Joanne Chesimard aka Assata Shakur to Pope John Paul II (+ comments on Cuba)

[flamingdem]

Fugitive Assata Shakur recorded this message to Pope John Paul II before his visit to Cuba in 1998. She said:

This is not a country that is rich in material wealth. It is a country that is rich in human wealth, spiritual wealth and moral wealth.

[flamingdem]

1. Comments on this from a Cuban American blog - pointing to Menendez as being behind it

http://ontwoshores.com/?p=2163

What to make of all this? Will Sweden be added to the terrorism list for harboring Velasquez for 9 years? Are the Black Panthers now considered a domestic terrorist organization? Or have hardliners have taken over the DOJ? Now, now, those are all as ridiculous as Cuba’s continued presence on the list.

My take is that the Administration was getting holy hell from the Sapingo Six led by Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Bob Menendez (and their combovered chihuahua Mauricio Claver-Carone) for moving to pull Cuba from the terrorism list. Garcia probably signed on to avoid the “soft on terror” GOP attack ads that would inevitably follow in his battlefield district.

* My note: this is kind of disgusting considering Garcia said he wouldn't agree to put Cuba on the terrorism list, and also shows the pressure involved

--

The Obama administration, being the yellabellies they are, and not wanting to look soft on terror after Boston, decided to hold off for now on removing Cuba from the list (hence the delay in publishing the report), unsealing the Velasquez indictment to justify keeping Cuba on the list for the time being.

As for Chesimard, that has Bob Menendez’s name all over it. He probably got the administration to designate her a domestic terrorist to justify keeping Cuba on the terrorism list for years to come. The administration likely agreed, figuring that if the Cubans really want off the list, they’ll extradite Chesimard to the US.

-----
Mauricio Claver-Carone and Ros-Lehtinen

[Judi Lynn]

2. Looks like their desperate bid to manipulate affairs in order to keep Cuba

in the frozen enemy position, just as you've mentioned, should Cuba return dipstick to the U.S. after he was clearly discovered breaking Cuba law, doing criminal things for the U.S. gummint, as a contractor, just might work for them.

Now they can continue to keep US open travel to Cuba out of bounds for U.S. citizens, allowing only Cuban Americans to come and go to Cuba, and they can continue using the anti-Cuba hatred, the continued Cold War as their perennial funding tool every election, as they run against people who might otherwise support dropping both the embargo and the travel ban.

They've really worked out a real scheme, haven't they?

Menendez, Senator from the Cuban "exiles" other U.S. base, good old New Jersey, bless his heart. Whoever thought they would get this lady on the FBI list after all these many years? #### them all.

In the meantime, President Obama knows there would be hell to pay politically if he tried to grab Assata Shakur from Cuba. A plot hatched in hell! Only a true asshole could come up with this one.

[idwiyo]

3. K&R