From: "Walter Lippmann" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [CubaNews] CubaNews summary 10-28-2001 CubaNews summary October 28, 2001 ================================= THOUSANDS AT CUBAN TRIBUNA ABIERTA Two photos from Saturday's Nueva Paz rally, which continues Cuba's opposition to terrorism and war. A written report will soon follow on this. http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news?p=Cuba&c=news_photos CUBAN TOURISM DOWN AFTER 9-11 The Sun Sentinel's Vanessa Bauza reports tourism and remittances are down following 9-11 in today's paper. Workers laid off from some of the Cuban state's tourist-related industries have been quickly transferred to other jobs, citing the case of drivers from one state-owned taxi firm half of whose drivers have been either sent home or transfered to mosquito fumigation activities. Though she doesn't make this comparison, we might note that the hundreds of thousands who've been laid off in the US and Caribbean countries, who were dependent on tourism, have not been given other jobs in the public sector. They must rely on good luck and "free market" forces for employment and income. The report also notes, "Because prices have not gone up at the farmer's markets where most Cubans buy fruits, vegetables and pork, Ricardo and Sissy [two Cubans she interviewed and cited] were not immediately worried about the peso's devaluation. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/templates/misc/printstory.jsp?slug=sfl%2Dabauza2 8oct28 ====================================== NO CHANGE PREDICTED IN US-CUBA RELATIONS An effort to have Cuba removed from the US-government list of "terrorist" states has been abandoned while anti- Cuba elements continue to try to link Cuba to the terrorist attacks of 9-11. A Washington Post story tries to put equal blame on both sides of the political equation. It cites three examples of how the US has tightened the screws on Cuba in recent weeks since the 9-11 attacks. Perhaps the only hopeful note in the story was this final paragraph: Promoters of normalized relations, on the other hand, warn that many of Washington's closest allies do not view Castro's Cuba in the same stark terms as the politically influential Cuban-American community. "If we go too far in considering Cuba an enemy," says Wayne S. Smith, an activist with the Center for International Policy who served as a diplomat in Havana, "we really isolate ourselves more than Cuba. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A50135-2001Oct25?language=printer ========================================== CIA WEIGHS "TARGETTED KILLINGS" (like Israel says, they're not "assassinations") The Church committee, for example, exposed eight distinct plots against Cuban leader Fidel Castro's life from 1960 to 1965, some of them comically inept. One effort, strongly resonant in the context of recent events, contaminated a box of Castro's favorite cigars with botulinum toxin in February 1961. Another laid plans to place an exploding seashell at Castro's customary skin-diving venue; still another infected a wet suit with poison fungus and proposed that U.S. negotiator James B. Donovan present it to the Cuban leader as a gift. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A63203-2001Oct27?language=printer ====================================== BALLET NACIONAL DE CUBA IN SEATTLE The ballet tells the story of Dr. Coppélius, an eccentric inventor who creates a life-size mechanical doll so realistic he begins to believe she is alive. The dollmaker's fate becomes entwined with that of Franz, a local ladies' man, and Swanilda, a young woman in love with Franz. Comic misadventures ensue, but all is happily resolved between the young lovers at the end. The original choreography was created in 1870 in Paris by Arthur Saint-Léon. The current staging is by Alonso, a former star of Ballet Theatre (now American Ballet Theatre). Alonso, now nearing 80, began dancing as a child in Havana. She traveled to the United States as a teenager, and ultimately danced for many of the great choreographers of the 20th century, including Balanchine, Antony Tudor, Jerome Robbins and Agnes De Mille. In 1947, Balanchine created his classic "Theme and Variations" for her. Alonso returned to Cuba in the late '40s, establishing a school and company there. She continued dancing into old age, but now, having lost her sight, she devotes herself to training and rehearsing the troupe she founded. Although once quite isolated, the Nacional Ballet de Cuba now travels extensively. It last came to Seattle in February 1999, when it presented "Giselle" at the Paramount. At that time, the company was received rapturously. