Quick Takes Worth Noting

Cuban bishops are speaking out about the jailed dissidents:

After a decade of virtual silence on Cuba's human-rights record, the island's Roman Catholic bishops Tuesday criticized the government's return to hard-line revolutionary ideology and urged compassion for the 75 dissidents sentenced to lengthy prison terms five months ago.

''Ever since the pope's visit [in 1998], Cuba has increasingly experienced a return to the language and methods typical of the early years of the revolution,'' said an 11-page document issued by the 13-member Cuban Bishops Conference in Havana.

''We again ask the country's authorities for a gesture of clemency toward these people who are in jail, above all considering -- from a humanitarian standpoint -- the conditions of their age, state of health and sex that require special attention,'' the statement added.

The statement, couched in strong but respectful language, was the first time in a decade that the Cuban bishops have criticized the human-rights record of President Fidel Castro's government in such a formal and public manner.

That's a good start.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe who I have praised in the past, makes some stupidly intemperate remarks:

Human-rights defenders, accused by President Alvaro Uribe of being allied with terrorists for criticizing his crackdown on leftist rebels, denounced his comments Tuesday, saying the remarks have endangered their lives.

The fiery exchange came after more than 80 humanitarian organizations, including some of the nation's most respected human-rights groups, released a joint report Monday entitled The Authoritarian Curse, which condemned government abuses and attacks on civil liberties.

Uribe, in a speech during a military ceremony Monday, denied the charges and accused some of the reports' authors -- whom he did not specifically name -- of acting ``in the service of terrorism.''

Here's why these remarks were so irresponsible:

In Colombia, branding individuals or groups as supporters of one of the outlawed warring sides can prove fatal. The rebels and their paramilitary foes have killed civilians suspected of helping the other side.

If he disagrees with the groups, fine. Saying that they are "acting in the service of terrorism" is beyond the pale and endangers people's lives.

Finally, here's a cogent analysis as to why sugar tariffs hurt Brazil - and cost consumers in the US so much more:

The maximum tariff that Brazil imposes on imported goods is 35 percent. That figure is exceeded by 130 tariffs on imports to the United States, and of the 130 tariffs, 100 apply to agricultural products, including a 174 percent tax on peanuts.

When the United States adopted its current tariff structure on sugar in 1981, it eliminated 90 percent of Brazil's sugar imports, Brazilian officials said. Brazil will export about 13 million tons of sugar this year, but because of U.S. quota restrictions, only about 150,000 tons will be shipped to the United States, according to Brazilian government statistics.

Biagi Filho said that U.S. tariffs on a ton of sugar that costs him roughly $90 to drive the selling price to more than $617.

"I believe that Americans must have a guilt complex about sugar," said Biagi Filho, whose family has owned the Santa Elisa mill for more than 70 years. "That's why they pay so much more for sugar than they have to."

[edit]

"Brazilian farmers don't receive government subsidies," said Antonio Eduardo Tonielo, president of the Copercana cooperative of sugar cane planters in western Sao Paulo state. "And we don't stop other countries from sending their crops here. We play by the rules. We can grow enough sugar at lower cost to provide Europe and the United States with all the sugar they could ever want if they just played by the rules. If you own a farm in Brazil or work on a farm in Brazil, how can you not be cynical about globalization?"

Every 500,000 tons of sugar grown in Brazil creates 30,000 new jobs, said Biagi Filho, whose company is one of Brazil's largest sugar processing facilities.

I'm sure that there is bipartisan support for keeping the sugar tariffs. We all know who the governor of Florida is and the two senators from Louisiana (both democrats) are among the strongest supporters of these tariffs.