interventional radiology and with the best technology, Ruiz Torres said.
The Center was founded the next year, given its successful work.
During its 25 years of activities and thanks to its team of medical professionals, the CNCMA has become a national and regional referal center that leads assistance, teaching and research in the practice of minimally-invasive surgery.
Managua, Mar 30 (Prensa Latina) The preparatory meeting for the Council of Ministers of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) highlighted in this capital the work carried out by Cuba in cooperation with that geographical area.
This was confirmed in recent statements to Prensa Latina by the director of Latin America and the Caribbean in the Cuban Foreign Ministry, Eugenio Martínez, who headed the Cuban delegation at the first segment of the 8th Ministerial Meeting of the organization.
The Secretary General of the ACS, June Soomer, described as excellent the cooperation projects that Cuba offers to the Caribbean area, said Martinez.
The delegations of Jamaica, Mexico and Panama also spoke in that regard, he said.
Cuba brought to the meeting in Managua a message of support for the revitalization of the ACS, as agreed at the Havana Summit in 2016.
That agreement, which involved a review of the structure and work for a year and a half of a working group appointed for that purpose, sought to strengthen the role of the ACS as a mechanism for concertation and cooperation in the Greater Caribbean area, the Cuban diplomat recalled.
The cooperation policy of Havana highlights issues such as the one that focuses the attention of the Managua Summit, the confrontation of climate change, according to Martínez ‘very relevant to a region hit by several natural phenomena.’
The top official from the Cuban Foreign Ministry said that in the opening session, the secretary general commented on the progress in the field of cooperation, including the notable increase in funds received during the last triennium.
On this work front, the search for relations with third parties, observer countries, that have supported projects in the Caribbean, on all European and Asian nations stands out.
The above shows that the AEC is a necessary structure, it is not paralyzed and in which there is a broad spirit of collaboration among its members and associated states, concluded Martínez.
Havana, Mar 31 (Prensa Latina) Graphic humorists from 43 countries are competing in Cuba from March 31 to April 3 in the framework of the 21st International Graphic Humor Biennial in San Antonio de los Baños, southwest of Havana.
Nairobi, Mar 31 (Prensa Latina) The vice president of the Cuban Council of State and of Ministers, Ines Maria Chapman, will arrive on Sunday in Kenya, the last stopover of a tour of three African countries.
The tour, which also included South Africa and Lesotho, contributed to fostering relations between Cuba and the African peoples.
The Cuban vice president was welcomed by the top government and political authorities in the nations she visited.
At each meeting, participants highlighted Cuba’s role in the independence of this part of the world, as well as its collaboration in several fields, particularly public health.
The vice president, in turn, expressed her country’s gratitude for the strong stance against the economic, commercial and financial blockade the United States has imposed on Cuba for more than six decades.
I arrived in Caracas Venezuela on March 10th 2019 with Margaret Flowers & Kevin Zeese after the three of us had to scramble to find alternatives flights to Venezuela via COPA Airlines, Panama to Caracas.
The reason we sought alternative flights was because American Airlines cancelled our flights from Miami to Caracas fearing reported power outages.
The electricity blackout was real but flights were still operational during daytime hours as we were soon to find out.
We were determined to join our place as delegates on the U.S. Peace Council and to witness for ourselves the extent of U.S. Corporate Media reports of massive civil unrest, of a starving population resorting to eating garbage and government violence to subdue protests.
We were on a mission, to listen, to observe, and to attempt to assess the root causes of opposition grievances and whether there might be avenues for talks to address their concerns and find compromises and produce a peace to the advantage of all concerned.
Our main mission was to express our Solidarity with COSI – Venezuela, the Committee of International Solidarity and Struggle for Peace.
I, a Viet Nam Marine Corp Veteran of 1968, and I, as a former Board of Directors of Veterans For Peace International and the current President of Veterans For Peace Chapter 72 of Portland Oregon have lived the hell of war, and wish never to have anyone live through that experience.
Unfortunately, my country never learned the lessons of the American War in Viet Nam, that it was criminal to send our armed forces to invade another country.
Viet Nam held no vital interest except the desire of imperialists to dominate Asia as a colonial power. Viet Nam was no eminent threat to our nation.
We left defeated, as war criminals who killed, estimates ranging from 4 to 6 million Vietnamese, mostly innocent civilian, women and children.
