Cuban Ingenuity

Mira que los cubanos siempre están inventando.

A Cuban in Pittsburg, Kansas, of all places, has become a local hit with his “Little Havana on Wheels” restaurant. Apparently he could not afford a stationary restaurant, so he made a mobile one from what appears to be an old school bus. The locals are going crazy for his pan con bistec sandwiches.

Read the whole story here, and watch a news video report here.

The inalienable right of Cubans to get rid of a murderous regime

For a while, I've been working on a post that debates the issue of hardliners; basically of how Cuban hardliners are vilified, when previous hardliners for other causes were not. But alas, someone beat me to the punch.

Today's Herald has an editorial by Frank Calzon from the Center for a Free Cuba. In it he pretty much hits the nail on the head on some of the most important issues.

First he defines a hardliner: ``

Hard-liners'' are Cuban Americans who believe that the real issue is freedom and not U.S.-Cuba policy.

and addresses the negative connotation while lauded in previous causes:

Why should those Cubans be identified as hard-liners? American civil rights leaders who demanded the dismantling of all segregated facilities -- drinking fountains, buses and hotels -- were not. Today, neither is Burma's courageous opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who calls on the outside world not to travel to Burma and for foreign governments to put sanctions on Rangoon's military regime. And the label, which is sometimes used as synonymous with ''extremists,'' was not applied to the South Africans who urged the world to boycott that country's racist regime in order to achieve change in Johanesburg.

The most important thing this editorial has, is that it puts principle first and business later. Many times people here at Babalu have expressed that they would have no problems trading with Cuba or jumpstarting the relations with Cuba as long as specific conditions were met. Frank addresses this sin pelos en la lengua (emphasis mine):

If you ask me, 'Are you for lifting the sanctions in exchange for the release of political prisoners, the relaxation of the Castro brothers' economic decrees that prevent Cuba from achieving its economic potential, the opening of all segregated facilities to all Cubans where now only foreigners are allowed?'' my answer is a resounding Yes.

But if I am asked, ''Are you in favor of lifting the embargo so that American tourists could join other foreigners in Cuba's segregated hotels, so that the regime continues to abuse and beat not only political prisoners but their relatives, so that Cuban newspapers and radio stations continue to function under the strictest censorship?'' I would have to say No.

That's pretty much the same way I feel about the whole deal. But you know, there is always that group that keeps repeating that opening up trade would for sure bring down the regime (which of course has not worked in China); he has some words for them too - the same thing we've said many times -

the business as usual approach has been tried for years by Spain, Canada and others and has done nothing but help to keep the regime in place.

There are a couple other interesting points that I left out for the sake of space, which means you should go read it - in particular his definitions of moderates and appeasers.

It's nothing new, nothing we've never heard before, nothing we've never said before. But it is said in a concise and factual manner, that maybe, just maybe, might make others listen to it.

Change is not just desired, change is required

El Mizzoubanazo has audio from Julio Cesar Lopez Rodriguez who explains what's going on with the Cuban youth that are being detained for the mere act of wearing a bracelet that says the word "change" on it. The youths are decrying the recent Cuban "elections" as a farce. The regime is detaining these youths, harassing them and then releasing them. This is an intimidation tactic and it's being used because the tyrants in Havana understand that suddenly the world is watching what's going on Cuba.

A change of approach is definitely required, but who needs to change? Who needs to look at new solutions, the U.S. or the band of thugs that run castro, inc.?

I submit to you that change needs to come on the other side of the Florida straits. It's those changes that will mean all the difference for the Cuban people, it's those changes that will open the door to changes in U.S. policy.

Respect for your country

Since he was big enough to understand, I have taught my son to respect the institutions of his country. I've taught him to recite the pledge of allegiance and to place his hand over his heart when reciting it, and also when the Star Spangled Banner is played. It's the least someone can do to respect this country, regardless of disagreements you may have with policy. So when I get this eye-opening photograph, I knew I had to share it. The loons and nutroots on the left make a big fucking deal when we (rightfully) call them unpatriotic, but they have no one to blame for the name calling than themselves.

I'd love to know the prevenance of the photo and the location of the event where this occured. Senator Barack Hussein Obama, Governor Bill Richardson, Senator Hillary Clinton and Ruth Harkin stand during the national anthem. Senator Obama doesn't seem to be on the same page as the others when it comes to the national anthem (or pledge of allegiance).

This is one scary election season...

(H/T Karen M)

Para Mike H.

Men are like the stars; some generate their own light while others reflect the brilliance they receive.

Jose Marti

The text message on my cellphone from the number I did not recognize was short:

"Mike H's father passed away this morning."

Im instantly overwhelmed with sorrow. Even though I never met Mike's old man personally, I think I can imagine what my friend is going through right now. I try to come up with some comforting thoughts to offer Mike, something to help ease his pain, arrogantly believing that my words could perform such a feat. Of course, everything I can muster falls way short. Deep down, I know the truth of the matter is that I really cant imagine what he's feeling right now. I know I cant do much more than offer condolences and sympathies to my friend from the very core of my being.

I can say, though, that if Mike is a chip off the old block, then his father was indeed a great man. Selfless, kind, gentle and with a heart of gold. The kind of man that's always there for you when you need him even when you dont know you need him. Always there to support you and offer up a piece of his soul when yours is wounded. The kind of man that can share tears of laughter and of pain. The kind of man that fathers wish their sons grow up to be.

Mike, mi hermano, que tristeza siento por ti hoy. Im sorry I did not even know your dad's name or that he may have been ill and that you and your family may have been going through some difficult times because of his health. I wish I could have been there for you if only to offer a shoulder or a few words of support or an ear to tug on. Your father is in our thoughts and prayers, as well as you and your family. Please accept our most hearfelt condolences.

I know you may be thinking that it's a pity or a shame that your old man did not live to see that day that you and I have spoken about so many times. That day we've dreamt about and longed for so wistfully. I know it's painful to think that when that day comes your old man wont be here to share it with you, but, my friend, when that day comes, that happiness you will feel inside you, that glee, that rebirth of hope, all of it will have been instilled in you by your old man. He will, indeed, be with you on that day. Just like he'll be with your Mom and your siblings and with that family you hold so dear back in Cuba. And he'll share your happiness as he looks down on us from Heaven, smiling, beaming with pride.

To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.

Clyde Campbell

What side are you on?

Today the spokespersons for castro, inc. are preening because the United Nations has once again condemned the U.S. embargo on Cuba. Here in America, castro's allies and a few misguided souls will point to it as some sort of vindication for their positions.

At the same time there's a man rotting in a Cuban dungeon who will be honored next week by receiving, in absentia, the highest award the President can give. That man's name is a Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet. The regime can't have him on the streets of Havana because he's a perfect example of Cuba's disaffected "New Man". Biscet, an Afro-Cuban, was educated by the Revolution, he became part of the vaunted healthcare system. In short, "he has nothing to complain about". The Revolution was fought and won for people like him. Except that he rejects the Revolution and its lies. And not only that he continued to reject it even after he was freed from prison. So right back into prison he went. As I said, castro, inc. can't have a fearless critic on the loose.

And guess what? Oscar Elias Biscet favors the embargo. His Lawton Foundation for human rights is unequivocal:

Lifting of the embargo has to be conditioned to respect the human rights of the Cuban people, the freedom of all political prisoners, a multi-party system and free elections, because these principles must take precedence over business.

