Did fidel give a speech today?

Coño. I missed it.

Terri

Descanza en paz.

No, seriously, it hurts.

Since my head feels like it's in a vise and my tongue is glued to the roof of my mouth and I am so hungover, so painfully hungover that even my thoughts hurt, I offer a repost because it's pretty much all I can muster up right now.

No me pintes con brocha seca.

I promise I will never, ever drink again. At least until Happy Hour.

Ouch!

A friend came in from out of town yesterday. One of my best beer drinking buddies.

I am so hungover now I cant even see straight.

NOW THAT'S WHAT IM TALKIN' BOUT!!!!!

Remember how upset I was at that West Wing episode a few weeks ago? Remember how they kept insisting that the Cuban-American community was a "geriatric sect waiting to get their cabanas back in la Habana?"

Well, here's a news flash for all those that try to make themselves believe that the Cuban-American cause of a free Cuba is waning or dying off with the older generation:

Students Protest Crackdown in Cuba

More than two dozen Princeton University students held a silent march on campus Friday to protest what they said was a crackdown on dissent in Cuba two years ago in which more than 75 people were reportedly detained as political prisoners.
The march was staged by a newly formed student group called Cuban American Undergraduate Student Association. According to group co-founder Kenneth A. Sinkovitz, a Princeton sophomore, CAUSA received official recognition by the university and permission for its march just days before the protest occurred.
Mr. Sinkovitz estimated that the 10 or so expected marchers were joined by about 20 more as the silent procession made its way from the Frist Campus Center through campus to the front doors of Firestone Library.
CAUSA co-founder Chris Gueits, also a Princeton sophomore, said the group's decision to end its march outside the front doors of Firestone was symbolic of the absence of a free flow of information in Cuba and restrictions against free expression.
"In countries like Cuba, this would land you in jail," Mr. Gueits said in front of the sculpture outside the library. "There's a vacuum of information over there, and these people feel alone."

Read the whole thing.

The older generation of Cubans may be passing on, but their dream of a free Cuba is still alive, and it will not go away until the day it comes true.

The New McCarthyism Stems from Hollywood

My good friend Scott of Burton Terrace just sent me the following link from today's "Impromptus" column at NRO by Jay Nordlinger. It is a letter sent to Jay and reads as follows:

Jay, longtime reader of your column. Consider myself a 9/11 Democrat — one who actually uses his brain for thinking through issues. A few weeks ago, my wife and I were invited to a birthday dinner at the home of some friends. All are quite liberal (we live on the West Coast), and I often find myself the lone dissenter.

Also attending this dinner was a couple from Cuba, friends of the birthday people through the art world. We had normal chit-chat during dinner, then someone asked the Cuban husband how long he'd been in the States.

"Three years," was his response.

What followed was amusing and troubling at the same time. Everyone (except me) immediately jumped in and started raving about what a great country Cuba was, compared with the U.S.: better health care, lower infant mortality, and the music!!! Plus, Fidel, Che, and the revolutionaries — how romantic!

If I hadn't been reading NR and NRO, I might have just checked out. But I paid attention. Specifically, I watched how the Cuban couple reacted to these statements.

To put it mildly, the look on their faces was one of disbelief. In response to comments about health-care and infant-mortality statistics, the wife said, "And you believe the information coming out of the Castro government? They make those numbers up to look good to other countries."

The responses from the liberals were along the lines of "Well . . .," "Uh . . ." "Well, the U.S. should have a better infant-mortality rate in any case." They weren't ready to concede that people who'd lived in Cuba all their lives knew more about what was going on than they did. Because, of course, we knew better, thanks to reading the New York Times and The New Yorker.

I followed up and asked the husband what had motivated him to move to the U.S.

"I was persecuted."

Silence.

I asked what had happened. What did he do? How long was he persecuted?

"I was associated with the wrong people and was persecuted for seven years. Finally had enough and spent a year going to the American and Cuban authorities to get permission to leave."

Dead silence. It was clear he and his wife had endured some pretty horrendous treatment, all because he had associated with the wrong people.

I didn't feel comfortable asking him what they did to him. It was a birthday dinner. What did come out was that he had recently passed his citizenship test and was on his way to becoming an American citizen.

"This is my country now."

I said, "Welcome to our country."

The liberals at that party are exactly like those Hollywood elites we are always talking about here. The "free healthcare, 100% literacy and low infant mortality rate" spewing myopics who cannot stand Cuban-Americans because we actually know what the hell we are talking about when it comes to Cuba and it bursts their little moral superiority bubble.

Along the same "Hollywood loves communism" lines, dont miss this editorial from the Opinion Journal, sent to me by Ramón Miró of CubaFacts.com (Do check out CubaFacts.com, it is an excellent website and source of information on Cuban issues.):

Annoying as the Che adulation is, a recent comment by a 14-year-old on an online movie message board was truly disturbing: "I just saw The Motorcycle Diaries, which further made me question: Why is communism bad? . . . Young people are told how bad communism is, but we are not told why. . . . The Motorcycle Diaries showed me how Ernesto Guevara wanted to help people. . . . But this did not explain why he was such a 'bad' person and apparently deserved to be murdered by the U.S."

Is this a legacy of dangerous ignorance that the makers of "Che" wish to continue? Might this teen be taught that the product of Guevara and Castro's "revolution" is a nation whose inhabitants still risk their lives to escape--and an estimated one-third die trying? A nation where neighbor spies on neighbor, where dissent lands one in the clink--or worse--and persecution is punishment for everything from religion to homosexuality?

Read the whole thing.

I wont editorialize any further on Hollywood's love for dictators and murderous Marxists. All I will say is that they would be hardpressed to express any of their "artistic freedoms" in a country like Cuba, whose government sees the stifling of individuals' freedom as the number one priority.

Oh, and, kiss my Cuban-American ass, Hollywood. You bunch of panzy ass, holier than thou, self-righteous, morally abject, living in lala land collection of hypocritical elitist pricks.

I hope you havent had breakfast yet...

Because when you see what I am about to link to, you will most certainly want to puke.

Buck up, now. Take a deep breath. Get ready to be infuriated. You're blood is gonna boil and your blood pressure is going to go through the roof.

All set? OK. Click the link below.

"A Funky Hip Spot"

He aint my Blogfather for nuthin'

For those that idolize che, here's his idea of justice:

To send men to the firing squad, judicial proof is unnecessary...These procedures are an archaic bourgeois detail. This is a revolution! And a revolutionary must become a cold killing machine motivated by pure hate. We must create the pedagogy of the El Paredón!" --Ernesto 'Che' Guevara

I picked up that quote from Dean - who I am proud to say is my blogfather -as he rakes the che lovers over some major coals here.

Gracias, Dean.

Cell is dead, baby.

And dead is dead.

My cellphone which Ive had for I think over 5 years just up and died. My trusty Samsung SPH-N200. The thing was the Abrams tank of cellphones. It had fallen in the pool I dont know how many times, was left out in the rain, dropped a jillion and a half times. It had been stepped on, kicked, thrown and slammed. Lost, stolen and found. It was even dropped once into a concrete pour at a job site. Never missed a damn call in all the time Ive had it.

And now it's dead. People can hear me, but I cant hear them.

So now it's new cellphone shopping time. I have no idea which one to get.

There's just too damn many options.

If any one out there has any suggestions about a phone - the purchase of which will not have me spending a few nights in the doghouse because of cost - in the above link, let me know.

A little Paquito for you.

In honor of Paquito D'Rivera's spanking of Carlos "I love Che" Santana, I submit, for your listening pleasure, some real music.

Paquito D'Rivera's 'Miami'

Vaya!!!Pa' goza'!!!

A letter to Carlos "Useful Buffoon" Santana

Remember Carlos Santana's attire at the Oscar's not too long ago? You know, the Che Guevara t-shirt I gave him the Useful Idiot Award for?

