Concluye reunión del foro de cooperación entre América Latina y Asia del Este

En horas de la tarde de ayer concluyó la Tercera Reunión Ministerial del Foro de Cooperación entre América Latina y Asia del Este (FOCALAE), que sesionó en Brasilia, capital de Brasil, desde el pasado día 22 de agosto, con la participación de 36 países, 21 de América Latina y el Caribe y 15 de la región asiática. Veinte Ministros encabezaron sus delegaciones, entre ellos 18 Ministros de Relaciones Exteriores.
La delegación cubana, presidida por el compañero Felipe Pérez Roque, ministro de Relaciones Exteriores, desarrolló una apretada agenda de trabajo en el evento, que incluyó la participación en los debates y encuentros bilaterales con un importante grupo de Ministros.
El Ministro cubano, además de pronunciar la intervención central de Cuba en la reunión, participó en la mañana de ayer en un encuentro privado de los Cancilleres y Jefes de Delegación de los países integrantes del Foro, que se centró en los problemas del comercio que afectan a las dos regiones.
El ministro Felipe Pérez Roque sostuvo reuniones de trabajo con los Ministros de Relaciones Exteriores de Japón, Singapur, Indonesia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Paraguay y Panamá, con el Ministro del Medio Ambiente de Nueva Zelandia y con el Vicecanciller de la República Popular China.
El Jefe de la diplomacia cubana fue recibido por Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, presidente de la República Federativa de Brasil.
La Tercera Reunión Ministerial de FOCALAE terminó con la aprobación de una Declaración Final, en la que se destaca la importancia de fomentar las relaciones entre las dos regiones, que se deben desarrollar en el marco del respeto a los principios del Derecho Internacional y de la Carta de las Naciones Unidas, en particular la soberanía nacional, la obtención de beneficios recíprocos y la promoción del desarrollo sostenible.
La reunión decidió promover la cooperación entre los países de la América Latina y el Asia del Este, en las esferas educativa, cultural, económica y científico-técnica, reconoció la importancia del uso racional y el ahorro de la energía, el fomento de programas de alfabetización, para el desarrollo de los países que integran el Foro. Durante el día de hoy, el Ministro cubano y la delegación que lo acompaña cumplirán un programa bilateral en Brasil, que incluirá sesiones de trabajo con Celso Amorín, ministro de Relaciones Exteriores de dicho país sudamericano.


Latin America-East Asia forum urges swift end to Doha round

AFP - BRASILIA: Foreign ministers and envoys from 33 Latin America and East Asian countries Thursday called for a quick end to the Doha round of WTO trade talks after a two-day meeting here.
In a final communication, the Forum for East Asia Latin American Cooperation (Fealac) said despite the differences in their trade interests they had "a common vision that requires a fast, balanced and successful solution to the Doha round," said Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim.
On Wednesday Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso had said the forum could play a major role on the world stage.
"Because the Fealac is a powerful driver of the world economy, it bears grave responsibilities to give a strong push to World Trade Organisation negotiations, as well as to the UN reforms," he said.
Many of the forum's participants -- such as Brazil, China, Indonesia or Argentina -- are also members of the G-20 bloc of developing countries vigorously opposed to the agricultural subsidies granted in Europe and the United States, which they see as unfair.
"We believe that the WTO is important, but also that the concerns of the developing countries should be addressed," Philippine Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo told AFP.
The WTO's so-called Doha round of talks to smash trade barriers has been deadlocked for six years, after being launched in the Qatari capital in 2001.
The Doha Development Round of trade liberalisation talks is aimed at cutting subsidies and import duties primarily to help developing nations take advantage of expanding global trade.
But WTO members have failed to break an impasse over the extent of the cuts in barriers to agriculture, industrial goods and services amid cross-cutting disagreements.
Developing countries have accused rich countries led by the United States of protecting its agriculture sector in particular.
The third meeting of Fealac, which was launched in Chile in 2001, wrapped up Thursday with informal talks that focused on the recent global credit crunch and the instability on world markets.
"I think this trouble is somehow under control now, (but) it is not yet over. So we have to be vigilant," said South Korea's Foreign Minister Kim Jong-Hoon.
But both regions voiced the opinion that they were better armed to deal with such crises now, than they were in the 1990s.
The forum also agreed to boost cooperation in trade and investment between the two regions, which stood at around a trillion dollars in 2005.
The final declaration also touched on concerns over the growing gap between rich and poor as well as global warming.
The East Asian members of the bloc are: Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Latin America members are: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.
The forum's next meeting will be held in three years time in Tokyo. It previously met in Santiago in 2001 and Manila in 2004. - AFP/ac


