May 31, 2007
BUCL Update - UPDATED
Im up to my ears in work right now, but here's an email I just recieved from Henry, regarding the BUCL campaign:
The Spanish news service EFE (comparable to our AP) has picked up the story and it's now appearing on many web sites around the world.Notimex (via Cuba Libre Digital)
Terra (Spain)
Yahoo Finance (Spain)
A month's rations in Cuba
I found this list on netscape.ca though the source isn't given.
Here is what the average Cuban gets each month on the government's subsidized food ration at a cost of about 33 Cuban pesos, or about $1.30. It provides 10 to 15 days of nutritional needs each month. Cubans have other food sources, including meals at work and school, and can buy products at farmers' markets and at more expensive supermarkets.Rice, 6 pounds.
Dried beans, 10 ounces.
White sugar, 3 pounds.
Brown sugar, 2 pound.
Coffee, 4 ounces.
Cooking oil, about 2 cups.
Eggs, 10
Salt, 12 ounces.
Bath or laundry soap, 1 bar.
Toothpaste, one tube
Dried pasta, 8 ounces.
Crackers, 1 pound.
Fish, 10 ounces.
Cacao (sweetened cocoa powder) 8 ounces.
Chicken, 8 ounces.
Other meat products, a little less than 1 pound. Can be any mix of chicken, hot dogs, a ham-like product called "jamonada" and "picadillo texturizdo," a ground beef-type mixture mostly of soy.
Bread rolls, 30 a month.
Potatoes, 4 pounds.
Liquid detergent, 1 plastic bottle.
Next time you sit down at Outback Steakhouse and order the 14 OZ Outback Special steak I'd like for you to remember that in Cuba a person gets less Chicken for a month than beef you are about to consume in one night. Notice that the only things that come in pounds are cheap items such as rice and potatoes that have very little nutritional value.
I wonder if Matt Lauer ate like a Cuban for a couple of months if his reporting might be a little better informed.
One Story Among Millions
He was described by loved ones as a wonderful father to his three-year-old son and a faithful husband to his 23-year-old wife, Pacquita. Today, some 47 years after his murder by the Castro regime, family members continue to tell the story of Tasio's last day at Havana's infamous La Cabaña fortress. It all began one February night as Tasio and his family were enjoying a meal at the Havana home of his father-in-law, Bartolo.
Buyer beware
If you purchase stolen property you may be throwing your money away or inviting a law suit.
Marching orders are in
Anti-US Protests Looming in Spain
Prensa Latina - Havana,Cuba
Madrid, May 31 (Prensa Latina) Trade unions, social organizations, groups of friendship with Cuba and other institutions are expected to take part in a ...
See all stories on this topic
Spanish militants (communists, anarchists, etc.) and the MSM will act accordingly.
Parallel Lives - Different Coins
What’s the opposite of a freedom fighter?
What do you call a man that dedicates his life to a struggle aimed at enslaving and depriving the God-given rights of his fellow men?
You call that person Che.
A person who dedicates his life to bring freedom and democracy to his fellow men is called a freedom fighter.
A freedom fighter is the natural enemy of the che - Its opposite. Not the other side of the same coin as moral relativist would have you believe, but a different coin altogether. Freedom is a gold coin. A coin everybody wants. The other coin is a lead coin - heavy, dull and poisonous.
Carlos Alberto Montaner tackles the subject in this essay:
Posada and Che Lived Parallel Lives
First Paragraph:
Luis Posada Carriles and Ernesto Guevara were born in 1928 in similar environments. Both were part of the upper middle-class. Both chose the sciences during their college years. Guevara studied medicine; Posada, chemistry. Both shared a bold and adventurous psychological makeup that would lead them to risk their lives and sacrifice the welfare of their families to defend -- violently -- their beliefs.Last Paragraph:
Nobody understands why the media in the West are less harsh on Guevara than on Posada. Nobody wears a T-shirt with the effigy of Posada, after all. There is something basically hypocritical in all this. A double standard.
Read the Rest, (The Meat is here and it’s not SPAM),Here
Spam
It's what's for breakfast.
And lunch.
And dinner.
All they need now is some queso del refugio and theyre good to go.
Matt Lauer: fidel castro's favorite TV anchor?
The "Today" show's Matt Lauer has reported on Cuba before, which rightfully makes many of us skeptical about his visit to the island next week.
For an example of that previous work, let's go to the videotape.
May 30, 2007
Where Matt Lauer should be going
As much as I would love for Matt Lauer and the Today show to go down to Cuba and report the TRUTH about what's going on there (I'm not holding my breath), the reality is if there's one place that they should be going to report it's Venezuela where the government's closure of RCTV has led to 3 days of protest, dozens of arrests and a ton of unrest. But why would they want to go someplace where news is happening?
Behind the Scenes with the CDR
This afternoon, Val Prieto approached me via email with regards to becoming a Babalu contributor. After having met Val, Henry, George, Ziva and several other folks at this year's Cuba Nostalgia event, I simply had to accept. With that, it is indeed an honor and a privilege to offer for your consumption - my first post.
For decades, the Committees for Defense of the Revolution have worked as the eyes and ears of a morally bankrupt regime. A few years ago, the CDRs celebrated their 40th anniversary with rum-fueled gatherings across the island. This recording of one such gathering was made on the sly, using a digital recorder hidden in a small pocket sewn into the underside of a bag and smuggled into the party. The individual who sent it to me (this person shall remain nameless) recorded what follows after having been introduced to the local CDR cadres as the cousin of a local resident visiting from another province in Cuba.
What is perhaps most interesting is the fact that in speaking to the members of the young crowd at the party, this enterprising journalist found that none of them actually believed in the CDRs, rather, they had simply come for the free rum - something our anonymous journo labeled as a clear gasoline-like substance. Ahhh, government rum in Cuba. Delectable!
Following the transcript is the actual audio for your listening displeasure.
Transcription from the original Spanish
Local CDR president: Well friends, please pay attention to me over here. It's now 12 midnight, the 18th has arrived and as such, it's time to say:
Long live the revolution!
Crowd: Viva!
Local CDR president: Long life the Committees for Defense of the Revolution!
Crowd: Viva!
Local CDR president: Long live our commander in chief!
Crowd: Viva!
Local CDR president: Fatherland or death . . .
Crowd: We will be victorious!
Local CDR president: Let the music continue.
If what follows below doesn't raise the hairs on the back of your neck, I don't know what will.
-Anatasio Blanco
Tonight on the Babalu Radio Hour
At 8:00 PM Tonight click the image below to listen live. Otherwise click the link later on to listen to the archive. We'll be taking as many phone calls as we can get in. If you have something on your mind like coprophagic columnists make sure to give us a call. The number is (646) 652-4506. Or if you are shy you can drop us an email.
It's tough being fidel...
What with all the slamming, accusing, and lambasting that he's been doing. All while trying to recover from a botched but secret operation. Just 3 headlines from my morning news alert today...
Castro Slams Bush on Climate Change
Alalam News Network - Tehran,Iran
HAVANA, May 30--Cuban leader Fidel Castro has denounced President Bush for opposing the EU's goal for an agreement on carbon emissions at next week's Group ...
