It's Official...

Well, the suspense is over. Yesterday, the Cuban regime finally released the official results of the National Assembly “elections” held on Jan 20. The communist has somehow managed to hold on to power for an unprecedented 49th year.

AND….all the unopposed candidates were elected! Imagine that.

The big story in this nail biter of an “election” was that Raul got more votes than his big half brother Fidel and all the other unopposed “candidates”.

The media is focusing on the percentage of votes garnered by the “candidates” because there was no election, which by definition means to choose- a crucial element missing form the Cuban “electoral” process -choice. So, since they can’t compare the winner’s percentages to loser’s percentages because there were no losers, they analyze the results of an “election” where everybody wins by who won the most. I guess it gives them something to write about. I mean that is their job-to write, to report what the regime tells them…

… Isn’t it?

There’s got to be a story in there somewhere. The story isn’t that there’s only one “legal” party and that the same party runs the elections and counts the votes and releases the official results in the “official organ” of said party, Granma. No, that’s an old story. You know, the one that makes people’s eyes roll. They’ve heard it too many times already.

Their readers want the new story. They want to be entertained with the human interest angle- and no, that doesn’t mean the humans wasting away in Castro’s gulags-that’s the old, 50 year old eye rolling story -it means the sibling rivalry of which totalitarian dictating brother got the most votes.

Their readers want some suspense. So we’ll be hearing about how the old dictator’s fate is now in the hands of the new “Parliament” made up of 614 members that were hand picked because of their loyalty to the old dictator who runs the party. That’s suspense.

Let Me Roll It...

What is it about the “C” word that scares people?

I wear my “cambio” wristband religiously.

Sometimes people ask what it’s for since it’s common knowledge that the thin silicon bracelets are used to raise awareness and funds in certain causes, each having a different color.

So a few times now when I explain what “cambio” means , I get the roll of the eyes.

I doubt that my enlightened acquaintances with the eye muscle problems would exercise their eye muscles if I was hawking a cause like Gay Rights- and no, that would not be a fuschia wristband, but a rainbow wristband-or ADD or Strabismus.

But mention the “C” word and you clear a room.

It’s not that almost 12 Million people living enslaved just 90 miles from Key West, bothers them. No! They just don’t want to hear anything about “C”uba.

I feel bad for the last young lady who asked me about my “cambio” wristband…right when she started to roll her eyes, I said I was kidding, that “change” was to remind me to remind her to change her underwear.

But I don’t feel so bad, she came back and said “Then, shouldn’t it be brown?”

I just rolled my eyes.

Reflectioneering

So the Cuban government, as far as I can tell, has still not announced the official results of the Jan 20 “elections.”

In the meantime, the repression continues with more emphasis on “catch, threaten and release".

Lula’s visit to Havana resulted in three reflections from the semi-retired, but newly “re-elected” dictator. In the second of those reflections, he seems to be warning the Cuban people that Raul’s promised “structural changes”, specifically those in food production are unattainable:

Our soil is not suitable for the large-scale commercial production of cereals, as required to meet the necessities of a population of almost 12 million people, and the cost in machinery and fuel imported by the nation, at today’s prices, would be very high.

Also, there’s this not-so-veiled criticism of the Chinese and Vietnamese economic models that the pragmatic and collegial Raul is rumored to favor:

Besides, we do not have the required labor force to intensively take part in cereal production as the Vietnamese and Chinese do, growing rice plant by plant and often reaping two or even three harvests a year. It has to do with the location and the historical tradition of the land and its settlers.

