http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.fan.noamchomsky/ Posts for alt.fan.noamchomsky Sat, 20 Sep 2008 12:34:22 PDT http://www.nnseek.com/ http://www.nnseek.com/img/64.png 64 64 NNSeek http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.fan.noamchomsky/origin_of_aids_video_119259241t.html http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.fan.noamchomsky/origin_of_aids_video_119259241t.html http://www.documentary-film.net/search/watch-now.php?&ref=5

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]]> Sat, 20 Sep 2008 12:34:22 PDT http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.fan.noamchomsky/it_s_gettin_ugly_out_there_119248233t.html http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.fan.noamchomsky/it_s_gettin_ugly_out_there_119248233t.html http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo

"I personally witnessed a number of the Democrat anarchists in St. Paul,
site of the GOP Convention. The police there accurately described them
as a bunch of dangerous criminals who were capable of serious vandalism,
violence and even death. They sure do know the meaning of getting in
one’s face."

[Yup, regressive-rightist Republicans think that the anarchists who
protested against both the DNC and the RNC are Democrats. This is for
the humor value. For extra credit, count the number of times the article
has the form "Democrat" when it should be "Democratic".--DC]

http://tinyurl.com/52lc45
Saturday, September 20, 2008
It’s Gettin’ Ugly Out There
By MIKE GALLAGHER

The Democrats sure have been busy this week. They have now dropped any
pretense of civility or decency in this remarkable 2008 election season.
Evidently, the selection of Sarah Palin as John McCain’s running mate
has turned a number of Dems into rabid attack dogs.

Gone is the appearance of unity.

The act of campaigning with any sort of honor or respect has vanished
from the Democrat playbook.

This campaign went from politics to blood sport a long time ago. Now,
the Democratic Party voices are nasty, shrill and vile.

Consider what has taken place in just the past few days:

Leftist hackers invaded Gov. Palin’s privacy by criminally breaking into
her personal email account; voyeuristic websites posted the private
correspondence all over the internet. During an Obama campaign
appearance, a bland governor from Kansas made the not-so-bland assertion
that the reason the current polls are so close is because “one of the
candidates” is half-black. While campaigning on one of the TV networks,
Democrat Vice-Presidential candidate Joe Biden actually suggested that
it’s high time that Americans stop being so unpatriotic by not wanting
to pay higher taxes. And finally, the Democrat candidate himself urged
his followers to start arguments and “get in (the) faces” of Republicans
and independents.

As my kids would say, these Democrats have gone and jumped ugly.

Truthfully, ugly doesn’t even begin to describe what the Democrats are
doing these days. When Gov. Kathleen Sebelius injects the stale, tired
old claim that racism might just keep Obama out of the White House,
don’t think for a moment that isn’t done with the total blessing of the
Obama campaign. If Sen. Obama was sailing along with a 10 point lead in
the polls, they wouldn’t be reduced to such babble. They’d at least
pretend this election is about issues, ideology and truth.

They just can’t figure out how to tear down the genuine Republican
enthusiasm over the McCain/Palin ticket. Is the excitement part of a GOP
revolution? A renaissance, perhaps?

Too early to tell. But if John McCain wins, you can bet the farm that’s
what everyone will be saying.

The Democrats are dumbfounded. And now, they’re just being dumb.

When I first heard the audio clip from ABC’s “Good Morning America”
featuring Sen. Biden claiming that “it’s time to be patriotic...time to
jump in, time to be part of the deal, time to help get America out of
the rut” by forcing Americans who make over 250 thousand a year to pay
higher taxes, I couldn’t really believe my ears. I know Biden can be a
loose cannon -- just ask convenience store clerks with accents or Black
Americans who would be (rightfully) offended at being called clean and
articulate -- but not this nuts. Surely the Democratic VP candidate
wasn’t stupid enough to claim that paying higher taxes is a form of
patriotism, was he?

Not only did he say it once, but he has repeated the claim. He even
angrily defended his comments at a union gathering later the same day.

I can just picture the next Democrat campaign billboard: “Get Taxed
Through The Nose, Wave A Flag!”

And finally, there is Sen. Obama getting pretty aggressive with his
rhetoric. At a rally in Ohio, Obama told thousands of cheering
supporters: “I need you to go out and talk to your friends and talk to
your neighbors. I want you to talk to them whether they are independent
or whether they are Republican. I want you to argue with them and get in
their face.”

I personally witnessed a number of the Democrat anarchists in St. Paul,
site of the GOP Convention. The police there accurately described them
as a bunch of dangerous criminals who were capable of serious vandalism,
violence and even death. They sure do know the meaning of getting in
one’s face.

How nice of Sen. Obama to encourage them to “get in (the) faces” of the
loyal opposition. Real responsible.

