Radio Havana Cuba-13 December 2001 Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Radio Havana Cuba - News Update - 13 December 2001 . *CUBANS REACT WITH DISGUST TO SENTENCING OF AGENT IN MIAMI *ARGENTINA, MEXICO, CHILE AND BRAZIL WIN HAVANA FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS *CUBAN NATIONAL CENSUS READY TO ROLL NEXT YEAR *URUGUAYAN PEOPLE FORCE GOVERNMENT TO USE CUBAN MENINGITIS B VACCINE *US PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES UNILATERAL WITHDRAWAL FROM ABM TREATY *INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY SLAMS ISRAEL'S DECSION TO 'UN-RECOGNIZE' ARAFAT *FOR THE FIRST TIME, US ARMY ADMITS IT STILL PRODUCES ANTHRAX *ENRON SCANDAL GETS SCANT MEDIA ATTENTION *US NATINAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES ISSUES ALARM ON GLOBAL WARMING Viewpoint: *THE "GOOD" TERRORISTS AND THE "BAD," ACCORDING TO THE USA . *CUBANS REACT WITH DISGUST TO SENTENCING OF AGENT IN MIAMI Havana, December 13 (RHC)--Cubans are reacting with sadness, anger and indignation at what is being described here as the "brutal" sentence imposed on Gerardo Hernández Nordelo who was condemned in a Miami court Wednesday to two terms of life imprisonment. Hernández was convicted of conspiracy to spy on the United States and conspiracy in the "murder" of four Cuban Americans who were shot down by Cuban aircraft in 1996 for violating the island's airspace. One of the aspects of Wednesday's sentencing that has especially upset Cubans was the presence in the US court of well-known Cuban American terrorists who have been responsible for numerous attacks on Cuba. The work of infiltrating the terrorist groups these individuals belong to had been assigned to Hernández and four others convicted of conspiracy to carry out espionage on the US. In the light of the campaign against terrorism being waged in the United States, Cuban citizens and observers conscious of the details surrounding the case saw the fact that such people walk freely through the streets of Miami as particularly hypocritical. Hernández' mother was present at his sentencing and said she was proud of her son who had, she said, "batted a home run" for his country. *ARGENTINA, MEXICO, CHILE AND BRAZIL WIN HAVANA FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS Havana, December 13 (RHC)--Films from Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico picked up most of the awards as the 23rd International Festival of New Latin American Film wound up Thursday in Havana. An Argentine film, La Cienaga,, won top honors. The Argentine-Spanish production written and directed by Lucrecia Martel, stars Graciela Borges, and Mercedes Moran. The movie tells the story of two couples who live near the north eastern Argentine city of La Cienaga. Two accidents draw the two families to the countryside where they try to survive a blazingly hot summer. The 23rd International Festival of New Latin American Film gave its special jury prize to Brazil's "A la Isquierda del Padre," "On the Left of the Father" by Luiz Fernando Carvalho. The Second Coral award went to the Mexican film, "Perfume de Violetas" by Maryse Sistach and third was awarded to "Taxi for Three" by Orlando Luebbert of Chile. Special mention was given to the Cuban movie, "Miel para Ochun," or Honey for Ochun, by famed Cuban film director, Humberto Solas, who made Cuban classics like, "Lucia" and "A Successful Man." Two movies shared the Festival's award for the best first work: they were Cuba's "Nada" or "Nothing," by Juan Carlos Cremata and from Uruguay, "25 Wattes" by Juan Pablo Rebella. The movie is a Cuban, French, Spanish and Italian co-production. The Best Actress Coral Award was given to one of the stars of "La Cienaga," Graciela Borges, while the Best Actor Award went to popular Brazilian star, Selton Mello for his role in "On the Left of the Father." A U.S. film by Juan Carlos Saldivar, "90 miles," won first place in the documentary category. The 79-minute movie features a family divided by the 90 miles between Cuba and the United States. On Tuesday, Radio Havana Cuba chose the Uruguayan movie, "En la Puta Vida" as the best entry in the 10-day festival that winds up tonight in Havana's Charles Chaplin when the prestigious Coral Awards are to be handed out. Though the competition has officially ended, and most of the directors, actors and other industry professionals have returned home, film lovers will be able to keep watching festival films through Sunday. *CUBAN NATIONAL CENSUS READY TO ROLL NEXT YEAR Havana, December 13 (RHC)--Preparations by the Cuban National Statistics Office for the 2002 national census continue, reports Juan Carlos Alfonso Fraga, the director of the census. In an press conference on Wednesday, Alfonso Fraga said that every single dwelling on the island will be visited by a census worker to determine the number of people living there, their occupation, their living conditions etc. The census will also be used to determine housing location for cartographical