What I find interesting is that Fidel, whom I once described as the Ralph Kramdem of Dictators, because of his penchant for highly optimistic, low on specifics, always horrific get Cuba rich-quick schemes, now seems to have morphed into Scotty from Star-Trek with a very “it cont be dunn cap’n” attitude. Even in the face of the utter, (udder)(sorry for the pun), failure of his economic policies, Castro can’t help but to bring up one of his failed grandiose schemes, “White Udder”, (Ubre Blanca) complete with an excuse on why “it cont be dunn”:

I continued with my explanation saying that in Cuba, we had a cow that broke the world record in milk production, a Holstein-Zebu hybrid. Right away Lula named her: "White Udder!" (Ubre Blanca), he exclaimed. He remembered her name. I went on to say that she would produce 110 liters of milk per day. She was like a factory, but she had to have more than 40 kilograms of fodder, the most she could chew and swallow in a 24-hour period, a mixture in which soy meal, a legume that is very difficult to grow in Cuban soil and climate, is a basic ingredient

Aside from contradicting his little half brother’s supposed and highly anticipated “changes” -even though the word “change” in Cuba will get you beaten and thrown in the slammer-his answer to Cuba’s many economic woes seems to be to live on the kindness of other nations, to beg for subsidies from countries like Venezuela and Brazil who have developed their economies on sound economic principles and free markets and not on the ideologically, not logically, derived “Guevara Economics”:

Che studied the budgets of the big Yankee companies whose managers lived in
Cuba, not their owners. He drew from this a clear idea about how imperialism worked and what was happening in our society and this enriched his Marxist ideas and led him to the conclusion that in Cuba we couldn’t use the same methods to build socialism.

But even the failure of their economic policies can be justified because they were in a war economy and could not pay attention to details:

Che used to argue with Carlos Rafael Rodríguez about the self-financed or the budgetary method, things we didn’t consider that important then as we were involved in the struggle against the U.S. blockade, its aggression plans and the 1962 October Missile Crisis, a real survival issue.

What the excuse is for keeping the Cuban people in poverty after1962-after Kennedy promised Khrushchev that the US would not invade Cuba- he doesn’t go into, but he mentions, the “blockade”, Cuba’s geography and climate and even global warming-never failed leadership; a leadership that has been solely in his hands for nearly a half century- unchallenged.

All in all, Mr. Reflective or whomever is penning these missives, is dead set against any change that will improve the everyday lives of Cubans. And the solution offered, sort of, is for other Nations who have managed to develop their resources to send their wealth down to Castro so that their citizens can also experience the joys of Cuba’s “socialized misery.”

Two days later, however, Juventud Rebelde, published the 3rd of a series of articles alerting the Cuban population on the problems they face in putting food on the table. Just in case their empty pockets, empty refrigerators and grumbling stomachs didn't already alert them.

The article quotes one Armando Nova, an Economics professor.

He theorizes, as Economists like to do, that the problem in Cuba lies in the lack of production-that is to say the supply side- with this Gem of a quote :

“..there are added prohibitions that conspire against ourselves. One of these taboos is not to recognize the existence of the market…”

That, is a beauty. How can you fix an economic problem if you, like Guevara, refuse to accept the most basic law of economics: supply and demand? If you refuse to acknowledge that human economic activity is governed by the market through the law of supply and demand, you are doomed to fail because you go against human nature.

Nova, as an economist, realizes that in order to increase the supply of agricultural products to meet demand and lower prices, there have to be other reforms to facilitate increased production. This can only achieved if production is incentivized-another one of those human nature things- people only tend to do things that benefit them in some way. Logically not ideologically, Nova, offers up private property reforms as an incentive to get farmers to produce.

He rationalizes his ideological impurity this way:

" Neither Marx nor Engels, although they always prioritized the cooperative form of property, were in discord with the forms of individual or private property, what they did repudiate was the exploitation of man by man, inherent to the capitalist property".

Ah! another taboo that needs to addressed –the infallibility of Marx and Engels . That would be to boldly go where only “Gusanillos” dare to tread and that “cont be dunn.”

Sin Patria, Pero Sin Amo

Still No Official Word From Havana...

Still no “official” results form the January 20th National Assembly “elections” in Castrolandia.

Could they have forgotten that in order to complete the electoral farce that they need to issue the “official” results at some point?

In the meantime, we have some news form a place that looks like what Havana might look like in another five years if things don’t change soon:

NASA: Mystery Creature On Mars Is Wind-Carved Rock

An image of a mysterious human-like creature on Mars that sparked a flurry of Internet activity is not an alien but a feature of the atmosphere, according to NASA.

Drats!

