Much Ado About Nothing...

The ALA disastrously voted down the amendment to call for Castro to free the independent librarians imprisoned in Cuba. A commendable thing, to publicly call Castro out for their release.

Of course, the amendment was not passed by a small margin of 182 to 5. Some ALA members privately saying that they:

had to vote it down because they didn't want to be vilified as being "on the wrong team."

Nat Hentoff, previous winner of the ALA Immroth Award for Intellectual Freedom, publicly renounced his award and asked to be removed from the list of recipients of that honor.

To me, it is no longer an honor.

I commend Mr. Hentoffs actions and appalud his courage of conviction.

Yet, even if the ALA amendment had passed, the jailed librarians would probably not have seen the light of day. You see, Castro does not care what the ALA, Amnesty International, The Pope, the UN, the US, the International Media, Reporters Without Borders, Human Rights Watch, Greenpeace, Jimmy Carter, etal think.

He is supreme ruler of Cuba, and he will do whatever the hell he wants with his pets.

Much Ado About Nothing.

Thanks to Scott of Burton Terrace for the link.

The other Prieto

Guillermo of Venepoetics posts about the visit to Venezuela of Cuban Minister of Culture Abel Prieto. Venezuelan writers want nothing to do with him and have banded together to publish an open letter to the minister. Bravo.

On this occasion, your visit was preceded by the sad news of the agony suffered in prison by Dr. Oscar Elías Biscet and by the writer Manuel Vázquez Portal, identified as prisoners of conscience by Amnesty International. Your visit was also preceded by the humiliating harrassment and imprisoning of Cuban women in the form of Martha Beatriz Roque, as well as by the despicable confinement of Juan Carlos González Leiva, the only known case in the world of a blind prisoner of conscience. We know about the suffering of the poet Raúl Rivero and the other seventy-five dissidents, who were jailed for writing their opinions or, simply, for lending out banned books. All of them have been condemned to up to 28 years for defending--as José Martí said--"the right of every honest person to think and speak without hypocrisy."

You should know, Mr. Prieto, that those of us in Venezuela who love freedom do not welcome you. You represent a dictatorship that has kept Cubans in terror and misery for almost half a century. You and your colleagues are accomplices of what is happening in Cuba. With your writings, with your praises for the tyrant, with your silences, with your accusations and persecutions against intellectuals who are not willing to bow their heads, you are as guilty as those jailers that torture, as guilty as those soldiers in the firing squads, as guilty as those judges that condemn, as guilty as the dictator who orders these iniquities from the peak of power.

Mr. Prieto, the immense majority of Venezuelans love and respect freedom and we are ready for any sacrifice in order to maintain that freedom. You and your colleagues lack the moral authority to represent the Cuba of José Martí, Jorge Mañach, Lidia Cabrera, Lino Novas Calvo, Enrique Labrador Ruiz, Levi Marrero, Gastón Baquero, Reynaldo Arenas, José Lezama Lima, Néstor Almendros, Ernesto Lecuona, Gonzalo Roig, Rodrigo Pratts, Miguel Matamoros, Hortensia Coalla, Celia Cruz, René Touzet, José Raúl Capablanca ,Virgilio Piñera and many others who also died in Cuba or abroad, as well as all of those who are waiting to return to the big house of their homeland. Just as you do not represent the more than 150 prisoners of conscience and jailed dissidents, nor the millions of Cubans with free spirits who suffer on the island. You have nothing to do here. Go back to the huge, embarrassing jail--maintained with your help--that is Cuba today.

Lourdes T. Acosta
Alicia Alamo
Silvia Alegrett
Harry Almela
Alberto Alvarez
Sonia Angelli
Edda Armas
Dolly Armitano
Gustavo Arnstein
Ramón Guillermo Aveledo
Leonardo Azpárren
Guillermo Barrios
Héctor Borges
Héctor Luis Borges G.
Soledad Bravo
Eleonora Bruzual
Marco Tulio Bruni Celli
Julio César Camacho
Axel Capriles Méndez
Luis M.Carbonell
María de L. Carbonell
Sandra Caula
Israel Centeno
Alfredo Coronil Hartman
Margareth Cubillán
Yolanda Cubillán
Raquel Chonchol
Roberto Echeto
Alicia Freilich
Miriam Freilich
Agustín Gabaldón Ramírez
Débora Gabaldón
Paulina Gamus Gallegos
Raquel Gámus
Jacqueline Goldberg
Carlos Raúl Hernández
Susy Iglicki
Gioconda Inman
Angelina Jaffe
Marisa Kohn Beker
Luis de Lion
Maria Teresa López
Philippe H. Lugagne G.
Ricardo Mariño
Esperanza Márquez
Natacha Márquez
Trino Márquez
Xiorama Márquez de Pizani
Américo Martín
Russell Mayworm
Juan Carlos Méndez Guédez
Iván R. Méndez
Glenda Mendoza
Alfonso Montes
Maria Mercedes Nouel Paúl
Nela Ochoa
José Antonio Parra
Antonio Pasquali
Clara Pasquali
Anita Pantin
Yolanda Pantin
Marisabel Paúl
Edilio Peña
Carlos Poveda
Gisela Rangel M
Elsa Recagno
Maria Teresa van der Ree
Eleonora Requena
Julie Restifo de Vidal
Beatriz Rittigstein
Manuel Rafael Rivero
José Rodríguez Iturbe
Maria Teresa Romero
Malena Roncayolo
Cesar Miguel Rondón
Frank J. Rondón C.
María Elena Salas
Adolfo P.Salgueiro
Julieta Salas de Carbonell
Antonio Sánchez García
Juan Carlos Santaella
Luis M.Segovia
Enrique Sifontes
Julio Sosa
Blanca Strepponi
Ana Teresa Torres
José Toro Hardy
Iruña Urruticoechea
Thaelman Urguelles
Víctor Valera
Javier Vidal
Perla Vonasek

-Open Letter, Venezuelan writers- 1/29/2004

(First published in El Meollo)

The Pravda Smackdown

Pravda held no punches today as it slammed the Cuban government for sucking up to Patriarch Bartholomew while ignoring the needs of orthodox slavs.