So who are you with, the academics, politicians and other enablers of the regime, or one of the most important and noteworthy political prisoners in Cuba?

Happy Halloween!

Ya viene llegando

Unfortunately for our Venezuelan brothers and sisters, the often sung refrain from Willy Chirino’s song of hope and the eventual end of tyranny in Cuba appears to mean the opposite for them. The times have certainly changed in Venezuela, and the country is looking less and less like a democracy.

Chávez sneers at the 18-year-old Scotch whisky and brand new Hummers favored by his cronies', the so called “Bolivarian Bourgeosie,” while at the same time he springs for four billion dollars of Russian jet fighters, combat helicopters and Kalashnikov assault rifles. Meanwhile, at “Mercal,” the popular supermarket network where scarce basic goods are supposed to be subsidized by oil revenues, a Cuba-like rationing card system is at work. Venezuela has the highest inflation rate in the Americas (20%) and is set to redenominate its currency in January 2008. Given those circumstances, the dollar has become the most sought-after commodity in Venezuela.

Last night I walked down to my neighborhood supermarket for a bottle of relatively inexpensive Chilean red wine. As I approached, I ran into an upset and disappointed neighbor of mine. She usually knows when basic goods are about to arrive, so I asked her if she had found milk at the supermarket.

"It's all gone now, again,” she said with a grimace, "but I still have some dollars to sell. Interested?

For years now I have warned my Venezuelan friends of the impending tragedy if they allow the macaco mayor, chávez, to continue gutting their democratic constitution and eliminating their freedoms one by one. At first they told me there was no way he could do what castro did in Cuba, but now their only reply is a blank and anguished stare. A look, I am sure, that hundreds of thousands of Cubans, like my parents, know all too well.

Although there is still time for them to avoid the same mistakes made by Cuba in the past, their window of opportunity is rapidly closing. Soon there will not be any freedom left and before they know it, a new generation will come of age in Venezuela that has no idea what freedom is. That generation’s only concern will be finding enough food to eat and shoes for their children. The conversations will turn from politics and the inalienable right of every human to live free, to black market deals and resolviendo.

70 young people arrested in Havana (UPDATED)

As many as 70 young people were arrested Monday in Havana, for carrying signs wearing wristbands with the word "Cambio," or change, according to Cuban Encuentro. They were taken to the police station at Zanja and Dragones, and as of Tuesday only about 10 had been released.

Among those arrested was the nephew of political prisoner Fabio Prieto.

Ricardo Rodríguez Borrero, vice president of the College of Independent Teachers, said none of those arrested had formally been charged with a crime.

"I am very concerned about what is happening, and fear (the dictatorship) is preparing a new wave of repression," said human rights activist Juan Carlos González Leyva.

UPDATE

Thanks to the commenter who noted that my translation of the word "manilla" was incorrect.

More on Biscet

From the Miami Herald:

Biscet's outspoken ways and his multiple trips to jail have made the Afro-Cuban physician one of the most prominent opponents of the island's communist government. He started protesting as a recent medical graduate in 1986, when he denounced the long hours doctors had to work without pay, and in one stretch between June 1998 and November 1999 was arrested 26 times.

According to his wife, Elsa Morejón, Biscet is being held in the maximum security Combinado del Este prison in Havana. He is confined to a cell with no mattress, no light or chair and family visits are allowed once every three months.

Biscet suffers from high blood pressure, joint pain and failing eyesight, she has said.

In a phone conversation from Havana, Morejón thanked Bush for the award and called it ``a recognition of our political prisoners.''

''It is important that in this world someone remembers us,'' she said.

H/T to Lori and TheRealCuba.com

President 30% meet the 11% Congress

Bush may be in trouble in the polls -- and if he were more conservative and not less he'd be in the stratosphere -- but there's nothing like having a bunch of incompetent loon lefty Dems to run Congress to really bring the poll numbers down. Be careful what you wish for, nutroots.

(H/T Michelle Malkin)

We can't do enough for this man

Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet

The Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, recognizes exceptional meritorious service. The Presidential Medal of Freedom, medal awarded annually by the President of the United States to individuals selected by him or recommended to him by the Distinguished Civilian Service Awards Board. Recipients of the medal are those who have made outstanding contributions to the security or national interest of the United States or to world peace, or those who have made a significant public or private accomplishment. Recipients have included educators, diplomats, authors, scientists, and business executives.

Can we ever forget this video made by Biscet's wife explaining the conditions under which he lives?

The mock-up of the cell was built on the grounds of the US Interests Section in Havana. Imagine having to live like that simply because you want freedom and democracy for your country.

Czech and Slovak deported from Cuba

Recently Cuba held their "elections". At the same time some dissenters, including Guillermo Fariñas decided to hold a conference to dicuss the conditions that must be met if elections are to be fair and transparent.

Among the attendees to this conference, were a Czech and a Slovak, members of the European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations. As you might have guessed, this did not go very well with the local authorities and both men were deported without any communication with their respective embassies. Slovakia is already demanding an explanation from Cuba.

And this is the government we should be extending our hand to? The goverment that we should engage in talks? The government that we should befriend?

I don't know about you, but I cannot condone that my government whose tenets are "liberty and justice for all" engage in any type of trade or talks with a government that not only represses its own people but also foreigners who want to learn about their "fair and transparent" elections.

And for the record my feelings extend to countries such as China as well.

John Waters gets it

Not from whom you would expect it, but at least we have another example of a Hollywood favorite that has not allowed himself to be blinded by the castro/che love-fest so popular on the left coast. In this question and answer session in the Charlotte Observer, actor/director/writer/producer John Waters even takes a stab at his Hollywood friends.

Q. If the United States is destined to be the world's policeman, where should we send our troops next -- and why?

A. To Cuba, to find the people who were mean to gay people and locked them up and punished them, just the way we (went after) the Nazis. We're supposed to forget that? I can't, and that's the only thing I'm right-wing on; Che Guevara was horrible to gay people. And something about my rich liberal friends going to Cuba rubs me the wrong way, because Cuban people can't do what we do there and spend the money we spend.

I cannot say I agree with the rest of his politics, but I can say he nailed the Cuba part down pat.

What's good for the goose...

Today is one of those days when I just don’t feel like arguing. The UN general assembly will vote today on a resolution that condemns the US for their economic embargo on Cuba’s rogue regime. “castro’s rangers” have been running around the halls of the UN securing votes for this useless resolution from a useless international body.

We can list here the numerous and justifiable reasons for the embargo as it has been done on these pages time and time again, but what is the point? Cuba’s dictatorial oligarchy can say and do whatever they like and the world at large will applaud them. No one will challenge them, nor will anyone in the UN’s governing body dare impugn them for their copious and well-documented violation of human rights. Arguing with facts and truth against Cuba’s elite masters—which have the full resources of fantasy to draw upon as weapons and the backing of the most powerful and unprincipled world elite—can sometimes feel like a quixotic exercise in futility.

So, instead of disputing this issue with facts and specifics, I’ll just take a play right out of their book, if only just for today.

Why doesn’t the US remove the embargo on Cuba?

¡Porque no le da las ganas!

Rats. Everywhere, rats.

