Cuba star in AIDS fight

[Mika]

Cuba star in AIDS fight
http://www.montanaforum.com/rednews/2003/07/18/build/health/op-cuba-hiv.php?nnn=6

By JAY BOSTROM
President Bush could make a substantially positive impact on AIDS in the third world by supporting a lifting of the travel ban and economic embargo on Cuba.
As part of a Witness for Peace delegation, I just returned from Cuba, where we met with doctors, psychologists, AIDS treatment specialists, and economic and policy experts. Cuba is doing an impressive job in providing medical care generally, and AIDS prevention and treatment specifically, to its own population despite the limitations imposed by the embargo. However, our punishing economic policy has a ripple effect on other countries.
Cuba could have a far greater impact on the global AIDS crisis than its size and geopolitical importance would suggest. Cuba’s biomedical advances have received international recognition and it has more doctors serving abroad than the World Health Organization. However, due to the U.S. Embargo, it is having difficulty attracting donations, investment and trade to ramp up production of domestically developed AIDS treatment drugs, which it wishes to give (not sell) to Haiti and African countries most devastated by AIDS. Unfortunately, this contribution is undermined by the antiquated and punitive Cold War policy the U.S. inflicts on Cuba.

Cuba has the lowest hiv/aids infection levels in the western hemisphere, due to high level care and outstanding prevention education programs.

[Judi Lynn]

1. Interesting points made

It's been known for years that Cuba has been working very hard in creating affordable replicas of the expensive drugs from America to bring relief to the many poorer countries of the world.

(snip) However, due to the U.S. Embargo, it is having difficulty attracting donations, investment and trade to ramp up production of domestically developed AIDS treatment drugs, which it wishes to give (not sell) to Haiti and African countries most devastated by AIDS. (snip)

All of the disinformation which has been handed out to the American public will be exposed when we get the travel ban removed, which should have happened years ago. The people guilty of the treacherous deception are the ones who are going to fight it with their last breath. Their reputations will suffer.

[Mika]

2. The US leans on Cuba & its neighbors, but Cuba still helps

I don't know if you remember that W*'s henchmen recently threatened Barbados with US trade sanctions for trying to give used public transportation busses to Cuba. This was an exchange of goodwill in return for some Cuban aid to Barbados with their health/aids education programs.

The US armtwisting was successful. The busses never made it to Cuba. But the Cuban ed/aids donations did make it to Barbados.

With actions like this, its no wonder that Cuba and President Castro are respected, if not revered in the Latin Americas/ Caribbean, while respect for American/ W*'s policy is plummeting.

[Judi Lynn]

3. Oh, that's sad

Those busses Barbados attempted to sell to Cuba were old, were being replaced, phased out, and would have been useful to a country with such cracker jack mechanics, wouldn't you say? They could have been used to phase out a couple of their combination truck/bus hibreds, the "camels."

This is an aspect of our administration's persistant bullying and intimidating Cuba. In any other world you would NEVER expect to see a country as large and powerful as the U.S. actually monitoring EVERYTHING its tiny neighbors were doing to the point it would start threats and pressure even on their private business transactions among themselves.

People simply are NOT aware of the intensity and scope of this intimidation Bush is conducting against Cuba. He may still be a bit reluctant to do anything huge against Cuba, as in "preemptive war," but his daily program against Cuba is vicious.

[Judi Lynn]

4. By the way

I just found a link to an exquisite photo which was posted once at another site by the very well-read D.U. poster whom you recognize instantly when that poster shows up here.

This photo hasn't been displayed much in our country, but it's fascinating. It depicts a man who climbed a lamp post to get a better look at the proceedings one day during the Cuban revolution. The crowd around him was rallying in support of the revolution.

It was taken by the photographer who took the world famous photo of Che Guevara, and who refused to take any profit from that photo, Alberto Korda.

(He was very angry when he learned that a liquor company planned to use the Che photo on one of its products, felt it was in wretched taste, since El Che did NOT drink.)

El Quijote de la Farola