June 30, 2008
Imbecile
We hear a lot of insults and epithets thrown at President Bush by liberals, primarily that he is "dumb" or "stupid" -- no one who completes an MBA at Harvard is dumb by any stretch. But the plank in the Dems eye is so huge that they do not see that those who run their party are mind-bogglingly stupid, for real! Listen to Harry Reid talk about coal and oil. And the worst thing is that this imbecile is Senate Majority Leader. Un-effing-believable:
No respect, I tell you...
Not even in his hometown does the butcher of La Cabaña get any respect.
According to this Earth Times article reporting the incident, the sadistic murderer, che, "continues to have a strong imprint on Latin American politics."
They are right: look at every dictator or wannabe dictator in Latin America today and you will find the legacy of this psychotic killer.
An oldie, but goodie
Here's an old joke to lighten up your day:
Peter came to the Lord and said, 'I have to talk to you. We have some Cubans up here who are causing problems. They won't play the Harps instead, it's Flute music all day, mojo sauce is all over the place, they are making guayaberas from their robes, they have domino tables in the cafeteria, and they're wearing baseball caps instead of halos. They refuse to stop making Cuban coffee on the heaven's stairs and some of them are walking around with just one wing.'The Lord said, 'Cubans are Cubans, Peter. Heaven is home to all my
children. If you want to know about real problems, ask the Devil.'Peter calls - the Devil answers the phone. 'Hello? Damn...hold on a
minute.'The Devil returns to the phone, 'O.K., I'm back. What can I do for you?'
Peter replies 'I just want to know what kind of problems you're having
with the Cubans down there.'The Devil again says 'Hold on, Hold on........' The Devil comes back to the phone .....'Man, I don't believe this.....Hold on.'
This time the Devil is gone 15 minutes! He returns and says.....
'I'm sorry Peter, I can't talk right now. Those damn Cubans have put out the fire, and are trying to install air conditioning!'
Mea Culpa y Gracias
I had planned on penning a nice long post to publish on the fifth anniversary of this blog, but circumstances at home, coupled with a bit of an emergency and other issues, prevented me from having enough time to sit down and wrap the right words around the emotions and event.
From day one, this blog wasn't meant to be about politics - Cuban or American. Sure, I wanted to get some truths about the situation in Cuba out there and possibly help clear up many misconceptions, but truth be told, Babalu became a reality so that my nieces and nephews -and perhaps your nieces and nephews- that were born here and have grown up here in the States, would have a place to hold on to their cubanidad. A place to not only read stories of their Cuban family, but maybe get Cuban history lesson or maybe learn a Cubanism or two, and maybe help them to understand themselves and their family and its values and mores just a little better.
Of course, it is impossible to speak, discuss or write about Cuba without having politics get in the way. They will always be there no matter how hard we try to ignore them and circumvent them. That's just the nature of the beast of the Cuban topic.
And I don't know how it happened, but this humble blog of humble origins grew, it seems, almost exponentially form one day to the next. One minute I was thanking one or two people for commenting on the postings in the blog and the next I was sitting mouth agape reading emails from Cubans in exile all over the world, from Bulgaria to Iceland, from Australia to Arizona...everywhere. The most common theme of those emails being a thank you for giving those folks a little dose of Cuba, helping them conjure up memories of baseball games with their grandfathers and their Abuela's mantecado. To be honest, I'm still pretty amazed at the reach and reactions to the blog throughout the years.
I'm incredibly proud of this endeavor. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined the extents the words posted herein would go to. And I could not have imagined that the blog would have had an impact on lives, such as those we've had like helping garner donations for war veterans through the Spirit of America Campaign, or being one of the top twenty blogs in donations -that's top twenty out of millions of blogs- during the Hurricane Katrina Relief Effort. Or the small things like helping a family that had just had a couple of devastating losses be able to enjoy a Noche Buena with a new Caja China, or helping a man married to a Cuban woman get enough money to try to bring her to the shores of freedom, or the time we helped an ailing father here in Miami after being contacted by a daughter that lived too far away, or putting people together that hadn't seen each other in decades. We have had countless drives for donations for one worthy cause or another, people from all over the world have stepped up and offered to help many a time in one way or another. We have helped get the word out on the struggle and strife of Cuba's political and ideological prisoners and we have maybe opened some eyes or four.
It is an incredibly beautiful thing to witness first hand human nature at its best.
Of course, it hasn't always been good times through the years. The unfortunate truth of the subjects we cover are both frustrating and enraging, and it really does feel sometimes like we are battling windmills. Not to mention the detractors and the pretenders we've had. I suppose that goes with the turf, but it's pretty disheartening when your intentions are good to be called a fascist, an evil bastard, a homophobe, a heartless so and so, an intransigent, antiquated extremist terrorist, etc...the list is pretty much endless. I have heard it all and been threatened almost on a weekly basis. And on more occasions than I care to remember have I found dead chickens and coconuts in my front lawn, placed there by folks who either benefit from the bondage of the Cuban people or have some kind of misplaced envy not of me, but of the success of the blog, or, maybe even simply because they disagreed with one statement made in one post or another.
We've had our fair share of pretenders as well, from people that disagree with the travel restrictions policy that we for the most part support because they cant go see their ailing grandmothers only to later find pictures on the net of them in Cuba having a blast with jineteras and exploiting their own. There are other pretenders as well, mostly all of them have come here with ulterior motives or simply wanting to either discredit the work done here or just to stir up the shit. And of course there are other detractors that are detractors simply because, well, they're assholes.
But detractors and the negatives aside, we have always published here what we have believed to be right, and while sometimes our opinions may be open for criticism, the archives of this blog speak for themselves. Each word in each post on each day of each week in each month of each year is here on the net in perpetuity for all to read and gauge and opine for themselves. I, personally, really have no regrets with regards to the work we've done on this blog. None whatsoever. There are five years of honesty in those archives. Nothing more and nothing less.
But I digress. Let me tell you what I am most thankful for these past five years:
It isn't that I've been on TV or that Ive been on the radio or that Ive been interviewed by the MSM or, even, that I've been afforded and invite to the White House. While, yeah, those things are pretty cool and I'll never forget them, the best part of this whole blogging thing is bigger and better than all that.
