Showing posts with label DoesTheAlaSupportTerrorists. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DoesTheAlaSupportTerrorists. Show all posts

Friday, November 30, 2018

Antisemitism at American Library Association

Would you allow your public librarians to attend events where people from the United Arab Emirates were intentionally excluded but everyone else was invited?  Of course not.  The American Library Association [ALA] attends such an event.  Only it's Israelis who are excluded.  That's antisemitism and ALA attends that event yearly, so ALA is an antisemitic organization—until it stops supporting hate.

The Sharjah International Book Fair in UAE excludes anyone from Israel—that's antisemitic.  ALA attends this antisemitic event yearly—that's antisemitism.  ALA does this despite years of criticism and has never stood up for human rights in this regard—that's knowingly and purposefully antisemitic.  Its President Loida Garcia-Febo touts "ALA's longstanding commitments with different countries into a Global Library Tour to bring my advocacy campaign, Libraries = Strong Communities, to places such as ... Sharjah International Book Fair...."  ALA's President literally touts antisemitism.  That builds "strong communities"?

Be clear that if an ALA President attended events where Arabs from UAE were excluded, ALA would be labelled as Islamophobic.  So ALA attending events where Jews from Israel are excluded is antisemitic.


"From Local to Global; Bringing Education and Environmental
Tools to Our Communities," by Loida Garcia-Febo,
American Libraries, September/October 2018, p.4.

Would you keep attending a golf club where you knew women, blacks, gays, or Jews were excluded?  Not unless you were misogynistic, racist, homophobic, or antisemitic.  And would you associate with such a person?  ALA is antisemitic.  (ALA is also homophobic, misogynistic, and racist, but I digress.)

That said, the place for members to sign up on the ALA website does have Israel and does not have Palestine.

ALA President Jim Neal keynotes SIBF15.  Keynote and backdrop
shows how close is the relationship between ALA and SIBF.

American Library Association not only attends, but actively participates, e.g.: "ALA President Loida Garcia-Febo will bring together concepts of libraries of all types as pillars of education and at the intersection of human rights, universal access to information, serving diverse and multiethnic populations, and making your library a welcoming place to all members of the community."  How can she talk about human rights and diversity at an antisemitic conference?


Here is a report from the Executive Director of ALA in 2016 showing how closely ALA is allied with the antisemitic organization, hyperlinks in original:
Librarians from across the Persian Gulf, Middle East, and North Africa (MENA) gathered at the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) November 8–10 for the third annual SIBF/American Library Association Conference.  The conference is ALA's most ambitious international professional development event, supporting ALA's global theme, "Partnering to build stronger libraries worldwide."  Approximately 350 librarians took part in three days of programs, training, and networking in both Arabic and English, with translation provided.  [ALA President] Julie Todaro and Miguel Figueroa provided keynotes.  You can find out more in the member release about the conference or American Libraries' Scoop.  Plans are already underway for the 2017 event.  [Source 1, Source 2]
The number of American librarians attending the annual antisemitic event is staggering.  Use of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to uncover how much their communities paid or are paying for them to support antisemitism may be beneficial.  Those communities may wish to know and may wish to stop funding hate.
Israel is missing.  Source is SIBF
"Sharjah Book Authority" YouTube.


ALA MEMBERS KNOW ALA IS ANTISEMITIC:

ALA does make an effort to show it is not antisemitic, for example, "In the Shadow of Pittsburgh: Intellectual Freedom to Defend the Jewish People," by Emily Schneider, Intellectual Freedom Blog, 12 November 2018.  But that is only to give ALA cover to perpetuate "the resistance": "the overwhelming inundation of hateful words and actions which have been seemingly encouraged by the presidency of Donald Trump and the subsequent empowerment of white supremacist, anti-LGBTQ, and specifically anti-Semitic groups."

Nevertheless, the publication goes on confirm antisemitism at ALA, hyperlink in original:
Even more troubling is the virtual absence of Jewish concerns on ALSC's blog. When I searched under "Jewish," as well as "antisemitism," to check if I had missed any past blog entries that would concede the existence of Jews as readers, I came up with nothing but some incidental references to characters and a discussion about holiday decorations in libraries. A parallel search of "Islam" at [sic] did produce some recommendations for books that would make Muslim children feel welcome and understood.
.... 
If librarians and other advocates for an inclusive and activist approach to literacy are afraid to discuss antisemitism as a deep-rooted and dangerous blight on society, one that is both related to other forms of hatred, and also uniquely menacing to the Jewish people, we have a problem that needs to be addressed. 
And the author doesn't even mention ALA's efforts to fund and promote Islam in American libraries: "Bridging Cultures Bookshelf: Muslim Journeys."



EVEN BANNED BOOKS WEEK IS INFECTED BY ALA COVERING FOR TERROR:

Even Banned Books Week is infected by American Library Association's covering for terror.
  • In one case, ALA librarians gleefully brag about censorship of "No Go Zones" by Raheem Kassam, see "'No Go Zones' Censored; Banned Books Week Hoax Strikes Again," and 
  • in another case ALA is happy to announce how the terrorist organization called CAIR for Counsel of American Islamic Relations successfully campaigned to removed a book.  
Yet notice how Banned Books Week fails to name either of these books.  So Banned Books Week excludes ALA's own censorship of books ALA's own librarians don't like for political reasons.


CONCLUSION:

There is no other way to look at America Library Association's repeat attendance at antisemitic events, let alone its past history of antisemitic behavior as referenced below.  It's antisemitism.  If you or I engaged in this behavior, that's what we'd be called, antisemitic.  ALA is antisemitic.  I'll rejoin ALA when it stops attending antisemitic events, etc.


SUPPORTING REFERENCES IN REVERSE CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER:

ALA President Julie Todaro at SIBF in 2016.


MORE ANTISEMITISM AT AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION:
http://aldirect.ala.org/sites/default/al_direct/2018/november/110918-2.htm


ALA advertisement for an antisemitic event.


TYPICAL TWEETS:





ANTISEMITISM: BORN TO HATE JEWS:



—
URL of this page: 
safelibraries.blogspot.com/2018/09/antisemitism-at-ALA.html

On Twitter: 
@ALALibrary @BannedBooksWeek @LoidaGarciaFebo @PlanoLibrary @PragerU @RaheemKassam @SharjahBookAuth



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Location: Sharjah - United Arab Emirates

Friday, January 30, 2015

Antisemitism at ALA Midwinter

Antisemitism at ALA Midwinter (link)?  Yes.  Not all of the American Library Association [ALA], just a few like University of Illinois professor emeritus Al Kagan (link).