See all stories on this topic
Castro accuses Bush of seeking his death
Gulf Times - Doha,Qatar
HAVANA: Cuban leader Fidel Castro accused US President George W Bush of wanting to have him killed in an article released on Monday, the most recent in a ...
See all stories on this topic
Castro Lambasts Bush on G-8 Agenda Item
Town Hall - Washington,DC,USA
Convalescing Fidel Castro lambasted President Bush on Tuesday for opposing the European Union's goal for an agreement on carbon emissions at next week's ...
See all stories on this topic
Oh Brother, Today Show in Cuba...
As if the regular media's coverage of Cuba wasn't enough to make one want to puke, the reigning king of morning infotainment, The Today Show, will be going to Cuba.
You'll remember that NBCs Nightly News with Brian Williams visited Cuba back in September and essentially reported zero on the political prisoners, the dissidents, etc.
If the Chicago Tribune can have its Havana correspondent unceremoniously expelled by Cuba for reporting that was "inconvenient" to the regime without as much as a whimper from the company, what are we to expect from Matt Lauer, whose trip "took 18 months to arrange"? Don't blame the embargo or travel restrictions for that; as a working journalist Lauer has carte blanche to go to Cuba anytime he wants. I wonder what was negotiated away by NBC in those 18 months for the privilege of entering the country. What kind of propaganda soft core journalism will come out of this little adventure? I'm sure something about the best suntan lotion to use in the caribbean is in order.
Silver Lining: At least Perky Katie isn't around at NBC to attack the exile community and pump up castro inc.
ACT OF REPUDIATION
Agustin Blazquez has been invited to the II Palm Beach International Film Festival, May 31 - June 3, 2007. If you're in South Florida, support this wonderful documentarian and go see "Act of Repudiation".
Following the screening of COVERING CUBA 5: ACT OF REPUDIATION in Madrid, Spain, film critic Roberto Fandiño wrote in the cultural Revista Hispano Cubana, April 2007, CINE section:
“Agustin Blazquez is one of the most representative filmmakers in exile and his documentaries should be valued at the same level as the best Cuban documentaries of this genre.”
“A masterpiece for its sensibility and poetic air.”
Luis de la Paz wrote in the Diario Las Americas, Miami, Florida, U.S., February 2007, Art and Literature section about his documentary series COVERING CUBA:
“Agustin Blazquez hasn’t stopped and has become the most important Cuban documentalist in exile with a very solid body of work.”
Now, the latest documentary of his series COVERING CUBA,
ACT OF REPUDIATION was again invited to the
II PALM BEACH INTERNATIONAL
LATIN FILM FESTIVAL
May 31 to June 3, 2007
For a listing of all film schedules, theaters and events visit:
http://www.palmbeachlatinfilmfestival.com/
ACT OF REPUDIATION
(English with Spanish subtitles)
Saturday June 2 at 5:00 PM
Cuillo Centre For The Arts
201 Clematis St, West Palm Beach, FL. 33401
Tickets for ACT OF REPUDIATION, call the box office at the Cuillo Centre For The Arts
phone: 561 835-9226. For reservations and information call: 561 502-8174 / 561 721-1394
producer/director Agustin Blazquez, interviewer/assistant producer Jaums Sutton
“Act of Repudiation" as practiced by the Cuban government, is the official use of public intimidation and repression against individuals and their families because of their views, through the used of trained mobs and violence, akin to those employed by Nazi Germany and the Ku Klux Klan.
ARTS AND POLITICS ARE INSEPARABLE IN CUBA
This is the shocking story of the Act of Repudiation directed at internationally renowned concert guitarist Carlos Molina and his family. Molina and daughter Maritza, a child at the time of the assault, describe the acts of the government-incited mobs that attacked their home and the resulting trauma they still feel today. The Act resulted from Molina's request to emigrate, with his American-born wife, Marisa and his three daughters, to the U.S. Molina, lauded as founder of the Cuban School of Guitar, began his performing career in 1969, the same year he graduated from the School of Law at the University of Havana. Daughter Maritza, an artist, relates the trauma she suffered by the Act of Repudiation directed at her family, which to this day, impacts her life and her artwork.
en español abajo:
“Agustin Blazquez es uno de los cineastas mas representativos del exilio y sus documentales debieran ser valorados a la altura de los mejores cubanos de este genero.”
En esa misma critica dijo que su anterior documental CUBRIENDO CUBA 3: Elian:
“no ha tenido el reconocimiento que merece como obra de arte que es por la sensibilidad y el aire poético de muchas de sus secuencias.”
Luis de la Paz escribio en el Diario Las Americas, Miami, Florida, U.S., en febrero de 2007, en la seccion de Arte and Literatura sobre la serie de documentales CUBRIENDO CUBA:
“Agustin Blazquez (Cardenas, Matanzas, Cuba) no se ha detenido y se ha convertido en el documentalista cubano en el destierro mas importante y con una obra solida.”
Ahora, el ultimo documental de la serie CUBRIENDO CUBA,
ACTO DE REPUDIO fue invitado nuevamente al
II PALM BEACH INTERNATIONAL
LATIN FILM FESTIVAL
Mayo 31 to Junio 3, 2007
Para la lista de horarios de las peliculas, teatros y eventos visite:
http://www.palmbeachlatinfilmfestival.com/
ACTO DE REPUDIO
(Subtitulado en español)
Sabado Junio 2 a las 5:00 PM
Cuillo Centre For The Arts
201 Clematis St, West Palm Beach, FL. 33401
boletos para ACTO DE REPUDIO, llamar a la oficina del Cuillo Centre For The Arts
telef: 561 835-9226 para reservaciones o informacion: 561 502-8174 / 561 721-1394
productor/director Agustin Blazquez, entrevistador/asistente Jaums Sutton
Este es el quinto documental de la serie CUBRIENDO CUBA. El primero fue estrenado en 1995, seguido por CUBRIENDO CUBA 2: La Proxima Generacion en 2000, CUBRIENDO CUBA 3: Elian en 2002 y CUBRIENDO CUBA 4: Las Ratas Debajo en 2004
Para explicacion sobre esta serie visite:
http://laurencejarvikonline.blogspot.com/2007/05/agustin-blazquez-speaks.html
“Acto de Repudio": Practica oficial de intimidacion publica y represion contra individuos y sus familias por sus ideas usando turbas entrenadas y violentas, similares a las usadas por los Nazis en la Alemania de Hitler y el Ku Klux Klan en EE.UU., usadas tambien por el regimen cubano.
