By JTA
The daughter of Cuban head of state Raul Castro said that jailed American Alan Gross “has been granted everything that he’s asked for.”
In an interview on CNN to be aired Monday, June 4, Mariela Castro told host Christiane Amanpour: “Alan Gross has been granted everything that he’s asked for: he has been able to see his wife, he has been able to have matrimonial, conjugal visits, and he has been treated with respect and dignity the way we always treat prisoners in Cuba. We haven’t received the same treatment on the other hand for our five prisoners who have very long sentences that are not right. I think that the six must be released—both the five Cubans and Alan Gross.”
Castro is referring to what are known as The Cuban Five, a group of intelligence officers being held in the U.S. for espionage. She said her husband’s request was similar to that of Rene Gonzalez, whose brother is dying of cancer in Cuba.
Gross was arrested in 2009 and sentenced last year to 15 years on charges related to his distribution of communications equipment to the island’s small Jewish community, working as a contractor for the U.S. Agency on International Development.
He has appealed for humanitarian leave of two weeks to visit his 90-year-old mother, who has inoperable lung cancer. A U.S. judge allowed Gonzalez, on parole after serving time for espionage, to return to Cuba for two weeks to visit his dying brother.
Gross’ daughter also has undergone cancer treatment since his arrest.
Castro told Amanpour that the release of both the Cuban Five and Gross would be the “happiest solution.”
A number of analysts have said that the Cuban government is detaining Gross in order to trade him for the Cuban Five.
The Forward welcomes reader comments in order to promote thoughtful discussion on issues of importance to the Jewish community. In the interest of maintaining a civil forum, the Forward requires that all commenters be appropriately respectful toward our writers, other commenters and the subjects of the articles. Vigorous debate and reasoned critique are welcome; name-calling and personal invective are not. While we generally do not seek to edit or actively moderate comments, the Forward reserves the right to remove comments for any reason.
Source: forward.com
Why Bloomberg Is Right - Huffington Post
I think Mayor Michael Bloomberg is right. At least in spirit. The need to understand and then decisively act upon the latest findings regarding sugar consumption, diabetes, overall nutritional guidelines and policies, and the public health crisis created by the U.S. obesity epidemic is urgent. This is true for both children and adults.
At first, my response to Bloomberg's critics was more visceral. Some libertarian types don't mind government intervention in the matrimonial decisions of gay men and women. They look the other way at wars fought in our name in places they can't find on a map. They want courts to get involved when they want to tear down the wall between Church and State.
However, the public outcry over previous attempts to stop food stamp recipients from using their benefits to purchase soda and "sports drinks" and Bloomberg's current proposal are indicative of how deep the problem runs in America.
Food is a drug. At least in the way it is marketed today, which is significantly different from when I grew up. As a child, sweets were referred to as "treats," and were dispensed far more judiciously than they are today. The proliferation of fast food restaurants that serve high fat, high sugar meals, as well as places like Dunkin Donuts, which are simply sugar dispensaries, has evolved as well.
A quarter-pound hamburger with cheese, fries and a Coke was what you had after playing in a football game. And typically once a week. Gatorade, the granddaddy of sports drinks, was gulped on the gridiron or diamond or basketball court during a game. You didn't eat those meals or drink those beverages everyday.
I recently lost over 30 pounds by giving up the lion's share of refined sugar in my diet and reducing my intake of pasta, rice and bread. I switched to almond milk and have reduced my dairy consumption significantly.
I watched the HBO documentary The Weight of a Nation and many of the overweight people interviewed there spoke of being not only demoralized, but confused by a chronic weight gain that they struggled with and were ultimately powerless to overcome. I can relate.
I exercised constantly yet watched my weight climb until I was certain something was wrong with me. In May of 2011, that fear was confirmed. I was told I was pre-diabetic and needed to aggressively rethink and regulate my diet. Gone were the days when I could eat a peanut butter cookie the size of a hubcap with my 5pm coffee as a "snack." With age, my body had changed. My health had changed. My ability to process significant amounts of sugar was gone. I was sick. And I wanted to get well.
Many of those who cry loudest about measures like the one Bloomberg has proposed are probably sick, too: hooked on high fat, high sodium and high sugar diets who don't want their "drug" taken away. Are there people who consume these products responsibly? Of course. But that isn't the point. At least not anymore. Americans are obese, and in some areas of high concentration, morbidly obese, in numbers that are sapping the treasuries of the fifty states, undercutting U.S. competitiveness, and leaving this country vulnerable to a set of long-term health crises that we will struggle to overcome, if ever. All the while, millions will die, unnecessarily, simply because they fell victim to the marketing of unhealthy dietary choices.
Whether you think an elitist, billionaire New Yorker has any business blocking your path to the soda fountain is one issue. His motives, however, are unquestionable.
Watch The Weight of a Nation on HBO to learn just how on target Bloomberg is.
