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Today's Stories August 17, 2006 Uri Avnery August 16, 2006 Merav Yudilovitch Robert Fisk Mark Williams John Ross Christopher
Brauchli John Walsh Ron Jacobs Rachard Itani Felice Pace Niranjan Ramakrishnan Frank, Sharma
and Peterson Jonathan Cook Website of
the Day
August 15, 2006 Andrew Ford
Lyons Binoy Kampmark Robert Fisk Ralph Nader Todd Chretien Chris Floyd Mark Engler George Galloway Laray Polk Trish Schuh Website of the Day
Uri Avnery Karim Makdisi Kathy Kelly Robert Fisk Norman Solomon Sunsara Taylor Robert Jensen Mike Whitney P. Sainath Goretti Horgan Christopher
Reed
August 12 /
13, 2006 Jean Bricmont Norman Finkelstein Robert Fisk Adrian Grima Barucha Peller Omar Barghouti Adam Engel Conn Hallinan John Stauber Rev. William
Alberts Fred Gardner Lucinda Marshall Ron Jacobs CounterPunch
News Service Poets' Basement
Col. Dan Smith John Ross Michael Donnelly William S.
Lind Linda Milazzo Rep. Cynthia
McKinney Azmi Bishara Henri Picciotto CounterPunch News Wire Dave Lindorff Jonathan Cook
Uri Avnery Dave Marsh Gabriel Kolko Arthur Versluis Jennifer Loewenstein
Linda Schade Jackie Mason Jonathan Cook Gilad Atzmon
Charles Hirschkind
Tom Barry Cockburn &
St. Clair
August 8, 2006 Patrick Cockburn Paul Larudee Joan Roelofs Dimi Reider John A. Murphy Tim Llewellyn Website of the Day
August 7, 2006 Uri Avnery Karim Makdisi Nadia Hijab Sharon Smith Magan Wiles George Beres Rachard Itani Norman Solomon Stan Cox Mickey Z. Jonathan Cook Website of
the Day
August 5 / 6, 2006 Virginia Tilley Uri Avnery Patrick Cockburn Sgt. Martin Smith Gary Leupp Neve Gordon Ralph Nader Peter Bouckaert Peter Montague David Krieger Michael Donnelly Fred Gardner Catherine Norris Imraan Siddiqi Missy Comley
Beattie Ira Kay Dave Lindorff Pratyush Chandra Ron Jacobs St. Clair / Donnelly Poets' Basement Website of the Day Video of the
Weekend
August 4, 2006 Ralph Nader Brian Cloughley Eliza Ernshire Roger Assaf George Bisharat Remi Kanazi Laura Carlsen Niranjan Ramakrishnan Derrick O'Keefe Mickey Z. Col. Dan Smith Website of the Day
Jonathan Cook Uri Avnery Saree Makdisi Robert Fisk Farrah Hassen Nicola Nasser Ron Jacobs Mitchel Cohen Seth Sandronsky Bruce K. Gagnon Alexander Cockburn
John Ross Chip Mitchell Saul Landau Naseer Aruri Winslow T.
Wheeler Matthias Gebauer Joshua Frank Bill Quigley Manuel Yang Shamai Leibowitz David Himmelstein Lara Marlowe Website of
the Day
August 1, 2006 Michael Neumann Robert Fisk Omar Barghouti Marc Levy Diana Barahona / Jeb Sprague Claud Cockburn Ross Eisenbrey Dave Lindorff John Chuckman Francis Boyle Phil Doe Stephen Soldz Website of the Day
July 31, 2006 Jonathan Cook Uri Avnery Robert Fisk Amina Mire Marjorie Cohn Sibel Edmonds / William Weaver John Ross Stanley Rogouski Gideon Levy Ron Jacobs James Ridgeway
/ Alicia Ng Brian Tokar Alexander Cockburn
July 29 / 30,
2006 Michael Neuman Vijay Prashad Ramzi Kysia Werther Robert Fisk Patrick Cockburn Ralph Nader Rachard Itani Eduardo Galeano Gary Leupp Eve Poretsky John Chuckman Fred Gardner Juan Santos Punyapriya Dasgupta Liaquat Ali
Khan Israel Shamir William A.
