Things going on in Cuba...

[Nicole44 22197]

For example, the San Isidro Movement (@mov_sanisidro), a group of artists with a strong Afro-Cuban representation, has been gaining momentum since late last year, in the face of a harsh state crackdown on artistic freedoms. Various prominent artists were arrested for the content of their art, but nevertheless, the Cuban people are getting inspired to demonstrate.
 

https://www.latinorebels.com/2021/07/16/opinionpatriayvida/

[Nicole44 22197]

The words “CUBA LIBRE” were seen painted in large letters on the street outside the Embassy of Cuba in Northwest Washington on Friday, an expression of solidarity with the thousands of anti-government protesters across Cuba.
 

 

It is being or has been removed.

[Nicole44 22197]

This is hard to watch/listen to. 🥺❤️
 

 

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

10 minutes ago, Nicole44 said:

The words “CUBA LIBRE” were seen painted in large letters on the street outside the Embassy of Cuba in Northwest Washington on Friday, an expression of solidarity with the thousands of anti-government protesters across Cuba.
 

 

It is being or has been removed.

Cuba libres are one of my favorite  drinks right after a Mo-hito.

[Zepol87 9263]

This isn't happening without outside help. People are already gone and those in charge won't quit 

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

5 minutes ago, Zepol87 said:

This isn't happening without outside help. People are already gone and those in charge won't quit 

Are we mustering a Surly  volunteer brigade ?

[Nicole44 22197]

5 minutes ago, Zepol87 said:

This isn't happening without outside help. People are already gone and those in charge won't quit 

Cuba govt going by the typical playbook on this. I don’t post many of the tweets showing the crowds because they are too political (even if mostly in Cuban) but their government seems to doubt the tenacity and heart of those protesting. I really hope they can keep it up. Internet is mostly restored (using that program I posted about upthread) so they are tweeting a bunch now. It depends on the hashtags you use to find the good tweets. 

[atomheartbevo 90041]

Just now, Zepol87 said:

This isn't happening without outside help. People are already gone and those in charge won't quit 

The interesting thing that's been noted, is that a lot of the people being rounded up are not the typical (and older) protest types for whom this happens fairly often, it's a lot of first-timers, and people/families/friends are getting more and more pissed off that they aren't being told anything.  If they are announcing that they are sending these younger folks away for 25-30 years, that's going to really energize things.

Tomorrow is apparently going to be a big protest.  They are getting students and some other groups organized across the country, texting each other, using their extremely local internet connections, etc.  

I have no idea if it's some kind of important date, or it's just Saturday and a good day to focus everybody, or it's taken this long to get organizations to work together or what.

I think the fact that there are still people clashing with the police/troops today is pretty telling that the government doesn't have a lot of control - they are in reaction mode, and not getting ahead of the protests.

[Nicole44 22197]

Translation: It is always gratifying to hear in the so-called “Cradle of the Revolution,” Santiago de #Cuba, the cries of Freedom! And the National Hymn in the voices of those Cubans who want no more on the island the flag of a movement that imposed a dictatorship of more than six decades on the island.

[Nicole44 22197]

 

[Nicole44 22197]

Essentially saying if they talk they are killed. If they are silent they are killed. So they’d rather die talking than be silent. 

[Nicole44 22197]

I can’t tell where this is in Cuba. As with a lot of the videos coming out of there it’s hard to watch. 🥺

 

 

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

5 minutes ago, Nicole44 said:

Essentially saying if they talk they are killed. If they are silent they are killed. So they’d rather die talking than be silent. 

They got Tommy J. as their avatar. He's not cool with the new crowd.  Backlash is eminent.

[bolverk 29809]

10 hours ago, NorthLoop said:

It's already been established on this thread that that pic is from months May Day a few years ago

fify

[conVINCEd 21474]

1 hour ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Cuba libres are one of my favorite  drinks right after a Mo-hito.

It’s a rum and coke with a lime.

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

1 minute ago, conVINCEd said:

It’s a rum and coke with a lime.

Hey!!! Leave me my mysteries .

It's the lime that does it.

[conVINCEd 21474]

1 minute ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Hey!!! Leave me my mysteries .

It's the lime that does it.

I completely agree that the lime kicks it up a notch.

