Thursday Night Rant

Satellite dishes in Cuba are a hot topic in the news wires.

It is, of course, illegal for Cubans to buy a satellite dish and watch whatever they they please on TV. As slaves, Cubans are condemned to watch the propaganda on state TV 24/7.

This is part of the embargo of truth that the communist regime subjects its citizens to, even in the XXI century. They don’t want Cubans to see the truth and find out how the rest of the world lives.

I came across an Associated Press article that only mentions this violation of basic human rights in the 15th and last paragraph:

But few Cubans talk openly about the dishes: They're strictly banned for homes and police raids periodically are staged to confiscate illegal antennas hidden in water tanks, behind windows or in air conditioner boxes.

The first paragraph insinuates that the hypocritical US government is the real law breaker here because:

The U.S. government strives mightily to stamp out intellectual property theft all over the world -- except for Cuba, where it tries to broadcast anti-communist messages to anyone able to see U.S. programming through illegal satellite dishes.

Being a cynic, I love that angle. You see, the Cubans that are trying to find out what is happening outside their island prison or just want to watch a dammed baseball game or escape the drudgery of their miserable existence in Castro’s socialist paradise are just “pirating” satellite signals illegally and thus ripping off Direct TV since they are not paid subscribers! ….and the US is facilitating the theft ... accomplices, if you will.

BUT the Empire isn’t the only villain. NO! There’s you know who … those people … The Miami Mafia:

By law, TV Marti is barred from broadcasting propaganda inside the United States, but anti-Castro advocates believe they've found a loophole, and that the Florida stations can be used to reach the island as long as any U.S. viewing is "inadvertent."

….And:

Miami-based commercial Spanish language stations are particularly popular, and their news and political programs -- many of them created by Cuban exiles -- are
often as stridently anti-Castro as TV Marti's programming.

BUT: fear not Direct TV, the benevolent Cuban government is putting its resources to fighting the rampant signal piracy:

Now the Cuban government is striking back, warning TV signal pirates that they
face stiff fines and jail terms.

You can almost hear the heroic background soviet music. The good guys, the Communist Jedi Council, is striking back not because it wants to repress its citizens but because:

the grass roots nature of satellite piracy in Cuba, where private business is tightly restricted to promote social and economic equality

There you have it. The Cubans with home made satellite are the bad guys here. They are pirating satellite signals. The US government and the Miami Mafia are their criminal accomplices. Only the benevolent Cuban regime stands for truth justice and economic equality.

That sounds familiar, like right out of the pages of Granma.

Come on somebody tell the AP that sticking up for the Castro regime is sooooo last year. The international press has now moved on to point out the ironies and ideological challenges and juxtapositions facing the Cuban revolution.

Read the Article here. It inadvertently compliments the ingenuity of the truth seeking "pirates"

ARRRRRR!