Who's minding the store?

Holy hell, does this scare the crap out of anyone besides me?

From the Weekly Standard:

Selling National Security

China bids for firm that makes "intrusion prevention" technology for the Department of Defense.
by Irwin M. Stelzer

THE CHINESE ANNOUNCED on Saturday that they would be buying into the company that provides the Pentagon with technology to prevent cyber-attacks--of the sort the Chinese launched a few weeks ago. Why worry? We are all free traders now, according the president and his secretary of the Treasury--all except misguided Democrats, trade unions, displaced workers, and those who worry about our national security.

True, free trade is great--when dealing with other parties who are in it for the same thing--to make money. But that ain't the name of the game these days. Now we have a company that must answer to the Chinese government picking up a piece of an American company, 3Com, that--get this--makes "intrusion prevention" technology that helps the Defense Department, among other clients, protect itself from hackers.

True, the Chinese company, Huawei Technologies, will be a minority shareholder. But it--and one must assume any Chinese government official who asks for Huawei's cooperation--will have access to the books, financial records and any other company documents that they might find useful. Remember: The Pentagon is convinced that the Chinese Peoples' Liberation Army hackers were the perpetrators of a massive cyber-attack on it just a few weeks ago.

So never mind that Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman, told the Financial Times that he is "not aware of any concern" over the acquisition. Or that there is big money in this for 3Com shareholders, who are being offered a 44 percent premium over the share price set in the market--which only proves how really, really interested in 3Com's technology Huawei and its partner, Bain Capital, are.

Or that the Committee on Foreign Investment (Cifus) will review the deal. It is already leaking that it would be satisfied if the deal is drawn so that Huawei agrees, cross its heart and hope to die, to limit its access to certain technologies. And rest assured that Cifus will hear soothing words from Citibank, UBS, HSBC, and ABN Amro, who are putting the debt financing package together--oh yes, along with Bank of China.

One can only hope that Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson reads up on his Adam Smith, no protectionist he. Smith warned that when national security is at stake, free trade takes a distant second place as a national priority. The great Scot is, as usual, as relevant to our day as he was when he wrote The Wealth of Nations 230 years ago.

Cuban refugees are shot at, pepper-sprayed, and fire-hosed to prevent them from reaching freedoms shore, but we sell Pentagon access to the Chinese...

Spain supports human rights abuses in Cuba (UPDATED)

The Cuban dictatorship rounds up a couple of hundred dissidents, threatens them, beats them, and Spain inks an agreement to re-establish the cooperation that was halted in 2003 when Havana jailed 75 journalists and dissidents. Most of them are still jailed under horrific conditions; in filthy vermin infested cells, without potable water, served rotting food not fit for dogs, denied medical treatment, beaten, and tortured. Why the deal now, what has changed? Apparently, the Spanish government’s tolerance for the amount of Cuban blood they are willing to have on their hands.

Reuters - Cuba and Spain on Saturday took a big step toward mending relations by signing a broad agreement that re-establishes cooperation halted in 2003 after Havana jailed 75 dissidents.

Spanish International Cooperation Minister Leire Pajin said the deal includes support for small business, the environment, food security and joint efforts in other countries such as Haiti.

Pajin said after the signing ceremony in Havana that it was not yet possible to set an amount of aid for the first year of the agreement in 2008 because some projects were still in the planning stages.

Spain is Cuba's third-biggest trading partner at around $1 billion per year and a major investor in the island nation.

"We are going to resume cooperation. The challenge is to demonstrate to other European countries that we can work together based on respect and equality," Cuban Minister of Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation Marta Lomas told the media on Friday.

The European Union is split over Cuba. Spain's new Socialist government favors engagement as its former colony approaches a post-Castro era. But other EU members want to keep up pressure for political change in Cuba.

Cuba rejected EU aid in 2003 after European criticism of Havana for suppressing human rights.

In April Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos traveled to Cuba to sign an agreement to renew cooperation without conditions, discuss human rights issues and improve economic relations through renegotiation of Cuba's debt.

Never mind the political prisoners, never mind the lack of human rights, never mind the regimes crimes against humanity. Cooperation without conditions is a green light for the continued enslavement of the Cuban people.

UPDATE (Henry):

You'll remember that we were criticized heavily, both by domestic and Spanish bloggers, for our first Bloggers United for Cuban Liberty campaign denouncing Spain's cooperation with repression in Cuba. We were right to denounce it then, and we are right to denounce it now.

Bad news on the US political front

Newt Gingrich has decided not to run in '08. Damn.

Play Time for Loons

Ah yes...fall is in the air. Leaves are changing up north, temperatures are falling into the upper 80s across South Florida, football season is kicking into second gear...

And the leftist loons from Latin America are running around New York City.

Consider the following nuggets uttered in recent days by Latin American lefty leaders:

(Daniel) Ortega, the head of the Marxist-leaning Sandinista party that ruled the country in the 1980s, acted as if the Cold War had never ended, telling the U.N. audience that the United States was the ``most gigantic and impressive dictatorship that has existed in the history of humanity.''

He met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for more than an hour, and the two parted with a warm embrace as cameras flashed. Afterward, Ortega told journalists his nation and Iran would form an unspecified ``front for the fight of peace.''

Image courtesy AP/David Karp

And this from our favorite Andean leader, Evo Morales:

Meanwhile (Evo) Morales, who is looking to build a reputation as a champion of indigenous rights, filled his four-day New York agenda with 21 appointments, including a Sunday soccer match against a team of Bolivian expatriates from Northern Virginia. He botched a penalty kick but his squad still won, 3-2.

On Monday he recounted his political career before an audience of nearly 1,000 that filled the Great Hall of The Cooper Union in Manhattan, which claims to be a birthplace of sorts for movements like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and The American Red Cross.

Morales was cheered when he touted his government's achievements, praised Cuban leader Fidel Castro and dubbed capitalism as ``the worst enemy of humanity.''

He suggested U.S. aid programs were undermining his government and drew chuckles from his audience as he narrated how he recently summoned the U.S. ambassador in Bolivia, Philip Goldberg, to a 5 a.m. meeting at the presidential palace

He peppered his comments with clever maxims, such as his teasing of a Cabinet minister for wearing a tie.

''I believe the tie separates the head from the heart,'' he said.

Last year, Morales made a splash when he brandished a coca leaf -- the raw material to make cocaine -- as he addressed the General Assembly as part of a campaign to decriminalize the plant that indigenous communities consider part of their traditions. This year he toned down his mentions of the coca leaf and addressed his bad-boy image.