ARTE Y POLITICA SON INSEPARABLES EN CUBA
Esta es la historia del Acto de Repudio dirigido contra el internacionalmente renombrado guitarrista concertista Carlos Molina y su familia. Molina y su hija Maritza, una niña en el momento del asalto, describen los actos de las turbas incitadas por el gobierno que atacaron su hogar y el trauma que resulto y que aun se manifiesta hasta el dia de hoy. El Acto resulto por la peticion de Molina de emigrar a EE.UU. con su esposa, Marisa, nativa de EE.UU. y sus tres hijas. Molina, laureado como el fundador de la Escuela Cubana de Guitarra, inicio su carrera como solista en 1969, el mismo año en que se graduo de la Escuela de Leyes de la Universidad de La Habana. Su hija Maritza, artista plastica, cuenta el trauma que ella sufrio por el Acto de Repudio dirigido contra su familia, el cual hasta el dia de hoy, impacta su vida y su trabajo en las artes.
aparecen: CARLOS MOLINA, MARITZA MOLINA con la colaboracion de MARISA MOLINA
musica: todas las piezas en guitarra son tocadas por CARLOS MOLINA
y una de ellas cantada por la soprano MARISA MOLINA
Vuelo del Moscardon de Rimsky Korsakov cortesia de PAQUITO D’RIVERA
del CD complementario a su libro “Mi vida saxual,” © Paquito D’Rivera 1998
La serie completa CUBRIENDO CUBA se puede obtener en:
http://www.cubacollectibles.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?
He's got my vote (Updated)
If true, this announcement is great news. Fred Thompson is the last, best hope for what is left of Ronald Reagan's Republican Party. If he turns out to be another case of RRDS, he may be the last (R) I vote for. However, that said, I'll vote for him in the primary, I'll vote for him in the general election, I'll donate to his campaign and to his PACs, I'll even work and write for him.
Let's go, Fred. Our time's runnin' out...
Update: Looks like it's pretty much official.
Arroz con BUCL
Could Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice have gotten wind of the BUCL campaign?
Rice criticizes Spain over Cuba policyBERLIN (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice criticized Spain on Tuesday for its dealings with Cuba and said she would press Spanish officials on the issue in Madrid this week.
After several years of tense relations with Spain, Rice is set to make her first visit as the top U.S. diplomat to Madrid on Friday. She will meet King Juan Carlos, Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero and Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos.
"On Cuba, I am not sure that we see eye to eye," Rice told reporters traveling with her to Germany where she is meeting Group of Eight ministers.
. . .
"I don't see how that course (of democracy) is advanced by simply dealing with the current regime, a regime that seems to be setting itself up for a non-democratic succession when the transition takes place in Cuba and doing that at the expense of contacts with the very nascent and fragile democratic opposition that is beginning to arise in Cuba," she said.
"The Cubans deserve better and I think we will talk about that," Rice said.
May 29, 2007
Im taking bets right now.
The coma-andante just published a new "editorial" stating that President Bush is just waiting for him to die.
To that, one can only say that the Commander in Chief certainly aint the only one. WE'RE ALL WAITING FOR HIM TO DIE.
But, Ill bet anyone a crisp twenty that fidel castro is already dead and the announcement of his death will be made on or before July 4th, 2007.
Any takers?
BTW the rest of the above linked CBS article is your standard Cuba story non-story, making CBS News the second member of the MSM to lay a big wet one smack dab between castros hairy cheeks.
Disrespect? Yes. Outrageous? Absolutely.
The one thing I took time away from my Benadryl haze this weekend was to hoist my flag yesterday for Memorial Day. I flew a special flag yesterday, one I received from my congressman that had flown over the Capitol. I also placed two smaller flags on my lawn that I obtained from a former Air Force pilot.
Thoughout my elementary and junior high school days, I was always on flag duty. Raising Old Glory every morning and bringing her down every afternoon.
Just this morning, the owner of the office building where I work came to see me first thing. Under his arm a brand spanking new American Flag to replace the old one we changed last Memorial Day.
I love the American Flag and while I acknowledge the right of any American to burn said flag in protest, I can safely say that they best not ever attempt it in front of me, for I will do everything in my power to prevent it. Call it oppression on my part, call it me stifling some else's freedoms, call it what you will. I will not stand by and watch the very same symbol of this nation that has afforded me everything and for which millions of men and women have sacrficed and died be desecrated in such a fashion. There are many ways to protest, burning a flag is the lowest of all and an insult to those who gave their lives for those same flag burners to be able to burn said flags.
That said, this is an absolute outrage, and I hope those bastards that committed this atrocity are caught and brought to a swift, excrutiatingly painful justice.
Do me a favor...
First, please read Call me Ismael.
The above linked may read at first like a fishing story, but it's not. There's a reality in it that's not really mentioned in detail, but one word in the final paragraph gives you all you need to know about said unmentioned truth: cancer.
We've all known or had someone dear to us suffer from this debilitating and fatal disease. My Tia Amanda, whose eyes grace the header of this blog, herself died of leukemia. And, if you've witnessed this malady first hand, you all know the toll it takes on the afflicted, physically, emotionally and spiritually.
Ive written here a few times of my Goddaughter Amanda and how proud I am of her and her accomplishments. Yet I have been remiss in writing about her sister, Maura, who in her own right is just as accomplished, just as beautiful and is an incredible source of pride just like her sister.
Maura is a teacher, she works with children with disabilities and is always - always - giving of herself for others. I know no one with a more loving heart or a more selfless soul.
Right now, Maura, despite her full time career working with less fortunate children and other responsibilities, is in training for the Leukemia and Lynphoma Team in Training Women's Half Marathon:
I am training to participate in an endurance event, the Nike Women's Half Marathon (13.1 miles) in San Francisco on October 21, 2007, as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training. All of us on Team In Training are raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives.I am dedicating my training efforts to:
* my uncle, Ismael Estrada, who is currently under going treatement for Cancer. (pictured)
*Lourdes Vega, my friend's mom who was currently diagnosed with polycythemiavera (PCV).
*Gaby Gutierrez,my honored teammate, who was diagnosed with Leukemia at the age of 3. Gaby is currently in remission.
By completing this event, I am running for those who can't, in honor of all individuals who are battling blood cancers. These people are the real heroes on our team, and I need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!
She needs your help to reach her goal. Please consider making a tax deductible donation to help her out.
Visit her donation page right here where you can pledge your support and see photos of my Padrino Ismael, and how the disease has affected him physically. As an incentive, for every donation of $20 dollars, I will send you a Babalu Eyes tshirt. Just email me with the confirmation and Ill send the tee out ASAP.
About ten years ago, I participated in the first annual Florida AIDS Ride, training for and riding bike from Orlando to South Beach in a three day event and I can tell you in no uncertain terms, there is no greater feeling than completing an event of this nature, where the training and event itself are incredibly grueling on your body, but where the knowledge that you did so for others is overwhelmingly inspiring and good for your soul.
Please, if you can spare a sawbuck or two, help Maura reach her donation goal.
Mil gracias, desde el corazon.
First up: Anita Snow
Yesterday, Child of the Revolution reported on a Granma editorial stating that foreign correspondents are mere lackeys of the US.
Today, the first foreign correspondent to kowtow to the Cuban government is none other than the AP's Anita Snow, burying what little journalistic integrity there remained at the AP's Havana Bureau, in a piece reminding all about how Cuba was the playground of mafiosos and gambling mecca of the American rich:
Mafia driver's death unnoticed in CubaBy ANITA SNOW, Associated Press Writer
Mon May 28, 6:11 PM ET
HAVANA - The man who was Meyer Lansky's driver and bodyguard during the Mafia's heyday in pre-Revolutionary Cuba died earlier this year, a curious footnote in a communist-run country whose past as a gambling mecca for vacationing Americans is all but forgotten.
