May 12, 2008
Taking a leak and Fulbright Fellowships
It just goes to prove that if one wants to win a "prestigious" award from some entity of the "intelligentsia" one need only be a greyscale writer that shits on his or her own, with the keen ability to stir said shit simply to foment divisive anger, while ignorig the obvious truths if not obfuscating same. Oe must also have a penchant for disliking his or her heritage, while accepting all criticism of same as gospel.
To wit, a leaked Miami Herald memo I just received:
We have some bittersweet news: Metro Columnist Ana Menendez is the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship - one of the most prestigious awards anywhere, which means Ana will be leaving us for one year to teach American Studies at the American University in Cairo.Ana - a gifted writer, reporter and terrific ambassador for our newspaper - has long sought an opportunity to spend more time in the Mideast to research her Lebanese roots. The Fulbright will allow her, as she says, a chance to feed her passion for teaching students and researching.
When she returns, Ana will move into a new role as an international correspondent, focusing on Latin America. This means we will be looking for a Metro columnist, among the best, most important and powerful job in journalism.
It goes without saying that we will miss Ana: she has been the voice of the underdog. Her columns have gotten living wages for hundreds of service workers at the University of Miami and Florida International University, documented the hypocrisy of U.S. immigration policy toward Haitians and exposed the hypocrisy of city politicians, even exiles who lobbied for a company doing business with Cuba.
And along the way she has had a lot of fun: she spent time with Millo Ochoa, the last original living of Cuba's progressive 1940s Constitution, goofed on the Miami Dolphins and Hurricanes football and, most recently, walked from 1 Herald Plaza to a Downtown restaurant for a column - a stunt that many of her readers said merited hazard pay.
Along the way Ana garnered several top national commentary awards: The Headliner, Greeneyeshade, SPJ, NAHJ columnist of the year and more.
Thank you Ana for your time, talent and smile.
Our ideal columnist is a street reporter, a schmoozer, the type of scribe who gets the rich and the poor to share their secrets. The column demands concise writing -- you have 18.5 inches ... accuracy, credibility and fairness. We want a columnist who holds the powerful accountable, speaks for the voiceless and appreciates the splendor of this amazing place called South Florida.
The candidate can operate in English and Spanish, understands our region, neighborhoods, political and cultural differences and has a proven track record of journalistic success.
If you are interested, see Manny and Anders
Cairo, eh? Do they require Burkhas over there?
And seriously, notice how there's no mention in the Herald reporter's job requirement for "truth?" As in, ability to report same?
Two Foreigners on Free Trade
The Governator and Commerce Secretary Gutierrez advocate for free trade in this Wall Street Journal Editorial:
On Colombia:
Unfortunately, Congress has scuttled a vote on the first of the three FTAs, the Colombia agreement. Who gets hurt by this? American workers. Why? Because open trade provides more markets for the products they make, and because Congress has already given Colombian exporters duty-free access to the American market for more than 16 years. In the 538 days since the agreement was finalized, American exports have faced more than $1 billion in Colombian tariffs. All the FTA with Colombia does is provide American goods the same access Congress already gives Colombia.
A Free Trade Agreement with Colombia also has the added advantage of helping strengthen our strongest ally in the area. Turning Colombia into a Cubazuelan satellite is a high priority for Hugo Chavez as we have learned from the recent information being extracted from the hard drives recovered in the Colombian Army’s attack on the FARC terrorists who had fled to their Ecuadorian sanctuary where FARC second in command Raul Reyes was killed.
By choosing not to bring the FTA with Colombia to a vote, House Speaker Pelosi is aiding and abetting Chavez and the FARC by weakening Colombia. Denying Colombian businesses access to US markets and thus denying Colombian President Alvaro Uribe some much needed support, helps to strengthen Chavez’s and the FARC’s influence in the region and diminish the United State’s.
Read The WSJ Op ed here
We Need More Domestic Oil--So Let's Face Facts
In the early 1960s the law of supply and demand greatly irked Cuba's “minister of the economy” Ernesto “Che” Guevara. “No problemo!” he decided one fine morning. I'll simply abolish it by creating a “new man,” with these insufferable Cubans as my Guinea Pigs.
The world's intelligentsia applauded deliriously as 14,000 Cubans were murdered by firing squad, 77,000 drowned or were ripped apart by sharks attempting to flee Guevara's whim, and half a million were herded into political prisons and forced labor camps at bayonet point. (All of this out of a Cuban population of 6.5 million meaning that Castro and Che's political incarceration rate topped Stalin's.)
And wouldn't you know it? After years of this glorious effort, cheered by everyone from Jean Paul Sartre to George Mc Govern and from Norman Mailer to Michael Moore, that doggone law of supply and demand held firm, while Cuba's per capita income (surpassing half of Europe's in the 1950s) plummeted to nudge Haiti's.
For fear of oil spills, as of 2008, the U.S. federal government and various states ban drilling in thousands upon thousands of square miles off the U.S. coast. These areas, primarily on the outer Continental Shelf, hold an estimated 115 billion barrels of oil and 633 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. This leaves America's energy needs increasingly at the mercy of foreign autocrats, despots, and maniacs. All the while worldwide demand for oil ratchets ever and ever upward.
At times you'd swear that Che Guevara's bloody lesson (not to mention Lenin, Mao, and Pol Pot's) has yet to sink in. Barack Obama, for instance, recently proposed a “windfall profits” tax on oil companies. Such "hope" that more federal looting of oil producers will lower prices is not "audacious", it is simply idiotic.