[bolverk 29809]

1 hour ago, Zepol87 said:

This isn't happening without outside help. People are already gone and those in charge won't quit 

I'm not so sure. While it's nearly impossible to get a good sense of what's truly going on in terms of the scale of the protests, it certainly feels like the police are far out-numbered and easily overwhelmed as evidenced by the tweet supposedly showing a crowd rushing toward a few scattered gun shots. The Cubanos don't seem to be exhibiting a great deal of fear in the face of whatever firepower the government has been will or able to throw at them. So, yeah, I've still got hope - maybe even more so than before.

And, look, these folk are still able a full week later, when the regime has already had a chance to pull all its resources together, to assemble in large crowds and chant protests. I don't think this is over or will end anytime soon. It might be a slow burn sort of deal that eventually exhausts one side altogether.

1 hour ago, Nicole44 said:

Translation: It is always gratifying to hear in the so-called “Cradle of the Revolution,” Santiago de #Cuba, the cries of Freedom! And the National Hymn in the voices of those Cubans who want no more on the island the flag of a movement that imposed a dictatorship of more than six decades on the island.

I don't think the regime will be able to pull out a Tienanmen Square Massacre card to end this game in a single shot by decapitating the leadership of student protestors with one swift blow. This looks too widespread across the island with a multitude of backers empowered by modern communications tech.

Maybe I'm just a romantic dreamer.

[atomheartbevo 90041]

3 minutes ago, bolverk said:

I don't think the regime will be able to pull out a Tienanmen Square Massacre card to end this game in a single shot by decapitating the leadership of student protestors with one swift blow. This looks too widespread across the island with a multitude of backers empowered by modern communications tech.

Maybe I'm just a romantic dreamer.

I think there is something too this - there are student groups, Christian groups (and at one point the Cuban gov't arrested several religious leaders), media groups, other special-interest groups, various locales marching as one, etc. 

It's probably best they don't have one single leader of the resistance.

And they are still rushing the cops.  I'm surprised the cops, the regular cops, only seem to be carrying small sidearms, if that.  And it's such that if they open fire on a crowd, when the cop stops to reload he's getting his ass jumped. I keep seeing lots of videos/photos of military with nothing more than sticks.

I really wonder if there's truth to the comments about them deliberately keeping the cops and some troops disarmed or only armed with small sidearms and no body armor so they don't present as much of a threat if they also turn on the government.

[atomheartbevo 90041]

Minister of Higher Education downplaying the role of students?

 

Edited July 17, 2021 by atomheartbevo

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

9 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Minister of Higher Education downplaying the role of students or students being detained or something.

 

They were probaly the ones messing with the grading curve anyway.

[atomheartbevo 90041]

Okay, this may tie into the above (sounds like they are trying to get everybody to spread out/disperse so they can't be found and forced to march or whatever).

Translation: ATTENTION: The Cuban dictatorship is forcing state workers and university students to mobilize in support of the dictatorship. They are threatening that if they do not go they will lose their job or be expelled from the university. WE DISSEMINATE

 

Edited July 17, 2021 by atomheartbevo

[atomheartbevo 90041]

Havana CNN guy stuck his head out to post a neutral tweet (I know, he's not going to fuck around and find out).

 

[atomheartbevo 90041]

Translation: In the midst of the worst peak of the pandemic, the regime is preparing a political event for tomorrow on the Malecón in Havana. He wants to make the world think, in the old way, that Castroism predominates in the people. But the true people have already spoken and asked for "freedom"#SOSCuba

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

10 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Translation: In the midst of the worst peak of the pandemic, the regime is preparing a political event for tomorrow on the Malecón in Havana. He wants to make the world think, in the old way, that Castroism predominates in the people. But the true people have already spoken and asked for "freedom"#SOSCuba

Castroism has been dead for 40 years or so. 

[atomheartbevo 90041]

Just now, Onboard 2.0 said:

Castroism has been dead for 40 years or so. 

Yep, but the government thinks if they force enough employees/students to march in their parade, it'll show the world the most people somehow prefer that shit.

What needs to happen is in the middle of the parade, the students, etc. need to bust out with something like this:

 

 

[Wulaw Horn 19236]

I saw a car shoe polished yesterday in Kingwood Texas with Pro Cuban stuff. That was sort of surprising to me. 

[atomheartbevo 90041]

Translation State Security notifies the Cuban artist

@Immigrantmove

that tomorrow at 5am an agent will be at the doors of her house to transfer her to Villa Marista for an interrogation. We all know what that place means ...