Gee, thanks for "reminding" us, Anita.
Which news organization will be next to pucker up and plant one - or two - big wet ones on fidel's one - or two - asses?
H/T Alfredo M.
Nambia-Cuba Healthcare agreement questioned
A group of Cuban doctors working in Nambia who sought asylum in the US received special travel documents from the American Embassy that would allow them to enter the US without passports. Now the Nambian government will not let them leave and the doctors are apparently hiding.
As a result, the constitutionality of a long-running co-operation agreement Namibia has with Cuba on healthcare may soon be challenged in the High Court.
The Legal Assistance Centre representing the doctors may challenge some clauses of the "secret" document that sets out the terms and conditions of the doctors stay in Nambia. Some of the clauses may violate the Cuban doctors human rights, which would make the agreement with Cuba unconstitutional under Nambian law.
If the case goes to court, that document will be made public, and could expose the regimes dirty little secret that the doctors are in fact slaves, not volunteers.
LAC Director Norman Tjombe confirmed over the weekend that the organisation was taking up the case on behalf of three of the affected Cuban doctors, and said that an application would be filed with the High Court this week still."If this agreement prohibits them from travelling, from making acquaintances, then we will challenge it," Tjombe said.
Should the case go to court, the agreement between the two governments would have to be made public.
The Namibian has tried unsuccessfully to gain comment from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since last Wednesday.
Neither the Minister, nor the Permanent Secretary or the latter's deputy were available to comment on the issue, their secretaries have told The Namibian.
Messages have been left with the PS, the Deputy PS and the Acting PS's offices, but have not been replied to.
The Second Secretary in the Cuban Embassy, Evelio Sanchez, was reluctant to discuss the contents of its agreement with Namibia, referring The Namibian to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"The conditions which cover the activities of these people here are all covered in that document [bilateral Cuban-Namibian agreement].
They come to Namibia under this agreement and are expected to return to their country of origin after their term expires," he told The Namibian.
"There is an unfortunate situation that has presented itself now with these medical personnel, but it's up to the Namibian Government to come up with an answer to your queries.
It's quite a delicate issue for an embassy to reply to," Sanchez said.
Delicate is not the word I would choose to describe the gross human rights violations these doctors have suffered, and I pray this case ends the exploitation of Cuban doctors.
Read the whole thing at The Nambian.
A Benadryl Weekend
Thursday before last, as El Gusano and I were setting up the Babalu booth at Cuba Nostalgia, I felt a little discomfort, possibly an insect bite or perhaps a small pimple growing right below my navel, right on my belt line. The thing pretty much kept growing over the Cuba Nostalgia weekend and I pretty much ignored it as I was way to busy during the event.
Then, last week, it mushroomed. To the point where, on Friday, I could no longer buckle my jeans or my belt. The thing was now the size of a Kennedy half dollar and the pain was excruciating. I tried to get to see the doctor that day, but he was called out on an emergency so I was SOL.
I ended up self medicating over the weekend. I had a couple anti-biotics left from the mojo hand injection incident and popped those and coupled them with Benadryl every 6 hours.
Perhaps the pimple/bug bite was a sign from the Big Guy upstairs because I ended up spending the entire Memorial weekend either in bed or passed out on the sofa - Benadryl will do that - which recharged my almost dead batteries and allowed for some much needed stress free rest.
Im seeing the doctor this afternoon because, even though the damned thing popped on Saturday - trust me, you dont want details on this - I still have some swelling, redness and discomfort. I hope he doesnt prescribe Bendryl and bed rest.
My apologies to all for the lack of blogging this past weekend, but I couldn't keep my eyes open, much less type a coherent sentence. A huge thanks for the contributors who picked up the slack, in their own excellent blogging way.
May 28, 2007
Ethiopia honors 150,000 victims of castroite Marxism
Ethiopia lost 150,000 people to Marxism led by the minions of fidel castro in the 1970s, during what was then called the Red Terror, in the era when castro's troops marauded Africa. Jimmy Carter's weakness was a key reason why they thought they could get away with it and did.
Those terrible years devastated to the nation, killing a huge generation of Ethiopia's people. The castro minime who played puppet to the regime was a monster called Haile Mengistu, who now lives scotfree in Marxist Zimbabwe, a place where castro gets the red carpet treatment.
Now Ethiopia, (like Estonia and other places sincere about ridding themselves of the curse of communism), is remembering and honoring the 150,000 victims of castroite communism that whose atrocities have been so ignored, since Carter made the whole decade a slum. It's good that they do, because they will never erase the horror of communism by ignoring this, any more than they can bring back the lost lives.
Name one human rights activist who really cares about this? Name one Pinochet scold, who's constantly lecturing the world about the evils of the generalissimo's fascism, who cares about this? Name one self-described moral paragon, some Al Gore or Rigoberta Menchu or Nelson Mandela, who really cares? None of them do.
Ethiopia carries on alone, but in the end, it will be healed.
I only look for the day when Cuba, with its comparable numbers of dead, does so, too.
Chavista Ape Show
Having spent all day watching Chavistadom on the Publius blog today, I'm kind of worn out about how low they will go and nothing should surprise me about them anymore.
But then there was this video I found on Feathers' blog, its content is so repulsive it looks like a satirical depiction of chavista barbarism - except that it's not some malevolent product of Chavez's enemies. It's perfectly real.
The video shows a castrolike repudiation mob swooping down on the opposition television station, Globovision, which I visited in Caracas. I remember the walls and streets of the area well. Now as I watch this video, I can seem them being spray painted, trashed, and desecrated by this huge pack of rhythmic animals as the helpless program director tries to stop them. No cops showed up to stop these barbarians, they just did their dirty and danced around and roared off on motorcycles and junk cars, spewing pollution and noise.
It is so weird to watch this - after you watch it, there will be no doubt in your mind that man has descended from apes, because these chavistas devolved into something primal. They were like a nightmare. They jumped up and down in unison, hoot hooting, scratching their armpits, making ape noises together, and just kept dancing this ape dance that was so repulsive and undignified. And they all did it wearing big che tshirts. Maybe it's stranger to see if one watches it with the sound off, as I did.
Most doing this gorilla dance prominently sported not just che guevara tshirts, but bandanas, and Venezuelan flags emblazoned with che's mug on them. And they danced and danced, vandaling away with it.
This is the ape ghost of che in action, swinging from trees, baring its teeth, flaying its limbs and jumping, jumping, jumping, looking for all the world like it belongs in a cage.
Which as a matter of fact, these chavistas do. Feathers said they made her sick to her stomach because Venezuelans are completely defenseless against them, all of whom are affiliated with the emerging communist state there. She's right. Yet I can't help but wonder if shame wouldn't do something to them ... if they were human. And if Venezuela were a democracy. Well, they apes and Venezuela's becoming a prison, so perhaps that explains why they've chosen to become wild animals. The call of castro's wild.
I couldn't remember how to post a YouTube, so the video is either at Feathers' site, or here. Watch the whole thing because some of the grossest stuff is in the last few minutes.
May 27, 2007
Go see Michael Moore's "Sicko"
It may be hard to admit, and maybe even harder to stomach, but Michael Moore's new film matters.