It’s definitely turning ugly. And the Republican Party will be tested.
Will we “jump ugly” and take the lefties on by degenerating to their level?

I truly hope not.

We’ll win this election on the strength of ideas and philosophy and
moral clarity.

We’ll beat the failed Democrat policies of the past by invoking the true
working class spirit of good and decent Americans who want to work hard,
achieve success, and celebrate the sanctity of this, the greatest
country in the world.

As painful as it is to witness the classlessness of Democrats, this is a
process that has to happen. Millions of Americans are watching with
their mouths agape, positively stunned that Barack Obama’s party could
stoop so low.

Instead of hiding in the shadows, I’m thankful that so many Democrats
are willing to expose their true sense of self.

This can only be great news for the Republican Party on Nov. 4th.

Mike Gallagher is a nationally syndicated radio host, Fox News Channel
contributor and guest host.

--
Dan Clore

My collected fiction: _The Unspeakable and Others_
http://tinyurl.com/2gcoqt
Lord Weÿrdgliffe & Necronomicon Page:
http://tinyurl.com/292yz9
News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo

Skipper: Professor, will you tell these people who is
in charge on this island?
Professor: Why, no one.
Skipper: No one?
Thurston Howell III: No one? Good heavens, this is anarchy!
-- _Gilligan's Island_, episode #6, "President Gilligan"

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]]> Sat, 20 Sep 2008 09:02:15 PDT http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.fan.noamchomsky/case_studies_show_disparate_media_coverage_in_mccain_119209833t.html http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.fan.noamchomsky/case_studies_show_disparate_media_coverage_in_mccain_119209833t.html http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo

Media Matters for America
Fri, Sep 19, 2008 1:07pm ET
Despite attacks on media by McCain campaign, case studies show disparate
coverage in McCain's favor

Summary: The media have for months reported complaints by the McCain
campaign that they have favored his opponent in their coverage of the
presidential race, while making little attempt to assess the accuracy of
those complaints or to confirm or refute them. But in a review of the
media's coverage of two stories negatively affecting or reflecting on
Sen. Barack Obama and two stories negatively affecting or reflecting on
Sen. John McCain -- specifically Obama's ties to Bill Ayers and Antoin
Rezko, and McCain's dealings with donors whom he reportedly benefited
and his association with G. Gordon Liddy -- Media Matters found that the
five major newspapers and the three evening network news broadcasts have
frequently mentioned Obama's ties to Ayers and Rezko, but have rarely
mentioned McCain's dealings with donors and have ignored his association
with Liddy.

continued:

http://mediamatters.org/items/200809190012?f=h_latest

[I found the material about the sleazy criminal G. Gordon Liddy and his
ties to McCain particularly interesting.--DC]

--
Dan Clore

My collected fiction: _The Unspeakable and Others_
http://tinyurl.com/2gcoqt
Lord Weÿrdgliffe & Necronomicon Page:
http://tinyurl.com/292yz9
News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo

Skipper: Professor, will you tell these people who is
in charge on this island?
Professor: Why, no one.
Skipper: No one?
Thurston Howell III: No one? Good heavens, this is anarchy!
-- _Gilligan's Island_, episode #6, "President Gilligan"

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]]> Fri, 19 Sep 2008 22:37:03 PDT http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.fan.noamchomsky/jeremiah_wright_in_the_propaganda_system_119208553t.html http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.fan.noamchomsky/jeremiah_wright_in_the_propaganda_system_119208553t.html http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo

Dissident Voice
Jeremiah Wright in the Propaganda System
by Ed Herman and David Peterson
September 18th, 2008

Beginning in March 2008 and extending through the last Democratic
primaries of early June, the United States witnessed the most brazen
demonization in its history of a person based on his race, his creed,
and his ties to a presidential candidate. One major purpose behind these
attacks was to use the demonized figure to discredit the politician. But
participation in the attacks also fed the voracious,
twenty-four-hour-a-day media appetite, and quickly took on a life of its
own. When we look back at the ugly spectacle then taking place, the
evidence suggests that, despite much optimism about narrowing racial
divides and an emerging “post-racial” consciousness, something much
closer to the opposite had gripped America.

Of course, we are referring to the U.S. political class and
establishment media’s treatment of the Reverend Jeremiah Wright and his
relationship with Barack Obama. Contrasted with their handling of the
Reverends John Hagee, Rod Parsley, and Pat Robertson and their links to
John McCain, this episode provides an outstanding illustration of this
country’s racism, chauvinism, and political biases.

continued (lengthy):

http://tinyurl.com/3zzlrq

--
Dan Clore

My collected fiction: _The Unspeakable and Others_
http://tinyurl.com/2gcoqt
Lord Weÿrdgliffe & Necronomicon Page:
http://tinyurl.com/292yz9
News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo

Skipper: Professor, will you tell these people who is
in charge on this island?
Professor: Why, no one.
Skipper: No one?
Thurston Howell III: No one? Good heavens, this is anarchy!
-- _Gilligan's Island_, episode #6, "President Gilligan"

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]]> Fri, 19 Sep 2008 22:06:42 PDT http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.fan.noamchomsky/actual_footage_from_another_planet_with_human_life_119196009t.html http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.fan.noamchomsky/actual_footage_from_another_planet_with_human_life_119196009t.html from the moon of Jupiter I consider a planet. Anything with life on it
that is big enough to sustain it, is a planet in my book.

