October Surprise?

The Democratic party, recently boasting of their certain victories in the upcoming elections, unleashed, by a nose, their October Surprise in the form of John "You rang?" Kerry:

"You know, education, if you make the most of it, if you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, uh, you, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq."

Hubris incarnate, just in time for Trick or Treat.

I wonder how those men and women of the Armed Forces in Iraq, away from their little ghosts and goblins and swashbucklers and ballerinas this Halloween, feel about one of their "leaders" calling them idiots?

Is there a correlation between this and liberal bloggers?

Testosterone levels decrease in men.

Spotlight on Carlos Eire

This year's selection for Philadelphia’s annual "One Book, One Philadelphia" program is “Waiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a Cuban Boy” by Carlos M.N. Eire.

From the Philadelphia Daily News:

"Waiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a Cuban Boy" is a searing tale of recent Cuban history written by one who was there, Carlos M.N. Eire.

Eire shares, with vivid detail, his young life in Cuba, the advent of the Castro revolution, and his arrival in America.

This is the program's fifth year, a collaborative effort involving the mayor's office, the library and Independence Blue Cross, the program's lead sponsor.

In announcing the book's selection at the Free Library yesterday, Mayor Street said there was "nothing more important than education, and nothing is more important to education than books."

Eire, a professor of history and religious studies at Yale, said: "I am humbled and thrilled about this, which was a book I wasn't even supposed to write, and I am especially thrilled it's in Philadelphia.

"The intention behind writing this book is to not publicize my life, but to make one thing clear, which is that all human beings hunger for freedom."

That theme courses through Eire's book, winner of 2003's National Book Award. He weaves a harrowing tale of survival, including the time his family drove into a shootout between rival militiamen, and when they had to flee from house to house to escape other gunfire and the troops of Cuban President Fidel Castro.

"Waiting for Snow in Havana" is especially dark when Eire talks of Castro and his ruthless henchmen.

Congratulations Professor Eire! Especially pleasing is that 3,000 copies of this wonderful book will be distributed to high school students.

Read the rest of the article here.

The Scariest of all Halloween Stories

Halloween. All Hallow's Eve. The day that ghosts and goblins and poltergeists and all manner of monsters come out of the woodwork to scare the beejeebus out of us poor, unsuspecting souls. It seems, as it is every year, that the past week we've been barraged with scary movies, frightening tv shows and harrowing stories of haunted houses and otherworldly evil and disfigured zombies and blood and carnage.

But none of those stories can shed a candle to or come even remotely close to the petrifying tale Im about to offer you. The absolutely scariest, most frightening, most shiver in your bones, riddle your body with goosebumps and cold sweats, raise the hair on the back of your neck and want to go hide under the covers with teeth shivering and eyes tightly shut story. If you are frightened easily or are scared of the dark or have cardiac issues, I suggest you be wary of reading the following, for no story ever told before in the history of man can match the sheer and unbridled terror I am about to show you. You have been duly warned.

Behold, the scariest tale ever told.

Insults with class

I love a good insult. Maybe it's a result of watching Don Rickles too much on the Tonight Show growing up. So I'd like to share some of my favorites. Winston Churchill, God love 'im, was a master at the putdown. So I'll just direct the second insult on the list to a couple of local bloggers of my (virtual) acquaintance...

• "He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire." --Winston Churchill
• "A modest little person, with much to be modest about." --Winston Churchill
• "I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure." --Clarence Darrow
• "He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary." --William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway)
• "Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?" --Ernest Hemingway (about William Faulkner)
• "Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading it." --Moses Hadas
• "He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends." --Oscar Wilde
• "I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend... if you have one." --George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill
• "Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second... if there is one." --Winston Churchill, in response
• "He is a self-made man and worships his creator." --John Bright
• "I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's nothing trivial." --Irvin S. Cobb
• "He is not only dull himself; he is the cause of dullness in others." --Samuel Johnson
• "There's nothing wrong with you that reincarnation won't cure." --Jack E. Leonard
• "He inherited some good instincts from his Quaker forebears, but by diligent hard work, he overcame them." --James Reston (about Richard Nixon)
• "In order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily." --Charles, Count Talleyrand
• "He loves nature in spite of what it did to him." --Forrest Tucker
• "Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?" --Mark Twain
• "His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork." --Mae West

The Miami Herald Finally No. 1

Both Instapundit and Michelle Malkin have reported on the drop in circulation numbers for many of the larger metropilitan newspapers. Herald Watch, however, points out who the leader of the pack is: The Biggest Loser.

Maybe, perhaps, Im just saying, it's because Chihuahuas are very selective with their reading materials.

Fontova Performs Yet Another Brilliant Surgery

Humberto Fontova takes on the NYC artist and his tribute to fidel castro for Central Park:

So it's only fitting that New York honor Fidel Castro with a massive monument in Central Park to be unveiled November 8th. "The portrait celebrates Castro's humanitarianism," gushes David Kesting, the spokesman for the statue's sculptor. "Inspiration for the gilded head of Castro, large enough to belong to a 25 foot man, comes from Harlem's acclamation for Castro's contributions to civil rights," reads a wire story. "This may be the last opportunity to say farewell" to the man some revere as a champion of civil rights ... The Central Park unveiling of his portrait is an attempt to bring Harlem's adoration for Castro to the rest of the world."

"Useful Idiocy" simply wont do. American Castrophilia requires a term all it's own. No tribute that Walter Duranty, Roger Baldwin, Dashiel Hammet, Albert Einstein, Woody Guthrie, Paul Robeson, or even Franklin Delano Roosevelt lavished on Stalin approaches Ted Turner's, Harry Belafonte's, Jesse Jackson's, Norman Mailer's, Charlie Rangel's and those multitude of other plaudits to Fidel Castro.

A monument heralding Hitler in Warsaw, London or Rotterdam would make more sense. Had the wishes of the man commemorated in that Central Park statue prevailed, Central Park itself might still be radioactive, and the charred remains of New York residents Charlie Rangel (who specializes in passionate bear-hugs of Castro) and Norman Mailer (who hails Castro as "the Hemisphere's greatest hero!") would fit in a milk carton.

Read the whole thing.

Cuban Dissidents Highlighted at Townhall

Our own Stefania Lapenna of Free Thoughts has penned an excellent editorial punlished at Townhall and it's today's must read.

Gracias, Stefania!

Why liberals piss me off (Part 4)

From June of this year: KFC Sued Over Trans Fats: Watchdog Group Says Partially Hydrogenated Oils Take Years Off Life

Today, KFC announces ich kapitulieren!: KFC to eliminate trans fats from food

Thank you Mr. Center for Science in the Public Interest. I am so glad you are looking out for me. I'll be sure to obey what you say 'cause you know better than I do. I'm just a stupid, uneducated taxpaying American that needs to be looked after like a new-born puppy. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Damn it people, wake up! Is this America or some kind kind of new socialist wimpatorium?

More Video from Cuba:

H/T Dave S.

