Happy New Year all!

¡Feliz Año Nuevo! Truly, I'm optimistic that this will be the last year we vow next year in Cuba, I pray for that day, may it be soon. Like tomorrow, what a great start to the new year that would be!

A very large Cuban hug to all our Babalu family, Val and Maggie, my fellow contributors, and readers alike, thanks for making this small island without a bearded dictator home. May this be the year we begin to blog about the new Cuba, the one rebuilding after the long nightmare, and may we all raise our glasses together on Jan. 1, 2009 en la Habana!

A nod to the Past

“It was a joke that turned real, nobody thought these guys were going to win. They would walk into the Catholic churches, trying to win over the clergy and end up genuflecting on the wrong knee. They marched into Havana wearing rosary beads and look at what they did.”

My mother was old enough to remember the early days of the revolution with vivid detail. On New Year’s Day, 1959, the family awoke at home in Miramar without the knowledge that Batista had fled. The prior evening, they had enjoyed a typical Cuban New Year’s Eve meal of pork, black beans and rice and the essential 12 grapes eaten typically by Spanish families at the stroke of midnight. The only difference this time was the uncertainty that pervaded the festivities. It was quieter than usual on that night. For months, the rag-tag group of bearded rebels, holed up in the mountains were considered nothing more than a farce by the island’s middle and upper class citizens. An upstart like Fidel Castro didn’t have a chance against a Cuban behemoth the likes of Fulgencio Batista. Corrupt or not, he was a powerhouse in those days, a man who had presided over the island nation’s most prosperous years and besides, everyone knew Fidel was a communist. The evidence went all the way back to the Bogotazo riots of 1948, when Castro, then 21, was part of a group of rioters that destroyed the Colombian capital following the assassination of liberal leader, Jorge Eliecer Gaitan. The evidence was all there. Why on Earth would Cuba’s citizens allow a rabble-rousing Fidel to take hold of the reigns?

Early that morning, my grandmother Lola heard voices on the second floor of the house. Her brother Cucko and father, Eugenio were in the midst of a serious conversation when she snuck down the steps from her third floor bedroom and tip-toed barefoot to her father’s bedroom door. At the foot of his bed, Eugenio Villalobos, one of Cuba’s most powerful industrialists sat with a look of disbelief on his face. Running a hand through his disheveled hair, he listened as Cucko told him the news. Batista had fled, providing Fidel with a defacto win. The revolution was over. Eugenio sat silently for a moment, gathered his composure and remarked. “Now begin the bad times.”

He wasn’t born into money. Those serving as apologists for the revolution often remark that Cuba’s middle and upper class population deserved what they got from the Castro machine. They were born into lives of privilege, never having worked a day in their lives. The revolution was for the downtrodden and if those of financial means were taken down as scapegoats in the process, so-be-it. Eugenio Villalobos however, hadn’t come from a wealthy background. He was a penniless immigrant from the Mallorcan village of Estellences when he arrived in Havana at the age of 15. Mallorca, like much of Spain at the turn of the 20th century was in love with Cuba. An ironic fact considering that only 7 years earlier, Spanish soldiers had a fought a bloody war against a Cuban insurgency backed by the United States in a bid for independence that would later seal Cuba’s fate as a pseudo-colony of her immense brother to the north.

He had begged his father to allow him to make the lengthy journey alone. In April of 1905, his father, a Mallorcan tomato farmer gave his oldest son his blessing. To ease the voyage for him, Atanasio Villalobos arranged for a prep cook on board the steamship to look after the boy. Half a century later, Eugenio, by that time, a well-known Cuban industrialist, would return to his hometown with a family of his own in tow. The morning following his arrival, his chauffeur was busy washing one of the Chevrolets brought along for the trip when an elderly man approached, asking to whom the two shiny new vehicles belonged. Upon hearing the response, he replied that he would have to see Villalobos at once. It was imperative.

Eugenio was a man of formalities and etiquette, the spur-of-the-moment request was met with confusion and just a bit of disdain. Taking one of his sons with him, he set off from his ancestral house to the garage where the two cars were being kept. There, seated beside a 1953 Chevrolet sat the aged prep cook. His face had wrinkled and creased with the passage of time but he was instantly recognized. As a child, I was told of a lengthy embrace between the two men, a detail that flabbergasted my grandmother, as her father was known for his stoicism and not his outward expressions of emotion.

And so it is with great affection, respect and reverence that on this New Year's Eve, I raise a glass to "Papa-Yel" as I once referred to him (that's a story in and of itself). Wherever you are, my only hope is that you realize how much people are struggling to restore some sense of decency on your adopted island.

Haitian Cuban divorce

Papa say; oh — no hesitation, no tears and no hearts breaking, no remorse.

Oh — congratulations, this is your Haitian Cuban divorce

—Steely Dan

In typical fashion, the AP has managed to publish a news story on two issues affecting Cuban society and has completely missed the point. The article attempts to report how the large number of divorces has put an added strain on the already dismal and chaotic housing situation in Cuba. But instead of delving into the root causes of these problems—namely a communist dictatorship that has systemically and methodically destroyed the Cuban family—they instead provide excuses for these problems.

They dismiss the alarmingly high divorce rate in Cuba (64%) by pointing out the regime’s atheistic philosophy.

“Cuba was for decades officially atheist and divorce does not carry the stigma it does in other countries.”

The housing shortage in Cuba, which the AP reports as if it were caused by unknown reasons, gets a happy face painted on it when the article points out Cuban society’s ability to deal with adversity.

“The phenomenon is a testament not only to the communist-run island's severe housing shortage, but also to Cubans' ability to stay friendly — or at least civil — under the most awkward of circumstances.”

It is stories like these, from alleged “news outlets” like the AP, which will remove any surprise when the Cuban dictatorship finally falls, and the headline will likely read: “Cuba chooses Democracy, but wonders if freedom is the answer.”

Wah happe?

Remember this? And this?

What happened?

I suppose it could still happen on another date, but the initial reports were that it was going to happen in December of this year.