Propone Cuba amplia cooperación contra analfabetismo

BRASILIA— Cuba propuso al Foro de Cooperación de América Latina y Asia del Este (FOCALAE) desarrollar un amplio proceso de cooperación dirigido a contribuir sustancialmente a la erradicación del analfabetismo.
La propuesta fue formulada por el canciller cubano, Felipe Pérez Roque, en su discurso ante la Tercera Reunión de Ministros de Relaciones Exteriores del FOCALAE que culminó este jueves aquí.
El método Yo sí puedo se utiliza en numerosos países.
Dijo que como consecuencia de la falta de acceso general a la cultura, la ciencia y la educación, el mundo cuenta hoy con más de 800 millones de adultos analfabetos y más de 80 millones de niños que no asisten a la escuela.
Se trata de un drama imperdonable, pues no puede haber desarrollo sin capital humano y no hay, sin cultura, libertad posible, puntualizó.
Al abogar por la cooperación entre los países miembros de FOCALAE para erradicar el analfabetismo, el Ministro cubano destacó la experiencia exitosa y reconocida de la aplicación del método Yo sí puedo, diseñado por especialistas cubanos y avalado por la UNESCO.
Gracias a ese programa han sido alfabetizadas ya más de dos millones y medio de personas de 18 países de América Latina, el Caribe, África y Asia, 15 de los cuales son miembros de FOCALAE, resaltó. (PL)



Cuba: revolución permanente y contradicciones contemporáneas

James Petras y Robin Eastman-Abaya
http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=55223,

Cuba: Continuing Revolution and Contemporary Contradictions

By James Petras and Robin Eastman-Abaya http://axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/article_25104.shtml,



Fidel Castro sigue escribiendo entre ola de rumores sobre su salud

LA HABANA (AFP) - El líder cubano, Fidel Castro, publicó un nuevo artículo en la prensa, sin hacer caso a la ola de rumores desatada en las últimas dos semanas sobre un agravamiento de su salud, desmentido este jueves por el canciller Felipe Pérez Roque.
En su comentario, el primero que publica esta semana, Castro denunció la política "pérfida" de Washington, al señalar que el lunes quedó en evidencia en una corte de apelaciones de Atlanta la inocencia de cinco cubanos condenados por espionaje en 2001 en Estados Unidos, y considerados en Cuba "héroes luchadores contra el terrorismo".
Pero ni en éste ni en los publicados la semana pasada -una serie de tres textos históricos sobre el conflicto con Estados Unidos- se refirió a su salud a pesar de las versiones que circulan desde que el 13 de agosto cumplió 81 años, sin que se hayan difundido fotos o videos de su persona.
En entrevista con la AFP en Brasilia, Pérez Roque salió al paso de los rumores este jueves al señalar que Castro "se mantiene en su proceso de recuperación, con mucha disciplina, mucha dedicación y mucha actividad, escribiendo, leyendo y trabajando".
Y al ser consultado acerca de si el líder cubano seguía a cargo de los asuntos de su país, el canciller respondió: "Exactamente, se le informa y se le consulta de manera permanente y trabaja diariamente".
Castro cedió el poder provisionalmente a su hermano Raúl el 31 de julio de 2006, cuatro días después de haber sido sometido a la primera de varias operaciones por una grave enfermedad intestinal que, según reveló, lo tuvo entre la vida y la muerte.
En trece meses de convalecencia, el mandatario sólo se ha mostrado en fotos y ocho videos, el último una entrevista grabada y difundida el 5 de junio, cuando se le vio mejor de peso aunque aún frágil.
El cumpleaños, celebrado en la isla con bajo perfil, generó entonces expectativa de nuevas imágenes o de una visita de su amigo y aliado, el presidente venezolano Hugo Chávez, pero nada de ello ocurrió.
Rumores de que le fue practicada por esos días una nueva operación, que estaba "entubado" e incluso de que habría muerto, circularon en medios extranjeros y portales de internet, y de una u otra forma se conocieron en la isla. En la ciudad de Miami, capital del exilio cubano, las televisoras se movilizaron.
Entonces fue Chávez, privilegiado portavoz de la salud de Castro por tener acceso directo a su lecho de enfermo, quien salió a desmentir el pasado domingo en su programa "Aló Presidente.
"Están corriendo rumores de que murió Fidel, que lo tienen entubado, esperando el momento. Todos algún día moriremos, pero Fidel es uno de esos hombres que nunca morirá", dijo Chávez.
Y añadió que "Fidel está produciendo" y "escribiendo. "Hablé con él el día de su cumpleaños, le mandé un retrato de Bolívar como regalo de parte del pueblo de Venezuela", aseveró.
El artículo que publica este jueves, titulado "Derrota sin precedentes del Imperio", es el número 39 desde que el 29 de marzo se dedicó a escribir sus "Reflexiones del Comandante en Jefe", manteniendo así de alguna forma su presencia en la vida de la isla.
Muchos cubanos, aún quienes creen que Fidel se recuperará, fidelistas y opositores dentro y fuera de Cuba, analistas y diplomáticos extranjeros, dudan hoy que el líder cubano vuelva a gobernar, y piensan que asumirá un papel de consejero y de analista de la política internacional.
El proceso electoral que culminará en el primer trimestre de 2008 podría ser el momento que definiría el rol de Fidel Castro -único líder que conoce un 70% de 11 millones de cubanos-, y aclararía el estatus del gobierno de Raúl, aún provisional.