Many thanks

All of you -- well most anyway -- replied to my post yesterday regarding Cuban-Americans voting Republican brilliantly. One of the last commenters, PilotAl, nailed it to the wall with this:

I can almost understand the writer's wonderment about how the majority of Cuban immigrants to this country affiliate themselves and relate to the republican party. I have often wondered why the majority of the Jewish citizens of this country are democrats given the party's history of lacking the courage to stand up to terrorists and support Israel. This paradox vexes me especially when you take into consideration that it has been republicans who have staunchly supported Israel whether it was a popular stance at the time or not. But in my opinion, I believe the affiliations that both of these groups have chosen have more to do socially than politically.

I will speak of Cubans since I have lived and experienced the life of a Cuban immigrant in this country first hand (maybe someone will be able to explain to me the other group). First of all, I believe the writer of this e-mail grew up in a place where you don't find a lot of Cubans. I may be wrong, but I strongly believe that if she had grown up in Miami or Union City during the 60's and 70's, there wouldn't be a question. What many commentators, liberal thinkers and their ilk seem to ignore is that the huge Cuban migration to this country in the first 15 to 20 years after the infamous revolution was for the most part, politically motivated. My parents did not come here for better jobs or to be able to have the luxuries that are unheard of in a third world country. Cuba's standard of living before the revolution was on par with most of the modern world. My parents, and the hundreds of thousands with them, came here to be free. After the revolution, the middle class, along with the rich and powerful were persecuted. The revolution wanted everyone equal; equally poor and desperate.

Therefore, the mass exodus began. And who are the people arriving in Miami? The vast majority of them are, like my parents, middle class, educated, hard working families. Here is where the Cuban immigrant story differs from most other Latin American immigrant stories. The majority of the people arriving in this country from Cuba during that time arrived here looking for freedom and individuality. They did not come to the US looking for free food, shelter and health care. In other words, they were not economic immigrants.They came here looking for the freedom. They fled a system in Cuba that dictated to them where they worked, how much they made, what and how much they could eat and where they could or couldn't live. All the while their children were being brainwashed and indoctrinated in school to believe that only the government can give you life. Not yourself, not your family, only the government.

Now, the democratic party here in the US has always enjoyed the voting support of those who are enrolled in social programs such as the welfare system. And, to keep this large voting block happy, they have historically voted to continue increasing funding and enlarging the welfare rolls of this country in an effort to expand their voter base. [Now most democrats will scream at this moment and point out Clinton signing the welfare reform act. Please remember that Clinton was and is, above all things, a pragmatist. And he will do whatever is necessary to stay on top, whether it goes against the democratic party's principals or not. Let's not forget the outrage the democratic leaders of congress expressed when Clinton signed that bill.] Cuban immigrants on the other hand, for the most part were not interested in government hand outs. All they wanted was the freedom to work where they wanted, open their own business' if they wanted and live wherever they wanted. History shows that these people were successful in obtaining that goal. If the writer would've grown up around these people, maybe she would've had a different perspective.

So why do Cuban immigrants tend to be republicans? The answer might be simpler than you think. Cubans that fled the oppressive communist dictatorship have seen first hand the harm that big government, with large social programs can do to its people, the social structure of their families and the economy. It is not to say that the democratic party wants to install the same system in the US (although there are a few that would if they could), but the leftist leanings of the democrats make those who lived under a leftist dictatorship cringe. Have the republicans done great things for Cuba and its people? That is simply not the case. But their core principals are quite similar to that of the Cuban immigrants that arrived in this country. So when you only have two choices in party affiliation and one of them shares a lot of the leftist ideals of your enemy, where do you think you would end up?

I could get into the atrocities that have been committed by democratic leaders against Cuba, its people and its immigrants (Kennedy, Clinton, Carter, Rangel), but unfortunately, that is just icing on the cake.

Melia, I hope you read this and absorb it.

The Bionic Track Suit

Dont be dismayed by today's release of video and other images of a fidel castro flaunting his aliveness. Word on the street is that ADIDAS (All Day I Dream About Socialism) is in the final testing stages of it's new Bionic Track Suit. No longer will you have to put forth the effort to exercise, the ADIDAS Bionic Track suit does it all for you.

The ADIDAS Bionic Track Suit, tested on the perfect laboratory rat, one zombie-esque fidel castro, will soon be available on the Home Shopping Network. Aliveness propaganda sold separately. No batteries required.Runs exclusively on subsidized Venezuelan petroleum!

Coming soon: the fidel castro ADIDAS Bionic Track Suit iPod interface. Twelve, six hour speeches for those heavy workouts.

Update: Welcome Michelle Malkin readers! Thanks for coming by and I hope this tongue in cheek post isnt all too disappointing. Fact is, there have been reports and rumors of fidel castro's death for over forty years. It seems the bearded dictator dies on a quarterly basis and the frustration of his constant "resurrections" can only be fought back with comedy. If you're interested in reading about what the death of fidel castro will mean to some Cubans and Cuban-Americans, I urge you all to read read this post and its associated comments.

An educational request

From its inception, the mission of this blog has been to educate people on Cuba. The blog is written primarily in English for precisely the purpose of informing and educating Americans of the real Cuba, the Cuba that has been in chains for almost fifty years. It is, in essence, an antidote for the lies and propaganda heard on the airwaves and in print in favor of castro and his evil regime.

This morning I opened my email and read this comment left on my post called "Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid" by commenter Melia Soler.

Hey fellow bloggers:

First time posting. I need to ask you all a question. Why do you feel the need to vote Republican especially when you see all the harm they are doing to our country AND to the world? Please enlighten me.

I am willing to bet that the Democrats will win the election by a landslide.

NOW having said that- Let me tell you that I am a Cuban-American and I love my homeland but can't for the life of me understand how the Republicans have done anything of great importance to help our cause for a free Cuba.

As I said please enlighten me! I am willing to learn.

I am going to forego what would be my usual knee-jerk (but correct) reaction to rant. So here is my request: I want our contributing writers and commenters to respond to this. If you are of the same mind-set as this reader, don't bother to write. I want her comment addressed directly by folks who hold the opposite of her opinion, myself included.

The issue is an important one that is thrown in our face constantly. But the answer is easy: I do not trust Democrats. Period. While I can agree that no Republican administration has stepped up to the plate on the issue of Cuba, I can guarantee you that Democratic administrations would do everything in their power to normalize relations with fidel and, by so doing, complete the legitimization of the murderer's regime. As a matter of historical fact, it is well known that the Clinton Administration was ready to do this until the shootdown of the Brothers to the Rescue planes. (An act of war that went unanswered, by the way. But that was SOP with the testicularly deficient Clinton gang.) Many, many Democrat politicians have gone out of their way to support the Beast, Christopher Dodd and Charles Rangel being the two I can think of off the top of my head. Rangel, in fact,

introduced legislation [In April 1993] to repeal the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992, which called for repeal of assistance to the Castro government and promotion of democratization, and to lift the embargo against Cuba. When Castro toured Harlem in October of 1995, Rangel greeted him with a bear hug and joined in a prolonged standing ovation for the visiting dictator.