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/artsentertainment/134358671_cuba26.htm l =================================== TOM RIDGE: NEW CHIEF OF TERRORIST REPRESSION Cuba's Granma newspaper profiles the the highly decorated veteran of the Vietnam war who is now director of "Homeland Security" in a long profile: . The "Strong Man of Philadelphia" is notorious for his championing of executions, crowded prisons, and the merciless repression of racial minorities . The new Office of Homeland Security has the mission of controlling and directing the multiple tentacles of a fearsome and gigantic investigation apparatus . As governor of Pennsylvania, he spent $1 billion-plus USD per year on keeping an average of 36,000 people, in their majority blacks and Hispanics, in jail FULL TEXT: http://www.granma.cu/ingles/octu4/44ridge-i.html ===================================== ELIAN "LEGAL DEFENSE" $$$$ STRUGGLE As much as $110,000 in leftover money from the Elián González legal defense fund has been in limbo for nearly a year, tied up in a dispute with the Internal Revenue Service about whether it's a gift or taxable income. The cash is part of the total $223,000 donated by the public in March 2000 to finance an anticipated heated custody battle by the boy's Miami relatives. But the legal maneuvering for the 6-year-old suddenly ended when federal agents reunited him with his father a month later. http://www.miami.com/herald/content/news/local/dade/digdocs/007222.htm ===================================== BITTER SUGAR - A CUBAN EXILE NOVEL The profound depth of the Cuban Revolution, and really of ANY revolution, is reflected in many ways. Not the least of these are the bitter memories of the people who lost power, wealth or influence. These appear to be reflected in the sixth in a series of detective novels by Cuban-American exile writer Christina Garcia-Aguilara. Here is but one short paragraph from a Sun-Sentinel review. Keep in mind, I'm not recommending this, just noting it: In exploring the particulars of the exile community, the author especially makes Bitter Sugar a near valentine to Miami. Garcia-Aguilera brings an insider's view from favorite Cuban restaurants to Little Havana to the upscale neighborhoods. As always in Garcia-Aguilera's novels, family bonds are paramount. The close-knit ties of a Cuban family and traditional views often clash. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/templates/misc/printstory.jsp?slug=sfl%2Dbkbitte roct28 (BITTER SUGAR is also the name of a rightist anti-revolutionary movie) ==================================== "GUILT BY OSAMAFICATION" IN NICARAGUA In the weeks leading up to next Sunday's presidential election, political ads on Nicaraguan television have been showing Osama bin Laden carrying his AK-47 assault rifle with a narrator intoning: "If he could vote in Nicaragua, he would vote for Comandante Daniel Ortega." "It's garbage. It's ridiculous. It's dirty tricks," Ortega spokesman Saul Arana said of the political ads lumping Ortega with bin Laden, the main suspect in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "Bin Laden was trained by the CIA. What did he have to do with the Sandinistas? It's a sign of deep desperation." In a recent interview, Ortega said he had put his revolutionary days behind him. He said he was no longer interested in machine guns and confiscating private property -- hallmarks of his first presidency. And, he said, while Marxist theory still influences his thinking, he is increasingly turning to a personal and political philosophy influenced by Christianity. He insisted that he would work cooperatively with Washington if elected. Washington remains skeptical, especially now that U.S. officials tend to measure countries and leaders against their present or past connections with terrorism. Ortega's stewardship of Nicaragua was also rife with corruption, mismanagement and dire economic days. But the practices of Aleman, known as the "Fat Man" for his considerable girth and extravagance, have caused many here to forget Ortega's mismanagement and remember only the more recent pain. READ THE FULL DREARY STORY: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A63395-2001Oct27.html ===================================== ################################### AND ON THE AFGANISTAN WAR FRONT... ################################### ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT GROWING IN U.S. A reasoned, objective, and positive analysis appears in today's Los Angeles Times: Scholars of peace and diplomacy say that with little effort--and no exaggeration--they could schedule three speaking engagements per night. Elder statesmen of this country's antiwar movement report a similar surge in demand since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Academics who study terrorism or the Middle East are taking part in teach-ins that generally are packed. Off campus, the voices of nonviolence are heard in such places as Worcester, a working-class city where a weekly vigil during rush hour draws cheers from passersby. And in Northampton, where a draft counseling center has opened--even though, at the moment, there is no military draft. Any organized campaign to oppose U.S. military force in Afghanistan "is still in the process of taking shape," said Joseph Gerson of the American Friends Service Committee in Cambridge. But, he said, momentum is building. "It's big and it's diverse," Gerson said. "I think it can be described as a peace movement and an antiwar movement and a justice movement." The energy is evident in increased traffic on the Internet, where new peace sites are complementing existing sources of information about the war. But along with the vast virtual audience, actual crowds are growing. In longtime centers of peace activity such as Berkeley and Madison, Wis., large demonstrations began before the first bombs were dropped. But New England, long a focal point for activism, is where much of the antiwar