Thanks to this humble blog called Babalu I have met some incredible people. Men and women who are like family to me. Unbelievably good human beings that have not only become a part of me, but who have enriched my life. Folks that have honored me with their love and friendship and privileged me because they have found it worthwhile to know me and I them. That, folks, makes every letter, every word, every sentence, ever paragraph in every post written and published here in every day of every week of every month of every year absolutely fucking beautiful.
There are way too many people to list here, and, not only am I grateful, but I am a better human being because of each and every one of you.
Thank you.
Victory in Nassau - Cuban Men Escape Detention
Ariel Delgado Rodriguez and Felipe Espinosa Leon are on the run from yet another corrupt government. Authorities in the Bahamas imprisoned the two men, who were among several other Cuban refugees recently captured, at a detention center infamous for its mistreatment of those unlucky enough to be housed there.
It is standard procedure in the Bahamas to hold detained refugees at the Carmichael Road Detention Center before repatriating them back to Cuba. As such, the Bahamian government works hand-in-hand with Cuban oppression.
It is common knowledge that repatriated Cuban refugees are subject to harsh treatment and often, imprisonment upon their return to the island. As such, those arrested and awaiting deportation from the island have no choice but to attempt escape. Those working on behalf of the Bahamian government, including Immigration Minister Elma Campbell, are thus guilty of trafficking in human misery.
In remarks to the Nassau Guardian, Campbell was quoted as saying she found it “amazing” that individuals seem to be able to walk out of the detention center with “apparent ease and impunity.” What I find more amazing is the fact that a nation as small and seemingly innocent as the Bahamas would have no qualms with assisting the de-facto Cuban “government” with the persecution of innocent refugees.
Come the end of the dictatorship, what are the options of the Cuban people when it comes to responding to these sorts of overt acts of aggression against those fleeing the island? While I am not a vengeful person by nature, I don't believe we can simply ignore and move on, forgetting the crime of "cooperation" perpetrated by so many foreign nations against the Cuban people. Miss Campbell and others like her are helping to forge the chains that continue to bind the Cuban people, and I for one, cannot simply erase that image from my head.
A little Monday morning Ajiaco
Spirit Airlines gets fined for violating the embargo.
U.S. Navy intends to keep Guantanamo base if prison closes. Duh.
castro bigorapher Georgie Anne Geyer speculates if a fidel castro type leader is in Mexico's future.
Outdated slogans
Yoani posts about outdated slogans like "Socialism or Death!". She notices that on one billboard the words "or Death" have been obliterated by a tree, of all things, and that "Socialism" is being threatened by a new tree that is sprouting up.
Missile crisis revisited
Jose Reyes, our good friend from Cubanology, has posted a great presentation about the Cuban Missile Crisis. Check it out.
June 29, 2008
What's Wrong With This Picture?
What's missing from this video? Answer in the comments section.
Updated to add: Michelle is not in this ad, but pay attention to the crowds he's meeting with while campaigning.
The Drill Here, Drill Now Petition
A message from Newt Gingrich:
More at American Solutions.
What Bush should do...
The political season is in full swing and both presidential candidates are talking gas prices. McCain wants to have a reality show type of contest to come up with a battery powered car and Obama wants to fix our energy problems by taxing oil companies (surprise). Both ideas are cockamamie.
I was reading an article in Barron's that made me thing it's time for the president, the current president, to act.
President Bush has been much maligned during his eight years and history will judge him based on the ultimate outcome in Iraq. Right now it's hard to tell what that will be, but it's not necessarily the disaster that some folks think it is (or wish it to be). But president Bush still controls the reins for seven months and Americans would like to know that he understands what we're facing and that there are things that can be done about it. Not only that, although he's been weakened he can still shape the debate and put the ball in congress' court. That way if they don't act, it will be their fault. Right now, nobody is holding their feet to the fire. It's time for Bush to go over their heads to the American people.
Time to address the nation1. The strategic petroleum reserve currently contains 705 million barrels of crude oil according to Barron's. That's enough petroleum to run the entire U.S. for 35 days. President Bush could announce the sale of crude from the SPR in 100 million barrel increments. This would serve two objectives, it would add supply to the current supply/demand equation thereby dropping the price of oil and the threat of more being dumped on the market may scare away some speculators, that are bidding up the price, out of the market (at least in the short term).
2. Institutional investors such as endowments and pension funds are using commodity-indexing strategies to invest in oil at unprecedented levels and also bidding up the price per barrel. The president can introduce a bill in congress that would close a current loophole that, "lets indexers evade commodity-position limits by purchasing over the counter swaps and other derivatives."
3. Put pressure on legislators to remove restrictions on drilling in the straits of Florida and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. Governor Palin of Alaska says the footprint of such an operation would be smaller than that of L.A.X. Remember we're talking about a state more than twice the size of Texas.
4. Push for removal of all energy subsidies including the one for corn ethanol. By now everyone knows corn ethanol is a waste of time and money and drives up the cost of food. The only way we're going to know which alternative energy sources are viable is to have them compete with oil without any help or handicaps. It's called having a free market.
By the way, the other way to bring the price of oil down is to strengthen the dollar which is very weak right now. That will mean raising of interest rates. And that's a double-edged sword because of the number of variable rate loans that are pegged to the prime rate. The reason the rates were lowered were to provide relief to those facing foreclosure. But rates will have to go up and they'll have to go up soon to combat inflation.
Cuba BC
This is a great video showing how prosperous Cuba was just a few decades after independence. Imagine the beautiful pearl fidel and company held in their hands a decade or so later. It is heartbreaking to think of what might have been.
Instead, there has been 50 years of crimes against humanity; the suffering of the Cuban people under castro's tyranny is immeasurable.
Agustin Blazquez, producer/director of the six documentary series COVERING CUBA, provides commentary at Cubanology, an excerpt:
The mainstream media and academia have told Castro's version of Cuba's past to deceive the American people and justify his regime. They have helped and abide a criminal totalitarian regime that killed thousands and sent about three million worldwide to exile. For example, how many Americans have been informed that since 1961, Castro's Cuba has been selling the blood of executed political prisoners?