''Please don't consider me the axis of evil,'' he joked with Jon Stewart.

That's OK Evo, we won't. You're the leader of the "axis of idiots".

Next time you hear someone from Central or South America complain about how the United States has ruined their region, think about the people leading several key countries in the region, then tell them what the real problem is.

Speaking of Jon Stewart, check out his interview with Evo on The Daily Show earlier this week. Stewart and his audience's fawning over Evo's remarks was embarrassing, not to mention sickening. But, should we be surprised?

(cross-posted from 26th Parallel)

Communism worse than Nazism

Hell yeah, so why are we guilty of using the Nazi comparison to point out the evils of castro's Cuba? Because what should be a well-known fact escapes leftist minds filled with illusionary daydreams of a socialist utopia. They get that the Nazi's were evil bad guys, but somehow they lose themselves in a haze when it comes to Communism. Here's a dose of truth as a reminder from ProgressiveU:

Isn't it interesting that when we see something going on in the world that we don't like, we compare it to Nazism? People on the far left & far right have done it. Liberals call anyone with even one conservative viewpoint a "Nazi." Staunch conservatives who oppose abortion have compared it to the Nazis rounding up Jews & sending them to concentration camps. People somehow feel morally superior if they can get away with calling someone they don't like a Nazi. If you're one of these people, then I'm going to have to burst your bubble. While the Nazis were bad, they weren't the ultimate form of evil in the 20th - and even the 21st - century. The ultimate evildoers were communists. Consider:

During Joseph Stalin's reign, it is estimated that 20 million Russians were rounded up and murdered. Soviet gulags were not completely unlike Nazi concentration camps. The concentration camps existed for about 12 years. Gulags were around for much, much longer. Stalin tends to get a free pass, probably because the Soviets were our allies during World War II.

Opium addiction had been a major problem in China for about two centuries when the communists seized power there in the late 1940s. The communists wiped it out overnight. How did they do it? The communists rounded up all the opium addicts - sometimes entire families - and executed them. Quite an effective drug treatment program, huh? The true number of those who were murdered is unknown, but it has been estimated that between one-quarter & one-third of China's population was addicted to opium when the communists took over the country.

During the mid-to-late 1970s, Pol Pot, the leader of Cambodia, ordered city dwellers to be rounded up & sent to "re-education" camps. At these camps, they would be indoctrinated in the "ideals" of communism. Anyone who didn't conform was executed. It is estimated that 2 million people died in what became known as the Cambodian Killing Fields.

How many thousands of Cubans have been murdered by Fidel Castro? How many Cubans were willing to risk their lives by escaping Castro's tyrannical reign? How many perished travelling through the 90 miles of shark-infested waters between Cuba & Florida? Do you remember the Cuban Boat People of the early 1980s? Ask around in Little Havana in Miami & find out what the people there think of Fidel Castro.

Today, there are many people who revere Hugo Chavez, the Marxist dictator of Venezuela (just ask Sean Penn & Danny Glover). "Little Stalin," as I like to call him, has maintained power by intimidating political opposition. There is no more free press, and private ownership of the nation's industries / resources has been stripped away. These are all communist tactics. Everything is owned by the state, including the people. To the communists, human life has very little value.

The bottom line is that the greatest mass-murderers of the 20th Century were the Communists, not the Nazis. So remember, when you see something evil going on in the world, the first words out of your mouth shouldn't be, "That's just like what the Nazis would do." The first words should be, "That's just like what the Communists did."

For all you useful idiots who come here to argue the so-called benefits of the Cuban revolution, and can't understand why we are so intransigent, it's because they are lying, murdering communists. Get it?

A Friday Thank You

Just a quick note to thank all of you who supported and donated a few bucks to help my niece Maura reach her goal for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Marathon that she's been in training for for months. I am humbled by your responses and sacrifices and honored to be a part of this community here in blogland.

If blogging has given me with anything, it is the blessing of having met and known and shared so much with such great people. You all totally and completely rock.

A huge thanks as well to Ken and Emily and all the great folks over at It Comes in Pints for helping us with that final push to reach the $4000 mark. Incredibly special special people.

Even though Maura's donation pledge has been met, you can still drop a few bucks until the 21st of October, Marathon day. Im sure we've all had someone in our lives unfortunately touched by cancer and while a few dollars doesnt seem like all that much in the grand scheme of things, every little bit helps. And it's not just the money, but your support and prayers and good vibes and participation are every bit as important.

Thank you for caring, thank you for helping and thank you, most of all, for being you.

Stay tuned for posts and pictures from Maura's Marathon later on in October. And, if your in San Fran, you may wantto go cheer her on.

Un beso y un fuerte abrazo pa' cada uno.

Report: About 40 dissidents released (Updated x 2)

AFP, via Cuba Encuentro, reports that Cuban police released about 40 dissidents who had been arrested Thursday, while trying to join a protest on behalf of Cuban political prisoners, at the Cuban Justice Ministry. The detainees were released late Thursday or early Friday.

"Some of them were beaten," said dissident leader Martha Beatriz Roque, who earlier had been detained, while conducting a sit-in in front of the Justice Ministry.

No names of those released were included in the report.

Meanwhile, the Europe-based Latin American Association for Liberty, has condemned the arrests. So has Reporters Without Borders.

Earlier: A Black September Surprise?

(Cross-posted at Uncommon Sense.)

Update: The following is a statement from Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen:

Ros-Lehtinen Urges Europe to Denounce Arrests in Cuba

(WASHINGTON) – European governments should denounce the Castro regime’s latest roundup of dissidents, just as they have criticized the crackdown of democracy advocates in Burma this week, U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen suggested today in a letter to European Union officials.

As many as 200 Cuban dissidents have disappeared and others were arrested by security forces at a Thursday protest at the Justice Ministry seeking better living conditions for the hundreds of prisoners of conscience still jailed by the regime.

Ros-Lehtinen, Ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, urged the European Union “to hear the cries of the Cuban nation” and called upon EU member states to denounce the round-up, demand the regime immediately account for the whereabouts of dissidents, and release them along with all prisoners of conscience.

Thursday’s crackdown “serves as yet another confirmation of the brutal nature of Raul Castro and the dictatorship as a whole, which has entrenched itself in Cuba and refuses to release its hold on power and allow the Cuban people to decide their destiny in free, fair, multiparty, democratic elections,” Ros-Lehtinen wrote in the letter to Dr. Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission; Dr. Javier Solana, EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy and Secretary General of the European Council; and Mrs. Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Commisioner for External Relations of the European Commission.