action is unfolding. Boston University history professor Howard Zinn said he has been "besieged" by invitations to speak about terrorism and the war in Afghanistan, with "more requests than I could possibly deal with." At 79, Zinn approaches the stepped-up demand as an eminence grise of the antiwar movement and as a bombardier from World War II. What he sees, Zinn said, is a massive appetite for information and a resistance effort that is fast churning into action. "Things are starting earlier now than they did with the Vietnam War," Zinn said. "In the spring of 1965, we had 100 people on the Boston Common. Just a week or so ago, we had 2,000 people at Copley Square. It's starting earlier, and I believe it will grow. Immediately after Sept. 11, if you talked about American foreign policy as having anything to do with the problem, people were horrified. It was too close. People thought you were diminishing the tragedy. I think as time passes, it will be easier to think in more long-term ways." http://www.latimes.com/templates/misc/printstory.jsp?slug=la%2D102801peace =================================== US LOSING PUBLIC RELATIONS WAR CAIRO, Oct. 27 - The Bush administration has belatedly deployed its forces for a propaganda war to win over the Arab public. But the campaign, intended to convince doubters that the American attacks on Afghanistan are justified and its Middle East policy is evenhanded, has so far proved ineffectual. Thousands of words from American officials, it appears, have proved no match for the last week's news, which produced a barrage of pictures of wounded Afghan children and of Israeli tanks rolling into Palestinian villages. "Talking heads just can't compete with powerful images," a Western diplomat here said. "The images touch emotions, and people in this part of the world react according to their emotions." Since the bombs started falling nearly three weeks ago, it has become obvious to people in Washington, as well as to many friendly Arab leaders, that President Bush's "war on terror" has an image problem outside the United States. "America has failed miserably in marketing their war to the Arabs," said Mustapha Kamel al-Sayyid, a political science professor at Cairo University. "How can they convince the Arabs of anything while Israel's American-made tanks are occupying the Palestinian territories?" http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/28/international/middleeast/28PROM.html ================================== WHITE HOUSE GETTING INTO HOLLYWOOD ACT A short film titled "Hollywood Celebrates the Spirit of America" may be the first test of a new relationship between George W. Bush's administration and entertainment industry executives as both express an eagerness to support the war effort through media. In the next three weeks, White House representatives are expected to tell some of Hollywood's power players which creative projects, including "Spirit of America," might improve America's image, according to producers Lionel Chetwynd and Craig Haffner. Having the White House, in a loose sense, greenlight or endorse certain Hollywood projects emerged from a meeting last week pulled together by Chetwynd and Haffner after a request earlier this month, from the Bush administration to meet with members of the industry. http://www.latimes.com/templates/misc/printstory.jsp?slug=la%2D000085383oct2 7 ==================================== QUICK WIRETAPPING RESULTS OBTAINED (and this was BEFORE the new legislation) WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 - Within hours of the terror attacks on Sept. 11, law enforcement officials say, F.B.I. agents intercepted telephone calls in which suspected associates of Al Qaeda in the United States were overheard celebrating the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. In the following days, the officials said, agents swept in and arrested them and have been holding them since, some as material witnesses, based on the information picked up in the phone calls. They are among hundreds of people detained after the attacks. Agents made the requests for the intercepts barely minutes after the planes crashed into the World Trade Center, knowing from past terrorist acts that Osama bin Laden's followers often phoned to congratulate one another after successful operations. The agents' requests quickly paid off. While the precise contents of the intercepted phone calls have not been disclosed, officials have said some were congratulatory, even gloating. Yet it remains unclear whether the people involved in the conversations were participants in the plot, or merely exulting in the audacity and destructiveness of the attacks on the American "enemy." The authorities have not said whether any of the people detained on the basis of the intercepts were cooperating, but none have been charged with crimes related to Sept. 11. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/28/national/28ATTA.html ====================================== SECRET MILITARY TRIBUNALS IN THE US? WASHINGTON -- Suspected terrorists could face swift justice before a special military tribunal with the power to act in secret, without the constitutional protections of a federal court, under plans that the Bush administration is researching and reviewing. Such tribunals or commissions, last used during World War II to deal with Nazi saboteurs and some war criminals, have been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in emergency situations. Several former Department of Justice officials say that the leaders, foot soldiers and accomplices of Osama bin Laden's terror network are ``unlawful belligerents'' who don't deserve or belong in the traditional criminal justice system. In a trial by tribunal, military officers serving as judges would have the latitude to limit evidence disclosed in the courtroom and streamline the proceeding by reducing the number of witnesses. Part or all of the proceedings could be conducted in secret. ``These defendants would not be garden-variety criminals or military officers in uniform, but a truly rare category -- enemies of mankind,'' said Douglas Kmiec, who headed the Office of Legal Counsel in the Reagan administration and is the dean of the Catholic University School of Law. http://www.miami.com/herald/content/news/world/digdocs/104957.htm ======================================== SPY AGENCIES FACING QUESTIONS OF TACTICS The following LA Times excerpts are by no means the worst of what's written in the article. WASHINGTON -- In the new war on terrorism, the American intelligence community is beginning to ask: How far can we go? CIA officials, members of congressional oversight committees and others say they find themselves in conversations about such covert tactics as kidnapping family members of suspected terrorists, hiring Afghan drug lords and bandits as informants, and possible assassination attempts. A former CIA operative with 30 years of experience said a debate has raged over interrogation techniques since Sept. 11. "A lot of people are saying we need someone at the agency who can pull fingernails out," he said. "Others are saying, 'Let others use interrogation methods that we don't use.' The only question then is, do you want to have CIA people in the room?" In response, a U.S. intelligence official said the CIA does not mistreat captives, but sidestepped a question about whether it allows officials from other countries to do so. The agency was dogged by such accusations during the Vietnam War and other conflicts. Asked if the agency would hire those involved in Afghanistan's drug trade, the official indicated that the CIA would reach out to anyone who can help in the war on terror. Under intense pressure from Congress since Sept. 11, the agency has eased its restrictions on hiring so-called unsavory informants, including known drug traffickers. "We will deal with people we need to in order to get the job done," the official said. "There's a mystique about intelligence that I think is highly undeserved," he added. "Just because [intelligence is] difficult to obtain doesn't mean it's inevitably better. Just because you hear people on the phone doesn't make it true. People lie. They gossip. They scam one another. A lot of stuff that was generated by [spies or informants] wasn't worth very much." A former senior White House counter-terrorism official concurred. He said former President Clinton signed a secret "finding" authorizing the use of lethal force against Bin Laden after U.S. intelligence linked him to the bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa in August 1998. "It basically authorized the CIA to do whatever was necessary to remove Bin Laden, to target the command and control of Al Qaeda, up to and including the use of lethal force," the official said. "It gave the CIA pretty broad latitude. The question is what they can do now that they haven't already tried." http://www.latimes.com/templates/misc/printstory.jsp?slug=la%2D102801intell ===================================== WILL THE ANIMAL RIGHTSISTS SPEAK UP? U.S. Strike Kills 2 Mine-Sniffing Dogs, U.N. Says >From a Times Staff Writer October 28 2001 ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- U.S. warplanes accidentally bombed a U.N. compound for mine-sniffing dogs and land mine clearance equipment in Kabul, killing two of the dogs, a U.N. official said Saturday. No staff members were hurt in the strike on the Afghan capital, which destroyed at least two vehicles, said Stephanie Bunker, a spokeswoman for the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Afghanistan. The dog compound is part of the U.N. Mine Action Program for Afghanistan. The strike occurred late Thursday, but news of it did not reach Pakistan until Saturday. Bunker said the organization is still trying to assess the damage. The dog program for Afghanistan is the largest in the world, with 200 mine-sniffing dogs--half of the canines in the world with such skills, Bunker said. The dogs are bred and raised for the sensitive job and then extensively trained to work with their human handlers. The program employs 4,800 people in Afghanistan. "We want more details of what happened, but earlier they [United States] hit a compound and killed some of our technical people, and now this," Bunker said. In the early days of the airstrikes, a bomb that went astray killed four people in the offices of a nongovernmental organization that worked with the U.N. mine program. http://www.latimes.com/templates/misc/printstory.jsp?slug=la%2D000085925oct2 8 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! 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