Well, one prominent Cuban-American musician sent Santana a letter to let him know just what a morally abject jerk he really is. The following is Paquito D'Rivera's letter in Spanish followed by my translation:

"Me enteré por nuestro amigo Raúl Artiles que pronto te presentarás en Miami; cosa que me parece poco recomendable, ya que no hace mucho cometiste la torpeza de aparecerte en los Oscar Awards luciendo con orgullo un enorme crucifijo sobre una camiseta con la esteriotipada imagen del Carnicerito de la Cabaña, que es como conocen al Che Guevara los cubanos que tuvieron que sufrir tan lamentable personaje en dicha prisión".

"Uno de estos cubanos fue mi primo Bebo, preso allí precisamente por ser cristiano. El me cuenta siempre con amargura como escuchaba desde su celda en la madrugada los fusilamientos sin juicio de muchos que morían gritando "Viva Cristo Rey!".

"El guerrillero de la boinita estrellada es algo más que esa ridícula película de la bicicleta, mi famoso colega; y combinar a Cristo con el Che Guevara es como entrar a una sinagoga con una Swástica (símbolo nazi) colgando del cuello; y es además una bofetada en el rostro de los jóvenes cubanos de los años 60, que tenían que esconderse para escuchar tus discos de "música imperialista", según definían el Rock & Roll en la jerga del mismísimo atorrante argentino y sus secuaces".

"Perdona que te escriba en español, pero es que no creo que tenga suficientes palabras en inglés para expresar mi indignación ante tu irresponsable actitud. Y créeme que a pesar de todo, como artista te deseo buena suerte, porque la necesitarás, Carlos "sobre todo en Miami".

In English (my translation skills are almost seriously lacking so bear with me):

I learned through our mutual acquaintance Raúl Artiles that you will soon play a concert in Miami, something I would not recommend, as you showed your stupidity by appearing at the Oscar Awards proudly donning a large crucifix over a t-shirt with the stereotypical image of the Butcher of La Cabaña, which is how Che Guevara is known to Cubans who had to lamentably suffer under him at said prison.

One of these Cubans was my cousin Bebo, incarcerated there precisely for being a Christian. The same one who always bitterly tells me how he could hear from his cell the firing squads at dawn murdering those who without trials would die screaming "Long Live Jesus Christ."

The guerrilla with the starred beret is much more than what's depicted in that ridiculous motorcycle movie, my famous colleague, and combining Che Guevara with Christ would be like entering a synagogue wearing a Swastika necklace. And it is also a slap in the face to those young Cubans who in the '60s had to hide to be able to listen to your records, Imperialist music, as Rock & Roll was defined in the slang of the Argentinian tramp and his partisans.

Please forgive the fact that I write you in Spanish, but I just don't think I have enough words or mastery of the English language to express my indignation at your irresponsible attitude. And believe me, as an artist I wish you good fortune, because you will need it, Carlos...especially in Miami.

Bien dicho, Paquito. Gracias.

Tremenda guayaba, fidel!

All evidence to the contrary, fidel castro will take to the airwaves once again this week to tell the Cuban people that everything is hunky-dory. There will be no more blackouts, the Cuban peso is being re-valued (again), rice cookers are on their way and official opinion polls show that out of 28,000 surveyed only 253 had anything bad to say about their maximo lider. Cubans will be glued to their sets this coming Thursday:

"It's been a long time since we've heard any good news. Let's just hope its all true," said one Havana City postal worker as he hopped on the #190 bus heading home after making his rounds.

"Let's just hope it's all true." Now, what are the chances of that? When was the last time fidel castro stated anything even resembling truth?

During last week's speech, castro quoted opinions critical of his regime and then made fun of them like a stand up comedian. I think it was rather nice of the bearded one,considering. Cubans could really use a good laugh.

Other opinions read by the Comandante included: "Fidel is crazy if he thinks he will solve the housing problem"; "What Fidel says we're going to get is fine but I'd prefer cooking oil and soap", a reference to items that disappeared from the shelves in the early 1990s and which for years have only been available at special stores in U.S. dollars; and "He talks about chocolate when what we need is food".

The reality is that fidel has no good news for his people.

Weighing in on the side of the critics is Cuban-American scholar Marifeli Perez Stable who has written extensively on the Revolution.

"None of the good news is coming from within the Cuban economy -- no restructuring, a return to centralization, a peso revaluation that has nothing to do with reality - and, instead, is originating in Venezuela's oil and supposedly splendid accords with China," she says. "Sure, ECLA is projecting a 5 percent growth this year but that's pretty meaningless if the bodegas [grocery stores] are still rationed and what average Cubans can buy with pesos is either scarce or overpriced. When Cuban women can get a week's groceries and other necessities in peso stores without sweating it out, then five percent growth will be meaningful."

So castro plays the rhetorical rope-a-dope:

In two moves by the Central Bank, and announced by Castro in his latest speeches, Cuba first upped by 7 percent the value of the original Cuban peso against the CUC and then raised the value of the CUC by 8 percent against the dollar effective April 9.

Castro pointed out the benefits of this by explaining how he'd just brought down the price of the new pressure cooker by 15 percent. His reasoning was as follows: the state picked up half the cost of the imported pots and converted the remaining 50 percent into its price in Cuban pesos.

By raising the value of the peso 15 percent, the state was also lowering the cost of the pot 15 percent so that instead of paying 150 pesos, consumers would only have to pay 122.50.

Now, I'm no economist, but this economic three card monty doesnt make a bit of sense to me. Truth of the matter is that Cuba's economy is still in dire straights, despite chavez's oil and whatever other trade agreements the regime has made recently. Things have to be paid for, you see, and fidel castro's government just doesnt have the money.

In the chavez/Venezuelan oil trade, fidel has sent thousands of Cuban "doctors" and other personnel, along with state security agents and other "diplomats" in order to help chavez tighten his grip over the Venezuelan people. What is fidel going to do in the case of Japan when their bill collectors come knocking at the door? Who will he send then?

Seems to me that an economy that has to be drastically re-tooled like Cuba's means that it's desperately gasping for life.

The day after Castro spoke, Cuba's Central Bank President Francisco Soberón elaborated on the measures.

"The decision to reevaluate as of April 9, the rate of exchange between the Cuban Convertible Peso and foreign currencies, and to eliminate the parity between this national currency and the U.S. dollar is part of a coherent, gradual and prudent strategy that the country will continue for the benefit of the people," he said.

Like Castro, Soberón charged that the sustained depreciation in the value of the U.S. dollar plus the Bush administration's increasing hostility toward the island has made it risky for Cuba to use the dollar as a means of payment or in its national reserve.

But the moves have unnerved many of the estimated 60 percent of the Cuban public with access to either U.S. dollars or other convertible currencies, such as the EURO, sent by relatives living outside the island or earned through their work. Estimates on just how much Cubans receive range widely from $400 million to over $1 billion.

"Fidel's speech was great but he dropped a bomb at the end, the reduction of the chavito, people lost thousands of pesos," went one opinion read by Castro on the 7 percent increase.

Previously people who bought Cuban pesos with CUCs received 26 for one, now they are only receiving 24. It doesn't sound like much of a difference but if they changed 100 CUCs they got 200 pesos less under the new rate. And many people count on the dollars sent by their relatives to help them pay the often high prices at the farmers markets where private vendors sell everything from lettuce and tomatoes to pork in pesos.

Cubans depending on remittances to get them through the month already took a blow last November when a 10 percent commission was introduced on the U.S. dollar. Since then every CUC they buy costs them U.S. $1.10.

Cubans rushed to CADECA to exchange their dollars before the November deadline, changing an estimated $1.2 billion. But some Cubans wary of the chavitos and reluctant to put all their money in the bank have hung on to their U.S. dollars.

So fidel castro, while telling Cubans he will give them more, is, in actuality, taking more.

"We have nothing against citizens who have and receive dollars from abroad," said Soberón. "It's legal and it's normal that people living in other countries want to help their relatives in Cuba. But the possession of dollars," he insisted, "puts Cubans and foreigners in positions of advantage and the Revolution has the moral obligation to seek improvements for all the people."

Soberón claimed that personal income in the United States has gone up 48 percent, so Cuban Americans are able to absorb the 18 percent difference. "If they want their families here to maintain the same standard they can send them more money," he said as TV viewers listened astounded.

