What is meant by the Pursuit of Happiness?

the AZEL PERSPECTIVE Commentary on Cuba's Future, U.S. Foreign Policy & Individual Freedoms - Issue 452 B

José Azel's latest books "On Freedom" and "Sobre La Libertad" are now available on Amazon. What is meant by the Pursuit of Happiness? (Previously published) Share Tweet Forward

What did the Founding Fathers mean to convey in the Declaration of Independence by spotlighting the Pursuit of Happiness as an inalienable right together with Life and Liberty. Apparently we are a very unhappy world. According to the data offered by Yuval Noah Harari in his provocative new book “Homo Deus - A brief History of Tomorrow,” more people commit suicide than are killed by soldiers, terrorists, and criminals combined. In 2012 about 56 million people died throughout the world; 120,000 were killed by war, 500,000 by crime, and 800,000 committed suicide. It is not as if we are terribly deprived and hungry. Today, for the first time in history, more people die from eating too much than from eating too little. In 2014, more than 2.1 billion people were overweight, compared to 850 million who suffered from malnutrition. In 2010, whereas famine and malnutrition combined killed about 1 million, obesity killed 3 million. Interestingly, in developed countries such as Switzerland, or France, with higher prosperity, comfort and security, about 25 persons per 100,000 commit suicide. In developing countries, suffering from poverty and instability, the suicide rate is about one person per 100,000. It appears that the timeless advice is true: money cannot make us happy. So, what about the pursuit of happiness? A novel approach to our collective unhappiness comes from the tiny Kingdom of Bhutan. In the 1970s, the Fourth Dragon King of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, made an extraordinary statement for a head of state: “We do not believe in Gross National Product. Gross National Happiness is more important.” Bhutan then pioneered the concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH) which was enacted in the Kingdom’s 2008 Constitution. In contrast with Gross National Product (GDP) which measures economic output, the Gross National Happiness index purports to also measure net environmental impacts, the spiritual and cultural growth of citizens, mental and physical health, and the strength of the corporate and political systems of the nation. GNH emphasizes collective happiness and harmony with nature as the goal of governance, which philosophically fits nicely with Bhutan’s Buddhist culture and identity. Of course, any measure of GNH is intricate, complex, and rife with estimates and subjectivity. How exactly does one measure the spiritual and cultural growth of individuals? What makes one person happy may be totally indifferent to another. National happiness is difficult to measure. I do give Bhutan credit for trying; the country has developed a sophisticated index of nine domains that contribute to happiness: Psychological well-being, health, education, time use, cultural diversity, good governance, community vitality, ecological diversity, and living standards. My problem with Bhutan’s approach is that the goal is not just to measure happiness, but to integrate the GNH philosophy into public policy requiring government intervention. Supporters of the GNH index argue that GDP is an obsolete economic metric and that governments must replace it with GNH. Thus, making national happiness the responsibility of the government; this is antithetical to freedom. Consider the absurdity of Nicolas Maduro creating in Venezuela a Ministry of Happiness. Which brings me to my opening question: What did the United States Founding Fathers mean by the pursuit of happiness? The Declaration is explicitly clear that government should guarantee the right to the pursuit of happiness, not the right to happiness. In fact, as Noah Harari notes in his book, “Thomas Jefferson did not make the state responsible for its citizens’ happiness. Rather he sought only to limit the power of the state.” It is our right to pursue happiness our way, and the state should not get involved in our choices. The irony is that, while the right to the pursuit of happiness in the Declaration of Independence was intended as a restraint on the power of the state, it has been perverted into the right to happiness expanding state intervention. Government managed happiness is the philosophy behind the Gross National Happiness index, so, if anything makes us unhappy, the state should do something about it. This is precisely the opposite of what Jefferson meant by the right to the pursuit of happiness. Please let us know if you  this article. We welcome your feedback. Abrazos, Lily & José (click on the name to email Lily or Jose) José Azel, Ph.D. José Azel left Cuba in 1961 as a 13 year-old political exile in what has been dubbed Operation Pedro Pan - the largest unaccompanied child refugee movement in the history of the Western Hemisphere.   He is currently dedicated to the in-depth analyses of Cuba's economic, social and political state, with a keen interest in post-Castro-Cuba strategies. Dr. Azel was a Senior Scholar at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies (ICCAS) at the University of Miami, Jose Azel has published extensively on Cuba related topics. In 2012 and 2015, Dr. Azel testified in the U.S. Congress on U.S.