However, before we fall into this type of skepticism, perhaps it is important to remember a couple of things. For hundreds of years, people wondered if France and England would ever find peace. Today, most people forget that the two countries were even enemies. In fact, most of Europe was at war one time or another; today they are part of a common union. In more recent times, we can see enemies find peace in situations where people thought there would never be. Peace between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland was once thought of as impossible; though there is still tension today, great strides have been made towards peace. Even in Israel, peace has been achieved between nations such as Egypt and Jordan, where there was previously conflict and war.

There are doubters on both sides of the issue. On the one side, there is the Muslim World which on the whole is very skeptical of Israel and their intentions. Many do not like the idea of an Israeli state at all. On the other hand, in the Western World are many conservative Christians who do not believe that peace in Israel can be a reality because of a misunderstood view of the Book of Revelation and the end times. Many also have a fear of Israel giving away any of their land or the existence of a Palestinian state. Both views are hindrances in the way of a real movement towards peace. Let’s hope and believe that in despite of all the History, anger, and doubt that peace can be a reality in Israel. Let’s pray that peace on Earth would be seen in a special way in the Holy Land during this time in History. Peace is possible, but it will take hope, prayer, dedication, and hard work to make it a reality. Most of all, it will take us truly believing that peace is possible.

This article was written by William McCorkle. He writes a blog on progressive social action and the search to find the true essence of the Christian faith at http://www.essencerestored.com. If you are interested in contacting the author, you may contact him at wdmccorkle@gmail.com.

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1959-1960: Following Fidel Castro’s overthrow of the dictatorial Batista administration, a host of people, including children and women, welcomed the arrival of guerrillas, but they turned the Island — about the size of Tennessee– into a place of repression. On the other side, Raúl Castro had been hand-picked by his brother, Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz, as the second leader of the Cuban Revolution. In the meantime, in the early years of the new regime, up to 3,200 Cubans had been slaughtered by Fidel Castro and his family. On the economic side, Castro nationalized all U.S. businesses (without compensation). In fact, these events marked the beginning of one the world’s worst undemocratic governments. Toward the end of 1960, Washington imposed an embargo on Cuba.

1960-1980: As a consequence of the totalitarian policies, over one million Cubans had fled to America (chiefly Florida), Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Spain and Italy.

1960-1982: Inspired by the People’s Republic of China, Albania and other Communist tyrannies, Cuba’s undemocratic state had decimated the country’s tourism industry.

1960-2007: In one of Fidel Castro’s many dictatorial reforms, hemade his sister-in-law, Vilma Espín, President of the Federation of Cuban Women –a key organization on Cuba. Espín, Raúl Castro’s wife, was leader of the feminist organization until her abrupt death on June 18, 2007.However in time, she, a former Marxist guerrilla, was known as the “First Lady of the Cuban Revolution”. Over the decades of the Soviet Empire, she had strong links with radical feminist movements from Eastern Europe, Asia, Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa.

1960-2010: World-famous dancer and choreographer Alicia Alonso Martínez became one of the key women, alongside Haydée Santamaria Cuadrado, Vilma Espín Guillois, Celia Sánchez Manduley and Mireya Luis Hernández, in the Cuban Revolution. Since then, she used her fame and prestige to clean up the Island’s bad image. By the early 60s, Fidel Castro gave Alonso $200,000 to set up the Cuban National Ballet. From then on, the Ballet Nationalbecame an open door for Cuban influence in the Third World and Europe.

1961: The Island’s history took sudden turn in this year as the provisional rule declared the country a Marxist stateand began a close relationship with the Kremlin -the USSR was one of the first states to recognize Cuba’s tyranny–and their allies, including the German Democratic Republic (GDR), North Korea and Czechoslovakia. From then on, Moscow played a key role in the Cuban Revolution. Nonetheless, after Cuba became a pro-Soviet dictatorship,the political relationship between the States and the Island worsened. On January 3, 1961, the tensions between both governments came to a head as America severed diplomatic ties with the rule of Cuba.

1962: The Republic of Cuba was suspended from the Organization of American States (OAS), which was founded on April 30 1948 in Bogotá (Colombia), over its dictatorial rule.