To make a long story short, ALA Council (link) member Al Kagan is leading an effort to convince ALA to pass a resolution to divest ALA from certain American corporations such as Caterpillar (link).  Why?  Because Caterpillar products are used by the Israeli Defense Forces (link) [IDF] to defend Israel from terrorists and Al Kagan is a member of the BDS movement (link) that commits economic jihad against Israel and the United States.

As Al Kagan put it, "Caterpillar Inc. sells heavy equipment used by the Israeli government to demolish Palestinian homes and agricultural lands, as well as to build illegal Israeli settlements...."  Never mind the terror tunnels (link) and the beheadings (link) that Israel and the rest of the world including parts of the Muslim world are defending against, right?

Librarians are not happy with the way Al Kagan seeks to use ALA for his own promotion of antisemitism.  For example:




Al Kagan is known to be way out there, like when he called ALA's top icon Judith Krug a racist (link).

He even has a history of using ALA Council to perpetuate his antisemitism (link).  "Rory Litwin allowed Library Juice to be used by Al Kagan, a Library Administration professor at the University of Illinois, Urbana, where he is active in the anti-Israel divestment campaign (link)."

For ALA's history of antisemitism generally, see Librarians for Fairness (link) and "Librarians for Terror (link)," by Lee Kaplan, FrontPageMagazine.com, 24 August 2004.

Anti-Semite Al Kagan (link)
But Al Kagan's latest move is to attack a Jewish librarian who dared to speak up against his antisemitism.  Free speech only goes so far for certain free speech ALA Councilors/professors.  And his attack was done with flat out deception.  Indeed that blatant deception is what motivated me to write about his use of ALA Midwinter to promote his antisemitism again, as he used ALA in the past.  And notice he could care less that she feels his resolution is antisemitic.

He mocks the Jewish librarian for mentioning the IDF.  He says is was "not even remotely included" in his antisemitic resolution.  True he didn't mention the word IDF.  Yet he wants ALA to dump Caterpillar stock—because its products are used by the IDF, the "Israeli government" as he put it.  So the IDF is a direct target of Al Kagan, yet he hides this by saying the IDF is "not even remotely included," just so he can fool others into using ALA to promote his Jew hatred.  If you have to hide your antisemitism by attacking a Jewish librarian with flat out false claims, you obviously know there's no legitimate basis for whatever it is you're promoting so you need to turn to ad hominem argument.  And being Jewish is no defense to being an anti-semite.

Okay.  That's my opinion.  Here are relevant excerpts of the emails that support my assertions that there's antisemitism at ALA Midwinter, bold emphasis mine, and other librarians are saying it as well, as shown below.  See if you agree:
Al Kagan
Jan 28, 2015
to ALA, SRRTAC-L

Councilors,

The SRRT International Responsibilities Task Force sent the following 2 resolutions to the Resolutions Committee yesterday.  We look forward to discussing them in Chicago.

Al Kagan
SRRT Councilor

African Studies Bibliographer and Professor of Library Administration Emeritus
University of Illinois Urbana/Champaign


Resolution on ALA Divestment from Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard, and Motorola Solutions

Whereas in its “Core Values of Librarianship” the American Library Association (ALA) “recognizes its broad social responsibilities,” defined “in terms of the contribution that librarianship can make in ameliorating or solving the critical problems of society; support for efforts to help inform and educate the people of the United States on these problems and to encourage them to examine the many views on and the facts regarding each problem; and the willingness of ALA to take a position on current critical issues with the relationship to libraries and library service set forth in the position statement” (ALA Policy Manual A1.1);

Whereas the  International Court of Justice; the European Union; the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, the UN Security Council, the UN Economic and Social Council, the UN Commission on Human Rights, the UN Human Rights Council; Amnesty International; Human Rights Watch; and the International Committee of the Red Cross have condemned the establishment of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, the destruction of Palestinian homes and property, and the construction of a separation barrier in Palestinian territory as violations of international law and as obstacles to economic and social development and the attainment of peace and justice in the Middle East;

Whereas Caterpillar Inc. sells heavy equipment used by the Israeli government to demolish Palestinian homes and agricultural lands, as well as to build illegal Israeli settlements on that land and roads solely used by illegal Israeli settlers; and Caterpillar Inc. helps to construct the Separation Barrier extending across the 1967 "Green Line" into the East Jerusalem and the West Bank;

Whereas Hewlett-Packard (HP) provides hardware and serves as a contractor to the Israeli Navy to manage all Information Technology (IT) including its operational communications, logistics, and planning such as the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip; HP, through its ownership of Electronic Data Systems, sells Israel the electronic biometric identification scanning equipment to monitor the movement of all 2.4 million Palestinians, including equipment for the mandatory biometric scanning required for getting through checkpoints to jobs, hospitals, food and other daily needs; and HP also provides communications technology to the Israeli army;

Whereas Motorola Solutions Inc. has been involved with selling wide-area surveillance systems for installation in the illegal Israeli settlements and a communications system known as "Mountain Rose" to the Israeli government, which uses it for military communications, as well as rugged cell phones used by the Occupation forces in the Palestinian Territories;

Whereas for these reasons the United Nations Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories has called for a boycott of Caterpillar Inc., Hewlett-Packard, and Motorola Solutions Inc.;

Whereas in June 2014 the 221st General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), motivated by these concerns, voted to divest its holdings in Caterpillar Inc., Hewlett-Packard, and Motorola Solutions Inc.;

Whereas in the 1980s the American Library Association joined in the international divestment campaign against South African apartheid as a tool for non-violent political change;

Whereas in 1994 the ALA Council voted to endorse the 10-point South African Council of Churches Code of Conduct for Businesses Operating in South Africa, as guidance on investment decisions for the ALA Endowment Trustees concerning corporate policies on equal opportunity, training and education, workers’ rights, working and living conditions, job creation and security, community relations, consumer protection, environmental protection, and empowerment of black businesses; and

Whereas the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) call for the incorporation of environmental, social, and corporate governance issues into investment ownership policies and practices; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, that the Council of the American Library Association (ALA), on behalf of the members of ALA,

(1) directs ALA to divest itself of any holdings in Caterpillar Inc., Hewlett Packard, and Motorola Solutions Inc.; and

(2) declares that it will not invest in these companies until ALA Council is fully satisfied that product sales and services by these companies are no longer complicit in:
  a. constructing and providing security for illegal Israeli settlements;
  b. constructing and maintaining walls and fences that illegally encroach upon Palestinian lands;
  c. managing checkpoints that dehumanize Palestinians and cut off innocent civilians from their property and natural resources; and
  d. contributing to and profiting from the military occupation of the Palestinian territories.