… and in an somewhat related story, NASA is also studying this picture of a mysterious creature that appeared to be “hugging” trees in the forest. After many tests, however, the scientist concluded that the “creature” in the picture shows no signs of a personality or intelligence and have concluded that it’s just a funny looking tree, an FLT.

Double Drats!

Re-Transition?

Fidel thought he was gonna die on July 27, 2006.

In his mortal panic, after handing the reins over to raul, he was busy tweaking his semi-autobiography. So he claims in his latest rambling reflection:

When I fell gravely ill on the night of the 26th and in the early morning of the 27th of July, I thought that would be the end, and while the doctors were fighting for my life, the head of the Council of State Office was reading me the text, at my insistence, and I was dictating the pertinent changes.

So rather than worry about what would happen to his forsaken revolution, Castro would like us to believe that he was more interested Ramonet’s fawning question and answer whitewashing of his life than he was about his ready-to-invade imaginary enemies to the North and thwarting the forewarned annexation that had he claimed had been planned immediately following to his death.

It seems like he’s saying that was then, when he thought it was the end, when his doctors, not him, were fighting for his life. And this is now. Now, he has been newly “re-elected” and he’s ready to lead again and thinking more than he ever has-“Never in my life had I thought so much.”

It sounds like the thinker is thinking about making a comeback. Re-tweaking the transition. Re-positioning himself.

A weak, decrepit Fidel – already forgotten by the Cuban people, unable to give speeches and relegated to writing “theme-papers” in his newspaper trying to be his old self. A re-tread Re-Castro.

Not that he would ever cling to power or anything…..

Cuban “Election” Update.

The Regime is still counting ballots in Cuba. Oh, the suspense! The “official” results are expected today. At which point I expect the AP to release a story reporting that the communist party has somehow, agaisnt no odds, managed to maintain control of the National Assembly-again and its now poised to begin the long awaited transition. Pfft.

According to Granma:

Reus, who is minister of Justice, reported that 96% of the country’s voters went to the polls. In the case of the vote for parliamentary deputies, the number of ballots cast totaled 8,230,832, of which 95.24% were valid; blank ballots totaled the equivalent of 3.73% and voided ballots just 1.04%, she said.

Given the fact that the National Assembly “candidates” are hand picked and run unopposed, it’s hard to understand why the regime wastes its very limited resources to “count” and document what is already a forgone conclusion. Talk about closing, locking and securing the barn door long after the horse is long gone.

But that’s what the Castro’s regime has always been about, lies, propaganda and smoke and mirrors. A phony election to legitimize a fake Assembly that is used to legitimize a fraudulent “executive”. And the press supports the shenanigans as if Cuba had a legitimate electoral system where there are actually choices and goes as far as labeling those of us who point out the farce “critics”.

Anyway, the regime is admitting that some ballots were left blank and voided. Even if you use the regime’s preliminary numbers which us “critics” know to be manipulated for propaganda purposes, 342,951 Cubans did not vote and another 392,610 either left the ballots blank or voided them. Both figures seem low since many groups had “ballot voiding campaigns” in place urging Cubans to reject, if only symbolically, the official slate of “candidates” by leaving the ballots blank or by writing “cambio” on them.

Of course, the regime admits to the voided and blank ballots to present the appearance of a more open, transparent and pragmatically open minded regime under Raul. In reality it’s just a clever propaganda bait which is swallowed hook line and sinker by the international press who, to continue with the aquatic metaphor, never find anything fishy in the pronouncements of the regime and repeat their lies like well trained parrot (fish). (Sorry about that last aquatic reference)

Associated With Whom?

The Associated Press was still waiting for the results of the Cuba’s election to come in on Monday although they were willing to go out on a limb and proclaim yet another electoral triumph for the Cuban totalitarian, Fidel Castro Ruz:

As results came in Monday, there was no doubt that voters in Castro's home district had re-elected him to the National Assembly, where he must hold a seat to be eligible to stay on as chief of the island's governing body, the Council of State.