Russian Orthodox believers expressed their anger and frustration at Cuban authorities. "They simply ignore and humiliate thousands of Orthodox Slavs, who have been slaving for Cuba for decades while developing the country's industry, army and power engineering."

"Why don"t they proceed with the mission in the regions where Orthodoxy is not a practicing religion?"

Leaders of the Union plan to visit Cuban ambassador to Moscow personally in order to clarify the details of the case. - (Pravda)

No Way Out

Oswaldo Paya was denied an exit visa from Cuba to attend a human rights ceremony in Europe.

"I couldn't attend because the Cuban government kept me from traveling," Paya said of the Thursday ceremony in Brussels that awarded the European Union's top human rights prize to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on behalf of all U.N. workers.

Paya was allowed to travel to Strasbourg, France, to receive the same award, the Sakharov prize, in 2002. - (AP)

It's usually customary for the previous winner to attend.

Castro's Healthcare

I think Castro has been digging into the old medicine cabinet and self-medicating. Here's a ridiculous statement from the old horse himself in reference to a US invasion of the island:

"I don't care how I die, but for sure, if they invade us, I will die fighting,"

*chortle*

Cuban President Fidel Castro vowed on Friday to die fighting "with a gun in my hand" if the United States invaded Cuba to overthrow his communist government.

The gun may be in his hand, but, seriously, who's he gonna get to squeeze the trigger?

Sheesh! Castro is really pushing the old dementia envelope.

Thanks to LatinoPundit for the story.

UPDATE: Fret not, yanquis, Kelley is on it.

UPDATE:It seems there's a few entrants in The Dead Pool with money on Castro's demise.

Chili - The Morning After

Can't...blog...ate...to much...chili....

Ok. So I dutifully cooked up Kate's "Yes It's High Maintenance and So Am I" Chili" last night, and as I stated earlier, it's a damn good chili recipe.

I followed the recipe and directions religiously and I must say, I will never again use a can of stewed tomatoes, from now on it's fresh tomatoes skinned the way Kate taught me. Nor will I ever again use cumin powder, from now on I will roast the seeds and mortar and pestle them. What a rich delicious flavor that is.

As for the Chili Judgement for Hook's contest, you'll have to check his sight as I will be forwarding my chili commentary to him.

Now, I have a bowl of breakfast chili waiting....

Can't...blog...

...making...chili....

CHILI UPDATE: One of the best things about making chili is that your whole house has this scrumptious aroma floating through it. Right now my house smells absolutely delicious. And, while it ain't done yet, Kate's Chili tastes awesome....Damn....

It's a damn good chili recipe.

In their own words...

Wesley Clark: "I want to help bring democracy to the Cuban people, the only people in the Western Hemisphere who don't have democratic freedoms. That said, I will not take steps that reward Fidel Castro. In general, embargoes have not succeeded in bringing democracy. It was engagement and penetration that helped the peoples of Eastern Europe gain their freedom. If elected, I would work this problem with the leaders of the region, work it hard. As president, I would look at the circumstances at the time and then act."

Howard Dean: "The U.S. should move toward the eventual lifting of the trade embargo with Cuba. But Castro must not be rewarded for continued human rights violations. Before I will consider lifting the embargo, Castro must demonstrate a firmer commitment to human rights and take steps that promote the freedom that Cubans have so long been denied."

Sen. John Edwards: "The goal of our policy in Cuba must be the promotion of democracy and human rights. I support sanctions that target Fidel Castro's regime but help the innocent Cuban people, allowing trade for food and medical supplies that help ease the horrible burdens they suffer. Full sanctions should not be lifted until Castro and his brutal regime are gone. At the same time, along with our allies, we must increase our support and assistance for dissidents and democracy advocates inside Cuba who are struggling to be free."

Sen. John Kerry: "I am not prepared to lay down conditions at this time for lifting the embargo, because I believe that we need a major review of U.S. policy toward Cuba. That review must be conducted with other countries in the region, with Cuban Americans, and, to the best of our abilities, those in Cuba who are fighting for greater political liberties."

Rep. Dennis Kucinich: "I strongly favor ending the embargo on Cuba. Our policy toward Cuba has created misery for the Cuban people and has harmed our own national interests. My administration will work to normalize relations with Cuba. This will include normal bilateral trade with Cuba. Farm communities throughout the U.S. are being denied a natural market in Cuba, and Americans are being denied products from Cuba. It will also restore the freedom to travel to Cuba. Our government's travel ban violates our own Constitution, which guarantees freedom of movement. As president I will work to repeal the Cuban Adjustment Act, which has encouraged smuggling and put lives at risk and has reinforced arbitrary and unequal immigration policies. I will pursue national security cooperation, rather than confrontation, with our Caribbean neighbor to the south. Lincoln said, 'The only way to eliminate an enemy is to make him your friend."'

