December marks the 60th anniversary of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Crafted in the aftermath of World War II, the document (the world's most translated) represented the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled.

The Declaration's anniversary comes at a propitious time. January 1, 2009 marks the 50th anniversary of what Cubans call "La Revolución," which culminated in the overthrow of the regime of Fulgencio Batista by Marxist guerrillas led by Fidel Castro. The near concurrence of these historic anniversaries provides an opportunity to consider how far the Cuban government has to go in upholding the most basic rights of its citizens.

When discussing the island nation located just 90 miles from America's border, the Western news media almost invariably focus on the 200 to 300 prisoners at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. Often overlooked, however, are the 200 to 300 Cuban prisoners scattered across the island, imprisoned not as terrorist suspects but as nonviolent political prisoners whose only "crime" is that of promoting human rights in a nation in which two generations have grown up without them. Arrested and given lengthy, often decades-long sentences for offenses like "dangerousness" and "pre-criminal activity," they are Cuba's prisoners of conscience.

Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet is a leading figure in Cuba's democracy movement. A physician and founder and president of the Lawton Foundation for Human Rights, Biscet has been confined to a prison cell for all but 36 days since 1999. He first drew the ire of the communist regime by exposing its use of infanticide and forced abortion. (Cuba has one of the world's highest abortion rates.) In 1999, after hanging a Cuban flag upside down in protest, Biscet was given a three-year sentence for the crime of "disrespecting patriotic symbols."

(Do read the whole article at the above link. The evil in Cuba is not what America is doing at Guantanamo Bay  but what the leaders of Cuba are doing to their own people.)

Yes.

O'Reilly: Now he is murdered people he's in prison people heard political prisoners now he won't let"...

"  That that that that I was buddy buddies with Fidel. Castro while I just said that I respect is certain things that he's done but we always we -- you respect the man."...

(Perhaps Ted needs to spend time with those who have had love ones killed or spend time in a Cuba prison. Ted's thoughts on people liking Castro in Cuba would be very funny if it wasn't true. In a nation like Cuba you only speak up when you agree with the leader. To express your views could mean time in prison or that your body will be found in a box. Fidel Castro  is not a man to respect. He is man we should pray is convicted by the Holy Spirit of the wrong he has done to other humans. And we for sure should pray for the people of Cuba  who have suffered so much under this man. Ted might also check out this web site for find out the truth about Cuba , The Real Cuba. Also watch the whole video, No Spin Zone Debut.     Pray for Ted Turner too.)

The girls are children of Cuban medical professionals living in Miami who deserted their posts in various nations where the Cuban government sent them to help spread ideology and earn income for their cash-starved homeland.

But the price for desertion was higher than the families believed possible: The Cuban government is denying the little ones permission to leave, even though they have U.S. visas that would allow them to come here.

''Marta isn't to blame for what her parents did, and yet they punish her,'' said her mother, Melvis Mesa, 42. ``She's just a child, and children have a right to be with their parents. What the Cuban government is doing is a terrible abuse.''

(The truth is Cuba has an evil government. Please pray for these children and a change of  heart in the leaders or change of leadership takes place in Cuba soon. Read more on this issue right here)

Michael Moore's 2007 documentary Sicko, which portrays a group of patients from the United States receiving diligent medical attention at the Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital in Havana, has prompted an unauthorized sequel that premieres Friday in Miami-Dade.

Kevin L. Leffler, an accountant and university professor who grew up in Michigan and went to high school with Moore, embarked on his own cinematic adventure as a counterpoint to his former classmate.

The dialogue between the hospital's receptionists and dissident physician Darsi Ferrer and his journalist friend Jaime Leygonier, who request appointments for MRIs, was captured with a hidden camera, and shows a reality far removed from the scenes in Sicko.

(Those on the left like Mr. Moore love Cuba but you might notice none of them are moving there.)

The move by new President Raul Castro appears to be a break with the policies of his older brother Fidel, who often made clear his dislike of even the legal private cabs, while accusing illegal drivers of fomenting a black market for stolen gasoline.

(One can hope and pray that Raul will also break away from his brother on  human rights though I don't have too much hope he will do that. Please join me in praying that God will change the heart of the Cuba leaders or will remove them from power and that Cuba soon will be a free nation. Read more on the above story right here.)

Those qualities, I'm sure, have come in handy for this young Cuban boy who eight years ago became the symbol of a power struggle between the communist government of Fidel Castro and Miami's Cuban exile community. The boy was allowed to return to the island nation with his father months after his mother died while crossing the Florida straits.

Elian has once again made headlines as he became, at 14 years of age, a member of the Young Communist Union of Cuba. As he was sworn in with some 18,000 other young Cubans, he said to Fidel and Raul Castro on behalf of the group, "You can count on us; we will never let you down."

Those words must certainly be hard to swallow for the family who was at the center of the custody battle with his father in early 2000.

(The above is part of a column written by Maria Elena Salinas. It is sad to see what has happened  to a boy who for sure would have had a different life if Janet Reno and Bill Clinton had not ordered a  midnight raid on a peaceful family who were preparing for Easter. I am still hoping and praying that soon Cuba will become a free nation. Read all of the above column Elian Gonzalez back in the headlines.)