Blog Birthday
A child of five starts school, but a blog of the same age has already taken more daring steps. Today I am making an effort to remember that quiet and fearful woman, from before April 9, 2007, who created Generation Y. But I can’t. Her face disappears, dissolving among all the beautiful and difficult moments I’ve experienced since I posted my first text on the web. I can no longer imagine myself without this accidental and personal diary. I have the impression that I have always, in one way or another, been writing a blog. When the indoctrination and the injustice reached intolerable points, my childish head glossed the reality–from the fringes–in ways I could never say out loud. The evasive adolescent I became did the same thing: narrating her daily life, trying to explain it and trying to escape it.
The truth is that when I left home that morning to hang my virtual page on the Internet, I never could have imagined how much this action would transform me. Now, whenever the apprehension that the Cuban political police are “infallible” assaults me, I exorcise this thought by telling myself that “they didn’t know, that day, they couldn’t even guess that I would create this site.” What happened afterwards is already well known: the readers arrived and took over this space like citizens take over a public plaza; many others knocked on my door wanting help to create their own spaces of opinion; the first attacks appeared, as did the recognitions. Along the way I lost that 32-year-old mother who only spoke about “complicated issues” in a whisper, I misplaced the compulsive woman who barely knew how to debate or listen. This blog has been like experiencing — in the time and space of a single life — an infinity of parallel existences.
I have never again been able to walk the streets incognito. That gift of invisibility that I boasted of possessing fell by the wayside, between the hugs of those who recognized me and the attentive eyes of those whose job it is to watch me. I have paid an enormous personal and social price for these little vignettes of reality and yet I would do it again, taking my flash memory to the lobby of that hotel where I launched my inaugural post on the great world wide web.
Abril 15th, 2012 at 17:08
…and you are wrong about every society having carpenters, at least private carpenters. Working for yourself or having one more penny than your neighbors could get you killed under Mao or Pol Pot.
I know several Cubans who were denounced and arrested for making a bit of money on the side. Communists got away with a lot more and could get their houses fixed and they’re the ones who got all the new apartments.
The trouble is Fidel was in love with “pure socialism” as practiced by Mao and thought all “private enterprise” was evil. So while loyal to the Soviet Union who was paying his bills, he wasn’t as smart or practical as they were.
Abril 15th, 2012 at 16:54
Un Sori, it is because you lived in the richest part of the socialist world. Your part of the world wasn’t as “purely” socialist, especially after Khrushchev.
There was something of a middle class and a small business class and thriving black market in many Eastern European countries, like Czechoslovakia and Hungary. While Eastern Europe was becoming more liberal, Fidel was going the other way and destroyed Cuban small business during the 1960s.
Any type of private initiative by a non-communist could mean prison or being thrown out of work and having your rations cut. Being a communist meant a license to steal and exchange “favors” with politically reliable black marketeers. So most people just shut up and tried to survive on their rations while their houses crumbled around them.
You shouldn’t be surprised people starved to death in Cuba and that the country crumbled. You know that millions starved under Mao, Pol Pot, and Stalin. So why should Cuba surprise anyone? Especially after the Soviet Union cut off welfare.
Cubans are deeply scarred by Castro and now have zero initiative to work except in Cuba’s black market or pockets of legal private enterprise like tourism, or do nothing but wait for their next cash delivery from their family in Miami.
Abril 15th, 2012 at 14:33
Help… the more I listen to you guys… the more I have to believe you I guess… I don’t know I haven’t been there… but there is always a but … even at the end of communism in Eastern Europe no one had it so bed!! it was bad …. in winter especially because of the power cut… but you still could buy a bed or fridge …. So the question is how things can be so bad ..because fridges I am sure Venezuela and Brazil produce enough to export to Cuba…. Soemthing doesn’t add up somewhere! And to produce a bed is something every nation on this planet does.. and there are carpenters a lot in every society who can fix one! So how come??
Abril 15th, 2012 at 11:51
Un Sori, re: your reply to Freud. Yes, what you heard was mostly propaganda and people who believe it are ignorant. It’s not their fault, they just hear the Castro side of the story.
I have talked to enough Cuban old-timers to know that Cuba was no Haiti before the revolution. Most preferred Batista, even those who fought against him. Walk around Havana and you can see just how big the Cuban middle class was in those days.
I have a close friend whose father was a factory worker. He lives in the same modest family home, in those days a workers’ neighborhood.
In 1959 the house had running water, indoor plumbing, bathroom, kitchen, refrigerator, reliable electricity, and everybody ate well. There were two rooms, the children in one, the parents in the other, everybody in comfortable beds.
In 2012, it has none of these things, not even beds, just filthy mattresses on the floor. The stove rusted away and the frig stopped working and was thrown out decades ago. Then the roof of the kitchen caved in.
They haven’t had running water or a functioning toilet in 25 years. He has to haul in water and there is one big barrel for 4 generations to share their washing and bathe in. Some of the family starved to death during Castro’s “special period”.
There are several neighbors in this row house. One house is similarly crowded but the lady of the house bought a black market water pump that steals water from her neighbors, so they have the most running water. Being on the CDR and a communist means her house is full of stolen goods. So they go to all the communist rallies and meetings though none of them believe in it. She denounces her neighbors too.
Another neighbor is doing good. She has a son in Miami who gives her 5000 US a year and buys her gifts when he visits. Her house has been completely renovated and is beautifully furnished. She also has a water pump that steals water. She and the communist are the only families with running water.
Outside of those two houses, most families on the bloc are like my friend’s. What was once a working class neighborhood where everyone lived comfortably is now a slum where only a few families live decently, thanks to US dollars.
That is why Castro could never hold elections.
By the time he wiped out all his opposition within a year of taking power, he had become extremely unpopular. By the time he drove Cuba’s economy into the ground, only privileged communists still supported him. After the Soviet collapse, most communists stopped believing in him too.
Abril 15th, 2012 at 06:01
Freud@170 Thank you for your reply. I won’t add much since we are approaching whatever truth there is from different angles… you from a very nationalistic and maybe patriarchal perspective, myself… from a more internationalist position that I have gained… It is surprising and speaks volumes to me that every guys who condems communism has these days a list of thing their societies were before ‘communism’ happened.. as if communism was an accident… You describe Castro as someone who sort of stole the revolution when no one was watching or.. better everyone was busy at work!!… My view now is that communism was no accident… or at best an accident waiting to happen and in some respect whether you like it or not our societies share that regardless of how much lower on the scale of things you see EasternEurope and some of the countries there!… Good luck with your change of regime…and with restoring Cuba to what you say it was… if that society would exist I would definitely move there by any means!!!… so I won’t trouble you with what we Romanian have heard of Cuba before Castro and why we thought of Cuba in the same pattern as you would think of Haiti.. maybe it was just ignorance!
Abril 15th, 2012 at 05:33
Yeah right Help… as if drug cartel are not the fruit of capitalism… What best enforces the free market law of demand of supply but drugs??? Well they supply and you demand… and like in capitalism if demand drops.. they send the boys over to ensure demand would never drop again!
Abril 12th, 2012 at 13:16
What’s happening in much of the world is a regression towards fascism, as American influence disappears and brutal empires like the Chinese and the Iranian extend their domination.
While it’s thanks to US influence and pressure that all the “rightist” fascist dictators in Latin America finally stepped down, the fascists are back in power dressed in anti-American “leftist” clothing and trying to bring back the days of terror and rigged elections. Both Chavez and Ortega have already stolen elections, which will encourage all the other demagogues to follow.
The USA is seen as weak, while brutal empires like China, Iran and Cuba are seen as strong. Strength is what fascists respect.
Hopefully the Chinese, Iranian, Cuban and other dictatorships will give way to democracy one day. And hopefully, democracy has deep enough roots in Latin America to survive. But none of the drug cartels, criminal gangs or Marxists want it to.
If you’re a thug, taking power by force is easy and honest elections are always risky.
Abril 12th, 2012 at 12:00
BLOOMBERG NEWS: Obama Faces Latin Anger on U.S. Cuba, Drug Policies at Summit- By Matthew Bristow and Eric Martin
On Cuba, Obama will insist that the government’s human rights record and respect for democracy improve if it wants to participate in future summits, Restrepo told reporters yesterday. Obama will use his second trip to South America to push for open markets that benefit American exports, he said.
The Summit of the Americas began as a gathering of 34 heads of state in 1994 to promote free trade. That goal has since receded as Latin America has prospered and become more assertive, meaning this weekend’s sixth edition in the Caribbean city of Cartagena is likely to be marked by grandstanding of the sort seen in 2009, when Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega slammed “Yankee troops” and Chavez gave Obama a book about the U.S. “pillage” of the region’s resources.
“In the absence of an agenda, this has become a forum for the lowest common denominator,” Christopher Sabatini, senior policy director of the Council of the Americas, said in a phone interview from New York. “The story becomes Ortega’s harangue and Chavez’s book club. And people like that can’t pass up the spotlight, so they’ll do it again.”
Trouble flared even before this year’s summit began, with eight nations led by Chavez threatening a boycott over the exclusion of Cuba, the region’s sole dictatorship. Diplomacy by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, who flew to Havana to meet with President Raul Castro, managed to keep the event on track and only Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa will now stay away.
Still, he remains Latin Americans’ favorite leader, with a rating of 6.3 out of 10 in a 2011 survey of regional political trends by Santiago-based pollster Latinobarometro. Rousseff came in second, at 6.0, in the annual ranking with Chavez near the bottom at 4.4. In 2009, Obama had a 7.0 percent rating.
Obama’s “star quality” hasn’t halted the U.S.’s decline in the region, said Michael Shifter, president of the Inter- American Dialogue, a policy center in Washington.
CLICK LINK FOR ENTIRE ARTICLE!
http://www.businessweek.com/ne.....-summit#p1
Abril 12th, 2012 at 11:50
170Un Soricel
Abril 12th, 2012 at 10:14
I understand most of the things you guys talk about ‘castrofascism’ because I have seen them done. Not only that but at some point in my life I was very much feeling and experiencing them too and I remember how ‘desperate’ I was for any change or to break away from that society. ………
…………the moral is this is what ‘democratic vote’ and democratic politics did and does in all former communist countries - these guys are the product of democracy and they are corrupt, incompetent and now greedy and big friends with the USA!!………….
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, I am glad you are not the fanatic castrofascist supporter I believe but I am sad about the confusion you have in your mind……
First, revolutions in Tunisia or Libya were not revolutions for democracy but to get rid one dictator……. second, those guys making revolutions IN SOME ex communist countries to fail are not product of democracy but communism, the process Romania and other ex-communist countries (Ukraine, Kazajastan, Moldavia) are going through is consequence of communism indoctrination and creation of corrupt elites that knew how adapt to the revolutions in those countries to continue profiting the faith of those peoples….. the process have been very different in other ex communist countries, especially those that was occupied by USSR and for this reason never had a national corrupt elite composed of sons of the country but by Russian occupiers (Estonia, Latonia, Lithuania) or older countries with more experience about democracy and capitalism like Hungary, Germany, Poland, and Slovenia…….. I understand your impatient and deception but you are blaming the wrong cause…… it is not capitalism the responsible for the failure of Romania after freedom but it is the deficient work of its people in instauration of a strong democracy I know revolution must going on in those countries in order to achieve the trend in politics and economy that lead those countries to real democracies and capitalism…… You can’t blame capitalism for Europeans racism….. racism is something in Europeans gens….. not for nothing all world wars have been produced in Europe…… I lived in Europe and I know what you feel…… that’s why I left and came to USA that is not a perfect country but is the best in the world to live in …… of course, after a free Cuba.
In Cuba we cannot have anything worst than castrofascism………. that’s why any twist our country takes after we liquidate castrofascism will be better that what we have now…….. peoples cannot be stopped in their development by the fear about what will be later, we Cubans have the experience of raising our country from destruction to welfare, we did it one time in the past when the Spanish empire left our country destroyed……. such experience Romanian never had……… Germans did it, Baltic republics did it too…….. and we will do it a second time after castrofascism disappear of our history….. first time it took 30 year for rebuilding of our country, this time it will take just few years…… you are helping castrofascism with propaganda and you are doing it because feelings of injustice that nothing have to do with the real causes that makes you feel in such way…. you are seeing enemies where it does not exists……. in this site no one is Romania’s enemy or caused this country disgrace….. you are totally confused…… you should fight for your country and for what you want it to be in the way we do about our country…….. to come here to criticize our fight does not change the situation in your country, situation inherited of communism…….. you chose the wrong enemy.
