February 19, 2020
Translated and edited by Walter Lippmann for CubaNews.
Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba S. A. (ETECSA) reiterates to users that they must protect their services from those actions, which in different modalities of fraud, can manifest themselves in telecommunications.
The Company warns users that in the event of calls of unknown origin, which are identified mainly by 00, which appear to be from abroad, they will not be answered or returned in order to avoid affecting the balance of the service.
Likewise, passwords or codes are personal information and are not shared. The company will never ask for these data by phone, text or e-mail, so any action of this type will be a deceptive maneuver supplanting the identity of the company.
Likewise, any request for transactions, transfers or advertisements that are excessively attractive, coming from unknown sources, or that are dubious or unreliable, should not be made and thus avoid unwanted damage to your economic interests.
With regard to the computerization of the company, ETECSA systematically disseminates this useful advice in order to guarantee a more secure enjoyment of its services.
Institutional Communication Department
Systematic control actions for the correct performance of different activities of daily life are developed in Cienfuegos, with special emphasis on the sale of food.
By Julio Martínez Molina
February 21, 2020
Translated and edited by Walter Lippmann for CubaNews.
Cienfuegos: Although there is still work to be done, in this province since August of last year to date, systematic control actions have been developed for the correct performance of social dynamics. These include key bodies such as the Provincial Government’s Confrontation Group, the National Revolutionary Police (PNR), the Integrated Supervision Directorate (DIS), the State Traffic Unit (UET), the Agriculture Delegation, the State Inspection (the so-called blue transport inspectors) and the National Fisheries Inspection Office, among others.
One of the most sensitive activities is the sale of food. The population demands protection from those who want to take advantage of this basic need. Despite the existence of some illegals, 635 cart drivers are officially registered in Cienfuegos, which is part of the non-State sector. Raúl González Quintana, secretary of the Provincial Administration Council (CAP), said that “its essence is to bring agricultural products to the neighborhoods, to the families, for people’s convenience. That is why we insist on its ambulatory character, similar to that of the bread vendor. According to the rules, they must acquire their merchandise in the retail network (points of sale, small squares, organoponicos), which is not always the case.
“We know of trucks that move goods in large quantities and supply the vendors, instead of fulfilling the actual destination of such production. We have identified some of these clandestine warehouses, but we have not yet achieved all the effectiveness required. These places are a problem: they feed resale and bring with them hoarding, with the diversion of products contracted in advance by Acopio and included in its distribution balance,” he said.
“Acting against the warehouses requires an operational work, of which we participate as long as we are called. A group is already working in the government to evaluate in detail the actions against criminal acts of greater complexity,” explained Paulino Pablo Diaz Santillan, director of the DIS.
Lieutenant Colonel Edgardo Hernández Lorenzo, second in command of the PNR {National Revolutionary Police] in Cienfuegos, said that “a group of house warehouses was dismantled, which – as is known – are dedicated to receiving agricultural products that come from Cienfuegos or other provinces, mostly illegally, without papers, without going through the relevant channels such as Agriculture or Stockpiling, to then distribute them to the illegal vendors.
To avoid these practices, which make the consumption of food more expensive and harm the supply network, “at the end of 2019 we noticed three trucks coming from Jagüey Grande, Matanzas, with large quantities of pineapple, cabbage, yucca, peppers and tomatoes, among others, specifically to supply house-stores. There was no documentation to support the cargo, so they were driven, fined by the Agriculture Department and the merchandise was totally confiscated. In case they were repeat offenders they could be subject to criminal proceedings and receive sanctions by the Court.
“About twenty points of sale were also eradicated, that is, places that can be the same in a house or anywhere else and that are also dedicated to the sale of agricultural products in an illegal manner and with their logical overpricing,” he added.
He said that in 2020 “we will continue to confront these distribution and commercialization networks of house-stores. We will also go after the trucks that are detected in order to supply them with products in clear violation of what has been established. [Our goal is] so that the food reaches the people without the overcharge prices they usually seek,” he said.
In order to improve the work with the truckers who do not disrupt their work, with the participation of the State Commerce Department, the Agriculture Delegation and the Self Employment Attention Group. The owners were identified and identification tags were made. These are being placed on the trucks right now in the different people’s councils of La Perla del Sur, with specific numbers for each one.