NASA has had flying saucers they stole from Adolf Hitler, for over 50
years. They have already traveled the universe and back and met
hundreds of other life forms, intelligent, many radically different,
but more importantly, exact human life as us. This is the fact on
Europa, Jupiters moon.

Without doubt, you will be convinced of what I say, that this footage
is from Europa, of which James Cameron the maker of Titanic, traveled
there with a big team, and a big boat to do this film. The undeniable
evidence that this is Europa comes to us in a few different ways.
Europa was named Europa for reasons of the humans all having European
accents, LOL, but they never were on Earth or to our Europe.

Second, the sun rise is being shown for a reason. It's for intelligent
people that have the ability to slow down and recognize, that that is
not our sunrise. Simply, that is our sun, but due to the ability to
look right at it, as we can never do here on Earth, is because of the
distance that weakens the affect of the light on our eyes, of which it
cannot damage the eyes if you're on Europa. The filmmakers wanted you
to be able to detect it is Europa because you are able to look at the
sun without aid and no dithering or altercation is being done with the
camera.

Finally, the biggest thing is the sea creatures, all of them are from
Europa, none of them from Earth, and the key here is that Cameron is
categorizing these creatures as "never seen before". The ice and probe
gimmick, is by requisite of NASA, that lies must be used as a cover to
hide the fact that this is all Europa, and the dupe is they suspect
like like this is on Europa - allthewhile it is Europa. That is how
NASA lies through their teeth to us with our tax dollars. Cameron
probably wanted to tell us this was Europa, and diluted the lies as
much as he could under NASA threatening to spank him if he didn't.

I'm certain you'll know this is not Earth and is footage from Europa.
Rumors have been floating around via space professionals, that an
advanced alien race seeded mankind, and creates new creatures by using
DNA, mixing DNA, from creatures it already produced. Sounds crazy, but
look at the fish shown with hands starting to come out of its bottom
side.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGZ0cUaccd4

Here's the technology NASA has and lies about continually, giving
nostalgia that any flying disc technology existing is from space
extraterrestrial origination, not human. That's because Hitler ended
debt and all unemployment and poverty ended, and everyone having
prosperity created a vast pool of talent which resulted in the
creation of flying saucers, using nuclear power systems (and others)
and can go faster than the speed of light. That is the technology that
was used to get to Europa and film this video.
http://www.thewebfairy.com/missilegate/rfz/

NASA owes Adolf Hitler everything!

www.adolfthegreat.com

www.adolfhitlerresearchsociety.org

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]]> Fri, 19 Sep 2008 17:48:28 PDT http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.fan.noamchomsky/unconscious_prejudice_119021161t.html http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.fan.noamchomsky/unconscious_prejudice_119021161t.html revealed that women are unconsciously more bigoted than men. In one
experiment men and women had to watch films which portrayed crime
situations. The women tended to point out the "wog" although it wasn't
him. The researcher said that the results were depressing. They
explained it as instances of unconscious racism, i.e. the women were
politically correct and fully tolerant to immigration in their
conscious standpoint, whereas the men were generally more critical in
their outlook.

The conclusion was that people who are politically correct tend to be
unconsciously prejudicial. This is much more dangerous to the
immigrant because he risks being pointed out as a criminal, or his job
application risks being sorted out. On the other hand, people who have
a critical outlook on reality (typically men) do not tend to fool
themselves by unconsciously treating the subject badly.

The upshot of the matter is that the women's parents, and themselves,
are surprisingly unprejudiced against "wogs", and that's precisely the
reason why they are prejudiced against "wogs", anyway, however
unconsciously. Sweden is an unprejudiced country, on the surface, that
is. That's why it's so hard for immigrants to get a job, etc. So watch
out for unprejudiced people, because they are prejudiced in a very
dangerous way, namely unconsciously. Similarly, women should watch out
for those men who have an uncritical attitude towards womankind,
because they are likely to damage women unconsciously.

The experiment is an eye-opener to all those people who lack the
notion of an unconscious. It proves its existence. It also confirms what
Freud and Jung never tired of explaining, namely that one's conscious
standpoint is seldom equal to one's truthful standpoint. Just because
you say you're an anti-racialist doesn't mean that you are one. I
don't remember the name of that politician in the US who recently was
caught with a prostitute although he had worked against prostitution
and made himself a name thanks to his relentless work against
immorality. It's so very typical.

