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From: tan@ihlpg.UUCP (Bill Tanenbaum)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.misc
Subject: Re: Leaving the Promised Land
Message-ID: <2561@ihlpg.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 12-Oct-86 01:52:55 EDT
Article-I.D.: ihlpg.2561
Posted: Sun Oct 12 01:52:55 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 16-Oct-86 07:45:38 EDT
References: <950@tekigm.UUCP> <2743@burdvax.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, IL
Lines: 26

< <[Me]
< <Unfortunately, the USSR is an example of the SUCCESS of coercion.  It is
< <very good at it.  The world's largest prison has a negligible escape
< <rate, and earns political capital and other concessions by ransoming
< <its prisoners, very very slowly.
------
< [Tom Albrecht]
< Notice how Cuba has caught on to the Soviet system that Bill described.
< They make much of their release of so-called political prisoners that play
< up really well in the US press.  They also have learned to make use of
< left-leaning Americans like Jesse Jackson and others to spread their
< propoganda.  Jesse goes to Havana and embraces Castro at the airport as a
< great humanitarian.  Still, liberal's eyes glaze over when you talk about
< communist countries and their human-rights policies choosing instead to
< focus their attention on American allies.
------
Tom is right on target about Castro and Cuba, but dead wrong about "liberals"
and the U. S. press.  Castro came off [deservedly] rotten in the U.S. press.
What I read and saw was Cubans imprisoned for twenty years or more on
political grounds being tearfully reunited with relatives, and describing
the horrors and degredations they endured.  Likewise, the Soviets win no
friends in the U.S. by ransoming prisoners.  On the contrary, it only
publicizes the repression.  The Soviets are more interested in concrete
concessions, such as trade concessions, or the release of spies.
-- 
Bill Tanenbaum - AT&T Bell Labs - Naperville IL  ihnp4!ihlpg!tan