Today's Washington Post, publishes a piece on the future of what to us is one of the most evil tools fidel has used to maintain power over th last five decades:

For decades, Peleaz and her mother before her have been keepers of [f]idel [c]astro's communist message, using their position as the head of the neighborhood's Committee for the Defense of the Revolution, or CDR, as an ideological wedge into the minds of their neighbors. Now, in the twilight of [c]astro's reign, the fate of the CDRs could provide a clue about Cuba's future.

Once, in a bygone era when revolutionary fervor was at its apex, they were muscular entities, dominating street life and cementing [c]astro's hold on power. But over the years they have atrophied, becoming more creaking relic than shining showpiece, victim of the waning enthusiasms of a population weary of economic deprivation.

As [c]astro's brother, interim President [r]aul [c]astro, prepares to take full control after his brother's death, party officials take visiting dignitaries on tours of the committees, and there are signs that the younger [c]astro is trying to inject new life into a system that could be crucial to solidifying his hold on power.

Police call block leaders more often, pressing aggressively for information, according to interviews with current and former CDR leaders. Earlier this year, Cuba's state-run television network broadcast an exposé shaming several committees for failing to post obligatory round-the-clock sentries.

"We're working to lift up the committees," said Over DeLeon, a veteran of the Cuban Revolution who has been a block committee president in Havana for most of the past four decades. "People have not been demonstrating the same spirit, faith and enthusiasm. The population is tired. It has been battling for many years. But we must be vigilant."

Restoring the CDRs to their former glory might be a monumental task. For every unabashed enthusiast such as DeLeon, it seems, there are other CDR leaders whose passion for the system has tapered off.

I'm not going to quote the whole thing, but examine the language of these six paragraphs. The writer, intentionally I think, has placed the CDRs, snitches and rats selling out their neighbors for goodies and political favors, as a serious adjunct to the regime, giving them a certain credibility and, dare I say it, respect. The theme of the piece is about the snitches, not their victims. It's only until you read further that you get a little sop to the good guys. This is just more of the same white-washing with language that we've had for so long. The MSM doesn't give a rat's ass about Cuba. Otherwise, a line like this,

"[w]e're creating something," DeLeon said, "Something called a 'political conscience.' ",

would have been written about Oscar Elias Biscet, and not the rat-fink head of a CDR.

The Post lavished 44 paragraphs on the rats of the regime, and a total of three paragraphs on Oscar Elias Biscet winning the Medal of Freedom yesterday.

That, my friends, says it all.

Who is with the president?

The president's speech on Cuba last week has drawn a lot of criticism from the usual suspects. But notably several dissidents in Cuba have come out in favor of the speech. These include Marta Beatriz Roque Cabello, Guillermo Fariñas, Benito Ortega Juárez, Roberto Arsenio López Ramos, and Juan Francisco Sigler Amaya.

Joining the growing chorus of support for the president's words on Cuba is Carlos Alberto Montaner, whose latest Spanish column you can read here.

The English is below in it's entirety:

Bush's speech at [c]astro's grave

President Bush summoned just about everyone to the State Department. He wanted to issue an important statement to the Cubans on the island. The ceremony on Wednesday had a feeling of urgency. He was flanked by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Senator Mel Martinez of Florida, the Cuban-American members of Congress and other notables. His was not an election-year message directed at Florida voters. Those are made while clad in a guayabera and delivered as in a rally. This was something a lot more serious.

Bush talked to all Cubans, but especially to the ruling clique. The Americans have vital and precise information: A huge majority in the apparatus of power wants major changes. A hundred reports have been issued about the debates conducted in Cuba over the problems affecting the country, and the results are almost unanimous: Practically nobody wants to keep the current regime. They begin, timidly, by asking for economic changes and, before you know it, they're demanding political changes and individual freedoms.

Life beyond communism

That makes sense. How can anyone believe in the virtues of the single party and collectivism after half a century of failures and misery? A huge majority of citizens wants the restoration of property rights, democracy and pluralism. Among the intellectuals, artists and students, the clamor is almost unanimous. The only person who remains convinced of the virtues of communism is [f]idel [c]astro, and his death, preceded by senile dementia, cannot be far off.

Not even [r]aúl, who was a communist before Fidel, believes in that mumbo-jumbo. That's why Bush didn't mention him in his speech. He wanted to leave all options open. That's why he addressed the armed forces and the security corps. Those who welcome the wishes of society and initiate or facilitate the transition to democracy will have all the support they need from the United States. There is life beyond communism.

There is another key element in Bush's speech. He prefers freedom to stability. He does not admit the cynical argument (defended by some U.S. military officers) that it is preferable to have a tyranny on the island, keeping things quiet to prevent a massive exodus of Cubans, rather than run the risk of a possibly turbulent transition to democracy. That's called learning from history.

Throughout the 20th century, the United States sided with repugnant dictatorships while seeking stability and ended up the loser. Upon that twisted reasoning lay the censurable links with Somoza, Trujillo, Batista and Pinochet. The left condemned Washington for that stance. Now, Bush stands on the ethical side of the conflict with [c]astro's dictatorship, and the left, mindless of its own contradictions or its lack of democratic values, continues to condemn him.

In turn, Bush and his advisors realize that the interests of the United States can be guaranteed only if a democratic regime with an efficient economic system is installed in Cuba. Prolonging the dictatorship, even if it is an imitation of the Chinese model, only extends the problem; it does not resolve it. Better to have a country shaken by a tumultuous change -- as happened in Eastern Europe -- than allow in Cuba what happened in Russia. There, there were no mass conflicts, but an anti-American mob of mafiosi and policemen took over the Kremlin.

What the United States prefers is to see a future Cuba that resembles the Czech Republic or Hungary, not Russia or China. Fortunately, that's exactly what almost all Cubans want.

How will Cuba pay for its needs during the change? Bush also described that: Washington will create an international fund for that purpose. When the time comes, there will be no shortage of funds, advice and support. The idea was put forward two years ago at Princeton University by former Uruguayan President Luis Alberto Lacalle. He even gave it a name: the José Martí Fund.

Petrodollars or starvation

The idea was picked up by FAES, a think tank presided by former Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar, who incorporated it into a document called ''Latin America: An agenda for freedom,'' coordinated by deputy Miguel Angel Cortés. Then, hand-carried by Aznar, the idea entered the White House. The Cubans will not find serious economic obstacles when they transform the dictatorship into a democracy and pass from collectivism to the market and private property.

That part of the message is very important. Fidel Castro is dying, but he's trying to bequeath to the Cubans a replacement caudillo: Hugo Chávez. And the way to persuade them to accept Chávez is by not giving them any other option: Either they accept the Venezuelan's leadership, with his petrodollars and multimillion-dollar subsidies (about $3 billion per year), or they starve to death.

But that blackmail is over. There is a way to emerge from the abyss in which El Comandante will leave Cuba. Chávez, whom Cubans detest, can go somewhere else to spout his delirious 21st-century socialism. The Cubans lived their 20th-century version intensely and learned their lesson forever.

So who is Oscar Biscet?

Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, who next week will be honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, is a man of the greatest character, which makes him one of the castro dictatorship's greatest enemies.

The dictatorship may have Biscet locked away in one of its dungeons, but after reading what he wrote in a letter smuggled out of prison earlier this year, it is hard to think of Biscet as one of its prisoners. No jail cell can confine the moral force he represents.