And that's only part of the idiocy. For those who favor evidence over dogma, a lesson in the “environmental perils” of offshore oil drilling presents itself every bit as starkly, though much less murderously. To wit: Of the roughly 3,700 offshore oil productions platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, roughly 3,200 lie off the Louisiana coast. Yet Louisiana produces one-third of America's commercial fisheries and no major oil spill has ever soiled its coast.
On the other hand, Florida ,which zealously prohibits offshore oil drilling, had its gorgeous “Emerald Coast” panhandle beaches soiled by an ugly oil spill in 1976.
Hey buddy, can you spare a dime?
Cuba's official response to President's Bush's videoconference last week with dissidents has just been released. Via the AP:
Cuba: Bush chat with dissidents a 'show'59 minutes ago
HAVANA (AP) — Cuba on Monday dismissed a videoconference between President Bush and three key dissidents as a stunt to bolster the U.S. leader's low approval ratings, claiming there would be no political opposition on the island without funding from Washington.
The Communist Party newspaper Granma called the May 6 conversation between Bush, two Cuban activists and the wife of a noted political prisoner, "a show to bolster the image of a dead man who cannot be resurrected."
"Time is running out for Bush while Cuba reaffirms its socialist course," said the article.
The conversation between a sitting U.S. president and Cuban opposition leaders on the island was unprecedented and only possible because the dissidents gathered at the offices of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana to participate.
But it took Cuba's government six full days to respond formally, saying in the article that "the conversation was a palpable confirmation of the congenital servility of the counterrevolution."
It called Michael Parmly, head of the interests section, which the U.S. maintains here instead of an embassy, "an imperial sergeant," and said the dissidents used the call to ask Bush for money.
"Without dollars there is no counterrevolution," it said.
A day after speaking with dissidents, Bush gave a speech saying new Cuban President Raul Castro has made only "empty gestures at reform."
There's a couple of lines there that I would like to address.
First:
Time is running out for Bush while Cuba reaffirms its socialist course.
Of course President Bush's time is running out, numbskulls. The system of government in the US is called a representative DEMOCRACY and certain electees, especially the President - el lider maximo, el comandante in chief - must abide by term limits. That way, the country grows and changes and progresses along with each new administration and doesnt remain stagnant and stuck in yesteryear and in infinite deterioration because of the whims of one megalomaniacal festering fool.
And of course this little ditty:
Without dollars there is no counterrevolution.
Im absolutlely sure my email inbox must be ablaze with incomings titled "You see!!! Without dollars there is no counter-revolution!" Which will read "Lift the embargo and restrictions right now!!!! The counterrevolution needs the CASH!!!!"
To which I respond: CONSIDER THE SOURCE, folks. Or, as my old man would say "Te cojieron de atras p'alante! Comemierda!"
For the Cuban regime to make such a statement means that it is probably real close, I mean really really really close, to actually dropping to its knees and BEGGING for cash.
I now fully expect to see uniformed Cuban officials on street corners in here in Miami with a handful of newspaper in one hand and a bottle of diluted Windex in the other, begging to wash windshields of stopped cars for spare change.
Oh but the HEALTHCARE!!!!!
Le ronca los timbales, folks. Remember those free transgender operations promised a few weeks ago back in Cuba? Well, it seems they are becoming a reality and - much to the relief of those waiting for said operations, Im sure - they will be performed by Belgian doctors.
All the sins of the past miraculously forgiven as Reinaldo Arenas spins in his grave.
Cigar Mike's Sermon on the Mound
Happy Monday infidels. Yesterday I completed my 43rd trip around the sun and spent the time driving through the Everglades and then watching the Marlins beat the Nats to sweep the weekend series. Can you believe it? The Fish have the best record in baseball as of 5/12.
In any event, seeing my 9 year old son becoming a baseball nut (he’s already a basketball fanatic) is special. He watches the games with his Grandpa when he’s there and at home, he watches the games with me (since I don’t watch anything else on TV during baseball season).
He’s memorized the players on all the teams. And like his father did many solar trips ago, he checks the daily sports page to see the standings and box scores. Of course, he also checks the internet too (something I did not have in the 1970’s).
Baseball surely has a way of bringing fathers and sons together. As a child, my home was unique when it came to baseball. My grandfather was a fan of the Reds and Dodgers. My dad was a die hard Mets fan. And I, a die hard Pittsburgh Pirate fan and a big time fanatic of Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell. I got hooked on the Pirates during the 1971 season when they won the Series.
It was Clemente that made me a Pirate fan and I remained one until the Marlins came into town in the 1990’s.
Before there was cable, there was the Game of the Week, and I would always check the paper to see if the Pirates’ game was going to be broadcast; that was the special game. But even if there was no Pirate game, Saturday afternoons were the time to watch baseball. Even if I was watching the old Orioles or Red Sox, or Yanks, you always knew the players. And if your team didn’t make it (man I suffered in the 1970’s when the Bucs would lost to the Dodgers and Reds in the playoffs, until 1979 when the We Are Family Pirates won it in 7 games against the O’s with Willie hitting the game winning HR). So as you could imagine, I would have to root against the team that beat the Bucs; so I’d root for the Red Sox and the Yankees in those World Series games of the 1970’s. I was a huge Luis Tiante fan. Loved the way he pitched. I’m surprised we don’t hear much about him down here. He was one of the last old school Cuban players.