The Organization of American States Human Rights Commission on April 7 1967 reported, "On May 27, 1966, from six in the morning to nightfall political prisoners were executed continuously by firing squad in Havana's La Cabana prison. One hundred and sixty-six men were executed that day and each had 5 pints of blood extracted prior to being shot.
"Extracting this amount of blood often produces cerebral anemia and unconsciousness so that many had to be carried to the execution wall on stretchers. The corpses were then transported by trucks to a mass grave in a cemetery outside the city of Marianao. On that day, the truck required seven trips to deliver all the corpses. On 13th Street in Havana's Vedado district Soviet medical personnel have established a blood bank where this blood is transported and stored. This blood is sold at fifty U.S. dollars per pint to the Republic of North Viet Nam."
Since fidel is officially no longer in power, he should be brought to justice.
They eat their own
Liberals—you gotta love ‘em.
Here's Change To REALLY Believe In
It's not often when a mainstream newspaper publishes anything which can be considered even remotely negative about Barack Obama. This is why reading this McClatchy News Service article in today's Herald caught me a bit by surprise, even though it was somewhat buried on page 5A.
The article deals with something that conservatives and those not caught in Obamamania (no doubt a strain of BDS - Bush Derangement Syndrome) have been trying to point out for months now: Obama is a politician that can flip-flop with the best of them.
BY MARGARET TALEV McClatchy News ServiceWASHINGTON -- From the beginning, Barack Obama's special appeal was his vow to remain an idealistic outsider, courageous and optimistic, and never to shift his positions for political expediency, or become captive of the Inside-the-Beltway intelligentsia, or kiss up to special interests and big money donors.
In recent weeks, though, Obama has done all of those things.
He abandoned public campaign financing after years of championing it. Backed a compromise on wiretap legislation that gives telecom companies retroactive immunity for helping the government conduct spying without warrants. Dumped his controversial pastor of two decades -- then his church -- after saying he could no more abandon the pastor than abandon his own grandmother.
He said he wouldn't wear the U.S. flag pin because it had become a substitute for true patriotism, then started wearing it. Ramped up his courtship of unions. Shifted from a pledge to protect working-class families from tax increases to a far more expensive promise not to raise taxes on families that earn up to $250,000 a year. Turned to longtime D.C. Democratic wise men to run his vice presidential search and staff his foreign-policy brain trust.
OPPORTUNISTIC MOVES?
Presidential candidates often tack toward the center after securing their party's nominations. But all this tactical repositioning by Obama suggests that he's a more complex, pragmatic and arguably more opportunistic politician than the fresh face of ''change we can believe in'' that he presented during the primary season.
In Illinois, fellow politicians and civic activists who watched Obama as a state lawmaker say he's a political realist who pivots when he needs to, but can be counted on to follow through on big promises.
''You have to run two different types of campaigns, one to attract the primary population, one to attract the general population,'' said state Sen. Terry Link, a Democrat. But Link said, ``If they're trying to make him a Washingtonite, I would never believe he's going to be a Washingtonite.''
Cynthia Canary, the executive director of Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, a reform group, said that Obama is just human. 'In a way, we have done him a disservice by creating this rock 'n' roll mythology around him,'' she said.
NO FALLOUT YET
Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe, didn't acknowledge any flip-flops on Obama's part and said he sees ''no evidence'' of frustration among voters. Polls show no impact from Obama's shifts.
Jack Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College in California, said that while Obama might be shaking the faith of some idealists with some of his shifts, politically ``he's probably doing the smart thing.''
This year's election is more likely to be decided on Iraq and the economy, Pitney said, adding: ``This is the transition between a fantasy campaign and a real campaign. In a fantasy campaign you are in the clouds and never compromise. In a real campaign, you compromise.''
Of course, leave it to the Obama spin machine, undoubtedly aided by the MSM, to portray this drifting by Obama as being "just human", and that it's a "disservice" to Obama to paint him as a rock god of sorts. The "disservice" part has to be the most incredulous quote ever printed in a mainstream newspaper (well, OK. It's in the top 10).
When Republicans and conservatives drift on issues, it's called pandering. When Obama does it, his supporters jump to say that it's pragmatism and smartly playing the game of politics. It may very well be those two things, but Obama supporters would be wise to call him out just as they understandably called out those on the right for changing positions on important issues.
Of course, the terms "Obama supporters" and "wise" barely belong in the same sentence, so I'm not holding my breath waiting for them to come around and admit Obama's shameless opportunism.
What a Difference a Week Makes
Just got back after hanging out with the Simpsons and Mickey Rat & Friends. For the last 8 days I did not read a paper. I did not seriously watch the news or any cable tv news show, I did not read the news on the net. I did not spend my time arguing in vain with narrow minded short sighted liberals trying to convince them that they are dead wrong on energy, taxes, the law, and most things of importance. I did not read any Supreme Court cases this week. The one that I really cared about (the Kentucky pension case) went against me and will likely affect a bunch of my cases so while I was pleased with the 2nd Amendment decision, I didn't bother having to argue with hard headed liberals as to why the decision was correct. (A good book to read is James Madison and the Struggle for the Bill of Rights).
In Sum, it felt good just getting away for a while. The lawyer in me sometimes makes me compelled to argue. But unlike in the Courtroom or in a legal brief where my arguments are made to persuade the Court or an opposing counsel, in the everyday world, especially in today's world, I've realized that with the rabid left, the Barack-a-maniacs, no matter was facts you present them, what historical evidence you present them, no matter what you say to them, they refuse to acknowledge that they are wrong in their positions. They then use faulty logic against you and resort to name calling.
Example:
Cigar Mike: We need to drill for more oil to boost mid to long term supply as a stop gap between future goal of alternate fuel and to reduce dependence on foreign oil from the mid east and Chavez.
Liberal: This is Cheney's fault; his failed energy policy made his oil buddies rich at the people's expense. If we drill now, we won't have results for 5-10 years. It does nothing for us now. We need to eliminate tax breaks for the oil companies tax the rich and force the auto makers and oil companies to make cars that run on green energy
Cigar Mike: There are no tax breaks for the oil companies. That's a myth. What you're talking about is you want to penalize the oil companies for research and exploration (a deduction the oil companies get just as any company gets) so they will stop exploring. Makes a lot of sense. It will take over 20 years or more before we can honestly say we can go to vehicles running on alternate fuels. It is an even more long term vision.