Sen. Joe Lieberman: "I would drop the embargo if Castro steps down and a democratic government, selected by the people of Cuba, is allowed to rise. Fidel Castro's regime is unmatched in its oppression and implacable in opposing any hint of freedom and democracy."

Al Sharpton: "If we can trade with China and Russia and others, what is the difference in terms of policies in dealing with these countries?"
(Associated Press)

Before Night Falls

Stacy has an excellent entry on Cuba and the embargo at Daily Ramblings. She offers this lucid quote from Reinaldo Arenas, the cuban poet whose life was depicted in the Movie "Before Night Falls":

The ones who promote dialogue with Castro, well aware that Castro will never give up his power peacefully and that a truce and economic assistance are what he needs to strengthen his position, are as guilty as his own henchmen who torture and murder people
Reinaldo Arenas, New York, August 1990

I keep saying it over and over and over...deal with the devil and you get burned.

Bloggers RULE!!!

Ive only been blogging for about 6 months now and the one thing that stands out above everything else in Blogdom is that one meets some great people. There is always a blogger willing to lend a hand, give you advice on something, teach you code, show you how to tweak your site...

Sometimes, you ask a question like "Hey, how did you get the banner up top to look so cool and resize and...what about those pictures? They look awesome. How did you do that?" And not only do you get a quick lesson, but sometimes a person will tell you "OK, what do you want it to look like, exactly?" And then they go ahead and do it for you.

Wow. Sometimes thanks aren't enough, sometimes sending the person something for their troubles isnt enough. I mean, how do you reciprocate someone's kindness?

With kindness.

I want to thank Jay of One Fine Jay for his help last night and, basically, for being one fine Jay.

Lest We Forget

We as Americans are so busy and involved that we tend to have short memories. I just saw this article on a call from a flight attendant on Yahoo News and realize that it was barely over 2 years ago that the United States was attacked in history's worse terrorist attack.

Remember, if only for a second, how you felt that day. Those that died wouldn't want to be forgotten, and those that are overseas right now, chasing the cowards responsible for the attacks, need our support.

UPDATE: Michele has her thoughts and the audio up.

Latin American News

Winds of Change has an excellent round up of Latin American news. Drop on by and get up to date.

Via the Command Post.

The Embargo for Dummies©

Here's a quickie for the "lift the embargo" crowd:

The prime directive of Fidel Castro's revolution was to rid Cuba of ALL American interests. He wanted the big bad imperialist's businesses out of the island, and he achieved this by nationalizing everything.

Well, Fidel got what he wanted. All Americans and their businesses and corporations are gone. Have been for 45 years. So why, now, decry the evils of the American embargo agaisnt Cuba? Isn't that what Fidel wanted?

Be careful what you wish for.

Biscet calls it like it is!

Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, prisoner of conscience in one of Castro's gulags, has been accused of "insulting Fidel Castro."

HAVANA, Jan. 26 - The wife of dissident Oscar Elías Biscet González says her husband, currently serving a 25-year prison sentence, has been accused of insulting Fidel Castro.

Biscet was sentenced in April following the arrest of 75 dissidents accused of acts against the government. He was removed January 15 from two months of solitary confinement and taken to a cell he shares with 12 common criminals.

In Cuba, dating back to the Bay of Pigs, all political prisoners have been thrown in with common criminals. I believe it was the Brigade 2506 prisoners - those encarcerated after the failed invasion - that first refused to wear the prison uniform of the common prisoner. Thus, these men, in jail for their political and social beliefs, apart from being denigrated by having to share jail cells with the common prison population, have had the fortitude and dignity to serve their sentences naked.

(Story via Cubanet.)

Code question...

I added the eyes above as a banner but I can't get the image to resize when necessary. Is this too much to ask or can it be done?

I'm a total newbie to html so please, baby steps....

mas Beisbol

It's Cuba week over at Major League Baseball. Be sure and check out the 5-part series called Cuban baseball: At a crisis stage?

Dont miss it! You'll learn outstanding insights like:
The attempts to leave Cuba are hardly a rarity among baseball's elite.

Who knew? If you act now, you'll also read that ball players who fail to successfully defect are:
apprehended for trying to flee Cuba, and remain incarcerated.

Wow! This offer is free and it lasts for FIVE DAYS! To hell with OTS™, we're Major League Baseball, dammit! Get your free copy today!

Where the money's at...

MSNBC's resident OTS™ survivor got the skinny on how the dollars flow in Cuba. Seems the cash cow is in tips and such in the part of the Cuban tourist industry that can't be regulated by the government.

Now Cuban parents must deal with children who no longer aspire to become teachers or dentists, and instead covet bellhop jobs.

I don't blame them when a doctor makes $20 a month and a band working for tips can make $1,000 a month. It's an upside down world.

Keep in mind, the bucks are only really made if the exchange is under the table. The band that passes a hat around on the street corner, the sketch artist, etc... If you are officially employed in the industry, you'll receive a very small fraction of what the government will charge a tourist for your services, the balance going to the Cuban government for its "social" programs.

So Obvious

Granma, please be a little more creative with your propaganda. The title of one of today's headlines reads "Cuba has brilliant athletes!"

