The world according to Pat Oliphant

I'd love to know how long it would take Oliphant to be fired and made an example of for showing the world what a racist he is by means of a bigoted portrayal of afro-wearing African-Americans being sent to Africa. I'm guessing a nano second, while Cuban-Americans can't even get the WaPo to print a letter about it. It seems in a world of political correctness and training in companies and schools for cultural diversity sensitivity, the only true minority that the world can insult without fear of consequences is Cuban-Americans. Too bad there really is no Miami mafia, because that problem could be fixed "with a phone call."

--Claudia.

As a reminder, this was the original cartoon that the above spoof is based on. Like Claudia says they would have Imused this guy in a minute if the subject of his scorn had been Blacks and not Cubans.

Gracias, MHampton

The official announcement has not come, but the following, the following, folks, is just a good and has lumped my throat:

Dear Val,

This is in response to Alina, though not specifically.

Unlike most of your readers, I am not a first generation, second or even third generation Cuban American. I am a 12th generation European American (from Scotland) and a 3rd generation German American (on my Grandmother's side).

I am proud to say that I have never been to Cuba (since I was born in 1958, that would mean acknowledging the killer-dictator or supporting his actions). I can't even say that I know any Cubanos personally - of which I am neither proud nor ashamed, it is simply a fact. So, I have no real links to Cuba or our plight. And I don't know how I found your web page, probably by a link to a link, but am glad I have.

I just wanted to let you and your readers know that you don't have to be Cuban to know that Castro is evil. And you don't have to be from Cuba to be able to see that he has destroyed a beautiful country and tormented its people for a half-century. I also want you to know that you don't have to be Cuban-American to be appalled, but not surprised, that Alina's teacher would declare "Viva Castro". That we are all appalled, but not surprised, when Obama makes ridiculous comments and Oliphant and the Washington comPost insult Cubans without concern. And I wanted to see Janet Reno thrown into a Cuban prison for her rape of Elian (it helps that I totally dislike Clinton - both of them).

Most people think this is a Cuban-American / Castro disagreement, but I guess I am not like most people. I see this as a fight between those who believe in the good of man over men who want to destroy that good. Hollywood looks at Castro as a star, while the stars weep for the misery he has caused.

I believe that one day the border between the US and Cuba will be more open than the US with Canada. That, one day, Cuba will be re-established as the jewel of the Western Hemisphere where free people and economy prosper for all the world to see. I believe that the pain and suffering of those living there and you who suffer with them will be as Lazarus in the Bible (Lk 16:19-31). You will all live in comfort and peace while the "rich man" is in torment and begging that a good Cuban "dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue"

And, most of all, I believe that you and your readers will make it so.

Thank you for your effort and endurance.

Vive Cuba y Cubanos y muerte al dictador que vive de tu sangre y sudor (from BableFish Translator - "and death to the dictator who lives on your blood and sweat.")

MHampton

Having Returned from Havana

For months now, the rumor mill has been spinning a trove of information regarding the condition of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. In a land as closed off as Cuba, the veracity of these reports is often difficult, if not impossible to ascertain. With that in mind, I recently set off to the Pearl of the Antilles to determine for myself, exactly what the situation on the ground is. Later today, I’ll begin to post a series of observations and analyses, which I hope will offer at least a bit of light on the subject. Stay tuned.

It's Friday, and I have an unconfirmed rumor...

No, it's not about you-know-who. I just heard from a very reliable source that The Police will be closing their world tour with a free concert in...

Havana.

Why? The source explained that Sting feels the Cuban people need music. I wonder if they'll invite Darsi Ferrer, Oscar Elias Biscet, or the Ladies in White to the concert? So much for moral consistency.

Any other info would be appreciated.

How do you say....

When hell freezes over in Cuban?

Pro-democracy petition architect asks parliament to abolish electoral law, hold new elections

The Associated PressPublished: August 30, 2007

HAVANA: The architect of the Varela Project pro-democracy drive asked Cuba's parliament to abolish and replace the country's electoral law and hold free, democratic general elections as soon as possible.

In the letter addressed to the president of Cuba's national assembly, Oswaldo Paya also asked for a change in existing laws to guarantee citizens "freedom of expression, respect for diverse opinions existing in society and access by all citizens and opinions to mass media."

A copy of the letter and an accompanying news release were hand-delivered by messenger to The Associated Press on Thursday evening.

The latest move by Paya, among Cuba's best-known dissidents, appeared aimed at reviving the long-shelved Varela Project just as communist-run Cuba gears up for municipal elections this fall.

There was no immediate official reaction to the new initiative, which was announced after government offices closed for the day.

Read the rest right here.

Hat tip: Lee.

More on the bigotry of Pat Oliphant (Updated)

In case youve forgotten, here's the Pat Oliphant WaPo cartoon we've been blogging about:

We've read editorials and letters to the WaPo editors from numerous folks - Fontova, de la Cova, Eire - all which, as you will learn with the following letter from Prof. Carlos Eire, fell upon deaf ears:

On the Oliphant issue: I got a hold of someone at the Washington Post, a Yale alumnus. He was kind enough to reply to my letter, but politely informed me they could not print it. I expected that. Then he let me know that the Post had not run the Oliphant cartoon in its print edition. They had only posted it on the web, on Aug. 22. He has forwarded my complaint to the ombudsman at the Post, and also to the website department that ran the cartoon. Let's see what happens. I also tried to track down Mr. Oliphant himself, but the best I could do is to find the syndicate that distributes his cartoons. So I wrote the man a letter, and sent him a copy of my book. In the process I also found out that he is an immigrant too, from Australia. I append the letter below.

And here is the professor's absolutely brilliant response to Oliphant himself:

Mr. Pat Oliphant
c/o Universal Press Syndicate
4520 Main Street
Kansas City, MO 64111-7701

Dear Mr. Oliphant:

Er... ahem...(tug on forelock; head bowed in deference; a shuffling of feet)....Please excuse me, sir. You are so far superior a human being, and I so unworthy of sharing the same space with you, even through a letter; I tremble as I address you. Please do not strike back in righteous anger. I should know better than to address my betters directly, especially those who have the power to sway public opinion with an acid brush. But this is an emergency: I do need to point out to you that Cuban-American men do not wear fedoras.

As a historian, and a professional pedant, I have to care about such details.

And....perhaps you neglected to costume Uncle Sam in the correct garb? Shouldn’t he be wearing a white robe with a peaked hood? And shouldn’t the shadowy figure on the shoreline be standing next to a burning cross?

If I may, I would also like to ask you a question. What kind of response do you think you would have received if you had placed some other nationality or ethnic group in the boat? African Americans? Asians? Jews? Italians Mexicans? Arabs?