It is very difficult for common prisoners to serve a prison sentence; all the more so for a man of peace confined for exercising his right to freedom of thought. Everything has been so excessive and arbitrary that, the tribunal that condemned me did not pronounce sentence until three days after the trial had concluded. At that moment I felt their disloyalty to justice. I am convinced today of the fear they felt when they convicted an innocent man and put him to live with the scum of society. During all these years in prison I have witnessed ignominious things that I cannot go into the details of due to their perversity; acts that threaten the decorous behavior of a civilized society. In spite of the difficult situation, I am not frightened nor will I go back a step in regards to my ideas. I am here by my own free will to condemn and not to retract myself and will serve this unjust sentence until God in the Highest puts an end to it. (emphasis added)

The honoring of Dr. Biscet with the Medal of Freedom represents a potential milestone in elevating the American public's knowledge and recognition of this great men, and the hundreds, if not thousands, of other political prisoners in fidel castro's gulag. Each of them is a hero, but Biscet's story — he is black, he is a doctor, he is anti-abortion, he is committed to the principles of non-violence — belies so many myths about castro and his so-called "revolution." If it can grab traction in consciousness of the American and international public — and that is a big "if" — Biscet's story might provide a tipping point in changing what that public thinks about Cuba today, similar to the way Nelson Mandela's imprisonment did for South Africa in the 1980s.

Learn more about Dr. Biscet at Free-Biscet.org and the Web site for the Lawton Foundation for Human Rights.

Oscar Elias Biscet honored with Presidential Medal of Freedom

The White House today announced the names of the eight recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Number two on the list was Cuba's very own Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet. As most of you already know, Biscet is one of the island's more prominent and outspoken human rights advocates. Currently serving a 25-year prison term for exercising his God-given right to freedom of speech, Biscet will of course be a no-show at a White House awards ceremony scheduled for November 5th. Can't wait to see how the Castro mafia spins this one.

I think I speak for all of us when I send the good doctor heartfelt congratulations and wishes for a speedy release from prison.

Name That Tune

"Recent protests in the country were created by the loudmouthed bully [USA], using the exiled dissidents and traitors . . . "

I ask you, who made these remarks?

Interestingly enough, it wasn't a Cuban "government" spokesman but rather, representatives of Myanmar's ruling military junta. The fat-cats in Burma are currently stepping up their propaganda efforts against the U.S., blaming las month's wave of pro-democracy demonstrations on Washington. Apparently, the current administration has designs on installing a puppet government in the capitol city of Nay Pyi Taw.

Yet another faithful disciple has taken a page out of the Castro play book. Unbelievable.

Double Exile

What could be worse than having to leave your homeland?

Having to leave your adopted homeland.

The following Miami Herald article describes this very process that Cuban-Venezuelans are going through as they flee hugolandia.

(Side note: take along a huge chunk of salt and read the comments to the article. There's nothing quite like unbridled ignorance on display).

Venezuelans of Cuban descent use heritage to enter U.S.

The sons and daughters of Cubans living in Venezuela are fleeing the country, fearing a repeat of Fidel Castro's 1950s revolution.

Haunted by their exiled parents' harrowing experience in the 1950s revolutionary Cuba, thousands of Venezuelans of Cuban descent are fleeing the country as President Hugo Chávez intensifies his drive to transform Venezuela into a socialist state.

The two Cuban consulates in Venezuela -- in Caracas and Valencia -- have seen a sharp rise in recent months in the number of petitions from young applicants looking for ways to prove their Cuban origin.

The sons and daughters of Cuban nationals have a unique advantage over the rest of Venezuelans: A direct shot at becoming U.S. residents if they can prove their parents were born on the island.

''We are witnessing in Venezuela the same situation that our parents experienced [in Cuba,] and that is why we are looking for new horizons,'' said Víctor López, a 35-year-old son of Cubans who went to the Cuban embassy in Caracas last week to request a birth certificate.

Víctor plans to move to Miami next year, along with his wife and their 4-year-old daughter, hoping to benefit from the Cuban Adjustment Act, a law that allows any person who can prove he was born in Cuba or to Cuban parents to become a legal resident in the U.S.

''The birth certificate proving that the person is the son or the daughter of a Cuban citizen allows him to be considered under the Cuban Adjustment Act,'' said Salvador Romaní, president of the advocacy group Junta Patriótica Cubana in Venezuela, who moved to Miami last year after 47 years in Venezuela.

The number of Cuban-Venezuelans who have applied for residency under the Cuban Adjustment Act has grown since August, after the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency ruled that a birth certificate issued by a Cuban consulate could be used as proof of Cuban origin.

The decision ''has opened the doors not only to the sons and daughters of Cubans in Venezuela, but also to those living anywhere else in the world,'' said Avelino González, a former law professor at the University of Havana and an immigration lawyer in Miami who has also lived in Venezuela.

María Victoria López, a 27-year-old Venezuelan lawyer who came to Miami in 2005 to pursue graduate studies, is also hoping to benefit from the ruling.

''One of the main reasons not to return to Venezuela is that Chávez is building a Cuba-inspired autocracy, something that has always concerned us as a family because of what [my parents] lived through in Cuba,'' said López Ferrer.

She presented her Cuban birth certificate in January, after having lived legally in the United States for twelve months and one day, as the Cuban Adjustment Act requires. She is currently awaiting her green card.

González estimates that 30,000 Cubans currently live in Venezuela -- including some former Bay of Pigs fighters.

''Every day we hear of more cases of people of Cuban descent who want to come to Miami, and we are trying to help them in any way we can,'' said Julio César Alfonso, president of Solidarity Without Borders, an organization that helps defecting Cuban doctors in Venezuela reach Miami.

Slavery, still alive and well in Cuba

Remember the case of the three Cubans who escaped from the Curacao Drydock Company where they were working under horrific conditions as slaves? There´s a disturbing story from Canada about four Cuban sailors jumping shiip last week.

Four Cuban sailors who jumped ship in Saint John citing brutal working conditions are now claiming refugee status.

The sailors left the Greek-owned cargo ship Dimitra G docked at the New Brunswick port last Tuesday.

The men described poor working conditions on the ship, said interpreter Angel Negreira, with no heat or air conditioning.

"These people work a minimum of 84 hours a week. They have to work continuously."

The men's hands are covered in heavy calluses and torn skin. Their pay was between $2.50 to $3 per hour, Negreira said.

Negreira said they will be seeking refugee status in Canada on the grounds of the political and economic situation in Cuba.

Here's the rub:

On Friday, the Cubans, escorted by an inspector from the International Transport Workers' Federation and Negreira, boarded the ship in search of approximately $12,000 in back pay.

"They're confiscating their pay to give it back to their families in Cuba," inspector Gerard Bradbury said he was told after meeting with the captain of the vessel.

In the Curacao Drydock Company case, the regime parcelled out the workers as slaves in payment to the company for services rendered rather than part with cash. You have to question just how many Cuban workers are involved in what appears to be a slave trade with international shipping companies.

Transport Canada detained the ship following an inspection Friday.

Spokeswoman Tracey Hennessey said the vessel was detained for safety violations, though she couldn't say whether or not the detention was related to the Cuban sailors' claims.

"It does not meet some of the required safety standards, including those under safety of life at sea," Hennessey said in an interview Sunday.

The ship would have to address those safety concerns before Transport Canada allows it to leave, she said.

After leaving the ship, the sailors walked to a local police station where immigration officials were called.

"They just want their self-respect back," Negreira said. "They have no clothing. They have no place to live. They have nothing."