For those of us who care about Cuba, "Sicko" cannot be ignored.
Introspection is a Good Thing
This post is about Ana Menendez's latest column dealing with Cuban exiles. This is your warning.
Why devote a full post in Babalu Blog to someone whose writings have proven to stand against most things we hold close to our hearts? Why give even more attention to her?
Stick with me, my answer is forthcoming.
The reaction to Ana Menendez's exile-bashing column 9 days ago has been swift and full of indignation, including the great counter piece delivered by Mercedes Soler a week ago. Ana's words were personal, and she's paid for it.
This reaction apparently got to our esteemed columnist, and she replied today with a follow up column that is as full of the "Ana as usual" as it is with surprising and revealing introspection.
The column's title "Exiles' 'Pain' (note the quotation marks around pain) Must Include Room for Dissent" and the opening paragraph offer the typical Ana Menendez fare:
We Cubans are infamous for our public displays of suffering, our flamboyant airing of grievances that other cultures have learned to keep private.It's a trait that has always bothered me, partly because it is has become a symbol for much that others find distasteful in us and partly because it has allowed too many otherwise brave and intelligent people to wallow in corrosive victimhood.
Never mind that other cultures are also outspoken in their suffering. That doesn't make them - or us - inferior. Unfortunately, Ana is ashamed of the negative aspects that define not only Cubans, but all human beings.
After that, the column begins to peel away at some of the layers surrounding Menendez, and you know what? The end result is something that we all have experienced and can learn from.
After the intro, Ana delves into her family's past: their expulsion from Cuba and the "pain" they experienced. It then veers into a discussion about the Port of Miami Tunnel deal involving a French company which does business with Cuba (she writes about an attempted phone conversation with Miami radio host Ninoska Perez Castellon in which Ninoska proceeded to hang up on her. Perhaps not the polite thing to do, but our rights of free speech and expression include the right to get upset and be angered. I'm sure Ana and other liberals would understand).
After the detour, Ana gets back on track and closes the column by relating to us a recent conversation and dinner with her parents.
Later that day, I was supposed to have dinner with my parents when I got called back into the office. Before I made it back, my father made an offhand comment about the column that, without his realizing it, wounded me. At the office, I briefly considered canceling dinner. Instead, I drove back to my parents' house.My parents and I sometimes clash on important issues. We have lived vastly different histories. Now and then, we hurt one another. But if I can't sit down and have a meal with those I disagree with, I have no right to ask anyone else to do the same.
Let's admit it, we all have experienced exactly what Ana described in that last section. Who among us hasn't rebelled against our parents, against authority? Of course, most of us outgrow that phase, but at the heart of this is a struggle that Ana appears to carry with her in every exile-bashing column she's penned: the conflict between her liberal-enlightened views and her parents' pain. For the first time, Ana reveals her weakness, a conflict between two powerful forces: her views and the legitimate feelings of her parents.
What can we take out of this? Indeed, there is room for dissent, as long as it's done respectfully and with good intentions. That's the problem, however. Too much dissent, on BOTH sides, is delivered and displayed with such lack of respect that the issues become drowned out by needless posturing.
What can Ana Menendez and those who share her ideology take from this? That there is also room for vigorous debate and even indignation from those whom you offend with your choice of words. They indeed have the right to express themselves freely - thank God - but we also have the right to react accordingly and within the law.
Most importantly, what I hope Ana can take out of this experience is a new-found sensibility towards those she disagrees with. After all, if she can understand her own parents' pain, then why not the pain and feelings of the majority of Cuban exiles who have lived one too many bad experiences? The same pain and suffering that Ana's parents - our parents - shielded from us second-generation Cuban-Americans.
As I'm wrapping this up, I just noticed Henry's post below. Let's just say that I focused on the bigger picture and meaning behind the column. I doubt that I will ever agree with Ana Menendez on the vast majority of issues. However, I also firmly believe that we can learn something even from those which whom we disagree with.
The entire column is included below the fold.
Exiles' 'pain' must include room for dissentBY ANA MENENDEZ
anamenendez@MiamiHerald.comWe Cubans are infamous for our public displays of suffering, our flamboyant airing of grievances that other cultures have learned to keep private.
It's a trait that has always bothered me, partly because it is has become a symbol for much that others find distasteful in us and partly because it has allowed too many otherwise brave and intelligent people to wallow in corrosive victimhood.
So, in the two years I have been here, I have resisted writing about myself in any way that could be remotely construed as serious. But the week and a half since my column on exiles ran has been a painful one, and I hope the reader will allow me this first and only foray into the deeply personal.
ACTS OF REPUDIATION
Both my parents were born in Cuba. On my mother's side, they were immigrant merchants, little concerned with politics. My father's relatives, not quite so lucky, were full of the tragic impulse to change Cuban history.
In the early 1960s my father's elder brother was arrested, declared an enemy of the revolution and thrown in jail. There is still a lot about that time that I don't know, but a few stories stand out.
The first is one that my father told me many years ago about how after my uncle's arrest, my grandfather stood outside the detention center for hours screaming his name -- wildly, almost incoherently. Finally, one of the prisoners in the top floor yelled down, ''He's here,'' and they made room so my uncle could stand at the window and wave to his father.
The other one my mother reminded me of a few days ago. In 1980, my father traveled to Mariel to try to get his brother out of Cuba. The Cuban government refused to let him go, and when my uncle returned home, he was greeted by a screaming mob. It was a classic act of repudiation, un acto de repudio.
On my mother's side, they, too, were forced to leave. The soldiers who came to inventory their house maliciously told them that all of this now belonged to the state. My grandfather was far from a ''latifundista,'' or land baron. He was a poor boy from Spain who had worked hard and put together a small business. At the age of 63, when most people would be thinking of retirement, he was forced to flee his adopted country and start over in Los Angeles, where my parents eventually met and married.
Bitterness ate away at many in my family. But my mother's father and my father's brother somehow seemed immune. My uncle is now living and working in Miami; my grandfather is many years dead. When things get rough, I remember them both and how they met life's sorrows with humor, openness and dignity.
I wasn't lucky enough to inherit their nobler qualities. But their experiences at the hands of mob and state machinery left me with a lifelong impulse to side with the individual.
My family's suffering shaped me, even in ways they might now find unrecognizable. But I have always considered their story a private matter, refusing to write about it out of a sense of what I grandly considered decency. But I realize now that that reluctance has allowed many in my own community to view me as an abstraction.
Among the most troubling attacks -- in a week of vicious and personal calumnies -- have been those condescending suggestions that I don't ''understand'' Cuban pain.
I understand it too well. But unlike many, I also understand its origins: It is us. The actos de repudio have continued in exile, mob attacks led by a radicalized minority that not only ruin personal lives but seek to destroy reputations and interfere with people's right, not just to dissent, but to pursue their livelihood.
SILENCE OVER TUNNEL
Almost two weeks ago, I wrote about a French company with ties to Cuba that is in line to build a tunnel at the Port of Miami. Of the reams of attacks published in the pages of this newspaper and aired on radio since that column ran, few have addressed the central issue of the tunnel.