Liberal: Bush tortures people to help his oil buddies. Barack is God!
Liberals can't see beyond their noses. It is pointless to argue with one. You'll end up arguing for the sake of arguing. They argue with poor logic and ad homonym reasoning. So why even bother. You get a more intelligent response arguing with Homer Simpson.
Enjoy the short week folks.
June 28, 2008
Bill Clinton wants Barack Obama to kiss his ass
Mr Obama is expected to speak to Mr Clinton for the first time since he won the nomination in the next few days, but campaign insiders say that the former president's future campaign role is a "sticking point" in peace talks with Mrs Clinton's aides.The Telegraph has learned that the former president's rage is still so great that even loyal allies are shocked by his patronising attitude to Mr Obama, and believe that he risks damaging his own reputation by his intransigence.
A senior Democrat who worked for Mr Clinton has revealed that he recently told friends Mr Obama could "kiss my ass" in return for his support.
The Liberal Paradox
In an editorial in the UK’s Sunday Herald, writer Joanna Blythman excoriates British and European banks for closing customer accounts that do business with Cuba. Because these banks (such as Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS) have operations in the US, they must be very careful not to violate the strict regulations the US has with regards to doing business with Cuba. For the banks it is simply a business decision. But Ms. Blythman has taken great offense that these institutions have allowed themselves to be influenced by US foreign policy.
Blinded by rabid anti-socialist, anti-Castro sentiment, for 48 years the US has conducted a vendetta against this peaceful Caribbean island by imposing a crippling economic blockade, one that has wilfully impoverished the Cuban people and been roundly condemned for 16 years running by the UN General Assembly. In 2007, 184 countries, including the UK, voted against it - only four didn't. The whole world, apart from the US, its thuggish sidekick, Israel, and a couple of obscure statelets, believes this punitive blockade should be lifted.
The author dedicates several paragraphs to how horrible the US and its embargo of Cuba’s dictatorial regime is, and how the US has no right to tell the rest of the world who they can and cannot do business with. Here is where Ms. Blythman—in a typical liberal paradox—fails to see how she is doing exactly what she is accusing the US of doing; trying to tell the US, and others, who they can and cannot do business with.
The one good thing about liberals is that if you let them talk long enough, they will eventually refute their own arguments. They cannot help themselves; their arguments are based on emotions, not facts. Let them ramble on with their circuitous debates and sooner, rather than later, they will contradict themselves.
In this particular case, Ms. Blythman, true to her liberal philosophy, does not disappoint. In a single paragraph she manages to call for “free trade,” and then implores those who share her disgust to contact their banks and if they will not do business with Cuba, they should close their accounts.
If, like me, you think that the world should be free to trade with Cuba and disapprove of America's unhealthy grip on our financial institutions, you could ask your bank to confirm that it is happy to offer banking services to Cuban organisations, companies trading with Cuba, and of course, Cuban individuals. The Cuba Solidarity Campaign has a model letter you can use or adapt for the purpose. In the absence of a satisfactory response, consider taking your account elsewhere. If certain banks won't do business with Cuba, then why should we do business with them? (emphasis mine)
Why, Ms. Blythman; are you calling for an embargo of banking institutions whose policies you do not agree with?
Liberals—you gotta love ‘em.
La muerte de Pedro Luis Díaz Lanz
Pedro Luis Díaz Lanz, 1926-2008
Cuba has lost a great patriot, a man who sacrificed everything for a free Cuba, and his fellow Cubans. The love and concern he felt for his people are well known. He was head of the revolutionary air force, and as such became the first high-ranking official to desert and signal the alert about the communist course of castro’s revolution. The enormous grief and frustration he suffered over the lack of freedom in his beloved Cuba must have led to his death. In my opinion, the responsibility for this tragedy lies with fidel castro as surely as had fidel pulled the trigger.
Both the El Nuevo Herald and Diario Las Americas have front page coverage.
H/T: Larry
Commie Rats
Still one of the funniest movies of all time.
The Flip-Flop King
Read this piece in the New York Post. It details the "new" positions of The Messiah intended to make him a tough guy.
All-inclusive to the point of absurdity? Not anymore.Obama operatives last week rooted out a couple of Muslim women and ordered them to keep away from the bleachers behind the candidate unless they removed their head scarves.
Coddler of criminals? Not anymore.
Obama - rated the most liberal member of the US Senate- now sides with the most conservative members of the Supreme Court in supporting a state's right to execute someone who rapes a child.
The candidate of anti-gun sissies? Nope.
Obama may as well have strapped on his John Wayne chaps and holster yesterday to announce his support of the Supreme Court's decision that the Second Amendment guaranteeing gun rights actually means what it says.
Are the Democrats now the party of states' rights, gun rights and the death penalty?
This wild election just keeps getting wilder.
As Obama moves rightward and gets tougher, Republicans are desperately trying to portray him as some sort of arrogant flip-flopper.
But these audacious moves by him are not signs of weakness; they're signs of a man who will win at any cost.
The great Jackie Mason says that Obama makes Bill Clinton look like an honest guy. I'd have to agree.
June 27, 2008
Après the EU, the Deluge
Rafael Martel has posted a dispatch describing an apparent clamp down on opposition members. This is what I gather from the report. A number of the opposition are whereabouts unknown. The group that has been protesting the treatment of Iris Pérez Aguilera's brother, a political prisoner, was on the streets in the wee hours of the morning when they were picked up by a phalanx of vehicles and security types. Among those apprehended were Iris Pérez Aguilera, Jorge Luis García Pérez Antúnez, Yuniesky García López, Alcides Rivera Rodríguez, Guillermo Fariñas Hernández, and Idania Yanes Contreras. "Coco" Fariñas seems to have been singled out for rough treatment. The others were released near their homes, but he was taken away and denied medical treatment for chest pains, doubtless induced by having two security goons sitting on him.
