LA ALBORADA
Washington, DC
nuevas@...
Cuban American Alliance Education Fund
www.cubamer.org

=============================================================

The one life and many deaths of Fidel Castro
0La Alborada - Sep 1

August was a busy month for rumor-mongers who took up the news of Fidel Castro's
latest death. It's nothing new: at least 20 years ago a supermarket tabloid
published a front-page photograph of Fidel lying in a coffin. These days,
however, email and social networking help rumors spread wildly through the magic
of personal blogs and the Forward button.

Just as a stopped clock gives the correct time twice a day, one day the
recurring rumor will turn out to be true. So far, that has not been the case.

The rumor frenzy took hold when Fidel became ill and was operated and
hospitalized years ago. We present below a short and partial history of how the
story has developed since then.

November 2006 - The blog ALD asks whether Fidel Castro has died, and publishes a
photograph of Fidel in his casket, the same photo that will reappear in 2008,
2009 and 2011. The photo shows the body dressed in a kind of chemise of white
lace and satin, an unlikely final garment for the Commander of the Revolution.

December 2006 - The blog Noticiero Cuba (Cuba Newsletter) asserts that
"According to a source close to the Cuban regime with total credibility, to
which Noticiero Cuba had access, Fidel Castro has died. The news has not been
reported in Havana while awaiting the results of the Venezuelan elections, they
do not want the news to interfere in the results, but all seems to indicate that
it will be announced soon." The post does not make clear just how close is a
source "close to the regime." It does include the photo of November.

January 2007 - In Spain, the newspaper El País warns of a virus that is being
distributed through an email with the subject "Fidel Castro has died."

August 2007 - Posting the same photo of 2006, a blog declares that "With the
death of Fidel Castro, the Cuban revolution has ended, the Cuban people do not
have the same respect for or fear of Raul Castro as they had for the Commander."

June 2008 - The blog Mundo Parapsicológico (Para-psycological World) announces
as a scoop that it has received from Cuba a photo of Fidel in his casket. It is
the same photo from 2006.

January 2009 - The blog tirofijo (dead-eye shooter) reports not only that Fidel
died, but that he killed himself.

June 2009 - A video is posted on the blog dalealplay (hit the play button),
which reproduces the same photo from 2006.

September 2009 - The site Taringa!, without calling the news true, reproduces
two photos of Fidel in his casket. One is the traditional picture from 2006; the
other, in color and obviously a photo-edit, shows Fidel in military dress and in
a different position, as if the body had been dressed twice in different
garments and moved into different poses. This leaves the reader to choose which
of the two contradictory pictures best confirms the rumor.

March 2010 - The blog Eupsike Weblog, dedicated to information on Toxicomanias,
publishes a full front page, obviously false, of Granma, the official organ of
the Cuban Communist Party, with a full-body photo of Fidel in military uniform
and --remarkably-- wearing his military cap while lying in his casket.

August 2010 - Fidel himself, in an interview with the Mexican paper La Jornada,
speaking of the extent of his illness, says that "I went as far as dying, but I
came back to life." This one report was confirmed, and by the best possible
source.

August 7, 2011 - A virus spreads on Internet with the subject "Murió Fidel",
showing a falsified copy of a web page appearing to come from a real news site
in Chile. The picture of 2006 is included.

August 30, 2011 - A blogger at the Venezuelan newspaper El Universal carefully
avoids a final diagnostic but reports that Fidel has slipped into, and then out
of, a coma.

August 31, 2011 - A journalist at the Miami Herald reports that the rumor has
been spreading for days in Twitter. Yoani Sánchez, the Cuban blogger who boasts
of knowing all that happens in Cuba, tweets that she does not know. Rather than
pointing to those spreading the rumor, she blames the government, asserting that
the Cubans --presumably including Yoani-- will be the last to know.

As of now, none of the major news agencies in Cuba --BBC, Reuters, and so on--
has reported Fidel's latest death, although they have had the means to find out
if there were any truth to the matter.

The rumor lives on, because Fidel lives on.

PROGRESO WEEKLY

Fiber optics soon in Cuba
Wednesday, 31 August 2011 10:00

By the Progreso Semanal team

HAVANA - Cuba will begin to use the fiber-optics cable for Internet connections
in the coming months. It is a wire 1,600 kilometers long, linking Venezuela and
Cuba.

The launching of this service, which replaces the slow and expensive connections
to the Web via a tired satellite, will significantly increase connection speed.

The Deputy Minister of Communications and Informatics, Boris Moreno, told the
site Cubadebate that in the coming months  the transfer of satellite services to
fiber optics will begin. This transfer will not mean a reduction in the price of
service, however. First to benefit will be scientific, cultural and artistic
centers, libraries, hospitals, government administration and collective points
for the population.

According to Moreno, the infrastructure needed for high-speed connections from
homes will require an additional investment.

The cable, which stretches from La Guaira, northern Venezuela, to Siboney Beach
in eastern Cuba, meant an investment of $70 million, a cost assumed by the
Bolivarian Alternative for the Peoples (ALBA), a model of integration led by
Venezuela and Cuba.

PROGRESO WEEKLY
Cuba, people and housing
Wednesday, 31 August 2011 13:38
By Elsa Claro

HAVANA - Cuba has the demographic patterns of a developed country but is far
from being one.

Having a long life expectancy, (78 years for both sexes), although praiseworthy,
can be deleterious, especially when there is no adequate preparation to meet the
costs (especially the health care costs) that old age brings and other
difficulties that a generational change entails.

In the economic project being gradually installed, which is based on the
so-called Guidelines, no guideline relates to this issue, despite the importance
of the dilemma. It is possible that such a guideline will be included among the
topics to be discussed at the Party Conference in January 2012, which will
undoubtedly have an overwhelming agenda, with issues as important as complex.

Trials announced in two municipalities (Candelaria and Segundo Frente in
Artemisa and Santiago de Cuba) to undertake a population and housing census are
calling attention to something that seriously affects people and brings together
two problems: the aging population and the housing difficulties.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics and Information (ONEI), while in
1985 people 60 and older accounted for 11.3 percent of the population, in 2010
the rate rose to 17.8 percent. There are nearly 2 million citizens in this
population segment.

It happens that in the past 30 years, the average fertility rate is below
replacement level. This does not depend only on the number of births, which is
in decline, but on the number of girls born, which is less than required. If the
current indicators persist, in the next two decades the elderly will account for
31 percent of all Cubans. That's the reason for the enthusiasm aroused in 2009
by the small and insufficient increase obtained – estimated at 3,000 people –
compared with the figures at the end of 2008.

Just like the seed carries the tree, the present carries the future. But we can
already foresee the contradictions that have not been aired in all their bitter
dimensions, and have only been glimpsed. It is no secret that a significant
number of people of working age have older relatives with physical limitations
due to age or accidents and are faced with the dilemma of leaving their jobs to
care for them, a situation that puts them at risk of losing their jobs and their
source of income.

For years the state aided the families, paying salaries to people who cared for
the elderly. Few Cubans wanted to do that job. Today, in another reality, that
could be an employment opportunity, even when options opened by self-employment
make any alternative look better than devoting oneself to something that only
with love and patience can be done well.

Years ago, an Institute of Geriatrics was created. It is an advanced facility
where many doctors specialize in the subject and conduct studies on that stage
of life and its ills. But the institute cannot solve the plight of those (almost
always woman of the house, even if she's a doctor, engineer or technician) who
are forced to choose between keeping their profession and salary, or leave their
elderly relatives unprotected.

It is urgent and compelling not to postpone this matter or leave it to someone
with too narrow a vision for such complicated issues.

Juan Carlos Alfonso, an expert at ONEI, told the local media that the increase
in the retirement age established in 2009 (women at 60, men at 65) could delay
the expected negative impact in 2015 as far as the employment-vs.-retirement
proportion is concerned. And then what? It's worth asking, mainly because if
this is a critical angle, it does not cover all the factors and disadvantages to
consider.

Of Cuba's 11,239,000 inhabitants, 1,996,632 are 60 or older. It is a number
higher than preteens and adolescents.

Some specialists insist that certain solutions may emerge from a national
demographic observatory but simple logic says that some entity is needed to
assume overall care of the elderly. This requires creating a comprehensive,
harmonic and well defined policy and almost certainly redesigning the existing
policies, whether from a social point of view or through the economic projection
the issue possesses. Aren't the laws and regulations on many other topics being
changed? This deserves and demands changes.

This is not a simple matter and, when linked to the housing problem, a
tremendous human dilemma arises. Although most Cubans own their houses, two or
three generations live in many of them, with the discomfort and inconveniences
multiple coexistence entails.

Reliable data place the existing housing deficit at between half a million and
600,000. Increasing the building permits now joins the possibility of selling
and buying houses. The specific law for the sale of homes should be announced
before the end of 2011. The possibility of building one's own home is
facilitated with an increase in the materials of construction and the granting
of bank loans for the purpose.

As a plan, it is well designed. In practice, it should be seen if it works or
where it fails. Getting rid of old vices is more difficult than acquiring them.

No word yet on how the deterioration of many buildings will be handled. For
several decades, remodeling projects were carried out in the worst affected
areas of the capital, but the lack of a system, the suspension of these
operations, sometimes justified by the needs created by several strong
hurricanes, but also due to other phenomena not weather-related, leave almost
half the buildings in the country in fair-to-poor condition.
There are no certainties or information on how to remedy those situations.

This stage does not seem appropriate for remarkable experiences, such as those
undertaken in earlier times and especially between the 1970s and '90s by the
microbrigades, which worked on large buildings. Their volunteer work enabled
many to learn trades and useful skills while building the homes.

The urban landscape is dotted with those results. Now we move to other
practices, without overlooking those that bore fruit. But each period has its
own characteristics. In recent years, we did not meet the programs for
state-built homes. They should have been 150,000 but only 50,000 new homes were
built. Can we meet our goals from now on? A mystery.

If we stick to the program that provides for the creation of companies engaged
in construction equipment according to conditions in each locality, i.e., the
raw material that each site provides, the results should be better than
previously, since it implies a beneficial decentralization and better
accountability. It implies savings in transportation and time. Can theory and
practice be matched?

Other factors are involved, of course. For better or for worse, I would say. But
it's worth trying.

What are the details on this trip: dates, cost, etc?


In a message dated 31/08/2011 11:24:45 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
jamescc24@... writes:

National  Geographic Expeditions

Cuba: Discovering Its People and  Culture

Expedition Details

Thanks to a special license issued by  the U.S. Department of the Treasury,
National Geographic invites you to  participate in an extraordinary
immersive program to discover Cuba's  fascinating people and culture. Learn
firsthand from Cuban locals and experts  about their splendid colonial cities,
vibrant music and art scene and lush  rural landscapes, and experience the
timeless beauty and fascinating culture  of this enigmatic island nation. Learn
about the restoration of Old Havana  from local preservationists; visit the
Bay of Pigs with Cuban veterans; share  readings from Hemingway's work at his
rural home, Finca Vigía. Throughout your  journey, exchange ideas and
experiences relating to art, education, religion,  history, and conservation
with
Cuban artists, teachers, Santería priests, park  rangers, and more.


Trip Highlights

In the company of Cuban  preservationists explore the UNESCO World Heritage
sites of Old Havana and  Trinidad.

Visit the Bay of Pigs with Cuban veterans who will share  their memories of
the 1961 invasion.

Witness Cuba's revitalization at  music and dance performances and on
visits to local farms, homes, schools, and  art studios.
Meet photographer Julio Muñoz, whose family appeared in a 1999  National
Geographic article, and learn about his innovative project in  promoting
equine care.


Itinerary - 10 Days

Day 1 —  U.S./Havana, Cuba

Upon arrival in Havana, transfer to our hotel. Gather  for a welcome
reception and dinner tonight.

Hotel Saratoga, Hotel  Parque Central, Hotel Santa Isabel or Hotel San
Felipe y Santiago de Bejucal,  depending on the departure date
(D)

Day 2 — Havana

Explore  Old Havana and discover its beautiful Spanish colonial
architecture. Learn  about the challenges facing Havana as it struggles to
preserve its
  architectural and cultural heritage in a period of great economic change.
On  the main commercial street, meet some of Cuba's cuentapropistas
(self-employed), who are part of an expanding private sector. After lunch, 
enjoy a
talk with experts from the Old Havana restoration project. Later,
following a presentation on the role of tobacco in Cuban history, watch the
intricate work of torcedores, or cigar rollers, at the famous Partagás cigar
factory, followed by a discussion with a few of the rollers about their work.
Soak up the atmosphere in Parque Central, where baseball fans engage in
debates while domino players duel beneath palm trees. Attend a talk on Cuban
religion in its many forms—from Catholicism to Judaism to Santería—and then
visit the cathedral of San Cristóbal with a remarkable baroque facade that
Cuban novelist Alejo Carpentier described as "music turned to stone."

Hotel Saratoga, Hotel Parque Central, Hotel Santa Isabel or Hotel San
Felipe y Santiago de Bejucal, depending on the departure date
(B,L,D)

Day 3 — Havana/Cojímar

Begin the day with a presentation on  Cuba's current political and economic
landscape. Afterward, set out for Ernest  Hemingway's hilltop home, Finca
Vigía, now a museum. Meet with a curator to  discuss the author's enduring
legacy in Cuba, followed by a reading of some of  his iconic works. Then
travel to the seaside village of Cojímar, the setting  for the Pulitzer
Prize-winning The Old Man and the Sea. Here, meet local  fishermen and
environmentalists who will discuss conservation measures to  protect Cuba's
marine
wildlife, including sea turtles. Have lunch overlooking  the harbor where
Hemingway's fishing boat was moored. Later, enjoy a talk on  Hemingway's
reaction to
the 1959 Cuban Revolution and his final departure from  Cuba and subsequent
death in 1961. Then visit Hotel Ambos Mundos in Old Havana  where the
author's room is maintained as a museum. Finish off the day at El  Floridita,
another Hemingway haunt that provides a unique window into his life  in Cuba.

Hotel Saratoga, Hotel Parque Central, Hotel Santa Isabel or  Hotel San
Felipe y Santiago de Bejucal, depending on the departure  date
(B,L)

Day 4 — Pinar del Río/Viñales

Travel into the  Pinar del Río Province and Viñales valley, known for its
emerald tobacco  fields. Visit the legendary tobacco farm of the Robaina
family and witness  firsthand the cultivation of Cuba's legendary crop. Meet and
talk with those  who work the farm and learn about Cuba's rural culture and
economy. Later,  explore Viñales National Park with rangers and naturalists
who will discuss  conservation in this forested region. Meet with rural
farmers who still use  oxen to till their fields. Continue to the lovely town
of Viñales, surrounded  by striking limestone hills, or mogotes. This
evening, attend a talk by our  expert on the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban
Missile Crisis.

Hotel  Los Jazmines or Hotel La Ermita, depending on the departure date
(B,L,D)

Day 5 — Bay of Pigs/Cienfuegos

Set out for the historic Bay of  Pigs. On our way, visit the cave where
Ernesto "Che" Guevara was headquartered  during the Cuban Missile Crisis of
1962. Explore Playa Girón, the landing site  for the 1961 U.S.-backed invasion,
and the Playa Giron museum with Cuban  veterans, who will share their
memories. Engage them directly on the legacy of  the Bay of Pigs in Cuba.
Continue to Cienfuegos, a port city with architecture  that reflects its French
colonial roots. This evening, discover the history  and Parisian-style
boulevards of Cuba's "pearl of the South." Meet local  residents in Parque
Martí and
see the statue commemorating José Martí, a  renowned author and a leader in
Cuba's quest for independence from  Spain.

Hotel Jagua (B,L,D)

Day 6 — Cienfuegos

Visit the  country's largest botanical garden with a member of the Academy
of Sciences of  Cuba, who will talk about Cuba's efforts to maintain the
rich biodiversity of  its extraordinary plant life. Then travel into the
mountains of the Sierra del  Escambray and enjoy lunch at a restored sugar
hacienda. Afterward, board a  1906 Baldwin steam train once used to transport
sugar
cane and journey into  the lush Valley of the Sugar Mills, where we'll
learn about the historic yet  diminished importance of Cuba's sugar industry.
Meet former sugar workers who  have shifted to new agricultural employment in
an uncertain economic period,  as Cuba attempts to become self-sustaining in
food production. Return to  Cienfuegos this evening and join in a
neighborhood street party where you will  have an opportunity to meet Cubans in
an
informal setting.
Hotel Jagua  (B,L,D)

Day 7 — Trinidad

Explore Cuba's best-preserved colonial  city with restoration experts.
Meander along cobblestone streets past  pastel-colored homes and serene plazas.
Meet with students at a local art  institute, housed in what was once the
dragoons' barracks and discover what  fresh contributions young artists are
making to Cuba's shifting cultural  landscape. After lunch, meet Julio Muñoz,
a local photographer and "horse  whisperer" whose wife and niece were
featured in an October 1999 National  Geographic article. Visit Julio's
colonial-era house and stables, the base for  his project in promoting equine
care in
Cuba. Then join him in visiting a  babalawo, a high priest of the
Afro-Caribbean religion, Santería.

Hotel  Jagua (B,L,D)

Day 8 — Havana/Jaimanitas

Return to Havana,  stopping for lunch along the way. Attend a musical
performance at a local  music and dance school and meet the students. Then head
to the charming  fishing village of Jaimanitas to visit the workshop and home
of ceramic artist  José Fuster, called the "Picasso of Cuba." Talk with
residents involved in  revitalizing the neighborhood with colorful mosaics.