By other side it is up to you to understand in your way a political regime….. we understand that castro regime is not longer a Stalinist one but a fascist, by castro’s history we know fascism was his and his father preferred system, now that casto family saw no reason for keeping them self attached to Stalinism they changed gladly to the doctrine they were arisen in…… castro regime transformed Stalinist and extremely impoverished Cuba in a corporative state in association with international capital keeping the repressive apparatus organization and socialist facade …. this is fascism in spite all efforts you can do to deny the fact……… it is not us who say it is castrofascism but it is castrofascism self who created the horrible been.
Finally you pretend to standardize all ex-communist countries including Cuba and this leads you to be stranded in mistakes……. communism in Cuba never were like communism in Europe, communism in Baltic states were never like communism in China, or Russian were never like Yugoslavian, etc, etc,….. first Cuba was once the riches country in the world….. those cubans that started the independence war on Spain were at their time the riches men in the world….. after independence Cuba recovery it richness and again became one of the world richest countries…… Cubans embassies in Italy, Spain, and other European countries had lists of tens thousands people seeking to relocate in Cuba, all this because Cuba was among world best countries to live, and get rich due the welfare policy and social law suit implemented by successive socialist governments in the country…….. your country and most east European countries including USSR never knew such things….. the experience in democracy and capitalism control we achieved was not in the dominion of Romania or Bulgaria or other ex-communist countries……. this experience is what made cuabns living around the world to be successful businessmen, professionals and politicians……… so you are trying to compare oranges with water melons….. you don’t know nothing about our country and our people to come and give us recommendations you self could not or fight not to avoid in your own country…… but your biggest problem is you want not to see what we see and the reason we want to change and finish castrofascism for:
One of the first disgraces castro brought to Cuba was the capital escape….. and not only castro…… each time a political problem affects a Latin American country like Venezuela under Chavez “clownship” the capitals of this country leave temporary or permanently to a more quiet place….. to where leave the capitals??? Well, they use to leave to a rich and stable country…. in America this rich and stable country is USA. It was the first “present” of castro to USA: Both human and economical capitals left Cuba to USA after castro started his madness same in Venezuela. Then came the turn of the tourism industry…… castro needed to isolate the Cuban people in order to indoctrinate it and keep it away from “bad influences” of foreign people, so he closed the country for more than 20 years and killed the huge tourism industry Cubans had built. It was the second big present of castro to USA. The Cuban tourism industry went to engross the already huge tourism industry in Florida and Puerto Rico. Eventually Dominican Republic, Bahamas and Mexico also got a piece of the pie.
The third present was the commerce industry. Spaniards spent 5 centuries building the Singapore of America in Havana and Santiago de Cuba. When political differences started between castro and USA the huge commerce that went between North America and South America trough Cuba changed route. When castro drove Cuba to the orbit of the soviets and tied the country to the commerce with the communist countries, the huge commerce between Europe and central-south America that went through Cuba changed route too. Then Miami took the place of Havana and became what is today: the center of commerce between north and South America and Europe and America giving to the light the huge ports of Tampa, Miami and Everglades.
Who does not remember Che Guevara saying in a crazy speech: “Cuba’s economy is like a dwarf, with a big chest, big and strong shoulders but short legs and arms….. we need to transform this situation, we can afford no longer to have a big “light industry” fabricating consumption items and do not have an “adequate” “heavy industry” that is the ground of the industrialization…… we can no longer afford to depend of the Sugar industry, the agriculture and some cultivations ……..”
Who the hell said to Guevara he was economy master!!!!!!!
Well, the result of all this madness was 3 or 4 presents more to USA. The huge cattle industry Cubans built working hard along s. XV, XVI, XVII, XVIII, XIX and the first half of s. XX is gone. Cuba was the third meat and milk producer in America behind giants like USA, Brazil and Argentina. Cuba even exported meat and milk to USA and other American countries. Cuba produced shoes of international rename and Cuban lather industry was the bigger in Latin-America. But castro believed in his megalomaniac mind he was smart enough to build a better cattle industry …….. he started to import cattle from India and Holland, cattle experts from Europe and tried to build a new race of cattle he dreamed would be the best in the world……. this imbecile destroyed what our people created in centuries to fulfill his ego demands. The result was the vanishing of Cuba’s cattle population and the creation of a new race of cattle that needed air-conditioning, and imported super expensive pastures to survive…….. of course, he never accepted his fault and blamed the imported technician for the disaster, putting them in jail and killing some of them to cover the truth…….. I still remember when we was child how teachers were compelled to teach us at school how our great leader would build a super cow that would give us all milk and meat we needed!!!!
Of course the hole in the market left by the destruction of our cattle industry was quickly filled by USA’s cattle producers.
The Citric industry was once ones of the crown jewels of Cuba’s industrialization process. Huge land extensions in several provinces of the country including Pines Island were involved in the production of citric fruits. Industries derivate of this production like beverages bottling, comfitures, traditional deserts, etc supplied the internal market and production of concentrates supplied both the internal and external market…….. These industries are gone…… of course all of them reborn in Florida where citric industry reached peaks of development never dreamed by their founders just because castro present……. citric derivate industries like beverages production and concentrates found a new beginning in Florida by the hand of same actors that drove them up in Cuba……. Cubans produces in Florida same types of beverages even keeping the old names……. long time favorites of Cuban people taste like Jupiña, Materva, Ironbeer, among other are now exclusive drinks of Cubans in exile……… the only remains of this before huge industry in Cuba are some acres still producing citric in Camaguey and Pine Island, this production is entire bought by the “enemy zionist state of Israel”.
The once mighty Cuban Media Industry is gone. There was a time where every single artist in Latin-America that hoped to jump to the fame had to come to Cuba to be recorded in celluloid or paste…… even European artists that hoped to be heard or seen by Latin-America or Spanish speaking people in USA had to pay a visit to the record studies or radio-TV studios in Cuba. The second country in the world to develop TV was Cuba and we helped the rest of Latin-America to build TV. The inventors of radio-telesoaps, the creators of rhythms and dance styles like Mambo, Cha cha cha, Salsa, etc were long ahead the rest of the non anglo world creating the second bigger media industry in America…… 160 radio stations, 23 TV stations, 14 publishers of international importance, 18 national newspapers and thousands of regional and local newspapers and magazines made Cuba de center of the Latin-American and south USA media.
Of course, for castrofascism this impressive source of art, freedom and richness was a pain in the butt, that’s why this industry was simply killed like a opponent in the fire squad. By 1961 the core of this industry was liquidated and the actors killed, in jail or in exile…… in exile, in Miami, were it was rebuilt and today serve as culture, richness and freedom creator by the hand of Cubans like Emilio and Gloria Stephan.
The Sugar Industry, once the bigger in the world, for centuries the sugar provider of the world is today a bunch of rusted metal scrap assaulted by vegetation like those Science Chanel’s programs that related how will be the Earth after human been pass away. From the bigger sugar producer of the world castrofascism transformed Cuba into a country that depends of USA to supply Cubans needs of sugar. Of course, Cubans traditional sugar producer that escaped castrofascism like Sanjul or Lobo families created huge sugar industries in Florida, Alabama, Central America, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic, another spectacular present from castrofascism to USA.
The alcohol industry depending of sugar Industry, the new Ethanol industry born after castrofascism killed Cuban Sugar Industry and so attacked by castro because (of course) Cuba is no longer a producer of importance because castro impoverishing policy!!!!! Bacardi is not today a local rum fabricator in a hot town south of Cuba but of a gigantic American multinational that fabricate since a pen to rockets parts thanks to castrofascism killing of industries in Cuba. All other bigger industries related to sugar industry like Paper Industry, Animal Food Industry (Cuba was the main exporter in and to Latin-America of this important product), Syrup Industry (this one gave life to others Human Food Industries), Artificial Wood Industry (which also generated others Wood Millwork Industries), Alcohol Industry (that generated the Rum-Industrial Alcohol- Industries), and a lot of medium-small industries depending of Sugar industry found their death in castrofascism hands and were resuscitated by Cuban capitalists in capitalism emporium: USA.
The classic Tobacco Industry is on its way of disappearing off Cuba and relocate in Miami. Emigrated Cuban growers smuggled Cuban tobacco seeds and started to grow up the plants in fields with similar chemical composition that Cuban soil in Honduras, Nicaragua and Dominican Republic. In few years these growers got to produce a tobacco ranked among the first in the world. Already those producers are taking niches of market to the inefficient and state controlled Tobacco Industry in Cuba. Very soon they will give the final blow to this last of Cuba’s big industries still “working”. Calle 8 in Miami is full of Offices and Showrooms of the different Tobacco producers of Miami.
What’s next???….. Who knows?
Conclusions……. To those castrofascist apologizers that still pretends to lure people to believe there is an confrontation going on between castrofascism and USA and USA has intentions of destabilize castrofascism I ask the following question:
Why USA would wants to change so beneficial state of things????
I am sure that as long USA continues to get so precious presents “the country of the free” will not allow anything bad to happen to its preferred “enemy”.
Castro, chavez and all others castrofascim bad imitation of Erodes strategy are no anti-imperialist fighters. Facts, history, and statistics show exactly what this new fascism brings on our countries……. Poverty, dependence of USA and Imperialism easy domination over our hemisphere…
Abril 12th, 2012 at 11:36
You’re right Un Sori, regime change isn’t democracy. Unlike you, I was never an anti-communist (really) and have no illusions about the world.
But democracy can’t exist in a one party police state with no freedom of speech.
Was apartheid good just because South Africans didn’t get what they hoped for afterwards?
Was slavery good because black Americans had to continue struggling?
There are degrees of evil, and slavery is a worse evil than our corrupt capitalist system. Though it’s not nearly as corrupt as the state monopoly capitalist Cuban system, also known as “socialism” or “serfdom” or “slavery”.
It’s no accident the former Communists became the most corrupt capitalists, now their corruption is in the open for all to see. A thug is a thug.
I feel very privileged to live in a time and place where I can criticize my government and change our system, which I’ve done simply by supporting honest business and honest politics. The struggle is far from over and will continue for generations.
I can’t support honest government in the USA and tyranny for Cuba, that would be wrong. And there simply is no way to make the Castro regime honest, it has to go.
Along with all the other fascist tyrannies in the world. Or else it is the end of us all.
Abril 12th, 2012 at 10:23
Catholic Cuba can not mix with orthodox communist men of South America…and protestant socialists women of North America…because Catholic is universal,but orthodox,protestant are two extreme side…of left-right,communist-nazis(socialists) or mem-women extreme. Cuba is in the center of both Americas mix of both…but why was left out? Isnt now united in the north hemisphere the 3 branches as one of the christianity and the socialist-nazi-communists of Europe? Nothing make sense anymore…but both two europes and now two americas have become a mix union of the two colors; red and pink…purple as the Vatican elite fashion is…
Abril 12th, 2012 at 10:14
#160 Freud, I am not sure my honesty would earn me any favours but since you’ve asked, my answer is this in simple terms:
I understand most of the things you guys talk about ‘castrofascism’ because I have seen them done. Not only that but at some point in my life I was very much feeling and experiencing them too and I remember how ‘desperate’ I was for any change or to break away from that society.
I have been through that revolution and the ‘cathartic feeling’ when we started shouting against the regime and heard my voice for the first time breaking the fear barrier, then when we burnt Ceausescu’s books and runsacked the Central Committee building - all was unique and cannot be put in words.
Well what followed after that revolution was not ‘that we lived happy forever after’ but stangely enough we got pushed out of the country and even stranger no European country actually wanted us and didn’t see us as ‘equal Europeans’…
It is not just I but many who fled out of disappointment and police pressure when we realized the revolution we hoped for had been aborted and most of the people were OK-ish with that - in the countryside they didn’t even bother… Maybe this is the natural fallout of every revolution… maybe not! Now 20 something years later the revolution is still ‘unfinished’..in January the youth was calling to revolt against the present president who by any Western standards is not so bad but he is just corrupt and one of the people who got very rich, very quickly by selling state industry and no one believes he didn’t work for the secret police under Ceausescu as he claims .. long long story anyway…pointless story… the moral is this is what ‘democratic vote’ and democratic politics did and does in all former communist countries - these guys are the product of democracy and they are corrupt, incompetent and now greedy and big friends with the USA!! As you may know MrO would install his anti-missile shield there… probably payback the Russians for the Cuban crisis, though as we all know that may come back to bite him back and when it does we are going down first!!