[http://www.discoverthenetwork.org/individualProfile.asp?indid=2085]

So when asked this question I have to scratch my head and wonder how anybody could support a party that has, since its abandonment of our soldiers on Playa Giron, done everything in its power to support, help and legitimize the castro regime with the most disgusting sycophancy imaginable. The Republicans may not have done what he hoped they would, but at least the call the Beast what he is.

As for the comment by Melia about the "harm" Republicans are doing in the world, I'll just say that I don't want to alienate this new reader with my answer to her query...

Just in Time for Halloween: A Ghost Story

Via The Real Cuba, we hear of the harrowing tale of Cuba's nightstalking undead, as told by the scariest of storytellers hugo chavez:

"He is walking around already and goes out at night to tour the countryside, towns and cities. I'm soon going to go see you, Fidel," Chavez said during a speech to cacao producers in Venezuela Friday.

I'm told even the crickets hide when they see the undead, cadaveresque nightstalker heading their way...

A Cuban Story

Ah, the emails we receive. You may remember a recent news story about Amir Valle, author of "Jineteras" who is now in exile in Germany. I posted about his comments on the Independent Libraries in Cuba at Blog for Cuba, and as a result I received a translation of his "Fidel and I", and his permission to share it with you, our readers. He is currently exiled in Germany with his wife and one of their sons.

If you're Cuban, you live with a constant intruder. He lurks in almost every corner of your psyche; and for those living on the island, it’s worse—he controls every aspect of your life. Consequently, every Cuban has a personal relationship with fidel, albeit unwanted.

Sr. Valle writes about his:

Fidel Castro and I
© 2006 by Amir Valle

People have asked me: “What does Fidel Castro mean to you?” And in the past few days, since the announcement of his transfer of power to his brother Raúl Castro, I’ve lost count of the journalists, colleagues, friends who have, almost unsympathetically, tossed this question in my face.

The curious thing is that never, in all the time I have been capable of reason, had I stopped to think what significance this name—Fidel Castro Ruz—might have in what some could call “the story of my life.”

I

I remember the speeches. I must confess that, since childhood, I have never felt any interest in political matters, unlike other children I saw then and that I see today, mixed up in the repetitive rhetoric of the morning speeches, the political acts, looking to score a point by that emulation where someone was always evaluating their behavior. Later, with the years, discussing the matter with those who were once that type of child also, I knew that, yes, they participated in that fun simply because their parents pushed them, because it was a way of standing out in the crowd, or because they saw it as the fashion: one had to shout, like the adults were shouting, against imperialism. They didn’t have a clear concept of what they were doing, obviously. And it must have been normal, since we can suppose that a child at that age is discovering the world through play, and not losing the precious time of his development in the political indoctrination that has been so typical of Cuban education since the triumph of the Revolution in ’59.

The figure of Fidel compared to that of the other greats. They were gods, incorruptible beings, perfect. I remember that one of my primary school teachers punished me one day when it occurred to me to ask a question, out of my absolute innocence, when they were teaching a history class about the installations in the Sierra Maestra, the armory, the little school, the hut from which Fidel gave his commands… My question paralyzed the teacher: “And where were the bathrooms, Ma’am? Because I imagine that those men, too, had to do their business.” I spent the whole morning facing the wall, sitting in a chair, until my mother, a teacher at the same school, came to get me. She gave me a smack and told me I should never again lack respect for the teacher, nor for our heroes.

Since that moment Fidel was the great inquisitor, even if I did not know him, could not define him. But they had pushed us to be like him, he who was more perfect, greater even than Ché, more enlightened than Martí. That’s what they said. And it was annoying. I was a kid that sailed through classes, that never needed to study, and really I never did study back then because I preferred to read from the fantastic library that my parents had at home, rather than force myself to follow a set of parameters for “pioneer emulation,” to be like someone for whom, moreover, I had to stand for hours and hours waiting around when I had to form part of the human chain of Young Pioneers that would welcome oh so many African, Asian, or other socialist country presidents whom that man invited to Cuba, or to be like a man who, on more than four occasions, obliged me to listen, standing in the sun and rain, to incredibly long speeches that the child I was then did not understand, even though I found some comfort in performing the routine with my little friends when Fidel stopped talking and the teacher would say, “Now, kids!” so that we would yell, “Go on, Fidel, give it to the Yankees! Carter’s a sissy, Fidel has guts”! and that mountain of other slogans that everyone now knows.

Fidel then was also that man my father would listen to seated in front of the television, although I cried my eyes out because that day they wouldn’t be showing cartoons on TV, or because the speech was on another channel and my father would say, “I’m going to hear the speech, understand?” and there was no discussion.

II

But my father was on Fidel’s side. He has his story. He took part in the Revolution and continues believing that it is still pure and possible. Blind. Or perhaps determined not to admit that he has thrown his life away, that Fidel has betrayed him, because he has passed almost half a century struggling for something that has yet to arrive, despite all the supposed effort.

I say this because Fidel, as I see him now, is the person I blame for the shadow that has been cast over my relationship with my father, for the fact that sometimes we distance ourselves from one another, that we have preferred not to speak of Cuba, nor about the country, nor our daily lives, because all those things can lead to a discussion that continues to push us apart. At first he didn’t believe me when I spoke to him and told him what they did to others, to those who had decided to value different opinions. There had been no repression, he said. There had been no deceit in the Revolution, he said. It’s an honest plan, he said. And he had to see up close everything they did to me for saying what I thought, for confronting those who wanted to condition my intellectual success on my participation in the work of the Revolution, those who did not look well upon me because I respected and defended the friendship that connects me to many “dangerous dissidents,” like Raúl Rivero, Manuel Vázquez Portal, Manuel Cuesta Morúa, Eloy Gutiérrez Menoyo, just to name a few. When he saw all the abuse, all the censorship, all the legal tricks to “make me invisible,” including the ministerial resolutions that branded me an “enemy agent” and a “mercenary,” among other things, I thought that he had opened his eyes. But he said: “Fidel knows nothing of this… It’s the work of mediocre government officials who think they are masters of absolute power.”
I wanted to tell him, I remember this well, that I had seen a film about Nazism in which an old woman, when they took her to a concentration camp and showed her what had been done there, said: “The Fürhrer doesn’t know anything about this. If he had known, I am sure it would not have happened.” But I didn’t want to open the wound any further.

III

A few times I was near Fidel. A few. Very near. And I even dared to write the screenplay about his life in that documentary by Estela Bravo from which, later, I was disappeared, by the work of and thanks to the dishonest scheming of that journalist and her husband. I had never been interested in approaching him, like so many others, and saying: “Comandante, Comandante… I am …” Servile, as if he weren’t just another man, a human being with virtues and defects, with accomplishments and failures (both immense given his responsibility before the people and History).