They four men had to spend a night in a holding cell because there was nowhere else to send them in town, but are now staying with a local Spanish-speaking family. They have still not spoken to their families in Cuba because they can't afford the telephone call.

Immigration Canada is expected to make a decision regarding their case by Nov. 6.

I'm hoping that some of our Canadian readers will somehow contact these men and give them a hand, or email us the info and we'll get them some assisstance. ~Coño~

Read the whole story here.

Camilo Killed?

Yesterday marked 48 years since Camilo Cienfugos disappeared on a plane en route to Habana from Camagüey where he had been sent to arrest and relieve Huber Matos of his command. Ever since then, his death has been a source of rumor and controversy with many claiming that Cinfuegos was killed.

And, Cuba’s Chief Blogger, pretty much came out and admitted that Camilo had in fact been killed. In Saturday’s reflection, he quotes Che Guevara in what sounds like a revolutionary version of O.J. Simpson’s “If I did it”:

“Who killed him?

“We might better wonder: who eliminated his physical being? Because men like him live on in the people...The enemy killed him; they killed him because they wanted him dead; they killed him because there are no safe planes, because pilots cannot have all the experience they need, because, overburdened with work, he wanted to reach Havana in a few short hours…

The enemy of the Cuban people. Those responsible for lack of equipment and training-the leaders of the “revolution”. The castro brothers and che.

The latest reflection also takes a shot at President Bush who ended Wednesday’s speech on Cuba with a “hope, a dream, and a mission: Viva Cuba Libre”. castro took offense to the leader of the free world invoking the Mambi freedom battle cry. He seems to react to the word freedom as a demon would react to holy water.

That probably explains why he chooses to punctuate his speeches with “Patria o Muerte”, (Fatherland or Death). Either share his vision of Cuba or die.( like Camilo and Che)

The reflection ends by with:

¡Viva Lincoln! (honest Abe, not Diaz-Balart)

¡Viva Che!

¡Viva Camilo!

But no ¡Viva Cuba Libre! Not from fidel. Thank Heavens that the Mambi battle cry was not soiled by the tyrant. Let him stick to that repulsive “Patria o Muerte” ultimatum of his. Let him take it to his grave so that it is never uttered again.

¡Viva Cuba Libre!

If a Picture is Worth a Thousand Words...

Friday's mail brought a copy of the newly published I Was Cuba: Treasures from the Ramiro Fernandez Collection, edited by Kevin Kwan. This stunning coffee table book chronicles the history of Cuba in hundreds of pictures. From the first days of photography until the early days of the revolution, it’s all in here: Havana night life, gas station openings and Victorian family dinners, sports figures and circus performers. In addition, there are shots of Che, ardent milicianas and he whose name I don’t feel like mentioning since he may not remember it.

What sets this volume apart from the usual nostalgic “Cuba of yesteryear” books is that it is conscious throughout not only of recreating a past, but also of photography as an art form. Ramiro Fernandez, who spent much of his career as a photography editor for Time, Inc., has devoted a life to amassing photos of the lost world, as if to reassure himself that the Cuba he remembered once existed. His collection is considered among the finest archives of Cuba photos in world.

This pictorial history is a perfect rebuttal to those who insist on seeing pre-Revolutionary Cuba as a third world country on a par with underdeveloped nations in Latin America and Africa. I warn you, though, to get out your hanky before you embark on your journey to the Cuba of the past. You’ll need it, particularly when you come across the occasional text from the works of Reinaldo Arenas. A gorgeous book, it would make the perfect holiday gift for the cubanophile in your life.

Keep your eye on the Pigeons

If this does not prove that Cuba’s monarchical dictatorship feels impervious to anyone, and I repeat, anyone in the mainstream media questioning their laughable voting news, I do not know what will.

In this report from Granma, the government cites that 96.49% of registered voters cast ballots on October 21. Out of these ballots the government states that only 3.93% of them were left blank and 3.08% of the ballots were spoiled. Those numbers, if you don’t mind me saying, are pretty darn exact. They must have some very sophisticated equipment gathering and tallying up these poll numbers.

Well, it turns out that one of the sophisticated and high-tech tools they are using are carrier pigeons. That’s right—carrier pigeons. That is not slang for some new vote counting technology; I am talking about actual feathered, car crapping pigeons. To augment this highly efficient avian communication system, the communist government in Cuba also enlisted the help of 470 cyclists and 146 horse riders to ensure an ongoing flow of communication. It was not reported, however, whether the cyclists and horse riders were also pigeons.

That the communist regime can actually brag about the accuracy of their numbers and in the same breath brag about using carrier pigeons is just amazing to me. The truth is they feel they can say and do just about anything they want—no one in the media is going to challenge them.

Our next president?

On Friday night, my wife asked me if I had seen the trailer for an upcoming documentary titled Hillary Uncensored. After telling her that I hadn't, she pointed me to the Google video link which had the trailer, embedded below.

These are all former Democrat fundraisers making the allegations, not evil conservatives. WorldNet Daily published a piece about that is very illuminating:

Hollywood filmmakers normally inclined to support candidates such as Sen. Hillary Clinton are working quietly behind the scenes to put the finishing touches on a documentary alleging the New York Democrat committed felonies to get elected and assisted her husband in defrauding a major donor.

"The producers are essentially liberal Hollywood Democrats who fear exposure and retribution," said Jim Nesfield, director of the Equal Justice Foundation of America, which is sponsoring the hour-long film, "Hillary Uncensored."

Over the past two weeks, the trailer for the documentary became the No. 1-most viewed piece on Google's video site, even though it was unlisted. The 13-minute video was posted July 18 but only recently became exposed through blog references, and it now has more than 860,000 views.

The full film – debuting Friday at Harvard University – tells the star-studded story of business mogul Peter Franklin Paul's civil fraud suit against former President Clinton.

Paul claims President Clinton destroyed his entertainment company – Stan Lee Media – to get out of a $17 million deal in which he promised to promote the firm in exchange for stock, cash options and massive contributions to his wife's 2000 campaign. Paul contends he was directed by the Clintons and Democratic Party leaders to foot the bill for a lavish Hollywood gala and fundraiser prior to the 2000 election that eventually cost him nearly $2 million. [Emphasis added.]

After watching the trailer, can anyone want the Clintons back in power? Mind you, I don't want Obama to win; but I think on a danger scale for America of 1 to 10, Hillary is an 11 and Obama is a 9.5. Your comments are welcome after you view the 13 minute clip.

***

Being a fan of Cyrus Nowrasteh's The Path to 9/11, and wondering when the DVD would be released -- after all it's been well over a year since broadcast on the nights of September 10 and 11, 2006 -- I was searching the Internet for news when I came across this piece from the Los Angeles Times on the possible scuttling of the DVD release so as to not hurt Hillary's candidacy. Take it for what it's worth.

Nothing is sacred with the &^%$*# liberals

Read this and get pissed off:

The show biz newspaper Variety reports: "G.I. Joe is now a Brussels-based outfit that stands for Global Integrated Joint Operating Entity, an international co-ed force of operatives who use hi-tech equipment to battle Cobra, an evil organization headed by a double-crossing Scottish arms dealer."

