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TYRANTS APLENTY - Saddam has lots of bad company across the globe and in the U.N *** It's been hinted, speculated, even suggested that the war winding down in Iraq is but the first chapter of a new Bush administration policy to more forcefully project U.S. muscle around the world in defense of democracy and in defiance of tyranny. Rhetoric concerning Syria has been steadily ratcheted up in recent days. The idea of a broader, more aggressive U.S. policy comes with its own set of potential risks and rewards. But leaving the political debate aside, there would be no shortage of candidates. Evil as it was, Saddam Hussein's regime was only one of a fraternity of tyrannical tramplers of freedoms.

The Freedom House organization released a report last week entitled "The World's Most Repressive Regimes, 2003" (www.freedomhouse.org). Dubbed the "worst of the worst" are Burma, Cuba, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria and Turkmenistan. Ironically, Freedom House points out, five of the 16 most repressive countries -- China, Cuba, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Syria -- are all members of the United Nations Human Rights Commission. ***

CANF Congratulates HBO on Pulling Castro Documentary from Schedule (Oliver Stone gets the boot) [Full Text] MIAMI, April 15 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Jorge Mas Santos, the chairman of the Cuban American National Foundation, congratulated HBO Productions today on the removal of an Oliver Stone documentary on Fidel Castro from HBO's May schedule. The documentary, titled "Comandante," reportedly was a showcase for the world's longest reigning tyrant in his own words -- without context or dissenting views.

"In recent weeks the world has been reminded once again of the cruelty and deceit of Fidel Castro and his henchmen," stated Mas. "The mass arrests of peaceful dissidents, the harsh prison sentences -- up to 28 years -- imposed on human rights activists, and the summary firing squad execution of three young men seeking to flee the island demonstrate that Castro remains as committed to ruling through fear and intimidation as ever. To have provided a platform for Castro to try to whitewash his sins would have been an unforgivable insult to the thousands of men and women who suffer in his tropical gulag," added Mas.

"HBO is well known for its professional integrity and allowing an aging dictator to distort the truth and go unchallenged would not have been in keeping with that tradition," noted the CANF Chairman.[End]