[NYTr] News Summary from RHC - Dec 24, 2004

[nytr at olm.blythe-systems.com]

News Summary from Radio Havana Cuba - December 24, 2004

* Cuban Parliamentary Sessions Come to a Close
* Cuba to Host UNESCO Literacy Congress
* New Editions to Celebrate Carpentier's Centenary
* Spanish Foundation Will Participate in Havana Book Fair
* Nordic Solidarity Brigade Demands Release of Cuban Five

* Resistance Forces Step Up Attacks in Iraq
* US Defense Secretary Visits Iraq, Admits Setbacks
* Most Fallujah Refugees Still Unable to Return Home
* Hunger in the United States is a Year-Round Problem
* Washington Threatens EU Over Lifting China Arms Ban

* Editorial - A Bad Year for Peace and Happiness


Cuban Parliamentary Sessions Come to a Close

Havana, December 24 (RHC) -- The Cuban economy grew by five percent in
2004, according to the Minister of the Economy Jose Luis Rodriguez
speaking at the opening day of an ordinary session of the National
Assembly which was attended by Cuban President Fidel Castro and other
top government officials.

The Cuban Parliamentary sessions concluded on Friday in Havana with
the approval of the budget and economic and social guidelines for
2005.

Both topics were at the center of debates on Thursday when Cuban
President Fidel Castro talked with legislators over the internal and
external difficulties for the island over the last year.

Despite adverse factors such as a prolonged drought in the eastern
part of the island, hurricanes, high oil prices and the United States'
tightening of its blockade against the island, Cuba's Gross Domestic
Product grew by 5 percent in 2004.

Cuban legislators also heard reports on the implementation of the
budget during 2004 as well as projections for the coming year.


Cuba to Host UNESCO Literacy Congress

Havana, December 24 (RHC) - Cuba will host the first UNESCO
International Literacy Congress from December 31 to February 4 2005,
Cuban press reported Friday.

Cuban Education Minister Luis Ignacio Gómez told the Granma daily that
many educational experts and teachers had already confirmed their
participation in what he called recognition of Cuba's leading role in
the fight to eradicate illiteracy around the world.

The Education Minister told reporters that 15 countries have now
launched literacy campaigns using the Cuban model and often assisted
by Cuban teachers on international missions.

Mexico is one such country, where the Yo si puede (Yes I can)
video-based program has been successfully implemented in the
Michoacán, Nayarit and Tabasco regions and is scheduled to spread to
other areas of the country in 2005.

Cuba pioneered the use of video-learning, already popular in primary
and secondary schools on the island, which has now been taken up by
Ecuador and Paraguay, with Bolivia and Peru considering adoption of
the scheme. Cuban literacy techniques have also been implemented as
far a field as New Zealand.


New Editions to Celebrate Carpentier's Centenary

Havana, December 24 (RHC) - Four new editions of classic texts by
Alejo Carpentier, one of Cuba's most important novelists of all time,
will be presented tomorrow in a weekly event that has become known as
Book Saturday.

The launch of the Letras Cubanas editions of Carpentier's books will
take place in the historic Palacio del Segundo Cabo that also hosts
the annual Havana Book Fair.

The presentation comes at a particularly significant time as the late
novelist would have celebrated his 100th birthday on December 26th.

The new editions of 'The Harp and the Shadow' and 'Baroque Concert'
will be presented by Ana Cairo and Francisco López Sacha, whilst
'Vision of America' and Carpentier's seminal text on Haitian
independence "The Kingdom of This World' will be introduced by
contemporary Cuban novelist Raúl Aguiar.

Carpentier is one of the most important Latin American novelists of
the last 100 years, being awarded the Cervantes Prize for Literature
in 1977 and being accredited with inventing the 'magic realism' style
of writing that was later popularised by authors such as Gabriel
García Márquez and the so called Latin American literary "boom."


Spanish Foundation Will Participate in Havana Book Fair

Havana, December 24 (RHC) -- A Spanish foundation with 20 years
experience as a publisher will participate at the upcoming 14th Havana
Book Fair despite European Union sanctions seeking to curtail cultural
exchange with Cuba, according to the AIN News Agency.

The President of the Frederick Engels Foundation, Juan Ignacio Ramons
said that his organization opposes the policy of cultural blockade.

He went on to express the Foundation's solidarity with Cuba and
confirmed its presence at the Book Fair that runs from February 3-13,
2005 in Havana's Moro Cabaña Fortress and is then extended throughout
the island.

AIN reports that the Spanish foundation has published over 100 books
related to Marxist thinking, including classic works of Marx, Engels,
Lenin and Rosa Luxemburg.

Last year, several German publishers and writers participated in the
annual Havana Book Fair despite their government's support for the
European Union's decision to cut cultural exchange with the island.

German literature will once again be represented at next year's Book
Fair which will be dedicated to Brazil.