So in the light of my past and more recent experiences I have to take a deeper breath and look at actually what ‘democratic revolutions’ have accomplished in the past 20 something yrs and how. Tunisia and Egypt are very recent good examples.. do you see them getting what they really wanted??? Have those revolutions walked just one step further than regime change or much further???? Regime change is not ‘democracy’ in my opinion just because Fox News says it is.
You seem to propose the ’same pattern’ and ‘revolutionary balooney’ for a new Cuban revolution and the result in my opinion as expressed here would be as ‘disappointing’ or serving just a few… This is my main argument.
Moreover, I like many who hated ‘communism’ and called it ‘fascism’ at some point I came to understand that was just revolutionary balooney…We wanted change full stop, we had enough of 1-father-figure-all-mightly guy, full stop. Maybe you should say that and not that you hate ‘castrofascism’ or that you want ‘free vote’. Communism is communism and fascism is fascism and on top of that, as much as there were oppressed people in communism/fascism as much there are oppressed people in the West as well here today and in the East they still exist. So I am trying to ‘apprehend’ and comprehend bigger truths to move forward. I am really happy for you guys if your adopted society, makes you fulfilled. For me the UK/EU and the West is a sweet and sour fruit - and the crisis and how it came about proves that to me beyond doubt. They had accused ‘the migrants’ for breaking the economy.. when it was actually the top echelon called ‘the bankers’ robbing everyone ‘like in communism’ and you didn’t even need a degree to spot that coming. Surprise surprise they got away with it ScottFree cos they are too big to fail which is similar to me to saying Big Brother is always right(not the TV show).
In communism we had yeah just the boring speeches and the bad tv to contend with, that Y talks about. I remember at one time I didn’t have an orange for 2 year because oranges were imports and Ceau wanted to pay all our national debt. But what we had was a strong sense thing should change and the change was right and in our right! Well what change can we have here in the West, Freud?? Where is change in our right - you tell me??? Where do we actually exercise change when the system fails the little guy here too??
So Freud, why is it that you refuse to see too that Cuba after 56? years of one guy is not only in very bad shape.. but in a very very complex situation and things can get much worse before they would get slightly better… and what would that ‘better’ be?? Mireila Castro parlamentarian or big successfull TV station boss featured in Fortune mag or the Economist?? Well I know how that feels and it could happen very easy! My questions being…what have you learnt from other revolutions recent or not so recent?? Have you learnt the just ‘freedom to vote’ is not enough in terms that it changes too little, after 40 or 60 years of dictatorship in such societies as you and I come from??
Abril 12th, 2012 at 10:07
Cold War game,play and show in the north is replaced with cold war show in the south,but now is not russia buy china,feed.grow,and called a threat…but is it a game to occupy the world with this new trick the same as the old one? Is the same director who lead the players,playing as opposite? Maybe Cuba is not in it as did in first cold war…playing great role,bringing the communism in Americas now both red…
http://www.hindustantimes.com/.....39215.aspx
Abril 12th, 2012 at 10:02
in #167 american businessmen wrote, “Nothing make sense.”
You got that right.
Abril 12th, 2012 at 09:29
Why Cuba is not in the meeting of the communists of all communist countries of Americas?
Even the socialist countries USA and Canada and Venezuela are there as followers or branches of the Cuba’s seed of communism tree in the west? Why not their mama Cuba?
http://www.businessweek.com/ne.....-at-summit
Is this bad treatment of Cuba because she is now religious and meet with pope?
Are the other countries antichristian,antipope or what? Nothing make sense…because all the countries of the Americas are leftist,communist and socialist now so why Catholic Cuba is left out? It is because of its religion?
Abril 12th, 2012 at 09:07
Help,
Raul & Fidel must be wondering, “Hell, if a pair of old thugs like us can be on the UN Human Rights Committee, why can’t we join a club for democracies?”
Abril 12th, 2012 at 08:51
Griffin, the new generation of caudillos have learned anti-American talk, so it’s all good.
If Pinochet called himself a communist instead of conservative, his regime would still be in power and all the Marxists would be screaming “hands off Pinochet” and teach classes about Pinochet’s genuine “one-party democracy”
All he had to do was switch colors a few years into his reign, and all the leftists would be wearing Pinochet t-shirts and calling the military coup a “people’s revolution”.
Let’s face it, Castro was at the right place at the right time, and no dictator in the world ever got better press.
I think Raul should attend the summit after the KKK is invited to speak at the next NAACP meeting.
Abril 12th, 2012 at 02:43
If Cuba wants to attend the Summets of the Americas, all they have to do is hold free & fair elections and respect the democratic rights of the Cuban people including freedom of the press. Castro refuses to allow democratic elections, saying that would undo the Revolution. So by Castro’s own definition, his dictatorship is incompatible with democracy and freedom.
Abril 12th, 2012 at 02:33
The Havana Club rum sold in the US is made in Puerto Rico by Bacardi. This product is unrelated to the Cuban made rum called Havana Club. Havana Club is a brand of rum, made in Santa Cruz del Norte, Cuba. The brand was established by José Arechabala in 1878. After the Cuban Revolution of 1959, the distillery and company was nationalized by the Cuban government; subsequently, the Arechabala family left for Spain, then emigrated to the United States. Since 1994 it has been produced by Havana Club International, a 50:50 joint venture between Pernod Ricard and the Cuban government. When Castro sold Havana Club to Pernod Ricard the money went straight into his personal bank account and not to the Cuban government.
Abril 12th, 2012 at 01:29
Havana Club rum is available in the United States.
Abril 11th, 2012 at 21:55
Dont fight to much guys because the reality…is not as you were programed to see it; right and left,capitalism,socialism,fascism,communism…but globalism and big reduction of the population. So now make sense everything that happened and it is happening and looks evil…because the plan is not good at all but this;
http://greatchange.org/ov-simm.....isted.html
or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Limits_to_Growth
and
http://live.simgua.com/World
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overpopulation
That is the reason of many weapon production and business.They can be used to kill and mostly to starve people soon in long wars…and also the money is not spent for the people’s life growth,but for the opposite… It is a emergency call for the year 2012 that…there may be starting a total martial law (possible) in these countries which cant not last any longer for their critical situation in economy;
CUBA,USA,CANADA,ENGLAND,South of EU,EAST EUROPE,MIDDLE EAST…I hope are just talks
Keep in mind to watch closer and to notice what is prepared.
Abril 11th, 2012 at 20:57
DEMOCRACY HAS ITS DEFINITION! AND THE CASTROFASCISTS DONT COMPLY, PLAIN & SIMPLE! “LA CHINA” CAN GET DRESSED IN HER FINEST BUT IT WONT HIDE WHO SHE & HER BROTHER “THE MUMMY” TRULY ARE! A FASCIST OLIGARCHY!!
“If the presidents at the Cartagena summit decide to change the rules and do away with the democratic clause, they will be setting a dangerous precedent for the collective acceptance of dictatorships throughout the region”
MIAMI HERALD: Cartagena summit should not reject “democratic clause” - By Andres Oppenheimer
When I asked Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos about the ongoing U.S.-Latin American spat over Cuba’s absence in the 33-country Summit of the Americas that he will host in Cartagena this weekend, he gave an answer that many civil rights advocates find troublesome.
Referring to Cuba’s absence because of a U.S.-backed rule stating that only democracies can attend inter-American summits — an issue that is likely to figure prominently during the weekend discussions — Santos suggested that Washington and Latin American countries should re-evaluate their definitions of concepts such as freedom of the press, elections and democracy.
Under a clause of the Summit of the Americas Declaration of Quebec on April 22, 2001, which was adopted by consensus and is being invoked by the Obama administration today to oppose Cuba’s attendance, participating countries agreed that respect for the rule of law and democracy are “an essential condition of our presence at this and future Summits.”
Now, Ecuador says it will boycott the Cartagena summit if Cuba is not invited. Several other Latin American countries have said they will attend but agree with Ecuador’s stand that Cuba should be there.
During a recent interview, I asked Santos which side is right. “It’s not only Ecuador that wants Cuba to be here,’’ he responded. “A majority of Latin American countries would want Cuba to be at the summit.” He added that the Cartagena summit should “discuss the way” in which Cuba could be present in the future.
Ok, but what about the summit’s democratic clause? And what about the U.S. argument that if Cuba is invited, the summit would not only violate its own rules but would set a dangerous precedent for the elimination of agreements for the collective defense of democracy in the region?
“All of that is subject to discussion,” Santos said. He added that Colombia defends and will continue defending democratic principles, but stated that “each country has its own way of perceiving and defining, for instance, freedom of the press.”
There should be a “discussion’’ about concepts such as freedom of the press, he said, because “there are no values or positions that are totally static, frozen. These things evolve.”
Most human rights and pro-democracy advocates disagree. Fundamental rights are universal values, which were enshrined in the United Nations Charter after World War II to prevent totalitarian regimes from doing whatever they want without violating international rules, they argue.
Former Costa Rican President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Oscar Arias says it would be wrong to open a discussion on Cuba’s interpretation of freedom of the press and democracy. Cuba “is a dictatorship that has left thousands of Cubans in cemeteries over the past 50 years for having dared to disagree with the government,’’ he says.
Added Arias: “There are things that remain valid over time, such as freedom and democracy. If Cuba wants to call what it has a democracy, that shouldn’t be acceptable. We must maintain the democratic clauses, and demand their compliance.”
Ricardo Trotti, an official with the Inter-American Press Association press freedom advocacy group, says that if countries leave the definition of fundamental freedoms up to each president’s interpretation, “we run the risk of legalizing the violations of the most fundamental human rights.’’
In diplomatic circles, many say that if Cuba were invited to the Cartagena summit, it would amount to a further erosion of the region’s agreements for the defense of democracy. Latin America has already largely turned a blind eye to rigged elections in Nicaragua and crackdowns on independent media in Venezuela and Ecuador, they say.
If the summit’s democratic clause is weakened to invite Cuba, “we would lower the standards even further,” says Peter Romero, a State Department head of Latin American affairs during the Clinton administration.
My opinion: Santos is right in trying to find a way to bring Cuba back into the inter-American diplomatic community. But the way to do it is inviting Cuba as an observer, and urging its military regime to accept some minimum standards of respect for civil, political and human rights in order to become a full member.
If the presidents at the Cartagena summit decide to change the rules and do away with the democratic clause, they will be setting a dangerous precedent for the collective acceptance of dictatorships throughout the region.
http://www.miamiherald.com/201.....eject.html
Abril 11th, 2012 at 20:49
152Un Soricel
Abril 11th, 2012 at 16:51
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What I don’t understand is ….. if you know all reasons why those romanians escaped communism (which are the same cubans escapes castrofascism) and you know very well all crimes commies used to commint on people in Romania and other coomunist countries in Europe, why then are you so concerned on people fighting castrofascism and denouncing its crimes??????…… you get paid for your work or it is some kind traditional european racism that give you the idea that white castrofascist elite has the right to kill, repress and exploit the majority of black population in Cuba?????……… can you explain to us…….
Abril 11th, 2012 at 20:38
On the road in Cuba, tales of woe and yearning
Ostensibly, I was in Cuba to cover Pope Benedict XVI’s visit. But over the week and across the length of the Ohio-sized country, I gave more than five dozen Cubans a “botella” — in Cuban slang, a ride.
My riders gave an unvarnished view of the country. They were farmers, housewives and doctors. They were school kids, half a baseball team, an economist and even a judge, who proclaimed herself to be a huge fan of Jack Bauer in the American TV thriller series “24.”
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/201.....rylink=cpy
Abril 11th, 2012 at 20:30
Help,
What you said… Rats jumping a sinking ship.
Abril 11th, 2012 at 19:22
Un Sor,
Your arguments against capitalism are irrelevant. The economic crisis in Cuba is orders of magnitude worse than Greece or any other country in the capitalist world. It doesnt matter what you think about capitalosm or the bad old USA . The deal is this: The collapse is coming and no slogans from Castro, and no griping from you, can prevent it. What happens next is up to the Cuban people.
Every sector of the Cuban economy is falling, including tourism. They have to import more & more food just to feed the people. Their subsidized oil supply is about to dissapear. Their trade seficit is soaring. Nobody will lend them any money as their credit rating is sh!t Unemployment is at 25%. The duel currency system is distorting the fragile economy. Crime & corruption is rising. The population is shrinking, aging and the young & talented are leaving in droves. Castroism is kaput.
Abril 11th, 2012 at 17:51
What Freedom Rings says is true, it is the Communist ruling class who have been most successful in getting their families out of Cuba.
Practically every Communist I’ve known in Cuba has either got or is trying to get all their children out. It is the biggest perk of being a communist.