[atomheartbevo 90041]

Appears to be lines being drawn in the sand with some admins in the universities taking some kind of stand over the Cuban leadership trying to force the students to march in favor of the Cuban leadership- this is where I realize I shouldn't have let my Spanish get rusty.  Some are saying they won't do anything, won't order the students around, others are flat out telling the students to basically head for the hills.

It sounds like the students that follow the government's orders are going to be used as a shield of sorts, and the leadership is hoping to basically use them against the protestors and/or to spread an image that everything is okay.  Not necessarily as a militia against the protestors, but to confuse or dilute things (perhaps providing some chaos/cover for the police/soldiers to crack some more skulls and kidnap some more folks).

On the one hand, I get the plan - I get what the endgame is for the Cuban leadership - they have to get control of this shit in the next few days.  On the other hand, it feels like they are playing with dynamite, since so many of the people we've seen in the streets have been young, and since the college kids are going to be just as organized and connected with their peers/family/friends, if not better, than the typical man or woman in the street.

The Cuban government is basically going to create a massive clash of some kind, because they know the protestors are not going to stay away from the official state parade/demonstration.

I'm probably wrong, but feels like tomorrow is going to be watershed moment.

[Enchubben 5555]

2 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Appears to be lines being drawn in the sand with some admins in the universities taking some kind of stand over the Cuban leadership trying to force the students to march in favor of the Cuban leadership- this is where I realize I shouldn't have let my Spanish get rusty.  Some are saying they won't do anything, won't order the students around, others are flat out telling the students to basically head for the hills.

It sounds like the students that follow the government's orders are going to be used as a shield of sorts, and the leadership is hoping to basically use them against the protestors and/or to spread an image that everything is okay.  Not necessarily as a militia against the protestors, but to confuse or dilute things (perhaps providing some chaos/cover for the police/soldiers to crack some more skulls and kidnap some more folks).

On the one hand, I get the plan - I get what the endgame is for the Cuban leadership - they have to get control of this shit in the next few days.  On the other hand, it feels like they are playing with dynamite, since so many of the people we've seen in the streets have been young, and since the college kids are going to be just as organized and connected with their peers/family/friends, if not better, than the typical man or woman in the street.

The Cuban government is basically going to create a massive clash of some kind, because they know the protestors are not going to stay away from the official state parade/demonstration.

I'm probably wrong, but feels like tomorrow is going to be watershed moment.

It’s braveheart where the two armies run at each other like they’re going to fight, then they stop shake hands and then fight the English together right? Maybe they need a Cuban version of that. Ton of students show up, then just turn around and shit on cuban government.

[atomheartbevo 90041]

1 minute ago, Enchubben said:

It’s braveheart where the two armies run at each other like they’re going to fight, then they stop shake hands and then fight the English together right? Maybe they need a Cuban version of that. Ton of students show up, then just turn around and shit on cuban government.

If the students don't show up and are kicked out of school, they've got nothing to lose at that point.  If they show up, turn on the government, and help propel things along, they will eventually get back into school (or be able to leave Cuba and go to school elsewhere).

The government is counting on them being submissive enough to show up.

[atomheartbevo 90041]

I've got an account I've been using to track all of the accounts I post tweets from, and seems like about half of them are up and more active in the last hour than they normally are during the week, but it is Friday, and people do stay up later/do stuff on Fridays.

There's also been a lot more people looking for info on family/friends that were taken away, and a lot of anger over that.

There's already lots of rumors about parents losing their shit over the kids being beaten/taken away.  There's lot of rumors concerning the first kid that was killed by the government, claiming that his mother committed suicide today.  I haven't posted that stuff, because I can't post any kind of confirmation.

If they truly follow through and start handing out sentences of 25-30 years, I think that will blow shit wide open. That will get the government overthrown, because at that point the protestors have to win - they will lose everything if they don't, and it will just be a matter of time as the government goes through film footage, and they'll be waiting for that knock on the door.

[workswithseed 2139]

"Homeland and Life" is the rally cry for Cuba. They've already had death for 60 years. This is their "Come and take it." their "Liberty or death.", I hope it's more like an American revolution, and not more French. All I can do is pray for their safety, and I hope it goes well for the people in their rebellion of a dictatorship. 