Hotel Saratoga,  Hotel Santa Isabel or Hotel Parque Central, depending on
the departure  date
(B,L)

Day 9 — Havana

Take a morning walk through the  Vedado neighborhood. Then visit La Plaza
de la Revolución and Colon (Columbus)  Cemetery, known for its elaborate
mausoleums, chapels, and tombstones. Meet  pilgrims from across the country at
the grave of La Milagrosa (The Miraculous  One), a woman who died in
childbirth in 1901 and who many Cubans believe has  the power to grant good
luck.
Later, meet local artists at "Salvador's Alley,"  an outdoor multimedia space
with vibrant murals, Santería shrines, and rumba  performances. Learn how
these artists refract the realities of contemporary  Cuban life through a
variety of media. Toast our new Cuban friends at a  farewell dinner tonight.

Hotel Saratoga, Hotel Santa Isabel or Hotel  Parque Central, depending on
the departure date
(B,L,D)

Day 10 —  Havana/U.S.

After breakfast, transfer to the airport for your flight  home.
(B)




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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I apologize for not adding a link to the post.  I haven't located the cost but
reservations can be made with this link.

http://www.nationalgeographicexpeditions.com/expeditions/cuba-cultural-tour/deta\
il

--- In CubaNews@yahoogroups.com, bcol410293@... wrote:
>
> What are the details on this trip: dates, cost, etc?
>
>
> In a message dated 31/08/2011 11:24:45 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> jamescc24@... writes:
>
> National  Geographic Expeditions
>
> Cuba: Discovering Its People and  Culture
>
> Expedition Details
>
> Thanks to a special license issued by  the U.S. Department of the Treasury,
> National Geographic invites you to  participate in an extraordinary
> immersive program to discover Cuba's  fascinating people and culture. Learn
> firsthand from Cuban locals and experts  about their splendid colonial cities,
> vibrant music and art scene and lush  rural landscapes, and experience the
> timeless beauty and fascinating culture  of this enigmatic island nation.
Learn
> about the restoration of Old Havana  from local preservationists; visit the
> Bay of Pigs with Cuban veterans; share  readings from Hemingway's work at his
> rural home, Finca Vigía. Throughout your  journey, exchange ideas and
> experiences relating to art, education, religion,  history, and conservation
with
> Cuban artists, teachers, Santería priests, park  rangers, and more.
>
>
> Trip Highlights
>
> In the company of Cuban  preservationists explore the UNESCO World Heritage
> sites of Old Havana and  Trinidad.
>
> Visit the Bay of Pigs with Cuban veterans who will share  their memories of
> the 1961 invasion.
>
> Witness Cuba's revitalization at  music and dance performances and on
> visits to local farms, homes, schools, and  art studios.
> Meet photographer Julio Muñoz, whose family appeared in a 1999  National
> Geographic article, and learn about his innovative project in  promoting
> equine care.
>
>
> Itinerary - 10 Days
>
> Day 1 â€"  U.S./Havana, Cuba
>
> Upon arrival in Havana, transfer to our hotel. Gather  for a welcome
> reception and dinner tonight.
>
> Hotel Saratoga, Hotel  Parque Central, Hotel Santa Isabel or Hotel San
> Felipe y Santiago de Bejucal,  depending on the departure date
> (D)
>
> Day 2 â€" Havana
>
> Explore  Old Havana and discover its beautiful Spanish colonial
> architecture. Learn  about the challenges facing Havana as it struggles to
preserve its
>  architectural and cultural heritage in a period of great economic change.
> On  the main commercial street, meet some of Cuba's cuentapropistas
> (self-employed), who are part of an expanding private sector. After lunch, 
enjoy a
> talk with experts from the Old Havana restoration project. Later,
> following a presentation on the role of tobacco in Cuban history, watch the
> intricate work of torcedores, or cigar rollers, at the famous Partagás cigar
> factory, followed by a discussion with a few of the rollers about their work.
> Soak up the atmosphere in Parque Central, where baseball fans engage in
> debates while domino players duel beneath palm trees. Attend a talk on Cuban
> religion in its many formsâ€"from Catholicism to Judaism to Santeríaâ€"and
then
> visit the cathedral of San Cristóbal with a remarkable baroque facade that
> Cuban novelist Alejo Carpentier described as "music turned to stone."
>
> Hotel Saratoga, Hotel Parque Central, Hotel Santa Isabel or Hotel San
> Felipe y Santiago de Bejucal, depending on the departure date
> (B,L,D)
>
> Day 3 â€" Havana/Cojímar
>
> Begin the day with a presentation on  Cuba's current political and economic
> landscape. Afterward, set out for Ernest  Hemingway's hilltop home, Finca
> Vigía, now a museum. Meet with a curator to  discuss the author's enduring
> legacy in Cuba, followed by a reading of some of  his iconic works. Then
> travel to the seaside village of Cojímar, the setting  for the Pulitzer
> Prize-winning The Old Man and the Sea. Here, meet local  fishermen and
> environmentalists who will discuss conservation measures to  protect Cuba's
marine
> wildlife, including sea turtles. Have lunch overlooking  the harbor where
> Hemingway's fishing boat was moored. Later, enjoy a talk on  Hemingway's
reaction to
> the 1959 Cuban Revolution and his final departure from  Cuba and subsequent
> death in 1961. Then visit Hotel Ambos Mundos in Old Havana  where the
> author's room is maintained as a museum. Finish off the day at El  Floridita,
> another Hemingway haunt that provides a unique window into his life  in Cuba.
>
> Hotel Saratoga, Hotel Parque Central, Hotel Santa Isabel or  Hotel San
> Felipe y Santiago de Bejucal, depending on the departure  date
> (B,L)
>
> Day 4 â€" Pinar del Río/Viñales
>
> Travel into the  Pinar del Río Province and Viñales valley, known for its
> emerald tobacco  fields. Visit the legendary tobacco farm of the Robaina
> family and witness  firsthand the cultivation of Cuba's legendary crop. Meet
and
> talk with those  who work the farm and learn about Cuba's rural culture and
> economy. Later,  explore Viñales National Park with rangers and naturalists
> who will discuss  conservation in this forested region. Meet with rural
> farmers who still use  oxen to till their fields. Continue to the lovely town
> of Viñales, surrounded  by striking limestone hills, or mogotes. This
> evening, attend a talk by our  expert on the Bay of Pigs invasion and the
Cuban
> Missile Crisis.
>
> Hotel  Los Jazmines or Hotel La Ermita, depending on the departure date
> (B,L,D)
>
> Day 5 â€" Bay of Pigs/Cienfuegos
>
> Set out for the historic Bay of  Pigs. On our way, visit the cave where
> Ernesto "Che" Guevara was headquartered  during the Cuban Missile Crisis of
> 1962. Explore Playa Girón, the landing site  for the 1961 U.S.-backed
invasion,
> and the Playa Giron museum with Cuban  veterans, who will share their
> memories. Engage them directly on the legacy of  the Bay of Pigs in Cuba.
> Continue to Cienfuegos, a port city with architecture  that reflects its
French
> colonial roots. This evening, discover the history  and Parisian-style
> boulevards of Cuba's "pearl of the South." Meet local  residents in Parque
Martí and
> see the statue commemorating José Martí, a  renowned author and a leader in
> Cuba's quest for independence from  Spain.
>
> Hotel Jagua (B,L,D)
>
> Day 6 â€" Cienfuegos
>
> Visit the  country's largest botanical garden with a member of the Academy
> of Sciences of  Cuba, who will talk about Cuba's efforts to maintain the
> rich biodiversity of  its extraordinary plant life. Then travel into the
> mountains of the Sierra del  Escambray and enjoy lunch at a restored sugar
> hacienda. Afterward, board a  1906 Baldwin steam train once used to transport
sugar
> cane and journey into  the lush Valley of the Sugar Mills, where we'll
> learn about the historic yet  diminished importance of Cuba's sugar industry.
> Meet former sugar workers who  have shifted to new agricultural employment in
> an uncertain economic period,  as Cuba attempts to become self-sustaining in
> food production. Return to  Cienfuegos this evening and join in a
> neighborhood street party where you will  have an opportunity to meet Cubans
in an
> informal setting.
> Hotel Jagua  (B,L,D)
>
> Day 7 â€" Trinidad
>
> Explore Cuba's best-preserved colonial  city with restoration experts.
> Meander along cobblestone streets past  pastel-colored homes and serene
plazas.
> Meet with students at a local art  institute, housed in what was once the
> dragoons' barracks and discover what  fresh contributions young artists are
> making to Cuba's shifting cultural  landscape. After lunch, meet Julio Muñoz,
> a local photographer and "horse  whisperer" whose wife and niece were
> featured in an October 1999 National  Geographic article. Visit Julio's
> colonial-era house and stables, the base for  his project in promoting equine
care in
> Cuba. Then join him in visiting a  babalawo, a high priest of the
> Afro-Caribbean religion, Santería.
>
> Hotel  Jagua (B,L,D)
>
> Day 8 â€" Havana/Jaimanitas
>
> Return to Havana,  stopping for lunch along the way. Attend a musical
> performance at a local  music and dance school and meet the students. Then
head
> to the charming  fishing village of Jaimanitas to visit the workshop and home
> of ceramic artist  José Fuster, called the "Picasso of Cuba." Talk with
> residents involved in  revitalizing the neighborhood with colorful mosaics.
>
> Hotel Saratoga,  Hotel Santa Isabel or Hotel Parque Central, depending on
> the departure  date
> (B,L)
>
> Day 9 â€" Havana
>
> Take a morning walk through the  Vedado neighborhood. Then visit La Plaza
> de la Revolución and Colon (Columbus)  Cemetery, known for its elaborate
> mausoleums, chapels, and tombstones. Meet  pilgrims from across the country at
> the grave of La Milagrosa (The Miraculous  One), a woman who died in
> childbirth in 1901 and who many Cubans believe has  the power to grant good
luck.
> Later, meet local artists at "Salvador's Alley,"  an outdoor multimedia space
> with vibrant murals, Santería shrines, and rumba  performances. Learn how
> these artists refract the realities of contemporary  Cuban life through a
> variety of media. Toast our new Cuban friends at a  farewell dinner tonight.
>
> Hotel Saratoga, Hotel Santa Isabel or Hotel  Parque Central, depending on
> the departure date
> (B,L,D)
>
> Day 10 â€"  Havana/U.S.
>
> After breakfast, transfer to the airport for your flight  home.
> (B)
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> To view the  current thirty CubaNews  messages:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/messages
>
> If this  message was forwarded to you, subscription details may be found
> here:
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>
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> CubaNews-unsubscribe@...! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

Anti-Empire Report, September 1, 2011

http://www.killinghope.org/bblum6/aer97.html

The Anti-Empire Report
September 1st, 2011
by William Blum
www.killinghope.org


Libya and the world we live in

"Why are you attacking us? Why are you killing our children? Why are you
destroying our infrastructure?"
– Television address by Libyan Leader Muammar Gaddafi, April 30, 2011

A few hours later NATO hit a target in Tripoli, killing Gaddafi's 29-year-old
son Saif al-Arab, three of Gaddafi's grandchildren, all under twelve years of
age, and several friends and neighbors.

In his TV address, Gaddafi had appealed to the NATO nations for a cease-fire and
negotiations after six weeks of bombings and cruise missile attacks against his
country.

Well, let's see if we can derive some understanding of the complex Libyan
turmoil.

The Holy Triumvirate — The United States, NATO and the European Union —
recognizes no higher power and believes, literally, that it can do whatever it
wants in the world, to whomever it wants, for as long as it wants, and call it
whatever it wants, like "humanitarian".

If The Holy Triumvirate decides that it doesn't want to overthrow the government
in Syria or in Egypt or Tunisia or Bahrain or Saudi Arabia or Yemen or Jordan,
no matter how cruel, oppressive, or religiously intolerant those governments are
with their people, no matter how much they impoverish and torture their people,
no matter how many protesters they shoot dead in their Freedom Square, the
Triumvirate will simply not overthrow them.

If the Triumvirate decides that it wants to overthrow the government of Libya,
though that government is secular and has used its oil wealth for the benefit of
the people of Libya and Africa perhaps more than any government in all of Africa
and the Middle East, but keeps insisting over the years on challenging the
Triumvirate's imperial ambitions in Africa and raising its demands on the
Triumvirate's oil companies, then the Triumvirate will simply overthrow the
government of Libya.

If the Triumvirate wants to punish Gaddafi and his sons it will arrange with the
Triumvirate's friends at the International Criminal Court to issue arrest
warrants for them.

If the Triumvirate doesn't want to punish the leaders of Syria, Egypt, Tunisia,
Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Jordan it will simply not ask the ICC to issue
arrest warrants for them. Ever since the Court first formed in 1998, the United
States has refused to ratify it and has done its best to denigrate it and throw
barriers in its way because Washington is concerned that American officials
might one day be indicted for their many war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Bill Richardson, as US ambassador to the UN, said to the world in 1998 that the
United States should be exempt from the court's prosecution because it has
"special global responsibilities". But this doesn't stop the United States from
using the Court when it suits the purposes of American foreign policy.

If the Triumvirate wants to support a rebel military force to overthrow the
government of Libya then it does not matter how fanatically religious,
al-Qaeda-related,1 executing-beheading-torturing, monarchist, or factionally
split various groups of that rebel force are at times, the Triumvirate will
support it, as it did certain forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, and hope that
after victory the Libyan force will not turn out as jihadist as it did in
Afghanistan, or as fratricidal as in Iraq. One potential source of conflict
within the rebels, and within the country if ruled by them, is that a
constitutional declaration made by the rebel council states that, while
guaranteeing democracy and the rights of non-Muslims, "Islam is the religion of
the state and the principle source of legislation in Islamic Jurisprudence."2

Adding to the list of the rebels' charming qualities we have the Amnesty
International report that the rebels have been conducting mass arrests of black
people across the nation, terming all of them "foreign mercenaries" but with
growing evidence that a large number were simply migrant workers. Reported
Reuters (August 29): "On Saturday, reporters saw the putrefying bodies of 22 men
of African origin on a Tripoli beach. Volunteers who had come to bury them said
they were mercenaries whom rebels had shot dead." To complete this portrait of
the West's newest darlings we have this report from The Independent of London
(August 27): "The killings were pitiless. They had taken place at a makeshift
hospital, in a tent marked clearly with the symbols of the Islamic crescent.
Some of the dead were on stretchers, attached to intravenous drips. Some were on
the back of an ambulance that had been shot at. A few were on the ground,
seemingly attempting to crawl to safety when the bullets came."

If the Triumvirate's propaganda is clever enough and deceptive enough and paints
a graphic picture of Gaddafi-initiated high tragedy in Libya, many American and
European progressives will insist that though they never, ever support
imperialism they're making an exception this time because ...

•The Libyan people are being saved from a "massacre", both actual and potential.
This massacre, however, seems to have been grossly exaggerated by the
Triumvirate, al Jazeera TV, and that station's owner, the government of Qatar;
and nothing approaching reputable evidence of a massacre has been offered,
neither a mass grave or anything else; the massacre stories appear to be on a
par with the Viagra-rape stories spread by al Jazeera (the Fox News of the
Libyan uprising).

Qatar, it should be noted, has played an active military role in the civil war
on the side of NATO. It should be further noted that the main massacre in Libya
has been six months of daily Triumvirate bombing, killing an unknown number of
people and ruining much of the infrastructure. Michigan U. Prof.

Juan Cole, the quintessential true-believer in the good intentions of American
foreign policy who nevertheless manages to have a regular voice in progressive
media, recently wrote that "Qaddafi was not a man to compromise ... his military
machine would mow down the revolutionaries if it were allowed to." Is that
clear, class? We all know of course that Sarkozy, Obama, and Cameron made
compromises without end in their devastation of Libya; they didn't, for example,
use any nuclear weapons.

•The United Nations gave its approval for military intervention; i.e., the
leading members of the Triumvirate gave their approval, after Russia and China
cowardly abstained instead of exercising their veto power; (perhaps hoping to
receive the same courtesy from the US, UK and France when Russia or China is the
aggressor nation).

•The people of Libya are being "liberated", whatever in the world that means,
now or in the future. Gaddafi is a "dictator" they insist. That may indeed be
the proper term to use for the man, but it must still be asked: Is he a
relatively benevolent dictator or is he the other kind so favored by Washington?
It must also be asked: Since the United States has habitually supported
dictators for the entire past century, why not this one?

The Triumvirate, and its fawning media, would have the world believe that what's
happened in Libya is just another example of the Arab Spring, a popular uprising
by non-violent protestors against a dictator for the proverbial freedom and
democracy, spreading spontaneously from Tunisia and Egypt, which sandwich Libya.
But there are several reasons to question this analysis in favor of seeing the
Libyan rebels' uprising as a planned and violent attempt to take power in behalf
of their own political movement, however heterogeneous that movement might
appear to be in its early stage. For example:

1.They soon began flying the flag of the monarchy that Gaddafi had overthrown

2.They were an armed and violent rebellion almost from the beginning; within a
few days, we could read of "citizens armed with weapons seized from army bases"3
and of "the policemen who had participated in the clash were caught and hanged
by protesters"4

3.Their revolt took place not in the capital but in the heart of the country's
oil region; they then began oil production and declared that foreign countries
would be rewarded oil-wise in relation to how much each country aided their
cause

4.They soon set up a Central Bank, a rather bizarre thing for a protest movement

5.International support came quickly, even beforehand, from Qatar and al Jazeera
to the CIA and French intelligence

The notion that a leader does not have the right to put down an armed rebellion
against the state is too absurd to discuss.

Not very long ago, Iraq and Libya were the two most modern and secular states in
the Mideast/North Africa world with perhaps the highest standards of living in
the region. Then the United States of America came along and saw fit to make a
basket case of each one. The desire to get rid of Gaddafi had been building for
years; the Libyan leader had never been a reliable pawn; then the Arab Spring
provided the excellent opportunity and cover. As to Why? Take your pick of the
following:

•Gaddafi's plans to conduct Libya's trading in Africa in raw materials and oil
in a new currency — the gold African dinar, a change that could have delivered a
serious blow to the US's dominant position in the world economy. (In 2000,
Saddam Hussein announced Iraqi oil would be traded in euros, not dollars;
sanctions and an invasion followed.) For further discussion see here.