Cuban-American done good

Mike Lowell (left) wins the World Series MVP. I had the opportunity to speak with him once, very briefly, at a golf tournament several years ago and he was a very nice and down to earth guy. Additionally, I have a mutual friend who is always bragging about Mike. This is the second World Series victory for Lowell, who plays third base for the Boston Red Sox and played for the Marlins' 2003 Championship squad. He went to Gables High and FIU and still makes his home right here in South Florida. Congrats Mike. You done good. You done really good.

Photo: Getty Images

El che lives at the UN

In spirit that is, and he's going to visit Cuba. It's been announced that UN Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Jean Ziegler will visit Cuba.

Ziegler, a former Swiss Social Democratic parliamentarian, says that his invitation is "a signal that Cuba is opening up to collaboration with the UN" and wants to cooperate actively with the new UN Human Rights Council."

No doubt that is just the beginning of the praise for Cuba we'll be hearing from the Rapporteur. Keep in mind that castro and his buddy Muammar Kadhafi nominated Ziegler for his post. A political radical, this is the opportunity he's been waiting for since his youth, when he met his idol, che.

In France and Switzerland, Jean Ziegler is known as a crusader against the horrors of capitalism. Some thirty years ago, he befriended che guevara in one of Genevas posh international hotels, the type of place where revolutionaries meet. Mr. Ziegler was indeed eager to join the world revolution, but his Argentine idol advised him to stay right there, in the belly of the capitalist beast, there where he could do the most good (or, damage, that is). Consequently, Mr Ziegler didnt spend his whole time in Geneva. He left from time to time, travelling extensively in the Communist world. Usually he was a guest of one of the totalitarian rulers of the time and/or their cronies. In return for their hospitality, Mr. Ziegler praised their charm and charisma. Thus he went to Hanoi during the '80s, where he heaped praise upon General Vo Nguyen Giap and had kind words for Ho Chi Minh with whom he spent unforgettable moments drinking tea under a golden sun. The fact that hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese were at this time desperately trying to escape their country in search of freedom seems not to have registered, or was not worthy of consideration. Indeed, it would be hard to find an intellectual more stained by collaboration with evil regimes in the 20th century than Mr. Ziegler, but this has not prevented many Swiss intellectuals from hailing him as a beacon of freedom in the midst of the capitalist nightmare. In sum, he is is a case in point of a phenomenon French author Alain Minc recently identified: Switzerland is a land of extremes, not only in conformism but also in revolutionary outbursts from leftist luminaries.

A notorious anti-Semite, Ziegler never met a tyrant he didn't love, in fact he rewards them in any way he is able.

In 1989, Ziegler was one of a group of self-described "intellectuals and progressive militants" who gathered in Tripoli to announce the launching of the annual "Muammar Qaddafi Human Rights Prize," awarded by the government of Libya. Ziegler explained that the purpose of the Qaddafi prize was to counterbalance the Nobel prize, which, he said, constituted a "perpetual humiliation to the Third World."Winners of the Qaddafi prize have included fidel castro, louis farrakhan, and recently Venezuela's hugo chávez. When no individual of such luminous human rights credentials has presented himself, the award has gone to collectivities. In 1996, it went to a female member of the Cuban Communist party's central committee, a leader of a Ba'ath party women's organization in Saddam's Iraq, and a couple of other "symbols of women's struggle for freedom." In 1990, it went to the "Stone Throwing Children of Occupied Palestine" and in 1991 to the "Red Indians." In 2002, the awardees were "13 intellectual and literature personalities," of whom the most notable were the French Holocaust denier Roger Garaudy and (you guessed it) Jean Ziegler.

From Cuba, "Ziegler will learn about several projects and programs underway on the island to guarantee food for all Cuban citizens and to keep advancing the construction of an increasingly fair society, despite the difficulties Cuba faced under the economic, commercial and financial war imposed on the country by Washington."

I'm sure he'll get the 1st class tour, and write accordingly. Expect Ziegler to: legitimize raul castro's position as leader of Cuba; issue a report on Cuba that will make moot the fact that he's the first UN Rapporteur into Cuba; and add fuel to the international condemnation of U.S. policy vis á vie Cuba.

For more, click here, here, and here.

On this day in History

On October 28, 1492, Christopher Columbus discovered the island of Cuba and claimed it for Spain.

It's been a battle ever since... whew!

El Disco Rallado

Finally got a chance to read Alberto's excellent "oxymoron" post from a couple of days ago regarding this Newsday op-ed reaction to President Bush's Cuba speech. In the op-ed, there was another paragraph that jumped out at me for its sheer contradictory nature:

I traveled to Cuba some years ago (before Bush took office, when it was easier to do) and found that the people there didn't need to be told that the Communist revolution had been a bust. You could see it in the dilapidated roads and infrastructure, in the lack of adequate housing, in young people's thirst for knowledge about the outside world and access to the Internet, in their private disdain and quiet mockery of Fidel himself.

James Klurfeld wrote the above paragraph just a few lines below this:

But that doesn't mean that Bush's policy makes any sense. It doesn't. In fact, his policy doesn't make any more sense now than the policy of isolation followed for the past 40-plus years by both Democratic and Republican regimes. And there are at least some indications that even some in the Cuban-American community are beginning to realize that a policy of active engagement, of allowing U.S. citizens to visit Cuba - not to mention opening trade and cultural relations - might well have more impact on forcing change in Cuba than the stale, old policy of isolation.

The argument that all we need is a flood of American tourists and relatives to visit Cuba to bring down the castros would be wonderful if it made sense, but we know it's just not that simple. If Klurfeld is so sure that Cubans know the misery of their situation (BTW, he's correct), then please tell me how Americans visiting the island and telling them how bad it is will encourage change?

Cultural relations, Klurfeld argues? There's only one reason why businesses that offer calling cards to Cuba and send care packages to the island do so well: it's those cultural relations, dummy!

People like Klurfeld want to imagine that the Cuba issue is something that a little American ingenuity and know-how will cure. Like I said above, if it was only that easy. That thinking, besides being too idealistic and plain naive, is just simply flawed and egotistical. You mean to tell me that Americans are better tourists than Europeans? Klurfeld himself proved my point when he visited the island years back when the "draconian" travel restrictions weren't in place.

Not to be outdone, Time/CNN's Tim Padgett quotes pro-trade Americans in this article:

"President Bush is right when he says this is a unique moment in Cuba, but he's missing that moment," says Jake Colvin, director of USA Engage in Washington, which favors moves like lifting the ban on U.S. travel to Cuba — something even most Cuban-Americans in Miami now favor, and which many Cuba watchers suggest the Castros actually fear. Bush insisted that engaging Cuba now would just give "oxygen to a criminal regime." But, argues Colvin, "American citizens have always proven the best ambassadors of freedom and democracy."

Of course, Padgett mentions the ever-hated "exile hardliners" as part of the problem:

Bush may also be alienating the very people he is reaching out to by suggesting Washington will be Cuba's post-Castro arbiter. In the eyes of ordinary Cuban citizens, that is perceived as surrogacy for the Miami Cuban exile community — whose anti-Castro hardliners, with their dreams of resurrecting a pre-Castro Cuba, are as disliked by many Cubans on the island as the Castros themselves are.

I'd love to know how Padgett arrives at the conclusion that hardliners are as hated as the castros in Cuba.