1962- 1990: Unlike many Marxist states in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, including Ethiopia (the world’s poorest nation), Guinea, Laos and Cambodia (Asia’s poorest country), the Island’s human development, from employment and energy to education, culture and public health, was subsidized by the Kremlin (which was supplanted by Venezuela since 2000). For example,most of Cuba’s young people –chiefly members of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC)– attend schools, universities and institutions in Bulgaria, Russia, Ukraine, Poland and the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Moreover, a number of cultural delegations went to Asia, Latin America and Europe. In 1984, the Caribbean team, led by Alicia Alonso, visited five former Soviet republics (Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan). On the other side, around 90% of the military budget was financed from the USSR and other Communist states. These were some of the reasons why Cuba did not have financial problems -different from several Latin societies. During the Cold War, the massive Soviet aid gave Cuba a political influence in the Third World disproportionate to its size and economy.

1964-1990: Castro’s dictatorial rule, headed by its diplomat Isidoro Malmierca (the Cuban ambassador to the United Nations), allowed the USSR to direct its foreign policy.The Kremlin used Fidel Castro to expand its geopolitical influence in the Third World, chiefly in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa.

1967: Soviet Union’s Prime Minister Alexei Kosygin went to Cuba.

1970s Fidel Castro & Mengistu Haile Mariam

1970-1975: The totalitarian Communist state had cooperative ties with Peru’s dictator Juan Velasco Alvarado. Over that time, Raúl Castro, the Island’s second most powerful leader, trip to Lima.

1971-1973: After Salvador Allende’s win in the Presidential elections, the Cuban administration had shown a deep interest in cooperation with Chile. Upon the winning the Chilean election, Allende became the world’s only freely elected Marxist Head of State. Later on, in 1971, surprisingly, Fidel Castro embarked on a three-week tour of Chile.

1972-1990: The Republic Socialist of Cuba was home to the largest Soviet community outside Europe and the USSR.

1975-1991: With the help of 50,000 Cuban troops, the African country of Angola, led by José Eduardo dos Santos, moved into the Soviet orbit.

1977: The Cuban dictatorship sent a delegation, led by Sergio del Valle, to Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

1978-1989: Under its pro-Soviet policy, Castro’s dictatorial rule sent over 20,000 troops to the Republic Marxist of Ethiopia – an African nation with 90% of the population living under the abject poverty– to support the dictatorship of Mengistu Haile Mariam, who led Ethiopia to one of the worst genocides in history. Over that time, Cuba’s troops carried out repressive measures against the Eritreans and Ethiopians.

1979: With the support of the Soviet bloc (from Bulgaria to East Germany), as well as anti-American states, Havana – the nation’s capital city– hosted the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit. Cuba’s satrap Fidel Castro was elected President. This international event was part of the Communist dictatorship’s strategy to win new allies in the Third World, including terrorist states.

1980s The pro-Castro Lobby

1980: To improve dictatorship’s image abroad, damaged by human rights abusesand pro-Soviet military projects in sub-Saharan Africa, the undemocratic rule sent a person -a Russian-trained astronaut– to space. Along with Alberto Juantorena ( 1976 Olympic champion), Alicia Alonso and Alejo Carpentier (author), Cuba’s cosmonaut Arnaldo Tamayo was one of the “special ambassadors” of the Cuban tyranny.

1981: On the world stage, the Castro regime established strong links with roguegovernments such as Libya, Iran and the DPR of Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or North Korea). By contrast, Cuba’s ties with many Latin American democracies worsened, including Colombia, Costa Rica, Jamaica and Peru.

1982-2008: Under the influence of the “pro- Castro lobby” in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), nine natural and cultural sites on the Island were declared wonders of the world- the Old Havana and its Fortifications (1982), the Trinidad and the Valley de los Ingenios (1988), San Pedro de la Roca Castle (1997), the Desembarco del Granma National Park (1999), the Viñales Valley (1999), the Archaeological Landscape of the First Coffee Plantations in the South East of Cuba (2000), the Alejandro de Humbolt National Park (2001), the Urban Historic Centre of Cienfuegos (2005) and the Historic Centre of Camaguey (2008). Curiously Cuba holds more world heritage sites than Argentina, Egypt, Indonesia, Kenya and South Africa.

1984: Due to its political and financial dependency with the rule of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics (USSR), the totalitarian Communist state refused to send over 200 Cuban champs and officials to the 23rd Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, CA. Therefore, many champs lost the chance to compete in the Games, which included Javier Sotomayor (track & field) and Mireya Luis (volleyball) as well as Olympic gold medal winners Maria Caridad Colón (athletics) and Teófilo Stevenson (boxing).