The Empire Tastes an Unprecedented Moral Defeat (F Castro)

The words of Roberto González, a lawyer born to a Cuban family that fled to the United States during the dictatorship and returned to Cuba following the triumph of the Revolution, come to mind as I begin to reflect on this issue. Like René, he was born in the United States during his family's sojourn there. He has been fighting tirelessly to obtain the release of his brother René, who endures cruel and unjust imprisonment, as do four other heroes who sought to defend their country in the struggle against terrorism.

"The worst thing that can happen to us is to allow a sense of defeat or victory paralyze us; we will have won in the case of the Five when they have set foot in Havana... for this is the kind of trial that is won with facts many times over but is lost before the Law, by virtue of the judges' decision".

These are wise and sensible words, spoken by a true expert at war against shameless actions. Even he expressed his surprise at what transpired.

During the Round Table program, we were given a sense of the importance of the testimonies afforded, in the city of Atlanta, by 73 world-renowned experts in international Law. There, it was shown beyond the shadow of a doubt that the felonies imputed to the accused, resulting in convictions unanimously approved by a supposedly impartial jury, in the last community on Earth where one could expect a fair verdict, were never in fact committed. Each and every one of statements made at the Round Table or over the phone, by those who spoke and those who have yet to speak, must be read word by word and analyzed.

In real espionage cases, recently tried in the United States, convictions usually do not exceed a 10-year prison sentence. The charge of conspiracy to commit espionage brought against our five compatriots has not even been proven. Their cruel and unusual fate, and that of their relatives, reflects the perfidious overt policy pursued by Washington of using terrorism against the Cuban people, a policy which, for nearly half a century, has been in violation of the most elementary norms set down by the United Nations and encroaching upon the sovereignty of nations.

There are many important and proven facts that I could add, but I wish to be brief so that these words may be transcribed and published by the Cuban press. The most important thing is for our people to develop a solid and unshakable conscience of these realities.


Défaite Morale sans Précédent de L´Empire (F Castro)

Je tiens tout d’abord, en abordant cette question, à rappeler les affirmations de Roberto González, avocat, fils d’une famille cubaine réfugiée aux Etats-Unis durant la tyrannie de Batista et rentrée au pays au triomphe de la Révolution. Il est né, tout comme René, aux Etats-Unis durant le séjour de la famille là-bas. Il n’a cessé de se battre pour obtenir la libération de son frère René, incarcéré d’une manière cruelle et injuste en même temps que quatre autres héros qui défendaient leur peuple du terrorisme.

« Le pire serait que nous nous démobilisions sur un sentiment de défaite ou de victoire. Le cas des Cinq, nous l’aurons gagné une fois qu’ils seront rentrés à La Havane... Il s’agit d’un procès que tu gagnes bien souvent en fonction des faits, mais que tu perds en fonction du droit à cause de décisions des magistrats. »

Sages et prudentes affirmations d’un véritable expert dans sa bataille contre l’impudeur. Il a lui-même fait part de son étonnement devant ce qu’il s’est passé.

On nous a expliqué au cours de la Table ronde télévisée combien il était important que soixante-treize personnalités de prestige mondial en matière de droit international aient assisté à l’audience d’appel à Atlanta au cours de laquelle il y a été prouvé d’une manière évidente et irréfutable que les accusés n’avaient jamais commis les crimes qu’on leur imputait en vertu de chefs d’accusation qu’un jury censément impartial a entérinés à l’unanimité au sein de la pire communauté qui soit sur la planète pour que justice soit faite. Il faut lire textuellement et analyser ce que chacun des intervenants a affirmé directement à la Table ronde ou au téléphone et les vues de ceux qui doivent encore se prononcer.

Des prévenus d’espionnage réel récemment jugés aux Etats-Unis ont reçu des peines ne dépassant pas dix ans de privation de liberté. Or, le ministère public n’a même pas pu prouvé dans le cas de nos cinq compatriotes l’accusation de conspiration pour faire de l’espionnage. Le sort cruel et insolite infligé à eux et à leurs familles répond à la politique perfide et déclarée que Washington a suivie pendant presque un demi-siècle contre le peuple cubain : recourir au terrorisme, en violation des normes les plus élémentaires des Nations Unies et de la souveraineté des peuples.