A little subtlety, please. The headline actually refers to a quote from Patriarch Bartholomew, who apparently moonlights as a Greek sports analyst when not awarding medals to repressive dictators for their service to the Orthodox church. I can understand his enthusiasm. If I was on the receiving end of THE FIRST NEW CHURCH BUILDING EVER BUILT since the revolution of '59, I too might want to hand out prizes and extol the glorious athletes of Havana.

Beisbol

"It was a real eye opener," he said. "I came back with a whole new appreciation for '57 Chevys."

Mike Gillespie, USC head baseball coach upon a trip to prepare the oncoming visit to Cuba by his baseball team.

This is another case of OTS. The coach notices the '57 Chevys but I guess the squalor, food lines, children prostituting themselves, decaying buildings were all out to lunch when he was there.

Why the fuck would anyone want to take any sports team to Cuba? What the hell is the purpose of such a visit? Can't these assholes understand that while they may play the Cubans and there will be the comradery of all the players on the field, once the USC team leaves, the Cubans are left behind in their suffering? All for a little fucking propaganda for Fidel?

Gottdamn that pisses me off.

Beaner Chili

OK, so I have been catching alot of flak because my chili recipe contains--sit down now-- Beans! Well excuuuuuuse me. Look at it this way, do you want a chili that tastes "authentic" or do you want a chili that tastes great?

I'll admit, my chili recipe is a bit on the unorthodox side, but if you follow the directions and cook that sucker real slow, it thickens up nicely and offers a veritable cornucopia of deliciousness.

So go ahead, participants in the Sgt Hook Charity Chili Cook-Off Blogstyle, mock me, ridicule me, laugh at my beans, question my chilinary abilities, in the end only one bowl will be hailed as Chilicious and it has my name all over it.

So far we have had a few entrants:

The Venomous one has her "Yes It's High-Maintenance And So Am I " Chili.
And Dale of Mostly Cajunstarted his blog just for the chili contest.

And that's it. Only three people with enough guts to post their recipe.

Hook, I hear alot of smack baby, but I dont see no recipe. You gonna walk the walk or what?

UPDATE: The Sgt. has posted his recipe finally.We also have a recipe from Bogie Blog entered.

Huck Finn in Havana

Elizabeth Hanley attended the Carlos Eire book signing and writes about the author of Waiting for Snow in Havana in this past weekend's Herald. I've just begun to read this book. My friend Nueva is almost finished with it. I'm going to post my thoughts on the book after finishing and perhaps Nueva will post some comments for us.

Even as he writes of his adventures, Eire recalls images that were too big to understand. But one thing was clear: the boys of the town of Regla, across the bay from Havana -- poor kids who spent their days diving for the coins those who pass by throw to them. At the airport, as the revolution's bureaucrats sneered at the 11-year-old about to leave Cuba without his parents, Eire knew that he too had begun diving for coins.

''The story of children caught up in political cataclysm needs to be told,'' says Florida International University's Dr. Damian Fernández, director of The Cuban Research Institute. ``Eire tells that story beautifully.''

Posted on Sun, Jan. 25, 2004

BOOKS
Boy's view of life in Cuba reads like Huck Finn in Havana
Carlos Eire's award-winning memoir beautifully captures the story of children caught up in political cataclysm.
BY ELIZABETH HANLY
elizhanly@aol.com

''I intended my memoir, Waiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a Cuban Boy, to be published as a novel,'' says Carlos Eire, who won the 2003 National Book Award for the work. ''I didn't want to reveal that much rambunctiousness or that much pain. Not so directly.'' Only after serious urging from his editor did he relent.

Eire grew up the son of a municipal judge in Havana, a man sure he was the reincarnation of Louis XVI. Thus begins a child's kaleidoscopic view of the mysteries of this household and 1950s Havana. The memoir is full of adventures -- at least one reviewer has compared Eire's work to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. He writes of car surfing with his Dad along Havana's flooded boulevards, of untiring experiments with lizards and firecrackers and the possibilities of reptiles in space.

Even as he writes of his adventures, Eire recalls images that were too big to understand. But one thing was clear: the boys of the town of Regla, across the bay from Havana -- poor kids who spent their days diving for the coins those who pass by throw to them. At the airport, as the revolution's bureaucrats sneered at the 11-year-old about to leave Cuba without his parents, Eire knew that he too had begun diving for coins.

''The story of children caught up in political cataclysm needs to be told,'' says Florida International University's Dr. Damian Fernández, director of The Cuban Research Institute. ``Eire tells that story beautifully.''

It was The Cuban Research Institute in partnership with The Downtown Book Center and The Operation Pedro Pan Group that hosted Eire at a book singing recently at FIU. ''We were proud to welcome back one of our own,'' says Elly Vilano Chovel, founder and chairwoman of The Operation Pedro Pan Group, an association of the alumni of the effort that brought 14,000 unaccompanied children to the United States during the early years of Cuba's revolution.

A large crowd of Pedro Pans attended the event. 'The miracle is that Carlos' memories are so fresh,'' Chovel continued. ``With his, we can find again our own.''

DEATH OF FAMILIAR

Waiting for Snow is not about nostalgia for paradise or innocence lost. Rather, it is about ''death'' that Eire writes -- that experience where nothing is recognizable anymore and still one goes on. Pedro Pans may rightly claim the story. But it is the authenticity of Eire's voice as he describes the process that has brought him a circle of readers far beyond Miami as well as such a prestigious award.

