US and Cuba hold talks on oil spill (AP)

[flamingdem]

I'm glad to see the US and Cuba discussing this and hope that it leads to some humility towards Cuba by the US government.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/19/AR2010051902322.html

By PAUL HAVEN
The Associated Press
Wednesday, May 19, 2010; 2:57 PM

HAVANA -- U.S and Cuban officials are holding "working level" talks on how to respond to the massive Deepwater Horizon oil spill that is believed to be dumping some 5,000 barrels of crude a day into the Gulf of Mexico, two State Department officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The talks add to signs of concern that strong currents could carry the slick far from the site of the spill, possibly threatening the Florida Keys and the pristine white beaches along Cuba's northern coast.

They are also a rare moment of cooperation between two countries locked in conflict for more than half a century.

"I can confirm that they are ongoing and going on at the working level," State Department Spokesman Gordon Duguid told reporters in Washington. "It is incumbent upon us to inform all of our neighbors, not just the islands, but those countries that could be affected by disasters that happen within our territorial waters."

Duguid said that the U.S. Interests Section in Havana also delivered a diplomatic note Wednesday informing the Cuban government about the spill and what is known about its projected movement. Washington maintains the Interest Section in Cuba instead of an embassy.

"We provided background related to the cause of the spill, stressed that stopping the oil leak is our top priority and explained the projected movement of the spill," Duguid said. "We also communicated the U.S. desire to maintain a clear line of communication with the Cuban government on developments."

It was not clear if the U.S. has offered assistance to Havana in the event the oil hits Cuban beaches, or if officials here would accept. In 2005, then-President Fidel Castro offered the U.S. medical assistance after Hurricane Katrina, including sending Cuban doctors to treat storm victims. The State Department declined the offer.

There was no immediate comment from Cuban authorities on the oil spill talks.

Also Wednesday, the Bahamian government said it would seek to recover costs from BP PLC - the oil giant that owns a majority interest in the blown well that caused the disaster - if the crude spill spreads to Bahamian waters and a clean-up operation is required.

"Any money that is spent in a possible clean-up the government would be looking to be reimbursed, and the entire exercise being paid for by BP," said Commander Patrick McNeil, head of the Bahama's National Oil Spill Contingency team.

Relations between the United States and Cuba are at a low, despite optimism that President Barack Obama would usher in a new spirit of cooperation. Still, the two countries have pushed to improve cooperation in dealing with natural disasters and fighting drug trafficking, and have resumed twice-yearly conversations on immigration.

Coast Guard officials from the two countries maintain regular contact on a variety of maritime issues.

Scientists have expressed increasing worry that the oil will get caught up in the so-called loop current, a ribbon of warm water that begins in the Gulf of Mexico and wraps around Florida. Some say the current could even draw the crude through the Keys and then up Florida's Atlantic Coast, where it could wash up around Palm Beach.

Yonggang Liu, a researcher at University of South Florida's College of Marine Science, told AP on Wednesday that if the oil is in the loop current, Cuba's north coast - some 480 miles (775 kilometers) southeast of the blown Deepwater Horizon platform - could also be endangered.

"The Florida Strait is very narrow," said Liu. "The local wind effect could bring the oil across the strait to Cuba."

Other USF marine researchers think there's also a possibility that the oil could flow directly to Cuba's northern shore before flowing back up to the Florida Keys.

The island's cash-strapped economy relies heavily on tourists, and most come for a chance to bask in the sun at white-sand beach resorts like Varadero along the northern coast. A loss of any of that income could be devastating, as Cuba is already reeling from the damage done by three 2008 hurricanes, as well as the effects of the global economic crisis.

Cuban state media has reported daily on the oil spill - and Fidel Castro decried the ecological disaster in an opinion piece as evidence the world's capitalist governments are in thrall to large corporations.

But authorities have been remarkably quiet about what effect the spill might have on the island.

Orlando Rey, an Environment Ministry scientist, said on May 5 that the spill did not appear to be a threat to Cuba, despite early reports the oil might get caught up in the loop.