So I think these little experiments are important, although I learn
nothing new from them, myself. It is remarkable how hard this
realization comes, also to intellectuals, that there exists an
unconscious containing a different viewpoint. I think it's that old
instinct of "not speaking about the devil", while it might generate
social upheaval. So the underlying reason why also intelligent people
refuse the realization of the unconscious might be grounded in the
instincts.

Mats Winther

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]]> Thu, 18 Sep 2008 05:12:52 PDT http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.fan.noamchomsky/us_presidential_election_2008_118984297t.html http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.fan.noamchomsky/us_presidential_election_2008_118984297t.html http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo

The Political Compass has an interesting way of classifying political
ideologies on a two-dimensional graph. They've put the presidential
candidates in place here:

http://www.politicalcompass.org/uselection2008

--
Dan Clore

My collected fiction: _The Unspeakable and Others_
http://tinyurl.com/2gcoqt
Lord Weÿrdgliffe & Necronomicon Page:
http://tinyurl.com/292yz9
News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo

Skipper: Professor, will you tell these people who is
in charge on this island?
Professor: Why, no one.
Skipper: No one?
Thurston Howell III: No one? Good heavens, this is anarchy!
-- _Gilligan's Island_, episode #6, "President Gilligan"

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]]> Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:55:56 PDT http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.fan.noamchomsky/ron_paul_s_party_118958953t.html http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.fan.noamchomsky/ron_paul_s_party_118958953t.html http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo

http://www.amconmag.com/article/2008/sep/22/00019/
Ron Paul’s Party
by Daniel McCarthy

While twitchy cops and party hacks congregated in St. Paul for the
Republican Convention, 12,000 Ron Paul supporters assembled for the
Rally for the Republic in Minneapolis. The counter-convention featured a
dozen speakers—from libertarian luminaries Bill Kauffman and Lew
Rockwell to ex-governors Jesse Ventura and Gary Johnson—plus musical
acts Sara Evans and Aimee Allen (the freedom movement’s answer to Avril
Levigne, with more talent and less tolerance for the Bilderberg Group).
Barry Goldwater Jr. introduced Paul’s keynote.

John McCain’s big tent across the river brought together hawks of all
persuasions, from Joe Lieberman to Sarah Palin to Rudy Giuliani. The
Connecticut senator, as staunch an advocate for military adventurism as
abortion, got a prime-time speaking slot. A certain pro-life, antiwar
Texan was persona non grata.

“We offered our services. We would have been glad to have an
opportunity, we would have been pleased to participate,” Paul said. But
“that wasn’t available to us.” McCain did not want his primary
challenger even to be seen. “We had thought we would be able to go over,
but my floor privileges have been strictly limited,” Paul revealed.
“They’ve given me a pass that is second class.”

That pass required that the congressman enter and leave only by a
certain door, be chaperoned by a McCain flack, and not bring any staff.
Paul had no intention of attending under those conditions. Yet he didn’t
get mad—he got even. “We still have enough freedom in this country to
get involved and become the party,” he said, “and that’s been our
approach rather than complaining about it.”

“The Republican Party ought to be welcoming me because I appeal to young
people,” Paul contended. Indeed, one of the most remarkable things about
Paul’s presidential campaign was its ability to energize youth around
the unlikeliest of causes: “One of the most exciting issues that we talk
about with young people is monetary policy.”

Even more than the Iraq War, the Federal Reserve stokes the passions of
Paul’s supporters. During his keynote, the Target Center shook to chants
of “End the Fed!” Months earlier, during a Paul appearance at the
University of Michigan, students burned Federal Reserve notes—money, or
Uncle Sam’s facsimile thereof.

Impressive as the rally was, even more portentous may have been the 600
activists who turned out for training put on by Paul’s new organization,
the Campaign for Liberty, in the days before. They sat through
ten-and-a-half hours of political boot camp on Aug. 31 and another eight
hours the next day. This was a promising start for the Campaign for
Liberty, which aims to do for the small-government, antiwar side what
the Christian Coalition did for religious conservatives in the early 1990s.

Yet it has tensions at the philosophical level. One activist observed
that there seemed to be many “paleoconservatives” in the group’s
leadership, while much of the grassroots were “anarcho-capitalists.”
Paul recognizes the fault line. “I have many friends in the libertarian
movement who look down on those of us who get involved in political
activity,” he acknowledged, but “eventually, if you want to bring about
changes … what you have to do is participate in political action.”

The Campaign for Liberty’s organizers emphasized that though there might
be few candidates Paul supporters can get behind, there are always
ballot issues and legislation that the grassroots can organize to
stop—tax hikes, gun registration, municipal bonds. Yet the great causes
that animate the Paul coalition—war and monetary policy—are national.
Paul is 73. If he doesn’t run in 2012, where will his supporters go?