Nordic Solidarity Brigade Demands Release of Cuban Five

Havana, December 24 (RHC) -- Members of the 42nd Nordic Solidarity
Brigade demanded Friday in Havana the immediate release of the Five
Cuban Political Prisoners incarcerated in the United States.

Almost one hundred solidarity activists from Sweden, Norway, Britain,
Finland, Ireland, Denmark, Spain, Austria, Germany and Turkey met
Thursday with the relatives of the Cuban Five.

Magali Llort, mother of one of the Five Fernando González, told the
brigade members that the families hoped that justice would find a
voice in the US legal system.

The members of the Solidarity Brigade will be doing voluntary
agricultural and construction work in Cuba until January 8th.


Resistance Forces Step Up Attacks in Iraq

Baghdad, December 24 (RHC)-- Three US marines and an army soldier were
killed in two attacks in Iraq as the Pentagon continued its
investigation into how a suicide bomber managed to penetrate a US
military base in an attack that killed 22 people.

According to military spokesmen in Baghdad, the three marines were
killed while conducting what are called 'security operations' in
western Al-Anbar province, where Fallujah is located. At the same
time, in Baghdad, a roadside bomb claimed the life of a US soldier and
wounded two others, while mortar attacks killed three civilians and
one policeman.

The new US military casualties came amid a major review of base
security operations following Tuesday's attack on an army dining hall
at a military base in the northern city of Mosul. The US military's
second-in-command in Iraq, Lieutenant General Thomas Metz, ordered a
special investigation of how an infiltrator was able to penetrate the
heavily-guarded US military base.

US Brigadier General Carter Ham, commander of US-led forces in
northern Iraq, told reporters that the attack was probably the work of
a suicide bomber who was wearing an Iraqi Army uniform. A group called
Ansar al-Sunna claimed responsibility for the deadliest attack ever
against the American forces in Iraq.

The strike was the second major bombing inside a citadel-like US base
in two months after a double suicide blast in Baghdad's Green Zone,
home to the US embassy and the US-backed Iraqi government, which
killed six soldiers in October.

Mosul, the third largest Iraqi city, was once seen as relatively
stable compared with areas around Baghdad. But Mosul has changed over
the past several months and resistance forces are more active in the
northern Iraqi city. Last month, the city virtually burst into open
warfare between occupation troops and Iraqi insurgents as resistance
forces over-ran police stations.


US Defense Secretary Visits Iraq, Admits Setbacks

Baghdad, December 24 (RHC)-- US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has
admitted that Washington's troops have suffered what he called
"setbacks" in Iraq, as the head of the Pentagon visited US troops in
the occupied Arab country.

On a surprise Christmas Eve visit to occupation troops in Mosul,
Fallujah and Baghdad, Rumsfeld -- who secretly flew into Iraq under
heavy security -- painted a bleak picture of the future, just one
month ahead of scheduled national elections.

The US defense secretary said: "All along the way, it is bumpy and
it's tough... "But you will look back when you are about my age and
you will be proud." Political pundits pointed out that most of the
soldiers were in their 20s -- which would mean they'd have to wait
about 50 years or so to catch up with the 72-year-old Pentagon chief.

The defense secretary flew into Iraq at dawn, landing in Mosul, where
a suicide attack on a US army base killed 22 people on Tuesday.
Rumsfeld told troops in the northern city that although the situation
looked "bleak" for US forces in Iraq, they would ultimately prevail
and be part of something "truly historic."

Rumsfeld visited a military hospital on the base, where many of the
casualties from Tuesday's attack on a soldiers' mess hall were first
taken. He claimed that the visit had been planned long before the
bombing -- the deadliest single anti-occupation attack in Iraq -- in
which 14 American soldiers were among the dead.

Reports from Iraq -- where it's now Christmas Day -- said the top
military man from the Pentagon was visiting his troops to bring them
"good cheer."


Most Fallujah Refugees Still Unable to Return Home

Fallujah, December 24 (RHC)-- Most of the more than 200,000 people who
fled the Iraqi city of Fallujah when US forces launched a major
offensive nearly two months ago are still unable to go home. And news
reports say that many of Fallujah's refugees are in need of extra
humanitarian assistance as night-time temperatures drop near freezing.

The few who have been allowed to return to the devastated city were
reportedly shocked at what they found. Many found that their homes had
been destroyed and there was little or nothing to go back to. One man
told reporters that the city was unfit for animals.

According to the US-backed mayor of Fallujah, Mahmoud Ibrahim, the US
military will soon allow more families to return to a secure
neighborhood in the southern portion of the city over a ten-day
period. Occupation troops have prohibited most refugees from returning
home, saying that basic facilities must first be restored.

Fallujah has been without power or water since the US military
launched its devastating assault on November 8th. Hundreds of
buildings and homes were damaged or totally destroyed and powerlines
are reportedly still lying in the streets.