purposes as well as the re-numeration of residences and re-mapping of street names. The census director added that all the workers who will be knocking on doors across the island next year, have been trained and are ready to go. The director of the National Statistics Office, Rodolfo Roque, said that he is very pleased with the work of the commissions that were set up in every province and municipality to prepare the country for the census which is normally carried out every decade but due to problems associated with the economic crisis in the early 1990s the last census was carried out 20 years ago. He stressed the tremendous importance of the census to the future work of the government and said that no documents or papers will be requested during the census interviews. *URUGUAYAN PEOPLE FORCE GOVERNMENT TO USE CUBAN MENINGITIS B VACCINE Havana, December 13 (RHC)--In the wake of the deaths of two children from meningitis in the Uruguayan town of Santa Lucía, the South America nation's health minister, Luis Fraschini, Thursday agreed to vaccinate all children and youth between the age of 4 and 20 in the department of Canelones where the meningitis outbreak has occurred. The health authorities at first decided not to use the vaccine because the meningitis strain reportedly does not respond to the Cuban vaccine which was designed to combat a different strain of meningitis B. However, public pressure and overwhelming medical opinion that the Cuban vaccine should be used regardless, has forced the authorities to use the vaccine. *US PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES UNILATERAL WITHDRAWAL FROM ABM TREATY Washington, December 13 (RHC)--US President George W. Bush's announcement that Washington is unilaterally withdrawing from the 1972 Antiballistic Missiles Treaty has been called by critics opportunistically timely. The "Los Angeles Times" noted Thursday that by making the move during a war that has strengthened his support at home and abroad, Bush helped ensure that opposition to pulling out of the treaty both at home and abroad will be muted. Aimed at paving the way for the deployment of a space-based nuclear shield, Russia and many US allies have warned Bush that withdrawal from the ABM could unleash a new nuclear arms race. Other critics have warned of the enormous cost of a Star Wars project, while still others have expressed serious doubt over the efficacy of an anti-missile shield when terrorist threats are more likely to come in small suitcases and hijacked planes. A Tuesday article in the "San Francisco Chronicle," entitled "Why We Don't Need a Missile Defense Shield," noted that with a mere fraction of the money spent on the project, the United States could build more schools, water purifying plants and other infrastructure in Afghanistan and Palestinian areas - alleviating some of the desperation of the people there. The article asserted that such moves would provide greater regional economic stability, engender goodwill toward the United States and, more importantly, terrorist groups would have more difficulty recruiting in those areas. In related news, Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday called Bush's ABM decision "an error," as Russian political leaders and lawmakers reacted angrily and spoke of possible reprisals. While observers note that scrapping the ABM could unravel more than 30 other nuclear weapons accords, thereby undermining international security, the pro-government Fatherland-All Russia Party called Washington a superpower that is trying to dictate its rules to the world. The liberal Yabloko Party called the move an error and a bad sign after Russia has cooperated in the US's war on terrorism. The president of the Russian Parliament's Foreign Affairs Commission, Dimitri Rogozin, said Russia will retain and perhaps mount more multiple nuclear warhead missiles. These weapons were to be scrapped under the START-2 arms reduction treaty, though in Russian law ratification of START-2 is valid only if the ABM treaty remains intact. *INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY SLAMS ISRAEL'S DECSION TO 'UN-RECOGNIZE' ARAFAT Havana, December 13 (RHC)--The international community has slammed Israel's decision to no longer recognize Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat following an attack against Jewish settlers that left ten killed. Pope John Paul II condemned the violence by both Israelis and Palestinians, saying that two different extremisms were disfiguring the face of the Holy Land. French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine termed as a mistake to not consider Arafat and the Palestinian National Authority as a partner in peace efforts, recalling that the European Union has demanded that Israel freeze the construction of illegal Jewish settlements, withdraw its troops from autonomous Palestinian territory, cease the selective assassinations of Palestinian activists and unconditionally sit down at the negotiation table. Even