One man eager to take up his banner is former Minnesota governor Jesse
Ventura. “I wrote the book Don’t Start the Revolution Without Me. Well,
I’m here,” he announced, hinting that “in 2012 we’ll give them a race
they’ll never forget.” The former pro-wrestler was charismatic—and
kooky. He teased the 9/11 “truther” contingent in the audience by asking
why Osama bin Laden had not been formally charged with the attacks on
the Pentagon and World Trade Center. That way lies madness. If Ventura
is the future of the Paul movement, it will go the way of the Reform Party.

A better prospect for 2012 might be the rally’s other ex-governor—Gary
Johnson of New Mexico. He doesn’t have Ventura’s presence, but he’s
witty. Describing his opposition to mandatory-helmet laws for
motorcyclists, he said, “We have an organ donor shortage. If you want to
ride your motorcycle without a helmet, go ahead.” Johnson is even more
of a non-interventionist than his admirers had suspected. “We have a
military presence in 155 countries,” he said, “We need to embark on a
process of getting those 155 countries unoccupied, à la Ron Paul.”

The Rally for the Republic made plain that Ron Paul Republicans will
have no truck with McCain or Obama. But is there any other politician
they can support, besides Paul himself? More than just their movement is
at stake: Paul’s revolution might be the last chance in a generation for
sound money and a non-imperial foreign policy.

The American Conservative welcomes letters to the editor.
Send letters to:

letters@amconmag.com

--
Dan Clore

My collected fiction: _The Unspeakable and Others_
http://tinyurl.com/2gcoqt
Lord Weÿrdgliffe & Necronomicon Page:
http://tinyurl.com/292yz9
News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo

Skipper: Professor, will you tell these people who is
in charge on this island?
Professor: Why, no one.
Skipper: No one?
Thurston Howell III: No one? Good heavens, this is anarchy!
-- _Gilligan's Island_, episode #6, "President Gilligan"

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]]> Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:38:06 PDT http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.fan.noamchomsky/official_preliminary_data_of_damages_caused_by_hurricanes_118858345t.html http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.fan.noamchomsky/official_preliminary_data_of_damages_caused_by_hurricanes_118858345t.html September 15, 2008



THE combined action of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in winds, rain and
flooding as they passed through almost the entire country between
August 30 and September 9 — including the previous and subsequent
effects as the hurricanes entered and left national territory —
unquestionably made them the most destructive in the history of these
meteorological phenomena in Cuba with respect to the magnitude of the
material damage caused.

For our people, prepared for years to confront natural disasters
thanks to the organization and efficiency demonstrated by their
strong, energetic and farsighted Civil Defense — as Fidel described it
— the experiences of hundreds thousands of directly affected
compatriots have been horrific, as have images broadcast by the media
in the locations affected.

In the face of such significant effects on the nation’s economic/
productive activities, services and entire infrastructure, it is only
the Revolution that is preventing the provinces of Pinar del Río,
Holguín, Las Tunas and Camagüey and the special municipality of the
Isle of Youth — to mention those that were hit hardest — from being
declared disaster zones, and their inhabitants from being immersed in
desolation. On the contrary, what prevails in those regions and
throughout the country is the confidence that we will leave this
complex situation behind; it is the security that, united under the
Party’s leadership, we will develop an intense and effective, although
prolonged, process of recuperation and reestablishment.

Both Hurricane Gustav and Ike, as they followed their courses, placed
virtually the entire country in tension beginning August 25, when the
Civil Defense issued its first note on those hurricanes, placing the
eastern provinces in the informative stage, until Note No. 9 referring
to Ike on September 11, which placed Pinar del Río in the recuperation
stage.

Between the two meteorological events, not a single province escaped
their threat and impact. In the run-up to Ike’s landfall and its exit
via Pinar del Río province, just a few kilometers’ distance from the
location of its predecessor — Ike placed the entire country in the
alarm phase. The story is sufficiently known.

As people know, as soon as risk possibilities are forecast, the
country’s first priority in these circumstances is to safeguard human
life. Some data illustrates the scope of efforts made in this
context.

In total, 3,179,846 people were protected from these two hurricanes —
2,772,615 during Ike — only about 500,000 of whom were in evacuation
centers; the rest received solidarity shelter from friends and
neighbors. More than 10,000 means of transport were employed, and
hundreds of shelters outfitted for the occasion. In addition, as a
consequence of the measures adapted for Ike, 176,113 students were
returned home from their boarding schools, and 2,818 tourists were
relocated.

More than 87,000 comrades worked in the service of the Civil Defense
system and related missions during the two hurricanes, including those
who were mobilized and personnel at command posts, both national and
in defense zones.