Anita Snow, the AP correspondent in Cuba, also informs us this morning that it appears that all of the 614 unopposed “candidates” appear to be headed for a landslide win after “a preliminary tally”:

They were voting for 614 candidates, all of whom ran unopposed for the rubber-stamp parliament, and all of whom were elected, according to a preliminary tally released Monday

Interestingly, Ms. Snow describes the newly elected “legislators” as a rubber-stamp parliament. This seems to contradict the premise of the story which is that Castro’s future is in the hands of the newly “elected” rubber-stampers. But if they’re rubber-stampers, that would mean that they just rubber-stamp Castro’s decisions.. Hmm..let’s see..I get confused when I try to understand the complex machinations of Cuban style “democracy”, But the AP tries to clear it up for me:

Cuba maintains that its balloting is more democratic than that of other countries because the candidates are chosen by municipal leaders nominated at neighborhood gatherings.

Critics say the elections do not provide an opportunity for Cubans to decide how and by whom they will be governed.

Critics. Ahh..those pesky critics. Always digging and asking questions and trying to get to the truth and expose it. You know, like the Press should, whether it’s Associated or not.

Oh and one more thing… who is it associated with anyway? Never mind, I’m just a critic.

The World Awaits Results of Cuba Election

The suspense continues in Havana this morning as the votes are counted. It is still too early to tell if the Communist Party will manage to hold on to power for the unprecedented 49th Year.

According to the AP, the “preliminary results” are expected this afternoon:

Cuba Parliament must decide on Castro
By WILL WEISSERT
Preliminary results are expected this afternoon in Cuba's parliamentary elections. Cubans are being asked to back 614 top Communists, career politicians, musicians and athletes for posts in the legislature, known as the National Assembly.

As soon as the “preliminary results” are in, I will update this post to let you know who “won” the Cuban elections just in case it wasn’t the candidates, all from the same party, who were running unopposed. You know, things happen. No es facil.

Of course, once the results of the elections are final and the new National Assembly assembles, they will decide, according to the AP, whether Castro will remain their totalitarian ruler. In planet AP, you see, totalitarian dictators respect the votes of parliament. It is not the totalitarian dictator, Fidel, who decides what he’s going to do and then has his rubber stamp assembly agree. No, that’s just a bunch of right wing propaganda spread by the Miami Mafia:

Still unknown, however, is whether the assembly will choose Castro as council president when it convenes for the first time on Feb. 24, or whether the bearded revolutionary will step down after nearly 50 years at Cuba's helm.

Wow! More suspense!

The Suspense Is Killing Me

As farcical as it is for the Cuban regime to proclaim to the world that today they are having “elections” in Cuba, it’s even more ridiculous for the World’s Free Press to also pretend that there are actually meaningful elections being held in Cuba today with headlines like this:

Cubans vote for parliament that could retire CastroReuters - USA

Change may be nearing as Cuba prepares for key voteBoston Globe - United States

Cubans go to the polls amid uncertainty on Fidel Castro's futureMonsters and Critics.com – USA

Cuban parliamentary elections could shed light on Fidel Castro's...The Canadian Press –

Castro runs for re-electionThe Press Association –

Cubans to vote as Castro's future remains a mysteryAFP –

Cuba shows signs of political change Analysts see Castro as open
...San Francisco Chronicle - CA, USA

It is dishonest and unprofessional to build suspense for these “elections” where the candidates are running unopposed and the voters are badgered and bullied into going to vote for the already “selected” candidate.

You can almost imagine the “movie announcer guy” from the Geico TV commercials ….

One Man, running for office. One foot in the grave. One Adidas Tracksuit. One colostomy bag. Against all odds. Against an Empire. Against the Grim Reaper. Can
he pull off one final Victory?…..

Gee, I don’t know. O yeah, he’s the only one on the ballot in “his” district. Hmm…tough call.

Update:

CB from Killcastro has this news:

Charlie Bravo said...

all we;ve gotten is that our sources are reporting a lot of "defaced ballots" with the phrases abajo fidel and cambio. Which is good. The only good thing I've heard today....

That may not not sound like much, but that act of civil dissobidience is incredibly brazen and dangerous.

Oy Vey, Joe(I)!

Yesterday, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I) CT, was in Little Havana to campaign for his friend John MacCain(R), Arizona.