Washington, oftentimes considered Israel's unconditional ally, has stated that the US government will continue recognizing Arafat as the leader of the Palestinian people and will not break off contact with him. The Arab League has accused Israel of destroying the Middle East peace process, charging that it's useless to speak of peace with Tel Aviv. The government of Jordan said Israel is generating more violence and a possible civil war among Palestinians - which some observers have asserted is Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's deliberate plan. The United Nations special envoy to the Middle East warned of a heightened confrontation that will bring chaos to the region and have international repercussions. Meanwhile, Israel has prohibited Arafat from leaving the West Bank city Ramallah, surrounding his official residence with army tanks. *FOR THE FIRST TIME, US ARMY ADMITS IT STILL PRODUCES ANTHRAX Washington, December 13 (RHC)--The United States Army has for the first time admitted that it is still producing anthrax, 32 years after President Richard Nixon closed down the country's offensive biological weapons program. But a statement by the Army released late Wednesday claimed that all the anthrax produced by Army scientists at the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah has been accounted for, despite a report that the weapons-grade organisms sent to members of the US Congress are genetically identical to those made at Dugway. The Wednesday edition of the "Baltimore Sun" noted that the anthrax produced at Dugway, never before publicly revealed, was regularly sent by Federal Express to the Army's biodefense center at Fort Detrick until the mail attacks that killed five people sparked tighter security measures. While providing details concerning the identical match in the high concentration between the organisms produced at the Army laboratory and those sent to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, the newspaper affirmed that this concentration exceeds that of weapons anthrax produced by the old US offensive program or the Soviet biowarfare program. *ENRON SCANDAL GETS SCANT MEDIA ATTENTION Washington, Los Angeles, New York, December 13 (RHC)--Washington Post staff writer Howard Kurtz has affirmed that one of the biggest scandals in US financial history is being buried amid the so-called war on terrorism. In reference to the collapse of the powerful Enron energy firm, Kurtz asserted Wednesday that the daily drumbeat political treatment that often surrounds corporate chicanery with a strong whiff of scandal is only sparking outrage from a few, among whose ranks is Los Angeles Times columnist Robert Scheer. Scheer recently wrote that the trickle-down model provided to recent US administrations gave the fat-cat corporate hotshots everything they want in return for bankrolling political campaigns. He said that this isn't just some rinky-dinky land investment, but rather, has the makings of one of the greatest presidential scandals ever, noting that the George W. Bush administration has a long and intimate relationship with Enron, whose much-discredited chairman, Kenneth L. Lay, was a primary financial backer of Bush's rise to the presidency. New York Times columnist Paul Krugman recently stated that Enron used its political clout to create what one of its own executives called a black hole of unregulated markets in which it could operate freely, and into which billions of hard-earned dollars disappeared - including the life savings of many of Enron's own employees who had invested in the company's stock. Vice President Dick Cheney is reportedly in the loop, with some Democrats asking him for details of his meetings with Lay when preparing the Bush administration's energy plan. A recent cover story in Fortune Magazine was headlined "The Enron Disaster. Lies. Arrogance. Betrayal: How Ken Lay and his team destroyed America's seventh-largest corporation." In alternative news web sites, David Morris -- a staunch critic of Washington's energy policies -- recalled that Lay was Deputy Undersecretary for energy matters for the Department of Interior during the George Bush senior administration, after having become, in the 1980s, the principle fund raise for Bush and later his son. His board of directors, wrote Morris, included Wendy Graham, wife of Texas Senator Philip Graham. He said a month after they left office, Enron put former Secretary of State James Baker and former Secretary of Commerce Robert Mossbacher on the Enron payroll as Lay played golf with former President Bill Clinton. The British news daily The Guardian recently reported that Enron's quietly paid bonuses to 500 staff members of 110,000 dollars a piece has sparked outrage among both the 5,000 workers already laid off and its creditors, who are chasing debts of more than 30 billion dollars. Those who lost their jobs received just 4,500 dollars each, while some belonging to the firm's pension fund have seen 70 percent of their