Still, things are not the same today. It was hard explaining to my son why Mike Lowell is now on the Red Sox. Except now my son likes the Red Sox too because of Lowell He is following the Tigers cause Willis and Cabrera are on the team. . In my day, it was more team loyalty; now I guess it’s player loyalty. There’s still no substitute for the summer pastime. Although I do miss the old Sunday double-headers. Back in the mid 1980’s while in NY one summer, for less than $10 a ticket, a group of us got a row of tickets at Shea to see the Mets play. Rode the train to the park in Queens and spent an entire day there drinking beer and watching baseball.
Nothing will ever match being at Game 7 in 1997 though. I was in Boston and had season tickets but never expected the Fish to make it to the series. My partner in the tix got games 1 and 2 and I got games 6 and 7. My inlaws got to go to game 6 which I watched in a Boston pub. When the Fish lost that game, I called Delta to get an earlier flight out to see Game 7. That was to this day the most thrilling sports moment for me. Even more exciting than the Fins winning Superbowl 7 and 8. That’s baseball.
But so much has changed. As kids, we used to play baseball in the street. Sometimes, one-on-one ball. That was fun. You had invisible players on the bases (usually a mailbox, a rock, etc.). The batter would self pitch and you being the only fielder had to put him out.
Too dangerous to play that now-a-days. Heck, we played without any supervision and we were 7 year olds. Kids today have no time to play for fun. Everything’s an organized league now; and that’s if you have time to play. The no child left behind nonsense (more government overkill) has the kids today being bombarded with so much homework, that they have no time to play. You pick one sport and that’s it. No time for more.
Heck, when I was 9, I’d get home from school, watch the 3 Stooges and Bugs Bunny cartoons for a few hours, then play for a few hours with the neighborhood kids. Finally, I’d do about an hour of homework and we’d do fine. We turned out ok. Now there’s so much overkill with the homework and the stupid FCAT, there’s no time for social interaction anymore. No time to have fun and be a kid. But there’s always baseball.
See you out at the ballpark infidels.
A Long Short Week
It's the Monday before Cuba Nostalgia and thus it's officially crunch time. Weeks of preparations officially turn into a frantic three days of running around and tying loose ends beginning today. I hope you all in the South Florida area will come on by and spend a few hours at the event, enjoy some great food and festivities, excellent music, and of course, swing by the Babalu booth and hang out with us for a spell. If youre not in South Florida, I hope you all have made plans to take a quick trip down Miami way this coming weekend. You get to visit your family - every Cuban has family in Miami - and you get to visit your Babalu family as well.
And, if you havent signed the petition for the realease of Cuba's political prisoners, please do so. You can sign it right here. Dont forget to pass the link along.
The time is NOW
It is no surprise that the recent edicts proclaimed by the great and munificent Cuban prince, raul, has prompted another barrage of “now is the time to end the embargo” articles and editorials. To these proponents who have been calling for its end for years, however, it seems that now is a moment in time that exists in perpetuity. If nothing is happening in Cuba, now is the time to end the embargo. If something is happening in Cuba, now is the time to end the embargo.
No matter what time it is, now is the time to end the embargo.
As I read this editorial in Worcester, Massachusetts’s Telegram, I was drawn in by the first sentence:
Cuba remains politically unfree, but the hints of economic liberalization under President [r]aul [c]astro could be the beginning of an awakening of that island nation from its long communist nightmare.
Wow—an admission that Cuba is actually “politically unfree,” and that it is suffering from a “long communist nightmare.” Not your typical fare when it comes to “now is the time to end the embargo” editorials. But alas, by the fourth sentence we are told that the US can help “accelerate” the arrival of freedom in Cuba by lifting its embargo on trade and travel to the island. It is an embargo, we are told by this editorial, borne of outdated cold war policies and one that was imposed after a very embarrassing moment in US history.
The embargo was imposed in February 1962, after the Bay of Pigs debacle. In a world polarized between the U.S. and Soviet Union, cutting off trade with Cuba may have held some reasonable hope for influencing the policies of the Castro regime.
Actually, the embargo was enacted in 1960 by President Eisenhower in response to the regime’s illegal expropriation of property owned by US interests. A theft, by the way, which has yet to be resolved.
But these facts matter little to the “now is the time to end the embargo” crowd. No matter what the regime does, the important thing they want us to know is that now is the time to end the embargo. The regime beats and jails peaceful demonstrators? Now is the time to end the embargo. The regime allows the population to buy cell phones? Now is the time to end the embargo.
No matter what happens—good, bad, criminal, heinous—the time is now.
Perhaps now would be a good time for them to end their embargo on intellectual honesty.
The sin of omission
I received this email today from Babalu commenter, Mandingo.
Folks,I just recently found out that in about a week (May 16) there is going to be a major exhibit at the famous Museum of the City of New York pertaining to the history of Catholic New York City between the years 1800 to 1946.
When I saw this I was overjoyed because I knew that the accomplishments of Father Felix Varela would finally be showcased to an ignorant American public. Being very proud of my Cuban American heritage I am always trying to tell non Cubans of our history, and how Cubans have always loved the United States and have fought for American ideals such as freedom, enterprise, and hard work.
As you know, Father Varela is not a forgotten individual who lived and died a long time ago. To us Cubans, - Cuban Americans, he is a symbol of what one man could do for his native country, his adoptive country of refuge, for personal freedom, for the downtrodden (the Irish and Italian immigrants), and for the spirit - he is one of the first Cuban American success stories - the model or prototype of what we as a people would become.
