Somewhere in Texas, right now, someone is wearing a t-shirt that has the pictures of Stalin, Mao, and Fidel with a caption that reads “Dictators Agree: Gun Control Works”. I’ve seen the image and caption reproduced many times in my home state, a place known in Cuba and the world over, for its obsessive love of guns.

In the Cuban provinces tourism is taking the place of sugar as the economic powerhouse, concentrating talent and competition in a few select tourist destinations. The future looks grim for rural socialist egalitarianism.

In Cuba the denial of prostitution is a lie of omission: the government doesn’t really talk about it. At the same time American politicians promote a travel ban that seriously damages United States efforts to identify and prosecute child sex tourism.

“Socialism of the 21st Century” will be the legacy of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. Cuba should continue to take cues from this new flavor of post-capitalist governance and embrace new atheistic appeals of Socialism. Here I present a few ways Cuba can get a move on re-branding its somewhat dated style.

I’m going to try to recover some of that insight we might have skipped over in those first few weeks by offering a broader perspective and some more personal stories to what happened when Cholera returned to La Havana.

The British Flag fad started sometimes late last year. Now the Union Jack is part of the Havana landscape, adorning everything from human bodies to car antennas. After a 250 year absence the British have returned to Cuba.

iPhones, Blackberrys, laptops and all kinds of “pads” are becoming more commonplace in Havana. This new generation of personal electronics are full of the latest apps, movies, TV shows, and news programs. This is happening with less than 5% of the population connected to the internet.

In 2013 the United States should end the travel ban and heavy restrictions on United States Citizens in regard to travel to Cuba. President Obama should use executive office powers at his disposal to weaken the blockade/embargo.

In the first part of this piece I asked if Jean Marat and the “misery of poverty” were alive in present day Cuba. For the second part of this piece I’m going to explain why I think Jean Marat is alive, even though much as been done to remove “misery” from poverty.

Vedado is the downtown neighborhood of Havana. It is in between the residential Playa/Miramar municipalities and commercial/government oriented Centro Havana. Vedado boasts many popular Havana landmarks.