The Old Sofa

We have all had an old ratty sofa at least once in our lives. Many of us, as exiles arriving from Cuba with nothing, had one that was either a hand me down or a Salvation Army third hand or even, as in my family's case, a sofa picked up out of someone's trash pile. Some of us might have had one during our college days, sitting there in our little dorm room or apartment or frat house acting as a pizza crumb and change collector. Some of us might still have one, sitting somewhere in our garage, hosting boxes of LP's and old books. The Old Sofa.

At some point in the life of the old sofa, one thinks of it as a sort of oases, always there when things werent going so good, waiting for us patiently, offering us that cozy comfort respite from it all. You get home from a long day's work, drop your stuff on a table, grab a bag of chips or a beer or a Materva and plop down on Mr. Olf Faithful Sofa. Right there in your favorite spot, the one you had diligently worked at carving out all these years watching tv or reading books or leafing through newspapers. That old sofa spot hugs you and suddenly, things are allright with the world.

Every old sofa has a spot that hugs somebody. And the thing with that old sofa and your little carved out niche is that you dont have to talk to it. You dont have to tell it about your rotten day, you dont have to confess to it. It doesnt want to hear it, it just wants to make you feel good. Here, have a seat and relax. Take a chill.

The old sofas may be worn out on the edges, they may have a knick here and there, maybe a burn mark or a coffee stain or two, but you overlook those little imperfections because that sofa has given years of peaceful bliss. So you throw a blanket over the back of it to hide the padding showing along the edges. And you toss a lillte towel on the armrests to hide the years of beverage holding and arm sweat stains. When the cuts and stains and imperfections are prevalent, you go and buy yourself a duvee and dress up that old sofa. Add a layer of fabric make-up to it's aging sofa countenance.

And Mr. Old Faithful Duvee Sofa may look a little better then, but the scars remain underneath. The years of wear and tear are all still there, hiding behind the makeup in shame.

Then one day you get home looking for a little sofa respite and you plop yourself down on your duvee covered little carved out spot and find that it just aint that comfy anymore. There's a spring poking your behind, the armrest that served as your pillow so many years is hard, the padding having worn down to the nub. The sofa is sagging a bit, giving you a hint of a backache. One of the legs is a little loose and you find yourself teetering with every little move. You try to work it out, of course, shift and shimmy yourself into finding that last spot of ease and comfort in your old sofa and when you do and let out your sigh of relief, your next inhale takes in something not so pleasant. Your old sofa smells. Stinks something aweful.

You think about having it cleaned for a moment. It is, after all, your old sofa. But as you stand there with your now duveeless naked old sofa you see that spring that's been bothering you. You see how the padding's gone on the armrests. It visibly wobbles and is chock full of stains and cuts and other sofa bruises.

Right then and there, your heart may not break, but there is a tinge of melancholy as you realize it's time for a new sofa. No more duvees, no more pillows to create a false comfort, no more Lysol to help with the smell. It's time for Old Sofa to hit the road. It's time for Mr. New Sofa.

And the day Mr. New Sofa arrives you realize just what a fool youve been. You see, in order to get Mr. New Sofa in the house, you have to get Mr. Old Sofa out of the house. And when you do, you just cant believe your eyes.You stand there in front of the old sofa mouth agape.

Every scratch, every burn mark, every stain, every tear, every wear, every knick, every cut, every single imperfection is exposed for all the world to see. That relaxation youve so coveted all these years, that cosiness youve longed for and needed from your old sofa has been nothing more and nothing less than a false comfort. A ruse. A lie of convenience.

There is nothing more disgustingly depressing than daylight on an old sofa, with or without an ADIDAS duvee.

***

The FARC Farce

This morning Pajamas Media has a great post analyzing Hugo, Oliver and the FARC - as they "work" together to rescue the freed hostages. Aptly named The FARC Farce: Starring Hugo Chavez , Directed by Oliver Stone it sees through Chavez's strategies searching for the real purpose and exposes the truth as one of political gain for Chavez.

Chavez hailed his hostage-rescue mission as “a first step to open a door toward the path for Colombia to have peace soon.” Baloney. It’s actually a first step to reasserting his influence after his grand election failure while simultaneously trying to make U.S. ally and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe look useless. According to Bloomberg, the Chavez government accredited more than 300 reporters beyond those normally in Venezuela for the event. After all, the revolutionary action hero needs Clark Kent to spread the word.

But positive PR is not what he is looking for; his purpose is quite darker and scarier not only for Venezuela but for the entire South America region.

But Chavez’s key ulterior motive likely rests with extending a hand to the leftist guerrillas who could serve his cause for continental domination. Rewind to 2000, when FARC leader Olga Marin, for example, spoke at Venezuela’s National Assembly and thanked the Venezuelan government for its “support.” A June 2000 video leaked by unhappy members of the Venezuelan military showed FARC and Venezuelan officers meeting and cooperating.

And if you think this is all right wing press propaganda, think again.

“Our government has the respect not just of the FARC but of the ELN (another Marxist Colombian rebel group) and of many other factions in the world,” Chavez boasted Friday from an airbase runway.

Your petrodollars at work; they are not only buying governments but at the same time buying the rebels of the government he opposes. With a recent Peru report of a resurgence of Senderos Luminosos or Shining Path and at least two incidents registered, Chavez's "respect" for such groups is no laughing matter.

Book Notes: Miami Noir

After reading Havana Noir, I just had to check out the Miami version. Besides, Miami is one of those cities which loom large in my imagination. You would think that after all the time I have spent there, it wouldn’t. But no matter how many luxury condos they build, and how they try to tame it, there is something beautiful and bawdy and real about the city. This quality is admirably captured by Les Standiford’s selections.

The stories here are not as literary as the ones in Havana Noir, but they are also not as bleak. Obviously, there is sex, murder, and betrayal, but in much smaller and less graphic quantities- only two cases of incest that I can remember. The protagonists are shady characters and PI’s of sorts who function in a murky world of moral relativism. Yet it is a world where morality is trampled, as opposed to one without moral boundaries. The bad guys, for the most part, get their due.

Perhaps I enjoyed it so much because some of my favorite Miami mystery writers are among the authors: James W. Hall, Barbara Parker, and Carolina Garcia-Aguilera, who has the distinction of having stories in both anthologies. I particularly enjoyed her story which is one of the only ones with a significant Cuban character. Surprisingly enough, few Cubans figure in these tales. Set in the fringes of the city and of society, the tales portray the drop outs, the retirees, people with a past and no future. One exception is the last and most powerful story in the anthology, “The Swimmers,” which centers on the experiences of four Haitians trying to make it into the United States in a smuggler’s boat.