•A host-country site for Africom, the US Africa Command, one of six regional
commands the Pentagon has divided the world into. Many African countries
approached to be the host have declined, at times in relatively strong terms.
Africom at present is headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. According to a State
Department official: "We've got a big image problem down there. ... Public
opinion is really against getting into bed with the US. They just don't trust
the US."5
•An American military base to replace the one closed down by Gaddafi after he
took power in 1969. There's only one such base in Africa, in Djibouti. Watch for
one in Libya sometime after the dust has settled. It'll perhaps be situated
close to the American oil wells. Or perhaps the people of Libya will be given a
choice — an American base or a NATO base.

•Another example of NATO desperate to find a raison d'être for its existence
since the end of the Cold War and the Warsaw Pact.

•Gaddafi's role in creating the African Union. The corporate bosses never like
it when their wage slaves set up a union. The Libyan leader has also supported a
United States of Africa for he knows that an Africa of 54 independent states
will continue to be picked off one by one and abused and exploited by the
members of the Triumvirate. Gaddafi has moreover demanded greater power for
smaller countries in the United Nations.

•The claim by Gaddafi's son, Saif el Islam, that Libya had helped to fund
Nicolas Sarkozy's election campaign6 could have humiliated the French president
and explain his obsessiveness and haste in wanting to be seen as playing the
major role in implementing the "no fly zone" and other measures against Gaddafi.
A contributing factor may have been the fact that France has been weakened in
its former colonies and neo-colonies in Africa and the Middle East, due in part
to Gaddafi's influence.

•Gaddafi has been an outstanding supporter of the Palestinian cause and critic
of Israeli policies; and on occasion has taken other African and Arab countries,
as well as the West, to task for their not matching his policies or rhetoric;
one more reason for his lack of popularity amongst world leaders of all stripes.

•In January, 2009, Gaddafi made known that he was considering nationalizing the
foreign oil companies in Libya.7 He also has another bargaining chip: the
prospect of utilizing Russian, Chinese and Indian oil companies. During the
current period of hostilities, he invited these countries to make up for lost
production. But such scenarios will now not take place. The Triumvirate will
instead seek to privatize the National Oil Corporation, transferring Libya's oil
wealth into foreign hands.

•The American Empire is troubled by any threat to its hegemony. In the present
historical period the empire is concerned mainly with Russia and China. China
has extensive energy investments and construction investments in Libya and
elsewhere in Africa. The average American neither knows nor cares about this.
The average American imperialist cares greatly, if for no other reason than in
this time of rising demands for cuts to the military budget it's vital that
powerful "enemies" be named and maintained.

•For yet more reasons, see the article "Why Regime Change in Libya?" by Ismael
Hossein-zadeh, and the US diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks — Wikileaks
reference 07TRIPOLI967 11-15-07 (includes a complaint about Libyan "resource
nationalism")


A word from the man the world's mightiest
military powers have been trying to kill

"Recollections of My Life", written by Col. Muammar Gaddafi, April 8, 2011,
excerpts:

Now, I am under attack by the biggest force in military history, my little
African son, Obama wants to kill me, to take away the freedom of our country, to
take away our free housing, our free medicine, our free education, our free
food, and replace it with American style thievery, called "capitalism," but all
of us in the Third World know what that means, it means corporations run the
countries, run the world, and the people suffer, so, there is no alternative for
me, I must make my stand, and if Allah wishes, I shall die by following his
path, the path that has made our country rich with farmland, with food and
health, and even allowed us to help our African and Arab brothers and sisters to
work here with us ... I do not wish to die, but if it comes to that, to save
this land, my people, all the thousands who are all my children, then so be it.
... In the West, some have called me "mad", "crazy". They know the truth but
continue to lie, they know that our land is independent and free, not in the
colonial grip.

The state of our beloved capitalist system, early 21st century
I pay attention to the fat content of my food, so I was pleased to find a can of
Pam canola oil cooking spray that had 0 grams fat per serving. Great, can't do
better than zero fat, can you? I used it often for a few months ... until one
day I took a closer look at the "Nutrition Facts" ... Yes, it said 0 grams fat
per serving. A serving. How big was that? Let's see ... "Serving Size about 1/4
second spray" ... Hmmm, how does one press down on a button for 1/4 second? Is
it humanly possible? Even the manufacturer had to say "about". I had been taken.
My hat is off to you Capitalist Robber Barons — You're good!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Dow Jones industrial average of blue-chip stocks fell 635 points on Monday
August 8.

On Tuesday it rose by 430 points.

Wednesday, the market, in its infinite wisdom, decided to fall again; this time
by 520 points.

And on Thursday ... yes, it rose once again, by 423 points.

The Dow changed directions for eight consecutive trading sessions.

Upon such marvels of mankind countless people build careers, others wager their
life savings, philanthropic foundations and universities risk much of their
endowments, and conservative sages deliver sermons to the world on the wisdom
and sacredness of the free market.

Main Street is the climax of civilization.
That this Ford car might stand in front of
the Bon Ton store, Hannibal invaded Rome
and Erasmus wrote in Oxford cloisters.
– Sinclair Lewis, "Main Street", 1920

Do the economic fundamentals really change dramatically overnight? Or is our
economic system as psycho as our foreign policy? The Washington Post's senior
economic columnist, Steven Pearlstein, wrote on August 14th of the four days
described above: "I suppose there are some schnooks who actually believe that
those wild swings in stock prices last week represented sober and serious
concerns by thoughtful, sophisticated investors about the Treasury debt
downgrade or European sovereign debt or a slowdown in global growth. But surely
such perceptions don't radically change each afternoon between 2 and 4:30, when
the market averages last week were gyrating out of control."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Last month "Pope Benedict XVI denounced the profit-at-all-cost mentality that he
says is behind Europe's economic crisis" as he arrived in hard-hit Spain. "The
economy doesn't function with market self-regulation but needs an ethical reason
to work for mankind," he declared. "Man must be at the center of the economy,
and the economy cannot be measured only by maximization of profit but rather
according to the common good."8

"I am a Marxist," said the Dalai Lama last year. Marxism has "moral ethics,
whereas capitalism is only how to make profits."9

"I don't believe in anything," said Barack Obama. "At least not really
strongly." (No, I made that one up.)


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Perhaps the worst outcome of the United States "winning the Cold War" is that
countless progressive people think there's no alternative to the capitalist
system. Seventy years of anti-communist education and media stamped in people's
minds a lasting association between socialism and what the Soviet Union called
communism. Socialism meant a dictatorship, it meant Stalinist repression, a
suffocating "command economy", no freedom of enterprise, no freedom to change
jobs, few avenues for personal expression, and other similar truths and
untruths. This is a set of beliefs clung to even amongst many Americans opposed
to US foreign policy. No matter how bad the economy is, Americans think, the
only alternative available is something called "communism", and they know how
awful that is.

Meanwhile, the Communist Party USA has endorsed Barack Obama for re-election.10


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men living in society, they
create for themselves, in the course of time, a legal system that authorizes it
and a moral code that glorifies it."
– Frederic Bastiat, (1801-1850) French economist, statesman, and author

Notes
1.For example, see: The Telegraph (London), August 30, 2011: "Abdel-Hakim
al-Hasidi, the Libyan rebel leader, has said jihadists who fought against allied
troops in Iraq are on the front lines of the battle against Muammar Gaddafi's
regime." There is a plethora of other reports detailing the ties between the
rebels and radical Islamist groups. ↩
2.Washington Post, August 31, 2011
3.McClatchy Newspapers, February 20, 2011 ↩
4.Wikipedia, Timeline of the 2011 Libyan civil war, February 19, 2011 ↩
5.The Guardian (London), June 25, 2007 ↩
6.The Guardian (London), March 16, 2011 ↩
7.Reuters, January 21, 2009 ↩
8.Associated Press, August 11, 2011 ↩
9.Agence France Presse, May 21, 2010↩
10."Yikes! Look who just endorsed Obama for 4 more years", WorldNetDaily, August
3 2011↩
–

William Blum is the author of:

•Killing Hope: US Military and CIA Interventions Since World War 2
•Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower
•West-Bloc Dissident: A Cold War Memoir
•Freeing the World to Death: Essays on the American Empire
Portions of the books can be read, and signed copies purchased, at
www.killinghope.org

Previous Anti-Empire Reports can be read at this website.

To add yourself to this mailing list simply send an email to bblum6 [at] aol.com
with "add" in the subject line. I'd like your name and city in the message, but
that's optional. I ask for your city only in case I'll be speaking in your area.

(Or put "remove" in the subject line to do the opposite.)

Any part of this report may be disseminated without permission. I'd appreciate
it if the website were mentioned.

Home

The Chinese Revolution triumphed on October 1, 1949. The
US maintained a blockade of China, attempting to isolate
it pretending that the Chinese government, led by the CP,
was a passing phenomenon, one the US didn't recognize as
permanent. Times changed for reasons too complex to go
into here. Cuba was the first country in Latin America to
grant diplomatic recognition to the People's Republic of
China. Now every country in the world has normal relations
with the PRC. Alas, there is no reason in the foreseeable
future that the US will normalize its relations with Cuba,
though Cuba is, and has always been, ready to discuss any
outstanding issues between the countries, via negotiation.


Walter Lippmann
Los Angeles, California
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/
=============================================================

Cuba and China Confirm Excellent State of Bilateral Relations

HAVANA, Cuba, Sept 1 (acn) Cuba and China confirmed the excellent state of
bilateral relations during a recent working visit to Beijing of Ramon Balaguer,
a member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of Cuba's Communist Party
(PCC) and the head of the PCC's Department for International Relations.

According to Granma newspaper, during a meeting at the Great Palace of the
People in the Chinese capital, Balaguer and Vice President Xi Jinping, a member
of the Standing Committee of the Politburo of China's Communist Party (PCCh),
spoke of several topics and learned details of the revolutionary processes that
take place in each of their respective countries.

Balaguer updated his host on aspects discussed during the Sixth PCC Congress
held last April and on preparations for the upcoming National Conference of this
political organization.

The Cuban leader's program included meetings with his counterpart Wang Jiarui
and with Liu Yunshan, another member of the Politburo of the PCCh.

They all agreed on the need to continue strengthening bilateral ties and
cooperation between the two communist parties.


=========================================
      WALTER LIPPMANN
      Los Angeles, California
      Editor-in-Chief, CubaNews
      http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/
      "Cuba - Un Paraíso bajo el bloqueo"
=========================================

(The so-called rebels claim to have all but on, save for
the final bloodbath tentatively schedule for this coming
Saturday. Yet the blitzkrieg over Libya is continuing as
fiercely as ever.  Key to the entire story is the third
paragraph, which really says it all:

("NATO says it has not taken sides in the Libyan civil war, and has only
supported the "Libyan people." Yet rebel leaders acknowledge that their
inexperienced and ill-equipped forces could not have routed Kadafi without the
Western alliance's control of the skies."

(I'm reminded of the My Lai Massacre in which the U.S.
commander, William L. Calley, was famously quoted saying,
"We had to destroy the village in order to save it." Take
the time to read this through very carefully. Share widely.)
=============================================================
LOS ANGELES TIMES

NATO keeps bombing pro-Kadafi forces in Libya

For some observers, the continued airstrikes again call into question whether
NATO is taking the rebels' side or just following the U.N. mandate to protect
civilians.

By Patrick J. McDonnell and Paul Richter, Los Angeles Times

<http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-libya-nato-20110901,0,60891\
74.story>

August 31, 2011, 5:35 p.m.
Reporting from Tripoli, Libya, and Washington—
With Moammar Kadafi's forces on the run, NATO air crews have continued to pound
remaining loyalist troops outside Tripoli in enclaves such as Surt, the longtime
dictator's tribal stronghold 225 miles east of the capital.

To some, the continued strikes again raise the question of whether NATO is
acting as a rebel "air force" or is keeping with its U.N. mandate to protect
civilians.

NATO says it has not taken sides in the Libyan civil war, and has only supported
the "Libyan people." Yet rebel leaders acknowledge that their inexperienced and
ill-equipped forces could not have routed Kadafi without the Western alliance's
control of the skies.

Photos: The Libyan conflict

Critics say it is a convenient fiction to maintain that NATO has not sided with
the rebels, considering that the airstrikes often have accompanied rebel
offensives, or struck Kadafi forces poised to attack rebel positions.

At the heart of the matter is whether NATO's actions are consistent with the
United Nations mandate of protecting civilians facing danger from Libyan
government forces.

Nora Bensahel, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, said
the strikes on Surt appear consistent with NATO's own definition of what's
acceptable under the international mandate.

"But there's a broader question about whether those attacks are consistent with
the U.N. mandate," she said. "And that debate remains ongoing."

Indeed, U.N. member states — including Russia, China, Brazil, India and South
Africa — have complained bitterly that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
has stretched the mandate. And some diplomats speculate that it may be more
difficult now, because of this push-back, to persuade the U.N. Security Council
to approve future action against other governments that react violently to
citizens engaged in street protests, such as Syria.

Michael O'Hanlon, a military specialist at Brookings Institution, said that in
his view, "The rules have already stretched pretty far, and this is not
particularly egregious, as the cities with Kadafi loyalists can't be safe until
the war is over. And with the finish line in sight, it makes sense to go for
it."

Rebel forces have publicly urged that NATO continue its strikes as they plan an
all-out assault on Surt if the city does not surrender by Saturday. Many believe
Kadafi is hiding there.

On Monday and Tuesday, NATO said, bombing runs on Surt struck 34 armed vehicles,
four command-and-control sites, three tanks, five radar sites and two military
facilities. Other strikes have hit military targets, including three Scud
surface-to-surface missile launchers in or near Bani Walid, another remaining
loyalist enclave southeast of Tripoli, where some also think Kadafi may be holed
up.

NATO says it is not softening up Surt for a rebel offensive that will include
tanks and other armored vehicles arrayed against a city of more than 100,000
people. Rather, officials said, the alliance's continued strikes on Kadafi's
forces, even in their diminished state, fit squarely within the mandate to
protect civilians.

"Certainly, he [Kadafi] continues to be a threat," Col. Roland Lavoie, a NATO
spokesman, said Wednesday in a telephone interview from Naples, Italy,
headquarters for the NATO operation.

"We have a clear sense that what is left of the regime still displays not only
an intent but to some limited but real capacity … a threat to the people of
Libya," said Lavoie, a Canadian. "That threat is not in a specific village or
place in time but it is in general.… As far as we're concerned, the threat still
exists, and the last thing we want to do is let Kadafi consolidate his assets,
and continue to do what he has been doing since the beginning of this conflict."

Asked whether he had any evidence that pro-Kadafi units posed specific threats
to people in areas still under Kadafi's nominal control, Lavoie said, "I have
nothing specific I can point to."

Pro-Kadafi media allege that the recent bombings killed 36 people in Bani Walid.

NATO has repeatedly dismissed allegations that it has targeted Kadafi, despite
aerial attacks on his Tripoli compound and family residences. Since March 31,
when it took over the task from a Western-led alliance, NATO has flown almost
21,000 sorties, including almost 8,000 strike sorties.

"I go back to our mandate, the side we take, is not anti- or pro-Kadafi; we take
the side of the Libyan people," Lavoie said. "Our mission is to protect them."

Kadafi's forces, he said, have not pulled back in confusion, but rather in an
organized fashion that leaves them capable of continued attacks.

"They are not in total disarray, going in all directions. When they have trouble
in one area, they orderly fall back to the second-best position.… They still
behave in a military fashion, displaying a clear posture."

In Tripoli, however, many of Kadafi's soldiers shed their uniforms and
Kalashnikov assault rifles as the rebels advanced.

Asked how long NATO will continue Libyan operations, officials say the timing is
not directly linked to the future of Kadafi. NATO says its task will be complete
only when civilians are no longer threatened.

"The mission will continue in full compliance with the United Nations mandate
for as long as it's needed, but not a day longer," Oana Lungescu, a NATO
spokeswoman, told reporters this week.

"It looks as if we're nearly there, but we're not there yet."

Photos: The Libyan conflict

patrick.mcdonnell@...

paul.richter@...

McDonnell reported from Tripoli and Richter from Washington.

Copyright © 2011, Los Angeles Times

Indian Magazine Highlights U.S. Setback in Bay of Pigs

HAVANA, Cuba, Sept 1 (acn) The Sunday Indian, a leading weekly magazine printed
out in 14 languages, will feature on its upcoming edition an article about a
recent declassified CIA report on the Bay of Pigs fiasco.

In the online version of the magazine, columnist Saurabh Kumar Shahi says the
report presents "a blow-by-blow inside account of the military and diplomatic
humiliation of the US in the Bay of Pigs invasion."

The writer describes the plan to topple the Cuban Revolution, as a complete
military, political and diplomatic setback.

The article refers to how invading forces shot down by mistake two of their own
CIA-supplied planes because the aircrafts had been camouflaged to look like
those of the Cuban Air Force.

Shahi adds that this is not the only incident of its kind revealed in the top
secret five-volume internal CIA report titled "The Official History of the Bay
of Pigs Operation," that was recently made public by the Washington-based
National Security Archive.

The volumes were written between 1974 and 1984 by Jack Pfeiffer, who would later
become chief historian of the US intelligence entity.

Pfeiffer blames the failure of the Bay of Pigs –the invasion was defeated by the
Cuban people is just 66 hours-, not only on the CIA, but also on the Kennedy
administration; and he describes it as "one of the biggest debacles in the Cold
War era."

SOUTH JOURNAL

Gaddafi Sends Message to the Libyan People

September 1, 2011

<http://lchirino.wordpress.com/2011/09/01/gaddafi-sends-message-to-the-libyan-pe\
ople/>

South Journal—Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi called on the Libyan people to
keep resisting the armed rebels of the National Transition Council that entered
the capital Tripoli in an effort to control the country.