Australians?

Please do not take umbrage at my temerity, but I also feel compelled to enclose a gift. It’s a book filled with all sorts of information about our sorely benighted culture. It may help you avoid further inaccuracies in the future, should you deem us Cuban exiles worthy of your ridicule again.

From the back of the bus, where I belong-- but without a fedora-- I remain your humble servant, ever eager to do your menial chores and to receive the abuse I so richly deserve as a spic and a nuisance.

Carlos M. N. Eire
T. Lawrason Riggs Professor of History and Religious Studies
Chair, Renaissance Studies Program

A thing of beauty if I ever read one.

Update: Via Scoitt G. Here's a link to Marti's letter "A Vindication of Cuba." (just scroll down a bit). All I can say is, Wow!

Update II: You can read Marti's letter in its entirety here, where you'll be able to copy and paste and print. This letter should hang on the wall in the home of every Cuban living in exile. H/T RR.

Drumroll please.....

While we wait for the Cuban government to announce, "officially", that fidel castro is jumping rope with Beelzebub, here's a news item that hasnt received much play in the MSM:

Cuba issues first invitation to UN rapporteur

Published on Friday, August 31, 2007

GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP): Cuba issued its first invitation to a UN human rights special rapporteur Thursday, the UN said hailing the move.

Jean Ziegler, UN's special rapporteur on the right to food, announced that he had been invited to the communist island for a visit between October 28 and November 6.

"It's a major first," he declared. "It is a precedent: the Cubans will not be able to refuse visits of other UN rapporteurs," he added.

"The Cubans have found solutions regarding the right to food in difficult conditions," Ziegler told the Swiss news agency ATS.

Ziegler, a Swiss sociologist, will report to the UN human rights council when he returns from his visit.

Last June, Havana managed to get the post of UN special representative on human rights issues in Cuba abolished, a widely criticised decision.

The incumbent, French lawyer Christine Chanet, had asked to be relieved of her duties after Havana refused to cooperate with her.

Let's all get this straight, folks: Cuba has not allowed a UN Human Rights official into the island for over 2 score years. It is also now a member of the brand spanking new UN Human Rights "Council."

Parumpah!

Truth is truly stranger than fiction sometimes.

Why we're here...

From the mailbag:

Dear Val,

Despite what my email says, my name is Alina (name witheld). I'm half Cuban and my mom was two when she left Cuba. I grew up hearing all about Cuba, Castro, and communism. And anyone who says the newer generation of Cubans don't care about Cuba don't have a clue. Anyway, I'm writing to you to tell you about an incident in my Spanish class. I went up to my teacher's desk to take a test on the alphabet. After, I asked him if we were learning about Spanish countries. Yes, we were. Were we learning about Cuba? Yes, although they might not let us talk about it much. I told him about my Cuban ancestry and his face lit up. 'I love teaching about Cuba!' (or something along those lines, I don't remember) 'Vive Castro!' He was all smiles until he saw my expression. "Vive libertad!" he said, trying again. I calmed down, segued into chatting about how I don't know much Spanish, yes, my grandma watched novellas, blah blah, and went back to my seat. For the rest of the day, I alternated between shock and anger.

That was my first real experience on just how little people know about Cuba. Sure, my friends didn't know much either, but they sure didn't say anything along the lines of 'Long Live Castro!' Why are people so ignorant as to believe that Castro is a good guy? More so, why would they assume that since I'm Cuban but OVER HERE IN AMERICA I'm pro-Castro? I mean, whaaaaaaaaaaaaat???

Anyway, thanks for reading this. I love Babalu!

Sincerely,

Alina

My only hope is that Babalú has helped open some eyes about the realities of Cuba and the despotic regime that oppresses her.

Exiles and immigrants, a response

Robert, I know where your heart is on this, but I don't agree.

I am a completely assimilated American. I took the oath of citizenship for this country and meant every word. I'd die for this country if I had too. My sister was born here, my wife, my son, my niece.

But I am still an exile. Why? Because the country of my birth was stolen from me. The term used by me (I cannot speak for Dr. Eire) represents a state of mind, not a condition of citizenship. My using the term "exile" means that my birthright was illegally taken from me, taken by one man and his followers, by a political act, by deception, by murder.

Being an exile implies a different feeling, a different mindset, a different set of premises, than that of an immigrant. An immigrant "arrives," an exile "flees;" an immigrant knowingly chooses to come to a new land because he has made a choice, an exile also does this, but he does it because he has no other choice; an immigrant desires a new life in a new land, the exile does the same knowing that that new life comes with the pain of forced separation, a pain that never leaves. And there's the rub. I am here because my parents fled a political system, a philosophy, not an economic disaster. Ask the East Germans, the Czechs, the Hungarians, the Poles, the Vietnamese; ask the German Jews fleeing the Nuremberg Laws or Kristallnacht; ask Alexander Solzhenitsyn. He knows the difference.

That's why the two experiences are different. And make no mistake, my definition of the terms can only apply to the Cuban experience because I know no other. It would be unseemly of me to to speak for other groups. But I was born in Cuba, so I have the right and the duty to speak out about that island and what was done to her. If a Cuban chooses to call himself an immigrant, then to me he is denying with his words what was done to his country, he is denying the very reason for his exit, whether he admits it to himself or not. Because in the end, the Beast of Birán is the author of both experiences. A Cuban calling himself an "immigrant" denies to the world the crimes fidel has committed, the evil he has wrought on the island. It gives him an out in the eyes of the world. Our destiny, our lives, were formed by him. He is the author of our destierro. I just choose to accept the reality of what he did to us. I don't wear rose-colored glasses, and I am not, nor can I be, nor do I want to be, "objective" when speaking about what he has done.

I work with many who have left the island as recently as thirteen years ago who consider themselves exiles. Why? Because their desire for liberty was greater than their desire for work or economic stability. Not that they weren't thinking of brighter pastures here; quite the contrary. Many wanted a new life, to start a family, to have the ability to own property, to have a career -- a real one, not one paid by the government at $12 per month. But the prime mover of their decision was liberty: the ability to do, say, think, believe and live however they wanted. When all is said, where better to seek that liberty than here.

Sound familiar?

I was reading the Miami New Times today and saw a letter to the editor that mentioned something that sounded eerily familiar. The letter was in reference to an article in the August 16th edition of MNT written by the beautiful Tamara Lush. The piece in question was entitled "117 Dead" and was about the state of health care in Miami-Dade's correctional facilities. The reader who wrote the letter was pointing out the inadequacy of the system's medical director's justification which was as follows:

Yet CHS Medical Director Dr. Kathryn Villano is confident prisoners get the best medical attention possible. "The inmates have much greater access to health care in jail than on the street," she says. "In jail a nurse can refer them to a clinic and they go there within a day or a couple of days."

