Beguiling, confounding, frustrating and bewitching: Cuba does it all.
Epic colonial architecture, libidinous young salsa dancers, Che Guevara murals, white-powder sandy beaches, swaying fields of sugar cane - the images of Cuba are as transfixing as they are timeless. This is an island of unique historical heritage floating amid a sea of encroaching globalisation.
Travel in Cuba can involve anything from sipping mojittos at an all-inclusive resort in Varadero to scraping the spit and sawdust off your shoes outside the Casa de las Tradiciones in Santiago. The burgeoning tourist sector rubs up against the Cuba of communist myth.
Cuba, an isolated island nation, rebuilt its quality of life following the collapse of cheap oil, supplied by the former Soviet Union. This fascinating and empowering film shows how communities pulled together, created solutions, and ultimately thrived in spite of their decreased dependence on imported energy.
How Cuba survived Peak Oil Video hosted on Google.
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990, Cuba's economy went into a tailspin. With imports of oil cut by more than half and food by 80 percent people were desperate. This film tells of the hardships and struggles as well as the community and creativity of the Cuban people during this difficult time. Cubans share how they transitioned from a highly mechanized, industrial agricultural system to one using organic methods of farming and local, urban gardens. It is an unusual look into the Cuban culture during this economic crisis, which they call "The Special Period." The film opens with a short history of Peak Oil, a term for the time in our history when world oil production will reach its all-time peak and begin to decline forever. Cuba, the only country that has faced such a crisis the massive reduction of fossil fuels is an example of options and hope.
The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil is a project of The Community Solution, a non-profit organization that designs and teaches low-energy solutions to the current unsustainable, fossil fuel based, industrialized, and centralized way of living.
Peak Oil and climate change require a revolutionary approach to all aspects of our lives. To date much attention has been placed on the automobiles use of energy with secondary emphasis on food. But the energy used (and CO2 generated) by the automobile or from food production is less than the energy used in our buildings. Furthermore, building energy consumption has been continually increasing in spite of improvements in building and appliance efficiency. Community Solution Once more we are reminded that our problems are not solvable simply by improving technology. It is important to determine the appropriate context when considering energy consumption relative to buildings. There must be a deep understanding of the current building infrastructure and the choices that have been made in the past decades that have resulted in this particular set of buildings. It is also important to grasp the concept of embodied and operating energy and the implications. Understanding a building as a container for a large number of appliances that se energy is vital. Perceiving the limitation of technical fixes is equally important. This report delves deeply into energy consumption in the home component of the total building infrastructure.
The Cuban Missile Crisis, was a major confrontation between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) that occurred in 1962 over the issue of Soviet-supplied missile installations in Cuba. Regarded by many as the world's closest approach to nuclear war, the crisis began when the United States discovered that Cuba had secretly installed Soviet missiles able to carry nuclear weapons. The missiles were capable of hitting targets across most of the United States. The discovery led to a tense stand-off of several days as the United States imposed a naval blockade of Cuba and demanded that the USSR remove the missiles.
The Cuban Missile Crisis. Note: Video hosted on Veoh.com On the picture: UN Security Council meeting on the crisis in the Caribbean. United States Ambassador Adlai E. Stevenson (seated second from right at council table) displays photographs and maps on an easel which he said showed installations of ballistic missile sites in Cuba. 25 October 1962. UN Photo #77304.
Documentary on the events that led to one of the most dangerous moments during the cold war. The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation during the Cold War between the Government of the United States, the Government of the Soviet Union, and the Government of Cuba. This crisis is generally regarded as the moment when the Cold War came closest to escalating into a nuclear war. Russians refer to the event as the "Caribbean Crisis," while Cubans refer to it as the "October Crisis." The crisis began in 1961 when the U.S. started deploying 15 Jupiter IRBM (intermediate-range ballistic nuclear missiles with a 1500 mile range and a flight time of about 16 minutes) near Ä°zmir, Turkey, directly threatening cities in the western sections of the Soviet Union, including Moscow. On October 14, 1962 U.S. reconnaissance imagery revealed similar installations being installed in Cuba, as a response to the American threat. These photographs were shown to U.S. President John F. Kennedy. Some days later after a dramatic confrontation that threatened world peace, on October 28, 1962, Kennedy and Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev agreed (thanks to the intercession of the General Secretary of the United Nations) that both sides would dismantle their installations. The event coincided with the Sino-Indian War, which began on the same date that the US declared its quarantine on Cuba. Historians speculate the Chinese attack on disputed territory in India was timed to occur at the same time as the Cuban Missile Crisis.The crisis was the culmination of growing tension between the United States and Cuba following the Cuban Revolution of 1959. The revolution ousted Cuba's dictator, Fulgencio Batista and brought to power a government headed by Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro. Prior to the revolution, the United States had had significant influence in Cuba's economic and political affairs, but the Castro government refused to be influenced by the United States. Castro also caused concern in the United States when he confiscated property belonging to wealthy Cubans and foreigners in an attempt to implement policies to improve conditions for poor and working-class Cubans. Many of these properties belonged to businesses owned by U.S. companies.
Fearing that Castro would establish a Communist regime in Cuba, the United States applied economic pressure, and in 1960 implemented an embargo that cut off trade between the United States and Cuba. Castro refused to give in to the pressure. He responded by establishing closer relations with the Communist government of the USSR. At the time, the USSR and the United States were engaged in the Cold Warâan economic, military, and diplomatic struggle between Communist and capitalist nations.