Gaddafi´s written message was aired by the Damascus-based Arrai TV channel:
"Though you can´t hear my voice, you must continue with your resistance." In
the message, the Libyan leader pointed out that he will not surrender.

There is disagreement between the armed groups with the Transition Council and
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Gaddafi said and he reiterated
his call to resistance.

Last August 25, Gaddafi called on Libyans to fight the rebels out of Tripoli:
"Do not fear the unfaithful; fight on every street and fight them back," he said
in an audio message aired by the Syrian Al Rai TV channel.

=========================================
      WALTER LIPPMANN
      Los Angeles, California
      Editor-in-Chief, CubaNews
      http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/
      "Cuba - Un Paraíso bajo el bloqueo"
=========================================

Many thanks.


In a message dated 01/09/2011 11:21:41 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
jamescc24@... writes:

I  apologize for not adding a link to the post.  I haven't located the cost
  but reservations can be made with this  link.

http://www.nationalgeographicexpeditions.com/expeditions/cuba-cultural-tour/
detail

---  In CubaNews@yahoogroups.com, bcol410293@... wrote:
>
> What are  the details on this trip: dates, cost, etc?
>
>
> In a message dated 31/08/2011 11:24:45 P.M. Eastern Daylight  Time,
> jamescc24@... writes:
>
> National   Geographic Expeditions
>
> Cuba: Discovering Its People and   Culture
>
> Expedition Details
>
> Thanks to a  special license issued by  the U.S. Department of the
Treasury,
>  National Geographic invites you to  participate in an extraordinary
> immersive program to discover Cuba's  fascinating people and  culture.
Learn
> firsthand from Cuban locals and experts  about  their splendid colonial
cities,
> vibrant music and art scene and  lush  rural landscapes, and experience
the
> timeless beauty and  fascinating culture  of this enigmatic island
nation. Learn
>  about the restoration of Old Havana  from local preservationists; visit
the
> Bay of Pigs with Cuban veterans; share  readings from  Hemingway's work
at his
> rural home, Finca Vigía. Throughout  your  journey, exchange ideas
and
> experiences relating to art,  education, religion,  history, and
conservation with
> Cuban  artists, teachers, Santería priests, park  rangers, and  more.
>
>
> Trip Highlights
>
> In the  company of Cuban  preservationists explore the UNESCO World
Heritage
> sites of Old Havana and  Trinidad.
>
> Visit the  Bay of Pigs with Cuban veterans who will share  their memories
of
> the 1961 invasion.
>
> Witness Cuba's revitalization  at  music and dance performances and on
> visits to local farms,  homes, schools, and  art studios.
> Meet photographer Julio Muñoz,  whose family appeared in a 1999
National
> Geographic article,  and learn about his innovative project in  promoting
> equine  care.
>
>
> Itinerary - 10 Days
>
> Day 1  â€"  U.S./Havana, Cuba
>
> Upon arrival in Havana, transfer  to our hotel. Gather  for a welcome
> reception and dinner  tonight.
>
> Hotel Saratoga, Hotel  Parque Central, Hotel  Santa Isabel or Hotel San
> Felipe y Santiago de Bejucal,   depending on the departure date
> (D)
>
> Day 2 â€"  Havana
>
> Explore  Old Havana and discover its beautiful  Spanish colonial
> architecture. Learn  about the challenges  facing Havana as it struggles
to preserve its
>  architectural and  cultural heritage in a period of great economic
change.
> On  the  main commercial street, meet some of Cuba's cuentapropistas
>  (self-employed), who are part of an expanding private sector. After
lunch,  enjoy a
> talk with experts from the Old Havana  restoration project. Later,
> following a presentation on the  role of tobacco in Cuban history, watch
the
> intricate work of  torcedores, or cigar rollers, at the famous Partagás
cigar
>  factory, followed by a discussion with a few of the rollers about their
work.
> Soak up the atmosphere in Parque Central, where baseball  fans engage in
> debates while domino players duel beneath palm  trees. Attend a talk on
Cuban
> religion in its many formsâ€"from  Catholicism to Judaism to
Santeríaâ€"and then
> visit the  cathedral of San Cristóbal with a remarkable baroque facade
that
> Cuban novelist Alejo Carpentier described as "music turned to  stone."
>
> Hotel Saratoga, Hotel Parque Central, Hotel  Santa Isabel or Hotel San
> Felipe y Santiago de Bejucal,  depending on the departure date
> (B,L,D)
>
> Day 3  â€" Havana/Cojímar
>
> Begin the day with a presentation  on  Cuba's current political and
economic
> landscape. Afterward,  set out for Ernest  Hemingway's hilltop home,
Finca
> Vigía,  now a museum. Meet with a curator to  discuss the author's
enduring
> legacy in Cuba, followed by a reading of some of  his iconic  works. Then
> travel to the seaside village of Cojímar, the  setting  for the
Pulitzer
> Prize-winning The Old Man and the Sea.  Here, meet local  fishermen and
> environmentalists who will  discuss conservation measures to  protect
Cuba's marine
>  wildlife, including sea turtles. Have lunch overlooking  the harbor
where
> Hemingway's fishing boat was moored. Later, enjoy a talk on   Hemingway's
reaction to
> the 1959 Cuban Revolution and his final  departure from  Cuba and
subsequent
> death in 1961. Then visit  Hotel Ambos Mundos in Old Havana  where the
> author's room is  maintained as a museum. Finish off the day at El
Floridita,
>  another Hemingway haunt that provides a unique window into his life  in
Cuba.
>
> Hotel Saratoga, Hotel Parque Central, Hotel Santa  Isabel or  Hotel San
> Felipe y Santiago de Bejucal, depending on  the departure  date
> (B,L)
>
> Day 4 â€" Pinar del  Río/Viñales
>
> Travel into the  Pinar del Río  Province and Viñales valley, known
for its
> emerald tobacco   fields. Visit the legendary tobacco farm of the Robaina
> family and  witness  firsthand the cultivation of Cuba's legendary crop.
Meet and
> talk with those  who work the farm and learn about Cuba's rural  culture
and
> economy. Later,  explore Viñales National Park with  rangers and
naturalists
> who will discuss  conservation in this  forested region. Meet with rural
> farmers who still use  oxen to  till their fields. Continue to the lovely
town
> of Viñales,  surrounded  by striking limestone hills, or mogotes. This
>  evening, attend a talk by our  expert on the Bay of Pigs invasion and
the  Cuban
> Missile Crisis.
>
> Hotel  Los Jazmines or  Hotel La Ermita, depending on the departure date
> (B,L,D)
>
> Day 5 â€" Bay of Pigs/Cienfuegos
>
> Set out  for the historic Bay of  Pigs. On our way, visit the cave where
>  Ernesto "Che" Guevara was headquartered  during the Cuban Missile Crisis
  of
> 1962. Explore Playa Girón, the landing site  for the 1961  U.S.-backed
invasion,
> and the Playa Giron museum with Cuban   veterans, who will share their
> memories. Engage them directly on the  legacy of  the Bay of Pigs in
Cuba.
> Continue to Cienfuegos, a  port city with architecture  that reflects its
French
> colonial  roots. This evening, discover the history  and Parisian-style
>  boulevards of Cuba's "pearl of the South." Meet local  residents in
Parque Martí and
> see the statue commemorating José Martí,  a  renowned author and a
leader in
> Cuba's quest for independence  from  Spain.
>
> Hotel Jagua (B,L,D)
>
> Day 6  â€" Cienfuegos
>
> Visit the  country's largest botanical  garden with a member of the
Academy
> of Sciences of  Cuba, who  will talk about Cuba's efforts to maintain the
> rich biodiversity  of  its extraordinary plant life. Then travel into the
> mountains  of the Sierra del  Escambray and enjoy lunch at a restored
sugar
>  hacienda. Afterward, board a  1906 Baldwin steam train once used to
transport sugar
> cane and journey into  the lush Valley of the  Sugar Mills, where we'll
> learn about the historic yet   diminished importance of Cuba's sugar
industry.
> Meet former sugar  workers who  have shifted to new agricultural
employment in
> an  uncertain economic period,  as Cuba attempts to become
self-sustaining in
> food production. Return to  Cienfuegos this evening and join in  a
> neighborhood street party where you will  have an opportunity  to meet
Cubans in an
> informal setting.
> Hotel Jagua   (B,L,D)
>
> Day 7 â€" Trinidad
>
> Explore Cuba's  best-preserved colonial  city with restoration experts.
> Meander  along cobblestone streets past  pastel-colored homes and serene
plazas.
> Meet with students at a local art  institute, housed in what was  once
the
> dragoons' barracks and discover what  fresh  contributions young artists
are
> making to Cuba's shifting  cultural  landscape. After lunch, meet Julio
Muñoz,
> a local  photographer and "horse  whisperer" whose wife and niece were
>  featured in an October 1999 National  Geographic article. Visit Julio's
> colonial-era house and stables, the base for  his project in  promoting
equine care in
> Cuba. Then join him in visiting a   babalawo, a high priest of the
> Afro-Caribbean religion,  Santería.
>
> Hotel  Jagua (B,L,D)
>
>  Day 8 â€" Havana/Jaimanitas
>
> Return to Havana,  stopping  for lunch along the way. Attend a musical
> performance at a  local  music and dance school and meet the students.
Then head
>  to the charming  fishing village of Jaimanitas to visit the workshop and
  home
> of ceramic artist  José Fuster, called the "Picasso of  Cuba." Talk with
> residents involved in  revitalizing the  neighborhood with colorful
mosaics.
>

> Hotel Saratoga,   Hotel Santa Isabel or Hotel Parque Central, depending
on
> the  departure  date
> (B,L)
>
> Day 9 â€" Havana
>
> Take a morning walk through the  Vedado neighborhood. Then visit  La
Plaza
> de la Revolución and Colon (Columbus)  Cemetery, known  for its
elaborate
> mausoleums, chapels, and tombstones. Meet   pilgrims from across the
country at
> the grave of La Milagrosa (The  Miraculous  One), a woman who died in
> childbirth in 1901 and who  many Cubans believe has  the power to grant
good luck.
> Later,  meet local artists at "Salvador's Alley,"  an outdoor multimedia
space
> with vibrant murals, Santería shrines, and rumba   performances.
Learn how
> these artists refract the realities of  contemporary  Cuban life through
a
> variety of media. Toast our  new Cuban friends at a  farewell dinner
tonight.
>
> Hotel  Saratoga, Hotel Santa Isabel or Hotel  Parque Central, depending
on
> the departure date
> (B,L,D)
>
> Day 10 â€"   Havana/U.S.
>
> After breakfast, transfer to the airport for your  flight  home.
> (B)
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> To view  the  current thirty CubaNews  messages:
>  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/messages
>
> If this   message was forwarded to you, subscription details may be found

>  here:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/
>
> To  unsubscribe from  this CubaNews group, send an email  to:
>  CubaNews-unsubscribe@...! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been  removed]
>




------------------------------------

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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

From: HQ <hq2600@...> [Add to Address Book]
To: updates@...
Subject: [hq2600] From Cynthia McKinney: Libya Eyewitness Truth Tour Final
Report
Date: Sep 1, 2011 10:55 AM

On today, the anniversary of the overthrow of King Idris in Libya, the
neo-colonial powers met in France to continue their drive at the new carve-up of
Africa. This set of circumstances makes many of us very sad.

I had a dream last night.  I was caught in the midst of intense fighting--street
fighting:  house to house.  I guess I was channeling what the typical Libyan is
feeling and has been feeling for the past 6 months.  In my chats with DIGNITY
Delegation members, one thing is clear:  we are traumatized by what is happening
to the lovely people of Libya.  But imagine, if we feel that way, how must they
feel?  Terrorized and worse.

When the DIGNITY Delegation of journalists was there, we could already see the
impact of the bombing on patients in the hospital, children trying to understand
what was happening, women trying to soothe their families, men trying to carry
on with their normal activities, shopkeepers trying to eke out a living despite
fighting and bombing all around them, Black Libyans who felt threatened by their
fellow countrymen and the outsiders who have streamed into the country, siding
with NATO and openly boasted of killing dark-skinned Libyans (who number between
50% and 58% of the population, according to one of the Libyans who joined us on
the tour, now returned to his country, not the 30% written in the special
interest press) and non-Libyan Africans.

There is so much I want to say, and there is no space and little time.  As I now
return to my Ph.D. work, so terribly behind in my assignments, I will just say
thank you to those who supported the tour and to ANSWER and the IAC,
International Action Center, who sponsored it.  Thank you to the local
organizing committees that saw people come together from across all demographic
and ideological lines to support our important peace work.  This momentum must
now be sustained.  We have now identified those who really stand for peace and
have outed the pretenders.  That allows our movement to soar now, unburdened. 
Study the tactics that were used in the Counter-Intelligence Program; learn the
truth, seek out and listen to the elders who experienced it firsthand.

Across this country, at almost 30 stops, I was able to join the true patriots of
this country who struggle for justice and peace every day of their lives
wherever they are in their own communities.  In some places, the struggle is
against police brutality; in other places it is against oppressive despair
brought on by a police state and poverty.  In all places, the budget choices of
those elected to represent and serve us have placed justice and dignity on the
chopping block, but have left war profiteering intact.  These are policy choices
that cannot last.

Along the way, many invoked the names of peace messengers of earlier times, the
people we all look up to today.  And lamentation abounded about the lack of
representation we all have from our government.  It is clear that the people of
this country do not have the government that they want or deserve.  On two
previous cross-country trips, in 2008 with the Power to the People Green Party
Presidential campaign and in 2010 with Bike4Peace, I saw with my own eyes that
even from the arid Nevada desert to the lush Shenandoah Valley, people in this
country want peace.  They want representation and are sick and tired of war.  I
agree with former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir that war, itself, is a crime.

But we in this country, who fund these wars, are the people best situated to
stop them.  We almost did that once.  Along the tour, I oftentimes invoked the
words of our late President John F. Kennedy at American University:  "What kind
of a peace do I mean and what kind of peace do we seek?  Not a Pax Americana
enforced on the world by American weapons of war.  Not the peace of the grave or
the security of the slave.  I'm talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace
that makes life on earth worth living . . . not merely peace for Americans, but
peace for all men and women; not merely peace in our time, but peace in all
time."

Kudos to Thierry Meyssan, Mahdi Darius, Lizzie Phelan, and others who provided
us up-to-the- minute, on-the-ground, unembedded information about Libya.  They
are safely home now, thank goodness. Therefore, the best sources of information
from and about Libya are the chats and tweets that accompany these Libyan
broadcasts (and then you'll have to go elsewhere like mathaba to verify):

1.  http://www.ustream.tv/channel/ilibya-tv
2.  http://support-libya.c.la/
3.  http://www.mathaba.net/

Mathaba operates exactly like Wikileaks, so its reports are from all over the
world and on the ground inside Libya.  I understand that Frank Lamb remains in
Libya and we look forward to his continued reports and hope that his decision to
remain there means that he has found a way to remain there safely. 
Additionally, Stephen Lendman's writings have moved me greatly.  I will continue
to read and I recommend them to you.  He told me that he, too, hasn't had much
sleep since this started.

For the current situation on the ground, see this:

4.  http://mathaba.net/news/libya/i/2011/occupied-map500.jpg

For the truth about the current Libyan Jamahirya social and economic systems
view this:

5.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=aJURNC0e6Ek

How long will we taxpayers of the U.S. allow our tax dollars to be used to make
the children of the world cry?  Libyan children now cry like Palestinian
children.  They are all my children.  Tripoli now looks like Gaza.  Innocent
Libyans are now just like the Palestinians.  Crying.  Traumatized.  Terrorized. 
Resisting occupation.  Watch this and cry:

6.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBapbq8etf0&feature=player_embedded#

And then read this to understand the U.S. role:

7. 
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/08/30/america-s-secret-libya-war-u-s-\
spent-1-billion-on-covert-ops-helping-nato.html

And when the special interest war-mongering media (in this case the BBC) get
caught lying about Libya, read this BBC response that is almost more troubling
than their original error of broadcasting a rally in India and describing it on
air as live from Tripoli!!!:

8.  http://bsnews.info/BBC_Correspondence.html

Listen to this and cry that someone purporting to be a Libyan would invite this
kind of death and devastation to his own country:

9. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj8gBRBfvSA&feature=mr_meh&list=FLV_ZoMqjVmMsW5Uy\
KZ4d7Ow&lf=plpp&playnext=0


And finally, watch/listen to this to remember what a real U.S. Peace President
sounds like; cry at what we've lost, and get busy putting someone with these
ideals in the White House and Congress again:

10.  http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/jfkamericanuniversityaddress.html


--
http://dignity.ning.com/
http://www.enduswars.org
http://www.livestream.com/dignity
http://www.twitter.com/dignityaction
http://www.myspace.com/dignityaction
http://www.myspace.com/runcynthiarun
http://www.twitter.com/cynthiamckinney
http://www.facebook.com/CynthiaMcKinney
http://www.youtube.com/runcynthiarun

Silence is the deadliest weapon of mass destruction.

*Silvia García Tabío
La Jornada *
30 de agosto 2011

Un tema cubano del que no habla la prensa

<http://www.jornada.unam.mx/ultimas/2011/08/30/184513995-un-tema-cubano-del-que-\
no-habla-la-prensa-silvia-garcia-tabio>

En septiembre de 1998 cinco cubanos, Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, Fernando
González, Antonio Guerrero y René González, fueron arrestados en Miami por el
FBI y aislados en celdas de castigo 17 meses antes que su caso fuera llevado al
tribunal. Su misión en los Estados Unidos era monitorear las actividades de
organizaciones terroristas contra Cuba.

Todos fueron acusados del nebuloso cargo de conspiración contra Estados Unidos.
A tres de ellos, Gerardo, Ramón y Antonio, se les adicionó el cargo de
conspiración para cometer espionaje. El gobierno estadunidense nunca los acusó
de espionaje real, ni afirmó que el mismo hubiese ocurrido. No les fue ocupado
ningún documento clasificado.