A yes, we've heard claims of great health care as a justification for the unjustifiable.

Big claims but...

No t-shirt needed here. Just the truth.

Exiles and Immigrants

I was listening to the podcast of yesterday's Babalu Radio Hour show last night and today, and a part of the conversation between Val, George and Professor Carlos Eire really caught my attention (by the way, don't be like me and wait until just a few weeks ago to discover how easy it is to subscribe to the podcasts of the show if you can't catch it live. Go download it now!).

The topic was exiles instead of immigrants. Prof. Eire mentioned that Cubans who have left Cuba are a community of "desterrados" (literally meaning to remove the earth from). Basically, it means to be exiled. George later added that for some Cubans to consider themselves immigrants instead of exiles is a "slap to the face" to those who went through the pain of losing and leaving everything behind, and (to paraphrase), that those who consider themselves immigrants instead of exiles are resentful of their heritage. In other words, the arrepentidos that we all know and love (to argue with).

At first, I didn't agree with George's comment. However the more I thought about it, and after listening to that portion of the podcast a couple more times, I understand what George and the professor meant. Exile, using a basic definition, is to be forced out of your land. Immigration, by definition, is to willingly leave one's country to settle permanently in another. Therefore, to be an immigrant is to renounce your native land in favor of a new and better place. Some associate renouncing your native land to renouncing everything associated with it, including past experiences of yourself and others. In that context, George made sense.

However, for Cuban-Americans, it's a bit more complicated than the definitions above. Several polls, including recent ones, indicate that the vast majority of Cuban-Americans would not return to live in a free Cuba of the future. To me, that represents an evolution of the Cuban-American community from an exile state to one of acceptance and assimilation more commonly associated with the immigrant experience. After all, it's been almost 50 years. This is not to say that Cuban-Americans who don't want to go back to live in Cuba resent their heritage. Of course as anyone familiar with Babalu Blog knows, this can't be farther from the truth. This is where I diverge slightly from George and what caused me to pause while hearing the podcast. Yes, there are many self-described Cuban-American "immigrants" who disdain the hard-line and much of their Cuban heritage, as George correctly noted. But there are many more who want to keep their newer roots in the United States and wouldn't even dream of returning to live in a country that is vastly different than it was 50 years ago, whom nevertheless feel very strongly about a free Cuba, are vehemently anti-castro and are proud of their heritage.

In short and in summary, it's OK and perfectly normal to be a Cuban immigrant, still be proud of your Cuban heritage and identify with the values of your parents and grandparents. One does not have to consider him/herself an exile in order to feel this way.

Brilliant Observation

Fidel Castro is an ingrate. That must be what Sen. Christopher Dodd is thinking now that Cuba's communist tyrant has endorsed a Democratic ticket of Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.

After all Sen. Dodd has done for Castro in his three decades in Congress, one would think Castro might have given the senator's languid presidential campaign a little boost...

Congress' strongest proponent of normalized relations with Cuba and most reliable coddler of socialist dictators, Sen. Dodd beat back the nominations of such anti-communist diplomats as John Bolton, Otto Reich and Roger Noriega. His successes relieved international pressure on the Castro regime, led to today's rising tide of socialism in Latin America and helped Castro's latest sugar daddy, Hugo Chavez, turn back an attempted coup in 2002 that would have restored democracy to the Venezuelan people.

But this is the thanks one gets when one is a useful idiot.

H/T: Mora

Signs, signs, everywhere signs

It's come to my attention that someone out there really, really loves our t-shirt. In fact they have been promoting the hell out of them. So I thought I'd return the favor...

Sort of.

Mother in custody case accuses Magda Montiel Davis of fabricating evidence

Ira Kurzban and his wife are known castroites, a type not usually known for ethical behavior.

Excerpt from the Miami Herald:

Perez told Circuit Judge Jeri B. Cohen she had ''twisted things to favor'' Izquierdo, whom she said she wants to regain custody of their daughter. ''The letters do not exist,'' she told the judge, adding that it didn't really matter because "pieces of paper do not show who he is.''

''He's a good father,'' Perez added.

''But were these fabricated letters?'' the judge asked. "Who wrote them?''

Fighting tears, Perez at first said she was at Kurzban's office earlier this month when Izquierdo's attorneys gave her the letters and asked her to testify that Izquierdo had written them to her.

''I regard that as a pretty serious allegation,'' Kurzban shot back. But Cohen continued to question Perez, and Kurzban was not allowed to speak.

A moment later, Perez changed part of her testimony. She said the meeting occurred at the office of Kurzban's wife, Magda Montiel Davis, who is also an attorney on the case, practicing at a different office. Perez said Kurzban was not in the office, only Davis, Izquierdo and herself.

Perez told the judge the meeting occurred ''in the early evening hours,'' and that she did not know exactly where Davis's office is because she was driven there by a relative.

What was the point of the fabrication? the judge asked.

"For me to say I got these letters in Houston. To help the father of the child.... I would do anything for the girl to be with her father.''

''We felt we were not going to be found out,'' Perez added. "I just accepted the idea... We parents will do anything we need to be with our children.''

When Cohen asked why Perez had decided to admit the lie now, Perez said her own lawyer had told her, an hour or two earlier, that it was against the law to lie while under oath, "that the name of the crime is perjury, and that it conveyed time in jail.''

The judge then told Perez she was unsure if she was telling the truth.

''It is very serious, if it's true, for his lawyer,'' Cohen added. ``Lying to the court is concerning to me. It's concerning to me. I don't know if it's true or not, because you have nothing to gain by it.''

Not being a lawyer, I have no idea how an allegation like this will affect the outcome of this case, but it is my opinion that Ira Kurzban and his wife are castro loving, unethical scum and it is about time they were caught.

Read the whole article here.

A Message for Miguel Cossio

Via Gusano at La Contra Revolucion, I learned that Miguel Cossio, news director at Canal 41refered to me and this blog, in reference to last Friday's "fidel castro is dead" rumors, as "combustibly spreading the collective hysteria."

I, personally, dont feel the need to justify my actions or posts of last Friday, as they are still up for all to see and digest and discern. But it chaps my ass that an MSM editor feels the need to write an editorial about rumors and attempts to assign blame on this blog for same.