The Pentagon says that the return of civilians to Fallujah has also
been delayed while the city is cleared of unexploded bombs left by the
attack, and sporadic resistance has stalled the beginning of
reconstruction.


Hunger in the United States is a Year-Round Problem

New York, December 24 (RHC)-- In a nation where obesity is the
second-leading cause of death, 33 million US citizens don't know where
their next meal is coming from -- a paradox that is seemingly noticed
by the media only at this time of year.

Experts say what is unusual about America's hunger problem is that so
much of the country -- two-thirds of the population, according to the
federal government -- is either overweight or obese. Figures from the
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that some 400,000
Americans die annually from health problems linked to poor diet and
physical inactivity.

The US Department of Agriculture puts the number of "food insecure"
Americans -- its term for hungry people -- at 11.2 percent of the
population, or about 33 million. The George W. Bush administration has
publicly stated it hopes to cut that ratio to six percent by 2010 --
although many believe the goal is unrealistic.

Jan Pruitt, executive director of the North Texas Food Bank, said the
US hourly minimum wage of $5.15 is a major obstacle to proper
nutrition. She said: "They just can't pay the rent and put food on the
table at $5.15 an hour."

Pruitt said that the issue of hunger doesn't go away after
Thanksgiving and Christmas -- the traditional holidays when the media
takes notice of the fact that millions in the world's richest country
don't have enough to eat. She said that at Christmas time, "helping
the needy becomes all about toys. But hunger is a year-round problem."


Washington Threatens EU Over Lifting China Arms Ban

London, December 24 (RHC)-- The United States is reportedly ready to
hold back military technology from European allies over EU steps to
revoke its arms embargo on China. According to The Financial Times,
unnamed Pentagon officials say the US would likely withdraw government
backing for measures to improve military technology transfers to
European countries if the European Union begins to sell arms to China.

At a Brussels summit last week, EU leaders declared their "political
will" to lift an arms embargo on China, possibly by next June. EU
leaders said after summit talks that they were "looking forward to
further progress in all areas" of the 25-nation bloc's relationship
with China, hoping for greater economic cooperation with a country
whose economy has grown tremendously since the arms embargo was
imposed 15 years ago.

The London-based financial daily quoted one senior Pentagon official
as saying that "this has the potential to be a big brawl" -- adding
that Europe should not be "helping the Chinese kill Americans more
effectively."

The Financial Times said that Britain stands to be the hardest hit by
any US retaliation over any EU moves to sell military technology to
China. British firms BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce are the Pentagon's
two biggest suppliers.

EU countries like France and Germany -- both major arms exporters --
agree with China that the ban is "outdated." China wants access to
state-of-the-art technology to upgrade its weapons systems and to
reduce its reliance on Russian exports. Analysts say that with the US
intent on maintaining its own arms embargo on China, Europe is the
only other market capable of offering high-tech systems such as radars
and sonars to Beijing.


Editorial

A Bad Year for Peace and Happiness

Whether for cultural, family or religious reasons, this is the season
when millions around the world wish each other peace and happiness for
the new year. Unfortunately the ritual is more symbolic then real.

There is little space in today's world for peace and happiness to
flourish when so many peoples are devastated by war, invasions,
poverty, hunger and disease.

Though we are just days away from completing the fourth year of the
Third Millenium of modern human history, we have barely advanced in
our knowledge about how to live in peace.

The world's richest and most developed nations spend billions of
dollars to annihilate possible or imaginary adversaries on the pretext
of insuring their security. They try to convince their people and the
world that this is the only way to attain peace.

Millions of children in Latin America go to bed hungry every night,
just as their parents did before them. They have no time to worry
about peace or happiness because their life's work is simply to
survive in world that is everyday more adverse and hostile.

In Africa, millions of human beings die unnecessarily from diseases
that could be easily prevented with vaccines or the simple
administration of an antibiotic. Some African nations have lost more
than a fourth of their entire population as a consequence of AIDS,
malaria and tuberculosis.

Iraq has become a phantom country, shaken by explosions day and night,
the victim of friendly and enemy fire, while US arrogance and its
thirst for oil has turned the birthplace of humanity into a tomb.

In the Middle East, Israel has closed itself off behind a concrete
wall. Perhaps so as not to see the faces of the people it is
exterminating as it implements a chilling plan with the full knowledge
and support of its friends in Washington and with the near total
indifference of the rest of the world.

Afghanistan was modernized by bombs and bayonets and today, as it
assimilates western "culture," it has the dubious honor of being the
world's number one opium supplier. Meanwhile, Japan has abandoned its
peaceful stance and has joined the arms race.

But there are still many who refuse to believe that life must be this
way. And for those of us who still dream of peace , happiness and
harmony, there can be no truce in the struggle to build a new world; a
world that truly offers an alternative to war, hatred and greed.

compiled by NY Transfer from http://www.radiohc.cu