“We have seen in recent weeks the demonstrations in Burma and the international support the Burmese monks and other pro-democracy activists there have received. The Cuban people deserve no less. We ask that the European Union demonstrate this same solidarity and support for those that struggle to bring freedom and democracy to Cuba,” Ros-Lehtinen added.

UPDATED, 6:36 p.m. EDT

Miami Herald is reporting that all but one dissident — no name was mentioned — have been released.

Still not clear is how many dissidents were arrested. Roque tells Marti Noticias that it was at least 47. She also is quoted as reported about 200 arrests, if you count those detained elsewhere in the country.

UPDATED, 8:43 a.m. EDT, Sept. 29

About 30 dissidents were detained in Villa Clara.

The Religion of Peace, Goose Creek Style

The Goose Creek pipe bomb jihadists weren't innocent victims of xenophobia after all...

Where is Antúnez?

More than 17 years in prison.

Barely five months out of jail.

And now this.

The dying dictator must be so proud of his little brother.

(Cross-posted at Uncommon Sense)

Reading assignment

Interesting reading for those that wonder about US policies toward Cuba. A rebuttal of all the lame ass arguments made against said policy.

Cuban crackdown

Reporters Without Borders wonders if there is a Burmese connection:

“Even though some of the arrested dissidents were immediately released, this crackdown is in part a reminder of the ‘black spring’ of March 2003,” the worldwide press freedom organisation said. “While the eyes of the world were turned on the start of the war in Iraq, the Cuban government ordered a round-up of 90 dissidents, 75 of whom are still behind bars, including 20 journalists.”

“Is the regime in Havana this time trying to rival that of Rangoon, where a military clampdown has continued for several days and is holding the attention of the international community?” the organisation speculated.

RSF also reports that among those detained Thursday, are four independent journalists:

— Idania Yanes Contreras, a free-lancer.

— Yoel Espinosa Medrano and Félix Reyes Gutiérrez, both of Guillermo Fariñas' Cubanacán Press agency.

— Roberto de Jesús Guerra Pérez, correspondent for the websites Payolibre and Nueva Prensa Cubana and Radio Martí.

Guerra, as RSF notes, as been through this before:

Guerra Pérez, 29, was arrested in similar circumstances, on 13 July 2005, just before a dissident demonstration. He was imprisoned for 19 months without trial, regularly beaten by his guards and several times needed treatent in hospital. He was sentenced, on 27 February 2007 to 22 months in prison for “disturbing public order” and released on 9 May this year.

Read more about Guerra here.

Reporteros sin Fronteras, en español, aqui.

(Cross-posted at Uncommon Sense)

Martha Beatriz Roque: As many as 200 dissidents are missing

In an interview posted this morning at Miscelaneas de Cuba, dissident leader Martha Beatriz Roque reports that as many as 200 dissidents from across the island are missing.

"Please, help us," Roque pleaded.

The dissidents were expected in Havana to participate in a protest at the Justice Ministry, on behalf of Cuban political prisoners.

(Cross-posted at Uncommon Sense.)

Help me help you help others. (UPDATED)

Following the news all week can get rather frustrating, especially by the end of the week when you've been barraged by so much BS and so many slanted and biased articles and inane editorials from "experts" who couldnt find their expertise if you rammed it down their throats. I know I sometimes feel like a pressure cooker, ready to blow, explode in a F-bomb laced rant by any given Friday. I know there's plenty of you out there nodding in agreement right about now.

Fret not, my friends. There is a perfect solution. A calming, soothing blogological therapy: The Friday F*ck Off Thread, brought to us by my good friends over at It Comes in Pints.

If youre not familiar with the FFOT, it's really simple: You know that client that's been pissing you off all week? Or that idiot that cut you off in traffic and almost made you crash? has the MSM especially pissed you off more than usual this week? Well what can be better than getting it all off your chest in a profanity filled tirade against your frustration culprit? Trust me folks, it really is like therapy.

And today, Friday, my buddies over at It Comes In Pints are helping me help you help others while helping yourselves. Im selling F-bombs for charity. If you donate to help my niece's charity marathon - donation page right here - for every dollar you get an F-bomb in your very own profane F-bomb infused rant as written by me, fifth degree black belt in the art of the F-bomb rant. All you have to do is drop a few bucks in the charity till, and email me at ffot@babalublog.com with your request. Tell me who or what to direct the wrath to and trust me, the wrath will be all encompassing and overwhelming. Your eyeballs might even combust spontaneously.

If you want a few examples of the Friday F*ck Off Thread, click here and scroll down.

I must warn you though, if profanity bothers you or if you believe in political correctness, this will not be your cup of tea and I suggest you stay as far away as possible from the FFOT.

Once again, here's the donation page. Just think of it as you sitting back on your shrink's couch, with me, your shrink, taking care of all that ails you.

Update: As of 1:55 pm today, we're only $110 short of the goal. Come one, folks, let's get it done. Every little bit helps.

raul the reformer

The apologists for the regime have pointed to the release of a handful of political prisoners over the last year as a sign of softer leadership in Havana under raul castro. Never mind that many of these prisoners had either completed or were nearing completion of their unjust sentences.

Well what will they say now that reports are coming out of Havana left and right about a new wave of detentions?

It's unclear the exact number of people we're talking about. The reports vary but AFP is currently reporting the number at 21.

The reports say that these dissidents were planning a protest on behalf of political prisoners.

I wonder if Sting and The Police will ask their Cuban government hosts about these actions if they finally decide to play that December concert in Havana.

A Black September Surprise? (UPDATED x 2)

Cuban dissident leader Martha Beatriz Roque was briefly detained this evening, as she and other dissidents protested outside the Justice Ministry in Havana, according Marti Noticias and AFP. They had gone there to protest the treatment of Cuban political prisoners, and the apparent arrest earlier in the day of as many as two dozen other dissidents.

Marti Noticias reported the Roque, a former political prisoner, and the others — reportedly including two members of the Damas de Blanco ("Ladies in White") were harassed, threatened and pushed by about 100 government flunkies as they conducted a sit-in protest in front of the Justice Ministry.

Eventually, police loaded them in a bus and delivered them back to Roque's house, according to Marti Noticias.

How many dissidents were arrested earlier in the day was not clear. But all reports agreed that one of those taken into custody was the legendary Jorge Luis García Pérez (Antúnez), who in April of this year was released after more than 17 years in prison, only to resume his activism on behalf of his jailed compatriots.

