Cuba is in crisis. Already reeling from a four-year economic slump, worsened by hyper-inflation and the migration of nearly 20% of the population, the 67-year-old #communist government is at its weakest. After Washington’s successful military operation against #Cuba’s ally Venezuela at the beginning of January, the #US administration is actively seeking #RegimeChange.
Stoking concerns is news that lack of fuel is hampering the UN World Food Programme’s efforts to relieve suffering from last year’s Hurricane Melissa. The organisation, which keeps a low-key presence on the island, is now having to draw up plans for a new, far larger crisis. “We’re already seeing the impact in the availability of fresh produce in the cities,” said Étienne Labande, the WFP’s country director.
Major media outlets have long joined in these doomsday forecasts, but in the weeks leading up to and after the US attack on Venezuela, the familiar storyline returned with renewed intensity. The WSJ,, #ForeignAffairs and #TheGuardian have all used the exact same phrase: “Cuba is on the brink.”
These outlets rarely report with any depth on the primary cause behind #Cuba’s devastating economic crisis: #US sanctions. Such is the case with a November article in #TheEconomist: "Cuba is heading for disaster, unless its regime changes drastically."
Also:
Cuba to Enter “State of War”
House Approves Bill Funding Cuba “Democracy Promotion”
More Than Half the US Wants Cuba to Be Sovereign
#Solidarity Activists Organize “Call-in Day” for Cuba
Cubans in the US Now Treated Like Other Immigrants
Cuban Man’s Death in ICE Custody Likely a Homicide
i Chris McCall @dennynews.bsky.social - im
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn has reported Peter Mandelson to
the Met Police.
Flynn said: "There is no question that Lord Mandelson's actions were
shameful and unethical - the only question is the extent to which his
actions breached the ministerial code and the law”
(wh) o12 Qs A a2
from #TheGuardian
Ruaridh Nicoll in Havana
Sun 1 Feb 2026 08.00 EST
In a social media post on Friday, #Cuba’s president, #MiguelDíazCanel, accused #Trump of trying to stifle the island, writing: “Under a false and baseless pretext … President Trump intends to suffocate the Cuban economy by imposing tariffs on countries that sovereignly trade oil with Cuba.”
Help does not seem to be on the way. A shipment due to arrive from #Mexico has been cancelled – a “sovereign decision” according to that country’s president, #ClaudiaSheinbaum, despite clear pressure from Washington.
Minneapolis #ICE watchers face violence, teargas and arrests. They keep showing up Bystanders say they are determined to keep recording federal agents’ actions: ‘There will be absolutely no accountability unless people are documenting’ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/29/minneapolis-ice-observers
from #TheGuardian
Rachel Leingang and Maanvi Singh in Minneapolis
Thu 29 Jan 2026 10.00 EST
The killing of Alex Pretti by a federal officer on Saturday, less than three weeks after the killing of Renee Good, brought heightened attention to the brutality observers and bystanders are facing in #Minneapolis as they witness and document #immigration enforcement. Volunteer observers told the Guardian they have been subjected to violence since the beginning of Operation Metro Surge in early December.
Observers who had been detained by federal agents and released, many without charges, told the Guardian they were denied access to medical care, phone calls and lawyers.
from #TheGuardian
Thomas Graham in Tijuana and Ruaridh Nicoll in Havana
Fri 30 Jan 2026 13.08 EST
#Sheinbaum’s comments came after a week of increasing threats from Washington. US officials briefed that gunboats could be deployed off #Cuba, and said efforts were under way to find Cuban ministers prepared to collaborate with the US.
Speaking on Wednesday, Mike Hammer, the #US chargé d’affaires in Havana, said: “The Cubans have complained for years about a ‘blockade’, but now there is going to be a real blockade.”
Greg Jericho, writing for #TheGuardian opens his article with a plea for rationality and clear thinking. He says out loud what most of our political leaders are doubtless thinking but loath to utter in public:
“This week the IMF released an update to its World Economic Outlook, titled “Global Economy: Steady amid Divergent Forces” and, seriously, in what fricking world are they living? It was yet another example of international groups, governments and parts of the media sane-washing the utter crisis we all exist in because Donald Trump is an egomaniacal bully with the impulses of a spoiled toddler.”
The wave of demonstrations come just one day after thousands marched through the streets of Minneapolis to protest against #US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Protesters again braved the extreme cold to speak out against the agency and show support for Pretti and others who have been harmed by the surge of #immigration agents who have flooded the city in recent week.
