Begging for money: Abu Mazen

""In other Cuba news, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas allegedly called on Raul Castro to free jailed USAID contractor Alan Gross in a bid to free up a US aid package. Abbas may have been attempting to cause Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtninen, chairwoman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, to lift a block on a $147 million grant to the Palestinian Authority." (thanks Dale)