Cuba Encuentro, quoting Sanchez, said there were 16 arrests, while independent journalist Oswaldo Yañez put the count at 17. AFP reported there were 21 arrests.

Cuban Democratic Directorate published the names of 22 dissidents it said were detained, were otherwise missing. The include the independent journalists Roberto de Jesús Guerra Pérez — also, a former political prisoner — Félix Reyes Gutiérrez and Yoel Espinosa Medrano. (The latter two work for Guillermo Fariñas' Cubanacan Press news agency.)

The Directorate also rquotes Cuban dissident and former political prisoner René Montes de Oca Martijas, as saying that the crackdown Thursday was not a surprise.

“We had anticipated this repressive wave being developed against human rights activists because the regime would react to the upcoming supposed elections on October 28, where they hope to convince the country and the world that there is no opposition movement in Cuba and that there is no consolidated civil society that is willing to take risks to demonstrate that in Cuba there IS a community that seeks freedom," Montes de Oca said.

(Cross-posted at Babalú)

UPDATED, 10:29 p.m.

Finally, the MSM is reporting the news, in English.

Reuters reports:

Cuban security police detained seven dissidents who went to the Justice Ministry on Thursday to demand better conditions for Cuba's political prisoners.

The demonstrators, led by prominent dissident leader Martha Beatriz Roque, were pushed and yelled at by a group of 100 government supporters sent to quell the protest, and then put on a bus and driven home, Roque said.

"I was scratched, pushed and insulted," she said by telephone from her Havana home. "There was no need to resort to violence."

Roque handed in a letter at the ministry demanding that Cuba's Communist authorities improve the jail conditions for political prisoners. She and her group then stood outside waiting for a reply.

Veteran rights activist Elizardo Sanchez, who heads the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation, said more than a dozen other dissidents were picked up by state security police -- some in their homes -- before they could join the protest. He was not sure they had all been freed.

"We are demanding that the political prisoners be treated with dignity, because they are human beings, and besides, they are innocent," Roque, an economist who has twice been jailed for several years for criticizing Cuba's one-party state.

UPDATED, 7:40 a.m. EDT, Sept. 28, 2007

This morning, Cuba Encuentro has a few more details:

— The more than 20 "missing" dissidents are presumed to have been arrested, because they never arrived at Martha Beatriz Roque's home, as planned.
— Roque reports that Antunez was taken, in handcuffs, from Havana to his hometown of Santa Clara.
— She also says as many as 200 people were expected to participate in the protest outside the Justice Ministry.

Also, independent journalist Tania Maceda Guerra reports that more than 25 dissidents were detained. Her story lists 23 names.

Another crackdown in paradise

According to the Relial news agency, the castro regime detained and possibly arrested 17 members of the opposition - dissidents - on their way to Dissident Marta Beatriz Roque's house today.

Waiting for more info...

Talk About Your Uncomfortable Photo-Ops!

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe meets with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during the 62nd General Assembly of the United Nations. Ay Ay Ay! I'm guessing Mr. Ban downed several cups of high-test before this meeting.

UN Photo

Not negative

Chicago Tribune reporter Gary Marx, ousted from Cuba earlier this year, wins award:

The awards committee noted that earlier this year Marx was told by Cuban authorities that his press credentials would not be renewed and he would have to leave the island because his stories were deemed too "negative."

"But in the view of the Cabot Prize Board, Marx's reporting was devoid of the ideological side-taking that often taints journalistic stories about Cuba," it said. "He was just telling the story of Cuba to his reader -- the good and the bad -- and telling it honestly and skillfully.

H/T Jose C.

The Verdict is in

This just in from our Babalu Eyes at the courthouse:

Little "Eliana" loses future, court sides with father.

Perspective

As I type this, there's a Cuban man, probably about 60 years old, digging trenches in my yard, a pico y pala. Pick and shovel. He and his partner are relocating my pool filter and pump, which has been broken for a couple weeks now, as evidenced by the shimmering green water in my swimming pool.

The trench digger is a short guy, rather thin but his partnership with the pick and shovel has kept him strong. Muscular, even at his age. His years made apparent by his wrinkled countenance. He works shirtless and with a Camel between his pursed lips. He's agile, and you could tell he doesnt need fancy powered tools to do his job. If a spoon is all he had to dig that trench, then he'd probably get down on his knees and spoon the thing as if he were attacking a 50 foot long bowl of rock potaje.

I took him some cafe cubano this morning, before leaving the house for work. He thanked me, lit a cigarette before sipping the brew. "Eres cubano?" he asked me.

"Si," I say. "De Bayamo. Y usted?"

"Pinar del Rio," he responds. "Llevas mucho tiempo aqui, no?"

"Yes," I say. "I came when I was four."

He tells me he came with his wife 4 years ago. Said he thought that between the both of them, working hard, they'd be able to help their family back on the island.

"I've got four kids and six grandkids in Cuba," he says. He's wistful and sad at the same time when he says this. "The problem is," he says. "That no sooner had I and the Mrs gotten to la Yuma, she gets the cancer."

His wife had a cancerous tumor removed from her breast. Then they found more cancer had eaten her femur and hip. Another CT scan found a couple more tumors in her spine.

"She's been doing Chemo for three years." His pick still cracking open the soil in front of him, steady, straight. "They took a four inch chunk from her leg, put in a new hip bone." He stops, let's out a puff of smoke and wipes the sweat off his brow with the back of his hand, "Still, though, the chemo has really affected her."

"Coño," I say. "Lo siento. Im so sorry."

"She used to be so strong. Una mujer del campo." He puts the pick aside, grabs the spade, leans on it, and looks down at the trenched earth. "Hell, she could have dug this trench in half the time," he gestures to the fruit of his labor at his feet.

"Must be very difficult for her," I say. "Being ill and not having her children around."

"For her that's worse than the cancer. For me too."

"I can imagine," I say, but, really, I cant.

There's a pause in our conversation. We're both taking in what we've just said to each other. Digesting it. Trying to see things from each other's perspective.

"I take her back home every chance I get. Por que si se me muere - if she dies - at least she'll have seen her grandchildren."

Me cago en la madre de fidel, raul y sus mierda de revolucion. Hijos de la gran puta.

For Once, I Agree With Perez Roque

That’s right, I said it. I whole-heartedly agree with Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque.

A United Nations press release dated today, September 27, and released on behalf of the Cuban delegation led by Fidel’s on-island lap-dog calls for a more “democratic and transparent UN.” Going even further, Perez Roque remarks:

"The Human Rights Council should not repeat the mistakes of its predecessor, the Commission on Human Rights, he said, calling for an end to selectivity and double standards."