Meantime on the same day, an act of repudio was being carried out at the home of Belinda Salas Tápa[n]es, independent journalist and Flamur, the federation of rural women, president. 26 State security people searched her home and detained a number of people. Two others on the way there, Javier Sol Díaz and Lázaro Joaquín Alonso Román, have not been heard from. More detentions from yet another group in the vicinity of the home of Martha Crespo. The whereabouts of some of this group are also unknown. It is to be hoped that this is not the beginning of the new wave of heightened repression they've been fearing.
Caravan of fools
It's that time of year, when castro's court jesters embark on their annual pilgrimage, bearing gifts for the emperor, and fools for indoctrination.
For example: Nancy Kohn, healthcare advocate, community activist and 20-year resident of Jamaica Plain has been to Cuba twice. She wants an end to the embargo, and more people-to-people diplomacy. She was profoundly affected by her travel to Cuba, where in spite of the poverty caused by the embargo they have free education and healthcare for everyone.
What a joyous place!
"Everywhere I went I saw dance performances, live music, art displays, sculpture, and people engaged in sports and the arts. Why should our two peoples be denied the opportunity to share cultures and play baseball together?”
Why so generous are the rulers of the island paradise that they offer free medical scholarships to poor oppressed Americans, and would have rescued New Orleans from Katrina’s ravages, were not for mean Mr. Bush. Mean Mr. Bush, controlled by the evil Miami Mafia, you know, those right-wing Cuban-Americans whose organizations are involved in terrorist activities.
Old pals
HotAir reports that Mugabe held the run-off elections in Zimbabwe despite little turnout and no opposition, plus thug tactics:
The police have begun pressuring people to vote in order to bolster Mugabe’s standing. In an ironic twist, the dye on the fingers of those who have voted allows authorities to find refuseniks and intimidate them into the polling booths, a reverse of the situation in Iraq in 2004, when millions of Iraqis cast votes and had their fingers dyed in defiance of those who attempted to intimidate them into silence. And in a demonstration of Mugabe’s destruction of the Zimbabwean economy, far more people queued to buy bread than to vote.Years ago, I read about an African tradition of the “empty chief”. When a village decides that a chief no longer should lead and the chief refuses to accept that decision, the people simply depart the village, leaving the chief in charge of himself and humiliated before the world. The people of Zimbabwe are trying to give us the modern equivalent of this tradition.
And the last two sentences of the report read:
The people of Zimbabwe are desperately trying to signal this to the rest of the world by refusing to participate in his latest attempt to cover his dictatorship in a sheen of democracy. When will the world act in solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe?
The people of Cuba have been signaling the world for almost half a century about Cuba's dictatorship in a "sheen of democracy" are we're still waiting for the world to even think about the possibility of maybe thinking about the thought of acting.
Dictators dont care about how they stay in power, just how long.
Few Cuban citizens have phones and computers
What? But how can this be? Didn't the great and munificent crown prince decree cell phones and computers to all of his loyal subjects?
HAVANA (Reuters) - Forget iPods, BlackBerries and other electronic gadgets, most Cubans are still waiting for telephones and less than five percent have a computer, the government reported on Thursday.
There definitely must be something wrong with this Reuters article because these are the reforms that signaled a monumental shift in government policy on the island. How can it be that after hearing all the wonderful stories about how prince raul's decrees would make the lives of the average Cuban much better, they are still pretty much in the same place they were a few months ago?
This would be funny if it wasn't so sad.
Delahunt slips up, reveals true self
William Delahunt a Democrat congressman from Massachusetts is one of the most outspoken opponents of the embargo on Cuba in that body. He's also a freakin bastard. Take a look at this video of a congressional hearing this week about interrogations, waterboarding and torture. In it, Delahunt is questioning Vice President Cheney's Chief of Staff David Addington and Addington tells him that he's not going to respond to a question because Al Qaeda might be watching.
Delahunt's response: "I'm glad they finally have a chance to see you."
Well, Mr. Delahunt I'm glad the American public finally has a chance to see you in all your -anti-American, rooting for the enemy- glory.
H/T: RedState
But of course...
You knew it was coming:
UN Human Rights Council bans criticism of Islam.
Im glad they got that out of the way so expeditiously, now they can get back to stealing money, patting the castros on the back and raping and torturing women and children.
Via Gateway Pundit.
June 26, 2008
If the Shoe Fits...
Independent journalist Oswaldo Yáñez might very well have the quote of the day. Writing in a vein that is running through much coming from the island regarding the EU’s lifting of sanctions, although a tad more tart, he notes.
Zapatero I, the Illuminati, will come to Havana with Desatinos to drink some mojitos with the tyrant brothers and…to ask for the freedom of the primates in the Havana Zoo, because to the misinformed “gallego” simians (apes) have more rights than dissident Cubans…
All this no doubt a reference to the bill in Spain according apes et al the rights of a human being. Need I say more, so to speak?
Complete text here in beautiful Spanish and translator English.
But they survived peak oil
I've often posted about the ridiculous assertion that Cuba survived "peak oil" and that that country should be held up as some kind of model for the rest of the world. Yoani Sanchez has tackled the Cuban energy situation on her blog, Generacion Y. It's been a while since I posted something from her in English and I thought her post on this subject is quite worthy given the current energy debate we're having in this election year:
Obligated to live in dimness
Two years ago the social workers knocked on the door. They came to exchange incandescent bulbs for new energy-saving ones in the midst of a roaring campaign dubbed the Energy Revolution. I liked the warm yellow light that my living room lamp gave off, but a quick inspection by the trained teenagers detected the guilty filament and I had to turn it in. They gave me another that projected a pale luminescence and lasted for three weeks. My eyes were thankful for the short life of the efficient bulb, because at night there was no way to distinguish the details under its faint light.
To replace the broken one, I had to go to a shop that sells merchandise to those with foreign currency, where they don’t sell the demonized conventional bulbs either –the kind we’ve had had on our nightstand for our whole lives-. I resigned myself to buy the fleeting energy-saving ones or the other so-called "cold light" bulbs -that give my room the feeling of an operating room. But as of two months ago not even these are available. There are no bulbs of any type in Havana’s stores.