But there has been no update since then, despite the growing alarm coming from U.S. scientific circles.

The government has not responded to a request from The Associated Press for more information, and officials at several Cuban maritime and meteorological institutes have said they have no further information.

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Associated Press reporter Tamara Lush in St. Petersburg, Florida, Matthew Lee in Washington and Megan Reynolds in the Bahamas contributed to this report.

[Judi Lynn]

1. Keeping those fingers crossed. No reason any other country should also be harmed. Recommended

:kick: :kick: :kick: :kick:

[Downwinder]

2. Who does Cuba sue for damages? BP or the US?

[protocol rv]

4. Theoretically BP, but it would have to be in US courts

And Cuba has no standing in US courts because it has disregarded payments it owes to US corporations for nationalizations without compensation. So the Cubans from a legal standpoint can only go to the UN and complain. And the UN will not do much.

On the other hand, the probability that oil will land in Cuba is very low. They get more oil from tankers every day than they would from the spill.

[Mika]

6. Wrong.

It is the US gov that prevents settlement between Cuba and US corporations under the US's Trading With The Enemy Act. Cuba has settled with all other foreign corporations that sought compensation.

Nice try Sherlock, but no dice.

You really need to stop making stuff up.

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[Peace Patriot]

3. "Cuba is already reeling from the damage done by..."

"Cuba is already reeling from the damage done by three 2008 hurricanes, as well as the effects of the global economic crisis" AND the cruel, punishing, unconscionable, insane U.S. EMBARGO!

It never ceases to amaze me how corpo-fascist reporters slip corpo-fascist propaganda into their 'news' articles--in this case, using the technique of BLACK-HOLING an important piece of information--that the U.S. has been trying to destroy Cuba's government for four decades, including CIA-instigated murder (bombing of a Cubana commercial airliner and other bombings), assassination plots and an ECONOMIC EMBARGO, including an embargo even medical supplies and drugs, that has cost Cuba billions of dollars. It is especially punishing in that it is a SECONDARY embargo. Any ship that stops in Cuba CANNOT then stop in the U.S. How's that for "free trade"? Neutral country ships, and even pro-U.S. ships, are severely restricted as to trade with Cuba. Why? Tell me why. Cuban "human rights" violations? Don't make me laugh. WHO has been running a torture dungeon that is the scandal of the world on the other end of the island of Cuba? WHO?

The hypocrisy is egregious. And the silence about these facts in the corpo-fascist press--even their DELETION of an important fact about Cuba's economy, the U.S. EMBARGO, in this off-hand way--is disgusting.

[Judi Lynn]

5. Here's more on the extra-territorial reach of that Helms-Burton part of the embargo, from 2006:

Mexico Fumes After Booting of Cubans
The incident didn't make much news in the United States but in Mexico, "Sheraton-gate" (Spanish), also known as "el hotelazo" has been front-page news for 10 days.

On Feb. 3 the Maria Isabela Sheraton hotel in downtown Mexico City, under pressure from the U.S. Treasury Department, expelled 16 Cuban government officials who were meeting with a group of U.S. oil executives interested in developing petroleum reserves recently discovered in Cuban waters.

Cuba's government-controlled daily, Granma, cites a U.S. spokeswoman saying the meeting violated the so-called Helms-Burton law, which prohibits American companies or their subsidiaries from dealing with Cuban individuals or companies.

The furious reaction of Mexican politicians and pundits has yet to subside and, at least temporarily, the Sheraton affair has assumed even more attention than the proposed anti-illegal immigrant wall along the U.S.-Mexican border.

Deputies and senators in both houses of the Mexican congress unanimously rejected (Spanish) the application of U.S. law in Mexico, according El Universal. A columnist for the Mexico City daily wondered if the U.S. intervention "was designed to show the Mexicans who still rules in the hemisphere?"