So important was Father Varela that he was named Vicar General of the Diocese of New York in 1837, he founded churches, schools, and orphanages, he fought for the human rights of Irish Catholic immigrants amongst his other accomplishments, like being a champion of Cuban independence from the cruel Spanish crown. Valera has also had schools named after him, a statue of him can be seen in the China Town church where he preached, a United States postage stamp has been issued to commemorate him, and currently he is being examined for possible sainthood by the Roman Catholic Church! Like Jose Marti, the man was a great figure in the annals of Cuban and American history!
So it bought me great pain when Alyson Cluck, the Communications Associate of the Museum of the City of New York wrote to me and said:
"Unfortunately there won't be anything in the exhibition specifically about Felix Varela."
So, whether you are Catholic or not, I think someone, or a group of us should raise this issue with the museum, the administrators, the curators, and maybe with the Dioceses of New York. The very fact that an exhibition that features Catholic New York would happen, and that it would ignore the great accomplishments of Varela is a shame and an outrage.
After reading the brief about the exhibition on the museum's website, and the article in the New York Sun it looked to me like all the praise had gone to the Irish and Italians. This is not right and something needs to be done to expose the blatant chauvinism displayed by our Gaelic brothers and sisters. I hope the curators were just ignorant and forget Varela and I pray this is not another form of Irish American discrimination against Spanish surnamed individuals (something that they do very well, and I have experienced first hand).
Also there is a companion book to the exhibition called Catholics in New York: Society, Culture, and Politics, 1808-1946 (Hardcover) by Terry Golway (Editor). In the book and possibly in the exhibit he
writes about Catholic social worker Dorothy Day...Day was basically a socialist (anarchist communist really) Catholic who was called a "servant of God" by Pope John Paul II and like Varela is currently being examined for sainthood. However if you Google "Dorothy Day + Cuba" you will find out a darker side to her alleged holiness. Yes, Day was an ardent supporter and admirer of the Cuban Revolution and Fidel Castro!
Now, wouldn't it be a shame if the NYC Catholic exhibit praises a horrible Castro sympathizer like Day and totally forgets a saintly former NYC citizen, Cuban freedom fighter like Varela?
Folks, lets not let this one get away.
Regards to all and God bless!
PS
Here are some email address for the NYC Museum if you care to write:
c/o Susan Henshaw Jones, President and Director
info@mcny.org
pressoffice@mcny.org
May 11, 2008
Obama: Meeting With castro Is Not A Privilege That Has To Be Earned By Him.
I don't know where to start in telling you about this article from the Trinidad Express. I'll try to just give the highlights.
It begins with the title, Cuba in the 'politics of change,' Look out for Obama-Castro meeting... by alerting the reader to an Obama-castro meeting, should Obama become president, and then rails on President Bush for insulting the Cuban regime in last week's speech, comparing his demand for free and democratic elections as a farce since he was never democratically elected in 2000. The article's author, one Mr. or Ms. Rickey Singh, then mocks Bush for telling castro to release Cuba's political prisoners when the United States is responsible for "gross human rights violations" in Guantanamo. (These prisoners, it should be noted, are not there for writing articles against the US government, they are there because they are terrorists, but I suppose that is not of any consequence.)
The author points out that requiring voter ID for the elections means "serious negative consequence for Democratic voters, especially of the Black American and Hispanic communities, according to reports in leading US media," and then quotes Nancy Pelosi as saying: "The court's decision places obstacles to the fundamental right, especially the poor, the elderly and individual with disabilities, to participate in the electoral process..."
Is it me or do other people not understand how requiring voters to show proof of who they are when they cast a vote for the President of the United States (or for anyone) not to be an obstacle to the right to vote? Are there that many people in this country who do not have a driver's license, their voter's card, or any other form of valid and acceptable identification? If it truly is a problem, then the Democrat and Republican groups can assist their registered voters to procure the necessary id, just like they help to get them registered to vote. But in Indiana, where the law exists, the" Democratic party and civil rights groups have failed to identify a single individual in Indiana whose right to vote was hurt by the law," per U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement.
But getting back to the title of the article, Mr./Ms. Singh explains that while Hillary Clinton wants to see if Cuba will have made any changes before she decides to have talks with the regime, if she is elected, that Obama plans to "move quickly" toward establishing direct talks with castro. Obama is quoted:
"If we (presidential candidates) think that meeting with the Cuban President(sic) is a privilege that has to be earned (by him), I think that reinforces the sense that we stand above the rest of the world..."
Another anti-American quote by the man who won't wear the American flag pin because he wants his actions to show his patriotism and whose wife was never proud of her country until her husband ran for president.
You can read the whole arroz con mango HERE
Gracias, Madres.
They carry us inside for almost a whole year.
They give birth to us through incomprehensible pain.
Then they spend the next 20 or so years feeding us, clothing us, keeping us clean, making sure we brush our teeth and wash behind the ears. They nurse fevers and flus, clean blood scraped knees and mend egos. They teach us how to speak, help us learn to walk and make sure we have clean underwear. They're always there with breakfast and they make us sit straight while eating dinner. They pack lunches, take us to practice, and answer our stupid questions.
They do all of those things for us and and so much much more and then, they watch us leave. Whether it's off to college or to our own marriage or simply to find our own way in life, there comes a time in their lives when they watch as the fruits of their labor venture into the very same world they have been protecting us from.
