Ladies in White

Why is the Cuban government so afraid of the current six women members — down from nine last week after the brutal beating by Castro's thugs — of the Damas de Blanco (Ladies in White):

After seven years of peaceful protests following Mass in Havana's upscale Miramar neighborhood, Cuba has begun blocking the "Ladies in White" from marching since the group never obtained written permission to do so.

Details here.

This is their leader, an elderly lady named Laura Pollan, who is the wife of jailed Cuban dissident Hector Maseda Gutierrez.

Libertad!

Miami art critics fired

I don't know the who's and what's of the issue (yet anyway) are, but an email drive is underway to try to restore three art critics fired from the Miami Spanish language newspaper El Nuevo Herald. Here's the letter:

As people of the arts, we write to express our disappointment and frustration having learned about the decision of El Nuevo Herald to discontinue the collaborations of the art critics Ms. Janet Batet, Ms. Adriana Herrera and Mr. Carlos M. Luis, based on unfounded allegations of “conflict of interest”, brought by the owner of a local art gallery, who advertises in the art pages of El Nuevo Herald.

Ms. Batet, Ms. Herrera and Mr. Luis are recognized scholars of a long and distinguished careers in the field of the arts, in Miami and in other Latin American countries. Most relevant in this instance, is the fact that they have conducted their academic and journalistic work with the most rigorous ethics.

Losing their contribution to the paper, will certainly diminish the level of interest and intellectual impact of your publication.

The decision of El Nuevo Herald’s management has seriously compromised its editorial integrity, and its credibility damaged. We encourage you to reconsider this issue and provide a mutually agreeable solution for all the parties involved, and reinstate your readers trust in El Nuevo Herald.