Why? Why is this community -- so quick to protest at the slightest perceived ''disrespect'' -- now so silent when it comes to Bouygues Travaux Publics and the $1 billion project they are in line to receive?
This is the company whose affiliate built Cuban luxury hotels for European tourists so they might delight in a country that most Cuban Americans are barred from visiting -- even to see a dying relative.
Even more troubling: Bouygues is represented by attorney Ignacio E. Sánchez, a board member of the Cuban Liberty Council, one of the most outspoken anti-Castro organizations in this country.
During the past week, Sánchez's fellow board member Ninoska Pérez Castellón has blasted me on Spanish-language radio using the most inflammatory language imaginable. She has demanded that I ''retract'' my column, perhaps forgetting that the only systems that demand and extract retractions on opinions are totalitarian ones.
Friday night, I reached Ninoska by phone to ask her about the tunnel project and her association with Sánchez, extending to her the courtesy that she has denied me. She hung up on me.
I connected with a far more cordial Sánchez Saturday, but he was unable to comment, citing his relationship with his client. In an April 3 letter to Miami attorney Nicolás Gutiérrez, he said Bouygues ``had never participated in any project in Cuba.''
That work was done by an affiliate. Many companies use affiliates in Cuba to get around Helms-Burton, the U.S. law that seeks to punish foreign companies that ''traffic'' in exporpriated Cuban properties. Sánchez helped write the law. He knows the loopholes.
So does Gutiérrez, and he's not buying it. Gutiérrez, who represents families who had property expropriated after the revolution, has steadfastly opposed the tunnel deal.
I met with Gutiérrez Friday afternoon. In Miami Cuban circles, everyone knows everyone, and it happens that Gutiérrez and Sánchez are good friends. Together they helped write Helms-Burton and the two of them, Gutiérrez remembered, demonstrated before the Benetton store in Dadeland Mall in 1993 to protest the opening of a store in Havana.
Through the tunnel issue, the two have maintained a friendly, if firm, correspondence. ''Have a Happy Easter,'' Sánchez signed off on one e-mail, using his nickname ``Iggy.''
Gutiérrez, who clearly has great respect for Ninoska and Iggy, didn't think their partnership on the Cuban Liberty Council had anything to do with the pervasive silence surrounding the tunnel project.
Instead, Gutiérrez attributed it to something much more mundane: the complexity of the deal and of the Helms-Burton law itself. (Sánchez would probably say it's because the law doesn't apply.)
I disagree on both points. The law is complex. But the moral stakes are clear. And I suspect that if anyone else but Sánchez represented Bouygues, Ninoska might publicly question the deal with far more rigor.
For GOP state Rep. Julio Robaina, there's no ambiguity: ``It's the moral of the issue for two reasons. First, we have the property tax issue, the crisis really, and we're going to dump $600 million on the tunnel? To add to the fuel, we're willing to give the money to a company with ties to Cuba? You've got to be kidding me. This is a no-brainer.''
Wherever you stand on the tunnel issue, isn't it a good idea to talk about it? Aren't there legitimate questions to be asked? Two Wednesdays ago, after my column ran, one of the first e-mails I got was from a reader who wrote, ''May a bolt of lightning cut you in half.'' Might not be a bad idea, but what does that have to do with the issue?
DINNER-TABLE DEBATE
Later that day, I was supposed to have dinner with my parents when I got called back into the office. Before I made it back, my father made an offhand comment about the column that, without his realizing it, wounded me. At the office, I briefly considered canceling dinner. Instead, I drove back to my parents' house.
My parents and I sometimes clash on important issues. We have lived vastly different histories. Now and then, we hurt one another. But if I can't sit down and have a meal with those I disagree with, I have no right to ask anyone else to do the same.
Ana Menendez, cry me a river
As usual, The Herald's Cuban anti-Cuban pitbull Ana Menendez is doing what she always does when she attacks and gets her face bitten off by those she attacks. She is crying woes me and playing the role of the victim. Oh we're totalitarian, we're intransigent, we're blah blah blah.
Let me give you a clue Ana, nobody's making a big deal about that French company and that tunnel because that project is never going to see the light of day. And if it does, I can pretty much guarantee that the French company won't be involved. Nobody has bitten on the tunnel issue because everyone has seen that it's just an attempt by you to throw gas on the fire as you are pyromaniacally prone to doing.
In the meantime Ana, you can kiss my ass. As I told you in a email, if you don't like being called a bitch, you might want to stop acting like one. But if the shoe fits...
May 26, 2007
MSM guilt in Venezuelan Tragedy
The Venezuelan freight train toward a castro-style totalitarian dictatorship is gaining momentum at a frightening pace with the closure and confiscation of one of the few remaining independent media voices in that country, RCTV, and where is the mainstream American and International media?
If you do a google new search for Venezuela you get a couple a of stories on the subject in the first page of results but nothing from the Associated Press, nothing from Reuters, nothing from the Tribune Company or the New York Times. Nothing from ABC, CBS or NBC. Not surprising at this point but still disturbing. They must be too busy covering Britney or Anna Nicole's baby or American Idol Michael Moore or some other made up bullshit story.
Not only that, the conservative press and blogs aren't covering the story either. They are too busy with demagoguery on the immigration issue apparently to see that our hemisphere is heading to hell in handbasket.
Only AFP (a French News Service) currently has any meaningful coverage of this issue.
The Score? Babalu 1; Spanish sex tourism 0
Iberia Airlines has YANKED its obscene-content ads promoting Cuban sex tourism, as Babalu and its Cuban allies - Abajo Fidel, 26th Parallel. Marc Masferrer at Uncommon Sense, The Real Cuba and others (please name ones I missed in the space below) - have sought, following the exposure of them on this site here and here. Babalu spearheaded the effort to get rid of the garbage, and today, Iberia came out and said it was removing its 'racist, sexist' ad. It didn't say anything about communist-coddling but there's no doubt they heard loud and clear just what the people were saying. This is a great victory for humanity. The American Thinker has a short writeup on the trash that's just been shitcanned in this piece here.
VIVA BABALU!
Even on vacation...
hundreds of miles away from where you live...
you can't get away from who you are and where you came from.
Don't miss this broadcast
Sorry for the light posting folks, I'm away from home and computer. If you've been following the news from Venezuela, you know that yesterday Hugo Chavez closed Venezuela's most popular TV station and his Supreme Court confiscated the station's property. Tonight at 7PM EDT Fausta is hosting an important podcast with guests Thor Halvorssen, President and CEO of the Human Rights Foundation, Daniel Duquenal of Venezuela News and Views, Miguel Octavio, of The Devil's Excrement, and oil industry expert Gustavo Coronel.
Please tune in, the link is at Fausta's Blog.
Deck of Weasels
Here's a little weekend fun for you. Remember the "Deck of Death" playing cards from the Pentagon featuring the Iraqi most wanted? The people at News Max have come up with the "Deck of Weasels", depicting the 54 worst leaders and celebrities who opposed America and were key members of "The United Nations of Weasels."
This hot new set of playing and informational cards – which will surely be a collector’s item – depicts the enemies of America and Iraq’s liberation in a satirical way while revealing the evidence of their hatred – their own quotes against America!