I have given a lot of thought to the differences between Miami and Havana Noir, and perhaps I am wrong or I’m just discovering the Mediterranean, but I think practitioners of the Noir genre in Cuba express the anger bred by their environment in disaffection, which if I can remember that far back is a technique of satire in which the author seeks to repel the reader. In any case, both are worthy of a read.

The truth about castro

The truth about fidel castro, is best summed up by the stories of its many victims, men, women and children who have paid with their lives, for the 49 years of dictatorship and tyranny that castro has brought to Cuba. It is their suffering, and their deaths, that forever will reveal the true horror of castroism.

That truth has a new voice.

Cuba Archive has launched a long-awaited online database holding information on more than 9,000 victims of the castro dictatorship. The number surely will go, as Cuba Archive also is asking users to submit additional information about their loved ones.

Cuba Archive explans the purpose of the database:

There is profound unawareness of the cost in lives of the Cuban Revolution. This contributes to pervasive ignorance of the violent nature of the current regime.

By telling the stories of its victims, we hope to compel people and nations to demand the end of oppression in Cuba. In furthering an understanding of the the steep cost of violence, we hope to foster a culture of respect for life and justice. In honoring the memory of those who’ve paid the highest price, we find meaning to their sacrifice.

This work is a gift to present and future generations that deserve to live in peace.

This is an invaluable historical resource, that hopefully will both help convince the world of the true, abhorant nature of the castro regime and hold those most responsible, accountable for their crimes.

(Cross-posted at Uncommon Sense.)

An Epiphanous Cold

In the US, there is no shortage of “humanitarian” trips to communist Cuba by artists, teachers, and researchers. Most of them are organized by individuals who have come to admire the murderous regime for its so-called societal advances in education and medical care. Very few, if any of these individuals, are honest enough to admit that teaching a population to read and then severely restricting their access to reading materials is just as heinous as maintaining them in an illiterate state. And one would be hard pressed to find one of these promoters of the dictatorship that would actually confess the reality that Cuba’s vaunted healthcare system is nothing more than a carefully crafted lie that benefits only tourists and the dictatorship’s oligarchy.

But America is not only made up of these elitist apologists. And although sometimes they seem to be the only ones out there, once in a while you come across a true American who is honest and willing to say the truth. These are the Americans that do not allow themselves to be used as pawns of the snobby liberal establishment in this country, and refuse to blindly repeat the same lies fed to them by the totalitarian Cuban regime.

It started with an innocuous cold in the capitol city of Havana, but this little and annoying viral episode proved to be the event that would remove the scales from they eyes of Lancaster, PA, correspondent Sally Melcher Jarvis.

It was like being in a dream where two different things can happen at the same time. We were in a two-tier system: one for the privileged (tourists, for example) and the other for those who lived and worked in socialist Cuba.

Our luxurious state-owned hotel was closed to Cubans, except for those who worked there. A Cuban could not even come in for a meal.

Read the rest of Ms. Jarvis’ epiphany HERE.

Obama cries foul, I laugh about campaign spending

From WaPo's Politics Blog we have this dandy:

Obama Derides Outside Spending

For much of the last week, Barack Obama has alleged that the series of independent organizations spending money on behalf of his main Democratic rivals in Iowa raise real questions about those candidates' commitment to serious reform of the political process...

While assuring supporters that the Obama campaign has the "financial and organizational resources to compete aggressively in all four early states and through February 5th," Plouffe adds: "There is no doubt that the size of the spending and its underhanded nature deserve further scrutiny."

This is what happens when you have the archaic campaign finance regulations that we have. You have a major presidential campaign saying words like "underhanded" and calling for "further" scrutiny because someone out there has money and has decided to spend it on political speech. You know that little thing that's guaranteed by the first amendment (not exotic dancing as some people erroneously believe).

For the record, I'm against any sort of caps on campaign contributions. I think the solution is disclosure. Every penny should be disclosed. If General Electric wants to give a candidate $100 million, fine but the voters should take that into consideration when they vote. All the current restrictions do is drive the money underground. As the WaPo blogger correctly asserts, the average voter has no idea what a "527" is. For those of you who don't know, they are a specific type of organization that isn't directly tied to a candidate. Instead of flowing to candidates much of the campaign contributions (usually the overflow because of per person restrictions ) goes to these 527 groups who run ads in favor of candidates that aren't specifically authorized by those candidates. In other words, the dirtiest ads are run by 527s.

Another proof of the law of unintended consequences. By the way, some people like Joe Garcia think the answer is publicly financed (by your tax dollars and mine) elections. Remember that on April 15th and then remember it next November.

The Approved Diet for Children?

Buried in the unending litany of detentions, prisoner abuse, and communiqués that come from Cuba was this little nugget, illustrative of not only living conditions, but also of the absolute travesty of the UN Rapporteur for Food's pronouncements. And let's not forget the researchers who found the Cuban diet healthful.

It seems residents of Banes are upset that there has been no coffee for their rations in the month of December. The main complaint is that since milk is suspended at age seven, children are regularly served coffee and bread for breakfast. Because there is no coffee, children now receive a glass of water with sugar (if there is any) and bread.

Cubans Exiles Once Again To Blame

The top headline in today's Metro section of the Miami Herald blares:

Exiles Urged To Stem Tide of Cubans

"Hmmmm. Something else to blame Cuban exiles for. After all, we're also being blamed for global warming", I thought, only half-kidding at the latter. Here's the main quote from U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral David W. Kunkel:

``We have federal, state and local help. But there's a link missing. (Cuban exiles) are not working with us. I know that's rather blunt, but the fact remains that these smugglers are being financed by desperate families,'' he said. ``The only safe way is if we all work together.''

The headline and story comes in light of the recent arrival of at least two groups of Cubans to South Florida's shores this week, and in the wake of two separate incidents in which boats filled with Cubans fleeing the island have overturned, leading to the drowning of dozens.