1985: In its efforts to improve the country’s economy, tourism became one of government’s top priorities. Nonetheless, poor international image -among the world’s oldest tyrannies, together with the Stalinist state of North Korea-have caused great harm to the Island’s tourism industry.

1986-1992: Although many Socialist governments, from Czechoslovakia and Mongolia to the People’s Republic of China recognized to Seoul,the Cuban tyranny continued to reject South Korea’s sovereignty.

1988: After a year of speculations, the Cuban contingent did not participate in the Summer Games in Seoul, South Korea.

1990s Cuba — The World’s Worst Olympic Country

1991: Upon the ending of the Soviet Empire, the Caribbean Island, with few natural resources, had transformed itself from a middle-income country to one of the poorest countries on the American mainland.

1992: Cuba’s exile Eduardo Díaz Betancourt was executed by tyranny, despite worldwide appeals for clemency.

1992: Jorge Esquivel, the most outstanding dancer and choreographer in the Cuban Revolution, sought political asylum in Italy. This defection was a serious setback to the Cuban National Ballet. At the 1982 International Ballet Competition in Havana, Esquivel, one of the world’s six best dancers, made his choreographer debut. In the 70s and 80s, he was partner of Alicia Alonso.

1993: Despite Cubaannually budgeted over $ 100 million for the promotion of Olympic sport, which represents 3% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) -one of the highest in the developing world, sport had a big problem: there were massive defections. During the 17th Central American and Caribbean Games in Puerto Rico, the Island boasted the infamous distinction of being “one of the world’s worst Olympic nations”, alongside Burma and Libya, as a host of Olympian athletes and coaches, including softball players and swimmers, refused to return to their impoverished country.

1993 Against all odds, Alina Fernández Revuelta, Fidel Castro’s daughter, fled to Europe.

1994-2010: The Cuban regime lost four important allies in sub-Saharan Africa: Angola (resource-rich nation), Benin, Equatorial Guinea (oil-rich country) and Namibia (uranium-rich country).

1995: The Island boasted one of the highest suicide rates on the planet.

1995-2010: Unlike the Republic Socialist of Vietnam, the Island, with an economy heavily dependent on tourism, has had one of the worst-performing economies in the developing world. The nation’s economy had long been handicapped by its primitive political system. Since the breakup of the Soviet Empire in the early 1990s, a lot of workers, from nurses to teachers, have been forced by the lack of job opportunities to work in Latin America and Spain. With the exception of Haiti, Cuba’s citizens are the poorest on the Caribbean region. On the other hand, important sporting and economical agreements between Havana and Latin America republics have strengthened ties between the Cuban dictatorship and Latin democracies.

1998: In an attempt to mollify its critics, the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II was allowed to visit the Island for the first time.

1999: At the Pan American Games in Winnipeg (Canada), the country’s Olympic delegation picked up several medals, but unwelcomed publicity came when Cuba’s athlete Javier Sotomayor Sanabria, one of the Island’s most respected icons since 1959, lost his Pan American gold medal in the men’s high jump after testing positive for a drug. Meanwhile, Fidel Castro did not accept the results.

2000s The Hereditary Dictatorship of the Castros

2000: Castro’s regime established close ties with the government of Hugo Chavez, Head of State of Venezuela.Due to his admiration for Fidel Castro, Chavez provided heavy economic aid and became a supplier of oil to Cuba. Meanwhile, Aleksandr Lukashenko, dictator of Belarus, went to Havana.

2003: While Cuba’s tyrant Fidel Castro -perhaps inspired by Mao Zedong, Pol Pot, Jean-Bedel Bokassa, Idi Amin Dada and other satraps of the Third World– expressed his desire to become Presidentfor life,the State Security Departament’s increased activity against the opposition groups as itarrested 75 prominent human rights activists, who participated in the Project Varela. They were named “Prisoners of Conscience” by Amnesty International. In response to the rule of Cuba’s human rights abuses, European Union (EU) imposed restrictive measures on Cuba.

2005-2010: In tribute to the “Ladies in White”, the European Union bestowed upon them the 2005 Sakharov Prize for Freedom. This award was hailed as a victory for the Island ’s pro-democratic groups. The pro-democratic organization “Ladies in White” became a world symbol of the struggle against tyranny and repression. They are one the greatest signs of hope for the new Cuba. In beginning 2008, they were threatened and attacked by paramilitaries forces.