Je pourrais ajouter bien des choses importantes et prouvées, mais je tiens à être bref afin que ces réflexions puissent paraître dans la presse nationale. Le plus important, c’est que notre peuple soit de plus en plus conscient, d’une manière solide et indestructible, de ces réalités.


Cuban Chamber of Commerce expands Services

(Prensa Latina) The Cuban Chamber of Commerce expands its institutional functions and services to its associates in order to achieve higher efficiency, said today president Raul Becerra.
Interviewed by Prensa Latina, Becerra mentioned among the new services, the organization of conferences where international experts will pass on their skills to Cuban entrepreneurs.
We take advantage of the institution´s links with other chambers over the world, to invite their specialists to visit Cuba and give their experience in certain topics, affirmed the Cuban Chamber official.
Becerra put the example of this year´s event on arbitration and another one on banking documents, while another on international trade is being prepared with specialists from the Malaga Chamber of Commerce.
The official stressed the attention and close relations with over 700 associates as the reason to be of the Chamber.
Plans for the second semester include the organization next November of the Second Forum of Businesspeople of Non Aligned Countries and the 25th Havana International Trade Fair.
The entity also works in preparing the Cuba-Spain Bilateral Committee meeting and the upcoming China-Latin America Business Summit in which Cuba will take part in Santiago de Chile on November 28-29.
That event is organized by the Chinese Superior Council of Trade Chambers and is expected to promote business and investment opportunities between the Asian giant and Latin America and the Caribbean.


ALBA A New Dawn in Latin America
by Ricardo Alarcón; Monthly Review;
http://www.zmag.org/content/print_article.cfm?itemID=13599&sectionID=20,

chicagotribune.com
No signs of audacity on CubaSteve Chapman
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-oped0823chapmanaug23,0,459159,print.column,


Presidente dominicano asiste a conferencia sobre Cuba

Santo Domingo (PL) El presidente dominicano, Leonel Fernández, asistió hoy aquí a la conferencia sobre la universalización de la enseñanza en Cuba, impartida por el doctor Rubén Zardoya, rector de la Universidad de La Habana.Una extensa panorámica de la extensión de la educación en Cuba a todos los sectores de la población, iniciado tras el triunfo revolucionario en 1959, fue realizada por Zardoya.Indicó que la universalización está entre los principios raigales de la Revolución y se inició, de hecho, con la campaña de alfabetización en 1961 y a partir del magisterio martiano.Zardoya recordó que su visita responde a una invitación del presidente Fernández, quien asistió en La Habana a la Cumbre de los No Alineados en septiembre último.También significó que de aquellos contactos surgió la idea de crear la Cátedra Juan Bosch, en honor al destacado intelectual, amigo de Cuba y ex presidente de la República Dominicana.


Obama Shows Good Foreign Policy Judgment on Cuba

by Paul Hogarth http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_paul_hog_070823_obama_shows_good_for.htm,


Envisioning the world as it could be…

By Alvaro F. Fernandez
Barack Obama is too young. He is too black. His name sounds like Osama.
His inexperience has shown in the debates -- Hillary has schooled him.
Obama, others say, is not ready to be president of the United States. Is anybody ever ready to be president? There’s another factor: It will be 2009, when most of the new president’s time will be spent cleaning up the mess left behind by the other guy…
Does anyone really want to be president of this country when George W. Bush leaves?
Barack Obama will be in Miami this Saturday (August 25). He will be addressing a group of 2,000-plus persons at Miami Dade Auditorium. During his speech he will touch a subject most every other candidate refuses to even get close to. He will state that the current Cuba policy highlighted by family separation, and made even more stringent by the Bush Administration in June 2004, is wrong.
In my opinion, it is a good and gutsy political move by Senator Obama. And in Miami, it may set him apart from the other candidates opening the door to Cuban American voters disheartened by Bush Cuba travel policies. It may encourage Cubans, now U.S. citizens living in Miami, who arrived after 1990 and who have not registered to vote to do so. Even when registered, many have never voted.
Sure, it’s a bold political move. Hopefully it pays off for him.
But it’s much more. It’s also the right and moral thing to do.
I am flabbergasted that more people do not hold the candidates to the test by asking a simple question: Are you for division of families as U.S. policy?
I cannot understand how anyone can vote for a candidate who favors this.
It’s one of the many reasons I like Barack Obama. And let me emphasize that I am not saying I will be voting for Barack Obama. I have yet to decide who I will vote for… And there’s still the question of Al Gore I wrote about earlier this month.
But the fact that Obama has made and faced his mistakes along the way, and has shown the courage to go against the grain as in the Cuba issue, only makes him a more attractive candidate in my eyes. Surely, Hillary Clinton has had almost all perfect answers during the debates -- that bothers me. It shows she learns quickly -- everything her handlers are feeding her. I would really like to know, at least once, what she really feels.
I also like Obama’s mistakes because it demonstrates this guy is willing to take chances. He looks like the type who will take a leap forward and try to envision the world as it could be.
I plan to go listen to Obama on Saturday. Here’s hoping the young guy with the winning smile who’s too black, too young and inexperienced wows me. I’ll let you know next week.
en español: http://progreso-semanal.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=101&Itemid=1,