Thousands more rallied in Union Square in #NYC, with footage showing demonstrators shouting: “Say it once, say it twice, we will not put up with #ICE!”
Almost 15,000 nurses who work for three separate hospital systems have been on strike since 12 January, holding out for increased staffing, better safety in hospitals, and improved #healthcare benefits. The #NewYork State #Nurses Association (NYSNA) has pointed to the giant pay packages that hospital CEOs have received, at a time when #nurses say there are too few of them to adequately care for patients.
The #strike has pulled support from #ZohranMamdani, the #NewYorkCity mayor, and Bernie Sanders, the democratic #socialist Vermont senator, both of whom joined striking nurses outside a Mount Sinai #hospital on Tuesday.
Stenvik said another adult living in the home was outside during the encounter and had pleaded to take care of Liam so the boy could avoid detention, but was denied.
Marc Prokosch, an attorney representing the family, said the family has an active asylum case and shared paperwork showing the father and son had arrived to the #US at a port of entry, meaning an official crossing point.
“The family did everything they were supposed to in accordance with how the rules have been set out,” he said. “They did not come here illegally. They are not criminals.” He said there was no order of #deportation against them and he believes the father and son have remained together in detention.
from #TheGuardian
Wed 21 Jan 2026 16.08 EST by Maanvi Singh
The tactics of the federal force, too, have grown more aggressive and indiscriminate. Armed officers have appeared at schools, daycares, churches and mosques. Masked agents are stopping residents at traffic lights, or on their walk to the grocery store, demanding – at gunpoint – that they prove their citizenship.
The agents are targeting not only undocumented immigrants, but also those with legal immigration status and valid visas, US citizens and tribal citizens. On Tuesday, a group of local law enforcement officers said even their agents were being pulled over, reporting that off-duty police officers of color had been stopped and questioned at gunpoint...
Two protesters have been blinded by so-called “less-lethal” munitions deployed by federal officers during an anti- #ICE#protest last week in Santa Ana, California, according to reports.
Widely seen video recorded at the Santa Ana protest showed a homeland security agent shoot Kaden Rummler, 21, in the face with a less-lethal munition at a distance of only a few feet. Doctors found glass shards and plastic fragments in his skull and a fragment of metal lodged just shy of his carotid artery.
#UPF is also rapidly displacing fresh #food in the diets of children and adults on every continent, and is associated with an increased risk of a dozen health conditions, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and depression.
The sharp rise in UPF intake worldwide is being spurred by profit-driven corporations using a range of aggressive tactics to drive consumption, skewer scientific debate and prevent regulation, the review of evidence suggests.
Człowiek potrzebuje duchowości. Po po stopniowej abdykacji chrześcijaństwa w kulturze zachodniej okazuje się, że wiara w naukę i w pieniądz jednak nie wypełnią całej potrzeby człowieka do kontaktu z absolutem.
So there’s a new Guardian interview with Jimmy Wales out (to promote his new book, with an affiliate link for the Guardian in it) titled “‘People thought I was a communist doing this as a non-profit’: is Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales the last decent tech baron?”* that’s making the rounds here.
For those who only read the headlines, here’s a TL;DR: No. There is no such thing as decent tech baron, that’s an oxymoron.
From the article itself:
“‘I’m actually quite in favour of business and capitalism and all that.’ (He’s currently president of Fandom, an ad-funded entertainment site that hosts user-edited pages, owned by private equity firm TPG Capital).”
And:
“Does he still regard Musk, the world’s richest man, as a friend? ‘Friends is probably a little strong. I mean, not, not that –‘ he sputters, editing himself in real time. ‘I want to be careful how I say that, only because I’ve met him maybe five or six times, so that I would be overstating to say friends. We’ve been friendly, and even now he’s much nicer to me in private than you might think. I mean, he’s got a big public persona, and that’s a little bit different from the private Elon, who I think is more thoughtful.’”
The particles are in our blood, brains and guts - and scientists are only beginning to learn what they doMicroplastics have been found almost everywhere: in blood, placentas, lungs - even the human brain. One study estimated our cerebral organs alone
The Gaza flotilla gives us hope because we can see SOMEONE is doing SOMETHING!
The Gaza flotilla gives us hope because we can see SOMEONE is doing SOMETHING! ...