Cook Stanley Heller Dave Lindorff Moshe Adler Susie Day Pat Williams Anthony Papa John V. Whitbeck Jackie Corr Myles Palmer Tom D'Antoni Poets' Basement Website of
the Weekend
July 28, 2006 Jonathan Cook Uri Avnery Renee Bowyer Robert Fisk Patrick Cockburn Ramzy Baroud Don Fitz Elaine Cassel David Price Mike Whitney Mickey Z. Niranjan Ramakrishnan Charles Glass Website of
the Day
July 27, 2006 Tanya Reinhart Saul Landau Ramzi Kysia Tom Barry Joseph Grosso Sharon Smith Gale Courey
Toensing Christopher Reed Werther Yusuf Mansur Richard Harth Website of the Day
Norman
Solomon Barbara
Olshanksy David
Nally Jonathan
Cook Patrick
Cockburn William
Blum Joshua
Frank Gabriel
Kolko Daniel
Cassidy Michael
Dickinson Robert
Fisk Uri
Avnery Website
of the Day
July 25, 2006 Harry
Browne Marjorie
Cohn Robert
Bryce Sharat
G. Lin George
Bisharat CounterPunch
News Desk Zena
El-Khalil Larry
Lack Mike
Mejia Ashraf
Isma'il Website
of the Day
July 24, 2006 Mark
Levy Robert
Fisk Maher
Osseiran Paul
Craig Roberts Patrick
Cockburn Website
of the Day
July 22-23, 2006 Jonathan
Cook Paul
Craig Roberts Gilad
Atzmon Robert
Fisk Ralph
Nader Fred
Gardner Christopher
Reed Dr.
Susan Block Najla
Said Uri
Avnery July 21, 2006 George
Galloway P.
Sainath Aseem
Shrivastava Alexander
Cockburn Website
of the Day July 20, 2006 William
S. Lind Robert
Jensen John
Ross Tom
Hayden Paul
Craig Roberts July 19, 2006 Patrick
Cockburn Trish
Schuh Jonathan
Cook Vicente
Navarro July 17 / 18 2006 Mike
Whitney Kathleen Christison Atrocities in the Promised Land
July 14 / 15,
2006 Alexander Cockburn Tanya Reinhart Robert Fisk Daniel Cassidy Winslow Wheeler Hugh O'Shaughnessy M. Shahid Alam William S. Lind Ramzy Baroud Gilad Atzmon Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Samar Assad Ron Jacobs Lee Ballinger Walter Brasch Dave Lindorff Clifton Ross Tom Crumpacker Ricardo Alarcon William Hughes Susie Day Farrah Hassen Poets' Basement
July 13, 2006 Rev. William
Alberts Ramzi Kysia Rep. John P. Murtha Radford / Santos Stan Cox Saul Landau José
Pertierra Website of
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July 12, 2006 John Ross John Stauber Robert Boston Wayne S. Smith John Graham Kevin Prosen Jonathan Cook Website of
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July 11, 2006 Dave Lindorff Dave Zirin Mokhiber / Weissman Amira Hass Clare Hanrahan Brian Cloughey Felice Pace Raed Jarrar Website of the Day
July 10, 2006 Paul Craig
Roberts Uri Avnery Roger Burbach Ron Jacobs Joshua Frank Missy Comley Beattie Alexander Cockburn
Stephen Green Paul Craig
Roberts Greg Moses Ralph Nader Laura Carlsen Conn Hallinan John Chuckman Fred Gardner Dr. Tod Mikuriya Pierre Tristam Lucinda Marshall David Swanson Heather Gray Dave Zirin
/ John Cox Mark Engler Michael Lettieri Ron Jacobs Jamal Juma' Jeffrey St. Clair Poets' Basement
July 7, 2006 John Ross July 6, 2006 Nick Dearden John Stanton Ralph Nader Laray Polk Saul Landau Joshua Frank William S. Lind Adelman / Lindorff Jonathan Cook Website of
the Day
Mike Whitney Saul Landau Ramzy Baroud Missy Comley Beattie Arthur Neslen Vincent Maruffi Paul Cantor Paul D. Johnson David Price
Col. Dan Smith Chris Floyd Marjorie Cohn James Brooks Medea Benjamin Matt Reichel Elisa Salasin Rick Wilhelm Paul Craig
Roberts Website of the Day
July 3, 2006 Robert Bryce Dr. Bouthaina Shaban Julia Olmstead Dave Lindorff Andres Gomez Alan Singer Alexander Cockburn
Paul Craig
Roberts Stephen T.
Banko Daniel Cassidy Fawzia Afzal-Khan Jeff Taylor John Ross Greg Moses Laura Carlsen Justin E.H.
Smith Brian Cloughley Anthony Papa Mike Ferner Jerry Tucker Jane Goodall / Rick Asselta Phyllis Pollack Poets' Basement
June 30, 2006 Marjorie Cohn Heather Williams Burbach / Cantor Nick Dearden Michael J.
Smith Brian Concannon Virginia Tilley
Bill Quigley Ron Jacobs Paul Craig
Roberts June 28, 2006 Jorge Mariscal Greg Moses Mark Weisbrot Ramzy Baroud Dave Lindorff William S.