The Cuban Five -- victims of national security justice

By Saul Landau
Read Spanish Version http://progreso-semanal.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=95&Itemid=1,

In 1953, a man I knew got busted for masturbating at a public urinal. A cop had hidden in the ceiling grate above him “to find perverts.” The lawyer, a friend of our family, charged him $5,000. “I gave $500 to the cop,” the lawyer explained, “bought the judge a present and paid two witnesses $250 each to testify that he was wearing a complicated truss and that’s what made it seem like an unnaturally long time for him to get adjusted after he went wee wee,” the defense lawyer explained to my father.

I have no idea if his behavior typified that era or remains a standard today. Comedian Lenny Bruce’s quipped: “In the Hall of Justice the only justice is in the hall,” where the payoffs occurred. Indeed, the poor, not the middle class and certainly not the rich, inhabit U.S. jails and prisons. Most Americans understand that equal justice for all means police will arrest a rich or poor man sleeping under the bridge or stealing a loaf of bread.

Those who can afford expensive lawyers usually get away with murder. Take the cases of Claus von Bulow, who overdosed his rich wife with insulin, or O. J. Simpson, a case where the Los Angeles police actually framed the right guy for wife and friend killing. The accused paid millions of dollars to top lawyers who skillfully placed seeds of doubt in the jurors’ minds. Public defenders often lack the resources, time and will to build minimum defenses for poor clients.

In some case, however, even the best defenders can’t buy justice, especially when the government cites “national security.” The Cuban Five case became victims of that phrase that usually means the government will not tell the public what it is doing or why. It reeks with imperial arrogance and often with vengeance as well.

The FBI busted five men (Gerardo Hernández, Antonio Guerrero, Ramón Labañino, Fernando Gonzáles, and René Gonzáles) in 1998 and a Miami jury convicted them in 2001 for conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit espionage and other serious offenses. The case illustrated the U.S. standard of justice for third world nations that disobey its dictates.

Since Washington had failed to punish Cuba adequately for its near half century of disobedience, the opportunity presented by the Cuban Five fell like a serendipitous apple onto the vengeful ground of the national security elite, the group that wages war and regularly infringes on citizens’ rights in order to “protect” the public. This bureaucratic posse inside executive agencies looks at the public as an obstacle to its imperial ambitions, to the notion of accountability as an irritant, the proverbial pimple on a sewer rat’s butt. The following story illustrates.

In 2004, John Negroponte, then UN Ambassador en route to becoming Ambassador to Iraq and then top U.S. spy, explained why the security elite would have to reject an offer from the Iranian government (under Khatami) to reopen the U.S. embassy and normalize diplomatic relations. “In the last decades, Vietnam, Cuba and Iran have humiliated the United States,” he explained to the diplomat -- a friend of mine -- who delivered the message from the Iranian government. “I suppose we’ve gotten even with the Vietnamese [4 million killed and 20 plus years of sanctions], but there’s no way we’re having relations with Iran or Cuba before they get what’s coming to them.” Since the elite will not wage war on Cuba -- Cubans will fight back -- they used the Cuban Five as surrogate punishment objects.

In the 1990s, these Cuban nationals infiltrated Florida-based anti-Castro terrorist groups and reported on the terrorists’ activities to Havana. In 1998, an FBI delegation traveled to Cuba. Cuban officials gave the FBI some 1,200 pages of material, along with video and audio tapes that incriminated groups and individuals -- their names, weapons they carried or stored and other details that the Justice Department could use to prosecute the terrorists.

The FBI told their Cuban counterparts they would respond in a month. The Cubans are still waiting, but the FBI did use the material. They arrested the Cuban Five. The Justice Department then charged them with felonies.

Irony accompanied injustice. The five admitted they entered the United States to access U.S.-based groups plotting terrorism against Cuba. In fact, U.S. law actually allows people to commit crimes out of a greater necessity, one that would prevent greater harm.

“It is a form of self-defense, extended to acts which will protect other parties,” argued Leonard Weinglass, attorney for Antonio Guerrero, one of the Five. Indeed, the Five’s lawyers presented this argument to trial judge Joan Lenard, but she refused to let the jury consider it.

Weinglass and the other attorneys argued their appeals this month claiming the judge had erred by not submitting the “‘defense of necessity’ claim to the jury, because the Five came to the United States to prevent additional violence, injury and harm to others.”