Deck members include past Babalu targets of scorn Martin Sheen, Sean Penn, Harry Belafonte, Ted Tuner, Dan Rather, Charles Rangel, and Ramsey Clark. Dictators fidel and hugo are among the spades, and Hollywood dimwits Streisand and Sarandon are among the hearts. My favorite deck designation is the two jokers, Jimmy Carter and Jesse Jackson.
The full deck is at NewsMax.
May 25, 2007
Your weekend homework assignment
The Council on Hemispheric Affiars touts itself as "an independent, non-profit, non-partisan, tax-exempt research and information organization. It has been described on the Senate floor as being “one of the nation’s most respected bodies of scholars and policy makers.”"
With that in mind, your weekend homework assignment is to read this "article" from COHA and find the plethora of misinformation, rhetoric and downright falsehoods. Then, email COHA at coha@coha.org and teach them a thing or three about Cuba's reality, which they seem to have misplaced somewhere in their non-partisan asses.
Operation Hero Miles
This weekend, while you enjoy time with family and friends, maybe a cookout at home or a pool party, maybe a stay at some Bed and Breakfast on the beach with your loved one, please remember why this is a holiday weekend. Hundreds of thousands of men and women have sacrificed and given their lives so that we may enjoy the lives and freedoms we have here in this great nation. Honor those men and women this weekend. Be thankful that their sacrifices afforded you the right and privilege to live as Americans.
And please, also remember that there are men and women currently serving in harm's way, protecting our lives and our freedoms through their own sacrifices.
Most of the members of our armed services that I have known have been and are content with a small gesture of thanks from our part. They are content with our support and gratitude. But, if you feel you could do more for those that have served and sacrificed, please consider Operation Hero Miles:
Operation Hero Miles was created by Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger in cooperation with close to a dozen United States Airlines in October, 2003. When started, the program allowed troops stationed in Iraq or Afghanistan to fly home on leave for free. It now gives family members of wounded servicemen and women free plane tickets to visit their loved ones recovering at military hospitals across the country. Operation Hero Miles gives ordinary citizens an opportunity to help our troops in a very direct way that makes a real difference in their lives.The program is brilliant in its simplicity. Travelers donate their unused frequent flyer miles to the Fisher House Foundation.
Donations are currently being accepted from the following ten airlines: Airtran Airways, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, Midwest Airlines, Northwest Airlines, United Air Lines and US Airways.
So, if you have a bunch of frequent flyers miles hanging around, please consider donating them so that some member of our armed forces can spend a few precious moments with his or her family, just like the rest of us will do this weekend.
Via Michelle Malkin.
The Menendez Smackdown
Want to read a thing of beauty? El Nuevo Herald journalist Mercedes Soler puts the smackdown on Ana "I hate my heritage" Menendez in today's Miami Herald:
The exile debate: Add and multiply, never divideBY MERCEDES SOLER
mercedesenelnuevo@gmail.com
I do not consider myself a reactionary person. Nor do I allow myself to be carried away by what society considers politically correct. I try to analyze beyond frivolities before I take a position. I am not interested in attacking persons or groups. I prefer to adhere to the motto of José López-Neira, a 90-year-old reader who writes to me daily and signs off saying: ``Add and multiply; never divide.''
I consider that my 20 years in journalism give me the authority to speak about the responsibility required by the right to free expression. I defend the free press, a fundamental pillar of democracy. Opposing, controversial and dissenting opinions must have a place in any open society. But cannibalism long ago ceased to be tolerated in a civil state.
In a recent column, my colleague Ana Menendez offends the Cuban-exile community. She trivializes the suffering, sacrifice and struggle represented by our 48 years in exile; she stains the memory of the 41,700 people who, according to The Cuba Archive, lost their lives because of the Castro government, plus the other thousands of men and women who have served and continue to serve prison sentences for demanding the freedom of expression she so frivolously squanders. She also embraces the communist rhetoric when she addresses us as the Cuban Mafia.
She orders us to swallow our pain. All this she does in English. Because if her parents hadn't been exiles, she probably would not have been born in the United States and would better understand her forefathers' history.
It is not my place to reply in the name of the exile community, the community of my parents and hers. Instead, I do so in the name of our own generation, the one in which she obligatorily was born or reared, kept away from her ancestral land because those old people -- the ones she today calls tired, dispossessed and reduced to pathetic acts of self-parody -- once were brave enough to leap into the void, abandon their loved ones and start a new life without money or knowledge of a new language.
Those same old-timers, in the most tragic of cases, even sent their children to Miami by themselves, in Operation Pedro Pan, just so their children could have -- like she now has -- the opportunity of thinking freely.
For those who prefer not to delve deeply into the meaning of the word exile, which not even remotely approaches the word immigrant, we Cubans here are an easy target of ridicule. Not a day goes by that I don't hear another Hispanic fake a Cuban accent and mockingly spout an ''oye, chico, qué volá,'' [''Hey, man, what's happening''] to conceal rivalry behind solidarity. Everybody wants to unseat a winner.
The fact is that the Cuban community, most of it, has come to the United States to integrate into its educational, labor and political processes. According to U.S. Census Bureau statistics, we Cuban-Americans represent almost 4 percent of the 45 million Hispanics in this country. Yet, our average annual income is higher than that of Anglos, and more than 50 percent of the wealthy Hispanics in this great nation are Cubans.
Our influence is palpable in the media, science, the arts, finance, Congress, the Senate, the country. And all this was forged in fewer than 50 years, under adverse conditions. We could have achieved more in a democratic Cuba.
Throughout the years, I have read with admiration, even devotion, the writings of many English-language columnists. Anna Quindlen of Newsweek speaks to my condition as a woman. Ana Veciana-Suarez touches my heart as a mother. Dave Barry puts me in touch with the girl inside me.
Leonard Pitts is my conscience in the face of racial injustice. And when Pitts, a Pulitzer Prize winner, deals with the negative aspects of the African-American community, he does not engage in mockery or vituperation. He broaches it with brotherly concern.
To criticize the nostalgia of the generation of Agustín Tamargo, Guillermo Cabrera Infante and so many others who live or died clinging to the idea of a democratic and sovereign Cuba is an act of cruelty. It is not a question of agreeing or disagreeing with those who want to boycott something that offends them, but to acknowledge that they have a right to do so here, knowing that in Cuba that act would land them in jail. To criticize those who are not brave enough to face off multinational corporations is simplistic. The exile community has defied Benetton, CNN, the Melia hotel chain and many others.
For someone named Menendez and someone named Soler to come to blows over this is fratricidal. A bitter postscript to another May 20 -- Cuban Independence Day -- in exile.
H/T Robert.
Cuba Nostalgia - El Gusano
Had it not been for El Gusano, this year's Cuba Nostalgia Convention might not have gotten off the ground. He was gracious enough to offer to help me set up the Babalu Booth this year and I can say with all honesty, had he not been there, I would have exploded and called off the whole thing. Not only did he help me put the Babalu frame together, but he did so with much patience as I was a bit hungover - having busted my behind on Wednesday night prepping - and we had no air conditioning in the place.