[Harrison Bergeron 1798]

5 minutes ago, workswithseed said:

"Homeland and Life" is the rally cry for Cuba. They've already had death for 60 years. This is their "Come and take it." their "Liberty or death.", I hope it's more like an American revolution, and not more French. All I can do is pray for their safety, and I hope it goes well for the people in their rebellion of a dictatorship. 

It's awesome how much America's institutions have rallied behind the Cuban people in support of freedom and social justice.

[washparkhorn 9939]

5 hours ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

They got [Thomas Jefferson] as their avatar. He's not cool with the new crowd.  Backlash is eminent.

Show some respect for a human who dreamed of better days for all of humanity.

Oh, and . . . 

'

 

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4980]

I'm always surprised when I see stuff like this, but nobody is using any primitive style weapons. Yeah, they can throw rocks pretty good, but chunck that rock in a sling and you can probably double your power easily. Ancient roman slings were as powerful as a .44 magnum. The current record for the farthest throw with a sling is 1,434 feet with a 1.8 ounce stone. That's over a quarter of a mile. Getting hit by something like that in close would make for a very bad day.

[workswithseed 2139]

I also just got some new neighbors I should talk to.

 

[RPM 26426]

15 hours ago, RPM said:

Really surprised Project Loon doesn't have a bunch of balloons providing internet. Seems like a perfect opportunity.

Looks like I'm not just some idiot posting on the internet.

Could balloons power uncensored internet in Cuba?

[GRHorn 105]

12 hours ago, Nicole44 said:

Essentially saying if they talk they are killed. If they are silent they are killed. So they’d rather die talking than be silent. 

These people just might be desperate enough to pull it off. 

Edited July 17, 2021 by GRHorn

[bolverk 29809]

10 hours ago, Wulaw Horn said:

I saw a car shoe polished yesterday in Kingwood Texas with Pro Cuban stuff. That was sort of surprising to me. 

Yesterday evening, I saw a group of about 30-40 in front of the Capitol gates at 11th and Congress waving Cuban flags. I honked when passing by and the crowd went wild.

[SquishMitten 10459]

If the students don't show up and are kicked out of school, they've got nothing to lose at that point.  If they show up, turn on the government, and help propel things along, they will eventually get back into school (or be able to leave Cuba and go to school elsewhere).
The government is counting on them being submissive enough to show up.

That would be one of the most amazing things the world will have ever witnessed. Imagine this big propaganda event being broadcast by the regime to show that it’s just a small fraction of dissidents, and then the entire “pro-regime” crowd turns around. Broadcast live to the entire world.

[atomheartbevo 90041]

[atomheartbevo 90041]

Saw this: “This is the largest demonstration the government has staged since the pandemic. Tens of 1,000s of people bused in.”

[Doc Reeves 6434]

11 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

If the students don't show up and are kicked out of school, they've got nothing to lose at that point.  If they show up, turn on the government, and help propel things along, they will eventually get back into school (or be able to leave Cuba and go to school elsewhere).

The government is counting on them being submissive enough to show up.

Seems like a lot of trouble. Why don’t the students just walk out before the school song is played at their graduation. That ‘aught to show ‘em!

[atomheartbevo 90041]

"The people came out on Sunday demanding to be heard, the dictatorship responded with sticks and calls for violence. Today he does the only thing he knows how to do, blackmail students and workers to wash his image and pose for a photo that validates support that is already fictitious. Havana 4.30am"

[atomheartbevo 90041]

 

[Nicole44 22197]

I know that in 2008 when most of Cuba got the internet it was exciting to a lot of the gamers. In late 2019 Cuba cracked down on the underground gamers network so they couldn’t communicate in offline mode (sharing porn, talking politics etc…) Some of the tweets I am seeing the last 18 or so hours indicating that they are communicating via games as well. I will try to find the salient tweets. This is a big day (been nearly a week since the protests began)! That’s what we are all saying and they are tweeting. Not sure what they are planning to do. The govt is going with the uninspired communist playbook…that is a little stale. Not saying it’s not effective but most people looking at a pro-government rally from the outside are like, “yeah that’s bullshit.”

[Nicole44 22197]

Libertad! 
 

Translation: The mercenaries who defend and work for the dictatorship of the elite just because they are paid, cannot stop the People.

[Nicole44 22197]

Not sure what all the #Vox #TeamVox means…looks like most there have their internet shut down again. 😡

[atomheartbevo 90041]