A pesar de la enérgica objeción por parte de la defensa, el caso se llevó a
juicio en Miami, comunidad que alberga a más de medio millón de exiliados
cubanos, con una larga historia de hostilidad hacia el Gobierno cubano, entorno
que una corte federal de apelaciones de Estados Unidos describiría más tarde
como una “tormenta perfecta” de prejuicios, que impidió la realización de un
juicio justo.

El juicio duró más de seis meses, el más largo en Estados Unidos hasta ese
momento, y en él presentaron testimonios tres generales retirados del ejército,
un almirante retirado, el ex asesor del Presidente Clinton para asuntos cubanos,
quienes coincidieron en que no existía evidencia de espionaje.

Siete meses después de la acusación inicial se adicionó un nuevo cargo a Gerardo
Hernández: conspiración para cometer asesinato, como resultado de una intensa
campaña pública con la intención de vengar el derribo por parte de la Fuerza
Aérea Cubana de dos avionetas de un grupo anticastrista y las muertes de sus
cuatro ocupantes, hechos que tuvieron lugar en 1996. Las avionetas pertenecían a
una organización que en los 20 meses anteriores al derribo había penetrado el
espacio aéreo cubano 25 veces, objeto de protestas reiteradas del gobierno de
Cuba.

Al final del juicio, cuando el caso estaba a punto de ser presentado al jurado
para su consideración, el gobierno reconoció por escrito que había fracasado en
probar el cargo de conspiración para cometer asesinato impuesto a Gerardo
Hernández, alegando que “a la luz de las pruebas presentadas en el juicio, esto
constituye un obstáculo insuperable para Estados Unidos en este caso y
probablemente resultará en el fracaso de la acusación en este cargo”.

El jurado, no obstante, encontró culpables, tanto a Gerardo como a sus
compañeros, de todos los cargos después de haber sido puesto bajo una intensa
presión por parte de los medios de prensa locales.

Los cinco fueron sentenciados a condenas que sumaron 4 cadenas perpetuas más
77 años, convirtiéndose tres de ellos en las primeras personas en Estados Unidos
en recibir cadena perpetua en casos relacionados con espionaje, en los que no
existió evidencia de obtención y transmisión de un solo documento secreto.
Fueron confinados a cinco cárceles diferentes de máxima seguridad, lejanas una
de otra y sin comunicación alguna entre ellos.
*La apelación ha tomado 9 años*

El 9 de agosto de 2005, un panel de tres jueces de la Corte de Apelaciones
revocó sus veredictos de culpabilidad al considerar que no tuvieron un juicio
justo en Miami. En una acción que como norma sólo se ejerce en casos donde estén
en juego principios constitucionales, el Gobierno solicitó a los doce jueces de
la Corte de Apelaciones revisar la decisión del panel en un procedimiento
llamado en banc. Un año después el pleno de la Corte revocó por mayoría la
decisión unánime de los tres jueces originales.

El 27 de mayo de 2005, el Grupo de Trabajo de Naciones Unidas sobre Detenciones
Arbitrarias, después de estudiar los argumentos presentados tanto por la familia
de los Cinco como por el gobierno de Estados Unidos, determinó que su privación
de libertad era arbitraria y exhortó a Washington a tomar las medidas necesarias
para rectificar esa arbitrariedad.

El 2 de septiembre de 2008 la Corte de Apelaciones de Atlanta ratificó los
veredictos de culpabilidad de los Cinco. Ratificó las sentencias de Gerardo
Hernández (2 cadenas perpetuas más 15 años) y René González (15 años), y anuló
las sentencias de Antonio Guerrero (cadena perpetua más 10 años), Fernando
González (19 años) y Ramón Labañino (cadena perpetua más 18 años), por
considerarlas incorrectas, enviando nuevamente a la Corte de Distrito de Miami
los casos de estos tres últimos para ser re-sentenciados. La Corte en pleno
reconoció que no existía evidencia alguna de que hubiera habido obtención ni
transmisión de información secreta o de defensa nacional en el caso de los
acusados del cargo de conspiración para cometer espionaje.

Meses después Antonio fue resentenciado a 21 años y 10 meses en prisión más
5 años de libertad supervisada, Fernando a 17 años y 9 meses en prisión, y Ramón
a 30 años en prisión.

El 15 de junio de 2009 la Corte Suprema de Estados Unidos anunció, sin más
explicaciones, su decisión de no revisar el caso de los Cinco a pesar de los
sólidos argumentos esgrimidos por la defensa ante las evidentes y múltiples
violaciones legales cometidas durante todo el proceso.

Desconocieron asimismo, el universal respaldo a esta petición y a los Cinco,
expresado en una cifra de 12 documentos de “amigos de la Corte”, cantidad que
constituye un hecho sin precedentes ya que representa el mayor número de amicus
que se haya presentado a la Corte Suprema de Estados Unidos para la revisión de
un proceso penal.

Diez Premios Nobel entre los que figuran el Presidente de Timor Leste, José
Ramos Horta, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Rigoberta Menchu, José Saramago, Wole
Soyinka, Zhores Alferov, Nadine Gordimer, Günter Grass, Darío Fo y Mairead
Maguire; el Senado de México en pleno; la Asamblea Nacional de Panamá; Mary
Robinson, presidenta de Irlanda (1992-97) y Alta Comisionada de Derechos Humanos
de Naciones Unidas (1997-2002), y el ex Director General de la UNESCO, Federico
Mayor, entre otros, suscribieron los amicus.

Desde el punto de vista jurídico este caso ha concluido ya su curso normal.
Ahora los cinco se encuentran en medio de un procedimiento extraordinario, el
llamado Habeas Corpus, que es una oportunidad que se ofrece por una sola vez a
los condenados después que agotaron sin éxito todos sus recursos apelativos.

En Octubre de 2010 Amnistía Internacional dio a conocer un Informe sobre el caso
en el que concluye: “Si el proceso legal de apelación no proporcionara
resarcimiento oportuno, y dada la extensión de las penas de cárcel impuestas y
el tiempo ya cumplido por los condenados, Amnistía Internacional apoyaría los
llamamientos para que las autoridades ejecutivas estadounidenses revisen el caso
a través del procedimiento de indulto u otros medios apropiados.”

*Silvia García Tabío, asesora de la Asamblea Nacional del Poder Popular de
Cuba.*
--

- INFOCUBA
+ Comité Internacional por la Libertad de los Cinco Cubanos
  http://realcuba.wordpress.com/,
paul evrard
http://www.cubainformacion.tv/
http://www.thecuban5.org/,
http://www.antiterroristas.cu/,
www.freethefive.org,
http://www.cubadebate.cu,
http://cubaveritas.blogspot.com/,


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

(Fortunately, SOUTH JOURNAL has translated
the LA JORNADA article into English now.)
===========================================

SOUTH JOURNAL
Not For Meanstream Media: A Hushed Up Case

September 1, 2011

South Journal—September 1998: five Cubans were arrested in Miami by the FBI and
held in punishment cells for 17 months before their case was taken to court.
These Cubans were in the United States monitoring Florida-based ultra-right
organizations of Cuban origin that had undertaken terrorist actions against
Cuba, and even in US territory, over the past 50 years.

The five Cubans named Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labañino, Fernando Gonzalez,
Antonio Guerrero and René Gonzalez were charged with conspiracy against the
United States. Three of them, Gerardo, Ramon and Antonio were also accused of
conspiracy to commit espionage. But the US government never asserted that such
act was committed. They were never proven to have possessed any classified
document.

Despite energetic objection by the defense, the case was taken to a court in
Miami, a community harboring over half a million Cuban exiles with long hostile
records against the Cuban government. Miami was the environment which, a US
federal appeal court described later as "the perfect storm" of prejudices that
did not favor a fair trial.

And this trial took over six months, being considered the longest such process
ever in the United States. Three retired US army generals, a retired admiral,
the former advisor to Bill Clinton on Cuban issues testified at the trial and
said there was no evidence of espionage.

Seven months after the official accusation was issued, a new charge was imposed
on Gerardo Hernandez: conspiracy to committee assassination. This was the result
of a huge media and public campaign to take revenge for the downing in 1996, by
the Cuban air force, of two planes belonging to the Florida-based anti-Castro
group "Brothers to the Rescue" and the death in the action of four members of
this organization. The Brother to the Rescue planes had illegally entered Cuban
airspace 25 times prior to the incident and during 20 months, which led to
reiterated protests by the Cuban government.

At the end of the trial, just when the case was almost ready for sentencing, the
US administration admitted its failure at proving the charge of conspiracy to
commit assassination imposed on Hernandez by saying that in the light of the
proofs presented, this would constitute an insurmountable obstacle for the
United States in relation to this case and would also result in the failure of
the specific accusation.

However, the jury found Gerardo Hernandez and the other four Cubans guilty of
all charges, following intense pressure by the local media.

The Cuban Five, as these men are known around the world, were given 4 life terms
and 77 years. This conviction turned three of them into the first people in the
United States to have been given life terms in espionage-related cases, in which
there was no evidence of their possession or transfer of any secret document.
And then, they were confined to five different high-security prisons, far off
from each other and with no communication among them whatsoever.

THE NINE-YEAR LONG APPEAL

August 9, 2005: A three judge panel with the Atlanta Court of Appeals revoked
the court ruling after considering that the Cuban Five were not given a fair
trial in Miami. But, the US government requested the rehearing by the Court en
banc of the decision reached by the three-judge panel. This procedure is an
action that only takes place in cases involving constitutional principles. One
year later, the court revoked, by majority, the unanimous decision of the three
judges.

May 27, 2005: The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions, after
having considered the arguments presented by the relatives of the Cuban Five and
by the US government, described the convictions as arbitrary and called on
Washington to take the necessary measures to correct such decision.

September 2, 2008: Atlanta´s Court of Appeals ratified the guilty verdicts,
upheld the convictions against Gerardo Hernandez (two life terms plus 15 years)
and against Rene Gonzalez (15 years) while it annulled the sentences against
Antonio Guerrero (life term plus 10 years), Fernando Gonzalez (19 years) and
Ramon Labañino (life term plus 18 years) for considering them incorrect. So the
cases of the three men were sent back to the Miami Court to be resentenced.

The Court admitted the absence of any piece of evidence about the possession or
transmission of any secret information or related to US national security in the
case of the defendants under the charge of conspiracy to committee espionage.

Some months later Antonio Guerrero was resentenced to 21 years and 10 months in
prison, plus a 5-year parole; Fernando was given 17 years and 9 months in
prison; and Ramon 30 years in jail.

June 15, 2009: The US Supreme Court announced, without further details, its
decision not to review the case of the five men despite the unquestionable
arguments submitted by the defense in the face of evident and countless legal
violations committed during the whole process.

With this decision, the US justice also turned a deaf ear on the huge world
support of this petition and of the Cuban Five, which was openly expressed in 12
amicus curiae documents—an unprecedented action since it has been the largest
number of such documents ever filed with the US Supreme Court requesting the
revision of a criminal case.

The amicus curiae documents were signed by ten Nobel laureates including the
president of East Timor, Jose Ramos Horta; Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Rigoberta
Menchu, Jose Saramago, Wole Soyinka, Zhores Alferov, Nadine Gordimer, Gunter
Grass, Dario Fo and Maired Maguire; the Mexican Senate; Panama´s Parliament;
former Irish President, Mary Robinson who was High UN Commissioner for Human
Rights (1997-2002), and the former director of UNESCO, Federico Mayor, among
others.

From the legal point of view the case has concluded. The Cuban Five are now
undertaking an extraordinary process, which is known as Habeas Corpus. This is a
one-time opportunity of the defendants after all appeal resources have concluded
with no success.

In October 2010, Amnesty International issued a report on the case, which read
that if the legal appeal process did not yield on-time compensation, and given
the long sentences imposed and the term already served by the Five, the
organization would support all calls on US authorities to review the case
through the proceeding of pardon or any other appropriate ways.

SJ version of La Jornada article by Silvia Garcia Tabio.

Cuba: The times are changing

Cuba has taken a dramatic step away from its socialist policies of the past, but
how has this impacted ordinary Cubans?
People and Power Last Modified: 31 Aug 2011 08:07

At the beginning of this year, the Cuban government took a dramatic step away
from its socialist policies [untrue] of the past to break new ground: it began
privatising its economy to create private sector jobs and issued thousands of
licences for its citizens to start their own businesses.
-------------------------
[allowing more private sector jobs for individuals is not the same as
privatizing the economy. klw]
-------------------------

The ruling party [sic] dismissed 500,000 state employees in a bold experiment to
boost the state and provide an injection of funds into the stagnant economy.
-------------------------
[No it didn't. It announced that this number of surplus workers would be laid
off and offered jobs in other sectors. It has not laid off this number yet, and
it is not "to boost the state" but to make the overall Cuban economy -- which
involves and affects all the people -- more efficient. klw]
-------------------------

Over half a century since Fidel Castro began a socialist revolution, new reforms
will now allow Cubans to open restaurants, sell flowers, run beauty salons and
barber shops, and become budding entrepreneurs like never before.
-------------------------
[As though the preceding weren't negative enough -- read on....]
-------------------------
But not everyone is convinced that this attempt to overhaul the Soviet-style
economic model will bring much needed improvements to the country.

Cuba still remains a one party state, poverty is rife, and political reform is
not on the agenda. The US trade embargo, lasting five decades, remains firmly in
place and sanctions
-------------------------
[note the writer doesn't say who imposes these sanctions. klw]
-------------------------
continue to affect its population. Yet for many, these reforms signify a fresh
start for Cubans, who are optimistic that this new progressive model may bring
the country out of isolation.

-------------------------
[Actually, Cuba isn't isolated; it has political relations with most countries
in the world, and trade relations with many -- despite the US 5-decades attempts
to coerce other countries into staying away from Cuba. If there were any doubt
about Cuba's so-called "isolation", just look at the nearly unanimous votes on
its behalf against the US blockade of Cuba each year at the UN General Assembly.
klw]
-------------------------

Filmmaker Rodrigo Vazquez has been examining how these new reforms are affecting
ordinary Cubans in this new chapter in the country's history.

-------------------------
[I wonder who "filmmaker Rodrigo Vazquez" is and where he's from. We don't have
to wonder about his political perspective -- that's pretty obvious. Al Jazeera
should try to get more objective and better informed reporters. klw]
-------------------------


       People & Power can be seen each week at the following times GMT:
Wednesday: 2230; Thursday: 0930; Friday: 0330; Saturday: 1630; Sunday: 2230;
Monday: 0930.

       Click h



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR

"NATO is anxiously seeking to head off a potentially bloody military onslaught."

Well, that certainly is a relief.  It may be safe to count bodies in Tripoli,
after all.

Iraq Body Count, where are you?  Oh - Iraq, of course.  Silly me.

=======================================================

http://www.csmonitor.com/

How NATO could find itself protecting Qaddafi loyalists in Libya

By Howard LaFranchi, Staff writer / August 31, 2011
http://bit.ly/q041Hh

Washington
With the clock ticking on the Libyan rebels' Saturday deadline for forces loyal
to Muammar Qaddafi to surrender or face attack, NATO is anxiously seeking to
head off a potentially bloody military onslaught.


Powered by Not only could battles for the loyalists' remaining strongholds draw
the Atlantic alliance deeper into Libya's civil conflict, given NATO's mandate
to protect civilian life. But any fierce fighting at this point could make a
future political transition all the more difficult - complicating the alliance's
quick exit from Libya.

"Getting a quiet end to this and preventing any kind of bloodbath is definitely
a big priority for NATO, and for a couple of key reasons," says Nikolas Gvosdev,
a professor of national security studies at the US Naval War College in Newport,
R.I.

IN PICTURES: Rebels take Tripoli

"First, the 'responsibility to protect' is just as much NATO's mandate when it's
about civilians who might be aligned with loyalist forces as the other way
around, so NATO could see itself dragged into any last bloody fights," he says.

"And second, NATO would very much like to see this wrapped up as quickly as
possible with as little additional civil strife as possible," he adds. "Not only
does more fighting mean political stability is put off, but it also causes
problems for NATO leaders who told their constituents the fall of Tripoli was
the end of this campaign."

Ultimatum to surrender
Concerns over NATO's role in any Libyan endgame were heightened Tuesday when
leaders of the rebel Transitional National Council (TNC) issued their ultimatum
to loyalists to surrender by Saturday.

"We can't wait longer than that," TNC leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil told reporters
in Benghazi.

First up would be Sirte, a Qaddafi army stronghold on the Mediterranean coast,
he said.

NATO officials have been reluctant to offer any details, but they say the
alliance is emphasizing to rebel leaders the importance of trying to resolve
remaining disputes through dialogue and negotiations if possible.

That may ultimately be impossible is a situation where Qaddafi government
representatives continue to refer to the ascendant rebels as "armed thugs,"
while TNC representatives consider loyalists their bitter - and now vanquished -
enemies.

NATO is, however, acknowledging that its mandate to protect civilian lives in
Libya, as stated in the United Nations resolution that opened the door to NATO's
role, does not discriminate between civilians aligned with or against Mr.
Qaddafi.

(Page 2 of 2)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At a press conference Tuesday at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Col. Roland
Lavoie refused to speculate on how NATO would respond if the rebels do attack
Sirte, but added, "I can assure you that our mission is to protect the civilian
population, and we will do that with great care."


The shift in the rebels' fortunes puts NATO in a new and tricky position. But
there are also advantages to the rebel forces ending any remaining ambiguities
about who is running Libya, says Frederic Wehrey, a senior policy analyst at the
RAND Corp. in Santa Monica, Calif.