-Cuba Policy, and U.S. National Security.  He is a frequent speaker and commentator on these and related topics on local, national and international media.  He holds undergraduate and masters degrees in business administration and a Ph.D. in International Affairs from the University of Miami. José along with his wife Lily are avid skiers and adventure travelers.  In recent years they have climbed Grand Teton in Wyoming, trekked Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Machu Pichu in Peru.  They have also hiked in Tibet and in the Himalayas to Mt. Everest Base Camp. They cycled St. James Way (El Camino de Santiago de Compostela) and cycled alongside the Danube from Germany to Hungary and throughout southern France.  They have scuba dived in the Bay Islands off the Honduran coast and in the Galapagos Islands. Most recently, they rafted for 17 days 220 miles in the Grand Canyon. Their adventurers are normally dedicated to raise funds for causes that are dear to them.  Watch Joe & Lily summit Kilimanjaro. Books by Dr. José Azel José Azel’s writings are touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone who wishes to understand why countries do, or do not, progress will find in this book the best explanations. And, from these readings emerge numerous inferences: How and why do the good intentions of leftist collectivism lead countries to hell? Why is liberty not a sub product of prosperity, but rather one of its causes? If it was in my power, this work would be required reading for all college and university students, and I would also recommend its reading to all politicians, journalists, and policymakers. With his writings Azel accomplishes what was achieved in France by Frédéric Bastiat, and in the United States by Henry Hazlitt: Azel brings together common sense with intelligent observation, and academic substance. Stupendous, Carlos Alberto Montaner                                                                    BUY NOW Los escritos de José Azel están tocados por la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquiera que desee entender por qué los países progresan, o no, encontrará en este libro las mejores explicaciones. De estas lecturas surgen numerosas inferencias: ¿Cómo y por qué las buenas intenciones del colectivismo de izquierda llevan a los países al infierno? ¿Por qué la libertad no es un subproducto de la prosperidad, sino una de sus causas? Si estuviera en mis manos, esta obra sería de obligada lectura de todos los estudiantes universitarios, pero además, le recomendaría su lectura a todos los políticos, periodistas y policy makers. Con sus escritos Azel logra lo que Frédéric Bastiat consiguiera en Francia y Henry Hazlitt en Estados Unidos: aunar el sentido común, la observación inteligente y la enjundia académica. Estupendo. Carlos Alberto Montaner                                                            Compre Aqui "Liberty for beginners is much more than what the title promises. It is eighty themes touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone that wishes to understand why countries do, or do not progress, will find in this book the best explanations. Stupendous" Carlos Alberto Montaner Buy Now "Libertad para novatos es mucho más de lo que promete el título. Son ochenta temas tocados con la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquier adulto que desee saber por qué progresan o se estancan los pueblos aquí encontrará las mejores explicaciones. Estupendo." Carlos Alberto Montaner Compre Aqui In Reflections on Freedom, José Azel brings together a collection of his columns published in prestigious newspapers.  Each article reveals his heartfelt and personal awareness of the importance of freedom in our lives.  They are his reflections after nearly sixty years of living and learning as a Cuban outside Cuba. In what has become his stylistic trademark, Professor Azel brilliantly introduces complex topics in brief journalistic articles. Buy Now En Reflexiones sobre la libertad José Azel reúne una colección de sus columnas publicadas en prestigiosos periódicos. Cada artículo revela su percepción sincera y personal de la importancia de la libertad en nuestras vidas. Son sus reflexiones después de casi sesenta años viviendo y aprendiendo como cubano fuera de Cuba.  En lo que ha resultado ser característica distintiva de sus artículos, el Profesor Azel introduce con brillantez complejos temas en  breves artículos de carácter periodístico. Compre Aqui Mañana in Cuba is a comprehensive analysis of contemporary Cuba with an incisive perspective of the Cuban frame of mind and its relevancy for Cuba's future. Buy now Pedazos y Vacíos is a collection of poems written in by Dr. Azel in his youth. Poems are in Spanish. Buy now

International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day, Solidarity between women from Cuba and Iran, and misogyny by regimes in Havana and Tehran

“Iran and Cuba, in cooperation with each other, can bring America to its knees.” – Fidel Castro, Tehran, May 2001

osa María Payá Acevedo of Cuba and Masih Alinejad of Iran addressed the plight of their home countries, with a special focus on the treatment of women in their respective nations on March 5, 2026. Today is International Women’s Day and it provides an opportunity to examine an instance of transnational solidarity between Cuban and Iranian women.