Now, farbeit for me to criticize such an esteemed member of the Mainstream Media - and I am loathe to do so out of respect for his past work in highlighting the Cuban reality - but I hardly think the news director of such a prominent member of the MSM should waste any time focusing and criticizing this humble blog. There are many many other important issues that Mr. Cossio could take pen to paper to discuss: political prisoners in Cuba; the fidel castro "written" editorials; strip mining in Oriente province; the real state of Cuba's vaunted healthcare; chihuahuas and their biting effect on heels, etc...

I would think that a more apt use of his expertise and valuable time would be not to call out some "lowly blog" for actually telling its readers what is going on at some precise moment in time, but, say, for maybe exposing how his colleagues at the MSM tailor their coverage of Cuba to suit the Cuban regime, all to be able to remain on the island for the "big story." We havent read much of that in the editorial pages of El Nuevo Herald or the Miami Herald, have we?

So, as the saying goes, Mr. Cossio, before you point your finger at the splinter in my eye, take care of the plank in yours.

And for the record, I, editor in chief of Babalu Blog, speaking only for myself, stand by the statement "fidel castro is dead." Unless, of course, one of your colleagues, or yourself, decides to grow some balls, throw "the bureau" caution to the wind and go to Cuba, do some real investigative reporting and prove me wrong.

You can go back now to ruminating and dissecting, along with your editorial staff and "journalists", fidel castro's latest "editorial" and exactly what "he" means by it all, nipping chihuahuas and collective hysteria notwithstanding.

U.S. Congressmen bitchslap the Spanish

Oh, man. I love this:

US Congressmen Woo Ex-Communist EU States On Cuban Democracy 30 August 2007

BUDAPEST (AP)--A group of Cuban-American U.S. congressmen Thursday urged Hungary and other former communist states to play a greater role in advocating for democratic changes in Cuba.

The lawmakers said the transition of these countries from totalitarian regimes to democracy gave them credibility in the issue and a better grasp of Cuban reality.

"A country that has gone through the experience (Hungary) has gone through can play a major role in assistance and providing support for democracy in Cuba," said U.S. Rep. Albio Sires, a Democrat from New Jersey.

Sires and the rest of the delegation said Hungary and the European Union could assist the changes in Cuba by finding ways to help Cuban dissidents and insisting that free elections be held on the island after Fidel Castro's death.

The congressmen also were critical of Spain's position toward Cuba, especially of investments in Cuba made by Spanish companies, and said the Eastern European countries needed to be more determined in efforts to lead the European Union's position on Cuba.

"In the E.U., there is too much acceptance of the supposed leadership from Spain on the issue of Cuba," said Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, a Republican from Florida. "Spain still seems to be in the 19th century, defending colonial interests with regards to Cuba."
"Why this Spanish consensus of support for the regime in Cuba? That's why countries like Hungary must be assertive."

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, like his brother also a Florida Republican, said the current Spanish government led by Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero was "one of the strongest collaborators of (Cuba's) totalitarian, apartheid dictatorship."

Earlier this year, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice chided Spain for doing business with Castro while not working more to support dissidents.

The Spanish government said engagement was the best way to influence Castro's regime, and that there has been frequent contact with dissident groups since the Socialist government took office in 2004.

The U.S. delegation also thanked Hungary for recently agreeing to provide asylum to 29 Cuban refugees held at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. naval base.

"The humanitarian gesture is greatly appreciated," Lincoln Diaz-Balart said.

After learning of the decision to take in the refugees, Cuba called Hungary an "imperial accomplice" of Washington, and said it was being "servile" to its "powerful and aggressive master," the United States.

The three congressmen met with Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany, Foreign Minister Kinga Goncz and opposition leaders during their stay, part of a trip which also includes stops in Poland and the Czech Republic. [ 30-08-07 1045GMT ]

Don't wait until it snows in Havana...

...to listen to this podcast

As you probably know, we have an internet radio show that we do live each week on Wednesday's from 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM.

This week one of our guests was Carlos M. N. Eire, who is the T. Lawrason Riggs Professor of History and Religious Studies and the Chair of the Renaissance Studies Program at Yale University. Professor Eire is also the author of the National Book Award-winning memoir Waiting for Snow in Havana.

We also had an MSM journalist on that recently returned from a trip to Cuba and shares his personal insights as to what the mood is and the goings on in Havana. He also did Prof. Eire a small gesture of kindness that they discuss. (bust out the Kleenex)

As usual, when Professor Eire speaks, your are going to want to listen. And fortunately for those who missed the show, you can to listen the show archive. Click the image below to listen to the last show. You can also subscribe to the podcast and receive it automatically each week. Click here if you have iTunes and wish to subscribe.

Round Two

Yesterday, Humberto Fontova knocked out the Washington Post in the fist round. Today, Carlos Erie tags up and takes them to the mat in round two. Here's his letter to the WaPo editorial board:

Dear Editors:

Thank you ever so much for publishing Thomas Oliphant’s blatantly racist, frothing-at-the-mouth, hate-filled cartoon in Sunday’s Washington Post (August 26), in which Uncle Sam shoves a boatload of shifty-eyed Cuban American "nuisances" into the Florida Straits, and sends them back to where they came from. Thanks for letting your guard down. You have now finally allowed your prejudices to show openly. As the ancient aphorism has it, a picture is worth a thousand words. No one can doubt your bias now, or your utter disdain for Cuban Americans.

I am sure you have received plenty of mail from other “nuisances” such as myself, pointing out how Mr. Oliphant’s carticature of Cuban Americans is way off the mark and very much in the same league with depictions of Jews in the Third Reich or of Africans and Asians in a less enlightened America. I won’t belabor the obvious. Allow me simply to say thank you.

Thanks for coming out in the open so boldly. Thanks for your honesty. Thanks also for providing your readers with clues about what kind of bigotry is still politically correct.

Thanks also for allowing Mr. Oliphant the right to speak his mind openly. Three cheers for free speech and freedom of the press! This is what makes the United States the envy of the world, and such a magnet for the less fortunate citizens of benighted lands.

Mr. Oliphant’s cartoon brought to mind an incident from long ago. Back in 1964, when I was in eighth grade, one of my classmates in Bloomington, Illinois spit on my face, called me a “spic,” and told me to go back to my “stinkin’” country. Well, to be honest, the adjective Max used wasn’t really “stinkin’; it was an expletive that begins with “f”, which your newspaper refused to print back in the days when you first published the transcripts of President Nixon’s White House tapes. What happened in that schoolyard that day was beautiful, and a wonder to behold. All of the other boys jumped on this Max and started to berate and punch him. As they were pouncing on Max, dozens of my schoolmates said things to me such as “Don’t listen to Max, he’s an idiot.” “Don’t pay attention to him.” And so on.