"If the rebels persist in hitting armed Qaddafi supporters while keeping
civilian casualties to a minimum, then this can become the final phase of the
revolution and a force for closure," he says. "Where it becomes problematic is
if it creates a humanitarian crisis - for example, if they started
indiscriminately bombing Sirte."

The Naval War College's Gvosdev agrees. "If there's a sense that the fall of
Tripoli was not the final chapter and that the fight goes on, then it will be
hard to proceed to any political transition," he says. "There needs to be a
sense of finality."

NATO officials have suggested the alliance is ready to end its mission as soon
as Libyan civilians are no longer under threat. They insist that any
international nation-building duties will fall to the UN and not to NATO.
Gvosdev notes that European leaders were particularly keen to suggest to their
voters that the fall of Tripoli meant NATO's role was over.

French President Nicholas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron
"didn't exactly proclaim 'mission accomplished,' but they came pretty close," he
says.

But Gvosdev adds that it very likely won't be as easy for NATO to leave Libya as
it would like.

"There will be questions about an international security role, maybe a need for
peacekeeping forces, and if there's a power vacuum the US will be concerned
about that giving Al Qaeda in the Maghreb a chance to consolidate," he says. "I
don't see the Arab League or the African Union taking on this international
role, so it may end up falling by default to the countries that carried out the
mandate that made this turn of events possible."







[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

there are some reports, not yet confirmed, that US and/or other western media
are buying into Al Jazeera, so the latter has to cuddle up even more to these
interests.


--- In CubaNews@yahoogroups.com, "Karen Lee Wald" <karenlee726@...> wrote:
>
> Cuba: The times are changing
>
> Cuba has taken a dramatic step away from its socialist policies of the past,
but how has this impacted ordinary Cubans?
> People and Power Last Modified: 31 Aug 2011 08:07
>
> At the beginning of this year, the Cuban government took a dramatic step away
from its socialist policies [untrue] of the past to break new ground: it began
privatising its economy to create private sector jobs and issued thousands of
licences for its citizens to start their own businesses.
> -------------------------
> [allowing more private sector jobs for individuals is not the same as
privatizing the economy. klw]
> -------------------------
>
> The ruling party [sic] dismissed 500,000 state employees in a bold experiment
to boost the state and provide an injection of funds into the stagnant economy.
> -------------------------
> [No it didn't. It announced that this number of surplus workers would be laid
off and offered jobs in other sectors. It has not laid off this number yet, and
it is not "to boost the state" but to make the overall Cuban economy -- which
involves and affects all the people -- more efficient. klw]
> -------------------------
>
> Over half a century since Fidel Castro began a socialist revolution, new
reforms will now allow Cubans to open restaurants, sell flowers, run beauty
salons and barber shops, and become budding entrepreneurs like never before.
> -------------------------
> [As though the preceding weren't negative enough -- read on....]
> -------------------------
> But not everyone is convinced that this attempt to overhaul the Soviet-style
economic model will bring much needed improvements to the country.
>
> Cuba still remains a one party state, poverty is rife, and political reform is
not on the agenda. The US trade embargo, lasting five decades, remains firmly in
place and sanctions
> -------------------------
> [note the writer doesn't say who imposes these sanctions. klw]
> -------------------------
> continue to affect its population. Yet for many, these reforms signify a fresh
start for Cubans, who are optimistic that this new progressive model may bring
the country out of isolation.
>
> -------------------------
> [Actually, Cuba isn't isolated; it has political relations with most countries
in the world, and trade relations with many -- despite the US 5-decades attempts
to coerce other countries into staying away from Cuba. If there were any doubt
about Cuba's so-called "isolation", just look at the nearly unanimous votes on
its behalf against the US blockade of Cuba each year at the UN General Assembly.
klw]
> -------------------------
>
> Filmmaker Rodrigo Vazquez has been examining how these new reforms are
affecting ordinary Cubans in this new chapter in the country's history.
>
> -------------------------
> [I wonder who "filmmaker Rodrigo Vazquez" is and where he's from. We don't
have to wonder about his political perspective -- that's pretty obvious. Al
Jazeera should try to get more objective and better informed reporters. klw]
> -------------------------
>
>
>       People & Power can be seen each week at the following times GMT:
Wednesday: 2230; Thursday: 0930; Friday: 0330; Saturday: 1630; Sunday: 2230;
Monday: 0930.
>
>       Click h
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
State lawmakers head to Cuba next week on trade mission

State Rep. Jack Franks is leading a trade mission to Cuba next week. (Tribune/E.
Jason Wambsgans)
By Ray Long

3:09 p.m. CDT, September 1, 2011

SPRINGFIELD— About a dozen state lawmakers are headed for Cuba next week for a
trip they hope will boost Illinois exports.

The six-day tour is being led by Rep. Jack Franks, D-Marengo, and Rep. Dan
Burke, D-Chicago. They said no taxpayer dollars will be spent on the excursion.
Franks said he will pay for the trip out of his own pocket, and Burke said he
and most of the other lawmakers will use campaign funds.

Franks, who chairs the House International Trade & Commerce Committee, said his
interest is in helping Illinois regain a market share in exports to Cuba. It
once peaked at $650 million in mostly agricultural products following George
Ryan's groundbreaking 1999 trip as the first sitting U.S. governor to go to Cuba
and meet with Fidel Castro, but Franks said now Illinois' exports to the island
nation are about one-tenth of what it was.

"We figured, if we went down, maybe we could re-establish these connections that
we had before that now seem to have fallen dormant," Franks said.

The lawmaker insisted the trip will "not at all" be a junket, saying the
itinerary is full. He has asked for a meeting with Cuban President Raul Castro
and expects to meet with the nation's trade officials.

Ryan went to Cuba during his first year as governor on what was billed as a
humanitarian mission but also was aimed at putting Illinois in position to be
looked at favorably should full trade relations open up.

The half-century-old U.S. trade embargo against Cuba remains in place, but the
Obama administration has loosened travel regulations to the standard first put
in place under President Bill Clinton and then turned back under President
George W. Bush.

Burke, who represents a Latino district on the Southwest Side, said his desire
is to help out the "state's desperate need for money."
Copyright © 2011, Chicago Tribune

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/clout/chi-state-lawmakers-head-to-cu\
ba-next-week-on-trade-mission-20110901,0,7506650.story#tugs_story_display

TAMPA TRIBUNE

First flights from Tampa to Cuba sold out
By TED JACKOVICS | The Tampa Tribune
Published: September 01, 2011

TAMPA --
The inaugural charter flights from Tampa International Airport to Havana next
week are sold out, airport officials said today, but reservations are available
for flights later in the month.

Two services are scheduled to fly weekly round-trips between Tampa and Cuba,
XAEL Charters using SkyKing Airlines aircraft on Thursdays and ABC Charters with
American Airlines aircraft on Saturdays.

A third charter service, Island Travel & tours, Ltd., plans Tampa-Havana flights
beginning in October.

The flights restore air service between Tampa and Cuba discontinued 50 years ago
after Cuba-U.S. political relations soured.

Cuba-U.S. charter air service has been allowed in recent years from Miami, New
York and Los Angeles.

Tampa International is one of eight in the United States and one in Puerto Rico
that gained government permission for Cuban charter flights this year.

On Tuesday, representatives of the three charter services, a dozen travel
agencies and the airport will gather in Ybor City to provide the public with
flight information. The program from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. is at The Cuban Club at
2010 Avenida Republica de Cuba.

In today's Thursday's Hillsborough County Aviation Authority board action:

Approved the fiscal 2012 budget projecting $178 million in operating revenue,
3.2 percent more than this year.

Voted 4-1, with Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn opposed, to overrule a staff
recommendation to hire Ricondo & Associates Inc., and instead approved HNTB
Corp., for $2.7 million in contracts for a master plan update and a plan to
enhance the main terminal's capacity. The primary rationale was that Ricondo
prepared the last master plan update and fresh eyes would be advantageous.

Noted that Frontier Airlines will resume flights at Tampa International serving
Milwaukee and Omaha in December. Frontier last year scheduled those flights from
St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport. Frontier also will serve Des
Moines from Tampa along with its Denver route.

Swore in Gov. Rick Scott appointee Robert Watkins, a Tampa certified public
accountant, to succeed Al Austin, who served 12 years on the board. Airport
chief executive Joe Lopano invited Austin to become the first member of the
newly formed "Friends Of Tampa International Airport," past board members
invited to return to the airport for regular briefings.

tjackovics@... (813) 259-7817

http://www2.tbo.com/news/business/2011/sep/01/first-flights-from-tampa-to-cuba-s\
old-out-ar-254610/

"During the jailhouse interview, Gross told a U.S. consular officer "that
(Cuban) officials quote, knew everything, end quote,"
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Cable recounts American's 1st contact in Cuba jail
By PETER ORSI, Associated Press – 4 hours ago

HAVANA (AP) — A USAID subcontractor sentenced to 15 years in jail in Cuba told
an American diplomat soon after his arrest that authorities had interrogated him
for two hours a day and were well aware of his activities on the island even
before the questioning, according to a leaked U.S. diplomatic cable from Havana.

Maryland native Alan Gross also said he had health problems but asked the U.S.
consular official to tell his loved ones he was in a good state of mind.

Gross asked the U.S. Interests Section in Havana to "relay to his family that
his sense of humor is intact, that he is worried about them and that he wants
his name kept out of the press," read the confidential dispatch from December
2009, leaked to WikiLeaks and separately obtained by The Associated Press.

Made public this week, it gave new details of U.S. consular officials' first
access to Gross during a jailhouse visit more than three weeks after he was
detained. Another cable shows a growing frustration among American officials who
said they issued several requests before the Cuban government allowed them to
see the prisoner.

Despite Gross' concerns about privacy, hundreds of news stories have been
written about his arrest in early December 2009 and conviction earlier this year
on charges of illegally importing banned communications equipment. His
imprisonment has become a major sticking point between Cold War foes Washington
and Havana, and dampened the prospects for improving relations.

Gross, 62, has said he was helping the island's tiny Jewish community improve
its online capabilities, although Jewish leaders in Havana have denied working
with him. Cuban officials including President Raul Castro have singled out the
case to criticize U.S. democracy-building programs that they say fund subversive
activity on the island and aim to undermine the communist government.

During the jailhouse interview, Gross told a U.S. consular officer "that (Cuban)
officials quote, knew everything, end quote, before he was taken into custody
and had asked for details of all his activities, i.e., the projects and
companies he had worked for in the 54 countries he had traveled to during his 30
year career," the cable said, an indication Gross felt the island's security
officials were monitoring him closely.

Gross asked whether any other U.S. citizens were in the same situation and
whether his case was comparable to that of the so-called Cuban Five, a reference
to the Cuban agents serving long prison terms in the United States for spying on
militant anti-Castro exile groups. The consul general "did not respond to either
of these questions," the cable said.

The message was dated Dec. 28, the same day as the visit, and sent out in the
name of Jonathan Farrar, who at the time was the chief U.S. diplomat on the
island.

Another cable sent Dec. 14, 2009, described a meeting between Farrar and the
Cuban Foreign Ministry's director of North American affairs, Josefina Vidal, in
which the latter promised consular access to Gross following two formal
requests.

In the meeting, Farrar mentioned that U.S. diplomats "had sent two diplomatic
notes requesting access to him, without response."

"Josefina Vidal said she had acted upon the first note but hadn't seen the
second" — a story that the cable's author called "unlikely."

Farrar stressed that "we need access to him per international conventions," and
Vidal promised access later that week, the dispatch said.

Gross told the consul during the Dec. 28 visit that he was suffering from
hypertension and an ulcer, and had fallen down and fainted, according to the
other cable. He said he was being treated well and respectfully, was not being
physically abused, and had been allowed to speak by phone to his wife, Judy,
twice since his arrest in early December.

"However, he did reveal that the interrogation schedule had been very intense at
first; he estimated that it had endured on average 2 hours daily," the cable
read.

Gross said personal effects including his passport, two cell phones, an iPod and
electronic adapters had been confiscated, and Cuban officials told him he was
being charged with "contraband."

The missive did not say where Gross was incarcerated at the time, but said that
he was sharing his cell with two other inmates and that the room had a
television and a fan. More recently, Gross has been at a military hospital in
the Cuban capital, according to people who have visited him.

Gross' final legal appeal was denied by the Cuban Supreme Court last month,
leaving the U.S. government and his family hoping for a possible release on
humanitarian grounds since several close family members have serious illnesses
and Gross has apparently lost about 100 pounds (45 kilos) while in custody.

The leak of a vast archive of diplomatic communication has embarrassed officials
around the world and even cost some their jobs, including the U.S. ambassador to
Mexico.

In Havana, U.S. Interests Section spokeswoman Gloria Berbena declined Thursday
to comment on specific cables or even confirm their authenticity as a matter of
government policy. Speaking generally, she said Washington "condemns the illegal
disclosure of classified information," which the government says puts
individuals' safety at risk, threatens national security, and harms diplomatic
efforts to work with countries on shared problems.

Cuba, meanwhile, has relished Washington's predicament, with former Cuban
President Fidel Castro hailing WikiLeaks and sites like it as the common man's
tool to greater worldwide transparency.

Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

JEWISH CHRONICLE
Rabbi visiting Cuba surprised by level of freedom on island
by Toby Tabachnick
Staff Writer The Jewish Chronicle
3 days ago | 525 views | 3  | 8  |  |


Rabbi David Novitsky visits a Jewish cemetery in Havana.
slideshow The community of about 1,000 Jews in Havana, Cuba, may be small, but
it is both cohesive and committed, according to Rabbi David Novitsky, who
recently returned from a mission there.

Novitsky, the spiritual leader of Beth Israel Congregation in Washington, Pa.,
traveled alone to Havana to transport pharmaceuticals to the city's Jewish
population, and to learn about Jewish life in the Communist country.

"I wanted to see the lifestyle, values and how synagogue life is affected by the
nature of the government," he said.

What he found surprised him.

"I saw a lot of freedom there," he said.

Visiting each of the three synagogues in the city, he was taken with such sights
as the display of the Israeli flag alongside that of Cuba, and twice daily
minyans at the Orthodox congregation.

"The Jews there pray the same way we do," Novitsky said, "praying for a return
to Zion, and praying for Israel.

"I didn't feel like I was in a Communist country," he added. "I was surprised.
You know that the state owns everything, but I felt pretty free walking around."

While poverty is prevalent in Havana, many people have businesses on the side,
he said, while the government seems to look the other way.

The three synagogues — one Orthodox, one Conservative, and one Reform — all have
services on Shabbat. Challah is baked weekly in the Orthodox synagogue, and
provided to members of other congregations. Kosher meat is for sale once a month
from a storefront butcher.

"The Jewish community is pretty much connected, even though they have different
observances," Novitsky noted. "The Orthodox and Conservative and Reform are all
in the same boat. It's not like here. They all know each other — the Sephardic
and the Ashkenazi. There are no walls there."

(Toby Tabachnick can be reached at tobyt@....)



Read more: The Jewish Chronicle - Rabbi visiting Cuba surprised by level of
freedom on island

Lee Baily's Electronic Urban Report
http://www.eurweb.com/?p=128890

Glenn's Strategies for Well-Being:
The Plight of Black Doctors in USA
by Glenn Ellis

September 1, 2011 at 10:02 am Comments (0)


*One of the most pressing health care challenges facing the nation is the
critical need for more minority physicians. In the next 15 years, the nation is
projected to confront an overall shortage of physicians, but the need is, and
will continue to be, particularly great for minority physicians.

By 2050, racial and ethnic minorities are projected to account for half of the
U.S. population. While blacks represent roughly 13% of the U.S. population, less
than 3% of the nation's 1 million doctors and medical students are black.

Studies also indicate that when minority patients can select a health care
professional, they are more likely to choose someone of their own racial and
ethnic background. Higher levels of trust, respect, and the increased likelihood
that patients will recommend their physician to others also characterize
relationships between patients and physicians of the same race or ethnic
background. Exposure to racial and ethnic diversity in medical school
contributes importantly to the cultural competence of all of tomorrow's doctors.

Black communities suffer greatly in the aspects of proper health care coverage
as well as caring and quality health care providers. Potentially, there are many
great black doctors and other medical professionals untrained and waiting in the
trenches due to lack of the economic resources necessary to penetrate the
sturdily built walls of being enrolled in many U.S. medical schools.

The underrepresentation of blacks in the health professions is a concern for
reasons of social equality, but also because members of the black community may
have unique health care needs that may be better addressed and more successfully
treated by black health care professionals who are knowledgeable about cultural
aspects of health and care.   Blacks have significantly more health problems
than other groups, including high rates of diabetes, heart disease, prostate
cancer, HIV/AIDS, breast cancer, and infant mortality, according to the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services.

If black doctors possess some comparative advantage in treating black patients,
the underrepresentation of black doctors would have a direct effect on health
outcomes in the black community and the racial gaps in health.

One of the many barriers preventing an increase in the number of black doctors
is the cost of going to medical school.

Doctors in the U.S. now graduate owing more than $155,000 on average, and 86
percent have some debt — are why so many doctors shun primary care in favor of
highly paid specialties, where there are incentives to give expensive treatments
and order expensive tests, an important driver of rising health care costs.

Like I said, that's the "average debt". For most newly trained doctors in the
U.S., this is usually a higher debt. For example, I went to Harvard Medical
School's website, out of curiosity, and was shocked by what I saw:

"An estimate of yearly expenses shows that the average cost for an unmarried
first-year student will be approximately $73,000 for the 2011-2012 academic
year. This estimate includes tuition, health service fee and insurance premium,
room and board, books, travel, transportation to clinical sites, laundry, and
incidentals. Students whose homes are outside the northeast region of the United
States may experience travel costs beyond the scope of this estimate."

Couple this with the depressing state of education for blacks in the U.S., and
you come up with a rather dismal outlook! The education of blacks and some other
minorities lags behind those of other U.S. ethnic groups, such as Whites and
Asian Americans, as reflected by test scores, grades, urban high school
graduation rates, rates of disciplinary action, and rates of conferral of
undergraduate degrees.