Lind Mike Ferner Zoltan Grossman
Marjorie Cohn Benjamin /
Jarrar William Hughes Doug Giebel Uri Avnery Alexander Cockburn
June 26, 2006 Don Santina Ralph Nader Dave Lindorff Rafael Rodriguez-Cruz Evelyn Pringle Jonathan Cook
June 23, 2006 Youmans / Erakat Dave Lindorff Ron Jacobs Col. Dan Smith
June 22, 2006 Marjorie Cohn Winslow T.
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August 17, 2006 Self-Deception in Miami and WashingtonThe Cuban MirageBy EMILY KIRKSEY For many of the anti-Castro exiles dancing along Miami's Calle Ocho on Monday, July 31, the announcement of a temporary transfer of power by aging revolutionary Fidel Castro to his younger brother Raúl, marked the happiest of moments as well as the end of a troubled epoch in their lives. While Cuba awaits Fidel's recovery from gastrointestinal surgery, the rest of the world is left contemplating what will occur if he fails to recuperate, or if he decides not to return to his position as the maximum leader. As Cuba's closest neighbor and the world's professed patron of democratization, the United States would seem to be the most likely candidate to aid in the island nation's transition into its post-Castro era. Unfortunately, however, Washington has recklessly used its policy towards Cuba as a legislative Christmas tree, under which anti-Castro Miami hardliners are able to place gifts of political patronage. Private campaign donations of a few million dollars to both Republican and Democratic candidates are exchanged for hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. taxpayer funds which Miami hardliners obtain as backing for pet anti-Castro projects such as Radio and TV Martí, and scores of other pork barrel entitlements. All told, in its attempt to "aid" Cubans by slavishly following the goading of Miami ideologues, the U.S. has devoted billions of dollars in public funds to bring about a variety of outlandish projects, directed at vilifying Castro's regime. Continued Cold War Mentality State Department advocates maintain that the additional suffering that Cubans are forced to endure under the U.S. embargo is part of a greater plan for democratization from which the island population will ultimately benefit. In keeping with this theory, Washington has chosen to release its new strategy to guide Cubans down the 'right' path to democracy. The July 7 Report to President Bush is the second by the Commission for Assistance to Free Cuba (CAFC) since it was established in 2003. The Commission, which is entirely made up of high level bureaucrats, sanitized Cuban-Americans close to the White House and Cold War apostles, like Caleb McCarry, espouses a monochromatic tabloid ideology when it comes to Cuba, inspired by a clutch of ultras like Otto Reich, John Negroponte, John Bolton and Roger Noriega. The body has the specific purpose of designing and implementing a rightwing capitalistic democracy in Cuba. CAFC is currently co-chaired by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, and its members include officials from over 24 departments of the federal government. McCarry, a longtime activist and a former employee of the CIA-surrogate agency, the National Endowment for Democracy, has been designated the "Transition Coordinator," in charge of the daily operations of the Commission. It should be noted that his new position hardly marked an abrupt departure from his tough anti-Castro role, since he previously held a staff position with such an arch Castro basher, former as Sen. Jesse Helms (R-SC). Despite its presumptuous nature, the report depicts an accurate, but often superficial, portrayal of the difficulties average Cubans face under the current regime, which includes sanitation problems, dilapidated housing and poverty. Yale Professor and Cuban specialist, Dr. Lillian Guerra agrees with the Commission's assessment in this respect, adding that in the district of Santos Suar, the sewage problem has become so exacerbated that the streets flood two to three times a week. However, Guerra, along with many other scholars, disagrees with the Commission's evaluation of where these problems stem, and feels that the report is thoroughly misguided on its projected cure-all and dismantling approach. Cuban Confusion In the opening paragraph of its report, CAFC laments Cuba's long history of dictatorial rule; "first under Fulgencio Batista, and then Batista's totalitarian successor Fidel Castro" but neglects to acknowledge that President Franklin Roosevelt didn't flinch over Batista's consolidation of power and tyrannical repression. While providing scant evidence, the report emphasizes that, "the United States is a natural ally of Cuba." But Dr. Guerra argues that the connections made, "show terrible ignorance, on the part of many Americans and Cuban-Americans, of how they are perceived today and how their actions were perceived in the past." Yet another example of this misinterpretation is the Commission's assumption that Cubans desire a more democratic government and free market system, which would, among other things, entail the abdication of their coveted social programs and free public services. Contrary to Washington's hopes and Miami's anti-Castro assurances, many Cubans posses, at the very least, the same "Pink Tide" left-leaning sentiments as the new governments of South America. In fact, even in the United States, Cuban-Americans, whatever may be their feelings on Castro, tend to support left-leaning social welfare policies, even if they may cast their vote in favor of a single foreign policy issue anti-Castro retribution. Diagnosis without a Cure Not only is the assumption maintained by the Commission that "Cuba has no greater friend than the United States" misguided in