Reflections of Fidel

STRANGE DAYS A JUNE 7, 2012 INTERNET ARTICLE ENTITLED "ASSASSIN IN CHIEF" AFFIRMS THAT "… NOT ONLY WILL A U.S. PRESIDENT BE ELECTED, BUT AN ASSASSIN IN CHIEF AS WELL." "THANKS TO A LONG ARTICLE IN THE NEW YORK TIMES BY JO BECKER AND SCOTT SHANE, ‘SECRET KILL LIST PROVES A TEST OF OBAMA’S PRINCIPLES AND WILL,’ WE NOW KNOW THAT THE PRESIDENT HAS SPENT A SURPRISING AMOUNT OF TIME SUPERVISING THE ‘NOMINATIONS’ OF PRESUMED TERRORISTS TO BE TARGETED FOR ASSASSINATION VIA THE DRONE PROGRAM WHICH HE INHERITED FROM PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH AND HAS EXPANDED EXPONENTIALLY." "The article’s language about our warrior President… concentrates on the dilemmas facing a man who, we know now, has approved and supervised the expansion of an assassination program particularly focused on Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan, based on a ‘list of assassinations.’ What’s more, he has done so regularly, target after target, name after name […] According to Becker and Shane, President Obama has also been involved in the use of a fraudulent method of counting drone assassinations which minimizes civilian deaths." "Historically speaking, all of this is strange enough. The Times describes Obama’s role in carrying out assassinations, with the use of drones, as ‘without precedent’ in the history of the Presidency. And it is." Becker and Shane write, "It is the strangest of bureaucratic rituals: Every week or so, more than 100 members of the government’s sprawling national security apparatus gather, by secure video teleconference, to pore over terrorist suspects’ biographies and recommend to the president who should be the next to die. "THIS SECRET ‘NOMINATIONS’ PROCESS IS AN INVENTION OF THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION, A GRIM DEBATING SOCIETY THAT VETS THE POWERPOINT SLIDES BEARING THE NAMES, ALIASES AND LIFE STORIES OF SUSPECTED MEMBERS OF AL QAEDA’S BRANCH IN YEMEN OR ITS ALLIES IN SOMALIA’S SHABAB MILITIA. […] THE NOMINATIONS GO TO THE WHITE HOUSE, WHERE, BY HIS OWN INSISTENCE AND GUIDED BY MR. BRENNAN, MR. OBAMA MUST APPROVE EVERY NAME." THE INTERNET ARTICLE CONTINUES, "AS THE TIMES INFORMED US LAST WEEK, WE NOT ONLY HAVE AN ASSASSIN IN THE OVAL OFFICE, BUT A CYBER-WARRIOR." What I am writing here is a brief summary about the current reality in the United States. The previous, equally strange day, June 6, 2012, BBC Mundo published an article "Is China’s economy deflating" and affirmed: "Several indicators are beginning to point toward an economic downturn in China, with a strong reduction in the demand for electricity and industrial production, as well as in the performance of factories and retail sales. "China has, for some months, been feeling the chill from Europe which is its largest export market, even larger than that of the United States. "The country’s manufacturing sector has been slowing down for seven months, primarily as a result of weak export demand, according to a recent study. "Money hasn’t been flowing to China since about September, and in April it began to leave the country. This is highly unusual. "To avoid the yuan’s further strengthening, China has stopped speculators from buying the currency. "Since the middle of 2010, the Chinese government has consistently allowed the yuan to gain value in relation to the dollar, but this last month, given that the economy was entering a crisis, the value of the yuan began to drop. "…Many companies finance the import of raw materials such as copper, iron and aluminum ore, for the construction industry. "Unused copper accumulating in Chinese warehouses has grown to such a volume that storage space is inadequate. "This could be a passing, short-term problem. But the fear is that it could be the beginning of the end for the real estate boom, since many more apartments, than the country truly needs, have been built. "There are fully constructed ghost towns. "It would appear that many of the empty dwellings were being bought by Chinese companies and families as investments, more attractive than depositing money in a low interest paying bank account. "China’s growth rate fell just below the magic number of 10% at a time when the West was experiencing its worst recession since WWII. "For example, China has built the world’s largest high speed rail network – five times the size of the French system - from nothing, "China is in the midst of a delicate transition, with a new generation of leaders coming into power, something that occurs only once every 10 years. "There is a political struggle building, as evidenced by the resignation of the well-known governor of Chongqing, Bo Xilai. "Many party members benefited from the real estate and credit boom of the last three years. If this expansion comes to an end, they will not want to be among the losers. "How the battle will unfold, especially in the event that China experiences massive protests by unemployed workers in the streets, is a questions many are asking." I am far from sharing this negative view being disseminated by the U.S. about China’s future and I ask myself if perhaps they are not aware that China has among the greatest mineral reserves in the world and enormous quantities of shale oil which should allow the country to exercise its power in world energy production long after the demise of the lying, oppressive power. It has already been too long. Fidel Castro Ruz June 9, 2012 12:05 p.m.