This is castro's favotrite ploy when his economy is shot. Play to the Cuban family and get those Cubans living in exile to pay for his shortcomings and his failed revolution. Squeeze his people to the point where they are begging their family members living abroad to send dollars. Then, of course, the revolution, in all it's hypocrisy, takes its cut.

Castro's recent speeches make clear the direction in which he is taking the country. "I find myself increasingly attracted to the ideas of Marx, Lenin and Engel's. Their time is not past," he declared, going on to say he wanted Cubans to be in a position to enjoy a socialist society not measured by how many cars people have but by our potential."

Ah, yes, there's that "potential" comment again.

Let me explain it to you, fidelito, in plain Physics terms. There's potential energy - the energy a body possesses because of its body or shape - and then there's kinetic energy - he energy possessed by a body because of its motion. Potential energy will alway remain just that, potential, unless another body, through its own movement - ie: kinetic energy - engages it and thus transforms said potential energy into kinetic energy.

It's all about progress, fidel. Forward movement.

Kinetic energy.

Hat tip to Jeff Quinton for the article link.

More Elian and Terri parallels

From a friend of Herbert Meyer's:

In each case, the victim is under the legal control of a man who is no longer living with the victim, who in fact has run off with another woman and fathered her children, and who no longer plays an active role in the victim’s life. In Terri’s case, this is her husband. In Elian’s case, it’s his father. Moreover, in each case there are people willing and able to care for the victim – Terri’s parents; Elian’s relatives in Miami. Yet in each case, the man with legal control insists that the victim be harmed – Terri killed, Elian shipped back to Castro’s Cuba. And in each case, the liberals – who never shut up about their concern for the weak and the oppressed – have sided with the creep against the victim.

Read the rest here.

It's OK to break the law as long as youre a liberal.

Otherwise, shut up you fanatic overzealous moral majority religion monger.

From John Fund in today's Opinion Journal:

Selective Restraint

Liberals cheered when Janet Reno defied the courts to seize Elian Gonzalez.

The sad case of Terri Schiavo has raised passions not seen since five years ago. Then another bitterly divided family argued in Florida courts over someone who couldn't speak on his own behalf: Elian Gonzalez.

In both cases, those who were unhappy with the courts' decisions strained to assert the federal government's power to produce a different outcome. The difference is that in Mrs. Schiavo's case, Congress backed off after passing a bill that merely asked a federal court to hear the case from scratch, something that U.S. District Judge James Whittemore declined to do. By contrast, those who wanted the federal government to intervene in Elian Gonzalez's case went all the way, supporting a predawn armed federal raid on the morning before Easter to seize the 6-year-old boy despite a federal appeals court's refusal to order his surrender.

Both cases were marked with hypocrisy and political posturing galore. Both times some conservative Republicans talked about issuing subpoenas to compel the person at the center of the case to appear before Congress; they swiftly backed down when public opinion failed to support their stunt. Rep. Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, argued that by opposing Elian's return to his father in communist Cuba, conservatives were abandoning the principle that "the state should not supersede the parents' wishes." In the case of Terri Schiavo, many conservatives who normally support spousal rights decided that Michael Schiavo's decision to abandon his marital vows while at the same time refusing to divorce his wife rendered him unfit to override the wishes of his wife's parents to have her cared for.

But liberals have gotten off easy for some of the somersaulting arguments they have made on behalf of judicial independence and states' rights to justify their position that Terri Schiavo should not be saved. Many made the opposite arguments in the Elian Gonzalez case.

Elian was plucked from the ocean off the coast of Florida on Thanksgiving Day 1999. after his mother died in an ill-fated attempt to bring him to freedom. Before he became a political football and Fidel Castro demanded his return, the Immigration and Naturalization Service granted him immigration "parole," which gave him the right to live in the U.S. for one year until his status was determined. Because Elian was underage, his fate would therefore be decided by local family courts. On Dec. 1, the INS issued a statement saying, "Although the INS has no role in the family custody decision process, we have discussed the case with the State of Florida officials who have confirmed that the issue of legal custody must be decided by its state court."

Then the Clinton administration reversed course after protests from the Castro regime reached a fever pitch. On Dec. 9, the INS declared its previous position "a mistake" and said that state courts would not have jurisdiction in Elian's case. They claimed that because Elain was taken directly to a hospital he was therefore never formally paroled into the U.S.--even though he was then turned over to his Miami relatives rather than the INS. "Technically, he was not paroled in the usual sense," said a Justice Department spokesman. But she could come up with no previous case in which a Cuban refugee had had his parole revoked and then had the INS move to return him to Cuba.

But it quickly became clear that was the INS's intent. Over the Christmas holidays the agency dispatched agents to Cuba to interview Elian's father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez. After the interview, Mr. Gonzalez told reporters the agents and an accompanying U.S. diplomat had assured him Elian would be returned. The Clinton administration disputed those statements, although one of the government officials later privately acknowledged they had been made. Nonetheless, INS bureaucrats in Washington quickly determined that a man who had abandoned Elian and his mom for another woman was a "fit parent" who could "properly care for the child in Cuba." No public consideration was given to the fact that his father, a member of the Communist Party, might have been coerced.

If a state court had been allowed to hear the custody case, INS officials would not have been able to testify as to what Mr. Gonzalez told them to support his claim because it would have been hearsay. He would have had to come to the U.S. to testify on his own, subject to cross-examination. Even if the state court had granted him custody, it would have had to decide whether it was in the child's best interest to be returned to Cuba.

That's what Judge Rosa Rodriguez of Florida Family Court, complying with the original INS ruling, tried to do when she ruled in early January 2000 that her court had jurisdiction over the boy and gave Elian's great-uncle legal authority to represent him. Her order contravened an INS ruling that only Elian's father could speak for the boy and that he should be immediately returned to Cuba. Attorney General Janet Reno than promptly declared that Judge Rodriguez's ruling had "no force or effect." At the same time, INS officials assured reporters that under no circumstances did they intend to seize Elian by force.

The stalemate continued for another three months. On Thursday, April 20, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals--the same court that rejected the pleas of Terri Schiavo's parents last week--turned down the Justice Department's request to order Elian removed from the home of his Miami relatives. Moreover, the court expressed serious doubts about the Justice Department's reading of both the law and its own regulations, adding that Elian had made a "substantial case on the merits" of his claim. It further established a record that Elain, "although a young child, has expressed a wish that he not be returned to Cuba."

The Reno Justice Department acted the next day to short-circuit a legal process that was clearly going against it. On Good Friday evening, after all courts had closed for the day, the department obtained a "search" warrant from a night-duty magistrate who was not familiar with the case, submitting a supporting affidavit that seriously distorted the facts. Armed with that dubious warrant, the INS's helmeted officers, assault rifles at the ready, burst into the home of Elian's relatives and snatched the screaming boy from a bedroom closet. Many local bystanders were tear-gassed even though they did nothing to block the raid. Elian was quickly returned to Cuba; because he was never able to meet with his lawyers a scheduled May 11 asylum hearing on his case in Atlanta became moot.

Of course, there are differences between the Gonzalez and Schiavo cases. But clearly many of the people who approved of dramatic federal intervention to return Elian to Cuba took a completely different tack when it came to the argument over saving Terri Schiavo. Rep. Frank makes a compelling argument that Congress took an extraordinary step when it met in special session to create a procedure whereby the federal courts could decide whether Ms. Schiavo's rights were being violated. He may have a point when he accuses Republicans of "trying to command judicial activism and dictate outcomes when they don't like" rulings. But where were Mr. Frank and other liberals when the Clinton administration decided to sidestep a federal appeals court and order an armed raid against Elian Gonzalez? While Mr. Frank allowed that the use of assault rifles in the Elian raid was "excessive" and "frightening," he also defended the Justice Department's view that "of course [agents] had to use force."