I know what Rear Admiral Kunkel means, and I can't bring myself to condemning the Coast Guard for doing what they are told to do. It must be extremely frustrating to have to chase down these boats under dangerous conditions. The problem is, how do we solve the smuggling problem?

End wet-foot, dry-foot? It makes sense at first glance since, as Marc mentions, there would be much less of a need for smugglers to sneak people in on their "go fast boats" (as opposed to their "go at regular speed boats", I assume). OK, but would we be ready to stomach a dramatic increase in population a la Mariel that a repeal of the ridiculous policy would bring about, not to mention a vast increase in marine accidents and casualties which would sap the Coast Guard of whatever resources they have, leaving our marine borders even more exposed than they already are?

BTW, this is not to imply that the wave of Cubans coming over just like during Mariel will be full of bad people, but the reality that any significant increase in population would be a serious strain on our local and national resources.

I assume the Coast Guard wants the community to come forward and identify smugglers and their operations. That's fine and well, but it underscores the main point in all this, which is the desperate situation that these families are in. Quite frankly, the situation in Cuba, as well as the misguided wet-foot dry foot policy, leads them to resort to illegal means to bring relatives over. If I were in their shoes, I'm not sure I wouldn't do the same. Also, the Coast Guard, justly or unjustly, has taken a serious PR hit in the local community in recent years, and it's quite possible that many people just don't want to cooperate with them.

Would increasing the number of annual visas for Cubans help? Sure, only if Cuba cooperated, which we know isn't possible.

Encourage neighboring countries to help the U.S. deal with the number of Cubans who want to leave? Sure, but they're more interested in maintaining relations with the castros than help Cubans attain freedom.

Rear Admiral Kunkel wants us to "work together". A noble suggestion and idea, but one that comes with more than its share of issues and complexities that can't just be pinned on one group of people (such as Cuban exiles).

So we're left with the puzzling question: How do all of us solve the Cuba problem?

Expanding Cuba’s slave trade

Looking for new customers to expand the Cuban dictatorship’s lucrative slave trade, the totalitarian regime has offered the Philippines the use of their medical personnel as chattel in exchange for whatever the Philippines can give them. According to the regime’s ambassador in Manila, Cuba has plenty of slaves in the medical field to spare.

“We have lots of doctors and medical practitioners. We have offered [them] to the Philippines, but your government has yet to make its move,” [Cuban Ambassador] Jimenez said.

According to this article, it appears that the Philippines is experiencing a shortage of medical personnel due to the many doctors that have left the country seeking better pay in other countries. But at what cost does a country remedy this problem? By engaging in the rental of slave labor from a totalitarian dictatorship that does not take care of its own people?

I have to ask—at what point did Cubans become less human than the rest of the world?

Who is irrational? What's unproductive?

The U.S. embargo on Cuba is often characterized in editorials and columns as "irrational" and "unproductive". But I have my doubts about who is being irrational and what is being unproductive.

In the early 1960s, the castro regime in Cuba decided that it could no longer abide by Yankee imperialists owning property in Cuba and thus expropriated (stole without any compensation) about $1.4 Billion in such property. In response, the United States slapped a trade embargo on Cuba which has remained in one form or another ever since. The castro regime contends that the embargo has cost it $222 Billion. It now wants those Yankee imperialists back.

$222 Billion sounds like an awfully high price to pay for $1.4 Billion in property. Even in 2007 dollars the property expropriated in the 60s was only worth $8 Billion or $9 Billion.

So I have to ask myself one question, if the embargo is hurting Cuba so much why doesn't Cuba do something to bring about its end? You see the United States made its move, when it implemented the embargo. It's Cuba's turn to move.

For example, Cuba could recognize that it violated the norms of international trade when it stole American property. It could also make a pledge to settle the debt created by that theft (China and VIetnam have done this in the past). After all if the Cuban people are suffering because of the embargo isn't it because the castro regime (that is supposed to be looking out for their best interests) has failed them in negotiating an end to it?

Cuba could also unconditionally release all the political prisoners as an act of good faith. Is it worth $222 Billion to maintain the "right" to violate human rights and keep the political opposition in prison? Apparently the folks in the upper echelons of the castro regime feel it is.

So why doesn't the regime end the embargo tomorrow by making these relatively small gestures (small in light of $222 Billion)?

Maybe its because, despite all the propaganda to the contrary, the castro regime does not care one whit about Cuban people. Some will say that it's because castro is maintaining the dignity of the Cuban people in the face of an aggressor. It's the principle of the matter you see. But what about the principle of "thou shall not steal"? Are we to compromise our principles so that castro can maintain his.

In the end the Cuban people have paid much more than $222 Billion for castro and his stinking "principle" and nobody has asked them if it was worth it. In Cuba the people can not pen op-ed pieces asking the regime to end its irrational and unproductive policy.

Plus if the embargo ended tomorrow, what guarantee do the Yankee imperialists have that the regime won't again decide to grab up American assets in Cuba?

What I think is irrational and unproductive is for the castro regime to continue to ask the Cuban people to foot the bill for its mistakes.

Propaganda for children

Where can young New York cinephiles, say ages 10 or 11, see independent films that are refreshing and creative, but still age appropriate? The New York International Children’s Film Festival presents “Viva Cuba.”

Described as a haunting tale, in Spanish with English subtitles, about a boy and a girl, about 10 or 11, who run away in an attempt to prevent the girl’s mother from taking her out of the country and destroying their friendship.

The young couple decides to go to the girl’s father to convince him not to sign the papers granting her mother permission to take her out of Cuba. Their journey takes them across the island; Cuba is of course beautiful, and the film paints the expected portrait of an idyllic paradise. The people are happy, you don’t see; lines--for food, or transportation, you don’t see the police presence. In fact, from the trailer, it appears that Cuban children are free to travel without interference from train conductors, taxi driver’s, or police.

You don’t see the despair lined faces of the weary populace, you don’t see the crumbling substandard housing. (Note: the Communist Mother's home appears nicer than that of the girl’s opposition Mother's home.)

The clips available at YouTube don’t reveal whether or not the film contains images of political rallies or pro-castro billboards; here the propaganda is more subtle, and for the uninitiated, it appears just as one reviewer describes it, a “quirky” coming of age story.

