Predicciones y Lamentas

En diez años, Isabel Lockhart vivirá en una ciudad grande y trabajará con unos doctores respuestos.
Isabel no tendrá mucho dinero, porque ella necesitará pagar por su escuela.

Los Castros se morirán, y habrá un presidente nuevo.
Cuba habrá libre, y las personas podrán vivir las vidas de su elección.

Juan y Miguel ganarán much dinero en sus trabajados importantes.
Ellos poseerán unoa companía que tendrá mucho exíto.

El medio ambiente no estaráen un buen condición. No habrán muchos recursos naturales.
Las personas no protejerán la agua o el aire, y plantas nuclear contaminarán la tierra.

En diez años, casará un chico guapo y romántico.
Nosotros tendremos un perro adorable; se llamará "Tortuga".

Yo comería más vegetales cuando era una niña.
Yo trabajaría más en la clase de calculo.
Yo llevaría la crema protectora en Florida.
Yo no daría mi madre mis pescados para cuidarse.
Yo no querría hacer cheerleading.
Yo no vendría a la escuela con un tos.
Yo no tomaría la clase de fisíca.

Cuba vs. U.S. in the Death of Wilman Villar

The death of Cuban dissident Wilman Villar has been called many different things by many different people. To the U.S. State Department, it was a sacrifice by “a young and courageous defender of human rights.” To the Cuban government, it was an act by a “common criminal” in an effort to evade other charges. Despite the two separate views, one thing is certain: Cuban dissidents are finally garnering the political and international attention they have strived for.

                Wilman Villar, only 31 years old and arrested on charges of assault, disrespecting authority, and resisting arrest, died on the 19^th of January after a 50 day hunger strike. While the Cuban government says he joined political prisoners of conscience inside the jail to evade charges of domestic violence, Amnesty International determined that he had actually originally been arrested for peaceful protest. His death brought an international reaction of presidential level. In a statement’ President Obama said, “Villar’s senseless death highlights the ongoing repression of the Cuban people and the plight faced by brave individuals standing up for the universal rights of all Cubans.”  The State Department spokeswoman also spoke out, saying that Villar’s death “underscores the urgent need for greater international scrutiny of Cuba’s human rights record and international monitoring of Cuba’s prisons and prisoner population.”

                This criticism did not by any means go unnoticed by Cuban government officials. In fact, they fired back their own criticism of the U.S., particularly in a case in Illinois where a prisoner died of malnutrition. They also claimed that the U.S’s criticism was “hypocrisy and double standard."

                It seems as if the Cuban government is definitely on the defensive after this incident. The statements of President Obama and the State Department are something that cannot go unnoticed, and will continue to shed light on the conditions in Cuba’ particularly for political prisoners, but for the general public’s lack of human rights as well. Despite its petty counterattacks on the U.S., the Cuban government may now be under higher scrutiny than ever.

                In her statement, the spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of State also promised, “We will continue to support, in the words of the president, ‘pockets of freedom’ in Cuba through Cuban American family visits and remittances, purposeful travel, and humanitarian assistance to dissidents and their families.” We can only hope that this is something the U.S. will follow through on, and that this is just the start of progress towards a free Cuba.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/01/21/2600693/cuba-rejects-us-criticism-over.html

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/01/20/2599352/us-reacts-to-cuban-dissidents.html

Mis Experiencias

He viajado a Key West, Florida y he navegado a vela a un lighthouse.
He montado una motorcicleta, pero no lo he conducido.
He ido a Niagra Falls con mis abuelos. He estado debajo de la agua, también.
He asistido un concierto de rock, pero solamente uno. Quiero asistir otro pronto.
He conducido un avión pequeno, pero el piloto no me lo ha permite atterizado.
He tenido una guitarra, pero no he conocidocomo teclarla.
No he estando la estrella de mi equipo, pero he jugando el baloncesto.
He trabajado en la piscina. He recibido entrenamiento en CPR. Estoy un lifeguard.
He nadado en el mar muchos veces, pero todovía no visto un shark.
He estudiando español por dos anos, y me encanta.

The Legacy of Laura Pollan

Laura Pollan, the leader of Las Damas de Blanco, or the Ladies in White, was an everyday school teacher turned brave activist by the oppressive Cuban government’s attack on her family. In the black spring of 2003, her life was derailed when her husband was arrested as a prisoner of conscience and sentenced to twenty years of imprisonment in the horrible conditions of Cuban prison. Instead of quietly accepting both her husband’s fate and her own like the Cuban government expected her to, this inspiring woman started a movement to bring attention to the wrongfully imprisoned.

                As a peaceful protest and in remembrance of their loved ones, Las Damas de Blanco march to a church in Havana, each one dressed in white and carrying a flower. Despite the peacefulness with which the ladies’ actions are carried out, they are still attacked by the Cuban government for them. In fact, they are persecuted daily, both relentlessly intimidated and even physically beaten. Pollan in particular was a target for this aggression.

                On October 7^th, Laura was admitted to a hospital in Havana, with serious health complications. Instead of being moved to a better facility, she demanded to “Stay in the hospital of the people.” She died of dengue fever seven days later, and will be greatly missed and loved by not only those close to her, but the many people she inspired with her determination and strength.

                Before reading this article, I did know quite a bit about Las Damas de Blanco. What really struck me that never had before, however, was that these women reacted exactly the opposite of how they were expected to. As Yoani Sanchez, the author of this article, points out, the Cuban government expected that the force of their intimidation would silence these women, making them afraid to bring further harm upon themselves and those close to them. However, they did the exact opposite, a testament to how brave these women truly are. They did not believe their actions would have no repercussions; they expected to be personally attacked from the very beginning.

                Another point that was made by Sanchez in the article also caught my attention. Las Damas de Blanco gained so much attention from the beginning because of the way they chose to make a statement. Instead of connecting themselves to a particular political party, they focused on bringing attention to what was happening to their loved ones and all other prisoners of conscience. By doing this, they reduced the amount of opposition they would have had if they had exclusively prescribed to a political party, and managed to gain that much more sympathy and therefore support for their cause.

                The brilliance and strength of Laura Pollan is undoubtedly showcased throughout this article, and will live on in the hearts of Las Damas de Blancas and their supporters everywhere.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-legacy-of-laura-pollan-cubas-lady-in-white/2011/10/16/gIQAUizlpL_story.html