The Fidel who travels with me, because, in some way we Cubans all drag him along with us, is also responsible for the fact that my professional friends are separated today: some in exile (Lidia, Sandra Marina, Valesy, Ivette), others in official posts where they are in some way hated for having to follow government orders to censor their colleagues (Rosa Miriam, Grisel, Rubén), and others in the saddest of silences: the invisible and mediocre labor of the provinces (the rest of those who graduated that year).

I wanted to ask Fidel my first questions as a frustrated journalist: Why was I sanctioned when I covered the final work on the oil refinery in Cienfuegos and wanted to write that it was impossible that it would go as planned, like Granma said and Fidel promised in a speech that year? Why did they force me to remain silent about many unusual things, many lies and irregularities that I saw and wanted to report while I covered as a journalist the construction of the nuclear power plant at Juraguá, also in Cienfuegos? Why, when I decided to write my important journalistic book about prostitution, did every Cuban institution shut its doors to me because my investigation did not fall under the plans of the Department of Revolutionary Orientation? Why did they never reply to the letters I sent everywhere when the Minister of Culture, Abel Preito, and the president of the Cuban Book Institute, Iroel Sánchez, in collusion with other powerful pseudo-intellectuals, ruled that my name should be eliminated from every anthology, every cultural program, every event, every editorial, owing to my independent position, the opinions I gave to the foreign press, my books about the social reality in Cuba, my collaboration with magazines and publications considered “dissident,” and the many other truths that I told them face-to-face? … and so many other questions.

IV

I used to hope that, some day, life would give me the opportunity to ask Fidel in a public setting, under the banner of the democracy to which we all aspire, some of these questions:

• Does being part of the left mean being against independent thought, the plurality of beliefs and opinions, the diversity of criteria about how to form a society?
• Why, in order to be considered an honest person, must I follow the orders of those who cling to power and assume the right to think for me?
• Why is it that thinking differently, feeling different and considering different paths than those established by the Revolution is considered a sign of treason, and that those who think differently, feel different and consider other paths are called “unpatriotic,” “worms,” “mercenaries of imperialism”?
• Why, if with my books I have gathered the resources and the intellectual prestige to do it, am I not allowed to have the literary journal I have always dreamed of, and that requires me, in order for it to happen, to have the journal regulated by an official government institution?
• What reason of national security or otherwise justifies my having to request permission to enter and exit my own country?
• What actual reasons prevent Cubans from developing private projects, assuming the risks, the challenges and the social responsibility that all businesses take on?
• Under what criteria does the Cuban state assume the right to not permit my children to travel with me anywhere in the world if I can take responsibility for that trip?
• When will the day come in which the country’s supposed economic growth translates into the wellbeing of the population?
• When will the day come in which it is understood that it is possible to maintain national sovereignty while still respecting individual rights?
• Why did a Revolution that was born honest, that awakened the hope of all the world’s poor, that claimed to be a Revolution for everyone, end up covering with blood and suffering those who began to criticize it, those who tried to set it on the right path, those who assumed the responsibility every citizen should have toward the society in which he lives?
• Why did a popular Revolution transform itself into a society that is totalitarian, repressive and blocked by its own hatreds and fears?
• To construct a world that is more just for everyone, which we all want, do we have to defend ourselves against those who don’t want it with the same dirty weapons with which they attack?
• Why hide the defects of the Revolution, if everywhere it is written that a Revolution is always capable of perfection?

But Fidel Castro, just as they announced, appears to be sick. Very sick. And those of us who know him well know that it must be true: in no other way would he have ceded even a shred of his power, a man who has become sick with power.

V

I’ve been asked a lot what will happen when, sooner or later, Fidel Castro dies some day. It will be a sad day, I have said, because, as a Christian, any time a human being dies, whether he has done good or evil, one must respect his passing. Whether we liked him or not, his departure will leave a trail of sadness for those who loved him, for these people always exist.

With Fidel an era will end, an era, unfortunately, of betrayed dreams. I only hope, I said this in an interview once, that in this moment we Cubans will know how to put aside our fears, our caviling, our doubts, our accumulated hatreds and our differences. The reconstruction of our island, with liberty, with independence and without anyone’s interference, will depend on the answer we give at that moment. As a man of the left, I think we will then be able to go back, look at and retake that lost road of democracy toward a better possible world for everyone, that road once abandoned by Fidel Castro without even, to this day, explaining to anyone his reasons for doing so.

That is an explanation, I am certain, he will always owe us.

TGIFF

Boy, do I love Fridays.

Paradise

This is the result when you disagree with the Cuban government:

The Home Stretch

It would seem that we are in the home stretch boys and girls. No matter how hard they tried all the tyrants men couldn't put the monster from Biran back together again.

The above comment from Henry in the Otto Reich post below hit me like a ton of bricks. This despite the fact that I have theorized and stated that I believe fidel castro is dead.

There will be much editorializing and theorizing and back and forth in the coming months about the future of Cuba: about its government, the people, its economy, the embargo...everything. But before our thoughts get drowned out by all that noise coming from all around, by all the celebrations down Calle Ocho and all the newscasts, by all the hoopla from all over the world over the passing of the "humanitarian" tyrant and all the funeral processions and crocodile tears shown on CNN and Fox News and elsewhere, we should reflect on what the death of fidel castro means to us on a personal level.

Every single one of us lucky enough to live in exile has a similar story, yet each one of our stories is different. If we get caught up in the celebrations or the arguments we stand a chance to lose a part of our history, a part of our lives in the fray. What our families have been through may very well be clouded by the changes that we are all expecting will come and all the hard work that will be necessary.

So before we open our champagne bottles and raise our glasses to teary eyes toasts, let's think about what the death of the tyrant means to us.

I urge all of you who comment here on a regular basis to share your thoughts with the rest. And I beg all of you who come here every day and lurk yet never comment, to participate. Make this post the occassion of your first comment here on Babalú, this moment is, after all, what we have all been working and waiting for.

I dont know exactly how I will feel when the news is made official, but I do know that my first thoughts will be of my grandparents, E.P.D., who as the family's patriarchs led the rest of us into this unknown world called the United States and who instilled in me Cubanidad without knowing it, simply by being themselves and raising and caring for their family as they did. On that day, I will place a white rose at their graves and thank them for their foresight and courage.

I will honor my parents, both of whom at the age that I am now, were subjected to horrors unimaginable to me and whose determination to save their children from a life of hatred and indoctrination made them begin life anew in a new country with a new language and a new culture. They arrived here naked and toiled the rest of their lives to clothe me and my sister with freedom. I will go to their home that day, the home where I was raised here in exile, and I will shed more than a few tears. I know that they will perhaps never return to Cuba but I will promise them that I will one day see the home where I was born. I will one day lay flowers on the graves of lost loved ones in Cuba. I will one day see what caused them so much pain to leave.

I will high five my nieces and nephew and assure them that they will soon have that small piece that they've been missing having been born away from that island. That their children will one day be able to play on the streets of Bayamo or Manati or Victoria de las Tunas, just like their uncle once did, just like their grandfather did, just like their great grandparents once did. They have just as much right to a free Cuba as any other Cuban. Their souls are, after all, made with Cuban blood.