Rosa María had spoken up for Iranian women in the past.

In an urgent appeal sent out on November 1, 2022, a number of prominent Cuban American women asked President Biden to remove “the murderous Iranian regime from the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.”

Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley on October 15, 2022 called on President Biden to demand the removal of Iran from the U.N. Women’s Rights Commission in the wake of the death of Mahsa Amini (age 22), and the ongoing bloody crackdown that continues to intensify.

Carmen Julia Arias, a former political prisoner; Kristina Arriaga, former vice chair, Commission on International Religious Freedom, former member of US delegation to UN Human Rights Commission, scholar; Sirley Avila Leon, human rights activist; Rosa María Payá, founder and director, CubaDecide and Fundación para la Democracia Panamericana; Carolina Barrero, art historian, human rights activist (Spain) and Rosa Carbonell, a community activist, led the appeal.

These Cuban American women called attention to the Iranian people protesting the murder of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini on September 16, 2022 by the morality police of the misogynist mullahs. In addition they asked if perhaps First Lady Jill Biden “could ask women leaders around the world to call on Iran to stop its repression of women.”

Also signing the appeal were Olga Connor, PhD, university professor and author; Belkis Cuza Male, poet, Linden Lane Magazine publisher; Miriam de la Peña, human rights activist; Ileana Fuentes, feminist activist and author; and Janisset Rivero, human rights activist  and author.

The Islamist Iranian theocracy had announced over a 1,000 Iranians arrested in protests over the murder of Mahsa Amini in Tehran would be subjected to summary trials, and over another thousand outside of Iran, according to The Guardian. Since protests erupted in Iran in mid September 2022, over 32,700 Iranian protesters were estimated to have been killed, according to journalist and human rights activist Masih Alinejad.

 

Below is the text of the appeal to President Biden.

November 1, 2022

President Joe Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Biden:

We are Cuban women who are writing to ask your help on a very important matter: removing the murderous Iranian regime from the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.

We urge you to respond affirmatively to Ambassador Nikki Haley’s request for your support on this matter. The Iranian people are protesting the murder of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini by the police of the misogynist mullahs. Parallel to your effort, First Lady Jill Biden perhaps could ask women leaders around the world to call on Iran to stop its repression of women.

We would be remiss if we did not call your attention, also, to the plight of Cuban women unjustly imprisoned in the island for their participation in widespread peaceful protests.

Thank you very much for your kind consideration.

Respectfully,

Carmen Julia Arias, former political prisoner

Kristina Arriaga, former vice chair, Commission on International Religious Freedom; former member of US delegation to UN Human Rights Commission; scholar

Sirley Avila Leon, human rights activist (Florida)

Rosa María Payá, founder and director, CubaDecide and Fundación para la Democracia Panamericana

Carolina Barrero, art historian, human rights activist (Spain)

Rosa Carbonell, community activist (Connecticut)

Maria Juana Cazabón, translator, human rights activist (Florida)

Olga Connor, PhD, university professor and author (Florida)

Belkis Cuza Male, poet, Linden Lane Magazine publisher (Texas)

Miriam de la Peña, human rights activist (Florida)

Ileana Fuentes, feminist activist and author (Florida)

Sandra Gómez, MD, neurologist and author (Alabama)

Deborah Gómez, PhD, college professor and author (Florida)

Angelica Franganillo Diaz , university student (Georgetown, Washington, DC)

Kiele Alessandra Cabrera , Jóvenes por la Resistencia (Florida)

Iliana Lavastida, journalist (Florida)

Maritza Lugo, Amnesty International prisoner of conscience, former political prisoner

Yoaxis Marcheco Suarez, Baptist missionary, author (Maryland)

Adriana Méndez Rodenas, PhD, university professor and author (Missouri)