Carlos Fazio, columnist for the leftist daily, La Jornada (in Spanish), called the expulsion a "flagrant violation" of Mexican sovereignty driven by the "war diplomacy" of hawks around President George W. Bush.More:
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/worldopinionroundup/2006/02/mexico_fumes_after_booting_of.html

~~~~~

Extra-territorial reach of U.S. concerns Mexico

By Enrique Andrade Gonzalez
February 17, 2006

On Feb. 3 executives with the Maria Isabel Sheraton Hotel in Mexico City evicted a delegation of Cuban citizens, who were staying at the hotel in order to meet with a group of oil company leaders from the United States that included representatives of Exxon Mobil Corporation. The meeting was forced to another hotel that is not U.S.-owned, because according to the U.S. Department of State it is against the law for U.S. companies, their branches and/or subsidiaries to provide services to Cubans.

The extraterritorial application of United States law, in this case the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act (also known as the Helms-Burton Act, and called by some the “blockade law”) within Mexican territory has caused a number of negative reactions from the Mexican diplomatic, political, tourist and business sector. Especially since this included two American companies as prominent as Sheraton and Exxon.

Without exaggerating this particular incident, it could signal the beginning of a new age and reality involving the extraordinary enforcement of U.S. laws beyond its borders.

Traditional legal principle defines laws, plus the officials who apply them, as having legal effect and authority within the boundaries of the state. There are exceptions, however, such as some international criminal matters allowing extradition when a crime is committed in one state and citizens of that state flee to another. In such cases, once charged the accused can be returned for trial to the country where the crime occurred, if there are reciprocal and special procedures authorizing this that respect the laws of each nation.

The case with the Cubans took place in Mexico, without taking into consideration Mexican law or officials. This would suggest that the extraterritorial application of the Helms-Burton Act is not an exception that should be viewed as a diplomatic affront, but rather part of a more and more frequent trend of the United States to impose its laws and authority on other countries.

This has happened in France, Italy and surely in many other areas. And this is bringing about legal controversies with respect to territorial laws, principles and authorities that need to be clarified, apart from attitudes towards Cuba.

There is growing interest over this subject, and not just in Mexico. This dictate that requires North American companies or their subsidiaries in other countries to comply with U.S. laws over and above those of the nation where they are located.

More:
http://ww.uniontrib.com/uniontrib/20060217/news_lz1e17gonzale.html

~~~~~
You will undoubtedly think the world has gone mad when you see this one!

Canadian Guilty on 21 Counts in Cuba Trade Case

by Steve Eckardt
3 April 2002

PHILADELPHIA - Canadian citizen James Sabzali was found guilty here today on 20 counts of violating the U.S. Trading with the Enemy Act and a single count of conspiracy in connection with sales of water purification supplies to Cuba. He now faces up to life in prison and over US$5 million in fines.

Prosecutors previously declared their intention to seek a dozen years' sentence, according to Sabzali.

The 43-year-old salesman is the first Canadian to be criminally convicted for violating the U.S. embargo against Cuba. Seven of the charges against him are for actions taken on Canadian soil.

Canadian law makes it illegal to comply with the U.S. embargo.

"I'm shocked," declared Sabzali, who had fully cooperated with the five-year investigation, "it doesn't make any sense."

"It's unbelievable," said Sharon Moss, Sabazli's Canadian-born wife, clearly shaken by the verdict.

While the jury convicted Sabzali for sales made from Canada to Cuba , it found him not guilty on all charges up to March 1995, during his employment by Purolite International, a Canadian company.

Sabazli's April 1995 appointment as North American director of marketing for the U.S. corporation Bro-Tech, itself in the dock along with two of its executives, apparently triggered guilty findings on seven subsequent violations of the Trading with the Enemy Act, despite the sales being conducted from Canada. Failing to commit these violations would have subjected Sabzali to Canadian criminal penalties for complying with the U.S. embargo.