Some mothers watch their children make all the wrong decisions. Some mothers watch their children go off to war. Some mothers watch as their children venture off to distant lands, perhaps risking their lives in the process, searching, maybe, for the one thing their mothers were never able to afford them: freedom.
Today, when you spend time with your own mom, amid flowers and gifts, siblings and grandchildren, run your fingers through her perfectly coiffed hair. She wont mind. Take in her freckles and wrinkles and maybe that little beauty mark she's always had. Smile as you remember her in the kitchen, donning fashions from the sixties, or seventies or eighties, whipping up bacon and eggs on the fly. Remember that you never had a better meal than one she made for you, never had an ailment she didn't cure, never heard advice that wasn't good. Look into your mom's eyes today and behind the happiness they exude, remember that behind those eyes are years of wisdom and sacrifice. Thank her, right then and there, for this beautiful life she has given her all to give you. Hug her like there's no tomorrow.
And today, along with your mom, say a prayer for those moms whose children are away in distant lands fighting a war. Say a prayer for those moms whose children gave their all for their county. Say a prayer for those moms in Cuba, whose children may have left their side seeking freedom, risking their lives on rickety rafts, never to be heard from again. Say a prayer for those moms who are separated from their children by 90 miles of ocean and fifty years of ideology and lies.
Say a prayer for all those moms that have passed on and the families they left behind.
Mother's Day isn't just about flowers and perfumes and chocolates for mothers. It's about thanking the most perfect and selfless of human beings: Mom.
May 10, 2008
Raul's Crocodile Tears
(Cross-posted from 26th Parallel, with an added Babalu-only bonus at the end of the post).
Raul Martinez is upset that Radio Mambi programming director Armando Perez-Roura doesn't like him too much and isn't shy about it. The Herald has the scoop here.
Grow up, Mr. Mayor. Last time I checked, radio commentators had the right to express their opinions on issues and political candidates. Not everybody has to like what they have to say, but a veteran politico such as Martinez can't be serious when he claims that he's upset that Radio Mambi commentators are critical of him.
Martinez claims that it's the unsubstantiated attacks on him that he's upset about, and that he hasn't been given "equal air time" to dispute the attacks. OK, I think radio commentators have a responsibility to not allow or encourage the broadcast of unsubstantiated attacks without an appropriate response. Martinez has a point there. But in the end, this is less about that and more about a fight for votes in an election where he rightly sees himself as the underdog. That's my feeling.
Should Radio Mambi have invited Martinez himself to appear on the show instead of Alberto Milian? Perhaps, but Milian is an intelligent and influential person in South Florida politics. He's no slacker. Martinez himself called into the show a few days later, and I have seen and heard him numerous times on local TV and radio, more so than his opponent Lincoln Diaz-Balart.
My conclusion to all this is that Raul is whining because he's no longer the big shot mayor who ruled over Hialeah for many years. He can no longer run around and sucker-punch and verbally insult constituents anymore. He's running for a bigger prize, and with that comes the occasional pot shots and accusations that, whether in good taste or not, are part of the game that Raul Martinez has known and played all too well.
Raul Martinez: cry me a river.
Discriminating Communists?
The Miami Herald has published an article which claims that the AP obtained an internal report from the Cuban Central Bank, (read Fidel and Raúl’s private piggy bank), that was distributed to Cuba’s communist party members, urging the regime “to gradually unify the island's two parallel currencies and cut back on ''indiscriminate'' subsidies.”
The leaked document is a work of genius in that it states the obvious: Something’s got to give.
The double currency system, one of (f)idel’s brain children, is causing social unease and class divisions in the egalitarian socialist paradise, just like (f)idel’s other schemes, because that is exactly what they were designed to do. They were engineered to line the (c)astro nostra family’s pockets and keep the Cuban population isolated, penniless, demoralized and always looking for their next meal.
The new pragmatic and collegial regime is more interested in keeping its profit margins; something that it cannot do if it doesn’t keep motivating its captive workforce. The Cuban worker, after fifty years of communism, knows all too well that putting their best efforts forward in the workplace will not garner any benefits and have modified their work ethic accordingly.
And so, the Central Bank has to raise this red flag, more like a white flag, really, because once again, it has to admit that the regime’s policies and purported ideology have been defeated by the very free market laws that has been “heroically resisting” for 50 years. Yet another surrender in the battle of ideas.
One way to motivate the workforce is to give workers more buying power by strengthening the monopoly money that Cubans get paid in-the Peso. The problem is, this would cut into (r)aúl’s profit margin unless productivity is simultaneously increased. Productivity can only be increased if workers are rewarded according to their contributions to a final product or service. This “capitalist, imperial” practice would force the employer, (the regime-(r)aúl), to be “discriminate” on compensation. After all, paying the same amount to an employee that produces less amounts to a subsidy to that employee.
The regime has already laid the groundwork for this by eliminating the “ceiling” to wages a Cuban can legally earn and by legitimizing foreign companies to give Cubans stipends-over and above what the regime pays them-as long as they pay taxes.
Other “indiscriminate subsidies” also include the rationed food items available through the “libreta” and the so called “free” education and healthcare.
In order to be discriminate in distributing these “subsidies”, the regime would also need to adopt the discriminating practices of the free market system in which subsidies are given to needy individuals based on income eligibility. Like food stamps, student financial aid and Medicare.
So it is foreseeable to see the Cuban regime adopt many of the discriminate and un-egalitarian practices that it has “heroically resisted” over the last 50 years in order to save (r)aúl & co.’s cash flow.