Mover: Al Kagan, SRRT Councilor, 217-819-9975

Seconder: Jane Glasby, Councilor-at-Large, 510-206-8614


Audrey Barbakoff
Jan 28, 2015
to ALA

I am a new Councilor and this is my first post to this listserv, so please forgive me if I’m misunderstanding anything here.  I appreciate learning from all of you!
....
Such resolutions would have broad, far-reaching meaning with impacts well beyond the nuances of this particular conflict and region.  By focusing only on the destruction of Palestinian libraries, rather than the many cultural institutions threatened around the world; by singling out one country for divestment while we continue to financially support atrocities in other places; and by calling out Israel specifically when our usual policy is to avoid focusing on individual cases; we miss many important and powerful opportunities to be socially conscious.  We deny ourselves future access to a resolution which could be applied to protest social ills in many situations.  We make the conversation about whether or not ALA is an anti-Semitic organization, instead of about ALA and SRRT’s ability to be a force for social justice.
....
Audrey Barbakoff
Councilor-at-Large


Al Kagan
Jan 29, 2015
to ALA, SRRTAC-L

Councilors,

As you know by now, there is a national campaign going on against the 2 SRRT resolutions with the help of media consultants.  As I stated in my previous message, we expected a sophisticated national campaign against the resolutions.  I am getting messages from people who are very not likely not librarians or members of ALA.

What surprises me is that this campaign is much less sophisticated than we expected.  Many of the messages show that the senders have not even read the resolutions.  Many of the messages refer to language that is not remotely included, and one recent message referred to 4 separate resolutions on various topics.  The one below really takes the cake.  For those who don't know, the IDF is the Israeli Defense Force, that is the Israeli military.

I look forward to debating the resolutions on their merits as informed by ALA core values.

Al Kagan
SRRT Councilor

African Studies Bibliographer and Professor of Library Administration Emeritus
University of Illinois Urbana/Champaign

Begin forwarded message:

[Name elided]
Jan 29, 2015
to Al Kagan

Subject: ALA initiative

This initiative against the IDF is unconscionable.  It is antisemitic in the extreme.  It must not go forward.

[Name elided], member of AJL [Association of Jewish Libraries (link)]


NOTE ADDED 30 JANUARY 2015:

Apparently, having the opinion someone is an antisemite based statements by others and his own statements made for over a decade is known as an "attack."  I "attacked" no one.  I reported, there's a big difference there, on the sustained antisemitism and use of ALA resources by one ALA Council member, and provided evidence both past and present.

That said, Daniel Cornwall is clearly worried that my accurately reporting what he said may have an effect on his career similar to how Chrissie Hynde reportedly (but not in reality) felt about Rush Limbaugh using the Pretenders song "Our City Was Gone" as his radio show's theme song.

The only thing I said to which Daniel Cornwall objects is, "Librarians are not happy with the way Al Kagan seeks to use ALA for his own promotion of antisemitism."  Tell, am I wrong, are they happy?  As Mr. Cornwall said himself in response to me, and I agree completely:
Instead we're potentially giving a lot of time to discussing divisive issues overseas at a time when I don't personally feel we're giving enough attention to what is going on in our back yard. That's all my tweets were meant to convey.
So basically, legitimate business of the American Library Association is being ignored while Al Kagan persists in his "divisive issues overseas" and his using ALA as his own hammer.  Well ALA should not be Al Kagan's hammer.  And all I said was "Librarians are not happy with the way Al Kagan seeks to use ALA for his own promotion of antisemitism," just another side of the same coin of what Daniel said.

And ALA Councilors are still discussing the obvious efforts of Al Kagan.  One just said, "These are tough issues, and unlike Councilor Kagen, I welcome perspectives from the broader world, don't see them as part of an organized conspiracy, and will consider, embrace, dismiss them on the merits that I see in each one."

I am 100% certain I reported accurately, and this latest evidence only confirms it further.

Daniel Cornwall is likely well aware that I am watching and reporting because, in true self-arrogated free speech advocate fashion, he wrote, "I would also like to ask that we refrain from calling each other conspiracy theorists or other names on list.  Please take that offline."

He misses that is was the antisemite himself who made the conspiracy theory claim: "As you know by now, there is a national campaign going on against the 2 SRRT resolutions with the help of media consultants."  Those Jews controlling the media again, I suppose.

You be the judge on what Daniel Cornwall wrote about me:




NOTE ADDED 28 MARCH 2015:

Apparently, antisemitism is par for the course for ALA:




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Location: Chicago, IL, USA

Saturday, April 19, 2014

American Library Association Blames YouTube Video for Benghazi Attack; Passes Policy Silencing Prayer After Jewish Man Prays for Dead Colleagues at ALA Meeting; Does Not Support Free Speech

ALA claims Benghazi attack was
"fueled" by a YouTube video.
The American Library Association [ALA] claims a YouTube video was responsible for the Benghazi attack.  Yet the video had absolutely nothing to do with the attack.  Instead its use supports Islamist efforts to use blasphemy laws to silence the free speech of those speaking out about Islam from a different point of view than the Islamists.  ALA now evidences agreement with that anti-free speech goal.

ALA, supposedly a supporter of free speech, has in the past censored a speaker in response to complaints from Islamists and maintains a block on speech from Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch.  Now it has joined with those promoting blasphemy laws to silence free speech.  The video had nothing to do with the Benghazi attack, yet ALA calls it, "the radical anti-Islamic video that fueled the attack on the American embassy in Benghazi"?
  • "Appeals Court Decision Undermines Free Speech, Misinterpret Copyright Law," by Carrie Russell, Director of the Program on Public Access to Information in the Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP), American Library Association, 14 April 2014 (hyperlinks in original, emphasis mine, grammatical errors in title and text are in original):
    Last week, the American Library Association (ALA) joined an amicus brief calling for reconsideration of a 9th circuit court decision in Garcia v. Google, case where actress Cindy Sue Garcia sued Google for not removing a YouTube video in which she appears.  Garcia appears for five seconds in “Innocence of Muslims,” the radical anti-Islamic video that fueled the attack on the American embassy in Benghazi.  The video was uploaded on YouTube, exposing Garcia to threats and hate mail.  Garcia did not know that her five second performance would be used in a controversial video.