According to some reports, Gov. Jeb Bush considered seizing Mrs. Schiavo, à la Elian, and taking her to a hospital so she could be fed. But he did not do so. "I've consistently said that I can't go beyond what my powers are, and I'm not going to do it," the governor says. Janet Reno and the Clinton administration showed no such restraint when it came to Elian Gonzalez.

What was it called again? Moral rela...what?

Si, claro...

...para la revolucion todo, y para la familia nico.

Photo - aptly titled: "La Familia - Three generations of Cubans living in the same shack. Trinidad. - courtesy of Ana Zangroniz. You can see more of her incredible photographs here.

Easter in Havana

As we peacefully gather for Easter Sunday supper with our families and loved ones, there's a very different kind of Easter happening in Cuba, where Easter Sunday looks like this.

The communist regime obviously is squirming on world opprobrium for its Palm Sunday thuggery. Today, they've held back, but I doubt the Women in White were told. Knowing they could easily be jeered by castro's harpies, the Women in White made a stand anyway.

Easter is for people like them:

Dissidents' wives march for freedom in Cuba

Havana, Mar 27 (EFE).- Some 30 wives of jailed dissidents staged a march here Sunday to demand the release of imprisoned members of the opposition and political change in Cuba.

The women, dressed in white and carrying flowers, attended Mass at Santa Rita Church, in the Miramar neighborhood, and marched peacefully down 5th Avenue, as they have been doing every week since the spring of 2003, when 75 peaceful dissidents were given long prison sentences by the government following a crackdown on the opposition.

The scene, however, was much different from last Sunday, when some 200 members of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC) blocked the weekly march by the so-called "Damas en Blanco" (Women in White), chanting pro-government slogans and screaming insults.

Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque defended the federation's actions last week, saying that "in Cuba, the streets belong to the revolutionaries." "The street belongs to the revolutionaries. We are revolutionaries, because revolution means change," Marcela Sanchez, wife of dissident Marcelo Lopez, said Sunday.

Marcelo Lopez was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2003 and released last November for health reasons.

The women responded to Lopez's statement with shouts of "change, change." The lack of problems Sunday "could be an attempt by the government to present this as an act of tolerance as the time for debate in Geneva nears," Gisela Delgado said, referring to the upcoming 61st annual session of the U.N. Human Rights Commission in the Swiss city.

Delgado is the wife of Hector Palacios, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison following the Cuban government's crackdown on the opposition two years ago.

Gisela Delgado was one of the Women in White who met Saturday with European Union Development and Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Louis Michel, the first high-ranking EU official to visit since relations with the island were normalized in January.

Michel "was receptive" to the requests of the dissidents' wives, Gisela Delgado said, although he said "that there was nothing firm in the way of advances on the situation of the prisoners." On March 18, 2003, Cuban authorities began arresting members of the opposition, many of them backers of dissident leader Oswaldo Paya's Varela Project, a democratic initiative now bearing more than 25,000 signatures that was presented to Cuba's National Assembly in 2002.

The Varela Project proposes calling a referendum on amending Cuban laws to introduce freedom of expression and association, amnesty for political prisoners, free elections and more leeway for private enterprise.

At the trials in the spring of 2003, 75 dissidents were given sentences of up to 28 years following speedy convictions on charges of conspiring with the United States, jeopardizing the independence of the state and undermining the principles of the revolution.

The wave of repression elicited harsh international criticism and a mild "hardening" of European Union policy toward the island, a move that sparked a bilateral diplomatic crisis that only came to an end in January.
The Cuban government has so far released only 14 of the jailed dissidents, citing health reasons. EFE mar/hv

Joel P. Brewer

My good friend Ward Brewer's father passed away suddenly yesterday. Please keep the Brewer family in your prayers this Easter Sunday.

Descansa en paz, Sr. Brewer.

Good Friday

The story behind the story.

Many people have expressed their concerns over my safety because I publicly air news items coming from Cuba as well as criticize fidel castro and his ridiculous revolution. You never know what they're capable of they say. Ten cuidado. Be careful. And I must admit, I've found myself a little more aware of my surroundings, a bit cautious, and have increased security of my home, as well as my person, if only to assuage my loved ones. I'm not paranoid, mind you, just careful.

So imagine my thoughts after receiving the following email yesterday:

Buenos dias Val,

My name is (withheld)and I live outside of
(withheld), NY. My father introduced me to your blog a few
months ago, and now we are both faithful readers.
I have a sort of strange favor to ask of you. Right
now, my father, (name withheld), is in Miami
coming back from a camping trip in the Dry Tortugas
Park. He has been trying to get in touch with you, why
exactly I'm not sure, but he just called me this
morning and asked me to email you and give you his
cell phone number so that you could call him.

It is: (number withheld). Please don't worry, my father
is a fellow Cubano, he came over to the States on the
Peter Pan flights in 1962. I'm guessing the reason
that he is trying to communicate with you is because
while he was camping at the Dry Tortugas, 14 Cuban
balseros landed and he was there for the whole thing.
He photographed the event and acted as a translator.

All sorts of caution bells were ringing. I kept hearing my father saying Be careful, Valentin. You never know what el caballo is capable of doing. What if my father and all the others who have told me to be careful were right. What if this guy wants to meet me to do me some harm. What if the guy is one of fidel's infiltrados, one of his moles that he has planted everywhere, especially here in Miami. For a moment I even had the notion that I would meet with the guy, he would knock me out somehow and I would wake up in one of fidel's jails or something. As you can imagine, I really wasnt sure what to do.

I emailed a response saying that I was busy and that I would try to contact the person in the afternoon. I must say that although I was a bit cautious, I really wasn't that concerned because the person also sent me a link to a website that had pictures of Cuba from a recent educational trip and these photos were astounding. (More on those photos a a later date.) But the pictures and the link notwithstanding, I thought it best to err on the side of caution.

I decided not to wait until the afternoon to call the guy. In my mind I was running down a checklist: Use *67 so that he can't see the phone number Im calling from. Meet in a public place. Don't let him know where you are. Don't give too much information...and so on...I felt like I was in some kind of espionage movie. Some kind of Cuban James Bond without the good looks, fancy gadgets and licence to kill.

But I made the call. Introduced myself when the guy answered.

"Coño, Val! Babalú!" the voice over the phone said. "Mucho gusto. Es un placer."

"Gracias gracias," I said. "The pleasure is all mine."

The voice over the phone was cordial and respectful. To me it was no longer the "man" on the phone but the "gentleman" on the phone.

And this gentleman on the phone went on to say how he had found my blog after the Herald article and been reading ever since. He thanked me for my hard work. Said he had told friends about my site.

I thanked him profusely. Mind you, still aware somewhere in the back of my mind that this could all be a ruse. That maybe he was ingratiating himself so that he could toss my ass on a boat back to Cuba.

"I'm an independent journalist," he said. "Used to work for the Herald years ago when I lived in Miami."

"I was in the Dry Tortugas working on a piece on scuba diving," the gentleman continued. "When 14 Cuban refugees washed ashore this past Wednesday. I took a ton of photos."

He went on to tell me about the refugees and their arrival at Fort Jefferson. How they were all practically naked. How they had all arrived and sat calmy at a picnic table. How he wasn't allowed to talk to them until the Park Rangers realized they needed a translator.

"Naturally," he said. "I called my old contacts in the Herald but there wasn't much interest. 14 Cuban refugees washing ashore isnt too newsworthy here, I guess. So I immediately thought of Babalú. Would you be interested in the story and the photographs?"

I was a little taken aback. I mean, here is a perfect stranger from the Northeast who not only reads my blog but has witnessed a story and then gone through the trouble of calling his daughter at home to email me here in Miami so that he could get me to call him so that he could give me the story so I could post it on my blog.

"I would be thrilled," I said. He told me he was driving back up to Miami from Key West at the moment but would be arriving in the city in about an hour. I was still at the office and asked if we could meet in the evening.

"I have a compromiso," he said. A previous engagement. "I came here through Pedro Pan in '62. Tonight I'm meeting two friends who also came through Pedro Pan and were my buddies. We haven't seen each other in forty years."