Eire has other books to his credit. But the experience of writing ''without footnotes'' is new to Yale University's T. Lawrason Riggs professor of history and religious studies. Eire's earlier works, studies on revolution and religiosity in the 16th century, have had hundreds of footnotes.

He acknowledges that his preference for exploring a century nicknamed by scholars as The Age of Revolution has plenty to do with his childhood.

''I've needed to study what happens to people when their lives have been quite literally turned upside down,'' he says. ``Yet if you had told me five years ago I would write a memoir, I wouldn't have believed it.''

Then came the Elián González debacle. Something of that story awakened his own. ''Maybe it was listening to Fidel talk of the sanctity of the family,'' Eire says. ``I was one of the Pedro Pan kids that managed to leave Cuba early on in the revolution. Fidel denied visas often for years and years to our parents.''

Still, pre-Elián, so much of this had been sleeping. ''I was never consciously injured by the experience,'' Eire says. ``I dealt with it by ignoring it, until it all boiled up.''

Eire realizes Elián wasn't the only catalyst. He began writing when his children were more or less the same age he was when he left Cuba. ``I was beginning to realize not only how much I lost, but how much my parents gave up in letting us go.''

Eire's father never left Cuba. It took his mother three years to rejoin her children. ''By then,'' Eire says, ``we would never need her the same way again.''

Eire wrote late at night. Although ostensibly his daytime life went on as before, later his wife told Eire that he simply hadn't been there during those months; he had been very far away.

''This wasn't a book with an outline. There were very few things I planned as I wrote. But I do read a lot of history. In my classes we do look at the universal questions. I did want to touch on a few of the big themes.'' Eire is shy as he says it.

''After all, there is such a complex relationship between good and evil,'' he continues. ``It's hard sometimes to tell the difference. In a certain way it was a very good thing I lost Cuba. I'm not exactly thankful, but if I'm honest with myself I have to say it. If I had remained there in the circumstances to which I was born, I wouldn't have understood what I do now of poverty or discrimination. Exile may have made me a more religious person. I'm not sure. It's terribly complicated.''

BACK TO MIAMI

As is Eire's relationship with Miami. He lived here for several years after Pedro Pan, but his adult life has been spent far away from el exilio, far from any large community of Cubans. Thanks to the popularity of Waiting for Snow, this year he has visited Miami a number of times.

Eire rejects any suggestion of visiting Fidel's Cuba. So it is only here that Eire the adult can revisit his childhood.

Will Eire continue to write without footnotes? ''It was too pleasurable not to,'' he says. But first he's got to complete a long-overdue volume on the Protestant Reformation. He was supposed to write it during the summer of 2000 before he was taken by other winds.

Elizabeth Hanly is a freelance writer based in Miami.

Make Room for Hugo

(Crédito Foto: Iván González )

Redford in Havana

(I am extremely busy at the office today so I have asked Scott of Burton Terrace to Guest post a few entries. The following is his first, and quite excellent submission.)

It was nice of the director to visit Havana to help spread the Gospel of Che in his new film, The Motorcycle Diaries. This installment of revolutionary propaganda provides the backdrop for the hero's road to Damascus like conversion from Argentine aristocrat to aristocrat-killing at-large rent-a-communist.

It's a good thing Robert Redford came all the way down to Cuba to explain to the Cuban people who Che is and what his legacy means. It's a given that a guilt-ridden, rich capitalist like himself would presume to know more about a supposed hero of the revolution than the people who are the purported beneficiaries of said revolution. A white man from Montana worth hundreds of millions of dollars, speaking to a cinema full of people who probably couldn't rub enough pesos together to buy a 4th generation bootleg copy of The Horse Whisperer...ironic?

Here in the U.S., Che sells. Robert Redford is not the first person to capitalize on the man's death and subsequent myth. But hopefully he'll be one of the last. And soon we can begin to use film to tell the stories that matter, even if Hollywood never will. As Peter Kirsanow so elegantly put it last week, "the odds are that a true champion for liberty will spend his remaining days wasting away in unspeakable privation and pain. In the meantime, the memory of Castro's homicidal lieutenant will be cheered by the elite for years to come. After all, he looked really cool in a beret."

Caption Castro Contest

I couldn't resist this photo caption opportunity. Here we have Nestor Kirchner, Argentinian President with the bearded one:

Have at it folks!

A Perfect 10 for the Greeks

I haven't been able to confirm this with any other news source, but this article from Cubanet (in Spanish) states that the Greeks have declined a visa for Fidel Castro to visit during the 2004 Olympics.

Here's a quote from the bearded goat himself at a news conference where Greek reporters were present:

"Ustedes han venido a mi país, pero yo no puedo ir a los Juegos Olímpicos del suyo porque carezco de visado", (You have come to my country, but I cannot go to yours because I lack a visa...)

How does it feel to be restricted from travel Fidel? Now you are just like the rest of the people in your island.

φήμη Ελλάς!!!

There's a run on the toilet paper market!!!!

Drop everything and haul your behind to your nearest Costco and stock up on big packs of toilet paper. Experts are predicting a great shortage once the Sgt Hook Blogstyle Chili Cook-off gets under way. Participants and recipe entries are still being accepted for judging so bust open your recipe books.

Ladies and gentlemen, start your chilis...