Communists would rather their children live among the “enemy” and the “empire”, than under Castro and socialism.
It would make a great comedy if it wasn’t true.
Abril 11th, 2012 at 17:45
Un Sori, maybe you didn’t pick it up the first 1000 times, but I’m not selling capitalism, just freedom, equality, honesty and democracy. Actually, I’m not selling those either, just supporting some Cuban friends.
Capitalism and socialism can be defined any old way, so debating these words is useless.
Both Norway and Haiti are “capitalist”, and Cubans would rather have the economy of Norway. Or closer to home, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, or Mexico. Honest, open government will avoid the Haiti scenario, but it’s up to Cubans to make that happen.
On the other hand, “socialism” has been a disaster from Lenin through to Pol Pot and Castro. But if Cubans want to give it another try, they have my full support.
Personally, I think capitalism encourages real democracy, but maybe I’m wrong and I’ve never pushed my opinions on anybody. In fact, it’s the Cuban people who push their hatred of socialism and Castro on me.
So let’s keep our hands off Cuba and let Cubans decide.
Abril 11th, 2012 at 17:37
5 years of Cubas first official unofficial Blog. Yoani has done more for Cuba in 5 years than any other in the last 55 years. Yoani deserves all the awards and respect that she has earned for her courageous posts. She has more replies than any other forum, newspaper or blog related to Cuba.
Un Soricel I am sure you are aware that COMMUNISM SUCKS and the reason people flee Cuba EVERYDAY. The sons and daughters of even the ruling class have also immigrated out. All choosing capitalism and democratic countries like Spain, France, Costa Rica,USA, Canada, and Mexico. This has been going on for too many years. Something is very wrong in Cuba and it stinks.
Abril 11th, 2012 at 17:07
” With regard to the Cuban cost being 800 km and counting…… blah blah… actually to get to Miami you cannot take the boat from just anywhere aroung 800 km of beach and rock (probably) so that narrows it down a lot…. If what you said was true thant the Bay of Pigs Invation would have been successful particularly because no one would have been able to defend 800km of coastline…. So you are talking rubbish….”
Mouse, the topic of discussion was leaving Cuba on rafts not invading Cuba and you opened it. You cannot even stick to your own topic. If someone from the eastern part of the island who lives close the the sea on the north coast wants to build a raft for escaping Cuba he will make an escape from there. You can’t hitchhike through Cuba with a bag of food without being stopped a few times by the police. Do you think you can transport a raft to Havana just to be closer to Miami. This will be my last post address to you Mouse. Your last posts showed that you don’t belong to Mensa as you claimed but to a group home where retards are taken care of.
I know that you are not posting from Cuba because you are Diana Brancoveanu (on facebook) aka Simona Thrussell, aka Soopermouse aka UnSoricel. You live in Leicester, UK. You are a receptionist/wanna me journalist for a metal magazine/website - steel and fire). As for all the info you offered on the Romanians routes of escape I gotta tell you that wikipedia and google are sometimes misleading or presenting half-true information.
Abril 11th, 2012 at 16:57
Griffin… I wonder if any of the stats you sell here would stay the same or get worse under capitalism .. what would you do??? crumble?? or think that communism was actually better in some respect than capitalism is!??? well that would require honesty and numbers do not lie.. but as we know they can be ignored by both sides
Abril 11th, 2012 at 16:51
Say wha? Freud and ‘the brains behind (full stop)’ —> what you are saying is like with most things partly true… but you avoid how things played out actually…. Yes the Romania litoral is shorter than Cuba’s but still it is over 100km. Turkey was a desired location since everyone ‘knew’ you could get easily from Turkey to the USA i.e. asylum there or through Greece. At the end of communism it was against the law to be found on any beach after 10pm at night - so they feared something. Yes it is true you would hear more often of guys drowning in the Danube than in the BlackSea…. however and this is a big however with the Yugoslavs you had to check first if they were returning people or not returning people to the ‘homeland’. Ceausescu offered as reward for each returnee that Yugoslavs caught a train coach of salt… In the beginning Tito did not agree but later he accepted the offer… So MORE people were returned by the Yugoslavs than actually drowned… The only hope you had was to make it to Trieste… which was an open city (Italian as well) and you had there the change not to return…..
Ttowards the end of communism a majority of people escaped through land and used land - both sea and river were not seen as options… Hungary became one of the best options - after it refused to return people to homeland… One of my good mates escaped using a train… no one thought he would make it but he hid in a train to Budapest and managed to hide well… never really understood how he pulled it off he told no one but he wrote back from Amsterdam ! We all knew he had been fascinated’ by trains for sometime and had all the special keys to open all compartments on many models! Nice !!! this adds I suppose new meaning to ‘trainspotting’…
With regard to the Cuban cost being 800 km and counting…… blah blah… actually to get to Miami you cannot take the boat from just anywhere aroung 800 km of beach and rock (probably) so that narrows it down a lot…. If what you said was true thant the Bay of Pigs Invation would have been successful particularly because no one would have been able to defend 800km of coastline…. So you are talking rubbish….
Ah yes and if I am in Cuba… working for the gov… how come I am not drinking a mojito at this very moment and smoking a good cigar…??? himmm??? obviously I am not in Cuba… but you guys are in Miami sucking up capitalist mojitos at $5 with Bacardi BS in it instead of the much superior HavanaCLub
Abril 11th, 2012 at 16:46
Freud,
I’m glad to see some people are reading these posts. There is a wealth of detailed factual information about just exactly how well and truly f**cked Cuba is under the Castro regime. 53 lost years of declining material & human capital!
Now, see my #107 from this morning, about how far the purge of regime officials should go. Clearly, some deserve to be put on trial from murder, theft and crimes against humanity. But you have raised the question of how far down the chain of command should the Cuban people go in their pursuit of justice.
Abril 11th, 2012 at 16:37
147Griffin
Abril 11th, 2012 at 15:46
REFORM OF THE ARMED FORCES IN A POST-CASTRO CUBA
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Good theme you brought Griffin!!!!!
I believe that one of the few “good” thing(or less bad things) our country will inherit of castrofascism is the huge intelligence apparatus and the magnificent army created by soviet subside ….. I believe that after cubans get rid castrofascism it would be a mistake to dismantle this well greased apparatus…… someone can think, well, if you don’t dismantle castrofascist intelligence and army you will not dismantle castrofascism….. not exactly……. castrofascism is a small elite composed of few generals and few intelligence hierarchs……. under this elite there is a huge mass of army officials and intelligence “workers” that are part of the common people struggling for surviving everyday…… between the elite and the mass there is a sub elite, composed of intelligence thugs of both army and MININT that are together with the very elite what we have to defeat……. but the rest, the very corpse of the army and the intelligence that are part of the people we have to keep and transform into our allies…… something not too hard to achieve…… first because already are going on sedition movements into the army and MININT. This is not a new thing. Since the very beginning of the tyranny sedition and opposition inside the military and Intelligence have happened (Hubert Matos, Micro Fraction, Arnaldo Ochoa, De la Guardia brothers, Abrahantes, Rafael del Pino, etc) and is going on today. So, part of the army and intelligence is recoupable and will be very useful for a future Cuba…… specially the part of intelligence that works in USA, a country that through history has shown its bad intentions and desires on Cuba, a country that through history has shown how heavy is its influence on Cuba’s destiny.
Abril 11th, 2012 at 16:34
Cuba’s Crazy Currency
…the prevalence of an overvalued exchange rate and a complex multiple currency system makes it nearly impossible to determine the real profitability of various economic activities and results in all kinds of hidden cross subsidies and other economic distortions.
Cuban economist Pavel Vidal Alejandro has pointed out that the official exchange rate of one peso cubano in moneda nacional (CUP) equal to one peso cubano en moneda convertible (CUC) “distorts almost any economic measurement … and the excessive value given to the peso cubano en moneda convertible makes a group of enterprises appear artificially profitable while making another group of enterprises appear unprofitable, without there being a true relationship between profitability and efficiency.”
Abril 11th, 2012 at 16:12
Cuba’s Grey Wall
The Exodus of the Young and an Aging Population Contributing to the low productivity is the exodus of the young people and the aging of the population. During four of the last five years, Cuba’s population shrunk, with the proportion of those older than 60 years of age rising to 17.8% of the total population in 2010 compared to 11% in 1986. It is projected that this share could reach 22% by 2020, and 30.8% by 2030, if the current low birth rate (1.6%) is maintained and the exodus of Cubans - in particular young people - continues. At the end of 2010 it was reported that about 332,356 individuals left the country in the period 2000–2009, almost three times the number of annual births for the last few years.
According to demographic projections, the only age group expected to increase over the coming decades is precisely the cohort of citizens 60 years of age and older. As stated above, by 2030 it will represent approximately 31% of the total population, making Cuba among the countries with the oldest population worldwide.
http://www.ascecuba.org/public...../pujol.pdf
There is only one way Cuba can escape this demographic dead-end. End the Castro regime, hold free democratic elections and open up the country for the return of the Cuban diaspora.
Abril 11th, 2012 at 15:46
REFORM OF THE ARMED FORCES IN A POST-CASTRO CUBA
The legacy of Fidel and Raúl Castro’s civilian-military relations is the corrupting effect of the military in the economy. By tying the military to economic entrepreneurship, their institutional mission has become the pursuit of profit, instead of military professionalism and preparedness. A new oligarchy has been created that will be play a key role in any transition scenario and may have an effect on the democratic process of transition in the long-term.
http://www.ascecuba.org/public.....strapa.pdf
Under Raul’s direction, the Cuban army has become a new oligarchy with growing control over the economy. Cuba is becoming a Fascist military dictatorship.
Abril 11th, 2012 at 14:43
Humberto,
Thanks for the links. I watched the documentary interview with Arenas. How bizarre to his life was when he was released from jail: he was a non-person. “There is no writer in Cuba named Reinaldo Arenas”
Abril 11th, 2012 at 14:10
***
HI GRIFFIN–#137. Murderer, child abuser, and thief Yassir Arafat received the Nobel “Peace” Prize. He was responsible for starting the infatida that killed thousands of innocent people. Yoanni hasn’t killed anybody–she can’t win it!
***
HOLA GRIFFIN–#137. Matador, abusador de ninos, y ladron Yassir Arafat recibio el Premio de “Paz” Nobel. Fue responsable por empezar el infatida que mato milles de innocentes. Yoanni ni mato a nadie–no puede ganarlo!
***
John Bibb
***
Abril 11th, 2012 at 14:07
IN THIS SEGMENT OF “IMPROPER CONDUCT” YOU WILL SEE & HEAR REINALDO ARENAS SPEAKING IN FRENCH (he lived in France for a while)! BUT AT THE BEGINNING YOU WILL SEE & HEAR “CARACOL (Shell)” AN AFRO-CUBAN DRAG QUEEN! HE/SHE IS SOO FUNNY & GENUINE! MY FAVORITE!
YOUTUBE: Conducta Impropria - Improper Conduct (Part 5) -Mauvaise Conduite or Improper Conduct is the title of a 1984 documentary film directed by Néstor Almendros and Orlando Jiménez Leal. The documentary interviews Cuban refugees to explore the Cuban government’s imprisonment of homosexuals, political dissidents, and Jehovah’s Witnesses into concentration camps under its policy of Military Units to Aid Protection. The documentary was produced with the support of French television Antenne 2 and won the Best Documentary Audience Award at the 1984 San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.- in English, Spanish w/ sub-titles!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....re=related
Abril 11th, 2012 at 14:04
Griffin! I KNOW IS OVER AN HOUR OF VIEWING FOR BOTH YOUTUBE LINKS AND IN ONE IN SPANISH BUT THE TWO VIDEOS I WILL POST WILL GIVE YOU MORE CONTEXT ABOUT WHO REINALDO ARENAS WAS! IN HIS OWN WORDS, IMAGE & VOICE ! GREAT STUFF!!
YOUTUBE : DOCUMENTARY - Reinaldo Arenas (Spanish only)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....ture=share
Abril 11th, 2012 at 13:12
TO ALL THOSE IN THE WASHINGTON DC & ALEXANDRIA VIRGINIA AREA! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! WORKED WITH JAY WHILE HE WAS IN LOS ANGELES WITH HIS PLAY! THIS THEATER PIECE WILL BE BROADWAY BOUND AS A MUSICAL SOON WITH NO OTHER THAN PAQUITO D’ RIVERA DOING THE SCORE! GENIUS!! “ÑOOO”!!!!!!!!!!!