I think my heart broke right then and there. Not only has this man gone through all this trouble to meet me and give me a great story for my blog but he has practically just gotten off the ferry from Fort Jefferson and in a few hours he will be living what must surely be a very precious moment in his life.

Imagine having been sent to another country as a child and living in an orphanage for years with other kids in the same situation and then forty years later, after having built lives and families and careers and everything else, meeting these boys you left so long ago as grown men. Men with children and grandchildren. Men who have probably lived their lives thinking about those Pedro Pan days and asking themselves "I wonder how so and so is. Que sera de su vida? What kind of a life have they lived?"

However important the story of the refugess arriving at Fort Jefferson was, it seemed almost trivial at the moment. Those 14 refugees risked their lives for freedom and may very well have arrived in a country where they will be free, but somehow it seemed like the beginning of a story.

The real epic is in the lives of these three men who will just now see each other for the first time in 40 years. Their accomplishments. Their heartaches. Their nostalgia. Their lives. Their lives! How many times in these forty years have these men thought about those kids that were like brothers in that orphanage? How do they picture their long lost friends in their minds despite having possibly spoken over the phone many times? Who do they see when they hear their adult voices? Do they imagine an old man whose face they cant really make out or do they still picture them as a smiling kid in that old black and white photograph they all kept as the one tangible reminder of those days?

Later on in the afternoon I called him back. Told him I was off of work and asked if we could meet somewhere.

"I'm at a photo shop making you a cd of the pictures I took of the refugees," he said. I told him I could be there in a few minutes. He said he would be either at the picture place or the cafeteria next door. "I havent had time to eat anything all day." he said.

I was still a bit wary about meeting with this man despite our conversations over the phone and the fact that he was gracious and cordial and for all intents and purposes seemed on the level. Ten cuidado, Valentin, my dad's voice mulled over in my mind.

I arrived at the photo shop and he wasn't there so I walked a few doors down and walked into the cafeteria. I recognized him immediately. There he was finishing his cafecito, tanned, dressed in a pair of shorts and a tshirt just like anyone who had just gotten off a boat from a dive trip and driven for hours.

He looked at me, I looked at him. "Julio?"

"Val? You recognized me!"

"I saw the tan," I reponded. We shook hands both echoing "Encantado" at the same time. His white hair and beard contrasted against his tanned skin. He had kind eyes.

We made our way to the photo shop and chatted. About the blog, about the refugees, about the pictures, about the postcards he bought for the refugees to send word to their families, about the dive trip, about politics, about Cuba, about ourselves and our families. We stood for what must have been a good ten minutes talking like long lost friends in front of the photo studio people. Just a couple of guys that hadnt seen each other in a while covering every topic imaginable in front of perfect strangers.

I asked him if he would write something to accompany the pictures he'd just handed me in a cd. "I would be honored," I said.

He agreed. And perhaps recognizing that the story of the refugees couldnt wait, that perhaps there were some family members here that were sitting intently in front of the TV waiting for news of their family, and that there really was no better moment than the present to write that story he asked "Is there someplace we can go to write this right now?"

That's how it came to be that, despite everyone's concern for my well being and my father's Ten Cuidado, Valentin's, I invited a perfect stranger into my office and onto my computer to write onto my blog a story that he had just been a part of and that we both understood needed to be written.

And we continued to chat like old friends. Telling each other about our lives, reminiscing about family and friends and hearing each others thoughts about Cuba with winsome and with an understated sadness. I don't know how many times we looked at each other through watery eyes.

I sat there and watched this man, who not more than an hour prior had been a perfect stranger save for the words written on this blog, write a beautiful and touching piece about a moment in time that as a man he would probably never forget, but as a Cuban he probably felt he was destined to experience. He wrote the article about the 14 refugees landing on the Dry Tortugas with vigor. Vibrant. As if the words themselves had risked it all to find their freedom on the page.

And when he was done I think neither of us wanted that moment to end. We chatted some more, made our way to our cars and both probably realized that this experience, this small slice of our lives born out of pure coincidence was something we could never forget.

After more than a few minutes of our trying to prolong our solidarity, standing there, by our cars, I extended my hand. "Come on, Julio. You're just stalling now. Don't you have some old friends to meet?"

With that we shook hands, embraced like brothers and went our separate ways.

And all of this on Good Friday.

Viernes Santo

14 Cuban Refugees Arrive at the Dry Tortugas
by Julio C. Zangroniz

Last Wednesday morning, March 23, just as the sun began to crawl over the horizon and light up the Dry Tortugas –the tiny group of Florida islands about 70 miles west of Key West— those placid grounds normally occupied by campers and vacationers became alive with excitement.

Did you see them… did you see the Cubans? nearly yelled one camper to another as he ran from camp to camp.

A group of 14 Cuban refugees, 13 men and one woman, had walked quietly into the grounds surrounding historic Fort Jefferson, then sat meekly at a picnic table, just as if they were just another group of tourists exploring the remote outpost.

Only four days before, on Saturday, another group totaling about a dozen Cubans seeking freedom had landed there. The second group, confirmed one of the rangers later, puts the number of Cuban refugees arriving at the Dry Tortugas at close to 250. Last year, some 450 made it to freedom there.

The park volunteer ran to notify one of the rangers, a female, who ordered someone to bring a couple of jugs of water and a stack of Styrofoam cups to distribute the precious liquid to the eager customers.

When the ranger noticed a visiting journalist snapping photographs of the group, she came over to warn him about “park regulations concerning the commercial use of photographs taken here.” The journalist assured her that he was visiting the fort at the express invitation of the top representatives of the National Park Service there, and that he would make sure to comply with any and all regulations. But in the meantime, he asserted that he would continue to fulfill his journalistic duties.

Bienvenidos a los Estados Unidos, the journalist told the group, choking back some tears. Had there not been a park ranger closely watching the situation, it’s easy to see how there would have been a lot of hugging. It’s a Cuban thing, you know.

The journalist pointed out to the ranger: “It looks like you need help to communicate with these people.” That would be wonderful, she agreed, because none of the refugees spoke English, or maybe didn’t want to admit to it, and none of the park personnel spoke Spanish –hard to believe, considering that it is one of the closest points in the United States closest to Cuba, even closer than Key West.

The ranger wanted to know when the group had left Cuba. Sunday at midnight, a few of them replied, almost in unison.

Did they have a boat? Yes, they said. It was on the opposite shore of Long Key, where they ran aground, only a few hundred yards from the front gate of the historic brick building known as Fort Jefferson.

Did their boat have a motor? Again, yes. One of the members of the group elaborated: “The motor broke down when we were about 24 miles from Cuba, so we had to row for a while. Then we got it to work again, but it broke down a second time and we had to finish the trip by manning the oars.”

Where did they leave from, asked the ranger. We left from Playa Herradura, near the port of Mariel.

And they had landed on U.S. soil on Wednesday at about 6 AM, after nearly 54 hours at sea.

The group said they hadn’t eaten since they left Cuba, and of course they were tremendously thirsty, as evidenced by the way they approached the two jugs of water sitting on the picnic table in front of them. Though the rangers could provide drinking water, they had little else to offer the men and the one woman, who one of the members of the group called “our lucky charm.”

A few minutes later, the ranger warned some bystanders who had come from the camping area that some armed park rangers would arrive soon, to try keep the group of refugees under control, as well as to carry out an individual search, for weapons or drugs.

In reality, there was little chance the members of the group --who sat peacefully at two picnic tables—could hide anything, because most of them wore only swimming trunks or underwear. When they got out of their boat, one said, they had removed their clothes because they were contamined with diesel fuel. Only three of the new arrivals had anything that covered their upper body: the lone woman, a 21 year old, had a dress; one of them men had a dark blue windbreaker and a third one sported a yellow and black sleeveless t-shirt.
Others had lycra bathing suits and none had shoes. If they did, all footwear must have been abandoned with the boat. At least one of the men had a red baseball cap, another one a Miami Dolphins cap, and a third one had brought along a greenish ski cap. None of the refugees had a complete change of clothes.