This is quite possibly one of the most oblivious statements I’ve read from a Cuban government official in a long time. There is, on the part of Perez Roque, either a complete disconnect from reality or, a brazen disregard for the Cuban people. In order to fix the vast problems inherent in the Human Rights Council, Cuba and several other egregious human rights violators would have to be tossed out. As far as the title of his press release is concerned, Perez Roque might want to start off with a more "democratic and transparent" Cuba.

Felipe, I couldn’t agree with you more. The United Nations - in particular it’s Human Rights Council - has become nothing more than a grand stage for inaction, vote-buying and the tacit support of dictatorships around the world. I applaud your noble efforts and wish you the very best. Jackass.

Esta es mi casa, fidel.

You know, there's nothing like waking up early in the morning in a pool of sweat, walking over to the the a/c closet and realizing you're standing in a puddle of water. A/C condensate water.

Ahh, the pleasures of homeownership....

All in a day’s work in Havana

I find this, so offensive on so many levels; I´m not sure where to start. The tossing out of the cost, when you think about the salary of an average Cuban. Also, it must be nice to ride out the rainstorm by kicking back with expensive food and cigars, instead of worrying about your building collapsing.

They´re inviting comments, feel free to vent.

The "Cane" Mutiny

There, I said it.

Before some jackass, know-it-all comes up with that little phrase to describe my views on the new TV show called Cane, which are different from Val's.

Val is not Captain Queeg and I'm not Lieutenant Maryk and Babalu isn't the USS Caine.

But blogging is the new oil!

Internet Radio: It's the new oil!

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

Tune in to our show tonight at its regular time, 8:00 PM EDT on BlogTalk Radio. We'll have lots of topics in store, especially about you-know-who, a review of Cane, and our regular smörgåsbord of topics, stream-of-consciousness style. I'd like to take as many of your calls as time allows, and I promise to get to them earlier in the show (my co-hosts willing ;-). Call in at (646) 652-4506 and get in the queue.

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. If you're shy, drop me an email here, or send an email to Henry.

Holy crap!

Did we just pass through some rip in the space-time continuum?

Prepare the excuse-making machine

A few days back we posted a picture of Hillary Clinton in which one of her supporters was wearing the image of che guevara, the butcher of la cabaña. Some folks defended her saying she couldn't know this person was coming and perhaps even standing there and that doesn't necessarily mean she agrees with the che worshiper who happened to be there.

Well today I received an email with this lovely little banner that links to some sort of advertorial for the Clinton Global Initiative that appeared at MSN.com.

That would be the William Jefferson Clinton Global Initiative. You know the guy who would become the "first laddie"?

Somebody with authority to approve communications for Bill Clinton's foundation doesn't think that there's anything wrong with publishing a picture of a guy sporting the image of a homicidal Stalinist who helped destroy a country and bring about the most repressive and longest lasting dictatorship in the Western Hemisphere.

So next time they try to blur the distinctions between Republicans and Democrats, remember what the "most respected" Democrats think is acceptable.

Ok, let's hear the excuses.

H/T: Miguel

AZUCAH! ETANOL!!!

Earlier today, the the "sugar is the new oil" post I updated with a post from Gusano that quoted Jorge Piñon, former oil exec at Amoco, now Senior Research Associate at the University of Miami Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies. If you came by the Cuba Nostalgia Pavilion this year, you may have met him as the UM booth was our neighbor.

Here's Jorge's observations:

A few observations about Cuba, sugar, ethanol, and of course politics.

Politics first.

We are currently going through a succession period. A process by which the new leadership...Lage, Raul, Alarcon, et. al., and in any other combination...will have to be institutionalized and legitimized...Party Congress, new elections etc. I believe that this period would take between one to two years to solidify and have enough strength on its own right to begin the process of structural change, if that is what they really want.

In the meantime they are going to tinker with the system and try to make it more efficient without changing the model...good luck. Read Raul's speeches of December 24 and July 26.

The next question is transition; how and when, political and economic? both at the same time? one before the other? Remember transition is regime and model change. Now you not only change the players, but you also change the rules by which you play the game. We believe this process could take up to five years....Raul's political lifetime.

My public comments posted here..."change will come from Washington not La Habana", referred about a number of catalysts and or enablers which we monitor, which could come from inside or outside the island, and accelerate change/transition.

Cuba's youth pushing for change...within the system.
The collapse of Chavez regime...loss of subsidies.
Washington lifting the embargo...in a quid pro quo basis...drug agreement, release of some prisoners, etc. This is not going to come unilaterally. The one exemption could be the travel restrictions. We will have to wait for a new admin.

Sugar.

We are about to publish a study at ICCAS in the next few months on Cuban sugar...here are some observations.

1-5 year re-capitalization of the sector both upstream...sugarcane agriculture, and downstream...processing sugar/ethanol. Total investment $2.3 billion, this includes not only the milling capacity but also distillation and combined cycle power projects.

Year 3-7 total production of 60 million tons of sugarcane. Remember..we no longer talk about sugar...it is now how much sugarcane can we produced. In an optimum production model ie Brazil...we can now produce 100% sugar or 100% ethanol...price will dictate the ratio...also it will dictate electric generation versus ethanol (cellulosic)...bagasse can be used to produce electricity and or ethanol (cellulosic)...again price will dictate the production ratios of the new mills/distilleries/power plants.

With a fifty/fifty model...sugar at $0.10lb and ethanol at $2.00gal...you would have revenues in the neighborhood of $3 billion a year...good pay back for investors...Conservatively 16-19 IRR. Plus 234,000 new jobs. A no brainer. Sugarcane would surpass nickel (at $23Kton), and again be our number one export...in value.

Look for Cuba to change its land tenancy laws...they are studying Vietnam's model. The State retains land property rights but gives the usage tenancy rights to individuals or corporations for 25-50 and up to a maximum of 99 years...with right to sell, mortgage, inherent etc. This is how Vietnam is today the third largest exporter of rice in the world...at one time they imported rice. They created a true market agricultural economic model and gave the land rights to the farmers...no more collectives.

Saludos,

Jorge Pinon

Jorge R. Piñón, Senior Research Associate
University of Miami
Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies

Here's a little something that aint fiction:

"...the American people are disappointed by the failures of the Human Rights Council. This body has been silent on repression by regimes from Havana to Caracas to Pyongyang and Tehran -- while focusing its criticism excessively on Israel."