And although during Gustav no human lives were lost, during the days
of Ike — as was opportunely reported — we mourned the deaths of seven
citizens in a number of provinces, not just as a direct result of the
hurricane’s effects, but of a failure to strictly observe measures
adopted by the Civil Defense authorities.

SUBSTANTIAL MATERIAL LOSSES

Very preliminary assessments of the damage caused in the less than 10
days during which the two hurricanes impacted national territory place
total losses at around five billion dollars.

Unquestionably, one of the most calamitous effects of Gustav and Ike
was on housing: more than 444,000 homes damaged, a large number of
them with partially or totally destroyed roofs and other impacts; and
of that total, 63,249 houses completely demolished.

Every province was affected. The final figures have not yet been
determined, given that these could increase due to the combined
effects of heavy rainfall and the passing of the first few days.
However, the majority of the effects were directly related to those
places hit hardest by the worst of the rainfall and winds, in addition
to flooding and coastal deluges before, during and after: Pinar del
Río and the Isle of Youth, particularly by Gustav (with its Category
4), and Holguín, Las Tunas and Camagüey by Ike (Category 3).

This may also be described as the most complex type of problem — not
only because in the case of housing it leaves more than 200,000 people
homeless for some time, and hundreds of thousands more whose homes
require repairs — but because building and rebuilding involves
financial investment and resources in the millions, and requires years
of intense work.

MAIN EFFECTS OF GUSTAV IN OTHER AREAS

The preliminary assessment of Gustav’s damage reveals that the most
significant impact was in the special municipality of the Isle of
Youth and Pinar del Río province, mostly in the towns of San
Cristóbal, Los Palacios, Consolación del Sur, Viñales, La Palma, Minas
de Matahambre, Candelaria and Bahía Honda.

It should be taken into account that estimates of housing losses are
based on historic and conventional prices, not real values at
international prices. Suffice it to say that in order to have a
durable house that can stand up to the fiercest winds, one essential
element is necessary and very scarce: a labor force. This is needed
both for temporary repairs and lasting construction. That labor force
has to be divided among all centers of production and services, some
significantly damaged, which is why the real value of a house in the
world and the recovery of the corresponding investment is much
greater.

• The situation is critical for the 120,105 houses affected by Gustav
in Pinar del Río province, particularly in the municipalities of Los
Palacios and San Cristóbal.

• Associated with impact on housing, more than 4,000 water storage
tanks for apartment buildings were damaged.

• In western Cuba, serious impacts were reported on the electric power
infrastructure:

Along the 220-kW Mariel-Pinar del Rio transmission line, 137 towers
were destroyed, and along the 110-kW line, 13 towers were destroyed.

Among other elements: 4,500 posts knocked down, 530 transformers
broken and 5,000 streetlights damaged.

• In the special municipality of the Isle of Youth, 100%% of electrical
lines were affected.

• More than 55,700 hectares of crops suffered total losses in western
Cuba, mostly tubers and sugar cane. In addition, 877 organic vegetable
gardens and 392 intensive farming sites were affected.

• Eighty percent of the Isle of Youth’s poultry industry was seriously
affected, and 100%% of that industry was affected in the eight
municipalities of Pinar del Río that were hit.

• In the tobacco sector, 3,414 storage facilities were destroyed and
1,590 damaged, and more than 800 tons of tobacco was affected.

• More than 180,000 hectares of tree farms were affected.

• In industrial food production: 28 bakeries, eight sweet shops and a
fruit and vegetable preserves enterprise were affected, mostly by the
total loss of their roofs, but they did have generators.

• 4,355 tons of food in warehouses and neighborhood stores were
affected.

• The main damage to the national radio system occurred as a result of
the total destruction of its medium-wave towers (2) and the television
tower on the Isle of Youth, affecting radio and television services. A
similar situation occurred in Pinar del Río, to the towers of
facilities in San Cristóbal, La Palma and Los Palacios and their three
television centers. In Havana, the centers in Artemisa and Bauta were
damaged.

• In telecommunications, 9,316 services were affected, most of them in
the special municipality (7,797) and Pinar del Río (1,021).

• Losses are still being calculated in computer equipment, televisions
and VCRs. In the health and education sectors, 794 computers were
affected.

• In the public health sector in the western region, considerable
damage was done to 31 facilities, including 26 hospitals, 18
polyclinics, 191 doctors’ offices, 14 senior citizen homes and 41
pharmacies, with the most critical situation on the Isle of Youth and
several municipalities in Pinar del Río: San Cristóbal, Los Palacios,
La Palma and Consolación del Sur.

• In education, 1,160 schools were affected, included 599 in Pinar del
Río, 218 in La Habana province, 225 in City of Havana, and 87 on the
Isle of Youth.