Then in Padgett's grand finale, supporting freedom-minded dissidents in Cuba is actually a bad thing:

What's more, by attaching his Administration to Cuba's dissidents so publicly, Bush may actually compromise the position of the Castro critics who remain on the island, whose credibility often rests on being seen as a movement independent of the Miami exiles. In past interviews with TIME and other media groups, Oswaldo Paya, an engineer who is the most prominent of Cuba's dissidents, says he is uncomfortable whenever the White House tries to co-opt him and his colleagues. He says it simply makes their goals more difficult to achieve.

It would be funny it if wasn't so sad. Too bad we've heard this joke one too many times.

What's the difference?

As the unfavorable reviews of President Bush’s speech regarding Cuba keep piling up, a commonality becomes more and more visible. Almost none of the editorialists and journalists are attempting to argue the viciousness and vile behavior of the castro dictatorial monarchy (although some continue to paint prince raul as some kind of reformist), but almost every single one of them have taken issue with Bush’s plan to bring democracy to the enslaved island.

They are calling it everything from Yankee imperialism to the U.S. meddling in a sovereign nation’s business. They have labeled Bush the typical arrogant American that thinks he knows better than the Cubans what is good for them.

While I read these articles, one historical event in 1986 comes to mind. The US Congress passed H.R. 4868, a bill that punished South Africa’s government for their apartheid policy. The new law required a plethora of sanctions against the all-white leaders in an effort to force a change in the laws of their sovereign nation that America, and the rest of the world, disagreed with.

H.R. 4868 Declares that U.S. policy toward the victims of apartheid is to use economic, political, diplomatic, and other means to remove the apartheid system and to assist the victims of apartheid to overcome the handicaps imposed on them by apartheid. Sets forth actions the United States will take to help the victims of apartheid.

H.R. 4868 Declares that U.S. policy toward the other countries in the region shall be designed to encourage democratic forms of government, respect for human rights, political independence, and economic development. Sets forth actions the United States will take toward such countries.

I do not recall any of today’s editorialists (most were around in 1986) so flabbergasted by Bush’s supercilious attitude towards Cuba expressing the same disdain for the US Congress in 1986. Neither do I remember them commending President Reagan for his veto of the bill, even though the veto was overridden by congress.

This brings up some questions:

Why is it acceptable for us to negotiate with a despotic dictatorship that has killed tens of thousands of innocent men, women and children, and yet South Africa’s apartheid was unacceptable?

If extreme sanctions against South Africa’s apartheid regime were necessary due to the total failure of “constructive engagement,” why is the opposite true for Cuba?

Mr. Hiaasen, meet the kettle

In a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black, Carl Hiaasen, the spokesperson for the Cuban-haters at 1 Herald plaza, says that president Bush's speech is tired and old.

Here's what he told the Cuban military: ``When Cubans rise up to demand their liberty, you've got to make a choice. Will you defend a disgraced and dying order by using force against your own people? Or will you embrace your people's desire for change?''

It's safe to assume that Raúl Castro isn't exactly shaking in his boots. There are no signs that Cuba's armed forces will suddenly turn on him, or that the citizens will spontaneously stage a revolt after Fidel Castro finally kicks the bucket.

Mr. Hiaasen must be able to make this claim because of his clandestine intelligence sources on the island, right? Uh no. There is a fact of life and that's that there are literally hundreds of Cuban officers whose promotions are stalled because there is no movement at the top where the geriatric generals have guaranteed their commands by swearing personal allegiance to the castro brothers. Also there is a division between officers who have been entrusted with the lucrative parts of the Cuban economy such as the tourist sector and those who have not. It would be ridiculous for President Bush to not address these divisions which Hiaasen easily ignores.

Then there are the age old attacks on the embargo. I won't repeat them here. You can read the column yourself. But suffice it to say that Hiaasen doesn't mention the real reason the embargo exists, as punishment for the confiscation of American assets.

It's right for the leader of the world's foremost democracy to get up and talk about the need for human rights, honest elections and freedom of the press in a repressed society such as Cuba.

But when the speech is written as a scold, with only token incentives, it carries no weight or credibility abroad. The words ring arrogantly in the absence of serious dialogue and diplomacy, which have never been the strong points of the Bush foreign-policy brain trust.

Oh and that diplomacy is a strong point of the castro regime? Guess what jackass, the door has ALWAYS BEEN OPEN for Cuba to do the right thing and free the political prisoners, allow political opposition to organize, and make the basic reforms the US requires before sitting down to discuss issues like the embargo. There is nothing new in your stance or Cuba's either? You both want the castros to get something in exchange for nothing. That's not the way it works, idiot. If castro wants something from the US he needs to exchange something for it, to compromise. THAT'S the way diplomacy works. The U.S. is offering plenty. It's offering trade, travel, normal relations, and funds to rebuild. What it's asking for is basic and it's the castro refusal to give the Cuban people those basic rights that keeps the embargo in place. It's easy to blame America, when your worldview is that America is the root of all evil.

Another old argument that Hiaasen gives is that this was just domestic politics. It's hilarious that Hiaasen accuses the president of being unoriginal when he himself plagiarized the entire Joe Garcia play book. What election is GWB trying to win? Last time I checked, the constitution of the United States prevents him from running for President again. And the Ros Lehtinen and the Diaz-Balarts don't face another election for another year, an eternity in congressional politics.

''The Socialist paradise is a tropical gulag,'' Bush declared somberly, flanked by relatives of imprisoned Cuban dissidents.

As usual, the president didn't mention the hundreds of political prisoners locked up by countries with whom we maintain robust and productive relationships, including Russia, China and Saudi Arabia. None of those governments allow free elections, or a free press.

Only a dolt would suggest that the US have a one-size-fits-all foreign policy. Needless to say the situations in the three countries that Hiaasen mentions are vastly different than in Cuba. China settled its debt with the US and though it's still a terrible dictatorship it has made great steps in the area of economic reforms that we hope will someday lead to political reform. Cuba has refused to allow but the tiniest of economic reforms and those were pulled back once hugo chavez stepped in to subsidize the island. The situation in Russia bears watching as Putin is proving to be quite the dictator but, again the situation is not analogous and Russia is not the totalitarian country it once was. Besides Mr. Hiaasen is arguing that two wrongs make a right.

Bush had an opportunity to set a new tone by at least acknowledging that the future of Cuba belongs exclusively to the Cuban people. Unfortunately, that wasn't his target audience.

Instead, he made the same old macho speech, pandering to the same old crowd, and playing right into the hands of Fidel and Raúl.

Bush did acknowledge that the future of Cuba belongs to Cubans. Duh. That's why the US doesn't just land the Marines tomorrow. It's the castros that are preventing them from doing anything about that future. Hiaasen shows a basic lack of understanding of how totalitarian regimes work and in particular how fidel castro thinks.

And "playing right into the hands of fidel and raul"? Really? In January of 2009 George Bush is going to get on a plane to Crawford Texas and live out the rest of his life as a rich, free man who may have made a lot of mistakes but at least tried to liberate millions of people, while history will expose fidel and raul for being the cruel tyrants and oppressors that they are. Yes the future of Cuba is in Cuban hands. And it's time to support those who would stand up to tyranny and stop trying to accommodate the tyrants.

Article on midnight rescue in the keys

The other night I posted about Joe Zumpano's discovery of 22 Cubans near Tavernier. The Herald's account is here.

Zumpano did tell me about an inaccuracy in the Herald's piece, however:

My grandfather was not Cuba's treasurer, my great uncle Enrique Canto was the Treasurer of the Cuban Revolution and was jailed for his Roman Catholic stances along with Juan Mendieta's uncle and others as the Cuban Revolution drifted toward Communism.