Elena Montes de Oca, college professor, human rights activist and poet (Florida)

Alicia Perez, MD, physician (Maryland)

Lourdes Quirch Zayas-Bazán, president, National Association of Cuban American Educators (Florida)

Yarai Reyes, member, Ladies in White

Janisset Rivero , human rights activist and author (Florida)

Victoria Ruiz Labrit, human rights activist (Florida)

Martha Valladares, human rights activist (Florida)

Josefina Vento, DDS, dentist (Florida)

The letter was featured in the Cubanet and Marti Noticias news outlets in November 2022. The 54-member United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on December 14, 2022 adopted a resolution introduced by the United States to remove Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) for the remainder of its four-year term that ends in 2026.  The resolution passed by 29 to 8 with 16 abstentions.Below is a breakdown of the vote.

The mullahs in Iran did not improve their behavior, nor did their ally in Havana criticize their beating and murdering of women in Iran. The Cuban government never issued any public criticism of the killing of Mahsa Amini or other Iranian women killed or beaten for not wearing the hijab. Nor did the Cuban government criticize the mass killings of anti-government protesters in Iran during the first months of 2026. Instead, Cuba opposed international efforts to condemn Iran’s actions, including by voting against a United Nations Human Rights Council resolution that denounced the bloody crackdown.

The Cuban dictatorship did however repeatedly praise the Islamist regime in Iran, and highlighter their long time relationship on national days and important anniversaries. Although Cuban officials did not comment on women and girls murdered by the Mullahs, Miguel Diaz-Canel did visit the Iranian Embassy in Havana to sign the book of condolences for the death of Grand Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei.

Violence against woman is not unique to Iran, and their Cuban allies have also dealt violently with non-violent female dissenters.

Cuban activist Daniela Roja, exiled in Germany, reported over her X account that “Marianela Peña Cobas was arrested by police after participating in one of the recent pot-banging protests in #Cuba. Her sister, Marisol Peña Cobas, reported on social media that her sister was brutally beaten, released, and is now in these terrible conditions. This is happening in #Cuba. For them, there is no Happy Women’s Day.”

 

 

Marianela Peña Cobas beaten by Cuban government agents.

Havana has been an ally of the Islamic regime of Iran since the Ayatollahs took over in 1979, and the Castro brothers met with them regularly over the decades. During a May 2001 visit to Tehran, Fidel Castro proclaimed,”Iran and Cuba, in cooperation with each other, can bring America to its knees.”

On June 15, 2023 Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi met with his Cuban counterpart Miguel Diaz-Canel. “This visit reinforced our conviction that we have in Iran a friendly nation in the Middle East, with which to confide … and talk about the most complex global issues,” said Diaz-Canel, reported Nelson Acosta of the Reuters bureau in Cuba.

President Ebrahim Raisi visited the dictatorships in Venezuela and Nicaragua before arriving at the regime that spawned both of them.

Miguel Diaz-Canel and Ebrahim Raisi in Havana, Cuba on June 15, 2023

In Venezuela, President Raisi met with Nicolas Maduro and ” spoke about the need to confront the US and create a ‘new world order‘ that would overturn the US-led world order that has existed since the end of the Cold War.”

In December 2023, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei welcomed Cuban president Diaz-Canel to Tehran, stating that their strategic alliance “can take a common and effective position on important international issues such as the Palestinian issue.”

The Islamic regime in Iran does not mince words, and during the Obama Administration, when many were hailing the deal reached with Tehran, the Ayatollah continued to announce the destruction of Israel. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, then Iran’s supreme leader, during a speech at the Imam Khomeini Mosque in Tehran in September 2015, said Israel “will not see (the end) of these 25 years.” This was just three months after the Iran nuclear deal was announced on July 14, 2015 in which Tehran agreed to limit its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

This is the Islamist – Communist nexus that is profoundly anti-Israel, anti-American, and misogynist. It passes through Havana, Cuba to Tehran, Iran and has networks around the world that stretch back decades to the 1966 Tricontinental.

On International Women’s Day it is important to remember that threats to women come from many quarters.

