Havana,U.S.S.R.

Washington Times ^ | 9-19-06 | Paul Greenberg

[JZelle]

I have never been to Havana, though I've long wanted to go. It's one of those storied cities of the mind that you're afraid an actual visit might spoil -- like Buenos Aires or Alexandria. Yet the other day I got the distinct impression I had been to Havana. It hit me as I was reading a piece by Oswaldo Paya, the Cuban dissenter awarded the Sakharov Prize in 2002 for refusing to be cowed by Cuba's commissars. His petition calling for free elections and a decent respect for human rights garnered 11,000 signatures -- an impressive tribute to the courage of those who signed it.

[JZelle]

This is what Hollywood wants for us. Of course they'd be part of the nomenklatura.

[bassmaner]

Leningrad is St. Petersburg again.

Of course, with a former KGB colonel at the helm in Moscow, it probably won't be long until it's Leningrad again.

[Tailgunner Joe]

"Many people link their whole lives with Lenin's name. For them his burial would mean that they had bowed down to false values, set themselves false tasks and lived in vain." - Vladimir Putin, Chekist