"In Cuba, the long rule of a cruel dictator is nearing its end. The Cuban people are ready for their freedom. And as that nation enters a period of transition, the United Nations must insist on free speech, free assembly, and ultimately, free and competitive elections."

- President Bush Addresses The United Nations General Assembly, Sept 25, 2007

Cuba, in turn, pulls out commie lackey Daniel Ortega to counter, stating Iran and North Korea must be allowed nuclear technology.

Nice, eh? Kim Jong and Amenadinnerjacket with nukes.

So much for objectivity

So us "global warming deniers" are in the pocket of BIG OIL, eh? So we're just a bunch of loons that are doing the dirty work of those vile polluters and sellers of evil oil, eh? Hmmm. Seems that someone who cried foul about his being denied a voice in the debate was caught with a lot of pocket change from an anti-American leftist billionaire lobbyist...

Cane: Let's put it to a vote.

My dinner with Adolf

Heinrich, Reinhard and Hermann were such fabulous hosts! They served the finest liebfraumilch with their vegetarian dinner and personally asked all the journalists in attendance to partake in a dialogue about the Third Reich, the Third Reich with a song in its heart, the real Third Reich that wants to pursue justice through "love and kindness and human dignity" and "end all conflicts on earth."

After an hour, [Ahmadinehad] is ready to respond. He does so first with a half-hour ode to the relationship between man and God that might have been dictated by the Iranian poet Rumi. "I believe that Almighty God created the universe for mankind. Man is God's most important creation and it is through him that we appreciate the beauties of the universe. God has sent man here on a mission." That mission, he says, is to pursue love, justice, kindness and dignity. In fact, he repeats those works so often that it begins to sound like a mantra: Love. Justice. Kindness. Dignity. He speaks with the quiet zeal of a not-very-flamboyant televangelist. "The pursuit of justice through love and kindness and human dignity can end all conflicts on earth," he says. "Inshallah."

[...]

Finally, in response to a question about whether war with Iran was growing more likely, he says, "Mr. Bush is interested in harming Iran. But I believe there are wise politicians in America who will prevent such a war. We hate war. We would not welcome it. But we are prepared for every scenario. Yet I don't think war will happen." [My emphasis]

You hate war? Of course you do, Mahmoud. That's why 28 years ago you, personally, were involved in a direct act of war against the United States -- unanswered by that quintessence of Liberal/Democrat testicular fortitude, Jimmy Carter. Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Are these people that detached from the real world?! Are they that stupid?

Because its all Cane, all day. (Update)

One other thing about last night's premiere (I promise).

Something was mentioned on last night's show that downright sent chills up and down my spine. It scared the crap out of me. And I know there's some out there that will most probably criticize me and say Im flying off the handle and all that, but so be it. I looked around the internets to see if maybe someone else had picked up on it and found only one other reference.

In essence and to be succinct: Sugar is the new oil.

Why would that scare you, Val? you may be asking.

Well, let's just put two and two together, shall we, folks?

What's the one industry that Cuba has always been known for? Sugar.

What's the one industry in Cuba that is in the most dire need of revamping and rebuilding? Sugar.

What's the one country that can truly assist Cuba in restructuring and rebuilding its sugar industry? The US.

What's the one country that has an economic embargo on Cuba? The US.

What's the one thing that country is supposedly in dire need of? Alternative fuel sources.

Sugar is the new oil.

How long before some US congressman poses a bill for the lifting of the Cuban embargo citing sugar as the alternative fuel source this country is in "desperate" need of?

There's never an egg timer around when you need one.

(Other sugar is the new oil reference right here.)

Update: El Gusano was on this back in April:

With these dire predictions, Florida’s politicians can only come up with ONE solution:

Support a free and democratic Cuba so Cubans wouldn’t have a need to abandon their country?

NO!

But plans to offset that migration center on helping Cuba help Cubans -- by developing more jobs and a better economy in the communist country.

YES! You read that right. Pay off the Castros so that they don’t send their huddled masses yearning to be free over here to the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave because we don't freaking want them!

"Many analysts believe the real Cuban change will not happen in Havana," said Jorge Pinon, a senior research associate at the institute. "It will happen in Washington."

Among plans the institute is exploring is the conversion of Cuba's sugar cane fields into ethanol-producing facilities. Such a transition could provide 212,000 jobs for Cubans, Pinon said.

A Friendly Cane Wager

You know the old man that the Jimmy Smits character had offed at the end of last night's show? Fifty bucks says that he's gonna turn out to be Jimmy's old man.

Any takers?

Not only are the characters stereotypical and thin, and the show premise basically Dallas a lo cubano, but the writing is pretty transparent.

Another "Cane" Review

This one from Ray S:

I just saw "CANE" and the coming attractions for future programs. Its everything that I feared.

I'll start with the good part:

With the exception of Nestor Carbonell who as a real Cuban American quite NATURALLY has the right look and the right accent, and with the exception of the woman who plays Jimmy Smits's wife who looks Cuban [even though she is Colombian], everyone else is unbelievable as a Cuban. Particularly annoying is Jimmy Smits, Rita Moreno and Hector Elizondo. Where on earth does Elizondo-- who in reality is a Puerto Rican-- get his Mexican accent? And Smits just doesn't cut the cake as a Cuban. Not only does he not look Cuban [he looks like a Somoan or something], his Cuban accent is horrendous. Can't an accomplished actor like Smits get a voice coach to at least teach him to speak with a Cuban accent? And Rita Moreno's "Ave Maria" exclamation... Uh, ah.. I don't think so.

The program is full of clichés and stereotypes. The family lives in an old fashion hacienda type home full of crucifixes, etc... that looks like something that you would see in one of those old Maria Felix movies and every other moment you hear some salsa or reggaeton music in the background to give the right ambiance of Hollywood's perception of a LATEENO FAMILY. Remember we are always suppose to be dancing and partying. We're such hot passionate people! When the family sons aren't dancing to Reggaeton, they're having sex with some pretty blond American girl, cause that's what Cubans do. The writer--who is Cuban--wants to let you know that she knows how Cubans live, so there is a scene where they roast a pig, cause when we aren't smoking cigars, having hot passionate sex, or dancing to salsa or reggaeton, we're eating lechon.

The program which is slow and boring, quickly deteriorated into a mafia series full of assassins-for-pay, recently arrived Cuban balseros who are murderers that used to belong to some type of crime syndicate in Cuba where they tattoo their hands as gang identification [sort of like the Salvadorean gangs do]. What's more, in the coming attractions, "the family" gets even more violent as they get involved with the Israeli mob in the ECSTASY trade.