My entry can be found here.

Defying Tyranny - Prisoners of Conscience

Every once in a while the Miami Herald runs a good editorial on Cuba and her issues. Today's is from U.S. State Department Spokesman Adam Ereli about the imprisoned dissidents:

Last March, the Cuban government convicted 75 independent Cuban journalists, librarians, and human-rights defenders on trumped-up charges and sentenced them to unjust prison sentences -- an average of 20 years each -- for attempting to exercise their fundamental, internationally protected rights.

We express our admiration for all Cuban political prisoners and our solidarity with their families. The United States salutes their courage in standing up to tyranny while continuing to insist that Cuba must change, democratically and peacefully

There goes the neighborhood....

My wonderful wife has had a domain for the longest time but no host. Recently Kevin of Wizbang had a post regarding free hosting at 1and1.com, so, naturally, I fugured "What's the harm. I can get her set up for free."
I set her up with 1and1 for hosting and Kevin loaded the MT for us.

So, now, my wife has a blog. She is basically going to use her new blog for her job - Miami Beach real estate. So, if you are looking to move down to South Beach, where the beautiful models are a'plenty and the condo's overlook the ocean, pay her a visit.

Of course, my wife knows very little about blogging, webpages and the like so there will be a learning curve...

Oh Lord, I think I may have created a monster.....

We do make a difference.

FoxNews has an interesting piece on bloggers, the media, and the election. Seems all our efforts aren't for naught.

Wax On, Wax Off

I've never mentioned here that I taught Chinese Kenpo for about 12 years when I was young. I started taking karate because I got my ass handed to me once when I was about 15 and decided that it would never happen again. Well, it turned out that I was pretty good at it and I kept training well into my twenties.

I love the martial arts, and not just because I can go out and kick some ass (although thats a plus). In Kenpo, every move you make has a specific reason. Every stance you take serves a purpose. There is an incredible amount of devotion involved and discipline. You have to practice practice practice. You have to know not just the movements, strikes, positions, etc...but you have to know precisely when and why you make them.

I had students that started out at five or six years old that are still into it. A few of them have their own Dojo's now. Who knows where they would have been had it not been for karate. I think I had an opportunity to shape their lives in a small way and now I'm pretty proud of them.

Well, my incredible wife gave me a very special birthday gift yesterday. For years I've been saying that I've wanted to get back into the martial arts. I've been itching to do it. But, I think I'm just a tad too old for the rough and tumble Tao of karate. I would probably a) get my assed whupped and b) start to fall apart. But my wife got me a few months worth of Tai Chi classes. It was the perfect gift.

Tai Chi is like the yoga of martial arts. It's calming, meditative and disciplined and I cant wait. I start next month.

Pa'lante ire, siempre.

I cried. I laughed. I sobbed. I sighed. I shook my head in frustrated understanding. I stood and applauded in solidarity.

Such was the gamut of emotion I ran last night as I experienced the play Rum & Coke by Carmen Pelaez. I found the writing brilliant, the performance so heartfelt and sincere that I wanted to jump up there at times and console her characters.

Carmen does a wonderful job of being the women in her play. She starts as a Cubanita-Americana searching for her identity and takes you with her on the journey. She plays a santera/manicurist, becomes her staunch anti-Castro grandmother and then walks the streets of Havana as a jinetera (prostitute). She personifies her Tia Ninita, an elderly aunt left alone in Cuba. These five women are played beautifully, sometimes heartbreakingly pragmatic and yet always with that certain vivacious nature of a true Cubana.

While the characters are diverse, all different, they all have one thing in common. Not only are they all Cuban, but they all live in limbo, never knowing what their misfortune of being Cuban will bring next. They all seem uncomfortable in their skin yet understanding their true beauty is the same thing that makes them so, they are Cubanas.

It is a wonderful play. One that needs to be seen. It portrays the Cuban diaspora through the most beautiful and endearing thing the island has to offer: La mujer cubana.

Gracias Carmen for reminding me that I too am on that journey with you. It's been a long while since I hear my grandmother's voice.

Pa'lante iremos, siempre.

El Lowdown

Burton Terrace has the lowdown on Cuban news today. Drop by and have a cafecito.

Chili? Cook-off?

Our esteemed Sgt Hook has called out all chili chefs for Blogdom's First Ever Chili Contest. He's asking for all chili connoiseurs to post their favorite recipes to be marvelled at, speculated on and scrutinized. Of course, cyber-spoons will be handed outto all participants and judges.

I posted my heavily remarked upon chili recipe here.

So come on folks, get to work. I'm hungry.

UPDATE: Laughing Wolf is in.
Dale liked the chili recipe meme and started his own blog - MostlyCajun - to get in on it. Welcome to blogdom man, got any onions?

It Pays to Support Bush

I can't believe he remembered!!!!

What I really want for my birthday is this.

UPDATE: Ok, before anyone has a fit, the picture above is a card I got from my wife. It's a joke. I didn't actually get a birthday card from GW. Nope. GW sent me the administration's plans for the invasion of Cuba. It's called Operation Shave and a Haircut - 2 Bits and I'd love to tell you more about it but then I'd have to kill you.

Why Worry About Castro?

Because his regime does nothing but export repression and violence.

The State of the Union

I think GW has the best political writers available. His State of the Union address was brilliant for the most part. I'm sure today's blogosphere will be chock full of commentary on the subject.