When the two armed guards arrived at the picnic table, one stood about 10 yards away, holding an M-16 rifle, which he mercifully kept pointed at the ground. The second guard handed a single-barreled shotgun to another park employee and put on rubber gloves.

“Ask them to stand up one at a time and to go over to the officer near the table,” requested the guard with the gun. The refugees did so and each was patted down. The process went rather quickly, because there was hardly any hiding places, though it took some time to open up some of the small pouches most of the Cubans had brought with them. Most of the little containers held some cash –U.S. dollars, not Cuban currency—and a few had religious items. Two men admitted to have lost all their documents during the crossing.

One of the members of the group, Narciso Orioso Montalvo, 40, told the news reporter to inform the park ranger searching him that he had “some religious items” in his small pouch, which he had sewn shut to protect it while at sea. His prized possession: a small necklace of seashells. Another member of the group wore about half a dozen beaded necklaces, all very colorful, indicative of his Santeria beliefs.

Once the search was completed, the 14 were instructed to form a single line and to follow the guard with the shotgun into the fort. They did so and they were led into a small room in the innards of the huge brick fortress, where there was a bed, a sofa, a small table and some plastic chairs. Additional chairs were brought in so everyone could have a place to sit.

The one guard remaining in the room pointed to a closed door and said: “This is a bathroom, which you can use at any time.” Almost immediately, one of the men jumped up and virtually ran into the room. “I’m going to take a shower right now,” he declared, laughing. When the guard heard a translation of the comment, he told the translator to knock on the door and instruct the man NOT to take a shower, because fresh water is strictly limited in the fort –they only have whatever rain water they can catch and store in some underground cisterns, as well as a smaller amount made by a desalinization process. The Cuban, regretfully, sheepishly stepped away from the shower.

A number of the refugees asked that the ceiling fan be turned down, or off altogether, because they were getting extremely cold, so it was done. Soon after, yet another park ranger showed up with a huge box of clothes. Tell them these are for them, so they can feel more protected.

The group practically tore the box apart and soon each one was totally outfitted.
The members of the group of Cubans are as follows:

--Elida Bello Peraza, 21
--Lenier Corcho Perez, 21
--Moikel Corcho Perez, 21
--Adonis Danier Diaz Valdez, 27
--Jordan Perez Tirado, 21
--Giorlis Rodriguez Guzman, 29
--Driser Chirino Alonzo, 27
--Abel Martinez Martinez, 27
--Carlos Alberto Betancour Hernandez, 35
--Juan Carlos Garcia Delboys, 41
--Evaristo Martinez Bremer, 36
--Leonardo Torrez Pimienta, 39
--Narsiso Ariosa Gonzalez, 40
--Richar Valdez Rodriguez, 25

The park supervisor said that the Coast Guard had been notified already. The usual procedure is for the Guard to send a ship from Key West and transport any refugees back to the Keys, where they are processed and then forwarded to the refugee camp at Krome Avenue, in South Florida.

The NPS must, given its limited resources, move any refugees out of their facilities, so the new arrivals won’t impede with the normal activities of the park –particularly one with such limited facilities like the Dry Tortugas National Park.

The NPS efforts did not go unnoticed by the refugees. “Tell them we thank them for everything they did for us,” one of the men said to the reporter-translator.

On Wednesday, however, the Coast Guard did not have a boat available. Instead, the agency sent two armed escorts, who with a third armed park ranger, took the 13 men and one woman to Key West on a special boat that usually makes the crossing from the Dry Tortugas twice a week for the National Park Service.

As the ship left the dock, one of the refugees, peeking from the lower rear edge of the blue tarp rigged to protect them from the sun during the three-hour crossing, gave the reporter and those at the dock the thumbs up sign.

Welcome to America. Que país!

(Ed.: Editorial forthcoming. You won't be disappointed.)

No phone for you!

Every time I hear some fidel loving cultists state that the majority of Cubans on the island love fidel and are behind their government 100% I want to scream. In Cuba, if you want to be afforded things that will make your life easier - things that the rest of the world pretty much takes for granted - such as a telephone or a job or a home, you absolutely must state with no uncertain terms that you suport fidel castro and the revolution completely.

It's kind of like the schoolyard bully that takes the best part of your lunch everyday through duress and then pins you on the floor and makes you scream "Uncle! Uncle!" before he lets you keep the veggies your mom always packs but you hate to eat.

SANTA CLARA, Cuba,March 24 (Karel Castillo, Cubanacán Press / www.cubanet.org) - An employee of the state-run Cubapetroleo Company (CUPET) was denied the installation of a telephone in his home because he failed to participate in activities of the Commitees for the Defense of the Revolution, known popularly as bloc committees.

Julio Cabrera Rodríguez, 41, was the subject of an investigation last weekend by the block committee in the area where he resides with his parents, both over 75 and suffering from various ailments.

A committee team told Cabrera Rodríguez did not meet the requirements for a telephone, leaving with him the impression that this meant he should was being punished for not participating in committee activities.

Tira la piedra, esconde la mano.

Throw the rock, hide the hand.

The extent to which the castro regime will go stifle those with the cojones to speak the truth about their lives is beyond the absurd:

SANTA CLARA, Cuba, March 24 (Guillermo Fariñas, Cubanacán Press / www.cubanet.org) - An independent journalist who called authorities when she discovered a bloody machete in the entrance to her home was later accused by police of of stealing and butchering a cow.

María Elena Alpízar Ariosa did not enter the home last week in the municipality of Placetas but went instead to a public telephone where she called police.

She was joined at her home by fellow dissidents Bertha Antúnez Pernet, Amado Ruiz Moreno and Alejandro García Sardinas.

When no one else showed up, they went to the local unit of the National Revolutionary Police, where a captain named Julio said he was unaware of any complaint.

Bertha Antúnez then called Major Rubén Álvarez, who said he would order an investigation. When they returned to the journalist's home, José Ramón Valdés of the revolutionary police entered the residence. He accused Alpízar Ariosa of stealing a cow and butchering it.

If the corruption and the stifling of dissent is prevalent even at the local government level, how can anyone truly believe that there could be any honest dialogue with anyone in the castro regime?

castro's Pollution

Fresh Bilge reports that haze from castro's pollution is beginning to cover southern Florida. Seablogger Alan Sullivan writes:

It's part of a larger environmental tragedy afflicting the tropics worldwide. The principal cause is not overpopulation or poverty but culture and misgovernment. Slash and burn agricultural practices, irresponsible logging, unchecked industrial discharges all take place in a context of public ignorance and weak, corrupt, or incompetent government.

Could this be castro the Kyoto scold? I thought we were told castro was so close to nature!

Great unexplored issue. Somebody send castro a bill.

A sure sign of the apocolypse

IN DC Journal's Bill Ardolino and Protein Wisdom's Jeff Goldstein partnering up to host a web broadcast.

Oh. Dear. Lord.

I hope you all have your bunker pantries stacked with non-perishables and plenty of drinking water 'cause the end is near, folks.....Very near...

Cuba Nostalgia Update (Updated)

You'll notice that I have added a link on the sidebar to the Cuba Nostalgia Convention. I met with the organizers yesterday to iron out some of the details of my exhibition space and toss around some ideas and I decided that it's probably time to start giving updates as to the whole process.

I was pretty much given carte blanche as to the actual size and layout of the space. I can have up to a 30'x30" area - 900 sq. feet! - to use as I see fit. I'm presently working on designing the layout, both the form and function aspects. I dont want too large a space nor do I want folks visiting the booth to feel cramped. Even though I work architecture for a living, this design is not an easy task. Too many factors. Portablility, ease of movement, practicality, well themed, aesthetic and adaptability to computer and tech needs. Basically, I need a great, cool looking, techonolgically advanced set design. No es facil.

What worries me the most is the computers and the internet connections. What good would blogging from a big booth at a huge convention be if I cant get people to participate? Ideally I would like to have at least 10 computers - laptops - set up. One for myself to live blog the event, one or two set up specifically to have folks stop by and email fidel castro their thoughts and the rest for participatory blogging. I really want to show to the attendees how they can access news and information on Cuba - or anything - instantly through blogs.