ALA Policy Silencing Impromptu Prayer at ALA Meetings

By the way, at ALA's latest annual conference, it passed a policy silencing prayer at ALA meetings in response to a Jewish ALA member saying a quick prayer over other ALA members who had just died:
As former ALA Councilor Ruth Gordon said, "When Mr. Friedman intoned the Jewish mourner's 'Kaddish' after the sudden deaths of 2 Councilors, I was highly indignant and walked out.  It never should have been allowed and before the second incident I begged Mr. Friedman not to repeat the prayer-at least on Council floor." Source: ALA Councilor Ruth Gordon.
Anyone is free to pray at any time, anywhere.  What people are not free to do is to force others to participate in their prayers, which is what happens when one prays aloud.  If Mr. Friedman wished to offer a prayer in his own particular religious format, he has a temple or synagogue in which to do so.  An ALA meeting is not a religious service, & if Mr. Friedman wished to express his sadness over the deaths of the councilors there, he's free to do so in a non-religious way.  Source: Sherry Rhodes.
So the self-arrogated free speech police who claim it violates free speech to keep children from inappropriate material and decry "banned books" think one has free speech to "express sadness over the deaths of the councilors" but only "in a non-religious way," unless you go your own "temple or synagogue."

A single ALA member (ALA Councilor Ruth Gordon) was incensed at a Jewish prayer being said in a single ALA meeting and ALA has now banned such prayer.  The free speech police banned free speech.  Remember, ALA claims a single parent should not be allowed to "censor what others students can read" in public schools; one parent should not control an entire school.  But it is okay for one person to react to Jewish prayer and cause ALA to block religious free speech ALA wide.  Just another double standard.

It is right that ALA is not a religious institution and should not have official prayers or prayer times, but a colleague saying an impromptu prayer upon news of the death of another colleague is not official ALA prayer and ALA had no right to silence people in such a fashion.


ALA Censorship Double Standard; ALA Does Not Support Free Speech

What we see here is ALA censorship promoted by impromptu Jewish prayer while ALA promotes censorship of those who oppose radical Islam.  All while telling communities it is censorship to block porn in public libraries and censorship to keep school children from inappropriate material.

ALA supports Islamic blasphemy laws that silence free speech, censors points of view that differ from Islamist views, and silences its own members after a Jewish man makes a quick Jewish prayer at an ALA meeting out of respect for a dead colleague.  ALA does not support free speech.



On Twitter:  @ALALibrary @JihadWatchRS @OITP

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Location: Chicago, IL, USA

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Opposing FISA is the American Library Association's Latest Directive, on September 11, No Less

The American Library Association's [ALA] latest directive is to oppose FISA and its means to help prevent further terror attacks in the USA.  The ALA directive was made on September 11th, the eleventh anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.  It uses paranoid scare tactics to motivate people to act, such as: "Watch what you say and do on your phones, emails and other communications":
Oppose H.R. 5949, the FISA Amendments Act (FAA) Reauthorization Act of 2012 
Posted on September 11, 2012 by Lynne Bradley  
URGENT:  September 13th vote pending in the House on FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act)

ACTIVISTS:  Use our legislative action center to send messages to House members opposing H.R. 5949, the FISA Amendments Act (FAA) Reauthorization Act of 2012 or call your congressional representative now!

The message to all House members:  Oppose H.R. 5949 the FISA Amendments Act Reauthorization Act of 2012, H.R. 5949.  Protect Americans’ privacy and constitutional rights.  Do not extend the FAA sunset until December 31, 2017.

ALA asks library supporters to ask the House to oppose this latest attempt to reauthorize the FAA.  Unexpectedly, a quick vote on H.R. 5949, is scheduled for this Thursday, September 13th.

BACKGROUND:  It’s déjà vu all over again: Watch what you say and do on your phones, emails and other communications because, once again, the House of Representatives appears ready to reauthorize the 2008 FAA law that legalized the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program and more.  The American public, including our library patrons, will continue to be exposed to needless surveillance under this reauthorization.

The FISA Amendments Act Reauthorization Act of 2012, H.R. 5949, (yes, this is the correct name of the bill and the law) would extend the provisions of the 2008 FAA to December 31, 2017, rather than letting the FISA sunset on December 31, 2012.  The government is allowed to get 12-month orders from the secret FISA court to conduct “dragnet surveillance of Americans’ international communications—including phone calls, emails, and internet records—for the purpose of collecting foreign intelligence.” *

As we did in 2008, the American Library Association (ALA) continues to argue against the FISA Amendments Act because of the FAA’s lack of transparency and the potential for abuse of the system that has been created.

....

* From the ACLU Washington Legislative Office web site where additional details are available: ACLU’s Washington Markup.

Furthermore, the ALA literally joined as co-signer with the Council on American-Islamic Relations [CAIR] to oppose FISA in the past:

By contrast with ALA, the Obama Administration supports FAA:
  • "President Pushes to Extend Surveillance Law," by Siobhan Gorman, Wall Street Journal, 11 September 2012:
    The Obama administration is lobbying for renewal of a controversial 2008 surveillance law, warning that the U.S. would lose a critical intelligence-collection tool if Congress allows the measure to expire at year's end.

    As President Barack Obama emphasizes his national-security record in his re-election campaign, he's facing strong resistance from some lawmakers who say the law lacks sufficient privacy protections.

    The Republican-dominated House is expected as soon as Wednesday to pass the bill, which would extend the law for five years.  But its fate is less clear in the Senate, where Sen. Ron Wyden (D, Ore.) is blocking Senate consideration, ...
  • "FISA Fight; Congressional Vote to Reauthorize Surveillance Program Highlights Administration Reversals on Spying, Transparency," by CJ Ciaramella, Washington Free Beacon, 12 September 2012.

See also:

Do people realize George Soros is funding the ALA to shill for his own interests in support of terrorists?  Do people realize as self-arrogated "censorship" police, the ALA joined with CAIR to use pro-terrorist censorship to censor Robert Spencer, but parents keeping inappropriate material from children being "censorship" is the message of ALA's "Banned Books Week"?  Do people realize the ALA joined CAIR to oppose radicalization hearings?  And wasn't ALA uncharacteristically silent as terrorists destroyed a famous library in Timbuktu, Mali?

What does any of this have to do with librarianship, the proclaimed mission of the ALA?  Is the ALA in your community library having any influence at all?  Is it okay that a terrorist-friendly organization has influence over your local community library and local school library?