Pajamas Media on Yoani Sanchez
Last week I wrote a column for Pajamas Media about Yoani Sanchez and the REAL changes that are going on in Cuba. Today they published it. Read it here, and if you haven't bookmarked Pajamas Media then make sure you do.
Petition for the Release of Cuba´s Political Prisoners
I highly recommend you all take a little of your time, go here, and browse through the signatures, and the comments left on the petition. Doing so will bring tears to your eyes as you read through the names and countries of residence. I have to wonder why so many U.S. residents chose to sign anonymously, while those on the island, facing real risk, bravely sign their names. Perhaps their motivation comes from the very real fact displayed by Cubans for the last 50 years--that faced with subjugation and tyranny, there is nothing left to lose save life itself, and signing an internet petition is a piece of cake compared to crossing the shark infested waters of the Florida Strait on a piecemeal raft. Or maybe it´s just taking advantage of this rare opportunity to take visible action. The minute they sign, it becomes in international record of dissent, and no amount of post-signing repression by the regime can remove the signatures from the public record.
You also have to notice and appreciate their bravery. It seems to me that this proves Cuban's readiness to take action when given the tools to do so.
One commenter heartbreakingly asks, ¨What have we done to the world, for the world to ignore our plight?
End the silence; if you have not yet done so, please sign the petition by clicking here.
There is no litmus test attached to this petition beyond common human decency. If you believe that mankind is born with the inalienable right to be free, and that imprisonment for the exercise of that right is a violation of Human Rights, then please sign the petition.
I got chills reading the list of countries represented by the signers, from Argentina to Zimbabwe, a sampling:
Austria, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ireland, Italy, Israel, Peru, Puerto Rico, Qater, Germany, Poland, Spain, and on and on. Besides the brave Cubans signing, I saw a lone signature from China...imagine.
As Val said:
One million signatures may not force the Cuban government in and of itself to release Cuba's political prisoners. But, one million signatures may be a giant step in exposing the reality of Cuba's human rights violations to the world and especially to those who simply have refused to acknowledge said reality.A number of human rights groups, organizations, and institutions have come together in support of a petition calling for the release of Cuba's political prisoners. The text of said petition is short, concise and to the point:
The Cuban Government is currently holding more than 220 political prisoners according to Amnesty International, the Cuban Committee for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, and Reporters Without Borders. These prisoners are illegally held in prison according to the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which Cuba has signed and recognizes. Despite signing these documents, Cuba continues to suppress freedom of expression by outlawing peaceful advocacy for human rights and democratic reforms. In defiance of the universally-recognized rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly, Cuban activists are systematically targeted for persecution.I am asking each and every one of you to please sign this petition.
You may not agree with everything we publish here on this blog or may not agree with all the opinions expressed herein, but I know that on this we share common ground. Sign the petition. Grab that URL and paste it onto and email and send it to everyone in your mailbox. Print it out and pass it around. Sign it, send it, and spread it.
Yes, we all know what Human Rights organizations have not done for Cuba. We all know that the number they cite, (220) is absurd--the entire population of Cuba is held captive; some just have better living quarters. This is about forcing public opinion to take notice, and putting pressure on the regime.
Cubans on the island are signing, surely, we can all take a minute of our time to click on the link and follow their example. Do it for them, do it for Cuba. Sign here in English, y en español aquí.
May 09, 2008
More people to people contacts
Here's some more footage of that democracy-building tourism in Cuba, this time from our friends in Canada. The strategy here is to bring human rights to the imprisoned island through talent shows at tourist resorts. I'm quite sure raul castro is nervous about the destabilizing force that fat drunken Cannucks pose.
Vargas Llosa on (c)astro
"The hopes awakened by the Cuban revolution have not been realized,"
So says Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa, as quoted in today’s Sun-Sentinel on-line edition.
He is also quoted as saying:
"Cuba is today a poorer country, with huge inequalities between the lives of the nomenclature, tourists and the average Cuban."
Yes, Cuba is much poorer that it was in 1959. And it is the ONLY country in this hemisphere that doesn’t hold multi-party elections.
This being a presidential election year, it reminds me of the “misery index”
Ever since Jimmy Carter ran for President way back in 1976 and started using the phrase “misery index” the phrase pops up every four years. The candidates always ask are you better off now than four years ago?
In Cuba’s case, the question is are you better off than 49 years ago. If all of a sudden Cuba would embrace the free market system, it would probably take 10 to 15 years to get to where the country was in 1959.
That’s some “misery index”!
This is ultimately how (c)astro will be judged by history. Acording to Vargas Llosa there will be NO absolution for the tyrant as he wonce promised, but then again the only promise he ever kept was not to shave until he fullfilled the promise of good government:
"I don't think history will absolve him, instead it will show that Fidel Castro was the continuation of a long caudillo tradition that has done so much harm in Latin America,"
And nowhere in the story is there a line telling us about the free education and health care.
Read it Here.
CAMBIO
Alberto de la Cruz is one year old!
AlbertodelaCruz.com, that is. The real Alberto is slightly older.
It was a year ago today that my friend Alberto started his blog and entered the blogosphere to inform those "not in the know" about Cuba. His blog has always been a collection of heartfelt, passionately written essays in a style I recognize by reading just one line. His passion for a free Cuba is even more noteworthy when you realize that he is the first of his family to have been born in the US.