I've contacted several computer manufacturers with the hope of getting them to sponsor the computer aspects of the exhibit. I cant possibly purchase 10 laptops and I dont know how feasible it would be to ask for a sponsor other than a tech company to provide the funds for these. I've yet to get a response from any of the pc makers I contacted. Ill probably wait another week or so and then look into other means of obtaining the laptops.

Im thinking of setting up a separate blog specifically for Cuba Nostalgia where I can have people write their own entries and posts telling stories about what Cuba means to them and how they lived before exiling to the states. There's nothing like the look on an old Cuban when he or she is telling a story of the old days. They are simply vibrant in their expressions. Their eyes are always so full of life when they recall their island days. Of course, this is generally true of most older folks when the recall their youth, but it seems a bit different when it comes to Cuba. As if not only the youth is gone but something else. The culture maybe, the way of life. Something was stolen from them taht they'll never get back.No se.

It's you guys reading this that have made all of this possible. Without you Babalú would be just another webpage with a bunch of unread stories and rantings. I'm eager to hear any suggestions you may have about our Cuba Nostalgia Convention blogging. How do I get more folks interested? How to get people to actually come into the exhibit space? How do I set up the space? How do I procure laptops? What's the best internet connection for a bunch of pc's? What should the booth look like? Should I sell a few tshirts and if so which ones? What on Earth do I wear?

Come on people, help me out here! Im losing it.

Update: Reader Tati suggest a web cam set up so that those that arent in Miami can experience the convention. Sounds like a great idea!!! Ill get the Babalú tech support team working on that right away. Gracias tati!

Plus, Sheila of Piquant has graciously offered web design expertise and hosting for the Cuba Nostalgia blog!!! Thanks sooooo much Sheila!!!

Update II: Also, the organizers suggested that along with the banner with the Babalú eyes I come up with some catchy slogans to attract patrons to the exhibit. I know you guys out there are perfectly capable and more than willing to come up with some doozies, so let me have'em.

Re-Update: Rhianna of A Texan Abroad suggests the following:

I keep getting this idea of 'hands on' as well as 'hands on blogging'. I'm not sure it would be easy for you, but sometimes getting 'stuck in' as they say in the UK is the method that keeps the impression best.

Might I also suggest one of the laptops set up with links to the other blogs you read about Cuba, and the news sites you quote? Some flyers with all their addresses, for the visitors to take home, would also help to get the word out.

Excatly, Rhianna. What I plan on doing is not only showing people at the convention what blogs are and how to manuever them, but I will be pestering every single blogger on my blogroll and others to write something specifically about Cuba at least once per day for those three days.

And you all thought it was going to be easy, huh?

Cuba and the UN

Like a domestic call on COPS with a restraining order and everything.

I deleted a comment from one of those useful idiot types that comes here to spew castro's rhetorical venom - despite being banned numerous times (Note to Matthew: If someone throws you out of their house, chances are they dont want you back again.). But there is one point of his party-line comment that I want to address here quickly.

He mentioned that the US could not get at least one Latin American country to denounce the castro regime for its record on human rights. And that may be so. The region is rife with instability right now. Starting with chavez, FARC, and the goings on in Bolivia and castro's dream of exporting his revolution. And I wont even mention the cesspool of anti-American sentiment proliferating there from the uninformed and dare I say the envious.

Funny, but why is it that people from all of these countries mentioned above - and others in the region - are always trying to emmigrate TO the US?

But that's neither here nor there.

Here's a report from the Guardian regarding the UN Human Rights Commision, Cuba and reality:

U.N. Expert Rejects Cuba's Accusations

Thursday March 24, 2005 12:31 AM

By JONATHAN FOWLER

Associated Press Writer

GENEVA (AP) - A top U.N. investigator clashed with Cuban officials Wednesday over her report criticizing human rights conditions on the communist-ruled island.

Cuban Ambassador Jorge Mora Godoy told the U.N. Human Rights Commission that Christine Chanet was playing into the hands of the U.S. campaign against Havana.

But Chanet, a French legal expert, slammed Cuban authorities from banning her from the country, making it ``almost impossible'' to prepare balanced report.

The clash occurred when Chanet presented her report on human rights in Cuba to the 53-nation commission, which is part-way through its annual six-week session. The commission is the world body's top human rights watchdog.

Cuba has never allowed a U.N. human rights envoy to visit the island, claiming such visits could infringe on its sovereignty. Chanet prepared her report based on meetings with campaigners, human-rights investigators and other governments.

``This report, based on lies and slander, only serves as a platform for the anti-Cuban campaign of the government of the United States, which is completely immoral,'' Godoy told the commission.

He said the United States had been waging a campaign of ``aggression and manipulation'' against Cuba for the past 45 years.

In her report, Chanet noted that Cuba's release of 18 political prisoners last year was a positive step, but did ``not signify the end of the repression'' because other political detainees were still behind bars.

The report said Cuban authorities arrested people in 2004 for expressing anti-government opinions, working with international human rights organizations and participating in associations or academic groups deemed counterrevolutionary.

She urged Havana to improve its treatment of political prisoners, who often receive poor food, hygiene and medical treatment, the report said.

Chanet also said Cuba should stop penalizing journalists, academics and activists for acts of free expression. But she gave good grades to the country's health care, education system and level of gender equality in employment.

The United States has had economic sanctions against Cuba since President John F. Kennedy imposed them in 1963, four years after Fidel Castro came to power.

fidel castro's goons slam Chanet, stating her report is based on lies and slander, but doesnt allow Chanet or other UN representatives to enter the island to conduct the investigation to actually prepare the report.

Why doesnt the castro regime allow UN inspectors in if he's got nothing to hide? If one is to believe that Cuba is in fact the paradise of humanity that castro, chavez and all the other leftists baffoons claim her to be then why cant the system stand up to a little scrutiny?

We all know why.

Cuba's Children

Can you IMAGINE growing up in a tyranny you wouldn't send your worst enemy to? That's right, you are a little kid and you are also in castro's communist Cuba. It's kind of unthinkable.

You wouldn't be exposed to freedom, your "apartment" would be a health hazard, you'd know all about ration cards, your odds of being from a broken home would be high, you'd eat inferior food, you'd know what the black market was, you wouldn't be allowed to go to church, you'd learn early to keep your mouth shut, you'd be taught that snitching is your 'revolutionary duty,' your 'education' would be communist parroting, you wouldn't be allowed to pick out your own books, and you'd never experience the trust and freedom and friendship that all little children need to become well-adjusted, thinking people when they grow up. You wouldn't get that.

What's more, if you ever wanted to change that, or your mother or father did, you'd be subject to one of the most dangerous high-sea voyages in a rickety raft known in the world today. You might make it to freedom (where you'd learn all about safety standards! Like child seats in your car - ironies!). Or you might meet a watery grave. You wouldn't know until you try. And you must try.

There are thousands of children who experience this environment - Little Elian and all his little friends are just a few of them. What indeed must that young boy dream about when he looks over the ocean now?

Today, Florida's Hispanic Legislative Caucus, a group of state lawmakers in Tallahassee, to its credit, is holding a Free Cuba Day with many Cuban-Americans coming to the capitol for a day of events explicitly to remember these forgotten children. Anyone who's in the vicinity ought to check it out, make an appearance, be a witness. This will put legislators on notice that this is important.

Orlando Sentinel has the scoop here.

And if you need more details, the program is here.

Conviction

Cuban dissident Felix Antonio Bonne Carcasses to the Brigade 2506 members and US congressmen via telephone:

...(the government of Fidel Castro) ``has never been as weak as it is now.''

''If it weren't for the 53,000 barrels of oil that Hugo Chávez sends every day to Cuba, it would be over. You can be sure that we won't betray the confidence which Cubans have placed in us.''

Read the whole thing.

Elian Gonzalez back in the news.

No, he wasnt posing for photos with fidel. This time little Elian is used a precedent for Terri Schiavo's case.

Way to go, Bill and Janet!!!

/sarcasm

Because Doctors grow on trees in Cuba...