The death of the tyrant means that that name will never need be spoken again and that the wounds he caused may finally begin to heal.

And on that day, after all of that, if my sorrows have not yet learned to swim, I will drown them in champagne.

The Third-World Burial of the Century

Today's absolute must read comes from Otto Reich writing for NRO:

Funeral for a Tyrant

A morally disorienting gathering in Havana.

By Otto J. Reich

This time the rumors are real: Castro is dying of stomach cancer. He may have already died, even before the funeral preparations were finished, so the news is not out. Confirmation of the terminal illness comes from the usual sources but in a non-conventional manner. The Cuban government has been summoning to Havana representatives of the major international media to negotiate the best seats, camera angles, and interviews with the despot’s political survivors, and to inform them of the ground rules for coverage of the state funeral.

The foreign media are being told that the model for Castro’s funeral is that of Pope John Paul II a year ago. The Cubans actually believe — or pretend — that the death of a tyrant deserves the same attention as that of the world’s great men of peace.

This is one of Castro’s lasting legacies to his countrymen: moral disorientation. The Cuban ruling class has been so isolated from reality for so long by fear and Castro’s airtight press control that they equate the burial of a mass murderer with that of a prince of the Church. No doubt there will be “dignitaries” at the funeral: fellow revolutionary leaders from the last repressive regimes on Earth: Iran, North Korea, Syria, and Sudan, for example; and leaders of failed states like Zimbabwe and Bolivia; and representatives of the world’s resentful Left and the Hollywood Left (pardon the redundancy).

You can read the rest here though I have posted the rest below the fold for its absolute fucking brilliance. READ THE WHOLE THING.

Hat tip: Bill T.

Some examples of distinguished invitees will include terrorists whose organizations once instilled panic in entire populations but are now forgotten except to their victims. Many of them were trained in Cuban camps back when Castro called for world revolution and predicted he would outlive capitalism: Argentine Montoneros, Uruguayan Tupamaros, Nicaraguan Sandinistas, Salvadorean FMLN, Colombian ELN, MIR, FARC, and others; Chileans, Brazilians, Guatemalans, Angolans, Ethiopians, Palestinians, Syrians, even Vietnamese. The list is virtually endless. Not long ago, Castro himself admitted publicly to having “supported wars of national liberation in every country in this hemisphere with the exception of Mexico”. I believe everything except the exception; his hand has been present in much of Mexico’s violence as well.

One security problem the Cubans will face is that some of the “revolutionaries” who they trained in techniques of assassination, torture, kidnapping, bank robbery, explosives, and other tricks of the trade now hate each other and may use the occasion to settle old debts. The explosions heard in Havana may come not only from ceremonial cannons. The guests will have to be carefully screened for poisoned-tipped umbrellas and other Cold War artifacts.

Among the guests coming to Havana for the Third-World Burial of the Century will be Western capitalists anxious to see how they can exploit Cuban workers, who are assigned to the employer by a Cuban state entity which then collects the salary and delivers five percent — yes, five percent — to the worker and keeps the rest to pay for the expenses incurred by the generous socialist state. There will be the bottom feeders of the capitalist world willing to go anywhere or do anything for the Almighty euro or peso. You know the ones, those who have given capitalism a bad name, the exploitation of man by man, and whose example is in turn used by the revolutionaries against the good capitalists. There will recognizable faces of American and other TV, oblivious to the irony of “covering” a press event orchestrated by a government which has not allowed a single free or independent newspaper, magazine, radio or television station for almost five decades.

Caught up in the spectacle of the funeral, the smiley faces of the free world’s morning shows, the “serious” news readers of evening newscasts, of 24-hour news channels and “prestige press” will unlikely mention the “Ley Mordaza” (literally muzzle law), law number 88 of 1998, which calls for penalties of up to 30 years in prison for any Cuban caught telling the foreign press of any flaw in Cuba’s economic or human-rights record. It is unlikely they will ask to interview the prisoners who have violated Castro’s Orwellian laws and are serving terms of as much as 27 years for committing journalism without a license or stating that the economy does not produce enough to feed the people.

There may be international labor leaders in attendance, who will equally disregard the absence of any but the official Cuban Communist labor organization. Not wishing to offend their hosts, they will not mention the Castro law which condemns to eight years in prison anyone guilty of even attempting to establish a non-government labor union. On second thought: Why should they mention it now, when they have been silent for so many decades?

Some of those leaders present may even be government officials from democratic states, having been elected in free elections such as the ones which disappeared in Cuba half a century ago. That irony will escape them also. Then there will be some genuinely elected Christian or social democrats, from Europe and Latin America. Those who have been silent about, and therefore complicit in, the longest dictatorship in this hemisphere’s history. A wise man once said that “All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” The history of Cuba in the past 50 years proves him right.

— Otto J. Reich served President Bush from 2001 to 2004, first as assistant secretary of state for the Western Hemisphere and later in the National Security Council. He now heads his own international government-relations firm in Washington.

Is that a rhetorical question?

From the Miami Herald:

Cuba examining socialism for flaws

The Cuban government has launched a study with a surprising focus: What about socialism causes people to steal?

In the wake of an unusual investigation by Cuban state journalists into public employees who regularly cheat customers, Havana has announced an even more surprising response: a study of what's wrong with the entire system.

What's wrong with the entire system is the entire system itself. Socialism goes against the laws nature.

Or, to put it in another way: survival of the fittest. When a man, just like any other animal, is reduced to his base, his instinct, just like any other animal, is to survive. And no social constricts such as stealing or cheating or lying or killing will prevent him from following what is his inherent natural instinct.

Siempre hay musica

Amid all of life's struggles, in Cuba, there's always music.

Sacre bleu!

Decades of uncontrolled immigration, a very vast separation of classes, and an "out of kliter wealth distribution sysytem" leading to le massif riots in France?

C'est incroyable!

Voter Intimidation

I mentioned in the comments section of a previous post the importance for Cuba that hugo chavez maintain his "presidency" of Venezuela. Rosales, the opposition candidate, has stated that should he become president of Venezuela, oil subsidies - to Cuba and elsewhere - will cease. This is a matter of grave concern for the fidel-less Cuban Government as curtailing the oil received from Venezuela would wreak havoc on what's left of the Cuban economy and the island's infrastructure.

hugo chavez, backed by Cuba's government - will not go down without a fight, of course, and will use every means available to ensure that he maintains power. Because for chavez, like his mentor fidel, it isnt about the people, it's about the power over the people.

Alek Boyd has a report on a memo passed out by the "management" of Venezuelan oil giant PDVSA - now run and managed exclusively by the chavista government - coercing all oil workers to vote for Chavez in the December 3rd elections. You can read about it here, with images of the original documents.

The PDVSA manuever is strictly from the fidel castro handbook of despotism.