I didn’t see any local coverage of this, I found out about it through NewsMax this morning.

Of course, Lieberman, now with an “I” next to his name, was at the losing end, along with Al Gore, of the 2000 Florida election debacle back when he had a “D” trailing his surname and before Dubya planted a kiss on his cheek making him damaged goods in the party of FDR and JFK.

MacCain and Lieberman are no fans of Fidel and thus have a special relationship, (that means campaign contributions), with the South Florida Cuban American voting block.

According to Joe, here’s what MacCain can offer Cuban Americans in regards to Cuba:

“McCain will engender trust in our friends and fear and respect from our enemies,” said Lieberman. “With John McCain, [Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmedinejad and [Venezuelan President] Hugo Chavez will face their toughest adversary. … Freedom isn’t something McCain learned in a book.”

“A McCain administration would be on the front lines in the battle for freedom ... and that battle has to begin in your own yard,” he said, referring to Chavez and the leftist wave that has hit Latin America.

“McCain would keep the embargo on [the Castro regime] until political prisoners were released, press freedoms were enacted, political parties legalized and internationally monitored elections were held,” Lieberman said.

Political analyst and, like Lieberman, former Democrat, MsB, had already given me a heads up of the “John and Joe” show. Joe(I) has been campaigning very hard for his friend John(R) helping him harvest votes from centrist, independents, moderates and other fence sitters in New Hampshire and Michigan.

Ms B, who typically pays more attention to the candidates’ grooming and body language than their positions, sees John(R) gaining a head of steam on his “straight talk express”. She theorizes that if John(R) reaches the Convention Station ahead of the other Republicans, that Joe(I) could likely be the choice for Veep of the “maverick” Arizona senator.

MacCain-Liberman '08. Who would have thunk it? Leave it to Ms B.

That scenario would certainly invite a 3rd Party challenge from the right, split the Republican vote and put Obama-Clinton in the Whitehouse and Raul Castro in the Lincoln Room.

Oy Vey!

Where There's a Cuban...

There's a Way...

While on vacation in Naples from Miami, he and his wife Laura, and their two daughters were looking for a Cuban restaurant. The Soto’s entrepreneurial spirit was given wings when they found that there weren’t very many in the area and they were not pleased with the quality of the food served at the existing establishments.

Despite never having owned a restaurant before, the Sotos were convinced that their family recipes from Cuba combined with some hard work, would lead to success.

Veni, Vidi, Labori

The Huckster Proposes to Get Rid of Wet Foot/Dry Foot.

The dry foot part that is.

In an effort to appeal to some of his party’s base and in an effort to appear tough on immigration-read “spics”- , Mike Huckabee is flexing his xenophobic muscles. So, he has proposed that if elected, he would stop giving visas to immigrants who come from countries on the state sponsors of terrorism list.

Humm...that, for all intents and purposes, means Cubans. There are a handful of Iranian, North Korean, Sudanese and Syrian immigrants seeking US residence every year, but 47 Cubans a day, on average for the last seven years have been granted asylum.

Would Huckabee really do this? I doubt it.

Huckabee has a long and detailed public history of favoring doing business with Castro’s tyranny. He was anti-embargo back when he was the portly governor of Arkansas and he only seems to see the light when he travels south of the now partially dry Lake Okechobee. -In 2005, some our South Florida water management geniuses let water out of the lake because the 1,001 hurricanes that came through here brought too much rain and the high water level was destroying the eco-system and drowning some fish or something incredibly catastrophic like that. So, in 2006 it doesn’t rain. In 2007, same story. So now all the slimy creatures died anyway and it’s the human eco system that’s freaking ruined. And never mind the eco-system. My grass is what’s important. I can only water my grass once a week, on Sunday between 5:00AM and 8:00 AM and I’m freaking sleeping on Sunday at 5:00 AM. DAMMIT! and I swear when I was walking in my back yard this weekend , the grass was actually crunchy, but like Marta says, that’s not important right now. -Stay with me on this-So, in order to continue to allow Cuban REFUGEES in the country, the Huckster would then have to take Cuba off the terrorist list. Something which I believe is also high on Raul’s bucket list. And that’s a huge crack in the embargo wall because it would allow more travel and money to flow south to Havana and with that, more agricultural sales from – you guessed it!- Arkansas!

