Previous | Next :: Crowded House - Living in Poverty : Havana : Cuba | January 14, 2011, 9:42 pm

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Global freedom declined for a fifth straight year in 2010 as authoritarian regimes dug in worldwide and crime and unrest plagued democracies likeMexico, a US watchdog said Thursday. In "Freedom in the World 2011" the Washington-based Freedom House said it had documented the longest continuous period of decline since it began compiling the annual index nearly 40 years ago.

"A total of 25 countries showed significant declines in 2010, more than double the 11 countries exhibiting noteworthy gains," the group said.

"Authoritarian regimes like those in China, Egypt, Iran, Russia, and Venezuelacontinued to step up repressive measures with little significant resistance from the democratic world," it said.

The recent decline "threatens gains dating to the post-Cold War era in Africa,Latin America, Asia and the former Soviet bloc."

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.b7ab9f89dccc945f6545ca445a6fac5a.4a1&show_article=1

I read this above and was a bit dismayed........ then I read this below and was a tiny bit lifted............ :-/............. but only a tiny bit........... :-/ :-)

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration Friday said it will allow for more U.S. travel to Cuba, making it easier for schools, churches and cultural groups to visit the island. A senior Obama official told The Miami Herald the much-expected move to expand cultural, religious and educational travel to Cuba is part of the administration's continuing effort to support the Cuban people's desire to freely determine their own future. President Barack Obama is also restoring the amount of money ($2,000) that can be sent to nonfamily members to the level they were at during part of the Clinton and Bush administrations. There will be a quarterly limit on the amount that any American can send: $500 per quarter tosupport private economic activity.'' The administration also will restore the broader people-to-people'' category of travel, which allowspurposeful'' visits to increase contacts between U.S. and Cuban citizens.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/01/14/2016622/obama-to-ease-travel-restrictions.html#ixzz1B3zMMwLZ

Heres hoping for some breakthroughs in freedoms in 2011........ for oppressed and wronged people worldwide............. :-/ :-) :-)) XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Cheers Jez XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

www.jezblog.com

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