More:
http://www.canadiannetworkoncuba.ca/Documents/Sabzali-Eckardt.shtml

At the old CNN Cuba/US Policy/Elian Gonzalez message board, we were watching this goddawful case intently from the beginning, watching with disgust, disbelief anything like this could even happen!

~~

The Long Ordeal of James Sabzali
By Paul Harris
Apr 16, 2005, 10:08

FINAL ATTACK ON CANADIAN BUSINESSMAN CRUMBLES, SABZALI 'FINALLY FREE’Stubborn resistance and world support ends eight-year, eight million dollar ordealPHILADELPHIA - Eight years of battle over a key embargo issue came to a close early thisyear as the U.S. government quietly withdrew its final attack on Canadian businessmanJames Sabzali, an effort to deport him from his adopted home in the United States.Washington had pursued deportation despite an earlier plea agreement with Sabzali. "Thegovernment reneged on its offer," he explained in an interview.But now deportation has joined the original 76 charges filed against Sabzali in the rubblethat was once Washington's largest prosecution for violation of its anti-Cuba embargo.Sabzali had faced life imprisonment and over $19 million USD in fines for sales of waterpurification supplies to Cuban hospitals. And while both the charges and their scale capturedattention, the stakes were even more compelling: could the United States make its blockadelegally binding on the entire world?Key was Sabzali's being a Canadian citizen conducting business inside Canada for themajority of his alleged violations of the U.S. Trading with the Enemy Act. What's more, theCanadian Extraterritorial Measures Act simultaneously prohibited him from cooperating withthe U.S. embargo.And so the issue seemed simply posed: whose laws were paramount in Canada - Ottawa's or
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Page 4
Washington? Could the United States override law inside another sovereign nation?Sure thing:However extraordinary that possibility, there seemed little question that Sabzali wouldnonetheless fall under the wheels of the relentless U.S. blockade against Cuba.After all, the case against him opened in the midst of Washington sharply tightening itsstranglehold on the island in anticipation of Cuba's "imminent collapse" following thebreakup of the Soviet Union.Imposing draconian criminal sanctions on both foreign and its own citizens was simply alogical component of these escalations, a criminal law version of the Torricelli and Helms-Burton Acts.In any case, Sabzali seemed an unlikely leading man for such an international clash. Thesmallish, quietly handsome family man - a Canadian citizen from Trinidad - was abusinessman with a degree in chemistry. " Canadians have always had good relationshipswith Cubans," says Sabzali, now 46. "I was Canadian, I was in business for myself, andCuba was an opportunity. So I went and did business with them."Nor were his co-defendants, the U.S.-based Bro-Tech Corporation and its chief officersStefan and Donald Brodie, likely standard-bearers for a battle against the blockade.Indeed, their defense strategy was to retain highly influential lawyers --including presidentClinton's personal attorney-- to 'make the case go away', the usual way that the wealthyavoid prison here, even if their crimes involve billions of dollars or even death. Such appealsto what's called the "old boys' network" (capitalist class solidarity) regularly result indismissal of all charges or, at worst, short sentences in special prisons with privateaccommodations and no walls prisons commonly called "Club Fed," a reference to the all-expenses-paid hedonistic facilities run by the tourist corporation named Club Med.In fact (reported here for the first time) negotiations on this case took place with the U.S.Attorney General, the highest U.S. law enforcement officer, rather than with the local officialactually carrying out the prosecution.But of course historic geopolitical considerations, the U.S. rulers' profound hostility to theCuban Revolution and their belief in its 'impending collapse' overwhelmed the usualadvantages conferred by either direct access to the Attorney General or being representedby the President's lawyer. The highest levels of the U.S. government had decided Sabzaliand his co-defendants were going to go to prison, perhaps for a very long time indeed.

More:
http://www.escritoire.ca/images/Sabzali.pdf

[Peace Patriot]

7. I have to laugh at the phrase "free trade" in this context. "Free trade" for those who obey U.S.

DICTATES!

[Mika]

8. More distraction.

Worker against worker.
Dog eat dog.
War is peace.
Freedom is slavery.

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