A win for Raul, a win for the Agribusiness conglomerates, a win for his Arkansas campaign contributing cronies. Everybody wins and makes money. The only losers are those pesky exiles in South Florida with crunchy lawns, who if Huckabee wins the Republican nomination and Clinton the Democratic, will be stuck choosing between the lesser of the two evils from Arkansas.

Picture Watch...UPDATE 10:25 PM

Ok, so the President of the land of soccer players, transvestites and ethanol extraordinaire, Brazil, Lula da Silva, is in Havana to offer a Billion Dollars in "credits" to the moribund Dictator.

For a Cool Billion I would expect a photo-op with the Adidas Tracksuit wearing leader, but I admit I've been tainted by the quid pro quo ways of the Capitalist consumer society...always expecting something for something and something better for more $omethings. Un "interesado" as it where.

While I wait for the regime's official photshop -op, here's mine....


I know it's not great, but it's the thought and the good intentions that count. You see, I'm haven't totally gone over to the Empire's dark side...yet.

...And here's the regime's version:

It's All Right Now.....

When you are Cuban and you decide you don’t want to play Castro’s game anymore, you choose death.

“Patria o Muerte”-“Fatherland or Death” is the revolution’s disgusting and dehumanizing ultimatum.

Death can come in a few ways, in a prison, in the Florida straights and in exile – where only a little of you dies, but where the regime tries to kill you off-makes you a non person, an non Cuban – a desterriado– unless you’re willing to go back with gift$, then it’s all right. Fidel the stubborn Galician-"Para mi, estas muerto."

One way to kill off prominent Cubans who choose death over Fidel’s version of the fatherland is to brandish them as defecting traitors. These folks’ history is erased. Such is the case with artists, writers, actors, musicians and athletes.

Cuba’s pragmatic new dictator probably realized that with the ever growing string of defections, there was going to have to be too much time spent erasing too much history. All that time is better spent repressing, after all. Very pragmatic.

So, he allowed a documentary featuring some “erased” major leaguers including Orlando, “El Duque” Hernandez and Kendry Morales, “Fuera de Liga” to be aired on Castro’s private airways.

The fact that the regime allowed the documentary to air is unprecedented and has raised eyebrows and heralded as a sign that Raúl’s plans for a tropical perestroika are right on track.

50 years of “do it my way or die”, Patria o Muerte, but it’s all right now…

Which reminds me…..

Watch it!

I was born in a cross-fire hurricane
And I howled at my ma in the driving rain,
But it's all right now, in fact, it's a gas!
But it's all right. I'm Jumpin' Jack Flash,
It's a Gas! Gas! Gas!

I was raised by a toothless, bearded hag,
I was schooled with a strap right across my back,
But it's all right now, in fact, it's a gas!
But it's all right, I'm Jumpin' Jack Flash,
It's a Gas! Gas! Gas!

I was drowned, I was washed up and left for dead.
I fell down to my feet and I saw they bled.
I frowned at the crumbs of a crust of bread.
Yeah, yeah, yeah

I was crowned with a spike right thru my head.
But it's all right now, in fact, it's a gas!
But it's all right, I'm Jumpin' Jack Flash,
It's a Gas! Gas! Gas!

Jumping Jack Flash, its a gas
Jumping Jack Flash, its a gas
Jumping Jack Flash, its a gas
Jumping Jack Flash, its a gas

JUMPING JACK FLASH (Jagger/Richards)

A Freaking Gas

All along the watchtower

"There must be some way out of here," said the joker to the thief,
"There's too much confusion, I can't get no relief.
Businessmen, they drink my wine, plowmen dig my earth,
None of them along the line know what any of it is worth."

"No reason to get excited," the thief, he kindly spoke,
"There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke.
But you and I, we've been through that, and this is not our fate,
So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late."

All along the watchtower, princes kept the view
While all the women came and went, barefoot servants, too.

Outside in the distance a wildcat did growl,
Two riders were approaching, the wind began to howl.