• Important installations were destroyed in the Nueva Gerona port, and
the Isle of Youth’s airport, and almost all passenger transport was
affected there.

MAJOR DAMAGE CAUSED BY IKE

Without assessments being concluded, at the close of this report on
September 12, the worst damage by province occurred in the
aforementioned provinces, mostly in the following municipalities:

• Guantánamo: Baracoa and Maisí.

• Holguín: mostly in the capital city of Holguín, Banes, Antilla, Moa,
Rafael Freyre, Mayarí and Gibara.

• Las Tunas: the capital, Puerto Padre, Manatí and Jesús Menéndez.

• Camagüey: the capital, Nuevitas, Guáimaro, Najasa, Florida,
Sibanicú, Minas and Santa Cruz del Sur.

• Ciego de Avila: the capital, Venezuela, Baraguá y Majagua.

• Sancti Spíritus: the capital, Trinidad and La Sierpe.

• Villa Clara: Manicaragua, Encrucijada, Santo Domingo and Sagua la
Grande.

• Cienfuegos: Cumanayagua and Aguada de Pasajeros.

• Matanzas: the capital, Unión de Reyes, Calimete, Perico and Jagüey
Grande.

All municipalities in those provinces were affected, with only the
worst affected listed above. Losses in the other municipalities will
not be ignored.

With respect to principal effects, major losses were reported in the
provinces of La Habana and City of Havana, although proportionally not
as much as in the rest of the country.

Once again, Pinar del Río and the Isle of Youth were lashed by the
winds, and this time, much more by water. The aftereffects of the
hurricane were slow to disappear.

• Electric power services were affected throughout almost the entire
country, which was left in darkness by the direct effect of the wind
and heavy rains and by the measures of protection applied to prevent
further damage.

• Moreover, reconstruction work was complicated in almost every
province 24 hours after the storm headed out to sea.

• Initially, electric power was reestablished with the use of micro-
systems via generators, which are being gradually phased out with the
activation of the National Electric Power System, except in the
provinces of Santiago de Cuba, Granma and part of Guantánamo, where it
was possible to connect them to the Renté thermoelectric power plant.
Pinar del Río province and the special municipality of the Isle of
Youth are still getting power from micro-systems, and will continue to
do so until transmission lines are reestablished, which will be done
as soon as possible.

As of September 12, the provinces had electric power in the following
percentages: Las Tunas, Camagüey and Holguín: not above 30%%, due to
the magnitude of breakdowns in their basic distribution networks;
Granma and Santiago de Cuba in excess of 99%%, and Guantánamo, 94%%,
although Maisí and Baracoa, the hardest-hit municipalities, were at
53%% and 79%%, respectively; Ciego de Avila in excess of 92%%; La Habana,
almost 92%%; Matanzas, 90%%; Villa Clara, 87.2%%; Cienfuegos, 94.7%%; and
Sancti Spíritus, 84%%, all with their provincial capitals, as a rule,
at higher percentages. Some of the most backward municipalities also
suffered major damage to their grids.

City of Havana exceeded 98%%, although there were specific outages to
be resolved (burned-out transformers, branch lines, etc.),
concentrated in Boyeros, Habana del Este, Plaza, Cerro and Playa.

The regions most compromised and complex, Pinar del Río and the Isle
of Youth, were at a little over 55%% and almost 67%%, respectively.

• Mini- and micro-hydroelectric plants have been seriously affected.

• Wells for supplying manufactured gas to the capital have continued
to operate. Only one Energás turbine is working to maintain vitality,
for which some wells are being kept open to provide gas to the
system.

• There are generalized outages in communications due to fallen trees,
telephone posts and transmission towers, with some community
television stations deactivated.

• Damage to agriculture is reported as a consequence of Ike in 205
greenhouses, and most of the facilities for semi-protected crops.

• All coffee-growing areas in eastern Cuba were affected, essentially
destroying the harvest in some of the most productive municipalities
due to the combined action of rain and wind in areas like Mayarí,
Sagua de Tánamo, Maisí and Granma province.

• In the eastern provinces, 32,305 hectares of plantain were lost,
plus more than 10,000 hectares of other crops.

• At the close of this report, more than 500,000 poultry had been
registered as lost, 100,000 of which were slaughtered and sold to the
population. Damage to poultry stock was significant in Sancti
Spíritus, Matanzas, Las Tunas and Camagüey.

• In sugar cane, 156,600 hectares were reported as flattened, 518,879
hectares flooded and 3,895 hectares of new cane lost, and
approximately 40,000 tons of sugar was reported as requiring
reprocessing due to having got wet.

• There were also notable effects in the Ministry of Sugar varied crop
areas, with damage recorded to more than 10,000 hectares of plantain,
rice, beans and others, including organic vegetable gardens.

