Cuba, EU Officials Launch Anti-Drug Course

[Rose Siding]

HAVANA - Cuba's top anti-drug agent and European officials launched a course Monday on drug interdiction in the Caribbean, marking one of the first renewed programs since diplomatic relations between Havana and the EU were restored last month.

John Dew, the British ambassador to Cuba, said he was enthusiastic about the weeklong course, as well as recent improvements in political relations with Cuba.
"This is a positive time, and there will be more of this kind of cooperation, especially on drugs," Dew said.

The course, which also involves France, brings together dozens of anti-narcotics agents from countries including Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Belize and Curacao to receive training.

"For the nations of the Caribbean, drug trafficking represents a permanent challenge," Gen. Jesus Becerra, chief of Cuba's anti-narcotics agency, said in opening remarks.
...
Becerra said the United States had not taken Cuba up on its offers to participate in regional efforts.
"They are the ones who can most benefit from this," he said, noting that most drugs coming through the Caribbean are headed for the United States.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=589&ncid=734&e=4&u=/ap/20050214/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cuba_drugs

[Mika]

1. Hating Castro is more important than stopping cocaine

Always remember..

USA = Good
Cuba = Bad

Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that
that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that Castro this Castro that

[ConcernedCanuk]

2. USA's so-called War on Drugs is not motivated by anything "good"

.
.
.

First of all, the US uses it's War on Drugs as an excuse to get it's troops and toenails into other countries.

Secondly, and maybe more importantly, is the US admin's fear of that NON-drug, MaryDoYaWanna.

Besides it's many medical benefits(MJ)(which threatens the USA's Pharmaceutical Terrorists), it's natural tendency to make people "mellow" would threaten it's already flailing recruiting program for it's ravenous WarMachine.

Just a couple of a Canuk's thots - -

:smoke:

[bemildred]

3. An Interview with Ricardo Alarcon

Ricardo Alarcon Quesada is Cuba's Vice President and President of its National Assembly

Landau: Elections in Iraq?

Alarcon: "Much ado about nothing," as Shakespeare said. Elections were a pretext to extend U.S. control. I don't believe the U.S. will withdraw. They can't give a sense they may abandon Iraq without giving the impression of having suffered a big defeat. I don't think elections solve political problems in Iraq. The U.S. occupation remains an issue.

Prior to the elections, CNN international had vast coverage of voting elsewhere, Iraqis in the U.S., Australia and Europe. And the turnout wasn't that big. It may have been a very big fraud. One commentator committed a Freudian slip referring to women voting, saying that Iraq was a secular society and women were accustomed to exercising rights. In the future, women may be deprived of rights in a religious society. But before the occupation, women had rights.

Secondly, Iraqis may have been Shiite, Sunni or Christian. I was there. Some of them wanted me to know what religion they belonged to. Catholic or Muslim, not Shiite or Sunni. Now everyone refers to different ethnic groups. Imagine American Protestants forming hostile groups of Presbyterians versus Episcopalians. It's stupid. Those Iraqi religious divisions may lead to war. Remember the religious wars in Europe.

http://www.counterpunch.org/landau02122005.html

[Say_What]

4. Priceless: Elections in Iraq? Alarcon: "Much ado about nothing,"

Great quotes in Landau's interview. For anyone curious about these two, Landau is an expert in the US on Cuba and Ricardo Alarcon is an expert in Cuba on the US. Speaks fluent English (better than Chimpy), holds a PHd from Havana University, and was part of the original July 26th Movement that kicked out the US puppet dictator Batista, and as the interview says, he is Cuba's VP and pres of the National Assembly.

Thanks for posting.

---

....Landau: And the U.S. media?

Alarcon: American propaganda machinery excels at manipulating elections. I remember a group of U.S. legislators trying to play a role in guaranteeing fair elections in the Ukraine. Remember the recent contested elections there? At the same time groups in the U.S. were demanding the right to review votes in Ohio, or trying to get recounts because of claims that there were voting violations there. I don't remember a single U.S. senator going from Washington to Cleveland or Cincinnati to see what was happening, but they went all the way to Iraq. Remember the 2004 referendum and elections in Venezuela. A number of U.S. politicians and the U.S. media got very concerned with fair voting in Venezuela but not in their own states. If they were to apply to U.S. elections similar standards to those they applied to Venezuela, my god, in Venezuela even the opposition accepted the result of the plebiscite as did international groups. Later, opponents of Chavez accepted them. People from the opposition were elected. The possibility of questioning election results in the U.S. is vanishing. And recounting-- that word that will disappear from the English language dictionary.


Ricardo Alarcon lower left.

[bemildred]

5. Yes. I am anxiously awaiting the second part.

The bit on "why not let the soldiers vote on whether to stay in Iraq"
was wicked too.