EXCLUSIVE! Naomi Campbell Castro Interview

La Contra Revolución's gusano network within Cuba was able to take this exclusive picture of Naomi Campbell interviewing the Cuban Dictator and e-smuggle it out at great peril.

¿Revolución?

Revolution.

A revolution is about changing the social order and society. It’s about change-“cambio.”

Here’s a picture of a young Cuban boy celebrating the beginning of the revolution referring to the “change” that came to Havana 49 years ago in the form of Fidel & Co.

(SVEN CREUTZMANN/MAMBO PHOTO, GETTY IMAGES)

He’s wearing a shirt that says “revolución”.

Had he been wearing one that said “change” or “cambio”, he would most likely have been detained maybe even beaten.

Of course, it is impossible for him to ever rebel, revolt or change his lot in life.

Cambio, change, is an outlawed, dirty, subversive and foreign –even mercenary - word to the revolution. A revolution run by “revolutionaries” who don’t want change, who cling to the 50 year old Gospel of fear and hate and who worship inertia and excuses.

Cult of the Absurd. Frauds.

Latell on Raul the "Pragmatic"

The wall Street Journal has published an article by Brian Latell, who as far as I can tell, was the one who christened new Cuban dictator, Raúl Castro, with the “pragmatic” moniker.

Latell doesn’t seem to underestimate Raúl as a drunken closet queen as many of us exiles do. He seems to respect Fidel’s younger half brother’s realistic, collegial, behind the scenes management style, not the man.

Raúl's style guarantees that Cuba will be governed differently. He'll rule more collegially than his brother, consulting trusted subordinates and delegating more.

Yet like his brother, Raúl has no intention of opening Cuba to free political speech or participation. While the number of Cubans willing to voice their discontent publicly is on the increase, so too is the brutality of government reprisals against would-be leaders of the dissident movement.

That said, Latell makes a couple of prognostications about the Cuban transition that pretty much parallel my hunches. So woe to him because I’m usually wrong.

I agree with him, that it would be more pragmatic for Raúl to stay in control of the party and the army and leave the presidency to someone else so as to leave the door open for negotiations with the Empire to the north in case Hugo self destructs or decides to pull his subsidies once his mentor dies and he realizes he's not next in line for the Cuban presidency:

Someone who is not named Castro will likely become Cuba's next president.

Politburo member and Vice President Carlos Lage is the leading candidate. A medical doctor 20 years younger than Raúl, Mr. Lage is widely considered an advocate of economic reform.

Then, there’s the issue of the 800 pound gorilla in Venezuela who wants took take over as president of some sort of Cuba-Venezuela federation:

And there is Hugo Chávez. Unlike Fidel, Raúl has no personal rapport with the mercurial Venezuelan president, and surely no desire to be subordinated to another narcissistic potentate just as he is finally close to escaping his brother's grip. But Cuba has become highly dependent economically on Venezuela. The value of the Chávez dole, mostly oil, reached between $3 billion and $4 billion last year, approaching the amounts once provided by the Soviet Union. Raúl would be loath to provoke the Venezuelan. Without his support, the Cuban economy would soon plunge into deep recession.

I agree that Raúl has no love for Chavez especially for a Chavez telling him how to run “his” country. That is why I believe that Havana has been sabotaging Chavez’s get powerful quick schemes -to keep him hanging-but still allowing Chavez to bestow his riches on the Cuban regime in exchange for dictatorial expertise.

The WSJ article has been reprinted here for all you anti-capitalist freeloaders who wont pay for a WSJ subscription

Algo Cómico Ocurrió Rumbo a Cubazuela.

Pobre Huguito.

Todo le esta saliendo mal últimamente.

¿Tiene a un chino atrás?-¿O será una china?

Después de su derrota en las urnas cuando lo del referéndum constitucional, surgió un articulo en el Mundo contando la “verdad” de lo que paso la noche del referéndum. Según el abochornante escrito, Chavez es cuidado y controlado desde la Habana de donde vino la orden que aceptara su derrota como un hombrecito.

Si es cierto que la sinfonía socialista del siglo 21, es conducida desde la Habana, seria interesante analizar el rol Habanero de las extrañas ocurrencias que ha sufrido Chavez en los recientes meses.