Fortunately, that is the real America, and the real Uncle Sam, unlike what is depicted in Mr. Oliphant’s cartoon.. Bigots such as Mr. Oliphant and my eighth grade schoolmate Max are the exception rather than the rule. God knows why they harbor the prejudices that they do. In the larger scheme of things, they deserve our pity and compassion, as do all who are plagued by invincible ignorance which usually stems from a poor sense of self-worth.

Fortunately, thanks to you and Mr. Oliphant, the real America now knows for certain which prejudices are still dominant at the Washington Post, and how much you have in common with rabid skinheads, no matter how enlightened you claim to be.

Carlos M. N. Eire
T. Lawrason Riggs Professor of History and Religious Studies
Chair, Renaissance Studies Program
Yale University
Winner, 2003 National Book Award, nonfiction

Will the WaPo respond?

I love Ann Coulter

Ann Coulter is my kind of conservative: erudite, principled, intelligent, acid-tongued, and absolutely fearless when it comes to (correctly, every time) characterizing and attacking the Democrats. In her latest piece she writes about the Democrat orgasm about Attorney General Gonzales's resignation. Notice, though, that unlike the Dems with one of theirs, she was very critical of him and policies. She's not giving the Dems a moment's peace about their hypocrisy, though:

Let's compare attorneys general:

-- Civilians killed by Ashcroft: 0
-- Civilians killed by Gonzales: 0
-- Civilians killed by Reno: 80

And this gem:

I believe Reno also falsely accused the Miami relatives of Elian Gonzalez of violating the law, which I am not including in her record of false accusations, but reminds me of another comparison.

-- Number of 6-year-old boys deported to totalitarian dictatorships by Ashcroft: 0
-- Number of 6-year-old boys deported to totalitarian dictatorships by Gonzales: 0
-- Number of 6-year-old boys deported to totalitarian dictatorships by Reno: 1

Read the whole thing.

Vanities of the absurd, defending a ghost

Folks, we couldn’t make this up. Media Matters, watchdog of “conservative" media takes Fox and guest Michelle Malkin to task over their coverage of "castro's" endorsement of a Clinton-Obama ticket.

Missing are any questions about fidel having authored the article. Honestly, I can't decide whether to laugh or to cry.

Fox graphics falsely asserted Castro "wants" Clinton-Obama as "dream team" Summary: During a Fox & Friends segment discussing an August 28 column by Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, on-screen text falsely asserted, "CASTRO'S DREAM TEAM: WANTS CLINTON AND OBAMA IN '08," referring to Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Also during the segment, an on-screen graphic depicted Castro, Clinton, and Obama enclosed in a red heart. In fact, at no point in his column did Castro endorse Clinton or Obama. Indeed, he attributed to Clinton and Obama a pro-democratic view that he called an "error," and he said of Clinton and Obama, "They are not making politics: they are playing a game of cards on a Sunday afternoon."

During the August 29 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, during a segment discussing an August 28 column by Cuban dictator Fidel Castro in the Cuban newspaper Granma, on-screen text falsely asserted, "CASTRO'S DREAM TEAM: WANTS CLINTON AND OBAMA IN '08," referring to Democratic presidential candidates Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (NY) and Barack Obama (IL). Also during the segment, an on-screen graphic depicted Castro, Clinton, and Obama enclosed in a red heart. In addition, during the August 28 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, guest host Michelle Malkin previewed an upcoming segment by falsely claiming that "Fidel Castro, of all people, endorses a Hillary Clinton-Barack Obama presidential ticket." Malkin went on to ask, "What is that all about?" In fact, at no point in his column did Castro endorse Clinton or Obama. Indeed, he attributed to Clinton and Obama a pro-democratic view that he called an "error," and he said of Clinton and Obama, "They are not making politics: they are playing a game of cards on a Sunday afternoon."

What kind of altered universe is this? Bad enough that so-called journalists have gleefully disseminated castro's propaganda for the last 50 years, but now a media watchdog group is rightously defending the non-existent integrity of that propagandist? Absurd.

Ni Vergüenza

As you all know, by now my wife gave birth to two beautiful babies yesterday morning. When it was time for my wife to be wheeled into the operating room for the c-section, I was dressed in the "Bunny Suit" they make you wear. It's like a one piece white jumpsuit and you have to wear the hat, mask and booties too. After the procedure they told me to wait where I got dressed until the doctor would come talk to me. At that moment another pregnant woman was wheeled down the hallway to another operating room and her husband sat next to me. We'll call him Carlos. We started making small talk. He told me was from Havana and judging by his inability to communicate in English I'm guessing he hasn't been here that long. I asked him if this was his first child that was being born and he said he had two children from a previous marriage in Cuba.

The nurse gave him the same explanation they gave me of how to dress up. He was having difficulty putting on the bunny suit and I helped him get his second hand in the sleeve. He muttered under his breath that in Cuba they don't have any of these fancy things.

"But I thought they had great health care in Cuba?" I asked in Spanish.

"En Cuba no hay ni vergüenza." He told me "In Cuba there isn't even shame." Meaning that everything is in such short supply that they don't even have things like shame.

Carlos then told me about his 15 year old daughter who was born in Cuba. It was a difficult labor for the mother and according to him, "In order to avoid doing a c-section they used forceps to deliver her. They fractured her clavicle and her skull."

I'm pretty sure Michael Moore won't be interviewing Carlos about the wonders of socialized medicine in Cuba any time soon. That's because shame is in short supply in our country too, particularly on the left.

My WaPo Letter

Since it appears the Washington Post is going to refuse to publish any letters regarding the bigoted cartoon the published a few days ago I thought I'd post my letter here.

Dear editor,

In reference to the Pat Oliphant cartoon published by The Post on August 24th, I think it's interesting that Cuban-Americans are the only minority group in America that can be mocked and ridiculed without any repercussions for those doing the mocking and the ridiculing. Perhaps it's because Cuban-Americans are the only minority or immigrant group that tends to be conservative. Perhaps it's because Cuban-Americans are the most successful immigrant group, economically and politically, in the history of the country. Or perhaps it's because Cubans had the temerity to leave the land of "great and free" health care and education to come here to "suffer". Regardless of the reason, it's obviously open season on Cuban-Americans. That's OK, we haven't needed help from the media or the liberal establishment in this country to date. I doubt we we will be needing it in the future.

Sincerely,

Henry Gomez

Nice autograph, eh Larry?