WASHINGTON POST THEATER REVIEW: A daring escape from Castro’s Cuba - By Jane Horwitz
Jay Alvarez’s short but galvanizing solo piece “Be Careful! The Sharks Will Eat You!” gives Americans a good-natured nudge. In a poignantly personal way, the actor/playwright reminds us why some people, at least metaphorically, still kiss the ground in gratitude that they made it to these shores.
“Be Careful! The Sharks Will Eat You!” runs through April 22 at MetroStage in Alexandria.
Alvarez began his stage career in Washington, studying with Studio Theatre’s Joy Zinoman and at the Shakespeare Theatre, and working at venues such as GALA Hispanic Theatre and the Kennedy Center (in “Shear Madness”). He divides his time now between New York and Los Angeles, working in theater and television.
“Be Careful!” is in large part a salute to his parents, especially his father, Humberto, who planned and carried out a daring escape from Fidel Castro’s Cuba in 1964 when young Jorge/“Jay” was almost 5. Humberto and his wife, Chiqui, had already sent their two older boys to the United States on an airlift before Castro shut down such operations .
In “Be Careful!” we learn how Alvarez’s father spent a full year planning the escape, which eventually brought a group of 25 family members and friends to the United States. Humberto and Chiqui actually built a new house in Cuba as a way to fool the government into believing they had no intention of leaving. A trusted friend obtained a fishing license for Humberto so he could have a boat. When the government suddenly ordered all fishing boats confiscated, he had to execute his plan weeks ahead of schedule.
The show begins and ends with the same scene, as Alvarez portrays his mother, his father, his childhood self and all the others, stepping into the boat and heading into the Caribbean Sea under dark of night. They are equal parts petrified and thrilled.
In between, Alvarez describes life in 1950s Cuba under the dictator Fulgencio Batista. At one point, he dons Carmen Miranda-style headgear, complete with grapes, to give a taste of old Havana before Castro’s 1959 takeover, where American movie stars mingled with Mafia kingpins in lavish hotels and casinos. Alvarez never implies that life was great for ordinary Cubans under the corrupt Batista. Even his father supported Castro at first. But disillusion came quickly to Humberto. It seemed clear, recounts Alvarez, that the family could not join their two older boys in the United States without stealth.
Alvarez’s saga doesn’t unfold in a straight line but digresses and loops back on itself. An ingratiating performer, Alvarez keeps his audience right with him. Near the end, he recaps the opening scene at double speed to pull the audience back to that moment when the sea, the darkness and the unknown loomed before the escapees. In some scenes, his enthusiasm and emotions, particularly when portraying his mother, are over the top for MetroStage’s cozy space. Mostly, though, he keeps you happily along for the trip.
There is no set, really — just a bare stage with two chairs and a large screen at the back on which are projected photos of the group on the boat, and later, an impressionistic blur of the receding lights of Cuba.
Horwitz is a freelance writer.
Be Careful! The Sharks Will Eat You!
written and performed by Jay Alvarez. Directed by Theresa Gambacorta. Lighting and projections, Jessica Lee Winfield; sound, Kelly Ericson Harnett. About an hour. At MetroStage, 1201 N. Royal St., Alexandria. Call 703-548-9044 or visit their web site!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....story.html
Abril 11th, 2012 at 12:51
Congratulations and thank you.
Abril 11th, 2012 at 12:31
128Un Soricel
Abril 11th, 2012 at 11:52
Freud –> cos I know you are implicitly excusing the oppression that is happening on your doorstep yet you are so concerned with how Castro does his ugly job… when all he does he learnt here in the West as it is evident to anyone who lived in both societies…!!
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WOW!!!!!…… you can think!!!!!!!!…… You even capable to find hidden meanings!!!!!……. WOW!!!!!!!!……… your own compliments about yourself only demonstrate what your deficit is…….. the said says: “tell me what you boast of and I will tell l you what you lack of”….. (or something like that)……
But lamentable you are wrong……. my comment explicitly states that we cubans can’t fix all world wrong doing like repression of violent protesters in NY or children dying of hunger in communism impoverished Africa countries…… we have to start fixing the crimes and injustices in our own country and that’s is what we are trying to do in spite the work of castrofascist agents like you and your 2 others office mates.
Abril 11th, 2012 at 12:28
Humberto,
Do you really expect a committee of Norwegian parliamentarians to give the award to Cuban dissidents and insult their hero, Fidel?
No. They’re drooling over the chance to award the traitorous twerp Bradley Manning. Which is ironic, since Manning is being held in prison by the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Barack Obama. …what did he win that for again? Oh right, for bringing a new era of world peace and brotherly love and for not being George Bush, but mostly for not being Bush.
The Nobel Peace Prize is a pathetic joke.
Abril 11th, 2012 at 12:23
Help,
I encourage you to go browse the website http://www.ascecuba.org. There are dozens of papers on every aspect of the Cuban economy, society, politics & etc. These are not polemical opinion pieces, but indepth reports by serious knowledgeable academics.
When one realizes, as you & Humberto do, how well and truly f**ked Cuba has become under the Castro’s, tedious debates about “free speech” or “free education”, or how many people actually flee the island on rafts are a waste of time. The system is collapsing. What it transitions into will be either a Fascist criminal dictatorship (the Raul Castor program) or a free & democratic society.
Abril 11th, 2012 at 12:16
IF LA FLACA WINS THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE, THE PUSH WE NEED FOR REAL CHANGES WILL GET A HUGE BOOST! LOOK WHAT HAPPENED IN BURMA/MYANMAR WITH DISSIDENT Aung San Suu Kyi WHO WON THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE IN 1991!
DAILY NATION: Nobel prizes to be announced October 8-15
The 2012 Nobel prizes will be announced between October 8 and 15, the Nobel Foundation said Wednesday, with Helmut Kohl, Bill Clinton, the EU and WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning in the running for the Peace Prize.
The list for the peace prize is known to comprise the names of 231 individuals and organisations, close to last year’s record of 241 when the award as split between Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian activist Leymah Gbowee and Yemeni “Arab Spring” activist Tawakkol Karman.
Despite its current crisis, the European Union is also among the candidates, as are Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege, Cuban dissidents Oswaldo Paya and Yoani Sanchez, and Russian rights group Memorial and its founder Svetlana Gannushkina.
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/w...../1nrjke/-/
Abril 11th, 2012 at 12:15
Humberto,
You pointed me in the direction of the Truth & Memory Project” several weeks ago. I much appreciate the link.
By the way, I received my order from Amazon for the DVD of Before Night Falls, the movie you strongly recommended. I shall watch it this weekend. In addition, I also ordered the books, The Autobiography of Fidel Castro by Norberto Fuentes and Dirty Havana by Pedro Juan Gutierrez. OMG! Gutierrez’s book certainly is “dirty”. Have you read him? His book describes the desperate lives of impoverished Cubans during the Special Period of the early 1990s. He’s an excellent writer, (in the style of Miller or Bukowski) but not somebody you would bring home to meet your mother.
Abril 11th, 2012 at 12:09
Griffin, I read some. Thanks for the Sherritt post.
All I knew is what Cubans told me, there are no environmental regulations or if there are, big capitalists get to break them all with Castro’s encouragement. Cubans would like to protest like we do here, but of course they can’t.
I guess environmentalism is another CIA imperialist USA sponsored plot.
Abril 11th, 2012 at 12:05
Griffin! GREAT ARTICLE! I HAVE POSTED HERE MANY TIMES SELECTIONS FROM “THE TRUTH & MEMORY PROJECT” MENTIONED IN THE ARTICLE! THIS ISSUE OF “JUSTICE” IS THE CORNERSTONE FOR BUILDING A NEW CUBAN SOCIETY & FOR MONEY TO FLOW IN FROM THE CUBANS IN THE DIASPORA! I HOPE TO HAVE A FIRST ROW SEAT OR WILL BE GLUED TO THE ONLINE COVERAGE WHEN THE BIG SHOTS WILL BE PUT ON TRIAL, DEAD OR ALIVE! WE LIVE IN THE 21st CENTURY UNLIKE “LA CHINA” RAUL & “THE MUMMY” FIDEL AND JUSTICE WILL BE SERVED! JE JE JE!
Cuba Archive’s Truth and Memory Project is documenting deaths and disappearances resulting from the Cuban revolution and studies transitional issues related to truth, memory and justice. This project seeks to compel people and nations to help Cubans peacefully attain their rightful freedoms, foster a culture of respect for life and the rule of law, and honor the memory of those who’ve paid the highest price.
“13 de marzo” tugboat massacre, 13-07-94: 45 drowned when the Cuban Coast Guard sank the hijacked tugboat “13 de marzo”. Victims included the following 12 children: Ángel Abreu, age 3, Giselle Borjes, age 4, Juan Mario Gutiérrez, age 11, Caridad Leyva, age 4, Helen, Martínez, age 6 mos., Mayulis Méndez, age 16, José Nicol, age 3, Yousel Pérez, age 11, Yassel Perodín, age 11, Cindy Rodríguez, age 2, Yolindis Rodríguez, age 2, Eliezer Suárez, age 11 For an account of this incident see: Amnesty International, Report - AMR 25/13/97, July 1997, “Cuba: the sinking of the “13 de marzo” tugboat on 13 July 1994.”
http://www.cubaarchive.org/downloads/CA23.pdf
Abril 11th, 2012 at 12:04
Another joke perhaps: “Secondly, if the issue we’re debating would be just about Freedom of Speech and Freedom to Vote in Cuba; I am under the impression no one would object, or actually says Cuba shouldn’t have free elections”
Actually, almost every Marxist “friend of Cuba” is objecting to freedom of speech and freedom to vote in Cuba. Some of the more “liberal” ones are saying Cuba should allow another “socialist” party, but definitely nothing “liberal” or “capitalist”
Well, that’s very nice of them. Then Cuba will be as democratic as Pinochet’s Chile, which might be an improvement.
And the only reason Marxists object to democracy in Cuba is because all their delusions would be popped in a free election. Who cares about 11 million people, it’s your self-centered delusion that matters.
Abril 11th, 2012 at 11:55
In case anybody is following the links I posted and read the articles, the argument is clear:
1. The Castro regime is a vast and thoroughly corrupt criminal conglomerate.
2. Tourism & foreign investment help the regime but have done little to help the average Cuban.
3. Cuba is facing a severe economic crisis which will only get worse.
4. The regime is responding to this crisis by introducing limited economic reforms, expanding the military control of the economy, while maintaining political control.
5. Raul Castro’s economic reforms will not succeed due to internal economic contradictions of the Cuban system and a rising popular political opposition.
6. There is a rising demand that the regime leaders face justice for their criminal abuse of the Cuban people over the past 53 years.
Abril 11th, 2012 at 11:52
Freud –> cos I know you are implicitly excusing the oppression that is happening on your doorstep yet you are so concerned with how Castro does his ugly job… when all he does he learnt here in the West as it is evident to anyone who lived in both societies…!!
Honestly how did you manage to escape on a raft??.. in Romania you couldn’t make it 200m into the sea without to be spotted and that was it.. On land with a good guide was much more safe to escape…
Abril 11th, 2012 at 11:42
DECONSTRUCTING “CONSTRUCTIVE ENGAGEMENT”: CANADA’S ECONOMIC RELATIONS WITH CUBA, 1993–2003
Contrary to Chrêtien’s expectations, Canada’s policy of dialogue and constructive engagement failed to overcome President Fidel Castro’s intransigence with respect to democratic governance, human rights, and economic freedom. The high-water mark for human rights groups was reached in the mid-1990s. This was followed in 1996 by the repression of the Concilio Cubano, its leaders and members, and in 2003 by the most severe crackdown against peaceful dissidents in the Marxist-Leninist state.
The Index of Economic Freedom has consistently classified the Cuban economy as repressed and in 2003 it ranked Cuba at 153, just above North Korea. The Index of Freedom in the World has annually given Cuba the lowest rating for both political rights and civil liberties. Among the eight countries classified in 2003 as the least free, the index placed Cuba under Burma and just above North Korea.
http://www.ascecuba.org/public.....fjones.pdf
Abril 11th, 2012 at 11:30
THE CASE AGAINST UNLIMITED TRAVEL TO CUBA AS AN AGENT OF DEMOCRATIZATION
We typically hear four arguments for liberalizing travel with Cuba. The first assertion is that flooding Cuba with American tourists will instill among Cubans a yearning for democracy. Secondly, tourist spending, it is argued, will help average Cubans by improving their living standards or wages. Third, some argue that our policy of isolating the regime has failed, so we should try something different and they hold the belief that engagement will promote positive change. Finally, libertarians will assert Americans have a Constitutional right to go wherever they choose, including Cuba.