We left another war legacy, the legacy of spraying 20 million gallons of Agent Orange Dioxin over Viet Nam a deadly toxic chemical weapon that continues to take lives and causes many debilitating birth anomalies and diseases including cancers affecting both Vietnamese and U.S. Veterans and their families.
We have 58,320 U.S. Soldiers names, including eight women carved in black granite in the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC as a cold reminder of the consequences of War.
Thus, every U.S. War, whether a so-called humanitarian military intervention or regime change assualt on another nation, it is like a bullet striking my heart, opening old wounds, that trigger my PTSD causing depression, anger, and even suicidal urges to end the nightmare and shame of my country’s bullying violence and terrorism that threaten the nation’s of the world with our way or the highway.
I have chosen to walk a path of Peace, to rejected violence and war, thus raise my voice as a Veteran For Peace, challenge those who beat the drums of war, oppose dishonest diplomacy at the point of an arsenal of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction.
I guess it is no surprise that the U.S. Peace Council would invite two Veterans For Peace members Gerry Condon a former GI Resister and current President of VFP International and myself to join their delegation.
It didn’t take long before the delegation were invited to meetings with various government ministries, popular people’s projects or cultural programs, but most obvious was that the so-called crisis and massive unrest was just not happening.
That is to say, that in Caracas these popular myths of violent unrest in the U. S. Media were not true.
Our observation was the unrest was a lie manufactured by the U.S. State Department and the Trump Goons, VP Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Security Advisor John Bolton and Special Envoy to Venezuela Elliott Abrams the infamous 1980s criminal conspirator in the Iran Contra Scandal and lying to Congress.
One has to put much into perspective, there was an electricity blackout when I arrived on the 4th day of the outage and lasted an additional two days.
Was it a crisis, of course it was but it didn’t cause unrest, it brought people together, just like in the USA when a national disaster strikes, people go out of their way to help each other, the same in Venezuela.
I was humbled by the tenacity of the Venezuelans to persevere under this difficult hardship, the government trying to ease their burden declared taking the days off during the blackout, making them Blackout Holidays and you saw families in the streets, going to the parks, lovers holding hands, taking walks and meeting friends but no unrest.
Why the lies, why these threats of regime change intervention?
What are the Venezuelan Opposition Parties grievances, would they be willing to sit down for peace talks to find comprises.
Sorry to say, we were not able to get a meeting with opposition leaders to discuss the possibility.
What did seem apparent, was that the United States had their hands so far up the self declared president of Venezuela, Juan Guaido’s ass, he nor the opposition parties couldn’t venture far from the uncompromising position the United States was dictating, Maduro must go “Or Else”.
The “Or Else” is the real crisis, was the dark cloud hanging over all of Venezuela, the threat of U.S. Military Intervention.
Donald Trump doesn’t give a shit about democracy or the suffering of Venezuelans, or he would lift the Sanctions at the root of much of the economic crisis, that and the drop in Oil Prices in the global market.
The real interest of the United States in Venezuela is it’s Oil and they have made that pretty clear in their own public statements.
““It will make a big difference to the United States economically if we could have American oil companies invest in and produce the oil capabilities in Venezuela,” ~ Bolton told Fox News in an interview.
I will be giving a report back on Venezuela Saturday March 30th 2019
Eye Witness Report Back from Venezuela
Dan Shea of Veterans For Peace &
U.S. Peace Council Delegate
3:00 PM at Sunnyside Community House
3520 SE Yamhill St, Portland, OR 97214
Please join me, both in Solidarity with the Peace Loving People of Venezuela and in Solidarity with the March 30th Mobilization taking place in Washinton, DC as officials of NATO come to celebrate 70 years of war making!
Photo: Venezuelan S-300VM Surface to Air Missile Battery
Venezuela’s armed forces have reportedly redeployed additional S-300 missile batteries to military facilities near the capital Caracas to provide full coverage against potential air strikes, in response to a perceived threat of attack from the United States. The air defence missile batteries, command centres and radars were deployed to the Captain Manuel Rios Airbase. Venezuela currently operates several units of the S-300VM surface to air missile system, the second most advanced S-300 variant after the S-300V4, which is particularly specialised in intercepting ballistic and cruise missile attacks. The platform is designed to prioritise high mobility, and makes use of tracked MT-T launch vehicles allowing it to operate off road – providing superior survivability to variants from the S-300P family such as the S-300PMU-2 recently sold to Syria. Mobile transporter erector radars are also used to maximise mobility, and the system’s passively scanned array radar systems used for target acquisition make use of autonomous search capabilities.