As a joke, the salesmen tell me that the ship that brings them "has not arrived from China" and advise me that a small boutique in el Cerro made some available, in the midst of a riot. A quick look at my apartment indicates that the dark areas outnumber the lit ones. So if the vagaries of distribution remain the same, I will have to improve my sense touch or trip over each piece of furniture.
What nobody knows -and it’s one of those secrets that I only write about in a in a private diary like this one-is that I managed to hide a specimen of the persecuted bulbs from the social workers. A round and wasteful one, that has accompanied me for more than five years with the yellow light given off by its 40 watts. Not that enjoy wasting electricity, but I need to believe that at I can at least decide under what kind of light I should read, eat dinner or watch TV. I cling to the fugitive bulb, as if it could clarify and shed light on not only the living room of my house, but also the clumsiness of the merchants and voluntarism of energy campaigns.
We've already started in the U.S. with flush toilets and these stupid bulbs they are shoving down our throats
An Unprecedented Event That Needs You
Today, for eight hours beginning at 4 pm, the very first internet video telethon will be held, aptly named: From the Frontlines. Hosted by our good friend Michelle Malkin and Move America Forward Chairman Melanie Morgan, this will be a historic effort to send the largest single care package to our Troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan:
This special broadcast will be co-hosted by radio personality and Move America Forward Chairman Melanie Morgan and blogger-extraordinaire Michelle Malkin and will feature national radio powerhouses Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Dr. Laura Schlessigner, Laura Ingraham, Ann Coulter, Mark Levin, NBC’s “America’s Favorite Mom” Patti Patton-Bader, reports from our military men and women on the frontlines of Iraq & Afghanistan, music, stars of stage and screen, and many MANY other special guests.The historic telethon is being organized by Move America Forward, the nation’s largest pro-troop organization. Move America Forward has shipped over 40 TONS of care packages to our troops filled with food for their enjoyment, other necessities and message of appreciation and encouragement from home. Now we’re doing one better by sending over the largest shipment of care packages to our troops in American history.
These care packages will be sponsored by pledges made by viewers during the “From the Frontlines” telethon, and shipped by Move America Forward just in time for the 4th of July holiday. Our troops will receive these special 4th of July care packages, crammed with all kinds of items for their personal care and comfort, just as Americans stateside are celebrating the freedoms and liberties made possible thanks to the service and sacrifice of our noble service men and women.
You can find the schedule of appearances right here.
Babalu readers have always come through for good causes - from the Spirit of America Campaign to the Katrina Relief effort and a myriad others in between. I know times may be a bit tough right now, with high gas prices and its consequences, but Im asking you all to dig down into your pockets once more for an incredibly worthy cause. It is men and women like those currently deployed that paved the way and protect the freedoms we have. The very freedoms our parents and grandparents sought when they left Cuba.
I know we have a few daily readers with sons or daughters currently serving oversees. I cant think of a better way to thank those families for their sacrifices and to thank this country on her birthday next week, than to let her sons and daughters in harm's way know that we are thinking of them, that we support their efforts and most importantly that we appreciate their sacrifices. You can donate right here.
This country opened it doors for us as exiles and took us in as her own. This Fourth of July, let her know just how thankful and honored we are.
Even Conservatives fell for Castro/Craig Ruse
Amongst those who fell prey to Castroite chicanery via Gregory Craig were Tony Snow and Mark Steyn, amazingly enough. The latter sneering at that "crazy Miami crowd," a "lawless Hispanic mob trashing Miami." Elian's doting cousin, Marisleysis "may have the cutest butt on network TV," wrote Steyn, "but most of us dearly wish some FBI sharpshooter would fire a tranquilizer dart into it."
These commentators, however bright and articulate in most matters, are innocent of life under Stalinism and without the benefit of the revelations that come from frequent contact with those cursed by fate to have suffered such. So we shouldn't judge them too harshly.
If Steyn's current predicament in Canadian courts saw him deprived of defense counsel and menaced by decades in torture chambers or death by firing squad he'd have a much better appreciation of that "crazy Miami crowd's" motivation, I can assure you.
Rest of WND article here
On the Food Network of My Mind from Marta's Cuban American Kitchen
I have a confession to make.
I sometimes fantasize about having a cooking show.
Not all the time, of course. But I do have moments. To be honest, most of the time I’m just trying to get a meal on the table and dodging bodies in my small kitchen and wishing I had a staff to clean up after me. (sigh)
But every now and then, I think….this is what I would say at this step in the recipe, and I’d make a little joke here. Sometimes, I make the irreversible mistake of mentioning this to my family - out loud.
You’re not going to believe this, but they think I’m a little crazy. (Shut up. I know.)
So in my Fantasy Food Network show I’m doing something really dramatic. Like I’m making a dessert that involves setting something on fire! I’ve always wanted to flambé some bananas….hmm….
Bananas. Caramel. Rum. A trifecta of Cuban dessert perfection.
How about Caramelized Bananas Flambé? Or something like that…
Here is Marta on her fantasy cooking show:
"Butter and brown sugar will make a nice, rich caramel for the bananas."
So I kind of get into it, and begin making my caramel-banana thing and talking to my imaginary studio audience...
"Now, let's set it on FIRE!" (Wow! What drama! Flash the applause sign here.)
“Estas completamente loca.” That’s what my big, fat, Cuban family says.
Until they taste it, of course, and start making the hmmf-mmmm-oooh-God-this-is-amazing sounds.
That’s when I decide to call this segment, “Marta’s Bananas.”
See? It works on two levels. =D
Marta’s Bananas
1/2 stick of butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
3 bananas – cut into diagonal slices
1/4 cup spiced rum
Vanilla ice cream – optional
Pound cake – optional
1) In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium high heat.
2) Add the dark brown sugar to the butter and stir together (use a wooden spoon).
3) Add the sliced bananas, stirring to coat and until they are caramelized on both sides.
4) Remove from heat.
5) Add the rum.
6) Using a long lighter (just trust me on this) light the bananas and flambé.
7) Shake the pan to coat bananas until flame dies out and the alcohol cooks out.
8) Serve over a slice of pound cake and vanilla ice cream.
And just for the record, the most compelling part of the fantasy cooking show thing is having a Clean-up STAFF, but that's not important right now. =D
Shuffle your feet...