 

 

Read Full Article

 

 

 

Center for a Free Cuba 417 West Broad Street, Suite 204 Falls Church, VA 22046 www.cubacenter.org

In Defense of Intolerance

the AZEL PERSPECTIVE Commentary on Cuba's Future, U.S. Foreign Policy & Individual Freedoms - Issue 451 B

José Azel's latest books "On Freedom" and "Sobre La Libertad" are now available on Amazon. In Defense of Intolerance (Previously published) Share Tweet Forward

Intolerance has a disproportionally bad reputation. It is commonly defined as the unwillingness to accept views, beliefs, or behavior that differs from one’s own, and is often equated with bigotry and narrow-mindedness. In some cases, such as that of religious intolerance, the bad reputation is warranted and intolerance must be fought. French philosopher Voltaire provides us such an example with his vigorous defense of religious toleration in the historical Jean Calas case. Jean Calas was a Huguenot (French Protestant) merchant in Toulouse, France in the 1700s. France was then a mostly Roman Catholic country. Catholicism was the state religion and individuals did not have the legal right to practice different faiths. On October 1761, one of Calas sons, MarcAntonie, was found dead in the family’s shop. It was then rumored that Jean Calas had killed his son because MarcAntonie intended to convert to Catholicism. Anti-Huguenot hysteria broke out among the Roman Catholic populace, and Calas was arrested and charged with having murdered his son to prevent his conversion to Catholicism. At first Calas attributed the crime to an unknown intruder, but later insisted that his son had committed suicide. It seems that, since suicide was then considered a crime against oneself, and the dead bodies of suicides were desecrated, Calas had arranged for his son’s suicide to look like a murder. Despite overwhelming evidence that the death was a suicide, Calas was brutally tortured in an attempt to get him to admit his guilt. He was broken on the wheel, strangled, and then burned to ashes, but he declared his innocence to the very end. Voltaire became interested in the case, and through a vigorous press campaign the philosopher convinced public opinion that anti-Protestant prejudices had influenced the case and that MarcAntonie had, in fact, committed suicide. Ultimately Jean Calas was posthumously exonerated and Voltaire, in his Treatise on Tolerance (1763), used the case to criticize the Catholic Church for its intolerance. But, what about other forms of intolerance such as political intolerance? We live in a pluralistic democratic society that demands tolerance for political views. And yet, today’s political Left, in university campuses and elsewhere, has shown great political intolerance by demonizing those with a different world view as being evil or stupid. The problem with this intolerance is not only its uncivility, but that it fosters an “intellectual monoculture.” This indolent intolerance is self-contradictory. On the other hand, there is a relativist version of politically correct tolerance that is seriously misguided. This view holds that a tolerant person must be impartial and must take a neutral posture towards all other convictions. This relativist view maintains that no ideas are any better or truer than any other and therefore no judgement must be allowed. This toleration is also irrational. Some ideas are better than others, and there is such as thing as virtuous intolerance. Our social discourse often claims that intolerance is unacceptable, and argues for the eradication of intolerance. This is nonsense; intolerance can be a force for good. I am intolerant of the idea that our civil liberties should be restricted on the basis of gender, or race, or religion. I am intolerant of collectivist ideas that constraint our freedoms. I am intolerant of fundamentalist religions that are incompatible with democratic governance. I am intolerant of pedophiles. And I am intolerant of intellectual cowards that hurl insults instead of engaging in intelligent debate. I guess I am not a very tolerant person. It is not a question of tolerance or intolerance, but of championing truth, sound reasoning, and goodness. Tolerance should not be an end in itself, and intolerance should not always be demonized. Intolerance is necessary to fight falsehoods and subjugation. Oppressed peoples should not be asked to be more tolerant of their governments; they should be encouraged to be visibly intolerant. Sometimes, as Voltaire, we must fight intolerance. Other times, as Rosa Parks, we must be intolerant, disobey authority, and sit in front of the bus. Please let us know if you  this article. We welcome your feedback. Abrazos, Lily & José (click on the name to email Lily or Jose) José Azel, Ph.D. José Azel left Cuba in 1961 as a 13 year-old political exile in what has been dubbed Operation Pedro Pan - the largest unaccompanied child refugee movement in the history of the Western Hemisphere.   