(H/T Nueva Cuba via Enrique)

The Babalu Radio Hour - Tonight at 8 - Call (646) 652-4506

Tune in to our internet radio show at our normal time: 8:00 PM EDT on BlogTalk Radio. We have a special guest tonight, who has arrived from Cuba within the last 48 hours, who will be speaking on the conditions on the island, as well as the scuttlebutt on the street. I'm going to try to take as many calls as time allows tonight so call in early at (646) 652-4506. I'll do my best to get in as many people as possible. If you're shy, drop me an email here or send an email to Val.

Click the image below at 8:00 PM eastern to hear the show live. Make sure to reload that page at 8:00 PM or you won't see the "listen live" button you need to click.

The Washington Post vs. Humberto Fontova?

Get the body bag ready for the WaPo:

With this in mind I invite you to examine an editorial cartoon run last week by this hyper-sensitive guardian of liberal sensibilities, by this vigilante, prosecutor, and judge for anything printed, spoken, or whispered that could conceivably imply a derogatory quality to any conceivable ethnic group: http://news.yahoo.com/comics/uclickcomics/20070822/cx_po_uc/po20070822.

Note that a smiling Uncle Sam insults an American ethnic group as “nuisances" while forcibly expelling them from the nation in a rickety boat titled "Cuban-Americans," while these scowling, elderly and Mafiosi-clad people scream “we demand a chance to interfere with the '08 election!”

By “interfere” we have to assume the cartoonist refers to the right, privilege and duty bestowed upon U.S. citizens known as "voting." It so happens that the cartoonist, Pat Oliphant, is himself an immigrant to this country. In an interview with Time magazine he admitted to “leaning Democratic” in his politics.

I now invite you to contemplate the reaction from the usual political-correctness police had any other U.S. ethnic group (except overwhelmingly Republican Cuban-Americans) inhabited that boat. Imagine the fire and brimstone (literal, perhaps) if instead of Fedoras (rarely worn by Cuban-Americans, by the way) the group had worn kuffiyeh's, burkha's and chadors!

Imagine the clamor and attempted extortions followed by craven apologies and grovelings if the boat's passengers had been "nappy-headed" and headed for Africa! Imagine the rallies in Los Angeles and the indignant blusterings by California politicians and Nancy Pelosi if they'd worn sombreros!

OUCH. Read the whole thing and watch the Washington Post get KO'd.

The Commie Dictionary

I swear, one day Im going to put together a commie dictionary because everyone knows when a commie says one thing, it actually means another.

Case in point, and what brought idea to mind, the following from Free Republic:

According to AP: Defection fears to keep Cuban boxers at home

Cuba won't send a boxing team to the world championships in Chicago, heeding Fidel Castro's fears about future defections after two fighters abandoned their teammates during the Pan American Games.

"We will not expose anew a Cuban boxing team to the abuses and provocations that in this case will be present in Chicago, American territory, the perfect location for marketers and traffickers to act freely and with the total complicity of U.S. authorities," the Cuban Boxing Federation said Wednesday.

"Abuses and provocations." Commie-speak for the lure of freedom and opportunity.

Hat tip: Kevin V.

How to tell fidel castro is dead...

I have proof, and it's right here.

Homeless? In Cuba? Bah, Humbug!

Defenders of the island dictatorship always say there's no homeless in Cuba.

Ahem...

I suppose this guy is just looking for his contact lens.

Photo via The Real Cuba.

Hey, you forgot your comb!

Americans should sacrifice their SUVs. So says John Edwards, the boy candidate, with a Masters in Ignorance and a Ph.D. in hypocrisy. I don't like the damn things any more than he does. But the difference is that I am not going to tell you what you can drive while living in a honking mansion with a crap-load of SUVs parked out front.

And we have bullets, too!

The USA is the most armed country in the world, with 90 guns per 100 people. Damn right! Us knuckle-draggin' Neanderthals will be at the front-lines while the "progressives" and "liberals" are hiding under their beds, holding their copies of The Audacity of Hope.

Brain food

Here's a thought for you all to chew on a bit and comment.

I can think of a myriad reasons why the Cuban government wouldnt release the news of the death of fidel castro. But suppose the answer to that question is a very very simple one: money.

The country is ultra dependent on tourism right now, and while, as Tomas Estrada Palma has reported ad infinitum, the industry has taken a hit recently, can you imagine what political uncertainty would do to it? How many people would travel to a place where there is government instability - yes, I know, we keep hearing about the succession and transition and all that going fine, but does anyone really believe that?

Imagine what, say, a fifty percent drop in the tourism industry would do to the economics of the isalnd right now. No people vacationing in apartheid hotels, no sex tourists, no Europeans and others travelling to Cuba for lyposuctions and breast enlargements...

Can it be simply about money?

That's good enough for me!

It seems that el comandante has some advice for the voters in the US. He happens to like two candidates to be part of a winning ticket in 2008. Who are his recommendations? Why Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Hussein Obama, of course. These are castro's candidates! (He he he) OK, I give in, I'll vote for those two progressives, those bastions of liberalism, tolerance and compassion. Thanks, fidel!

Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro is tipping Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to team up and win the U.S. presidential election.

Clinton leads Obama in the race to be the Democratic nominee for the November 2008 election, and Castro said they would make a winning combination.

"The word today is that an apparently unbeatable ticket could be Hillary for president and Obama as her running mate," he wrote in an editorial column on U.S. presidents published on Tuesday by Cuba's Communist Party newspaper, Granma.

"He" wrote? Who? Who "he"? Is his amanuensis Alarcon, Raul, who?

Castro has not appeared in public since intestinal illness forced him to hand over power to his brother Raul Castro in July last year.

He has turned to writing dozens of columns and essays, but rumors that his health is worsening or that he may even be dead have swirled through the Cuban exile community in Miami in the last two weeks.

They've swirled all right. Just like the stuff in his bed pan.

Castro said former President Bill Clinton was "really kind" when he bumped into him and the two men shook hands at a U.N. summit meeting in 2000. He also praised Clinton for sending elite police to "rescue" shipwrecked Cuban boy Elian Gonzalez from the home of his Miami relatives in 2000 to end an international custody battle.

"Really kind." Thanks, Bill. I'm glad you weren't mean to him. And my favorite paragraph, the punch-line of the article:

He said his favorite U.S. president since 1959 was Jimmy Carter, another Democrat, because he was not an "accomplice" to efforts to violently overthrow the Cuban government.

He's my favorite, too.

OK, so let's recap: Hillary? Check. Barack Hussein? Check. Bill Clinton? Check. Jimmy Carter? Check. Here's a quiz for you boys and girls: What political party do all of these people belong to?

This is why I'll never, ever, ever, never, ever, never, never vote for a Democrat.

Why don't Cuban exiles take back their country?