Looks like there's a bit more room inside the Obama campaign bus as another commie Obama supporter has been thrown under the bus. This time it's Maoist hardliner, vicarious communist Mike Klonsky.
It's getting more and more crowded under that there bus. It may be time for the Obama campaign to go Double Dutch:
American civilization has been spared to live another day
The Supreme Court today upheld the right of free Americans to bear arms. Thank you God. We are not dead yet. More to follow...
Update: You can find the opinion for download at SCOTUSBlog.
"Logic demands that there be a link between the stated purpose and the command.”“We start therefore with a strong presumption that the Second Amendment right is exercised individually and belongs to all Americans.”
Court Strikes Down D.C. Gun Ban, Affirms Second Amendment Rights By MARK H. ANDERSON June 26, 2008 10:51 a.m.WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling Thursday, for the first time declared the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution contains a specific right to individual gun ownership and rejected Washington, D.C., handgun restrictions, which were the strictest in the nation.
"We find that they guarantee the individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation," Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in the majority ruling. "This meaning is strongly confirmed by the historical background of the Second Amendment."
The ruling significantly restricts the D.C. gun laws, enacted in 1976 as the strictest gun control law in the country, but does not bar government regulation of firearms.
"The Constitution leaves the District of Columbia a variety of tools for combating that problem, including some measures regulating handguns," Justice Scalia said, adding the Constitution bars an absolute handgun ban.
The decision affirms a lower court ruling that reached a similar conclusion based on the Second Amendment.
The issue split the court along conservative and liberal ideological lines, with Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. and Justices Clarence Thomas, Anthony Kennedy and Samuel Alito in the majority. Justices John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and David Souter dissented.
The Supreme Court had not ruled directly on the Second Amendment in almost 70 years. It also, over time, has offered little guidance on the extent to which the amendment covers individual gun ownership for self-defense, hunting and recreational shooting.
The D.C. law, on the books since 1976, bans handguns, bars concealed weapons possession and requires shotguns and rifles to be registered and then kept unloaded and disassembled or locked.
The law was challenged by six D.C. residents who said they wanted to legally possess handguns in their homes for self-protection. A U.S. District Court threw out the challenge, but a panel of the Washington-based U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals revived one of the claims and ruled a special police officer, the now-retired Dick Heller, was wrongly denied a handgun permit.
The D.C. Circuit added the city can't ban handguns in the home or require that residents keep their guns dismantled or equipped with a trigger lock.
The case is D.C. v. Heller, 07-290.
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court says Americans have a right to own guns for self-defense and hunting, the justices' first major pronouncement on gun rights in U.S. history.The court's 5-4 ruling strikes down the District of Columbia's 32-year-old ban on handguns as incompatible with gun rights under the Second Amendment. The decision goes further than even the Bush administration wanted, but probably leaves most firearms laws intact.
The court had not conclusively interpreted the Second Amendment since its ratification in 1791. The amendment reads: "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."
The basic issue for the justices was whether the amendment protects an individual's right to own guns no matter what, or whether that right is somehow tied to service in a state militia.
Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for four colleagues, said the Constitution does not permit "the absolute prohibition of handguns held and used for self-defense in the home."
In dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote that the majority "would have us believe that over 200 years ago, the Framers made a choice to limit the tools available to elected officials wishing to regulate civilian uses of weapons."
He said such evidence "is nowhere to be found."
Download the decision here.
The Siren Song
Gay and lesbian groups in the US are infuriated today over the violent quashing by the regime’s state security of Cuba’s first gay pride parade and celebration yesterday. Their anger and disgust is justified, but what did they expect from a totalitarian regime that for half a century has violated the human rights of not only gay Cubans, but of every single Cuban on the island?
In this article, the writer for this LGBT site believes that Mariela Castro, the daughter of the great and munificent prince raul, is at this moment ashamed of the actions taken by her father’s regime.
Mariela Castro is surely ashamed. The daughter of [f]idel (sic) has fought hard over the past decade for civil rights in Cuba, focusing mainly on the country's LGBT community.
The truth is that the only thing Ms. Castro has fought long and hard for is the continuation of the tyrannical dictatorship in Cuba. While her father remains in power she can continue to live a privileged life of opulence. She was quite aware of what was going to happen at that parade. What the gay community in the US apparently does not know is that when high-level regime officials—such as Ms. Castro—make lofty proclamations in favor of a certain group, it is for outside consumption only. Mariela Castro’s message was meant for every gay and lesbian that does not live in Cuba. For those that live on the island, different rules apply.
Unfortunately, our gay friends here in the US have fallen victim to Mariela Castro’s siren song and believe that a dictatorship that has persecuted homosexuals throughout its entire history and has zero tolerance for dissent can somehow suddenly change its mind. It is truly a shame that it takes the beating and jailing of innocent Cubans on the island for the gay community here in the US to come to this realization.
All they had to do was ask any Cuban here in the US, or Cuba.
Kleenex Alert
Our friends at Generation ñ have just posted my favorite Que Pasa, USA? episode: Noche Cubana.
All I can say is have the tissue handy, folks, as Ive seen this show a zillion times and a zillion times Ive cried.
Just say NO to the "O"
.
It would be nice to breathe.
Last month was a blur because of Cuba Nostalgia. It’s hard for you to imagine the preparations that are necessary to pull it off every year. And the festival itself is even more of a blur. We had a lot of things going on at the Babalu Blog booth. We had several authors signing and selling books and we were also promoting three different documentaries related to Cuba. Dream Havana is one of the movies we were helping promote. Gary Marks, a Chicago filmmaker (not to be confused with the Chicago Tribune’s former Havana correspondent, Gary Marx) is the director and producer of Dream Havana.
I spent an entire weekend with Gary, a very nice guy, and we talked quite a bit but to be honest I didn’t get a chance to watch the film though we were screening it on a plasma TV during the whole festival. Gary gave me a copy and I forgot about it, until today. I’m traveling on business, ironically to Chicago, and wanted something to watch on the flight. I looked on my shelf and found my copy of Dream Havana. Perfect.