The S-300VM’s electronic warfare countermeasures are comparable in their sophistication to those of the S-400, and missiles retain an engagement range of 250km. The platform is capable of engaging up to 24 targets simultaneously, and can engage low observable or stealth targets at intermediate ranges. The S-300VM is arguably the Venezuelan military’s most powerful deterrent against a potential U.S. attack, and represents a capability several generations ahead of anything a Western military has ever had to engage in the field. Unlike Syria, which from late 2018 deployed the less sophisticated S-300PMU-2, Venezuela’s more advanced air defence system is also supported by high end air to air capabilities – namely the Su-30MK2 air superiority fighters which are among the most capable of their kind in the world. The fighters allow the Venezuelan military to pursue enemy targets beyond the range of its air defences, thus providing the ability to engage U.S. bombers and strike fighters deploying standoff munitions from beyond the range of the S-300VM. The air to air engagement range of these fighters, which have been equipped with R-27ER and R-27ET missiles, is 130km.
Venezuela’s multi layered air defence network, which also includes complementary shorter ranged surface to air missile systems such as the BuK-M2 and S-125, presents a credible challenge to the U.S. Military which is set to factor considerably into Washington’s decision making regarding potential military action. The presence of Russian military personnel on the ground, who have reportedly trained Su-30 pilots and air defence crews to a high standard and may well be operating some of their equipment alongside them, further increases the risks for the United States should it attempt an attack.
Mar 5, 2019; Tampa, FL, USA; Team United States pose for a photo before a
game against Brazil in a She Believes Cup. | Photo: Reuters/Douglas DeFelice-
USA TODAY Sports
The national women’s soccer team is suing its governing body for discrimination in pay.
The U.S. women’s national soccer team sued the U.S. Soccer Federation Friday with allegations of gender discrimination just three months before they open their World Cup title defense in France.
All 28 members of the United States squad were named as plaintiffs in federal court in Los Angeles on International Women’s Day and the lawsuit includes complaints about wages and nearly every other aspect of their working conditions.
The players, a group that includes stars Megan Rapinoe, Carli Lloyd and Alex Morgan, said they have been consistently paid less money than their male counterparts even though their performance has been superior to the men’s team.
“Each of us is extremely proud to wear the United States jersey, and we also take seriously the responsibility that comes with that,” U.S. co-captain Morgan said in a statement.
“We believe that fighting for gender equality in sports is a part of that responsibility. As players, we deserved to be paid equally for our work, regardless of our gender.”
According to the lawsuit, filed three years after several players made a similar complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, U.S. soccer has “utterly failed to promote gender equality.”
The U.S. Soccer Federation did not respond when asked to comment on the lawsuit.
The players said that U.S. Soccer President Carlos Cordeiro previously admitted the women’s team should be valued as much as the men’s squad but the federation “has paid only lip service to gender equality.”
The lawsuit outlines years of institutionalized gender discrimination, claiming travel conditions, medical personnel, promotion of games and training are less favorable for female players compared to their male counterparts.
The U.S. women’s team has enjoyed unparalleled success in international soccer, including three World Cup titles and four Olympic gold medals.
The men’s team have never won either tournament and their best modern-day result at a World Cup was in 2002 when they reached the quarter-finals.
When the women’s team clinched their most recent World Cup title in 2015, it was the most watched soccer game in American TV history with an audience of approximately 23 million viewers.
The team’s success has translated into substantial revenue generation and profits for the federation, the lawsuit said. The women earned more in profit and/or revenue than the men’s national team for the period covered by the lawsuit, it said.
“In light of our team’s unparalleled success on the field, it’s a shame that we still are fighting for treatment that reflects our achievements and contributions to the sport,” said U.S. co-captain Lloyd.
“We have made progress in narrowing the gender pay gap, however progress does not mean that we will stop working to realize our legal rights and make equality a reality for our sport.”
Last October FIFA said it will double the total prize money for this year’s World Cup in France to US$30 million, with the winning team taking home US$4 million. The total prize money for last year’s men’s World Cup in Russia was US$400 million, with champions France receiving $38 million.
FIFA announced Friday plans to host a global women’s convention this June in Paris where it said leaders from the world of sports and politics will discuss key issues around the development and empowerment of women in soccer.
The U.S. players are also seeking class-action status that would allow any women who played for the team since February 2015 to join the case.