The U.S. government knew all about the terrorist “accomplishments” of Luis Posada Carriles and Orlando Bosch, for examples. Both had boasted to reporters about their roles in terrorist acts, including the 1976 bombing of a Cuban commercial airliner -- they did this jointly -- in which 73 passengers and crew members perished. In 1998, Posada bragged about sabotaging Cuban tourist sites the previous year. In one bombing carried out by his paid agent, an Italian tourist died.

“We didn’t want to hurt anybody,” he told reporters Larry Rohter and Anne Bradach. “We just wanted to make a big scandal so that the tourists don’t come anymore. We don’t want any more foreign investment.” Posada said he wanted potential tourists to think Cuba was unstable “and to encourage internal opposition.”

Posada succeeded. Less tourists came to Cuba after the Italian died in the bombing. The Times reporters write that Posada “declared that he had a clear conscience, saying, ‘I sleep like a baby.’” Then he said: “That Italian was sitting in the wrong place at the wrong time.” (NY Times July 13, 1998)

The Five came here precisely to stop such activities, says Weinglass. “The Five’s activities were justified and necessary in order to save lives.” Weinglass had used this very argument to defend Amy Carter, when the President’s daughter “occupied a building, with other students, at the University of Massachusetts, in opposition to the CIA agents who came to the campus to recruit students into the CIA. She acknowledged that her occupation of the building was a crime but she argued that that was justified by the doctrine of necessity because the CIA was then engaged in an illegal war in Nicaragua.” The jury acquitted Amy and the other defendants.

Weinglass made a similar argument before a two-judge appeals court. In August 2005, this court initially heard the case and decided that the Five had not received a fair trial. The entire 12 judge panel of the 11th circuit reversed that decision despite massive evidence to show the Miami jurors had felt intimidated. From the window of the deliberation room they saw people taking photos of their license plates. Jurors had reason to fear serious retribution should they vote to acquit the Five.

The lawyers also appealed the conviction of Gerardo Hernandez for “conspiring” to commit murder. This charge arose from the February 1996 shoot-down by Cuban MIGs of two Brothers to the rescue planes that had violated Cuban airspace and were repeatedly warned of “grave consequences” should they enter Cuban territory without permission. At the trial, the Assistant U.S. Attorney acknowledged that he had no solid evidence to back up this charge.

Weinglass noted that the Gerardo conviction marked “the first time in history that an individual is being held liable for the action of a sovereign state in defending its airspace.” Indeed, Cuba had every reason and the right to maintain sovereignty over its air space. The prosecutor made outrageous claims to the jury without citing evidence and the judge let him. He argued without facts that Cuba had sent the men to attack the United States. For the first time in legal U.S. history, the U.S. Attorney’s office prosecuted a case without even referring to a single classified document.

The Five stole no secrets; unlike FBI Special Agent Robert Hansen, or the CIA’s Aldrich Ames who passed tens of thousands of “top secrets” to the Soviet enemy, but two of them like the real spies, got life imprisonment.

Was U.S. justice fairer when a lawyer could bribe a cop in a meaningless case and rich guys could buy their way out of murder raps -- as they still do? Not if one recalls the “national security” framing of Sacco and Vanzetti in the 1920s and the 1953 execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, even though FBI Chief J. Edgar Hoover and President Dwight Eisenhower both knew they had not passed atomic secrets to the Soviets. The government had invoked “national security” under which no justice occurs, not even in the halls.

Saul Landau is an Institute for Policy Studies fellow. His new book is A BUSH AND BOTOX WORLD.


Hungary in asylum spat with Cuba

BBC - Hungary has angrily rejected criticism from Cuba over its decision to grant asylum to 29 Cubans. The Cuban state newspaper Granma called Hungary's behaviour towards the US "servile" and accused it of being "an accomplice of the Empire".

Hungary's foreign ministry hit back on Thursday, saying it "firmly rejects" Cuba's criticism. It said asylum was being granted for humanitarian reasons.

The US is holding the 29 - picked up at sea - at its Guantanamo Bay naval base.

They are among 44 Cubans being held there while the US arranges asylum destinations for them.

Seventeen of the Cubans had gone on hunger strike over their conditions at the base, but they ended it on 17 August after Hungary had announced its asylum offer.

Cuba and Hungary used to be Soviet bloc allies before the collapse of communism.

The Hungarian statement said Hungary "maintains critical dialogue with the Cuban government, while aiming to establish widespread contacts with representatives of the civil society and the peaceful opposition".
It said Hungary wanted to "encourage democratic development" in Cuba.


Iran, Cuba, Libya Leading Preparations for UN Racism Conference

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- With Libya at the helm, and Iran, Cuba and Pakistan among the 20 nations participating, a United Nations-convened meeting in Geneva next week will begin to lay the groundwork for a global conference on racism in 2009. A preparatory bureau set up under the UN's Human Rights Council will "formulate a concrete plan" for the 2009 conference, which aims to review the implementation of a program of action drawn up at the UN's last big racism gathering in 2001 - the 2001 World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance.