When you put a stressed out, exhausted and somewhat hungover Val in an un-air conditioned building and have him under a deadline building stuff...well...let's just say he's not the happiest of campers and definitely not someone you want to be around all that much.
But the Big G was patient and took my rantings in stride, knowing I was under a great deal of stress, and busted his behind helping me. Not only that, unbeknownst to him, his cool demeanor helped keep me calm, or at least, kept me from blowing my top.
All of this, mind you, having never met in person before.
So, I want to take this opportunity to publicly thank El Gusano - the Big G - not only for all his help and sweat and hard work and also coming back during the convention to help out as well, but for being my new brother and for keeping me sane and focused on the purpose of the whole event while I was, at times, ready to set the building on fire.
Dude, I know I said it a bunch of times, but I could not have done it without you. I am humbled and honored to have met you and to be part of this blogging family along with you.
Eres un bravo y te quiero y me quedo en chor.
Friday Fast for Cuban Prisoners of Conscience
In solidarity, this blog as well as many of the other anti-castro blogs, fasts in support of the political prisoners and prisoners of conscience people like the Spanish Government along with many Spanish business entities prefer to ignore.
Time for Spain to put up or shut up
It seems that the Spanish government is considering extending citizenship to the grandchildren of those born in Spain. Currently Spain will grant citizenship to those whose parents were born in Spain. It's possible that millions of Cubans could qualify for Spanish citizenship under the new law, if approved.
According to the article, which is from Contacto Cuba, there will likely be diffiiculties in establishing the birthplace of the grandparents of many of the applicants and that Cuba's willingness to recognize the citizenship will be tested. You see the reason Cubans would want Spanish citizenship is to get off the island since it's one of the few countries that WON'T LET YOU LEAVE.
I'm betting that Spain won't pass such a law. First of all I'm not quite convinced that they'd be willing to pay Cubans like Spaniards. To date they haven't wanted to judging by their policies toward Cuban workers on the island. Secondly I don't think they'd want to do anything to offend their friends in the castro regime. Having several million people scrambling for documents that could be their free ticket out of hell is not exactly the kind of publicity that castro inc. enjoys.
Of course if it does come to pass and there are several million new Spanish citizens being held hostage on the island, it will be interesting to see if Spain makes an issue out of it. And what about the US? If you pick up a Cuban rafter at sea with a Spanish passport, one would think that he'd be repatriated to Spain not Cuba.
H/T Fantomas
Desecration at Cementerio de Colon
Inevitably, a government that has no respect for the living also has no respect for the dead.
George has more at the Real Cuba. Brace yourself; the photos are quite disturbing.
May 24, 2007
Basic economics
I’ve been wanting to write this post for a while, but it’s a complex subject so I’ve avoided doing it. A couple of recent events really increased the sense of urgency to do so. First was a Herald column by Ana Menendez where she laments the high cost of living and low wages and advocates for a “living wage”. The other event was listening to Bernadette Pardo And Jose Alfonso Almora talk about gas prices and price gouging.
Although I work in advertising, my educational background is in economics. I wish people didn’t find economic principles so boring because a working knowledge of them would help people make sense of things that affect them every day and thus be better able to make informed decisions.
Lets start with the gasoline thing since that affects everyone and it’s so misunderstood. The gasoline you pump into your car is a finished product, like any other that you might buy. A good portion of the cost of that product is based on the price of the main ingredient used in making it, oil. Oil prices, like those of any other unregulated product, depend on supply and demand. Each day the amount of oil the economies of the world are demanding to keep themselves growing is increasing. At the same time the amount of oil below the ground is finite. As we continue to exploit the world’s oil resources the cost of extracting it will increase. In other words after we get all the oil that’s close to the surface we have to drill deeper to get less amounts. So it’s no wonder that oil prices are rising.
Economic principle: There’s no such thing as “bad” when talking about prices.
Just because the price of something is rising is not necessarily bad. For example, when the food prices go up it may be “bad” for consumers but it’s “good” for farmers. Also when the price for a particular good goes up, consumers will search for substitutes. Chicken for beef, etc.
Economic principle: Markets are self-regulating
The fact is that rising prices at the pump will cause consumers to seek more fuel-efficient cars and manufacturers to find ways to deliver them. It will eventually lead to big developments in energy to the point where there will no longer be a need for gasoline. Instead we’ll be using some other fuel. In short, necessity is the mother of invention. It’s a self-regulating mechanism.
There’s a reason why all those SUVs were sold in America during the 90s and early 2000s despite the fact that the government was mandating higher fuel efficiency from manufacturer fleets: gas was cheap for 20 years. Now you hear all the complaining about the price of gas but nobody forced anyone to buy that Escalade or Suburban. Consumer demands are much more powerful than government regulation and taxation, that’s why you are seeing much more emphasis on smaller more efficient models and the manufacturers are scrambling to meet the new needs. The companies that do so will be the winners.
Oil companies are making record profits on our backs. Wrong.
Every quarter, we hear about the billions of dollars that the “big oil” companies make as if they were stealing from us. But consider this: if you sold a product that the entire world needed in ever-increasing quantities wouldn’t you also be recording record profits each quarter? If you sold popcorn and made 10 cents per pound sold, but each quarter you sold 20% more popcorn you’d be bringing in ever more profit. The thing here is to focus on the profit margin. The 10% is still 10% but the amount you brought in was 20% greater than the previous quarter. All you did was sell more product. Well, as it turns out the “big oil” companies all pretty much make about a 10% margin. That’s a healthy profit but far from highway robbery. The shareholders of those companies are entitled to a return on their investment. By the way nobody is keeping you from becoming one of them and deriving some benefit from the “windfall”.
Economic Principle: Excess profits invite competition
So here we have 3 or 4 major oil companies making about 10% profit on ever increasing amounts of oil they are refining and selling. Why not 15% or 20% if they really have to power to gouge consumers? The answer is that they have to compete with each other and they all compete with potential entrants to the industry. Getting into the popcorn industry is probably a lot cheaper than getting into the energy business and thus we can expect profit margins in an industry with such a high cost of entry to be higher than others.
How is it possible that the oil companies only make 10% if the price of gas is going up so much?
The answer is that the oil companies take an input (crude oil) and add value to it by refining it. They tack their costs of refining on to the cost of the crude and re-sell it to retailers. Think of a baker. When the price of flour goes up, he raises the price of bread to his customers so that he can continue to make the profit margin he’s accustomed to. As long as the demand for bread is constant the baker is insulated from risk. However the demand for bread is “elastic” which is a fancy way of saying variable. People can substitute other things for bread but you can’t (in the short term) substitute the gas in your tank so the demand for gas is relatively inelastic.
Now what would be “bad” is if the oil companies colluded (or got together and decided) that they would agree on a pre-set price. Instead of competing with each other they would be in cahoots to make more profit than the market would normally yield them. Two things here. First, if they did engage in such a behavior they would still face the potential of new entrants to the industry. Secondly they would run afoul of anti-trust law. Congress has investigated these companies time and again and never discovered any collusion. The truth is that they don’t need to collude. They sell a product with a healthy profit margin and a demand that won’t be decreasing anytime soon.
Now it’s illegal for oil co