Has ALA political capital just been further attenuated by once again lining up on the losing side of yet another non-library matter?

While it is legitimate to oppose FISA, the ALA that supports terrorists remains true to form.  On September 11, no less.  On the day the U.S. Ambassador to Libya is killed.  On the day the U.S. Embassy in Egypt is attacked and destroyed.  Will ALA members do nothing about this?

The Third Jihad: Radical Islam's Vision for America was used by the NYPD for counterterrorism training.  The ALA is part of the problem described therein when it works with CAIR to censor perceived/presumed opposition such as Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch, uses Soros funding to support Soros/CAIR's interests, or directly joins with CAIR to oppose national security interests having nothing to do with librarianship.

Oh, for the people shocked to hear the ALA supports terrorists, here's one more example, showing the ALA wished library patron privacy laws had protected a 9/11 terrorist from being reported to the police:
  • "A Nation Challenged: Questions of Confidentiality; Competing Principles Leave Some Professionals Debating Responsibility to Government," by David E. Rosenbaum, The New York Times, 23 November 2001:  
    When the names and photographs were first released, Kathleen Hensman, a public librarian in Delray Beach, Fla., recognized some of the suspected hijackers in the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon as men who had used the computers in her small library.

    She immediately called the police.

    That broke a Florida law that guarantees confidentiality to library patrons.  It also violated a cardinal principle of librarians never to tell the police, in absence of a court order, about who uses their rooms and what books they check out.

    But almost no one thinks Ms. Hensman did the wrong thing.  Of course, she will not be prosecuted.

    ....

    Judith Krug, director of the American Library Association's office of intellectual freedom, said, "I would have felt better if she had followed the Florida law."

ALA has a lot of positive influence in our communities.  However, let's get the negative influence of the ALA's "Office for Intellectual Freedom" out of our public libraries, out of our school libraries, and out of our minds.  Its actions do not warrant our blind acquiescence.

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Location: American Library Association, 50 E Huron St, Chicago, IL 60611, USA

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Al Qaeda Threatens Timbuktu Library; Expect No Help from the American Library Association

Al Qaeda-linked terrorists have destroyed a United Nations World Heritage site in Timbuktu, Mali, and are threatening to destroy a library:  "Elderly men were keeping watch Saturday over Timbuktu's main library after Islamists burned a tomb listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site."

Religious leader Baba Cheick Sekou said the occupying rebel groups have no respect for Timbuktu's religious and historic importance. 
Sekou said he feared for the protection of the prestigious Koranic Sankore University and ancient manuscripts that are kept there, as well as other tombs and mosques of historic significance. 
"All Muslims know the tomb is a holy place," he said.  "It's not something you attack and destroy.  It's anti-Islamic.  People in the community are angry."

Source:  "Rebels Burn Timbuktu Tomb Listed as U.N. World Heritage Site," by CNN Wire Staff, WPLG Local 10, 5 May 2012.  See also, "Islamic Extremists Desecrate Muslim Saint's Timbuktu Tomb," by Agence France-Presse, The Raw Story, 5 May 2012:  "It was also a renowned centre of Islamic scholarship, with manuscripts written in Arabic and Fulani by scholars of the ancient Mali empire, covering a range of subjects including Islam, history, astronomy, music, botany, genealogy and anatomy."

Further, it is possible this is in part due to United States policy that has unleashed intolerance throughout the Ummah:  "After the ouster of Moammar Gadhafi, armed Tuaregs who had been fighting in Libya streamed back across the border into Mali."  "The ancient city in Mali was captured by at least two separatist Tuareg rebel groups—one of which is Ansar Dine"—"a militant group that seeks to impose strict Sharia law" and "who have been linked to al Qaeda."


Nobody should look for help from the American Library Association [ALA] (that otherwise takes action when terrorist libraries are claimed by the terrorists to be threatened, see "Librarians for Terror," by Lee Kaplan, FrontPage Magazine, 17 Aug 2004):


Mind you, this is a "library" association.  The "American" Library Association.  Right?  One should "Know the ALA."


NOTE ADDED EVEN DATE:

This story has been picked up by other sources, including Education News, Editor and Chief Jimmy Kilpatrick:





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Location: Timbuktu, Mali

Friday, April 9, 2010

Imprisoned Cuban Librarians OK by ALA: URGENT HEALTH APPEAL for Seven of Cuba's Library Prisoners, One Near Death

No sooner did I write about the American Library Association [ALA] supporting Palestinians and selectively addressing censorship when I learned that the ALA has repeatedly declined to oppose Cuba's continuing imprisonment of independent librarians!

I base this on the following:

[T]he most recent statement on the Cuban prisoners of conscience is the July 27, 2004 letter from the [ALA's] International Relations Committee Chair who asked not for the prisoners' release, but closed with this sentence: "We thank you very much for your attention and assistance to ensure the health and welfare of these detained individuals."
Source reprinted below.

I tracked down that July 27, 2004 letter.  It was reprinted in "Literacy, Censorship and Intellectual Freedom: The Independent Library Movement in Contemporary Cuba," by Kelsey Vidaillet, Florida International University, undated, p.75.  Here is a key portion of that letter:

The unfortunate political climate between our two countries is not cause for indifference to the fundamental human rights of all people as defined in Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Therefore, in the report ALA also joins IFLA in its "deep concern over the arrest and long prison terms" of 75 political dissidents in Cuba in spring 2003.

We thank you very much for your attention and assistance to ensure the health and welfare of these detained individuals.

"Deep concern" was first expressed in "International Relations Committee and Intellectual Freedom Committee's Report on Cuba," by American Library Association, 2003-2004 ALA CD#18.1 (2004 ALA Midwinter Meeting), 2004, wherein the ALA looked into the crackdown on Cuban independent libraries:

ALA supports IFLA in its call for the elimination of the U.S. embargo that restricts access to information in Cuba and for lifting travel restrictions that limit professional exchanges.  ALA also supports IFLA's call for the U.S. government to share information widely in Cuba.

ALA joins IFLA in its deep concern over the arrest and long prison terms of political dissidents in Cuba in spring 2003 and urges the Cuban Government to respect, defend and promote the basic human rights defined in Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

"Deep concern."  Impressive, no?  Jailed and beaten librarians, books set aflame, including those of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the ALA has a "deep concern."  Opposing United States policy vis-a-vis Cuba?  That the ALA "supports," something much more substantive than merely a "deep concern."  But let a child be denied inappropriate material, and the ALA suddenly gets serious.  And this ALA is supposed to be authoritative in your American community?   On censorship?  On freedom of speech?  On intellectual freedom?  On civil rights?