Gee, why is it that I didn't trust CBS to get it right? Could it be because CBS executives a few years ago visited Cuba—on an all expense paid trip where they were wined and dined and had meetings with Castro? Could it be because the Fanjuls who are hated by the left and by Castro [since they monopolize the sugar market and are influential in American politics] are often the brunt of scathing critiques in American magazines? Could it be because I read a few years ago [at around the time that the CBS executives visited Cuba] that there was a program/movie in the plans on the Fanjul family?

More on "Cane"

The following is an email from our filmaker friend Quincy Perkins, with his thoughts on Cane:

Val- As I am a filmmaker and have always been consumed with the IMAGE I felt a deep urge to write to you some thoughts recently, especially in response to the moron LechonAsao who tells you to take it easy. Little does he know the effects of what he is viewing.

There have been in this past week THREE distinct types of images or photographs (if you will) that have been discussed. The photo (video) of Fidel that was recently? turned up. The photo (print) of a man with USA tattooed against his forehead. And finally the photo (film) of the new CBS drama Cane.

Each of these images (each in different forms) has begun a new view of Cuba in my opinion. All at once these images have invoked a sense of nostalgia, extremism, the unknown, and romanticism. Before I go any further I want to give you a quote from Susan Sontag's "On Photography" essay that was first published in late 1973... I want you to not take photography as just still in this case but also the entire range of the word image.

"Photography implies that we know about the world if we accept it as the camera records it. But this is the opposite of understanding, an approach which starts from not accepting the world as it looks. All possibility of understanding is rooted in the ability to say NO. Strictly speaking, it is doubtful that a photograph can help us understand anything.The simple fact of "rendering" a reality doesn't tell us much about that reality...the "reality" of the world is not in its images, but in its function."

I am trying to write this as concisely as possible and please give me just another moment.

What we see in the photography of Fidel is in fact NOT REALITY. To the man who says that if he just snaps a picture or simply "just" shoots some video, that he/she is capturing reality, I say say shame on them. Every piece of the Fidel image is constructed, invented, stretched, outfitted,etc. Before photography it can be stated without fault that every man and woman in Cuba (and around the world) would think Fidel to be dead and in a coffin by now. The image whether it turns up today or post-death of Fidel matters little to the actual REALITY of the situation. What matters is the "reality" of the world in its function. Fidel as he has stated before is simply an idea, not a man. And that IDEA has died.

The image of the USA tattooed against a man's forehead, is unfortunately not a REALITY either. It is no doubt shocking, but in fact I wonder how many of your readers thought about what may lie just outside the frame of this image. I can tell you, without a doubt in my mind, that what is more shocking is outside, is the context, is the environment in which this man exists. So the photo is a culmination no doubt of a man who has been flung against oppression but can not be taken as REALITY.

The "image" or film (35mm) of CANE is in fact the furthest removed from REALITY. The furthest removed from an actual UNDERSTANDING of the reality in Cuba. To say that having a Puerto Rican playing a Cuban is not a mistake, I say, again shame on you. The point of these shows may be entertainment but that would be completely missing the point of responsibility, which unfortunately so much of Hollywood lacks. The saying in Hollywood is "It's just a movie". And in fact it is, and it isn't. It IS just a movie in the fact that it is just an IMAGE and should not be taken as anymore seriously than that. A finely slice piece of film that has been developed. At the same time it is NOT just a film, in that it carries with it a serious sense of reposibility to INFORM and to EDUCATE. That is why we all watch TV shows. It is not simply for enjoyment, it is to INFORM ourselves of the world we live in.

The photograph, like the written word, falls short in describing the amount of pain in a situation, the amount of anger. LIke all ART we must recognize it for what it is and be reasonable enough to take away from it only that which informs us responsibly.

With tons of support and all the best,

Quincy

Sanctions: The new black

One of the big criticisms of the embargo (not the only one, I know) is that we do business and engage other terrible regimes. Whether it's Myanmar or Iran, it seems that sanctions are becoming fashionable again.

I say good. Perhaps the U.S. will finally take the lead in keeping the pressure on all oppressive regimes. I think the American people are hungry for the types of reforms that President Bush envisions for the United Nations. Otherwise do away with the whole thing and start again as a Democracies-only club. Nothing good can come from a situation in which the inmates are running the asylum.

And before you send me an email telling me about how you can travel freely to Iran, keep this in mind: sanctions are punitive measures. I don't know what percentage of Iran's GDP comes from tourism, but I'm betting it's nothing close to what it represents to Cuba.

Hey Holmes!

From the same network that brought you Rathergate, featuring Dan "What's the frequency, Kenneth, who cares I love fidel" Rather, comes the latest prime time drama offering "Cane." The story of a rich Cuban-American sugar dynasty played by well known Mexican Puerto Rican "Latino" actors.

Cane premieres tonight at 10 PM Eastern, on The castro Broadcasting System CBS.

If the actors toss out a few lines in Spanish and they sound nothing like the Cuban dialect we all know and love, fret not, dear readers. Just sit back, relax, and have another taco and some arroz con gandules.

Orale Nene!

Update: Premiere just ended. Tremenda mierda. There is absolutely nothing good that could come of this tv show. Nothing good at all.

LA Event - Updated

Attention LA los Cubanos! You are coordially invited to a special screening of the film Cercania- Closeness by Rolando Diaz

This Cuban film will be presented in Hollywood the 5th of October at the Barnsdall Gallery Theatre. This event is to benefit the human rights activists and political prisoners in Cuba. View the trailor here.

* Update - I forgot to the phone number: 310-973-8694

Poor A&E

The A&E network bit offa bit more than they could chew by producing a Biography show depicting ernesto che geuvara as some kind of messiah. Why?

Because Humberto Fontova knows the truth, and he wields it like Arthur wielded Excalibur:

Ernesto "Che" Guevara was second in command, chief executioner, and chief KGB liaison for a regime that outlawed elections and private property. This regime's KGB-supervised police – employing the midnight knock and the dawn raid among other devices – rounded up and jailed more political prisoners as a percentage of population than Stalin's and executed more people (out of a population of 6.4 million) in its first three years in power than Hitler's executed (out of a population of 70 million) in it's first six.