Source: www.huffingtonpost.com
Kent man's Dunkirk Little Ship to join jubilee flotilla - Kent Online
Comments |
Read all comments on this story.
Dunkirk Little Ship Hilfranor will take part in the jubilee flotilla
There will be a bit of 'Dunkirk spirit' in the Queen's diamond
jubilee flotilla - as nearly 40 of the Second World War Little
Ships take part in today's pageant.
Simon Palmer, from Tunbridge Wells, owns one of the historic boats
due to set sail in the 1,000-boat seven-mile parade from Battersea
Park to Tower Bridge.
Built in 1935, the Hilfranor - named after the original owner’s
three daughters, Hilda, Frances and Nora - joins the
Dunkirk Little Ships squadron and follows the royal barge, The
Spirit of Chartwell.
On board will be the Lord Lieutenant of Kent, Viscount De
L'Isle, who sailed with Simon to Dunkirk two years ago.
The Hilfranor was taking part in the jubilee flotilla
Mr Palmer said: "He knows the ship very well and he said he'd like to use this vessel as his representative boat when on the jubilee pageant."
The Lord Lieutenant's grandfather, FM Viscount Gort VC, commanded the British Expeditionary Force, which was evacuated from the beaches of Dunkirk.
The Dunkirk Little Ships transported 338,000 British and French troops to Kent's ports during Operation Dynamo in 1940.
Mr Palmer added: "Because these were smaller boats they
were able to get into the beaches and take the troops off to the
larger ships - the troops were brought into Dover, Ramsgate and
Margate so Kent was a focal point for the evacuation."
The pageant gets under way from 3pm, with an estimated one million spectators and 20,000 people on water.
The flotilla will take around 75 minutes to go past any single point.
Thursday, May 31 2012
Print Article
Buy a KM Picture
The KM Group does not moderate comments.
Please click here for our house rules.
Comments (2)
Post a Comment
-
Robster wrote:
Admiration of the rowing boats and the 'Dunkirk little ships'.
Forgot to mention this in 1st comment.03 Jun 2012 7:13 PM
-
Robster wrote:
A truly spectacular exhibition of British celebration.
I watched on the television, as did many millions, and enjoyed every moment.
Her Majesty, radiant, but her look of concentration made her look quite serious. A huge smile did occur though, as the orchestra on another boat burst in to 'Land of hope and glory'.
A great day, marred only by the British weather!03 Jun 2012 7:10 PM
Source: www.kentonline.co.uk
Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrated in Kent - BBC News
Thousands of people in towns and villages across Kent have taken part in street parties to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.
In Dover, visitors joined in the Big Lunch and watched events in London on the BBC's big screen.
More than a dozen Kent boats - including World War II supply ship Vic96 - have been among the hundreds of vessels in London's Jubilee Pageant.
Skipper Derek Gransden said: "It's all very exciting."
His vessel was part of the Avenue of Sail which features boats that are too tall to travel under bridges and stretches from London Bridge to Wapping.
Before the event started, he said: "We're just between Tower Bridge and London Bridge opposite the Belfast, we're lined up with lots of Thames barges.
“Start Quote
End Quote Barbara MacnabThe Queen's done a marvellous job considering how young she was when she started”
"Believe it or not the banks have been jam-packed with people since about six o'clock this morning despite the fact that it's been pouring with rain.
"We get the luxury of watching it [the pageant] all go up, as it has done this morning to get on station, and then watching them come back this afternoon."
Floating parliamentA replica of the Houses of Parliament has also been unveiled in Goudhurst.
The 30ft-long (9m) plywood structure, which includes a 14ft (4.3m) high Big Ben bell tower, was created over four weeks and is now floating in the village pond.
Hundreds of small wooden boats made by local schoolchildren were placed in the water on Sunday at 15:00 BST to recreate the pageant taking place in London.
A replica of the Houses of Parliament was floated on the pond to mark the Queen's Coronation in 1953.
In Tunbridge Wells, young and old braved the weather to enjoy a picnic and slices of Jubilee cake.
Barbara Macnab, 44, of Ticehurst, said: "We came down because we wanted to join in the celebration of the Jubilee and there wasn't anything in our village.
Bruce Forsyth's daughter Julie was among the hundreds of people dancing on Ramsgate seafront
"It's a big thing for the children because they won't see anything like this again. I want them to remember it and be able to tell their grandchildren. It's nice to see everybody getting involved and celebrating - united."
She added: "The Queen's done a marvellous job considering how young she was when she started."
A tea party and mass zumba dance challenge involving 1,000 people was held in Ramsgate.
Meanwhile people in Gillingham were invited to dress up as as a famous personality from the past 60 years to mark the Queen' Diamond Jubilee at the town's Big Lunch event.
See all the latest Diamond Jubilee news and features at bbc.co.uk/diamondjubilee
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