When the ALA imposes itself in your community, will it support keeping inappropriate material in the hands of children or will it merely express "deep concern."  What do you think?



by Steve R. Marquardt, Ph.D.,  
7 April 2010, 
emphasis mine.

Seven independent librarians imprisoned in Cuba are suffering from serious health problems.  You can help them by appealing for their release, their humane treatment and access to needed medical care.

This week marks the 7th anniversary of the 2003 sentencing of 26 
persons who had established independent libraries to prison terms 
averaging 19 years.  Ten have been released, mainly for health 
reasons.  Sixteen remain in prison, of whom seven are in very poor 
health, with one near death.

Please copy -- and perhaps put into your own words -- this appeal for 
the seven described below.

I'm suggesting copying individuals at the ALA International Relations 
Office and committees because the most recent statement on the Cuban 
prisoners of conscience is the July 27, 2004 letter from the 
International Relations Committee Chair who asked not for the 
prisoners' release, but closed with this sentence: "We thank you very 
much for your attention and assistance to ensure the health and 
welfare of these detained individuals."  Cuba has dismally failed to 
honor this hopeful expectation of compliance with international 
standards and common decency.

Please write on behalf of these prisoners as soon as possible.

Steve R. Marquardt, Ph.D. 

ALA Member since 1974 

South Dakota State University Dean of Libraries Emeritus 

Amnesty International Legislative Coordinator for Minnesota
9383 123rd Avenue SE 

Lake Lillian, Minnesota 56253-4700

SAMPLE LETTER TO THE HEAD OF CUBA'S PRISON SYSTEM:

7 April 2010

General Abelardo Colomé Ibarra 

Ministro de Interior y Prisiones 

Ministerio del Interior y Prisiones 

Plaza de la Revolución 

La Habana, Cuba

Señor Ministro,

I write to bring your attention to very serious health problems 
experienced by seven prisoners under your care.  My concern for these 
individuals is the result of the efforts that I have made in my own 
career as a librarian, to provide library services similar to those 
that these nonviolent prisoners of conscience provided from the 
libraries that they established in their neighborhoods and for which 
they have been deprived of liberty.

Ariel Sigler Amaya, General Pedro Betancourt Avalos Library 

Ariel Sigler Amaya is dying because of the poor prison conditions and 
lack of medical treatment and has left him emaciated and in a 
wheelchair.  In March of this year he was reported to be expelling 
large amounts of blood from his rectum due to the advanced state of 
his hemorrhoids.  He is coughing up pieces of putrid green and yellow 
with a lot of stench; he has intense pain in his throat, digestive 
tract, esophagus and stomach; intense suffering and great pain in the 
pelvis and bladder when he urinates, he suffers from dizziness, severe 
headaches, he is very pale yellow, weak, his legs are blackened and 
dried and he remains bed ridden … According to doctors they can not 
intervene surgically for the hemorrhoids or tonsillitis in his throat, 
because he would not survive in his state of weakness and severity.


Victor Rolando Arroyo Carmona, Reyes Magos Library (Pinar del Río) 

Arroyo Carmona is diagnosed with diabetes, hypertension, and pulmonary 
emphysema.  He has protested a lack of medical attention, unsanitary 
cell conditions, cruel treatment, and obstruction of his efforts to 
practice religion.

José Luis García Paneque, Carlos J. Finlay Library (Las Tunas)
García Paneque was being held at Las Mangas Prison in Granma province, 
according to his wife, Yamilé Llánez Labrada.  Although general prison 
conditions improved in 2009, she said, García Paneque’s health has 
significantly deteriorated in prison.  He has been diagnosed with a 
kidney tumor, internal bleeding, chronic malnutrition, and pneumonia. 
 He continues to have digestive problems and suffers from malnutrition.

Ricardo González Alfonso, Jorge Mañach Library (Havana) 

González Alfonso, 59, was being held at Havana’s Combinado del Este 
Prison, where his small, windowless cell is hot and humid, and the 
prison food is poor.  As punishment for his refusal to wear a prison 
uniform, officials have denied him religious assistance, barred his 
family from bringing him clean clothes, and cut family visitation to 
once every two months.  He suffers from hypertension, arthritis, severe 
allergies to humidity and dust, chronic bronchitis, and several 
digestive and circulatory problems.

Iván Hernández Carrillo, Juan Gualberto Gómez Library, Branch II 
(Matanzas) 

Hernández Carrillo is held at Guamajal Prison in Santa Clara province 
in 2009 where he suffers from hypertension and gastritis.  On April 14, 
Hernández Carrillo went on a 10-day hunger strike to protest the 
conditions of his imprisonment, his mother, Asunción Carrillo, said. 
 Prison authorities encouraged other inmates to harass and attack him, 
he told his mother.

José Ubaldo Izquierdo Hernández, Sebastián Arcos Library (Havana 
Province)
Izquierdo Hernández is held at the Guanajay Prison in his home 
province.  Izquierdo Hernández has been diagnosed with severe 
depression, digestive ailments, circulatory problems, emphysema, and 
asthma.

Fabio Prieto Llorente, Mir Francisco Mulets Library (Neuva Gerona, 
Isla de la Juventud)
Prieto Llorente was being held in solitary confinement at El Guayabo 
Prison in his home province, his sister, Clara Lourdes Prieto 
Llorente, told the Committee to Protect Journalists.  In a January 7 
letter to Cuban President Raúl Castro Ruz, Fabio said his cell 
measured just 10 feet (three meters) by six and a half feet (two 
meters), and his meals consisted of spoiled and burned “animal 
products.”  He has been diagnosed with allergies, emphysema, back 
problems, high blood pressure, and depression.  He was allowed visits 
from two family members every two months, his sister reports.   In 
February, he waged a hunger strike to call attention to the situation 
at El Guayabo.

These nonviolent prisoners of conscience should be released 
immediately and unconditionally.

Until such time as they are released, they should have access to 
family members and effective medical care.  The conditions of their 
housing, hygiene and nutrition should be improved to comply with 
international standards.

I thank you for your attention to this situation, and I will continue 
to follow these cases closely.