I have been privileged to call Alberto my friend for many years, but this past year I consider it to be an honor as I witness how he reaches people through his blog and through Babalu, where he was asked to contribute last fall.
He's my "go to guy" for anything I need help with and I am very proud of him for jumping into the fray and sharing his talent.
Please help me to congratulate Alberto on this milestone!
May 08, 2008
Bolivian congress passes recall vote resolution
AFP has the details on the Bolivian congress' move to hold a referendum on the rule of Evo Morales.
The tide is starting to turn on these Marxists.
Hat Tip: Abajo Fidel
Look Who's in Charge of the Hen House
We've all come across it, the mind-boggling ignorance of many Americans when it comes to Cuba, or even worse yet outright lies about the socialist paradise. It should not come as a surprise when we see the people shaping American perception. Columbia University President Lee Bollinger has appointed John Coatsworth as dean of Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs. Mr. Coatsworth once discussed the management of the Cuban economy and its relations to the Soviet Union in the 1980's in the following terms:
The benefits of this strategy were impressive," Mr. Coatsworth wrote, citing, "rising standards of living in a society characterized by a high degree of equality and universal access to employment, basic nutrition, housing, education and medical care." When the Soviet Union ceased to exist, he wrote, "Cuba confronted an economic catastrophe roughly equivalent to what would occur in the rest of Latin America if the U.S. government were suddenly to impose an economic embargo on trade and investment in the Western Hemisphere.
Any doubts as to where and how firm the ground on which this worthy gentleman stands? Read the article in the New York Sun in which "experts" from Otto Reich to Jaime Suchlicki to Mark Falcoff voice their objections. Shameful.
Peer Pressure from Marta's Cuban American Kitchen
It’s Thursday.
Thursdays mean I should be posting a tasty Cuban recipe here at Babalú.
I apologize in advance.
There’s no recipe today.
Thanks to all the (positive) peer pressure I’ve received here, I’m happy, pleased, proud, excited, and a little humbled to announce . . .
My. Big. Fat. Cuban. Family. COOKBOOK!
I’ll have a limited amount to sell (and sign!) at Cuba Nostalgia, or you can just click on the link below.
I am sooo “sandpapering myself” right now. =D
Join us for CubaNostalgia
CubaNostalgia, in its tenth year, the premier Cuban event outside of Cuba, is a journey back in time for those who remember the island’s glamorous times – and for those who never experienced them. There will be live Cuban exhibits, artists and vendors, traditional Cuban foods, and of course music.
We at BabaluBlog are proud to once again be an exhibitor at CubaNostalgia, especially in this anniversary year. There's lots of reasons to come out and join us:
1. You'll get a chance to meet us and we'll get a chance to meet you, in the real world.
2. We'll be having special guests including authors such as Jaime Suchlicki, Alejandro Lorenzo, David Landau, and Kay Abella
3. Ana Menendez doesn't want you to.
4. We may be joined by some of our elected officials.
5. It'll be fun.
Here's the days and hours of the festival:
Friday, May 16, 2008: 11am – 11pm
Sat, May 17, 2008: 11am – 11pm
Sun, May 18, 2008: 11am – 10pm
We have no problem asking our reader's to pitch in and help out when someone is in need but we hate to ask for money to put together projects like Cuba Nostalgia. However, there is simply no way we could do it without your generosity. So we humbly put out the hat and ask if you could toss a few bucks in.
Cuba Solidarity Day - May 21st, 2008
Here are the graphics I promised last night for the Global Cuba Solidarity Day project:
This is another project we should all get behind - despite our differing opinions on certain issues. The more events planned for that day in solidarity with the Cuban people and the dissident movement, the better. Please consider putting together an event in your neck of the woods - be it a small gathering of friends and family at your homes or a public display of solidarity, peaceful march, candlelight vigil, etc...All events, once recorded at the Cuba Solidarity day site, will be mapped and displayed for all to see.
Id love to see this image and link displayed on all our blogs and webpages, aong with a link and call to sign the petition for the release of Cuba's political prisoners.
Cigar Mike Discovers America
And now it's time for my latest installment of Cigar Mike discovers America. The last few weeks I've taken you to my favorite place in the world, the American Southwest. Don't worry, I have more pics from there which I will post in the next few weeks. But I decided today to take you to one of my other favorite places in the world, the great state of Maine. For our readers who live out in New England, I'm sure you've made that 2 hour drive from Boston to Maine along the coastal US-1.
The Maine coast is an amazing place. From Bar Harbor on the north end through Kittery on the South end. If you are a lighthouse buff like I am, there are more along the Maine coast than anywhere in the United States.
On the northern part of the state where Bar Harbor is, lies Acadia National Park. One of the most amazing places to visit especially during peak foilage. It is literally a painter's palette of fall colors. Somewhere in between the two ends of the state is Portland, Maine. Portland is a must stop for three main objectives: 1) the Portland Head Lighthouse (pictured here); 2) The Cape Elizabeth Lighthouse; and 3) Lobster Rolls at the Lobster Shack in Cape Elizabeth. But if you only had one thing to see in Portland, then the Portland Head Lighthouse is the place to go. This was the first lighthouse commissioned by the newly formed United States of America by his Excellency, President George Washington.
The coastal area rumbles with ferocity of the North Atlantic and one is simply mesmerized watching the waves crash along the rocks. The lighthouse itself has been painted and photographed for hundreds of years by artists and provides a beautiful anchor to the Maine Landscape whether in fall, in the snow of winter, or during the busy summer tourist season.