How do you think he did?

Im Watching you

It's pretty obvious that I've made a change to the blog today. I want to thank Scott of Burton Terrace for teaching me and then holding my hand as I travelled through the HTML maze.

The eyes in the picture above - those incredibly deep, beautiful eyes. Ojos que tanto ocultan y tanto dan. - are my Tia Amanda's. The photograph is taken from a story on her in a Cuban magazine published back in 1963. Tia Amanda was my mom's youngest sister and was absolutely the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. She died tragically at the age of seventeen.

I will blog her story soon.

Iowa Caucus Reaction

This pretty much sums it up on the Iowa Caucus.

The Havana Caucus

The Havana Caucuses are just in and these are the results:

Fidel Castro - 99.9%
Che Guevara - 0.05%
Noam Chomsky - 0.04%
Undecided - 0.01%

Who'd a thunk it?

Omnipotent Tourist Syndrome

What is O.T.S.?

The Omnipotent Tourist Syndrome™ is a disease common among Americans that is caused by arrogance, egotism and non-chalance. Carriers show a penchant for obliviously overlooking the obvious while delighting themselves at the cost of others. Delerious OTS sufferers refuse to acknowledge their malady and will argue that it is their God given right as an American to travel freely about the world with little or no conscience or consequence. OTS people fequently hide behind their Bill of Rights and Constitution. Unfortunately, there is no cure for OTS nor is there any way to ease it's symptoms. It is a disease which, no matter how much hard data and facts are introduced into the OTS sufferer, will not ease unless said sufferer finds a compass of morality and humanity.

Here is perhaps the textbook case of OTS:

Curious about Cuba

The above link shows a true OTS patient who willingly and willfully for his own pleasure travels to Cuba and has a delightful time with the nuances and quaintness of the island. Meanwhile, the natives of the island starve, lack basic human rights and are nothing but oppressed by their own Government, the same one that receives monetary compensation in the form of travel dollars from the OTS afflicted.

OTS is a derivation of The World Revolves Around Me Syndrome (WRAMS)

UPDATE: One Fine Jay is familiar with OTS carriers.

ManCamp™

I've mentioned ManCamp™ - my fishing, football and beering oasis in my backyard - here a few times before. It's where I basically hang out on Sundays and watch football, drink beer and do a little bass fishing while Im at it. Well, I invited Steve from Little Tiny Lies over for the football season finally yesterday, and he brought the rain with him. It hadnt rained all season at ManCamp™ until yesterday. The skies just basically opened up and it poured and poured and poured. All. Day. Long.

Of course, the beauty of ManCamp™ is that its adaptable. Rain? No problem. We'll drag the canopy across the yard and set it up over the bbq's and the TV. Cold? Easy. Spark up the fireplace. Out of beer? Heh. Hop in the neighbors boat and sail on over to the Farm Stores for a 12 pack. ManCamp™ - it's like roughing it without the rough part.

And I won't even mention Steve's homemade brownies.

Thursday is my birthday and ....

...I want one of these.

No TV for you...

Im sure the following doesn't surprise anyone:

HAVANA, January 15 (Juan Carlos Linares) - The Cuban government is again taking up its crusade against people deploying satellite TV antennas at home, a number of reports from around the island seem to indicate.

The government has periodically carried on sweeps to eradicate the antennas, typically home-made from wire, discards and a healthy dose of ingenuity. Now there is a rumor circulating through Havana that authorities are preparing a strong operative to forestall the use of the antennas by the population.

Via Cubanet.

Chili

Yesterday was a light bloggage day because I was taking care of a few things and off from work. I also decided to make a vat of my famous chili to be consumed tomorrow at ManCamp during the playoffs. I thought I'd share my recipe with you all.

Val's Famous Award Winning Chili

Ingredients:
-5 lbs lean ground beef.
-3 regular size cans of red kidney beans.(rinsed thoroughjly)
-2 regular size cans of baked brown beans (no pork; rinsed)
-2 regular size cans of black beans (unrinsed,but remove the top water)
-1 large spanish onion (diced)
-1 large red onion (diced)
-1 or 2 green peppers (diced)
-4 garlic cloves (or more, to your liking)
-1 or 2 jalapeños (to your liking)
-1 small jar of cascabella peppers
-1 large (economy) size an of tomato juice
-1 small tin tomato paste
-1 regular size can of tomato soup
-1 large can of stewed tomatoes (I prefer fresh tomatoes , diced)
-2 dried chili peppers (remove before serving)

Spices:
-2 1/2 teaspoons of Paprika
-3 tablespoons of ground chili pepper
-4 tablespoons of brown sugar
-2 1/2 tablespoons of dried mustard (crucial)
-1 1/2 tablespoons Oregano
-2 tablespoons salt
-2 tablespoons black pepper
-1 good hit of Tabasco sauce
-1 good hit of Franks hot sauce
-1 colada of Cuban Cafe

Procedure:

In a very large pot add the veggies (not the beans) and sauces (soup, juice, paste) and simmer in medium high heat while browning the meat in a separate pan/pot. When meat is browned, drain and add to sauces and simmer 1/2 hour to an hour under medium heat (stir every 10 minutes or so to not allow meat to stick to bottom).
After about 1/2 to an hour, brew the cafe cubano and add along with all the spices and beans. Simmer uncovered under low to medium low heat for at least 4 hours or until it thickens. Stirring every 10 to 15 minutes is imperative as the meat and beans will stick to bottom of pan.
Once it's done let sit for a few minutes and remove jalapeños and dried chilis before serving.

