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On Wed, 13 May 2009 15:55:35 -0500, "ChasNemo" <...@ooeooeo.cu
"Poor" Fidel...we wonder which of his 50 villas and palaces he will be
staying in tonight...has he had a hard day of standing in line, ration card
in hand, begging for a cup-ful of rice and beans at his local "bodega"? In
which Swiss bank does he have his BILLIONS stashed...!!!???
Ain't it a HOOT, heehee...???
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-cb-cuba-castro,0,7811839.stor
y
chicagotribune.com
"Fidel Castro defends Cuba's state-controlled press; says rich control news
in other countries
WILL WEISSERT
Associated Press Writer
9:07 PM CDT, May 8, 2009
HAVANA (AP) - Fidel Castro defended Cuba's government-controlled press
Friday, arguing that news coverage is manipulated by those wealthy enough to
finance newsgathering even in countries guaranteeing press freedom.
In a column posted on a state Web site, the 82-year-old ex-president wrote
that "today, only through gigantic investments can you provide centers that
produce the news for the whole planet."
"And only those who manage them decide what gets reported and how it gets
reported," he said.
In Cuba, all television, radio, newspapers, magazines and publishing houses
are state-owned, and severe limits on private ownership and enterprise ban
competing with official propaganda.
The Internet is also strictly controlled, and while a small number of Cuban
bloggers with illegal Web access express their opinions openly, most do not
enjoy as wide followings on the island as legions of official bloggers who
repeat the government's line.
Some military and government officials are allowed Internet access and
Castro has become an official blogger of sorts recently, almost every day
posting online a column that is subsequently read on state radio and
television and published in official newspapers.
Also Friday, he dismissed a report by the Organization of American States'
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights as "pure garbage."
Released Thursday, the report criticized Cuba, Colombia, Venezuela and Haiti
for failing to fully protect human rights. Cuban rights activists, whose
work the government does not recognize but usually tolerates, estimate that
about 200 political prisoners are being held on the island.
Cuba was expelled from the OAS in 1962 after member nations, under pressure
from Washington, said its communist government went against the hemispheric
body's principles. Despite suggestions that it may be time to reinstate Cuba
as a member, Cuban leaders have said repeatedly their country is not
interested.
Castro lashed out at the OAS and its commission, writing that the report was
the work of the U.S. State Department and adding, "has it ever condemned the
United States? No, never."
"Not even for the tortures of the base at Guantanamo? As far as we know, not
one word," Castro wrote, referring to the U.S. naval base near the island's
eastern tip..."
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