The regime Che Guevara co-founded stole the savings and property of 6.4 million citizens, made refugees of 20 per cent of the population from a nation formerly deluged with immigrants and whose citizens had achieved a higher standard of living than those residing in half of Europe. Che Guevara's regime also shattered – through executions, jailings, mass larceny and exile – virtually every family on the island of Cuba. Many opponents of the Cuban regime qualify as the longest-suffering political prisoners in modern history, having suffered prison camps, forced labor and torture chambers for a period THREE TIMES as long in Che Guevara's Gulag as Alexander Solzhenytzin suffered in Stalin's Gulag.

Read the as usual excellent thing right here.

On the Radio

Ill be on the Tammy Bruce show today at 2 pm Eastern on the Talk Radio Network to discuss the mature behavior of the Cuban delegation to the UN today and hopefully other topics concerning the Pearl of the Antilles.

You can listen live, right here.

The Battle of Ideas (Updated - Video)

We've all heard the term above. It's used by the castro propaganda machinery to indoctrinate the populace by making them believe that they're involved in a great and noble battle of ideals against the evil Yanqui imperialists. Yet they never actually engage in any battle with actual ideas. When dissenting points of view are presented, in the case of the Cuban people, they are beaten, arrested and silenced. Should a US President mention something about Human Rights Abuses in Cuba before an audience at the United Nations, the Cuban delegation just walks out.

I guess the Cuban government thinks that if you silence and ignore others' ideas, then you can declare yourself the winner. To powerhungry simpletons, it's just that simple.

Update: Im looking for a transcript of the speech as we "speak." Will post it as soon as it becomes available.

Update: Via the Belfast Telegraph:

In the wide-ranging speech on human rights, Mr Bush said the ``long rule of a cruel dictator'' was coming to an end in Cuba and that innocent civilians were suffering in Sudan.

"Cruel dictator." That's got to have castroites, commies and other assorted useful idiots in a lather.

From Fox News:

Also absent is longtime Cuban tyrant Fidel Castro, who has been ill for more than a year. As Bush mentioned Cuba, saying "the long rule of a cruel dictator is nearing its end," that country's U.N. delegation stood up and walked out of the auditorium.

Update: President Bush quoted, from the White House Site, hat tip La Conchita:

"...the American people are disappointed by the failures of the Human Rights Council. This body has been silent on repression by regimes from Havana to Caracas to Pyongyang and Tehran -- while focusing its criticism excessively on Israel."

"In Cuba, the long rule of a cruel dictator is nearing its end. The Cuban people are ready for their freedom. And as that nation enters a period of transition, the United Nations must insist on free speech, free assembly, and ultimately, free and competitive elections."

- President Bush Addresses The United Nations General Assembly, Sept 25, 2007 -

Update: Hot Air has the video of the huffing and petty Cuban "diplomats" bailing from the UN assembly during President Bush's speech..

Presente!

There's lots of stuff this morning in the blogosphere about the protests against the Iranian president's visit to New York. Michelle Malkin has a link filled post on the whole affair. Video from Ground Zero at Atlas Shrugs.

But here's a photo that caught my eye at Kesher Talk, taken by Mary Madigan of Exit Zero, who was at the Ground Zero protest:

That's a Cuban in the background donning his Alpha 66 shirt. Whoever you are, thanks for being there and representing those of us that couldn't be there.

Update by Pitbull: This image (from Michelle Malkin's piece) says it all.

It's gotta be something in the soil...

..because in Hollywood, Useful Idiots grow on trees.

What is it about actors - people who pretend to be other people - that makes them such wankers?

Balseros pleas ignored

Just before dawn - Checkpoint Charlie Berlin, 1962. Several East Berliners make it over the wall to freedom, and hurry to enter the American sector. A group of passersby spot them and wave them forward, offering assistance. Nearby, U.S. military guards notice the disturbance, rush to the scene, and quickly assess the situation. Making a quick decision, they push the refugees toward the wall, telling them to go back. The refugees plead with the guards, asking them to just let them go. One refugee breaks down, it is his fifth attempt to escape from communism. The guards ignore their pleas, and force the refugees back over the wall into communist East Berlin where an unknown fate awaits them.

Pure fiction of course; here's a modern version of the story from the Miami Herald:

The scene played out as it has so many times before: Cubans on a flimsy inflatable raft begged Carnival Cruise Line officials not to interrupt their journey to ''freedom'' while passengers tossed them water bottles and shot video.

Adlin Sukhwani, of Kendall, was on the last leg of a seven-day cruise, about 45 miles from Key West, when she spotted the small raft on Saturday and her husband started videotaping the 10 men -- an effort to get their faces splashed in the news media and help their families identify them.

Dozens of tourists leaned on the verandas aboard Carnival's Valor to spot the men traveling on what appeared to be an inflatable raft of blue rubber, ropes and wood, she said. ''Americans, Cubans, Colombians, we were all trying to help them, and throw them bottles of water,'' Sukhwani said.

The tourists and the men shouted back and forth in Spanish. When one of the tourists asked what they needed, the men responded: ``Please tell them to keep on going. Don't stop!''

Under the U.S. wet foot/dry foot policy, Cubans intercepted at sea are generally sent back to the communist island, while those who make it to American soil are usually allowed to stay.

''It was a very emotional moment for all of us,'' said Sukhwani, of Cuban and Indian descent. ``We felt powerless.''

Following U.S. Coast Guard procedure, the cruise ship intercepted the raft about 45 miles off Key West, said a Carnival spokesman.

Before the cruise ship crew took the men aboard, ''one of the Cuban men said with despair he had risked his life and this was his fifth time being returned,'' Sukhwani said.

The men said they were from El Cotorro, a town on the outskirts of Havana.

Sukhwani's husband, Dhiraj Sukhwani, filmed the moments before the crew took the men aboard, hoping close-ups of the men's faces will help family in South Florida identify the men, who appeared to be in their 20s and 30s.

Carnival later turned the men over to the U.S. Coast Guard. The tourists arrived in Miami on Sunday.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are questioning the men and processing their return to Cuba, a Coast Guard spokesman said.

When did Carnival Cruises become castro's gatekeeper?

Update: (Val) Dont get stuck on stupid obsession here, folks. "Maritime law" notwithstanding, the balseros requested they be left alone in order to possibly reach the freedom of US shores. They risked their lives for it and now that they have been "saved" by Carnival Cruise Lines, they'll be repatriated back to their island prison. Focus on the reality of their situation: their oppressed lives, the absurd wet foot/dry foot policy, their probable encarceration at being repatriated, the absolute dismal and dire circumstances they must have lived under to risk it all to change. That's the real focus here, and not what some petty racist leftist says about Cuban-Americans on some whiny little blog that just cant wai