The percentage of African-American physicians in the United States has remained
constant over the last 30 years at 3.9 percent of all physicians, while the
percentage of international medical school graduates (IMGs) providing medical
care in the United States has increased dramatically over this same time-period
to 23%.

Among the stunning differences between the U.S. and Cuban systems is the
liberation many doctors there feel with the absence of a profit motive. Plus,
patients can visit their doctors as often as they wish and there are no
constraints upon the amount of time and attention a doctor is able to offer
them.

With a life expectancy of 76.9 years, Cuba ranks 28th in the world, just behind
the US. However, its spending per person on health care is one of the lowest in
the world, at $186, or about 1/25 the spending of the United States.

In Cuba health care is considered a right, yet in this country it is a privilege
with access and quality of service rationed according to a person's ability to
pay.

This is not to say that the Cuban system is perfect. Not all of its physicians
are delighted to have an income comparable to that of, say, a minimally skilled
laborer, and perhaps less than a waiter or taxi driver who earns tips.

But Cuba has quelled most of the infectious and childhood diseases that plague
Third World countries. Infant mortality is under 4.4 percent – better than in
the U.S., and the life expectancy of around 78 years compares favorably with
this country, according to the CIA World Fact book. I admit, it is ironic that
Cubans die from the same causes as do those in wealthy countries, such as cancer
and heart disease, rather than infection, malnutrition, early childhood
diseases, accidents and other maladies associated with countries that have a
similarly low per capita income.

Although there are more doctors and nurses, percentage-wise, than in the U.S.,
in Cuba clinical supplies like medications are in short supply, largely due to
the U.S. embargo, which has been in place since 1960. The country has
incorporated inexpensive indigenous herbal medicines and alternative treatments
such as acupuncture into the delivery of routine health care. Cuba's ubiquitous
multi-service medical centers, or "polyclinics," have technicians trained in the
rudimentary applications of these treatments.

Recently, I attended a fundraiser, at Vivant Art Collection, for a young black
woman, Veronica Flake, preparing to return for her 3rd year of medical school.

The relevance to this column you ask?

Born and raised in North Philadelphia, and educated in Philadelphia's public
school system, Veronica is a medical school at ELAM (Escuela Latinoamericana de
Medicina).

Established in 1999 and operated by the Cuban government, ELAM has been
described as possibly being the largest medical school in the world by
enrollment, with approx. 10,000 or 12,000 students from 27 or 29 countries
reported as enrolled. All those enrolled are international students from outside
Cuba and mainly come from Latin America and the Caribbean as well as Africa.
Tuition, accommodation and board are free!

What's the catch?

ELAM's mission is dedicated to the training of general practitioners and primary
healthcare providers for impoverished communities outside Cuba. It is preferred
that ELAM students come from the poorest communities with the intent of
returning to practice in those areas in their countries. Initially only
enrolling students from Latin America and the Caribbean, the school has also
become open to applicants from impoverished and/or medically underserved areas
in the United States and Africa.

Preference is given to applicants who are financially needy and/or people of
color who show the most commitment to working in their poor communities.

Cuba began to train US medical students after members of the Congressional Black
Caucus met with then President Fidel Castro in 2000.

Congressman Bennie Thompson of Mississippi told Fidel Castro about the problems
in areas of his legislative district that suffered an acute shortage of doctors.

The leader of the Revolution responded by offering scholarships to 500 US young
people to attend the Latin American Medical School, founded in November 1999 to
provide medical studies for youth of the region, an idea later extended to
Africans and Asians.

Having lectured and presented at several symposiums many times over the years
(legally, I should add), I have met scores of young black medical students form
all over the U.S., preparing to become doctors, so they can return home to serve
on the communities from which they come. Without this option, many of them would
never realize their dream of practicing medicine.

Many of Veronica's friends and family turned out to support her, and having
never met her, but understanding the path she was on, I attended to show my
support, and express my hope. She represents yet another effort to fundamentally
address the inequities in healthcare and medicine, which disproportionately
touch the lives of blacks in the U.S.

A fundamental requirement of admission to ELAM is that students demonstrate a
commitment to working in distressed communities. Another requirement is being
able to document a history of commitment to social justice. While ELAM has 500
positions slotted for U.S. students, only 117 were filled as of April 2010.


Want to go to medical school but don't have the money? Here's an
opportunity…

Remember, I'm not a doctor. I just sound like one.

Take good care of yourself and live the best life possible!


Glenn Ellis,  is a Health Advocacy Communications Specialist. He is the author
of Which Doctor?, and is  a health columnist and radio commentator who lectures,
and is an active media contributor nationally and internationally on health
related topics.

His second book, "Information is the Best Medicine", is due out in Fall, 2011.

For more good health information, visit: www.glennellis.com

SOUTH JOURNAL
Hugo Chavez says Fidel Castro Sent him Encouraging Message

September 2, 2011

South Journal.- Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez said that he received a message
of encouragement from Cuban Revolution leader Fidel Castro.

In a phone conversation with the TV show "Dando y Dando," Chavez explained that
Fidel devotes every minute to him. "Today, he sent in a very encouraging message
and greetings to the Venezuelan people (…) I´m telling you what has come from
Havana, since it is a message full with feelings and affection."

Chavez said that his affection for his compatriots is what really keeps his
spirit high and hopeful. He said that by midday September 2, he will conclude
his third chemo session and then he will be ready to be discharged from the
Carlos Arvelo Military Hospital, where he has been receiving his treatment.

The Bolivarian President told his people: "let´s protect the peace of the world;
here in Venezuela, peace means socialism."

Source: Venezuela´s Foreign Ministry

Parliament president calls for "complete eradication" of racism in Cuba

http://www.walterlippmann.com/docs3262.html
Google translation. Revised by Walter Lippmann

HAVANA, Aug 24 2011 (AFP) - Cuba's parliament speaker, Ricardo Alarcon,  called
for "the  complete eradication" of racial prejudices that persist on the island
and said that the issue will be addressed at a conference of the Communist Party
in January, according to an interview released Wednesday.

"Committees (legislative) must ensure that all agencies and entities of the
country properly taken into account the ethnic dimension and work to completely
eradicate any form of discrimination," Alarcón said in the interview with the
digital portal

Alarcon called for "much progress in the battle for equality, against racism and
discrimination," and said that the issue of representation of blacks and
mestizos in the power structures on the island "will feature prominently at the
conference "national Communist Party (PCC) to be held in January.

President Raul Castro "has spoken of the importance of changing mindsets," "has
been very clear and transparent" and "will not rest until, blacks and women
fully exercise equal rights," Alarcon said.

He stressed that "this means working hard to educate people and also to monitor
the policy frame (relay) rationally promote blacks and women, preferably youth."

The Cuban leader praised the legislative program on Cuban television which in
2010 tried to open up the topic. "I saw that show and I think there should be
many others to address the issue and not just on television," but "in the press
and the country's education system," he said.

Cuba, with 35% of its 11.2 million blacks or mestizos has an intense debate
about the persistence and new manifestations of racism, despite laws and
policies aimed at their elimination.

The black Cuban academic, Esteban Morales argues that blacks and mulattoes will 
be most affected by the removal of a million state jobs that President Raul
Castro has discussed, as part of reforms to make the island's economic model
more efficient.


The full interview, in Spanish:
http://www.cubarte.cult.cu/periodico/entrevistas/19689/19689.html

  	  	 Presidente de Parlamento pide "erradicar completamente" el racismo en Cuba


LA HABANA, 24 Ago 2011 (AFP) - El presidente del Parlamento de Cuba, Ricardo
Alarcón", llamó a "erradicar completamente" los prejuicios raciales que
persisten en la isla y adelantó que el tema será abordado en una conferencia del
Partido Comunista en enero, según una entrevista divulgada este miércoles.

"Las comisiones (legislativas) deben asegurarse de que todos los organismos y
entidades del país tomen debidamente en cuenta la dimensión étnica y trabajen
para erradicar completamente cualquier forma de discriminación", dijo Alarcón,
en la entrevista publicada por el portal digital <http://www.cubarte.cult.cu>  .

Alarcón abogó por "avanzar mucho más en la batalla por la igualdad, contra el
racismo y la discriminación", y adelantó que el tema de la representatividad de
los negros y mestizos en las estructuras de poder en la isla "estará muy
presente en la conferencia nacional" que el Partido Comunista (PCC, único)
celebrará en enero próximo.

El presidente Raúl Castro "ha habado de la importancia de cambiar mentalidades",
"ha sido muy claro y transparente" y "no descansará hasta que, en cuanto al
negro y la mujer, sea realidad el ejercicio pleno de la igualdad de derechos",
dijo Alarcón.

Destacó que "eso significa trabajar mucho en educar a la gente y al mismo tiempo
vigilar para que en la política de cuadros (relevo) se promueva efectiva y
racionalmente a mujeres y negros preferentemente jóvenes".

El jefe del legislativo cubano elogió un programa de la televisión cubana que en
2010 trató abiertamente el tema. "Vi ese programa y pienso que debería haber
muchos otros para abordar el tema y no sólo en la televisión", sino "en la
prensa escrita y en el sistema de educación del país", apuntó.

Cuba, con 35% de sus 11,2 millones de habitantes negros o mestizos, vive un
intenso debate sobre la persistencia y nuevas manifestaciones del racismo, pese
a leyes y políticas que buscan su eliminación.

El académico negro cubano, Esteban Morales, sostiene que los negros y mulatos
serán los más afectados por la eliminación de un millón de empleos estatales que
aplica el presidente Raúl Castro, como parte de las reformas para hacer
eficiente el agotado modelo económico de la isla.

http://www.noticias24.com/actualidad/noticia/303119/presidente-de-parlamento-pid\
e-erradicar-completamente-el-racismo-en-cuba/

National Committee To Free The Cuban Five

New evidence in legal briefs of
Gerardo, Ramón and Antonio
exposes U.S. government misconduct

     "Ramón and The Five should not have to defend against accusations broadcast
into the airwaves and reproduced in the press by journalists who pretend to be
independent, but in fact are being paid by the very Government that is
prosecuting the victims of their stories. The motion filed on behalf of Ramón
seeks an opportunity for redress of the injuries suffered because the Government
did not disclose the fact that they were paying supposedly independent
journalists. Had this fact been disclosed at the time, the lawyer for Ramón
would have sought to protect his client from the influence of this tainted
journalism."

     -- William M. Norris, attorney for Ramón Labañino

GERARDO 2011 CROP "The government's conduct -- funding a propaganda campaign in
the venue of the trial -- constitutes an unprecedented violation of a criminal
defendant's right to a fair trial, and calls out for a remedy."

--Reply of Gerardo Hernández to United States' Response in Opposition to his
Motion to Vacate, Set Aside, or Correct Judgment and Sentence, Under 28 U.S.C. §
2255

"The government putting news reporters and TV commentators on its payroll to
generate inflammatory and highly prejudicial news permeating the Miami-Dade
community, constituted a deliberate and serious breach of its promise to do
justice. ... the government's conduct was so outrageous and deceitful warranting
the imposition of the most severe sanction -- dismissal of the indictment in the
underlying criminal case.

Memorandum for Ramón Labañino in Support of Motion to Vacate, Set Aside, or
Correct Judgment and Sentence Under 28 U.S.C. § 2255

From the National Committee to Free the Cuban Five:

Various legal briefs have been filed in mid-August, by the attorneys for Gerardo
Hernández, Ramón Labañino and Antonio Guerrero, for their Habeas Corpus appeals.
A critical issue has been raised in all three appeals: that of the egregious
U.S. government misconduct in paying tens of thousands of dollars to purported
independent Miami journalists, while those reporters filled the newspapers and
airwaves with unsubstantiated and highly prejudicial propaganda against the
Cuban Five, during their prosecution.

Lawyers for the Five have presented compelling arguments for immediate relief,
largely based on the research conducted by the National Committee to Free the
Cuban Five, regarding the Miami journalists. The National Committee and
supporters of the Five worldwide, continue to demand their immediate freedom.


Contact us: info@...
Or call: 415-821-6545
Web: http://www.freethefive.org
http://www.facebook.com/FreeTheFive

This is a link to the cable in which Mr. Gross stated that "they know
everything."--------------------------------------------------------------------\
---------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/09/01/122855/cable-us-reports-on-consular-visit.\
html

Diplomatic Cable

id: 241825 date: 12/28/2009 20:45 refid: 09HAVANA772 origin: US Interests
Section Havana classification: CONFIDENTIAL destination: header: VZCZCXYZ0028 OO
RUEHWEB DE RUEHUB #0772/01 3622045 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 282045Z DEC 09 FM USINT
HAVANA TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5053 ----------------- header ends
---------------

C O N F I D E N T I A L HAVANA 000772 SIPDIS DEPT FOR WHA/CCA ALSO FOR CA/OCS
DEPT PASS TO NSC E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/27/2019 TAGS: CASC, PREL, PGOV, CU
SUBJECT: FIRST CONSULAR VISIT TO ALAN PHILIP GROSS

Classified By: COM Jonathan Farrar for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 1. (C) SUMMARY:
Consul General Martha Melzow visited arrested Amcit Philip Alan Gross on Monday,
December 28 at Villa Marista. Although Gross was arrested on December 3,
consular access was not granted by the GOC until December 24. Gross told Congen
that he is charged with contraband. He appeared to be in good spirits although
suffering from high blood pressure. Gross signed a Privacy Act Waiver (PAW) for
his wife, his lawyer and Jack McCarthy of DAI. END SUMMARY

2. f(t_ --------------

4. (C) Gross said that the tests revealed high blood pressure as well as the
existence of a duodenal ulcer for which he is receiving medication. Gross is
currently taking five prescriptions, three for the ulcer, one for hypertension
and one for elevated levels of uric acid in his urine. He said he had not
experienced hypertension prior to his arrest, and hoped that he would be off the
medication soon, because he felt that it was affecting his clear-headedness and
balance.

Gross mentioned that he had fallen down and also fainted, and that he needed to
stand up from a sitting position slowly. Gross commented to the CG that he had
lost 30 pounds, noting that he was trying to limit the amount of carbohydrates
in his diet. He observed that he was given lettuce and fresh fruit to eat and
joked that good health seemed to be a very important concept for the prison.
(COMMENT: Post will request another visit soonest to address these health
concerns. END COMMENT.) ARREST CONDITIONS ----------------

5. (C) Gross declared that he was being treated well and was not physically
abused by GOC officials. However, he did reveal that the interrogation schedule
had been very intense at first; he estimated that it had endured on average 2
hours daily. He repeated that GOC officials had treated him with respect. His
cell has a television and a fan; however, he expressed concern about having to
share it with two other individuals. He told the CGthat although he was wearing
his own clothes, this was the first day he had been allowed to use a belt and
shoelaces. Gross said that he had been permitted outside for a walk in the
organic garden belonging to the prison. He confirmed that he had spoken twice by
telephone with his wife on December 6 and December 23.

6. (C) When queried by the CG as to what he was charged with, Gross said quote
contraband end quote with no further clarification. Gross stated that his
personal effects at the time of his arrest consisted of a rolling suitcase, a
backpack and that he had been carrying two cell phones, an IPOD, his CityBank
password decoder and some electronic adaptors, in addition to toiletries and his
U.S. passport which had been confiscated by Cuban authorities.

7. (C) The CG relayed the message from his family: that they were well, that
they had retained an American lawyer for him and that the attorney was trying to
secure Cuban counsel for him. At that point Gross pulled the business card of a
Cuban attorney who had come to visit him (Armanda Nuria Pinero Sierra of the
firm Bufete de Servicios Especializados or Law Firm of Specialized Services). He
asked that post clarify with his U.S. lawyer that they would handle finding him
an attorney so he did not have to worry about it.

8. (C) The CG gave Gross the funds which his wife had sent via OCS trust and
also informed him that a box of supplies including energy bars, multi-vitamins,
and reading material as well as some toiletries and other items, had been left
with GOC officials for his use. The visit lasted about an hour. GOC officials
expressed surprise that it had not lasted longer.

9. (C) Comment: Gross wanted to know if the CG knew about his activities. She
said she did not. He then said that anyone could do a Google search on the
Internet and find out what he had been doing in his career. He told the CG that
the GOC officials quote knew everything end quote before he was taken into
custody and had asked for details of all his activities, i.e., the projects and
companies he had worked for in the 54 countries he had travelled to during his
30 year career. He asked the CG if there were other Americans in the same
situation, i.e., other Amcits entering Cuba on the same type of program who had
been detained. He also asked the CG if his case might be compared in any way to
that of the Cuban Five. The CG did not respond to either of these
questions.Finally, Gross asked that post relay to his family that his sense of
humor is intact, that he is worried about them and that he wants his name kept
out of the press. He also said that he wanted to thank everyone for all the
efforts being made on his behalf. FARRAR
=======================

CABLE ENDS
============================

Read more:
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/09/01/122855/cable-us-reports-on-consular-visit.\
html#ixzz1Wk4kYiz0

FYI--Norman
Note: The African Union has reportedly withheld recognition from the NTC
partly because of these reports. We don not know what is CARICOM's position,
Norman


    - Comment is free <http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree>

   Libya's spectacular revolution has been disgraced by racism

The murder of black men in the aftermath of the rebellion speaks of a
society deeply divided for decades by Muammar Gaddafi

    -
       -
       -
       -
      
<http://www.reddit.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.uk%2Fcommentisfre\
e%2F2011%2Faug%2F30%2Flibya-spectacular-revolution-disgraced-racism&title=>
reddit
      
this<http://www.reddit.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guardian.co.uk%2Fcommenti\
sfree%2F2011%2Faug%2F30%2Flibya-spectacular-revolution-disgraced-racism&title=>
    - Comments
(355)<http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/aug/30/libya-spectacular-revo\
lution-disgraced-racism#start-of-comments>


    -  [image: Richard Seymour]
    <http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/richard-seymour>
    -
       -  Richard Seymour <http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/richard-seymour>
       - guardian.co.uk <http://www.guardian.co.uk/>, Tuesday 30 August 2011
       17.10 BST
       - Article
history<http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/aug/30/libya-spectacular-re\
volution-disgraced-racism?INTCMP=SRCH#history-link-box>
     [image: Two men accused mercenaries Tripoli]
    Men accused of being mercenaries fighting for Muammar Gaddafi sit in a
    rebel vehicle in Tripoli. Photograph: Youssef Boudlal/Reuters

    "This is a bad time to be a black man in Libya," reported Alex
Thomson<http://youtu.be/EhshGX4x3rY>on Channel 4 News on Sunday.
Elsewhere, Kim
    Sengupta reported for the
Independent<http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/rebels-settle-scores-\
in-libyan-capital-2344671.html>on
the 30 bodies lying decomposing in Tripoli. The majority of them,
    allegedly mercenaries for Muammar Gaddafi, were black. They had been killed
    at a makeshift hospital, some on stretchers, some in an ambulance. "Libyan
    people don't like people with dark skins," a militiaman
explained<http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/libyans-dont-like-peopl\
e-with-dark-skin-but-some-are-innocent-2345859.html>in
reference to the arrests of black men.