• Generalized serious effects to roofs and windows of industrial
facilities were reported. Production at all factories was halted for
different reasons, and many of these remain in that situation.

• The Ministry of Domestic Trade reported damage to 49,000 tons of
storage capacity, with the worst to Holguín’s Warehouse Base, where
12,750 tons of products and 1,111 stores were seriously damaged.

• Partial or total destruction was reported to 2,642 Ministry of
Education facilities, mostly roofs and windows, as well as 186 child
care centers, and severe damage was reported to schools in Holguín,
Las Tunas and Camagüey.

• The Ministry of Higher Education reported damage to the universities
of Cienfuegos, Sancti Spíritus, Matanzas, Villa Clara, Holguín; the
municipal headquarters of Puerto Padre in Las Tunas and the Institute
of Agricultural Science in Havana.

• Damage was reported to 146 cultural institutions and 82 sports
facilities, including six sports initiation schools (EIDE); 13
athletics colleges (ESPA) and academies; two faculties of Physical
Culture; five provincial baseball stadiums and 32 municipal ones;
eight multipurpose auditoriums; 13 community schools and two swimming
pool complexes.

• In health facilities, the greatest damage reported was to the
neonatal services of the Enrique Cabrera, Aballí, Gineco-Obstétrico
Eusebio Hernández, 10 de Octubre and William Soler hospitals, as well
as the Fructuoso Rodríguez Orthopedic Hospital.

• Roads were affected by fallen trees and flooding. All the bridges on
Cayo Coco causeway and its water pipeline were damaged. Access, with
much precaution, can be had over La Farola, Guantánamo province; the
Las Tunas-Holguín and Holguín-Moa sections are being inspected, and
access was blocked on two sections of the National Highway. Thousands
of kilometers of roads and streets were damaged throughout the
country.

• Seven ports are closed and there is serious damage to the roofs of
port warehouses in Vita, Carúpano and Nuevitas, with damage to
pedestrian walkways and signs at the entrances to all ports.

With respect to the volume of accumulated water in the country’s 239
reservoirs managed by the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources,
at the close of September 12, it was in excess of 7,892,005 million
cubic meters, 86%% of the total of usable capacity retained, which
signifies an increase of 1,791 million of cubic meters with respect to
Friday, September 5.

Currently, 128 reservoirs are releasing water into drainage channels,
94 more than before Ike’s passing.

In the last week, all provinces, except for the special municipality
of the Isle of Youth, experienced increases in reservoir volumes.
Those at 90%%-plus capacity include Pinar del Río, Villa Clara,
Cienfuegos, Holguín, Granma and Guantánamo; Santiago de Cuba is over
99%%. Four more provinces are over 80%%.

Much more information and data could complete and compliment the
situation created in the country in less than one month by the impact
of four meteorological phenomena, particularly Hurricanes Gustav and
Ike, because of their destructive capacity. The country’s economic,
social and housing infrastructures have been devastated like never
before.

"Now comes the time to analyze the objective factors, the rational and
optimum use of material and human resources; what must be done in
every concrete place, where we should or should not invest; what to do
with every cent; respond to every question that has to be asked in
situations of emergency. And under normal circumstances, when
everything returns to its place and the normal lives of children,
adolescents, and adults continuing moving forward, always prepared to
fight and win without ever becoming disheartened in the face of the
adversities of today or of tomorrow," as Fidel recently wrote.

The government has not wasted a single minute and, within a few hours,
began sending material resources from its reserves to the affected
territories, even though it is not possible for everything to get to
everybody immediately.

The people’s solidarity has been present from the first moment, and
there are many examples of that. We have been educated that way over
almost half a century of Revolution.

There will be no lack of rigor and rationality, as called for by Fidel
and indicated by the Party, in the inevitable readjustment of economic
and social programs and plans, given that our top priority today is to
recover.

Support from the outside has not been lacking, either. The authorities
of many governments, agencies and institutions have contacted us and
sent initial aid. The seed of our internationalist conduct and
solidarity has been germinating for decades. Our gratitude goes out to
all of them.

Admiration is due to the cadres and members of our glorious Party; the
valiant combatants of our Revolutionary Armed Forces, Ministry of the
Interior and Civil Defense; the men and women of our working class;
our mass organizations; our media; our journalists and intellectuals
and the rest of the citizens of our heroic nation, who, with valor and
discipline, have confronted this extremely hard blow dealt by nature.

We will work more united than ever, always remembering that "our duty
is to overcome!"

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]]> Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:47:20 PDT http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.fan.noamchomsky/the_myth_of_the_tragedy_of_the_commons_118715497t.html http://www.nnseek.com/e/alt.fan.noamchomsky/the_myth_of_the_tragedy_of_the_commons_118715497t.html to have those he feels are intelligent control the environment and its
resources, because the masses are too stupid.

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