Interesting choice of words, since thanks to fidel, too many young girls in the real Cuba are forced to sell their innocence to the highest bidder, and come of “age” in an very ugly way, much too soon.

In an early speech, from January 21, 1959 where coincidentally, fidel announces, “I am going to propose to the board of the July 26 Movement that it appoint comrade raul castro second in command of the July 26 Movement,” he also said, “Our revolution must be defended as a patrimony of Cuba, if not of America. The honest men of America, the honest newsmen of the continent, the peoples who are our friends--we must ask them to defend our revolution, not allow it to be slandered in an attempt to destroy it to the detriment of not just Cuba, but America.”

The New York Times has been a faithful friend to the dictator, and by show casing this film for children, so is the New York Academy Foundation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and the tax payer funded New York State Council on the Arts.

You can email Ms. Graeber here.

Cuba ruled by a murdering den of thieves

The anti-embargo campaign continues:

The Manilla Times - The Cuban ambassador to Manila decried what he terms as a US “blockade,” which has cost his country some $222 billion over nearly 50 years.

“This is not an embargo,” Ambassador Jorge Rey Jimenez insisted, saying the attempts of the United States to isolate Cuba are more consistent with a blockade.

It is hard for other people to understand the sufferings of the Cubans, Jimenez told an exclusive roundtable interview with The Manila Times on Thursday. Imagine the cost of lost opportunities, the development that could have been done with $222 billion, he said.

Loss and suffering indeed, here are some facts the minister left out of his tirade: Since fidel castro seized power in Cuba in 1959, he and his murderous den of thieves have trampled on the fundamental rights of the Cuban people, and through his personal despotism, confiscated the property of millions of his own citizens, thousands of United States nationals, and thousands more Cubans who claimed asylum in the United States as refugees because of his
persecution.

Hundreds of thousands of Cubans lost property under the Castro government. Large agricultural land-owners had their properties nationalized under a series of agrarian reforms. Landlords lost property occupied by tenants, who were given the right to purchase the properties at low, fixed prices. Mortgages were canceled. And anyone who fled the island had their property confiscated and redistributed. By the end of 1968, virtually all private enterprise on the island had been confiscated, including 57,000 small and medium-sized, and mostly Cuban-owned, businesses. Estimates of the possible property claims by Cuban-Americans range from $25 billion up to nearly $100 billion.

Immeasurable is the value of the lives of the tens and tens of thousands of Cubans murdered by the castro regime, the unpaid wages owed the Cuban people for the forced labor they've performed as slaves, and the destruction of their families and beloved country.

Message to the minister: If Cuba needs money, take a look in the mirror, and ask fidel about the $195 million or so he has stashed away.

Inocente! Inocente!

The CEO of Time Warner, parent company of CNN, today admitted that the network has been taking its talking points from the castroite regime. Having been visited by the ghosts of Herbert Matthews, Saddam and other assorted specters, Mr. Parsons has seen the light. As one of his last acts as CEO, he has vowed that from now on, “news” coming from Cuba would be subjected to the same scrutiny as that performed on administration pronouncements. He further stated that should CNN lose its franchise in Cuba for faux pas of actually telling the truth, it would continue reporting, making use of undercover and independent journalists.

Believe that? Inocente! Inocente! Today is the Día de los Santos Inocentes, the Spanish equivalent of April Fools. Its origins are rooted in the religious observance in honor of the innocents slaughtered by Herod. For more information on how the custom is observed in the Spanish-speaking world, click here.

Disclaimer: I use CNN here merely as the butt of the joke and not because I have any information which might cast them in the light in which they are jokingly portrayed. In other words, it's a joke. Of course, it's not quite funny, is it?

Does anybody else see truth in this...?

The song remains the same

While the media serenades us with a soft and lovely ballad that describes the undead dictator’s little brother as a warm and fuzzy reformer, the interim despot continues to do what the tyrannical revolution has done for 48 years. Far from having any interest other than securing the monarchical dictatorship’s grip on power, the leftist media’s new poster boy, raul, can rest easy that just as was done with his brother, journalists world-wide will sell their integrity, and honestly their souls to embrace and aid the murderous Cuban regime and ensure the same madrigal continues to be sung. To them, The Ballad of raul is oh so lovely, and its melodious refrains playfully tickle the ears of those who cannot bring themselves to admit that they have not only ignored, but have assisted a man and a movement that has killed over 100,000 humans.

So, this article by Chris Simmons, a counter-intelligence officer and Cuban intelligence expert, will come across as a shrill cacophony, too stark and too confrontational for them to hold each other tenderly and slow dance.

While Cubans drown in the Florida Straits, are taunted and beaten for marching silently, are jailed and tortured for expressing dissent, are deprived of the most basic of human rights, these lovers of leftist dictators will continue to dance cheek-to-cheek, listening to the same old song.

Reuters busted

Newsbusters takes Reuters to task over their misleading report about the missing Cuban refugees.

Reuters Calls Cuban Refugees 'Migrants,' Faults US for Their Exodus
By Lynn Davidson
Created 2007-12-27 01:42
Reuters injected bias into this December 24 article about 40 missing Cuban “migrants” [1] who never arrived in America after being smuggled out of Cuba. The article minimized Castro's oppression and faulted the US for the Cubans' flight.

The wire service began by deliberately mischaracterizing the Cubans as “migrants” instead of calling them “refugees” or even “passengers.” Labeling them “migrants” ignores Cuba's political and economic straitjacket, and more importantly links Cuban refugees to the issue of illegal immigration.

The media are beginning to call everyone who comes to America with the intent to stay, “migrants,” whether here legally or not, which erases any distinctions. People who are anti-illegal immigration often support Cuban refugees remaining in the US, and linking the two issues can reduce opposition to illegal immigration.

While explaining why the Cubans risked their lives coming to the US, Reuters ignored Castro's totalitarian regime (bold mine throughout):

Under U.S. immigration policy, Cubans intercepted at sea are returned to the island, but those who reach U.S. soil are almost always allowed to stay.

Cuba blames that "dry foot" policy for encouraging Cubans to risk their lives on vessels or smuggler boats speeding across the 90-mile strait with Florida. Critics say emigration reflects discontent over economic hardships.