Once it's ready, you'll have a beautifully colorful chili that is absolutely delicious. I have friends that call and beg me to make the stuff every once in a while. You can also add one or two regular cans of small red beans if you want the full four bean chili. Everyone that has seen this recipe has asked me why add Cafe Cubano. Well, it hints an undeniably different flavor that you wont find in any other chili. I must warn you, this chili is not for the faint of heart, it's strong and heavy and even though you may have had 2 bowls already and are stuffed, you will want another one.

I think I'm off to have some for breakfast now.

More on Internet in Cuba

I get email news briefings every morning from Cubanet about the issues in Cuba. Some mornings I shrug, take whatever news with a grain of salt. Other mornings, like today, I get so worked up it's frustrating.

It started with this statement:

The Cuban telephone company ETECSA recently started broadening the domestic telephone net. Customers whose work requires a telephone are given priority for new service, such as public health, education and military personnel, but the final determination is made by a committee that evaluates the merits of the prospective customer, and if he or she "doesn't participate in government-sponsored political activities, there is no phone."

No comunista, no telefono for you.

Then this:

Generally, this is the same committee that decides who will or will not be granted the right to buy one of the Panda-brand TVs. These are 20-inch color sets imported from China and assembled in Cuba that sell for 4,000 pesos, or about 16 months' wages at the average salary. The committees have been called by people the "discord committees" as they promote strife among neighbors competing for the right to buy the TVs

That is how Castro remains in power, by dividing his people. It's been his modus operandi all along. Set neighbor against neighbor, brother against brother.

Such is life in Cuba, the only thing that isn't rationed is fear.

HAVANA, January 14 (Cubanet) - Cubans not authorized by the government to use the Internet who log on through their phones now run the risk of losing their phone service, under new measures taken by the government.

For the first time in the queue to pay for telephone service, there was no talk about food rationing. Instead everyone talked about the rationing of communications and information

To embargo or not to embargo...

We ask that, in your rightful pursuit of economic advantage, you not ignore the repeated violations of our human rights and of our rights to economic development inflicted by the Cuban government.

The president of the National Alliance of Independent Cuban Farmers, Antonio Alonso in a letter to American farmers upon the trade agreement between Cuba and South Carolina.

Thanks Jeff.

Blog Another Cuba

When I was putting together the original BlogCuba project last month, I had no idea what the contibutors were going to write about nor did I know just how great their entries would be. My fellow bloggers covered everything from Cuban poetry to politics to a short story to a Cuban boliche recipe. We read about an elementary school teacher, el Che, the embargo, the left's adoration for Fidel as well as their hypocricy toward Cuba. We had a Cubanito tell us about our commonalities, a gringo remembering his odd Cuban neighbors and even had the first anti-Castro poster from the sixties. BlogCuba even got instalanched.

Needless to say, it was a success beyond my expectations.

With that in mind, I want to invite all of you that visit Babalu to participate in BlogAnotherCuba. All you have to do is write an entry having to do with Cuba. It can be about anything, from music to politics and everything in between. I will probably be posting them on Valentine's Day next month. So start up the word processing applications, barage Google with Cuba searches and get to writing. You can email me with questions or with your entry at val AT babalublog DOT com.

Buena suerte.

New Digs

Patrick's got new digs. Adjust your blogrolls accordingly and drop by and say hello. He's got a picture of some weirdly dressed kid up too.

Hooray!

Castro's health is failing.

Enough said.

Patches

I missed this over at Blackfive the other day, but better late than never.

Man, I love those those guys!

Note to Dorothy: Get the Hell Out!!

And bring Toto!

Apparently, the folks at the Kansas Department of Commerce have made a deal with Cuba's importer, Alimport, an arm of the Castro Regime, to export 10 million in mostly wheat and flour to Cuba.

Part of the deal is that Kansas lobby the Federal Government for easing or lifting trade restrictions and assistance in securing visas for Alimport officials.

I guess the Kansas Department of Commerce hasn't read the letter I posted from the National Alliance of Independent Cuban Farmers a few days ago.

It's the see no evil approach to marketing. Sell the product at all costs and turn a blind eye to where its going, whom will benefit and who will not.

Sickening.

Scrubbing Baubles

Prisons in the US have hot and cold running water, cable TV, libraries and other amenities. Not so in Cuba as the government even forces the prisoner's family to come and clean their cells.

HAVANA, January 13 (www.cubanet.org) - Families of prisoners at La Lima jail in Guanabacoa have been told to bring cleaning supplies to clean the cells of their loved ones.

"We need you to bring light bulbs, mops, floor cleaner and air cleanser," he told them.

An Idol of a Different Kind

Be you Republican, Democrat or Independent. Pro-war or anti-war, this is great news:

First Afghan woman sings on state television for (first time in)10 years.

Why I Love GW Bush:

"Through our democratic example, we must continue to stand with the brave people of Cuba, who for nearly half a century have endured the tyrannies and repression. Dictatorship has no place in the Americas. We must all work for a rapid, peaceful transition to democracy in Cuba."

President Bush at the Latin American Summit.

If it weren't so sad....

....this would be damn funny:

NUEVA GERONA, January 9 - Residents of La Demajagua, a small town in the Isle of Youth, complain