Picture of the Week

OK, the man sometimes looks like a goober.

But in this photograph, taken last week in Washington, D.C., I choose to believe that President Bush is demonstrating genuine empathy and emotion for two guests of honor in the audience, as he presented a major policy address on Cuba.

Behind this wonderful photograph, there is a sad story about a brave man, torn away from his wife and daughter, because of his opposition to evil.

His name is Jorge Luis González Tanquero.

Read his story, read their story, here.

Political prisoner in critical condition

Antonio Augusto Villarreal Acosta

The next time you think it's about time for the United States to be a little more conciliatory towards Cuba, try to remember Cuban political prisoner Antonio Villarreal.

Several reports in recent weeks have detailed Villarreal's worsening condition, especially the psychological toll of being condemned to fidel castro's gulag. Common prisoners threaten and steal from him, and the latest account, posted at Payo Libre, suggest he's ready to give up the fight.

Tony Villarreal tells Payo Libre's Pablo Rodríguez Carvajal that his father, now 57, weighs 78 pounds, down from 182 when he was arrested during the "black spring" of March-April 2003. The elder Villarreal, an economist, librarian and democracy activist, was convicted of being a traitor and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

The younger Villarreal lives overseas, but his mother recently reported via telephone from Cuba that Antonio Villarreal "has lost his appetite, and appears very emaciated, as if he were in a concentration camp during World War II."

Family members said they do not know if Villarreal has lost so much weight because of the bad food served to prisoners, or because of some undiagnosed medical condition, according to the Payo Libre report.

In the debate over what the United States should do about Cuba, those who suffer because of their opposition to the regime — Cuba's political prisoners — are too often forgotten by those who see the island either as an example of American failure, or as a lucrative business opportunity. Fortunately, the decider, at least for now, of American policy has not forgotten.

No accommodation with the castro dictatorship is possible, as long as prisoners of conscience like Antonio Villarreal and too many others, continue to rot in its dungeons. That's a hardline, intransigent position that must never be abandoned.

Saturday night video

On a lighter note, a special bus ride:

The Cuban dictator and American POW'S

Here's another reason to stay the course with the embargo: To end it would desecrate not only the memories of all the Cubans who have died for a free Cuba, but also American serviceman who suffered at the hands of that inhuman tyrant.

Read this description of the "Cuban' treatment given to an American POW'S in Viet Nam.

Leo Thorsness was already in captivity when a Cuban team came and stayed for a year. They taught the North Vietnamese how to extract information.

George Day had one of the first interrogators who spoke English. Day could barely understand him - but the brutality from him was loud and clear. The arm that had partly healed after ejection in 1967, was broken again.

"They had hung me up from the ceiling and paralyzed this [left] hand for about a year and a half. I could barely move my right hand. My wrist curled up and my fingers were curling. I could just barely move my [right] thumb and forefinger."

"In some of the torture sessions, they were trying to make you surrender. The name of the game was to take as much brutality as you could until you got to the point that you could hardly control yourself and then surrender. The next day they'd start all over again."

"I knew what he was - he was obviously Cuban and had either been raised at or near the U.S. Naval base at Guantanamo. He knew every piece of American slang and every bit of American vulgarity, and he knew how to use them perfectly. He knew Americans and understood Americans. He was the only one in Hanoi who did.

Thorsness was not among the eight tortured by the Cubans as Day was, but they systematically tortured another in the camp to death, Thorsness says.

In November 1967, 90 miles north of Bangkok, Captain Glen Cobeil and Major Dick Dutton briefed for their mission. They were to be the spare F-105 aircraft in the event a plane would have to abort. There would be four aircraft that would preceed the fighter-bombers. The Wild Weasel aircraft's job was to seek out the guided missile sites, knock them out before they could launch the "flying telephone poles" (name given to enemy missiles).

The F-4 Phantoms provided MIG cover for the Weasels and the strike aircraft. As they made a wide sweeping turn, after releasing one of the bombs, the missile radar started working on them. A 37mm hit their tail and they were on fire. They were seven minutes from the Red River. They tried to nurse the stricken plane, but the time came when they knew they had to eject. They figured if they could hide until dark perhaps they could get across the Red River - that being friendly territory. However, they landed right in the middle of a populated area.

Quickly the peasants disrobed Dutton with no thought of unfastening buttons or zippers. They even cut his boots. With elbows tied behind his back, a loose blindfold over his eyes and a noose over his head, he was led barefooted down a rocky path. The civilians hit him with bamboo poles, rocks, dirt clods and fists. He had a gaping wound and one peasant woman stuffed it with a piece of cotton that had a mercurochrome like antiseptic on it. Loaded into a small truck, they bounced along and finally arrived at an empty church. Shortly thereafter Communist soldiers put unconscious Glen Cobeil in one truck and Dutton in another. They were taken to a Russian built helicopter and placed in the cargo section. Dutton's ankles were tied to a floor hook. As they flew along Dutton's blindfold was pulled up around his forehead and he saw an Oriental sitting on a packing crate holding a raised jack handle. Dutton thought he was going to smash his brains in. The Oriental shoved Dutton's head around to look at Glen. There was no wound on him. They finally arrived at the Hanoi Hilton. Cobeil was still alive.

Dutton never saw him again but only heard him. Both were tortured continuously and on the fifth day Dutton heard Glen scream his name and then he heard the sounds of them beating and clubbing Cobeil.

When George Day arrived at the Zoo on April 30, 1968, and met his interrogators, one of the Cubans had already pounded Earl Cobiel out of his senses. Interrogators, returnees said, had taken a rusty nail and carved a bloody X across his back.

Day recalls, "a young gook, whose name escapes me, and two other beaters beat him all night. They brought him out after a fourteen or fifteen-hour session, and he obviously didn't have a clue as to what was going on. He was totally bewildered and he never came unbewildered.

"The gooks kept thinking he was putting on, so they would keep torturing him. The crowning blow came when one of the guards some people called Goose struck him across the face with a fan belt under his eye, and the eyeball popped out. The guy never flinched, and that was the first time the gooks finally got the picture that maybe they'd scrambled his brains."

"It sounds so savage you have trouble picturing it."

Government records from 1979 still listed Cobeil as a prisoner of war. Records from later years finally indicate that Earl Glen Cobeil died in captivity. His remains were not returned home until 1974, even though the North Vietnamese had full knowledge of events that had taken place and Cobeil's death at the hands of the interrogator much earlier in the war. North Vietnam has yet to release the names of the Cubans involved in the torture and murder of American Servicemen.

The story continues at Arlington Cemetary, via Tomás Estrada-Palma.

Hija Del Cabezon

You could have knocked me down with a feather when I got Val's email. I did that open mouth kinda thing, you know the "what me?" In my reply I promised Val that someday when I get maudlin, read that three sheets to the wind, I'll write about what discovering Babalu meant to me. And I will. But for now, suffice to say that after a lifetime spent removed from others like me, I found I was not alone. So I am honored to join the writers here. I only hope to do my part.

There is only one nickname I want. Some have illustrious forbears, important people. My father was none of these. Like Willy Loman, his name was never in the papers. He was a Cuban everyman. He had nothing in Cuba, and he liked to say that he had thirty five cents in his pocket when he landed at JFK. What he did have was an enormous heart. He carved