2008: Because of its poor health, amid many speculations, Fidel Castro stepped down as Head of State and leader of the Cuban Revolution. Subsequently he was replaced by his younger brother Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz, becoming the seventh Marxist leader of a Latin American country, after Fidel Castro (1960-2008), Allende (Chile, 1971-1973), Forbes Burnham (Guyana,1970-1980), Michael Manley (Jamaica, 1972-1980), Maurice Bishop (Grenada, 1979-1983) and Daniel Ortega Saavedra (Nicaragua, 1985-1990). Raul’s succession was long-anticipated. Nonetheless, the new President, Prime Minister between 1976 and 2008,did not make major changes to the Island’s political system.

2009-2010: Under the tutelage of the hereditary dictatorship of the Castro family, there were up to 225 prisoners of conscience. Nonetheless, not much was known about the total number of political prisoners.

2010: Aware that several Cuban athletes want to escape from the Island, the country’s new dictator Raúl Castro, through the Cuban Olympic Committee (COC), declined to send Olympian athletes, coaches and officials to the Central American and Caribbean Games in Mayaguez (Puerto Rico). The Island’s sport during the past 20 years has been hit by a host of defections.

Alejandro Guevara Onofre: Freelance writer. Alejandro is author of a host of articles/essays about over 220 countries and dependencies (and American States as well), from ecology, history, tourism and national heroes to Olympic sports, foreign relations, and wildlife. In addition, he has published some books on women’s rights, among them “History of the Women in America” and “Famous Americans”

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It has been now about two months that, to my shocking surprise, we have been bombarded with news about Greece. Every single day, there is one or more stories in the front page of the Wall Street Journal and other newspapers, all analyzing the importance of Greece in the European Union in particular, and the world’s financial health in general. I have spent the last few days in Denmark and Germany and a day does not go by without seeing Greece in the front, middle and back pages of the Financial Times and other newspapers written in languages beyond the four I can personally speak. So the question is, what makes little-tiny Greece, all of a sudden the center of the universe again? Don’t get me wrong, I am thrilled that Greece is in the news daily, but the question is why does Greece matter?

Greece is a minor euro zone economy, perhaps 2-3% of GDP, but what matters is the fact that Greece uses the Euro as its currency and the threat alone that Greece may go under sends shockwaves to the financial community, for the fear of one country going down may take other countries with similar problems with it as well.

The issue became critical when Greece announced that its budget deficit as percent of GDP, was way above what was reported by the previous administration, 12 or 13% to be exact, way above the required by the Union 3%. One only had to look at similar countries like Portugal and Spain to see they too had very high budget deficits. The PIGS, as they call them, i.e., Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain make for a very unstable economic group, which, if can not meet its financial obligations to the community, puts unsustainable pressure on the Euro with the now known consequences. In fact, the Euro has gone on a free fall almost overnight, from being the dominant currency with dollar exchange rates around $1.5, to losing more than 5% of its value against the dollar, to an eight month low of $1.3529 as recently as two months ago and some analysts predict it may go down to $1.3, or even less.

So what can the mighty US learn from tiny Greece? Is it possible that the US, by running, or even threatening to run huge deficits, as the proposed social plans by the Obama administration indicate, would face similar disastrous economic situation that would severely and adversively impact the dollar, vis-à-vis the major currencies? Some people argue that this is not possible because unlike the EU where countries are not really legally bound by a single government, the US can legally mobilize financial resources and assist states that are in dire straits, something that the EU is currently challenged with. However, it is not the state budgets that create global havoc, but rather the budget deficits at the US federal level which are currently huge by historical standards that create serious risks and in turn scare away investors – like China, who are looking to expand their recently acquired wealth into more productive capital markets. One can already see that current US deficits, even before Mr. Obama’s proposals are approved, have scared away investors who are already looking for safer havens. China for one thing is building its gold stockpiles rather than investing in US real estate capital.

A country’s budget deficits, its liabilities to its people and foreign investors, put pressure on its ability to borrow in the open markets and eventually run the risk of seeing its bonds down rated. This is exactly what has happened to Greece and what can happen to America, if it doesn’t get its (White) house in order.
America has recently used extreme financial behavior by spending immense internal capital to bail out the auto industry and Wall Street on the premise they were too big to fail. This was the wrong long term strategy which bound to have two effects: 1) these industries have no incentive to put their house in order and, 2) the US citizens at large will be financing this error for ever.