Dream Havana is the story of Jorge Mota and his friend Ernesto Santana. Both are Cuban intellectuals who formed a close friendship during the 1980s. Mota left Cuba in a makeshift boat in 1994 and became an award-winning journalist (he’s now a news editor for the Telemundo station in Chicago) and Santana stayed behind and wrote a novel called Ave y Nada which won a major literary prize in Cuba. His reward was a trip to Mexico for a book fair where he has an emotional reunion with Mota.
I, as a Cuban-American, am indebted to Gary Marx. The beautiful film he has produced is a testament to the ridiculous and oppressive system of government that fidel castro and his henchmen have forced upon the Cuban people. This film is not political but watching Cuban intellectuals and creative people trying to explain their reality will be eye-opening to those who are not familiar with the Cuban tragedy. Especially enlightening are the various accounts of Cuba’s “special period” after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the plight of the rafters who literally thought facing the merciless ocean and the sharks was a better alternative than living another day in castro’s Cuba.
There’s a scene toward the end of the film where Santana’s wife talks about what it would mean for him to be able to travel abroad for the for time and she says, “It would be nice to breathe.”
Thank you Gary from the bottom of heart for putting together such a wonderful film that will certainly be a record for future generations about what happened once on an island called Cuba.
Mark Your Calendars for Thursday & Friday- Interviews with Counterintelligence Officer
MEDIA ALERT
Career Counterintelligence Officer and Expert on Cuban Intelligence to be Interviewed in Miami
(June 26, 2008 / Miami , FL ) – Christopher S. Simmons, Lieutenant Colonel, Army Counterintelligence, a career counterintelligence officer and an expert on Cuban intelligence, is in Miami to speak on Cuban espionage and other related topics.
Chris Simmons has been a Counterintelligence Officer since 1987. From 1996-2004, he was deeply involved with the majority of U.S. Counterintelligence successes against Cuba . He was a central figure in the identification, investigation, and debriefing of convicted Cuban spy, Ana Belen Montes -- the highest-ranking Cuban spy ever sent to prison in the United States . Simmons was the lead military official in the May 2003 expulsion of 14 Cuban spies serving under diplomatic cover; the third largest diplomatic expulsion in US history and the only one not targeted against Russia/USSR. He has lectured on Cuban Intelligence throughout the US Intelligence Community, to Congress, and in several academic or private sector forums. Cited frequently by the US and foreign media, he writes a periodic column on Cuban Intelligence for the Miami Herald and is the founder of the Cuban Intelligence Research Center .
Simmons has just finished the draft of his first book on Cuban espionage. Several additional works are already underway, all of which will be published during the next three years
Among Simmons’ Miami scheduled interviews during his Miami visit will be will be NBC 6 News and Univision 23 News on Thursday, June 26th; El Informativo con Tomás Regalado on TeleMiami and Ninoska Pérez-Castellon on Radio Mambí 710AM on Friday, June 27th. He will appear once again on A Mano Limpia with Oscar Haza on América TeVe 41 also on the evening of Friday, June 27th.
For more information, please e-mail Chris.Simmons@CubanIntelligence.com or visit www.CubanIntelligence.com.
Thank you to Ana Margarita for the press release
June 25, 2008
"Spanish parliament to extend rights to apes"
MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's parliament voiced its support on Wednesday for the rights of great apes to life and freedom in what will apparently be the first time any national legislature has called for such rights for non-humans.Parliament's environmental committee approved resolutions urging Spain to comply with the Great Apes Project, devised by scientists and philosophers who say our closest genetic relatives deserve rights hitherto limited to humans.
"This is a historic day in the struggle for animal rights and in defense of our evolutionary comrades, which will doubtless go down in the history of humanity," said Pedro Pozas, Spanish director of the Great Apes Project.
Babalu Radio Hour tonight | NEW TIME 9:00 PM EDT
We have a special guest on tonight. Jorge Ponce, a Cuban-American living in the Washington, DC area, who will discuss the media's role in perpetuating the myth of the Cuban revolution, as well as the embargo (and the many reasons for keeping it).
The call-in number is (646) 652-4506, or you can send an email to me with questions or comments. The show begins at 9:00 PM EDT. Don't miss the opportunity to call in and participate in this great discussion.
Cuba's Gay Pride Parade cancelled
Via Ziva: Surprise, surprise.
Havana - Cuba's first Gay Pride parade was abruptly canceled Wednesday, before it even began.The unofficial march, organized with Florida's Unity Coalition, was not sanctioned by Cuba's National Center for Sex Education, which is headed by Mariela Castro, the daughter of President Raul Castro.
Activist Mario Jose Delgado announced the cancellation of the march moments before it was to start Wednesday at a park in Havana. He said two organizers who were to deliver a set of demands to the Justice Ministry were detained one day earlier. Delgado said he has no details of the arrests.
"The president of the Cuban League Against AIDS and the president of the Foundation LGTB Reinaldo Arenas in Memoriam have been arrested," Delgado said. "They were to be here with our written demands but now we cannot carry out our activity."
Death by Cuban Sandwich
That's the title of a piece in Garden & Gun Magazine by noted author Rick Bragg. Bragg, who admits that the closest he comes to being Cuban is that he was named after Ricky Ricardo, nonetheless, pens a touching and empathetic, yet humorous, portrait of one corner of Cuban culture. Instead of denigrating the older, "Intransigent" exiles, he teases affectionately even as he acknowledges their pain. It's a shame that other writers, Floridians- some even Cuban- can't share his perception. Oh, and it's really nicely written. I'll leave you with the first paragraph.:
Somewhere in Miami’s Little Havana, right now, an old man is beating a tabletop with his fist. At his elbow is a Cuban sandwich, which strengthens his body and fuels his anger, and at his patent leather shoes is the crumpled paper cup from the café Cubano he drank, which quickens his heart. I do not have to see him. I just know he’s there, the way I know that legs on South Beach are long and tan, a six-dollar mojito will get you pretty drunk pretty fast, and ill will, even in Miami, cannot truly kill a man, because Castro has lived forever.
El Intransijente on Maria Elvira LIVE! Tonight
Our good friend Juan Amador from El Intransijente Restaurant will be on Maria Elvira's show tonight (conveniently at 8:00 PM right before my show at 9) discussing travel to Cuba. Get show information here, and tune in.