Diana Serpa Diaz, secretary of the Municipal Administration Council (CAM), explained that although the provincial capital registers some 150 cart vendors, more tags were designed to include legal vendors who are registered in other municipalities, but operate in this city. “These will even have a different numbering, so that people can recognize them,” she said.
The official warned that, “as of March 1, those who do not have the corresponding signage will not be able to do so, and the people will know that they may be vendors who violate the law and will have the possibility of notifying the government, the Integral Direction of Supervision, and the police of their existence.
Against crime
The Provincial Confrontation Group in Cienfuegos continues its actions based on the prevalence of order, control and compliance with what is established in all areas, both by the Central State Administration (oace) and by the Provincial Government.
For this reason, in January of this year, the entities that make up this body carried out actions that not only demonstrate the systemic nature of the monitoring, but also that the violations continue: the same in the state sphere as in the private sphere, said Florentino Pérez Valladares, an official of this body.
Agriculture maintained this effort, led by the provincial government and in conjunction with the PNR, which allowed the identification of violations. This resulted in the seizure of 41 kilograms of lime and two cattle for causing damage to plantations, while a couple of trucks loaded with bananas and donkey banana [platano fruto and platano burro], without papers, were arrested.
In both cases, the cargo was seized and the drivers were fined 2,000 pesos, pursuant to Decree-Law 191. Agriculture applied 18 fines in the period, amounting to 56,900 pesos.
It also maintained its work during the month of January in all municipalities, with greater incidence in Cienfuegos (779 fines were imposed in the amount of 64,785 pesos in national currency). Florentino Pérez Valladares added that, in terms of self-employment, other breaches were detected, including having illegal personnel carrying out different activities, which demanded the imposition of fines according to Decree Law 357, which prevents these people from not having labor guarantees when they are hired.
But still missing…
Despite the continued work of these confrontational structures, dissatisfaction persists. Alina Guevara López, a sexagenarian who has bought from the cart merchants, in the face of the shortage of state agricultural markets, says they are setting abusive prices.
In the opinion of Yankiel Saldívar Vázquez, “despite the fact that their salaries have been considerably increased, there are still some inspectors who do not fulfill their role”.
There are also other truck drivers who, legal or not, hide when inspectors arrive who they know cannot bribe, shared Angel Hernández López from Cienfuegos.
“There are trucks that continue to arrive from agricultural poles, with food from the town that they divert with impunity,” said another citizen who did not want to give his name.
These four people agree with that of other Cienfuegos interviewed for this report. The people support the fact that a few rascals do not continue to abuse the sweat of others, who are hindered in their existence by outrageous offers that were destined for the market at reasonable prices. However, what is being done shows that it is possible to stop the cheating and the crime from being transported by the cart, and to stop the illegal supply chains from being encouraged.
February 20, 2020
Translated and edited by Walter Lippmann for CubaNews.
Jean Daniel, founder of the weekly Le Nouvel Observateur, a legendary journalist who lived some of the most transcendental events of the second half of the 20th century, died at the age of 99, the French publication reported Thursday.
Born in Blida (Algeria) in 1920, Daniel was one of the most influential intellectuals on the left in France and is especially remembered for his proximity to figures such as the writer Albert Camus. In 2004 he received the Prince of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities.
Daniel gained international prestige thanks to an interview he conducted with John F. Kennedy, whose assassination he soon learned about live alongside Cuban leader Fidel Castro in November 1963.
During the Second World War had joined the resistance against the Nazi occupation. He fought alongside General Leclerc in the liberation of France and at the end of the conflict he studied philosophy at the Sorbonne University in Paris.
In 1947 he founded a cultural magazine, Caliban, with the support of Camus, and directed it until 1951.
In 1954 he started working for the weekly newspaper L’Express, covered the Algerian war and declared himself in favor of negotiating with the independence fighters of the National Liberation Front (FLN).
With the notoriety gained from his cross-relationship with Kennedy and Fidel Castro, Jean Daniel teamed up with businessman Claude Perdriel in the 1964 purchase of France Observateur (recently renamed L’Obs), which they turned into Le Nouvel Observateur, which became the leading weekly newspaper of the French left.