Sincerely and respectfully yours,

Copies to: 

Michael Dowling, Director
International Relations Office 

American Library Association 

50 East Huron St. 

Chicago, IL 60611 

Email: mdowling@ala.org

Professor Beverly P. Lynch, Chair 

ALA International Relations Committee 

241 GSEIS Bldg 

MB 95120 

University of California, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1520 

Email: bplynch@ucla.edu

Patrick Sullivan, Chair 

ALA IRC Americas Subcommittee
San Diego State University 

5500 Campanile Dr.
San Diego, CA 92185 

Email: sullivan@mail.sdsu.edu

URGENT HEALTH CONCERNS FOR CUBA'S LIBRARY PRISONERS, April 2010

Ariel Sigler Amaya, General Pedro Betancourt Avalos Library 

Calle 22 # 1910 e/ 19 y 21, Pedro Betancourt, Matanzas Province

The condition of Ariel Sigler Amaya has been recently reported by 
http://freecubafoundation.blogspot.com/2010/03/fcf-held-silent-vigil-for-brothers-to.html 
as follows:

Ariel Sigler Amaya is not on a hunger strike, but the treatment by 
Cuban officials is killing him little by little.  Ariel Sigler Amaya is 
dying because of the poor prison conditions and lack of medical 
treatment and has left him emaciated and wheel bound which is the 
regime's practice of punishing political prisoners who refuse to be 
"rehabilitated."  Poor prison conditions, the lack of proper nutrition 
and medical treatment have generated numerous illnesses causing Ariel 
to develop “advanced malnutrition” and weaken him to the point that he 
can no longer walk.

In a letter that reached his brother Juan Francisco he states:

"I have infinite desires to continue to live and recover to keep 
fighting for my country.  I love life and will fight to keep living.  
Therefore, never do anything against my health or any action that 
violates my life.  If something like this happens, from this moment to 
accuse Cuban State Security (...) specialized in inducing disease, 
delaying treatment for purposes of aggravating diseases and prepare 
alleged suicides and deaths." (…)  "The same ones who yesterday 
repressed and imprisoned me are the ones who have brought me to the 
brink of death, and made of me a small pile of bones and skin.  Everyone is well aware of cases like mine, of robust persons, 
physically strong and in excellent health, that with the monstrous 
methods of state security have died in prisons, hospitals and 
psychiatric centers.

A March 1 blog entry from his brother, exiled in the USA, describes 
Ariel’s condition:
“Ariel's condition.  It is getting worse by the day.  He is expelling 
large amounts of blood from his rectum due to the advanced state of 
his hemorrhoids.  He is coughing up pieces of putrid green and yellow 
with a lot of stench; he has intense pain in his throat, digestive 
tract, esophagus and stomach; intense suffering and great pain in the 
pelvis and bladder when he urinates (the urine has a strong stench), 
he suffers from dizziness, severe headaches, he is very pale yellow, 
weak, his legs are blackened and dried and he remains bed ridden … 
According to doctors they can not intervene surgically for the 
hemorrhoids or tonsillitis in his throat, because he would not survive 
in his state of weakness and severity.” 
Dutch visitors to this library, now managed by Ariel’s brother Juan 
Francisco Amaya, have reported as follows: 
“According to Juan Francisco libraries are crucial for a change in 
Cuba. The biggest problem in Cuba is not that there is no information, 
but that existing information is manipulated:   ‘Cubans are robots not 
programmed but uninformed.’ … The situation, according to Juan 
Francisco, is only worse since Raúl Castro became president, whom he 
called a puppet of Fidel....  Unfortunately, the collection of books 
has become more difficult now, because he is increasingly monitored.  
It is also difficult for him to obtain information; his radio is 
broken, he has no phone and no access to the Internet.”

The remaining reports are based on news from the Committee to Protect 
Journalists at http://cpj.org/imprisoned/2009.php#cuba and the IKV Pax 
Christi Nederland “Boeken voor Cuba” web pages:

Victor Rolando Arroyo Carmona, Reyes Magos Library (Pinar del Río) 

Imprisoned: March 18, 2003

Arroyo Carmona, also a journalist for the independent news agency 
Unión de Periodistas y Escritores de Cuba Independientes in his home 
province of Pinar del Río, was handed a 26-year prison sentence for 
acting “against the independence or the territorial integrity of the 
state” under Article 91 of the penal code in April 2003. 
 Arroyo Carmona was being held at the Kilo 5½ Prison, his wife, Elsa 
González Padrón, told CPJ.  The journalist, who was housed in a hall 
with at least 130 prisoners, waged a hunger strike in May to protest 
prison conditions, news reports said.  Arroyo Carmona—who had been 
diagnosed with diabetes, hypertension, and pulmonary emphysema— 
protested a lack of medical attention, unsanitary cell conditions, 
cruel treatment, and obstruction of his efforts to practice religion. 
 At least three other political prisoners joined him in his protest.

José Luis García Paneque, Carlos J. Finlay Library (Las Tunas)
Imprisoned: March 18, 2003

A physician by profession, García Paneque, 43, joined the independent 
news agency Libertad in 1998 after being fired from his job at a 
hospital in eastern Las Tunas because of his political views.  In April 
2003, a Cuban court sentenced him to 24 years in prison after he was 
convicted of acting “against the independence or the territorial 
integrity of the state” under Article 91 of the Cuban penal code.

García Paneque was being held at Las Mangas Prison in Granma province, 
according to his wife, Yamilé Llánez Labrada.  Although general prison 
conditions improved in 2009, she said, her husband still shared a 
small cell with several other inmates and complained of difficulty 
sleeping. García Paneque’s parents visited him every 45 days, his wife 
told CPJ; she and her children, who moved to Texas in 2007, talked to 
him on the phone monthly.

García Paneque’s health has significantly deteriorated in prison.  He 
has been diagnosed with a kidney tumor, internal bleeding, chronic 
malnutrition, and pneumonia.  Llánez Labrada told CPJ that her husband 
continued to have digestive problems and suffered from malnutrition.

Ricardo González Alfonso, Jorge Mañach Library (Havana) 
Calle 11 # 78, Apartment 2, E y entre Fonts, Reparto Lawton 
Municipio 10 de Octubre, La Habana
Imprisoned: March 18, 2003

Reporter Daniel Schweimler stated on the BBC Meridian Writing radio 
program May 1, 2002 (www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/ 
meridw.shtml): “Ricardo Gonzalez has about two thousand books in his 
home in the West of Havana.”