These arguments are dead wrong and fundamentally reflect our inability to understand what it is like to live in a totalitarian society where all aspects of peoples’ lives are controlled and where fear of state security is pervasive. As most Americans have never experienced totalitarianism, they make assumptions about what can be achieved in such a state that are not grounded in reality.
http://www.ascecuba.org/public...../cason.pdf
Abril 11th, 2012 at 11:24
117Un Soricel
Abril 11th, 2012 at 10:45
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By the way mamita…….. why are you answering questions adressed to Cuba-Pitbull????
Is he out of the office for a while????…… Is he in the cofee break???…… or is he gone for the day?????
Abril 11th, 2012 at 11:22
THE DIRTY SIDE OF MOA NICKEL: A CRITICAL VIEW FROM SPACE
On December 15, 1994, the Cuban Government and Canadian company Sherritt International established the joint venture Moa Nickel S.A. under a 50–50 ownership agreement.
This study assessed the damage to vegetation, landscape, coastal waters and rivers caused by the mining activities of Moa Nickel S.A. Comparison of several chronological Landsat images was used to observe the environmental damage areas. Commercial GIS open sources were also used to identify pollution point sources and to detail some land uses changes. The analysis indicates there has been a significant environmental impact since 1989. In addition, this evaluation reveals that Moa Nickel S.A. has received special environmental flexibility from the Cuban Government, including a 10–year grace period to comply with Cuban environmental law, and that these special considerations have been extended.
It was ironic to read Fidel’s rambling discourse on the evils of Canadian mining companies’ activities in Latin America, seeing as how the Cuban gov’t is facilitating the environmental devastation of the Moa regime of Cuba by Sherrit’s nickel mining operation.
http://www.ascecuba.org/public.....cepero.pdf
Abril 11th, 2012 at 11:13
Cuba will not be red for to long….Vatican who holds two keys has open the door or east gate in Asia and closed the door,in west gate located in Cuba,Central America. Remember pyramides are the symbols of the sun position and they are found in both east and west,Asia and central America.Pyramides of Egypt must have shown before the highest position of the sun…
There is the next big sun story…not in the east which will star fading its power
Abril 11th, 2012 at 11:13
117Un Soricel
Abril 11th, 2012 at 10:45
Freud –> yeah baby just like the armoured gorillas spraying the eyes of OcuppyWS…..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No mama…… those have more in common with those thugs beating men, woman and children when invading oponent’s houses in Cuba or with those attacking with machetes and iron sticks pacific protesters in Santiago de Cuba streets…….. but those you named are a problem of US democracy fighters…… the ones I named are Cuban’s problem…… so……. don’t make us try to solve the problems of US people and let us solve the problems we have at home with the criminals we fight.
Abril 11th, 2012 at 11:13
THE ROLE OF BLOGS IN BREAKING THE MEDIA’S EMBARGO AND TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT CUBA
http://www.ascecuba.org/public.....ygomez.pdf
Abril 11th, 2012 at 11:08
The mythical gryphon is a beast with the head of an eagle and the body of a lion.
I assure you, I have neither.
Abril 11th, 2012 at 11:06
FIDEL CASTRO, INC.: A GLOBAL CONGLOMERATE
Fidel Castro, Inc. brings togeth- er scores of enterprises, sizeable hard currency hold- ings, and numerous real estate assets inside and out- side Cuba, all under Fidel or Raúl Castro’s personal control and hidden from official national statistics. Fidel Castro, Inc. enjoys a rare advantage: the free ex- ploitation and use of the resources—both capital and human—of an entire nation, free of oversight and taxation.
Drug Trafficking, Criminal Activities and Money Laundering
The involvement of high-ranking Cuban govern- ment officials in international drug trafficking under the orders or with the knowledge and acquiescence of the Castro brothers has been long alleged. Consistent reports abound from former regime insiders, mem- bers of Colombian and Mexican drug cartels, from intelligence officials of the former Soviet Union and its satellites, and from journalists, governments, and even world leaders — including the Presidents of the United States and Colombia. In fact, four high- ranking Cuban officials have been indicted in the United States on drug charges. In addition, there are plentiful reports of the links between Fidel Castro and Robert Vesco in money laundering and drug trafficking activities. Vesco, a fugitive from U.S. jus- tice, lived in luxury and with the protection of the Cuban leader since 1980, but fell in disgrace in 1995 and was sentenced to thirteen years in prison, which he is serving on the island.
http://www.ascecuba.org/public.....werlau.pdf
Abril 11th, 2012 at 11:01
No Griffin…is the so called flying monster or lion…but there were also flying eagles called griffins…which you see in Euroasia,later in Europe…England,Canada and USA’s symbols…moving as symbols and people and the myths from east to west.
Cuba’s symbol with sun setting and a key may have something to do with these beasts flying west and fading as the sun sets…so Cuba’s communism is like the red sunset.
That is why west light is fading and is showing to east now…as a red sunrise(Asia?)
Abril 11th, 2012 at 10:45
Freud –> yeah baby just like the armoured gorillas spraying the eyes of OcuppyWS protesters or the Jewish army swearing obscenities at Muslim women to humiliate them…’same disgust’ with ‘dissent’ …different nations!! same result though!!
Abril 11th, 2012 at 10:44
RAÚL CASTRO’S DILEMMA: HOW TO FIX THE CUBAN ECONOMY WITHOUT RISKING POLITICAL POWER
Cuba’s economic crisis is not a case of systematic mismanagement by an incompetent government that was supposed to be concerned with the economic health of the country. Rather, it is a result of policies by a government that neglected economic affairs profoundly disrupting and irreversibly damaging an economic system that evolved for four and a half centuries and had reached a certain capacity and level of efficiency in 1959.
…And here precisely is where Raúl Castro’s dilemma lies: in the trade-off between efficiency and control: efficiency requires workers’ and citizens’ freedom to choose as an incentive to work hard and be efficient, while political control to avoid political instability re- quires constraining workers’ and consumers’ behav- ior. It is safe to assume that neither Raúl Castro, nor the hardliners within the CCP, will promote or sup- port radical reforms. That is why a reading of the Lineamientos signals how cautiously they are ap- proaching reforms, with all kinds of caveats and re- strictions, afraid of losing political control at any step. But they know that the current economic situa- tion of the country is precarious and probably not sustainable for much longer, requiring gains in pro- duction and productivity (as long as they cannot count on indefinite external subsidies or a miracle).
http://www.ascecuba.org/public.....inetty.pdf
Abril 11th, 2012 at 10:39
@Help #103 –> Let see, first of all, what we’re debating here with you is NOT Cuba… but your perception of Cuba from America/Canada/etc. For debating Cuba we can look at best at Y’s entries and comment on those. You gusy seldom comment on those you just use these entries as confirmation of your view - which the entries are NOT.
–> Secondly, if the issue we’re debating would be just about Freedom of Speech and Freedom to Vote in Cuba; I am under the impression no one would object, or actually says Cuba shouldn’t have free elections. Definitely this is not what I am saying here… What I am arguing here for is that there are other issues involved and you leave those out! Issues such as the embargo, jobs, food on the table, affordable rent, visas to travel the world, national independence, the equality of Cubans with other nationals, what is happening in ‘democratic’ countries today, are a few - but as relevant as the right to vote if you link the dots. However you tie everything to the right to vote… and this is what I called ’selling lollpops to suckers’. As you can see even in your illustrious country voting allows for true actual changes… less and less and less. It is the same people different suit wife and now colour of their skin!
Abril 11th, 2012 at 10:39
93Cuba Libre
Abril 10th, 2012 at 23:10
The man working for the red cross who hit Andres Carrion Alvarez on the head with his stretcher was simply displaying his disgust……. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Following your logic we can say that paramilitary (what are not other than civil people organized in militias) in Colombia or under Argentinean dictatorship or under Pinochet regime had the right to “display their disgust” on commies disturbing the civil peace!!!!!!
Abril 11th, 2012 at 10:31
87Cuba Libre
Abril 10th, 2012 at 21:47
# 85 Freud,
Why can`t you see the irony and the fact that you are contradicting yourself. You cry out so that Cubans could speak their mind, yet you denounce the fact that Ozzie spoke his mind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The only one that understand my words in the way you did is youself…… your problem have a name : Dyslexi, I told you….. seek professional help please you can’t pretend to comment in this or any other site if you don’t understand the meaning of what you want to comment.
I repeat,
Guillen has all world right to speak his mind out as well we cubans have all the world right to speak our mind out too…… and that was exactly what happened……. now, you, as good castrofascist, get mad when we cubans speak laudly and clear …… it is not our problem but yours….. get your ears covered and so you will avoid to hear ouir voices.
Abril 11th, 2012 at 10:20
I understood long time ago that dragon Griffin had the small brain and beastiality of a primitive Asiatic from Euroasia. Here is info where the monster or red dragon Griffin originated…but did fly to Canada.That is why there now is the flag red,like the red communism spreading west as bible told us about the running women, now EU …WEST and the red Dragon,the East…following as a bloodthirsty monster…
Adrienne Mayor, a classical folklorist, proposes that the griffin was an ancient misconception derived from the fossilized remains of the Protoceratops found in gold mines in the Altai mountains of Scythia, in present day southeastern Kazakhstan.[Borat country?]
Abril 11th, 2012 at 10:13
An(al)onimo, darling have you filled the form? I could add a few more fields for your help…that paint you for what you are. A complexed (as in having a complex) with migrants!…
Where would you be with out this blog I wonder!… The Wikileaks of Cuba without the leaks but with a snitch that cannot snitch but uses the id of other people and thinks this is being civilised - Y is really nice to let you post here!
Imagine if you lived in Cuba you would have been able to put that guy that shouted Freedom in prison and got some reward from the state and a prole cap … same you claim you do to migrants only without the reward. What have we done to deserve your ‘love’ are we just better than you and know where to drink good Mojitos (la Bodeguita) as opposed to the McDs you stuff in intravenously even for Easter!!!
Abril 11th, 2012 at 10:09
DEMYSTIFYING THE CUBAN HEALTH SYSTEM: AN INSIDER’S VIEW
In 1972–74, the author practiced general medicine in Jobabo, Bartle, Omaha and Hermanos Mayo in Oriente province, where he delivered babies; he knows firsthand about the practice of reporting as intrapartum fetal deaths the cases of newborns that were born alive and died in the first minutes after the delivery, as a means to lower artificially the early neo- natal mortality and thus the infant mortality, due to the enormous political pressure to bring them down.7 In 1979, the author published a multi-factorial analysis of mortality in the rural and urban areas of the Tunas region, where he worked.8 In that paper he showed statistically the extreme prioritization of in- fant mortality and its components in contrast to other health problems of the population, and very subtly the relative lack of attention to elder and even adult care of both genders (except women when pregnant), a pattern he had already experienced while practicing internal medicine at the Havana 26 & Boyeros Hospital in 1971–72 and polyclinics in 1963–67.
Moreover, he knew in 1988 that often living fetuses from induced abortions were thrown alive in the ward bathroom waste basket and omitted from re- ports of live births and deaths in the Havana Maternity Hospital (Linea & G). If these vital events—of at least over 21 weeks of gestational age or 499 g of weight, if not of all ages and weights — would have been reported, Cuba’s infant mortality rates would be have been at least 50% higher. In 2006, he knew that many mothers with fragile health facing septic and hemorrhagic complications of abortions and deliveries were filling critical care units of general hospitals to reduce the high mortality.