There are also reports (video) - posted yesterday at Abajo fidel - that chavez will suspend the elections altogether thus proving what we have been saying all along: the people of Venezuela no longer live in a Democratic state, but rather a totalitarian system mimicking the Cuban model. Should chavez suspend the elections, then you will be witness to the Cuba of the 21st century and the downfall and ruination of Venezuela.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

The American Thinker has a great column on the elections that are but 12 days away. I have made my position very clear as to who I will vote for. I will never, ever, never, never, ever, ever, never trust a Democrat again. So my vote is easy. However, if some of you are still straddling the fence, then read this.

So the woman who would be Speaker would intentionally impede both our human and electronic intelligence gathering. She will rule over a House whose committee chairmen share her preposterous belief that the ends justify the means only when those means are sanctioned by the ACLU. That breaching the “liberties” of the few in order to save the millions is an unacceptable exchange. Yes, the enemy tortures, decapitates and slaughters without mercy—but we are morally superior.

But here’s what the Dems just don’t get: Every time we show the enemy our moral superiority—we get weaker. Every time the enemy brandishes his complete lack of morality—he gets stronger. Furthermore, every time he is presented with a new weakness on our part – he grows stronger still.

Surely, the liberal response to terrorism has been and will continue to be a veritable showcase of weakness and cowardice. And, just as surely—only through strength and courage might we avoid the day when much of Manhattan resembles the smoldering ruins which were the World Trade Center on September 12, 2001.

So forget about Abramoff, Katrina, Iraq, and any other Republican blunder which the MSM has unabashedly over-reported in an effort to deflate your motivation to get out to the polls. Instead of the mundane fallout over Foley, consider the potential lethal fallout over your city.

For the sake of this and future generations—vote. Vote as though your life depended on it – for it just might. Pelosi has said that this election “shouldn’t be about National Security.” If the Democrats retake the House, she will have been right – dead right.

America's future is up for grabs. If you envision that future with Conyers, Rangel, Pelosi and Dean in charge of Congress then vote for your favorite Democrat. If you are as concerned as I am, then there is only one choice. I know there is dissatisfaction among the Repulican ranks. I am one of these. I am not pleased with many of President Bush's decisions. But I know one thing despite my dissatisfaction: the alternative is so much worse that just contemplating it is a horrible ordeal.

A Public Service Announcement

We interrupt our regular blogging schedule for the following Public Service Announcement:

Have you seen this reporter?

Earworm

Ever since I read Chantel's piece about my alma matter Champagnat, Ive had a song stuck in my head that we used to sing in class to pester all the girls and teachers. Someone mentioned it in a comment some time ago, but I cant for the life of me remember anything but the first three lines. So, feel free to chime in and finish the tune.

Los hermanos pinzones
son tremendos marineros
y se fueron a Calcuta...

Ahem.

Eeenie, meenie....

Voting resumes today for the remaining seat on the UN Security council. Supposedly, chavez had thrown in the towel and offered Bolivia a chance to vie for the remaining seat against Guatemala as reported by various news sources. However, now chavez is calling foul.

Fausta has all the ups and downs covered here.

O mi colegio Champagnat...

Chantel Acevedo of Yucababy and the author of "Love and Ghost Letters", which incidentally, apart from being Winner of the 2006 Latino Literacy Now Award, has also recently been nominated for the Connecticut Book Award, has given me the honor of publishing the following written especially for Babalu. All I can say is that she sure did conjure up some memories for me. Enjoy:

Los Maristas

Remember Carmencita from that old show, “Que Pasa, U.S.A.?”? God, I wanted to be her friend so badly when I was a kid. And it wasn’t just because her crazy grandmother was just like my crazy grandmother, or that all the knick-knacks in her television studio house looked like they came from my living room. It had something to do with that Catholic uniform she always wore. You see, like Carmencita, I went to Catholic school too.

But I didn’t go to just any Catholic school. Mi escuela was one for the ages. And I’ll bet you didn’t know this, Babalusians, but our esteemed editor Val went to the same place (except he didn’t wear the plaid jumper). My mother picked the school because she knew they would keep me inside on cool days and would make sure I ate my lunch. There was also the added benefit that everything happened in Spanish, that we sang the Cuban National Anthem every morning, right after the Star Spangled Banner, that our little, independent, bilingual, Catholic school (settled right next door to a giant Sedano’s) would ensure that the next generation of Cubans growing up in Miami wouldn’t forget their roots.

I’m torn when thinking about these schools, still found all over Miami. They were hopelessly old-fashioned. Imagine, we had to wear our skirts down past our knees! And crossing your legs during mass! ¡Que horror! I remember, too, having to stand at the fence as a punishment, or copying out the Constitution by hand. I’m still haunted by the religion teacher who told frightening stories of child martyrs. Certainly, it all has crept into my writing in some way or other.

And yet. I think this school and others like it, Cuban exile run, humble recreations of the schools that once taught our grandparents what it meant to be free thinkers, classrooms raised like a phoenix from the ashes of a miserable revolution, made me who I am. I’ll bet it did the same for Val, too.

So, our schooling was a bit, um, intense. But, it also instilled in me a love for an island I do not yet know intimately. It gave me the gift of language, emphasizing reading and writing Spanish at an early age. It taught me to fight for my beliefs, despite the strict rules. In fact, meek-little-me confronted a coach who demanded we remove all sweaters during P.E. I remember staring him hard in the eyes and winning that battle at thirteen. I didn’t get in trouble either. In fact, I think he admired me for it.

And if schools like this aren’t what being Cuban is all about—keeping alive that link home, standing strong when you know you are right, being, dare I say, intractable, in our beliefs—I don’t know what is.

HEY! New Yorkers!

What are you doing November 8th, say, around 10:00 AM?

How would you like to go to the official unveiling of "fidel castro's Deathbed Portrait" in Central Park?. They'll be honoring him for his "humanitarianism."

Hopefully, they'll set up a nice velvet rope line, ala Disney World, for all those who wish to piss on the bastard's "portrait."

Update: Exactly what I was afraid of. This "installation" at the "Artist's gate" is at the same location of Marti's statue. Absolutely disgusting.

castro Is Dead Rumors

Our refferrer logs show an increase in search engine hits today with the search parameter "castro rumors." Thus I though it would be a good time to post this week's installment of "The castro Death Watch."

Reports are fidel castro may be dead if, in fact, he is no longer living. However, several Cuban government press releases have referenced the aliveness of fidel castro and stated that his aliveness is alive and almost alive enough to be alive and almost alive and kicking.

Yet, independent sources are reporting that the aliveness of fidel castro has not been witnessed for several weeks now despite said Cuban government reports to the contrary. However, it's important to note that said Cuban government has been known to lie only when they are not propagating falsehoods or simply not telling the truth. Thus, official reports on the aliveness of fidel castro may be falsely true or truly false.