It is interesting to see that Germany, the country that all other economies are compared to in Europe, decided that under no circumstances will it bail out Greece for the above two reasons. In the long run, Greece will have to find its way out of this financial Greek tragedy and be a better EU partner. There is no such thing as “too big” or “too small” for that matter, to fail!

For the US, tough times are ahead. It would be a shame if Greece, where democracy started, could not teach the world a lesson, and America is where democracy ended. For the shake of our children, I need to be proven wrong.

Did you find this article informative, thought provoking or interesting? If so, you may also enjoy visiting my blog: http://www.askDrNick-anything.blogspot.com

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The first UK-wide referendum was held in the 1975 and was concerned with continued membership of the European Economic Community (EEC), also known as the Common Market. The poll, held on June 5th, 1975, commanded a high turnout (65%) and resulted in almost two-thirds in favour of continued membership. Every administrative area in the UK voted ‘Yes’, bar two small Scottish island regions.

The question put to the electorate was this: “Do you think the UK should stay in the European Community (Common Market)?”

Critics of membership were quick to point out that voting to stay in the EEC was a far cry from voting to join it. The electorate had not been given a chance to vote on whether the UK should join, and therefore the argued that once joined, a referendum was a foregone conclusion. No further referendums have been held on EU membership.

Other UK referendums are:

1973: Northern Ireland’s membership of the UK. A referendum on Northern Ireland’s continued membership of the UK after the abolition of the Stormont government. The result was an overwhelming yes after opponents agreed to boycott the vote.

1979: Devolution for Wales and Scotland. A very close run vote on a devolved assembly for Scotland with legislative powers in areas such as health care and education. Turnout was around 64%. A clause in the referendum legislation stated that 40% must vote in favour if the result was to stand. Despite winning the vote, only 33% of the electorate voted ‘Yes’ and therefore the vote was nullified. This had significant impact on the stability of the UK government, with incumbent Labour losing the support of the SNP and subsequently losing a House of Commons vote of confidence that resulted in the 1979 General Election.

Despite lower turnout in Wales, an overwhelming majority rejected a call for its own independent assembly.

1997: Devolution again for Wales and Scotland. Following Labour’s huge election win in 1997, Scotland and Wales were again offered independent assemblies. In Scotland, voters were given the option of a parliament with wide-ranging legislative powers and limited tax-raising ability. Turnout was lower than the 1979 vote; however 60% voted in favour.

In Wales, voters were offered a limited assembly with no tax-raising powers. Again turnout was far lower than the previous referendum in 1979, at 50%. 50% of voters favoured the limited Welsh assembly.

1998: Devolution for Northern Ireland. Following the ‘Good Friday Agreement’, the voters of Northern Ireland were balloted on the restoration of a reformed Stormont Assembly. In a vote of very high turnout (about 80%), over 70% voted in favour.

With political pressure in the UK growing over EU membership and the UK’s adoption of a single European currency, referendums are certain to play a major part in the future of UK politics.

Bernard Bresslaw writes for the Learned Fool politics blog.

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A European Union quiz will show that there are twenty seven countries that are members of the organization. They are in alphabetical order, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK.

The EU has grown to its impressive twenty seven country size after starting with only six. France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg are shown in European Union trivia to comprise the original members of the Union. The majority of the continent has since joined after meeting the criteria set out in 1993 to join. Most of the non members are in the Eastern part of the continent. The Western European countries which have not joined are Norway, Switzerland, and Iceland.

A European Union quiz will show that the goals of the organization were never military in nature, and that the economy and trade were always the far stronger goals. It was decided early on that existing military policies which were in place were more than sufficient to govern that part of policy. Most of the countries are already members of NATO, while those who are not have neutrality policies.

There are a number of reasons why the Euro has only been adopted by sixteen of the countries in the Union. Two have had their membership include the fact that they will not have to accept the Euro as their sole currency. These are the United Kingdom, and Denmark. Sweden on the other hand, has carefully avoided having to adopt the Euro by not meeting the targets required for them to meet before adoption.

Although most matters of internal policy are still left to individual governments, the EU has attempted to have an impact in other areas. The Environment, agriculture, and energy are other key areas in which the EU attempts to set common policy and goals.

Masters of Trivia is a website dedicated to trivia games and quizzes that cover several different areas of interest. The various trivia questions available on the site can be easily accessed and played by going to http://www.mastersoftrivia.com.

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