What's especially awesome about coastal Maine, is that you can drive the entire state while listening to James Taylor and when the scenery is done, you can sit back anywhere and eat lobster until you drop. You can pretty much plan out your trips to visit the various lighthouses during the best light. Spend a week there and you'll still miss some of the lights.
So there you have it infidels. I'm now off to the west coast of Florida once again. See you all out in the field while we rediscover America.
The Petition - Day Two
If you havent already, please sign the Petition for the Release of Cuba's Political Prisoners. It only takes a minute of your time to voice your support for men and women languishing in Cuba's prisons simply for expressing their thoughts and opinions.
And please, tell everyone you know about the petition and ask them for their support as well. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, this isnt about political parties, elections, embargoes and remittances - things and issues I know we dont always agree on. This is solely and simply about voicing your support and letting the world know that we demand the release of all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in Cuba.
Whodathunkit?
Allow me to be a bit prosaic, as my mom would say:
Who would have thought that the Cuban with the biggest, baddest cojones would be a 32 year old, 100 lb Cubanita?
May 07, 2008
Salesmen of Old Havana
I found this interesting and revealing documentary about Cuba on Youtube. It's called Salesmen of Old Havana and it follows three old men who make a living selling copies of Granma and Juventud Rebelde, along with other Revolutionary paraphernalia to tourists in Old Havana. Though they claim to be died-in-the-wool Revolutionaries and fidelistas we learn during the course of the documentary that what they do isn't legal. They have to go to newsstands and buy 2 copies of the newspaper (all they are allowed to buy) and make the line several times and get others to buy copies on their behalf. Then they can take a walk and peddle their wares. In the film they talk about how terrible life was before the Revolution and then you get to see how "wonderful" their lives are now.
The most revealing segment is part 2.
Related note: Similar slice of life in the L.A. Times. The author however is an idiot that doesn't understand that the terrible living conditions she describes are NOT the product of the idiotic dual currency system in Cuba that's only been around for 4 year, but rather the thousands of idiotic policies that have been put in place since 1959.
Yoani Sanchez Round-up
A lot of coverage out there for Yoani receiving Spain's Ortega y Gasset award in absentia:
El País in Spain, that's the newspaper that gives out the award.
Global Cuba Solidarity Day
As I mentioned on tonight's radio show, the Global Cuba Solidarity Day websites are up and running. You can check themout right here in English and here in Spanish.
The Global Cuba Solidarity Day project is a worldwide effort on May 21st to bring attention to the human rights abuses and violations in Cuba. From their website:
How can I take action on Cuba Solidarity Day?ORGANIZE a peaceful march or vigil in a public place! Use white t-shirts, candles, and posters and pass out information on Cuban political prisoners and on human rights violations in Cuba to members of your local community!
ENCOURAGE at least 10 other friends, colleagues, family members and neighbors to do the same!
MOBILIZE your community leaders – teachers, church ministers, political leaders, human rights organizations, and activists!
REACH OUT to local and international media and let them know why you are taking action!
SHOW your support for Cuba Solidarity Day through Facebook and MySpace!
Let’s demonstrate our support for Cuba’s political prisoners, respect for the Inter-American Democratic Charter, and the right of the Cuban people to choose their own destiny and live freely and peacefully! Join us as we call out in one voice to demand peace, freedom, and democracy on the island!
I hope you all will pass this along to everyone you know and get involved. Send them the petition link for the release of Cuba's political prisoners as well and have them pass these along to their people.
Ill have graphics and buttons tomorrow for those with blogs and websites that want to participate and promote this important project.
Man is not free to watch impassively the enslavement and dishonor of men, nor their struggles for liberty and honor.
Jose Marti
Bush: Cuban Changes Fall Short
President Bush is frequently criticized for not doing more to advance the cause for Cuban freedom. I tend to feel the same way because nothing has changed in regard to Cuban policy and the "Wet Foot/Dry Foot" policy still allows Cubans to perish at sea in order to get to US land. However, he has also kept the castro regime in the forefront by making frequent speeches, awarding Dr. Biscet the Presidental Medal of Freedom, and today, holding a teleconference with dissidents in Cuba (see Gusano's earlier post. ) So, when you look at it in terms of what past presidents have done, it certainly is more significant, although obviously "significant" is relative in this case. I suppose a gesture is better than nothing, and it cannot be denied that President Bush is making an effort to make sure the regime is recognized for what it is.
Today he echoed the frequently heard sentiment of the changes in Cuba made by raúl as "cosmetic." He also called the gestures "empty" and called on the castros to make democractic change and to go about it peacefully.
"Until there is a change of heart, and a change of compassion, and a change of how the Cuban government treats its people, there is no change at all," Bush said in a speech here to officials from North and South America... "If Cuba wants to join the community of civilized nations, then Cuban rulers must begin a process of peaceful and democratic change and the first step must be the release of all political prisoners.""
Condoleeza Rice "urged the government to remove the "fear factor" from political life by reining in the secret police." I don't doubt that if this AP story is read by the average American (which sadly, it won't be) there would be some head scratching: "Secret police? in Cuba?" But that is part of the entire problem that enables the regime to continue choking the life out of Cuba- the castros have worked so long and so hard to promote their propaganda and fidel has become such a superstar that the rest of the world tends to pooh-pooh the idea of repudiation squads, tyranny and other impossible to believe scenarios carried out by the regime. So, when you look at it this way, as a small gesture, it is at least something.
Whatever you feel about it, you can read the article here