In an effort to topple Castro's government, the United States trained and armed anti-Castro Cuban exiles living in the United States. The exiles invaded Cuba in 1961, with a landing at the Bay of Pigs. Castro's army easily defeated the exiles. His victory during the Bay of Pigs Invasion solidified Castro's control over Cuba. Most Cubans resented U.S. intervention in Cuban affairs and they rallied behind Castro, who declared that Cuba was a Communist nation.
Fidel Castro, believed to be born in 1926, Cuba's leader since 1959. Fidel Castro claimed power in 1959 following the Cuban Revolution, an armed revolt that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. He became prime minister of Cuba in 1961 and shortly thereafter cancelled elections and suspended Cuba's constitution. Castro ruled without regard for the 1940 constitution until 1976, when the nation enacted a new constitution that allowed limited electoral participation by Cuban voters. Cuba's National Assembly elected Castro president of the country in 1976. Castro transformed Cuba into a socialist nation, inaugurating wide-ranging changes in the country's social and economic systems. He instituted programs that dramatically increased the nation's literacy rate and provided quality health care to almost all Cubans.
The socialist nature of Castro's government sent many members of the elite and professional classes into exile. Government seizures of properties and business holdings, the suspension of elections, the militarization of society, control of the media, and the politicization of education convinced conservatives and moderates to seek exile in Spain, Mexico, France, and, primarily, in the United States.
In 1956 Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro and about 80 armed followers returned from exile in Mexico and landed on the southern shore of Cuba. Government troops killed most of the rebels during the landing, but Castro and a handful of men escaped to the mountains of eastern Cuba, where they continued a guerrilla campaign to oust Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. Batista fled the island on January 1, 1959, and Castro emerged as the leader of the new government in Cuba. During the 1960s through the 1980s, Castro allied himself with the communist Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR); in addition, he supported revolutions of national liberation in Latin America, Africa, and Asia and became a leader among heads of state in nations that had recently won their freedom from colonial powers. Castro and his socialist government faced strong opposition from the United States, which formerly had been Cuba's ally and main trading partner. United States businesses with holdings in Cuba opposed Castro's seizure of their property and many U.S. politicians saw Castro's socialist policies and alliance with the USSR as a threat to the security of the United States.
In 1956 Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro and about 80 armed followers returned from exile in Mexico and landed on the southern shore of Cuba. Government troops killed most of the rebels during the landing, but Castro and a handful of men escaped to the mountains of eastern Cuba, where they continued a guerrilla campaign to oust Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. Batista fled the island on January 1, 1959, and Castro emerged as the leader of the new government in Cuba.
About Cuba.
Cuba, largest and westernmost island of the West Indies. It forms, with various adjacent islands, the Republic of Cuba. Cuba occupies a central location between North and South America and lies on the lanes of sea travel to all countries bounded by the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. For most of its history, Cuba's fertile soil and abundant sugar and tobacco production made it the wealthiest island of the Caribbean. The Republic of Cuba is an archipelago, or group of islands, consisting of the main island (named Cuba); Isla de la Juventud, the second largest island; and numerous other islands. Havana is the capital city with a population of 2,189,716 in 2000. In 2005 the nation's population was estimated to be 11,346,670.
Cuba's proximity to Haiti, the United States, Mexicoâs Yucatán Peninsula, and Jamaica has allowed people to migrate easily onto and off of the island. This movement contributed to the rich mixture of people and customs in Cuba and throughout the Caribbean area. Although agriculturally rich, Cuba exports only a few products, such as sugar, tobacco, citrus fruits, and several manufactured products.
Map Cuba
Cuba's rich soil, abundant harbors, and mineral reserves have enticed foreign powers such as Spain, the United States, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) to use Cuba for their own interests. For 400 years Cuba was a colony of Spain. Spain's conquistadores (Spanish for âconquerorsâ) launched their invasion of Mexico and South America from the island. In the mid-19th century, the Cuban people formed an independence movement, decades after most of Spain's other colonies had become independent. By 1868 Cubans began to fight the first of three wars of independence. In 1898 the United States entered the war against Spain and declared Cuba independent but under the protection of the United States. In 1959 Fidel Castro and a number of other revolutionaries overthrew the Batista government. Since that time Castro has been the head of state and the ultimate authority on all policy decisions. In the 1960s Castro split with the United States and became an ally of the USSR, then the world's leading Communist nation. In 1961 Castro formally embraced Marxism, the political philosophy that forms the basis for communism.
Cuba adopted the form of Marxism that had been practiced up to that time in the USSR, where a highly organized Communist Party controlled the government. Cuba has since been governed according to socialist economic and political principles, with a centralized economy and a government under the control of the Cuban Communist Party. Under socialism, individual freedoms were sacrificed for the social advancement of all Cubans. In addition, religion was discouraged, although not forbidden, so that the allegiance of citizens would belong solely to the state. However, Cuban socialism could not and did not directly mimic the Soviet model because Cuban history and culture were entirely different from that of Eastern European nations. Governing offices and agencies were similar, but in Cuba Castro personally retained ultimate control over the Communist Party, all governing bodies, and the military.
