world focus magazine

world focus magazine

world focus magazine Published this article page no  29  Cuban authorities have implemented strict security measures at the embarkation points for the small ferries crossing Havana bay.Now, before boarding, all passengers must go through a metal detector. Newly posted signs warn passengers they can’t carry furniture or birthday cakes… You know how it is on a stormy night when you take the ferry across Havana Bay and you smell the fear of the passengers as the waves call you to your death and the drunken ferry captain almost falls overboard three times before the rope to the harbour wall has been cast off. The captain is drunk again, I said to my brother Ramon. Not on his salary, Ramon said, He is dizzy with the danger. Yes that is how it is , I said. But this danger that makes him dizzy does not affect us. It is not that kind of danger, Ramon said. And so we stood on the deck in the rain, all 65 of us, as the small ferry made its way across the bay. After a few minutes, Ramon spoke again: It is the other kind of danger, like when a young chiquita comes down from the hills and sees the city for the first time. And she brings with her the smell of ripe bananas and sweet oranges so that when she walks along the street, the old men look up from their chess board and sigh: Aiy bananas, while the young men straighten their trousers and moan: Aiy Chiquita. That is how it is. So we stood on the rain-lashed deck and prayed to God to keep a firm grip on the captain’s cojones for as long as it took. Five more minutes passed and Ramon leaned close to me and whispered : La fiesta no es para los feos. It was the signal to do what we must do and I moved through the people to get closer to the captain’s position near the front. Yes it is true I thought: this party is not for the ugly ones, but an ugly one may still start his own party. Did not Fidelissimo show us how? When I got close to the captain, I saw it in his eyes that he still had the madness upon him. I tapped him on the shoulder and when he turned around, I pulled out the armchair from where I had hidden it in my shirt pocket and pointed it at his chest. La fiesta es perdido I said. E mas perdido. I could see from the look that came into his eyes that he had once been a good man. One of the good ones, maybe even one of the best, but tonight he stared at the armchair pointing at him and he knew that death had joined the passengers without paying a single peso. Verdad  world focus magazine subscription buy.

world focus magazine

world focus magazine

world focus magazine

world focus magazine Published this article page no  28 Fueled by skyrocketing gasoline prices, the Senate once again took up debate on oil drilling in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge. The members were sharply split along party lines, with Democrats maintaining that the very idea of intruding on that pristine national treasure with oil rigs is an affront to every responsible American's instinct for wilderness preservation, while Republicans were more inclined to advocate tapping the oil for the preservation of their electoral status as members of the Senate. The preservation of the American public's ability to pay for something besides gasoline was also mentioned in passing by one Senator. Prodded to act by an impatient President, seeking the preservation of whatever positive numbers he still maintains in the popularity polls, the two sides finally arrived at a compromise agreement. The word "drilling" would be forever struck from the bill and will be replaced with a term Democrats feel is far more appropriate to an area so rife with wildlife, that is, the word "hunting." Once the bill was redrafted to specify the crucial change from "oil drilling" to "oil hunting," the Senate passed it with near unanimity. It will now go to the President for his signature, which is expected about as soon as he can locate a pen. Shortly thereafter, he will address the American public about the breakthrough legislation. He is expected to note that he has long advocated drilling in the wildlife refuge but has been blocked by a divisive Congress.  He is also expected to assure a fuming public that the price of gasoline is certain to go down as soon as the pipelines are in place, the drills hit gushers, and the oil companies agree to build more refineries.  During the years that will be required for all of the foregoing conditions to be met, he is expected to encourage the public to conserve gas by hitching their cars together, so only one out of every six vehicles will have the engine running. Mr. Bush was so pleased by the passage of the bill that he went straight to Vice President Cheney's office to have a celebratory conversation, but he was informed that the Vice President, upon hearing about the amendment to the measure, immediately packed up and headed to the refuge to enjoy a pristine weekend of hunting. The President telephoned his airplane and explained that the measure called for oil hunting, not hunting for animals.  The Vice President acknowledged the difficulty but explained that, since the word "hunting" was in the amendment, he felt he was on safe grounds to interpret the meaning by putting the primary emphasis on "hunting." They finally agreed that disagreements about emphasis and subordination were unlikely grounds to exacerbate the recent calls from more irascible circles for their impeachment  world focus magazine subscription buy.

world focus magazine