[NYTr] Cuban Radar Newsbriefs - Nov 1, 2007

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

Progreso Weekly - Nov 1, 2007
http://progreso-weekly.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=221&Itemid=1

Cuban Radar Newsbriefs - Nov 1, 2007
A news service from the Havana bureau of Radio Progreso Alternativa

* Critical reporting on Cuban TV
* Cultured cadres wanted
* Demand for electricity grows
* New power-generating groups
* Special U.N. envoy arrives in Cuba
* Cuba in UNESCO
* Church-state relations improve, Cardinal says


* Critical reporting on Cuban TV

During the Oct. 29 broadcast of "Good Morning Magazine," a news program
on Telerebelde, shown daily from 6:30 to 8:30 a.m., a report was aired
on the work being done at General Calixto García Hospital in Havana. 

The physical state of this center, built more than a century ago, is
depressing.

"There are wards that were built 70 or 90 years ago and lack a system
of regular maintenance," the hospital director said.

Some of the repair work has been done but the hospital director
acknowledged that "there are some problems with the work already done,
such as leaks." He expressed dissatisfaction with "some of the
finishing."

The director said that this year he hopes to complete 52 projects of
construction and repair. However, "the years of neglect multiply the
cost of the investments. After the building and furnishings have been
build or repaired, they can be affected by social indiscipline, erratic
maintenance, or the poor quality of the materials used."

Good Morning host Raúl Isidrón said that one news report "would not be
enough to comment on or attest to this problem, which affects the whole
country."


* Cultured cadres wanted

The National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) will hold its
congress in November. 

Prior to the congress, the various associations that form this
institution are debating the topics of content, to eventually make them
part of the UNEAC's general policy. 

During the Music Association meeting, on Oct. 25, issues were raised
that -- while normal within the artistic and cultural sector --
generally are not reported in the media, much less in TV newscasts.

Topics on the table ranged from differences between the Association and
the Music Institute to the percentage of earnings that musicians must
turn over to the state. At present, the share is 50 percent.

On Oct. 25, the Cuban TV newscast reported that day's meeting of the
Music Association and, in a news clip, showed Tony Pinelli (musician,
musical producer and composer) saying: "The cadres [administrative
leaders] in the culture sector must be cultured people. You cannot
direct culture without being cultured." The burst of applause that
followed was included in the news clip.

The news is remarkable because most people in the world of culture
criticize TV and radio precisely because of the shortage of cultured
cadres. 


* Demand for electricity grows

On Sunday, Oct. 28, Cubans set back their clocks one hour, ending the
so-called summer schedule. With this habitual change, night will fall
earlier and energy consumption will increase by 500 megawatts per hour,
the newspaper Granma reported. 

An expert at the National Electrical Union told the newspaper that this
increase represents a daily cost of "110 additional tons [of fuel] with
an approximate value of US$66,000."

Granma has called on citizens to use electricity sensibly, especially
between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m., which is considered to be the peak period
for electrical consumption.


* New power-generating groups

A new power plant with low-consumption elements was inaugurated on Oct.
26 in the city of Güines, province of Havana. 

The plant utilizes fuel oil and will initially generate 28 megawatts.
It consumes less fuel per kilowatt/hour than the plants that are being
replaced by the national program called Energy Revolution. 

Thanks to the Energy Revolution, Cubans now have a generation capacity
of 3,500 megawatts, which exceeds the demand, estimated at 2,600
megawatts per hour. 


* Special U.N. envoy arrives in Cuba

Jean Ziegler, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food,
arrived in Cuba on Oct. 28, at the invitation of the Cuban government.
According to official sources, Havana thus resumes cooperation with
U.N. organizations in the area of human rights.

During his stay, which will last until Nov. 6, Ziegler will visit
centers and places of interest in the food sector and will meet with
high-ranking government officials.


* Cuba in UNESCO

With 157 votes out of 165, Cuba was elected member of the Executive
Council of the United Nations Education, Science and Culture
Organization (UNESCO).

Cuba's ambassador to UNESCO, Héctor Hernández Pardo, told Prensa Latina
that the vote represents the island government's efforts to improve
education, science and culture.

The 34th plenary session of UNESCO is being held in Paris. It will end
Nov. 3.


* Church-state relations improve, Cardinal says

Cardinal Jaime Ortega Alamino told the news agency EFE that the Roman
Catholic Church's relations with the Cuban government are "slowly but
gradually improving. We could say they are good but could be better."

Ortega, Archbishop of the City of Havana, told EFE that the planned
visit to Cuba in January of Cardinal Tacisio Bertone, the Vatican's
Secretary of State "is a recognition of what the Pope's visit mean to
us, and a revival of [that visit] so that we may continue on the same
path, in the same spirit, a spirit that must continue to grow."

Ortega, the most important dignitary of the Catholic Church in Cuba,
said that, before the Sept. 8 festivities in honor of the Virgin of
Charity, "the Church had access to nine provincial radio stations,
during very good time slots, to convey the message of the Cuban bishops
about the island's patron saint, and to summon the faithful to
processions and public events."

The cardinal also confirmed that priests and other clergy are visiting
some prisons in different dioceses. He restated the hope of the Church
to secure a communications medium and to gain access to public schools.