Posted on 05/03/2002 5:34:11 AM PDT by SJackson
Edited on 04/22/2004 11:46:29 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
Fidel Castro was at the European-Latin American Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1999. But he's not in the official photo.
That's because the 47 elected leaders at the meeting scrambled to pose for the shot while the old man was in the men's room.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
That's because the 47 elected leaders at the meeting scrambled to pose for the shot while the old man was in the men's room. THAT is hilarious!
As did a certain clan on FR.
Strange bedfellows or aiding and abetting?
President Bush needs to promote a role model in Latin America*** Argentina has defaulted on its foreign debt and is on the verge of political anarchy; Venezuela's democracy is hanging by a thread following bloody riots and a short-lived military coup; Colombia's guerrilla war is intensifying; and several other South American countries suffer growing political unrest. And Latin America as a whole is wondering whether Bush will succeed in convincing the Senate to pass a ''fast-track'' bill to expedite a 34-nation agreement to launch a hemisphere-wide free trade area by 2005. A Senate vote on the issue could come as early as Tuesday and, if approved, the bill would go to the full Congress.
What could Bush do? He could take several measures that would give Fox something to show at home, such as giving legitimacy to ID cards Mexican consulates are handing out to Mexican undocumented workers in the United States or submitting migration legislation to Congress to get Washington to focus on the issue. If the Bush administration won't put its full political weight behind the hemisphere-wide free trade zone, and if it's not going to rescue bankrupt countries, the least it should do is help the best performers in the region become democratic and free market success stories. Otherwise, there won't be an incentive for others to follow in their steps. ***
December 11, 2001 - European Union Tells Cuba To Improve Human Rights *** The recent fence-mending between Cuba and the European Union evaporated Monday, with the EU telling the Castro government it had better improve its human rights record or else Cuba can forget about improved economic and diplomatic relations with the 15-nation EU. In a statement, the EU foreign ministers said the human rights situation in Cuba "is still seriously wanting as regards the recognition and application of civil and political freedoms." The ministers also criticized Cuba for refusing "to contemplate reforms leading to a political system based on those values." ***
The United States - which has been criticized widely for its treatment of suspected al-Qaida and Taliban fighters at the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba and its detentions of Middle Eastern nationals who violated visa regulations - opposed the resolution. "This could have been one of the most important outcomes from this Commission, but instead has become one of its lowest points," the advocacy groups said in a statement.***
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