No necesariamente en orden cronológica:

El Parón:

Cuando El Rey de España le pregunto a Chavez que por que no se callaba. Quizas Chavez no se callaba porque la Habana lo había mandado a formar la tirulata que formo en Chile sobre Arnaz quien siempre fue un formidable enemigo y acusador del régimen castrista y por eso odiado por la dictadura. Al sacar la cara por su ídolo Fidel, le entraron a galletas reales.

El Maletín de Argentina:

¿Por que aterrizo el avión en que viajaba Wilson en la zona del aeropuerto en cual tenia que pasar por la aduana en vez de en la zona donde aterrizan los aviones diplomáticos o militares? ¿Seguridad del estado cubano?

El Maletín de Bolivia:

Que casualidad que el avión que fue forzado a despejar de emergencia por la turba boliviana dejo atrás al tripulante con el maletín con los $800,000. ¿Seguridad del estado cubano?

El articulo del El Mundo afirma que Chavez consulta sus acciones con Fidel y la cúpula gobernante cubana sugiriendo que no es mas que una marioneta del castrismo.

Es lógico entonces deducir que su nueva y vergonzosa metedura de pata – el caso Emmanuel, también sucedió por que los hilos de la marioneta se estaban halando de la Habana que también hala los hilos de la FARC.

Así es que después que Chavez empezó a vender su idea de Cubazuela, le empezaron a pasar cosas inesperadas y extrañas.
Al régimen cubano, Raúl, no les molesta la subsidia de 100,000 barriles de crudo diario o halar los hilos que controlan a la marioneta Chavez desde la Habana, pero de eso nada, si Chavez se cree que el va ser Castro II, especialmente cunado Raúl sabe que lo tiene de marioneta hasta el 2013.

La Lucha Por El Papel Higiénico

Yo soy un gusano simple.

Entiendo que los cambios en Cuba no pueden hacerse de un día para el otro. Como dice Raul: “no somos magos” (pero somos muchas?)

Pero, señores, ya entramos en al año cincuenta de la “revolución” y todavía en Cuba no hay papel higiénico. ¡Papel higiénico, caballero!

¿A caso es esto mucho de pedir?

Olvidémonos de los derechos humanos, del hambre, de la escasez de todo. Si un gobierno, en 50 años no puede producir y distribuir papel higiénico, no tiene el derecho de seguir gobernando. Punto.

Una “revolución” la cual fuerza su culta población a limpiarse con el Granma por casi cincuenta años es un fracaso.

Mi batalla es simple. pero justa. Lucho por la dignidad de un pueblo. Y no se puede tener dignidad sin papel higiénico.

Where's Fifo?

Again, they could not produce a walking, talking Fidel in fatigues. Not even for the 49th Anniversary of the “revolution” in which the Cuban people begin their 50th year in captivity. All they could muster up was a supposed “message” from the tyrant which was read on national TV in which he praised the Cuban people for their heroic “resistance.”

How true, since they haven’t been able to break the spirit of the Cuban people.

Going on 50 years of repression, indoctrination and isolation and still the regime can only maintain control by the use of brutal force. No “new man”. No socialist “ant –man” that puts the colon y before himself.

They know that one mistake and it’s all over.

They’re so afraid, that they keep threatening to re-select Fidel as President. This is a man who can’t even address his country live and they insist that he is well enough to make decisions and govern.

What a farce! But it diverts attention away from the promised changes that have yet to materialize.

Another year of inertia. From now till March there will be the soap opera like ( or is it sit-com like?) suspense of whether Castro will be “re-elected” as president which is being staged for the ever compliant international media. Meanwhile, the Cubans say “¿Fidel , quien?

Then from March to July it will be more meetings and “debates” and idea gathering in the “new” parliament. Then commissions will be appointed sometime in August through September to begin “studying” the proposals which will then be presented back to the parliament for debate which will order more studies to come up with a five-year plan for the island’s command economy.

But they buy themselves another year to enrich themselves on the sweat and tears of the Cuban people who endure (resist) the revolution.