    The basis of this is rumours, disseminated early in the rebellion, of
    African mercenaries being unleashed on the opposition. Amnesty
    International's Donatella Rivera was among researchers who examined this
    allegation and found no evidence for it. Peter Bouckaert of Human Rights
    Watch similarly had not "identified one
mercenary"<http://www.theage.com.au/world/africans-targeted-as-rebels-hunt-merce\
naries-20110305-1bivv.html>among
the scores of men being arrested and falsely labelled by journalists
    as such.

    Lurking behind this is racism. Libya is an African nation – however, the
    term "Africans" is used in Libya to reference the country's black minority.
    The Amnesty International researcher Diana
Eltahawy<http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2011/0829/In-Tripoli-African\
-mercenaries-at-risk>says
that the rebels taking control of Libya have tapped into "existing
    xenophobia". The New York Times refers to "racist
overtones"<http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/24/world/africa/24fog.html?_r=2&pagewa\
nted=all>,
    but sometimes the racism is explicit. A rebel
slogan<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304887904576395143328336026\
.html>painted
in Misrata during the fighting salutes "the brigade for purging
    slaves, black skin". A consequence of this racism has been mass
arrests<http://articles.latimes.com/2011/mar/24/world/la-fg-libya-prisoners-2011\
0324>of
black
   
men<http://www.theage.com.au/world/africans-targeted-as-rebels-hunt-mercenaries-\
20110305-1bivv.html>,
    and gruesome
killings<http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iguwImnkLDagEFqL5wmgh\
AzQYxsA?docId=96d60e2881b7421ba4c6214324af1170>–
just some
    of the
various<http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jSpsLoDHEaqekqcHUHKBz\
A5YGaZQ?docId=CNG.c12c140bd2e4fc0a6a87ad853c05ac1c.3f1>
atrocities
    that human rights organisations blame rebels
for.<http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/13/world/africa/13libya.html>The
racialisation of this conflict does not end with hatred of "Africans".
   
Graffiti<http://www.npr.org/blogs/pictureshow/2011/04/17/135435354/gadhafi-graff\
iti-in-libya?ft=1&f=1009>by
rebels frequently depicted Gaddafi as a demonic Jew.

    How did it come to this? A spectacular revolution, speaking the language
    of democracy and showing tremendous courage in the face of brutal
    repression, has been disgraced. Racism did not begin with the rebellion –
    Gaddafi's regime exploited 2 million migrant workers while discriminating
    against
them<http://www.alternet.org/world/150350/libyan_uprising_fueling_racism_against\
_black_africans/>–
but it has suffused the rebels' hatred of the violently authoritarian
    regime they have just replaced.

    An explanation for this can be found in the weaknesses of the revolt
    itself. The upsurge beginning on 17 February hinged on an alliance between
    middle class human rights activists and the working classes in eastern
    cities such as Benghazi. Rather than wilting under repression, the rebellion
    spread to new towns and cities. Elements of the regime, seeing the writing
    on the wall, began to defect. Military leaders, politicians and sections of
    business and academia sided with the rebels.

    But the trouble was that the movement was almost emerging from nowhere.
    Unlike in Egypt, where a decade of activism and labour insurgency had
    cultivated networks of activists and trade unionists capable of outfoxing
    the dictatorship, Libya was not permitted a minimal space for civil society
    opposition. As a result, there was no institutional structure able to
    express this movement, no independent trade union movement, and certainly
    little in the way of an organised left. Into this space stepped those who
    had the greatest resources – the former regime notables, businessmen and
    professionals, as well as exiles. It was they who formed the National
    Transitional Council (NTC).

    The dominance of relatively conservative elites and the absence of
    countervailing pressures skewed the politics of the rebellion. We hear of
    "the masses", and "solidarity". But masses can be addressed on many grounds
    – some reactionary. There are also many bases for solidarity – some
    exclusionary. The scapegoating of black workers makes sense from the
    perspective of elites. For them, Libya was not a society divided on class
    lines from which many of them had profited. It was united against a usurper
    inhabiting an alien compound and surviving through foreign power. Instead,
    the more success Gaddafi had in stabilising his regime, the more the
    explanation for this relied on the claim that "Gaddafi is killing us with
    his
Africans<http://tomathon.com/mphp/2011/02/libyas-african-mercenary-problem/>".

    A further, unavoidable twist is the alliance with Nato. The February
    revolt involved hundreds of thousands of people across Libya. By early March
    the movement was in retreat, overseas special forces were entering Libya,
    and senior figures in the rebellion called for external intervention.
    Initially isolated, they gained credibility as Gaddafi gained ground. As a
    result, the initiative passed from a very large popular base to a relatively
    small number of armed fighters under the direction of the NTC and Nato. It
    was the rebel army that subsequently took the lead in persecuting black
    workers.

    Under different conditions, perhaps, unity between the oppressed was
    possible. But this would probably have required a more radical alliance, one
    as potentially perilous for those now grooming themselves for office as for
    Gaddafi. As it is, the success of the rebels contains a tragic defeat. The
    original emancipatory impulse of February 17 lies, for now, among the
    corpses of "Africans" in Tripoli.


Sent from
August 30, 2011
Better Not Be Black
The New Libya
by PATRICK COCKBURN
*Tripoli.*
Yassin Bahr, a tall thin Senegalese in torn blue jeans, volubly denies that
he was ever a mercenary or fought for Muammar Gaddafi.
Speaking in quick nervous sentences, Mr Bahr tries to convince a suspicious
local militia leader in charge of the police station in the Faraj district
of Tripoli, that he is a building worker who has been arrested simply
because of his color. “I liked Gaddafi, but I never fought for him,” Mr Bahr
says, adding that he had worked in Libya for three years laying tiles.
But the Libyan rebels are hostile to black Africans in general. One of the
militiamen, who have been in control of the police station since the police
fled, said simply: “Libyan people don’t like people with dark skins, though
some of them may be innocent.”
Going by Mr Bahr’s experience, any black African in Libya is open to summary
arrest unless he can prove that he was not a member of Colonel Gaddafi’s
forces.
Fathi, a building contractor who did not want to give his full name and was
temporarily running the police station, wanted to know why Mr Bahr had a
special residence permit that an immigrant worker would not normally obtain.
“You must have been fighting for Gaddafi to have a permit like this,” he
said. Mr Bahr said that three years earlier he had walked through the Sahara
and crossed the Libyan border illegally with other West Africans looking for
work. They had been picked up by the Libyan police, but he had eventually
bribed them to get a residence permit. He had been watching television with
nine other African immigrants when they were arrested, though no arms were
found in the house.
Racism against black Africans and Libyans with dark skin has long simmered
in Libya. Before the war there were estimated to be a million illegal
immigrants in the country, which has a population of six million and a
workforce of 1.7 million.
In 2000 there were anti-immigrant riots in which dozens of workers from
countries like Ghana, Cameroon, Niger, Chad, Nigeria and Burkina Faso were
killed. The war has deepened racial hostility. The rebels claim that many of
Colonel Gaddafi’s soldiers were black African mercenaries. Amnesty
International says these allegations are largely unproven and, from the
beginning of the conflict, many of those arrested or, in some cases,
executed by the rebels were undocumented laborers caught in the wrong place
at the wrong time.
But there is no doubt that all black Africans are now under suspicion. The
head of the militia in Faraj, a short bearded man in a brown robe named
Issam, explained how well-prepared local insurgents had taken over the area
on  August 19, telling Colonel Gaddafi’s supporters to hand over their
weapons and stay at home. There was almost no resistance from the
demoralised regime and few people had been arrested. Then Issam added, as an
aside, that his men had also detained “tens of Africans whom we sent off to
prison”. He did not explain why they had been jailed.
Black African immigrants in the past benefited from Gaddafi’s aspiration to
be a pan-African leader. The position of illegal immigrants was always
uncertain, but they were essential to the economy. With the fall of Gaddafi,
those who have not already fled face persecution or even murder. Last
weekend 30 bodies of mostly black men, several of them handcuffed and others
already wounded, were found after an apparent mass execution at a roundabout
near Gaddafi’s Bab al-Aziziya headquarters.
Issam, the temporary chief of police, insisted that Mr Bahr had not been
mistreated and was being fed well. Any interview with a prisoner must come
with a warning, since he or she are unlikely to speak freely about their
treatment while still under arrest. Mr Bahr confirmed that he was being well
treated, but he did look very frightened.
*Patrick Cockburn** is the author of
Muqtada<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1416551476/counterpunchmaga>
*
  my iPhone


--
Norman Girvan
Trinidad & Tobago
Tel. 868-628-9429
Mobile 868-782-9260
Internet http://normangirvan.info
Twitter http://twitter.com/normangirvan


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Thistle is the thing Pablo whom I respect and admire tons is entitled like he
says to make his point, but so are those of us who don't buy for a minute the
intentions of those bent on toppling the revolution, if he wants to be able to
dish while ignoring that his words will be manipulated by the enemies of the
revolution then he should at least expect principled criticism

Sent from my mobile device which most likely means I have not given it the time,
effort and affection you so clearly deserve:)

On 2011-08-31, at 9:36 AM, "arnold.august" <arnold.august@...> wrote:

> To follow up what I just posted, here the Ladies in White also know as many on
the island that, as in their latest declaration thanking Pablito for his
support, say that "he has always been very different than other Cuban artists",
the original spanish Pablo Milanés siempre ha sido muy diferente al resto de
los artistas cubanos."
> Read more:
http://www.elnuevoherald.com/2011/08/30/1014829/damas-de-blanco-agradecen-solida\
ridad.html#ixzz1Wc47cmkW
>
> It will surely come out in English today.
> ======================================================
>
> --- In CubaNews@yahoogroups.com, stansfield smith <stansfieldsmith@...> wrote:
> >
> > Milanes had a great opportunity to defend freedom for political prisoners by
saying something for the Cuban 5, but evidently, he chose not to.
> > ==================================================
> >
> > From: Walter Lippmann <walterlx@...>
> > To: CubaNews <CubaNews@yahoogroups.com>
> > Sent: Tuesday, August 30, 2011 9:57 PM
> > Subject: [CubaNews] AP: Cuban singer Milanes knocks attacks on 'Ladies'
> >
> >
> >
> > YOU NEED TO READ THIS ALL THE WAY THROUGH. NOTE THIS:
> >
> > "My 53 years of revolutionary militancy give me the right,
> > which very few exercise in Cuba, to express myself with
> > the freedom that my principles require," he added. "That
> > freedom means I have no mortal commitment to the Cuban
> > leaders, whom I have admired and respected. But they are
> > not gods and I am no fanatic, and when I feel I can make
> > a criticism and say no, I say so without fear or reservations."
> > ===========================================================
> > Cuban singer Milanes knocks attacks on 'Ladies'
> > AUGUST 30, 2011, 5:19 P.M. ET
> >
> > Associated Press
> >
> > MIAMI â€" Cuban singer-songwriter Pablo Milanes has criticized harassment
of a leading Cuban dissident group, saying insults and obscenities routinely
hurled by pro-government crowds at the Ladies in White during their protest
marches are "vile" and "cowardly."
> >
> > In an open letter published Tuesday in Miami's El Nuevo Herald, Milanes said
one may not agree with the Ladies, but he disapproves of how they've been
treated at times by rowdy, government supporters. He urged others on the island
to speak out. The public comments drew attention for their outspokenness and
came just days after the Havana resident performed his first concert in Miami,
before several thousand people.
> >
> > "When I see that some women dressed in white protest in the street and are
mistreated by men and women, I cannot help but be ashamed and indignant," the
68-year-old singer wrote in a clear reference to the group.
> >
> > Milanes, one of the celebrated founders of Cuba's "nueva trova" musical
movement, has long maintained he is loyal to the Cuban Revolution. But he has
also at times advocated for more freedoms on the island and been critical of the
government. In 2010 he publicly backed a dissident hunger striker who was
demanding the release of political prisoners.
> >
> > Weeks before his concert, he told The Associated Press he still believe
socialism is a more humane and just than capitalism, but that "socialism as it
has been conducted until now have demonstrated the opposite."
> >
> > The Ladies in White formed in 2003, following the arrest of 75 dissidents,
most of whom have since been freed and left the country. They are appealing for
more political freedoms and the release of the last prisoners. They march each
Sunday. Usually, their quiet protests are uneventful, but on occasion large
crowds come out to taunt the women with shouts of "Worms!" and "Get out!" Cuban
officials insist that the counter-protests are spontaneous, though little is
done to hide coordination with state security officials also present.
> >
> > "The most vile and cowardly thing is for a horde of supposed revolutionaries
to ruthlessly attack these women," Milanes wrote. This "does not mean I disagree
with Fidel (Castro), nor does it mean I agree with the Ladies in White."
> >
> > Dissidents have increasingly complained of harassment and rough treatment in
recent weeks, including the reported weekend arrest of more two-dozen people in
the southeastern city of Santiago de Cuba, including members of the local
chapter of the Ladies.
> >
> > Cuban state media, which rarely mention dissident groups except to accuse
the dissidents of being "mercenaries" hired by Washington, have not reported the
arrests, and they could not be independently confirmed. But exile groups in
Miami said relatives of those arrested over the weekend were planning sit-ins.
> >
> > In the letter, Milanes also said he was saddened and embarrassed by what he
views as a "complicit silence" among fellow artists and others who are afraid to
openly criticize the government.
> >
> > The two-time Grammy winner, most famous for ballads like "Yolanda",
performed in Miami on Aug. 27.
> >
> > "Upon my return to Havana," wrote Milanes, "I say to the Cuban
intellectuals, to the artists, to the musicians, and to the high-level state
officials, don't whisper in my ear: "I'm with you but...."
> >
> > There was no immediate government response in Havana to Milanes' letter.
> >
> > Milanes' comments about the Ladies in White came in response to a column
last week by journalist Edmundo Garcia, who co-hosts a Miami radio show with a
charter flight company owner who is one of the foremost advocates of travel to
Cuba.
> >
> > Garcia criticized Milanes for telling U.S. media he sympathized with the
Ladies in White and was no longer a "Fidelista." Garcia also mocked the singer
for failing to criticize the exile community and for eschewing pro-revolutionary
songs when he played his first-ever Miami show.
> >
> > Milanes' letter expressed frustration with what he sees as criticism from
two fronts: both the most fervent supporters and the most ardent foes of Fidel
and Raul Castro. About 200 hard-line exiles, who have long considered him a
supporter for the Castros, picketed his Miami performance. Meanwhile, some on
the left question the revolutionary credentials of someone who dares to
criticize the government.
> >
> > "These two behaviors, one in Miami and the other in Havana, incredibly
converge at the end in their own contradictions," Milanes wrote.
> >
> > "My 53 years of revolutionary militancy give me the right, which very few
exercise in Cuba, to express myself with the freedom that my principles
require," he added. "That freedom means I have no mortal commitment to the Cuban
leaders, whom I have admired and respected. But they are not gods and I am no
fanatic, and when I feel I can make a criticism and say no, I say so without
fear or reservations."
> >
> > ___
> >
> > Associated Press writer Peter Orsi in Havana contributed to this report.
> > â€"Copyright 2011 Associated Press
> >
> > =========================================
> > WALTER LIPPMANN
> > Los Angeles, California
> > Editor-in-Chief, CubaNews
> > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/
> > "Cuba - Un Paraà so bajo el bloqueo"
> > =========================================
> >
> >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

CUBADEBATE

Libya's Situation Remains Uncertain, The West Loots
Sep 1st, 2011    +

Sporadic combats and contradictory reports over the situation of leader Muammar
Gaddafi keep the country's fate uncertain, while Libyans wait expectantly for a
conference that is taking place in Paris, attended by the alleged friends of
this country.

Spokespersons of the rebels noted that clashes are taking place in Tripoli and
other areas away from the city between the opposition and forces loyal to
Gaddafi, who is said to be in the city of Bani Walid.

As occasional combats are occurring, the rebels, backed by NATO air raids, still
besiege Sirte, Gaddafi's hometown.

The rebels also captured Abdallah Al-Hijazi, considered to be a close
collaborator of the almost disintegrated government, according to the same
source of the opposition's National Transitional Council (CNT).

As the Libyan situation remains uncertain, leaders of world powers and Arab
countries, involved in the NATO aggression against Libya, are in session on
Thursday in Paris to draw up the plan to be followed for the reconstruction of
Libya after a hypothetical post-Gaddafi era.

Apart from the political decisions, analysts point out that the conference in
Paris aims at setting the economic profit quotas in the oil, construction and
industry sectors from the debts and commitments assumed by CNT.

(by Prensa Latina)