November 26, 2004
Three more reasons to be thankful
Here are three items from Cuba that should make everyone thankful they dont live there:
HAVANA, November 24 (www.cubanet.org) - A dissident union leader says the government this week launched a campaign against self-employed merchants in the capital, seizing their merchandize and their permission to operate.William Toledo Terrero, secretary general of the Central Sindical Cristiana, said fines of up to 1,500 pesos were levied for allegedly increasing the prices of non-authorized products.
Police cars and a school bus were used to take the self-employed to the police station at Zanja and Dragones streets.
At the same time, the police stopped pedicab drivers who were required to show their licenses and proof that they were up to date in their taxes and had permission to operate in the area.
"This harassment takes place now and then to intimate the self-employed," said Toledo Terrero.
And:
HAVANA, November 22 (Adrián Leiva, Grupo Decoro / www.cubanet.org) - The brother of baseball star Reynaldo Ordóñez, who defected from Cuba and now plays Major League Baseball, has been banned from a local hall where he used to play dominoes.As if his relationship to his more famous brother were not enough to bring him to the attention of Cuban authorities, who tend to look with a jaundiced eye when one of their prized baseball players defects, Daniel Ordóñez is a dissident and a supporter of the Varela project, a citizens' initiative that seeks to bring about some changes in Cuban government by working within the existing legal structure. He is also a member of the Christian Liberation Movement.
Daniel said he was notified that he had been banned from his neighborhood's "social circle," or meeting hall. The man in charge of the hall told him, Daniel said, that the order came from the Communist Party and from the Department of State Security.
Daniel said he has been of interest in the past to the police, who frequently take him in to the El Cerro police station for questioning.
And:
HAVANA, November 22 (Reinaldo Cosano Alén / www.cubanet.org) - It took one lieutenant colonel, three majors, and seven foot policemen, as well as one patrol car and one military truck, to raid self-employed street vendor's Nelson Franceva's home in Camagüey.The haul: ten bunches of plantains, one sack of black beans, five sacks of avocados, and 20 bottles containing lard.
The raid was one more in a series that police have been carrying out the last few weeks, ostensibly seeking to stamp out "illegalities or economic irregularities.
Franceva expects authorities will also levy a fine, or maybe even worse.Street vendors like Franceva spring up to meet a demand for produce government sources can't or won't fulfill, but the government has not issued licenses for such activities in the last ten years, and calls their trade illegal.
Now, lets piss fidel off and get out there and hit those malls.
Posted by Val Prieto at November 26, 2004 07:54 AM
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Comments
Val - I'm thankful for all the typical things - family, friends, etc. but this year I am also thankful for the internet. Without it I would never have been able to adopt a soldier (over 70 now and it's been great). Without investigating their addresses I would never have found Stryker Brigade News which led me to Mudville Gazette which led me EVERYWHERE and even to your blog and to Steve's (where I can get fat just by reading his food talk). So this year I am thankful for everything, including my freedom, but I am thankful for making friends across the world and even in a little place called Miami, Florida where I learn about friendships, ManCamp, burned lips and Cuban-American pride. So, THANK YOU.
Posted by: Kathleen A at November 26, 2004 09:14 AM
Any chance of getting castro to go to France for a "checkup"? They were so helpful with Arafat!
Posted by: Lyana at November 26, 2004 12:25 PM
I think the 7' policemen could've handled the raid all by their lonesomes.
I had a Cuban roommate my first quarter at Georgia Tech back in 1983. He and his family had a work/school ethic that I hadn't encountered before or since. They were more thankful for the opportunities for enrichment in both spheres than *I* was. Of course, reflecting on that, I came to realize that if you fail in the USofA then you do so on your own. I'm thankful that libtards haven't yet lowered the playing field to the lowest common denominator and that I still have the opportunity to outperform those who expect good marks simply by trying.
Posted by: skh at November 26, 2004 02:53 PM
BTW love the name...Babalu Blog.
Reminds me of Desi, but no one sang Babalu better than Abby Lane backed up by the Xavier Cougat orchestra.
cube
Posted by: cube at November 28, 2004 11:22 AM
I ran across this today, and would love to hear your thoughts on it (it's just the beginning of what is to be a series...)
The Diplomad - 28 Nov entry - "Dealing With The Monster At Our Door, Fidel Castro"
Posted by: Lyana at November 28, 2004 01:45 PM