“We feel a responsibility not only to stand up for what we know we deserve as athletes, but also for what we know is right – on behalf of our teammates, future teammates, fellow women athletes, and women all around the world,” said Rapinoe.
In 2017, the U.S. women’s national hockey team threatened to boycott that year’s world championship but returned to the ice after settling a dispute with USA Hockey over wages and better benefits in line with their male counterparts.
The U.S. Women’s National Team Players Association (USWNTPA) said in a statement it made progress during contract negotiations with U.S. Soccer in 2017 regarding compensation and working conditions but that more work needs to be done.
“This lawsuit is an effort by the plaintiffs to address those serious issues through the exercise of their individual rights,” the union said in a statement, adding that it would continue to seek improvements through the labor-management and collective bargaining processes.
“The Russian side did not violate anything: neither the international agreements nor Venezuelan laws. Russia is not changing the balance of power in the region; Russia is not threatening anyone, unlike [Washington officials],” Zakharova said and added that “Russian specialists… arrived in accordance with the clauses of a bilateral agreement on technical-military cooperation.”
The spokeswoman called the U.S. criticism “an arrogant attempt” to dictate to sovereign states how their bilateral relations should be.
“Neither Russia nor Venezuela are U.S. provinces,” the Kremlin spokeswoman insisted and explained that the Russian military presence in Venezuela “is not linked to possible military operations.”
The official also stressed that her country respects the Venezuelan people and its elected rulers. “If we talk about the authority, there is no authority in Venezuela except the President’s Maduro government,” she said.
teleSUR English@telesurenglish
#Moscow | Spokesperson for the Russian chancellery, Maria Zajárova, clarified that the Russian military specialists’ objective in #Venezuela is to strengthen the technical-military cooperation. It does NOT violate international law.
Hansell Oro@HansellteleSUR
#Moscú | La portavoz de la cancillería rusa, María Zajárova, aclaró que los especialistas militares rusos en #Venezuela es con el objetivo de fortalecer la cooperación técnico-militar. NO viola el derecho internacional. No se trata de la presencia militar de #Rusia en el país.
President Trump Wednesday called on Russia to pull its military from Venezuela and indicated that the U.S. maintains “all options open” for the Russian military to leave that country. In a similar sense, the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo insisted that Russia’s influence on Cuba and Nicaragua must be stopped.
The U.S. reaction comes after the arrival of two Russian planes into Venezuela on Feb. 23. According to local media, these planes carried 99 military personnel and 35 tons of material, an operation which was carried out under the command of the Ground Army Chief General Vasily Tonkoshkurov.
The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman also commented that the U.S. should be more concerned about fulfilling its promises about Syria than about what Russia and Venezuela should do.
“Before advising someone to leave somewhere, the U.S. needs to implement its own exit plan from Syria… a month has passed… can it be specified if it has been retired or not?” Zakharova asked and added that “I would advise the U.S. administration to fulfill promises given to the international community before handling other countries’ legitimate interests.”
Cubanas, Mujeres en Revolución is a 90 minutes film with English subtitles produced by Resumen Latinoamericano. It has been shown in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Panama, Venezuela, Spain, France, Canada, England, Turkey, Australia, Sweden, and in the US in San Francisco CA, New York and Washington DC. This film evokes the continuous role of women in the Revolution, both in the guerrilla struggle and in the construction of the new Cuban society, through the testimonies of heroines such as Vilma Espín, Celia Sánchez and Haydée Santamaría, the founding figures of the Revolution, and also of contemporary women from different sectors of Cuban society. Reflections and life experiences that show how these women were nourished by the values built in the revolutionary struggle in the late 1950s.
Mexico, Mar 31 (Prensa Latina) Minimally-invasive surgery has great prospects in the field of medicine, due to its comparative advantages not only for patient but also for society, two Cuban specialists said here on Sunday.
Managua, Mar 30 (Prensa Latina) The preparatory meeting for the Council of Ministers of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) highlighted in this capital the work carried out by Cuba in cooperation with that geographical area.
Nairobi, Mar 31 (Prensa Latina) The vice president of the Cuban Council of State and of Ministers, Ines Maria Chapman, will arrive on Sunday in Kenya, the last stopover of a tour of three African countries.
I arrived in Caracas Venezuela on March 10th 2019 with Margaret Flowers & Kevin Zeese after the three of us had to scramble to find alternatives flights to Venezuela via COPA Airlines, Panama to Caracas.
JSC: Jamaicans in Solidarity with Cuba 