The castro regime can afford to beat and incarcerate MD's who voice dissent:

HAVANA, March 22 (José Antonio Fornaris, Cuba Verdad / www.cubanet.org) - Four men, allegedly led by the first secretary of a local branch of the Communist Party, forced their way into the home of dissident medical doctor Darsi Ferrer and beat him up.

Ferrer, who represents the Juan Bruno Zayas Health and Human Rights Center, showed his right hand, which he said suffered a inch-long gash from a knife wielded by one of the intruders.

"They beat me as soon as they arrived," Ferrer said in an interview. "They wanted to destroy the photos of political prisoners that I have on the wall. I suffered the cut hand when I defended myself."

Ferrer told of the attack during a meeting at his home this week to honor six imprisoned medical doctors: Marcelo Cano Rodríguez, Oscar Elías Biscet González, Luis Milián Fernández, José Luis García Paneque, Alfredo Pulido López and Ricardo Silva Gual. At least 20 persons, between members of the opposition and independent journalists, were on hand for the homage.

'The intruders grabbed me by the neck and told me they were going to kill me," Ferrer said. "After what happened, I fear I could be killed at any moment."

The Juan Bruno Zayas Health and Human Rights Center is a new dissident organization.

Oh, yeah. It's all about the healthcare.

Rather, Craig, Elian, fidel, and a partridge in a pear tree

Provided for your commentary. From (Human Events Online).

Rather Interview Staged

Posted Mar 22, 2005

Could Dan Rather be in trouble again? A new book on Castro tells of a staged Dan Rather interview that was master-minded by a Clinton lawyer.

In Fidel: Hollywood's Favorite Tyrant, author Humberto Fontova reveals for the first time how Dan Rather's "60 Minutes" interview with Juan Miguel (Elian Gonzalez's father) was stage-managed by former Clinton lawyer and friend, Gregory Craig.

According to a Cuban-American translator from the U.S. Treasury Department: "The questions for Juan Miguel were actually fed to Dan Rather by Gregory Craig. After a taping session, Craig would call Dan over, give him some more instructions and exchange papers with him. Then Dan would come back on the set and ask those."

The book reports that during the interview Craig acted like the movie director and even got a bona fide dramatic actor to translate and mouth the responses of Miguel.

Once again, Rather's "reporting" is nothing but elaborate deception.

Nice, eh? The unbiased and fair press. I don't want to dredge up the Elian mess again, but this is just one more teaspoon of salt in that painful wound. And what kills me is that Rather still has a job at CBS, and his producers were canned!

Welcome Truckanauts!!! (Updated)

They made it, three tries, and they made it! The Cuban people who first riveted the world with their truck-bound voyage on the high seas to Florida, only to be turned back twice, have really made it at last. Through snakes and sharks and bugs and saltwater, through jungle and desert and thugs, bureaucrats, oceans, secret police, mountains, and borders. This has had to be the longest hardest journey to America ever recorded. And given their optimism, their determination and their obstacles, who thinks they won't be a blazing success in this country? Nothing is going to stop them. God Bless America, and God Bless these Truckanauts. They're where they belong now. They're home!

Update: Chrenkoff, from Down Under, also marvels at the Truckanauts.

Che-avez

Bad Hair Blog wants to know if we should expect Hugo Chavez to be the next "market the revolution" poster boy after Che.

The paleoliberal establishment has its heroes. fidel. Che. And now Hugo. Fresh from this morning's El Herald:

Academics, social scientists, college students, Catholic and Protestant clergy, social activists and anti-globalists, are currently members of the most prestigious group of supporters of the so-called Bolivaran revolution in the United States, a network that conveys access to podiums of the most prestigious American intellectual and traditionally leftist forums.

That the revolutionaries target the intelligentsia is nothing new. It's the modus operandi straight out of castro's "The Smart One's Ain't So Smart: How To Convince Intellectuals That the Sky Is In Fact Red" book. Play to the idealisim found on college campuses and get them to back you, then when things go awry blame the US.

Some Venezuelan intellectuals arent fooled, however, as Daniel of Venezuelan News and Views points out:

The Forum Venezuela at Harvard University is pleased to invite you to their first Spring Conference:

"The State of Venezuelan Democracy and the Rule of Law after the Recall Referendum: Sliding towards Authoritarian Rule?"

by:Ana Julia Jatar

Where : Land Lecture Hall, 4th Floor Belfer Building,
Kennedy School of Governement, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge, MA
When : Wednesday, March 23th. Hour: 6:00pm

Humberto Fontova on Fox (Updated)

Cuban-American author and friend Humberto Fontova is scheduled to be on the O'Reilly Factor tonight to discuss his new book "Fidel: Hollywood's Favorite Tyrant." I'm told O'Reilly was trying to line up some fidel loving Hollywood celebs to debate Humberto on his show.

Make sure to tune in and watch Humberto take it to the Oliver Stones, Danny Glovers, Katie Courics, etal. for their support of the Western hemisphere's worst human rights abuser in history.

Gracias, Humberto. Kick ass, take names.

Update: My wife was in the kitchen making dinner while I was in the living room watching O'Reilly waiting for Humberto Fontova's piece when the gentleman whose daughter was killed by an illegal alien in Texas comes on. He talked for a few seconds and I hear the Mrs say "Hmm. Ese es Cubano."

She was right.

Two Cuban-Americans back to back on O'Reilly. Gotta love it.

Oh, and Humberto, te la comistes mi hermano. Great job of exposing those Hollywood hypocrites on national TV. Beers are on me.

Thanks, suckers...

That would be you, eurotrash, sucking up to me, el barbudo, not because you stood for anything, but because you wanted to get back at those gringos. See, I know how to play you like a bongo. Being a haughty Spanish plantation grandee's son who can't even dance, I can't exactly play real bongos, either ... but I sure can play you.

So now I show my 'gratitude' to you fools for giving me the diplomatic recognition I sought by thumping you right in the cojones. You're so easy to gull, all I had to do was release a couple dissidents from my dungeons, and you thought you had your proof that I had 'changed.' You girly-men.

Today I had my Future Parks Keeper, err, Foreign Minister, (pathetic little man, I'll make him dogcatcher if he doesn't 'arf' just right) declare you 'disgraceful' for daring to bring up my abysmal human rights record. I made him say you Europeans 'automatically' sided with the U.S., just to lump you in with those godawful cowboys. This'll be enough to neuter you for awhile, and I'll snicker at your next move, which will be to appease me even more.

Then, to twist the machete a little, I had him say this:

"The European Union can't talk with Cuba, on the one hand, and vote with the United States, on the other. That will make (Europe) lose credibility," he asserted.

Heh heh. See? It's either-or. Or as the gringos warned, you can't negotiate with me, you can only take orders. Nice to discover, after the fact, no? And this, before you and I have had so much as a chance to kiss on the lips for the Yahoo! News photo slideshow. That's what you get. But don't think I didn't see how you smiled earlier when the gringos shreiked about your recognition of me. You had your fun. Now I'm having mine. Every pleasure has its price. And there's gonna be a whole cigar-box more of it coming along because I know you guys. You signed away your souls, ignoring the warning of Vaclav Havel, who told you not to do it. And now you can't back away. You're not man enough. So now you get me, suckers, and I intend to abuse you every step of the way. You'll have to go along. But you know you like it.

signed,
fidel

Mondays SUCK

I've been up to my ears with work and preparations for the Cuba Nostalgia Convention, so obviously blogging has been and will be a bit light today and possibly the rest of the week.

In the meantime, you can read about my leaf blower.

Gusanas

Female worms. That's the official government connotation for the Ladies in White - mothers, wives, daughters and sisters of imprisoned dissidents in Cuba.

Every Sunday, despite the consequences and possible retribution from castro's regime, these women march in peaceful protest of the incarceration of their loved ones and their inhuman treatment by the hand of their jailers.

Yesterday, Palm Sunday, fidel castro launched an organized counter-protest against these women. Paxety Pages has the details.

All I can say is that I commend the Ladies in White for their strength and their courage to voice opposition in a country where only one official voice is allowed.