retirement assets disappear. *US NATINAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES ISSUES ALARM ON GLOBAL WARMING Washington, December 13 (RHC)--Greenhouse gases and other pollutants causing global warming could trigger large, abrupt and potentially disastrous climate changes, according to a new National Academy of Sciences report published in the Wednesday edition of the Washington Post. While climate change studies have focused on the risks of a gradual rise in the Earth's temperature, the report -- citing a wealth of paleontological, evidence, historical observations and computer modeling analyses reaching back hundreds of centuries -- researchers have reportedly found that in some places periods of gradual changes were punctuated by sudden temperature spikes of about 10 degrees Celsius in only a decade. Roughly half of the warming that has occurred in the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean since the last ice age was achieved in only a decade, according to the report, adding that this warming was accompanied by significant climate changes across the globe, including flooding and drought. The authors of the study affirmed that abrupt climate changes were especially common when the climate system was being forced to change most rapidly, concluding that greenhouse warming and other human alterations of the earth system may increase the possibility of large, abrupt, and unwelcome regional or global climatic events. The Post affirmed that the report offers a new wrinkle to the decades-long debate over global warming problems, and will likely provide additional ammunition to European and Asian environmental leaders seeking to persuade the US government to reconsider its position to a global warming treaty recently concluded in North Africa Viewpoint: *THE "GOOD" TERRORISTS AND THE "BAD," ACCORDING TO THE USA There is an anecdote about John Dulles when he was US Secretary of State in the Eisenhower government. When asked why, in spite of all the scandals and improper conduct, Edgar J. Hoover was kept on in the Department of Justice, he answered that there are certain people it is better to have inside the shop throwing garbage out than outside the shop throwing garbage in. The story is as relevant today as it was in the '50s. Everything appears to indicate that for the United States, those who are inside the so-called shop are the so-called "good" ones. It doesn't matter what they have done outside, even if it is potentially dangerous and criminal. For example, when Osama Bin Laden was in favor in the White House he was a good boy; when he left he was under suspicion. When he rose up against those who taught him how to use weapons, he was portrayed as a terrorist of the worst kind, someone that must be captured, dead or alive, no matter what the price, be it the destruction of a country or the annihilation of its people. In contrast, it is of no importance to them that Cuban-born Orlando Bosch, Jose Basulto or Luis Posada Carriles, to mention only a few, conspire to commit terrorist acts, execute terrorist deeds and violate the laws of the United States and international community. The point is that they are inside the shop and that means that they can move with total impunity. This paradoxical approach to terrorism is functioning again, as witnessed Wednesday in a court room in Miami, where the Cuban patriot, Gerardo Hernandez Nordelo, was handed two consecutive life sentences and fifteen years for committing the so-called grave crime of monitoring the terrorist organizations that are openly based in the south of Florida. The message cannot be clearer: These terrorists have sanctuary in the United States and can carry out, more or less any activity they wish. They will be protected and the weight of the law will fall on whoever tries to stop their nefarious actions against our country. These are the good boys, and they are helped to stay on their feet by the shop owners who help them logistically and financially. It doesn't matter what is done outside, inside the house they will continue to be treated as good boys. The "bad" ones are the others, those who try to put a stop to crimes, those who defend their country's people, those who work to keep innocent senior citizens, women and children, from having to pay the consequences of the hatred that these people feel towards Cuba. The hypocrisy of the United States system, which imposes a double moral standard on what they consider to be desirable conduct, demonstrates once again that what is important for Washington is not what is done but where and against whom it is done. On that depends their approval or disapproval. On that basis, any person who has an atom of common sense and decency should be careful about having such a country as a friend, although that doesn't appear to worry them. It's as if they are proclaiming that there are no friends, just interests. (c) 2001 Radio Habana Cuba, NY Transfer News. 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