Just “economic hardships?” What about the other hardships? Cubans live in an oppressive police state where government thugs drag people from churches, pepper spraying and beating them in the street just because they want freedom.

Possessing a book that Castro's government does not approve of will land Cubans in prison, even librarians. There is no privacy, free speech or dissent without punishment and the much-vaunted health-care system is in tatters. Surprisingly, the article didn't mention the US embargo—the media's favorite scapegoat.

So, what is prompting all of those Cubans to leave now? After a year of Brother Raul, they know that even when Castro dies, nothing will change. They will still be prisoners in a brutal country where people are jailed for reciting quotations by Martin Luther King Jr.

Reuters explained the increasing number of fleeing Cubans:

According to U.S. figures, the Coast Guard intercepted 2,868 Cubans trying to get to the United States in fiscal year 2007. That is the highest since 1994 when more than 35,000 tried to reach U.S. territory.

Washington has agreed to grant 20,000 visas a year for those seeking to emigrate, but the visa process is caught in a dispute. The U.S. mission in Havana said this year consular work was being obstructed, but Cuba countered U.S. authorities were delaying visas to undermine the government.

Typical equivalency about Cuba. Blame the US for not issuing enough visas while pretending that both countries are equally at fault. Maybe someday the media will report Cuba fairly.

Amen to that.

Ominous words

Baron Bodissey of Gates of Vienna posted "The Future Without Benazir Bhutto" earlier today. I repeat it here only to emphasize his final paragraph:

As everyone knows by now, the former (and aspiring) prime minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, was assassinated earlier today in Rawalpindi.

I claim no expertise in the internal political affairs of Pakistan. I can sense trouble ahead for South Asia and the rest of the world, but have no idea what form it will take. Given Pakistan’s status as the guardian of the “Islamic Bomb”, any form of trouble that ensues is likely to be lethal and widespread.

Is Ms. Bhutto the 21st century’s equivalent of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary? Is it possible that something equally wicked this way comes?

Recuerdos

Fellow Babalusian and journalist, Liz Balmaseda, and her paper, the Palm Beach Post, are creating an online photo album comprised of images depicting Cuba and the way it was. They already have 52 pictures compiled that are available to view, and they are requesting more.

You can see the pictures and the information regarding this photo album project HERE.

Tales from the Dark Side: Press Coverage in Cuba

No longer an exile, Castro's friend is at home in Cuba and Florida

HAVANA - He fled Cuba in 1961, but still calls Fidel Castro his friend. He can't stand communism, but bitterly opposes the U.S. embargo. He lives in Miami, but travels regularly to Havana, even appearing on state-run television.

Anyone with even the tiniest bit of understanding knows that this is impossible. Ask any of fifo's former "friends" in Miami, the ones who have survived his friendship, as that seems to have been a singularly perilous position, if they can return with impunity. That it is possible for Lesnick raises a whole line of possibilites. The writer here, however, buys the whole spiel- hook, line and sinker- and parrots it around the globe. If its propaganda arm is the regime’s only success, it is because the media has been there to collude with them every step of the way for nearly half a century.

So ends this post:

I can't decide whether it's sheer imbecility or part of a more sinister undertaking, but lately, the MSM media seems even more moronic than usual in its coverage of Cuba. During the Petrocaribe summit, it seemed that every day there was a a headline about deepening ties between Venezuela and Cuba, the same story cloaked in different guises, written and published daily.

Over the holidays, there was the coverage of that intellectual giant and all around philanthropist, Naomi Campbell. The headline that stopped me short was "Naomi Campbell turns Mrs. Claus in Cuba." Where do you start on that one? Based on her past history, it would seem Ms. Campbell would be more accurately compared to Cruella DeVille. And just what did she do, hand the keys to one of the 100 humble houses built with Venezuelan money to house workers at the site of the plant just refurbished to process their heavy crude to a young couple? Was there any mention in the coverage of the dire straits of Cuban housing, any acknowledgement that this little spit in the bucket is meaningless in terms of the numbers of people whose homes are crumbling around and on top of them? Of course not, that wouldn't be in the regime talking points.

I've saved the best for last, though. Try this introductory snippet from the AP article about Max Lesnick making the rounds of press outlets.

No longer an exile, Castro's friend is at home in Cuba and Florida

HAVANA - He fled Cuba in 1961, but still calls Fidel Castro his friend. He can't stand communism, but bitterly opposes the U.S. embargo. He lives in Miami, but travels regularly to Havana, even appearing on state-run television.

Anyone with even the tiniest bit of understanding knows that this is impossible. Ask any of fifo's former "friends" in Miami, the ones who have survived his friendship, as that seems to have been a singularly perilous position, if they can return with impunity. That it is possible for Lesnick raises a whole line of possibilites. The writer here, however, buys the whole spiel- hook, line and sinker- and parrots it around the globe. If its propaganda arm is the regime’s only success, it is because the media has been there to collude with them every step of the way for nearly half a century.

Benazir Bhutto killed in suicide bomb attack

I just heard this on Good Morning America. The region of the world that keeps giving and giving.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

What's their name?

The caption for this AP photo begins, "fidel castro, the young anti-Batista Guerilla leader, center, is seen with two men who are unidentified."

Lazy morons, no wonder Cuba news is garbage.

Cuban Souvenir

I get to my mother’s house on Christmas day. She shows me a present given her by a friend of a friend here from the island. I hold it in my hand and realize it is a souvenir like any you find around the world. It stands about four inches tall and is made of different woods. Someone has taken a thin marker, maybe even a pen, and written Cuba 2007 on the base. I realize that some ordinary Cuban probably supplements his or her meager living by hawking homemade souvenirs to tourists. I start to feel amusement. Then I think of the average tourist picking up the trinket for a song, never giving a thought to its creator. Said tourist going home and telling friends, “It was so unspoiled, even the souvenirs were handicrafts the natives made.” Then the longing stirred up by the rough little figure mixes with sadness for the creator who might well be a doctor who finds it more profitable to use hands trained for healing to carve his items of tourist kitsch.

