The much-talked-about film tracks the participation of Miss Weisman's father, Max Lesnik, a onetime friend of Fidel Castro, in the revolution to overthrow dictator Fulgencio Batista, Mr. Lesnik's later exile to America after the revolution took a Marxist turn, and his return to Cuba to work against the U.S. economic embargo.
A private screening of the documentary will be held tomorrow evening at Landmark's E Street Cinema, co-hosted by Wayne Smith, director of the Center for International Policy's Cuba Program.
Fight to vote?
The Pentagon is high-tech with its global positioning system munitions, advanced laser-guided bombs and other "smart weapons," but it remains challenged when it comes to its military ranks safely voting in national elections with secure electronic absentee ballots.
In 2004, Congress required the Department of Defense (DOD) to develop an Internet-based absentee voting project for military personnel, and instructed the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), which reviews election procedures, to develop guidelines for the project.
Last year, Congress gave the Pentagon until May 15, 2007 — well before the November 2008 presidential elections — to report on its success in developing the electronic voting system. Bottom line: no success.
"Without such plans, DOD is not in a position to address congressional expectations to establish secure and private electronic and Internet-based voting initiatives," the Government Accountability Office (GAO) says in a new report, blaming the EAC for having "not developed the Internet absentee voting guidelines for DOD's use, and thus DOD has not proceeded with its ... project."
In the meantime, the military's $1.1 million 2006 "Integrated Voting Alternative Site," which enables military voters to request ballots using one tool — mail, fax or unsecured e-mail — "raises concerns," the GAO adds, and "could expose voters to 'identity theft' if they transmit personal data."