He is currently dedicated to the in-depth analyses of Cuba's economic, social and political state, with a keen interest in post-Castro-Cuba strategies. Dr. Azel was a Senior Scholar at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies (ICCAS) at the University of Miami, Jose Azel has published extensively on Cuba related topics. In 2012 and 2015, Dr. Azel testified in the U.S. Congress on U.S.-Cuba Policy, and U.S. National Security.  He is a frequent speaker and commentator on these and related topics on local, national and international media.  He holds undergraduate and masters degrees in business administration and a Ph.D. in International Affairs from the University of Miami. José along with his wife Lily are avid skiers and adventure travelers.  In recent years they have climbed Grand Teton in Wyoming, trekked Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Machu Pichu in Peru.  They have also hiked in Tibet and in the Himalayas to Mt. Everest Base Camp. They cycled St. James Way (El Camino de Santiago de Compostela) and cycled alongside the Danube from Germany to Hungary and throughout southern France.  They have scuba dived in the Bay Islands off the Honduran coast and in the Galapagos Islands. Most recently, they rafted for 17 days 220 miles in the Grand Canyon. Their adventurers are normally dedicated to raise funds for causes that are dear to them.  Watch Joe & Lily summit Kilimanjaro. Books by Dr. José Azel José Azel’s writings are touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone who wishes to understand why countries do, or do not, progress will find in this book the best explanations. And, from these readings emerge numerous inferences: How and why do the good intentions of leftist collectivism lead countries to hell? Why is liberty not a sub product of prosperity, but rather one of its causes? If it was in my power, this work would be required reading for all college and university students, and I would also recommend its reading to all politicians, journalists, and policymakers. With his writings Azel accomplishes what was achieved in France by Frédéric Bastiat, and in the United States by Henry Hazlitt: Azel brings together common sense with intelligent observation, and academic substance. Stupendous, Carlos Alberto Montaner                                                                    BUY NOW Los escritos de José Azel están tocados por la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquiera que desee entender por qué los países progresan, o no, encontrará en este libro las mejores explicaciones. De estas lecturas surgen numerosas inferencias: ¿Cómo y por qué las buenas intenciones del colectivismo de izquierda llevan a los países al infierno? ¿Por qué la libertad no es un subproducto de la prosperidad, sino una de sus causas? Si estuviera en mis manos, esta obra sería de obligada lectura de todos los estudiantes universitarios, pero además, le recomendaría su lectura a todos los políticos, periodistas y policy makers. Con sus escritos Azel logra lo que Frédéric Bastiat consiguiera en Francia y Henry Hazlitt en Estados Unidos: aunar el sentido común, la observación inteligente y la enjundia académica. Estupendo. Carlos Alberto Montaner                                                            Compre Aqui "Liberty for beginners is much more than what the title promises. It is eighty themes touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone that wishes to understand why countries do, or do not progress, will find in this book the best explanations. Stupendous" Carlos Alberto Montaner Buy Now "Libertad para novatos es mucho más de lo que promete el título. Son ochenta temas tocados con la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquier adulto que desee saber por qué progresan o se estancan los pueblos aquí encontrará las mejores explicaciones. Estupendo." Carlos Alberto Montaner Compre Aqui In Reflections on Freedom, José Azel brings together a collection of his columns published in prestigious newspapers.  Each article reveals his heartfelt and personal awareness of the importance of freedom in our lives.  They are his reflections after nearly sixty years of living and learning as a Cuban outside Cuba. In what has become his stylistic trademark, Professor Azel brilliantly introduces complex topics in brief journalistic articles. Buy Now En Reflexiones sobre la libertad José Azel reúne una colección de sus columnas publicadas en prestigiosos periódicos. Cada artículo revela su percepción sincera y personal de la importancia de la libertad en nuestras vidas. Son sus reflexiones después de casi sesenta años viviendo y aprendiendo como cubano fuera de Cuba.  En lo que ha resultado ser característica distintiva de sus artículos, el Profesor Azel introduce con brillantez complejos temas en  breves artículos de carácter periodístico. Compre Aqui Mañana in Cuba is a comprehensive analysis of contemporary Cuba with an incisive perspective of the Cuban frame of mind and its relevancy for Cuba's future. Buy now Pedazos y Vacíos is a collection of poems written in by Dr. Azel in his youth. Poems are in Spanish. Buy now