Freedom is bad for the environment

I saw this New York Times article this morning and the only good thing I can say about it is that at least this rag is consistent: They will do whatever it takes to spin the tyrannical Cuban dictatorship in a positive light. Just as the mainstream media heralded the weight loss the Cuban population experienced at the hands of the dictatorship’s cruelty as a hidden gift contributing to lower cholesterol and heart disease, this new report laments the fall of Marxism on the island, the rescinding of the US embargo, and the alleged damage all this freedom will have on the environment. I read this garbage and in all honesty, I decided to wait until tomorrow to write something about it because it just left me seething.

But tonight, just when it seemed there is no hope for truth and justice in this world, I came across this editorial from Investors Business Daily.

The New York Times blubbers about how Cuba's environment will suffer in a post-U.S. embargo era of increased tourism. Better to preserve a "priceless ecological resource" than to free people from oppression. It is becoming increasingly more difficult to take the environmental movement, and science and environmental reporters, seriously because of stories such as the Christmas Day hand-wringer "Conserving Cuba, After the Embargo."

There are people out there willing to tell the truth, and they are quite aware of the lies the mainstream media purposely disseminates in defense of the indefensible Cuban dictatorship. Even though I am not the conspiracy theory, tinfoil hat wearing type of guy, I have to say these lies are knowingly told. Are we expected to believe the media has gotten it wrong about Cuba for 48 years now? Not even they are that brainless.

The Folly of Absolute Power

© 2007 Michael Ramirez

The Lemming Report on Media Metooishness

Welcome to a new feature here at Babalu where we'll highlight the latest messages coming out of Havana thanks to the media cacophony that is all to willing to serve as the mouthpiece for castro, inc's propaganda machine.

Today we'll be touching on the topic of fidel and his possible "run" for president in Cuba's sham elections. Cuba is a communist state where only one political party is legal. There is virtually no division between the communist party and the Cuban government. As a result voters have a choice of exactly one candidate for each and every position they "vote" for. raul castro, tyrant Jr., even joked about this recently. The international news media never notes these facts when it produces a story about Cuba. To an uninformed observer Cuba is a functioning democracy.

But let's take a closer look at the most recent behavior of the media lemmings. Just last week the news services were all happy to report the scoop of the week. fidel castro wrote in a letter (allegedly, because we don't know whether he can even think much less write at this point) that he "wouldn't cling to office." Forget the sheer stupidity of repeating such a statement coming from a man who has had absolute power for almost half a century and take a look at the reports:

CNN, AP on CBS, ABC, International Herald Tribune, The Australian, Reuters on BBC

Now let's see how well the puppet master controls the puppets. The story this week is that, in fact, fidel is getting healthier and likely to resume power despite his earlier statement that he would not "cling" to office.

AP on NYT, AFP, BBC on ABC of Australia, Reuters

Again that's just a sampling. With the exception of the AFP piece, none mention the seemingly incongruous statements coming out of Havana. In fact such contradictions have been the norm in Cuba ever since fidel suddenly took ill a year and a half ago. Many of the top Cuban lackeys contradict each other and others such as hugo chavez when discussing castro's health.

It should also be noted that the Reuters piece mentions that raul is "stumping" for his older brother in his "electoral district". Really? How did Raul manage to not run into fidel's opponent and his entourage on that campaign swing? Who is it that's running against fidel again?

This is important folks because many otherwise well-educated folks get their news from these lazy, unoriginal copycats that are terrible excuses for journalists.

Hell hath no fury…

BARQUISIMETO, Venezuela — A new voice has emerged to challenge Hugo Chavez's push to turn Venezuela into a socialist society, someone with rare insight into the president's passions and vulnerabilities: his ex-wife.

Read the rest HERE.

From the Land of Paul Revere and Samuel Adams...

...comes this. It does my heart good to see that (once again) I'm right. It's a terrible burden I carry day to day...

A question

Is everybody as freakin' tired today as I am?

Useful Models and the Like

There was a time when it was plausible that there were true believers of the castro line. That time is long past. So when I see celebrities, congressmen, and the types that seem to have made a livelihood of cheerleading for the Havana Mafiosi on the net, I have to wonder.

Some are easy to dismiss because they don’t have two IQ points to rub together. Take for instance, the latest stunt Naomi Campbell pulled in Cuba. She “stunned” a couple of newlyweds by giving them the keys to one of the 100 homes Chavez built in Cuba. The newlyweds are described as “speechless.” I’ll say they were, given the housing crisis in Cuba. Is this PR moment supposed to make a difference? It does to the press. It’s hard to say who is more ignorant here: Campbell or the writer of the article, who casts Campbell as "Mrs. Claus."

Others, people who should know better, people who do know better, seem almost perverse in their insistence on supporting the regime and denigrating its victims, to the point where it is something of a personal jihad. Some, particularly in Academia, seem to have a pathological need not to see the “Revolution” for what it is, cannot face that they have been wrong for decades. But in some cases, I suspect the truth is that when the books in Havana are opened, we will find some interesting expenses and perhaps some even more interesting pictures.

"Commie Writer" to conservative humorist

I was doing a little research for Herald Watch and ran into the bio of one of the contributors to News Busters: P.J. Gladnick. I was intrigued by the opening statement in the bio:

I am probably the only writer on NewsBusters to have received an award from the Soviet Union. It was for my work as an American correspondent for Krokodil Magazine which you can see chronicled in I Was A Commie Writer.

Click that last link. It's worth reading.

Oops, almost forgot.

Brought to you by RaulMartinez08.com

The Beard Party vs. the Mustache Party

The lemmings in the mainstream media are tripping all over each other to repeat the latest pronouncement from interim dictator raul castro. He assures the world that fidel is recovering well (a year and half later) with "full use of his mental faculties with some small physical limitations.” raul also delivers this knee slapper, claiming that the the U.S. has two political identical parties:

“We could say in Cuba we have two parties, one led by Fidel and one led by Raúl; what would be the difference? Fidel is a little taller than me; he has a beard, and I don’t.”

It reminds me of this much funnier article about Cuban elections from Uncyclopedia, which is by the way much more accurate than any entry you'll find about Cuba on Wikipedia.

And a Merry Christmas to you too, Raul!

Welcome to the NBC Comedy Hour! Tonight, we present a new skit from Raul Castro entitled, "He ain't heavy, he's my (colostomy bag wearin', up-for-reelection) brother!"