He remained as director until 2008 and continued as an editorialist practically until the end.
(With information from EFE)
Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg came under fire Wednesday in his first televised debate of the Democratic race, the most virulent of the campaign to choose who will run against Donald Trump for the White House in November
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By Web Editor | internet@granma.cu
February 20, 2020 10:02:45
Translated and edited by Walter Lippmann for CubaNews.
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg came under fire Wednesday in his first televised debate of the Democratic race. It was the most virulent of the campaign to choose who will run against Donald Trump for the White House in November.
Before Saturday’s caucus in Nevada, the third state to hold its party caucus, the Las Vegas showdown was the most controversial of the nine so far, as leftist Bernie Sanders is the clear favorite among the eight contenders still in the race.
Bloomberg, who invested astronomical amounts in advertising that catapulted him to third place in the Democrats’ voting intention in just three months of the contest, was labeled an “arrogant millionaire” and questioned for “sexist remarks” and “racist policies.
Sanders, who won in New Hampshire and came a close second in Iowa, was also targeted, particularly for his universal health plan, but also for his leadership style and economic proposals.
“I don’t think there’s any chance the senator will beat President Trump,” Bloomberg said.
But Sanders was not far behind.
“Mike Bloomberg has more wealth than 125 million Americans underneath him,” the senator said in one of the many bumps and bruises of the evening. “That’s wrong. That’s immoral.”
With an estimated fortune of $64.2 billion, the financial information mogul is considered the eighth richest person in the world according to Forbes’ updated figures.
Another strong exchange between the two was when Bloomberg questioned the economic claims of Sanders, who defines himself as a “democratic socialist”.
“We’re not going to throw away capitalism,” the businessman said. “Other countries tried. It was called communism and it just didn’t work,” he added, a mention that Sanders called a “low blow”.
Sanders leads the race with 32% support, ahead of Barack Obama’s former vice president, moderate Joe Biden, at 16%, and Bloomberg at 14%, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released Wednesday.
In fourth place is progressive Senator Elizabeth Warren (12%), followed by two other centrists: former Mayor Pete Buttigieg (8%) and Senator Amy Klobuchar (7%).
“We shouldn’t have to choose between a candidate who wants to burn this party and one who wants to buy this party,” said Buttigieg, who won in Iowa and came in a close second in New Hampshire.
“Let’s choose someone who is actually a Democrat,” he added, in a setback for the independent Sanders and for Bloomberg, who was a Democrat before running for mayor as a Republican and as an independent, to finally return to the Democratic Party in 2018.
In an unusual strategy, Bloomberg decided to skip the first four dates of the competition — Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada on Saturday and South Carolina on February 29 — to focus on the “Super Tuesday” of March 3, when 14 states vote and a one-third majority of delegates (1991) must choose the party’s nominee at the Democratic convention in July.
Bloomberg, who is shaping up to be a strong contender against Trump, another 70-something white New York mogul like himself, also was whipped by Warren, who like Klobuchar is struggling to stay afloat.
“Understand this: Democrats are taking a big risk if we just replace one arrogant billionaire with another,” he warned, equating Bloomberg with Trump by recalling that the former mayor once referred to women as “fat broads” and “horse-faced lesbians.
“Democrats are not going to win if we have a nominee who has a history of hiding his tax returns, harassing women and supporting racist policies,” he said.
During his tenure in New York, Bloomberg implemented a policy of arbitrary arrests and searches (“stop-and-frisk”), which his critics say affected Blacks and Latinos much more and for which the candidate has apologized.
“It got out of control,” he said Wednesday in Las Vegas, acknowledging that the issue “really” embarrassed him.
Despite being on the defensive several times, Bloomberg maintained his composure and his firmness, presenting himself as someone capable of defeating Trump and of governing the United States.
From a rally in Arizona, Trump took the opportunity to mock Bloomberg, whom he nicknamed “Mini” in reference to his height. “I hear you’re getting beat up tonight,” he said.
And after dismissing “Crazy Bernie” as a potential contender, he said, “We don’t care who the hell he is because we’re going to win,” as the crowd chanted “Four more years!
(AFP)
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