That conference, in Durban, South Africa, was characterized by blatant anti-Israel sentiment and attempts to revive an earlier UN stance equating Zionism with racism. An associated Non-Governmental Organization Forum was also highly politicized, with Israel again the target.

The Bush administration first sent a low-level delegation, and later recalled it to protest what then-Secretary of State Colin Powell called a singling out of one nation "for censure and abuse."

The final declaration and program of action, hammered out amid acrimonious debate, made reference to "the plight of the Palestinian people under foreign occupation" but did not directly condemn Israel.

In the run-up to the 2001 conference, Asian nations led by Iran inserted into draft documents references to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including the facts that Israel was a threat to international peace and security and was practicing a "new kind of apartheid."

Washington and Tel Aviv, as critics of that process, are concerned that, with countries like Libya and Iran in the driving seat again, the 2009 conference may end up with a similar focus.

They also expect "Islamophobia" to feature strongly, and for Islamic states to attempt to revive efforts to outlaw the "defamation of prophets" - a push triggered by Prophet Mohammad's cartoon controversy.

The preparatory bureau meeting, due to run from Aug. 27-31, will decide on dates, venue, participation and objectives of the 2009 conference, as well as regional initiatives running up to the main event.

According to UN Watch, a Geneva-based organization that monitors the world body's activities there, the 20 members of the planning group named by the Human Rights Council are Argentina, Armenia, Belgium, Brazil, Cameroon, Chile, Croatia, Cuba, Estonia, Greece, India, Indonesia, Iran, Libya, Pakistan, Norway, Russia, Senegal, South Africa and Turkey.



Anti-corruption laws toughened in Cuba

Acting leader Raúl Castro has ordered harsher penalties for public officials who break labor rules.
By WILFREDO CANCIO ISLA - El Nuevo HeraldRatcheting up his fight against corruption and mismanagement in Cuba, interim leader Raúl Castro has signed a decree requiring tough, swift and long-lasting punishment for public officials who violate labor rules.

Decree 25½007, published Wednesday in the Official Gazette, covers the enforcement of earlier decrees designed to counter official corruption and illegal but widespread workplace activities, including petty thievery of public supplies, 4-hour work days and hiring friends for good jobs.

`NEGLIGENT'

The decree brands as ''a collaterally responsible'' any official whose job is on the same level as violators but doesn't punish them or report them to authorities, saying they are guilty of a ''lack of exigency'' or ``negligent.''

Disciplinary measures also will be taken against any official who hires or promotes ``subordinates or equals . . . for the mere reason of friendship or familial relationship or any other motivation other than social interest.''

Those who allow subordinates to do so will also will be disciplined. Administrators also will not be allowed to demote or accept the resignation of violators before the allegations against them are settled.

Sanctions include dismissal and a total ban on any official employment. Punishment will be meted out ''directly and with immediate effect,'' and authorities will track violators to ensure the punishments are being observed.

Penalties will be applied ''independently from any criminal process,'' and any appeals will not delay the start of the sanctions, the decree indicates.

STARTS SEPT. 1

The decree will take effect Sept. 1, six months after the enactment of a new resolution aimed at cracking down on some aspects of the notorious labor inefficiencies in Cuba's government-dominated economy: workers who show up late or leave early, who filch supplies from their jobs or accept bribes to help clients.

According to a government report, more than half of the 22,692 audits of state enterprises and service centers conducted between January and August 2006 unearthed problems and legal irregularities.

During his 13-month interim mandate, Raúl Castro has stepped up -- with fewer speeches and greater pragmatism -- the campaign against corruption launched by his brother Fidel in November 2005.

REASONS

The government has acknowledged corruption to be a problem that could eventually undermine the revolution, but it has run into problems enforcing the new labor regulations.

Cubans have argued that they often cannot show up for work on time because of the broken public-transportation system, and that their extremely low salaries -- average of $16 a month -- force them into illegal activities to survive.