The anomalies and contradictions analyzed earlier regarding Cuba’s health statistics (lowest infant mortality rates and early neonatal rates, high stillbirth rates, highest induced abortion percents, stagnated maternal mortality ratio, and highest infant/maternal mortalities distance or ratio compared with the rest of countries) raise again questions about the consistency of Cuba’s very low infant mortality rates during 1971–2010, and of the strongly and inversely associated high life expectancy at birth. Eberstadt, discoverer of the “health crisis in the USSR,” questioned in 1984 the consistency of Cuba’s infant mortality rates pointing to contradictions among lower rates in vital statistics, higher rates in life tables, and high rates of infectious morbidity reported. In addition, he reported that U.S. intelligence documents gathered from Granada revealed Cuba’s advice to the government to have two sets of statistics: one secret to know the real situation and another public to diffuse ideal statistics for propaganda reasons.
http://www.ascecuba.org/public.....tusser.pdf
Abril 11th, 2012 at 10:06
Oh jee..the dragon….GRIFFIN… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griffin
It remind me that old painting that I saw in Austria with a man as Christ in a white horse hitting with a spear the monster Griffin…Now make sense why Griffin hates light,..it is because Griffin is a symbol for the darkness, the lion,beast of the jungle…killing all animals untill man enters in the jungle and fight with Griffin…the superbeast…the bible’s lion…old beast…flying one,the red dragon…the ultra orthodox communism. That is so much red in the bloody Griffin
Abril 11th, 2012 at 09:49
Transitional Justice, the Coming Case of The People of Cuba v. The Castro Regime
How a transition government deals criminals and human rights a will set a tone that, for example, can help minimize the most certain individual retributive actions that will ensue when the Communists are not longer a viable political power. Cuba’s recent efforts such as legalizing certain careers, a type of home ownership, as well as small businesses is for naught. It is based on a failed legal and political system that has no idea how difficult things are going to get. Add to this process the property claims and Cuba’s external debt issues, as well as the retributive psyche of a transition economy, and you have the recipe for a political disaster that no serious foreign investor will want to dabble in.
Very interesting points raised in this article. The regime is facing a mortal crisis. What then?
http://www.jasonpoblete.com/20.....ro-regime/
Abril 11th, 2012 at 08:16
You Marxists are the ones who talk about sharing, but never do anything for Cuba.
You don’t even want Cubans to have the vote, how sick is that?
We’re the ones who support family and friends in Cuba, to the tune of billions of dollars a year.
Just the facts, I have not come across one leftist over the past 50 years who went to Cuba to live like an average Cuban.
I don’t mean to live like a poor Cuban, just to go and live like an average Cuban without bourgeois privileges.
Not one in 50 years! In that Cuban proletarian paradise, not one leftist in 50 years has gone to live as a proletarian.
Talk about solidarity!
Abril 11th, 2012 at 08:10
Again, you fascists ask bizarre questions.
You are the ones praising Cuba, yet none of you ever want to live there.
We’re the ones saying it’s the pits, so of course we don’t want to live there.
How simple can things be for you to understand them? Or are you just pretending to be so dense?
Abril 11th, 2012 at 07:39
# 99 Un Soricel,
Good to hear from you, and I must say another excellent post. Other than the posts from Humberto in here who have some credibility, I get a good laugh when I read the others. I have only followed this blog for a year or so, but I am inclined to believe you when you says they have been repeating the same sayings for the last 5 years.
Wait, how much do you wanna bet that Help`s next post is gonna include something having to do with Charles Manson, one of his preffered subjects, lol.
Abril 11th, 2012 at 07:34
# 98 Humberto,
Of course Ozzie had to say he was soeery for his statement, he was also sorry that if he didn`t apoligize he would lose his job forever. He had to say he was regretful for causing people and his family a lot of pain, but hewas also regretful for the loss of salary it brought upon him. And like Pena says ” He was like a piñata,” its true, everyone was hitting on him to break him open.
I didn`t see any regret in his speach, its as if he read what somebody else wrote for him. And the reason he apoligized was simply that if he didn`t, he would be out of a job for good.
Abril 11th, 2012 at 07:06
@Help #77 and the Cuban posse –> Since it is that time, maybe you should start first by summing-up what you (and your clique) have done for Cuba here over the past ? years. I mean achievements that can be measured, concrete.
I mean if Y (according to Fox news - told you guys that Fox is the church your go to)…came back from picture-perfect Switzerland to be a star in Cuba, then how come you guys don’t go there… Imagine Help/Freud you would publish your BSbooks make friends with An(al)omino and fight for a good cause and be all stars at the same time! Actually you would be doing something useful and true - but then again it is easier to tell us to move to Cuba and pretend you have dough to spare when you probably post 20 dollars every 3 months…so darling… Cuba is not our cause but it is your cause!!! Stop expecting US to do a revolution for you.. we are not Che! and look what happened to him.
It so seem that just Y is doing the heavy lifting on this blog in terms of results… Misleadingly she mentions just herself in the entry - smart capitalist girl knows how to keep all the fame to herself. Practically this blog is an industry!! not even a cottage industry since more that 2 pips are needed to run it plus decent resources. Gotta love Y she made it sound like in a Hollywood biopic… got an itch… scratch an idea.. go to a hotel .. post on line… become a star!! Super…no wonder migrants such as myself ‘are losers’ everywhere in the West, we don’t think like that!
So back to your achievemts Help et al. and since your lot constantly avoids the topic, I think the obvious achievements are the most measurable ones. So here is form to fill to help you with:
1. how many different opinions I have dragged into the mud on in ? years:………
2. how many people who ‘liked’ Castro I called agents in ? years:………
2. how many times I said Che in aKiller in ? years:………..
You & your posse fill the blanks at will please!!
The situation with the Marlin’s trainer says it all about true freedom of speech you Cuban love & cherish - why should we expect better from Castro, he never said he is in favour of freedom of speech!!!
So… Y is the Cuban WikiLeaks… without the leaks but with the vignettes.. … understandably accetable if you live in the USA.. meaning this is the face of militancy the West loves and not the OcuppyWS! .. a woman with a blog and a twitter account writing about West’s enemies and how great and good the crave/struggle/whatever for capitalism is - so that’s where Cuba is headed!!!
The only merit I like in Y is that she is looking towards the future, a better future and a more balanced future beside blaming Castro forever, as you posse does here and in Miami(every weekend).
Anyone’s seen Blame it on Castro? French movie… just in case you guys are still allowed to watch French movie… not sure though..:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0792966/
Abril 11th, 2012 at 02:11
EXACTLY!! FROM ONE OF THE PEOPLE THAT REALLY COUNT!!! AND YOU KNOW THAT OLD QUEENS FROM CALIFORNIA DONT KNOW MUCH ABOUT SPORTS! JE JE JE!
CBS SPORTS: Cuban-born Brayan Pena offers his perspective on Ozzie Guillen’s apology- By C. Trent Rosecrans
There were no shortage of opinions about Ozzie Guillen’s comments about Fidel Castro and subsequent apology on Tuesday, but one of the more interesting opinions came from Royals catcher Brayan Pena, who defected from Cuba in 2000.
Pena woke up early on Tuesday to watch Guillen’s press conference live. He told reporters (via MLB.com) that he believed Guillen was truly sorry:
“I really saw somebody that was very regretful, somebody that was in a lot of pain, somebody who knew he’d caused him and his family and a lot of people a lot of pain,” Pena said. “And somebody who really believed that he can change, that he learned from his mistake. He was like a piñata.
“This is America, everybody deserves a second chance. That’s why I’m proud to be an American, that’s why I became an American citizen. This is what a real democracy is, because I lived on the other side — where you can’t explain yourself, where you have to very careful what you say.”
Pena lives in Miami during the offseason and said it will be difficult for the Cuban community in Miami to accept Guillen’s apology, but is looking forward to seeing if Guillen backs up his words with actions.
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/b.....ns-apology
Abril 11th, 2012 at 00:06
ON THIS DAY OF BASEBALL, CUBANS, CUBA, “THE MUMMY” FIDEL, FREE SPEECH ETC. THIS LINK I FOUND INTERESTING! I DID NOT MENTION YOU KNOW WHO THIS TIME!
PBS | Stealing Home | Debate | Defections!
So-called defections embarrass the Cuban government because these athletes, who are the embodiment of the benefits of Cuban society, turn their backs on it and say this is not what I want. So if I, a great baseball player wants to leave Cuba, imagine how many people behind me would love to leave also. So a player turning his back on the presumed benefits of a Communist society, denies the validity of what the government is propounding as a society leading up to a perfect society, etc. The idea is of course that so-called professional baseball is exploitation of man by man, it is hard to feel sorry for Pedro Martinez making all those millions, he’s exploited in a way that I would love to be exploited, but there is of course exploitation of some of ballplayers. But one wonders if the ballplayers in Cuba are not also being exploited for propaganda purposes. But the government has dropped that line already, I think that they know that that is old-fashioned Communisism, it doesn’t wash because everything collapsed in the Soviet Union, all of of those great sports machines, of Poland and Russia and so forth, that came crashing down. And I think what they want to do is to be able to control the product and reap its benefits. That is they don’t want the players to leave, become free agents, and become millionaires in the states. They want to be able to market the players and have the players become a source of revenue for the country. This is what is being done with Professional volleyball teams in Cuba. Professionalism is not spurned by the Cuban government, as long as it is a professionalism that benefits the regime, and so when Cuban track stars like Javier Soto Mayor and others, play for professional clubs in Europe and bring back their money, they are, they’re happy with that. And that is presumably not exploitation of man by man. It is when the players want to do it independently on their own that the regime objects. But I don’t think that, I don’t think that behind it there is much ideology anymore, I don’t think that there is a great deal of ideology or political doctrine in the the Cuban government now. I think that the aim of the Cuban government is not political purity, its chief concern, and aim is to remain in power.
http://www.pbs.org/stealinghom.....tions.html
Abril 10th, 2012 at 23:43
C.L.! said: “The man working for the red cross who hit Andres Carrion Alvarez on the head with his stretcher was simply displaying his disgust that any man would want to profit from the Papal visit and during a mass, to promote his political views. It was neither the time nor the place.”
SO, C.L.! YOU THINK OZZIE GUILLEN SHOULD HAVE BEEN SLAPPED & HIT OVER THE HEAD WITH A STRETCHER BY ONE OF THE MIAMI “EXTREMISTS” AND THEY THEN NOT BE CHARGED OR IDENTIFIED?? IF THIS HAPPENED IN THE BAD OLD U.S.A. THEY WOULD BE ARRESTED AND THEIR NAME WOULD BE ALL OVER THE NEWS! C.L.! YOU CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT! IM DISAPPOINTED! OOPS, SORRY! I PROMISED NO MORE GUILLEN REFERENCES! BUT IS SOO APPROPRIATE!
Abril 10th, 2012 at 23:19
By the way, one of those Russian spies, Vicky Palaez, was a well-known leftist “journalist” always praising Castro and attacking the USA.
She was well-paid as a anti-American journalist in the USA, but I guess she couldn’t resist the thrill of waging covert war against the USA.
She probably regrets it now, I’m sure she liked New York more than Moscow.
And she never moved to Cuba, although it’s a lot closer to her native Peru! Even terrorists and spies who praise Cuba can’t stand living there!
Castro’s spies come in every shape and size, and there’s a lot of them. And I would wager a lot of money they are hard at work in the comments section of this blog.
Abril 10th, 2012 at 23:18
Put it this way. Cubans hide their shortwaves.
The 10 Russian spies in the USA who got caught (in 2010) receiving instructions on their shortwaves got in less trouble than a Cuban friend who got caught listening to American radio on his shortwave.
Anybody who says there is freedom of speech in Cuba is mentally insane.
Abril 10th, 2012 at 23:10
The man working for the red cross who hit Andres Carrion Alvarez on the head with his stretcher was simply displaying his disgust that any man would want to profit from the Papal visit and during a mass, to promote his political views. It was neither the time nor the place. Over 10,000 people gathered in peace and unison, and this one guy had to pronounce such words that had nothing whatsoever pertaining to a religious reunion. He was lucky only one guy hit him over the head.
Abril 10th, 2012 at 23:01
Humberto,
It is like you said, “There is a history of Cuban athletes defecting to pursue potentially lucrative professional careers outside of Cuba.” They are all attracted by the Great American Dream and the Almighty dollar. I lost interst in professional sports when the salaries skyrocketed. When you think a soccer player can earn $10 million a year, when you think a football player can earn $20 million a year, and when you think a basketball player can earn over $30 miilion a year, and we who work doing our 9 to 5 jobs pay over $100 to go see the “play”. Imagine all the good that money could be put too. So its no wonder any Cuban athlete would want to defect to the US.
Abril 10th, 2012 at 22:29
Anonimo! THE CUBAN MAN WHO YELLED “DOWN WITH COMMUNISM” AT THE PAPAL MASS, Andres Carrion Alvarez IS BEIGN CHARGED FOR “DISORDERLY CONDUCT”! OF COURSE THE GUY DRESSED AS A RED CROSS VOLUNTEER, WHO SLAPPED HIM HARD AND HIT HIM OVER WITH A STRETCHER, José Alberto Rojas Sangred, age 43 (identified thru photos circulated on social media sites) HAS NOT BEEN IDENTIFIED BY THE CASTROFASCISTS NOR CHARGED WITH BATTERY ON A CITIZEN! THE JUSTICE SYSTEM IN CUBA IS A WONDER FOR THE WHOLE WORLD TO SEE! SPEAKING OF SEEING, LET ME PUT THE VIDEO AGAIN FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT SEENT IT ALREADY! JE JE JE!