We hear this all the time, hateful comments. They go something like this: "You abandoned your country, you're cowards, why don't you act like men, arm yourselves and take back your country?"

This is why, because it is against U.S. law, from Cubanet:

Man gets 5 years for illegal ammo stash

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - A Cuban exile who claimed that he stashed more than 1,500 guns and other weapons in his home as part of a plan to overthrow Fidel Castro was sentenced Monday to more than five years in federal prison.

Robert Ferro, 64, of Upland, pleaded guilty to a single count of weapons possession earlier this year. He allegedly claimed that he was storing the weapons with the knowledge of Alpha 66, a Florida-based paramilitary group that for decades has plotted to overthrow the Cuban leader.

A spokesman for Alpha 66 has denied that Ferro was a member of that group.

Police who raided Ferro's home in April 2006 discovered 35 machine guns, 130 silencers, a live hand grenade, a rocket launcher and 89,000 rounds of ammunition concealed in false walls, dummy bookshelves and hidden rooms.

Ferro, a retired Army Special Forces officer, was prohibited from owning the weapons because of a prior conviction for possession of explosives on a Pomona chicken ranch. Federal authorities alleged that Ferro was running a training camp for Mexican nationals to overthrow Castro when they found the five pounds of C-4 explosives.

Ferro's current attorneys had asked for a sentence of less than two years because of Ferro's diabetes and a heart condition. In a filing with the judge, they said that Ferro would likely die within several years because of his poor health.

They also argued that Ferro was a gun collector and that at least 30 of the guns in the cache were "clearly antiques."

A phone message for his attorney, Christopher D. Johnson, was not immediately returned Monday.

Two new Cubiches

George Henry Gomez, born at 6:16 AM on August 28, 2007. He weighed in at 5 lbs 8 oz.

Isabella Aileen Gomez, born at 6:17 AM on August 28, 2007 She weighed in at 6 lbs 1 oz.

Mother and babies are doing just fine.

Running Some "Interference" In Europe

Not only do we Cuban-Americans “interfere” in elections, we also have a hand in American foreign policy as well.

Three Cuban American Congressmen, Albio Sires (D, NJ), Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R, FL), and Mario Diaz-Balart (R, FL) are visiting Central Europe to meet former dissidents and thank them for supporting the anticommunist opposition movement in Cuba.

Here’s a link to an interview with the congressmen by Radio Free Europe.

The three were in Prague today where they met with Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, according to Prague Daily Monitor:

Schwarzenberg expressed support for the opponents of the Cuban regime before he became Czech foreign minister. In May 2005 he was deported from Cuba after he arrived in this country to meet Cuban dissidents.

In 2006, the Cuban embassy in Prague protested against the Czech Republic's position on the Cuban regime in a note to the Czech Foreign Ministry. In the spring of 2006, Havana and Prague even deported each other's diplomats.

The Cuban-American congressmen will also travel to Hungary and Poland, countries that have also championed Democracy and Human Rights in Cuba.

Monsieur Manuel!

Ne laissez pas tomber le savon.

We can see your mouth flapping, Anita...

...but all we hear blahblahblahblahblahblah...

The most incarcerated journalists in the world per capita.

No freedom of speech.

No freedom of association.

Tourism apartheid.

Political prisoners.

Actos de repudio.

People standing in line for a loaf of bread or a handful of beans.

Sex tourism.

All of the above - and much much more - are all around the AP's Anita Snow and yet her latest report is basically an echo - caused, perhaps, by the abyss left from her lack of morality and ethics - of the Cuban government's propaganda:

HAVANA -- A new essay signed by ailing leader Fidel Castro criticized U.S. presidents and aspirants for that office on Tuesday for "submission" to exile-influenced politics that call for democratic change on the island.

Candidates for the U.S. presidential election in 2008 "are totally absorbed by the Florida adventure," read the column entitled "Submission to Imperial Politics." It was published in the Communist Party newspaper Granma and other official media.

Ugh. I feel disgustingly dirty just quoting it.

What a pathetic excuse for a journalist. The whole world crumbling down around her and she aloofly writes a column about a column supposedly written by a temporarily temporary former dictator that no one has seen or heard from in over a year and that chances are is either dead or at death's door, and that basically ignores all the facts around her and is but an attack on the Cuban-American community. But facts do not stop the intrepid "reporter" for the AP's Havana bureau. "It's signed by fidel so it must be true!" What a complete tool.

Ladies and gentlemen, if you are insulted by bad words, please do not click below the fold. I apologize beforehand.

Anita Snow is a cunt.

What's up with the dirty knees, Senator?

There's a shit storm across the internets regarding a certain Republican Senator that was caught with his pants down - so to speak - at some airport and was charged with some misdemeanor lewdness charge or another. You can get all the details along with a slew of links via Michelle Malkin's post right here.

What you wont find anyone mentioning, in blogs or in the MSM, is that Senator Larry Craig once travelled to Cuba with Office Max Corp (then called Bosie Cascade) and had a two hour private cocktail party with Ricardo Alarcon and subsequently the salacious Senator agreed to work against the embargo and the Cuban-American community.

Now, farbeit for me to sling mud, but if this guy is sick enough to perform certain lewd acts in a public restroom in a US airport, can you just imagine el banquete que se dio while in Cuba?

Am I the only one that thinks the Cuban government may have some dirt on the soon-to-be former Senator?

Tyrannus Mortuus

Fom the mailbag:

(f)idel (c)astro...

It doesn't make a difference anymore....he has become totally irrelevant. He's as good as dead, even if he is not clinically dead yet. When Raul had the daunting task to speak on July 26th of this year....we have to say that the relief of the effigy of Fidel on the podium where Raul spoke, was a good signal for all of us to understand that the days of Fidel are a thing of the past. IT IS OVER !! Enjoy, his plug has been pulled for once and all. I have to say that this Friday's so-called "rumors," didn't launch a mass of people to the sea in go-fast boats in Miami...but in my opinion the rumors were perhaps launched by "BIG BROTHER" for the authorities to get a glimpse of the reaction of Miami's Cuban community, if you know what I mean.

I also think it gave the Cuban government another piece of intelligence, I.E., "Don't launch a rumor before the announcement". I stand on what I have conveyed..he (Fidel Castro) is DEAD! and the announcement will come, it will catch us off guard but everybody will be moved, both in Cuba and in the United States. THOUGH I must say the Cuban Government will try to prolong his death (as they are doing now) to have Fidel's legacy live on for as long as possible....for example with there BS... reflections of the commandant articles in the Granma newspaper...give me a break! Trust me the United States government will be privy to (Castro's death) and with respect (yes as silly as it may seem) to the Cuban Government allow them to make the announcement first, even if it takes a good amount of time to do so.