its pandering pretense, but also the report provides some questionable solutions to the problems it addresses. It mocks the dispatch of doctors abroad by the Cuban government in its longstanding campaign of medical diplomats and the report claims this has resulted in a domestic shortage of health personnel and has forced the government to draft teenagers to prepare for medical school. The Commission goes on to provide ways to combat malnutrition and infectious disease, which are not among the major problems now facing the Cuban people. In fact, according to the World Health Organization, estimates of key health indicators in Cuba are equivalent to those found in western European welfare societies. The healthcare system in Cuba has eliminated or curbed many serious infectious diseases, supports 12 medical schools and has one of the lowest AIDS infection rates in Latin America. Rapid privatization and subsequent inflation, brought by an enforced free market, would be far more likely to present a legitimate problem for the "Transition Government" than would be posed by any infectious diseases. Dangerous Presumption The Bush-appointed Commission also highlights a number of housing safety issues that are being faced currently in Cuban cities, but once again it fails to address the causes or an suggest and appropriate cure. Shortages in construction materials, in part brought on by the embargo, have prevented citizens from making the most basic home repairs. Consequently, many Cubans are forced to live in battered shells of their once palatial homes. For example, in 2001, Havana had 60 barrios containing 21,552 condemned homes. Concerning this issue, the CAFC report offers minimal insight and does little to quell the apprehensions over the safety and adequacy of housing, many of which are shared by Cubans across the island. Dr. Guerra fears that the report perpetuates the "idea that the transitional government would have the authority to declare housing in the region unlivable, creating an excuse to kick people out of their homes. If this situation is allowed to come to pass, we are not going to see the Cuban people welcoming outsiders into their community, but rather a critical mass of residents who could potentially panic at the loss of their housing." Rather than address such contentious issues, the commission report only focuses on the transition government's potential changes. It overlooks the fact that many development organizations, like the Canadian group IDRC, have been attempting to cope with Cuba's housing woes since the 1990s. Orwellian Logic The notion that the transition government will be imbued with the benefits of Washington's presence is not necessarily welcomed in Cuba. As most area specialists stress, Cubans are likely to be resistant to any government that does not answer to their demands for complete sovereignty. Even under the gross shortages and hard times that characterized a major part of the Fidel Castro regime, many Cubans have developed a love-hate relationship with their leader and have learned to adapt to the shortcomings of the island's complex system. The most outlandish assumption made by the CAFC report, therefore, is the idea that Cuban sovereignty can be so easily discounted. The Emergency Network of Cuban American Scholars and Artist (ENCASA) reacted to the report's heady impositions on Cuban sovereignty by calling them "Orwellian" and declaring, "a state that respects the sovereignty of another nation and its people does not produce a detailed script for the political future of that nation and that people." Despite these frustrations, the Bush administration's actions come as little surprise. Policy makers have shown great audacity to instinctively embrace unipolar initiatives, which Stefan Halper and Jonathan Clark claim in their book, America Alone, has led to a crisis of international legitimacy. Counterproductive steps in Cuba, coupled with the foreign policy disasters in Iraq, reflect the ease with which U.S. government authorities guide themselves and much of the Cuban-American community down a destructive path, enticed by money, fear and power. Cuba Libre -- Voluntad Propia The Bush administration along with the Cuban exile community in Miami contends that a Cuba led by either Castro brother, is a future that should be feared. However, fear grounds for many Cubans at the hands of the U.S. government, which repeatedly has plotted to impede the sovereignty of their nation, openly offers asylum to a wanted terrorist Luis Posada Carriles, sanctions a judicial atrocity in the case of the Cuban Five which featured an unprincipled judge, who was more a political activist than a respectable member of the bench. Despite repeated open-ended invitations from Fidel Castro to begin a process that could lead to normalized relations; the United States refuses to acknowledge Castro's Cuba as anything other than a mortal enemy and on an almost annual basis it intensifies injunctions against the island. First through the Torricelli Bill and Helms-Burton Act, and now through the Commission for Assistance for a Free Cuba, the United States steadily tries to undermine the ability of the average Cuban to maintain contact with the outside world. At this pivotal moment in hemispheric politics, one must wonder if the Cuban people, when determining their future, will reflect on Washington's diplomatic sins that have plagued their island for so many years by raising some questions about the bona fides of the genera of "democracy" being so generously imposed by the Bush administration. Emily Kirksey is a research associate at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs.
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