YOUTUBE CUBA: The International Red Cross responded today to a video of a man using their symbol with violence - Members of dissent groups are demanding that the authorities identify the protagonist of the incident where a man (Andres Carrion Alvarez) was beaten and dragged.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WskVwi6SUyw
Abril 10th, 2012 at 22:17
C.L. said: “Why can`t you see the irony and the fact that you are contradicting yourself. You cry out so that Cubans could speak their mind, yet you denounce the fact that Ozzie spoke his mind. So what you are trying to say is that only people opposed to Fidel Castro should have freedom of speech and not the ones who support him.”
Freud said: “those people have the right to speak them out too……. why do you want them silenced?????…….. in spite your low passions Miami’s people will speak and speak loudly.”
C.L.! YOU AND FREUD ARE SAYING THE SAME THING! IM HERE AS THE REFEREE! BUT NOT A BASEBALL REFEREE IN THE MARLIN’S BALLPARK RIGHT NOW! OUCH!! JE JE JE!
Abril 10th, 2012 at 22:13
WELL, ITS OFFICIAL FOLKS! ANOTHER FOOL LEAVES THE “PARADISE ISLAND” OF CUBA FOR THE BAD OLD U.S.A.!! THEY WILL NEVER LEARN, AND WILL BE CRAWLING BACK SOON LIKE OZZIE GUILLEN TO MIAMI! JE JE JE! OK, NO MORE GUILLEN TALK! HE IS NOT THAT IMPORTANT!
REUTERS: Cuban national soccer team player defects, seeks asylum in US - By Tim Ghianni
A Cuban national soccer player who disappeared from his team while in Nashville, Tennessee, for an Olympic qualifying tournament has defected and is seeking asylum in the United States, his attorney said on Tuesday.
Yosmel de Armas was in Nashville for the soccer tournament in late March when he disappeared. He played in a March 24 game, but was absent from the team’s next game on March 26.
When asked about the absent player at the time, the coach said De Armas was sick and had stayed in the team hotel when the rest of the team went to play that game. But he was not with the team when it departed Nashville the next day.
Miami-based attorney Alex Solomiany said De Armas not only was not in the hotel at game time, he was en route to Miami, arriving either March 26 or March 27, after taking a bus from Nashville.
Solomiany said the soccer player contacted him Tuesday, on the recommendation of others in the Cuban community.
“I’m representing him pro bono,” he said, adding that when De Armas slipped away from the team hotel in Nashville, all he had were “the clothes on his back.”
“We’re preparing an asylum application to file with the Department of Homeland Security,” Solomiany said, adding that he hoped to file the application within two or three days.
He described De Armas as “nervous. He’s alone here.” He has friends but no family in Miami.
There is a history of Cuban athletes defecting to pursue potentially lucrative professional careers outside of Cuba. Seven members of Cuba’s Olympic soccer team defected in Tampa, Florida, in 2008 after their qualifying game against the United States. (Editing by Greg McCune and Eric Beech)
http://www.reuters.com/article.....HS20120411
Abril 10th, 2012 at 22:04
Griffin , you wonder what would happen to the manager of a Cuban baseball team if he announced how much he loves and admires America. Well no media in Cuba written or spoken would pick up such a comment as freedom of speech is non existent in Cuba. You all saw the video of the guy yelling down with communism at the papal mass.
Abril 10th, 2012 at 21:47
# 85 Freud,
Why can`t you see the irony and the fact that you are contradicting yourself. You cry out so that Cubans could speak their mind, yet you denounce the fact that Ozzie spoke his mind. So what you are trying to say is that only people opposed to Fidel Castro should have freedom of speach and not the ones who support him. Its just like sayingYou are allowed to kick someone in the face, but if someone kicks you in the face it isn`t right.
Freedom of speach means that everyone is entitled to their views and opinions. Yoani Sanchez is free to post her statements on here without being reprimanded by the revolutionary government you so greatly despise. But if someone should dare to contradict what she says, you are quick to put them down and call them all kinds of things.
Abril 10th, 2012 at 21:21
83Cuba Libre
Abril 10th, 2012 at 20:28
………….I have tried and tried to read their posts, but I don`t understand a single thing. ………..
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Your disease has a name: Dyslexia…….. when you are incapable to understand what you read you are dyslexic.
Abril 10th, 2012 at 21:15
72Cuba Libre
Abril 10th, 2012 at 19:02
Isn`t it ironic how all the gusanos in Little Havana ( Miami) don`t seem to practice what they preach.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The only gusano that do not want people to practice speech freedom are you little worm…… Guillen practiced his stupid speech freedom among the victims of castrofacism, among those that lost their parents brothers and children in castrofascist fire squad or in boats and raft sunken in the sea by castrofascists thugs…… those people have the right to speak them out too……. why do you want them silenced?????…….. in spite your low passions Miami’s people will speak and speak loudly.
Abril 10th, 2012 at 20:28
Humberto,
By the way, I was wanting to ask. Do you have the faintest idea what “red cardinal” or “american businessman” are talking about? I have tried and tried to read their posts, but I don`t understand a single thing. It is obvious they are using a translator, but I guess its not a very good one.
Abril 10th, 2012 at 20:22
C.L.! COMMENT IS BEING MODERATED SO WILL HAVE TO WAIT!
Abril 10th, 2012 at 20:20
SEEMS C.L. THAT THE OTHER POST IS BEING MODERATED! THIS MIGHT SHOW UP!
C.L.! MAYBE YOU MISSED MY COMMENT/QUESTION TO YOU ON THE PREVIOUS BLOG POST, SO IM REPEATING IT HERE! DONT FORGET TO ANSWER, YOU HAVE A REPUTATION TO MAINTAIN! JE JE JE!
Cuba Libre Abril 9th, 2012 at 15:25 #449 said: Humberto, Here is a video of one of your fellow Californians who is getting free med-school education along with hundreds of other Americans, and thousands of other foreigners. Its called “Medical diplomacy”. All this offered by the Cuban government to people who can`t afford medical studies, and all this free of charge. please take a few minutes to view it.
VIDEO LINK ON COMMENT #449 OF PREVIOUS BLOG ENTRY
Humberto Capiro Abril 9th, 2012 at 16:47 #453 said: SO LET ME GET THIS “STRAIGHT” (pun intended)!! A FOREIGNER GETS A FREE EDUCATION IN CUBA TO BE A DOCTOR, CAN LEAVE AND MAKE A GREAT LIVING ABROAD BUT THAT SAME CUBAN DOCTOR WITH THE SAME “FREE EDUCATION” CANNOT IMMIGRATE ABROAD, NOR MAKE A LIVING LIKE THE FOREIGNER CAN?? PLEASE EXPLAIN, FOR I CANNOT! UNLESS WE ARE TALKING ABOUT SLAVERY, BUT MAYBE WE ARE! JE JE JE!
VIDEO: CUBAN DOCTORS DEFECTION COMES AT A PRICE:- The Wall Street Journal’s Joel Millman reports on Cuba’s program of sending doctors abroad as missionaries—The video tells the story of one Cuban doctor working in Gambia who took nine months to escape and now lives in Florida. His wife and child are still in Cuba and she lost her job at a hospital as a result of being blacklisted for five years because of his defection. Another downside is that, without their medical records and certifications (held by the Cuban government), Cuban doctors in the United States can only work as nurses or surgical assistants.
And even though Cuba lets 20,000 people emigrate annually, doctors rarely get permission to leave. Still, almost 1,600 doctors have defected since 2006 as a result of:
Cuba has been sending medical “brigades” to foreign countries since 1973, helping it to win friends abroad, to back “revolutionary” regimes in places like Ethiopia, Angola, and Nicaragua, and perhaps most importantly, to earn hard currency. Communist Party newspaper Granma reported in June that Cuba had 37,041 doctors and other health workers in 77 countries. Estimates of what Cuba earns from its medical teams—revenue that Cuba’s central bank counts as “exports of services”—vary widely, running to as much as $8 billion a year. Many Cubans complain that the brigades have undermined Cuba’s ability to maintain a high standard of health care at home
Abril 10th, 2012 at 20:19
Griffin, in today’s climate of gentler fascism, a manager who said he loved George Bush would be fired and blacklisted and so would much of his family. And of course, travel rights would be taken away, so all his dreams of defecting would be over.
Of course, if he said he loved Posada Carilles, consequences could be more severe.
I know your question was rhetorical, just thought I’d answer it.
Abril 10th, 2012 at 20:16
HERE YOU GO C.L.! SOMETIMES I MISPLACE MY READING GLASSES! JE JE JE!
C.L.! MAYBE YOU MISSED MY COMMENT/QUESTION TO YOU ON THE PREVIOUS BLOG POST, SO IM REPEATING IT HERE! DONT FORGET TO ANSWER, YOU HAVE A REPUTATION TO MAINTAIN! JE JE JE!
Cuba Libre Abril 9th, 2012 at 15:25 #449 said: Humberto, Here is a video of one of your fellow Californians who is getting free med-school education along with hundreds of other Americans, and thousands of other foreigners. Its called “Medical diplomacy”. All this offered by the Cuban government to people who can`t afford medical studies, and all this free of charge. please take a few minutes to view it.
VIDEO LINK ON COMMENT #449 OF PREVIOUS BLOG ENTRY
Humberto Capiro Abril 9th, 2012 at 16:47 #453 said: SO LET ME GET THIS “STRAIGHT” (pun intended)!! A FOREIGNER GETS A FREE EDUCATION IN CUBA TO BE A DOCTOR, CAN LEAVE AND MAKE A GREAT LIVING ABROAD BUT THAT SAME CUBAN DOCTOR WITH THE SAME “FREE EDUCATION” CANNOT IMMIGRATE ABROAD, NOR MAKE A LIVING LIKE THE FOREIGNER CAN?? PLEASE EXPLAIN, FOR I CANNOT! UNLESS WE ARE TALKING ABOUT SLAVERY, BUT MAYBE WE ARE! JE JE JE!
VIDEO: CUBAN DOCTORS DEFECTION COMES AT A PRICE:- The Wall Street Journal’s Joel Millman reports on Cuba’s program of sending doctors abroad as missionaries—The video tells the story of one Cuban doctor working in Gambia who took nine months to escape and now lives in Florida. His wife and child are still in Cuba and she lost her job at a hospital as a result of being blacklisted for five years because of his defection. Another downside is that, without their medical records and certifications (held by the Cuban government), Cuban doctors in the United States can only work as nurses or surgical assistants.
And even though Cuba lets 20,000 people emigrate annually, doctors rarely get permission to leave. Still, almost 1,600 doctors have defected since 2006 as a result of:
Cuba has been sending medical “brigades” to foreign countries since 1973, helping it to win friends abroad, to back “revolutionary” regimes in places like Ethiopia, Angola, and Nicaragua, and perhaps most importantly, to earn hard currency. Communist Party newspaper Granma reported in June that Cuba had 37,041 doctors and other health workers in 77 countries. Estimates of what Cuba earns from its medical teams—revenue that Cuba’s central bank counts as “exports of services”—vary widely, running to as much as $8 billion a year. Many Cubans complain that the brigades have undermined Cuba’s ability to maintain a high standard of health care at home
http://www.good.is/post/video-.....t-a-price/
Abril 10th, 2012 at 20:10
Hola Humberto,
I am always open to a debate with you cause like I have said in the past, your comments are just about the only ones that make any sense and are worth reading. I did not answer to your debate cause you mentioned post # 55 and here for me post 55 is from “red cardinal”. Even if you want to debate “en francais s`il vous plait”, I speak french pretty well, lol.
Now getting back on the subject of Ozzie, my argument wasn`t about the reaction of the US government nor the Marlins administration. My surprise was how the Cubans in Miami that ever so often bad mouth and criticize Fidel Castro on a continual basis in here, to see how they quickly condemned Ozzie`s views about Fidel. The same gusanos who denounce the freedom of speach and democracy in Cuba, are the same ones denouncing Ozzie for speaking his mind. If he had his right to freedom of speach, how come he was forced to apoligize??
Abril 10th, 2012 at 20:03
Hey, I wonder what would happen to the manager of a Cuban baseball team if he announced how much he loves and admires America?
Can you guess what the Cuban police would do to him?
Abril 10th, 2012 at 20:00
Humberto,
Guillan does have a right to insult people, including his employer and the fans. He also has to bear the responsibility for his remarks. Because his employer has rights and responsibilities too. That’s how real free speech works.