TRATAN DE RETOMAR PODER EN WASHINGTON NEGROPONTE Y OTROS

POR FRANK MARTIN - WORLD DATA SERVICE .- Una fuente informativa norteamericana consideró hoy que John Negroponte y otras personalidades muy criticadas de la administración del presidente George W. Bush "están retomando el control" de sectores clave de la política exterior estadounidense y "desempeñarán un prominente papel en la recta final del gobierno de George W. Bush". De acuerdo con un despacho de la agencia AP desde Washington, la Secretaria de Estado Condoleezza Rice ha promovido a un grupo de diplomáticos, que "de juntar su tiempo de servicio, sumarían 200 años, en siete puestos importantes del Medio Oriente, el Sudeste Asiático y el Lejano Oriente". "Si bien la partida de prominentes figuras conservadoras como Donald H. Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz (ambos del Pentágono) y John Bolton (Departamento de Estado) es bien conocida, el lento ascenso de elementos seleccionados por Rice no ha sido tan publicitado, por más que ya estén ejerciendo un papel clave en la política", consideró. Rice "encomendó" a Negroponte y otras figuras, algunas consideras ultraconservadoras y vinculadas a pasajes oscuros de "guerra sucia" en Centroamérica, Sudamérica y otras regiones, el manejo de la diplomacia en lugares "candentes" como Afganistán "donde insurgentes del Talibán y militantes de Al Qaida siguen activos y se espera otra cosecha récord de amapolas usadas para el opio". También en Iraq, teatro del gran fracaso de Bush, donde "Estados Unidos intensificó recientemente su campaña contra insurgentes, enviando incluso más tropas", dijo la AP. Otro objetivo es Irán que según la fuente "irrita a Estados Unidos con su presunto apoyo a insurgentes de Iraq y Afganistán, el programa nuclear y el respaldo a violentas agrupaciones enemigas de Israel". Además, Corea del Norte "que parece decidida a suspender su programa de armas nucleares" y Pakistán "donde Al Qaida se ha reagrupado en las regiones fronterizas y el presidente Pervez Musharraf encara dificultades políticas en vísperas de elecciones", dijo el despacho. Junto al ascenso de Negroponte subsecretario de Estado, están disfrutando del mismo tratamiento que la Rice Nicholas Burns, subsecretario de Estado para cuestiones políticas, Ryan Crocker, embajador de Estados Unidos en Iraq, David Satterfield, coordinador de la política hacia Iraq y David Welch, subsecretario de Estado para asuntos del Cercano Oriente. Otros serían Christopher Hill, subsecretario para Asia Oriental y el Pacífico, a cargo de Corea del Norte, Richard Boucher, subsecretario de Estado para el Centro y Sur de Asia, a cargo de Pakistán, la India, y Afganistán.

CHILD CUSTODY
2 fathers speak out in child custody case
A 4-YEAR-OLD CUBAN GIRL'S BIRTH FATHER, FOSTER FATHER AND BIRTH MOTHER SPEAK PUBLICLY FOR THE FIRST TIME ABOUT HER CASE
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami_dade/story/213539.html,


Si hubiese ocurrido en Cuba...

Tres reclusos son ejecutados en Japón ante la indiferencia de Falsimedia

inSurGente.- Tres reclusos nipones han sido ejecutados hoy en la horca sin que se les hubiese comunicado previamente el momento en que iban a ser colgados, como es la práctica habitual en el país del sol naciente, informó la agencia local de noticias Kyodo. Es curioso comprobar una vez más como los medios de comunicación occidentales, ocupados en intoxicar sobre Cuba y Venezuela, consideran a Japón un ejemplo de civilización y se muestran indiferentes ante la práctica de la pena capital, aplicada por segunda vez en ese país en lo que va de año. El estado de Texas (EEUU), por su parte, ha ejecutado hoy al preso número 400 en los últimos 25 años.

Ésta es la segunda vez que se aplica la pena capital en Japón en lo que va de año, y la tercera desde que fue elegido primer ministro de Japón Shinzo Abe, quien hoy se encuentra de viaje oficial en la India.

Desde que a finales de septiembre Abe fue elegido primer ministro, un total de diez prisioneros han sido ejecutados en Japón.

Como es habitual, el Ministerio nipón de Justicia no divulgó los nombres de los presos ejecutados, a los que tampoco se informó con anterioridad del momento en que iban a ser conducidos a la horca.

Un centenar de presos están en Japón en el corredor de la muerte a la espera de ser ejecutados, algo que en este país se aplica siempre en la horca, y sin aviso previo a los prisioneros.

Con el nuevo Gobierno de Abe comenzó el principio del fin de la oficiosa moratoria de la pena capital vigente en Japón debido a la salida de Seiken Sugiura, titular de Justicia del anterior Ejecutivo, y cuyas creencias budistas le impedían firmar sentencias de muerte.

Las ejecuciones de hoy fueron aprobadas por el actual titular de Justicia, Jinen Nagase, según Kyodo.

Japón, considerado un ejemplo de civilización, mantiene la pena capital ante la indiferencia de los medios de comunicación, las protestas de las ONGs y el beneplácito de la población, que según las encuestas apoya las ejecuciones en los casos de crímenes crueles.

Hoy se cumplen 80 años de la ejecución de los anarquistas Sacco y Vanzetti en EEUU
http://www.insurgente.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=10800,

La iniciativa del gobierno de EEUU de que los cooperantes internacionales sean espías a su servicio recibe un fuerte rechazo
http://www.insurgente.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=10801,

Manu Chao. La vida libre
http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=55242,