If, in fact, fidel castro and his aliveness are no longer lively, living or showing any hint of aliveness, then chances are that he may, in fact, be scientifically not alive and his aliveness may be a mere symbolic representation of what used to be his aliveness when it was alive in the scientific sense of aliveness. Certain trusted sources have made reference to this alive aliveness and its penchant for recently being non-existent, thus logical deduction and statistical probability and alogorithmic calculations conclude that the aliveness may be alive, but not alive enough to prove that its alive in the empirical sense of aliveness.

So, to recap, fidel castro may be alive if his aliveness is alive in aliveness, however, given recent reports that his aliveness has not shown any signs of being alive, in the alivenessly aliveness sense of aliveness, then chances are the Cuban dictator has lost his aliveness and is, indeed, not as alive as he should be and may be, at minimum, reasonably dead or, at maximum, extremely dead.

We report, you decide.

A Cold Front Ajiaco Cubano

There's a cold front whipping through Miami today with temperatures dropping to an arctic 60 degrees F and nothing is better for warming you up when it's frigid outside than a nice steaming bowl of ajiaco cubano....

First, Child of the Revolution notes that the Cuban government will begin allowing cruise ships to dock at Cuban ports, despite this statement from cadaver castro:

“We have these floating hotels, with their floating restaurants and their floating entertainment, visiting poor countries just so they can leave behind their rubbish, their empty cans and used toilet paper, for a few miserable cents,”

Blog for Cuba reports on comments from Cuban author Amir Valle at the Frankfurt Book Fair:

"All of the violations against freedom of expression in Cuba are permitted by the system and the Constitution," said Valle. He described Cuba as a country which has converted art and culture into a political weapon.

Cuban-American Pundits has a letter from an Italian Cuba-traveling reader:

I have cried because I have seen the resignation of some people, the unawareness of others and the hope in the oblivion of the future.

I have cried because they have asked me some money, some suits for their children, a soap.

Uncommon Sense tells us about harrassment of yet another independent Cuban journalist:

These are my fellow journalists and my fellow Cubans. They need me to keep going, to tell their stories, so I keep going. Me getting a little tired is nothing compared to what they face each day, knowing that the story they write may be all the excuse the police need to throw them in jail.

Screw you, Fidel Castro, you won't silence me.

Cubanology has a an audio post from Tomas Estrada Palma, with an anti-fidel blog synopsis.

El Cafe Cubano sticks it to the MSM:

I had this strange sad feeling that no matter “how much” you really try to discuss the truth concerning Cuba, people don’t listen. Can you imagine the political prisoners and how they feel? That is why I have no tolerance for the media and the journalist who have spread lies and supported the myth of the dictator.

Mizzoubanazo has thoughts on chavez and the UN Security council:

VERY good. A council that should bring security and (ultimately) peace could end up with a member who is referring to the voting process as "battle grounds." Lovely.

El Confeti's got the corkscrew handy:

I have had a bottle of champagne chilling in my refrigerator since God knows when. I do rotate the bottle to keep it fresh, remember champagne does not age well like wine. The bottle has been there for the day when Cuba’s sumo hijo de puta draws his last breath. Oh, please do not be offended, I am not celebrating “someone’s” death; I am celebrating a people’s prospect freedom.

Our resident meteorologist at the 26th Parallel welcomes the ajiaco weather:

A great morning to stick Beethoven's "Pastoral" Symphony in your car's CD player, forget about the traffic and enjoy the weather!

The Real Cuba talks about reports that chavez traveled to Cuba to say buh-bye to his mentor cadaver castro:

El Universal is quoting "highly trusted" Venezuelan sources as saying that Chávez traveled unannounced to the Cuban capital last Saturday to say goodbye to the Cuban dictator.

In a report by its correspondent in Washington, El Universal quotes Venezuelan and international sources as saying that Castro went into a comma on Wednesday October 18.

Enjoy your ajiaco and please, keep warm...

This Day in Babalú History

On this day last year I was post Hurricane Wilma generator blogging from my backyard. Little did I know that it would be two weeks before power was restored to our home. And just the thought of all the work that had to be done vis-a-vis the landscaping and fallen trees gives me a backache.

Comite para la defensa de la no smoking

Et tu, Omaha?

(H/T Daniel)

A Rosales-Chavez debate?

Manuel Rosales has challenged hugo chavez to a debate:

"I come today, in the name of the Venezuelan people, to send a very clear message to the government's candidate to join me in a televised debate, so that we can discuss the many problems affecting this country. He has to explain to Venezuelans the more than 90.000 assassinations, the unemployment, the lack of investment, the poor services, the hunger, the poverty, the laughable number of housing units constructed, he has to explain what does he mean by XXI century socialism" thus started Manuel Rosales his press conference. "We want to know whether the government's candidate wants to model Venezuela's political system as the Castroite dictatorship of Cuba, we want to know whether he believes in democracy, in alternation in power, in accountability, in upholding the rule of law, in respecting contracts" added Rosales.

"Venezuela does not believe in hollow rhetoric, in empty promises, in violence, in warmongering... He must be asking Fidel Castro's advice... I demand that Fidel grants the candidate [Chavez] permission so that his protege agrees to debate with me... I will demonstrate to Venezuelans that the only thing Chavez is good at is at lying... brace yourself for I am waiting for you..."

chavez, of course, will most likely decline as it's preferable to keep your mouth shut and look like an idiot as opposed to opening your mouth and proving it.

Much more on this from Aleksander Boyd at Vcrisis.

Hialeah City Hall Beckons, Mr. Fernandez

Hialeah raised Cuban-American and director of public diplomacy in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the US State Department, Alberto Fernandez, is a dumbass.

OSPAAAL

Every once in a while I get an email from a reader that has possibly never contacted me before but felt the need as they have found something they deem either important or painful or ironic or infuriating regarding Cuba. Sometimes clicking the links results in stomach turning anger. I received one of those this morning.

The title of this post is an acronym for Organización de Solidaridad con los Paises de Africa, Asia y América Latina (the Organization for the Solidarity with African, Asian and Latin American Countries). This organization was founded in Havana in 1966 by leftist leaders and radicals along with the Cuban Government, and its mission was to fight against globalization and imperialism. The claim to fame of this organization was the use of graphic images for propaganda purposes.

Ive seen the OSPAAAL poster many times before, primarily on leftist and socialist organization's websites, many of which use the sale of these posters - in typical capitalist manner - to fund their organizations. Here are a few examples (click the thumbnails for larger images):

Notice how fidel castro's government, here through the OSPAAAL proxy, has historially supported terrorist states such as North Korea, Syria, Palestine, etc...

But what really turned my stomach this morning wasnt the poster or the images therein. Ive seen propaganda and recognize it for what it is. What sickened me was that these posters - original silk screens from Cuba - are being sold by a guy - whom I have to presume is Cuban given the overtly OSPAAAL supportive comments accompanying the items - on Ebay. From Sanibel, Florida, no less.

The incredible irony does not go unnoticed.

Donations needed...

Folks, Im sorry to have to ask you all once again for donations, but this time they are really, really needed.

Please, if you can, if you could find it in your heart of hearts, deep within those beautiful, philanthropic souls, please, I implore you, could you all send the Miami Dolphins some freaken TOUCHDOWNS?

