[Cincinatus' Wife]

Cubans savoring U.S. food - American farmers find fertile market *** While farmers are allowed to sell many of their products to Cuba, the U.S. government has an elaborate system of payment rules, according to Pedro Alvarez, the chairman of Alimport, the Cuban government agency that imports food products. The United States allows Americans to sell their goods to Cuba on a cash-only basis. Cubans must make the payment for purchases of U.S. goods to a foreign bank, which forwards it to a U.S. institution. They paid an additional $8 million in foreign exchange fees in the past 15 months because of this system, Alvarez said.

Despite the cost of doing business with Americans, Cubans are still interested in buying goods from their northern neighbors. They want an end to the embargo, so Americans could do business with Cuba and travel there freely. Cuban officials pointed out that they welcome American business officials and that they have paid for the goods they had purchased. Many critics say Cubans are known for defaulting on their debts to trading partners. ***

Director Stone shows human side of Cuba's Castro - "…even our prostitutes are university educated"*** "I say it is one of the achievements of the revolution that even our prostitutes are university educated," Castro says. Stone's next project will be about Alexander the Great starring Colin Farrell. But he is set to court controversy again with another project, "Persona Non Grata," a film about Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, set to air in June in America.

After Castro, Stone said he could imagine interviewing another U.S. enemy, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. "I would try to get on with him in the same way ... Who knows who he is. The American media makes him into a monster."***

Fidel Castro - Cuba

[Fledermaus]

I hope Bush vetoes this bad bill period. There's enough pork in it to make Muslims surrender!