Fidel Castro remains on the mend, gaining weight, exercising twice a day and continuing to help make the Cuban government's top decisions, his brother Raul Castro says.

The island's acting president gave the first clues about his brother's health in weeks, saying during a Monday speech that he has a "healthier mentality, full use of his mental faculties with some small physical limitations."

[...]

But the younger Castro said his brother remains a key voice in government and that Communist Party leaders support his re-election to Cuba's parliament, the National Assembly — a move that could allow Fidel Castro to keep his post as president of the Council of State.

"We consult him on principal matters, that is why we the leaders of the party defend his right to run again as deputy of the National Assembly as a first step," Raul Castro said.

Though Fidel Castro's condition and even his exact illness are state secrets, he has officially retained his post atop Cuba's supreme governing body, the Council of State.

[...]

Through daily exercise, Fidel "has recovered a lot of weight and muscle mass," he said, speaking to voters in Fidel's voting district in Santiago, an eastern city where the brothers spent part of their youth. He said Fidel asked him to visit voters and trump up support for him because he was unable to personally.

Of course he did! Through a channeler or did you have to get up real close to get the message? This is the funniest shit I've read in months. Almost as funny as Hillary's flip-flop on illegal immigrant driver licenses...

What's the difference...

Between these guys:

And these guys?

Find out at Herald Watch.

Have a white Christmas

According to an Australian scientist named Bob Carter, the likelihood of us having many white Chistmases in the future are high. That's because he blows away the global warming fear mongers in this 4 part presentation.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

H/T to reader LauraW

Feliz Navidad

Merry Christmas

From the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 2, verses 1-18:

[1] And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. [2] (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) [3] And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. [4] And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David.) [5] To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. [6] And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. [7] And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. [8] And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. [9] And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. [10] And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. [11] For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. [12] And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. [13] And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, [14] Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. [15] And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. [16] And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. [17] And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. [18] And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

Nochebuena 2007

From Val comes this video of his preparations for tonight's feast. Enjoy!

New adherents to the religion of Global Warming

The Miami Herald's Editorial board is the latest entity to become devout believers in cult of man-made global warming. In an editorial today the Herald joins the ranks of those who claim that there's no wiggle room, no doubt that the current warming cycle on earth is being caused by man:

The scientists at Bali uniformly agreed that global warming is a fact, that human activity is causing it, that sea levels are rising faster than previously believed and that impacts are already being felt in the form of species extinction and dramatic weather changes.

It's funny because I'm seeing all these recent converts to the religion led by Al Gore and its happening just as the evidence begins to mount that all these chicken littles are out of their freaking minds.

The news that gets very little attention is that more and more weather scientists are questioning the so-called scientific consensus on global warming. In a CBC documentary that I posted about recently we find one scientist who shows some pretty conclusive evidence the sea levels are falling in the Maldives, a group of islands that is often predicted to be one of the first casualties of rising sea levels caused by global warming.

People, it's important that you get informed on this issue because it will be the bogeyman that the left will use to do what it couldn't do on its own merits, namely to shut down American industry and American economic growth. It's also disturbing to see that the Bush administration beginning to cave to these loonies.

I'm going to leave you with a link to an unlikely web site. It's Pat Sajak, the host of TV's Wheel of fortune. He asks some very reasonable questions about global warming. These are very inconvenient questions to those peddling the cult of man made climate change.

Future Havana?

Architecture students at FIU have been working on a project to revitalize Havana.

It's simply a student project but that doesn't mean it can't be used by assholes as a slam on exiles. Take a look at what this jerkoff writes in the comments at herald.com:

This is a perfect example of how Cuban-Americans have this illusion that one day they will return to Havana and make everything the way they want it. This is the type of thing that makes Cubans on the island nervous about Americans and is not much different than the US-led control of Cuba before the Revolution. I'm sure the plans for the Casinos along the Malecon are already on the drafting table.

Never mind that the professor in charge of the student project says:

This will be an invaluable reference document, but we won't pretend to impose our vision on the architects and urban planners that will assume the revitalization of the that city

Besides, take a look at the models in that video. What would make Cubans so "nervous" about actually having new construction in their city? Is the crumbling city of Havana in 2007 so precious to them that they would not want projects to help revitalize the city? And again with the bullshit about casinos. You know what, I'm not opposed to casinos in Vegas, Miami, or any other city where the people want them. Casinos provide a lot of employment and draw a lot of tourists. fidel has saved generations of Cubans from the degradation of the one-armed bandit, meanwhile they are eating dirt. The commenter at herald.com can kiss my ass.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from yours truly and Tony Mendoza Art.

UK columnist on castro's celebrity admirers

A columnist for the UK's Yorkshire Post named Bernard Dineen writes the following succinct appraisal of celebrities that visit the "worker's paradise" and come back with glowing reports:

I KEEP meeting people returning from holiday in Cuba who say what a wonderful place it is, with happy people, under the benevolent gaze of Fidel Castro. They are not alone.

Naomi Campbell compared him with Nelson Mandela; Jack Nicholson declared Cuba "a paradise"; Steven Spielberg became starry-eyed after meeting the evil dictator. Not to mention Kate Moss.

Only one question need be asked. Can Cubans leave if they want to? If not, it is a prison. Can you set up a political party? A free trade union? Is there freedom of speech? No. But who cares about such things as you relax on a tourist beach (from which ordinary Cubans are barred).

What is it that persuades otherwise intelligent people to fawn on a butcher like Castro, ignoring all the evidence? Amnesty has chronicled the regime's crimes over the years, like the brutal imprisonment of the blind president of the Cuban Human Rights Foundation, who said: "These are catacombs where people scream, but the sound is drowned out by a hermetically sealed door."

Then there was Castro's denunciation of homosexuality as a "bourgeois perversion". Hundreds of gays, including academics and artists, were imprisoned in filthy jails. All without a single peep from the Castro fan club.

He has lasted so long largely because of the misguided US embargo, which enabled him to blame every failure on the wicked Americans. As he disappears from the scene, Cuba may again get a chance of normal life. But prepare yourself for a massed rally of Castro groupies, from Hollywood to Islington, at his state funeral.

Except f