Dead or alive, who cares!

For the ones that write and voice there opinions on "how can you state that he is DEAD if it hasn't been announced," very simple...WHO CARES! HE ISN"T COMING BACK!

Fidel is DEAD....Cuba is in its FIRST stage of Freedom!

THIS UPCOMING LABOR DAY: As a Cuban-American...(born in Cuba) this up coming Labor Day weekend which basically signifies a day of rest for the "working man," and with all the BS talk of Fidel.....In honor of all my ancestors and the hard work my parents have endured in this country, I will be smoking my cigar, drinking a cold beer and reminiscing the hardship days of their hard work to give me the freedom I have today.

So...enjoy it...maybe the party we all want, or are anticipating, wont be as big but we CUBANS are finally one step closer to being free!

Pretty much says it all, no?

The Line

A lot of us were left speechless when Val posted a racist and insulting cartoon about Cuban-Americans from Pat Oliphant that was published in the Washington Post.

Did you ever wonder where the Washington Post draws the line when it comes to maligning or offending a specific ethnic group or minority?

If you’re like me, you probably feel like the line goes right over your mom or sister or daughter.

Well there is a line that the Washington Post won’t cross and that is offending the sworn enemies of America and all it stands for:

WASHINGTON POST, OTHER NEWSPAPERS WON'T RUN 'OPUS' CARTOON MOCKING RADICAL ISLAM

I guess Oliphant’s and the Washington Post’s ridicule is the price one has to pay to “interfere” and defend Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness and be against Death, Slavery and the Pursuit of Religious Fascism, the protected ones.

Number 1, WITH A BULLET!

The song from the album dedicated to Cuba featuring the Che-loving Carlos Santana is number 1 one the Billboard Latin charts.

JFK Assassination solved

And it was the the folks at Granma that did it. This was what they said in a recent puff piece in favor of Barack Obama's newly minted strategy vis-a-vis Cuba:

Lamentablemente, la actitud electorera le costó a Kennedy nada menos que la vida, cuando como presidente trató de cambiar al país. En los últimos meses de 1963, la extrema derecha política, el complejo militar industrial y el Pentágono, decidieron que la CIA, la Mafia y los gangsters cubanos --los mismos a los que se había aliado Kennedy para liquidar a Fidel Castro-, se encargasen de ejecutar el escandaloso magnicidio. Después hicieron lo mismo con su hermano Robert, quien también se empeñó en modificar el stablisment.

Rough Translation:

Unfortunately, the electoral strategy cost Kennedy nothing less than his life, when as president he tried to change the country. In the last months of 1963, the extreme right wing, the military industrial complex and the Pentagon decided that the CIA, the Mafia and the Cuban gangsters -the same ones that had become Kennedy’s allies to liquidate [c]astro- should conduct the scandalous magnicide. Later, they did the same with his brother Robert, who was also determined to change the establishment.

Case closed. If Granma says so it must be true. Forget about the fact that they can't seem to make up their mind about whether Kennedy was a friend or an enemy. I guess it just depends on what they are trying to justify at a given moment.

Tracheotomy, Tracheotomy, Where Forth Art Thou, Tracheotomy

There are rumors that fidel castro had an emergency tracheotomy on Friday, possibly causing the fidel is dead melee ensued.

Here's what a tracheotomy is, from Health A to Z:

Definition

A tracheotomy is a surgical procedure in which a cut or opening is made in the windpipe (trachea). The surgeon inserts a tube into the opening to bypass an obstruction, allow air to get to the lungs, or remove secretions. The term tracheostomy is sometimes used interchangeably with tracheotomy. Strictly speaking, however, tracheostomy usually refers to the opening itself while a tracheotomy is the actual operation.

Purpose

A tracheotomy is performed if enough air is not getting to the lungs, if the person cannot breathe without help, or is having problems with mucus and other secretions getting into the windpipe because of difficulty swallowing. There are many reasons why air cannot get to the lungs. The patient's windpipe may be blocked by a swelling; by a severe injury to the neck, nose or mouth; by a large foreign object; by paralysis of the throat muscles; or by a tumor. The patient may be in a coma, or need a ventilator to pump air into the lungs for a long period of time.

Precautions

Doctors perform emergency tracheotomies as last-resort procedures. They are done only if the patient's windpipe is obstructed and the situation is life-threatening.

Emph. mine.

Health A to Z also cites a tracheotomy on anyone over 60 as "high-risk."

Now, Im no doctor nor surgeon, so pardon me if Im just conjecturing here, but what is the point of doing this type of procedure on a patient that's 81 years old? And if there is a valid medical reason, what are the chances, with a person that age and in poor health, as we've been told by the Cuban Government for over a year now, of a full and proper recovery?

Cuban government releases new castro video...

And here it is:

That's it. I'm convinced! He's ALIVE! ALIVE I TELL YOU!

Tiptoe around the issues

Herald article today about human smuggling from Cuba through Mexico. The article does a good job in avoiding the elephant in the room which is how smugglers get in and out of Cuba without interference from the Cuban government, except for a brief mention of a case in which the Cuban coast guard shot a smuggler:

Earlier this month, a report from Cuba said border guards were closing down some beaches on the Isle of Youth in an apparent effort to thwart landings by smugglers. It added that the guards were looking for one particularly fast boat -- outfitted with four outboard engines -- known as Reina del Caribe, or Queen of the Caribbean.

Last year, the Cuban coast guard shot one smuggler to death and captured another who Havana media reported had confessed to helping a Mexico-based smuggling ring that charged him $20,000 to arrange his wife and child's departure.

Of course if I was a despotic dictator profiting from human smuggling, I would make token catch every now and then too. No doubt the smuggler in question reneged on his "toll".

We have dozens of these guys behind bars in the U.S., how is it that nobody has gotten the inside scoop about how these smuggling rings work?

Alfonso Chardy, get to work.

Who needs a stairmaster?

Question: How many residential elevators are there in all of Havana?

Answer: 562, many in disrepair

Question: How many were there in 1959?

Answer: 553, all were most likely in good working order

With a population exceeding more than 2 million, the city fathers of Havana have managed to install 9 new elevators in 48 years. All to maintain the proper health of its citizens, I'm sure.

Read all about it at Child of the Revolution.

Good morning...

How about some mail to start the day/week?

Please don't have your readers on your blog be so naive...

Real simple...HE IS DEAD.....ESTA MUERTO!.....Please don't have your readers on your blog be so naive!.....Seriously think about it, you know and I know..... if he is NOT then let