Why liberals (really) piss me off (Part 3)

As your typical man on the street, I was recently talking to the girls in the office about this and that. I was blindsided when the gals told me I should follow the rules set forth by the Glasgow (Scotland) City Council regarding the use of sexist language. It appears that certain words are no longer "permitted" because they are offensive. One of the dears was rather harsh with me. I said to her, "Love, I'll say what I damn well please!"

The guide offers a full list of the most shameful examples of sexist-speak. Top of the list are endearments.

"Don't assume it is acceptable to address women by endearments such as 'dear', 'pet' and 'love' when you would not address men in such a way," the guide instructs. "Don't refer to women as 'girls', for example, 'the girls in the office'."

It adds: "The term 'ladies' should only be used in situations where the parallel term 'gentlemen' is used."

All references to a person's gender should be avoided, the guide goes on. "A person's gender is rarely relevant to the job they do, so don't use 'lady' or 'woman' to highlight gender inappropriately, for example 'woman driver', 'lady curator', 'lady councillor', 'woman director'. Similarly don't add 'ess' to the end of job titles as in 'manageress' or 'stewardess'."

"Some words and phrases such as 'manpower' and 'man the office' exclude or ignore women. Use inclusive terms like 'staff' and 'workers' and 'staff the office'."

When will it end?

Hear how he squeals!

Well, the boycott of Citgo, first called by George Moneo here at Babalu, is having an impact.

By the time Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez made his disgusting 'devil' speech at the UN, Americans were voting with their pocketbooks in droves to not give Hugo any more of our money for his oil, by boycotting Venezuela's oil refiner and marketer, Citgo.

Unfortunately, Citgo is a good brand name and it has good gas but people just can't stomach it going into Hugo's pocket and being used to purchase advanced Russian fighter jets with which to threaten us from Caracas. Hugo simply ruined the once-honorable brand name by turning it into an instrument for communist subversion and castro worship.

Now Citgo is screaming about it, taking out ads in The Miami Herald (no surprise there, folks!) and other newspapers across the country, begging Americans to buy Hugo's gas. See Hugo needs the money, he's burned so much of it on bad grants to castro that we just have to step in to bail him out - so that he can continue to support castro's tyranny and destroy Venezuela's economy. /s

As for Venezuela, it has the highest and fastest inflation rate in the entire hemisphere - even though Venezuela is in the middle of a dollar-based oil boom. Somehow, Hugo spent the cash faster than he could earn it. And now the Citgo boycott is making sure he has even less money than he thought. Oh yes and Hugo's up for reelection in December and no one seems to want to vote for him - not even in the shantytowns.

Is there anything funnier than a blowhard who's shot his wad?

Well, we won't stop boycotting Citgo. Not till Hugo's safely in a cell next to General Noriega. That's all there is to it.

See the Miami Herald piece about the powerful impact the boycott of Citgo is having here.

I bet Oscar Corral is bawling his castro-lovin' eyeballs out!

Kitchen Sink Arguments

As I've noted before, this is the time of year that fidel castro's mouthpieces around the world unleash their full-scale assault on the embargo. The news services are loaded with columns criticizing the embargo and the U.S. for continuing to enforce it. Here's one such column dissected so that you can see that there is nothing new at all.

Ricardo Gonzalez: U.S. Cuba policy works against us

By Ricardo Gonzalez
On Nov. 8, the United Nations will again debate a resolution condemning the U.S. embargo on Cuba, the longest-running such effort in history. Each of the past 14 years, the world body has voted overwhelmingly in support of Cuba's position.

Our government's response to this consistent show of disapproval, even by our closest allies, has been to ignore it and to go several steps further. In 1992 and 1996, and again in 2004 and 2006, the U.S. in fact strengthened features and enforcement of this odious policy.

Translation: Far from caving in to pressure from countries that don't necessarily have American or Cuban interests in mind the U.S. is actually persistent in pursuing its own policies. What chutzpah!

Notice no mention of the Cuban downing of two American civilian aircraft in 1996 resulting in the deaths of three American citizens and one resident, no mention of the sinking of a tugboat resulting in the deaths of dozens of Cubans including women and children, no mention of the black spring in 2003 when 75 Cuban opposition members and independent journalists were arrested (many of which are still in prison). You see, it's not convenient to show that the castro regime is not moderating, that it's as repressive as ever.

Now a task force of federal agencies is being set up to target offenders - that is, those who violate the travel ban, business restrictions or limits on remittances to relatives on the island.

The task force, composed of representatives from the FBI, Homeland Security and the Treasury Department, among others, is headed by U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta of south Florida. He said the purpose of the sanctions was to "isolate the Castro regime economically ... and to hasten the transition of democracy in Cuba."

Translation: They even are taking steps to actually enforce the policy like never before. What are these people thinking?

The Cubans estimate that the embargo has cost the Cuban nation over $86 billion, considerably more than American corporations lost in Cuba due to the revolution. The embargo has sought to bring down Fidel Castro by creating conditions inside the island that will lead people to revolt, but after nearly 45 years in place, the Cuban government is firmly in control as it brings about the succession of power from Fidel to Raul Castro.

Here we go. First of all, anyone that quotes official Cuban figures loses any credibility they may have had, in my book. How exactly do they calculate those numbers and who inedepently audits them? He says that the embargo seeks to bring down Castro but alludes to the real reason it was implemented: in response to confiscation of American assets. But assuming the 86 billion dollar figure is correct you would have to calculate the present value of assets seized more than 45 years ago. And you'd have ask yourself why the embargo still exists after 45 years: because Castro has never agreed to any sort of settlement. According to Professor Tony de la Cova:

When Jimmy Carter gave his speech at the University of Havana before Castro and other government officials in May 2002, he said of the embargo:

"these restraints are not the source of Cuba's economic problems. Cuba can trade with more than 100 countries, and buy medicines, for example, more cheaply in Mexico than in the United States."

Carter addressed the cause of the embargo saying:

"I hope that Cuba and the United States can resolve the 40-year-old property disputes with some creativity. In many cases, we are debating ancient claims about decrepit sugar mills, an antique telephone company, and many other obsolete holdings. Most U.S. companies have already absorbed the losses, but some others want to be paid, and many Cubans who fled the revolution retain a sentimental attachment for their homes. We resolved similar problems when I normalized relations with China in 1979. I propose that our two countries establish a blue-ribbon commission to address the legitimate concerns of all sides in a positive and constructive manner."

That's why the U.S. and China renewed relations, because China agreed to pay the U.S. 48 cents on the dollar for all seized property in 1949. Vietnam has likewise done a property settlement.

Castro has steadfastly refused to settle accounts of seized property with the U.S. and therefore the embargo contines. The blue-ribbon commission that Carter suggested be established to deal with this issue was ignored by the Castro regime.

In this world of terrorism and nuclear threats, one would think we have more important things to worry about than Americans traveling to Cuba or Cuban-Americans sending money to help their re