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Despite the government's imprisonment of protesters, there are plans for a protest on November 15th in Cuba. They are protesting the inequality that exists in Cuba despite its government supposedly being communist. They are led by Yunior García, an artist.

I'd be interested in seeing how other nations react to this protest. Do we know how many of them are neutral, declaring support, and/or actively impacting this movement?

Thanks for posting this, David. Arjun, I wonder as well. I also wonder what degree of economic inequality there is in Cuba compared to other countries. When I traveled there in . . . 2018? it seemed to me that the greatest inequality was between the urban areas (doing okay, nothing fancy except the Chinese buses and the fancy hotels for tourists, renovated from before the Castro era). . and the rural areas, that were really poor.

Fairly self-explanatory. It seems like Cuba wants approval from the UN to export more vaccines, and that there was a prior agreement for Venezuela to buy some vaccines from Cuba. However, the Venezuelan National Academy of Medicine seems to be concerned about the research that went into these vaccines.

Interesting. For a long time (under Castro) Cuban doctors were held in high respect in the developing world.

"A total of 184 countries on Wednesday voted in favour of a resolution to demand the end of the US economic blockade on Cuba, for the 29th year in a row, with the United States and Israel voting against"

(Wikipedia) "The United States embargo against Cuba prevents American businesses, and businesses organized under US law or majority-owned by citizens of the United States, from conducting trade with Cuban interests. It is the most enduring trade embargo in modern history."

"The strongest reason to end the embargo against Cuba is the massive toll that the policy continues to enact on the Cuban population. Both the Cuban government and the United Nations have estimated that the embargo has cost the Cuban economy $130 billion over six decades. It's also worth noting that the US Chamber of Commerce estimates that the embargo costs the US economy billions of dollars each year, as well. The human toll is harder to quantify, but has clearly been significant. Human rights experts at the UN have urged the US to ease sanctions during the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing that such a change will save lives by allowing Cuba greater access to medical supplies and equipment."

US government funds protests, propaganda, etc. trying to overthrow the current socialist government in Cuba while maintaining blockade

This is a huge step for Cuban activists! In the new law, which will take place in 2022, activists and protesters will no longer be a target of detainment or unlawfull arrest. You would think that Cuba would already have laws protecting this, turns out they didn't.

This may not seem important, but as tensions between the US and Cuba rise the world series is actually a way to alleviate tension. I am not the largest baseball fan so I dont know how important these players are.

Cuba will hold a public referendum on whether or no to legalize same-sex marriage in the heavily Catholic country. This article profiles a same-sex couple who find the referendum painful stating that "you are submitting to the vote of a heterosexual, heteronormative majority the rights of a minority."

The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), Oxfam, the Center for Democracy in the Americas (CDA), and Cuban Americans for Engagement (CAFE) for a panel discussion about the impact of U.S. sanctions on Cuban women and vulnerable populations in the context of a global pandemic

More news from Cuba showing that free speech is still not given to their citizens.

Florida has begun evacuations to prepare for flooding due to hurricane Ian. They are also bracing for tornadoes, and Cuba is also bracing for impact.

It's very interesting to read this article after seeing how big hurricane Ian has transformed in just 2 days. I have some friends in Florida and they were telling me all about there preparations for the storm last night on a call. It's very sobering, especially when you look at predictions for future storms due to climate change.

An interesting look at the effects of hurricane Irma on another country. Especially interesting is the way in which the cuban military forced civilians to evacuate, while in Florida no one is forced to evacuate, just very strongly advised.

After the US walked away from discussions on Syria, President Putin stepped up his country's military activity, with an enormous mobilization of first responders and civilians on the home front. In addition, the President redeployed nuclear weapons, making sure to leave some in place for American surveillance satellites to see. Mr. Putin also suggested the reopening of Russian military bases in Vietnam and Cuba. However, many see this as a distraction from the Russian economy, which is showing the first dip in income for the country's citizens since Putin assumed the Presidency in 2000. The nation's budget is also being heavily slashed, with healthcare and the military losing 33% and 6% of their funding, respectively. People inside Russia commented that the new budget leaves money for the military and police, and little else. Further speculation is that Mr. Putin is using the same strategy he employed in the Ukraine, which is to ramp up Russia's military and leverage that in diplomatic conversation with other nations. Some of Putin's comments also suggest that he wants to push Russia as a concern of the US Presidential election, and make sure that whoever the next President is will see Russia as a force to be reckoned with.

Read this one first! Why? Because it takes a longer view, pre-1959.

This may not seem important, but as tensions between the US and Cuba rise the world series is actually a way to alleviate tension. I am not the largest baseball fan so I dont know how important these players are.

This is a demonstration of what happens when the government has too much power and there is not enough freedom for the citizens to force reform.