The Cuban government confiscated González Alfonso’s books, as reported 
by Dutch tourists who visited his wife Alida Viso Bello: “He had a 
pretty large independent library, perhaps the largest in Cuba. 
 However, Alida cannot regain [possession of] his books for her house, 
so she opted to re-start a library.  Currently, there are not really 
many books and she dares not even call it a library, but new books are 
heartily welcomed!”

González Alfonso, also a poet and screenwriter, began reporting for 
Cuba’s independent press in 1995.  He founded the award-winning 
newsmagazine De Cuba and a Havana-based association of journalists, 
and then worked as a freelance reporter and Cuba correspondent for the 
Paris-based press freedom group Reporters Without Borders.  He was 
taken into custody on March 18, 2003.  In April, the Havana Provincial 
Tribunal found him guilty of violating Article 91 of the Cuban penal 
code for “acts against the independence or the territorial integrity 
of the state,” and sentenced him to 20 years in prison.  That June, the 
People’s Supreme Tribunal Court upheld his conviction.

González Alfonso, 59, was being held at Havana’s Combinado del Este 
Prison, a two-hour car ride from his family home in the capital, his 
sister, Graciela González-Degard, told CPJ.  His small, windowless 
cell, she said, was hot and humid, and the prison food was poor.  As 
punishment for his refusal to wear a prison uniform, officials denied 
him religious assistance, barred his family from bringing him clean 
clothes, and cut family visitation to once every two months.

González-Degard, who lives in New York but visited her brother in 
August, told CPJ that he was in good health and spirits, though he 
suffered from hypertension, arthritis, severe allergies to humidity 
and dust, chronic bronchitis, and several digestive and circulatory 
problems.  During her three-week visit to Havana, she was followed and 
harassed by state security agents, she said.  She also told CPJ that 
González Alfonso’s two teenage sons had lost employment opportunities 
as a result of his imprisonment.

Léster Luis González Pentón, Jorge Mas Canosa Independent Library 
(Santa Clara)
Imprisoned: March 18, 2003

A court in the central province of Villa Clara sentenced independent 
librarian and freelance reporter González Pentón in April 2003 to 20 
years in prison under Article 91 of the Cuban penal code for acting 
against “the independence or the territorial integrity of the state.”

The youngest of the imprisoned Cuban journalists, González Pentón, 32, 
was being held in 2009 at La Pendiente Prison in the northern city of 
Santa Clara, according to news reports and CPJ interviews. González 
Pentón suffered from stomach problems, according to Laura Pollán 
Toledo, a human rights activist and wife of imprisoned journalist 
Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez. He was allowed occasional visits to his home 
for good behavior, she said.

Iván Hernández Carrillo, Juan Gualberto Gómez Library, Branch II 
(Matanzas)
Calle Mesa # 32, e/ San José y Concha, Colón CP 42400
Imprisoned: March 18, 2003

The Afro-Cuban Hernández Carrillo, also a reporter for the independent 
news agency Patria in the western city of Colón, was sentenced in 
April 2003 to 25 years in prison under Law 88 for the Protection of 
Cuba’s National Independence and Economy. Among his entire library 
collection that the court ordered to be incinerated was a biography of 
Martin Luther King, Jr.  In 1992, Iván had been given a two-year prison 
sentence for allegedly “distributing enemy propaganda and 
disrespecting Fidel Castro.”

Hernández Carrillo, 38, was being held at Guamajal Prison in Santa 
Clara province in 2009.  He suffered from hypertension and gastritis.

On April 14, Hernández Carrillo went on a 10-day hunger strike to 
protest the conditions of his imprisonment, his mother, Asunción 
Carrillo, said.  Prison authorities encouraged other inmates to harass 
and attack him, he told his mother.

His mother made the following comments to Dutch visitors to this 
library:  “It is striking and also hopeful that people who are not 
openly opposed to the regime come to borrow political books, in the 
eyes of the regime ‘subversive’ books,” she says.  “These are people 
who have mounting doubts about Castro's leadership.”  The library 
plays an important role in raising awareness of people and through 
books; we can open people's eyes.”

José Ubaldo Izquierdo Hernández, Sebastián Arcos Library (Havana 
Province)
Imprisoned: March 19, 2003

Izquierdo Hernández, who is also a reporter in western Havana for the 
independent news agency Grupo de Trabajo Decoro, was sentenced in 
April 2003 to 16 years in prison for acting “against the independence 
or the territorial integrity of the state” under Article 91 of the 
penal code.  Following an appeal the next month, the People’s Supreme 
Tribunal Court upheld his conviction.  In 2009, he was being held at 
the Guanajay Prison in his home province.

Izquierdo Hernández was diagnosed with severe depression, digestive 
ailments, circulatory problems, emphysema, and asthma, according to 
Laura Pollán Toledo, wife of fellow imprisoned journalist Héctor 
Maseda Gutiérrez.

Fabio Prieto Llorente, Mir Francisco Mulets (Neuva Gerona, Isla de la 
Juventud)
Imprisoned: March 19, 2003

From a report of Dutch visitors to his library:

“There are not many more visitors since the arrest of Fabio, because 
people from the village have become afraid.  Afraid to be seen with 
relatives of a convicted dissident.  We also have to pass through the 
back door when leaving the apartment, guided by a son of Clara who is 
not classified as a state suspect.  He can lead his life just as 
before, but his mother and sister suffer much from repression by the 
police and the secret service.”

Prieto Llorente was arrested in March 2003 during the massive 
crackdown on the Cuban independent press.  In April of that year, a 
local court sentenced him to 20 years in prison for violating Law 88 
for the Protection of Cuba’s National Independence and Economy.

Prieto Llorente was being held in solitary confinement at El Guayabo 
Prison in his home province, his sister, Clara Lourdes Prieto 
Llorente, told CPJ.  In a January 7 letter to Cuban President Raúl 
Castro Ruz, he said his cell measured just 10 feet (three meters) by 
six and a half feet (two meters), and his meals consisted of spoiled 
and burned “animal products.”  According to his sister, the journalist 
has been diagnosed with allergies, emphysema, back problems, high 
blood pressure, and depression. He was allowed visits from two family 
members every two months, his sister told CPJ.

In 2009, Prieto Llorente actively reported on and protested prison 
conditions.  His stories, published on overseas news Web sites, 
detailed such issues as the brutal punishment inflicted on other 
inmates by prison guards, and the “slave-like” work that authorities 
imposed on prisoners.  In February, he waged a hunger strike to call 
attention to the situation at El Guayabo, the Miami-based news Web 
site Payolibre reported.

.
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